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Ready, Willing, and Able | |
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Directed by | Ray Enright |
Written by | Maurice Leo Pat C. Flick Ben Markson Mary C. McCall Jr. Lew Lipton |
Screenplay by | Warren Duff Sig Herzig Jerry Wald |
Based on | Ready, Willing and Able 1935 story in The Saturday Evening Post by Richard Macaulay |
Produced by | Samuel Bischoff |
Starring | Ruby Keeler Lee Dixon Allen Jenkins |
Cinematography | Sol Polito |
Edited by | Doug Gould |
Music by | Heinz Eric Roemheld |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Ready, Willing, and Able is a 1937 American musical film directed by Ray Enright and starring Ruby Keeler, Lee Dixon, Allen Jenkins and Ross Alexander. [1] It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. Songs in the film were written by composer Richard A. Whiting and lyricist Johnny Mercer. The most successful song introduced by Wini Shaw and Ross Alexander, and reprised throughout, was "Too Marvelous for Words", which has become a pop and jazz standard.
In the final production number choreographed by Bobby Connolly, Ruby Keeler and Lee Dixon tap across the keys of a giant-sized typewriter while dancers’ legs mimic typebars striking letters. The film was released to lackluster business in the aftermath of Alexander's suicide.
This article needs a plot summary.(January 2024) |
Fledgling Broadway playwright Barry Granville (Ross Alexander) and his partner, songwriter Pinky Blair (Lee Dixon), get funding for their musical, contingent on hiring London stage star Jane Clarke as the lead. Greeting Clarke’s ship from England at the pier in New York, the agent 'Katsy' Van Courtland mistakes an American college student, also named Jane Clarke (Ruby Keeler), for the British actress. Willing to try acting, the American Jane masquerades as the London star, and agrees to appear in the musical. Despite being willing, Jane struggles, avoiding singing in any rehearsals for weeks because of her lack of a British accent. Finally, she confesses the ruse to Barry. Meanwhile, the British Jane Clarke puts the show’s prospects at risk by threatening to sue.
Flirtation Walk is a 1934 American romantic musical film written by Delmer Daves and Lou Edelman, and directed by Frank Borzage. It focuses on a soldier who falls in love with a general's daughter during the general's brief stop in Hawaii but is bereft when she leaves with her father for the Philippines before their relationship can blossom. They are re-united several years later when the soldier is about to graduate from West Point and the general becomes the Academy's Commandant.
42nd Street is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon, with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars an ensemble cast of Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers.
Ross Alexander was an American stage and film actor.
Allen Curtis Jenkins was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to baby-boomer audiences as the voice of Officer Charlie Dibble in the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon series Top Cat (1961–62).
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.
Wini Shaw, sometimes credited as Winifred Shaw, was a 20th century American actress, dancer and singer.
Varsity Show is a 1937 American musical film directed by William Keighley from a script by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, Warren Duff and Sig Herzig and starring Dick Powell, Fred Waring and Waring's Pennsylvanians, Ted Healy, and Priscilla Lane. Released by Warner Bros., it features songs by Richard A. Whiting and many others. The finale was directed by Busby Berkeley.
Oscar Shaw was a stage and screen actor and singer, remembered primarily today for his role as Bob Adams in the first film starring the Marx Brothers, The Cocoanuts (1929).
"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was introduced by Wini Shaw and Ross Alexander in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing, and Able, as well as used for a production number in a musical revue on Broadway. The song has become a pop and jazz standard and has been recorded by many artists.
Lee Dixon was an American tap dancer, singer, musician and actor in the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in Hollywood musicals and other films, as well as on the Broadway stage.
Showgirl in Hollywood is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking musical film with Technicolor sequences, produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film stars Alice White, Jack Mulhall and Blanche Sweet. It was adapted from the 1929 novel Hollywood Girl by J.P. McEvoy.
Special Agent is a 1935 American crime drama film directed by William Keighley and starring Bette Davis and George Brent. The screenplay by Laird Doyle and Abem Finkel is based on a story by Martin Mooney. The film was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and released by Warner Bros.
Go into Your Dance is a 1935 American musical drama film starring Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, and Glenda Farrell. The film was directed by Archie Mayo, and is based on the novel of the same name by Bradford Ropes. It was released by Warner Bros. on April 20, 1935. An irresponsible Broadway star gets mixed up with gambling and gangsters.
Winged Victory is a 1944 American drama film directed by George Cukor, a joint effort of 20th Century-Fox and the U.S. Army Air Forces. Based upon the 1943 play of the same name by Moss Hart, who also wrote the screenplay, the film opened only after the play's theatre run. The film version of Winged Victory used many of the Broadway cast, who were brought to Hollywood.
The Perfect Specimen is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Joan Blondell. The picture is based on a novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams.
The Singing Marine is a 1937 American musical film directed by Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley and starring Dick Powell. It was the last of Powell's trio of service-related Warners films: 1934's Flirtation Walk paid tribute, of sorts, to the Army, and 1935's Shipmates Forever to the Navy. This one is distinguished by its two musical sequences directed by Busby Berkeley.
Broadway Hostess is a 1935 American romantic comedy musical film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Wini Shaw, Genevieve Tobin and Lyle Talbot. The film was nominated at the 1935 Academy Awards for the short lived Best Dance Direction category. For which Bobby Connolly was nominated for, along with the film Go into Your Dance.
Shipmates Forever is a 1935 American musical film directed by Frank Borzage and written by Delmer Daves. Set at the United States Naval Academy, the film stars Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Lewis Stone, Ross Alexander, John Arledge, Eddie Acuff, and Dick Foran. The film was released by Warner Bros. on October 12, 1935.
The Singing Kid is a 1936 American musical romance film directed by William Keighley and written by Warren Duff and Pat C. Flick. Starring Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Beverly Roberts, Edward Everett Horton, Lyle Talbot and Allen Jenkins, it was released by Warner Bros. on April 11, 1936.