NEVER SAY DIE

You're strangely attractive, my Henry: Devine and Sondergaard

NEVER SAY DIE (1939). Director: Elliott Nugent.

"I don't want any trouble with you -- you get back here in bed!" -- Henry to John.

Scene: the Bad Gassewasser health spa in Europe. John Kidley (Bob Hope) is worth twenty million dollars, and is being chased by "black widow" Juno Marko (Gale Sondergaard). Meantime, Mickey Hawkins (Martha Raye) is ordered by her father (Paul Harvey) to marry a man she does not love, the impoverished Prince Smirnov (Alan Mowbray), only so that he can get into the country club. John and Mickey decide to marry each other to keep out of the hands of their persistent suitors, but then Mickey's boyfriend, Henry (Andy Devine of Between Us Girls) shows up and accompanies the couple on their honeymoon, with the two men sharing a bed! An added complication is that John has mistakenly been told that he only has a short while to live, not to mention the fact that the prince wants to fight a duel with him. Never Say Die is a very funny movie with a great script and terrific performances from everyone in the cast, which includes Monty Woolley [Life Begins at Eight-Thirty] as the confused doctor; Ernest Cossart as "Jeepers," John's helpful butler; and Sig Ruman [Thank You Mr. Moto] as the hotel proprietor who is astonished by John's apparent bed-hopping.

Verdict: As usual Hope and Raye make a splendid team. ***.

EVERYBODY SING

Judy Garland

EVERYBODY SING (1938). Director: Edwin L. Marin.

Judy Bellaire (Judy Garland of Presenting Lily Mars) belongs to a theatrical family, but she keeps getting thrown out of one school after another because she prefers swing music to classical and is therefore considered a "corrupting" influence. The rest of the household consists of her playwright father Hilary (Reginald Owen); her actress mother Diana (Billie Burke); the housekeeper Olga (Fanny Brice), who used to work in vaudeville; and the handsome cook, Ricky (Allan Jones of Reckless), who is moonlighting as a singer at a posh cafe. Judy also has a sister named Sylvia (Lynne  Carver), who is struck on Ricky and vice versa. Judy wants to help get needed money for the cash-poor family by singing at the same cafe, but has to resort to subterfuge when her parents deny her permission to do so. Meanwhile Hilary tries to mount his own show but objects to his wife's acting partner, Jerrold Hope (Reginald Gardiner).

Bus song: Garland, Carver, Jones and Gardiner

This aptly-titled MGM movie is a real charmer, thanks to the cast, some good song numbers, and an amiable disposition throughout, although Judy's attitude (as expressed in one of the song numbers) that classical music is passe is obnoxious. She gets to sing the snappy "Melody Fair," Jones warbles "The One I Love," much of the cast does an operatic pastiche -- based on Verdian melodies -- on a bus; and Fanny Brice [The Great Ziegfeld], who is wonderful, does "Dainty Me," as well as a Baby Schnooks number with Garland. Jones also reprises "Comsi Comsa" from A Night at the Opera. Monty Woolley shows up briefly as a producer and he adds to the fun as well. When they made dithery Bille Burke, they certainly broke the mold.

Verdict: Not just for Garland fans, but they will especially enjoy this. ***.

NIGHT AND DAY

Cary Grant and Alexis Smith

NIGHT AND DAY (1946). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"Love can be a delight, a dilemma, a disease, or a disaster." -- Monty Woolley.

Over his grandfather's objections, Cole Porter (Cary Grant) decides to leave Yale and pursue a career as a songwriter instead of as a lawyer. Things don't go smoothly at first, with WW1 interrupting things, but eventually he becomes a big success. Unfortunately, his marriage to his neglected wife, Linda (Alexis Smith), hits the rocks, and he has a horse riding accident that requires operations. Will the rather self-centered composer and his wife ever be reunited? Actually, if there was any threat to Porter's marriage, it was because he preferred gentlemen, but the film glosses over this except for one moment when Porter's friend, Monty Woolley, (played by Monty Woolley, who had indeed been a friend of Porter's and was also closeted) tells him he probably shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. The rest of the film is a mix of truths and half-truths and outright fabrication, little of which is very compelling.

