Sunny (1941)

RKO, 1941

Starring Anna Neagle, Ray Bolger, John Carroll, and Edward Everett Horton

Directed by Herbert Wilcox

Music and Lyrics by various 

Anna Neagle was one of the biggest stars in British cinema from the early 30's through the early 50's. She and her director husband Herbert Wilcox went effortlessly from epic historical drama to elegant comedies to frothy musicals without batting an eyelash. RKO was impressed with their two biographies of Queen Victoria and offered them a four-picture contract in 1940. This is the third of the four, and the second of the three musicals they did. Is it as charming as the original Marilyn Miller film and the Neagle/Wilcox version of Irene, or should it be left at the altar? Let's begin at the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans and find out...

The Story: Sunny O'Sullivan (Neagle) literally runs into millionaire Larry Warren (Carroll) at the Mardi Gras parade. The Queen of Hearts (Martha Tilton) and her entourage encourages Larry to give her a hug and kiss. He does, but she disappears shortly after. He wanders into a circus near where he met the lady. Not only are his sister Elizabeth (Frieda Inescourt), the family lawyer Harry Bates (Horton), and wealthy Juliet Runnymede (Grace Hartman) there, but so is Sunny. She's the premiere dancer and bareback rider and one of the circus' star attractions. He tries to get through to her, but she goes out with her old friend Bunny Billings (Bolger) instead.

They run across each other in the restaurant later that night. Larry convinces her to join him for a ride. They fall in love, and he proposes. She's ready to leave the circus, but his snobbish old-money family isn't ready to accept a bareback rider as a daughter-in-law. She does manage to win over tough Aunt Barbara (Helen Wesley), but Elizabeth still considers her to be beneath them. The circus people turn up on the day of Sunny's wedding to see her off. Elizabeth encourages them to perform, shocking and upsetting Larry. Sunny, furious with his behavior, takes off with the circus. With the help of Aunt Barbara, Larry now has to prove to Sunny that he loves her no matter who she is or what she does.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a far better showcase for Neagle's talents than Irene. You get two major dance sequences, one with the truly great Bolger, costumes that are just as lovely (at least, what you can see of them in the terrible copies currently in circulation), and some great songs by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, and others. (Including the trio that were cut from the 1930 Sunny.) Wesley, Horton, and Bolger all have fun with their limited roles, especially Wesley as the tough-as-nails aunt who unexpectedly softens for Sunny. 

The Numbers: After a montage of Mardi Gras parade sights and sounds, our first number is Queen of Hearts Martha Tilton and her entourage insisting that "The Lady Must Be Kissed." Bunny's first dance number lets him incredible splits and spins while executing slapstick falls. Bolger then sing-recites "Who" before we see Sunny with an enormous feather fan in a feather-bedecked gown and they do an elegant dance together. The title song is our first big chorus number as Sunny comes out on horseback to do her bareback tricks and dance with the horse while Carroll tries to flirt with her from the audience. 

"Who" turns up again as Larry takes Sunny on a riverboat ride, sung first by the chorus, then sung by Larry and danced by Sunny. Bunny and Sunny are "Jack Tar and Sam Gob," doing a comic dance dressed as horny sailors. She sings the old folk song "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms" at her engagement party, thinking she's impressing Aunt Barbara. She asks Larry "Do 'Ye Love Me?" after she explains things to Aunt Barbara. Dance team Grace and Paul Hartman (in their first of two appearances together onscreen) perform the comic "The Mohache" to the tune of Ravel's "Bolero" at Sunny's wedding. Bunny dances as the "Ringmaster" at the sold-out circus show. Sunny starts singing "Sunshine"when she comes out...before Larry joins in and she realizes he's her only audience. Larry sings "Forever and a Day" as he drives Sunny's trailer to the riverboat in the finale. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, someone really needs to throw money at restoring this, too. This one is in even worse shape than the 1930 Sunny, with wonky sound and horribly scratched picture. Second, the wafer-thin story isn't really improved by the re-writing. Wesley's crotchety Aunt Barbara is a little bit more interesting than Sunny's father, but neither Bolger nor Horton have much to do other than Bolger's numbers. They do nothing with the New Orleans setting besides the opening at Mardi Gras, and only a little bit more with the circus folks than the first film. Dashing Carroll is also a bit of an improvement over the dull Lawrence Gray in the original, but he's still nowhere near Neagle's wattage.

The Big Finale: I did like this one a bit more than the 1930 Sunny or Neagle's first American picture Irene, but it's still mainly for her fans or fans of big 40's musicals. 

Home Media: This is in the public domain, so it's easily found anywhere. It's currently on Tubi for free with commercials.

DVD

Tubi

Happy Go Lovely

RKO/Associated British-Pathe, 1951

Starring Vera-Ellen, David Niven, Cesar Romero, and Diane Hart

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Music by Mischa Spoliansky; Lyrics by Barbara Gordon and Mischa Spoliansky

William Bendix wasn't the only American film star to work in England during the 1950's. Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, and director H. Bruce Humberstone joined British star David Niven to make this veddy English take on the backstage extravaganza. How does the story of a chorus girl who mistaken for the sweetheart of a millionaire look nowadays? Let's begin in a theater at Edinburgh, Scotland, during the first preview of the show Frolics for You and find out...

The Story: Right now, it's looking like there might not be a show. Director-producer John Frost (Romero) can't afford to pay his cast, let alone his creditors. Chorus girl Janet Jones (Vera-Ellen), desperately late for rehearsal one day, gets a ride from Bates (Hugh Dempster), the genial chauffeur for millionaire B.G Bruno (Niven). The moment she's seen stepping out of a millionaire's limo, everyone at the theater thinks she and Bruno are an item. Frost decides to use this to his advantage, giving Janet the star role after the original star quits and telling his creditors he now has a millionaire backing his show. Janet even gets a visit from the dressmaker (Barbara Couper) who had been hounding her to pay her before to make new clothes.

The clothes bill finally gets back to the real B.G Bruno. Bruno is an unassuming young greeting card tycoon who is more interested in his business than romance. He goes to Janet, only for her to mistake him for the reporter who is supposed to interview her, Paul Tracy (Gordon Jackson). B.G is so charmed by her, he lets her think he's Tracy. She and her friend Mae (Hart) even convince him to "play" B.G Bruno when Frost demands to see him. Bruno does give him money for the show...but now Janet thinks he's in trouble for forging a check and tries to get him out of that theater, and fast!

The Song and Dance: Debonair Niven and sassy, charming Vera-Ellen aren't the first people I'd pair off, but they're surprisingly cute together in this really fun backstager. His wiry charm and her brittle warmth play off each other well, and they have so much chemistry, I wish they'd worked together again. They're backed by a lovely production at England's Elstree Studios, with a gorgeous soft Technicolor palate, lovely gowns for the ladies, and fine suits for Niven.

The Numbers: The movie opens with the lavish "Macintosh's Wedding," the original big number before the star quits. A young Scotsman isn't thrilled to marry his sweetheart, until a bump on the head convinces him otherwise! The lovely "One, Two, Three" is a charming ballet with Janet and the chorus dancing in frilly white dresses over rainbow petticoats. "London Town" is the other big chorus routine, a ballet with Janet as a tourist who falls for a British guard. "Would You, Could You?" ends the film with Janet's big solo ballet, pirouetting in a gorgeous white and gold dress as she dances for the audience, but only has eyes for B.G.

Trivia: This is a loose remake of two earlier European movies, the German And Who Is Kissing Me? from 1933 and English Paradise for Two from 1937. 

What I Don't Like: Cute though it is, story is not this movie's strong suit. The backstage aspect is nothing you haven't seen in put-on-a-show films on both sides of the pond, while the romantic aspect is so tangled, B.G isn't the only one questioning his identity by the end! Romero is less charming and more annoying as the other transplanted American (though interestingly, he doesn't end up paired off with Mae or one of the other chorus girls, which I thought they might end up doing). 

The Big Finale: If you love Niven, Vera-Ellen, or 50's musicals, you might want to travel over to Scotland and give this highland fling a shot.

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it can pretty much be found anywhere 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

Cult Flops - It's a Pleasure

RKO, 1945

Starring Sonja Henie, Michael O'Shea, Marie McDonald, and Bill Johnson

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music and Lyrics by various

By 1945, Henie was making more off her live ice skating shows than her movies. After her last 20th Century Fox film, Wintertime, was a flop, they let her go. She was picked up by the newly-created International Pictures in 1944. Former Fox head off production William Goetz wanted to make movies with the same high budgets and stars as the studio he left. It's a Pleasure got the royal treatment, including Technicolor, an elaborate production, and two popular stage leading men to play off Henie. How well did he do with this story of a figure skater who marries a down-and-out hockey player? Let's begin at the hockey area, where figure skater Chris Linden (Henie) eagerly watches the star she has a crush on, Don Martin (O'Shea), and find out...

