Shipping clerk Joe Holt is mistaken for a swimming champion and expected to compete in a long-distance swim race off Catalina Island.Shipping clerk Joe Holt is mistaken for a swimming champion and expected to compete in a long-distance swim race off Catalina Island.Shipping clerk Joe Holt is mistaken for a swimming champion and expected to compete in a long-distance swim race off Catalina Island.
Preston Foster
- Ed Dover
- (as Preston S. Foster)
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins
- Sam Wellington
- (as Farina)
Oscar Apfel
- Armstrong
- (uncredited)
Spencer Bell
- Porter
- (uncredited)
Don Brodie
- Judge's Assistant
- (uncredited)
William Burress
- Roger Colby
- (uncredited)
A.S. 'Pop' Byron
- Elliott
- (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler
- Harbor Steward
- (uncredited)
James Eagles
- Messenger
- (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
- Race Fan on Boat
- (uncredited)
June Gittelson
- Fat Swimmer in Lane #1
- (uncredited)
Frank Hagney
- Holt's Manager
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to studio records, shooting took 31 days.
- GoofsSam helps Joe grease up for the big swimming race. In the first shot (close-up), he is greasing Joe's right thigh, and Joe's leg below the knee is clean. The next close-up shows Sam working his way down Joe's calf. In a subsequent long shot, Joe's right calf is greased up to the knee, but his thigh is clean.
- Quotes
Harry Daniels: Now, everybody, back to your desks and into depression.
- SoundtracksAvalon
(uncredited)
Composed by Vincent Rose
Based on "E lucevan le stelle" from "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini
[Played during the opening photo credits and often in the score]
Featured review
A solid little Joe E. Brown comedy
This is neither the best or worst thing Joe E. Brown ever did. It was made during his "salad days" over at Warner Brothers/First National where he did his best talking picture work. Brown plays Joe Holt, a shipping clerk who invents an unsinkable bathing suit and dreams of better things as he is constantly hazed and disrespected by his fellow employees. He soon learns he has inherited the estate of a relative in California. However, all he winds up with is five dollars and a young ward, played by Farina of Our Gang fame. Joe's luck soon turns, though, when he is mistaken for a championship swimmer by the same name. Deathly afraid of water, our hero would have confessed the mix-up to his hosts immediately if it were not for two things - the good eats at his hosts' comfy estate and, more importantly, the attention of an attractive young lady, Alice (Ginger Rogers), who just adores good swimmers.
The film has some good Joe E. Brown moments in it, who in many ways had the kind of early talkie career that Buster Keaton could have had if he had not been tied to a studio that so misunderstood his potential (MGM). MGM's forte was drama not comedy, and certainly not physical comedy. Ginger Rogers is in a transitional role here, as she is playing someone who is splitting the difference between her earlier flapper persona and her more hardened chorine image in the Berkeley musicals. Farina does a good job as Joe's ward and the only real friend Joe has. Preston Foster, as Joe's rival for both the championship and Alice, bears a striking resemblance to Ralph Bellamy both physically and in how Bellamy played the cad in some of his earlier screen roles.
A good film from the precode era that doesn't have a precode moment in it, which is odd considering its stars.
The film has some good Joe E. Brown moments in it, who in many ways had the kind of early talkie career that Buster Keaton could have had if he had not been tied to a studio that so misunderstood his potential (MGM). MGM's forte was drama not comedy, and certainly not physical comedy. Ginger Rogers is in a transitional role here, as she is playing someone who is splitting the difference between her earlier flapper persona and her more hardened chorine image in the Berkeley musicals. Farina does a good job as Joe's ward and the only real friend Joe has. Preston Foster, as Joe's rival for both the championship and Alice, bears a striking resemblance to Ralph Bellamy both physically and in how Bellamy played the cad in some of his earlier screen roles.
A good film from the precode era that doesn't have a precode moment in it, which is odd considering its stars.
helpful•110
- AlsExGal
- Feb 26, 2010
- How long is You Said a Mouthful?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Galopperande fisken
- Filming locations
- William Wrigley Jr. Summer Cottage or Mt. Ada, 76 Wrigley Road, Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California, USA(outdoor balcony overlooking Avalon Bay)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $223,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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