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IMDbPro

Too Many Parents

  • 19361936
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
79
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
125,534
101,701
Frances Farmer and Lester Matthews in Too Many Parents (1936)
ComedyDrama
A story of the boys who are sent to military school in order to get them out of the way of their too-busy-to-bother parents or guardians. Lonely young Philip Stewart (George Ernest)writes hi... Read allA story of the boys who are sent to military school in order to get them out of the way of their too-busy-to-bother parents or guardians. Lonely young Philip Stewart (George Ernest)writes himself letters his father, Mark Stewart (Lester Matthews, should be writing. When his hoax ... Read allA story of the boys who are sent to military school in order to get them out of the way of their too-busy-to-bother parents or guardians. Lonely young Philip Stewart (George Ernest)writes himself letters his father, Mark Stewart (Lester Matthews, should be writing. When his hoax is discovered Philip attempts suicide.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
79
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
125,534
101,701
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Robert F. McGowan
    • Writers
      • Jesse Lynch Williams(story)
      • George Templeton(story)
      • Virginia Van Upp(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Frances Farmer
      • Lester Matthews
      • Porter Hall
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Robert F. McGowan
    • Writers
      • Jesse Lynch Williams(story)
      • George Templeton(story)
      • Virginia Van Upp(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Frances Farmer
      • Lester Matthews
      • Porter Hall
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos12

    Frances Farmer, Sherwood Bailey, George Ernest, Mabel Forrest, and Buster Phelps in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer and Sherwood Bailey in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer and George Ernest in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer and Billy Lee in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer and Porter Hall in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer and Lester Matthews in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer, Billy Lee, and Lester Matthews in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer and Lester Matthews in Too Many Parents (1936)
    Frances Farmer, Sherwood Bailey, Sylvia Breamer, George Ernest, Billy Lee, Lester Matthews, and Buster Phelps in Too Many Parents (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Frances Farmer
    Frances Farmer
    • Sally Colman
    Lester Matthews
    Lester Matthews
    • Mark Stewart
    Porter Hall
    Porter Hall
    • Mr. Saunders
    Henry Travers
    Henry Travers
    • Wilkins
    Billy Lee
    Billy Lee
    • Billy Miller
    George Ernest
    George Ernest
    • Phillip Stewart
    Sherwood Bailey
    • Clarence Talbot Jr.
    Douglas Scott
    Douglas Scott
    • Morton Downing
    Colin Tapley
    Colin Tapley
    • Miller
    Buster Phelps
    Buster Phelps
    • Clinton Meadows
    Howard Hickman
    Howard Hickman
    • Colonel Colman
    • (as Howard C. Hickman)
    Sylvia Breamer
    Sylvia Breamer
    • Malloy
    Doris Lloyd
    Doris Lloyd
    • Mrs. Downing
    Lois Kent
    • Morton's Sister
    Jonathan Hale
    Jonathan Hale
    • Judge
    Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer
    Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer
    • Kid Singer
    Anne Grey
    Anne Grey
    • Miss Allison
    Henry Roquemore
    Henry Roquemore
    • Belcher
    • Director
      • Robert F. McGowan
    • Writers
      • Jesse Lynch Williams(story)
      • George Templeton(story)
      • Virginia Van Upp(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
    • Soundtracks
      A Little White Gardenia
      Sung by Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer

    User reviews4

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Too Many Parents was a pretty good programmer from a former director of the Our Gang shorts
    After Robert F. McGowan left the Our Gang shorts series, he also left the Hal Roach Studios and went to Paramount where he did both shorts and features of which this was one of them. Too Many Parents concerns some military school boys, many of whom were once in Our Gang. Among them who worked under McGowan were Sherwood Bailey and George Ernest. Another kid-a tap dancer named Billy Lee-had also appeared in an OG short called Mike Fright which was directed by the then-current series helmer, Gus Meins. Two then-current members of the group who appeared in this were Jerry Tucker as a bartender in a sketch and Carl "Alfafla" Switzer who, yes, sings off-key here to hilarious effect and who McGowan had previously directed in his last OG short, Divot Diggers. This was mostly a drama with comedy elements. So on that note, Too Many Parents was pretty entertaining for its time. P.S. Since I always like to cite players from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, in other films, here it's not only Switzer but also Henry Travers who appears as the kindly janitor and mentor to the boys.
    helpful•1
    0
    • tavm
    • Dec 1, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 20, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 家族一連隊
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 13 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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