The Sap From Syracuse (1930)
Director:
A. Edward Sutherland
Writers:
Jack O'Donnell (story), John Griffith Wray (play), Gertrude Purcell
Stars:
Jack Oakie, Ginger Rogers, Granville Bates, George Barbier, Sidney Riggs, Betty Starbuck
Based on a short-lived stage comedy, The Sap from Syracuse stars Jack Oakie in the title role. A humble laborer on a luxury liner, Littleton Looney (Oakie) is mistaken for a world-famous engineer by heiress Ellen Saunders (Ginger Rogers, in her third feature-film appearance). Naturally, all the other passengers are as convinced as Ellen that Littleton is whom she thinks he is, and as a result our doltish hero is treated like royalty. Before the inevitable "unmasking" scene, Littleton proves his worth by saving Ellen from a plot hatched by Dolly Clark (Veree Teasdale) and Flo Goodrich (Dolly Clark to relieve the girl of her fortune. The Sap from Syracuse represented another fruitful collaboration between star Jack Oakie and director A. Edward Sutherland.