Reviews (10)

It's magic with Doris Day in her film debut.
Janis Paige would just once like to go on a honeymoon vacation with her husband, Don DeFore (Hazel tv series), but everytime their anniversary comes up, he has got business to take care of. Meanwhile, Doris day plays a nightclub singer. She dreams of going on a trip somewhere. She is obsessed with going to the travel agency. Even has seven passports. Janis paige and Doris Day get their passports done the same day, but Janis got Doris' passport. They meet again and Janis has an idea. Janis wants to spy on her husband in secret. She invites Doris on the same cruise trip with expenses paid under Janis' name.
Watch the fun begin!
Doris day is a delight in this her film feature film debut. She sings "It's Magic!".
***Be sure to buy the CD "Doris day--A Day At The Movies". Tunes from this movie and other Doris Day films are included.

DUMB, DUMBER, DUMBEST
This is one of those movies which, in memory, seems so much funnier, sweeter, sillier, downright BETTER than it actually is: mainly because of the presence of Doris Day.

The script makes no sense whatsoever: rich, spoiled, battling, married couple hires snoops to follow their supposedly cheating mates. And neither one suspects a thing. The movie keeps churning out dumb and dumber dialogue in each succeeding scene. All the characters, if taken seriously, would be horribly unlikeable, but none of the characters is even an inch thicker than one dimensional cardboard. Jack Carson, in many movies a clever comedian, is lost as Doris Day's romantic interest; Janis Paige is shrill as Doris' bratty employer; Oscar Levant contributes his usual neurotic presence; and then there's Doris. Her voice, her face, her charm, her simplicity all make this movie watchable.

None of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's songs is memorable except...and it's a big exception..."It's Magic" which is one of the most beautiful songs Day ever recorded.

What A Magical Film
I love Doris Day Movies and I own all 39/39 of her movies but I have to say that this is my favorite one. Doris was so magical in this role as Miss Georgia Kent and Who can forget Jack Carsons fantastic Role as the Detective. Elvira Kent (Janis Page) thinks that Her Husband is being unfaithful and her husband thinks the same about her. So they both make the other one think they are going on their honeymoon so they each send a spy but they don't know that the other one didn't go. Well Georgia uses the name of Elvira Kent and The Detective thinks she is Elivra Kent and they go on a merry little chase. This movie was Doris's Film Debut and she sings my personal favorite song in this movie It's Magic. And who can forget the catchy tune the Tourist Trade. What a beautiful movie. This is a great movie for the whole family to enjoy.

DAY'S FILM DEBUT IS "MAGIC"
Doris Day began her long and phenomenally successfully screen career when she arrived on the Warner Brothers lot in 1947 to begin filming "Romance on the High Seas".
The project had been kicking around the lot for a while and there had been, at various times, talks about borrowing Judy Garland from MGM or Betty Hutton from Paramount to star in it.
At the time Doris Day was a recognized singer with a very successful six year career as a top big band and solo vocalist to her credit, including a couple of Gold Records. She had no interest in pursuing a film career but was heard singing at a Hollywood party, was screen tested, and the rest is cinema history.
"Romance on the High Seas" is a glossy, bon-bon of a film, decked out in lush settings, with a lot of nice-looking people, pleasant tunes, and wrapped up in some breathtaking technicolor. It's irresistable.
The plot involves a married couple who don't trust one another. The husband hires a private eye to follow the wife on a cruise she is taking to find out if she is being faithful. In the meantime, the wife hires someone to take her place on the cruise so she can remain in New York City to check up on the husband. The private eye falls in love with the woman who is purporting to be the wife and by the closing minutes of the film all of the confusion has been settled to everyones' satisfaction, especially the audiences.
Thanks to the skill of Director Michael Curtiz, who keeps the proceedings moving along smoothly and the attractive cast making the improbabilities rather believable, it works much better than it sounds.
The husband and wife are played by Don DeFore and Janis Paige. It's clearly evident why Defore's movie career was never stellar. On television's "Hazel" he was more at home.
Miss Paige handles her limited screen time with grace and charm. She wears a stylish wardrobe attractively but displays not one iota of chemistry with DeFore.
Jack Carson, as the detective, tends to overact in a number of scenes but in his scenes with Doris Day there is genuine warmth and, at times, subtlety. This was the first of three films they made together and it is clear that their personal friendship contributed to their on-screen playing.
Although billed fourth in the credits, Doris Day stole the picture and received the lion's share of acclaim from critics and moviegoers.
She is a natural, and it's difficult to believe that this is her first film. She has a natural affinity with the camera and it has a love affair with her. In color, she is a radiant dream, genuine, sincere, unaffected, and heartfelt. There are already traces of the comic timing and skill that would serve her so well in her later box-office blockbusters in the 1950's and 60's.
As a "dreamer" who hangs around a travel agency wanting to go someplace, there are traces of Betty Hutton in her style, but once she gets her chance to masquerade as Paige's wife, she develops her own unique personality that has the audience clearly on her side.
S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall is his usual self and Oscar Levant, the famed author, wit, and musician, is wry and sarcastic as Day's longtime boyfriend. Year's later he boasted that he knew Day "...before she was a virgin...", a remark that has followed her to this day.
Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne put together a pleasing group of songs for this film including "I'm in Love", "It's You or No One", "Put em in a Box...." and the film's mega-hit, "It's Magic". Doris Day's recording of this Oscar nominated song, topped the charts for months, becoming a Gold Record hit and a tune forever identified with her. When she initially sings it during a lovely scene with Carson at an outdoor cafe, a star was indeed born.
If you're looking for an entertaining film that won't place any demands upon you but will leave you feeling warm, fuzzy, and uplifted by the time the end credits roll, then set sail for some "Romance on the High Seas".

Do Not Disturbed
I have looked and looked for this movie and can not find it if any one knows where I can get would you please let me know I sure would like to have thank you very much ... Read more

Reviews (3)

WITH OR WITHOUT BANGS
Dietrich played french ladies of dubious reputation so often, and to such great effect, its no wonder they loved her, and that she died in Paris. Remember her as Bijou Blanche in SEVEN SINNERS?

Here, in Renee Clair's confection, she has Ward Bond/Bruce Cabot to play against. Now, whether or not she ever had Bond/Cabot, as she had most of her other leading men, we'll never know. But, from the lack of sparkle in their duets together, probably not. On the other hand... Oh, well. It was wartime, and really sexy, really attractive leading men were scarce.

But, this is a mistaken identity antibellum movie, in which Dietrich plays (or almost plays) two different women. (Not to worry: Nothing psychological. Its all a misunderstanding.) We can tell one from another because one has bangs, and the other doesn't.

What's the difference? Its a parade of costumes. It could just as easily have been a vehicle for May West. Or some off-Broadway concoction for drag queans. It's a vol-au-vent; just a puffed confection made only to make you laugh. Some people enjoy watching pretty women change clothes. Does EVERYTHING have to be serious?

CONFUSED?
Bruce Cabot and Ward Bond were one and the same person. He (or they) had interchangeable careers, but notice, you never saw them together in the same movie, did you?

WITH OR WITHOUT BANGS
Dietrich played french ladies of dubious reputation so often, and to such great effect, its no wonder they loved her, and that she died in Paris. Remember her as Bijou Blanche in SEVEN SINNERS?

Here, in Renee Clair's confection, she has Ward Bond to play against. Now, whether or not she ever had Bond, as she had most of her other leading men, we'll never know. But, from the lack of sparkle in their duets together, probably not. On the other hand... Oh, well. It was wartime, and really sexy, really attractive leading men were scarce.

But, this is a mistaken identity antibellum movie, in which Dietrich plays (or almost plays) two different women. (Not to worry: Nothing psychological. Its all a misunderstanding.) We can tell one from another because one has bangs, and the other doesn't.

