Lazy River

The film begins with a prologue in prison that really isn't necessary. Suffice to say that three oddly matched guys are recently out of prison (Robert Young, Nat Pendleton and Ted Healy) and head to Cajun country in Louisiana. This is a 1930s Hollywood version of Louisiana--where most of the folks have normal, everyday Hollywood accents and a few have odd French-inspired accents that still don't sound very Cajun or Creole. Heck, Jean Parker, who was one of these ersatz Cajuns couldn't even correctly pronounce 'Jambalaya'!! This is like a German who has no idea what sauerkraut is!! Had this casting and attention to details been better, the film would have worked a lot better and not come off as so phony.

Back to the story. The three walk into a bit of a fishing and shrimping war. A local family is being pushed around by some Asian gang*--with many of their employees being hired by the gang or ending up dead. The gang clearly means business and so it's up to the three ex-cons to aid the nice locals. In many ways, this aspect of the story is a bit reminiscent of the Humphrey Bogart film "We're No Angels"--though in that case, the three men were escapees from Devil's Island. So overall, is it any good? Well, it's not terrible and is pretty much a time-passer with a few good moments scattered throughout. It also has quite a few bad ones, however--such as the magical way the story gets all wrapped up at the end.

*Like the Cajuns, some of the Asians in this film are just white folks made up to look kind of Asian (these are the leads, whereas many of the non-speaking Asian roles are often played by Asians). As this film illustrates, Hollywood had SERIOUS issues when it came to ethnic characters in the good 'ol days!

A trio of ex-convicts (Robert Young, Nat Pendleton, Ted Healey) come to Louisiana bayou village intending to rip off the family of a dead inmate. But they find he exaggerated about his family's wealth. While there, Young falls for a pretty Cajun girl (Jean Parker). Before long the three are helping this family fight off a gang of Chinese criminals, led by C. Henry Gordon.

Young is pretty good in an atypical role. Pendleton and Healey play to their strengths very well. Famed cinematographer Gregg Toland worked on this, though I wouldn't have guessed it. Meandering story that has some good points. Likable characters and pleasant tone helps.

While the movie doesn't have all that much of a plot, it is definitely worth watching. Nice shrimping montage. Multiple instances of quality rear projection of river scenes while characters are talking or doing stuff on boats. Great underwater scene. Good prison segment at the beginning. Some funny, Bowery Boysesque dialogue, like when one guy is saying he knew another character since she was little, he says "I knew her since infantry." Also a funny bit where a character is offered jambalaya and gets offended, though I'm not sure if he was just offended by the sound of it or thought it sounded like some other offensive thing. Standard, quality performance by Robert Young; everyone else is solid to good. Lots of very Chinese people who are pretty interesting/colorful. Very well done rumble. Solid and somewhat limited romance/love triangle. Overall good movie.

MGM used their B list players in this story about three convicts coming to a shrimping village in the Louisiana bayous. Robert Young, Ted Healy, and Nat Pendleton play our convicts and the film Lazy River bears some resemblance to a much better and better known classic Three Angels. This one without the snake.

Listening to the bragging of one of their fellow convicts George J. Lewis who is killed in an escape, Young goes to the village where Lewis is painted himself to be a big shot. He's just a poor working Cajun shrimper like the rest only his family has a dock that the sinister C. Henry Gordon wants to get a hold of.

Lewis also has a cute sister in Jean Parker and Young who was thinking in terms of a con game instead stays to help and defeat Gordon and his nefarious schemes. Although they're comic relief, Pendleton and Healy actually prove useful.

As for Gordon he's a smuggler and that dock that Parker's family owns is something Gordon needs very badly. He's not too squeamish about how to get it either.

Lazy River may be a B film, but at MGM that meant a lot more than at any other studio, some nice scenes of shrimping life and the Cajun culture are presented here. Maude Eburne is also good as the matriarch of the clan. And Young's "wife" Ruth Channing shows up nearly killing the romance between Parker and Young.

Lazy River is a fine B film and was good on the back end of double bills in the Thirties. Holds up well for today.