Safety in Numbers (1930)

A songwriter hires three chorus girls to show him the "underside" of big-city life.

Director:

Victor Schertzinger

Writers:

Marion Dix (story), George Marion Jr. (screenplay),

Stars:

Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Kathryn Crawford, Josephine Dunn

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles 'Buddy' Rogers	...	William Butler Reynolds
Kathryn Crawford	...	Jacqueline
Josephine Dunn	...	Maxine
Carole Lombard	...	Pauline
Roscoe Karns	...	Bertram Shapiro
Richard Tucker	...	F. Carstair Reynolds
Francis McDonald	...	Phil Kemptom
Raoul Paoli	...	Jules
Virginia Bruce	...	Alma McGregor
Geneva Mitchell	...	Cleo Carewe
Louise Beavers	...	Messalina

Storyline

William Butler Reynolds is slated to inherit ten-million dollars on his 21st birthday, but his worldly uncle, F. Carstairs Reynolds, thinks the lad could use a bit of seasoning before that happens. He sends him to New York City with the purpose of the trip to acquaint him with the pitfalls and wicked ways of the big city, especially for young millionaires. The uncle, who believes there is safety in numbers, also assigns, and pays well, three Follies girls,Jacqueline, Maxine and Pauline, to oversee the lad's tutoring. In the interest of ensuring the boy is well-tutored, Alma McGRegor and Cleo Carewe volunteer their services. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that many experienced tutors on the job.

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Plot Keywords:

tutor | millionaire | new york city | police officer | archive footage | 

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Taglines:

Our Boy Friend on Broadway seeking romance and adventures in the big city! (original ad)

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1930 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Goofs

Though the story is set in New York, the scenes in a dance montage include Los Angeles city hall.

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Soundtracks

"The Pick-Up"
by Richard A. Whiting and George Marion Jr.
Sung by Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Kathryn Crawford, Louise Beavers and Chorus

User Reviews

Bad

Bill (Buddy Rogers) is sent to New York by his uncle (Richard Tucker) to experience life before he inherits $25million. His uncle has paid 3 women Jacqui (Kathryn Crawford), Maxine (Josephine Dunn) and Pauline (Carole Lombard) to chaperone him and ensure that he does not fall foul of gold-diggers. One such lady Cleo (Geneva Mitchell) turns up on the scene to the disapprovement of the women. We follow the tale as the girls are offered more money to appear in a show instead of their escorting role that they have agreed to carry out for the 3 months that Bill is in New York, while Bill meets with Cleo and another woman. At the end, love is in the air for Bill and one other .............

The picture quality and sound quality are poor in this film. The story is interspersed with musical numbers but the songs are bad and Kathryn Crawford has a terrible voice. Rogers isn't that good either. He's pleasant enough but only really comes to life when playing the drums or trombone. There is a very irritating character who plays a cab driver (Roscoe Karns) and the film is just dull.