''Step Lively, Jeeves!'' is a 1937 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Eugene Forde Eugene Forde (1898–1986) was an American film director. Selected filmography * '' Daredevil's Reward'' (1928) * '' Painted Post'' (1928) * '' Son of the Golden West'' (1928) * '' Charlie Chan's Courage'' (1934) * '' Charlie Chan in London'' ( ...

, written by Frank Fenton and Lynn Root, and starring

Arthur Treacher Arthur Veary Treacher, Jr. ( ; 23 July 1894 – 14 December 1975) was an English film and stage actor active from the 1920s to the 1960s, and known for playing English types, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P. G. Wodehouse ...

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...

alongside

Patricia Ellis Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; May 20, 1918 – March 26, 1970) was an American film actress from 1932 to 1939, who then had a brief singing career until 1941. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, in 1918 (although she gave he ...

, Robert Kent,

Alan Dinehart Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager. Biography Dinehart initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. ...

George Givot George David Givot (February 18, 1903 – June 7, 1984) was a Russian-born American comedian and actor on Broadway and in vaudeville, movies, television and radio. He was known for speaking in a comedic fake Greek dialect and was styled the "Gr ...

and Helen Flint. The film was released on April 1, 1937, by

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Com ...

. The character of Jeeves' master,

Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intellige ...

, does not appear. The film is not based on any Jeeves story, and portrays Jeeves as a naive bumbler (which is not how he is portrayed by Wodehouse in the novels and short stories about him).

Plot

Two swindlers con Jeeves (portrayed by

), claiming that he's the descendant of

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

, and has a fortune waiting for him in America. Arriving in New York, Jeeves gets mixed up with gangsters.

Cast

as Jeeves *

as Patricia Westley * Robert Kent as Gerry Townsend *

as Hon. Cedric B. Cromwell *

as Prince Boris Caminov *

Helen Flint Helen Flint (June 14, 1898Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 247. – September 9, 1967) was an American actress. Early life and caree ...

as Babe *John Harrington as Barney Ross * George Cooper as Slug *

Arthur Housman Arthur Housman (October 10, 1889 – April 8, 1942) was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Career Arthur Housman was one of the first screen comedians known to the public by name, and on ...

as Max *

Max Wagner Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 ...

as Joey *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Inter ...

as Gaston *

Phyllis Barry Phyllis Barry (born Gertrude Phyllis Hillyard; December 7, 1908 – July 1, 1954) was an English film actress. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Seth Henry and Bertha (née Giles) Hillyard, Barry appeared in over 40 films ...

as Mrs. Tremaine *

George Cowl George Cowl (1878–1942) was a British film actor active in the United States.Solomon p.300 He also directed four films during the silent era. Selected filmography * '' Dan'' (1914) * '' The Rack'' (1916) * '' The Closed Road'' (1916) * '' The ...

as Inspector

References

External links

* 1937 films 1930s English-language films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films 1937 comedy films Films based on works by P. G. Wodehouse Films directed by Eugene Forde American black-and-white films Films scored by Samuel Kaylin 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub