SAFETY IN NUMBERS

The cast of Safety in Numbers

SAFETY IN NUMBERS  (1930). Director: Victor Schertzinger.

"My uncle says you're well-acquainted with the 400."

"We are. We know all of the husbands and none of the wives."

20-year-old Bill Reynolds (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) will inherit millions on his next birthday, so his uncle inexplicably sends him to New York to supposedly sow his wild oats, yet hires three chorus girls to look after him and keep him out of trouble and away from predatory females. You would think with a plot like this the movie would at least be some fun, but it's so badly written and paced that it's a real snooze-inducer. The three chorus girls are so amateurish that it's a shock to realize that one of them is actually Carol Lombard, who would of course develop into a talented comedienne and major Hollywood figure -- but you'd never know it from this movie. Geneva Mitchell is slightly saucier in her brief turn as Cleo Carew, who has a hankering for Reynolds. 

Rogers had some charm and aplomb, but the movie is dull and the songs not very memorable. Louse Beavers, playing a maid as usual, sings a number -- but you can miss it. The movie has a total of one laugh and only one interesting sequence, when we see a bunch of chorus girls in silhouette before a screen showing scenes of New York. Reynolds unaccountably  falls in love with Jacqueline (Kathryn Crawford), the plainest of the trio. Josephine Dunn rounds out the threesome and Virginia Bruce has so small a role that if you blink you miss her.

Verdict: Almost unbearably bad. 1/2 *. 

DON'T TRUST YOUR HUSBAND aka AN INNOCENT AFFAIR

Madelaine Carroll and Fred MacMurray

DON'T TRUST YOUR HUSBAND (aka An Innocent Affair/1948). Director: Lloyd Bacon.

Advertising man Vincent Doane (Fred MacMurray) is trying to land an account which happens to be controlled by his still-amorous ex-fiancee, Margot Fraser (Louise Allbritton of Fired Wife). Vincent's wife, Paula (Madeleine Carroll), thinks he's spending all his evenings with a Mr. Fraser, but she suspects something's up. Vincent's sister, Eve (Rita Johnson of The Naughty Nineties), comes up with the dubious idea of testing her brother's love for her sister-in-law by seeing how jealous he gets if a paid actor pays too much attention to Paula on their anniversary. Clued in to the scheme, Vincent invites the man into his home and even asks him to take out his wife the next night! What nobody realizes is that the man in question is not the paid actor, but rather wealthy cigarette man Claude Kimball (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), who thinks the Doanes have a wonderfully carefree attitude. This all sounds rather cute, but it's almost by the numbers, with not enough real laughs -- although there are certainly amusing bits -- to make it stand out from the crowd. MacMurray is terrific, as you would expect, and the ladies are all good if not on his level. Alan Mowbray offers his customary fine performance as a man who pretends to be Margot's husband, and Anne Nagel has a small role as a receptionist. Rogers gets by on charm. Bacon also directed Crooner and many others.

Verdict: Cute, if formula, comedy. **1/2. 

MEXICAN SPITFIRE SEES A GHOST

Crazy crew: Mantan Moreland, Leon Errol, and Lupe Velez

MEXICAN SPITFIRE SEES A GHOST (1942). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

This is the sixth in the series of "Mexican Spitfire" films that began with The Girl from Mexico, and it follows the same pattern as most of the others. Lord Epping (Leon Errol) is supposed to meet with clients, Percy Fitzbadden (Donald MacBride) and his sister, Edith (Minna Gombell), who has a crush on Epping, at his American mansion but would rather go moose-hunting. His employee, Dennis Lindsay (Buddy Rogers), decides to play host for the Fitzbaddens at the mansion, hoping Epping will eventually show up. When he doesn't, his Uncle Matt (also Errol) impersonates Epping as he has done before, and then, of course, the real Epping finally shows up, causing the usual complications -- including Dennis' ever-snooty Aunt Della (Elisabeth Risdon) mistaking Epping for her husband and trying to drag him off to bed! One could easily argue that there's little novelty in the script or situations, but Errol is such a comic genius, and the others -- foremost among them the effervescent Velez -- are so adept at this kind of farce, that the movie is consistently amusing. Great Old Movies favorite Mantan Moreland also shows up as a servant named Lightnin', but he's not given nearly enough opportunities to interact with Errol and Velez, although they are a funny trio when he does. There are some criminals in the cellar of the house who pretend to be ghosts at one point. Better than Mexican Spitfire's Baby but arguably not quite as good as Mexican Spitfire at Sea.

Verdict: Often very funny with a very capable cast. ***.