What's the difference? Its a parade of costumes. It could just as easily have been a vehicle for May West. Or some off-Broadway concoction for drag queans. It's a vol-au-vent; just a puffed confection made only to make you laugh. Some people enjoy watching pretty women change clothes. Does EVERYTHING have to be serious? ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An Underrated Comic Gem
George S. Kauffman & Moss Hart's GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE was one of Broadway's most successfull comedies of the early 1940s, a bright and witty tale with a slightly Americana tone that World War II audiences found particularly appealing. The film version, sparked up by the completely unexpected chemistry of dry-humored Jack Benny and "Oomph Girl" Ann Sheridan, is every bit as charming.

When New Yorkers Bill and Connie Fuller (Benny and Sheridan) are evicted from their apartment (their third change of address in less than a year), wife Connie decides what they need is a place in the country... and buys an incredibly dilapidated house where George Washington is said to have once slept. Needless to say, husband Bill is horrified--and keeps on being horrified as the price of renovation skyrockets. Benny was most popular when he played himself in roles tailored to his talents, but although this role is atypical his talents are well suited to the constantly harried Bill Fuller--and he has remarkable rapport with co-star Ann Sheridan, an underestimated actress who shows tremendous flair for comedy as his determinedly optimistic wife. Both are well supported by a cast that includes Charles Coburn, Joyce Reynolds, and Percy Kilbride, and Hattie McDaniel (best remembered as Mammy in GONE WITH THE WIND) really shines as Hester, their long-suffering domestic who finds herself with a hole in the kitchen wall big enough for a horse to walk through--and one does! The pace is snappy, the script is witty, and every one is sure to have a good time. Recommended.

Comedy Needs A Few Renovations
Jack Benny stars as the terminally exasperated husband of Ann Sheridan. Eager to own a part of history and get out of city living, she has purchased an old country home where George Washington once spent some time, and now Benny must come to terms with a house in need of major renovations, and separation from the city where he loved to live. Benny gives a one note performance that wears thin after a while. If the character had been better written and developed, and if a more accomplished actor had played it, the film as a whole would have been better. It's hard to imagine that someone so beautiful and warm as Sheridan would want to be stuck with him. The supporting cast is excellent, with Hattie McDaniel as the maid, Charles Coburn as the wily uncle, and especially Percy Kilbride as the local contractor contributing funny moments. More time should have been spent on the comic possibilities of the renovations to inject more humour. There aren't many laugh out loud moments but it is amusing (especially the drinking scene near the end), and at 93 minutes, it's easy to take.

FUN BUT STIFF.
Jack Benny is a little stiff in his performance, but he and Sheridan play amazingly well together in this sometimes hilarious little comedy about a couple who move into an old, broken-down country home in Connecticut; it's one catastrophe after another as the couple tries to renovate the place and deal with their greedy neighbour. Based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

Enjoyable, though not Benny's best
Not Benny's best film, but it has enjoyable moments. Benny seems a bit out of place and uncomfortable in his role. Percy Kilbride is hilarious. Sheridan, as always,is gorgeous. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

The Ultimate Woman's Picture
At a time when Hollywood paid more attention to its female audience and made films for them, this may be the best of the bunch. A padded Bette Davis stars as Charlotte Vale, an overweight, unattractive spinster bullied by the mother who never wanted her. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law arranges for her to meet a psychiatrist played by Claude Rains, and after spending time at his "hospital", she emerges thinner, beautiful, and more prepared to face the world, a world which include Paul Henreid, a married man that she falls in love with while on a post-recovery cruise. It's the kind of role an actress must love, and Davis plays it with restraint and class. Rains is good as usual, and Henreid delivers one of his best performances. The supporting cast is excellent, with Gladys Cooper pulling out all the stops as the tough mother and Mary Wickes bringing a gentle humour to her role as a nurse. The musical score by Max Steiner is excellent, and of course, there are the famous moments of Henreid lighting two cigarettes at once, something that wouldn't work in today's movies, but is quite effective in this film. With it's Ugly Duckling/Cinderella angle and it's sense of romance, this has to be the ultimate woman's picture. It knows its audience and delivers.

One of Bette's Best
I can never decide whether VOYAGER is the best Bette Davis
movie or DARK VICTORY. She is fantastic as a spinster who
is dominated by her monster mother, beautifully played by Gladys
Cooper. After her nervous breakdown she begins a new life
and meets Paul Henried who of course is married but later she
is able to help Paul's child. This is the movie where he lights
two cigarettes and gives her one and ends with "Oh Jerry, let's
not ask for the moon, we have the stars" Fabulous score by
Max Steiner. Fine acting from Claude Rains, Bonita Granville,
Ilka Chase and in a very small role, Lee Patrick. They don't make 'em like this anymore so thank God for home video. The
DVD transfer is terrific.

Overwrought and Only Somewhat Convincing Melodrama
Davis plays nice with middling results. The acting is fine, to be sure, but I miss the feistyness of her better movies. A hapless neurotic woman breaks free of her tyrannical and hateful mother. She seeks therapy and begins to live her own life. She learns that life can't be perfect but it can always be better & happiness s not impossible. Could be seen as encouragement to wallflowers.

Now Voyager - Bette at Her Best
Bette made some terrific films.... this is my personal favorite along with "Mr. Skeffington"... the ONLY criticism is the biographies of the cast ONLY work with Ms. Davis.. the others on the menu do not function.... still.. the plus side is the stunning transfer of the film to DVD. It is fresh and few flaws are visible on this version. I saw the new version of "Sunset Blvd." just after seeing this film, and though "Voyager" is 8 years older, it looks far cleaner and crisper than "Sunset" does. Bravo to the restoration crew here! The film itself, is of course, a masterpiece and well worth the purchase price. A true gem!

A Classic for the Fans
'Now, Voyager' tells the story of hapless introvert Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis), her near-nervous breakdown machinated by her domineering Mother (Gladys Vale) and her subsequent recovery with the help of the dashing J.D. Durrance (Paul Henreid). Directed by Irving Rapper (Another Man's Poison), 'Now, Voyager' is another glorious slice of early forties melodrama, and a total Davis vehicle.

Not that that's a bad thing, actually. Her performance as Charlotte Vale is excellent, she's emotional and deep enough to be believable, and her private exchanges with JD and her Mother are excellent illustrations of the power of Ms. Davis as an actress. Henreid, too, is wonderful as the stiff and faithful JD, stern enough to cause Charlotte frustration yet likeable enough to generate sympathy from the audience.

The supporting cast are a credible bunch - Gladys Vale is an excellent Matriarch (where are the actresses of this calibre today?) and Ivisible Man Claude Rains is hugely charismatic as Dr. Jaquith, a Vermont-based psychologist who all-but saves Charlotte from herself. Comic relief is supplied in the shape of the always-entertaining Mary Wickes (the crotchety nun in the Sister Act movies) as Dora.

Direction is beautiful, with noir-esque interiors and excellent lighting techniques employed to best suggest the sense of Charlotte subsisting in a grim dictatorial household. Rapper's style is a strange contrast to the script, too - it's got a more organic flow about it than the sometimes-stilted dialogue. The score is provided by the genius Max Steiner and is, as one would expect from a man of this legendary reputation, exactly perfect for the tone of the piece.

DVD Quality is excellent, perhaps a little worn in places but on the whole, it's fantastic, and certainly better than a lot of other later DVD conversions. The extras are perfunctory (and indeed, as one reviewer pointed out below, half seem to be missing!) but they don;t make the picture.

On the whole, 'Now, Voyager' is definitely one for the fans. It seems to have established all of the trademark Davis moves (cigarette, EYES, clipped accent, constantly jiggling arm) and is very stilted in some scenes, approaching Camp (see Charlotte's exchanges with the dreadfully annoying Tina Durrance for proof of this!). While it is an endearing and oftentimes emotionally-involving story, one can't help but feel that it will win no new fans to the genre.

