Roman Scandals (1933)

A kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.

Director:

Frank Tuttle

Writers:

George S. Kaufman (original story), Robert E. Sherwood (original story)

Stars:

Eddie Cantor, The Goldwyn Girls, Ruth Etting

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eddie Cantor	...	Eddie / Oedipus
The Goldwyn Girls	...	Slave Girls
Ruth Etting	...	Olga
Gloria Stuart	...	Princess Sylvia
Edward Arnold	...	Emperor Valerius
David Manners	...	Josephus
Verree Teasdale	...	Empress Agrippa
Alan Mowbray	...	Majordomo
Jack Rutherford	...	Manius (as John Rutherford)
Willard Robertson	...	Warren Finley Cooper
Lee Kohlmar	...	Storekeeper

Storyline

A kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | homosexual subtext | lesbian subtext | turkish bath | emperor | 

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Taglines:

Rome never visioned such beauty as this! And how you'll howl when the Goldwyn Girls make ruins of Rome... and a wreck out of EDDIE! (Print Ad- Kyle News, ((Kyle, Texas)) 6 April 1934)

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Roman Scandals

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 85 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The chorus girls - among them Lucille Ball - chained to the wall in the "No More Love" number are actually nude. The number was filmed during the night, when no studio bosses were around on the lot, with a minimum of technicians involved.

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Goofs

On commonly available reissue prints of this film all the cast and credits are reprinted, with the following spelling errors: Songwriter Al Dubin's surname is spelled Dublin. Chariot sequence director Ralph Ceder's surname is spelled Cedar. Actress Verree Teasdale's first name is spelled Veree.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mayor of West Rome: As mayor of West Rome, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you and to introduce our first citizen, Warren Fenwick Cooper!
Warren F. Cooper: Thank you, mayor. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. Heh, heh, you see I know my Roman history.

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Connections

Spoofed in History of the World: Part I (1981)

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Soundtracks

No More Love
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Sung by Ruth Etting
Danced by chorus

User Reviews

A Forgotten Comedy Classic?

A kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.

Based on how few people have rated this film (under 500), I am left with the impression that it must not be purchased, streamed or aired very often. And what a shame, because it is pretty funny, and would be enjoyed by anyone who likes the witty kind of humor the Marx Brothers were doing. (There is even a poison sequence that is not unlike a Danny Kaye skit twenty years later: "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!") I suppose the blackface skit may be one reason the film has fallen out of favor, but this is unfortunate. Whether you consider this racist or not, it is part of film history and should not be simply forgotten or hidden.