Starring Eddie Cantor, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Weeks, and Charles Middleton
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland
Music and Lyrics by various
Eddie Cantor was on top of the world after the film version of his Broadway vehicle Whoopee! ended up as the biggest hit of 1930. Producer Samuel Goldwyn immediately put him and director Busby Berkeley into more of the same. Gigantic Art Deco sets replace the Technicolor, but the Goldwyn Girls are still being put through their overhead paces, and Cantor has another hard-nose comedienne to play off of, down-to-earth Charlotte Greenwood. How does his first original starring role on film look today? Let's start, not with Cantor, but with the Goldwyn Girls making cakes and donuts at that massive streamline bakery and find out...
The Story: Eddie Simpson (Cantor) is the assistant for phony psychic Yolondo (Middleton), until he realizes Yolondo is tricking people like gym coach Helen Martin (Greenwood) out of their life savings. He turns on Yolondo and flees, passing himself off as an efficiency expert at the bakery. He tells the owner Mr. Clark that he needs more entertainment to lure in customers, and that he wants his pretty daughter Joan (Weeks) as his secretary. He thinks he's fallen for Joan, but she's in love with Steve (Paul Page). When Yolondo and his men try to make off with the bakery's payroll, it's up to Eddie and Helen to stop them and save the day!
The Song and Dance: Cantor and Greenwood may seem to be a strange fit on paper, but they make a rather charming couple. Her crusty demeanor contrasts nicely with his motor mouth and nervous tics. Goldwyn, as usual, spared no expense on this one. We have the biggest Art Deco bakery in Hollywood, gorgeous gowns for the ladies, and cinematographer Gregg Toland helping out Berkeley with some terrific overhead shots in his numbers. Berkeley continues to show what made him a legend with his two surreal numbers here. Middleton, best known for playing Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials, makes a great exotic heavy, too.
Favorite Number: The first number takes the Goldwyn Girls from the bakery to the gym as Charlotte Greenwood encourages them to "Bend Down Sister." They certainly do that as Greenwood leads them through calisthenics. Berkeley takes over after the switch to using sticks, slowing them down as their hands wave, filming them overhead and in an S formation. Cantor prances to "There's Nothing Too Good for My Baby" in blackface at the bakery show.
The big hit here was "My Baby Said Yes, Yes." Surprisingly for one of Cantor's movies, it starts off as a plot number, with Cantor excitedly admitting to Joan that he loves her. The Goldwyn Girls take over mid-way through the song, holding up circle boxes as they make box formations.
Trivia: Look for George Raft in one of his earliest films as Yolondo's goon Joe.
What I Don't Like: Cantor's brand of manic comedy is an acquired taste for many audiences today. I think he still has his moments, but others find him to be too annoying or fussy. The songs besides "Yes Yes" aren't that memorable, no matter how many overhead shorts Berkeley gives them. The story is even goofier than Whoopee! and makes even less sense. (Though at least this avoids the stereotypes that mar that film.) Weeks is charming enough as sensible Joan, but Page is so colorless as the guy she really loves, he's barely in the movie.
The Big Finale: If you like Cantor or Greenwood or want to see some of Berkeley's early work, say "yes, yes" to this wild comedy.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming; the former is from the Warner Archives.
No comments:
Post a Comment