HOLLYWOOD PARTY (1934)

HOLLYWOOD PARTY (1934). Director: Roy Rowland.

The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy in the same movie! Along with Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez (the Mexican Spitfire), Polly Moran, Arthur Treacher, and Mickey Mouse. Including an animated bit called the "Hot Chocolate Soldier." Durante plays the great "Scharzan," whose jungle movies have taken a dip at the box office. His rival, "Liondora" (George Givot), isn't doing so great either, and both of them hope to get a prize pride of lions to appear in their films with them. Somehow this all leads to a great big Hollywood party with chorus girls singing the snappy title tune (the darn thing sticks in your memory whether you want it to or not!). Best bits are scenes between Lupe Velez and Laurel and Hardy, and the interplay between Durante and Polly Moran as a wealthy patroness of the arts. Some of the gags are real groaners. The Three Stooges are autograph hunters and Laurel and Hardy think they own the aforementioned lions.

Verdict: Fun, but if only the material were as good as the cast! **1/2.

THE GREAT RUPERT

THE GREAT RUPERT (1950). Director: Irving Pichel. 

Now here's a weird one. A down-on-his-luck entertainer, Joe Mahoney (Jimmy Conlin), with a trained squirrel act, reluctantly lets the squirrel, Rupert, go off on his own when he finds he can't get them bookings. Louie Amendola (Jimmy Durante), another entertainer who can't find work, moves into the apartment vacated by Mahoney with his family, but is unaware that the squirrel has moved back in. When Mrs. Amendola (Queenie Smith) prays for money, it drops from the ceiling into her hands! She is unaware that the landlord, who doesn't believe in banks, stashes his loot in a hole behind his bed, from whence the squirrel promptly throws it out. Despite the title, and the pivotal role that Rupert plays in the fortunes of the Amendola family, the squirrel -- animated through stop-motion -- hasn't much to do in the movie (although he isn't entirely forgotten either), which is decidedly bizarre, utterly original, and even strangely touching. The cast, including Durante, Sara Haden (as the landlord's wife), Chick Chandler (as an agent) and Terry Moore (Durante's daughter) are all fine, although love interest Tom Drake is strangely devoid of charm. 

Verdict: Really not as bad as you might expect, but certainly not for everyone. ***.

MEET THE BARON

Edna May Oliver puts Ted Healy and his Stooges in line

MEET THE BARON (1933). Director: Walter Lang.

"I know I'm not good-looking, but what's my opinion against thousands of others." -- Jimmy Durante.

Two men (Jack Pearl, who is not given a name, and Jimmy Durante as "Joe McGoo") are lost in the jungles of Africa when they encounter Baron Munchausen (Henry Kolker of The Crash), who takes all of their water supply and abandons them. Jack and Joe are rescued, and the former is mistaken for the real Munchausen, and hailed as a hero. The two men are brought to Cuddle College where "Munchausen" is to lecture, and they meet the upstairs maid Zasu (Zasu Pitts of Let's Face It), janitor Ted Healy and his Stooges, and Dean Primrose (Edna May Oliver). All is well until the real Baron Munchausen shows up ... Jack Pearl had done his turn as the baron on the radio (and was still doing it on Jackie Gleason's show in the early sixties), but while he's a competent performer, he isn't that funny and his film career never amounted to much. It's easy to see why the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine) dumped the completely unimpressive Ted Healy, their nominal leader, and branched out on their own; nevertheless Healy did quite a few movies after Meet the Baron. Zasu Pitts is Zasu Pitts, but the film is stolen by an absolutely excellent comic performance by Edna May Oliver [Lydia], who can put those stooges in their places! A highlight is the MGM Girls doing the production number "Clean as a Whistle," not to mention the smashing final gag.

NOTE: It took me long enough to realize it, but I have been continuously misspelling Zasu Pitts name as Zazu with a "z" when it's Zasu with an "s," for shame! If only the damned lady hadn't appeared in so many movies reviewed on this blog! I have corrected some of the earlier reviews, but you'll probably still come across the misspelling now and then. Let's hope I get it right in the future, Zasu!