The Story: Don is kicked off the team after he punches a referee during a game. Chris introduces Don to Buzz Fletcher (Johnson), who runs an ice skating revue. He'll take Chris and her troupe, who were skating between hockey rounds, and him too. Don's athletic moves prove to be a big draw for audiences and for Chris, whom he marries. 

Chris adores Don, but she doesn't love his heavy drinking. Buzz's bored wife Gail (McDonald) also has a crush on Don and is furious when he doesn't return her interest. She gets him drunk right before his big solo. Angry and disappointed, Chris goes on a long tour with Buzz's show after he fires Don. It's Gail, however, who finally brings the two together in the end when she locates Don and gets him to the theater for Chris' latest show.

The Song and Dance: One of the reasons Henie left Fox was they wouldn't let her do a movie in color. I'm glad she got her wish here. This movie looks gorgeous, with its glittering, glamorous skating show costumes and dazzling backdrops for the show. Even the copy currently on Amazon is in surprisingly good shape for such a minor title. It almost literally glows. I also give RKO credit for giving Henie a slightly darker plot than the silly romantic comedies Fox dumped Henie in. This snow cone has a little spice in it, with Gail practically throwing herself at Don and Chris' skater friend Wilma (Iris Adrian) snarking about Don's behavior every step of the way. 

Favorite Number: We start out at the hockey game with the chorus, the instrumental "Nobody's Sweetheart." Ladies in green skate for the audience before Sonja arrives in gleaming white to show off her trademark dizzying spins. There isn't another number until midway through the film, when Chris has to go on for her drunk husband. Sonja comes out in brilliant magenta, her hair up in feathers, for a fully solo routine. 

"Summer Dance" at the show in the finale is one of her very rare off-ice numbers. She does a lovely duet with a male dancer, this time with her pink gown nearly floating against a backdrop of emerald trees and a silvery pond. The last number is "Romance," which switches the pond to winter. Henie now glides like a snow queen against a backdrop of white and silver, with the chorus floating around her in scarlet.

What I Don't Like: Other than those big numbers in the finale, this frappe isn't much fun. Neither O'Shea nor Johnson make much of an impression. They're so bland, you have no idea why Chris or Gail would cause so much trouble over them. Henie never was much of an actress; many of the heavier dramatics are way over her head and O'Shea's, rendering their relationship totally unbelievable. There's also the sequence at the skating pond with Chris and Don joking about how spousal abuse is good for a relationship that comes off as far more disturbing today. (Even in the movie, Buzz called them on it.) 

The movie also features a surprising lack of ice skating for one of Henie's films. No one else has a number besides her or the chorus, and the only song with lyrics is heard briefly in the end. Don supposedly became a big skater in Buzz's shows, but we only hear his death-defying routines described. He's never shown doing them. The only time we see him on ice is during the hockey sequence in the opening. 

The Big Finale: It's a Pleasure is no pleasure. It's too bad this slushy nonsense was Henie's only shot at a color movie. It's strictly for her most ardent fans, or fans of 40's and 50's Technicolor musicals.

Home Media: On DVD and streaming, the latter currently free on Amazon Prime with a subscription. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Belle of the Yukon

International Pictures/RKO, 1944

Starring Randolph Scott, Dinah Shore, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Charles Winninger

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke

We're ending the summer season beyond the Mississippi with two comic westerns. The presence of longtime western stalwart Randolph Scott makes this look like a typical oater, but the rest of the cast is more typical of a musical from this era. This would be one of the few film appearances of Gypsy Rose Lee, best known today as one of the most famous strippers in the world, and a rare film appearance by radio singer Dinah Shore in something other than a cameo. How does the unique story of a heist gone wrong during the Klondike Gold Rush look today? Let's start backstage with manager "Pop" Candless (Winninger) and his daughter Lettie (Shore) at Honest John's Saloon and find out...

The Story: Pop's goes to meet the saloon's newest attraction Belle De Valle (Lee). Also on the boat is Sam Slade (Bob Burns), who asks for Honest John himself. Honest John (Scott) was once Gentleman Jack, a gambler who just barely got out of Seattle before being arrested. He and Belle had a relationship, but they broke it off. John may claim to be an honest man, but he's really planning one last heist to get the gold dust out of the bank before his rival George (Robert Armstrong). Belle, however, finds out what's going on after he becomes the bank manager, and she's not about to let him put one over on the town.

Meanwhile, Lettie is in love with piano player Steve Atterbury (William Marshall). Pop doesn't think much of him, and he thinks even less when he receives a letter claiming Steve's married with children. Steve is kidnapped and dropped on a boat bound for Nome, but he still finds his way back to Lettie with more than one big surprise.

The Song and Dance: Even the opening spiel admits this is not your typical western or your typical musical. It comes off more as a Yukon-set heist caper with musical and romantic elements,and it's definitely unique in both genres. Scott gets a rare chance to stay in his natural cowboy element and still embrace comedy, and we get a rare chance to see what made the real Gypsy Rose Lee huge on the burlesque circuit. Winninger has a great time as the older man who wants in on the action...and for his daughter to be happy. There's some gorgeous Technicolor here, too, along with terrific costumes reflecting the real Yukon in 1899.

Favorite Number:  We don't get our first number until 10 minutes in, but it's Gypsy Rose Lee and the chorus in their gorgeous period gowns showing us how "Every Girl Is Different." We even get a lively solo from dancer Jane Hale as she joins the guys. Dinah Shore sings the other major numbers. She performs "I Can't Tell You Why I Love You" twice, with Marshall after he tells her he wrote it for her, and later onstage when she's heartbroken over him taking off. She also gets the hits "Like Someone In Love" and the Oscar-nominated "Sleigh Ride In July."

What I Don't Like: Saying the plot is flimsy is like saying the Gold Rush was a big deal in the Yukon. The plot barely makes sense, as a musical or a western. As the opening spiel points out, those who are looking for something more action-packed, darker, or more overtly musical need to go elsewhere. Shore and Marshall are basically there to sing and look pretty. Other than "Sleigh Ride In July," the songs are even flimsier than the script, and are basically there to give Shore and Lee more to do. 

The Big Finale: Worth seeing once for fans of the cast or 40's musicals or comic westerns.

Home Media: Easily found anywhere. It's currently on several free streaming sites, including Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

A Song Is Born

Samuel Goldwyn Productions/RKO, 1948

Starring Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, and Hugh Herbert

Directed by Howard Hawks

Music and Lyrics by various

Kaye's movies had been among the top moneymakers for their year since Up In Arms debuted...but A Song Is Born ran into unexpected problems. Kaye was separated from his wife Sylvia, and he wouldn't sing anything that she didn't write. Hawks wasn't happy about remaking his 1941 non-musical comedy Ball of Fire and only did this because Goldwyn offered him a hefty paycheck. With all this going on, how well does the story of seven music professors who protect a nightclub singer come off? Let's begin at the old Victorian mansion that houses the Totten Foundation and find out...

The Story: Professor Hobart Frisbee (Kaye) and seven other professors have been writing a musical encyclopedia for the past nine years. They realize there's types of music even they don't know about when two window washers (dance team Buck and Bubbles) tell them about pop music - jive, big band, blues, swing, and be-bop. Frisbee goes to nightclubs in search of performers who can represent these types of music in their albums.

He returns with some of the most beloved musicians of the day, along with singer Honey Swanson (Mayo). Honey has her own reasons for being there. She wants protection from her gangster boyfriend Tony Crow (Steve Cochran), who wants to force her into marriage so she can't testify against him in court. Hobart and their stuffy housekeeper Miss Bragg (Esther Dale) object to Honey's hotter and sexier type of music at first, until she teaches Hobart about kissing. Hobart enjoys it so much, he falls for her and wants to marry her. Not only does Miss Bragg not approve and wants Honey out, but Crow and his boys are hot on her trail, too!

The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making it, this turned out to be unexpectedly fun. Kaye is an adorable befuddled professor, and while Mayo isn't Barbara Stanwyck, she's not bad as the tough-minded tootsie who causes a lot of the trouble. The big attraction here, of course, are the orchestras and singing groups brought together to jam in the second half. If you love swing or big-band music, you'll probably see at least one favorite musician here. Look for drummer Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra (and references to his brother Jimmy), The Golden Gate Quartet, and Charlie Barnet and his group. 

