''Queen High'' is the title of an American

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 ...

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

film, produced by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in 1930. Based upon the 1926 stage musical ''Queen High'' that

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...

, Lewis Gensler, and

Laurence Schwab Laurence Schwab (1893 - May 29, 1951) was an American theater and film producer, writer, and director. He was born in Boston and attended Harvard University. His first success was as co-producer of ''The Gingham Girl (1922). He co-authored and prod ...

had adapted from Edward Peple's 1914 farce ''

A Pair of Sixes ''A Pair of Sixes'', originally titled ''The Party of the Second Part'', is a farce in three acts by Edward Peple that made its Broadway debut at the Longacre Theatre on March 17, 1914. The piece was produced by Harry Frazee and achieved a run ...

''. The storyline loosely concerns a rivalry between two businessmen that results in a game of

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

. Whoever loses the game becomes the winner's servant for a year. The film stars

Charlie Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous soun ...

, and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

in one of her earliest film appearances. Making her first film appearance in an uncredited bit part is famed tap dancer

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars duri ...

, whose career in musicals would not take off for another five years. Powell was appearing on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in a show entitled ''Follow Thru'' at the time, and a segment of the show was filmed for the movie. Both Rogers and Powell were still in their teens.

Cast

Charles Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

as T. Boggs Johns *

as Mr. Nettleton *

as Polly Rockwell * Stanley Smith as Dick Johns *Helen Carrington as Mrs. Nettleton *Rudolph Cameron as Cyrus Vanderholt *

Betty Garde Katharine Elizabeth Garde (September 19, 1905 – December 25, 1989) was an American stage, radio, film and television actress. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Garde was starring in productions of South Philadelphia's Broadway Players by ...

as Florence Cole *

Teresa Maxwell-Conover Teresa Maxwell-Conover (born Teresa Ryan; September 26, 1884 – September 1968) was an American actress in Broadway productions in the early 20th century. She was in motion pictures until the early 1940s, and was sometimes credited as Theresa ...

as Mrs. Rockwell *

Nina Olivette Nina Olivette (8 August 1910 - 21 February 1971) was an American actress and dancer who was sometimes described as a "dancing comedienne". Early years Born in Manhattan, New York, Olivette was the daughter of Edgar and Kazia Prajinska Lachmann. ...

as Coddles * Tom Brown as Jimmy *

(as uncredited dancer)

Soundtrack

* "Everything Will Happen for the Best" :Written by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lewis E. Gensler * "Brother, Just Laugh It Off" :Written by Arthur Schwartz and Ralph Rainger * "I'm Afraid of You" :Written by Arthur Schwartz and Ralph Rainger * "It Seems to Me" :Written by Howard Dietz (as Dick Howard) and Ralph Rainger * "I Love the Girls in My Own Peculiar Way" :Written by E.Y. Harburg and Henry Souvaine

Preservation

Though part of the 700 or so films Paramount sold to Universal, the film is preserved in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

with a copy.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'' (<-book title) p.147 c.1978 by The American Film Institute

References

External links

* 1930 films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fred C. Newmeyer 1930 musical comedy films Paramount Pictures films American musical comedy films 1930s American films {{musical-comedy-film-stub