Piccadilly Jim (1936 film)
Encyclopedia
Piccadilly Jim is a 1936
romantic comedy film
directed by Robert Z. Leonard
. The film is based on the 1917 novel of the same name
written by P. G. Wodehouse
.
Meanwhile, Jim meets and falls in love with Ann Chester, Nesta Pett's niece, whom he meets in a nightclub. Ann is dating Lord Frederick 'Freddie' Priory, and therefore keeps her distance from Jim, despite his several failed attempts to get to know her better and to woo her. To worsen the matters, Jim finds out he is fired because he missed numerous deadlines, and the Petts take Eugenia and Ann with them to the French Riviera for a month, leaving James sad and Jim, who is clueless about Ann's family connection, wondering where she has disappeared to. But Jim has developed a comic strip based on the Petts (mainly Nesta, her husband, Herbert, and her son, Ogden), and it's a huge hit in England. The strip is titled 'From Rags to Riches', featuring the 'Richswitch Family'. The cartoons become an instant succes, and Jim grows financially secure. He uses his new wealth to hire a team of detectives to find Ann.
When the Petts return to England, they are recognized as the people from the drawings, and are soon the joke of the town. This infuriates the family, including Ann. Jim, upon learning Ann is the niece of the Petts, hides his identity and instead poses as Bayliss' son. He finagles a way to spend a few hours with Ann before her family flees England for the United States, and he works out a way to cross to New York on the same ship as Ann and Lord Priory. Before leaving England, he tries to cancel the comic strip, but learns he doesn't own the rights to it. He also learns that the strip has been picked up by newspapers in the States.
Even though Jim makes the Richwitch Family characters more benevolent, Ann is furious when she finds out that 'Bayliss' son' is actually Piccadilly Jim. The Petts are, on the other hand, enjoying their popularity and welcome Jim. Meanwhile, James poses as the Danish count Olav Osric to impress the family as Eugenia's lover. Bayliss suspects that Ann's fiancée Freddie is not a descendent of the wealthy Priory family as he insists, so Jim tries to discredit Freddie. At a party, he announces that he will "unmask the imposter." James – as count Osric – feels this is addressed to him, so he reveals his true identity, and is immediately rejected by the Petts.
When he finds out that Freddie is not the liar Bayliss claimed he was, Jim decides to give up his hope in winning Ann's heart, and leaves for London. On the boat, Bayliss encourages him not to give up. Jim realize Bayliss is right, and he runs for shore, leaping onto the lowering gangplank, where he bumps into Ann, who by then also realized that she is in love with him. In the end, they kiss.
was initially set to produce the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
musical adaptation of Piccadilly Jim, and in late 1934, Robert Montgomery
was assigned to be directed by J. Walter Ruben
. Robert Benchley
was hired to write the original screenplay, but Selznick replaced him with Rowland Lee in October 1934. The production was shelved for numerous months, until it was put on the schedule again in August 1935.
In preparation, Montgomery visited the original location of the story to "catch the true spirit" and visited "tailor after tailor" for Piccadilly clothes, to wear in the film. Casting and crew assignings resumed until May 1936.
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Robert Z. Leonard
Robert Zigler Leonard was an American film director, actor, producer and screenwriter.He was born in Chicago, Illinois...
. The film is based on the 1917 novel of the same name
Piccadilly Jim
Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on February 24, 1917 by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom in May 1918 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
written by P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
.
Plot
American caricaturist Jim Crocker is a popular womanizer in London known by his pen name 'Piccadilly Jim'. He supports his father James, an out-of-work actor with a great admiration for Shakespeare, but also with an inability to remember lines from the Bard's work. Most characters in the film describe James as a ham. Jim lives with his impeccable valet, Bayliss. Jim is happy when he finds out that his father is to be engaged to Eugenia Willis, until it turns out that Eugenia's overbearing sister, Nesta Pett, refuses to give permission for the marriage due to doubts of James' sincerity and his financial background. One morning, James' tries to introduce the Petts to his son, whom he describes as an artist, but Jim, who has stayed out all night drinking again, comes staggering in to find that Nesta Pett has discovered that the "artist" is a caricaturist, which does not impress her.Meanwhile, Jim meets and falls in love with Ann Chester, Nesta Pett's niece, whom he meets in a nightclub. Ann is dating Lord Frederick 'Freddie' Priory, and therefore keeps her distance from Jim, despite his several failed attempts to get to know her better and to woo her. To worsen the matters, Jim finds out he is fired because he missed numerous deadlines, and the Petts take Eugenia and Ann with them to the French Riviera for a month, leaving James sad and Jim, who is clueless about Ann's family connection, wondering where she has disappeared to. But Jim has developed a comic strip based on the Petts (mainly Nesta, her husband, Herbert, and her son, Ogden), and it's a huge hit in England. The strip is titled 'From Rags to Riches', featuring the 'Richswitch Family'. The cartoons become an instant succes, and Jim grows financially secure. He uses his new wealth to hire a team of detectives to find Ann.
