THE MEANEST GAL IN TOWN

Zazu Pitts and El Brendel

THE MEANEST GAL IN TOWN (1934).  Director: Russell Mack. 

Tillie Prescott (Zazu Pitts) owns a small town clothing store and has been keeping company with barber Chris Peterson (El Brendel) for a decade. Chris tells her he won't marry her until he can afford a second barber chair. Tillie decides to splurge on $300 for the chair, but discovers that Chris has installed a sexy lady -- a stranded actress named Lulu (Pert Kelton) -- as his manicurist. Tillie stops speaking to Chris and winds up being taken advantage of by a slick salesman named Jack (Skeets Gallagher). Chris determines to get Tillie's store back for her while Jack and Duke Slater (James Gleason) compete for the favors of Lulu. Will true love win out in the end?

Pert Kelton as Lulu

 The Meanest Gal in Town is a cute picture with good performances and many funny moments. Pert Kelton was the original Alice on The Honeymooners -- first playing the character on Cavalcade of Stars -- and also played Marion the Librarian's mother in The Music Man. Mae West had appeared in two or three films by 1934 and Kelton at times seems to be channeling her (perhaps deliberately), although in general Kelton has her own style. 

Verdict: Amiable comedy with gifted players. ***. 

CAVALCADE OF STARS

Original Honeymooners: Jackie Gleason and Pert Kelton

CAVALCADE OF STARS (1949 - 1952). Featuring "The Honeymooners."

The great Jackie Gleason was the primary star of the classic variety series, Cavalcade of Stars, which ran for four years. He replaced Jerry Lester as the host of the show in 1950. The greatest contribution of this classic series was "The Honeymooners," which began as an approximately six minute sketch with Gleason as dyspeptic bus driver Ralph Kramden and Pert Kelton [Meet the Boyfriend] as his long-suffering wife, Alice. Art Carney showed up in the first sketch as a cop, but he appeared as Ed Norton for the first time in the sketch entitled "The New TV Set." Trixie was played for the first time by none other than Elaine Stritch, but she was never to repeat the role, being replaced by Joyce Randolph in "The Ring" sketch (meaning Randolph actually appeared in The Honeymooners before Audrey Meadows did). Meadows first appeared in "The New Bowling Ball," which may be the first time Ralph says "Pow. Zoom. Right on the kisser!" (Ralph's earliest catch-phrase was "Don't steam me, Alice, I'm steamed!") Apparently the blacklist, which primarily affected Pert Kelton's husband, Ralph Bell (who later appeared in Zelig) forced her out of the series when it metamorphosed into The Jackie Gleason Show, and she was replaced by Meadows, who was a more than creditable Alice but who was a less realistic partner for Ralph/Gleason. These early Gleason/Kelton sketches were certainly well-acted and funny, but they also had an undertone of pathos to them  that were arguably missing from later episodes. Ralph's mantra "baby, you're the greatest!" replaced scenes of genuine love and affection between him and Alice. As good as Meadows and Sheila MacRae were playing Alice Kramden, for my money Kelton made the best Alice, and her performances have all been preserved on DVDs of the "Lost Honeymooners" episodes.

Verdict: Pert Kelton as Alice is simply terrific. ***. 

MEET THE BOYFRIEND

Pretty as a picture: Carol Hughes

MEET THE BOYFRIEND (1937). Director: Ralph Staub.

Radio crooner Tony Page (David Carlyle) is "America's boyfriend," but his manager, J. Ardmore Potts (Andrew Tombes), is horrified at the thought that he might marry aspiring Swedish actress Vilma Vlare (Gwili Andre). Potts wants an insurance firm to pay him a huge sum if Page gets married, so the daughter, June (Carol Hughes), of the firm's owner determines to break up the romance between Tony and Vilma. This all leads to the expected complications along with a kidnapping and certain romantic misadventures, none of which are especially amusing. "David Carlyle," who plays Tony, is actually Robert Paige, who appeared in plenty of these semi-musical movies as well as Flying G-Men, Son of Dracula, and Fired Wife. He has a nice voice. Pert Kelton almost steals the picture as Pott's wife and is the funniest thing in the movie. Hughes [Jungle Raiders] is pretty, charming, and adept -- she also played Dale Arden in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe -- and Paige is fine as well. Cy Kendall is also in the film, as well as Warren Hymer,

Verdict: Ho-hum comedy with songs. **.