Stage Struck

Although made only a couple of years after Busby Berkley's 'big four' starting with 42nd STREET, Warner Brothers' light comedy-musicals were running out of steam by 1935. Most of the old gang were now just making B-movies - even Busby Berkley was making this particularly cheap-looking B-movie. This however is pretty good. You're not expecting much from this are you but you'll be surprised by this one. It is of course not in the same class of the big four, especially as the budget didn't seem to stretch to even just one musical number but honestly, it's better than you'd expect. It's actually better, in terms of enjoyability, than GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 and also ...OF 1937.

If you loved GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 you will like this. Not only has it got most of the original cast but it's got a similar story as well. It's even got a Ruby Keeler substitute who's acting is even worse than the real Ruby Keeler's! STAGE STRUCK was clearly made for fans of GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, it's got that similar cheery uplifting feel that the original had, it's got the same actors such as Frank McHugh essentially repeating their best lines from the previous four films, it's even got the same shabby looking sets. It doesn't sound like it should work but it does.

The positives outweigh the negatives but there are lots of negatives. The main negative is that it looks incredibly cheap, some scenes look like they were filmed in a the back of someone's garage - someone who couldn't afford to have more than one electric light on at a time. Another surprising negative is how flat and unimaginative Busby Berkley's direction is (strange how once he got the director's chair, his sense of innovation seemed to desert him - but I think he only had a $2.00 budget to work with). And possibly the worst thing about this is that it features various ten minute slots of acts who were enjoying their five minutes of fame in 1935. One of these 'turns' a group called The Yacht Club Boys sing a song bemoaning having to pay tax to the government. Doesn't seem very public spirited especially since everyone back then was meant to be pulling together along with FDR! I can't imagine something like this being used back in the good old days when uncle Darryl Zanuck ran Warners.

One final point - Joan Blondell is great in this. We're used to seeing her playing the usual sassy Joan Blondell character so it's refreshing to see her doing something a little different; this time a straight comedy role. It's a shame she never got the chance to do more comedy characters because she could be very funny. Admittedly her part is necessarily completely one dimensional but she's brilliant at it.

Colorless musical that appears to strap flamboyant director Busby Berkeley into a musical strait- jacket. Surprisingly, there's no big dance numbers, overhead crane, flowering "O"s or other hallmarks of the Freudian obsessed filmmaker. Instead, there're only forgettable tunes and colorless backstage rehearsals. The multi-talented Powell sports a mustache but is otherwise wasted, while villainous Warren William gets a friendlier role, a Broadway impresario.

But what about everyone's favorite sassy dame, Blondell, whose role unfortunately sort of comes and goes. Looks to me like her part was an add-on to inject some badly needed pizazz into the feminine side. That's because poor Jeanne Madden looks lost in the aspiring ingénue role. At times, she seems almost achingly self-conscious of the camera, which I think carries over to the audience. Since her career ended soon after, I hope she found a more fitting line of work. Then there's the Yacht Club Boys, surely one of the worst novelty acts of any period to rant and somersault on the same screen.

Anyway, the plot couldn't be more familiar—the problems of putting on a big-time musical. Weirdly, we never get to see the actual show, which ordinarily would be the boffo climax. Considering the many eye-catching musicals from Warner Bros., this one looks like the least of the litter. Too bad.

This is a delightful backstage comedy/musical in the same vein as Warner Bros.' other 1930s Busby Berkeley fare. Dick Powell is great, Warren William is great, Joan Blondell is terrific, and even Frank McHugh is great. The weak link, unfortunately, is Jeanne Madden as the fresh-faced romantic lead. She can't perform at the level of experienced co-stars like Powell, and the romance suffers. But this was her first movie and she was probably hired for her voice.

I've seen several of these 1930s comedies (musical and otherwise) featuring the Warner Bros. contract players, and I haven't thought much of them as a rule. But for whatever reason I was very receptive toward STAGE STRUCK (1936). The movie is a lot of fun. It's comedy all the way through, with swell performances from the stars and some genuinely funny gags. It's the kind of pleasant movie you can sit back in your comfy chair and just enjoy. A nice distraction for an hour and a half.

