The Kid from Kokomo

Boxing manager 'Square Shooting Murph' (Pat O'Brien) has to get out of town quick after betting against his own boxer in dirty business fraud. He discovers boxing savant farm boy Homer Baston (Wayne Morris) who is haunted by his long-lost mother. Murph and girlfriend Doris Harvey (Joan Blondell) convince him that the boxing publicity would bring his mother to him. When no mother shows up, he threatens to leave boxing and go home. No matter what, Murph needs to come up with a mother.

It is a fun premise. There is a better ending. I would like Murph doing something powerful and emotional to redeem himself after Homer discovers the truth. That would be the more standard way to go. This one is a bit more goofy and I don't see it as happily ever after as it thinks it is.

Silly bit of nonsense is played lightly by pros. Certainly the plot was old hat even in 1939 but it's breezily presented.

Wayne Morris pretty much reprises his Kid Galahad character here but he is appealingly earnest and a young Jane Wyman in one of the numerous programmers she churned out that year is fresh and flip. They make a cute couple.

The real enjoyment comes from the fantastic cast of characters that populate this. Pat O'Brien in full on slickster mode. The divine Joan Blondell as a former bubble dancer and wised up gal and the great May Robson, playing another version of Apple Annie, are completely charming. The rest of the cast is filled out with familiar faces doing what they do best. As long as you realize its a B this is a fun undemanding pastime.

One Sunday morning, I was flipping through the channels when I caught this film on T. V. It was an interesting film. Pat O' Brien and Joan Blondell star, and it was a pretty good story. Of course, this little film pales next to most releases of 1939 (GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, STAGECOACH, etc.)

It was a cute and fun show and I enjoyed it - made me laugh.

There has to be a story here: Warner Brothers celebrates the second anniversary (less three days) of the release of its own "Kid Galahad" with a similarly-titled, VERY similar story, "The Kid From Kokomo". Both films feature a tainted manager and his long-suffering girlfriend fleeing from a crooked situation and accidentally discovering a farmer they can turn into a champ in the ring. Both fighters are played by Wayne Morris. Both fighters find love, have mother issues, battle the mob, and are faced with throwing a title bout. There's also a key difference: "The Kid From Kokomo" is rowdy, fast-paced, and often hysterically funny.

I signed on for Joan Blondell here- I'll watch anything she's in- and this might be her most lovable performance. She sets the pace from the beginning, as usual for her bubbly thirties self- and she's crisply funny and spot-on as a semi-reformed bubble dancer. Her handling of two hilariously lazy hillbilly rustics in an early scene raises the bar on this comedy. But even Joan steps back to make way when a batty old kleptomaniac suddenly appears, hauled before a judge, and instantly takes over the film.

Holy H. Smokes, it's May Robson! This is the wildest, funniest performance you will ever see from anyone born before the American Civil War. May mugs, schemes, bellows, and prances as an aging con artist who stumbles into a sweet set-up. The fun she's clearly having is an irresistible force for the rest of the film.

"The Kid From Kokomo" has a major secret ingredient for a comedy of this type: wonderful, funny supporting characters (and the cast to play them). The whole thing feels like Preston Sturges might have waved his hand over it. It never loses the pace, and it never loses control- even the brawling is funny. It exits with a bang precisely when it should, and leaves us laughing.