Country Gentlemen (1936)

After being run out of town after town for trying to sell worthless stock, two con artists breeze into the small town of Chesterville, where they find themselves accused of kidnapping a ... See full summary »

Director:

Ralph Staub

Writers:

Jo Graham (story), Jack Harvey (story),

Stars:

Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Joyce Compton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ole Olsen	...	J.D. McAllister, aka Jerome D. Hamilton
Chic Johnson	...	Charles Watson, aka Charlie 'Chubby' Williams
Joyce Compton	...	Gertie
Lila Lee	...	Mrs. Louise Heath
Pierre Watkin	...	Mr. Grayson
Donald Kirke	...	Mr. Martin
Ray Corrigan	...	Briggs
Sammy McKim	...	Billy Heath
Wade Boteler	...	First Deputy
Ivan Miller	...	Harry, Second Deputy
Olin Howland	...	Lawyer
Frank Sheridan	...	Chief of Police
Harry Harvey	...	Shorty, an Investor
Joe Cunningham	...	Chuck, the Counterman
Prince	...	Fluffy (the Great Dane)

Storyline

After being run out of town after town for trying to sell worthless stock, two con artists breeze into the small town of Chesterville, where they find themselves accused of kidnapping a young boy to whom they offered a ride. When that misunderstanding is cleared up, the two conmen hatch a plot to unload all their worthless paper on the gullible citizens of Chesterville.

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Plot Keywords:

stock | veteran | false arrest | oil well | moral reformation | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1936 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min 53 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Before Chubby leaves the office, he is wearing a single-breasted jacket, but when he goes down to the car, it's a double-breasted jacket and Fluffy tears it up. Later, when the guys stop to eat, Chubby is wearing the single-breasted jacket again.

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Crazy Credits

Olsen and Johnson appear after the opening title, before the full credits, opening and closing a door.

User Reviews

Lesser Olsen and Johnson is still a fun romp

One does not watch an Olsen and Johnson film for the plot, one watches their films for the sheer insanity of the goings on. The jokes are full of puns, both visual and verbal, and very witty interplay that often comes so fast that you have to pause a moment to truly comprehend what you've just seen and heard.(At the top of their form there were/are few comedians who can top their word play) Here Olsen and Johnson are up to their usual tricks with the plot having the pair fleeing from the law in a big city when their stock fraud is discovered. Despite professing the desire to go straight they are soon up to their old tricks in a small country town.

While not as fast faced and rapid fire like some of their other films this movie is still quite enjoyable thanks to really clever writing. The jokes keep you amused even when the plot seems to take a well worn course. Actually other Olsen and Johnson films suffer from weak plot, but they have better pacing. In their better films like Hellzapoppin, there seems to have a joke every couple of seconds and you don't mind the slow pace or weak plot because you're simply laughing too hard. This isn't to say that the film is bad, its not, not even by Olsen and Johnson standards, it just not the best work they've done.

Definitely worth seeing, especially if you've never seen an Olsen and Johnson film before. These are two of the best screen comedians that have ever danced across the silver screen and any opportunity to see them work their magic is always welcome.