Born in 1895, Roscoe Ates made a name for himself as a vaudeville performer before transitioning to film. In What! No Beer? (1933), he brings his comedic flair to the screen, embodying the character of Soapy Jones with a distinctive charm. Ates' background in westerns and comedy reflects a unique era in cinema, where his performances added levity to the genre. His work in What! No Beer? remains a testament to his ability to blend humor with the classic tropes of early American film.
What! No Beer?
Although he has never met her, Elmer Butts loves Hortense secretly and from afar. He dreams of making a million dollars so he can buy her a Rolls automobile and marry her. With prohibition apparently on the verge of ending, Elmer's friend Jimmy Potts gets an idea to make them both rich by opening a brewery just before the legalization of alcoholic beverages. Their timing is off, and the police raid them, but their inept brewing has created a beer with no alcohol, so they are let off. But it has also resulted in a cheaply made beer, and bootlegger Spike Moran realizes that he can vastly increase his profits by partnering with Elmer and Jimmy. But none of them reckons with the competitor, another bootlegger, gangster Butch Lorado. Butch has a girlfriend....Elmer's dream girl, Hortense.
