''Calm Yourself'' is a 1935 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

George B. Seitz George Brackett Seitz (January 3, 1888 – July 8, 1944) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film actor and director. He was known for his screenplays for action serials, such as '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1914) and ''The Exploits o ...

and written by

Arthur Kober Arthur Kober (August 25, 1900 – June 12, 1975) was an American humorist, author, press agent, and screenwriter. He was married to the dramatist Lillian Hellman. Biography Early life Kober was born into a Jewish family in Brody, Galicia, in ...

. The film stars Robert Young,

Madge Evans Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary ''Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model. Biography Child model and stage actress B ...

Betty Furness Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. Early years Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...

Ralph Morgan Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), known professionally as Ralph Morgan, was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan. Early life Morgan was born in New York City, the eig ...

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir maste ...

and

Hardie Albright Hardie Hunter Albright (born Hardie Hunter Albrecht; December 16, 1903 – December 7, 1975) was an American actor. Early years Albright was born on December 16, 1903, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to traveling vaudeville performers. He made his ...

. The film was released on June 28, 1935, by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

Plot

Advertising executive Preston 'Pat' Patton is fired from his job by Col. Allenby when Allenby catches Patton and Allenby's daughter, Mary Elizabeth, kissing. Pat keeps telling the frenzied Allenby, “Calm yourself!” and is inspired to create Confidential Services Incorporated, supposedly founded in 1908, a business that undertakes every kind of difficult task so that his clients may calm themselves. Pat is the only employee, and must pretend to be a female secretary on the phone, but he manages to deluge the city with letters advertising his services. On his first assignment, Pat gets off on the wrong track by delivering the wrong drunk to a wife's bed. Then, prominent banker Kenneth Rockwell summons Pat to his office. Rockwell is well aware of Pat's deceits, but he likes the letter and thinks Pat can help him. When Rockwell and his first wife were divorced, almost 20 years ago, she took their three-month-old daughter, Rosalind, to California. He has recently married a woman who is much younger than him. He did not conceal the first marriage, but he never mentioned dates, the child, or his own age. He has just received a wire from Rosalind announcing her arrival on the afternoon train. He hires Pat to keep Rosalind away until he can sound out his new wife. Pat meets Rosalind at the train and tells her that her father is ready to ship her back to California. When she asks about her father, he describes the ill-tempered Col. Allenby, takes her to Allenby's building at 6 p.m., just as he is coming out, and provokes a heated quarrel with Allenby on the street by telling him that he and Allenby's daughter, Mary Elizabeth, are engaged. Witnessing but not overhearing the argument from the car, Rosalind loses all interest in her father. She has only $25 and wants to stay in New York, so Pat persuades her to be his secretary. Mary Elizabeth is jealous, and they quarrel when he refuses to fire Rosalind. They all become involved in a complex comic misadventure that includes a baby, a Great Dane, and the police. In the end, Rosalind and her father meet at last, and she is very relieved that he is not Allenby. It turns out that his wife knew his age, but not that he had a daughter. Rockwell is about to introduce them, but Rosalind and Pat are deep in a kiss. When Pat declares they are going to be married, Rosalind protests, weakly. "Calm yourself!" he replies, and they embrace.

Cast

* Robert Young as Preston 'Pat' Patton *

as Rosalind Rockwell *

as Mary Elizabeth Allenby *

as Mr. Kenneth S. Rockwell *

as Knuckles Benedict *

as Bobby Kent *

Claude Gillingwater Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two ...

as Col. Allenby *

Shirley Ross Shirley Ross (born Bernice Maude Gaunt, January 7, 1913 – March 9, 1975) was an American actress and singer, notable for her duet with Bob Hope, "Thanks for the Memory" from ''The Big Broadcast of 1938''. She appeared in 25 feature films bet ...

as Mrs. Ruth Rockwell *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Mike *

Herman Bing Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor. He acted in more than 120 films and many of his parts were uncredited. Biography Bing was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was son of the opera ...

as Mr. Sam Bromberg *

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, ba ...

as Detective Roscoe *

Shirley Chambers Shirley Chambers (December 20, 1913 – September 11, 2011) was an American film actress of the 1930s. She was notable for playing 'dumb blonde' roles in musical comedy films. She was discovered by press agent Harry Reichenbach. Biography Cham ...

as Joan Vincent *

Hale Hamilton Hale Rice Hamilton (February 28, 1880 – May 19, 1942) was an American actor, writer and producer. Biography Hamilton was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1880. (His birth year is sometimes listed as either 1879 or 1883.) Hamilton's Broadway debut w ...

as Mr. M.B. Kent *

Isabelle Keith Isabelle Keith (born Isobel Keep; May 27, 1898 – July 20, 1979) was an American actress. Keith was born Isobel Keep on May 27, 1898, in Nebraska. She initially was billed under her birth name, but she changed her professional name to Isabell ...

as Mrs. Gloria Lansell * Clyde Cook as Joe *

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

as Police Inspector * Ivan Miller as Police lieutenant *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as Mr. Lansell *

Tempe Pigott Tempe Pigott (2 February 1869 – 6 October 1962) was an Australian silent and sound screen character actress. She was a stage actress in England and Australia, Canada and the United States for a number of years before entering motion pictures. ...

as Anne 'Annie' *

Adrian Morris Adrian Grant Morris (18 May 1929 – 6 December 2004) was an England, English painter. Early life Morris was born in London, England. He spent his childhood in rural Somerset before the family moved to the United States, where he attended the ...

as Dutch – Gangster

References

External links

* * * * {{George B. Seitz 1935 films American comedy films 1935 comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by George B. Seitz American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films