High Tension (1936 film)

High Tension
Movie poster
Directed by	Allan Dwan
Produced by	Sol M. Wurtzel
Written by	Lou Breslow Edward Eliscu John Patrick
Starring	Brian Donlevy Glenda Farrell Norman Foster
Cinematography	Barney McGill
Edited by	Louis R. Loeffler
Production company	20th Century Fox
Release dates	July 17, 1936 (1936-07-17)
Running time	63 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

High Tension is a 1936 American comedy-drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Brian Donlevy, Glenda Farrell, and Norman Foster. It was released by 20th Century Fox on July 17, 1936. The film was based on the story written by J. Robert Bren and Norman Houston.^[1][2][3] Steve Reardon doesn't want to marry his girlfriend Edith McNeil, but he also doesn't want her to date anyone else either.

Plot

In Hawaii in an underwater tank at the bottom of the ocean, cable layer Steve Reardon (Brian Donlevy) is reading an adventure story written by his girlfriend Edith McNeil (Glenda Farrell) who based her stories on him. After Steve successfully repaired the cable he was sent to fix, he returns to San Francisco and gets a bonus and two weeks vacation so that he can marry Edith. However, Steve and Edith have an argument and later at a bar he gets into a fight and meets Eddie Mitchell (Norman Foster).

One year later, Eddie has become an engineer and together with Steve they returns to San Francisco. Steve who has not seen Edith since their quarrel, finds out that her new series is about the boxing champion Terry Madden (Joe Sawyer). He is later arrested for fighting with Terry and Edith bails him out of jail, and they agreed to marry if their romance last more than 6 months. Steve goes to work for F. Willoughly Tuttle while Eddie takes a job in Honolulu. When Steve tells Edith that he agreed to stay in Honolulu for one year to help Eddie on a project, she end's their engagement.

In Honolulu, Steve flirts with Brenda Burke Eddie's secretary. When Steve sends a picture of himself with Brenda to Edith. Furious, she tries to remove her engagement ring but can't take the ring off and decides to take the ring to Steve directly. Meanwhile, Eddie warns Steve not to play with Brenda's feeling and Steve realizes that Eddie is in love with Brenda. When Steve fails to show up for a 6 a.m. blast, Eddie decides to go ahead with the blast without him. After Eddie dives into the coral, his air line is blocked. Steve arrives and rescues Eddie as Brenda and Edith watch. Later, after the rescue, a note arrives from Steve's boss saying that if he marries Edith, she can travel with him and get her stories.

Cast

• Brian Donlevy as Steve Reardon
• Glenda Farrell as Edith McNeil
• Norman Foster as Eddie Mitchell
• Helen Wood as Brenda Burke
• Robert McWade as Willard Stone
• Theodore von Eltz as Noble Harrison
• Romaine Callender as F. Willoughby Tuttle
• Joe Sawyer as Terry Madden

Production

The original title for the story by J. Robert Bren and Norman Houston was "Here Comes Trouble", but 20th Century Fox used that title for another film which they released earlier in the same year. The working title of the movie was "Trouble Makers". The film includes the song "And That Woman Made a Monkey Out of Me" by Sidney Clare.^[4]

Reception

The New York Times movie review said: "High Tension is a loud and funny comedy written almost entirely in the vernacular, which is well suited to Miss Glenda Farrell's aptitude for robust comedy. Here she is aided and abetted by Brian Donlevy, the man with the profile, who spends part of his time asking her to marry him and, paradoxically, running out on her after she consents. Apparently for good measure, the scenario writers toss in some melodramatic episodes. For instance, the interlude in which Mr. Donlevy descends to the floor of the Pacific to rescue Norman Foster, who becomes entangled in a movement of coral reef while mending the Honolulu—San Francisco cable. High Tension may be recommended to the not too finicky as better than average hot-weather screen fare."^[5]

Home media

20th Century Fox released the film on DVD in December 16, 2014.

References

External links

• High Tension at the Internet Movie Database