A brash, pushy young man gets a job in a bank and sets his cap for his boss's secretary, but the death of his father makes him reassess his priorities.A brash, pushy young man gets a job in a bank and sets his cap for his boss's secretary, but the death of his father makes him reassess his priorities.A brash, pushy young man gets a job in a bank and sets his cap for his boss's secretary, but the death of his father makes him reassess his priorities.
Frank Coghlan Jr.
- Eddie Ward
- (as Junior Coghlan)
Henry Armetta
- Grove Cafe Waiter
- (uncredited)
Wilson Benge
- McAndrews' Butler
- (uncredited)
Agostino Borgato
- Emile - Grove Cafe Headwaiter
- (uncredited)
Mary Carlisle
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Bill Elliott
- Wedding Guest
- (uncredited)
Blanche Friderici
- Mrs. McAndrews
- (uncredited)
Charles Giblyn
- Kendall
- (uncredited)
Arthur Hoyt
- The Minister
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMr. Ward mentions his son's college diploma cost him $18,000. That would equate to $259,000 in 2016.
- GoofsThe film begins in broad daylight, then just after the car avoids being hit by the train at the railroad crossing, the car is in a minor fender-bender with a tree which appears to take place at night, then in the next scene when the car pulls up in front of the house, it's daylight again.
- Quotes
Tom Ward: [Sarcastically] And how are you employing your great talents this evening?
J. Marvin McAndrews: [Annoyred] Minding my own business principally.
- SoundtracksI Don't Want Your Kisses (If I Can't Have Your Love)
(1928) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Martin Broones and Fred Fisher
Played during the opening credits and at the end
Featured review
Haines successfully transitions to sound
It seems like people either love this film or hate it. Personally, I liked it a great deal. The film doesn't stray far from the typical Haines formula - the character starts out brash, ends up humble. Haines plays Tom Ward, recent college graduate and oldest son of a bank president. He's been laughing his way through life up to this point, and seems to have no intention of changing. His dad sets him up with a job via a friend in the investment business, and Tom fritters away that opportunity and instead takes an interest in the firm secretary, played by Leila Hyams. His attempts to woo her away from an extremely unlikeable coworker sets up situations for some typical Haines tomfoolery. However, Tom's fortunes and attitude take a sharp turn when his father dies suddenly and the family suddenly finds itself penniless. Now it's a job selling neckties for Tom and a small flat shared by the entire family.
If you like Haines' silent films, you'll like this one, but I don't think anyone should be introduced to Haines via one of his talkies. For one thing, talking comedy was never something MGM did extremely well or with much finesse, and in this first year of talking pictures the studio was really groping for successful formulas as well as adapting their silent stars to the new medium.
The worst thing about this film is that Haines is a fast talker and the primitive sound recording has trouble picking up all of his conversation. He gets better at speaking clearly in later films, and the technology improves as well. The second worst thing is that there is no explanation of some of the turns of events in the film that would have been familiar to anyone in March 1930. Today, it is hard to understand why the death of the head of household might automatically lead to instantaneous poverty for the surviving members, especially if that head of household was head of a bank right after the stock market crash. None of this is explained in the film.
The best part of the film is a ten minute bit done when Tom Ward is trying to sell bonds to a wealthy woman played by Marie Dressler. Since Dressler's character agrees to see Ward because she believes him to be a doctor, it sets up some comical situations that leave Haines' character squeamish to say the least. Polly Moran is another good part of the film. She plays the Ward family housekeeper that loyally follows the family from mansion to poorhouse. It's one of the few Moran/Dressler films in which the two actresses don't interact, but they still do much for the success of the film.
Highly recommended for the fans of early talkies and of William Haines. However, if you are unfamiliar with the early sound films and the goofy style of William Haines you might not share my enthusiasm.
If you like Haines' silent films, you'll like this one, but I don't think anyone should be introduced to Haines via one of his talkies. For one thing, talking comedy was never something MGM did extremely well or with much finesse, and in this first year of talking pictures the studio was really groping for successful formulas as well as adapting their silent stars to the new medium.
The worst thing about this film is that Haines is a fast talker and the primitive sound recording has trouble picking up all of his conversation. He gets better at speaking clearly in later films, and the technology improves as well. The second worst thing is that there is no explanation of some of the turns of events in the film that would have been familiar to anyone in March 1930. Today, it is hard to understand why the death of the head of household might automatically lead to instantaneous poverty for the surviving members, especially if that head of household was head of a bank right after the stock market crash. None of this is explained in the film.
The best part of the film is a ten minute bit done when Tom Ward is trying to sell bonds to a wealthy woman played by Marie Dressler. Since Dressler's character agrees to see Ward because she believes him to be a doctor, it sets up some comical situations that leave Haines' character squeamish to say the least. Polly Moran is another good part of the film. She plays the Ward family housekeeper that loyally follows the family from mansion to poorhouse. It's one of the few Moran/Dressler films in which the two actresses don't interact, but they still do much for the success of the film.
Highly recommended for the fans of early talkies and of William Haines. However, if you are unfamiliar with the early sound films and the goofy style of William Haines you might not share my enthusiasm.
helpful•166
- AlsExGal
- Nov 8, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- College Days
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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