Favorite Number: We open with the title number, which is heard over the credits and performed by Virginia Mayo (and dubbed by Jeri Sullivan) at the nightclub. Benny Goodman, who plays one of the professors, joins Ford Washington Lee (Buck) for "B-A-C-H Boogie" and "Anitra's Boogie." Tommy  Dorsey and his band lay into "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," while Mel Powell gets "Muskrat Ramble." Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong show off the "Goldwyn Stomp" at the nightclub, while Charlie Barnet and his orchestra go on a "Redskin Rhumba." The professors all sing the old hit "Sweet Genevieve" for Honey, while the Golden Gate Quartet sing "Old Blind Barnabas." 

All the bands join in to ultimately fight off the bad guys - and bring down a drum on them - with the traditional spiritual "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho." The Quartet performs it first, but when that doesn't make the drum go in the right way, everyone joins in...including Hampton and Kaye's smashing performance on the drums!

What I Don't Like: This is actually a rather unusual role for Kaye. His rift with Fine means we don't get one of his usual patter numbers, and with the exception of the opening folk dance routine with Miss Totten (Mary Field) and the big finale, seems oddly detached from the proceedings. While it's not nearly as bad as Hawks made it out to be later, it lacks a lot of the sharper comedy in the original, as well as the odd juxtaposition between slangy Stanwyck and drawling Gary Cooper. 

The Big Finale: If you love the jazz and big band music of the 40's and early 50's, this is recommended for the cameos by many famous orchestras and musicians alone. 

Home Media: The solo DVD is currently very expensive, but it is available bundled with the other early Kaye Goldwyn movies on a Warner Archives set, and can be easily found streaming for free. 

DVD - Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years

Amazon Prime

The Kid from Brooklyn

Samuel Goldwyn Productions/RKO, 1946

Starring Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, Virginia Mayo, and Steve Cochran

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we're jumping from Universal to Goldwyn for two early Danny Kaye vehicles. This was Kaye's third movie, coming after Up In Arms and Wonder Man. It used most of the same cast as the latter, including Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo, and the same idea of a mild and meek Kaye going up against tough guys. Classic comedian Harold Lloyd did this in 1932 as the non-musical comedy The Milky Way. How well does the story of a milkman who turns boxer to impress a singer look with Kaye's brand of manic comedy? Let's begin with the Goldwyn Girls, as they doll up their bovine friends, and find out...

The Story: The opening number is actually a commercial for Sunflower Dairy, which is the company Burleigh Sullivan (Kaye) works for. He first encounters Polly Pringle (Mayo) when the horse pulling his milk truck collapses and he borrows her phone to call a vet. He's smitten and tries to get her a job as a singer at the nightclub where his dancer sister Susie (Vera-Ellen) works. That only ends up getting him fired. However, when he catches two guys trying to assault Susie behind the theater, he accidentally knocks both of them out!

Turns out the two guys were champion boxer Speed McFarlane (Cochran) and his bodyguard Spider (Lionel Stander). The story is picked up by local newspapers, which just gets Speed's manager Gabby (Walter Abel) angry. At least, until he sees Burleigh knock Speed out again and decides he wants Spider to train him as a fighter. Gabby wants to fix Burleigh's fights and bet money on them to win. Burleigh's ego inflates when he thinks he's doing it...until his old boss at Sunflower Dairy buys his contract and Gabby convinces him to do a charity fight with Speed for wealthy Mrs. LeMoyne (Faye Bainter). He'll need a little help from both women if he wants to survive in the ring!

The Song and Dance: Kaye's hilarious boxing bouts and his interaction with burly Stander and fast-talking Abel are the highlights of this one. Eve Arden also gets a few good lines as Gabby's sarcastic and knowing girlfriend Ann. Though the story is a bit simpler than Wonder Man, Goldwyn still spared no expense on the production. We get Technicolor, glittering costumes for the ladies, and some interesting sets, especially with the dairy number in the opening. Mayo and Vera Ellen have a little more to do this time, particularly the latter, who gets a romance with Speed and two big chorus routines. Bainter is hilarious in the second half as the patron of the arts who is the one who finally gets to take down Burleigh. 

Favorite Number: We open with the Goldwyn Girls as country gals in flowered hats and checked shorts, singing "The Sunflower Song" as they extol the virtues of dairy products and contented cows. "Hey, What's Your Name?" is Vera Ellen's big chorus number at the nightclub, as she performs with a male choir and the Goldwyn Girls in early 1900's dress. Mayo admits "You're the Cause of It All" once she does finally get a job at a club. Mayo's "I Love an Old Fashioned Song" at Mrs. LeMoyne's benefit gala with a kindly old policeman leads into another early 1900's dance routine for Vera-Ellen and the chorus, "Josie." Kaye disrupts the end of the number with Russian dancers and his homage to famous Russians, "Pavlova."

What I Don't Like: Honestly, the story's even thinner than Up In Arms, and it relies just as heavily on Kaye's brand of manic slapstick. If you don't like him, forget it. The songs aren't terribly memorable, and other than the opening dairy number with the Goldwyn Girls, don't have much to do with the plot. 

The Big Finale: One of Kaye's better Goldwyn vehicles if you're a fan of him or the leading ladies. 

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming. It's on many free streaming sites, including Tubi. 

DVD - Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Breaking the Ice

RKO, 1938

Starring Bobby Breen, Dolores Costello, Charlie Ruggles, and Robert Barrat

Directed by Edward F. Cline

Music by Frank Churchill and Victor Young; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

Bobby Breen was another RKO response to Shirley Temple, as well as Deanna Durbin at Universal. Like Durbin, he was a child soprano who could pull off opera and pop songs; like Temple, he was an ultra-cute kid whose vehicles tended towards cheer-up ditties and melodrama. You get a little of both here, along with another cute kid, the child figure skating star Irene Dare. We met Irene earlier this month in Everything's On Ice; how does this story of another child being exploited for their talent compare to hers? Let's begin among the Mennoites religious sect in rural Pennsylvania and find out...

The Story: Tommy (Breen) and Martha (Costello) Martin are hoping to return to Kansas to work on their farm after recovering from her husband's death at the home of her brother William (Barrat) and Annie (Dorothy Peterson) Decker. They'll need $92 to get home. William writes Martha's suitor Henry (John "Dusty" King) against her wishes, but Tommy tears up the letter. He sells old newspapers to Mr. Terwilliger (Ruggles) the antique dealer, but loses 20 dollars in one of the newspapers.

After his uncle punishes him for singing non-religious songs on the farm, Tommy runs away with Mr. Terwilliger to Philadelphia. There, he first gets a job clearing the ice for figure skating marvel Irene Dare's (herself) ice shows. After the owners hear him singing, they promote  him to performing before Irene's shows. Tommy, however, just wants to go home...and he's not thrilled when he figures out what Terwillger's doing with the money. Not to mention, his uncle now believes him to be a thief and thinks he stole the money. Tommy has to corral Terwilliger and figure out what happened to that missing 20 dollars in order to clear his name.

The Song and Dance: I can see why Breen was popular. He was a sweet boy, and he did have charm. Irene's just as adorable here as she was in Everything's On Ice the next year. Her two numbers are highpoints of the film. Ruggles gets some good moments as the old con-man who sees Tommy as his ticket to untold riches. And this is pretty much the only movie I know of to be set among the Mennonite religious sect. That alone makes it a little different.

Favorite Number: The song that gets Tommy into trouble with his uncle is the most innocuous you can imagine - the cheery "Put Your Heart Into a Song." He's "Tellin' My Troubles to a Mule" when he and Terwilliger are on the road. "The Sunny Side of Things" gets him the job at the ice rink when he's cleaning up the ice. He open and closes the movie with the lilting "Happy as a Lark," the finale version done in a montage of him happy on the farm. 

Irene gets two big numbers. She has a simple solo shortly after Tommy starts working at the rink, all spins and leaps. Tommy's "Goodbye, My Dreams, Goodbye" leads into Irene's number with a chorus of clowns. She leaps easily over them, then skates with one who spins and twirls her around. 

What I Don't Like: Almost every adult in this movie is a complete jerk or lets the other adults run over them and the kids. Tommy's uncle jumps way too hard to conclusions about him being a thief without hearing his side of the story, and his mother does nothing to stop or contradict him. Terwilliger only cares about exploiting the boy, much like Irene's uncle did in Everything's On Ice. The sugary songs frankly sound all alike and are pretty dull. Irene's solo isn't bad, but her clown routine is absurd and a little creepy. Not to mention, the Mennonites aren't exactly shown in the best light. 

The Big Finale: Only for major fans of Breen or figure skating. 

Home Media: Not currently on disc, but it can be found for free on Tubi with commercials. 

