ZaSu Pitts Movies
According to her own account, actress ZaSu Pitts was given her curious cognomen because she was named for two aunts, Eliza and Susan. Born in Kansas, Pitts moved with her family to California, where at age 19 she began her film career. Her first starring role was as an ugly duckling who finds true love in 1919's Better Times. Her calculated vagueness and fluttery hand gestures earned Pitts comedy roles from the outset, but director Erich Von Stroheim saw dramatic potential in the young actress. He cast her as the grasping, money-mad wife in his masterpiece Greed (1924), and she rose to the occasion with a searing performance. Except for a couple of later collaborations with Von Stroheim, Pitts returned to predominately comic assignments after Greed. One exception was her portrayal of Lew Ayres' ailing mother in the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), a brilliant piece of work that unfortunately fell victim to the editors' scissors when a preview audience, conditioned to Pitts' comedy roles, broke out in loud laughter when she came onscreen (she was replaced by Beryl Mercer in the domestic version of All Quiet, though reportedly her scenes were retained for some European versions). Established as a top character comedian by the '30s (her oft-imitated catchphrase was "Oh, dear, oh my!"), Pitts co-starred with Thelma Todd in a series of Hal Roach two-reelers, was top-billed in such feature programmers as Out All Night (1933) and The Plot Thickens (1935), and showed up in select character roles in A-pictures. During the '40s and '50s, she toured in Ramshackle Inn, a play written especially for her by George Batson. From 1956 through 1960, Pitts played Elvira "Nugey" Nugent on the popular Gale Storm TV sitcom Oh, Susanna. ZaSu Pitts died in 1963, shortly after completing her final film appearance in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and just a few days after her last TV guest assignment on Burke's Law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
In this classic two-reel comedy produced by Hal Roach, the zany team of Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts are serving on a jury when fluttery Pitts accidentally swallows Exhibit A, a time bomb. Sneak Easily was the first of the Todd-Pitts comedies to be directed by Gus Meins, a fine comedy craftsman who more than anyone understood the disparate girls' appeal. As always, Todd and Pitts are helped to no end by a fine supporting cast that this time includes Bobby Burns, James C. Morton, Billy Gilbert, Rolfe Sedan, Charlie Hall, and Harry Bernard, all Roach favorites. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Tall, slinky Anita Garvin took time out from menacing Laurel and Hardy to terrorize the female Stan and Ollie next door, Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts. Garvin plays the star attraction of a touring company eventually torn to shreds by Todd and Pitts and their (un)trained monkey. Interestingly, Show Business was directed by Jules White who later launched (and championed) the two-reel career of the Three Stooges. Indeed, White would remake Show Business with Moe, Larry, and Curly as A Pain in the Pullman (1936). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
The first of three Thelma Todd-ZaSu Pitts two-reel comedies directed by former gag man George Marshall, Strictly Unreliable featured the dowdy Pitts as a stage-struck spinster who stumbles onto the wicked stage during the blonde Todd's vaudeville turn. As always, the girls benefited from a strong supporting cast, this time including Billy Gilbert, Charlie Hall, Bud Jamison, Charlotte Nemo, and future Three Stooges foil Symona Boniface. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Based on the stage comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, Once in a Lifetime is a satire of Hollywood's early-talkie era. A down-and-out vaudeville trio (Jack Oakie, Aline MacMahon, and Russell Hopton) takes advantage of the confusion attending the talkie revolution by heading to Hollywood and posing as voice experts. George (Oakie), the team's dimwitted straight man, falls in love with a pretty young miss (Sidney Fox) who has come to Hollywood to become an actress -- and won't let her utter lack of talent get in the way. Fast-talking themselves into jobs at the Glogauer Studios, the phony vocal specialists eventually wear out their welcome and are on the verge of being fired. But George, who has been listening to the complaints of a disillusioned screenwriter, suddenly spouts those complaints word for word to Mr. Glogauer (Gregory Ratoff) -- and is lauded as a genius