''Mr. Doodle Kicks Off'' is a 1938 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
Leslie Goodwins
Leslie Goodwins (17 September 1899 – 8 January 1969) was an English film director and screenwriter. He directed nearly 100 films between 1926 and 1967, notably 27 features and shorts with Leon Errol, including the Mexican Spitfire series. ...
and written by
Bert Granet
Bert Granet (July 10, 1910 – November 15, 2002) was an American writer and television producer whose credits included ''The Locket'' (1946) for RKO Radio Pictures.
Granet worked with Desilu Productions and was instrumental in getting Rod Serlin ...
. The film stars
Joe Penner
Joe Penner (born József Pintér; November 11, 1904 – January 10, 1941) was an American vaudeville, radio, and film comedian.
Early life
Penner was an ethnic Hungarian born József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Zren ...
,
June Travis
June Travis (born June Dorothea Grabiner; August 7, 1914 – April 14, 2008) was an American film actress.
Background
Born June Dorothea Grabiner, she was the daughter of Harry Grabiner, vice-president of the Chicago White Sox in the 1930s.
...
, Richard Lane,
Ben Alexander and
Billy Gilbert
William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally
as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
. The film was released on October 7, 1938, by
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
.
Plot
Ellory Bugs has offered a huge donation to his old alma mater, Taylor Tech, which is to be paid only if his son, Jimmie "Doodle" Bugs, becomes a football hero. But "Doodle" tips the scales at 143 pounds and is more interested in the band than the football team. Janice Martin, daughter of the college president, is the great thing in "Doodle's" life, but she despises him and has eyes only for Mickey Wells, the school football star. "Doodle" is consoled by Professor Minorous, of the Greek Mythology department who tells him that the gods will solve all of his problems, and starts right in to make communications with these worthies by means of countless and meaningless blackboard equations.
Cast
*
Joe Penner
Joe Penner (born József Pintér; November 11, 1904 – January 10, 1941) was an American vaudeville, radio, and film comedian.
Early life
Penner was an ethnic Hungarian born József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Zren ...
as Jimmie 'Doodle' Bugs
*
June Travis
June Travis (born June Dorothea Grabiner; August 7, 1914 – April 14, 2008) was an American film actress.
Background
Born June Dorothea Grabiner, she was the daughter of Harry Grabiner, vice-president of the Chicago White Sox in the 1930s.
...
as Janice Martin
*Richard Lane as Assistant Coach 'Offsides' Jones
*
Ben Alexander as Larry Weldon
*
Billy Gilbert
William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally
as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
as Professor Minorous
*
Jack Carson
John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...
as Football Player Rochet
*Alan Bruce as Mickey Wells
*
George Irving as College President Martin
*
William B. Davidson
William Beatman Davidson (June 16, 1888 – September 28, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1915 and 1947.
Early life
Davidson was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He attended Columbia University, w ...
as Ellory Bugs, Jimmie's Father
*
Pierre Watkin
Pierre Frank Watkin (December 29, 1887 – February 3, 1960) was an American character actor best known for playing distinguished authority figures throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is best remembered for his roles of Mr. Skinner the b ...
as Mr. Wondel
*
Frank M. Thomas
Frank Marion Thomas (July 13, 1889 – November 25, 1989) was an American character actor of stage, screen and television. He and his wife, actress Mona Bruns, both lived to 100 years old. He died the day before her 90th birthday; she died 11 y ...
as Coach Hammond
*
Wesley Barry
Wesley Barry (August 10, 1907 – April 11, 1994) was an American actor, director, and producer. Barry began his career as a child actor in silent motion pictures and later became a producer and director of both film and television. As a direc ...
as 1st Sophomore
*
Robert Parrish
Robert R. Parrish (January 4, 1916December 4, 1995) was an American film director, screenwriter, editor and former child actor. He received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his contribution to ''Body and Soul (1947 film), Body and Soul ...
as 2nd Sophomore
See also
*
List of American football films
The following is a list of American football films.
See also
* List of sports films
* List of highest grossing sports films
Notes
References
{{American football in the United States
American football
Films
A film also ...
References
External links
*
1938 films
American black-and-white films
RKO Pictures films
Films directed by Leslie Goodwins
1938 comedy films
American comedy films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
{{1930s-comedy-film-stub