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Everything's On Ice (Follies On Ice)

RKO, 1939

Starring Irene Dare, Edgar Kennedy, Roscoe Karns, and Lynne Roberts

Directed by Erle C. Kenton

Music and Lyrics by various

Henie's success inspired other studios to put their own actors on ice, or find European skaters who could replicate her charisma in front of a camera. RKO not only found their own Sonja Henie, but their own Shirley Temple as well. Dare had been in ice shows since she was five. At seven, RKO hired her to appear alongside their popular boy soprano Bobby Breen in Breaking the Ice. That went over well enough for her to get her own showcase. How does the story of a little girl whose uncle wants to use her big talent look today? Let's begin in Brooklyn, where Joe Barton (Kennedy) is listening to another money-making scheme from his brother Felix (Karns) and find out...

The Story: Felix convinces a talent scout to come see Irene. He's so impressed, he books her a gig skating at a club in Florida. On the train to Florida, Irene's older sister Jane (Roberts) meets the sweet but slightly dim Leopold Eddington (Eric Linden). Felix dismisses him when he says he's staying at a cheaper hotel, but Jane likes him. 

Felix proceeds to spend Irene's money fast as it comes in on an expensive hotel and fine clothes and jewelry for himself and Joe's bored wife Elsie (Mary Hart). He discourages Jane from pursuing Leopold and tries to shove her at handsome Harrison Gregg (George Meeker). Felix assumes Harrison has money, but that proves to be far from the case. Meanwhile, after Felix wires Joe for money, he realizes there's something rotten going on in the state of Florida and heads south to figure it out himself. Not to mention, Leopold isn't the rube Felix thinks he is, either. 

The Song and Dance: Too bad there isn't more of Irene. She really is a charmer when you see her, naturally funny and a marvel on the ice. Even Sonja Henie couldn't do the backflips and leaps she did! Kennedy and Karns have some good moments as the blustering head of the family and his oily brother-in-law who thinks the kid is his ticket to unlimited riches. 

Favorite Number: We open with Irene showing off for the crowd in her own clothes in a simple number that gives us an idea of what she can do, including several back flips. The routine that sells the agent on Irene has her costumed as a little Uncle Sam, complete with Statue of Liberty and chorus dressed as a marching band. Her first number at the club is a graceful, if odd, hula routine, with her attempting to wave her hands and look Hawaiian in her too-long grass skirt. 

What I Don't Like: There should be more focus on Irene in her own vehicle. She has nothing to do besides her skating routines. The movie mostly revolves around Felix's oily schemes or the cliche and boring love plot. Meeker's not bad as the smarmy playboy looking for the right patsy to pay his hotel bill, but Roberts and Linden are as dull as their dialogue. 

And no wonder the owner of the club wouldn't finance that last number. It looks ridiculous. Who thought Irene popping out of an egg as a baby penguin and getting tossed around by people in penguin suits was a good idea? Plus all the emphasis on "flying." Penguins do not fly. It's too silly to pass for a number put on by kids goofing off on a frozen pond, let alone a big ice show at a night club.

The Big Finale: Too silly for all but the most ardent figure skating fanatics or fans of Kennedy and Karns, or kids Irene's age who can overlook the dull plot and enjoy one of their own doing some pretty amazing things on the ice.

Home Media: To my knowledge, this rare programmer can only be found on YouTube. 

YouTube

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

RKO, 1939

Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Walter Brennan, and Edna Mae Oliver

Directed by H.C Potter

Music and Lyrics by various

Story of Vernon & Irene Castle is unique in Fred and Ginger's filmography in many respects. It's their last RKO film, their last film together until Barkleys of Broadway a decade later, the only time they played real people in one of their movies, their only historical film, and their only film to have a tragic ending. Vernon and Irene Castle were celebrity ballroom dancers of an earlier era, and many people at the time compared Astaire and Rogers to them. How does all of this look nowadays? Let's begin with Irene Foote (Rogers) in 1911, as she meets him on a boat near her native New Rochelle, and find out...

The Story: Irene and her family are excited when they learn British actor Vernon is in vaudeville. After Irene sees him dance for a group of young people returning from a picnic, she thinks he's a great dancer. Turns out he's only the stooge in a slapstick comedy act. Incensed, she convinces him to give up the slapstick and dance with her. They love dancing - and each other - so much, they ultimately get married. 

After trying - and failing - to find a job in New York, they think they have luck when two men offer them a show in Paris. The show doesn't happen, and they almost get thrown out of their rooms when grouchy theatrical agent Maggie Sutton (Oliver) hears their act. Irene's friend and manservant Walter (Brennan) isn't fond of Maggie, but she does manage to land them an audition at the Cafe de Paris. Their performance of "The Castle Walk" is such a sensation, they first become the darlings of Paris society, then American.

By the time they open on Broadway in 1914, they're two of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. Their names are lent to everything from hats to cigars, their book on ballroom dancing is a best-seller, and their tours are sold-out. Irene even causes a sensation when she bobs her hair, inspiring millions of women to do the same. Vernon, however, has more patriotic matters on his mind. He joins the Royal Air Corps in World War I and becomes a flying ace. Irene does her part with propaganda serials. She's delighted when Vernon's moved to training new pilots in Texas, but it's not as safe of a job as she thinks...

The Song and Dance: The older numbers on display here are, for the most part, as much fun as the original routines in their other films. It's fascinating to watch Astaire and Rogers demonstrate the dances of an earlier era. For the most part, they do really well with it. Ginger may not have loved the costumes Irene Castle designed herself, but I think they're gorgeous and fairly accurate to the era, especially the fur-trimmed ensemble she wears during the "rise to fame" dance montage midway through and that adorable Dutch-inspired sequined cap. Astaire not only enjoys playing Vernon Castle, he actually looked quite a bit like him, too. Oliver and Brennan have some of the funniest lines of the film as the Castles' crotchety agent who gets them out of the gutter in Paris and Irene's loyal valet.

And honestly...as cliched as the plot is, I do appreciate that the biography here makes it slightly stronger than in most of the Astaire-Rogers films. You really feel Irene's devastation in the end, making that last, haunting image of two ghostly dancers whirling off together even more poignant. 

Favorite Number: We kick off with what would be Rogers' second and last solo in one of her films with Astaire. "The Yama Yama Man" is based on Broadway star of the time Bessie McCoy, complete with her trademark Pierrot clown costume and floppy dance. Astaire does an instrumental tap routine to "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" with - and eventually outdoing - portly Sonny Lamont at the train station in New Rochelle. It's good enough to prove to Irene that he's a better dancer than a comedian. "Oh You Beautiful Doll" is a number at the vaudeville theater where Vernon works for female dance Frances Mercer and the male chorus, an example of the type of dancing you'd see at a vaudeville show then.

The Castles first show off their daring ragtime style in an instrumental "King Chanticleer" at rehearsals. They do a spirited two-step to "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" at an audition, but the manager isn't nearly as impressed as the audience likely is by this point. They finally hit the big time with their delightful "Too Much Mustard (Tres Moutarde)" at the Cafe de Paris. We next get a series of dances from them, including a slightly awkward tango and a far more appropriate polka. A montage shows how their constant touring and best-selling book made headlines...and left dancing feet wherever they went; a second medley shows how their final dance together to a series of waltzes. 

The only song written for the film is "Only When You're In My Arms." It's heard twice. Vernon sings it to Irene right before they announce their engagement...and then, it's heard in the last shot as Irene looks up, and sees an image of them dancing together, forever, in the garden...

Trivia: Vernon and Irene Castle popularized couples dancing in the early 1910's when it was still considered to be sinful. Much of what you see in the film actually happened, from how Irene and Vernon met to their being stranded in Paris to how wildly popular they were between 1911 and 1916. Patria, the war propaganda serial Irene Castle is seen filming in the movie, was also real. Episodes 2, 3, 4, and 10 exist today. Sadly, Vernon's death is also portrayed accurately. He was the only one who died; the student (and Vernon's pet monkey) survived. Irene became an animal activist later in life, which explains all the dogs and horses seen in the movie. She retired and married three more times, finally passing away in 1969.

What I Don't Like: Irene Castle later disowned the film for several inaccuracies, from her real manservant Walter being black to Rogers' costumes being too thirties. The real problem here is it's a bit dark compared to their other movies. In some ways, despite the usual down-and-up cliches, it has more in common with later stories like Love Me or Leave Me that sought to give a more accurate assessment of the character and era than fluff like 'Till the Clouds Roll By. It's not for those looking for a more typical Fred and Ginger vehicle, with their usually assortment of wacky supporting actors and dramatic numbers set to jazz standards.

The Big Finale: I consider this to be Astaire and Rogers' most underrated film together. If you love older styles of dance and are willing to give something different from them a chance, this is a charming and bittersweet look at a bygone era. 

