Singing doctor Bing Crosby -- I hope he's not a proctologist -- helps out enfeebled friend cop Andy Devine. He rents a uniform and takes his place, assigned to Beatrice Lillie. Her niece, Mary Carlisle, wants to elope with Fred Keating. Miss Lillie is too busy singing quodlibets, trying to buy dinner napkins, and roller-skating at a police benefit, so Crosby must forestall the younger woman.
Director Frank Tuttle expertly referees this mishmosh, with Crosby singing two solos and a duet with Miss Lillie, Keating performing a magic trick -- he was a stage magician before turning actor -- and Miss Carlisle looking pretty. Miss Lillie, of course, steals every scene she's in, repeating some of her stage routines, and holding her own against such expert farceurs as Laura Hope Crewe, Franklin Pangborn, and Sterling Holloway. The copy I looked at did not include the Louis Armstrong number, but Bing played second banana in his starring role, and liked it. As did I.
Director Frank Tuttle expertly referees this mishmosh, with Crosby singing two solos and a duet with Miss Lillie, Keating performing a magic trick -- he was a stage magician before turning actor -- and Miss Carlisle looking pretty. Miss Lillie, of course, steals every scene she's in, repeating some of her stage routines, and holding her own against such expert farceurs as Laura Hope Crewe, Franklin Pangborn, and Sterling Holloway. The copy I looked at did not include the Louis Armstrong number, but Bing played second banana in his starring role, and liked it. As did I.