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| “ | Mr. Grover: If Tommy Rogers disappears, his share of the store reverts to Martha Phelps, the old man's sister. Duke: So what? Mr. Grover: Well, there'll be a society wedding. Martha will make a stunning bride and I rather fancy myself as a bridegroom. |
„ |
| ~ Mr. Grover revealing his plan to Duke. |
| “ | Ah, if you're a detective, I'm a monkey's uncle. | „ |
| ~ Grover doubting Private Detective Wolf J. Flywheel. |
| “ | You'll take care of nothing! I'm fed up with the three of you. How do you expect me to run a store with you maniacs destroying priceless antiques, insulting customers, disturbing the general routine? No wonder business is bad. | „ |
| ~ Grover scolding Flywheel, Ravelli, and Wacky. |
| “ | Grover: Peggy, six months from now, we'll own this store together and be rolling in money. Peggy Arden: What about Martha? Grover: Well, after she and I are married, who knows? Maybe there'll be an accident. Stop worrying. |
„ |
| ~ Grover revealing his true intentions to Peggy Arden after his upcoming marriage to Martha Phelps. |
Mr. Grover is the main antagonist of the 1941 American comedy film, The Big Store. He is the store manager who plots to kill Tommy Rogers before he can sell his share of the store business he inherited from his late Uncle Hiram Phelps to the Hastings brothers, then marry, and likely kill his fiancee/Tommy's Aunt Martha Phelps in order to become sole owner of the Phelps Department Store with his secret lover and girlfriend, Peggy Arden at his side.
He was portrayed by the late Douglass Dumbrille who also played J.D. Morgan in A Day at the Races and Jannes in The Ten Commandments.
Personality[]
Mr. Grover is shown to be mean, selfish, greedy, arrogant, strict, cruel, stubborn, and sarcastic. Beneath his businesslike exterior, Grover can be impatient, ruthless, remorseless, diabolical, threatening, temperamental, and easily offended/insulted when things don't go his way or when someone like Flywheel, Ravelli, and Wacky insult him or constantly ruin his plans to have Tommy killed.
Biography[]
Realizing that the famous singer, Tommy Rogers intends to sell his share of the store business he inherited from his late Uncle Hiram Phelps to the Hastings brothers: George and Arthur in order to finance a new music conservatory since he has no real interest in running a department store, Grover conspires with some of his men to kill him before he can sell anything, then marry, and likely kill Tommy's wealthy Aunt Martha Phelps whom he's engaged to in order to become sole owner of the Phelps Department Store despite the fact that one of his men, Fred Sutton's sister, Joan Sutton working in the store's music department is in a romantic relationship with Tommy. So, Grover has one of his men, Duke send in a thug named Butch to make Tommy's murder look like an accident.
After Butch knocks Tommy down with a club when the lights in the elevator temporarily go out, Grover feigns sympathy, care, and ignorance as he, Joan, and Tommy's best friend/bodyguard, Ravelli help Tommy up and take him to his Aunt Martha. Worried about her nephew's safety, lest anyone should suspect her of engaging in foul play to take over the store, Martha hires Private Detective Wolf J. Flywheel as a floorwalker and Tommy's new bodyguard despite Grover's best attempts to convince her that calling the police could result in "undesirable publicity".
Later on, Grover commends Fred on his work on the books, which is good enough to fool Tommy, but not the Hastings brothers, while also threatening the latter's sister if she finds out about their scheme. Then, Grover is introduced by Martha to Flywheel who inadvertently exposes himself as a detective to everyone including Ravelli and Tommy rather than resumes posing as a floorwalker even after Grover tests the latter's supposed experience in such a profession leading to a battle of wits for Martha's affections in the process as well. After Tommy accepts Flywheel as his new bodyguard next to Ravelli, Grover is told to scram by Flywheel while the latter talks to Martha in private.
