Cult Flops - The Emperor Waltz

Paramount, 1948

Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Fontaine, Roland Culver, and Richard Haydn

Directed by Billy Wilder

Music and Lyrics by various

Our first two movies this week have a lot in common. They're historical romances from 1948 featuring major stars and directors that went through troubled productions and received mixed reviews on release. This one started with Wilder's desire to do a light-hearted musical set in his native Austria after having seen concentration camps in Europe. Crosby was Paramount's go-to musical star at the time, but not only did he have problems with Wilder, but with the fluffy script as well. How did all this effect the tale of a traveling salesman in turn-of-the-20th-century Austria who falls for a countess? Let's begin at a grand ball, where gramophone salesman Virgil Smith (Crosby) dances with the chilly Countess Joanna Franziska (Fontaine) and find out...

The Story: Smith and his white fox terrier Buttons are determined to sell their gramophone to none other than the Emperor Franz Joseph (Haydn), hoping to promote it in Austria. Meanwhile, the Countess Joanna and her father Baron Holenia (Ronald Culver) have come to mate Joanna's pure-blood poodle Schenherezade with the Emperor's poodle. Countess and poodle get into several arguments with Smith and his terrier, the last of which leaves Schenherezade sick. The doctor (Sig Ruman) recommends that she face the dog that frightened her. Joanna insists on Virgil staying in Austria so this can happen. 

Not only do the dogs fall in love, but so do their owners. Joanna is ready to run away with Virgil, until the Emperor reminds Virgil that he's a commoner and she's a noblewoman who is not accustomed to simple living. He buys his gramophone if he'll leave Joanna. Virgil lies and says he never loved her...but it becomes obvious a few months later that their dogs did. When Schenherezade has her puppies, Virgil and Buttons come around one last time to rescue them and prove to the entire Austrian court that, if you're truly in love, nothing else matters. 

The Song and Dance: Gorgeous mountain scenery (filmed in Canada), the period-accurate costumes depicting Austria during the Edwardian period, and some absolutely scrumptious Technicolor add life to this bittersweet confection. The film isn't as sugary as the fluffy story looks at first, especially in the second half, when the class distinctions come to the fore. Haydn makes an especially good Emperor, stubborn, but not uncaring. In fact, I'm actually glad the movie didn't end up painting him as the villain. All he wanted was for his dog to give him some pups. Crosby proves himself more than worthy of the drama in the second half, particularly when he lets the court have it for almost hurting innocent puppies in the name of class purity near the end. 

The Numbers: Our first number is the Johann Strauss title song, given English lyrics by Johnny Burke and danced by the royal court at the ball. It's also the song he tries to play on his gramophone before the horrified soldiers at the court mistake it for a bomb. After the dogs attack each other, he returns to the "Friendly Mountains" to yodel along and watch the local peasants dance. His attempt to encourage Joseph to "Get Yourself a Phonograph" in the woods only ends with him in trouble and Joseph missing a stag he very much wanted to hunt. His first attempt to woo Joanna is his older hit "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame." The second, the German song "The Kiss In Your Eyes," works much better, for humans and canines. It even works for the Countess' chauffeur and two female servants in the inn, who happily dance together. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention that fluffy story? The whole thing with the dogs is silly to the point of being annoying, until it takes a left turn into melodrama near the end with what they try to do to Scheherezade's puppies. No matter how much he wanted to get away from darker stories, musicals aren't really Billy Wilder's turf. He wasn't satisfied with the results, and yeah, I can understand why. The social commentary mixes awkwardly with the overly sweet story. Not only is Fontaine stiff as a board and obviously not happy to be here, she's more realistic clashing with the aloof Crosby in the first half than falling for him in the second. 

The Big Finale: This alternately pretty and bitter class war romance is likely best for huge fans of Crosby, Fontaine, or Wilder. 

Home Media: Not on legitimate streaming at press time, but easily found on DVD and Blu-Ray, the latter from Kino Lorber

DVD - The Bing Crosby Collection: The Emperor Waltz/A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court

Blu-Ray

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and the Koala

Yoram Gross Films, 1985

Voices of Robyn Moore and Keith Scott

Directed by Yoram Gross

Music and Lyrics by Gairden Cooke

The Dot series was wildly popular in its native Australia, enough to continue for eight films. This is the third of those 8 films, coming after Dot and the Bunny. It also varies the formula a bit, trading in Dot's interaction with real-life animals for something closer to what you'd find in an animated series from this era, a town of talking animals. How does Dot get involved with the story of how one all-animal town created a dam for more power...and learned a lesson when the animals in the bush whose homes were flooded out fight back? Let's begin in that sleepy all-farm-animal town and find out...

