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| Rex Bell |
CRASHIN' BROADWAY (1933). Director: John P. McCarthy.
In 1902 Tad Wallace (Rex Bell of
The Tonto Kid) is a cowboy who has come east to try his hand at a Broadway career even though he can neither sing nor dance. He hooks up with Sally Sunshine (Doris Hill), but even as a couple they get booted off the stage. They decide to join with the other actors and hoofers at the boarding house run by the formidable Mrs. MacTavish (Anne Howard) and head west where they somehow have an engagement near Kansas City as the Bon Ton Players. The money for their fare is given to Sally by a man named Jeffries (Charles King of
Jungle Raiders). Unfortunately when they arrive the theater's owner, Griswold, has some bad news for them, and the cause of his problems seems to be their benefactor, Jeffries. Shakespearean actor J. Talbot Thorndyke may have to use all of his thespian skills to bring the bad guys to heel.
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| Gabby Hayes and Vane Calvert |
It is no surprise that in
Crashin' Broadway handsome star Rex Bell has charm to spare and gives quite a good performance. What
is a surprise is that both Griswold and Thorndyke -- who impersonates Griswold at one point -- are both played by Gabby Hayes [
Romance on the Range]! Playing Roy Rogers' rather irritating sidekick for so many years hid the fact that Hayes was actually a very gifted and very versatile actor who was apparently not given nearly enough opportunities to show what he could really do. Other notable cast members, besides those already mentioned, include Vane Calvert as a kindly rancher lady, and Lewis Sargent as Griswold's son, Billy. In the amusing ending the participants in a double-wedding ceremony look anything but happy! The movie is an amiable look at old-time theater troupes, but one wishes it had been better directed.
Verdict: Bell's charming appeal, and Hayes' versatility, lift up this minor but likable old movie. **3/4.
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