Starring Bob Hope, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore, and Irene Bordoni
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
While you wait for the election results to come in, here's a hilarious political satire to check out. Louisiana Purchase started life as a Broadway show the year before. This spoof of political corruption in general and the state of Louisiana dropping Huey Long's Share the Wealth program and supporting the Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal was a huge hit in New York, but does it still earn the vote with viewers today? Let's begin with Paramount's lawyer (Emory Parnell) as he and his secretary (Iris Meredith) and the chorus explain in song that this is a spoof and none of this really happened...maybe...and find out...
The Story: Three Louisiana House of Representative members have been using the federal funds for the Louisiana Purchase Company to furnish their lavish lifestyles. They're horrified when they learn that Senator Oliver P. Loganberry (Moore) is coming to conduct hearings into their corrupt activities. They force the fourth member, Jim Taylor (Hope), to lure Loganberry into a trap that'll let them blackmail him into dropping the matter.
Taylor's friend Madame Bordelaise (Bordoni) suggests European beauty Marina Von Minden (Zorina), who is trying to earn enough money to bring her mother to the US, to be used as bait. She seduces him and gets him drunk, but then has second thoughts and claims she's his fiancee. Now Jim is really in the senatorial dog house...until he can filibuster for three days and keep Loganberry from making those changes to the legaslature!
The Song and Dance: Hope is backed by a great supporting cast in one of the rare Broadway adaptations of the 40's to be a fairly accurate adaptation of the original. It's so accurate, Bordoni, Zorina, and Moore repeat their original roles. Gorgeous production, too. It was his first color film, and Paramount really threw everything they had into it. We even get a fashion show mid-way through when Jim insists on showing off the latest fashions to impoverished Marina. Moore takes top honors as the rigid politician who is so into his job, he barely knows anything but what goes on at Capitol Hill.
Probably the most famous moment from this today is Hope's filibuster in the end. It's hilarious, with him reading everything from Gone With the Wind to Goldilocks and the Three Bears to keep everyone from leaving. Hope has a great time with it, especially towards the end as it's becoming obvious Jim is burning out.
Favorite Number: We open with the "Lawyer's Letter" and "It's New to Us," possibly the first and only time in film history that a musical began with a chorus routine that says "this is fiction, don't sue us." We don't get another number until nearly half-way in, but it's the sweet "You're Lonely and I'm Lonely" as Zorina begins to realize that Loganberry isn't really a bad guy. Beatrice (Dona Drake), one of Madame's girls, joins the chorus for the title song at the Mardi Gras parade. "Dance With Me Tonight at the Mardi Gras" says Zorina in a lavish ballet as she and dancer Charles Laskey pirouette around the ballroom.
The film's best number was also its only hit on Broadway. "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow" begins with black waiters cleaning up in the kitchen, singing about their hopes for a new day. Jim, stripped of his king's costume after Marina turns on him, sings along, but his heart isn't really in it. It's a simple but effective moment in an otherwise overstuffed movie.
Trivia: Gaxton, Moore's usual stage partner, played Hope's role on Broadway.
The Broadway show ran almost two years, not bad for the early 40's. It largely vanished until a concert version with the complete score played Carnegie Hall in 1996.
What I Don't Like: There's a reason this disappeared for fifty years. The political satire was amusing then, but largely hasn't dated well. I wish it was even more of a musical. There were more songs on Broadway that are only used as underscoring in the film. They could have gone a long way towards fleshing out other characters, like the corrupt senators and Beatrice. Zorina had at least one more ballet that gave her more opportunity to show off her real talents, too. She never was much of an actress. Berlin's songs are far from his best, with only "Lovely Day Tomorrow" coming anywhere near his more famous work.
The Big Finale: Mainly for major fans of Hope, Berlin, or big Technicolor 40's and 50's musicals.
Home Media: DVD only as part of the Universal Vault Series.
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