Oh, For a Man! (Fox Film Corporation, 1930)

One Sheet Poster

In this unlikely story, an operatic prima donna falls in love with a burglar with singing ambitions who breaks into her apartment to steal her jewels. Bela Lugosi makes a brief appearance as an admirer of the singing diva. Originally titled Stolen Thunder, the title of Mary F. Watkins’ Saturday Evening Post short story on which it was based, Oh, For A Man was the first of two films Bela Lugosi and director Hamilton MacFadden made together. They were reunited on The Black Camel in 1931, which featured Marjorie White. He was also reuninted with Alison Skipworth in Broad Minded in 1931

Production Company: Fox Film Corporation

Executive Producer: William Fox

Associate Producer: Hamilton MacFadden

Director: Hamilton MacFadden

Scenarists & Dialoguers: Philip Klein and Lynn Starling

Original Story: Mary F. Watkins’ Saturday Evening Post short story Stolen Thunder

Editor: Alfred DeGaetano

Cinematography: Charles G. Clarke

Recording Engineer: E. Clayton Ward

Music Direction: Arthur Kay

Music: Peter Brunelli

Art Director: Stephen Goosson

Costumes: Sophie Wacher

Wardrobe: Sam Benson

Running Time: 78 minutes

Copyright number: LP1720, November 5 1930

Cast:

Jeannette MacDonald: Carlotta Manson

Reginald Denny: Barney McGann

Marjorie White: Totsy Franklin

Warren Hymer: Pug Morin, the “Walloping Wop”

Alison Skipworth: Laura

Albert Conti: Peck

Bela Lugosi: Frescatti

Andre Cheron: Costello

William B. Davidson: Kerry Stokes

Bodil Rosing: Masseuse

Gino Corrado: Signor Ferrari, Italian Master of Ceremonies

Mary Gordon: Stage door admirer with violets

Donald Hall: Carlotta’s backstage admirer

Evelyn Hall: Emily, Dressing Room Dowager

Althea Henley: June, Dowager’s Homely Daughter

Berkeley Daily Gazette, February 20, 1931

The Evening Independent, March 22, 1931

The Evening Independent, March 23, 1931

Prescott Evening Courier, March 24, 1931

Kentucky New Era, April 6, 1931

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 14, 1931

The Film Daily, November 9, 1930

“Oh, For a Man!”

with Jeanette MacDonald, Reginald Denny

Fox

Time, 1 hr., 18 mins.

AMUSING LIGHT COMEDY HANDICAPPED BY INSUFFICIENT PLOT DEVELOPMENT. FINE WORK BY MISS MACDONALD.

An excellent cast works hard to put over this frothy yarn, but lack of material proves almost too much for them. Miss MacDonald again does a good deal of her acting from a pillowed bed, and much of the remainder in a negligee. She has the role of a temperamental opera singer with the world at her feet but lacking the love of a man to her taste. He presently turns up in the form of a burglar with a thick Irish brogue and an idea that he has a great singing voice. She takes him under her wing, and after a famous teacher gives him up as hopeless she induces him to stay on as her husband. Remainder of the footage is devoted to conflicts between the couple due to their different tastes and inclinations with the husband finally going away but coming back soon after via the burglar route again, for a fadeout clinch. Miss MacDonald is plenty vivacious and the action is amusingly punctuated by some surprise twist.

Direction, Deft, Production, Fine.