Ginger Rogers Film Review #9: The Tenderfoot

"The Tenderfoot" (May 23, 1932 - First National / Vitaphone)

Run Time (approximate): 70 minutes.

Directed by: Ray Enright.

Adaptation: Arthur Caesar, Monty Banks, Earl Baldwin.

Story by: Richard Carle.

Based on the play "The Butter and Egg Man" by: George S. Kaufman.

Also Starring: Joe E. Brown (as Calvin Jones), Lew Cody (as Joe Lehman), Vivan Oakland (as Miss Martin), Robert Krieg (as Mack), Ralph Ince (as Dolan), Marion Byron (as Kitty), Douglas Gerrard (as Stage Director), Spencer Charters (as Oscar), Douglas Gerrard (as Stage Director), Edith Allen (as A Tart at the Depot (uncredited)), Joe Barton (as The Hebrew (uncredited)), Herman Bing (as The Chef (uncredited)),George Chandler (as Depot Bum (uncredited)), Richard Cramer (as Lefty Duran - Racketeer (uncredited)), George Davis (as Waiter (uncredited)), Jill Dennett (as Cafe Cashier (uncredited)), Harrison Greene (as Dining Extra (uncredited)), Ben Hall (as Bellhop (uncredited)), Al Hill (as Spud - A Thug (uncredited)), Eddie Kane (as Hat Salesman (uncredited)), Lee Kohlmar (as Waiter (uncredited)), Allan Lane (as An Actor (uncredited)), John Larkin (as Depot Porter (uncredited)), Gus Leonard (as Grizzled Man Viewing Triplets (uncredited)), Theodore Lorch (as An Actor (uncredited)), Wilfred Lucas (as Patterson (uncredited)), Mae Madison (as Cafe Maid (uncredited)), Charlotte Merriam (as An Actress (uncredited)), Zita Moulton (as An Actress (uncredited)), Nat Pendleton (as Joe - Jealous Husband (uncredited)), Walter Percival (as Depot Slicker (uncredited)), Bob Perry (as A Thug (uncredited)), Harry Seymour (as Newsstand Proprietor (uncredited)), Charles Sullivan (as Spike - A Thug (uncredited)), Dorothy Vernon (as Maid (uncredited)).

Ginger's Character: "Ruth Weston"

Ginger 'Screen Time': Approx. 14 min, 45 sec. (20.6% of the film)

Ginger Tunes: None, although she plays the piano quite a bit...or so it appears, anyway...

Gingery Goodness Factor (GGF) (1-10): (8.5) - Pretty spunky, but generally a 'normal' role as the love intrest of hipster doofus Joe E. Brown. No singing, but some pretty good sassiness throughout for Ginger, although she doesn't even appear until about 15 minutes in. However, as far as the 'shooting' of Ginger, she is VERY well represented in this one - her first movie which really uses close-ups throughout - hence, it's number one to date, y'all...

Film Quality (1-10): (8.5) - WB Archives copy viewed - Pretty good - no major issues.

Available From: WB Archives, TCM

Huey's Review for Gingerology: Ginger's first film for First National / Vitaphone (which eventually became Warner Brothers) found her in a somewhat familiar role as the 'love interest' of the lead character...and what a character we find in Calvin (Peter) Jones, played deftly by Joe E. Brown. The character of Calvin can best be described as Barney Fife meets Goofy, with just enough Hopalong Cassidy thrown in to save the day in the end...which somehow makes for a pretty funny character, IMHO. Calvin barges into New York City from Texas, bringing all his yippy-ki-yi-ay-ness along with him. He finds a place to rustle up vittles (sorry...I'll try to refrain from tired western cliches henceforth...), which is a pretty funny scene, as he orders a 'light breakfast' which takes five minutes to recite.
Witnessing the bizzare request from Calvin are Joe Lehman (Lew Cody) and "Mack" McClure (Robert Krieg), who run a floundering Broadway production company. After catching wind that Calvin has a cool $20 G's on his person, they decide to butter him up and persuade him to become a partner...and it just so happens that is why Calvin is in town - to get into show biz, one way or another. Probably the funnist scene is Calvin watching the rehersal of the play...I was laughing out loud, seriously.
Of course, Calvin is the quintessential sucker here, but is blissfully unaware of it...until the secretary for the outfit, Ruth Weston (Ginger Rogers) knocks some sense into him after the show flops in Syracuse in its 'trial run'...of course, Calvin fell for Ruth when he first laid eyes on her (duh...), so he has designs on courting her to the endgame of marriage... but first he has to figure out how to make his $$$ back... so he reels in a dude who works in the Syracuse hotel they are in, who also has the 'wanna get into show biz' jones... and also a wad of money to boot. Calvin pays off Lehman and Mack, and he and the hotel dude take over the production, along with Ruth, of course.
Calvin throws the production together just in time for the Broadway debut, but, after the original costumes are lost or confiscated, they resort to delving into the theatre wardrobe department, which yields Shakespearian costumes...for the show set in the wild west. Of course, the show is a hit as an offbeat comedy, and brings in $$$.
With money, however, comes problems... and Calvin's comes in the form of the local 'gang' offering a deal for 'protection'...of course, Calvin dismisses this offer, which results in the kidnapping of Ruth by the thugs. So, Calvin has to go into Wild West mode to bring things to a quite predictable, yet pretty funny, conclusion.
Although the general storyline above does not really mention Ginger that much, she really is peppered throughout the film quite well... she is the 'voice of reason' for all parties involved, and thus has to put the hammer down at times...which results in some SassyGinger goodness, albeit in a 'senseable' manner...but pretty cool, nevertheless... and of course, as awesomely beautiful as ever...
In conclusion, Huey recommends this one...Of course, a screwbally one, but still the MOST Gingery in terms of 'face time' and dialouge... although no GingerTunes...would have been nice to see Ginger perform a tune, as she 'takes over' for the leading lady when she balks at wearing Shakespearean garb... I bet Ginger would have rocked it, y'all...

