- Downstairs (film)
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Downstairs Directed by Monta Bell Produced by Monta Bell Written by John Gilbert (story)
Lenore J. Coffee
Melville BakerStarring John Gilbert
Paul Lukas
Virginia BruceStudio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Monta BellDistributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Release date(s) August 6, 1932 Running time 77 minutes Country United States Language English Downstairs is a 1932 dramatic film.[1][2] It stars John Gilbert as a charming but self-serving chauffeur who wreaks havoc on his new employer's household, romancing and fleecing the women on the staff, and blackmailing the employer's wife. Gilbert had written the story in 1928 for a proposed silent film that was never made. Producer Irving Thalberg revived the project in 1932 as a special Gilbert production. The actor was so jubilant about the opportunity that he sold his original story to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $1.[3]
Cast (in credits order)
- John Gilbert as Karl Schneider, the chauffeur
- Paul Lukas as Albert, the Baron's butler
- Virginia Bruce as Anna, Albert's wife
- Hedda Hopper as Countess De Marnac
- Reginald Owen as Baron "Nicky" Von Burgen
- Olga Baclanova as Baroness Eloise Von Burgen
- Bodil Rosing as Sophie, the Cook
- Otto Hoffman as Otto, the Wine Cellar Caretaker
- Lucien Littlefield as Francoise, a Drunken Servant
- Marion Lessing as Antoinette, Maid to the Countess
References
- ^ Variety film review; October 11, 1932, page 20.
- ^ Harrison's Reports film review; October 15, 1932, page 167.
- ^ Mordaunt Hall (October 8, 1932). "Downstairs (1932)". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940CE1DA1131E333A2575BC0A9669D946394D6CF.
External links
- Downstairs at the Internet Movie Database
- Downstairs at the TCM Movie Database
- Downstairs at AllRovi
Categories:- English-language films
- 1932 films
- American films
- American drama films
- Black-and-white films
- Films directed by Monta Bell
- 1930s drama film stubs
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