Stand-In (1937)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Clarence Budington Kelland (novel)
Gene Towne (writer) ...

Release Date:

29 October 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Hail! The conquering hero comes!

Plot:

A former child star falls in love with a stuffy accountant, who wants to learn why his firm's movie studio is losing money.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Secretary | Movie Studio | Director | Male Female Relationship

Cast

Leslie Howard	...	Atterbury Dodd
Joan Blondell	...	Lester Plum
Humphrey Bogart	...	Doug Quintain
Alan Mowbray	...	Koslofski
Marla Shelton	...	Thelma Cheri
C. Henry Gordon	...	Ivor Nassau
Jack Carson	...	Tom Potts
Tully Marshall	...	Fowler Pettypacker
J.C. Nugent	...	Junior Pettypacker
William V. Mong	...	Cyrus Pettypacker

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #3647)

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Quotes:

Atterbury Dodd: Hasn't anyone an answer for stupidity besides "that's the picture business"?
Studio Employee: I'm sorry Mr. Dodd, but that's the only answer.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)

Soundtrack:

Is it True What They Say About Dixie?

Hollywood spoof

From the moment you see an epic movie about gorillas, or performing seals in a boarding house, or horrendously untalented little kids with showbiz mommas, you know you have a marvellous Follywood spoof.

This little-mentioned or cited comedy pits snappy Joan Blondell against – of all people – versatile Leslie Howard, in a studio-set tale of corruption, change, and romance. You'll also find Humphrey Bogart in one of his climbing-up-the ladder roles as a crusty, hard-drinking backroom man.

Blondell plays the ‘stand-in' of the title, that is, the girl who burns under the lights while the leading lady gets pampered and the shot gets set up. Howard is an accountant, transported into a world he doesn't initially appreciated, to discover the reason for the studio's cash-flow problems.

Do you know how it ends yet? This was the film that persuaded me of Howard's incredible gift for getting laughs as well as his dramatic skills, and I've been a fan ever since. Blondell and Bogart are also terrific, and this is a minor, but hugely enjoyable, 30s gem.