VKMfanHuey
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Favorite Ginger Line(s) / Moment(s): ...In lieu of musical numbers, Ginger's peak moments in this one are where she gets her dander up, on at least a few occasions...perhaps the best scene is where she 'clues in' Calvin on the fact that he has been suckered out of his money by Lehman, and shouldn't let them push him around...he isn't too worried, tho, as he 'thinks on his feet'...

...Ginger's intro finds her on the tele with the leading lady of the play, who, like Ruth, is waiting for the $$$ to show up...

...A good 'sassy/downright angry' Ginger cap, with eyebrow in 'full tilt' mode...awesome...

...The boss pleading with Ruth to hang on, as he has just landed a sucker...er, 'new associate' to bolster the fundage for the company...

...the star of the show, warbling on about various and sundry issues, whilst boss man is literally cowering under the desk inside his office, and Ruth left to run interference for him - that girl needs a raise!

...Ruth first sets eyes on Calvin, which of course sets him reeling...

...Ginger seems to be actually cooking on the ivories here, or at least REALLY doing a good job of going thru the motions...check out the finger positioning - looks real to me...

...this pic is UBER-Gingery, and foreshadows future Ginger - may be the expression - how she is grinning, eyes, whatever...for some weird reason, I'm thinking 'Roxie Hart'...

...Well, we all knew Calvin was a sucker, but boss man officially verifies it for Ruth, which does not sit too well...

...glad to see I'm not the only one who speaks goofily to photos of Ginger :-]...

...Well, guess Ruth is destined to be a cowgirl...

...but I think she'll be OK with that - she seems like she has a little bit of 'ranch girl' in her...

...This is when the 'partners' are going off on Calvin - again, the 'beautiful when angry' phenomenon occurs - her eyes just light up and are incredible here!

...More Ginger jammin'... when Calvin is 'pitching' the play to another rube...

...Shakespeare? Sounds pretty high-falutin' to me, sweetheart!

...sigh...just......sigh...

...Well, the only way this thing would remotely qualify as a western would be if Calvin had to ultimately don his six-shooters, rescue the damsel in distress, and tussle with some no-good varmints...

...said damsel in much less distress...well, unless this is a NYC cab...

...All's well that ends well...thus spoketh Billy Shakespeare... WHOOP----PEEEEE!

Other Reviews:
"Chiefly aiding Brown is Ginger Rogers, attractive, always appealing, doing well, although her role calls for but little real effort." -Motion Picture Herald
"Mr. Brown gives quite a humorous showing in some of the sequences. Ginger Rogers impersonates the loyal and loving stenographer in an acceptable fashion -The New York Times
"Ginger Rogers is the heart appeal. Her work is outstanding; she takes acting honors next to Brown." -Hollywood Herald

From Ginger: My Story: "I was signed by Warner Brothers to appear in The Tenderfoot with Joe E. Brown, directed by Ray Enright. Brown, a deservedly popular comedian, couldn't have been nicer. Considerate, friendly, kind, and thoughtful, he was everything you could wish for in a colleague. Though he was the star, he took the time to make sure I was okay and kept thinking of ways to turn my face to the camera."

Miscellaneous Stuff:
--- Based on a musical play from 1903, of the same name, written by Richard Carle, who also starred in the play.
--- Also based on the stage play "The Butter and Egg Man" by George S. Kaufman, which ran from September 1925 to April 1926 in New York.
--- First National released a silent film in 1928 entitled "The Butter and Egg Man", based on the Kaufman play; William Demarest (who ultimately became Uncle Charlie on the TV sitom "My Three Sons") was among the cast.
--- Calvin has swastikas on his hat band, which are to this day a symbol used by American Indians (the source here), along with quite a few other cultures; it was ironic that this film was released just before the Nazi Party began its full takeover of Germany in the early 30's with its use of the symbol for hatred.
--- In the scene where Calvin and Ruth are on stage dicussing using the Shakespearian garb, an elderly gent enters with a telegram for Calvin - Calvin says 'Thanks, Dad', and then gives a 'hmmm' look...could this have been Joe E. Brown's real dad? No credits indicate it, but the old fellow seemed very 'real', and not as an actor would have done it...

GingerFilm Ranking: #1 of (9) Reviewed

GingerFilm 'rankings' through NINE reviews:
#1: The Tenderfoot;
#2: The Tip-Off;
#3: Queen High;
#4: Young Man of Manhattan;
#5: Carnival Boat;
#6: The Sap from Syracuse;
#7: Suicide Fleet;
#8: Follow The Leader;
#9: Honor Among Lovers.

Up Next: "The Thirteenth Guest" - Ginger tries her hand at a murder mystery in a low budget, but decent, if memory serves, offering from long-defunct Monogram Studios...Lyle Talbot co-stars. Until then...

KIG, y'all!!!

VKMfanHuey
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