Verdict: Minor, but cute, comedy with enthusiastic players. **1/2.

JUMBO

JUMBO (aka Billy Roses' Jumbo/1962). Director: Charles Walters.

"Pop" Wonder (Jimmy Durante) is the owner of a circus that is in real financial trouble -- the only real asset is an elephant named Jumbo --  none of which is helped by Pop's gambling. Against her better wishes, his daughter, Kitty (Doris Day), hires a stranger, Sam (Stephen Boyd), who claims to have experience as a trapeze artist. But Sam may have a connection to a man who is trying to take over Pop's circus against his wishes. A developing romance between Kitty and Sam is threatened by these revelations. This circus-themed musical is based on a Rodgers and Hart stage play, and their songs are the highlights of the movie: 'This Can't Be Love;" "My Romance;" "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World;" etc. The elephant Jumbo's act is also quite amazing. Day [Pillow Talk] is perky and efficient if sexless, Boyd [Ben-Hur] is better than you'd expect in this kind of material, Durante [The Great Rupert] as lovable as ever, and Martha Raye as his love interest is ... cute. Her bit pretending to be a lioness is devoid of mirth, but her stint as a human cannonball is a bit funnier. The screenplay was by Sidney Sheldon, and Busby Berkeley was second unit director.

Verdict: Just when you think it's over, it goes on and on and on. **1/2.

FORBIDDEN MUSIC

FORBIDDEN MUSIC (aka Land Without Music/1936), Director: Walter Forde.

In the Grand Duchy of Lucca, Princess Maria (Diana Napier) is appalled to learn that her country is in debt to the tune of ten million and because of this may be taken over by Austria. It seems her countrymen spend entirely too much time singing and playing instruments, so she decides to ban music throughout the land upon punishment of prison. Jimmy Durante and June Clyde show up as a father/daughter team traveling through the Duchy, but of more importance is the re-appearance of Lucca's great singer, Mario Carlini (Richard Tauber), who romances the princess. There are some pleasant songs by Oscar Straus, very well-sung by the heroic Tauber, but both the characters and story line are unmemorable. The great Schnozzola is pretty much lost in this not so comic opera.

Verdict: Durante deserves better than this! **.

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1942). Director: William Keighley.

Why are you standing there like the kiss of death?"

The irascible man of letters Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) breaks his hip while attempting to enter a home for a dinner engagement in Mesalia, Ohio, settles into the library, and stays for weeks, interfering in everybody's lives. This is my second favorite comedy of all time (after A Night at the Opera). Each time I see the picture I realize that there's a quip or joke that got past me on previous viewings. This is a wonderful film version of the Kaufman and Hart play, with superior performances by everyone involved. Woolley makes the most of his acerbic part, and is also completely convincing during his occasional forays into sentimentality. While Bette Davis is a bit mannered, she never over-shadows Woolley (which probably wouldn't have been an easy feat even for her). Ann Sheridan really scores and is very funny as the affected movie star Lorraine Sheldon. Jimmy Durante is great just playing himself, more or less. [He refers to Sheldon as the "umphh" girl; Sheridan was known as the "oomph girl." For one of her dramatic turns, see Nora Prentiss.] George Barbier makes the most of his role as the somewhat vague Dr. Bradley, who's written a lengthy memoir of his life as a doctor. And let's not forget the great Mary Wickes as Miss Preen, the poor put-upon nurse hired to look after Whiteside. Grant Mitchell has perhaps the defining role of his career as Whiteside's unwilling and horrified host Mr. Stanley. [There's also nice work by Reginald Gardner, Billie Burke, and others.] Richard Travis may not have been much of an actor but he has a certain naive quality that fits his character, although one can't imagine "Bert Jefferson" having the intelligence to write a great play "perfect for Cornell." [Travis later wound up in stuff like Missile to the Moon.] One could argue that the whole "Lizzie Bordon" business at the end is a bit tasteless, even cruel, if you take it too seriously. Otherwise this is a consistently entertaining and highly amusing motion picture.

Verdict: A Great Old Movie indeed. ****.