''Take the Heir'' is a 1930 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

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

and starring

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

Dorothy Devore Dorothy Devore (born Alma Inez Williams; June 22, 1899 – September 10, 1976) was an American silent film actress and comedian. Early life Born as Alma Inez Williams in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 22, 1899, her family soon moved to Los Angele ...

and

Edythe Chapman Edythe Chapman (October 8, 1863 – October 15, 1948) was an American stage and silent film actress. Career Born in Rochester, New York, Chapman began her stage career as early as 1898 when she appeared in New York City in ''The Charity Bal ...

.Pitts p.62 It was produced during the transition to

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

and a separate silent version was also released.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

took place around

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 ...

. A review in the ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founded ...

'' considered the film "very, very weak" and a waste of Everett Horton's talents.

Synopsis

An English

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

Lord Tweedham inherits property in the United States. However, when he arrives he is in such a drunken state that his

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

Smithers is forced to impersonate him. At the house of the

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

Smithers falls in love with Susan the

maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

while being pursued by his daughter Muriel under the impression that he is Tweedham.

Cast

as Smithers *

as Susan * Frank Elliott as Lord Tweedham *

as Lady Tweedham *

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 John Walker *

Kay Deslys Kay Deslys (28 September 1899, in London – 15 August 1974 in West Covina, California) was an English comedy actress, based in the United States from the 1920s on. Born as Kathleen Herbert in London, one of her earliest roles was in Charlie Cha ...

as Muriel Walker *

Margaret Campbell Margaret Campbell (April 24, 1883 – June 27, 1939) was an American character actress in silent films. In her later years she was the secretary of the Baháʼí Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles. Career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell ...

as Mrs. Smythe-Bellingham

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* 1930 films 1930 comedy films 1930s English-language films American comedy films Films directed by Lloyd Ingraham American black-and-white films 1930s American films {{1930s-US-film-stub