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IMDbPro

Chatterbox

  • 19361936
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
347
YOUR RATING
Anne Shirley in Chatterbox (1936)
ComedyDramaRomance
Stagestruck Jenny is elated when she is cast in her mother's most famous role. She is unaware of the new production being staged as a parody of the dated play and interprets the role serious... Read allStagestruck Jenny is elated when she is cast in her mother's most famous role. She is unaware of the new production being staged as a parody of the dated play and interprets the role seriously. And nobody finds the courage to tell her.Stagestruck Jenny is elated when she is cast in her mother's most famous role. She is unaware of the new production being staged as a parody of the dated play and interprets the role seriously. And nobody finds the courage to tell her.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
347
YOUR RATING
    • George Nichols Jr.
    • David Carb(play "Long Ago Ladies")
    • Sam Mintz(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Anne Shirley
    • Phillips Holmes
    • Edward Ellis
    • George Nichols Jr.
    • David Carb(play "Long Ago Ladies")
    • Sam Mintz(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Anne Shirley
    • Phillips Holmes
    • Edward Ellis
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 15User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos32

    Phillips Holmes and Erik Rhodes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Chatterbox (1936)
    Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Margaret Hamilton and Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Edward Ellis and Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Edward Ellis and Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Phillips Holmes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Lucille Ball and Erik Rhodes in Chatterbox (1936)
    Erik Rhodes and Allen Vincent in Chatterbox (1936)
    Lucille Ball, Edward Ellis, Anne Shirley, and Allen Vincent in Chatterbox (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anne Shirley
    Anne Shirley
    • Jenny Yates
    Phillips Holmes
    Phillips Holmes
    • Philip 'Phil' Greene Jr
    Edward Ellis
    Edward Ellis
    • Uriah Lowell
    Erik Rhodes
    Erik Rhodes
    • Mr. Archie Fisher
    Margaret Hamilton
    Margaret Hamilton
    • Emily 'Tippie' Tipton
    Granville Bates
    Granville Bates
    • Philip Greene Sr
    Allen Vincent
    Allen Vincent
    • Mr. Harrison
    Lucille Ball
    Lucille Ball
    • Lillian Temple
    George Offerman Jr.
    George Offerman Jr.
    • Michael Arbuckle
    Maxine Jennings
    Maxine Jennings
    • Maxine Jennings
    Richard Abbott
    • Mr. Blythe
    • (uncredited)
    Margaret Armstrong
    Margaret Armstrong
    • Margaret Armstrong
    • (uncredited)
    William Gould
    William Gould
    • Laughing Audience Member
    • (uncredited)
    Wilfred Lucas
    Wilfred Lucas
    • Wilfred Lucas
    • (uncredited)
    Mary MacLaren
    Mary MacLaren
    • Woman Jenny Talks to in Audience
    • (uncredited)
    Hank Mann
    Hank Mann
    • Laughing Stage Hand
    • (uncredited)
    Max Wagner
    Max Wagner
    • Max Wagner
    • (uncredited)
      • George Nichols Jr.
      • David Carb(play "Long Ago Ladies")
      • Sam Mintz(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Note a young (and blonde) Lucille Ball in just the second year of a seven-year contract at RKO. In less than twenty-one years from the release of this picture, she would own the studio.
    • Goofs
      Jenny comes back home from the play to find the door bolted. She previously left the house with her diary in her coat and returns with a program which she throws the way. Later, when Phil discovers her in the rumble seat of his car, the very large "Compendium" book is seen on the back seat, then she is clutching it while talking to his landlord. It is not shown how she got the huge book out of her house, and took nothing else.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Wanderlust (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Oh! Susanna
      (1848)

      Written by Stephen Foster

      Played on a banjo in the New York show and sung by the maid

    User reviews15

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A good little movie that could have been more
    Once in a while a film shows up on TCM that is a small gem from the past. "Chatterbox" is just such a film. Set mostly in a small town, it stars Anne Shirley, little-known today, an actress who gave up a career in film while in her twenties. She lives in a mind-world of the late 1800's, a world of genteel manners, romantic writing, and little sense of irony. Her mother had been a noted actress and Shirley aspired to the same. The charm of the film lies in its detailed portrayal of small-town America. There is an honesty in the dialogue and behavior.

    Without divulging too much plot, I must add that the revelation was Erik Rhodes, the pencil-mustachioed, gigolo of Astaire-Rogers movies, here, sans moustache,and Italian accent, a Broadway wise guy director.Throw in a very young and very blonde Lucille Ball and you have a diverting entertainment. The scene of Shirley's stage performance is wonderful.

    Look for this film as a memento of an earlier, more innocent age.
    helpful•5
    1
    • lionel-libson-1
    • May 17, 2010

    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 17, 1936 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 8 minutes
      • Black and White

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