''White Tie and Tails'' is a 1946 American

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by Charles Barton and starring

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and second ...

Ella Raines Ella Wallace Raines (August 6, 1920 – May 30, 1988) was an American film and television actress. Early life Raines was born Ella Wallace Raines on August 6, 1920, in Fall City, Washington. She studied drama at the University of Washingto ...

William Bendix William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...

, and

Frank Jenks Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films. Biography Early years Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...

. The film tagline is "Clothes Don't Make the Man ... a Gentleman!" The film is based on Rufus King's serial novel ''Double Murder'' published in '' Red Book Magazine'' and on Charles Beakon's play ''Dangerously Yours''.

Plot

In New York City, a head butler (

) of a wealthy house of the Latimers stays to look after the mansion while the owners' family leaves for a vacation in Florida. However, he is going to have his own vacation there in the mansion, playing a rich man. He meets a beautiful woman (

) and promises her to bail out her sister's large gambling debts owed to a ruthless gangster (

). However, the butler soon finds himself in trouble as the gangster later reveals that the debts may be up to $100,000 and that he needs a pair of valuable paintings from the Latimers' house as a collateral for the butler's check.

Cast

as Charles Dumont *

as Louise Bradford *

as Larry Lundie *

as George *

Richard Gaines Richard Houston Gaines (July 23, 1904 – July 20, 1975) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 film and television productions between 1940 and 1962. Early years Gaines was born in Indian Territory and grew up in Texas, learning "to h ...

as Archer *

Donald Curtis Donald Curtis (born Curtis D. Rudolf; February 27, 1915 – May 22, 1997) was an American actor who had roles in dozens of films and television series. Biography Curtis was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl W. Rudol ...

as Nate Romero *

Clarence Kolb Clarence William Kolb (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect. Biography Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kol ...

as Mr. Arkwright * Barbara Brown as Mrs. Latimer *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Mr. Latimer *

Samuel S. Hinds Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875 – October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films until his death. Early years Hinds was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

as Mr. Bradford *Nita Hunter as Betty Latimer *

Scotty Beckett Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, Califo ...

as Bill Latimer * William Trenk as Emil *Patricia Alphin as Cynthia Bradford *

Joan Shawlee Joan Shawlee (March 5, 1926 – March 22, 1987), nee Joan Fulton (and also credited sometimes under that name, such as in the film noir, Woman On The Run, 1950), was an American film and television actress. She is known for her recurring role i ...

as Virgie (as Joan Fulton)

Production

The film was produced by Howard Benedict for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

and filmed at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Universal City, California Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (1.7 km) within and around the surrounding area is the property of Universal Pictur ...

. The film was originally intended to be directed by William Seitner. The story was written by Charles Beakon (author of the play) and Rufus King (author of the novel).

Distribution

The film was released by Universal Pictures under the title ''White Tie and Tails'' in the United States on August 30, 1946. The film was also re-released under the title ''The Swindlers''.

Other distributions

*Sweden on January 27, 1947 (En skojare i frack) *Finland on February 13, 1948 (Hovimestari järjestää kaiken) *Portugal on May 27, 1949 (Cavalheiro Por Uma Noite) *Brazil (Cavalheiro por uma Noite) *Italy (Frac e cravatta bianca)

References

External links

* * * {{Charles Barton 1946 films 1946 comedy-drama films 1940s English-language films American comedy-drama films Universal Pictures films Films directed by Charles Barton 1940s American films Films based on American novels Films set in New York City