for being the first man to stand up to the despotic studio head. George is made a producer, and immediately sets about filming an expensive movie vehicle for his girlfriend. Unfortunately, George had found the script for his film in a wastebasket, and winds up shooting the wrong picture. He and his vaudeville chums are fired, but when his picture (an incomprehensible farrago shot in darkness because George forgot to turn on the klieg lights) is previewed, it is hailed as a daringly original masterpiece. George is made the supervising producer of Glogauer Studios, and all ends happily for himself and his friends. An interesting precursor to the Singin' in the Rain school of Hollywood kidding itself, Once in a Lifetime has tarnished a bit over the years but is still well worth seeing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Aline MacMahon, (more)
- 1932
Joan Blondell, borrowed for the occasion from Warner Bros., earned top-billing in this delightful Hollywood parable, but the real star is of course Stuart Erwin as the irrepressible grocery clerk Merton Gill. Paramount screenwriters Saul Mintz, Walter De Leon and Arthur Kober based their witty scenario on Henry Leon Wilson's 1922 novel Merton of the Movies, the 1923 Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, and the 1924 Famous Players silent version starring Glenn Hunter. By 1932, the story was indeed well-known: Aspiring to become a famous screen cowboy, small-town delivery boy Merton Gill arrives in Hollywood, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and complete with a diploma from the National Correspondence Academy of Acting. Crashing the gates of Majestic Pictures (read: Paramount), Merton manages to fumble his one line bit in the latest Buck Benson (Dink Templeton) western and is fired on the spot. Unwilling to leave the studio, the hapless thespian survives on leftover scraps from the extra's lunch boxes until discovered by comedy starlet "Flip" Montague (Blondell), who takes pity on him and arranges a meeting with Jeff Baird (Sam Hardy), head of the slapstick comedy unit. Bestowed a new name, Whoop Ryder, Merton is starred in what he assumes to be a serious western melodrama but what in reality is yet another burlesque featuring cross-eyed low comic Ben Turpin. Although a big hit with preview audiences, a humiliated Merton is ready to return to the grocery business when "Flip" persuades him to stay by telling him that he is "darn near perfect." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Erwin, Joan Blondell, (more)
- 1932
In this typically silly Thelma Todd-ZaSu Pitts comedy two-reeler, the girls go to a Turkish bath in order to rid themselves of a nasty cold. If nothing else, Red Noses proved a showcase for the Amazonian Blanche Payson, a popular Hal Roach Studios comedienne built like a female linebacker. Payson, whose screen career went from Laurel and Hardy to the Three Stooges, was reportedly a former guard at a women's penitentiary. In addition to Blanche Payson, Red Noses also featured the dignified Wilfred Lucas and rotund dialectician Billy Gilbert. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
In one of his first westerns, Johnny Mack Brown plays Kirby Tornell, who does the "Robin Hood" bit on the wide open spaces. When not flummoxing the Cavalry, Kirby relaxes by playing the piano and rendering a song or two. Despite Kirby's notorious reputation, Carol Winfield (Evalyn Knapp), the daughter of the hero's perennial foe General Winfield (George Irving), can't help falling in love with him. And in the end, Carol surrenders totally to Kirby, riding off with him into the sunset. A strong cast of silent-film veterans (ZaSu Pitts, J. Farrell McDonald, Raymond Hatton) helps lift Vanishing Frontier well above the norm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Evelyn Knapp, (more)
- 1932
Director Ernst Lubitsch gained international acclaim for his sophisticated romantic comedies, but he also had a talent for more serious themes, as evidenced by this 1932 drama. French musician Paul (Phillips Holmes) joined the Army at the height of WWI. On the field of battle, Paul shot and killed his German friend Walter Holderlin (Tom Douglas), another musician enlisted in his country's army. One year after the Armistice, Paul is still haunted by the memory of Walter's death, and he travels to Germany to locate Walter's father, Dr. Holderlin (Lionel Barrymore). Holderlin, his wife (Louise Carter), and Walter's fiancee, Elsa (Nancy Carroll are still shattered by the death of their loved one. Paul informs them of his friendship with their son, but cannot bring himself to unveil his