Two of hollywood's comedy pro's Hugh Herbert and Edna Oliver, are a married couple, Sarah and Joe Austin. They run a boarding house, and try to keep a watch over their daughter Alice. she's dating Larry the inventor, played by Russell Gleason. the folks don't approve of Larry, who tinkers with his inventions rather than working. hmmm.. this RKO film has so many similarities to a little film Columbia will make in 1938, called You Can't Take it With You. This 1931 version is a little slower, a little stiffer, more old-timey, where the later version is much faster, upbeat, and won two oscars. anyway. Mrs. Austin has money, so people are always trying to get her husband Joe to invest in things. kind of a fun (vaudeville) bit where they try to sell Joe shares in an oil well project. and when money starts disappearing around the boarding house, they bring in the cops, and the farce begins. and another bit where they keep calling Joe Austin "Mister Cranston", because they know the wife has all the money. the family sticks together in the ups and downs, and all's well that ends well! it's a fun romp, right in the heart of the depression. both Herbert and Oliver look like they will be stuffy, upright cardboard characters in most of their films, but they were both fun, energetic, and there's a good energy going on in this one. Gleason died quite young at 38, in a fall from a new york hotel room, while serving in the military. Directed by Greg LaCava, who made so many HUGE films... My Man Godfrey, Stage Door, and TWO W.C. Fields films. LaCava also died pretty young, at 59,
