Mr. Boggs Steps Out (1938)

Oliver Boggs, a typical office drone, with no success in sight, who can spout statistics about anything and everything, wins $1500 in a bean-guessing contest at the movie theatre, quits his... See full summary »

Director:

Gordon Wiles

Writers:

Clarence Budington Kelland (story), Richard English (screenplay)

Stars:

Stuart Erwin, Helen Chandler, Toby Wing

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stuart Erwin	...	Oliver Boggs
Helen Chandler	...	Oleander Tubbs
Toby Wing	...	Irene Lee
Tully Marshall	...	Morton Ross
Spencer Charters	...	Angus Tubbs
Walter Byron	...	Dennis Andrews
Harry Tyler	...	Sam Mason
Milburn Stone	...	Burns
Otto Hoffman	...	Jenkins
Peter Potter	...	Bob DeBrette (as William Moore)
Nora Cecil	...	Widow Peddie
Elliot Fisher	...	Tommy Mason (as Elliott Fisher)
Eddie Kane	...	Theatre Manager (as Edward Kane)
Harrison Greene	...	Mr. Pry
Wilson Benge	...	The Butler

Storyline

Oliver Boggs, a typical office drone, with no success in sight, who can spout statistics about anything and everything, wins $1500 in a bean-guessing contest at the movie theatre, quits his job and sets forth for the seedy, down-at-the-heels town of Peckham Falls. There he buys a barrel factory and falls in love with Irene Lee, the snobbish niece of crusty old Morton Ross, the town's only rich man and owner of the closed canneries. Oleander Tubbs and her inventor father Angus, who sold Oliver the factory, tell him it has no future but he disagrees and says he will have everything booming again. Oleander thinks he is daffy but she and her father agree to help him. Angus invents a collapsible barrel and Oliver, seeing fame and fortune just ahead, spends all of his money just keeping the factory going. Oliver persuades old man Ross to re-open the canneries and to use the ground-breaking barrels and things appear to be going okay, until Dennis Andrews, Ross' slick attorney, tries to ...

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Plot Keywords:

factory | cannery | office | money | movie theatre | 

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Taglines:

From the American Magazine story "Face the Facts" by the Author of "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town." (original poster)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Face the Facts

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zion Meyers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three of Hollywood's then-oldest active character actors appeared in this film. Spencer Charters (as "Angus Tubbs") was 65 and had 41 years on stage prior to entering films. Otis Harlan (as "Abner Katz") was 72 and had begun acting in New York in 1887. Tully Marshall (as "Morton Ross") was 73 and had nearly a fifty year acting resume and was once prominent on Broadway.

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Connections

References Navy Spy (1937)

User Reviews

A sweet & delightful little comedy!

This lighthearted comedy seems to have fallen through some crack and been nearly lost. It's hard to know why as it's just delightful. Mr. Erwin is perfect as the naive little man who is absorbed with useless facts, statistics and figures. His life is at his desk memorizing ever more useless information until the day he wins a bean counting contest and the $1,500 prize changes his life forever. He decides to strike out and see the world.

When he lands in a small town and winds up buying a run down barrel factory his adventures are just beginning. He finds not only challenges, success and excitement but romance as well. This is a charming story, filled with laughs that your whole family will enjoy again and again. You will be very glad to have re-discovered a fine film!