Everything about this is wrong. It is a horrible film; watch this and you will be sorry.
You might think: oh, it's one of those silly, funny, light-hearted musicals with great 1930s show tunes and spectacular Busby Berkeley dance numbers ....but you will be wrong.
It's directed by the same guy who made 42nd Street and Footlight Parade, it's got Busby Berkeley dance sets, it's got songs by Warren and Dubin, it's made by Warner Brothers (although just after Daryl Zanuck had left), it's even got Dick Powell. Sounds perfect doesn't it. The result however is like Mr Creosote's meal in the Meaning of Life - all the finest dishes in the restaurant mixed together in a bucket with of course the wafffer thin mint. It leaves a nasty, sick taste in your mouth.
Every one of those wonderful familiar things we love about those old WB musicals is reversed. It's a WB musical but viewed through a twisted dark mirror made in an evil alternative universe.
Maybe this doesn't work because Zanuck is no longer at the helm or maybe because it's set in Paris and tries too hard to be different. Gone are the life affirming struggles of those whom society has abandoned and are fighting against the injustices of the depression. What we have instead are spoilt, over-entitled, self-centred rich folk being spoilt, over-entitled and self-centred. Every single character is nasty, amoral and cruel; even lovely old Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert are horrible! And as to why Dick Powell is there can only be explained by him accidentally wandering onto the set and being given a load of drugs so he just hangs around grinning.
The whole feel and mood of this movie is seedy. The plot is about greed, lust and deception. For some light relief there's the cheerful story about covering up a murder and assisting in someone's suicide to break up a relationship. Such larks!
Even Busby Berkeley seems to forget what his job is. His first number is as dull as dishwater and his second one, the infamous 'Going to Heaven on a Mule' is just insane.
The biggest problem however is Al Jolson. He was no doubt a great singer but unquestionably a terrible actor. His acting style is to push everyone else out of the way and shout at the audience telling them that he is the biggest star in the world then shouting that again even louder if anyone else tries to speak. All credibility of this wafffer thin plot is tossed aside as he tries hard - and he tries so hard, to be Al Jolson. Maybe he had some underlying insecurity but he seems convinced that nobody else matters and that everyone in the audience and possibly the world simply want to watch and hear him.
When the credits finally arrive you will wish you hadn't watched this. You will feel dirty, like you've just discovered that your parents were members of the Nazi party who enjoyed eating live kittens. Avoid this one - pretend it doesn't exist!
You might think: oh, it's one of those silly, funny, light-hearted musicals with great 1930s show tunes and spectacular Busby Berkeley dance numbers ....but you will be wrong.
It's directed by the same guy who made 42nd Street and Footlight Parade, it's got Busby Berkeley dance sets, it's got songs by Warren and Dubin, it's made by Warner Brothers (although just after Daryl Zanuck had left), it's even got Dick Powell. Sounds perfect doesn't it. The result however is like Mr Creosote's meal in the Meaning of Life - all the finest dishes in the restaurant mixed together in a bucket with of course the wafffer thin mint. It leaves a nasty, sick taste in your mouth.
Every one of those wonderful familiar things we love about those old WB musicals is reversed. It's a WB musical but viewed through a twisted dark mirror made in an evil alternative universe.
Maybe this doesn't work because Zanuck is no longer at the helm or maybe because it's set in Paris and tries too hard to be different. Gone are the life affirming struggles of those whom society has abandoned and are fighting against the injustices of the depression. What we have instead are spoilt, over-entitled, self-centred rich folk being spoilt, over-entitled and self-centred. Every single character is nasty, amoral and cruel; even lovely old Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert are horrible! And as to why Dick Powell is there can only be explained by him accidentally wandering onto the set and being given a load of drugs so he just hangs around grinning.
The whole feel and mood of this movie is seedy. The plot is about greed, lust and deception. For some light relief there's the cheerful story about covering up a murder and assisting in someone's suicide to break up a relationship. Such larks!
Even Busby Berkeley seems to forget what his job is. His first number is as dull as dishwater and his second one, the infamous 'Going to Heaven on a Mule' is just insane.
The biggest problem however is Al Jolson. He was no doubt a great singer but unquestionably a terrible actor. His acting style is to push everyone else out of the way and shout at the audience telling them that he is the biggest star in the world then shouting that again even louder if anyone else tries to speak. All credibility of this wafffer thin plot is tossed aside as he tries hard - and he tries so hard, to be Al Jolson. Maybe he had some underlying insecurity but he seems convinced that nobody else matters and that everyone in the audience and possibly the world simply want to watch and hear him.
When the credits finally arrive you will wish you hadn't watched this. You will feel dirty, like you've just discovered that your parents were members of the Nazi party who enjoyed eating live kittens. Avoid this one - pretend it doesn't exist!