The Gay Bride
Encyclopedia
The Gay Bride is a 1934 black-and-white
gangster film starring Carole Lombard
as a wisecracking gold-digger and Chester Morris
as the poor man she despises. It was directed by Jack Conway and written by the husband-and-wife team of Sam and Bella Spewak, based on the story "Repeal" by Charles Francis Coe.
) marries the head of a bootlegging syndicate, gangster "Shoots" Magiz (Nat Pendleton
), but the illegal liquor business goes down the drain when Prohibition
is repealed, and Shoots is knocked off by rival Daniel Dingle (Sam Hardy). Mary, looking for a new sugar-daddy, hooks up with Dingle, and when Dingle is removed from the scene by Mickey "The Greek" Mikapopoulis (Leo Carrillo
), transfers her attention to him in return for a "trust fund". All the time, fast-talking straight-shooter Jimmy "Office Boy" Burnham (Chester Morris
), Shoots' former bodyguard and errand boy, has looked after Mary, passing her advice and snappy remarks whenever they're needed. In the end, Mary and Office Boy end up together, but only after "Merry Widow Mary" gives away all the dirty money she was given.
Cast notes:
, which ruined the business of the bootlegger played by Nat Pendelton.
When casting the film, Jean Harlow
was considered for the female lead, and Clark Gable
, Lyle Talbot
, Ricardo Cortez
, Russell Hardie and Richard Arlen
for the male lead. For the role played by Zasu Pitts, Una Merkel
and Isabel Jewell
were considered. MGM ended up borrowing Lombard from Paramount Pictures
for the film, the only one she was to make for the studio, despite her non-exclusive contract with Paramount that allowed her to work wherever she wanted in Hollywood.
wrote that
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
gangster film starring Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
as a wisecracking gold-digger and Chester Morris
Chester Morris
Chester Morris was an American actor, who starred in the Boston Blackie detective series of the 1940s.-Career:...
as the poor man she despises. It was directed by Jack Conway and written by the husband-and-wife team of Sam and Bella Spewak, based on the story "Repeal" by Charles Francis Coe.
Plot
Gold-digging chorus girl Mary (Carole LombardCarole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
) marries the head of a bootlegging syndicate, gangster "Shoots" Magiz (Nat Pendleton
Nat Pendleton
Nathaniel Greene "Nat" Pendleton was an American Olympic wrestler and film actor.-Early life:Pendleton was born in Davenport, Iowa to Adelaide E. and Nathaniel G. Pendleton. He studied at Columbia University where he began his wrestling career. He was twice Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling...
), but the illegal liquor business goes down the drain when Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
is repealed, and Shoots is knocked off by rival Daniel Dingle (Sam Hardy). Mary, looking for a new sugar-daddy, hooks up with Dingle, and when Dingle is removed from the scene by Mickey "The Greek" Mikapopoulis (Leo Carrillo
Leo Carrillo
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo , was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.-Family roots:...
), transfers her attention to him in return for a "trust fund". All the time, fast-talking straight-shooter Jimmy "Office Boy" Burnham (Chester Morris
Chester Morris
Chester Morris was an American actor, who starred in the Boston Blackie detective series of the 1940s.-Career:...
), Shoots' former bodyguard and errand boy, has looked after Mary, passing her advice and snappy remarks whenever they're needed. In the end, Mary and Office Boy end up together, but only after "Merry Widow Mary" gives away all the dirty money she was given.
Cast
- Carole LombardCarole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
as Mary Magiz - Chester MorrisChester MorrisChester Morris was an American actor, who starred in the Boston Blackie detective series of the 1940s.-Career:...
as Jimmy "Office Boy" Burnham - Zazu Pitts as Mirabelle
- Leo CarrilloLeo CarrilloLeopoldo Antonio Carrillo , was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.-Family roots:...
as Mickey "The Greek" Mikapopoulis - Nat PendletonNat PendletonNathaniel Greene "Nat" Pendleton was an American Olympic wrestler and film actor.-Early life:Pendleton was born in Davenport, Iowa to Adelaide E. and Nathaniel G. Pendleton. He studied at Columbia University where he began his wrestling career. He was twice Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling...
as William T. "Shoots" Magiz - Sam Hardy as Daniel J. Dingle
- Walter Walker as MacPherson, the lawyer
Cast notes:
- Eddie "Rochester" Anderson has a small uncredited part as a bootblack.
- Veteran character actorCharacter actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Gene LockhartGene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
also has a small part as a crooked politician, Jim Smiley.
Production
The Gay Bride began shooting on 20 September 1934 and finished on 23 October. It used the working title of "Repeal", which was the title of the short story by Charles Francis Coe it was based on, which had been published in the Saturday Evening Post at the end of 1933. The title refers to the repeal of ProhibitionProhibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, which ruined the business of the bootlegger played by Nat Pendelton.
When casting the film, Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
was considered for the female lead, and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Lyle Talbot
Lyle Talbot
Lyle Talbot , born Lisle Henderson, was an American actor on stage and screen, best known for his long career in movies from 1931 to 1960 and for his frequent appearances on TV in the 1950s and '60s, including his decade-long role as Joe Randolph on television's The Adventures of Ozzie and...
, Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez
Jacob Krantz , known by his stage name Ricardo Cortez, was an American film actor who began his career during the silent era.-Life and career:...
, Russell Hardie and Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen
-Biography:Born Sylvanus Richard Van Mattimore in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. His first job after the war was with St. Paul's Athletic Club...
for the male lead. For the role played by Zasu Pitts, Una Merkel
Una Merkel
Una Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928...
and Isabel Jewell
Isabel Jewell
Isabel Jewell was an American actress most active in the 1930s and early 1940s.-Early life and career:...
were considered. MGM ended up borrowing Lombard from Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
for the film, the only one she was to make for the studio, despite her non-exclusive contract with Paramount that allowed her to work wherever she wanted in Hollywood.
Reception
The Gay Bride was released in the United States on 14 December 1934, and did not earn praise from the critics, nor was it successful at the box office. VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote that
Gangster pictures are gone, and this one won’t do anything to bring them back. It’ll do more to consign them permanently to Davey Jones’ locker down where [box office] grosses don’t count. It deals with hoodlums in a post-prohibition era, but fails to freshen up the story and the conventional means taken to carry it out.Photoplay commented that the film was "A good story loaded with plot complications and blurry character drawings. Even ZaSu Pitts seems more bewildered than usual." Lombard considered the picture one of her worst, and co-star Chester Morris was aware that the film was a "turkey" while they were filming it.