Bottoms Up

...from Fox and director David Butler. Spencer Tracy stars as "Smoothie" King, a fast-talking hustler who discovers unknown singing sensation Wanda Gale (Pat Paterson). He and his shady partners Spud (Sid Silvers) and Limey (Herbert Mundin) take Wanda out west to Hollywood, where they manage to get her a movie contract under dubious circumstances. Look for Lynn Bari and Lucille Ball among the chorines.

This is Tracy's one and only musical, although he doesn't sing. His slick huckster role is routine work for him, and could have been as easily assayed by James Cagney or Lee Tracy. I was unfamiliar with Pat Paterson, although I found her likable and with a pleasant singing voice. She married Charles Boyer this same year, and they remained together for 44 years. As for the songs themselves, most of which are performed on the sets of other fictional movies, they aren't very memorable.

The New York Times said `Bottoms Up is Tip-Top, in the form of the Once In A Life Time school of Hollywood kidding.' Spencer Tracy (Smoothie) in a Lee Tracy type role as a star promoter and his comic-relief sidekicks Herbert Mundin (Limey) and Sid Silvers (Spud) discover a perky beauty, Pat Paterson (later married to Charles Boyer) at a dime-store counter and decide to make her a movie star. John Boles is perfectly cast as an overrated actor who is bored and drinks too much. Tracy manipulates the shells until his little pearl is forcibly discovered by having his protégé pretend to be visiting royalty. Problems arise as this new starlet starts to fall her leading man and not Tracy. Sexy Thelma Todd and former silent film director and frequent Hal Roach star Del Henderson are featured in minor roles. Bottoms Up had some of the best quotes of the weekend as when a song hawker, fast-talking his list of titles for sale, ends the rigmarole with, `…and ‘I Surrender To You' for only ten cents.' Or later when Smoothie suggests to Spud that he see a plastic surgeon to help his career: `You can pick any nose you like.' To which Spud replies, `But I don't want to pick any body else's nose.' When asked, `Where do you wash around here?' and the answer comes back, `The spring.' The retort is, `I asked where, not when.' Thank god for film festivals like this one that make rare films like this available and the folks who provide comments to IMDB for others to share. Please support the IMDB and early film festivals!

A down-on-his-luck promoter helps a young woman become a star. An early Spencer Tracy vehicle that is not without charm, but which is never as good as it could be due to some loose plotting and slack pace. Harry Green stands out amongst a likeable cast as a nervous movie mogul and Pat Paterson is a vivacious leading lady. Never thought I would see a Hollywood movie about the movie-making business that would mention Biggleswade, the English country town just five miles down the road from my home town.

A conman and his pals bulldoze their way into a studio and make a young girl a star by way of a deception. Harmless, except for a semi-musical the songs and production numbers are horrid, but run of the mill programmer would be forgotten totally if it wasn't headlined by Spencer Tracy. He's far better than the material as is Thelma Todd who lights up the film the few times she appears as a back stabbing starlet. It makes you wish the two of them had been teamed in a better script.

Apart from the singing scenes, which I found a bit cheesy and felt was a slight downside of this movie, (and I don't care much for musical comedies in general), this one was very enjoyable. The story was good, the plot funny with some great lines "But if you're so smart, why did you make me lie down to tie my Bow Tie?... I used to be an undertaker's assistant!". Spencer Tracy was excellent but then again he's always great in whatever movie he appears in. His character was so sweet and charming and his self-sacrifice...Wow. The ending had me chocked up. I wasn't expecting that! An all around enjoyable old school entertainment.