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IMDbPro

Speak Easily

  • 1932
  • Passed
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
Comedy

A timid professor inherits a large sum of money and decides to fund a terrible musical.A timid professor inherits a large sum of money and decides to fund a terrible musical.A timid professor inherits a large sum of money and decides to fund a terrible musical.

  • Director
    • Edward Sedgwick
  • Writer
    • Clarence Budington Kelland
  • Stars
    • Buster Keaton
    • Jimmy Durante
    • Ruth Selwyn
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Edward Sedgwick
    • Writer
      • Clarence Budington Kelland
    • Stars
      • Buster Keaton
      • Jimmy Durante
      • Ruth Selwyn
    • 34User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos33

    Speak Easily (1932)
    Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton, Ruth Selwyn, and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Selwyn, and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
    Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932)
    Buster Keaton and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    • Prof. Post
    Jimmy Durante
    Jimmy Durante
    • James
    Ruth Selwyn
    Ruth Selwyn
    • Pansy Peets
    Thelma Todd
    Thelma Todd
    • Eleanor Espere
    Hedda Hopper
    Hedda Hopper
    • Mrs. Peets
    William Pawley
    William Pawley
    • Griffo
    Sidney Toler
    Sidney Toler
    • Stage Director
    Lawrence Grant
    Lawrence Grant
    • Dr. Bolton
    Henry Armetta
    Henry Armetta
    • Tony
    Edward Brophy
    Edward Brophy
    • Reno
    Loretta Andrews
    Loretta Andrews
    • Chorus Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Oscar Apfel
    Oscar Apfel
    • Lawyer's Representative
    • (uncredited)
    Reginald Barlow
    Reginald Barlow
    • Billington
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Baxley
    • Tom - Sheriff's Deputy
    • (uncredited)
    Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey
    • Jenkins
    • (uncredited)
    Jim Farley
    Jim Farley
    • Station Agent
    • (uncredited)
    DeWitt Jennings
    DeWitt Jennings
    • Sheriff of Lincoln County
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Kelsey
    Fred Kelsey
    • Process Server
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Edward Sedgwick
    • Writer
      • Clarence Budington Kelland
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite an onscreen copyright statement, a copyright was never registered; the movie is in the Public Domain.
    • Goofs
      While Professor Post (Buster Keaton) is dragged by the train, clutching his luggage, his hat flies off and he is unable to grab it. In the next shot, his hat is once again firmly on his head.
    • Quotes

      Eleanor Espere: Tell me, Timmy. Have you ever seriously thought of marriage?

      Professor Post: Yes... that's why I'm single.

    • Connections
      Featured in That's Entertainment! (1974)
    • Soundtracks
      Good Times Are Here Again
      (1932) (uncredited)

      Music by David Snell and Charles Maxwell

      Lyrics by Samuel Marx

      In the score during the opening credits and at the end

      Played on piano by Jimmy Durante and sung by the chorus at the opera house

      Played often in the score

    User reviews34

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Admiring fans with open minds will find much to enjoy here.
    While it is true that SPEAK EASILY doesn't hold a candle to the genius of Keaton's best films, neither is it worthless as some have suggested. Outside pressures (namely MGM and his deteriorating family life) held Keaton back from performing at the inspired level he might have. SPEAK EASILY's main weakness lies in MGM forcing an uninspired pairing of Keaton with a vaudeville comic like Durante. The tension between Buster's physical comedy (which is never allowed to ignite as it once had) and Durante's verbal punning is something that never really works. Keaton's characters in all of the MGM talkies seem, for lack of a better word, dense. The inherent cleverness that Buster showed in his silent work was totally abandoned. Never again would Buster show the bravado, daring and quickness he was famous for. Instead, he would be shoe-horned by MGM into a series of roles as loser, victim and sap. For all those inherent problems, SPEAK EASILY still contains at least two slapstick sequences that prove Keaton could be just as funny in his talkies as he was in his silent work. The 'drunken seduction' with Thelma Todd's gold-digger is very funny. Miss Todd proves herself not only a fine comedienne, but shows excellent chemistry with Keaton. Also, Buster's utter, and totally inadvertent, destruction of the Broadway play during it's opening night performance is hysterical and features some fine stunt gags. Those looking for the sublime genius of THE GENERAL or SHERLOCK JR. will invariably be disappointed. That 'Buster' was long gone by this point in his career. SPEAK EASILY should be viewed as an enjoyable programmer that kept Buster working, if not at his peak, still as a capable gag man and entertainer. Admiring fans with an open mind will find much to enjoy here
    helpful•40
    4
    • thor-28
    • Oct 13, 2004

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    FAQ3

    • Buster Keaton and Ruth Selwyn are related by family. How?
    • What do Buster Keaton and Hedda Hopper have in common?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 13, 1932 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Oss flickor emellan
    • Filming locations
      • Chatsworth Depot, Chatsworth, California, USA(train station)
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (1932)
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