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Taking the Count

Name: Taking the Count
Director: Lloyd French
Released: 1937
Duration: 22 min

Representation Score

1.4/10

Minimal

1937

Approved

Director

Lloyd French

Runtime

22 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Taking the Count is a conventional 1930s comedy that relies heavily on established formulas of class mobility and romantic entanglement. The plot follows a standard trajectory where social standing and domestic stability dictate the characters' motivations. The film reinforces traditional social hierarchies rather than challenging them. While the female lead exerts influence over her partner, this power is confined to the realm of marital and social negotiation. Ultimately, the work functions as a period piece that upholds the status quo. It lacks the elements necessary to address broader cultural or identity-based complexities.

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Category Breakdown

Does Taking the Count have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a traditional heterosexual relationship between Ann and Joe. It does not include any non-binary gender identities or challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does Taking the Count portray gender?

Limited

Ann tries to influence Joe’s career, playing a significant role in driving the story. However, her power is tied to social climbing and negotiating their marriage.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Taking the Count?

Limited

The story centers on Eurocentric social hierarchies and class distinctions. It does not feature a multi-ethnic cast or diverse racial representation.

How does Taking the Count represent religion and culture?

Limited

Themes of classism and European nobility drive the plot. The narrative upholds traditional notions of social standing without critiquing Western institutions.

Does Taking the Count include disability representation?

Minimal

The narrative contains no mention of characters with visible or invisible disabilities. There is no representation of neurodivergence or physical disability.

Present on Screen

Explores themes of class mobility and the tension between wealth and professional achievement.
Provides a clear, character-driven conflict regarding social standing and family reputation.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender perspectives.
Relies on Eurocentric social hierarchies without offering a critique of systemic classism.
Fails to include diverse racial or ethnic perspectives within the narrative.

Official Synopsis

Now that they're engaged, Ann wants Joe to retire from the ring, seeing as how he's the heavyweight champ. Ann's mother, who doesn't want her daughter marrying "beneath" the wealthy family's standing, to set Ann up with a European count. What the mother doesn't know is that the "count" is after the family's money more than he is Ann.

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