Home Media: Like all of Fred and Ginger's movies, this is easily found on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Astaire & Rogers Vol. 2

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Swing Time (1936)

RKO, 1936

Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, and Eric Blore

Directed by George Stevens

Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Let's dance into the holiday season with the two Fred and Ginger films I haven't gotten to yet, starting with the one widely considered to be their best. Unlike their previous film Follow the Fleet, this one puts them front and center, with no secondary romance to distract the audience. How does the breezy tale of a gambler who tries to win the money to marry his sweetheart, only to fall for a dance teacher, look nowadays? Let's begin backstage with John "Lucky" Garrett (Astaire) and his dance troupe at the end of a number and find out...

The Story: Lucky wants to marry his fiancee Margaret (Betty Furness), but he keeps losing his money on gambling. Her father Judge Watson (Landers Stevens) insists they can marry if he can make $25,000. He thinks he can, but his troupe takes most of it after they bet he won't get married. They end up riding a freight car to New York. Lucky encounters Penny Carroll (Rogers) when he tries to make change for his quarter. She's a dance teacher, and he's so smitten, he immediately takes lessons from her. He makes it look like he can't dance, until her boss Mr. Gordon (Blore) fires her. Lucky immediately shows that she did teach him to dance, and well. 

Mr. Gibson is so impressed, he not only rehires her, he sets up an audition for them at the Silver Sandal nightclub. Lucky is unable to win a tuxedo and misses the first audition, but he finally convinces Penny to join him for a second. That's almost derailed when the bandleader, Penny's own fiancee Ricky Romero (Georges Metaxa), won't play for them. Lucky wins his contract in a poker game and makes sure he doesn't have any choice. Lucky's friend Pop (Moore) first loses the contract, then lets it slip to Penny that Lucky's engaged. After she walks away, Lucky finally admits the truth that Margaret isn't the lady who owns his heart anymore...and he may end up losing both the women he loves.

The Song and Dance: Everyone is on top of their game in this sparkling confection, from Astaire and Rogers having a ball with the comedy to fussy Moore as Lucky's manager and Helen Broderick as Rogers' tart-tongued best friend and Mr. Gibson's former secretary. The Art Deco sets are incredible, too. Check out the mirrored backdrop for "Bojangles of Harlem" or the long stairway of the Silver Sandal for "Never Gonna Dance." There's also those gorgeous gowns for Broderick and Rogers (especially Rogers' simple but glittery "Never Gonna Dance" outfit), and the details on the cozy snow-laden inn for "A Fine Romance."

Favorite Number: Our first real number is "Pick Yourself Up" at the dance studio. Lucky first tries to make it look like he's not learning anything to spend more time with Penny. When Mr. Gibson fires her, he breaks out his moves to show he may have learned a thing or two after all. "The Way You Look Tonight" won the Oscar in 1936. This gorgeously simple ballad appropriately has an equally simple introduction, just Lucky playing the song as Penny washes her hair, but it's so effective, she changes her mind about  him. Penny complains at the country inn that it's not "A Fine Romance" like she wants when Lucky remembers his fiancee and pulls away. Lucky sings a reprise after Pop lets it slip about his fiancee and Penny's the one avoiding him. 

The reason this is so well-regarded comes down to the three main dance routines. The instrumental "Waltz In Swing Time" is really a non-vocal "Way You Look Tonight," with Lucky and Penny swirling around the Silver Sandal ballroom in glowing elegance. Astaire honors "Bojangles of Harlem" in blackface, first dancing with chorus girls in black and white, then hoofing with his own shadows in a still-nifty bit of trick photography. "Never Gonna Dance" takes us back to the Silver Sandal as Lucky admits that he may have lost Penny, their elegance now replaced by a gentle sadness.

Trivia: A stage version of Swing Time, Never Gonna Dance, premiered on Broadway in December 2003. Alas, it barely ran for two and a half months and received mixed reviews. The production used all of the songs from Swing Time but "Bojangles of Harlem," plus songs from other Jerome Kern shows. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, this has the same problem as most of Fred and Ginger's other films. If you're looking for a stronger plot, you won't find it here. It's about as light of a frappe as you can imagine. 

Second, let's discuss "Bojangles of Harlem." Astaire admired Bill Robinson and had learned tap from several black entertainers, including John W. Bubbles. He meant no offense then, but the dark makeup on him and some of the mildly condescending lyrics may not sit well with some folks nowadays. 

The Big Finale: This and Top Hat are Fred and Ginger's best movies, and probably the best places to start if you want to know what their vehicles are all about. A must-see for fans of Astaire, Rogers, musicals, or dance in film.

Home Media: The Criterion Collection released it on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2019; it's also easy to find on streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Saluting Our Troops - Up In Arms

Samuel Goldwyn Productions/RKO, 1944

Starring Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews, and Constance Dowling

Directed by Elliot Nugent

Music and Lyrics by various

We salute the men and women of the Armed Services for Veteran's Day with Danny Kaye's first feature-length movie and vehicle for Goldwyn. Ever since Eddie Cantor left in the late 30's, Goldwyn had looked for another star comedian of his caliber. He found him in former nightclub comic Kaye, who had just scored a major success on Broadway in the stage hit Lady In the Dark. Goldwyn spared no expense for Kaye's first film, pairing him with beloved radio singer Shore and heartthrob Andrews in what amounted to a World War II-themed remake of Cantor's first sound film Whoopee! How does the story of a hypochondriac who ends up in the Army look today? Let's start in the hospital, where elevator operator Danny Weems (Kaye) constantly rattles on to people about their non-existent health problems, and find out...

The Story: Nurse Virginia Merrill (Shore) is in love with Danny, but he's in love with another nurse, Mary Morgan (Dowling). Mary's really interested in Danny's best friend Joe (Andrews). Danny is horrified when he's drafted into the Army. All those germs overseas! Joe joins up to keep an eye on him. Mary and Virginia are also enlisted as Army nurses. Danny smuggles Mary onboard their transport ship to the South Pacific, but they're caught and he ends up in the brig. 

He's still in prison after they land on the South Seas island. That works to his advantage when he's inadvertently rescued by a troop of Japanese soldiers. He's going to have to do a lot more than worry about these guys' health when he has to impersonate their head commander and capture them himself!

The Song and Dance: Kaye bursts out of the gate running on his first try. He did a few low-budget shorts in the late 30's, but nothing like this. He runs with it, sometimes literally, whether he's rattling off lists of his non-existent symptoms (and everyone else's), or doing a song and dance in literal Hell with Shore. Shore's not bad as the nurse who is really interested in him. She manages to hold her own with him in the Hell number and sounds gorgeous on her ballads. 

Favorite Number: Kaye's best number is early in the film, when he recreates what sounds like Goldwyn's idea of the  musical Something For the Boys in lobby of a movie theater. He even gets the patrons doing a Carmen Miranda conga line at one point. Shore performs the gentle ballad "Now I Know" while making a record for the folks back home at a carnival. "All Out For Freedom" is the big rousing chorus number as everyone, the soldiers and the nurses, march onto the transport boat. The chorus also joins in for Shore's other ballad, the bluesy "Tess' Torch Song" on board ship. Kaye's other patter number, which he performs to distract the troops from Mary's presence, is "Melody In 4 F." 

The one for the books is Kaye's dream sequence near the end of the film. We first have him in a pastel nightclub, complete with pale blue goat on a leash, as he's about to marry his Mary. That dream turns quickly into something quite different as the Goldwyn Girls trade pastel bridesmaids dresses for slinky black gowns as they recline against spindly trees and Shore comes out scatting in a tight black gown. 

Trivia: Goldwyn originally planned to have the Disney short "The Gremlins" as the fantasy sequence, but the spot and short were eventually scrapped.

Dowling's film debut. Virginia Mayo can be spotted in the chorus. 

What I Don't Like: This hasn't dated any better than Whoopee! In fact, despite having a different story, it shares the same problems - namely, stereotyped minority characters and an extremely stiff second couple. Andrews, charismatic as he is, was never really comfortable in musicals. Dowling is so dull, you can't really understand what either man sees in her. The last 20 minutes, with Danny leading a troop of Japanese soldiers around while dressed as a stereotypical Japanese officer, will be more than a little uncomfortable for many viewers today. Not to mention, the sudden switch to action comedy doesn't really work well with the slapstick farce that came before it. There's also the abrupt ending, with one last doctor gag from Danny before a sudden, nonsensical reprise of his fantasy/Hell number with Shore and the Goldwyn Girls.

The Big Finale: This is only for major fans of Shore, Andrews, and Kaye or wartime musicals. Everyone else is advised to check out Kaye's better vehicles like The Court Jester or White Christmas before coming anywhere near here. 

Home Media: Available on streaming and on DVD as part of the Warner Archives set Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years. 

