Anything Goes (1936)

A young man falls in love with a beautiful blonde. When he sees her being forced onto a luxury liner, he decides to follow and rescue her. However, he discovers that she is an English ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Guy Bolton (play), Russel Crouse,

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charles Ruggles

Cast

Cast overview:
Bing Crosby	...	Billy Crocker
Ethel Merman	...	Reno Sweeney
Charles Ruggles	...	Rev. Dr. Moon
Ida Lupino	...	Hope Harcourt
Grace Bradley	...	Bonnie LeTour
Arthur Treacher	...	Sir Evelyn Oakleigh
Robert McWade	...	Elisha J. Whitney
Richard Carle	...	Bishop Dobson
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Wentworth
Jerry Tucker	...	Junior
Matt Moore	...	Capt. McPhail
Edward Gargan	...	Detective
Matt McHugh	...	Detective
Budd Fine	...	Pug-Ugly
The Avalon Boys	...	Quartet

Storyline

A young man falls in love with a beautiful blonde. When he sees her being forced onto a luxury liner, he decides to follow and rescue her. However, he discovers that she is an English heiress who ran away from home and is now being returned to England. He also discovers that his boss is on the ship. To avoid discovery, he disguises himself as the gangster accomplice of a minister, who is actually a gangster on the run from the law.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | ship | mistaken identity | based on play

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Taglines:

An Explosion of Merriment

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tops Is the Limit

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway stage production of "Anything Goes" opened at the Alvin Theater in New York City on November 21, 1934 starring Ethel Merman and ran for 420 performances.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Reno Sweeney: [singing] In olden days a glimpse of stocking / Was looked on as something shocking, / Now, Heaven knows, / Anything goes!
[as she sings the words "anything goes", the title of the film appears onscreen]

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Connections

Featured in Broadway: The American Musical: I Got Plenty o' Nuttin': 1929-1942 (2004)

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Soundtracks

"My Heart and I"
Music by Friedrich Hollaender
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Bing Crosby

User Reviews

Another mediocre filming of a great stage show

The 1936 "Anything Goes" is another example of Hollywood's mishandling of what could have been a classic film version of a classic Broadway show. All the opportunities were there-Bing Crosby as the male lead, Ethel Merman (who did make her songs famous, even if you can't stand her singing style) repeating her stage role, Charlie Ruggles a perfect and hilarious replacement for Victor Moore, and one of Cole Porter's two greatest scores-the other being "Kiss Me Kate". So what do the filmmakers do?

They throw out all but four of the original songs and turn the film into a Bing Crosby vehicle by getting a group of songwriters to write several new songs especially for him, one of them reportedly at his request. Then, they rewrite the lyrics to "You're the Top" (one of Porter's most clever songs), retain only the first verse of the title song, "Anything Goes", make a minor change (required by the censors of the time) to the lyrics to "I Get A Kick Out Of You", keep the original plot line (notice that the filmmakers considered the ridiculous plot sacred enough to leave alone, but not Cole Porter's songs), and release this flat, unfunny mess. At least Ethel Merman fans get to see her sing two of her biggest hit songs on film.