''She's My Weakness'' is a 1930 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 ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Melville W. Brown (assisted by Dewey Starkey) and starring Sue Carol and Arthur Lake. The screenplay was written by

J. Walter Ruben Jacob Walter Ruben (August 14, 1899 – September 4, 1942) was an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He wrote for more than 30 films between 1926 and 1942. He also directed 19 films between 1931 and 1940. His great-grandson i ...

, based on the Broadway play ''Tommy'' by

Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...

and Bertrand Robinson.

Plot

Tommy Mills wants to marry his girlfriend, Marie Thurber, but cannot afford it. When he inherits a piece of property, he plans on selling it in order to facilitate the marriage. However, Marie is also being pursued by Bernard Norton, who is not as seemingly dull as Tommy. Marie's parents would prefer their daughter to marry Tommy, but things get complicated when Marie's father, Warren, needs to sell a piece of property he owns in order to get himself out of financial difficulty. The town is interested in both pieces, but will only purchase one of them. To further complicate matters, Tommy's uncle, David Tuttle is attempting to broker the deal for the purchase of the land. In the confusion which ensues, both land parcels are sold without the permission of their owners. The resulting chaos gives the appearance of misdeeds by Tommy, which pushes Marie towards the arms of her other suitor. However, the truth comes out in the end, both Tommy and Mr. Thurber sell their properties and alleviate their financial needs, and Tommy and Marie get married.

Cast

* Arthur Lake as Tommy Mills * Sue Carol as Marie Thurber *

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

as Warren Thurber *

William Collier Sr. William Collier Sr. (November 12, 1864 – January 13, 1944), born William Morenus, was an American writer, director and actor. Collier ran away from home when only 11 years old to join a touring company run by Eddie Foy and in 1879 he appeared ...

as David Tuttle *

Helen Ware Helen Ware ( Remer; October 15, 1877 – January 25, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born to John August Remer and Elinor Maria (née Ware), Ware adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional name. She had ...

as Mrs. Thurber *

Alan Bunce Alan Coe Bunce (June 28, 1900 – April 27, 1965) was an American radio and television actor. Bunce was best remembered for playing the role of Albert Arbuckle alongside Peg Lynch on the sitcom ''Ethel and Albert'' from 1944-50 on radio and ...

as Bernard Norton *

Emily Fitzroy Emily Fitzroy (24 May 1860 – 3 March 1954) was an English theatre and film actress who eventually became an American citizen. She was at one time a leading lady in London for Sir Charles Wyndham. She made her film debut in 1915. Her debut i ...

as Mrs. Oberlander (cast list as per AFI database)

Reception

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 ...

'', in its review of the film, gave it mostly lukewarm and negative reviews. The critic commented negatively on the performances of the two leads, going so far to characterize Lake's performance by stating his "... adolescent appearance makes him ideal for the part but whose apparent ignorance of what is good acting is appalling." while calling the acting of some of the supporting cast adequate, and was also less than thrilled with the direction of the piece

Notes

The Broadway play on which this film was based, ''Tommy'', was directed by the playwrights, and ran from January through August 1927 at the Gaiety Theatre. It was revived for a short run in August 1933 at the

Forrest Theatre The Forrest Theatre is a live theatre venue at 1114 Walnut Street Center City area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has a seating capacity of 1,851 and is managed by The Shubert Organization.

, which is now known as the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The tagline for the film was "Youth whoops it up in the rumble seat!"

References

External links

* * *{{allmovie, 109833, Synopsis American romantic comedy films 1930 romantic comedy films American films based on plays American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Melville W. Brown 1930 films 1930s American films