Gift of Gab (1934)

70-71 mins | Musical | 24 September 1934

Director:

Karl Freund

Producer:

Carl Laemmle Jr.

Cinematographer:

George Robinson

Editor:

Ray Curtiss

Production Designer:

David Garber

Production Company:

Universal Pictures Corp.
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HISTORY

The above plot and credits were taken from a studio cutting continuity and contemporary sources. The radio program within the film features music by Ruth Etting, Gene Austin, Helen Vinson, Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra, the Beale Street Boys and a dramatic sketch with Bela Lugosi, Binnie Barnes, Boris Karloff, Roger Pryor, Chester Morris, Douglas Fowley, June Knight and Paul Lukas. A news item in DV notes that writers and radio personalities Sidney Skolsky, Edwin Shallert, Jerry Hoffman, Rian James and Jimmy Starr also appeared in the radio broadcast scene but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. Although Phil Baker is credited in the cutting continuity, he was eliminated from the film according to DV. ...

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The above plot and credits were taken from a studio cutting continuity and contemporary sources. The radio program within the film features music by Ruth Etting, Gene Austin, Helen Vinson, Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra, the Beale Street Boys and a dramatic sketch with Bela Lugosi, Binnie Barnes, Boris Karloff, Roger Pryor, Chester Morris, Douglas Fowley, June Knight and Paul Lukas. A news item in DV notes that writers and radio personalities Sidney Skolsky, Edwin Shallert, Jerry Hoffman, Rian James and Jimmy Starr also appeared in the radio broadcast scene but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. Although Phil Baker is credited in the cutting continuity, he was eliminated from the film according to DV.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
2 Jul 1934
p. 4
Daily Variety
12 Jul 1934
p. 1
Daily Variety
22 Aug 1934
p. 6
Daily Variety
8 Sep 1934
p. 3
Film Daily
25 Sep 1934
p. 7
Hollywood Reporter
8 Sep 1934
p. 4
Motion Picture Daily
10 Sep 1934
p. 2
Motion Picture Herald
15-Sep-34
---
New York Times
26 Sep 1934
p. 17
Variety
2 Oct 1934
p. 37
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Ed Tyler
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Assoc prod
WRITERS
Orig story
Orig story
PHOTOGRAPHY
Spec photog
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
COSTUMES
Gowns
MUSIC
Mus dir
PRODUCTION MISC
Myrtle Gibson
Scr clerk
SOURCES
SONGS
I Ain't Gonna Sin No More," "Blue Sky Avenue" and "Talking to Myself," words by Herb Magidson, music by Con Conrad; "Don't Let This Waltz Mean Goodbye," words by Jack Meskill, music by Albert von Tilzer; "Somebody Looks Good," words by George Whiting, music by Albert von Tilzer; "Tomorrow Who Cares?" music and lyrics by Charles Tobias and Murray Mencher.
SONGWRITERS/COMPOSERS
+
DETAILS
Release Date:
24 September 1934
Production Date:
12601
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Universal Pictures Corp.
17 September 1934
LP4950
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Noiseless Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
70-71
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
PCA No:
157
SYNOPSIS

Philip "Gift of Gab" Gabney has talked himself in and out of various jobs throughout his life. He manages to sell himself as master of ceremonies on Colonel Horatius Trivers' radio program even though Norton, the president of the station, is not enthusiastic about him. Barbara Kelton, program director, helps him with his script, and Gabney's broadcast, with many radio and film stars, is a big success. Patsy, Gabney's friend, boosts his popularity by calling the studio many times using different voices to praise his work. Success goes directly to Gabney's head. When he is banned from a broadcasting a college football game because of a quarrel with the alumni president, he sneaks in with the help of radio announcer Graham McNamee and broadcasts the game from the stands using a lapel microphone. Finding himself late for a broadcast at Curtis Field, where a British flier is scheduled to land, he fakes the broadcast from the studio, only to learn that the flyer was killed in a crash twenty minutes earlier. This miscalculation ruins his career until Barbara, who is in love with him, sends him to report on a train crash in an inaccessible area. When the pilot refuses to fly low enough for Gabney to see the wreck, he bails out and lands at the scene. Broadcasting conditions from a portable radio, Gabney regains his national popularity. He rewards Barbara's faithfulness by marrying her on the ...

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Philip "Gift of Gab" Gabney has talked himself in and out of various jobs throughout his life. He manages to sell himself as master of ceremonies on Colonel Horatius Trivers' radio program even though Norton, the president of the station, is not enthusiastic about him. Barbara Kelton, program director, helps him with his script, and Gabney's broadcast, with many radio and film stars, is a big success. Patsy, Gabney's friend, boosts his popularity by calling the studio many times using different voices to praise his work. Success goes directly to Gabney's head. When he is banned from a broadcasting a college football game because of a quarrel with the alumni president, he sneaks in with the help of radio announcer Graham McNamee and broadcasts the game from the stands using a lapel microphone. Finding himself late for a broadcast at Curtis Field, where a British flier is scheduled to land, he fakes the broadcast from the studio, only to learn that the flyer was killed in a crash twenty minutes earlier. This miscalculation ruins his career until Barbara, who is in love with him, sends him to report on a train crash in an inaccessible area. When the pilot refuses to fly low enough for Gabney to see the wreck, he bails out and lands at the scene. Broadcasting conditions from a portable radio, Gabney regains his national popularity. He rewards Barbara's faithfulness by marrying her on the air.

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GENRE
Genre:
Sub-genre:
Show business


Subject

Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.