Hold 'Em Jail (1932)

Directed by

Norman Taurog

Genre

comedy film, American football film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 06m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 6 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two bumbling men get wrongly sent to prison for having a gun. They end up playing on the warden's football team, and the warden uses the team to blackmail inmates.

lightheartedzanyfast-pacedslapstickabsurdplayfulbreezysilly

What happens

Hold 'Em Jail is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring Wheeler and Woolsey as a couple of inept characters who are wrongfully convicted of firearm possession. They are sent to prison, where they somehow end up playing on the warden's football team. Warden Edgar Kennedy frames innocent people and blackmails them into playing on his football team in exchange for promises of eventual exoneration. Wheeler and Woolsey are aware of the racket, but Kennedy treads lightly with them because his spinster sister (Oliver) is in love with one of them. Unusually for the duo, the film is a straight comedy without musical numbers. It is also noteworthy for giving Betty Grable her first substantial role after appearances as a Goldwyn Girl and in bit parts. The title is a pun on the then-popular college football cheer, "Hold 'em, Yale." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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