Still, if you're fan, you can't go wrong with this. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Sturges' "Worst" is Better than Almost Anyone Else's "Best"
Hollywood has often acquired the rights to best-sellers that are virtually impossible to film. One such book was a non-fiction work, "Triumph Over Pain," the story of William Morton's discovery of ether anaesthesia.

The tale is basically a downer -- Morton was reviled as a moral thug attempting to profit from his discovery, while others attempted to deny him the honor of it by claiming to have made it themselves. Morton died in poverty, a broken man.

Not surprisingly, no one could figure out how to make an "entertaining" adaptation. The book kicked around Paramount for several years until it was assigned to Preston Sturges, who'd written and directed a string of films that were wildly successful with both the public and critics.

Sturges resolved the book's "problems" by telling the story in flashback, so that all the unhappy stuff was at the beginning, and by treating the material as -- a comedy!!! The resulting film makes abrupt shifts between seriousness and farce. This -- along with Paramount's attempt to market it as a straight comedy -- probably explains why it was such a flop.

Although the film was shortened and re-edited by the studio, it remains (contrary to some reviewers' opinions) completely coherent, with most of the story told in an ordinary linear fashion. There were some unresolved plot points -- why was the US Government willing to give Morton [$$$] -- but they don't affect one's comprehension of the story line.

There has never been a better screenwriter than Preston Sturges, and in "The Great Moment" he shows a marvelous ability to puncture serious scenes with wisecracks. Joel McCrea -- a generally stiff and uninteresting actor -- is at his comic best, brilliantly trading barbs with the other performers.

The best part of the film is the last scene. With the ever-unimaginative Victor Fleming providing an underscore of the "Ave Maria," Sturges ends the film with a truly nasty send-up of "inspirational" movie making.

If you're a Sturges fan, don't let "The Great Moment" pass by.

This review is based on the out-of-print MGM LaserDisk edition. I have not seen the tape, and cannot comment on its technical quality. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Entertaining little comedy that embraces the values of
WWII America. I see this as probably the second movie of a double feature at the local Bijou, (who remembers those days?).
Eddie Bracken plays the little guy with a big name (Woodrow LaFayette Pershing Trusmith) & a bigger legacy, that of his father who died a Marine hero. in WWI. Of course he joins the Marines but promptly washes out with severe hayfever. Too embarassed to return home he dumps his girlfriend & pretends to be overseas. He's drinking at a bar & runs into a group of real Marines just back from Guadalcanal. Despite his protests, they accompany him back home. He is mistakenly greeted as a hero home from war. Bedlam & confusion ensue as befits the screwball comedies of the day. It all has a happy ending, (required in those days). This movies satirizes the cult of celebrity & the effects of mob mentality. Woody, his girlfriend Libby played by Ella Rainer & the townsfolks are all likeable. To add a bit of patriotic flavor you have those loveable lugs of the United States Marine Corps., with anthem & everything. They are led by their gruff but loveable Sgt. played by William Demarest. Good movie for the home front during the last "good" war & amusing still today.

The Best of Sturges
I watched Sullivan's Travels and didn't understand what the big deal over Sturges was about. THIS film, however, is great! The dialogue is snappy and, most importantly, services a strong PLOT. With Travels it was the other way around.

Put this movie on DVD!!

Perhaps Sturges most neglected masterpiece
Between 1940 and 1944, Preston Sturges was on a role. He wrote and directed seven absolutely stellar comedies before he lost the magical touch that had made his one of the great comedy screenwriters of the 1930s and directors of the early 1940s. This was the last of that stellar run.

The premise is simple. Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith, magnificently portrayed by Eddie Bracken, is discharged from the marines because of hay fever, but is too ashamed to return home. Instead, he fakes a military career, having people mail home letters from abroad to make his friends and family and girlfriend all believe he is in combat. When a group of marines hear about his situation, they compassionately decide to return him to his hometown as a war hero. The bulk of the film deals with the misunderstandings that arise from this pretence.

HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO has all the marks of Sturges's best work: lightening paced dialog, a huge cast of talented character actors (most familiar from other Sturges films), and multiple layers of action in scene after scene. The ensemble cast truly excels in this film. No one, however, stands out more than William Demarest, who did almost all his greatest work in Sturges films.

For some reason, this film does not seem to be shown as often as most of Sturges best films, and even some lesser films get shown more frequently. But this is absolutely first rate Sturges, and anyone enjoying THE LADY EVE or SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS or THE PALM BEACH STORY will find just as much to love in this one.

Preston Sturges' screwball comedy about hero worship
Preston Sturges' 1944 farce "Hail the Conquering Hero" tells the story of Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken), who is discharged from the Marines because he has Hay Fever. Ashamed to go home, Woodrow meets up with Sergeant Heppelfinger (William Demarest), a decorated Marine hero from Guadalcanal, who decide the boy should return home as a hero. Woodrow returns home where the entire town shows up to greet the "conquering hero" and end up nominating him for Mayor. Of course, Woodrow becomes more and more uncomfortable with the way things are going and feelings compelled to do the right thing.

On the one hand, because this is Preston Sturges we realize this film is a rather pointed examination of the cult of hero worship that can spring up around mere mortals. Then again, you can simply take this as a variation on the old mistaken identity routine in an above-average screwball comedy. Bracken's performance is at the heart of either interpretation and it is impossible not to feel sorry for the guy, who never really wanted to go along with this ploy in the first place. Sturges employed a host of his regulars, such as Raymond Walburn and Franklin Pangborn, but newcomer Ella Raines as Libby, the girl Woodrow left behind, really shines through (think Cathy O'Donnell in "The Best Years of Our Lives"). This is not one of the films that immediately comes to mind when you think of Preston Sturges, but he rarely disappoints you with any of his films.

A Thinking Person's Movie
Weak Eddie Bracken is mistaken for a war hero by his hometown after the Army rejects him. Directed by Preston Sturges, this film is full of wonderful and biting satire, a thinking person's movie.--Diana Dell, author, "A Saigon Party: And Other Vietnam War Short Stories." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

POOR QUALITY TRANSFER
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS VIDEO! Although W. C. Fields is wonderful, the quality of the tape is extremely poor. The sound can barely be heard in the opening and drops out entirely midway through the climatic chase scene. I have returned my tape and am surprised that amazon would sell such a poor quality product. Do not waste your money! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Among the earliest writers to set his sights on the director's chair, Preston Sturges brought a frank, unsentimental view of the war between the sexes to his mid-'40s features that exemplify his style, as demonstrated in this prescient 1942 gem. Architect Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) and his wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert), further refine the archetypal Sturges couple--the male embodying strength, idealism, and a certain naivete, the female ultimately stronger, smarter, and (as revealed early on in an astonishing speech by Colbert) clearer-eyed and more pragmatic about the subtext of sex. This giddy shaggy-dog story follows the couple's split, and Gerry's subsequent flight to Palm Beach. This head-snapping frolic is paced by double-entendres and lampooning looks at the very rich, with standout performances by the predatory Princess Centimillia (the delicious Mary Astor), who's more than ready to comfort Tom, and the wealthy, dim-witted John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee, staking out a new career, post-crooner, as comic foil), Gerry's new suitor. Even the predictable reunion of the star-crossed lovers is achieved with an antic surrealism. Sturges's strength in building strong character ensembles is matched by his affection for coupling screwball dialogue with physical slapstick, seldom to better effect than in the drunken target practice of the Ale and Quail Club, who make Colbert's train ride to Florida a different kind of shoot-'em-up. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Reviews (16)

One of Sturges's greatest comedies
This is an absolutely stunning comedy, with one comic shock and delight after another, and hilarious performances by a bevy of some of the best character actors in the history of Hollywood.

Highpoints include a trip on the railroad with the Ale and Quail Club; an introduction to The Weenie King, on of the funniest characters I know of in any film; Rudy Valee's unexpectedly delightful portrayal of a Rockefeller-like multi-millionaire; Mary Astor's excellent performance as Rudy Valee's sister; and a gentleman of unspecified ethnic origin known simply as "Toto."

The opening credits of the movie are among the most fascinating of the thirties or forties. While the credits are running, we see onscreen an entire prequel somehow involving two sets of identical twins (one set played by Joel McCrea and the other by Claudette Colbert).

Preston Sturges is not the best director the United States has ever produced, but he unquestionably enjoyed the finest five year period of any director we have ever seen. From 1940 until 1945, Preston Sturges enjoyed a run of amazingly crafted comedy masterpieces that by themselves place him on any list of the essential directors. In the late 1930s, Sturges built a name for himself by penning a number of first rate comedy scripts, including the classic EASY LIVING as well as REMEMBER THE NIGHT. Paramount gave him a shot at directing, and he responded with films like THE GREAT McGINTY, CHRISTMAS IN JULY, the great THE LADY EVE, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, THE PALM BEACH STORY, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, and HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO. But then, suddenly and without warning, his genius deserted him.

But this is one of the best of his best. Just sit back, get yourself pleasant to drink, and have a good time.

1942 STURGES CLASSIC
Preston Sturges, as a director, had a strong fancy for trains. In SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, he had a great railroad yard sequence in which an old tramp was killed by a streamliner, and later Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake spent much time in freightcars. Here, Sturges again picked out a railroad car - a private Pullman to Florida - for a wild and slapstick farce. Claudette Colbert, fleeing from her husband in New York, finds herself in Pennsylvania Station without a cent. Here she is taken in tow by the millionaire members of the Ale & Quail Club - who are going south for their annual shoot-'em up and drink-em'-down vacation. What happens on the train is one of the funniest scenes in vintage comedy. Rudy Vallee plays the world's richest man who believes that it's un-American to give more than a 10-cent tip; he was praised by the critics for this performance because he showed he could do more than croon the Maine STEIN SONG, and act ineptly as he did in his early talkies. As John D. Hackensacker III, Vallee (playing straight comedy) rescues Claudette from the pyrotechnics of the Ale & Quail Club and takes her to Palm Beach on his yacht. Mary Astor and Joel McCrea also serve this classic film well.

Buy This Film!
This is a classy, sexy, side-splitting comedy. So why is it not out on DVD?!
Buy it, Please! Maybe if enough copies are sold someone will release this gem on DVD.
Criterion, are you listening?

Is that McGloo or McGrew?--Preston Sturges forever!
THE first Hollywood auteur--i.e., writer-director--Preston Sturges here gives us one of his all-time classics that, for my money, is better than Sullivan's Travels and easily the equal of The Lady Eve. It's pretty amazing to see not one but TWO smart, sophisticated women on the make--Claudette Colbert as a wife fed up with her husband's penury, and Mary Astor as the sister of the goofy millionaire Colbert meets and is, you should pardon the expression, wooed by.

Rudy Vallee, as the mllionaire, also has his not-as-wealthy doppelganger in Joel McCrea, Colbert's somewhat bumbling designer husband who's trying to get a $99,000 project off the ground (actually, onto the ground--it's a huge, ridiculous metal-net for airplanes to land on). Just as both women have tongues sharper than stainless steel razors honed with eager whetstones, so too do both men have brains that can't quite follow the women's spitfire patter and instead of paying close attention, resort to what Sturges' men usually do--follow instead their male instincts, which means say what they gotta say and do what they gotta do.

Sturges' forte is the uncanny ability to juxtapose selfishness with so much whimsy and foible-ridden thinking it's impossible not to laugh. Women are selfish in one way, men in another. But both of them ARE selfish, and therein lies the rub (as it were)--that is, the famous battle of the sexes. Colbert (Gerry Jeffers) wants a divorce from McCrea (Tom Jeffers) because of his inability to bring in the bacon and doesn't mind it at all when millionaire Vallee (John Hackensacker--gee, I wonder where that name came from...) buys her all kinds of clothes and stuff.

Obviously one of the major inspirations for, among many others, the Coen brothers (e.g., The Hudsucker Proxy), Sturges was a genius for his time, so far ahead of anybody else it boggles the mind. Listen to Colbert deliver a jaw-dropping speech on sex--meaning, not the physical act, but the power of a woman to divert a man. The use of the word "sex" to mean that--in fact, the use of the word itself--was without question a milestone (or is that millstone) for 1942, the year of this film.

Gerry calls Tom Captain McGloo when she's introducing him to Hackensacker to assure the latter that Tom is not really her husband at all but her brother. Mr. H. introduces Tom to her sister Centimilia (Mary Astor) so the foursome--a real brother and sister, and a fake duo of the same "persuasion"--gaily tramp off together to the nearest hotel.

The amazing scene on the train with the Ale and Quail Club has be seen to be believed, again so far ahead of its time it's almsot a shock.

How to fuse satire, wit, and superior intelligence in a single film? Preston Sturges FOREVER!

Preston Sturges Screwball Classic Delight
Rarely have I enjoyed a screw ball comedy more than Preston Sturges's classic look at the lives of the idle rich and those that aspire to be that way in 1942's "The Palm Beach Story". Taking over the reins as both writer and director here Sturges has produced a gem which came hot on the heels of his classic "The Lady Eve" of the previous year.

This gem of a feature boasts total excellence in all areas, sparkling performances from a top notch cast, superb writing, delicious one liners delivered with relish, rapid fire direction and a beautiful overall look to the proceedings. Indeed so rapid is the pace of this film that it almost requires repeated viewings to be able to fully appreciate the genius of the comic situations and dialogue.

To describle the plotline as being involved and complex is a definite understatement. Convoluted in an endearing way is the best way to describe it. It tells the story of young married couple Tom and Geraldine "Gerry" Jefferswho are struggling financially as Tom is an inventor who has difficulty in getting his original ideas to sell. Gerry being of a harder nature is fed up with being poor and when they are in danger of being evicted from their apartment Gerry decides to do the only thing that a girl like her knows; divorce Tom and find herself a rich husband who can keep her in the style she would like to become used to, while also helping Tom to obtain the financing for his new airport project. What develops from this point onwards adds up to one crazy comic situation after another. Gerry firstly encounters the unforgettable "Wienie King" (Robert Dudley in an absolutely scene stealing performance) an elderly gentleman who is hard of hearing and who gives Gerry a stack of money to get her out of her troubles because he likes her. Gerry heads for Palm Beach as that is "the second best place to get a divorce" according to the Taxi driver! What happens along the way is what classic comedies are made of as Gerry finds herself firstly "adapted" by the crazy members of a hunting club, the Ale and Quail Club that are travelling on the same train and who in a drunken state proceed to take over the train causing complete chaos for all concerned including the terrified barman who sees his whole workplace demolished around him. To escape them Gerry then slips into the sleeping compartment area where she then encounters John D. Hackensacker 111 (Rudy Vallee in a non crooner role) who just turns out to be one of the richest men in America and predictably falls instantly for Gerry. Once in Palm Beach pursued by an angry Tom Gerry is thrown into a whirlwind of deception and comic misunderstandings as she encounters the amazingly eccentric Countess Centimillia (Mary Astor in one of her most hilarious roles ever) John's man hungry, much married sister who takes an instant shine to Tom who is introduced to her as Gerry's brother Captain McGlue!! The comic goings one between the 4 main leads are a sight to behold and eventually end up with each person pairing off with the most suitable partner, Gerry with Tom, the Countess with Tom's identical brother and John with Gerry's twin sister!! Total madness indeed but so delightfully done that it almost takes on a logic of it's own!

Rarely have the cast here been in finer form. Under Sturges's sure direction each of them are outstanding. Claudette Colbert, a favourite actress of mine has rarely been better than here and she can say more with a sideways glance or a twinkle of her eyethan most actresses could do with 5 pages of dialogue. Her Geraldine is both calculating and refreshingly practical and cool headed in the bizzare situations she finds herself. Her scenes with the Ale and Quail club members are brilliant and real rib ticklers as her normally refined way of performing is put to the test with these loud and over the top performers. Joel McCrea has never been better than in his playing here as the harried husband who goes on a mad chase to reclaim his wife. His reactions to be dubbed "Captain McGlue" are priceless and his entanglement with the man hungry Countess who quickly earmarks him as her next husband will make you laugh out loud. Mary Astor, always an interesting actress literally steals the show as the Countess with her rapid hundred words to the minute type of delivery. Some of the most hilarious lines in the film belong to her and she delivers them with relish for example in a retort to Tom about the length of all her marriages she states "nothing is forever....except Roosevelt!!" In her memoirs Astor stated how she did not enjoy working for Preston Sturges in "The Palm Beach Story" and felt she never really got her characterisation right in this film. Interesting really as I think she has never been better than here and is the comic centre of the whole crazy proceedings with her playing. Rudy Vallee as the hapless millionaire is also a revelation in his playing of the fumbling man besotted with the much more world wise Geraldine. His different style of playing contrasts beautifully with the more over the top playing of Mary Astor. His scenes on the train with Colbert are classic where she continues to break his sets of glasses as he tries to give her a boost up into the top bunk of the sleeping compartment.

"The Palm Beach Story" is what classic screwball comedy is all about.The pace of the film is like a rocket and the one liners which hold many perceptive views on the rich and on our money consious society are a clever reflection of societies values at the time. Like all Sturges vechicles under the comic nonsense there is actually alot being said that can be applied to any age or time. Enjoy "The Palm Beach Story" and definately treat yourself to repeat viewings of this 1942 masterpiece as you will, like me, find new things to admire, laugh at, and reflect on with each visit. ... Read more

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Perhaps because it was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers's penultimate picture together for RKO, or perhaps because it is more romantic comedy than musical, Carefree tends to be a neglected entry in the series. This is unfortunate, because it retains many of the elements that made the duo so popular while also breaking new ground. Fred plays Tony Flagg, a psychoanalyst who is asked by his friend Steve (Ralph Bellamy) to try to figure out why his fiancée, Amanda Cooper (Ginger), keeps breaking off their engagement. During the course of treatment, and in a reversal of the usual pattern, Ginger falls for Fred and begins to pursue him. The emotionally repressed doctor resists, leading to a number of comic encounters, as well as a moment of genuine heartbreak. Other innovations include Fred's dance on a driving range, a slow-motion dream sequence (which was going to be shot in color until budget concerns won out), Fred and Ginger's first screen kiss, and some of Ginger's best turns as a comic actress.More familiar elements include Ginger fronting the band at the start of a large company dance number ("The Yam," which failed to catch on as a dance craze), an expert if skimpy Irving Berlin score including the lovely ballad "Change Partners," and of course fabulous, high-flying dancing. Fred and Ginger fans can't afford to miss Carefree. --David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Ginger's Turn to Shine
This is my favorite Fred and Ginger entry and is actually quite different than their standard if entertaining musical/dance films that preceded it. Those great elements are still here but are fewer and interspersed between some nice screwball comedy that finally got to showcase Ginger's comedic talents. Fred is great to, but this one is really Ginger's film, and she shines.

Tony (Fred) is a psychiatrist trying to do his pal Stephen (Ralph Bellamy) a favor by seeing his fiance Amanda (Rogers, who is a radio singer) so he can figure out why she's called off their wedding three times! She blows Fred off as a quack when she overhears a transcription he's done which is less than flattering but finally gives in and agrees to let Fred disect her dreams so he can see what's wrong with her.

A meal of lobster and mayonaise and a lot of other things make her dream alright! In her dream she's dancing and in love, but it's not Stephen but Tony in her dream! Amanda can't tell Tony of course, and when he threatens to stop seeing her she makes up a dream that would keep ten psychiatrists busy and the fun begins.

Rogers was wonderful in this film and it was the impetus for her very successful solo career. This light screwball comedy has some terrific moments. It's hilarious as Ginger walks out while being hypnotized thinking she does love Bellamy and going after Fred with a shotgun, thinking he deserves to die like a dog! Like Fred tells Bellamy as they run after her, "She's in a trance, she may even act, a little odd"!

During the dream sequence they get to dance to "I Used to be Color-Blind" and later on at a party they do "The Yam" in a very fun scene. But Ginger and the screwball comedy take top billing in this one, making it one of their best. It's sophisticated and funny and Fred and Ginger end up together as always. This time she's in a gorgeous wedding dress, and she has a black eye!

You don't hear as much about this one but don't let that stop you from picking up this wonderful film.

A harbinger of Ginger's future successes in film
This is probably the most unique of all the Astaire/Rogers films, because while it is enormously enjoyable, it isn't principally because of the musical numbers. In fact, the dance numbers are among the weakest of all their films. What makes the film a delight is the comedy, and the person who drives the comedy is Ginger Rogers. Ginger was not Fred's equal as a dancer, but she complemented him perfectly. Still quite young in their first film together (she was 21 when filming started for FLYING TO RIO), Fred was able to mold her dance style to fit his perfectly. She was able to follow him perfectly, and many of their dances have their finest moments as she reacts in her face to what is happening in their dance.

Where Ginger far surpassed Fred was as an actress. At the time of CAREFREE, she had already scored a major success the year before in the drama STAGEDOOR (it was in the wake of this film that her costar Katherine Hepburn, who didn't get along with Ginger at all, quipped of Fred and Ginger, "He gives her class and she gives him sex." But by the time of CAREFREE, Ginger's abilities as an actress had begun to place her career apart from Fred on a higher individual plane. In fact, from this point until his comeback from retirement in 1948 (to replace the injured Gene Kelly in EASTER PARADE), Ginger was actually the larger box office draw. The next few years after CAREFREE would see Ginger starring in a string of superb comedies like BACHELOR MOTHER and THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, as well as winning an Oscar for KITTY FOYLE.

The plot is simple: Ginger can't quite bring herself to feel for suitor Ralph Bellamy as she should. So, she agrees to go to a psychiatrist (Fred) to find out why. She gets accidentally hypnotized and for the rest of the film she accidentally either loves Fred or wants to [do away with him]. The dance numbers are, as I mentioned, not among their best. There is a long slo-mo number that fails to work as well as one might hope. "The Yam" is a pale imitation of the classic numbers centering on a new dance in previous films. Possibly the best dance number, though one that is unfortunately eliminated from some television cuts of the film, is Fred's solo number "Since They Turned Loch Lomand into Swing," in which he combines dancing with golfing. But there is no question about it, you see this film not for the dance numbers, but for Ginger's escapades as a comedienne.

hypnotic
in retalliation the the review thing at the top, since when was the Yam supposed to be a dance craze? when were any of their dances supposed to be a dance craze? No one else could danc elike that! anyway, I love this movie because it so funny. Ginger has incredibly funny running-amuck scenes with perfect timing. Her facial expressions arer superior. You also realize what a superb actress she was. This movie isn't the typical Fred/Ginger formula, but who minds a little change if it turns out as well as this?