The Story: Mayor Percy Pig is certain that their big new dam will thrust their little town into the 20th Century and bring many jobs to the community. What he doesn't consider is that their dam would flood the Outback and destroy the homes of the animals who live there. Bruce the Koala (Scott) encourages all the residents to fight back, but it just ends with them building the dam anyway. They finally bring in Dot (Moore) to help them stop the opening. She's the one who shows Percy, rat detective Sherlock Bones, and his none-too-bright cat sidekick Watson that small towns have their own charms, and there can be progress without destroying the environment.

The Animation: This one takes a different route with the style of animation. The animals look far smaller and less realistic than they do in previous films, with shorter, less detailed bodies and larger, goofier eyes. There's also far less live-action footage, and the animals barely interact with it at all. Dot looks more-or-less the same, but then she also has a lot less to do. 

The Song and Dance: Unique story almost comes off as a lighter version of Animal Farm, with the two sides warring over what one sees as "progress" and the other only knows will destroy their way of life. Some of the action sequences, especially in the beginning where they're all fighting, are kind of fun. Scott has fun playing most of the voices, including the stuffy pig mayor who thinks that power is the best way to shove his little town in the 20th Century and feisty little Bruce the Koala.

The Numbers: The local children's "Dam the Power!" chant leads everyone in town to chant about how the dam will mean "progress." The animals in the outback aren't as amused. They go to tell the animals in town what they think of their dam and "Stop It From Happening." Dot and Bruce show how a "Small Town" is just as important in the finale, which continues into the credits.

What I Don't Like: I liked it much better when Dot was helping animals in the real Australian outback. First of all, she doesn't turn up until 40 minutes into a movie that runs a little over an hour, and when she does appear, she doesn't have all that much to do. Second, the animation is grotesque, weird, and a little too goofy, lacking the realistic details of the previous three. The story veers between Sherlock Bones and Watson's dumb gags and the darker story of how so-called "progress" isn't always the answer with no rhyme or reason, and the environmental message is forced and cliched.

The Big Finale: With weirdly goofy animation and a story that veers between cliched, dark, and too silly, I'm going to say this is only for the most ardent fans of the Dot series or Australian animation. All others are fine with the previous three films or the ones that came afterwards.

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that at press time this is one of the harder-to-find Dot films. To my knowledge, the only place it can currently be found in North America is YouTube.

YouTube

A Salute to Mitzi Gaynor - South Pacific

Magna/20th Century Fox, 1958

Starring Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, and Ray Walston

Directed by Joshua Logan 

Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Gaynor wasn't the first choice to play Nurse Nellie Forbush this huge adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rodgers and Hammerstein stage show. They wanted original Broadway stars Enzio Pinza and Mary Martin, but Pinza died in 1957, and Martin wouldn't appear without him. Doris Day passed, and Elizabeth Taylor failed to impress Rodgers and Hammerstein. Gaynor tested twice for them before they finally hired her. Italian actor Brazzi was mainly known for dramas like Three Coins In the Fountain, while Walston did have stage experience (and played the role in London). How well do they pull off the story of a nurse and officer who learn a lesson in prejudice on a South Seas island during World War II when they fall for a French planter and a local girl? Let's begin with the arrival of Lieutenant Joseph Cable (Kerr) to the island and find out...

The Story: Cable is there to persuade local French plantation owner Emile DeBeque (Brazzi) to help him with a reconnaissance mission in Japan, but he refuses. He has children and is beginning a romance with Navy nurse Nellie Forbush (Gaynor) and doesn't want to get involved. Seabee Luther Bills (Walson) convinces Cable to visit the nearby island Bali Hai, where he falls for local girl Liat (France Nuyen), to the delight of her mother, Bloody Mary (Juanita Hill). 

Both romances hit a snag when Nellie breaks up with DeBeque after she learns his children were born to a Polynesian woman and Cable insists he can't bring Liat home to Philadelphia. It's enough to finally convince LeBeque to take that mission. Nellie's horrified and worried when they fly out to fishermen on a Japanese-controlled island DeBeque knows, then come under heavy fire. Only one man makes it back to the South Pacific, but they're happy when their loved ones discover that just because you're "carefully taught" to shun different races doesn't mean you can't overcome those feelings. 

