Stephen Sondheim picked this movie as the initial film on his special night as the Turner Classic Movies programmer, March 22, 2005. The cable network TCM was honoring him on his 75th birthday. The reason for his choice was that the screenplay was by Wilson Mizner. Sondheim had been wanting to write a musical about Wilson and his brother Addison since reading Alva Johnston's 1953 biography of them, "The Legendary Mizners", but he didn't pursue the project fully till 1996. After several revisions under different titles, including WISE GUYS in 1999 and BOUNCE in 2003, the show finally opened off-Broadway in 2008 at the Public Theater in New York, entitled ROAD SHOW.
When Chandra has a local girl join the travelling show, Frank says, "Ever hear of a guy called Mann? Well, he's got an act." Sam adds, "Yeah, and it ain't in vaudeville." The Mann Act was a notorious law that made it a federal offense for a man to transport a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. Though it was aimed at pimps and prostitutes, in practice it meant that an unmarried man and woman who crossed a state border for sex, even with the woman's consent, and even if the state had no law against fornication, could be arrested. It was disproportionately used against celebrities, especially black ones.
Famed raconteur Wilson Mizner co-authored The Mind Reader (1933) during his short stay in Hollywood while on the lam from an elaborate hoax he perpetrated in Florida a few years before.
Wilson was one of Broadway's leading lights during the 1910's and 1920's, rising to scandalous celebrity-hood after the 29-year old married an 80-year old heiress. From there he dove headlong into managing boxing matches (which he fixed) and the Rand Hotel. What made Wilson even more memorable, however, was his well-known wit. At his hotel, patrons were greeted by the sign "Guests must carry out their own dead." When one of his boxers met a violent end, Mizner merely said, "Tell 'em to start counting ten over him, and he'll get up."
In the late 1920's, Mizner set up the greatest scheme of all. He and his brother Addison retired south to Florida where they began snapping up cheap land and selling it for inflated prices, using their connections to Broadway's leading names and newspaper columnists for publicity. Ultimately the Great Florida Land Boom went bust and Wilson fled to Hollywood one step ahead of the law.
There Wilson set up shop at Warner Brothers, usually sleeping on a couch in the writers's quarters and being awoken whenever his writing partners needed a tasty quip with a hard, cynical edge. Wilson must have been wide awake for most of the writing of The Mind Reader as it is full of such lines, mostly spoken by Warren William's partner-in-crime Allen Jenkins. When William hooks up with a girl that may be underage, Jenkins reminds him, "You ever heard of a guy named Mann? He's got an Act and it ain't in vaudeville!" Jenkins' closing line is a corker as well but you will have to watch the movie for that one.
Mizner died of a heart attack before the film was released, following his brother who had died shortly before. Even in the months before his death, Mizner's cruel wit never deserted him. When his brother Addison telegrammed to say he was gravely ill, Wilson sent one back from Hollywood stating, "STOP DYING. AM TRYING TO WRITE COMEDY."
Wilson was one of Broadway's leading lights during the 1910's and 1920's, rising to scandalous celebrity-hood after the 29-year old married an 80-year old heiress. From there he dove headlong into managing boxing matches (which he fixed) and the Rand Hotel. What made Wilson even more memorable, however, was his well-known wit. At his hotel, patrons were greeted by the sign "Guests must carry out their own dead." When one of his boxers met a violent end, Mizner merely said, "Tell 'em to start counting ten over him, and he'll get up."
In the late 1920's, Mizner set up the greatest scheme of all. He and his brother Addison retired south to Florida where they began snapping up cheap land and selling it for inflated prices, using their connections to Broadway's leading names and newspaper columnists for publicity. Ultimately the Great Florida Land Boom went bust and Wilson fled to Hollywood one step ahead of the law.
There Wilson set up shop at Warner Brothers, usually sleeping on a couch in the writers's quarters and being awoken whenever his writing partners needed a tasty quip with a hard, cynical edge. Wilson must have been wide awake for most of the writing of The Mind Reader as it is full of such lines, mostly spoken by Warren William's partner-in-crime Allen Jenkins. When William hooks up with a girl that may be underage, Jenkins reminds him, "You ever heard of a guy named Mann? He's got an Act and it ain't in vaudeville!" Jenkins' closing line is a corker as well but you will have to watch the movie for that one.
Mizner died of a heart attack before the film was released, following his brother who had died shortly before. Even in the months before his death, Mizner's cruel wit never deserted him. When his brother Addison telegrammed to say he was gravely ill, Wilson sent one back from Hollywood stating, "STOP DYING. AM TRYING TO WRITE COMEDY."
According to production reports included in the file on the film at the AMPAS library, The Mind Reader (1933) was shot in 22 days and cost $154,000. Modern sources credit Hal B. Wallis with supervision.
The Mind Reader (1933) is an American pre-Code drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Robert Lord and Wilson Mizner. The film was based on a play by Vivian Crosby (production undetermined). The film stars Warren William, Constance Cummings, Allen Jenkins, Natalie Moorhead, Mayo Methot and Clarence Muse. The film was released by Warner Bros. on April 1, 1933.