Hold 'Em Jail is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring Wheeler and Woolsey. They play a couple of boobs who are wrongfully convicted for firearm possession and sent to prison, where they somehow end up playing on the warden's football team.
| Hold 'Em Jail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Norman Taurog |
| Written by | Walter DeLeon (screenplay) S.J. Perelman (screenplay) Eddie Welch (screenplay) Mark Sandrich (screenplay) Tim Whelan (story) Lew Lipton (story) John P. Medbury (radio dialogue) Albert Ray (continuity) |
| Produced by | Harry Joe Brown (associate producer) David O. Selznick (executive producer) |
| Starring | Wheeler and Woolsey Edna May Oliver Edgar Kennedy Betty Grable |
| Cinematography | Leonard Smith |
| Edited by | Arthur Roberts |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date | September 16, 1932 |
Running time | 66 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $408,000[1] |
| Box office | $511,000[1] |
Warden Edgar Kennedy is not above framing innocent people into prison and blackmailing them into playing on his football team in exchange for being eventually proven innocent.
Wheeler and Woolsey are wise to the racket, but Kennedy has to treat them with kid gloves because his old maid sister (Oliver) is in love with one of them.
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Rare for the duo, the film is a straight comedy with no musical numbers. It is also noteworthy for giving Betty Grable her first substantial role after appearances as a Goldwyn Girl and in bit parts. The title is a pun on the then-popular college football cheer, "Hold 'em, Yale."
Cast edit
- Bert Wheeler as Curly Harris
- Robert Woolsey as Spider Robbins
- Edna May Oliver as Violet Jones
- Robert Armstrong as Radio Announcer
- Roscoe Ates as Sam
- Edgar Kennedy as Warden Elmer Jones
- Betty Grable as Barbara Jones
- Warren Hymer as Steele
- Paul Hurst as Butch
- G. Pat Collins as Whitey
- Stanley Blystone as Kravette
- Jed Prouty as Warden Charles Clark
- Spencer Charters as the Governor
- John Sheehan as Mike Maloney
Box office edit
According to RKO records the film recorded a loss of $55,000.[1]
References edit
External links edit
- Hold 'Em Jail at IMDb
- Hold 'Em Jail at the TCM Movie Database
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