Hat, Coat, and Glove (1934)

An artist on trial for homicide has his lover's husband for an attorney.

Director:

Worthington Miner

Writers:

Wilhelm Speyer (from the play by), Francis Edward Faragoh (screen play) (as Francis Faragoh)

Stars:

Ricardo Cortez, Barbara Robbins, John Beal

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ricardo Cortez	...	Robert Mitchell
Barbara Robbins	...	Dorothea Mitchell
John Beal	...	Jerry Hutchins
Dorothy Burgess	...	Ann Brewster
Paul Harvey	...	The Prosecuting Attorney
Sara Haden	...	The Secretary
Margaret Hamilton	...	Madame Du Barry
David Durand	...	Thomas Sullivan
Murray Kinnell	...	The Judge
Frederick Sullivan	...	The Court Clerk
Gayle Evers	...	The Saleslady

Storyline

An artist on trial for homicide has his lover's husband for an attorney.

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Plot Keywords:

manhattan new york city | greenwich village manhattan new york city | trial | telephone | taxi | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 August 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Capa, Luva e Chapéu

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An English translation ("A Hat, a Coat, a Glove" by William Absalom Drake) of Wilhelm Speyer's German play, "Ein mantel, ein Hut, ein Handschuh", opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 31 January 1934, but closed after 13 performances. The opening night cast included Nedda Harrigan, Boyd Irwin and Philip Van Zandt.

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Goofs

Robert Mitchell's hair is graying on the sides, but when he goes to Jerry's apartment to confront him, and finds Ann instead, his hair is jet black for a few minutes, then goes back to gray.

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Connections

Remade as Todo un caballero (1947)

User Reviews

It the glove don't fit, you must acquit!

"Hat, Coat and Glove" is a film that really strains credibility--so much so that the only way to enjoy it is to turn off your brain and not question things that seem too coincidental to be believable. However, despite this, IF you can put aside your brain for a few minutes, the film is rather entertaining.

Ricardo Cortez plays a very erudite lawyer--but one whose marriage is all but over. In fact, he and his wife haven't lived together for some time and she's already got a new boyfriend. However, and here where it gets goofy, when Cortez goes to have it out with this boyfriend (because he still wants a reconciliation with his wife), he isn't home but a crazy lady is there. This unstable woman has a history of suicide attempts and when she is talking to Cortez, she starts behaving irrationally and ends up getting shot when Cortez was pulling the gun away from her. But, Cortez doesn't call the police--and soon they arrest the boyfriend and think he murdered the woman. Cortez knows it was NOT murder but decides to exploit the situation. He agrees to defend the boyfriend IF his wife agrees to return! However, through the course of the trial, the wife starts to notice that some of the evidence seems to point to her husband! How all this ended, though, really confused me--especially what the wife did when she realized the truth. Baffling to say the least.

None of this is particularly believable....none. But, Cortez was enjoyable to watch and the film was enjoyable. HOWEVER, my favorite part involved seeing if a glove found at the site belonged to the boyfriend--and a Johnny Cochran moment at the OJ trial came to mind. It was, in so many ways, like the script that Cochran used! Pretty funny...