Local Boy Makes Good
Brief Synopsis
A timid student turns into a track-and-field star.
Cast & Crew
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Mervyn Leroy
Director
Joe E. Brown
John Miller
Dorothy Lee
Julia Winters
Ruth Hall
Marjorie Blake
Edward Woods
Spike Hoyt
Edward J. Nugent
Wally Pierce
Film Details
Also Known As
The Poor Nut
Genre
Comedy
Sports
Release Date
Nov
28,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
First National Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the play The Poor Nut by J.C. Nugent and Elliott Nugent (New York, 27 Apr 1925).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
Ohio university student John Miller is too involved with his botanical experiments to participate in college life. He is not too busy, however, to develop a crush on Julia Winters, a beautiful student at a rival college. He writes her love letters in which he pretends to be a great athlete and top fraternity man, but has no intention of sending them. By accident, the chambermaid picks up one of them and drops it in the mail. Meanwhile, student librarian Marjorie Blake starts work at the same bookstore where John is employed. As they are both shy, they strike up a friendship. When John receives a letter from Julia announcing her imminent arrival on campus, he begs Marjorie for advice. Even though she is in love with John, she counsels him to try and become what he has pretended to be. To this end, John shows up at the track to practice javelin. He is terrible and one of his wild throws almost hits a runner, who chases him off the track. To everyone's surprise, John outruns the fastest runner on the team as he escapes. The coach tries to call John back to the track, but thinking he will be punished, John does not turn back. Later, he contemplates suicide. When Julia arrives at the bookstore looking for John, Marjorie, who is an old school friend, pretends that John is someone else. Soon Julia, who is a psychology student, learns the truth. As she is scolding him, the coach appears and asks John to run in the track meet. When he refuses, Julia decides he has an inferiority complex and offers to psychoanalyze him. She finally convinces him to run in the same two races as her boyfriend, Spike Hoyt. Spike's threats frighten John so much that he loses the first race. He refuses to run in the relay until Marjorie fills him full of grain alcohol and gives him a kiss. He wins the race and by the next day, has undergone a complete personality change. Emboldened by his success, he asks Marjorie to marry him.
Director
Mervyn Leroy
Director
Cast
Joe E. Brown
John Miller
Dorothy Lee
Julia Winters
Ruth Hall
Marjorie Blake
Edward Woods
Spike Hoyt
Edward J. Nugent
Wally Pierce
Wade Boteler
Doc
John Harrington
Coach Jackson
William Burress
Colonel Small
Crew
Thomas Brannigan
2nd Camera
Ray Enright
Adaptation
C. Dave Forrest
Sound
Raymond Griffith
Adaptation
Michael Joyce
2nd Camera
Jack Killifer
Film Editor
Irving Lippman
Still Photographer
Robert Lord
Adaptation
Earl Luick
Gowns
David Mendoza
Vitaphone Orch Conductor
Robert Mitchell
Assistant Camera
Jack Okey
Art Director
Sol Polito
Photography
Thomas Riddell
Assistant Camera
Film Details
Also Known As
The Poor Nut
Genre
Comedy
Sports
Release Date
Nov
28,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
First National Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the play The Poor Nut by J.C. Nugent and Elliott Nugent (New York, 27 Apr 1925).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
Local Boy Makes Good (1931)
A timid student turns into a track-and-field star.
Local Boy Makes Good (1931)
A timid student turns into a track-and-field star.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of the film was The Poor Nut. According to a June 1931 news item in Film Daily, Walter De Leon worked on the screenplay for the film. The exact nature of his contribution is not known. Some scenes were filmed on location in Lincoln, NE. A French-language version of the film entitled L'athlète incomplet was made in the United States in 1932. In 1927, Richard Wallace directed Jack Mulhall and Jean Arthur in a First National production of the Nugents' play, entitled The Poor Nut.