A fun, funny film
One of the best-plotted, most delightful Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers team-ups... The dance routines actually aren't as great here as in other films, but Rogers is a hoot as a wisecracking, no-nonsense gal who will have none of Astaire's patronizing airs in his role as a high-handed psychiatrist, hired by her bewildered beau (played by Ralph Bellamy) to find out why she doesn't want to tie the knot. All of Astaire's attempts to diagnose her fail: he talks to her and she runs rings around him, he hypnotizes her and the results are equally disasterous, he dopes her up with an inhibition-lowering "anasthetic" and she goes on a impish, hilarious crime spree. Ginger's comic timing is devastating, and she's also as gorgeous as ever in this fine, fun film. Recommended!

one of the best
*Carefree* is one of my favorite of the Astaire/Rogers series. I like this one because Ginger is not her usual skeptical self about poor Fred, who's usually trying to woo her. She falls in love instantly, and it's convincing. After that, he can't really help himself. This film has some pretty good dance sequences and some great comedy. ... Read more

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Of all the screenplays Preston Sturges wrote for Paramount before becoming the greatest comic director of his generation, 1937's Easy Living seems the most like something he would have filmed himself--a satirical fable about chance, class, and the absurdity of the American dream. Jean Arthur is a New York secretary riding to work atop a double-decker bus when a fur coat miraculously descends from the sky and settles on her shoulders. The fur, however, has not dropped from Olympus but from the hand of a millionaire (Edward Arnold) who has just tossed it from a nearby roof to punish his wife. But as if it were a magic fleece (the mythical reference is almost certainly intended by the erudite Sturges), it makes its wearer invincible, conferring an aura of prosperity, celebrity, and power on the previously average working girl. No folk tale is complete without a prince: Sturges's is the millionaire's son, Ray Milland, who is trying to pass as an apprentice stockbroker. Directed with a light, elegant touch by Mitchell Leisen, the film lacks the crazy energy it would have had under Sturges's own hand, but this remains one of the great screwball comedies (in a year that also saw The Awful Truth and Nothing Sacred). --Dave Kehr ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A RARE COMEDY DELIGHT.
In retrospect, this little 1937 flick holds up as one of the funniest screwball comedies of the thirties. Loud millionaire J.B. Ball tells his extravagantly aggressive wife (Mary Nash) that she cannot keep her $58,000 Sable coat. Ball throws it out of the upper window of their mansion where it happens to fall right on top of bewildered Mary Smith (Arthur), who's travelling on an open-air bus. Mary's a poor gal who works for a magazine similar to BOY'S LIFE. Arnold is seen buying Mary a new hat by pussy-cat faced gossip Franklin Pangborn and soon she gets more than just a hat: practically all of New York is at her feet. The scene where she and Milland wreak havoc at the now-obsolete automat is truly inspired and hilarious, as is Luis Alberni - as Louis Louis - when he shows Mary her new "quarters" -- i.e. "And make it snappa...Thaank Yewww". The rather offbeat cast works wonders with the great Preston Sturges script: Milland and Nash make a weird son and wife to the always good (and always loud) Edward Arnold, but somehow it makes for better screwball; the whacko cast helps push the one-joke material through to a happy finish, and the movie helped establish Jean Arthur as a comedienne of the first rank. P.S. While listening to Arthur's wonderfully off-beat voice, I realised it reminded me a little of Julie Harris (!).

a movie for today
Day-traders alert. Cut yourself on every line of this witty, fast-paced and knowing movie that glories in the talents of Jean Arthur, et al. As tight as a fist, construction-wise, it traverses ostentation, banking (and ostentation), stock market manipulation (and ostentation) and that thing called real-honest-to-goodness, in-the-belly hunger. Arnold, Milland and the (forgive me) unnamed actor who plays the hotel proprietor (should have stayed cook) to hilarious effect are all wonderful. But Jean Arthur demonstrates yet again what an underrated talent she was: energy, sweet timing and mercurial delights - poured into the camera.

A fine, early screenplay by Preston Sturges!
Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, a baby Ray Milland, and the beginnings of what became known as the Sturges Players combine for a tight little screwball comedy. This was not available on video until just recently, but if you enjoy the old madcap comedies, ala MY MAN GODFREY, NOTHING SACRED, and Preston Sturges romps like PALM BEACH STORY, THE LADY EVE, etc, I'm confident in recommending EASY LIVING. I didn't notice Sturges wrote it until the final credits, but that didn't alter my feelings. This is an under-appreciated jewel! ... Read more

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High on the list of W.C. Fields's achievements is this 74-minute feature from 1940, rich in his brilliantly rambling inspiration. Fields plays Egbert Sousé (pronounced Soo 'zay, of course), who manages to foil a bank robbery, tilt a glass in the Black Pussy Cafe, and marry his daughter to Og Oggilby (Grady Sutton) before the closing credits. Maintaining his usual and deliberate half-step behind the rest of the world, Fields's characteristic persona gets a truly worthy movie here that always seems, wonderfully, to be on the verge of racing ahead of him. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (25)

This is Just Too Funny
This is the second best Fields film (after It's a Gift) and it's similar in that it casts Fields as the lovable drunk with an absolutely hateful family. From the almost surreal episode directing the movie to the eye-poppingly ridiculous chase scene, this one is pure comic entertainment. One side note: it's sad and not a little scary how bloated and tired the Great Man looks in this compared to just six years earlier when It's a Gift was released

a fine example of slapstick comedy
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

W.C. Fields stars as Egbert Sousè (Pronounced as "Soosay" but mispronounced as "souse" by many of the people in his town though he is also a souse) a husband who is constantly critized by his family for his drinking and smoking. He lated inadvertently catches a bank robber and is offered a job as a guard at the bank.

The acting is what one would expect from comedy films of the time, and has a cameo role by Shemp Howard best known for his work as one of the 3 stooges.

This is W.C. field's last major film role. The DVD has no special features.

Pretty Good for Sketch Comedy
If this had been made 20 or 30 years later, it would have been great television stuff like Monty Python or Benny Hill. Essentially plotless w/ Fields careening around. Fun but no reason to own it.

W.C. Fields is too funny...
this movie may cause you to lose faith in the possibilities of comedy in the new millenium. W.C. Fields was the best curmudgeon ever and this is one of his greatest films. His wife and his children hate him. Only his friendly neighborhood bartender (played by 4th or 5th stooge, Shemp Howard) loves him. As usual, W.C. gets himself into loads of trouble and finds a way to get out of it with a bunch of money. The final chase scene is rivaled only by It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, What's up, Doc?, and Seven Chances in it's superfluity of gags and danger.

Watch this movie....or die!

Essential W.C. Fields DVD
The Bank Dick is pure Fields and the best of his feature films (with My Little Chickadee a close second). The comedy is timeless; most of the jokes, although written 60 years ago , are relevant today. Supporting cast is brilliant. A must have for all classic comedy fans. ... Read more

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Also known as The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, this collaboration between silent comedy star Harold Lloyd and screwball comedy genius Preston Sturges was meant to be a splashy comeback for both. Unfortunately, it sank at the box office. It's not surprising, because the movie's story line is a wayward tangle, and every scene is a strange mini-movie of its own--but that's exactly why it's worth watching today. Mad Wednesday starts with footage from Lloyd's 1925 classic The Freshman. Because of his success on the football field, Harold Diddlebock (Lloyd, who seems to have hardly changed in 22 years) is offered a job. Full of hope and promise, the former gridiron champ finds himself in a bookkeeping position that consumes the next 30 to 40 years ofhis life, until he's abruptly fired. Stunned, Diddlebock takes his first drink; when he awakes two days later, he has no idea what he's spent the last 48 hours doing. It turns out he's bought a circus and... well, you get the idea. Every scene is its own little gem of delirium, including one in which an artistic bartender invents the drink that launches Diddlebock into his drunken spree. But the scene in which Diddlebock explains to a lovely coworker how he fell in love not only with her, but with her six or seven older sisters before her, is almost as delightful. Lloyd isn't always adept with Sturges's madcap dialogue, but the sterling supporting cast of character actors makes that language spin like a top, including Rudy Vallee, Franklin Pangborn, Lionel Stander, and Margaret Hamilton (better known as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz). --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Another great Preston Sturges film..
The idea of former silent comedy star Harold Lloyd teaming with the great Hollywood auteur Preston Sturges was truly inspired and the result, this film, is proof.

