Trivia / You Can't Take It With You

• The Cast Showoff:
  • Subverted with Essie. She's often played by actually good dancers and she's supposed to always be dancing but she's laughably bad.
  • Ed's actor plays the xylophone many times throughout. Though occasionally an actor who isn't musically inclined is cast, matching the incompetence of his wife's dancing. An actor whose a genuinely good playing can provide a good amount of music to the play though.
  • The text also mentions that Kolenkhov's actor might dance a bit during Essie's lesson. Like Ed, this can be a genuine showcase for a talented dancer, or he could be portrayed as incompetent. In both scenarios though, his dancing will be comedic. He's also supposed to sing "Goody Goody", which may have other cast members join in.
  • Gay Wellington's actress is subversion, as she's supposed to sing, but given she's unbelievably drunk it isn't supposed to sound good.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Ann Miller was a professional dancer. Her character, Essie, is a terrible dancer. This happens quite a bit with Essie, such as when Annaleigh Ashford played her on Broadway. Ashford did such a good job dancing horribly that she got nominated for a Fred Astaire Award.
• Referenced by...:
  • In Five Easy Pieces, Bobby watches the movie with Elton's family, and complains that the one-year-old is blocking his view.
• Written-In Infirmity: Shortly before filming began, Lionel Barrymore lost the use of his legs to crippling arthritis and a hip injury. To accommodate him, the script was altered so that his character had a broken leg, and Barrymore did the film on crutches.

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