Palmy Days
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. Edward Sutherland
Written byEddie Cantor
Morrie Ryskind
David Freedman
Produced bySamuel Goldwyn
StarringEddie Cantor
Charlotte Greenwood
George Raft
CinematographyGregg Toland
Edited bySherman Todd
Music byHarry Akst
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
October 3, 1931 (1931-10-03)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,601,000[1][2]

Palmy Days is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley (who makes a cameo appearance as a fortune teller). The film stars Eddie Cantor. The famed Goldwyn Girls make appearances during elaborate production numbers set in a gymnasium and a bakery ("Glorifying the American Doughnut"). Betty Grable, Paulette Goddard, Virginia Grey, and Toby Wing are among the bevy of chorines. George Raft had an early role.[3]

Plot

Eddie Simpson's family bakery/restaurant grows into a huge success; thanks to Simpsons's entertainment shows and a fortune-telling booth run by the mysterious Yolando.

When Simpson discovers the fortune-teller is running a racket that cheats people out of their savings; Yolando and his henchman do their best to dispose of him by feeding him into one of the large bakery ovens. However, their efforts fail.

Cast (in credits order)

Music

Cantor's major musical numbers are "My Baby Said Yes, Yes" and "There's Nothing Too Good For My Baby".

Reception

The film was one of the most popular movies of the year.[4]

New York Times movie critic Mordaunt Hall, described Palmy Days as "a more or less funny diatribe" with "two or three inconsequential melodies and a great deal to gaze, including pretty damsels from the Pacific Coast and effectively photographed groups of dancers."[5]

Product placement

Brand-name products rarely appeared in movies of this period, partly because of the campaign against that practice by the motion picture trade periodical Harrison's Reports. In an editorial, that publication reported the on-screen appearance of an Underwood Typewriter and product of Continental Baking Company.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", International Motion Picture Almanac 1937-38 (1938) (pg. 942); accessed April 19, 2014
  2. ^ "WHICH CINEMA FILMS HAVE EARNED THE MOST MONEY SINCE 1914?". The Argus. Melbourne. March 4, 1944. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Vagg, Stephen (February 9, 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft". Filmink.
  4. ^ Everett Aaker, The Films of George Raft, McFarland & Company, 2013 p 18
  5. ^ New York Times, Movie Review, "Palmy Days (1931) The Screen; A Frolic, With Mr. Cantor" September 24, 1931
  6. ^ Harrison's Reports November 28, 1931, page 189

External links


Films directed by A. Edward Sutherland
Busby Berkeley
Films produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Categories