Embedded in the same job for 22 years, Harold Diddlebock (Lloyd) goes nowhere fast, forever, until he's let go by his supercilious, unctuous boss (throw in any other similar adjective and it would fit).

Harold loves adages, epigrams, and saws, and for the entire span of his working life, has the wall next to his desk plastered with them. When he's let go, he removes every last one of them and takes them with him, so as not to forget the truth of what life is all about. Or at least those parts of life for which these adages apply.

Thus, our hero is a rather, shall we say, by the book kinda guy. So when he goes on an unintentional bender, this radical restructuring of his brain molecules brings about some decidedly unexpected results. He buys a plaid suit loud enough to wake people living on the other side of the world. He buys a cowboy hat big enough to double as a doghouse for a Doberman pinscher (or however you spell that darn dog's name). And he buys a circus, too.

Yep, a circus--one of the main attractions of which is Jackie the lion. Jackie means well, but her bark (roar, is more like it) is definitely worse than her bite. In fact, her bite never happens, but the bark/roar is there a lot of the time. This gets Harold into big trouble, and therein lies the rub.

One of the best screwball comedies of the 40s (made in 1947), The Sin of Harold Diddlebock should not be missed by fans of great comedy. Well folks, we now have Sullivan's Travels, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, and The Lady Eve on DVD. There's talk of Palm Beach Story following in the relatively near future--hopefully true, since that is a pure gem. Now how about Unfaithfully Yours, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and even more?

Preston Sturges forever!!

Very Underrated
This film is generally reviewed as a failed Sturges movie. However, anyone who loves the insanity of movies like "The Miracle of Morgan Creek" will probably love this one too. This film stands up to repeated viewings. It would be great to see a DVD with both "Mad Wednesday" and the slightly different cut "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock."

You Arouse the Artist in Me.
Is how the bartender responds to Harold Diddlebock (Harold Lloyd) when told that he's about to have the first drink of his life.

Harold gets talked into it by 'Wormy' a deliciously street-wise octagenerian urchin that asks him for a loan of a couple of bucks. Harold complies, despite the fact that he's just been fired from his job.

The inspired bartender concurs with Wormy that Harold needs a drink to ease his troubles and---in a scene only Preston Sturges could have written---creates a "Diddlebock" in his honor.

Originally entitled 'The Sin of Harold Diddlebock', the real sin is in being unable to rent it in most video stores. This has got to be one of the top comedies ever made.

Lloyd came out of retirement to make this film after meeting and befriending kindred maniac, Preston Sturges.

In "Mad Wednesday" Lloyd performs some of the funniest sight gags ever captured on celluloid, employing his trademark high-risk stunts. (Ever see 'Safety Last'?) Houdini would have been proud.

In all his movies Lloyd played a hopelessly naive gung-ho optimist who triumphed against the world despite his childlike sweetness.

But here the formula takes a twist, thanks to Sturges.

Lloyd is now a middle aged failure who has been stuck in a menial job for the last twenty years, a weary, disillusioned man who is pathetically in love with his co-worker, an impossibly beautiful ingenue (There's always an impossibly beautiful ingenue in a Sturges film ). And then he gets fired. . .

Neddless to say, all will end well, and he will triumph and get the girl in the end.

But not before going berserk on "The Diddlebock" which transforms him from a meek innocent into a lunatic gambler and high roller with a taste for um... somewhat loud attire.

Poor Harold wakes up sober two days later to find himself the owner of a circus, replete with strongmen and bearded ladies who are owed back pay and hungry lions that need to be fed.

It's all silly fluff of course but the genius of Preston Sturges's writing makes us cheerfully suspend our disbelief and go along for the ride.

Only Lubitsch and Billy Wilder came close to Sturges in the ability to give the audience superbly witty dialogue while maintaining a believable world of madcap lunacy where events move at breakneck speed.

An great farce, starring a comic legend, written and and directed by the best.

Enjoy.

Harold Diddlebock it would be a sin to not see it
This was so funny. Made me think of the Bringing up Baby, and Philadelphia Story and some of Lucille Ball's antics. Sight gags and rapid funny dialogue. First few minutes kind of slow but once it gets going it was hilarious. I loved the bartender scene. As a fan of movies made before 1960, I cannot understand why I have not heard about this movie before. I can only say it is funny and you will enjoy it. I would let my grandchildren watch this movie.

Overreader

Harold Lloyd's last film, made with Preston Sturges
Harold Lloyd came out of his unofficial retirement for one last film with writer/director Preston Sturges. This sounded like a wonderful pairing, but the two comic geniuses had totally different approaches to the material. The result is really two films: "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock," the original version was released by United Artists in 1947, with the re-edited version (ordered by Howard Hughes), now titled "Mad Wednesday," released by RKO in 1950. The film went from 89 to 76 minutes in length, but in addition to things being cut there were also some outtakes put back into the film.

Both films open with the famous football finale from Lloyd's silent classic, "The Freshman." Because of his success, young Harold Diddlebock (Lloyd) is offered a job when he graduates college. An enthusiastic Harold looks at a 1923 calendar adorned with the stern visage of President Harding. The next thing we know it is 1945 and Harold is still at the same desk, with President Truman looking on disapprovingly from the calendar. When he is dismissed from his job, Harold goes on a drinking spree and when he blows $1000 on a racehorse, it comes in at 15-to-1. When Thursday morning comes Harold does not remember a thing about the day before (i.e., Mad Wednesday) and discovers he owns a circus. His brain finally turned on again, Harold heads for Wall Street in the company of a lion, determined to make his fortune at long last. Of course, Harold ends up on the ledge of a building as the master daredevil comedian of the silent era does one last grand stunt. "Mad Wednesday" certainly has holes in it, but then there are scenes that redeem the film, at least as far as I am concerned. More than either Chaplin or Keaton, Lloyd proved himself adept at SOUND comedy, mainly because he had the advantage of dialogue written by Sturges. Neither version is a great film, but both include great comic moments. If you can find both of them, a double-feature with "The Freshman" and "Mad Wednesday" makes perfect sense. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Complete Mayhem!
With regard to the review of Nov 19 2001, it sounds like the reviewer obtained an incomplete copy of the film. My VHS has the scenes he states were deleted on his copy, and the video quality is great on mine! I wonder if he obtained a 'third party' video?

I've loved this film since I was a child and know almost all the lines by heart. It is still fun to watch every so often just to see everyone ham it up!

W.C. Fields was masterful in his role, having been done before alcohol took its toll on him. Peggy Hopkins Joyce, who was so well-known then and so little-known now, fills her role (and her gowns) with professional ease. Burns and Allen are a pleasure, as always, as the doctor and nurse at the hotel. This is a rare opportunity to see Bela Lugosi in a comedy part, and it makes me regret once more that he was so typecast as Dracula. Franklin Pangborn camps it up as usual as the hotel manager. Yes, there is a dated cultural ethnocentricity as one would expect with a film from this era, but nothing really offensive.

Not a bad moment in this film. If you receive a cassette with the scenes missing as reviewed below, return it. Get the whole movie, it's worth it!