Although directed by choreographer extraordinaire Busby Berkeley, STAGE STRUCK does not feature any of the major stylized production numbers that characterized his work earlier in the decade. As impressive as those larger-than-life dance sequences were, they brought the main story to a halt for an extended period of time. The closest thing here is an overlong, irrelevant, and increasingly bizarre song and dance number by the Yacht Club Boys in the middle of the film. A few songs are sprinkled about, but the movie is mostly a straight-up comedy set around a Broadway show.

Dick Powell played juvenile tenors in GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933) and FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933), but here has matured into his more adult persona, complete with trademark sarcasm and a dapper mustache for good measure. In this Broadway story, Powell is not one of the young stars; he is the director, trying to keep the show together amid the chaos.

That chaos is played by one of my favorite actresses: Joan Blondell. Blondell was great playing sweet and wisecracking dames who'd often win the man in the end. It's a little different this time around, as she plays a crazy tabloid queen brought in to star in the show as a publicity stunt. Hilariously over-dramatic, Blondell's wealthy character adopts an air of sophistication that fools nobody and her lines are filled with amusing malapropisms. Initially at odds with director Powell, she is placated into cooperation by producer William's knowledge of Freudian psychology.

One scene that I enjoyed was when Powell sings through "In Your Own Quiet Way" at the piano while Blondell (convinced by William that she really loves Powell) tries to cozy up with him. As she inches closer, he calmly inches away and keeps on singing through the music. The body language is great as the two end up circling around the piano.

STAGE STRUCK is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon or an evening. If you're a fan of Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, or the kind of mid-1930s comedies they made for Warner Bros., you should give this one a try. As of this posting the film has not been released on DVD for purchase, so catch it on TCM if you can.

Stagestruck's biggest asset is the performance of Joan Blondell as the Paris Hilton heiress of the day. Blondell plays Peggy Revere which is a takeoff on Peggy Hopkins Joyce whose antics back in the 30s kept the tabloids buzzing the way the Hilton twins do today. Blondell overacts outrageously, but it's all to the good.

Warren William plays ego-maniacal producer Fred Harris which is also a takeoff of producer Jed Harris. Legend has it that Jed Harris was as full of tricks and deviltry that Warren William's character in Stagestruck is. It's very similar to the John Barrymore character in 20th Century. In fact looking at William's profile it's like looking at a poor man's Barrymore. But that is unfair because Warren William did a lot of good work on screen.

Dick Powell is the director here and he gets a couple of good songs to sing. Mostly he has to act annoyed at Blondell and falling for newcomer Jeanie Madden. Since Powell and Blondell got married right after this film, that may have been the biggest performance in the movie.

Jeanie Madden was the love interest. Ruby Keeler had departed Warner Brothers so Powell got a new Ruby, a singing Ruby. Ruby Keeler's singing voice was as flat as her dramatic delivery. Madden couldn't dance, but she sang beautifully especially in the duet with Powell, Fancy Meeting You. But her acting was as bad as Ruby's and she was gone after two more films.

There was a quartet in the film called the Yacht Club Boys and they had a couple of funny bits, especially one in Warren William's office where William plays a straight man for them (and looks like he's having a ball doing it). I suppose they were too similar in style to the Ritz Brothers over at 20th Century Fox so they were gone after this film.

It's a funny film on its own merits, but unless you know who Peggy Hopkins Joyce and Jed Harris were, a lot of the lines will be lost on you.

George Randall (Dick Powell) is the new dance director of a Broadway show. The producer is out of money and has taken on rich but untalented performer Peggy Revere (Joan Blondell). She's willing to pay to become the new lead. Needless to say, George and Peggy do not get along. Ruth Williams (Jeanne Madden) comes in looking for work just as the show breaks up.

Busby Berkeley is the director. I expected a fun behind the scenes of a Broadway show with big song and dance numbers. I would have preferred not stopping the show in the first half and having the two leads battling it out while falling in love. That seems to be the simpler and best story. George and Ruth have good chemistry. I like sending her away to the flower shop. I do like their story, but they're not the star pairing. Joan Blondell is the star. She's meant to be funny, but she is annoying and wasting time. There are some moments to like, but this is problematic.