Broadway Limited (1941)

A publicity stunt staged on a train known as the Broadway Limited creates problems because of an unknown baby that was part of the stunt.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writer:

Rian James (original screenplay)

Stars:

Victor McLaglen, Marjorie Woodworth, Dennis O'Keefe

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Victor McLaglen	...	Mike
Marjorie Woodworth	...	April
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Dr. Harvey North
Patsy Kelly	...	Patsy
Zasu Pitts	...	Myra
Leonid Kinskey	...	Ivan
George E. Stone	...	Lefty
Gay Ellen Dakin	...	Baby
Charles C. Wilson	...	Detective (as Charles Wilson)
John Sheehan	...	Conductor
Edgar Edwards	...	State Trooper
Eric Alden	...	State Trooper
Sam McDaniel	...	Bartender (as Sam McDaniels)

Storyline

As a ploy to gain publicity, a motion picture director wants his star actress to take a baby with her on a train trip. The director's secretary asks the train's engineer, an old boyfriend, for help. As the engineer ponders what to do, a stranger in the train station tells him that he has a baby that could be used. On board the train, the actress meets a young doctor whom she knew in school, and whom she is still in love with. The presence of the baby causes a series of misunderstandings between them, but the real problems begin when the engineer begins to suspect that the baby may have been kidnapped.

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Plot Keywords:

streamlined train | publicity stunt | radio program | movie star | fan club | 

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Taglines:

Hello Broadway, Goodbye Blues

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Even though the original movie was made in black and white, the streaming version available on YouTube obviously is colorized.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Comedy Legends (2011)

User Reviews

Good cast of character actors on a train with a baby

Big shot movie director Ivan Ivanski (Leonid Kinsky) insists, in his best Russian accent, that his hot starlet (Marjorie Woodworth) must have a baby—for publicity reasons. Assistant Patsy Kelly, train driver Victor McLaglen, young doctor Dennis O'Keefe and movie fan Zasu Pitts are along for the ride—a train ride to New York, actually, along with a "borrowed" baby who is passed back and forth among these reluctant guardians for the duration of the trip.

The plot isn't much, but some entertaining moments and enthusiastic performances add up to a pleasant 75 minutes. O'Keefe and Woodworth are the cute young stars, and they have a silly off-again, on-again romance that is not particularly exciting but inoffensive enough. McLaglen has a charming, hilarious scene telling the story of the three bears to the (mostly indifferent) baby. Kinsky is great fun as the temperamental movie man who will do anything to make his next picture.

Kelly and Pitts stand out in their roles—Patsy is the practical-minded, quick-moving secretary who manages Ivanski's erratic moods handily and is hoping to catch a few moments on the trip with McLaglen, her boyfriend; Zasu is the slightly loony fan who is slightly obsessed with Renfrew, her radio hero (apparently a mounted policeman who may or may not kiss Melinda on tomorrow night's episode).

Zasu: "Must you go, Renfrew?" Patsy: "Yes, he must!" –It doesn't exactly look like great dialog, but delivered by these two pros that simple exchange is hilarious.

It's all good-natured silliness. Lots of neat footage of trains, too!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Baby Vanishes

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1