''The Hot Heiress'' is a 1931 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 ...

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

Clarence G. Badger Clarence G. Badger (June 9, 1880 – June 17, 1964) was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include ''It (1927 film), It'' and ''Red Hair (film), Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts st ...

and written by

Herbert Fields Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897March 24, 1958) was an American librettist and screenwriter. Biography Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage director, stage direction before turning to ...

, with three songs by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

. The film stars

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

Ona Munson Ona Munson (born Owena Elizabeth Wolcott; June 16, 1903 – February 11, 1955) was an American film and stage actress. She starred in nine Broadway productions and 20 feature films in her career, which spanned over 30 years. Born and raised in ...

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

, Tom Dugan,

Holmes Herbert Holmes Herbert (born Horace Edward Jenner; 30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman. Early life Born Horace Edward Jenner, (some sou ...

and

Inez Courtney Inez Courtney (October 12, 1897 – April 5, 1975) was an American actress on the Broadway stage and in films. Early years Born in Amsterdam, New York, Courtney came from a large Irish-American family. After her father's death when she was fif ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on March 28, 1931.

Plot

Hap Harrigan is a construction worker who spots socialite Juliette through a window of the building next door and is instantly smitten. She falls for him as well and they begin a romance. But since her family wouldn't approve, she tells them he's actually an architect. Things get sticky when the man she broke up with plans to sabotage their impending engagement.

Cast

as 'Hap' Harrigan *

as Juliette *

as Clay * Tom Dugan as Bill Dugan *

as Mr. Hunter *

as Margie *

Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she ...

as Lola *

Nella Walker Nella Walker (March 6, 1886 – March 22, 1971) was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walker, she was born and raised in Chicago. In 1910, she marrie ...

as Mrs. Hunter

Reception

Mordaunt Hall of ''

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 ...

'' said, "Under the rather self-consciously moviesque title of ''The Hot Heiress'', the team of Fields, Rodgers and Hart offer at the Strand a musical comedy romance of poverty and riches. The story is too fragile and stale even for the films, whatever Mr. Fields may have read about screen stories, but the comedy is bright and the tunes are in the gay and lilting Rodgers and Hart manner."

Preservation status

* A copy resides in the Library of Congress collection.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'' (<-book title) p.83 c.1978 by The American Film Institute On April 4, 2018,

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released it as a Region 1 made-on-demand DVD. It also airs occasionally on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

References

External links

* * * * 1931 films 1930s English-language films Warner Bros. films American comedy films 1931 comedy films Films directed by Clarence G. Badger American black-and-white films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub