Going Highbrow

ZaSu Pitts and Guy Kibee are Kansans with money. We meet them as they've gotten off a ship in New York. Pitts wants publicity for their wealth. She wants a place in New York society, too.

Enter Edward Everett Horton. He has a plan to get them recognized. He will have a female acquaintance sponsor them -- for a price.

This is a comedy with few surprises, but I won't give any of them away.

Suffice it to say you haven't heard anything till you've heard Horton sing a love duet from "rigoletto" with Ross Alexander! Alexander plays the rich woman's freewheeling son.

The script is filled with gay double-entendres. These are both spoken (or sung!) and visual: At one point, Alexander is lifted in the air and appears in a very position position -- legs in the air. (Watch it and see for yourself.) The great Judy Canova is in it too. And can you believe it? She doesn't sing a note!

I was really full of anticipation before i viewed this film.What a great cast,full of great comedy actors from the 30s.I was about to uncover a forgotten masterpiece.How wrong i was.This was an extremely lame comedy,of the sort spawned by production requirements that one film a week be shipped out to the theatres.It just goes to show that you can have great talents but if you do not have a good script there is no likelihood that you will have a good film.Guy Kibee as usual plays a business man flirting with a younger woman,Zasu Pitts as so often plays the fretful wife and Edward Everett Horton plays Edward Everett Horton.Ross Alexander sings,if that is his own voice,a rather pleasant song.So the best that you can say about this film is that at 66 minutes it doesn't linger around too long.

Not as bad as some here say. A tremendous showcase for Edward Everett Horton. His talking/singing duets with Ross Alexander are marvels of comic timing. Horton was in many better films than this, but few that showcased his talent as vividly. Ross Alexander has several scenes where he carries himself with great poise and comic sophistication. There is evidence here he could have been a stylish leading man had he not killed himself. Little known June Martel is surprisingly fetching as diner waitress, though she fades a little when masquerading as a debutant. The story construction is awful in this film but there is some snappy dialogue. In the end a must-see for Horton's and Alexander's musical numbers.

From Warner Brothers B picture unit Going Highbrow finds the newly rich Guy Kibbee and Zasu Pitts trying to break into that beautiful high society Louis Armstrong sang about. In fact they've just bought a Tintoretto and then a castle for it to hang in.

For reasons historians of the 30s can't really explain people went to the movies to see rich people portrayed on the screen. In this case Kibbee is a down to earth sort and Pitts is nice, but with a few airs. I do love the way Kibbee describes how he made his money. He accidentally sold short before the Crash of 1929 something many in the movie theater audience wish they had.

Edward Everett Horton is manager of society denizen Nella Walker's fortune and he hasn't been doing so good lately for her or her son Ross Alexander. But he resolves to make the acquaintance of Kibbee and Pitts because if they like paintings she has plenty.

She also has a bachelor son and if Guy and Zasu only could get a daughter on short notice. That could be solved with the appearance of June Martel a waitress from the cafe across the street.

I think you can tell where this will end up. All the players fill out roles in which they are nicely typecast. You could also add Judy Canova playing Martel's fellow hashslinger.

Two tragedies emerged from this film. Gordon Westcott who is Martel's 'husband' and former vaudeville partner died in a polo match accident. And Ross Alexander's career was cut short by suicide.

Going Highbrow is pleasant viewing for an hour plus especially if you are a fan of one or more of these players.

Every once in awhile I discover an actor that is a revelation. I've seen him or her in other roles but wasn't impressed enough to notice. Watching Ross Alexander I saw a likable, energetic, impressive singer. He puts Dick Powell to shame. After reading his bio I see why he never became a star. What a pity. When he and Edward Everett Horton do their patter songs it's impossible not to smile, stop the DVD and replay them. It was also nice to see Sazu Pitts in a glamor role. At 41 she could play frumps and spinsters 'til the cows come home. This one let her look her best. (If you've never seen her in a Von Stroheim film you don't know how good she could look when properly photographed.) The story is nothing. But the interaction of the characters is extremely well done. If you love 1930s character actors as I do, be sure to catch this film the next time it's on TCM.