Starring Bert Lahr, Charlotte Greenwood, Pat O'Brian, and Kathryn Crawford
Directed by Charles Reisner
Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Bert Lahr is today best known for his very funny performance as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 Wizard of Oz. He got his start as a low comic in burlesque, where he honed a lot of his noisier schtick. He hit the big time with a Broadway role in 1927; by 1931, he was one of the most popular stage stars in New York. MGM brought him over to film his big 1930 hit, replacing singer Kate Smith with her complete physical opposite, dancer and comedienne Charlotte Greenwood. Does this wacky comic musical fly high like Lahr's "Aerocopter" today, or should it be grounded? Let's head to a diner frequented by pilots and mechanics as waitress Pansy Potts (Greenwood) laments about her marital state...or lack thereof...and find out...
The Story: Pansy has just offered a $500 dollar dowry to the man who'll marry her. That money looks mighty good to Sport Wardell (O'Brian), who's trying to push goofball mechanic Rusty Krouse's new "Aerocopter" that can go side to side as well as up and down. Rusty spent all his money on his invention, and now they're so broke, they can't pay their bills or rent. Even when Sport does manage to find an investor (Guy Kibbee) and fall for his daughter Eileen (Crawford), the investor is broke. They both may end up behind bars for selling illegal stocks...unless Rusty can get Pansy's money and enters the Aerocopter in a race at an air show and keeps her in the sky.
The Song and Dance: This may be intended as a vehicle for Lahr, but he's overshadowed by Greenwood and one of Busby Berkeley's earliest choreographic assignments. Even here, you can see how well Berkeley does with playing to the camera, including the same kind of kaleidoscopic overhead shots he'd use two years later in the Warners backstage movies. Greenwood's having a great time chasing Lahr all over the Oakland Airport, and later when she jumps in the aerocopter with him and has to retrieve an important part from the wing and the landing wheel.
Favorite Number: "Happy Landing" is the big one...and unlike most musicals, it can be found in the first 20 minutes. Crawford performs this huge routine with the chorus, who hold wooden airplane silhouettes over their heads for the camera and form airplanes and the names of famous pilots. It's a nifty number, and a good preview of things to come for Berkeley. He does something similar with the nightclub routine "Dance Until the Dawn," this time letting the chorus dance in until they start making those airplane formations. Lahr tries to explain why he's not fond of the idea of marriage, while an eager Greenwood tries to rope him into a union in "It's the First Time for Me."
Trivia: The music for the original Broadway show was by DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson, but none of their songs were used for the film.
Film debut of Bert Lahr.
The photo Sport shows Pansy of "Rusty" is actually of Clark Gable.
"Happy Landing" and "Dance Until the Dawn" were later edited into the MGM Three Stooges short Plane Nuts.
What I Don't Like: First of all, O'Brian comes off no more interesting here than he would in later musical outings at Warners like In Caliente. Musicals just aren't his forte. Crawford is even more colorless, other than her bit singing "Happy Landing" and "Dance Until the Dawn." This is very much a Pre-Code musical, with some scanty costumes. a few mild swears, lots of slapstick, and one sequence where doctor Charles Winninger examines a roomful of would-be aviatrixes who are more than happy to strip for him.
The biggest problem, other than some lingering early talkie stiffness, is Lahr himself. No wonder he tended to work better in later films as a fantasy character or second banana to slightly less loony comedians like Red Skelton. He's way too much, mugging to the camera and jumping all over and yelling and ducking away from Greenwood like there's no tomorrow. It gets wearing and very annoying after a while.
The Big Finale: Mainly for those interested in Berkeley's style, Lahr, Greenwood, or the early talkie musicals.
Home Media: One of the earlier Warner Archive releases, this remains DVD-only at the moment.
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