Summaries

When Prohibition ends, a beer baron sees the writing on the wall, quits the rackets, and tries to break into California society.

Prohibition is ending so bootlegger Bugs Ahearn decides to crack California society. He leases a house from down-on-her-luck Ruth and hires her as social secretary. He rescues Polly Cass from a horsefall and goes home to meet her dad who sells him some phony stock certificates. When he learns about this he sends to Chicago for mob help.—Ed Stephan <[email protected]>

As Prohibition ends, beer baron Bugs Ahearn sees the handwriting on the wall for bootlegging, sells all his assets, and with friend Al Daniels moves from Chicago to Palm Springs. The socially ambitious Bugs hopes his cultural pretensions and ill-gotten gains will help him break into society. Although he rents a large mansion from real estate agent Ruth Wayburn, he doesn't know that her father once owned the estate before a business-venture-gone-bad put him in the poorhouse. Ahearn hires her to manage the household as he tries to impress beautiful socialite Polly Cass. The only thing that impresses this high-class gold-digger is his bankroll, and complications arise when her father, the same con man that bilked the Wayburns, talks Bugs into investing in his tanking company.[email protected]

Details

Keywords
  • homosexual subtext
  • male male relationship
  • year 1932
  • diamond ring
  • reference to herbert hoover
Genres
  • Comedy
  • Crime
  • Romance
Release date May 19, 1933
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Approved
Countries of origin United States
Language English French
Filming locations Hotel Del Monte, Monterey, California, USA
Production companies First National Pictures

Box office

Budget $197000

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 16m
Color Black and White
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.37 : 1

Synopsis

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