The Great Garrick (1937)

Director:

James Whale

Writer:

Ernest Vajda (a play for the screen)

Stars:

Brian Aherne, Olivia de Havilland, Edward Everett Horton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brian Aherne	...	David Garrick
Olivia de Havilland	...	Germaine
Edward Everett Horton	...	Tubby
Melville Cooper	...	M. Picard
Lionel Atwill	...	Beaumarchais
Luis Alberni	...	Basset
Lana Turner	...	Auber
Marie Wilson	...	Nicolle
Linda Perry	...	Molee
Fritz Leiber	...	Horatio
Etienne Girardot	...	Jean Cabot
Dorothy Tree	...	Mme. Moreau
Craig Reynolds	...	M. Janin
Paul Everton	...	Innkeeper of Adam and Eve
Trevor Bardette	...	M. Noverre

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

prompter | duel | revenge | comedie française | actor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ladies and Gentlemen

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone) Black and White (Turner library print)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Henry O'Neill' is listed in studio records for the role "Sir Joshua Reynolds". Although the character is mentioned, he is not seen in the movie.

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Goofs

Early in the movie the road sign gives the distance to Paris in kilometers. The movie takes place in the 1750's; the metric system was introduced in 1799 after the French Revolution.

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Crazy Credits

Rather than saying "Screenplay by Ernest Vajda", the credits read "A Play for the Screen by Ernest Vajda".

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Connections

Referenced in The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale (1999)

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Soundtracks

"La Marseillaise"
(1792) (uncredited)
Music by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
In the score when the Paris title is shown

User Reviews

It's alive! ... sometimes

Ernest Vajda's "play for the screen" revolves about a fictional encounter between the celebrated 18th-century English actor David Garrick and the members of the equally celebrated Comedy Francaise at a country inn.

Under the direction of the estimable James Whale, the film is generally lively but sometimes sags with too much talk. It also benefits from a team of choice supporting actors (Melville Cooper, Lionel Atwill, and especially Edward Everett Horton and Etienne Giradot) who come to the rescue with inspired line readings or bits of business. A theatrical spirit prevails. Heading the cast is Brian Aherne as Garrick who gets a rare chance to chew the scenery and does so in high style. But we never know from this scenario whether Garrick was really great or just a charming ham. When does the acting stop and the real Garrick take over? The line between the two is not clear here. Maybe it's not meant to be.

The story: the French troupe, having heard a false rumor that the visiting Garrick arrogantly intends to teach them how to act, impersonates the staff and guests of a country inn where they know Garrick will be staying on his way to Paris, with the intention of devising such mayhem that Garrick will bolt in terror, whereupon they will reveal who they really are, proving they are indeed great actors, and humiliate him. But he sees through the ruse and turns the tables on them.

Olivia DeHavilland, effective in an early role, turns up at the inn as a young woman fleeing an arranged marriage and falls in love with Garrick, who spurns her, thinking she too is part of the collective trickery (as the film's trailer states, he "couldn't tell the difference between real love and bad acting").