''Laugh and Get Rich'' is a 1931

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

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

Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...

, from a screenplay he also wrote with contributions from

Douglas MacLean Charles Douglas MacLean (January 10, 1890 – July 9, 1967) was an American stage and silent film actor who later worked as a producer and screenwriter in the sound era. Early life and stage career Born in Philadelphia, MacLean was educated at ...

, who also was the associate producer, and Ralph Spence. The film stars Dorothy Lee,

Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

, and Russell Gleason, and revolves around the antics in a boarding house in the early 1930s, run by Oliver, and the complications caused by her husband.

Plot

Sarah Austin (

) runs a boarding house during the Depression, always on the verge of bankruptcy. Her husband, Joe (

) is a shiftless person who has never understood the concept of work; he is constantly involving them in get-rich-quick schemes. Their daughter, Alice ( Dorothy Lee), has her eyes set on poor young inventor, Larry Owens (

Russell Gleason Russell Gleason (February 6, 1908 – December 25, 1945) was an American actor who began his career at the very beginning of the talking film era. Born into an acting family, one of his earliest roles was in the 1930 classic film, ''All Quiet on ...

), but her mother wishes she would become involved with Bill Hepburn (

John Harron John Harron (March 31, 1903 – November 24, 1939) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1918 and 1940. Born in New York, New York, he was the brother of actor Robert Harron and of actress Mary Harron. Harron di ...

), seemingly from a well-connected family. Sarah's illusions about Bill, however, are dashed when Bill kidnaps Joe, whom he mistakes for Mr. Pennypacker. Shortly after this, Joe takes Sarah's life savings, which she has hidden in a lamp, and invests it in an oil well, conned into it by one of Sarah's boarders, Mr. Phelps (

Robert Emmett Keane Robert Emmett Keane (March 4, 1883 – July 2, 1981) was an American actor of both the stage and screen. Biography Keane began on stage in the 1910s, his first Broadway appearance being in the production of '' The Passing Show of 1914''. He co ...

). When Sarah finds out, she is furious, so Joe goes out and takes a job as a ditch digger. However, much to everyone's surprise, the oil well actually strikes oil. Believing that they are rich, Sarah and Joe go visit Sarah's sister, Cassie Palfrey (Louise Mackintosh), who lives in an estate on Long Island. While there, the oil well runs dry, and their newfound wealth evaporates. However, all is not lost, as they find out that one of Larry's inventions (which Joe has promoted), a tire valve, has attracted an investor, and they will be making over $50,000 per year off the invention, a veritable fortune in 1931.

Cast

as Sarah Austin *

as Joe Austin * Dorothy Lee as Alice Austin *

as Larry Owens *

as Bill Hepburn *

Charles Sellon Charles A. Sellon (August 24, 1870 – June 26, 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Sellon appeared in more than 100 films and stage acts between 1901 and 1935. He played the blind Mr. Muckle in W. C. Fields' comedy ''It's a Gift'' ...

as Biddle * George Davis as Vincentini *

as Phelps *

Maude Fealy Maude Fealy (born Maude Mary Hawk; March 4, 1883 – November 9, 1971) was an American stage and silent film actress whose career survived into the sound era. Early life Maude Mary Hawk was born on March 4, 1883 in Memphis, Tennessee, the daugh ...

as Miss Teasdale * Louise Mackintosh as Mrs. Cassandra 'Cassie' Palfrey *

Lita Chevret Lita Chevret (May 27, 1908 – May 23, 2001) was an American actress who began her career at the genesis of sound films. She appeared in over 60 films between 1929 and 1940, although in most of those she had small or non-billed parts. Life Chev ...

as Party guest *

Rochelle Hudson Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his no ...

as The Count Source:Cast list as per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database, and Theiapolis.com

Production

"Board and Room" was the working title of the film during production.

Reception

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a good review, calling it, "...a pleasant little comedy of boarding house life, distinguished by the performance of Edna May Oliver as the head of the establishment." ''Silver Screen'' magazine gave it a good, but not great, review, stating the film was "... a nice homey comedy ..." which was "entertaining, but not a laugh riot", and praised Herbert, but were less impressed by Oliver. ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...

'' was a bit kinder, complimenting both Herbert and Oliver, and saying that the film was "Good for plenty of laughs", and that audience members would be "... agreeably surprised at the newness of the treatment and gags." ''

Motion Picture Magazine ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...

'' was the most impressed, not only praising Herbert and Oliver, but also Dorothy Lee, John Harron, and Russell Gleason as well. They called the picture, "... one of the best little comedies to happen along in many a celluloid moon."

References

External links

* * * * {{Gregory La Cava 1931 films 1931 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Gregory La Cava RKO Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films