Search for Beauty (1934)

Three con artists dupe two Olympians into serving as editors of a new health and beauty magazine which is only a front for salacious stories and pictures.

Director:

Erle C. Kenton

Writers:

Claude Binyon, David Boehm (story),

Stars:

Buster Crabbe, Ida Lupino, Robert Armstrong

Cast

Credited cast:
Buster Crabbe	...	Don Jackson (as Larry 'Buster' Crabbe)
Ida Lupino	...	Barbara Hilton
Robert Armstrong	...	Larry Williams
James Gleason	...	Dan Healy
Toby Wing	...	Sally Palmer
Gertrude Michael	...	Jean Strange
Bradley Page	...	Joe Garrett
Frank McGlynn Sr.	...	Rev. Rankin
Nora Cecil	...	Miss Pettigrew
Virginia Hammond	...	Mrs. Archibald Henderson-James
Eddie Gribbon	...	Adolph Knockler
James B. 'Pop' Kenton	...	Caretaker (as 'Pop' Kenton)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roscoe Karns	...	Newspaper Reporter (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Three shady characters - Larry, Jean, and Dan - want to make money legally by resuscitating a fitness magazine with cheesecake and beefcake photos and salacious stories with tacked-on morals. They hire two recent Olympic champions as editors to give legitimacy: Barbara Hilton, an English diver, and Don Jackson, a U.S. swimmer. When Jackson and Hilton object to the magazine's contents, they send him on a worldwide search for beauty, for youthful paragons of fitness. When Barbara and Don want out of the partnership to start their own fitness farm, the trio hatches a plan to bilk the kids. Can Barbara and Don avoid being conned or will a femme fatale undo their partnership?

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Plot Keywords:

magazine | con artist | beefcake | olympics | cheesecake | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 February 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Conquista da Beleza

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 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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Quotes

Dan Healy: [about Don] That guy could fall down a sewer and come up with a bottle of perfume in both hands!

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Connections

References Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)

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Soundtracks

"Stars and Stripes Forever"
(uncredited)
Music by 'John Phillip Sousa (I)'
Played during the climactic callisthenics show

User Reviews

A real treat from pre-Code days

I have to weigh in on this deliciously fun, kitschy movie. Perhaps one needs a historical perspective to appreciate the fun and absurdity of this very game film. The detracting comments have missed the boat. The appreciative comments have laid out the story and gimmicks well. I'd like to add that the big production number, which looks like the concoction of marching band instructor from a military background who saw a Busby Berkeley movie while stoned, has to be seen to be believed. And, yes, the nudity and sexual innuendo seems risqué enough for the time to be very entertaining. Though short on talent, Buster Crabbe is fun to watch, as is a young Ida Lupino who certainly made good from this unpromising start. For me, James Gleason is the treat. Though not nearly as sharp as later performances -- particularly his great drunk scene in MEET JOHN DOE -- it's interesting to see a pro finding his sea-legs on film in 1934. A diamond in the rough!