Anything Goes (1936)

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Guy Bolton (play)
Russel Crouse
(more)

Release Date:

24 January 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

An Explosion of Merriment

Plot:

A young man falls in love with a beautiful blonde. When he sees her being forced onto a luxury liner...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Ship | Mistaken Identity | Based On Play

Cast

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Adair	...	Federal Man (uncredited)
Philip Ahn	...	Ling (uncredited)
Sam Ash	...	Steward (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
Frank Baker	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
Bonita Barker	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
George Beranger	...	Gaylord (uncredited)
Eddie Borden	...	Steward (uncredited)
Myrla Bratton	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Don Brookins	...	Member of The Avalon Boys (uncredited)
Jane Buckingham	...	Dress Woman (uncredited)
John Carradine	...	Ballet Master (uncredited)
Monte Carter	...	Photographer (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins	...	Purser (uncredited)
Monte Collins	...	Deck Steward (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George Cooper	...	Steward (uncredited)
J. Gunnis Davis	...	Still Cameraman (uncredited)
Mary Dees	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Billy Dooley	...	Ship's Photographer (uncredited)
Ben Erway	...	Plumber (uncredited)
Claudia Fargo	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Neil Fitzgerald	...	Sound Man (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Woman on Deck (uncredited)
Kay Gordon	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Art Green	...	Member of The Avalon Boys (uncredited)
Geneva Hall	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Dolly Jarvis	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Lotus Liu	...	Chinese Dancer (uncredited)
Keye Luke	...	Ching (uncredited)
Jack Mulhall	...	Purser (uncredited)
Jack Norton	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Party Boy with Reno (uncredited)
Franklin Parker	...	Reporter (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Sound Truck Driver (uncredited)
Oscar Rudolph	...	Page Boy (uncredited)
Fred Santley	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Bearded Man (uncredited)
Gwynne Shipman	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Louise Stanley	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Madeline Talcott	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Phil Tead	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Walter Trask	...	Member of The Avalon Boys (uncredited)
Laura Treadwell	...	Middle-Aged Woman (uncredited)
Guy Usher	...	Federal Man (uncredited)
Dorothy Ward	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Chill Wills	...	Member of The Avalon Boys (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Plug Ugly (uncredited)
Betty Woods	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Jane Wyman	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Tammany Young	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Milestone

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Guy Bolton		play
Russel Crouse
Howard Lindsay
P.G. Wodehouse		play

Produced by
Benjamin Glazer	....	producer

Original Music by
Phil Boutelje		(uncredited)
Friedrich Hollaender		(uncredited)
John Leipold		(uncredited)
Victor Young		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Karl Struss

Film Editing by
Eda Warren

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier
Ernst Fegté

Set Decoration by
A.E. Freudeman

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	special photographic effects
Gordon Jennings	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Music Department
Victor Young	....	musical director

Other crew
Eugene Joseff	....	jeweller (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

"Tops Is the Limit" - USA (TV title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Ethel Merman later starred in a TV production of "Anything Goes" with Frank Sinatra and Bert Lahr telecast live on Feb. 28, 1954: "The Colgate Comedy Hour: Anything Goes (#4.22)" (1954).

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]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story (#5.4)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Anything Goes

This movie doesn't have anything going for it ....except Ida Lupino and Charlie Ruggles!!!

In New York, 1936 Cole Porter was the toast of the town...in Hollywood he was just another songwriter. When RKO turned his "The Gay Divorce" into "The Gay Divorcée", "Night and Day" was the only original song kept in the film, but Fred and Ginger were given "The Continental" and "A Needle in a Haystack" to make into standards. "Anything Goes" unfortunately didn't have such luck. It was Cole Porter at his best but censorship was always going to be a problem in bringing his risqué songs to the screen. While the censors relented about the plot, an on the run gangster, Moon Face Martin, Public Enemy 13 disguising himself as a priest, the songs were scrupulously cleansed of any references to cocaine, burlesque dancers and "Holy Moses". The main songs left out were "All Through the Night", "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" and "Anything Goes" (amazingly!!) in which Ethel Merman sang a couple of lines over the opening credits.

She soon appears on a swing singing a very cleaned up version of "I Get a Kick Out of You" then confusion sets in. This is not Bing Crosby's finest moment. Charlie Ruggles is a riot as Moon Face Martin, Public Enemy No. 13 (although having seen Victor Moore in a couple of films I can imagine how funny he would have been). Crosby is mistaken for Snake Eyes Johnson, a fellow gangster - he has followed Hope Harcourt (luminous Ida Lupino) on to a liner, thinking she is being harassed by gangsters, but in reality her father has hired private investigators. There is a scene were Reno Sweeney (Merman) and Arthur Treacher start a conversation with "you do something to me" (from Porter's "50 Million Frenchmen" (1929)) - perhaps it was to convince the audience that this movie was based on a Cole Porter musical and they were in the right movie house!!! Mostly the film is filled with lack lustre, forgettable songs although "You're the Top" is sang with verve by Crosby and Merman. The finale "Shanghi De Ho" is a lavish number that looks as though it is filmed in a theatre and not on the docks as it is supposed to be. The film, to me, seemed to have a cheap look about it!!!