Starring Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Roland Young, and Lillian Roth
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Music by Herbert Stothart and Jack King; Lyrics by Clifford Grey and Elsie Janis
DeMille, best known today for his biblical spectacles like the silent and sound versions of The Ten Commandments, made only one musical. He joined MGM in 1928 and proceeded to make his first sound film, the prison drama Dynamite. Looking for a jazzier successor, he literally went for jazz. Musicals were still all the rage when pre-production began in early 1930. Few people working in Hollywood escaped song and dance, and DeMille was no exception. The first half was a drawing room farce not far removed from his silent successes like The Affairs of Anatol, but the second hour...well, let's say it's something else. Just how bizarre does this movie get? Let's begin with sweet, demure housewife Angela (Johnson) as she waits for her husband Bob (Denny) to come home and find out...
The Story: Bob and his friend Jimmy Wade (Young) come home late, lying about being out with a certain "Mrs. Brooks." "Mrs. Brooks" is actually Trixie (Roth), a chorus girl Bob's been having an affair with. Jimmy lies and says she's his wife. Angela knows they're fibbing up their sleeves, but her attempt to counter with a lie of her own about leaving Bob and staying with Jimmy and his wife ends with her hiding in the blankets while Jimmy tosses out a lot of excuses to his best friend. Trixie turns up here and claims Angela can't muster up enough sexiness to keep her husband around.
Angela is determined to prove otherwise when they're both invited to a huge masquerade party on Jimmy's dirigible. She dons a bad French accent and a sequined dress that leaves little to the imagination and calls herself "Madam Satan." Bob's smitten, but they both end up learning a lesson in what matters when the blimp is damaged in a storm, and they may end up going down with it if they can't find parachutes.
The Song and Dance: "Bizarre" doesn't begin to do this supremely weird dive into action extravaganza justice. The staid romantic comedy in the first half barely gives you an idea of what's ahead during the second hour. Young and Roth have by far the most fun here as the befuddled best buddy and the vivacious show girl who believes in looking out for number one. Johnson does better once she sheds her inhibitions on board that doomed blimp, and she's a decent singer, too. The lavish costumes and gigantic sets defy description, especially the jagged representations of electricity on the wild "Ballet Mechanique" that depicts working gears. The special effects remain pretty darn good to this day, too, especially in the finale when the blimp is going down.
The Numbers: We begin with "Live and Love Today," as Angela's maid Martha (Elsa Peterson) encourages her to fight for her man. Trixie really throws herself into the jazzy "Low Down" for the guys at Jimmy's apartment, belting and shimmying with verve. She has almost as much fun doing a reprise at the party in her pheasant plumage. "The Cat Walk" and "We're Going Somewhere" brings all of the partygoers in their decadent and insane costumes onto the dirigible. The instrumental "Ballet Mechanique" has all of those zizag-clad dancers trying to look incredibly serious in razor-sharp costumes as they depict clocks, gears, and lightning.
Young takes us into the "Girl Auction," as he sells kisses for the prettiest and best-dressed ladies. "Meet Madam" brings us the lady in question, in all of her barely-dressed, exotic, insane glory. Madame finally gets her way when Bob sweeps her into the waltz "All I Know Is You're In My Arms."
Trivia: The "Ballet Mechanique" was originally filmed in Multicolor, but current prints are only in black and white. A second ballad for Bob and Angela, "This Is Love," is also missing.
That's Cecil B. DeMille himself as the voice of the radio announcer near the end of the movie.
What I Don't Like: Let's start with Bob. He's such a bland jerk, I have no idea why Trixie and Angela were fighting over him. They both would have been smarter to just walk out. Denny does slightly better on the blimp when he's fawning over Madam Satan, but he's never intriguing enough to warrant her vamping. You almost hope he goes down with the ship.
Second, did I mention how damn odd this is? For one thing, there's the blatant tone problem. No one ever seemed to figure out what this movie should be. It begins as a domestic comedy, switches to a screwball farce when Jimmy's hiding Angela, then turns into a fanciful operetta after the party starts on the blimp before ending as an early example of a disaster movie when the blimp goes down. You'll get whiplash every time the movie switches styles again. The music's totally unmemorable, and DeMille never could figure out how to set it up gracefully. People start singing and go back to talking with no rhyme or reason.
The Big Finale: For all the problems and sheer weirdness, this is still recommended for fans of DeMille, the early talkie era, or camp enthusiasts looking for something totally different in their moviegoing.
Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.
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