The Nitwits (1935)A would-be songwriter and a would-be inventor run a cigar stand and get mixed up in the murder of a song publisher. Director:George Stevens |
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Title: The Nitwits (1935)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
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Bert Wheeler | ... |
Johnny
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Robert Woolsey | ... |
Newton
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Fred Keating | ... |
William Darrell
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| Betty Grable | ... |
Mary Roberts
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| Evelyn Brent | ... |
Alice Lake
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Erik Rhodes | ... |
George Clark
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Hale Hamilton | ... |
Winfield Lake
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Charles C. Wilson | ... |
Capt. Jennings
(as Charles Wilson)
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Arthur Aylesworth | ... |
Lurch
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Willie Best | ... |
Sleepy
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Lew Kelly | ... |
J. Gabriel Hazel
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Johnnie is a would-be songwriter; Newton is a would-be inventor. Both work at a cigar stand in the lobby of an office building. Johnnie wants to sell a song to Winfield Lake, a song publisher and the owner of the building. Lake's secretary, Mary, is Johnnie's sweetheart. When Lake turns up dead, circumstances conspire to make Mary and Newton think that Johnnie is the killer. They conspire again to implicate Mary, who goes to jail. But who really shot Lake? Who is the Black Widow, the blackmailer who had threatened him? The other characters in this wacky murder mystery are: Lake's suspicious wife, a self-satisfied private detective, a seemingly slow-witted janitor, Lake's auditor, a songwriter who thinks Lake is stealing from him and another who thinks everyone is stealing from him. It's up to Newton and his truth machine to reveal the real killer. Written by J. Spurlin
Genres:
ComedyCertificate:
ApprovedParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
7 June 1935 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
La viuda negra See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Victor System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Male Singer: [singing] I'm not the same at all, / And I can blame it all; / I thought that love was a lark. / There's something strange in me, / The sudden change in me; / I walk around in the dark. / Suddenly I found a star. / You've opened my eyes. / You made me see the light, / The beauty of the night. / You've opened my eyes. / You taught me to see / The sunny side of things. / The heart within me sings. / You brought this to me.
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(uncredited)
Composer unknown
Sung by Robert Woolsey
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Did You Know?
Trivia
This movie and eight others released in a DVD collection entitled "Wheeler & Woolsey: RKO Comedy Classics Collection in March 2013 by Warner Archive. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Male Singer: [singing] I'm not the same at all, / And I can blame it all; / I thought that love was a lark. / There's something strange in me, / The sudden change in me; / I walk around in the dark. / Suddenly I found a star. / You've opened my eyes. / You made me see the light, / The beauty of the night. / You've opened my eyes. / You taught me to see / The sunny side of things. / The heart within me sings. / You brought this to me.
See more »
Soundtracks
"The Black Widow's Gonna Getcha If You Don't Watch Out"(uncredited)
Composer unknown
Sung by Robert Woolsey
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The Nitwits puts Wheeler and Woolsey into a murder mystery and as you can imagine, they manage to cause havoc as usual. Betty Grable is on hand as Bert's love interest but she doesn't do much beyond one number they sing together early on. Most of the film is took up with daft murder and chase stuff, one or two set pieces working really well but the film isn't as snappy and fun as some of their earlier work.
The director, George Stevens, went on to direct the likes of A Place in the Sun and Woman of the Year, but this early effort shows what he was up to in the first 15 years of his long career.