Therefore we're left with Porter's music, of which there is quite a lot: "Miss Otis Regrets;" "In the Still of the Night;" 'I've Got You Under My Skin;" "I Get a Kick Out of You;" "You're the Top;" and many, many others. Jane Wyman [All That Heaven Allows] makes a positive impression as performer Gracie Harris, and Ginny Simms [Hit the Ice], who has a lovely voice, made a bid for stardom as another performer, Carole Hill. Mary Martin  plays herself to perform her signature tune "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and there are several lively, TechniColor production numbers, including one on the lawn of Porter's massive estate.

As for the acting, Alexis Smith [The Sleeping Tiger] actually fares better than Grant, who is adequate, but seems oddly listless and unconvincing; Porter himself was still alive when the film was made and died in 1964. Eve Arden shows up as a French chanteuse to warble one number. I didn't even recognize Dorothy Malone as Porter's cousin, Nancy. Years later Kevin Kline played Porter in a film that was franker, but not necessarily better.

Verdict: The music is all that matters. **1/2.

DANCING CO-ED

Lana Turner and Richard Carlson

DANCING CO-ED (1939). Director: S. Sylvan Simon.

"She stinks!"

Just when the Dancing Tobins are to begin a new film, Toddy Tobin (a barely-seen Mary Beth Hughes) gets pregnant, and the search is on for someone to co-star with her husband, Freddy (Lee Bowman sans mustache). Learning that the studio is to conduct a talent search on college campuses, Freddy protests that he needs a professional, so it is decided to fix the contest, send talented Patty Marlowe (Lana Turner) to one of the institutions, and make damn certain that she is the winner. Patty gets involved with the editor of the school paper, "Pug" Braddock (Richard Carlson), who figures there has to be a "plant" and decides to ferret out who she is even as Patty assists him as a way of hiding the truth. Will Patty go to Hollywood, or will her scheme come undone? The movie begins well, but the fun peters out halfway through or earlier, and you'll find that you couldn't care less how it comes out. The script lets down the players, who are game and enthusiastic throughout, with Turner [Love Has Many Faces] and Carlson [All I Desire] swell in the leads, Ann Rutherford perky as a secretary who helps Patty, Leon Errol his usual fun self as Patty's father, and Thurston Hall and Monty Woolley also briefly on hand as well. I think I spotted drummer Buddy Rich a couple of times. Band leader Artie Shaw, playing himself, is third-billed but only gets one line of dialogue! He must have impressed Lana Turner, however, because she married him the following year [he also married Ava Gardner and Evelyn Keyes, among others]. Hal Le Sueur, Joan Crawford's brother, plays a handsome college student but has no lines. S. Sylvan Simon also directed the far superior The Fuller Brush Man.

Verdict: Picture could have been cute but it turns into a stink bomb.**

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. ****.

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING (1944). Director: Gregory Ratoff.

This purports to tell the life story of composer Ernest R. Ball (Dick Haymes) who wrote such popular songs as When Irish Eyes Are Smiling and Mother Macree. However it comes off as just the usual fictionalized schlock in most of these Hollywood musical biopics about subjects who are too dead to protest and whose life story is not well known enough for the audience to care. June Haver is the quick-with-her-fist gal that Ball falls in love with. Veda Ann Borg shows up briefly in a vivid bit as a bitchy performer who fires Haver. Monty Woolley, the real star of the film, gives an excellent performance, but he's completely wasted in this tripe. Haymes makes a pleasant and attractive leading man, and has a nice voice. Haver is as competent as ever; she's just not very distinctive. Famous baritone Leonard Warren sings one of the ballads and steals the show. Clarence Kolb and Anthony Quinn are along for the ride. Nice music. The Bonnie with a Bustle number is high camp. A completely contrived script.

Verdict: Can't beat that bustle! **.