Paramount, 1930
Starring Nancy Carroll, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Stanley Smith, and Lillian Roth
Directed by Wesley Ruggles
Music by W. Franke Harling; Lyrics by Sam Coslow
Not all musicals from the early sound era were backstage spectacles or soppy melodramas. By 1930, Hollywood had begun to venture into creating musicals made just for the screen, either with original stories or based on non-musical plays, like our first review this week. Come Out of the Kitchen was originally a play in 1916. Having first filmed it in 1919, Paramount dusted it off again for sound and musical treatment and to showcase then-major stars Roth, Gallagher, and Carroll. How well did they do with this farce about impoverished siblings who rent out their home to a wealthy family and find love in the bargain? Let's begin at a southern plantation, where Olivia Dangerfield (Carroll) is preparing to move out of her room so the new renters can move in, and find out...
The Story: Olivia and her brother Charles (Gallagher) are moving downstairs because the cook and butler they hired ended up getting married instead. Desperate, they take over as the cook and butler, while Mayme (ZaSu Pitts) and her obnoxious daughter Doris (Mitzi Green) work upstairs. Mrs. Falkner (Jobyna Howland) arrives with her vivacious daughter Cora (Roth) and Cora's handsome fiancee Burton Crane (Smith) in tow. Burton quickly falls for Olivia, who tries to hide her situation, while Cora pursues Charles and Mayme falls for Crane's friend J. William Burnstein (Harry Green), who is there to keep an eye on Mrs. Falkner's jewelry. Needless to say, Mrs. Falkner protests all of this, and Olivia is reluctant to tell Burton how far she's fallen.
The Song and Dance: The songs are pretty much the only things carrying this one. notably its sole standard "Sing You Sinners." Carroll is charming and lovely and Roth is adorable and plays well off the goofier Gallagher, but it's Howland who stomps away with the picture as the monstrous snob of a mother. Some of the costumes (that can be seen in the terrible copy currently at YouTube) aren't bad, either, especially during that amazing "Sing You Sinners" revival sequence.
Favorite Number: We don't get a song until nearly a half-hour into a movie that's a little over an hour...and when we do, it's the slightly sappy ballad "In My Little Hope Chest." Olivia performs it to explain why she keeps up her hopes of finding the right person to Burton. Charles and Cora have more fun encouraging each other "Let's Be Domestic." Mayme and William are even funnier admitting this outside while doing the laundry. Charles claims "I Don't Need Atmosphere" to court Cora right before they head to the revival meeting.
That revival meeting provides the film's big chorus number and sole truly memorable sequence. Louise Beavers starts things off with a powerhouse rendition of "Sing You Sinners" with the black chorus. Mitzi Green takes over briefly, coming off as a lot more enjoyable than she ever was in the rest of the film. Roth gets even more into it with her own solo near the end. She has such a great time, writhing and shaking with abandon, that the song became something of a signature for her. The number is totally extraneous and is never mentioned again, but it's such an awesome moment, you don't mind at all.
Trivia: Lyricist Sam Coslow claimed in his autobiography that a young and unknown Bing Crosby was considered for the Burton Crane role.
"Sing You Sinners" actually was inspired by a real-life revival meeting Coslow attended with friends.
There would be at least two foreign language versions made in 1930 and 1931, the French Cherie and the German Every Woman Has Something.
What I Don't Like: No wonder Carroll protested getting stuck in this. This is about the most typical piece of musical fluff you can think of. It's also badly dated in its condescending treatment of its black and female characters and silly story. Other than her part in "Let's Be Domestic," Pitts spends most of the movie whining and crying and is really annoying. Bratty Green is even harder to take. I'm surprised no one grabbed that kid and gave her a good, hard shake.
They really should have used Crosby, who might have been able to make Burton at least slightly interesting. Smith is stiff as a board and about as much fun to watch. Ruggles is normally a good director, as we see in "Sing You Sinners," but most of the movie shows its stage origins too plainly in all the people standing around talking.
The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of early sound film. All others would be advised to skip right to "Sing You Sinners" and pass on the rest of this.
Home Media: At press time, this can only be found - in a washed-out copy that's badly in need of restoration - at YouTube.
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