With a character named Remy Marco, it's hard to believe this borderline "screwball comedy" of the 1930's wasn't written for Edward G. Robinson who uses it to show off his frequently forgotten but deft comic timing.
Actually the play, written and directed by Damon Runyan and Howard Lindsay, was first seen for 69 performances from September 11, 1935, at the 48th Street Theatre on Broadway (now long gone - razed in 1955) with a cast best remembered (if at all) for containing the Broadway debut of José Ferrer as the "Second Policeman."
Transferred to Hollywood with who knows how much tinkering and focusing from screenwriters Earl Baldwin and Joseph Schrank, the property survives today as a delightful change of pace.
Robinson is in his element as the reformed gangster (he'd been playing this comic post-prohibition role since FDR led the drive to repeal prohibition in the campaign for his first term and Robinson climbed on board with 1933's THE LITTLE GIANT). He's trying to go straight and get his daughter married despite a house full of comic distractions. He's ably supported by the usual crew of solid studio henchmen, most notably the always perfect Allen Jenkins & Edward Brophy as Mike & Lefty and Ruth Donnelly as Remy's wife, Nora.
Movie fans who take to the giddy mix of A SLIGHT CASE... should track down a copy of the off beat 1991 Sylvester Stallone film adaptation of an Italian stage comedy, Oscar. That film was a flop when it first came out. Stallone's adventure fans were unprepared for their hero playing so against type. With a markedly similar plot to the Damon Runyon / Howard Lindsay flick under discussion, Oscar was aimed at fans of screwball comedies. THEY should appreciate the script and terrific farce performances for the fun they are.
Actually the play, written and directed by Damon Runyan and Howard Lindsay, was first seen for 69 performances from September 11, 1935, at the 48th Street Theatre on Broadway (now long gone - razed in 1955) with a cast best remembered (if at all) for containing the Broadway debut of José Ferrer as the "Second Policeman."
Transferred to Hollywood with who knows how much tinkering and focusing from screenwriters Earl Baldwin and Joseph Schrank, the property survives today as a delightful change of pace.
Robinson is in his element as the reformed gangster (he'd been playing this comic post-prohibition role since FDR led the drive to repeal prohibition in the campaign for his first term and Robinson climbed on board with 1933's THE LITTLE GIANT). He's trying to go straight and get his daughter married despite a house full of comic distractions. He's ably supported by the usual crew of solid studio henchmen, most notably the always perfect Allen Jenkins & Edward Brophy as Mike & Lefty and Ruth Donnelly as Remy's wife, Nora.
Movie fans who take to the giddy mix of A SLIGHT CASE... should track down a copy of the off beat 1991 Sylvester Stallone film adaptation of an Italian stage comedy, Oscar. That film was a flop when it first came out. Stallone's adventure fans were unprepared for their hero playing so against type. With a markedly similar plot to the Damon Runyon / Howard Lindsay flick under discussion, Oscar was aimed at fans of screwball comedies. THEY should appreciate the script and terrific farce performances for the fun they are.