George Lucas' forgotten comedy-mystery is a masterful work for those who understand what it is. Radioland Murders is not a spoof or a parody of a 1930s comedy, as many people suppose. It is, literally, a 1930s comedy! Meaning, of course, that it is written as if it is a 1930s comedy, with physical gags and witty dialogue straight from the Golden Age of the 30s. Think about The Thin Man, or Abbott and Costello, or a Bert Lahr film, or You Can't Take It With You. If you love those films, you will love this movie. If you've never heard of those films, then you may find it hard to understand exactly what George Lucas was doing.
Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson head up an all-star cast in pure 1930s fashion, as people one by one begin to die off during the opening night of a new radio station. The antics are wholly 30s, with plenty of running into doors, falling out of chairs, and lots of humorous chatter that one might call "intelligent humor" (you have to be listening in order to find it funny). You won't be rolling on the floor in hysterics, because 1930s humor wasn't that sort of humor. You don't roar with laughter when you watch The Thin Man, but you chuckle at the clever dialogue and amusing antics of the characters, in a more refined way which characterized the manners of the era.
As with all his movies such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, George Lucas pays great homage to the Golden Age of cinema, and Radioland Murders is no exception. It is a fun, rollicking film, not for a mass audience, perhaps, but for those who enjoy the sophisticated humor from the 30s and 40s, a genre that is seldom, if ever, seen in comedy today.
Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson head up an all-star cast in pure 1930s fashion, as people one by one begin to die off during the opening night of a new radio station. The antics are wholly 30s, with plenty of running into doors, falling out of chairs, and lots of humorous chatter that one might call "intelligent humor" (you have to be listening in order to find it funny). You won't be rolling on the floor in hysterics, because 1930s humor wasn't that sort of humor. You don't roar with laughter when you watch The Thin Man, but you chuckle at the clever dialogue and amusing antics of the characters, in a more refined way which characterized the manners of the era.
As with all his movies such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, George Lucas pays great homage to the Golden Age of cinema, and Radioland Murders is no exception. It is a fun, rollicking film, not for a mass audience, perhaps, but for those who enjoy the sophisticated humor from the 30s and 40s, a genre that is seldom, if ever, seen in comedy today.