Colleen

Cedric Ames (Hugh Herbert) is an absent-minded wealthy businessman playboy. Most of the business is done by other people including his loyal nephew Donald Ames 3rd (Dick Powell). Cedric recklessly hires sneaky assistant Joe Cork (Jack Oakie). He falls for gold-digging chocolate dipper Minnie Hawkins (Joan Blondell). He even buys her a dress shop where Colleen Reilly (Ruby Keeler) is the bookkeeper. Donald works to save Cedric from himself.

This is a rom-com drama musical. I'm not really taken with the drama. The Donald Colleen romance comes and goes. I like the song and dance musical although nothing really stands out. There is one or two bigger production scenes. This is fine for the musical fans.

Many, if not most, of the commentaries about 'Colleen' here on iMDB are.... pretty withering... and if we compare it to earlier Warner Bro. Musicals, or to the fabulous cycle of Rogers/Astaire films coming out of RKO, then sure it doesn't compare. But it's still a good show, given the talent level of the cast and the film's obvious imitation of those musical giants Ginger and Fred. Possibly the worst of all is the music itself.

At several points, both Powell and Blondell are obviously laughing out of character at the screenplay, and they are immeasurably better than the film and their roles and the cast they are saddled with. Keeler and Oakie ! Hugh Herbert! Pretty ghastly roster. But they were both contract stars, professionals, and they turned in high quality performances of the material they were given. Powell was very glad this was the last with Keeler.

Powell was becoming increasingly vocal about the fact that he didn't even like to sing (!!?), and Blondell was writing letters to the executives begging to be given scripts that varied even slightly from the last dozen movies she had made, but the simple truth was, Warner Bros. Didn't have anybody else that could perform these roles, and they didn't have much in the way of scripts or screenplays either. So both stars abandoned Warner Bros altogether when their contracts ran out, and moved on to the best performances of their careers.

It's a shame they couldn't have made those kinds of films in the early and mid-30s, when they were at their physical peaks, particularly Blondell. Happily though, neither of them considered their film careers to be anything more than a great paycheck.

The happy-go- lucky years between the two big wars. A musical, starring 32 year old crooner dick powell, and 27 ish ruby keeler. Industry and intrigue when eccentric uncle cedric starts to meddle in the family businesses. Some of his actions are successful, but most are total disasters! Hugh herbert and jack oakie are in here for laughs. And don't forget the awesome joan blondell (from desk set, millionaire, and so many early oldies!) she's in here as a candy factory worker. All hell breaks loose when cedric buys a dress shop for her to run. Don is a big shot in the family business, and tries to figure out the books, along with colleen (keeler). The fashion show is just an excuse for a song by powell, and of course, a huge synchronized dance bit, which looks like a busby berkeley bit, but I don't see him anywhere in the credits. The tap dancing goes on WAY TOO long! The trivia section tells us they actually cut eleven minutes, but yeegods, they sure didn't take any time from the tap dancing, or the dance in the chop suey joint. The sound and picture are in such great condition, it seems to have been restored. It's mostly really good! Sadly, powell died young at 58. Some fun connections... ruby keeler was married to al jolson for years. Powell married joan blondell, after working with her on this very film! Directed by al green. Story by robert lord. And probably one of the earliest uses of the term "arrested development".

Despite the fact that Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler are the stars in their seventh and final screen pairing, the key character here is Hugh Herbert. That unfortunately is Colleen's problem.

There are times when Hugh Herbert can be extremely funny, but a whole film really shouldn't be built around him. You can overdose on Hugh Herbert.

In the Road to Zanzibar one of the gags, but far from the whole film involved Crosby and Hope getting involved with eccentric millionaire Eric Blore. He goes around just giving the family fortune away and sells them a diamond mine for a nominal cost. Like Herbert in Colleen, Blore has his keepers. But the whole film isn't built around him.

In this film the family business is run by Dick Powell for Herbert who is his uncle and Herbert's sister Louise Fazenda. They've hired a keeper in Berton Churchill who breaks away from his usual stuffy banker type and here is the essentially decent, but eternally put upon keeper.

Herbert gets involved with a couple of sharpies, Jack Oakie and Joan Blondell who take advantage of this nut job to rake in some big bucks. Ruby Keeler is the bookkeeper at a dress shop that Herbert buys for Blondell and the Powell/Fazenda/Herbert family are now guarantors of all the debts owed and accruing.

Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote some nice songs for the film that did not boast any hits at all. Dick Powell never even bothered to commercially record any of them. The finale had dancer Paul Draper cleverly worked in to partner with Ruby while Powell sang. It was always a problem with them as a team, Ruby's flat singing and the fact you'll notice Powell never danced in any of their films.

Colleen is pleasant enough entertainment, but the Powell/Keeler combination was definitely on the wane here.

A passable enough movie but all over the map, and while it was a vehicle for the Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler tandem, I liked it more for their supporting cast, featuring Hugh Herbert as a bumbling millionaire and Joan Blondell as a gold-digger. The musical numbers are mildly entertaining, but tap dancer Paul Draper lacks charisma and Ruby Keeler's singing is flat. I liked "Boulevardier from the Bronx" performed by Blondell and Jack Oakie more, as goofy as he was, and perhaps influenced by Blondells's décolleté. It's not horrible or anything, but you can do better. I suggest trying a movie like Footlight Parade from 1933 instead.