''Smartest Girl in Town'' is a 1936 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 o ...

directed by

Joseph Santley Joseph Mansfield Santley (born Joseph Ishmael Mansfield, January 10, 1890 – August 8, 1971) was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatrical plays motion pictures and television shows. He adopte ...

, written by Viola Brothers Shore, and starring Gene Raymond,

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

Helen Broderick Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick. Career Broderick began on Broadway as a chorus girl in the ''Follies of 1907'', the first ...

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

, Erik Rhodes and Harry Jans. It was released on November 27, 1936, by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

Plot

Model "Cookie" Cooke (

) is urged by her unsatisfactorily married practical older sister Gwen (

) to find a wealthy husband. On a modeling assignment she runs into millionaire Dick Smith ( Gene Raymond), but assumes him to be a low-earning male model. Dick falls in love with her, but she insists on dating eccentrically mannered Italian aristocrat Baron Enrico ( Erik Rhodes). Dick installs another mannered character, his valet Philbean (

) in the position of a casting agency president who would then pair Cookie on the same pre-arranged modeling jobs with Dick. Ultimately, Baron Enrico, who is so obsessed with birds that he cannot concentrate on romance long enough to propose, is goaded by Gwen into presenting Cookie with an engagement ring. Forced to act fast, Dick pretends to have attempted suicide by a gunshot to the head and asks Cookie to marry him on his deathbed, but she tastes the "ketchup blood" on his face and then embraces him.

Cast

* Gene Raymond as Richard Stuyvesant "Dick" Smith *

as Frances "Cookie" Cooke *

as Mrs. Gwen Mayen, Cookie's sister *

as Lucius Philbean, Dick's valet * Erik Rhodes as Baron Enrico Torene *Harry Jans as Terry, Gwen's perennially-unemployed estranged husband

Casting notes

was also the studio which produced the

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

series of films, thus ''Smartest Girl's'' comic supporting players,

and Erik Rhodes, all had prominent roles in the previous year's Astaire-Rogers hit, ''

Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditional ...

''. Furthermore, two months before ''Smartest Girl's'' release, Blore and Broderick were seen in the dancing duo's very successful 1936 effort, '' Swing Time'' and, the previous year, had been in another RKO musical comedy, '' To Beat the Band''. As for Blore and Rhodes, both had earlier appeared in the first Astaire-Rogers vehicle, 1934's ''

The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes. The screenplay was written by ...

'' and also interacted as comedy relief in two other RKOs, the 1935 musical ''

Old Man Rhythm ''Old Man Rhythm'' is a 1935 American musical film directed by Edward Ludwig from a screenplay by Sig Herzig and Ernest Pagano, based on a story by Herzig, Lewis Gensler, and Don Hartman. The musical director was Roy Webb, with music composed ...

'' and the 1936 murder mystery ''

Two in the Dark ''Two in the Dark'' is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Walter Abel, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Gail Patrick, and Alan Hale. The screenplay concerns an amnesiac suspected of murder. In 1945, Stoloff ...

''. One additional Astaire-Rogers title for RKO, the pair's initial teaming as supporting players in 1933's ''

Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code RKO musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing and the leading roles. Among the ...

'', starred Gene Raymond (with leading lady

Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...

) and included Eric Blore as the typically mannered assistant hotel manager, Mr. Butterbass. Blore also supported Raymond in two other films, the 1934 Paramount drama ''

Behold My Wife! Behold is an American brand of furniture polish produced by Nakoma Products, LLC. Behold furniture polish and Endust dusting aid were previously produced by Sara Lee. When Drackett was sold to S. C. Johnson & Son in 1992, these two products, End ...

'' (minor role as Benson, the butler) and the 1935 RKO mystery-comedy ''

Seven Keys to Baldpate Seven Keys to Baldpate may refer to: * '' Seven Keys to Baldpate'', a novel by Earl Derr Biggers * ''Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (play), a 1913 play by George M. Cohan based on the novel * ''Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (1916 film), a 1916 Australian si ...

'' (third-billed, after co-star Margaret Callahan, in the key role of Harrison who masqueraded as Professor Bolton). The same year, Blore sported a

French accent Varieties of the French language are spoken in France and around the world. The Francophones of France generally use Metropolitan French (spoken in Paris and considered standard) although some also use regional dialects or varieties such as ...

playing a major, fourth-billed role, in the musical comedy '' Folies Bergère de Paris'', with top-tier stars

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...

, Merle Oberon and ''Smartest Girls Ann Sothern. The last of the five 1935–37 RKO vehicles for Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern was '' She's Got Everything'', with third-billed

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

and fourth-billed

. In addition to the two films with Raymond and Sothern, Broderick also supported Raymond in three other RKO romantic comedies, 1936's ''

Love on a Bet ''Love on a Bet'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Leigh Jason using a screenplay by P. J. Wolfson and Philip G. Epstein, based on a story by Kenneth Earl. The film stars Gene Raymond, Wendy Barrie, and Helen Broderick, and ...

'' (third-billed, after co-star

Wendy Barrie Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress. Early life Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC ...

) and ''

The Bride Walks Out ''The Bride Walks Out'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Raymond, and Robert Young. Based on an original story by Howard Emmett Rogers, the film is about a woman forced to gi ...

'' (fifth-billed, after the other two leads,

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

and Robert Young and supporting player

Ned Sparks Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. He was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery. Life and career ...

) as well as 1937's '' The Life of the Party'', a Joe Penner vehicle, with Raymond as co-star and, for comedy support,

Parkyakarkus Harry Einstein (May 6, 1904 – November 24, 1958), known professionally as Harry Parke and other pseudonyms, most commonly Parkyakarkus, was an American comedian, writer, and character actor. A specialist in Greek dialect comedy, he became famo ...

Harriet Hilliard Harriet Nelson (formerly Hilliard; born Peggy Lou Snyder; July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Nelson is best known for her role on the sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. Early life and career Ne ...

and Broderick. It was the third of six RKO films in which was teamed with Victor Moore. In addition to the Astaire-Rogers '' Swing Time'' and the Raymond-Sothern '' She's Got Everything'', they were given two 1937

B-picture A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

starring vehicles, ''

We're on the Jury ''We're on the Jury'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Ben Holmes and starring Victor Moore and Helen Broderick Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress known for her comic roles, especia ...

'' and '' Meet the Missus'', as well as roles among the numerous players in the following year's Bob "Bazooka" Burns–

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (194 ...

- Kenny Baker musical comedy, ''

Radio City Revels ''Radio City Revels'' is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Bob Burns, Jack Oakie and Ann Miller. The film's sets were designed by the art director Van Nest Polglase. Although set in New York City, sp ...

''.

References

External links

* * * *
''Smartest Girl in Town''
at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' (1987 write-up was originally published in ''The Motion Picture Guide'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Smartest Girl in Town, The 1936 films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Joseph Santley 1936 comedy films American comedy films Films scored by Nathaniel Shilkret 1930s American films