Jack Of All Trades (1936)
Directors:
Jack Hulbert, Robert Stevenson
Writers:
Hubert Griffith (play), Jack Hulbert (dialogue), Austin Melford, J.O.C. Orton, Paul Vulpius
Stars:
Jack Hulbert, Gina Malo, Robertson Hare, Mary Jerrold, Cecil Parker, Athole Stewart
Jack Hulbert is Jack Warrender in Jack of All Trades. A spoof of Big Business, 1930s style, the film begins as Jack ends a long spell of unemployment by taking a waiter's job at a fancy society reception. Because he's decked out in a tuxedo, Jack is assumed to be one of the guests, and before long everyone is convinced that he's a financial wizard (it's a lot more believable than it sounds!) Unable to reveal his true identity, Jack reluctantly accepts a chairmanship at a bank, and through a series of lucky breaks he manages to save the institution from ruin and enrich himself in the process. It stands to reason that Jack also wins the girl (Gina Malo), who would have loved him even if he'd remained a waiter. Jack of All Trades was co-directed by Hulbert and future Disney Studio fixture Robert Stevenson.