Doughboys (1930)

Elmer, rich society loafer, falls for Mary, but she'll have nothing to do with him until (mistakenly thinking that he's hiring a new chauffeur) he accidentally volunteers for the army. ... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Sedgwick

Writers:

Al Boasberg (story), Sidney Lazarus (story),

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Sally Eilers, Cliff Edwards

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	Elmer
Sally Eilers	...	Mary
Cliff Edwards	...	Nescopeck
Edward Brophy	...	Sgt. Brophy
Victor Potel	...	Svendenburg
Arnold Korff	...	Gustave
Frank Mayo	...	Capt. Scott
Pitzy Katz	...	Abie Cohn
William Steele	...	Lt. . Randolph

Storyline

Elmer, rich society loafer, falls for Mary, but she'll have nothing to do with him until (mistakenly thinking that he's hiring a new chauffeur) he accidentally volunteers for the army. Luckily, Mary's signed up to entertain the troops. Unluckily, Elmer's sergeant likes Mary, too. And worst of all, they're all about to ship out for France.

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Plot Keywords:

army | ukulele | world war one | enlistment | airplane | 

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

30 August 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big Shot

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min 79 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Alternate-language version of De frente, marchen (1930)

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Soundtracks

"Assembly"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played by a bugler

User Reviews

Strange misfire from Keaton

This film seems like no one was sure of what to do now that they had to include sound. Keaton shares a number of scenes with Cliff Richards, an odd talent who most reminds me of Charlie McCarthy. Much of the dialog is spoken by the drill Sergent as he screams at Keaton. Keaton's gags are reduced to the sort that would have been throw-aways in his silent films. Many of the pratfalls are forced as you can see Keaton set himself up for another mishap. The entire cast seems unrehearsed. Some of the film is so oddly edited that I wonder if the print we have now was chopped up after the initial release. Compare this film with "Spite Marriage" from a year before and you'll wonder too how the same crew could have made both films. Not recommendable.