DVD - Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years

Amazon Prime

Wonder Man

Samuel Goldwyn/RKO, 1945

Starring Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, and Donald Woods

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Music and Lyrics by Sylvia Fine

This week, we're going to dive into Danny Kaye's career with two of his more unique musicals. Not too many comedians could pull off a dual role...but Danny did it four times, twice in musical films, including this one. This was his second film for Samuel Goldwyn, and may be the first to show off the full range of his talents - singing, dancing, manic comedy, slapstick, even a bit of drama. How does this story of a history writer who gets involved with his louder twin's troubles look now? Let's start with the recent headlines in New York that reveal how comic Buzzy Bellew (Kaye) is the only witness to the murder of a chorus girl by gangster "Ten Grand" Jackson (Steve Cochran) and find out...

The Story: The moment Ten Grand is let out of jail, he has his goons Chimp (Allen Jenkins) and Torso (Edward Brophy) murder Buzzy in his dressing room. The only one who knows is Buzzy's meek twin Edwin (Kaye). He's more interested in writing his history book and dating pretty and smart librarian Ellen Shandley (Mayo) than his twin's problems, until Buzzy gets him into the park and possesses his body. Now Edwin has to dodge the crooks, do Buzzy's nightclub act, figure out what to do about his amorous fiancee Midge Mallon (Vera-Ellen), and explain to Ellen and the district attorney (Otto Kruger) that he's not crazy, before he joins his twin ten feet under!

The Song and Dance: Kaye jumps into the roles of the mild and shy Edwin and the wild and wacky Buzzy with relish. The special effects that allows Kaye to interact with himself won an Oscar in 1945 and still look good today, especially when Buzzy's possessing Edwin, or he's running around the park, grabbing onto tree limbs and kicking cops. Jenkins and Brophy have a few funny moments as Jackson's men, who can't believe Buzzy keeps turning up after they killed him. Lavish sets and costumes and gorgeous Technicolor bring sparkle to a relatively dark story.

Favorite Number: The film kicks off with the peculiar "Bali Boogie," a cross between Javanese dancing and swing that gives Vera-Ellen a chance to show off her dancing and Danny Kaye to mug outrageously. "So In Love" is Vera-Ellen's other big number as the Goldwyn Girls encourage her to wait for her boyfriend in colorful gowns and she ends up dancing with other guys. Buzzy takes control of Edwin's body to imitate a Russian going into sneezing fits over flowers at the nightclub in "Otchi Tchorniya," but it's Edwin who gets into the spirit of his big opera number in full Renaissance dress with real-life diva Alice Mock.

Trivia: Vera-Ellen's first film.

Fans of the East Side Kids and Bowery Boys comedies may recognize the sailor who punches Edwin after he thinks he's flirting with his girl. It's Huntz Hall, aka Satch, appearing in his only color film. 

What I Don't Like: Obviously, if you're not into Kaye's brand of manic comedy, this isn't for you. Vera-Ellen does get in on one big number and has another to herself, but Virginia Mayo could have been given more to do than fuss over Edwin standing her up. The songs aren't that great, and none of them really have much to do with anything, other than the opera spoof keeping Edwin away from the gangsters in the end. 

The Big Finale: One of Kaye's better Goldwyn vehicles if you're a fan of his or the two leading ladies.

Home Media: On DVD as part of the Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years set from Warner Archives; can also be found on streaming. 

DVD - Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years

Amazon Prime

Higher and Higher (1944)

RKO, 1944

Starring Jack Haley, Frank Sinatra, Michele Morgan, and Leon Errol

Directed by Tim Whalen

Music and Lyrics by various

This began life on Broadway in 1940 as a rare flop for Rodgers and Hart. RKO bought it and turned it into Sinatra's second movie and a vehicle for him and dancer Haley. By this point, Sinatra's star had already started to rise, and he looked like a clear threat to the popularity of older crooners like Bing Crosby. We get an even younger crooner, Mel Torme, here as well. How does this twist on the Cinderella tale of a servant who discovers where she belongs fare today? Let's begin with all the servants of millionaire piano manufacturer Cyrus Drake (Errol) going about their daily duties in song and find out...

The Story: They won't have those duties for much longer. Cyril is broke. He's in bankruptcy, and the courts may foreclose on his home. With Cyril's family on a long trip overseas, they form a "corporation" to turn pretty scullery maid Millie (Morgan) into the spitting image of his daughter Pamela Drake and have her marry rich. They choose wealthy Sir Victor Fitzroy Victor (Victor Borge) as the man for her. Millie is really more interested in Cyril's valet Mike O'Brian (Haley), but she does find handsome crooner Frank Sinatra (himself) attractive. So does Katherine Keating (Barbara Hale), the real debutante daughter of a friend of the Drake family. Mike thinks Millie wants Sinatra, but the others push her towards Victor. Millie has to decide what she really wants, and if she's really willing to go to the alter in the name of money.

The Song and Dance: This turned out to be way more fun than I figured from the B-level cast and small production. Sinatra's still a little stiff, but he's obviously much happier playing himself than he was a writer in Step Lively that same year. Errol and Mary Wickes have delightful moments as the desperate millionaire who will do anything to get back into easy riches and the social secretary who just wants to keep her job. 

Lovely Morgan is especially charming as the scullery maid who only wants to marry the man of her dreams. She gets her own hilarious moment at the ball when she can't figure out how to make a speech and blurts random lines out. There's some gorgeous gowns once they send Millie into high society, especially during the "Butler's Ball" where the two competing debs announce their sponsorship. And I have to admire the creative ending and how they do finally get Drake out of hock. It's also nice to see performers like Borge and dancers Paul and Grace Hartman who rarely made movies. 

Favorite Number: Sinatra naturally gets to croon several gorgeous ballads, including two hits, "The Music Stopped" and the Oscar-nominated "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night." Both are performed with Dooley Wilson, as the family's chauffeur and house pianist. He also gets a funny number with besotted pre-teen maid Marcy McGuire, who claims "I Saw You First" while chasing him around the house and his bike.

We even get three nice chorus routines for the family. The movie opens with "It's a Most Important Affair," as the servants do their duty all around the house to prepare their employer for his evening on the town. "Today I'm a Debutante" and "Disgustingly Rich" are the numbers where Mike convinces everyone to "incorporate" and turn Millie into a high society beauty. Wilson tells Mel Torme and McGuire that "You're On Your Own" in love. It eventually spreads to the entire household, including the two sets of lovers going for a walk in the garden. 

Trivia: This was Sinatra's first and last time playing himself in a film, and Borge's first and last time playing someone other than himself in a film. It's also Mel Torme's first movie. 

"Disgustingly Rich" is the only remaining Rodgers-Hart song from the original show, which barely lasted a month in 1940. It did manage to toss off a standard despite the short run, "It Never Entered My Mind."

Morgan was dubbed by Martha Mears.

What I Don't Like: First of all, Errol, Borge, and Haley are wasted in roles that barely require them to do much dancing or comic piano-playing. Torme only sings in the chorus numbers with the servants, too, and never in a solo. Second, while admittedly the score here is said to actually be better than the one in the original stage show, they couldn't have at least retained "It Never Entered My Mind" for Sinatra? Not to mention, they supposedly changed the plot to shoehorn Sinatra in, too. It does feel like one man too many is after Millie. There's also that fluffy plot. The "corporation" behaves like a pack of wolves after a bone, and it does get a little annoying until Mike stops the whole thing during the wedding. 

The Big Finale: Charming surprise is worth a look if you're a big fan of Sinatra, romantic comedies, or 40's musicals.

Home Media: Easy to find on disc and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Tanned Legs

RKO, 1929

Starring June Clyde, Arthur Lake, Dorothy Reiver, and Ann Pennington

Directed by Marshall Neilian

Music by Oscar Levant; Lyrics by Sidney Claire

Wheeler and Woosley weren't the only actors at RKO who went on vacation during the early talkie era. June Clyde made an earlier trip to the beach in this 1929 comedy. It originally began as a comedy, but when musicals suddenly became the next big thing in Hollywood, RKO stuffed a couple of songs into the story of a young woman (Clyde) who tries to fix all of her family's problems during a holiday at the seashore. How well does she do? Let's begin at the beach, with ladies talking about the big upcoming talent show, and find out...

The Story: Peggy Reynolds (Clyde) is completely fed up with her parents flirting with younger people. Her father (Albert Gran) is having a dalliance with Mrs. Lyons-King (Reiver), while her mother chases Peggy's friend Roger Fleming (Allen Kearns). Her sister Janet (Sally Blaine) thinks she's in love with stuffy Clinton Darrow (Edmund Burns), but he only wants her money. Darrow is working with Mrs. Lyons-King to blackmail Janet with romantic letters she sent him. Peggy tries to get the letters back, but that only puts her on the outs with her boyfriend Bill (Lake), who thinks she's dallying with Darrow. Now she has to get those letters back, before her sister ends up broke...or worse yet, her parents find out.

