Ive Got Your Number (Warner Bros.) (1934)

Feature Stories Glenda Farrell Gets Kick Out of Her Seance Exposure Fake Clairvoyant’s Parlors Wrecked by Angry Patrons in “I’ve Got Your Number”’ one of the biggest kicks out of her brief but sensational G i FARRELL, wise-cracking screen comedienne, got movie career when she played the role of “Bonnie” in “T’ve Got Your Number,” her latest Warner Bros. picture which comes to the. . .. Theatre on... Bonnie is a fake clairvoyant, and Glenda personally classes such people with spiders, mice, and real old-fashion vipers. When the star learned that the racket is exposed in the film she gleefully undertook the job. It was while traveling during her trouping days that Glenda got wise to the sucker game. Often there would be a clairvoyant in her company, and being back-stage gave the star the opportunity to see the many phoney devices used by them to trim the clients. Being naturally straight-forward, Glenda used to burn up watching hard earned money change hands in order to soothe a troubled mind. But there was nothing she could do about it, for the act made money and that’s what counted with the boss. Harboring this resentment through the years, Glenda got her satisfaction when the cameras turned on “I’ve Got Your Number.” In the clairvoyant scene were all the mechanical apparatus, the loud speaker systems, and the telephonic connections, not to forget the hidden accomplice whose voice mysteriously emerged from out of nowhere in answer to occult questions. Glenda, as Bonnie, did a flourishing business until she began using her telephone in the business. This put her in a jam, for Pat O’Brien and Allen Jenkins, as telephone “trouble-shooters,” went to work on her lay-out and in no time at all the apparatus as well as the business was in the ash-can. It is while Glenda is waiting to conjure up the voice of Mrs. McPherson’s third lamented husband that O’Brien taps the wire and announces to the assembled auditors over the loud speaker that the whole thing is a fake and they are all saps. The announcement causes a riot in, the clairvoyant’s parlors in which wires are torn out and apparatus destroyed in the scramble of the customers to get their money back. Although Glenda in character seems somewhat peeved, in reality she welcomed the exposure of the system and declares that she hoped it would save gullible persons both wasted money and much worry. “Y’ve Got Your Number” as a telephone story built around the everyday thrills which pack the millions of miles of strung wire, is filled with vivid inside information showing how wires are tapped by “buttinskies,” in order to stop illegal practices such as_ Bonnie’s, as well as trap dangerous criminals. The cast is headed by Joan Blondell, and includes such screen players as Pat O’Brien, Allen Jenkins, Eugene Pallette, Henry O’Neill, Gordon Westcott, Hobart Cavanaugh, in addition to Glenda Farrell. Each of the principal players was carefully selected because they represent the typical employee of the thousands who daily handle the millions of messages that flash around the world. Much of “I’ve Got Your Number” was filmed in telephone exchanges in order to insure an authentic reproduction of the vivid story. In many of the scenes the screen stars work side by side with the regular employees. The story itself was written by Warren Duff and Sidney Sutherland from actual experiences which stud the history of the telephone. Famous criminal cases and romantic love interest mingle in the story’s background. Director Ray Enright had a meaty story to work with and created and maintained a_ fast tempo without losing a bit of the glamour that is wrapped around every telephone pole from here to Persia. Glenda Farrell provides a lot of the fun in “I’ve Got Your Num ber,” with Joan Blondell and Pat O’Brien, now at the Strand. Mat No. 9—10c Trouble-shooters Wreck Pat O’Brien’s Honeymoon Now He’s One of the Breed in the Warner Bros. Picture, “I’ve Got Your Number” AT O’BRIEN’S role in “I’ve Got Your Number,” his latest Warner Bros. film, which comes to the... . Theatre on . ., is that of a telephone “trouble-shooter.” Chances are that but few know just what a trouble-shooter is. But Pat is one of the few who does and his acquaintance with trouble-shooters is still a sore spot with the genial Irish actor. As the name implies, a trouble-shooter is an advanced repairman, who locates trouble in telephone service and then fixes it. Pat first came into contact with this trouble on the very night he started on his honeymoon some years ago. After the wedding the O’Briens had attempted to slip away from their friends and almost did. The almost is what spoiled everything, for one of the bridal party learned where they had planned to spend the night. And then it was just too bad for Pat and his new bride. No sooner had the light been snapped off in the honeymoon suite of an unpretentious suburban hotel than the phone rang. Perplexed, Pat answered only to learn that it was a query regarding poor telephone service. “Naw, it’s all right,” answered Pat, again snapping off the light. But the phone rang again. The questioner was persistent. There had been a complaint that the service was faulty. This time Pat just hung up. Not gently, but with a bang. Again the light went off. Then came a rap on the door. Pat was sorely tempted not to answer. But, thinking it might be a telegram, he reluctantly did. “Who’s there?” “Bell-boy, sir.” Pat opened the door a bare inch. But that inch was plenty for seven or eight husky lads who combined their strength to shove the door completely open, sending the lone defender spinning. His pals, whom Pat O’Brien, who trouble in telephones, in “I’ve Got Your Number,” now at the Strand. He finds it, too. Mat No. 4—10¢ look for he thought had been given the slip hours earlier! Pat; swore and_ the squealed. The gang only howled with laughter and began to make themselves completely at home. O’Brien changed his tactics. He pleaded with the boys to leave. But he might just as well have been talking to brass monkeys. They were there for the night. Soon the rest of the pursuing party arrived and everyone had a great time except the young honeymooners. Among other things they learned that it was the larkseeking crowd