Hitting a New High

What can one say about a picture where Lily Pons sits up a tree making bird noises while Edward Everett Horton tries to get her down by saying "Pretty Polly"? Well, it certainly didn't appeal to audiences back in 1937, because sources indicate that this picture proved a financial bust and put an end to RKO's attempts to turn Miss Pons into a movie star. I enjoyed it though, and maybe some of the bizarre humour in "Hitting a New High" might go down better today. Of course the plot machinations are contrived and weak, but is there anyone who really watches this kind of movie for the plot? Raoul Walsh keeps things moving along at a brisk clip, and Lily Pons, while not the most charismatic of film personalities, is reasonably appealing as Ooga Hunga the "bird girl". She also gives a pretty unforgettable rendition of Saint-Saens La Rossignol during the proceedings as well, but purists may not approve. However, the film is really stolen by Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore, a not uncommon occurrence at RKO around this time, and for me they give this film most of the entertainment value it has today.

If we substituted similar-looking Eleanor Powell for Lily Pons, this could be an Astaire movie, the look and cast are so familiar. I would say, though, you really have to like opera to sit through so much of it in quite static staging in this movie. The way she used her voice in Africa to sound like a bird was for me the best part and quite remarkable as was the bird on her finger to whom she sang. (The animal wranglers had some real challenges in this production and did an excellent job.)

I was glad to hear the famous opera star but her speaking voice was unpleasant and her persona uninteresting. And it had one of those endings that was so boring I felt they needed a certain number of minutes and then concluded the movie. So on the whole I'd say it's one to watch if you have time to kill and aren't too choosy. I'm giving this an extra star for the music and animals--the parrot in the final scene was far more interesting than what happened to the characters. It isn't particularly witty or engaging or entertaining or...anything. Whatever originality it had vanished after the African adventure. It's just kind of there and most if it might be best enjoyed by using it as background music while you did something else.

Press agent Corny Davis (Jack Oakie) has an issue with a lion shoot. He's taking media mogul Lucius B. Blynn on an African big game hunt. Jazz singer Suzette (Lily Pons) is trying to be an opera singer. Corny has a crazy idea to make her Oogahunga, the legendary Bird-Lady from the African jungle.

The overall premise is bonkers. Lily Pons is an European opera singer with passable acting skills. This starts with the crazy lion scene. That's a real lion. The premise is a mess, but it's a fun mess for the most part. I really wanted her to go full out with all the birds in the world. The fun start and the crazy premise eventually runs out of steam. It needs more jokes and better comedy.

For a brief while, I thought the MGM lion had strayed onto set and was going to shorten this feature for us, but he merely yawned and went back to sleep. Now that is quite an accomplishment as for much of this film we are treated to the pizzicato dulcets of aspiring opera singer "Suzette" (Lily Ponsj. Luckily for her, she is "discovered" by the very aptly named theatrical agent "Corny" (Jack Oakie) who is so determined to get her onto the stage that he dons his khaki and heads to the perilous depths of the African jungle - which, to be fair, does actually look more like a jungle than a few potted plants on a sound stage. Why? Well he and his nice but dim pal "Lucius" (Edward Everett Horton) conclude that Joe Public might be more engaged with their star if they gave her a foundling provenance akin to "Tarzan". When she hits the big stage, she goes down a storm but will she stick with her old team, or follow the new path offered by the dashing "Andreas" (Eduardo Ciannelli) who does actually know his Saint-Saëns from his Shostakovich. There is no doubt that Miss Pons can hold a tune. Even with the limited audio recording equipment available here she still hits her high notes with a crisp precision that well earns her the "bird" nickname. The rest of this is a bit of a mess, though, with Horton, Oakie and the underused Eric Blore either hamming it up or underplaying their weakly written and over-scripted scripted roles altogether. Luckily, there are quite a few musical interludes to sustain it and it actually illustrates just how far the talkies had come with some competent lip-synching and orchestrations. It isn't a film that you will need to watch twice, but given the plot is fairly hopeless, it could be a lot worse.

HITTING A NEW HIGH puts the spotlight on LILY PONS and her coloratura soprano vocal range, but unfortunately has a plot that is beyond silly. For publicity purposes, JACK OAKIE and EDWARD EVERETT HORTON decide to perpetuate the idea that she was discovered in the African jungle, a bird girl who happens to have a gorgeous singing voice. Horton puts her under the tutelage of a voice teacher so that he can put her on display as his own singing discovery. From that point on, the plot is saddled with even more improbabilities until finally everyone is happy that Miss Pons has been anyone's discovery, so impressive is her singing voice.

Indeed, RKO made sure that she gets to sing several arias (superbly), trilling her way through difficult arias with great ease and charm. But she was never the most photogenic of singers and no amount of close-ups are able to disguise the fact that she is not your typical Hollywood glamor girl. However, despite the banality of the plot, she seems a good sport to play the "bird girl" with such gusto.

For plot purposes, most of the spotlight is on JACK OAKIE, EDWARD EVERETT HORTON and ERIC BLORE--which turns out to be a good thing when it comes to comic relief. Horton and Blore are particularly effective in their zany roles, both capable of injecting some good laughs into the script.

Summing up: Pleasant trifle does indicate that Miss Pons had one of the best soprano voices at the Met (for some thirty years), even if she was not quite star quality on the screen.