The Song and Dance: If anything, the message of tolerance and prejudice is even more important today then it was during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in 1958. No wonder this has seen successful revivals in the last ten-fifteen years or so. Gaynor is a sweet and bubbly Nellie. Her "Honey Bun" is especially delightful, and she works well with Walston. Kerr and Nuyen look gorgeous together and make their doomed relationship fairly believable. Hill's Bloody Mary is both hilarious in the opening with the Seebees and heartbreaking later after she realizes that no matter how much she wants him to, this man is not going to marry her daughter. Check out the historically-accurate costumes, including the hilarious showgirl outfits at the Thanksgiving show that were obviously cobbled together from whatever the sailors and nurses could get their hands on.

The Numbers: We open with the Seabees singing an ode to their favorite local lady "Bloody Mary." "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" is their complaint that they don't have enough women in the South Seas. After Luther points out "Bali Hai," Bloody Mary sings to cable about the beauty and lure of the island. At her date with Emile, Nellie claims that she's "A Cockeyed Optimist." "Twin Soliloquies" gives them their thoughts and worries that they aren't good enough for each other, which goes into Emile's smash hit ballad "Some Enchanted Evening." He introduces his children with their lilting number "Dites Moi." Nellie tells the other nurses "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair," but finally admits "I'm In Love With a Wonderful Guy" to Luther. 

Cable sings to Liat that she's "Younger Than Springtime" in the show's other hit ballad. Mary and Liat give Cable "Happy Talk" and try to talk him into staying with them. "Honey Bun" is the raucous number at the Thanksgiving show. Nellie starts off singing it in a sailor's uniform to Luther dressed as a woman in a coconut bra and hula skirt. Thank goodness for the sailors that real women show up for the chorus, all of them dressed in costumes cobbled together from bits and pieces of whatever fabric and materials could be found. 

Nellie reminds Cable of "My Girl Back Home" when he admits he's in love with Liat. He knows why neither of them can go further with their relationships. It's not ingrained. "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" to hate others who are different than you. Emilio laments that "This Nearly Was Mine" before he leaves for that fateful mission. The children sing "Dites Moi" again when he returns...with a little help from their new caretaker...

Trivia: Won an Oscar for Best Sound in 1959.

South Pacific opened on Broadway in 1949 and was an instant blockbuster, continuing until 1954 and becoming the second-longest-running Broadway show at that time. It became the first show to win all four major acting prizes at the Tonys (and remains the only one to do so), along with picking up the Pulitzer for drama. The West End mounting in 1951 also saw a respectable run. It's been revived twice in London and on Broadway twice in 1967 (with Florence Henderson as Nellie) and 2008 (with Kelli O'Hara in the role). The 2008 revival was also a hit that ran two years and won Tonys for Best Musical Revival and for its Emile, Paulo Szot. 

"My Girl Back Home" was cut from the original show, but reinstated for the film. Most stage versions continue to use it, usually as a solo for Cable. 

For some reason, the first and second scenes are switched around from the stage version. On stage, the show begins with Emile, Nellie, and his children before introducing us to Bloody Mary and the Seabees. (Admittedly, a few stage productions have done this as well.) 

This was originally released at almost 3 hours. The roadshow version was considered lost until a few years ago. Though it's not online, it can be found on DVD.

Brazzi was dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi, who would play Emilie opposite Florence Henderson in 1967. Kerr was dubbed by Bill Lee. Muriel Smith dubbed Juanita Hill, even though she sings just fine on the 1949 original cast albums. 

What I Don't Like: Alas, the show's forward-thinking stance on racism is seen primarily though the lens of its white characters. Though this is apparently handled a bit better here than in the original show (at least Liat has some lines), the only natives we really see are the broadly comic and occasionally annoying Bloody Mary and Liat, who is more-or-less forced into bed with Cable. This is also stiff as a board at times. Despite the nice scenery, other than Cable's romantic swim with Liat after "Younger Than Springtime," people barely move or do much of anything. The only dance routines are "Honey Bun" and a bit of the Seabees goofing off during "Bloody Mary." It's more like a play with especially beautiful backdrops than a movie.

