Make 'Em Laugh (The Funny Business of America)
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Released May 23, 1941
Featuring Shemp Howard (Solo)
Featuring Shemp Howard (Solo)
Universal
58 min. (Feature Film)
58 min. (Feature Film)
Radio's singing duet The Bluebirds makes it official, and Dick and Virginia Kerrigan (Rudy Vallee and Helen Parrish) have married. Deciding to make the act a trio, Dick's friend and Virginia's ex-boyfriend Ted Bronson (Jerome Cowan) joins The Bluebirds.
Dick's backstage playboy reputation is hard to shake, with a parade of ex-girlfriends following the newlyweds. During a train trip to Los Angeles, Dick spends a late night playing poker with some old vaudeville friends, misses a connection, and winds up in San Francisco. Scheming Ted takes advantage of the situation and convinces Virginia to file for divorce in a plot to win her back. Dick is guilty over disappointing his bride and agrees to the divorce, but no lawyer will take the case due a lack of grounds. The newlyweds agree to share a hotel suite until they can earn enough money to buy a quickie Mexican divorce.
A sponsor tells radio manager Mr. Twitchell that he will buy only The Singing Kerrigans for his new program. Twitchell heads south of the border with help from hotel manager Ambrose Tripp (Shemp Howard), taxi driver Marvin Gimble (Lon Chaney Jr.), and Gimble's waitress girlfriend Hortense (Iris Adrian) in a ploy to stop Ted's machinations and keep the Kerrigans happily married.
Avg. Rating: 
[8.00/10]
[8.00/10]
Rudy Vallee
Dick Kerrigan
Helen Parrish
Virginia Kerrigan
Jerome Cowan
Ted Bronson
Shemp Howard
Ambrose Tripp
Lon Chaney Jr.
Marvin Gimble
Iris Adrian
Hortense Kent
Eddie Quillan
Wally Pelton
Irving Bacon
Mr. Twitchell
Gus Schilling
Elevator operator
Francisco Moreno
Luis Garvanza
Douglas Evans
UBC announcer
Dorothy Lee
Lorene LaRue
Jeanne Kelly
Angie De Vol
Kernan Cripps
Gate official
Eddie Bruce
Ken Atterbury
Janet Warren
Sophie Dietz
Jolly Rowlings
Smiley
Joey Ray
Chris Jackson
Jasper Weldon
Porter
Milton Kibbee
Conducter
Joe Recht
Messenger boy
Charles Trowbridge
John V. Barton
Ethelreda Leopold
Barton's secretary
Catherine Winter
Salesgirl
Gene O'Donnell
KSKS announcer
Reid Kilpatrick
Studio pianist
Paul McVey
Mr. Talbot
Marek Windheim
Manuel
Paul Ellis
Hotel clerk
Dinora Rego
Chick-a-Boom singer
Humberto Herrera
Orchestra leader
Jerry Mandy
Bartender
Jose Cansino
Dancer
Carmella Cansino
Dancer
Guy D'Ennery
Croupier
Eddie Coke
Usher
Ernest Wilson
Red cap
Suzanne Ridgeway
Girl, scene deleted
Joseph Gershenson
Producer
Thornton Freeland
Director
Maxwell Shane
Originl Story
Louis S. Kaye
Screenplay
Milton R. Krasner
Director of Photography
Bernard W. Burton
Film Editor
Jack Otterson
Art Director
Richard H. Riedel
Associate Art Director
Russell A. Gausman
Set Decoration
Bernard B. Brown
Sound Supervisor
William Hedgcock
Sound Technician
Charles Previn
Musical Director
Frank Skinner
Original Music
Milton S. Rosen
Music
Walter O'Keefe
Music and Lyrics
Everett Carter
Lyrics
Vernon Keays
Assistant Director
Vera West
Gowns
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