Mr. Chump

Unemployed trumpet tooter Johnnie Davis (as Bill "Scats" Small) hopes for a big win playing the stock market. Perky girlfriend Penny Singleton (as Betty Martin) wishes Mr. Davis would get a real job. Employed bank manager Donald Briggs (as Jim Belden) also desires Ms. Singleton and conspires to keep Davis from getting a job. In one of the film's highlights, Davis interrupts his rival's traditional band with some modern swing-styled playing on his trumpet.

The most popular member of Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, Davis was a real "swing" record and radio star. Singleton went on to do the "Blondie" movie series. Jack Mower and John Harron are notable bank auditors. Lola Lane seems ill-suited in her subsidiary role. If you take away Davis' trumpet and the toupee worn by Chester Clute (as Edward "Ed" Mason), director William Clemens doesn't have much left.

**** Mr. Chump (8/8/38) William Clemens ~ Johnnie Davis, Penny Singleton, Donald Briggs, Chester Clute