If You Could Only Cook (1935)

An executive lets an attractive cook talk him into taking a job as butler.

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

F. Hugh Herbert (story), Howard J. Green (screenplay),

Stars:

Herbert Marshall, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Herbert Marshall	...	Jim Buchanan
Jean Arthur	...	Joan Hawthorne
Leo Carrillo	...	Mike Rossini
Lionel Stander	...	Flash
Alan Edwards	...	Bob Reynolds
Frieda Inescort	...	Evelyn Fletcher
Gene Morgan	...	Al
Ralf Harolde	...	Swig
Matt McHugh	...	Pete
Richard Powell	...	Chesty

Storyline

Auto magnate James Buchanan has a fiancée who doesn't love him and a board of directors who won't listen to him. Brooding on a park bench, he meets unemployed Joan Hawthorne, a fine cook who needs a partner to apply for a 'couple' butler/cook job with gourmet ex-bootlegger Mike Rossini. Bemused, Buchanan goes along with the gag, taking lessons from his own butler. But there's sure to be a day of reckoning...

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Plot Keywords:

butler | cook | park | wedding rehearsal | screwball | 

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Taglines:

SHE GAVE UP HER PARK BENCH FOR HIM! HE GAVE UP MILLIONS FOR HER! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 December 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kan du lave mad?

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 22, 1945 with Lionel Stander reprising his film role.

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Quotes

Jim Buchanan: Do you think I'm out of my mind?
Jennings: I'm hoping for the best sir!

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Connections

Featured in The Lady with the Torch (1999)

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Soundtracks

"The Wedding March"
(1843) (uncredited)
from "A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.61"
Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Played on piano at the wedding rehearsal

User Reviews

Charming B&W comedy with WiseGuys

The Austin Film Society showed this entertaining old film last week on election night. The receptive audience found laughs in many lines that still seem current, especially about unemployment, the want ads and being broke.

Jean Arthur looked lovely in this movie, and Herbert Marshall was perfect. What a wonderful voice that man had! My husband thinks that his walk may have inspired C3PO's formal motions, although the robot had a metal leg, not a wooden one like Mr. Marshall's.

Lionel Stander was already in full bellow, many decades before 'Hart to Hart', and Leo Carillo was a treat as the gangster employer. It was a surprise to hear them use the term 'wise guy' for a prospective member

• I didn't realize it was already being used back then.