Cary Grant
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Film Study · 1932 · Drama • Romance • Pre-Code Drama

Hot Saturday

One of the earliest glimpses of the sophisticated Cary Grant the world would soon come to adore.

Archival photograph associated with Hot Saturday

Editorial ratings

Cary Grant
Story
Direction
Cinematography
Entertainment
Historical importance
The Story

A pretty but virtuous small-town bank clerk is the victim of a vicious rumor from an unsuccessful suitor that she spent the night with a notorious womanizer.

Cary Grant plays Romer Sheffield, under the direction of William A. Seiter, released in 1932.

Introduction

An important Pre-Code drama showing Cary Grant's rapid development during his first Hollywood year.

The Story

Ruth Brock's reputation is destroyed by rumor while Romer Sheffield offers quiet compassion.

Production & Behind the Scenes

Directed by William A. Seiter with Nancy Carroll and Cary Grant for Paramount.

Cary Grant's Performance

Grant reveals the emerging sophistication and generosity that would define his career.

William A. Seiter's Direction & Themes

Themes of reputation, hypocrisy, class, compassion, and public judgment.

Historical Context

A notable Pre-Code production reflecting early 1930s Hollywood freedom.

Legacy & Influence

Now valued as one of the clearest bridges between Grant's early work and later stardom.

Production & release

  1. Early 1932

    Development

    Paramount develops the novel for the screen.

  2. Mid-1932

    Production

    Principal photography.

  3. October 8, 1932

    Release

    Film released.

  4. 1933

    Breakthrough

    Cary Grant's breakthrough follows with She Done Him Wrong.

In the Room

Collaborators.

Actor
Randolph Scott
1898–1987

Randolph Scott was born Randolph Crane Scott in Orange County, Virginia, in 1898, and became, after decades of Western and adventure pictures, the defining star of the postwar American Western and one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood, having invested his earnings shrewdly in real estate and oil. Scott and Grant shared a Santa Monica beach house, on and off, for roughly a decade beginning around 1932, at various points while both were young contract actors establishing themselves in Hollywood. The arrangement is the most extensively examined domestic detail of Grant's private life, generating decades of speculation in later biographies and popular writing. The documented record itself is comparatively thin: contemporary fan-magazine photography treated the arrangement as an amusing bachelor household, and no verified first-person account from either man settles the question of its nature. This archive records that the two men shared a home for an extended period; it does not assert what has not been documented. Professionally, Scott and Grant appeared together in the screwball comedy My Favorite Wife (1940), in which Scott's character complicates the marital farce built around Grant and Irene Dunne. Scott's own later career moved decisively toward the Western, culminating in the seven films he made with director Budd Boetticher between 1956 and 1960 — lean, morally spare pictures now regarded among the finest of the genre — and in his final film, Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962), made opposite Joel McCrea. Scott retired from acting after that film and died in 1987.

On Screen

Cast.

  • Cary Grant as Romer Sheffield

    Cary Grant as Romer Sheffield

  • Nancy Carroll as Ruth Brock

    Nancy Carroll as Ruth Brock

  • Randolph Scott as Bill Fadden

    Randolph Scott as Bill Fadden

  • Edward Woods as Conny Billop

    Edward Woods as Conny Billop

  • Lilian Bond as Eva Randolph

    Lilian Bond as Eva Randolph

  • William Collier Sr. as Mr. Brock

    William Collier Sr. as Mr. Brock

  • Jane Darwell as Mrs. Brock

    Jane Darwell as Mrs. Brock

The Record

Full billed cast of Hot Saturday (1932).

Players in billing order, with the characters they play.

  • Cary Grantas Romer Sheffield
  • Nancy Carrollas Ruth Brock
  • Randolph Scottas Bill Fadden
  • Edward Woodsas Conny Billop
  • Lilian Bondas Eva Randolph
  • William Collier Sr.as Mr. Brock
  • Jane Darwellas Mrs. Brock
  • Stanley Smithas Joe
  • Rita La Royas Camille
  • Rose Coghlanas Annie Brock
  • Oscar Apfelas Mr. Randolph
  • Jessie Arnoldas Aunt Minnie
  • Grady Suttonas Archie
  • Mark Strongas Bank Teller (uncredited)
  • Nora Cecilas Gossip on Telephone (Uncredited)
  • Billy Engleas Third Bank Teller (Uncredited)
  • Kenner G. Kempas Party Guest (Uncredited)
  • Dave O'Brienas Party Guest (Uncredited)
  • Henry Roquemoreas Second Bank Teller (Uncredited)
  • Frederick Sullivanas Bank Customer (Uncredited)
  • Marjorie Mainas Gossip in Window (uncredited)

Crew.

  • DirectorWilliam A. Seiter
  • Director of PhotographyArthur L. Todd
  • Original Music ComposerJohn Leipold
  • ScreenplaySeton I. Miller
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