The Show-Off (1946)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Harry Beaumont

Writers:

George Kelly (play)
George Wells (writer)

Release Date:

December 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

AN M-G-M HOWL! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

Lowly clerk Aubrey Piper has a fondness for exaggerating about himself to impress people. His fantastic...

Plot Keywords:

Clerk | Marriage | Blind Date | Debt | Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Cast

Red Skelton	...	J. Aubrey Piper
Marilyn Maxwell	...	Amy Fisher Piper
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Fisher
Virginia O'Brien	...	Hortense
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson	...	Eddie
George Cleveland	...	Pop Fisher
Leon Ames	...	Frank Harlin
Marshall Thompson	...	Joe Fisher
Jacqueline White	...	Clara Harlin
Wilson Wood	...	Horace Adems
Lila Leeds	...	Flo
Emory Parnell	...	Mr. Appelton
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Barrett	...	Sailor (scenes deleted)
Jody Gilbert	...	Woman (scenes deleted)
Timmy Hawkins	...	Little Boy (scenes deleted)
Kitty Murray	...	Rochester's girlfriend (scenes deleted)
Carol Nugent	...	Little girl (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #11625)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The original play opened in New York on 5 February 1924. It starred Louis John Bartels and Helen Lowell and was directed by the author, George Kelly.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the chase sequence, when background shots were required, MGM's film library accidentally pulled stock footage of Market Street in San Francisco, rather than Market Street in Philadelphia, where the action is supposedly taking place.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Show Off (1926)

Soundtrack:

I've Got You Under My Skin

Skelton, The Show-Off

Skelton recreates the role of J. Aubrey Piper from the Broadway production of George Kelly's play by the same name. Skelton, whose medium was comedy and in his younger days, could do a prat-fall as good as Peter Sellers, made his fortune with a face that seemed made from putty and that marvelous element necessary to all good comedians, timing. Marlyn Maxwell, the gorgeous blond who stole our hearts in the Lemon Drop Kid with Bob Hope, another great comedian, singing "Silver Bells," and giving us another musical icon for the Christmas season, was very good in comedy roles, usually as the ingenue or naive girl-friend. There are some others in the excellent film, which might seem a bit slow and tedious to today's audiences, Marshall Thompson, Leon Ames, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Marjorie Main-- well known to us as Ma Kettle. The plot works around a guy who believes his own BS. Potential tragedy follows as the innocent Amy Fisher, against all the warnings and misgivings of her family, marries the loud-mouthed bragadaccio, Piper. It was a good play, a bit time-worn, and it was a good movie. Skelton is excellent as the hapless Piper and Maxwell (who once angrily retorted to someone who had compared her to Marlyn Monroe, "I'm the blond with her clothes on.") is great. No video, no DVD. Look for it on the late night show.