Feature film — 1930
Only Saps Work (1930)
Rubber-legged comedian Leon Errol made his talkie starring bow in Paramount's Only Saps Work. Based on a play by Owen Davis Sr., the film casts Errol as James Wilson, a kleptomaniac who starts with picking pockets and ends up robbing a bank. Wilson's friend Lawrence Payne (Richard Arlen) inadvertently aids our hero during one of his heists, ending up in deep doo-doo with the law. Before Wilson is able to extricate Payne from his dilemma for the sake of heroine Barbara Tanner (Mary Brian), he pauses long enough to pose as a private eye -- and even gives bellboy Oscar (Stu Erwin) tips on how to spot a crook! If only all of Leon Errol's feature films had been as consistently hilarious as Only Saps Work.
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A high-signal pick with 3 votes.
Paramount Pictures / Paramount Publix Corp.
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Director: Cyril Gardner
On screen
Cast & crew
Leon Errol
James Wilson
Richard Arlen
Larry Payne
Mary Brian
Barbara Tanner
Stuart Erwin
Oscar
Anderson Lawler
Horace Baldwin
Charley Grapewin
Simeon Tanner
Clarence Burton
Sergeant Burns (uncredited)
Nora Cecil
Mrs. Partridge (uncredited)
George Chandler
Elevator Operator (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins
Rafferty (uncredited)
Clifford Dempsey
Detective Smith (uncredited)
Charles Giblyn
Dr. Jasper (uncredited)
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