responsibility for Walter's death. The Holderlins welcome Paul in friendship, and gradually, he settles into the household, bringing to both parents a new lease on life. Because of his lingering guilt, he feels tempted to run away, but Elsa discovers the truth about Paul and refuses to let him leave. Meanwhile, the presence of a Frenchman drums up hostilities in the Holderlins' village and the local women gossip continually about the developing relationship between Paul and Elsa. Perhaps because moviegoers completely snubbed The Man I Killed (also released as Broken Lullaby) and turned it into a financial detriment for Paramount, Lubitsch returned to lighter themes after this anti-war drama, and it was the last "serious" picture he would make before his death in 1948. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Nancy Carroll, (more)
- 1932
Ricardo Cortez plays a newspaper gossip columnist based on real-life journalist Walter Winchell (the film's title was in fact a Winchell catchphrase). Merrily dishing up innuendoes and destroying reputations, Cortez enjoys hobnobbing with the rich and powerful, including several disreputable citizens who back up their authority with bullets. He makes the error of announcing a gangland murder before the police have found the body, and in so doing is nearly rubbed out by the killers. An unregenerate louse for most of the film, Cortez finally mends his ways out of love for beautiful Helen Twelvetrees. Is My Face Red? is based on a play by Ben Markson and Allen Rivkin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1932
In their first comedy two-reeler of 1932, vivacious Thelma Todd and fluttery ZaSu Pitts learn that the royal seal of a foreign country has been stolen and promptly set out to catch it -- a sea lion. Not one of the girls' better comedies, Seal Skins was directed jointly by Gilbert Pratt and Morey Lightfoot, both better known as gag writers, and featured such Hal Roach Studio regulars as Billy Gilbert, Leo Willis, and Charlie Hall. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
In this Thelma Todd-ZaSu Pitts two-reel comedy, the girls explain away their speeding ticket with having to reach the emergency hospital. The rest, of course, is pure stunt-car racing. W.C. Fields perfected the idea almost ten year's later in the climax of Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941). James C. Morton, toupee and all, and the dignified-looking Almeda Fowler also appeared under George Marshall's direction. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Richard Dix stars as a heroic riverboat captain in this lurid action-melodrama produced under the aegis of David O. Selznick. Trapped at a hotel in a Mandarin town under siege, a group of Occidentals turn to alcoholic riverboat captain Chauncey Carson (Dix) for help. Among the besieged are Helen (Arline Judge), an American entertainer; her admirer, Busby (Edward Everett Horton); a German doctor (William Orlamond); Carson's cowardly boss, Johnson (Dudley Digges); and Natascha (Gwili Andre), a Russian whom everybody takes for a spy. Carson, who has a long history with Voronsky (C. Henry Gordon) and his Tartar bandits, manages to keep the attackers at bay while at the same time romances the mysterious Natascha, who is no spy after all. A machine gun manned by a self-sacrificing Busby eventually decides the outcome in favor of the westerners, who manage to escape on Carson's riverboat. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Gwili Andre, (more)
- 1932
The 1932 Tom Mix version of Destry Rides Again bears no more relation to the original Max Brand novel than does the 1939 James Stewart remake. Thanks to his crooked partner (Earle Foxe), Jim Destry (Mix) is thrown into jail. Finally released, he "rides again" to prove his innocence and bring the guilty parties to justice. The action highlights include the hero's leap from a train to his horse and back again (it doesn't look as if doubles were used). Claudia Dell, best known to present-day audiences as Spanky's mother in the "Our Gang" films, is the heroine, while ZaSu Pitts, of all people, supplies the comedy relief. Though Tom Mix expressed displeasure with the film, Destry Rides Again remains one of his best talkies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
- 1932
In this comedy, a nursemaid steals the heart of a wealthy socialite and thereby saves him from marrying a conniving gold-digger. The trouble begins when the fellow's newly adopted daughter arrives and decides to pair him up with the new nursemaid. Naturally the fiancee ends up most displeased by the beautiful usurper and when the socialite marries the sweet girl, the gold-digger ends up all alone. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Slim" Summerville, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