Let's talk about those infamous color filters. Apparently, no one wanted them, including Richard Rodgers and director Joshua Logan, but they ended up using them anyway. The blue towards the end during some night scenes isn't that bad, but the yellows and reds used elsewhere look weird and unrealistic rather than romantic and really take you out of the scene. I have no idea why the audience howling at "Honey Bun" was blue while the performers were left in realistic colors, either. It looks silly rather than dreamy.

The Big Finale: Mixed feelings on this one. Decent performances, gorgeous songs, and the important message don't always overcome the weird production and stagey stiffness. This isn't my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein show (the stage casts are better), but it's still recommended for fans of theirs and the cast and lovers of huge 50's and 60's musicals.

Home Media: The original 2 1/2 hour version is easily found on all formats. It can currently be found streaming on Tubi for free. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

A Salute to Mitzi Gaynor - Bloodhounds of Broadway

20th Century Fox, 1952

Starring Mitzi Gaynor, Scott Brady, Mitzi Green, and Marguerite Chapman

Directed by Harmon Jones

Music and Lyrics by various

We honor singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor, who died on October 17th, this week with our first two reviews. Gaynor began at Fox in 1950 at the age of 17 in the musical My Blue Heaven. They wanted to build her into a major star to rival their famous "Fox blonde" Betty Grable. She never became quite that big, but she did make some really interesting musicals on her own. This retelling of a Damon Runyon short story was her second starring role after the biography Golden Girl. How well does she do in this tale of a backwoods girl with a fine singing voice who is discovered and promoted by a gangster? Let's begin with three of Runyon's typical gangsters on the town and a singer in a nightclub and find out...

The Story: That singer is Yvonne Dugan (Chapman), who is persuaded to appear in court for her gangster boyfriend Robert "Numbers" Foster (Brady) while he's hiding out in Georgia. After his arrival there with Harry "Poorly" Sammis (Wally Vernon), Numbers overhears someone beautifully singing a hymn. Turns out to be local girl Emily Ann Stackerlee (Gaynor), who was singing for her grandfather's funeral. Numbers drives her and her two bloodhounds to New York to star in his nightclub. He turns her over to Poorly's sister, 52nd Tessie (Green), who becomes her best friend. Yvonne, however, is jealous, and she'll do anything to get this newcomer out of her hair...even turn on her current boyfriend.

The Song and Dance: Gaynor makes an adorable Georgia farm girl here, bolstered by a genuinely funny script and some good dance numbers. All those Runyonesque gangsters shine here, including Vernon as the fussy Poorly, George E. Stone as Ropes McGonigle, Henry Slade as Dave the Dude, and Richard Allen as slick dancer Curtaintime Charlie. Chapman does so well as the jealous dame who can't stand to see this little hillbilly steal the spotlight, you wish she had more to do in the second half, and Green gets some of the funniest lines. We have some gorgeous Technicolor and lovely costumes, in rural Georgia and on Broadway. 

The Numbers: We open with "Broadway Rhythm" performed over the opening credits, giving us an idea of what's to come. Yvonne performs the sensual "You Send Me" at the nightclub while Numbers looks on. "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" is the hymn Emily Ann performed at her grandfather's funeral that impressed Numbers so much, he stops and listens. She and local kid Little Eilda (Sharon Baird) do an adorable two-step to "Cindy" on wind-up Victrola that keeps speeding up or running down. We get two short sequences of Emily Ann showing off dance steps her grandfather taught her, but Curtaintime Charlie and Tessie insist that "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" in what becomes a cute tap trio. 

After a brief instrumental montage of Emily Ann practicing her steps in the nightclub, we get to see her act. She's a hillbilly claiming she's "Eight Miles from Atlanta" in the first number, prancing with guys in floppy hats and suspenders, then turns glamorous dance star with Charlie for the romantic "I Wish I Knew." The movie ends with Emily Ann as a saloon girl in a Wild West dance hall, singing about that "Jack O'Diamonds" who was a famous card sharp until he fell for a good woman.

Trivia: Final movie for Mitzi Green, who began in the early 30's as a child star. She had largely retired to raise a family by this point and would return to her family after this, only making occasional TV and nightclub appearances thereafter.