When the Petts return to England, they are recognized as the people from the drawings, and are soon the joke of the town. This infuriates the family, including Ann. Jim, upon learning Ann is the niece of the Petts, hides his identity and instead poses as Bayliss' son. He finagles a way to spend a few hours with Ann before her family flees England for the United States, and he works out a way to cross to New York on the same ship as Ann and Lord Priory. Before leaving England, he tries to cancel the comic strip, but learns he doesn't own the rights to it. He also learns that the strip has been picked up by newspapers in the States.
Even though Jim makes the Richwitch Family characters more benevolent, Ann is furious when she finds out that 'Bayliss' son' is actually Piccadilly Jim. The Petts are, on the other hand, enjoying their popularity and welcome Jim. Meanwhile, James poses as the Danish count Olav Osric to impress the family as Eugenia's lover. Bayliss suspects that Ann's fiancée Freddie is not a descendent of the wealthy Priory family as he insists, so Jim tries to discredit Freddie. At a party, he announces that he will "unmask the imposter." James – as count Osric – feels this is addressed to him, so he reveals his true identity, and is immediately rejected by the Petts.
When he finds out that Freddie is not the liar Bayliss claimed he was, Jim decides to give up his hope in winning Ann's heart, and leaves for London. On the boat, Bayliss encourages him not to give up. Jim realize Bayliss is right, and he runs for shore, leaping onto the lowering gangplank, where he bumps into Ann, who by then also realized that she is in love with him. In the end, they kiss.
Cast
- Robert MontgomeryRobert Montgomery (actor)Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
as James 'Piccadilly Jim' Crocker, Jr. - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as James Crocker/Count Olav Osric - Madge EvansMadge EvansMadge Evans was an American stage and film actress. She began her career as a child performer and model.-Child model and stage actress:...
as Ann Chester - Eric BloreEric BloreEric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
as Bayliss - Robert BenchleyRobert BenchleyRobert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
as Bill Macon - Billie BurkeBillie BurkeMary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
as Eugenia Willis - Ralph ForbesRalph ForbesrightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
as Lord Frederick 'Freddie' Priory - Cora WitherspoonCora WitherspoonCora Witherspoon was an American actress who played supporting roles in films from the 1930s until the 1950s....
as Nesta Pett - Tommy Bupp as Ogden Pett
- Aileen PringleAileen PringleAileen Pringle was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era.-Early life:Born Aileen Bisbee into a prominent and wealthy San Francisco, California family and educated in Europe, Pringle began her acting career shortly after her 1916 marriage to Charles McKenzie Pringle, the son...
as Paducah Pomeroy - Grant MitchellGrant Mitchell (actor)Grant Mitchell was an American stage actor on Broadway and character actor in many Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s...
as Herbert Prett
Production
David O. SelznickDavid O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
was initially set to produce the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
musical adaptation of Piccadilly Jim, and in late 1934, Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
was assigned to be directed by J. Walter Ruben
J. Walter Ruben
Jacob Walter Ruben was an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He wrote for 35 films between 1926 and 1942...
. Robert Benchley
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
was hired to write the original screenplay, but Selznick replaced him with Rowland Lee in October 1934. The production was shelved for numerous months, until it was put on the schedule again in August 1935.
In preparation, Montgomery visited the original location of the story to "catch the true spirit" and visited "tailor after tailor" for Piccadilly clothes, to wear in the film. Casting and crew assignings resumed until May 1936.