This is the type of musical comedy that only works when the comic players are on screen. What is going on with the more traditional romantic plot line just isn't as interesting here. Where it is very funny (and very worth watching) is for the re-teaming of Joan Davis and Jack Haley as musical revue comics who have to deal with the fact that Haley's spinster sister (the wonderful Margaret Hamilton) does not approve of her brother being in show business and is determined to keep Davis from marrying him no matter what. Davis and Haley are perfectly matched (having worked together at 20th Century Fox in the late 1930's, and of course it is a delight to see Hamilton playing sister to her "Wizard of Oz" co-star (Haley).
While she doesn't threaten to turn him into a beehive here, she does threaten to pull Davis's blonde hair out by its black roots, and tries to knock off Davis comically with a hatchet after finding out that the man Davis tried to fix her up with is a gigolo (played by that French lip popper, Fritz Feld). Hamilton, a gentle soul off screen, screeches "Who put you up to this?" with all the venom she had demonstrated as a wicked witch later known as Elphaba. The film sags when they are off screen, which identifies why it is perhaps not as well known as it would be otherwise. The other story deals with the daughter (Martha Holliday) of one of Davis's old "Scandals" cronies who wants to break into show business in spite of the fact that her father is a British nobleman. In that story-line, only Jane Greer (billed as "Bettyjane") offers any heat as a bitchy headliner whose dancing talents are obviously limited, getting acquainted with a bucket of paint as Hamilton meets her match in a sandbag.
It all starts off wonderfully with a lavish production number sung to "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" by Joan Davis's real life daughter, Beverly Willis, who is playing Joan as a kid. The line of chorus girls goes on forever thanks to a nice mirror trick. Willis is absolutely hysterical in her bit, although Davis herself provides the voice for this character. Two comical production numbers with Haley and Davis are fun too---"Who Killed Vaudeville?" has Davis and Haley imitating various contraptions, most notably Davis sounding like a stalled automobile. Another number has the two complaining about dreaming of people like Cary Grant, John Wayne and Ginger Rogers (appearing silently in outtakes from one of their recent RKO films) while looking over at their mate to find them either covered with cold cream or snoring like the car motor Joan would later imitate.
Specialties by organist Ethel Smith and Gene Krupa's band round out the musical numbers, while a montage of production numbers representing a "Scandals" performance appear to be outtakes from other RKO films. Krupa's drum playing is filled with energy. Another sweet moment comes when Davis's helium voiced maid (Rosemary Murphy) sings "Wishing", originally heard in the 1939 classic "Love Affair". While Ms. Davis would be paired by RKO in two films with Eddie Cantor, I much prefer her pairing with Haley. They seem like an ideal sitcom couple, although her later partner on "I Married Joan" was a perfect foil for her--- Jim Backus.
While she doesn't threaten to turn him into a beehive here, she does threaten to pull Davis's blonde hair out by its black roots, and tries to knock off Davis comically with a hatchet after finding out that the man Davis tried to fix her up with is a gigolo (played by that French lip popper, Fritz Feld). Hamilton, a gentle soul off screen, screeches "Who put you up to this?" with all the venom she had demonstrated as a wicked witch later known as Elphaba. The film sags when they are off screen, which identifies why it is perhaps not as well known as it would be otherwise. The other story deals with the daughter (Martha Holliday) of one of Davis's old "Scandals" cronies who wants to break into show business in spite of the fact that her father is a British nobleman. In that story-line, only Jane Greer (billed as "Bettyjane") offers any heat as a bitchy headliner whose dancing talents are obviously limited, getting acquainted with a bucket of paint as Hamilton meets her match in a sandbag.
It all starts off wonderfully with a lavish production number sung to "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" by Joan Davis's real life daughter, Beverly Willis, who is playing Joan as a kid. The line of chorus girls goes on forever thanks to a nice mirror trick. Willis is absolutely hysterical in her bit, although Davis herself provides the voice for this character. Two comical production numbers with Haley and Davis are fun too---"Who Killed Vaudeville?" has Davis and Haley imitating various contraptions, most notably Davis sounding like a stalled automobile. Another number has the two complaining about dreaming of people like Cary Grant, John Wayne and Ginger Rogers (appearing silently in outtakes from one of their recent RKO films) while looking over at their mate to find them either covered with cold cream or snoring like the car motor Joan would later imitate.
Specialties by organist Ethel Smith and Gene Krupa's band round out the musical numbers, while a montage of production numbers representing a "Scandals" performance appear to be outtakes from other RKO films. Krupa's drum playing is filled with energy. Another sweet moment comes when Davis's helium voiced maid (Rosemary Murphy) sings "Wishing", originally heard in the 1939 classic "Love Affair". While Ms. Davis would be paired by RKO in two films with Eddie Cantor, I much prefer her pairing with Haley. They seem like an ideal sitcom couple, although her later partner on "I Married Joan" was a perfect foil for her--- Jim Backus.
