Travelers of different and varied backgrounds meet and interact on one night in a metropolitan train station and its environs.Travelers of different and varied backgrounds meet and interact on one night in a metropolitan train station and its environs.Travelers of different and varied backgrounds meet and interact on one night in a metropolitan train station and its environs.
- Depot Hotel Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Dress Shop Proprietress
- (uncredited)
- Actress on Train
- (uncredited)
- Magazine Counter Clerk
- (uncredited)
- Dress Shop Assistant
- (uncredited)
- Panhandler Wanting One Dollar
- (uncredited)
- Police Officer Bert Brady
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPer the bill for Chick's meal at the Union Depot Diner included: Salad (lettuce and tomato) - 15 cents, T-Bone Steak with Onion - 85 cents, Brown Potatoes - 15 cents, Biscuits - 15 cents, Honey - 15 cents, Coffee - 10 cents, and Raisin Pie a la mode - 20 cents. The grand total was $1.75, which equates to $40.20 in 2023.
- GoofsPassengers board the train from track level, using the steps and handrails on the cars. In a depot or terminal of the type depicted, passengers would board from a raised platform at train floor level.
- Quotes
Men's Room Attendant: [Brushing off Chick's suit] Yes, suh, I sure Savannahed them folks out!
Charles 'Chick' Miller: That so?
[Not realizing that the suit he's wearing has money in its pocket]
Charles 'Chick' Miller: Well, the smallest thing I have is a twenty.
Men's Room Attendant: [Amused] Boss, if I had change for that right now, I'd be attending a Southern girl lavishly!
Chick (Fairbanks) and Scrap Iron Scratch (Kibbee) are two hobos during the Depression, hungry and hanging around Union Depot to beg for money and look for opportunities to get money.
The first opportunity comes in the form of a conductor's uniform hanging in the mens room, which Chick steals by sticking a pole through the mens room window. Then he gets a real windfall - a man (Frank McHugh) leaves his suitcase in the mens room. Chick chases him to return it, but the man is gone. Inside is everything Chick will need to look like the handsome man that he is: a suit, shaving cream, shaver. He emerges from the mens room looking great. He also has money that was in the suit pocket.
He goes to a diner and orders soup to nuts and racks up a huge bill of $1.75. I can't believe the prices in those days. He sees a forlorn looking young woman in the station. It's Ruth (Joan Blondell) who needs $64 to get to Salt Lake City to join a show that she was in before she broke her ankle. And she'll do anything to get it. That's fine with Chick. He takes her to a private dining room and makes a pass. She tries, but she can't go through with it. She finally tells Chick her full story, that besides needing to get to the show, she's running from a creep that lived in her rooming house. Chick believes her and says he'll buy her ticket.
Somewhere along the line, he meets up with Scratch, who has found a wallet with a pawn ticket. The pawn ticket is for a violin in a case. Chick takes it to the pawnbroker across the way. While the pawnbroker is taking care of another customer, Chick opens the violin and finds $13,000 -- the equivalent of nearly a quarter of a million dollars today. Frankly, I could use the $13,000 now, and it's over 80 years later.
Chick hides the violin case and leaves Scratch in charge of it and takes some of the money with him. And there the fun begins.
This is a fast-moving, entertaining story that leaves one with a tinge of sadness. I am a huge fan of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I think he was a very underrated actor. He's marvelous here, as effective as a hobo as he is as a dapper gentleman. Both his comedy and dramatic work are marvelous. Joan Blondell is adorable -- so pretty and sweet, but with an edge that shows that the character has been through hard times.
Precode has a more liberal view of sex. People have it, for one thing. And you don't have to be married. Fairbanks is fairly cavalier about it and angry when Blondell doesn't come across.
Very good movie - if you see that it's on TCM, don't miss it. I would have liked a less downbeat ending, but hey, it was the Depression.
- blanche-2
- Sep 15, 2014
- How long is Union Depot?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Gentleman for a Day
- Filming locations
- Southern Pacific Station, Central Avenue at Fifth Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA(train station rolling stock, exteriors - demolished 1956)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $284,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 7 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1