What I Don't Like: First of all, this has nothing to do with the actual Damon Runyon "Bloodhounds of Broadway" short story besides its title. There are times when it feels like an imitation Guys and Dolls, with all the goofy vocabulary being thrown around by the gangsters and the cops trying to catch them in the act. As cute as the story is, it can also come off as forced and corny, especially in the second half when Emily Ann uses those bloodhounds of the title to track down Poorly and Numbers after they've fled again. The numbers are a strange mix of old songs and new, and the new songs are nothing to write home about.

The Big Finale: This ended up being a pleasant surprise. If you're a fan of Gaynor, Runyon's other work, or the big, flashy comic musicals of the 50's and 60's, you might get as much of a kick as I did out of Emily Ann's big New York debut.

Home Media: The DVD is in print, but can be pricey. You might be better off streaming this one.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Saluting Our Veterans - Sergeant Deadhead

American International, 1965

Starring Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley, Eve Arden, and Fred Clark

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music by Guy Hemric; Lyrics by Jerry Stymer

Let's honor those men and women who explore the final frontier and travel to the far reaches of space this Veteran's Day with this unusual war comedy. Though it features many regulars from the Beach Party series, this one has more in common with the fluffy musicals Taurog directed from the 30's onward. How strange is this story of a soldier whose accidental trip into orbit ends up changing more than his knowledge of the stars? Let's begin at an Air Force Base, where the title soldier (Avalon) is trying to set off his own rocket, and find out...

The Story: Sergeant O.K Deadhead (Avalon) constantly ends up in the brig, thanks to his experiments and antics. His fiancee Airman Lucy Turner (Walley) works on the base as well and is frustrated when he turns up in the brig again. They were to have been married that day. After fellow prisoners Private McEvoy (Harvey Lembeck) and Private Filroy (Johh Ashley) break him out, he flees for what turns out to be an experimental rocket carrying a chimpanzee into space. After Deadhead ends up in orbit, General Fogg (Clark) and his assistant Lieutenant Kinsey (Arden) have no choice but to pretend that was the plan all along.

When Deadhead returns to Earth, he's a changed man. Turns out that his trip through space has blended his personality with that of the chimp. He's now egotistical and aggressive, to the annoyance of Fogg and disappointment of his fiancee, who preferred him when he was gentler. Fogg and Admiral Stoneham (Cesar Romero) hire look-a-like Sergeant Donovan (Avalon) to take his place with his fiancee at their wedding. After he ends up in the brig again, Deadhead begins to realize that he's changed and breaks out to take Donovan's place. Captain Weiskopt (Gale Gordon) still wants Donovan in his place, but no less than the President of the United States (Pat Buttram) is fine with Deadhead the way he is.

The Song and Dance: Avalon gives one of his better performances, both as the goofy Deadhead and the smoother Donovan, in this extremely peculiar attempt to cross the antics of the Beach Party films with a more traditional military-based musical. In fact, I'm impressed with just how much of a musical this is. No randomly-inserted rock bands or goofy dance routines here. There's a march number for the military ladies in the opening, a number for the girls, duets for Walley and Avalon, and even a comic number for Arden. Of the adults, Clark and Arden have the most fun as the exasperated head of the base who just wants his plans to work and the head of the women's corps who loves him. Also look for Reginald Gardiner as a distracted officer and Buster Keaton doing his own material as the base handyman.

The Numbers: We open with that march number performed by the women's corps over the credits as Lieutenant Kinsey leads Deadhead to the guardhouse, "Hurry Up and Wait." The girls wonder "How Can You Tell?" the guy is right for you in their barracks at night. Lieutenant Kinsey tells the girls that "You Should Have Seen the One That Got Away" at Deadhead and Lucy's wedding, while Donna Loren sings about that "Two Timing Angel." Lucy insists "Let's Play Love" on their honeymoon night to the shy Donovan...and Deadhead turns it around and chases her when he replaces him. When Lucy wonders why Deadhead acted so differently after he returned from space, he insists that "The Difference In Me Is You."

Trivia: There was to have been a sequel, Sergeant Deadhead Goes to Mars, but it was canceled after this was a disappointment at the box office. 

What I Don't Like:  Did I mention how strange and fluffy this is? The romantic comedy stuff with the kids getting married doesn't really seem to fit with the military story or with the shenanigans from Beach Party regulars like Harvey Lembeck and Buster Keaton. It's also a little unusual for one of the American International musicals. As mentioned, this is a full-out musical. There's the brief wedding party, but no rock groups, and no one goes to the beach. The military setting also explains the increase in character actors and the lack of Annette Funicello. She doesn't even turn up in a cameo. The music is ok, but not terribly memorable.

