Big Hearted Herbert | |
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Directed by | William Keighley |
Written by | Lillie Hayward Ben Markson |
Based on | play Big Hearted Herbert by Sophie Kerr and Anna Steese Richardson |
Starring | Aline MacMahon Guy Kibbee |
Cinematography | Arthur L. Todd |
Edited by | Jack Killifer |
Music by | Leo F. Forbstein |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. The Vitaphone Corp. |
Release date |
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Running time | 59-60 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Big Hearted Herbert is a 1934 domestic comedy film starring Aline MacMahon and Guy Kibbee as a middle-aged couple. It is based on the Broadway play of the same name by Sophie Kerr and Anna Steese Richardson, [1] which was in turn based on the short story "Chin-Chin" by Kerr. It was remade in 1940 as Father Is a Prince .
Herbert Kalness has worked hard to build up a successful plumbing supplies manufacturing company from nothing. His wife Elizabeth loves him dearly and is willing to put up with much. However, his grownup children, Alice and Junior, are put out by his constant complaining. Junior wants to go to college, but Herbert insists his son go to work for him in his business. Meanwhile, Alice has fallen in love with and wants to marry Andrew Goodrich, a Harvard graduate and lawyer (both qualities Herbert despises).
When Elizabeth arranges a dinner to get acquainted with the future in-laws, Herbert proceeds to antagonize everyone. So she decides to give him a taste of his own medicine. When he brings customers home for dinner, she and the rest of the family act just as obnoxiously to them as Herbert had to the Goodriches. He eventually capitulates, and domestic peace is restored.
Andre Sennwald, critic for The New York Times , called the film an "entertaining hearthside comedy" and praised Kibbee and MacMahon for their performances. [1]
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 American romantic drama film directed by Sidney Franklin based on the 1930 play of the same title by Rudolf Besier. It depicts the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, despite the opposition of her abusive father Edward Moulton-Barrett. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Shearer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. It was written by Ernest Vajda, Claudine West, and Donald Ogden Stewart, from the successful 1930 play The Barretts of Wimpole Street by Rudolf Besier, and starring Katharine Cornell.
Gold Diggers of 1933 is an American pre-Code musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It starred Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, and Dick Powell. It featured appearances by Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks and Ginger Rogers.
Gold Diggers of 1935 is an American Warner Bros. musical film directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, his directorial debut. It stars Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady, Hugh Herbert, Glenda Farrell, and Frank McHugh, and features Joseph Cawthorn, Grant Mitchell, Dorothy Dare, and Winifred Shaw. The songs were written by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film is best known for its famous "Lullaby of Broadway" production number. That song, sung by Shaw, also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The screenplay was by Manuel Seff and Peter Milne, based on a story by Robert Lord, who also produced the film, and Milne.
Broadway Bill is a 1934 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy. Screenplay by Robert Riskin and based on the short story "Strictly Confidential" by Mark Hellinger, the film is about a man's love for his thoroughbred race horse and the woman who helps him achieve his dreams. Capra disliked the final product, and in an effort to make it more to his liking, he remade the film in 1950 as Riding High. In later years, the distributor of Riding High, Paramount Pictures, acquired the rights to Broadway Bill. The film was released in the United Kingdom as Strictly Confidential.
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog. It is based on the 1904 Broadway play by Anne Crawford Flexner, which was taken from the novel of the same name by Alice Hegan Rice. The film stars Broadway stage actress Pauline Lord, ZaSu Pitts and W. C. Fields.
Wonder Bar is a 1934 American pre-Code film adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley.
The Little Minister is a 1934 American historical drama film starring Katharine Hepburn and directed by Richard Wallace. The screenplay by Jane Murfin, Sarah Y. Mason, and Victor Heerman is based on the 1891 novel and subsequent 1897 play of the same title by J.M. Barrie. The picture was the fifth film adaptation of the works, following four silent film versions. The original novel was the third of the three "Thrums" novels, which first brought Barrie to fame.
Nella Walker was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s.
Havana Widows is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Ray Enright, starring Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. It was released by Warner Bros. on November 18, 1933. Two chorus girls travel to Havana in search of rich husbands. Their target is Deacon Jones, a self-appointed moralist who cannot drink without getting drunk.
The World Changes is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni as an ambitious farm boy who becomes rich, but does not handle success well. Aline MacMahon and Mary Astor play his mother and wife, respectively.
Life Begins is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Loretta Young, Eric Linden, Aline MacMahon, and Glenda Farrell. The film was adapted from the 1932 play of the same name by Mary M. Axelson. It was released by Warner Bros. on September 10, 1932. The film was praised for its honest portrayal of a maternity ward.
Aline Laveen MacMahon was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began under producer Edgar Selwyn in The Mirage during 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931, and worked extensively in film, theater, and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dragon Seed (1944).
Maxine Doyle was an American film actress who appeared in almost 40 films between 1933 and 1946. Today's audiences may know Maxine Doyle from her appearance in the Leon Errol musical short Service with a Smile (1934), one of the first films in full Technicolor, which was restored and revived by Warner Bros.
Heat Lightning is a 1934 pre-Code drama film starring Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, and Preston Foster. It is based on the play of the same name by Leon Abrams and George Abbott.
The Eddie Cantor Story is a 1953 American musical drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Keefe Brasselle, Marilyn Erskine and Aline MacMahon. It is a biopic based on the life of Eddie Cantor featuring Brasselle as Cantor. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. Cantor himself appeared briefly in the film in a cameo role.
Traveling Saleslady is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Ray Enright and starring Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. It was released by Warner Bros. on March 28, 1935. It is one of five films by Warner Bros. where Farrell and Blondell were paired as two blonde bombshells. The other films include: Havana Widows (1933), Kansas City Princess (1934), We're in the Money (1935) and Miss Pacific Fleet (1935). Actress Joan Blondell was married to the film's cinematographer George Barnes at the time of filming.
Father Is a Prince is a 1940 comedy film directed by Noel M. Smith, starring Grant Mitchell and Nana Bryant. Father is a Prince is a remake of the 1934 comedy-drama Big Hearted Herbert, itself based on a play by Sophie Kerr.
Side Streets, also known in the UK as A Woman in Her Thirties, is a 1934 American romantic melodrama directed by Alfred E. Green. The film stars Aline MacMahon, Paul Kelly, Ann Dvorak and Dorothy Tree. The screenplay concerns a spinster who hires, then marries, a destitute sailor who is not always faithful.
While the Patient Slept is a 1935 comedy murder mystery film directed by Ray Enright starring Aline MacMahon as a nurse/crime sleuth and Guy Kibbee as her boyfriend and police detective. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Mignon G. Eberhart.
The Merry Frinks is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert. It is also known by the alternative title of Happy Family.