who had bothered them on the phone before making the grand attack. Trouble-shooters? Who knows them better than Pat O’Brien? And now he plays one in “I’ve Got Your Number,” which is a combination of hilarious comedy and melodramatic thrills with a glowing romance thrown in. Joan Blondell has the featured role, while others in the cast include Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins, Eugene Pallette, Gordon Westcott and Henry O’Neill. Ray Enright directed the picture from the screen play by Warren Duff and Sidney Sutherland. missus Pat O'Brien Burned by an Acetylene Torch Pat O’Brien is now carrying around a mark as big as a quarter on his thigh. Pat, who has the role of a telephone trouble-shooter in the Warner Bros. picture, “I’ve Got Your Number,” comes to the—scn ee NeCakEe OMe ses hes 1S interrupted by his fellow linesmen on his honeymoon eve. Eugene Pallette, who was manipulating a blow-torch, whirled on O’Brien when the latter tried to throw him out of the room, and the torch accidentally struck O’Brien on the leg, searing the flesh. ON THE WONDERS OF From the first shooting day to the last, the byword on the lot was "make this show different!" I've seen the stills—you've heard most of the tunes by now—believe me, showman, it is "different"! AND it's the kind of difference that made "Footlight" top "Diggers" and "Diggers" beat "42nd Street." Send a story to the papers now that you've set the picture for early showing. Hobart Cavanaugh Is Protean Expert Hobart Cavanaugh considers himself the protean expert of the Warner Bros. lot. One morning he worked with Joan Blondell and Pat O’Brien in “I’ve Got Your Number,” now showing at the . + + Lheatre. “Ehen-he=tured out in full regalia to play in “Fashions of 1934.” (Still later he had to appear on the “Wonder Bar” set with Al Jolson. He was a little out of breath, but was able to make all the engagements. Glenda Farrell Given New Picture Character Glenda Farrell, famous play girl of the screen, at last appears in a role to which no moral turpitude is attached. In the Warner Bros. picture, “I’ve Got Your Number,” which comes to the. . . . Theatre on... ., she has the role of a clairvoyant, giving seances by means of loud speakers and trick wires to fool a gullible public. Her racket is exposed by the “buttinsky” of a telephone trouble-shooter, a part played by Pat O’Brien. “T may be a phoney in this picture,” said Glenda,” but at least for once my morals are not in question, and that’s something.” Joan Blondell Proves To Be Real Trouper That Joan Blondell, who plays the role of a wise-cracking telephone operator in the Warner Bros. (picture, “ve: (Got — Your Number,” which comes to the . . . Theatre on . «9 18. -ac-real blown in the glass trouper is con ceded by everyone who worked in that company. Not only did Joan finish the picture su.t f.62 © ing from acute appendicitis, but on the night before the picture was finished her pet dachshund, “Thing,” was run over by a truck and killed. Joan admits she had a good cry at the time, but she turned up at the set next morning smiling and continued her wise-cracking until the doctor hustled her off to the hospital to snip out the appendix. Joan Blondell Mat No. 2—10c Henry O'Neill Gets His First Film Fan Letter Henry O’Neill, veteran Broadway stage actor, who has the role of a banker in “I’ve Got Your Number,” a Warner Bros. film starring Joan Blondell and now showing at the... . Theatre, had the thrill of receiving his first screen “fan” letter during the picture’s production. O’Neill had received thousands of these letters while on the stage, and knew them to be the barometer of success. Naturally. he felt quite pleased when he was notified by the studio fan mail department that there was a letter for him. “WONDER BAR” Joan Blondell Gets Her First Chance to Read It took an appendicitis operation to give Joan Blondell a chance to do any reading of note. Joan was stricken with appendicitis while working on the Warner Bros. picture, “I’ve Got Your Number,” which comes to the... Theatre on... In the role of a wise-cracking telephone girl she laughed her way through the picture and then was rushed to the hospital. Joan is one of the busiest players in Hollywood. She never gets a chance to read anything but scripts, she says. But while convalescing, she read “oodles” of books. One of them was the 1224page best seller, “Anthony Adverse.” Westcott Again Cast in Role of Villain Gordon Westcott is a villain, a viper, and likewise, a heel! At least that is what movie audiences will think if the capable actor doesn’t get a different type of role. In “V’ve Got Your Number,” his latest Warner Bros. film, which is now showing at the . Theatre, Westcott again plays the menace, and _ his crookedness causes a romantic break between Joan Blondell and Pat O’Brien. O'Brien Puts One Over on Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell, who has_ the role of a clairvoyant in the Warner Bros. picture, “I’ve Got Your Number,’ now showing at the : Theatre, doesn’t lay any claim to understanding the mysteries of the cosmic forces, but she does think she knows something about phrenology. Yet Pat O’Brien, playing in the same picture, put one over on her. Glenda tells O’Brien’s characteristics by the bumps on his head in the picture. After the scene was shot she said: “By all the’ evidence of phrenology you should be a very wise man, for that bump on your occiput is the biggest bump of wisdom I ever saw.” “That bump,” smiled O’Brien, “doesn’t indicate wisdom, but just plain dumbness. That’s where I hit my head on the door jamb last night in moving the piano.” ‘I've Got Your Number' Actors Are Haunted An ominous jinx hovered over the set at Warner Bros. studio, where “I’ve Got Your Number,” which comes to the... . Theatre on... ., was being produced. First, Joan Blondell, its star, was stricken with acute appendicitis, and after making the final scenes with an ice pad on her stomach, was rushed to a hospital for an operation. Pat O’Brien, leading man, moved a piano at his home and strained his back so that he could not stand up straight for two days. Allen Jenkins, the comedian, reported sick with flu. All recov ered, however, and the picture was eventually finished. YO" EDITOR. Page Thirteen