The Big Finale: Not the best of the American International teen musicals of the early-mid 60's, but worth a look once on Veteran's Day if you're a fan of Avalon or the Beach Party films.  

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime                  

Diplomaniacs

RKO, 1933

Starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woosley, Marjorie White, and Louis Calhern

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music by Harry Akst; Lyrics by Edward Eliscu

Al Jolson is far from the only performer in the pre-Code era who dealt with some very strange politics...and musical numbers. Bert Wheeler and Bob Woosley had been the number one comics at RKO since sound came in. After appearing in a few successful musicals in 1929 and 1930, they mostly stayed away from music until their version of Girl Crazy debuted the year before. Though not a huge hit, it did well enough for them to go full-on musical in their next film. How does this zany romp that somehow manages to squeeze Native Americans with British accents, Swiss peace conferences, seductive ladies, and huge chorus numbers into a little over an hour? Let's begin by revealing why barbers Willy Nilly (Wheeler) and Hercules Glub (Woosley) are having a hard time running a shop on an Indian reservation and find out...

The Story: The Natives hire Willy and Hercules to represent them at a peace conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Winkelreid, owner of a company selling arms to various European countries (Louis Calhern), worries he'll be bankrupted if there's peace and insists on sabotaging the duo. He first sends goofy blonde Dolores (White), but she falls for Willy while on the boat to Europe. He then hires the far tougher Fifi (Phyllis Barry) when the duo are in France, but she ends up in love with Hercules. Winkelreid steals their secret papers, but the duo insist on joining the conference anyway. The conference is going badly as all the countries attack each other. The duo think they have the way to bring everyone together, but it turns out they're not as good at diplomacy as they think.

The Song and Dance: Hoo boy, does this one get weird. As you can imagine from the above plot description, it moves at a lightning-fast pace with enough going on to fill six comedies. Wheeler and Woosley toss out their wacky one-liners with relish, especially in the second half when they're chasing the girls and being chased in Paris and Geneva. The ladies are equally funny, with White reveling in throwing Wheeler around in their duet and Barry sizzling as a lady who is so tough, her kiss can (literally) melt a man. I also like that this is fairly dark for the duo and for 30's comedy in general, almost a preview for the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup a few months later. There's no easy answers here, for peace or for the guys in general. 

The Numbers: Our first number is a chorus routine with Willy, Hercules, and the Natives. The fact that the title is "Ood-Gay Eye-Bay" should give you an idea of what's going on in this nonsensical spoof of introductory opening numbers in operettas. Willy shows off his own moves to Winkelreid while singing the traditional ballad "Annie Laurie." Dolores is determined to make Willy "Sing To Me," even if she has to wrestle him to the ground to do it! Willy reprises it with Hercules later when they're in Geneva. 

They're dressing to stroll "On the Boulevard" while they're in Paris, thanks to a gaggle of maids wearing barely anything. The duo and their ladies try to insist on "No More War," which turns into an epic chorus number in the finale. We even get a huge and long minstrel number, with the guys in blackface singing "Old Folks at Home."

What I Don't Like: Note the mention of the blackface and Native numbers above. This movie insults pretty much every race it can. We have the stereotypical Natives in bad red makeup (except their chief, who speaks Oxford English), Hugh Herbert's homilies-spouting Chinese sidekick to Winkelreid, and the guys turning up in that lengthy blackface number near the end. If you have trouble with any of this, this movie is not for you. 

It's also not for those who aren't into Wheeler and Woosley's brand of wiseguy humor. They seem to be an acquired taste nowadays. Either you get a kick out of their goofy lines and soft-shoe vaudeville numbers, or you think they're low-rent versions of better comic groups like Laurel and Hardy or the Marxes. And don't come here looking for a happy ending or one of their lighter romps, either. This is about as dark as you can get without going into full-on black comedy territory. 

The Big Finale: This is definitely something else. The numbers alone must be seen to be believed. Worth checking out if you like Wheeler and Woosley, Duck Soup, or some of the more absurd comedies of the early 30's like Million Dollar Legs and can handle the obvious stereotypes. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming (the former from the Warner Archives).

