Men Are Such Fools (1938)

Linda Lawrence rises from secretary to account executive in an advertising agency. She falls in love with ex-football star Jimmy Hall and marries him. Radio man Harry Galleon will push her ... See full summary »

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (screen play), Horace Jackson (screen play),

Stars:

Wayne Morris, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wayne Morris	...	Jimmy Hall
Priscilla Lane	...	Linda Lawrence
Humphrey Bogart	...	Harry Galleon
Hugh Herbert	...	Harvey Bates
Johnnie Davis	...	Tad
Penny Singleton	...	Nancy
Mona Barrie	...	Beatrice Harris
Marcia Ralston	...	Wanda Townsend
Gene Lockhart	...	Bill Dalton
Kathleen Lockhart	...	Mrs. Dalton
Donald Briggs	...	George Onslow
Nedda Harrigan	...	Mrs.Nelson
Eric Stanley	...	Mr. Nelson
Claud Allister	...	Rudolf (as Claude Allister)
Renie Riano	...	Mrs. Pinkel

Storyline

Linda Lawrence rises from secretary to account executive in an advertising agency. She falls in love with ex-football star Jimmy Hall and marries him. Radio man Harry Galleon will push her career further if she will just be "nice" to him and, when Jimmy gets jealous, she quits in favor of life as a suburban housewife. But her career still calls to her.

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Plot Keywords:

advertising | secretary | marriage proposal | copywriter | ambition | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 July 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Os homens São uns Trouxas

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Linda Lawrence Hall: [told by Jimmy that he's just been on the phone with her Aunt Minnie] My Aunt Minnie has been dead for five years.
James 'Jimmy' Hall: She didn't say where she was calling from!

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Soundtracks

"Let That Be a Lesson to You"
(1938) (uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting
Played immediately after the football game

User Reviews

Good Cast, Questionable Screenplay

Men Are Such Fools (1938)

** (out of 4)

Predictable and rather boring melodrama about a hard working secretary (Priscilla Lane) who works her way to the top of her office when she meets and eventually marries an ex-football star (Wayne Morris). Soon afterwards she eventually gives up her career and then problems start to rise as his career takes off. This here is yet another Warner "B" film that has a pretty good cast but in the end it gets ruined due to a rather lackluster screenplay. I really didn't think too highly of anything here, screenplay wise, because I found the comedy to be over the top and silly and then the melodrama was just too predictable. I think the early "dumbness" of the characters really hurt the later drama because it's hard to take either character too serious considering some of the dumb situations they get into early on. When the second half of the film takes place the characters just go through various motions that really make no sense except to lead up to the predictable ending. Lane is charming enough in her role and I think she comes off the best as her wonderful energy is always going strong and this really keeps the film moving. Morris doesn't give the greatest performance but he too is good enough in the role. Humphrey Bogart gets third-billing and plays the boss who falls for Lane. Once again we see Bogie in a rather thankless role that even he can't do too much with. The movie runs a brief 68-minutes but it feels much longer because the screenplay drags in so many places and one can't help but feel they've seen this type of story one time too many.