Stand Up and Cheer!

STAND UP AND CHEER (Fox, 1934), directed by Hamilton MacFadden, features Warner Baxter as Lawrence Cromwell, a Broadway producer who is appointed by the U.S. president as secretary of amusement to rid the country of the Depression blues. Madge Evans co-stars as Cromwell's secretary, Mary Adams, and Arthur Byron as John Hartly, a corrupt politician who wants to keep the Depression going so he can stay in political power, but fails in trying to bribe Cromwell to give up his position.

An enjoyable Depression musical which reflects upon the people and the times, is noted virtually as a Shirley Temple movie. With Baxter and Evans enjoying more screen time, Temple, with her limitations to the plot, became an overnight sensation playing little Shirley Dugan, daughter to song and dance man, Jimmy Dugan (James Dunn). The musical numbers in STAND UP AND CHEER do not play for the audiences in the movie (there are none), but mainly to its viewers. The song and dance appears during the course of the story, beginning with Dick (billed Nick) Foran coming out of a front page newspaper as Baxter and Evans read the headlines, and singing "I'm Laughing," later sung by a cross-country of citizens, and concluding with Aunt Jemima (Tess Gardella) and chorus. Next comes "Baby, Take a Bow" performed by Dunn, a chorine, and Temple; "Broadway's Gone Hillbilly" (sung by Sylvia Froos and chorus); "She's Way Up Thar" (sung by John "Skins" Miller); "This Is Our Last Night Together" (an audition number, sung by John Boles and Sylvia Froos); and the big parade march of happy Americans singing "We're Out of the Red" (introduced by Foran as the Paul Revere bearer of good news on a horse riding across the sky).

As many classic movies in recent years have been nearly restored to its original length, such as the 1933 classic, KING KONG, for example, STAND UP AND CHEER seems to have never played in its entirety on television since the 1960s, and currently is the victim of further butchery. While the Stepin Fetchit segment, in which he encounters a penguin dressed, acting and talking like Jimmy Durante, has been restored, other scenes have been deleted, making the print in circulation since 1984 choppy and confusing. There's one scene in the story in which Baxter says "No" to Fetchit before hearing what he has to say. The violent gags of comedy team of Mitchell and Durant as U.S. senators are either trimmed or completely cut out. I was fortunate to have watched the complete version of STAND UP AND CHEER at a revival theater in New York City in the 1980s. Scenes missing from current prints are Aunt Jemima's introduction to "I'm Laughing," and Nick Foran's introduction to the finale, "We're Out of the Red." 'Skins' Miller, billed as the hillbilly, seen looking for a gal named Sally, bursting into song, "She's Way Up Thar," while Fetchit is out in the mountains with a butterfly net hired to get a hillbilly by Dinwiddie (Nigel Bruce), is completely gone. The closing cast credits is shown on screen in freeze frame and ends abruptly. Originally presented in theaters at 80 minutes, it can now be seen on video cassette (sometimes colorized) and on TV at the 69 minute length. A pity, because those seeing this for the first time today will think this is how it was presented to 1934 audiences, and it wasn't.

STAND UP AND CHEER, which formerly played on American Movie Classics from 1996 to 2001, can be seen once in a while on the Fox Movie Channel. While no great masterpiece, this is one movie that deserves restoration to its original 80 minute length to be fully appreciated. (**1/2)

A musical with a short running time and the original concept of a Broadway producer being appointed as the secretary of amusement by the U.S president . This becomes an excuse for a series of song and dance and cabaret skits with a loose plot which includes a cursory love story and some political skullduggery. Most of the song and dance numbers are tedious but it is interesting to see an early appearance from Shirley Temple. The comedy skits are rather better with Mitchell and Durant doing some wonderful acrobatics and Nigel Bruce, 14th billed as Dinwiddie, being droll, though his appearances are disappointingly fleeting (apparently there are 12 minutes lost from the original cut). Stepin Fetchit's antics will divide modern audiences in this P.C age!

This starts off quite promisingly, with a bumbling 'Dinwiddle" (Nigel Bruce) explaining to awaiting reporters just what his job as chief scout for Broadway impresario "Cromwell" (Warner Baxter) actually is. Then, right on cue, his boss arrives by gyro-copter on the White House lawn for a meeting at which the President offers him a $100m budget and one year as "Secretary of Amusement". His task? Cheer up the American populace after the misery of the 1920s. He quickly assembles his own cabinet - including "Mary" (Madge Evans) as his minister for children and sets about making us all smile. Sadly, Baxter and Evans - and their predictably evolving affection - feature but sparingly in what is essentially a compendium of just about every style entertainment act around at the time. An early outing for the smiling Shirley Temple is probably most notable, but even she struggles to breath much life into this almost documentary style film that could serve well as an history of what made Americans laugh in the early thirties. Some of the artistes work better than others, but a weak, occasionally politically driven, narrative and an off-form effort from what we do see of Baxter just doesn't really work. It watchable as a nostalgia exercise, but as little else I'm afraid.

As a whole, "Stand Up and Cheer" is quite a mess. The story that frames the musical numbers is silly and poorly executed, the musical numbers are rather drab and rife with racial stereotyping. But, most people who've sought out this film are watching it for one reason-Shirley Temple.

Temple and James Dunn are really the only bright spots in this production. Their on screen rapport is magic, and contrary to what others have stated, they BOTH hold their own during their crowd pleasing number "Baby, Take a Bow," in my opinion.

Truly a product of it's day. It's widely reported that this film brought smiles to the faces of many, and try as I may to ignore it's racial stereotypes, and bland dialogue, somehow the whole thing doesn't work.

But, as I have already mentioned, Jimmy and Shirley are pure magic.

There's a famous story about President Herbert C. Hoover meeting Rudy Vallee during the midst of his term which as we know coincided with the Great Depression. Hoover supposedly said to Vallee it would be great if he could sing some hit song that would make people forget their troubles, economic and otherwise.

Well maybe that story got back to the ears of Will Rogers because he was the one who came up with the idea of a Cabinet position for Secretary of Amusement. Maybe Rogers had himself in mind for the job, he was sure doing it unofficially.

Fox was Rogers's home studio, but he makes no appearance here. Instead the president of the United States hires Warner Baxter for that job.

Baxter essentially reprises his role of Julian Marsh the driven director from 42nd Street. I guess the money from that hit show didn't last long for Baxter so he's got this job.

But can you imagine; instead of trying to get financial backers for a show, Baxter goes before a Congressional committee for an appropriation? I'm not sure which is a worse ordeal.

So the movie is Baxter trying to find a talent enough for a big extravaganza that will do what Herbert Hoover wanted from only one song.

Stand Up and Cheer survives today because of the appearance of Shirley Temple, on her way to becoming the movies' biggest box office attraction of the decade. She only does one number here, with hoofer James Dunn as her father. But it's one of her biggest, Baby Take a Bow.

If it weren't for Shirley, the film would have been a curious forgotten relic of some very tough times. Still it's worth watching for more than just Shirley Temple.