Ann Sothern was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s in bit parts in films. In 1930, she made her Broadway stage debut and soon worked her way up to starring roles. In 1939, MGM cast her as Maisie Ravier, a brash yet lovable Brooklyn showgirl. The character proved to be popular and spawned a successful film series and a network radio series.
Joseph Mansfield Santley was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatrical plays motion pictures and television shows. He adopted the stage name of his stepfather, actor Eugene Santley.
Gene Raymond was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorated military pilot.
Henry Stephenson was a British actor. He generally portrayed amiable and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Mr. Brownlow in Oliver Twist (1948).
Brother Orchid is a 1940 American crime/comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy and Allen Jenkins. The screenplay was written by Earl Baldwin, with uncredited contributions from Jerry Wald and Richard Macauley, based on a story by Richard Connell originally published in Collier's Magazine on May 21, 1938. Prior to the creation of the movie version of Connell's story, a stage adaptation was written by playwright/novelist Leo Brady. The script was originally produced at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C..
Albert E. Lewis was a Polish-born Broadway and film producer. His family emigrated to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York when he was a boy. He became a vaudeville comedian, then started a partnership producing one-act plays for vaudeville. Around 1930 he moved to Hollywood and worked as a film producer with Paramount, RKO, and MGM until after World War II.
The Magnificent Brute is a 1936 American drama film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Victor McLaglen, Binnie Barnes and Jean Dixon. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by Albert S. D'Agostino and Jack Otterson.
Coast Guard is a 1939 American adventure film released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Randolph Scott, Frances Dee and Ralph Bellamy. It is set before World War II.
Super-Sleuth is a 1937 American mystery comedy film directed by Ben Stoloff. It was an early lead role for Jack Oakie. Super Sleuth was a remade in 1946 as Genius at Work, with comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney.
There Goes the Groom is a 1937 screwball comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Ann Sothern and Burgess Meredith. It was Burgess Meredith's second film and his first screen comedy; his first film, Winterset (1936), was a serious romantic drama.
Folies Bergère de Paris is a 1935 American musical comedy film produced by Darryl Zanuck for 20th Century Films, directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Maurice Chevalier, Merle Oberon and Ann Sothern. At the 8th Academy Awards, the “Straw Hat” number, choreographed by Dave Gould, won the short-lived Academy Award for Best Dance Direction, sharing the honor with “I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'” from Broadway Melody of 1936. The film, based on the 1934 play The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler, is a story of mistaken identity, with Maurice Chevalier playing both a music-hall star and a business tycoon who resembles him. This was Chevalier’s last film in Hollywood for twenty years, and reprised familiar themes such as the straw hat and a rendering of the French song "Valentine". This is also the last film to be distributed by Twentieth Century Pictures before it merged with Fox Film in 1935 to form 20th Century Fox.
Smartest Girl in Town is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley, written by Viola Brothers Shore, and starring Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes and Harry Jans. It was released on November 27, 1936, by RKO Pictures.
There Goes My Girl is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Ben Holmes, written by Harry Segall, and starring Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, Gordon Jones, Richard Lane, Frank Jenks and Bradley Page. It was released on May 21, 1937, by RKO Pictures.
She's Got Everything is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Santley from a screenplay by Harry Segall and Maxwell Shane, based on a story by Shane and Joseph Hoffman. The film stars Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern, with supporting performances by Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Parkyakarkus, and Billy Gilbert. RKO Radio Pictures produced and distributed the picture, which was released on the final day of 1937.
Fred Santley, also known variously as Freddie Santley, Fredric Santley, Frederick Santley, Frederic Santley, and Fredric M. Santley, was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras, as well as an actor on the Broadway stage.
My American Wife is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Harold Young and written by Elmer Davis, Edith Fitzgerald and Virginia Van Upp. The film stars Francis Lederer, Ann Sothern, Fred Stone, Billie Burke, Ernest Cossart and Grant Mitchell. The film was released on August 7, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.
Laughing Irish Eyes is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Olive Cooper, Ben Ryan and Stanley Rauh. The film stars Phil Regan, Walter C. Kelly, Evalyn Knapp, Ray Walker, Mary Gordon and Warren Hymer. The film was released on March 4, 1936, by Republic Pictures.
The Hell Cat is a 1934 pre-Code American crime film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Robert Armstrong, Ann Sothern and Benny Baker.
Swing, Sister, Swing is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Charles Grayson. The film stars Ken Murray, Johnny Downs, Kathryn Kane, Eddie Quillan, Ernest Truex and Edna Sedgewick. The film was released on December 16, 1938, by Universal Pictures.
A Dangerous Affair is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Jack Holt, Ralph Graves and Sally Blane.