The Song and Dance: Adorable summer comedy almost feels like a warm-up for the Disney family films of the 1960's and 70's or Jane Powell's 40's and 50's vehicles, with its perky young protagonist trying to solve all of her family's problems and keep her guy. Clyde is cute as a button as the young lady trying to save her family from disaster, while Kearns and dancer Ann Pennington have a few good minutes as her flirtatious buddy and his sassy girlfriend Tootie. They even get to save the day in the end in a make-believe robbery. Love some of the flapper costumes and bathing suits, too, especially once they get to the talent show. 

Favorite Number: We open with a bevy of beauties in bathing suits who can't keep in sync trying to entice us to "Come In the Water." Kearns and Pennington tell each other "You're Responsible" for driving the other crazy with a lively little dance. Clyde joins the bare-legged ladies for the title number on the beach after they steal the stockings off two women who wore them among the beach-goers and saw them stolen right off their legs for their troubles. Pennington has a solo number in a huge fluffy black and white feather tutu at the ball that's all high kicks and wild wiggling with her hips.

What I Don't Like: I'm afraid nothing else really works. Lake is whiny, annoying, and a terrible singer; he'd come off much better a decade later as Dagwood Bumstead in the Blondie films and radio show. The story with Darrow and the blackmail plot is really a bit dark for this light film. It even ends with Peggy getting shot in the shoulder (though it's not really that bad). The songs are dull, completely unnecessary, and in the case of "Responsible," with its accents on the wrong syllables, poorly written. It's pretty obvious this was originally intended to be a B comedy that had a few songs jammed in here and there at the last minute. Other than her numbers, Pennington is underused and barely seen. 

Also...what happened to the ending? The movie just kind of...stops...right as the family is reconciling. It feels rushed and unfinished. Considering this is barely an hour, more of the family getting back together and what happened afterwards might be nice. We don't even see Lake again. Looks like the last few minutes may be lost for good.

The Big Finale: Bad songs, a plot that's alternately too silly and too dark, and a no-name cast makes this only of interest to the most ardent fans of the early talkie era.

Home Media: Currently, this rare film can only be seen on YouTube and occasionally on TCM.

YouTube

The Cuckoos

RKO, 1930

Starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woosley, Dorothy Lee, and June Clyde

Directed by Paul Sloane

Music by Harry Ruby; Lyrics by Bert Kalmar

This week, we're letting RKO take us on vacation in two of their earliest summertime hits, starting with this wacky action comedy. The western operetta Rio Rita was RKO's biggest hit of 1929, and stage comics Robert Woosley and Bert Wheeler were a big part of that success. RKO rushed them and Dorothy Lee into another Broadway adaptation, this one of Kalmar and Ruby's biggest hit The Ramblers. How well does this action comedy come off nowadays? Let's head for a Mexican resort as phony fortune tellers Professor Bird (Woosley) and Sparrow (Wheeler) set up shop and find out...

The Story: Bird immediately ingrates himself with the wealthiest woman at the resort, Fanny Furst (Jobyna Howland). Fanny wants to marry her niece Ruth (June Clyde) off to a smooth-talking nobleman, the Baron (Ivan Lebedeff), but Ruth is in love with pilot Billy Shannon (Hugh Trevor). Gypsies have also wandered onto the resort grounds. Anita (Lee), an American girl living with them, falls for Sparrow. Trouble is, Julius, the head of the Gypsies (Mitchell Lewis) wants Anita. The Baron convinces Julius to help him kidnap both women, sending the Professor, Sparrow, and Billy after them.

The Song and Dance: This one is all about the comedy, a surprising amount of action for the era, and three nifty color sequences. The two-strip Technicolor is among the best examples surviving from this era, especially in the supremely weird "Dancing the Devil Away." Howland makes a wonderful foil for Wheeler and Woosley's antics, especially the latter attempting to flirt with her. Wheeler and Dorothy Lee are pretty adorable, too. 

Favorite Number: Bird and Sparrow recall their college days to two lovely ladies with a soft shoe to "Oh, How We Love Our Alma Mater." June Clyde, at least, is enjoying her duet with Hugh Wheeler to the ballad "All Alone Monday." They also get the lovely "Wherever You Are," which starts with the two of them by the balcony and ends with Ruth being hoisted in the air by the chorus, who keep taking her away. Bird claims "I'm a Gypsy," but the real ones know better. Bird and Sparrow tell everyone "Goodbye" when they take off to rescue Ruth in the first color sequence. Lee and Wheeler introduce movie audiences to the standard "I Love You So Much" while eating an entire bowl of apples in a tree.

The big one here - in every sense of the word - is "Dancing the Devil Away." Anita dreams herself and the Gypsy Queen (Margarita Padula) into a wild tribal dance with skimpy and colorful costumes against a brilliant red and pink backdrop. It gets so insane, Lee can barely keep up with the wild, gyrating movements from the dancers. It really must be seen to be believed.

Trivia: The Ramblers ran for almost a year at the Lyric Theatre in New York in 1926, featuring comics Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough. While the film does retain most of the songs and added a few, it also changed the setting from a California movie studio to a Mexican resort town (though apparently it did keep the gypsies). 

What I Don't Like: This is about as typical of an early talkie as you can get. Apparently, Sloane had no idea what he was doing, and it looks it. There's a ton of long, arid shots of people talking; the dance numbers are shot from so far away, you can barely see anyone. Trevor looks like he'd rather be anywhere but doing an action comedy musical and is dull as dishwater next to the adorable Clyde. Wheeler and Woosely's wiseguy schtick can be an acquired taste at best. If you're not into them and their brand of comedy, you won't like this. 

There's also the plot being ridiculous even by the standards of musicals from this era. Gypsies in a Mexican resort? Yeah, this is the kind of thing they could only have gotten away with in the 20's. 

The Big Finale: Bright, goofy fun if you're a fan of Wheeler and Woosley or the comedies and comedians of the early talkie era. 

Home Media: Currently on the second Wheeler & Woosley Warner Archives set.

DVD - Wheeler & Woosley RKO Comedy Classics Collection Vol. 2

The Gay Divorcee

RKO, 1934

Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, and Edward Everett Horton

Directed by Mark Sandrich

Music and Lyrics by various 

Astaire and Rogers were such a sensation in Flying Down to Rio, they were rushed into an adaptation of a stage hit Astaire also starred in...and this time, they were the leads. It was called Gay Divorce on Broadway in 1932, but by the time this was in production, stricter censorship standards were already coming into effect. A divorce could never be light and carefree...but a divorcee could. (Nowadays, I don't think either title would work.) Under any title, how does this light-as-air confection look today? Let's begin in at a nightclub in London and find out...

The Story: Dancer Guy Bolton (Astaire) first encounters Mimi Glossop (Rogers) at a hotel in Brighton, England. Mimi's looking for a divorce from her rarely-seen husband Cyril (William Austin), an archeologist. Guy's best friend Egbert (Horton) happens to the the lawyer for her and her Aunt Hortense (Brady). He hires co-correspondent Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes), or someone who aids in a legal proceeding, to make it look like he's having an affair with Mimi and have photos taken by private detectives. 

Not only do the detectives never arrive, but Mimi thinks Guy is the co-correspondent. When Tonetti turns up, he holds them in the room, but they escape. Even after that, there's still trouble...until the waiter at the nightclub under their room (Eric Blore) reveals that Cyril isn't as blameless as previously suspected.

The Song and Dance: And with a plot that lightweight, "song and dance" are the operative words here. Astaire and Rogers are a delight in their first starring showcase together. This comes a lot closer to their later movies than Flying Down to Rio, with a sparkling supporting cast, impressive Art Deco sets (check out the huge multi-level nightclub!), and terrific dance numbers. I also appreciate that they kept most of the original plot of the Broadway show (which Astaire also starred in), changing Guy's career from writer of smutty novels to dancer.

Favorite Number: We open with the very strange "Don't Let It Bother You" at the nightclub. Chorus girls in stockings, garter bows, and not a lot else make little finger dolls in tutus "dance." Astaire and Horton try it next. Astaire can get it; Horton has more trouble. Astaire finishes the number with a quick tap routine for the audience. A very young Betty Grable insists to Horton "Let's Knock Knees" at the resort's restaurant. Soon, they have the whole dining room knocking knees - and occasionally, into each other. Astaire's other big solo in his room when he's looking for Mimi is "Needle In a Haystack."

The big one - in every sense of the word - is "The Continental." At almost 18 minutes, the number is the longest in film history until Gene Kelly's ballet in American In Paris. Dancers in black and white whirl over those long staircases and across curving balconies, until they come down in black and white gowns. Among all this are singer Lillian Miles, who takes the song over from Erik Rhodes, and Fred and Ginger, who start things off with a great comic tap routine and do a quick one to end it. 

