''Public Wedding'' is a 1937 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

Nick Grinde Nick Grinde (January 12, 1893 – June 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 57 films between 1928 and 1945. Biography Born Harry A. Grinde in Madison, Wisconsin but nicknamed "Nick," Grinde graduated from th ...

and written by Roy Chanslor and Houston Branch. The film stars

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

(in her first starring role),

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor ro ...

Dick Purcell Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing Marvel Comics' Captain America in the 1943 film serial, co-starring with Lorna Gray and Lionel Atwill. Purcell also appeared in fil ...

, Marie Wilson,

Berton Churchill Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Early years Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law a ...

and Archie Robbins. 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. Di ...

on July 10, 1937.

Plot

Pop Lane, his daughter Flip, con men Nick and The Deacon, and wheeler-dealer Joe Taylor are grifters running a failed carnival concession in New York. They scheme to stage a scam public wedding, with Flip as the bride, Nick as the groom, and The Deacon as the judge, but the con men abscond with the gate receipts. Confronted with a restless audience eager for their money's worth, Pop enlists "

starving artist {{Short description, Artist who focuses on their art above even their own well-being A starving artist is an artist who sacrifices material well-being in order to focus on their artwork. They typically live on minimum expenses, either for a lack ...

" Tony Burke as a stand-in. The "wedding" is a great success but to the surprise of all, the "judge" performing the ceremony is a real

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and Flip and Tony find themselves actually married. Flip angrily walks out on Pop, impressing Tony, who takes her to his studio above a stable and suggests that their marriage might be a good idea after all. The penniless Pop and Joe track them down and Tony agrees to put them up for a night. The next morning Pop and Joe try to

hock Hock may refer to: Common meanings: * Hock (wine), a type of wine * Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg * To leave an item with a pawnbroker People: * Hock (surname) * Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer Other uses: * A t ...

Flip's wedding dress but instead hit up

fan dance In the West, a fan dance (i.e., a dance performed with fans) may be an erotic dance performance, traditionally by a woman, but not exclusively. Beyond eroticism it is a form of musical interpretation. The performer, sometimes entirely nude o ...

r Tessie Schultz for a loan after rescuing her from a police raid. The wedding dress gives Joe the idea to promote Tessie as stripper "Lillith Love" by having her pretend to be an

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

c bride who attempted suicide after being left at the altar. In the meantime, Flip tries to peddle Tony's paintings without success because he has no reputation. The publicity about Joe's stunt prompts Flip to get people talking about Tony by foisting him off as the groom who "placed Art before Love." Society matrons clamor for portraits but nothing is happening for Pop, Joe and Tessie. Because Flip took advantage of their set-up, they demand that she cut them in on the profits. When Tony learns about Flip's manipulations, he is furious. But realizing that they love each other, however, he agrees to try the marriage if Flip will let him be the boss. Tony plans to clean his financial success of its "larcenous taint" by endowing a fellowship to send deserving young artists to Europe to learn their craft without financial struggle. He offers Pop and the others a check for $1,000 to get out of town. Pop uses the check as a prop to pretend to raise donations as treasurer of the "Anthony Burke Traveling Fellowship, Ltd.", bilking New York society into donating. Flip discovers the racket just after fake fellowship has withdrawn all its funds from the bank in cash. Tony is arrested for obtaining money on false pretenses, and Flip pursues Pop, Joe and Tessie to the airport. She discovers that the serial numbers of the cash are consecutive. She convinces them the money is hot and to give it to her since they will be arrested if they are caught with it. Before they can leave the airport, though, they are nabbed by the victim of one of their earlier schemes. Flip redeposits the money in an

irrevocable trust A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

to be used for its real purpose, and shows the police the deposit slip to gain Tony's release. Tessie visits Pop in jail with the "wonderful romantic news" that Flip and Tony have sailed to Europe for their honeymoon.

Cast

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

as Flip Lane *

as Tony Burke *

as Joe Taylor * Marie Wilson as Tessie *

as Pop Lane * Archie Robbins as Nick *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as The Deacon *

Veda Ann Borg Veda Ann Borg (January 11, 1915 – August 16, 1973) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Gottfried Borg, a Swedish immigrant, and Minna Noble, Borg became a model in 1936 before winni ...

as Bernice * Zeni Vatori as Gus Papadopoulos * Jimmie Fox as Jeremiah Boggs * Curtis Karpe as Pete * Carlyle Moore, Jr. as Reporter *

Horace McMahon Horace McMahon (May 17, 1906 – August 17, 1971) was an American actor. He was one of Hollywood's favorite heavies. McMahon began his acting career on Broadway, then appeared in many films and television series. In 1962, he received a P ...

as Reporter *

John Harron John Harron (March 31, 1903 – November 24, 1939) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1918 and 1940. Born in New York, New York, he was the brother of actor Robert Harron and of actress Mary Harron. Harron di ...

as Reporter *

Jack Mower Jack Mower (September 5, 1890 – January 6, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 520 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Honolulu and died in Hollywood. After studying at Punahou College, in Honolulu, Mower move ...

as Reporter * Lyle Moraine as Reporter

References

External links

* * * * {{Nick Grinde 1937 films 1930s English-language films Warner Bros. films American comedy films 1937 comedy films Films directed by Nick Grinde American black-and-white films 1930s American films