Times Square Playboy

Times Square Playboy
Times Square Playboy
Directed by	William C. McGann
Written by	Roy Chanslor
Based on	the 1926 play Hometowners; by George M. Cohan
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis
Starring	Warren William; June Travis; Barton MacLane
Cinematography	L. William O'Connell
Edited by	Jack Killifer
Music by	Leo F. Forbstein ; Heinz Roemheld
Production; company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	May 9, 1936;
Running time	62 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Times Square Playboy is a 1936 American romance film directed by William C. McGann and starring Warren William, June Travis and Barton MacLane.^[1] It is based on the 1926 play Hometowners by George M. Cohan, and was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It is also known by the alternative title of His Best Man. The film's art direction was by Esdras Hartley, its costume design by Orry-Kelly.^[2]

Plot

Hardworking New York City stockbroker Vic Arnold is elated to announce at a business meeting that Beth Calhoun has agreed to marry him. He invites his best friend, Ben "Pig Head" Bancroft, to come from his home town of Big Bend, Indiana, to be his best man.

However, Ben becomes convinced that the much younger Beth is only marrying Vic for his money and that she is secretly still attached to college football star and admirer Joe Roberts, who is about her age. Despite the efforts of his wife Lottie, he accuses Beth of being a gold digger, and her brother Wally and their parents of complicity. Insulted, Beth makes Vic choose between them. Vic refuses to give up his best friend, so Beth gives him back his engagement ring.

Later, Ben finds out he was mistaken. Wally returns a $40,000 bracelet Vic gave Beth; he also reveals that Joe, who has repeatedly proposed to Beth, is actually much richer than Vic. However, when Vic opens the jewelry case, it is empty. The Calhouns show up to defend themselves from the insinuation that Beth kept the bracelet. Ben then admits he hid it in order to bring everybody together. He even resorts to putting Wally in a half nelson to get him to stay and listen to his heartfelt apology. In the end, he succeeds in reuniting the couple.

Cast

Warren William as Victor "Vic" Arnold
June Travis as Beth Calhoun, aka Fay Melody
Barton MacLane as Casey, Vic's butler / trainer
Gene Lockhart as P.H. Ben "Pig Head" Bancroft
Kathleen Lockhart as Lottie Bancroft
Dick Purcell as Wally Calhoun
Craig Reynolds as Joe Roberts
Granville Bates as Mr. Mort Calhoun
Dorothy Vaughan as Mrs. Nellie Calhoun

Reception

The New York Times gave the film a lukewarm review, calling it "a noisy comedy which manages to be alternately amusing and dull" and "suffers in the main because it is too reverent an adaptation of the parent work", though the "principal rôles are in capable hands and are played for what they are worth by Warren William and Gene and Kathleen Lockhart".^[3]

References

^ Stangeland p.161
^ Elizabeth Leese, Costume Design in the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers (NY: Dover, 2012/1976). ISBN 9780486134291
^ T. M. P. (May 2, 1936). "At the Palace". The New York Times.

Bibliography

John Stangeland. Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood. McFarland, 2010.

External links

Times Square Playboy at IMDb
Times Square Playboy at the TCM Movie Database

[1] Stangeland p.161

[2] Elizabeth Leese, Costume Design in the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers (NY: Dover, 2012/1976). ISBN 9780486134291

[3] T. M. P. (May 2, 1936). "At the Palace". The New York Times.

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