But the one most associated with Fred and Ginger nowadays is also the only Cole Porter song retained from the original show. Fred sweeps Ginger into "Night and Day" when she still thinks he's a co-correspondent. By the end of the song, she's thoroughly enchanted and in love...and so are we, thanks to their fine footwork and off-the charts chemistry.

Trivia: Ginger Rogers drives her own 1929 Duesenberg during the chase scene. It still exists and has turned up in car shows. 

Gay Divorce first appeared on Broadway in 1932. It went over equally well in London, with most of the original cast, including Astaire. Like many older shows, it's only New York runs since then has been in off-Broadway concerts.

"The Continental" won the first Academy Award for best song. It was nominated for Best Picture, Sound, and Art Direction. 

What I Don't Like: Too bad the story is so annoying. The whole co-correspondent thing is more than a little confusing. Not mention, divorce and adultery tend to be taken a lot less lightly nowadays. And why on Earth didn't they keep Cole Porter's original score, which also includes the standard "After You, Who?" The other songs by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon are ok, but certainly not at the level of "Night and Day." 

The Big Finale: As the first Astaire-Rogers film to really show their later style, this is a must for fans of them, Grable, or the big musicals of the 1930's. 

Home Media: DVD and streaming in the US. It's on HBO Max with a subscription. 

DVD

HBO Max

Flying Down to Rio

RKO, 1933

Starring Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers

Directed by Thorton Freeland

Music by Vincent Youmans; Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu

We return to the bubbly Art Deco dance world of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers this week with their first two vehicles. Astaire's only making his second film, but he's as at ease before the camera as Rogers, who had been appearing in films since 1929...but they're not the main couple here. That honor goes to fiery Latin movie temptress Del Rio and up-and-comer Raymond. How well do Fred and Ginger fit in this south-of-the-border backstage tale? Let's head to Miami, where Roger Bond (Raymond) and his orchestra are being scolded for their untidiness by fussy Hammerstein the hotel manager (Franklin Pangborn), and find out...

The Story: Bond sees the beautiful Belinha De Rezende (Del Rio) while leading the orchestra. He leaves his post to dance with her, but despite his assistant leader and accordionist Fred Ayres (Astaire) trying to warn him, Hammerstein and her chaperon Dona Elena (Blanche Friderici) catches him and fires the band. Bond is so crazy about her, he gets the band a gig in Brazil at the Hotel Atlantico just to find her. 

Turns out that her father (Walter Walker) owns the hotel and is having problems with gangsters who want him to sell it. Bond takes her out in his plane to find out more, but they end up stranded on a deserted island. She does say she loves him...but she's also engaged. And not only that, but engaged to his best friend Julio (Raul Roulien). The orchestra is out on its ear anyway when the gangsters convince the Mayor (Paul Porcasi) to deny the hotel an entertainment license...which convinces Roger to take the show to the air!

The Song and Dance: No wonder Fred and Ginger became major stars here. They really liven up this unusual South American romance. Fred has a few funny bits in addition his song sequences, including his attempt to tell Belinha how his buddy felt about her and how they were fired at Miami that leads to him being thrown out. Del Rio isn't bad as the flirtatious beauty and certainly looks the part, especially on that desert island. The lavish sets and costumes are redolent of Rio and Brazil, with their ruffled dresses and flowered outfits in "The Carioca" number and old Portuguese architecture and palm trees everywhere. 

Favorite Number: We don't get our first number until almost ten minutes in, but it's "Music Makes Me." Ginger Rogers has a great time shimmying for the orchestra in a see-through gown that definitely screams "pre-Code." The big hit was the ballad "Orchids In the Moonlight." Roulien sings this to Del Rio as backdrops of orchids fall around them. Astaire sings the title song on the ground, but it's Rogers and the chorus who do the death-defying dance stunts on the wings. One girl even falls and is caught by a plane under her. Astaire also gets a short but memorable tap solo earlier, when he's teaching the chorus how to dance.

The big one here - literally and figuratively - is "The Carioca." Fred and Ginger introduce the Latin dance craze that involves touching heads...and even here, we can see sparks flying. They dance like they've been together for years, and indeed, Fred did teach Ginger a dance for the Broadway Girl Crazy the year before. The chorus, wearing see-through gowns, pick up the dance all around that massive hotel set. Then opera singer Etta Motten, dressed as a local in a floral dress and Carmen Miranda fruit headgear, comes in to lead a similar dance with chorus members in native dress. It's big, bold, and goes on for too long...but Astaire and Rogers are what you remember.

What I Don't Like: Raymond's a little stiff as Roger, but at least he has a few good moments in his plane and on the desert island. Roulien is dull in a thankless "other man" role. Wish we could have seen more of Pangborn and Blore, who have some fun gags in the first half in Miami. And while Fred does get a few good moments of his own and the solo tap routine, other than her numbers, Rogers has a lot less to do as the band's sassy singer. 

The Big Finale: Fred and Ginger may not dominate this to the extent of some of their other films, but it still has things to recommend it for fans of theirs, Del Rio, or the Busby Berkeley imitation backstage movies of the early-mid 30's. 

Home Media: Like all of the Fred and Ginger films, easily found in most formats. The solo DVD is from the Warner Archives.

DVD

DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Astaire & Rogers Vol. 2

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That Girl From Paris

RKO, 1936

Starring Lily Pons, Gene Raymond, Jack Oakie, and Mischa Auer

Directed by Leigh Jason

Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Edward Heyman 

The success of the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy operettas at MGM and Columbia's vehicles for Grace Moore convinced the studios to try other top- drawer opera stars. Pons' first vehicle I Dream Too Much wasn't a huge hit, but it did well enough for her to have a second go. How does Pons' second try at film stardom look nowadays? Let's start at a church in Paris, where opera star Nicole "Nikki" Martin (Pons) is about to get married to her sponsor (Gregory Gaye), and find out...

The Story: Nikki runs off before the marriage ceremony takes place. Looking for adventure, she exchanges clothes with a peasant, abandons her car, and hitchhikes. She's picked up by Windy McLean (Raymond), who leads a musical quartet. He spites her, but she follows him and stows away with him and his four-piece band on an ocean liner bound for the US. She's caught and detained by the authorities, but manages to get off the ship and make her way to their hotel room. 

They're trying to get rid of her before the police find her there when Windy's girlfriend Claire (Lucille Ball) shows up with producer Mr. Hammacher (Herman Bing). She got them a job at Hammacher's road house. Nikki manages to talk her way into a job, then convinces them to take her as a singer when she sabotages Claire's dance. Nikki's singing is a sensation, but when a jealous Claire reports her, she has to flee again. After she finally returns to the Met for her career, Windy's group try sabotaging her new act...until they see how well she does.

The Song and Dance: We get a slight glimpse of Ball's embryonic talents in her short but fairly funny dance routine. She keeps ending up on the floor, thanks to Nikki breaking her shoes earlier. It's frustrating for her, but she does it so well it ends up being a highlight. And at the very least, the leading men are a bit more interesting here than Henry Fonda was in Dream Too Much. Raymond is a bit bland, but at least he and Oakie are a lot more accustomed to musical territory and can actually sing. Aurer and curly-haired Frank Jenks are having even more fun as the most fun-loving member of the band and the Russian member respectively. 

Favorite Number: Jack Oakie and the band really get into their number "Love and Learn" on the ship to the US. "Moon Face" is another Oakie number. This is the one that Claire tries to dance to, only to end up constantly on the floor thanks to Nikki's sabotage. The band jokingly does a swing version of "The Blue Danube Waltz," but Pons has no trouble joining in. "Une voce poco fa" is the aria from The Barber of Saville Pons appears in during the end that the band almost wrecks. The Wildcats invade Nikki's wedding and join on singing "I Love You Truly" with their own lyrics to alert her to Windy's changing his mind about marrying her.

Trivia: Remake of the 1929 hit Street Girl; would be remade in 1942 as Four Jacks and a Jill.

What I Don't Like: Pons sings beautifully, especially on her Barber solo, but she's still too shrill on-screen. The story is dull and silly, lacking the charm of Street Girl (which Oakie also appeared in). Nikki comes off as less desperate to stay in the US and more obnoxious, breaking up a guy's relationship, especially since Claire wasn't that bad of a person. She's hardly the waif Betty Compson was in the original. Doesn't help that there's no Jerome Kern writing her music this time; the new songs are completely unmemorable.

The Big Finale: Strictly for major fans of opera or Ball. 

Home Media: None of Pons' three vehicles are currently available anywhere but occasionally on TCM. 

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