Tag Archives: Mae Clarke

Musical Monday: Hats Off (1936)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Hats Off (1936) – Musical #739

hats off

Studio:
Grand National Films

Director:
Boris Petroff

Starring:
Mae Clarke, John Payne, Helen Lynd, Luis Alberni, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Franklin Pangborn, George Irving, Robert Middlemass, Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited)
Themselves: The Three Radio Rogues (Jimmy Hollywood, Henry Taylor, Eddie Bartell)

Plot:
Two towns and Texas are trying to outdo each other when it comes to putting on fairs for Texas’s centennial. One town has press agent Jimmy Maxwell (Payne) in charge and another town hires press agent Jo Allen (Clarke). Jo goes undercover and romances Jimmy to steal their ideas.

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Late to my own party…

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Comet Over Hollywood is two years old!

The only problem is I’m late to my own blog anniversary party by three months…Comet’s birthday is actually in May.

Since I’m running so late I decided to tie my blog’s anniversary in with the Summer Under the Stars event Turner Classic Movies holds every August.

I decided I should reenact the grapefruit scene in “Public Enemy” (1931) for one of my monthly beauty tips.

So as a special treat and thank you to my readers….

In the film “Public Enemy,” James Cagney, who is being celebrated today on TCM for Summer Under the Stars, smashes a grapefruit in Mae Clarke’s face at the breakfast table.

Apparently the scene was a joke Clarke and Cagney were playing on the film crew to see how they would react, according to IMDB. Director ‘Wild Bill’ Wellman decided to keep it in the movie.

It also created caused American women’s groups to protest Clarke’s abuse and for Cagney to stomach a lot of grapefruit when restaurant patrons would order it for him as a gag.

Though the scene is rather humorous and well remembered by film goers, Public Enemy is a very gritty drama with a disturbing ending.

The film is an example of how great and versatile an actor Cagney was: playing maniacal criminals to song and dance men.

Make sure to read out other posts on James Cagney during the TCM Summer Under the Stars blogathon at http://scribehardonfilm.wordpress.com/ and http://sittinonabackyardfence.com/ for the month long classic film celebration!

Stop by back in September for another classic actress beauty tip.

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