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).
No comments:
Post a Comment