FUNNY!
If you aren't the kind of person that likes comedy, then this film is not for you. You have to have a pulse and a funny bone to view this crazy side splitting 1933 comedy. I had never knew W.C Fields was so down to earth with his jokes. When Rudy Valee was singing a rather bizarre ballad, W.C. Fields made a rude remark about his singing. There's another scene in the movie where W.C. Fields drove his car down the outside stairs of the hotel. As crazy as it may seem, it was really funny. (Yoohoo!) This is the word you'll hear when Mr. Fields asks from his helicoptor "What city is this?" (PRICELESS!)

If you want to see this film in all its glory...
DO NOT buy the video, but wait until it is shown on television.

This is one of our favourite films, and we all know it very well. Seeing that it was up for sale on amazon.com, I immediately bought it. I have just sat through 70 minutes of the worst editing I have ever seen.

A number of continuity scenes were deleted -- relatively minor offenses, but these scenes had assisted in setting the general ambience.

Worst of all was the loss of a crucial plot point -- Petronovich contrives to have the hotel quarantined so that he, and not Thomas Nash, will obtain the rights to Dr. Wong's machine. We hear that the quarantine is to be lifted, but the command "Open the doors!" and the ensuing mayhem are deleted -- it goes straight into Quail's driving his car into the elevator. These cuts are jarring, confusing and unnecessary. In addition, the entire lavish "China Teacup" production is gone! I'm astonished they left Cab Calloway in there.

In addition, the quality of the print is murky.

I'm returning the film, and asking for my money back. Don't buy this film until it's completely restored. Watch it on Turner or AMC. It is our hope that with so many films being committed to DVD now, we may see a digitally restored, UNCUT version of this and W.C.'s other classics soon.

[EDITED 8-23-03: I understand that I may have gotten hold of a cheap knockoff; other people are reporting that full copies are available. Make sure you get a complete one! Also, the complete Fields oeuvre needs to come out on DVD along with Mae West and the Mark Brothers. I'll say that as often as I need to. Thank you.]

They don't make 'em like this anymore.
I've always liked movies where lots of unassociated stuff happens. Movies like this, which are little more than showcases for popular acts of the time they were made, are among my favorites. ("Stormy Weather" is another good example.)

You won't find a better example of this than "International House." The plot, such as it is, involves a Chinese guy who has invented something called a "radio scope" which, even though they didn't know it at the time, basically predicted the concept of satellite television. All kinds of bidders are flying to China from all over the world to bid on the contraption, including an Eastern Eurpopean Millionaire (Bela Lugosi, in one of his few non-horror roles; he's actually pretty good here), an American Ingenue with a capital "I" (Peggy Hopkins Joyce, who apparently really WAS an American ingenue) and other sorts. Tossed into the mix is of course WC Fields, who manages to land a bizarre flying contraption in the lobby of the hotel (you need to see this at least once before you die. It's pretty funny)!

The acts on TV (and in the hotel, in the case of Burns and Allen) are really what the movie is all about. Cab Calloway's "Reefer Man" is a stand out, as is Rose Marie, all of about eight years old at the time singing a song that Sophie Tucker might have sung, given the chance.

Fields is simply excellent here, as is his perennial movie nemesis, Franklin Pangborn (as the head clerk at the hotel desk--but why is this guy running a hotel in CHINA?)

This is definitely a film you can watch many times, either all the way through or just for the parts you like best. Recommended!

BIZARRE FUN FROM 1933
A totally unhinged comedy which makes up for exuberance what it lacks in sense. Moviegoers in 1933 relished this comedy fricassee, garnished with songs and handsomely served by director Eddie Sutherland. This picture is a real curio, and a unique one at that! Where else can you see Baby Rose Marie belt out a song (yes, this is the same Rose Marie who played Sally Rogers on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW). Cab Calloway doing his famous REEFER MAN number among other assorted novelties. It all takes place in China at the International House hotel where an "advanced" version of television (called a radioscope) is being shown. Top this: W.C. as an sir pilot and professor; George Burns and Gracie Allen as a dotty doctor and nurse; Stuart Irwin breaking out in a rash whenever he proposes to luscious Sari Maritza; the much-married Peggy Hopkins-Joyce luring Fields to her boudoir................ ... Read more

Reviews (12)

No Classic, But Lots Of Fun
For years, THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT was the butt of numerous jokes on Jack Benny's radio show. Thanks to those jokes, the film has gained a terrible reputation in many circles. But in fact, while it doesn't rank as a classic, HORN is a highly entertaining comedy fantasy that is virtually a live action cartoon. When radio musician Benny falls asleep on the job, he dreams that he is an angel charged with blowing the trumpet that will signal Earth's demise. The well-meaning but naive angel is constantly sidetracked from his task by various mortals and a pair of fallen angels. The film is good natured silliness that in lesser hands could have been dismal. But Jack, Alexis Smith and their outstanding supporting cast (including Guy Kibbee, Reginald Gardener, Mike Mazurki, and Margaret Dumont) make the most of their opportunities and seem to be having a ball. Franklin Pangborn is a standout as a prissy hotel detective. Allan Joslyn and John Alexander make a good team as the fallen angels; interestingly, they had only a couple of years earlier costarred on Broadway in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE.

Caffeine Amuck
A surreal comedy from Warner Bros., apparently made while studio heads were on vacation. How else do we explain such inspired lunacies as a hotel elevator to heaven, angels with periodic bouts of delirium tremens (likely what the writers were suffering), or a giant coffee service hanging from the side of a skyscraper! Somehow this exotica got from storyboard to screen without the usual deadening hand of studio convention. It's pretty funny too, although the big screen is not the best venue for Jack Benny, whose personal brand of humor shows best on radio or tv. Still, the laughs are there among the general weirdness, and anyone who turns down the sound of the final scene should experience a nightmare of urban existence as frightening as any from vintage film noir, with Benny literally drowning in a sea of caffeine. This is also a chance for men to scope out that heavenly body known as Alexis Smith. Her statuesque bearing was probably a little too stiff for major stardom, but no one ever looked better in a toga or the high fashions of the day. All in all, this inventive little comedy was far ahead of its time, and despite Benny's running radio gag, possesses all the underpinnings of a minor cult classic.

+1/2 ...and hits a sour note??
A WWII-era starring role for radio legend Jack Benny that, at best, will seem like an archaic time capsule for audiences in the modern day. Benny's brand of humor is hopelessly dated -- even if you have a sense of his once-omnipresent celebrity and the character he built up around it-- the pennypinching, self-aggrandizing boob, with a tin ear and a "love" of music -- this film still doesn't hold up that well. The plot is kind of interesting, with Benny starring as Ethaniel, an angel of the heavenly host who has been tapped for the job of blowing Gabriel's Horn one more time, to bring doomsday down on the wicked folks on Earth. The sets and special effects for the scenes up in Heaven are imaginative and vast, but when he gets back down to earth, the film starts to falter. The slapstick is too drawn out and slow, and in general the humor is predictable and strained -- you see the gags coming a mile away, and still they take their sweet time passing you by. Benny's one of those old-fashioned, unfunny 'Forties humorists like Red Skelton or Ish Kabibble whose appeal will probably be lost on modern audiences.

Judgment Day
Jack Benny stars as an orchestra trumpet player who falls asleep during a radio performance and dreams that he is an angel looking for a promotion sent to Earth to destroy it. The world has become destructive and full of hate and conflict so Benny's angel is told to blow four notes on a trumpet at midnight to end it all. Things get messed up and Benny finds himself Earth-bound, trying to adapt to life on the unfamiliar planet, while up in Heaven his girlfriend-angel Alexis Smith tries to find some way to resolve his predicament. I find Benny funny in small doses, but I don't think the comedian was much of an actor or is able to sustain a character for an entire film. The supporting cast is good, with Franklin Pangborn scoring well with his patented fussy character and great reaction shots. The script presents some good ideas, although more could be done with the concept. Director Raoul Walsh adds some great touches, including an amazing shot that sails over the heads of what appears to be thousands of ang