- 1932
In this classic two-reel comedy from the Hal Roach Studio, blonde Thelma Todd and plain-Jane ZaSu Pitts are depressed because their cheapskate boyfriends (Billy Gilbert and Charlie Hall) refuse to take them anywhere other than the amusement park at Coney Island. Things brighten considerably when they meet a couple of sophisticated Englishmen (John Loder and Claud Allister), who invite them to -- Coney Island. Finally able to spend an evening at home, the girls answer the doorbell, only to find Laurel and Hardy inquiring if they would like to accompany them to -- Coney Island. Thelma and ZaSu respond by hurling kewpie dolls after the unlucky suitors. Stan and Ollie appeared in this comedy as a favor to their boss, Hal Roach, who sat in the director's chair. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
A goodly portion of this boxing drama was filmed on location at the real-life Madison Square Garden. Jack Oakie stars as Eddie Burke, a wise-guy pugilist whose talent is unevenly matched by his ego. Despite his character flaws, Eddie knows the meaning of loyalty. When his manager Doc Williams (William Collier Sr.) is offered the opportunity to stage a match at Madison Square Garden, but only if he gets rid of his stable of fighters, Eddie fabricates an alibi and stages a walkout on Doc. Our hero returns to the fold in time to foil a gang of gambler-bootleggers, headed by Sloane (William "Stage" Boyd) and Roarke (Lew Cody). Thomas Meighan, one of Paramount Picture's most popular silent-era leading men, made his last appearance for his home studio as the leader of the Garden's board of directors. Madison Square Garden includes cameo appearances by such famed athletes as Jack Johnson, Tom Sharkey, Ted Sloan, and Mike Donlin and by such stellar sports reporters as Damon Runyon, Grantland Rice, Westbrook Pegler, Paul Gallico, Jack Lait and Edward W. Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Marian Nixon, (more)
- 1932
A starry-eyed girl marries an impoverished but talented young writer. Though easily frustrated and given to temperamental outbursts, the wife's presence soothes him and their marriage is happy. Then she gives birth to their daughter. The child grows up to be a mischief maker and this causes the break up of the marriage. Following the divorce, the woman marries a wealthy man. Many years pass before the former lovers meet again. With both in more stable circumstances, it doesn't take long for their old love to reemerge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Ann Harding, (more)
- 1932
Marion Davies and Billie Dove, both veterans of the real-life Ziegfeld Follies, star in the entertaining comedy-drama Blondie of the Follies. Having both grown up in the New York tenement district, Blondie (Davies) and Lurleen (Dove) hope to escape their shabby surroundings in favor of the show-business world. But while Lurleen takes "the easiest path," sleeping her way to the top and living in luxury as the kept woman of playboy Robert Montgomery, Blondie does her best to hold on to her virtue while climbing the rungs of fame and fortune. The rivalry between the two girls reaches a fever pitch when Lurleen inadvertently causes Blondie to suffer a debilitating injury during a particularly treacherous Follies production number. Sticking fast to her principles, Blondie ultimately wins Montgomery, whereupon she and Lurleen renew their rocky friendship. The film's highlight is a delightful party scene in which Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante perform a devastating send-up of Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in Grand Hotel. Blondie of the Follies might have even been better had it been shorter; at 90 minutes, however, it veers towards repetition and predictability in the final reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1932
