''Mr. Boggs Steps Out'' is a 1938 American romantic
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
Gordon Wiles
Gordon Wiles (October 10, 1904 – October 17, 1950) was an American art director and film director. He won an Oscar for Best Art Direction for the film ''Transatlantic''. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Albert Wiles, was ...
. The film is based on the
Clarence Budington Kelland
Clarence Budington "Bud" Kelland (July 11, 1881 – February 18, 1964) was an American writer. Prolific and versatile, he was a prominent literary figure in his heyday, and he described himself as "the best second-rate writer in America".
Kelland ...
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
short story ''Face the Facts''. The
working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
s of the film were ''Face the Facts'' and ''Mr. Boggs Buys a Barrel''.
Plot
Government
statistician
A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors.
It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...
Oliver Boggs wins a large monetary prize from a cinema for correctly guessing the amount of beans in a barrel. His elder business associate advises him to leave his dead end depressing job and do something rewarding. When the pair's boss abuses the elder man, Boggs quits and decides to purchase a barrel manufacturing company in a small town. Boggs discovers that all the business in the town is dead due to the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Boggs and his barrel company adviser Oleander Tubbs bring in a variety of unusual methods and ingenuity to bring prosperity to the town.
Cast
*
Stuart Erwin
Stuart Erwin (February 14, 1903 – December 21, 1967) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
Early years
Erwin was born in Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California. He attended Porterville High School and the University of ...
as Oliver Boggs
*
Helen Chandler
Helen Chandler (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965) was an American film and theater actress, best known for playing Mina Seward in the 1931 horror film ''Dracula (1931 English-language film), Dracula''.
Career
Born in Charleston, So ...
as Oleander Tubbs
*
Toby Wing
Toby Wing (born Martha Virginia Wing, July 14, 1915 – March 22, 2001), "Toby" being an old family nickname, was an American actress and showgirl, once called "the most beautiful chorus girl in Hollywood".
Early years
Wing was born in Ame ...
as Irene Lee
*
Tully Marshall
Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...
as Morton Ross
*
Spencer Charters
Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles.
Biography
Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until ...
as Angus Tubbs
*
Otis Harlan
Otis Harlan (December 29, 1865 – January 21, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''.
Early years
Harlan was born in Zanesville, Ohio ...
as Abner Katz
*
Walter Byron
Jacob Walter "Wally" Byron (Jacob Valdimar Björnsson;September 2, 1894 – December 22, 1971) was an Icelandic-Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was the goaltender for the Winnipeg Falcons, the Canadian ...
as Dennis Andrews
*
Peter Potter as Bob DeBrette
*
Harry Tyler as Sam Mason
*
Milburn Stone
Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the CBS Western series ''Gunsmoke''.
Early life
Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone and the forme ...
as Burns
*
Nora Cecil
Nora Cecil (September 26, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was an English-born American actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras.
Career
Stage
Cecil's career began on the stage, when she debuted in London at age 19 ...
as Widow Peddia
*
Harrison Greene
Harrison Greene (January 18, 1884 – September 28, 1945) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1931 and 1945. The son of a jeweler, Greene was born in Portland, Oregon, but grew up in California. He was a d ...
as Mr. Pry
*
Elliot Fisher
Elliot (also spelled Eliot, Elliotte, Elliott, Eliott and Elyot) is a personal name which can serve as either a surname or a given name. Although the given name has historically been given to males, females have increasingly been given the name ...
as Tommy Mason
*
Eddie Kane
Eddie Kane (August 12, 1889 – April 30, 1969) was an American actor who appeared in over 250 productions from 1928 to 1959.
Biography
Kane was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His early career was in vaudeville as a member of the two-man te ...
as Theatre Manager
*
Wilson Benge
George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955.
Along with actors Charles Coleman and Rob ...
as The Butler
*Mike Jeffries as Chauffeur
*
Isabel La Mal
Isabelle LaMal (July 16, 1886 – July 20, 1952) was an American film actress. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she appeared in over 95 films between 1928 and 1951.
LaMal is best known for her appearance as Mrs. Bedford, socialite owner of pr ...
as Mrs. Mason
*
Betty Mack
Betty Mack (November 30, 1901November 5, 1980) was an American stage and film actress who appeared in over 45 films between 1931 and 1941. She became Betty Yohalem after her marriage to George Yohalem in 1941. She wrote ''I remember…. Storie ...
as Miss Feathrewell
*
Otto Hoffman
Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer.
Hoffman's Broadway credit ...
as Jenkins
External links
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1938 films
American black-and-white films
1938 romantic comedy films
Grand National Films films
Films directed by Gordon Wiles
American romantic comedy films
Films based on short fiction
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
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