Blessed Event (1932)

Al Roberts writes a gossip column for the Daily Express. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets into a little difficulty with a hood named Goebel who... See full summary »

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Howard J. Green (screen play), Forrest Wilson (based on the play: "Blessed Event" by),

Stars:

Lee Tracy, Mary Brian, Dick Powell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lee Tracy	...	Alvin Roberts
Mary Brian	...	Gladys Price
Dick Powell	...	Bunny Harmon
Allen Jenkins	...	Frankie Wells
Ruth Donnelly	...	Miss Stevens
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Roberts
Edwin Maxwell	...	Sam Gobel
Ned Sparks	...	George Moxley
Walter Walker	...	Mr. Miller
Frank McHugh	...	Reilly

Storyline

Al Roberts writes a gossip column for the Daily Express. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets into a little difficulty with a hood named Goebel who sends Frankie to talk to Alvin. But Al has the confession of Frankie on cylinders so Frankie becomes his own bodyguard and information line. One person Al is always taking digs at is crooner Bunny Harmon, because he hates crooners. When he writes a story about Dorothy's blessed event, he comes to regret destroying her life. But more importantly to Al and Frankie, her man may end 'Spilling the Dirt' permanently.

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Plot Keywords:

confession | attempted murder | newspaper | singer | dictaphone | 

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Taglines:

Here it is! The scandalous comedy of a scandal columnist who rose FROM A KEYHOLE TO A NATIONAL INSTITUTION

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grata compañía

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Vitaphone Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway show starred Roger Pryor as Alvin Roberts. In the film version, Isabel Jewell (in her film debut as Dorothy Lane), Allen Jenkins (as Frankie Wells) and Milton Wallace (as Joe Moskowitz) all recreated the roles they created on the stage.

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Connections

Referenced in Week-End Marriage (1932)

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Soundtracks

"Shapiro Shoes"
(1932) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Copyright 1932 by M. Witmark & Sons
Sung by Dick Powell

User Reviews

Just About Perfect

This isn't the first time I've raved about Roy del Ruth's Warners work prior to the emergence of the Hays Office, but it needs to be restated: few directors had as sure a hand with fast-paced, cynical comedy as Del Ruth. And, when teamed with the equally forgotten (and equally inspired) comedian Lee Tracy, what results is one of the best comedies of the 30s, as funny and audacious today as then. Tracy (who came West to Hollywood after originating the Hildy Johnson role in THE FRONT PAGE on Broadway) was the wisecrack-slinger all others are measured against; here he's so good, so inspired at mixing verbal and physical comedy, you'll be wondering how it's possible his career didn't soar for 25 years. (Besides his heavy drinking, which couldn't have helped him, he earned the wrath of Louis B Mayer during the shooting of VIVA VILLA by urinating on the Mexican army from his hotel balcony, effectively ending his career as a leading man. Or so the legend has it.) This is probably his best film, playing a Winchell-like columnist named Alvin Roberts, and Tracy plays him with such cheerful unscrupulousness you might almost forgot what a rat the real Winchell was. But this is pre-Code Warners, where even an unprincipled cur could be a hero so long as he scraped bottom with zest and pluck; don't be surprised at the many one-liners and situations that would become taboo in three years time: abortions, adultery, homosexuality and ethnicity are all fair game for BLESSED EVENT's satirical arrows, and only an insufferable prude would stifle his laughter. Not until Preston Sturges played chicken with the Hays Office in the early 40s would such darkly funny farce be allowed on the screen again. Keep an eye out for this one and prepare to become a Lee Tracy fan for life. As usual, Del Ruth's direction is dead on the money, while never calling attention to itself.