In this romantic boxing drama, an up-and-comer gets creamed in a fight and decides it is time to take a promoter's advice and fight with more equal partners. His girl friend is very happy about the decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Based on a best-selling novel by Fannie Hurst, Back Street concerns an ill-starred couple, Rae (Irene Dunne) and Walter (John Boles). Rae meets Walter and falls hopelessly in love with him; Walter is also drawn to Rae, but he has already pledged to marry another woman and can't find a way out. They part, and for a while Rae takes up with someone else; Walter needs to leave the country and impulsively tries to arrange a marriage with Rae, but she is unable, due to her new beau, and he sails away without her. When Rae next encounters Walter, he has married a woman from a wealthy family. Even though he's wedded to another, a passion still burns between Walter and Rae, and they enter into an illicit affair. Over the course of nearly 30 years, Rae turns down opportunities to marry other men to live a shadowy life as Walter's mistress, until she accepts a proposal of marriage when she's convinced that Walter is finally through with her. This was the first of three film versions of Hurst's story; remakes were released in 1941 and 1961. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, John Boles, (more)
- 1932
Barbara Stanwyck overcomes a veritable ocean of clichés and manages to make her "shopworn" heroine come to life in this old-fashioned but rather poignant melodrama. A waitress in her aunt and uncle's café, orphaned Kitty Lane falls in love with society scion Dave Livingston (Regis Toomey). Much to Mrs. Livingston's regret, Dave is equally smitten and the society matron (Clara Blandick) has Kitty convicted on a trumped up charge of prostitution. While Dave accompanies his mother on a long trip to Europe, Kitty serves her time in reform school and later becomes a successful showgirl. Reunited after several years, Dave and Kitty resume their romance and Mrs. Livingston once again attempts to talk Kitty out of marrying her son, this time by brandishing a firearm. Like Marguerite Gautier had before her, Kitty is about to sacrifice her love when Dave's mother suddenly has a change of heart. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Regis Toomey, (more)
The "Crooked Circle" gang consists of a dozen or so hooded villains, all of whom have sworn revenge on the Sphinx Club, a dedicated anti-criminal organization. It's difficult to differentiate the heroes and the villains without a score card: sinister swami Yoganda (C. Henry Gordon), for example, turns out to be an operative for the secret service. The story comes to a head in a supposedly haunted house, where hero Brand Osborne (Ben Lyon) and heroine Thelma (Irene Purcell) try to make sense of things before ending up victims of the Crooked Circle. Rather top-heavy with comedy relief, the film features ZaSu Pitts and James Gleason during their usual ZaSu Pitts and James Gleason imitations. The Crooked Circle was written by Ralph H. Spence, who borrows heavily from his own stage comedy-melodrama The Gorilla. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
- 1931
The second of three versions of James Oliver Curwood's pulp fiction drama of a mountie and his separated-at-birth prey stars Charles Bickford as both Sgt. Conniston and accused murderer John Keith. The latter is persuaded to prove his innocence by impersonating his captor, who has conveniently died from a "frosted heart." Everyone at the Mountie outpost likes the "new" Conniston, especially the dead mountie's girlfriend, Miriam (Evelyn Knapp), who just happens to be the daughter of the commandant (David Torrence). This idyll, however, is rudely interrupted when a jealous rival (Walter McGrail) reveals that Conniston has a wife and child stacked away in faraway England, a development that forces Keith to show his hand. River's End had been filmed in 1920 as a vehicle for Lewis Stone and would be remade in 1940 starring Dennis Moore. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bickford, Evelyn Knapp, (more)
- 1931
Previously filmed in 1923, Booth Tarkington's nostalgic novel Penrod and Sam made its first talking-picture appearance in 1931 (both versions were directed by William Beaudine). The title roles are essayed by two of the most talented and ubiquitous juvenile performers of the 1930s, Leon Janney and Junior Coughlan. As the organizers of a "secret" boys club, Penrod and Sam exclude the local "sissies" from membership, only to be forced to allow the obnoxious Rodney Bitts (Nestor Aber) to join when Rodney's father buys the land where the club is based. Beyond the expected "Our Gang"-style antics and pranks, there is a moment of almost unbearable pathos when Penrod is told that his beloved dog has been run over by a car. Burying the pooch near his clubhouse, Penrod is shooed off the property by Rodney's father, whereupon Penrod's dad purchases the land himself -- a turn of events that delights Penrod and Sam, but does not bode well for poor Rodney! Penrod and Sam was remade in 1937 as a vehicle for twin child stars Billy and Bobby Mauch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Janney, Matt Moore, (more)