DVD

Amazon Prime

Election Day Special - Hallelujah, I'm a Bum

United Artists, 1933

Starring Al Jolson, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon, and Madge Evans

Directed by Lewis Milestone

Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

Here's a truly unique musical experience to tide you over until the election results come in. After their Love Me Tonight was a critical (though not commercial) success, Rodgers and Hart opted to combine that film's rhyming dialogue and whimsical tone with something that more accurately reflected the political climate of the early 30's. It was also Al Jolson's attempt at a film comeback after his success in the late 20's and early 30's fizzled out. How does this mix of reality, poverty, and comedy look now? Let's begin with homeless men Bumper (Jolson) and Acorn (Edgar Connor) as they encounter Mayor John Hastings (Morgan) of New York on a hunting trip and find out...

The Story: Bumper is perfectly happy as the head of the New York homeless folks. They're not interested in working again, content with living a meager but friendly existence in Central Park and occasionally teasing Egghead (Langdon), a communist who works as a street sweeper. He's friendly with Mayor Hastings, as he once saved his life, and he hopes to be like him someday.

Mayor Hastings wishes he were as happy as Bumper and his carefree followers. He thinks his latest mistress June Marcher (Evans) is cheating on him and slips a $1,000 bill in her purse. When she leaves her purse behind, he thinks she's seeing someone else. Bumper does manage to return the purse, but June thinks Hastings is no longer interested and jumps off a bridge. He rescues her, then falls for her when he realizes she's lost her memory. He's willing to give up his shiftless ways to be with her...not thinking of what will happen when she regains her memories...

The Song and Dance: This is one of the most original musicals ever made in Hollywood. There aren't too many movies, let alone musicals, dealing with financial hardship, communism, and Marxist theory. Though Jolson is subdued compared to his earlier movies, he's also a lot easier to take as the head of the New York homeless than he was in his early talkies vehicles like Say It With Songs. (And note this is one of only two movies he made where he wears no blackface whatsoever.) 

While not their absolute best, the Rodgers and Hart score is still pretty good, and contains at least one standard in Jolson's ballad "You are Too Beautiful." Morgan matches him well as the troubled mayor, whose mind is on his lady rather than his job. The rhyming dialogue, with music often seamlessly flowing into words and back again, makes this into almost an opera at times. 

The Numbers: We open with Bumper proclaiming "I've Gotta Get Back to New York" as he and Acorn hit the road. He and the others sing their ode to "My Pal Bumper" after they arrive at Central Park. After a choir sings "My Country Tis of Thee" at the dedication of a new building, Mayor Hastings shows how they're "Laying the Corner Stone.

Acorn, Bumper, and Egghead know they owe "Dear Jane," whom they've never seen, for finding that thousand dollar bill, because "Bumper Found a Grand." After they argue over who gets a share of the cash, Bumper reminds them that it's not so important. After all, "What Do You Want With Money?" because "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum." He gets his answer when a "Kangaroo Court" puts him on trial for getting a job. Bumper admits that he did it for love, and "I'd Do It Again." He finally tells his Angel as they dance in their new apartment that "You are Too Beautiful." 

Trivia: Harry Langdon and Chester Conklin (the carriage driver in Central Park) were popular comedians in the silent era. 

Known as Hallelujah, I'm a Tramp in England, where "bum" has entirely different connotations. 

What I Don't Like: This is the definition of "not for everybody." If you're not a fan of musicals, like your musicals more traditional, don't like the rhyming dialogue, or don't agree with the leftist politics in question (or are unable to overlook them), you will not be into this. It's not for those who aren't fans of Jolson or prefer him in bombastic mode, either. Madge Evans isn't nearly as interesting as the guys. She has very little personality whether she's Bumper's angel or the mayor's mistress, making the love triangle not nearly as romantic as the movie wants to think it is. 

Milestone's lack of experience with musicals shows in his constant cutting away from songs before they finish. Even the lovely "You are Too Beautiful" barely gets a chance to end before he's off somewhere else. No wonder his only other musical would be the more traditional Anything Goes from 1936. The whimsical rhyming dialogue doesn't always work all that well with the social commentary, either. 

The Big Finale: This may be one of the most polarizing musicals in existence. Either you'll get a kick out of what Milestone, Jolson, and writer S.N Behrman were trying to do, or you'll find the rhyming dialogue, political waffling, and Jolson's ego insufferable. Give it a chance this Election Day and see which side of the debate you fall on.

Home Media: It's on DVD, and YouTube and the Internet Archive have it streaming at press time.

DVD

YouTube

Internet Archive