Later, Grover is informed through Flywheel answering the former's phone that a crook has stolen Martha's purse, only to find out that the "crook" is none other than Flywheel's driver and Ravelli's brother, Wacky having come to return the latter's purse she lost earlier. After a misunderstanding has been cleared up, Grover scolds Flywheel, Ravelli, and Wacky for their antics involving accidentally destroying priceless antiques earlier, insulting customers, and disturbing the general routine as the latter three prepare to do their jobs and take their positions on different floors before Flywheel, for one, proceeds to sing his way down to "Sing While You Sell" in the elevator.
Moments later, Grover sends in his secret lover and girlfriend, Peggy Arden posing as a music critic to lure Tommy away to the roadhouse where the former's men will be waiting for him to make sure he doesn't return alive before the Hastings brothers arrive to buy and take over the store the next day as the former further reveals his plan to kill Martha and make her murder look like an accident as well after they're married then later share his future fortune acquired from his marriage to Martha with Peggy in the end.
When Grover's plan with Peggy fails due to Tommy not wanting to meet with her earlier and with Tommy's bodyguards still in the store and sleeping in the bed department, Grover orders a reluctant employee of his to get rid of them by starting a sale in the bed department in order to drive them out.
When that plan backfires, Grover sends in 2 thugs in gray topcoats: Austin Benny and The Snapper to take care of Tommy. When Grover discovers Fred having warned Tommy's bodyguards and brought the police over out of care and sympathy for his sister who is now engaged to Tommy, he has Fred temporarily kidnapped and subdued. Although Flywheel proves incompetent when he has the Hastings brothers handcuffed together due to mistaking them for the killers since they're wearing gray topcoats as well, Austin Benny and The Snapper are eventually caught and dragged downstairs by Ravelli and Wacky and straight into the hands of the police despite Grover's best attempts to keep the killers from getting arrested.
With his latest plan having proven futile, Grover plots to postpone the signing of the store until Saturday at 1:00 after the store closes under the pretense that they can make it a regular ceremony as the employees can meet the new owners while inviting the press to get a lot of free publicity, which both Tommy and the Hastings brothers gladly agree to.
At night, after Grover discusses with the news reporters about Tommy signing the store to the Hastings brothers, he and Duke secretly plant a gun hidden in one of the cameras and switch it with another, hoping that one of the reporters will "shoot" Tommy when the latter will be alone for the signing. Then, Grover orders Duke to get Fred out of the store, which the latter intends to do after dark. However, Grover is later informed by Duke that Fred got away by ducking into a crowd after talking to his sister. Worried that Joan might talk, Grover arranges to have Joan kidnapped and made to tell what her brother had told her earlier.
Unfortunately for him, although Duke manages to turn off the lights, Grover's picture is taken along with Joan and Flywheel by Ravelli just as he grabs and kidnaps her. Knowing that the picture will serve as evidence against him in court, Grover holds both Flywheel, Ravelli, and Wacky at gunpoint in the red room after they have developed the picture and asks them to give him the negative first, which he burns after Wacky hands it to him, but just as Ravelli is about to reluctantly hand him the picture next as well, Wacky creates a distraction long enough for the 3 bodyguards to temporarily subdue and disarm Grover and escape with the picture in hand leading to a long but hilarious chase around the store and resulting in Grover being held in the electrical supply room but with the picture in hand, which he burns and stomps on just as everyone else including Joan whom Tommy had found and rescued earlier arrives, thus, destroying any evidence against him despite Joan's presence.
Nevertheless, when the reporters aim to take a picture of Grover first, he inadvertently confesses about the gun hidden in one of the cameras, which is more than enough to prove his guilt at last. Just as a retaliating Tommy is about to have his way with him personally, Grover is finally knocked down by Wacky with one punch before getting arrested possibly along with Duke and the rest of his men by the police for his crimes later on.
Trivia[]
- Mr. Grover's first name is never mentioned throughout the movie.
- Grover is naively but hilariously referred to as "Grover Cleveland" by Ravelli when his incriminating picture is being developed.
- During the chase around the store at the end of the movie, a stuntman can be seen replacing Douglass Dumbrille's character in some scenes.