Here Comes Cookie

Burns and Allen who usually were in support of other stars got to carry this one by themselves. It is a laugh riot from start to finish. Trying to keep his normal daughter, Betty Furness from marrying a gigolo, George Barbier turns over his fortune to his other dimwitted daughter, Gracie Allen. What follows is one madcap situation after another as Gracie turns their home into a hotel for unemployed actors and then decided to produce her own show.

As good as Gracie is, mention must be made of George Barbier. A fine character actor who played fathers, his blustering reactions to Gracie's schemes are worth seeing the movie in and of themselves.

The plot is thin, the premise even thinner. However, Grace Allen is her usual ebullient self, somehow even in her "dimwittedness" suggesting that some shrewd insights lie beneath the surface, and that everyone else is only a fall guy. The scenes with father and sister are sometimes extremely amusing, but the primary distinctive feature of the film is that it gives the viewer the opportunity to see many of the old vaudeville acts in their pristine form, as Gracie the heiress opens her home to the out of work performers. Probably these were performers who appeared in vaudeville with Burns and Allen themselves.

I gotta admit up front that I am not a huge Burns & Allen fan. To me, their type of humor goes a long way and I can take them only in small doses. In light of this, it is a bit surprising that I'd watch a DVD with three of their films. My overall verdict isn't that different from what I expected and "Here Comes Cookie" is probably my favorite film of the bunch.

The film starts with a plot that makes no sense at all--and this set up is the weakest element of the movie because it is so contrived. A rich man, Mr. Allen, is frustrated at his one grown daughters. She wants to marry a man who obviously is a sleazy fortune-hunter--a man who wants to get a hold of the father's millions. So, to make this daughter less attractive to the sleazy Lothario, he transfers all his money to his other daughter, Gracie. Now considering that Gracie's IQ is 12 and she has the common sense of the Octo-mom, the idea of letting Gracie run the finances is pretty tough to believe. However, I must admit that some of the insane things she did were kind of funny...to a point. Instead of exercising common sense (???), Gracie turns her home into a boarding house for bizarre stage acts and wants to put on a show. Most of the acts are pretty lame, but I did enjoy watching the guy with the drumsticks--especially at the end of the film.

Overall, the film has some fun moments but also a few that fall pretty flat. Plus, combined with a dumb plot device, the film is probably not one to convert the average viewer into a fan of the comedy team. But, it's also harmless fun and worth a look if you like this sort of thing.

Although billed as a Burns and Allen vehicle, it's actually George Barbier who has the main role and carries the weight of the comedy in this enjoyable, well-produced "B" movie. Not that I'm complaining. Barbier is not only more than equal to the task, he carries off more laughs than the dithery Miss Allen—who is delightfully partnered here not only by Barbier but by Andrew Tombes who makes the most of one of his largest and most ingratiating roles ever. George Burns has only a small role and seems to have been included in the cast simply to serve as an occasional butt for why-don't-you-marry-Gracie jokes.

Other players who register more strongly than Mr Burns include Betty Furness (as the daughter who comes to her senses), Rafael Storm (as the money hound), James Burke (as the fake swami), Syd Saylor (a credulous taxi-driver), and Harry Holman (a disillusioned crony).

As for the twelve (count them) vaudeville headline acts announced in the credit titles, we see only two (three if you count the fact that drummer Jack Powell is handed two bites), although five or six others flit by in the background.

In this sort of sequel to MANY HAPPY RETURNS, retired millionaire George Barbier finds his daughter Betty Furness, is engaged to a gold-digger Rafael Alcayde. To stop this, he gives all his money to his other daughter, Gracie Allen, and goes down to the small rural town he was born in, to wrestle Harry Holman. Completely misunderstanding -- surprise! -- Miss Allentakes in every broken-down vaudevillian and his trained seal. Plus when Alcayde learns of what Barbier has done, he tells Gracie he loves her and she him. So she decides to put on a show using all this lack of talent.

It's a particularly crazy comedy in which Miss Allen is in charge, and is visually inventive. While Burns nd butler Andrew Tombes are discussing how to find an unused bathroom, a spoons player or troupe of acrobats might pass in foreground or background. Credit director Norman Z. McLeod not only for his experience in silent comedy, but his time directing the Marx Brothers.