Ladies in Love (1936)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Edward H. Griffith

Writers:

Melville Baker (screenplay)
Leslie Bush-Fekete (play)
(more)

Release Date:

9 October 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Three working girls in Budapest pool their resources to get a better apartment and impress their dates...

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Playboy | Servant | Wish | Dancing

Cast

Janet Gaynor	...	Martha Kerenye
Loretta Young	...	Susie Schmidt
Constance Bennett	...	Yoli Haydn
Simone Simon	...	Marie Armand
Don Ameche	...	Dr. Rudi Imre
Paul Lukas	...	John Barta
Tyrone Power	...	Karl Lanyi (as Tyrone Power Jr.)
Alan Mowbray	...	Paul Sandor
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Ben Horvath
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Franz Brenner
Virginia Field	...	Countess Helena
Frank Dawson	...	Johann
Egon Brecher	...	Concierge
Vesey O'Davoren	...	Fritz - Barta's Servant
John Bleifer	...	Porter
Eleanor Wesselhoeft	...	Charwoman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lynn Bari	...	Dress Shop Clerk (uncredited)
William Brisbane	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Helen Dickson	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Maxine Elliott Hicks	...	Girl in Audience (uncredited)
Paul McVey	...	Actor (uncredited)
Tony Merlo	...	Assistant Stage Manager (uncredited)
Edward Peil Jr.	...	Boy in Audience (uncredited)
Jayne Regan	...	Mrs. Drekon (uncredited)
Hector Sarno	...	Turkish Waiter (uncredited)
Paul Weigel	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Monty Woolley	...	Man in Box Seat (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

Directed by
Edward H. Griffith

Writing credits
Melville Baker		(screenplay)
Leslie Bush-Fekete		(play) (as Ladislaus Bus-Fekete)
Charles Kenyon		contributor to screenplay construction (uncredited)
Paul Girard Smith		writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Buddy G. DeSylva	....	associate producer (as B.G. De Sylva)

Original Music by
David Buttolph		(uncredited)
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)
Louis Silvers		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Hal Mohr		(photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Dietrich

Art Direction by
William S. Darling		(as William Darling)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Production Management
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Forsyth	....	assistant director

Art Department
Hans Peters	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
E. Clayton Ward	....	sound

Editorial Department
William Murphy	....	editing assistant (uncredited)
Jack Wells	....	editing assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Silvers	....	musical director

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2563) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

While the onscreen credit states the movie is "based on the play" by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete (Leslie Bush-Fekete) and Hollywood Reporter production charts stated the play was called "Three Girls," no performance of that play has been found. Another Hollywood Reporter news item in December 1935 stated that Fox purchased Bus-Fekete's novel, "Ladies in Love" to be published in England in 1936. The book was published in the United States in 1937.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Frank Dawson is credited onscreen as "Johann," but he is called "Josef" in the film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Soundtrack:

Three Blind Mice

Effective star showcase but uneven comedy/drama

An early example of Darryl Zanuck's favorite formula: three young ladies share an apartment [see THREE BLIND MICE, MOON OVER MIAMI, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING]. This time the setting for their various romantic difficulties is Budapest. Squeaky-voiced Janet Gaynor gets top billing as a poor girl who hawks neckties on streetcorners but also feeds rabbits for young doctor Don Ameche and still has time to perform valet duty for self-absorbed magician Alan Mowbray. Over-eager Loretta Young, on the other hand, obsesses over wealthy nobleman Tyrone Power. As a sophisticated gold-digger, Constance Bennett has the best role, allowing her to underplay effectively. Her plot thread involves an affair with wealthy Paul Lukas, complicated by the unexpected arrival of Simone Simon [who is introduced as a nymphet in a sailor suit]. With all these comic/romantic/tragic ingredients [poison is also involved], this stew is not completely digestible. However, despite awkward shifts in tone and rather flat lighting, it remains interesting as a showcase for a variety of film personalities, some on the rise and some not. Ironically, the most striking performance comes from a subsidiary character: Wilfrid Lawson, who implies an entire world of sophistication in his few scenes as an aging playboy.