Fascinación fatal

Funny movie whose comedy premise was picked up several years later by the better known Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Here Benny and wife Sheridan exit the city for a rural shack supposedly slept in by our first president. Of course the new digs turn out to be a bottomless money pit and source of irritation for the city-bred Benny. Add grouchy neighbor Charles Dingle, a nasty little nephew, a free-loading Charles Coburn, and a slow- talking handy-man and you've got a madcap mix of comedy antics.

It is an entertaining movie, but with all these promising ingredients why isn't the 90 minutes better than I think it is. For one, there's simply too much going on for director Kheighley to adroitly manage. The situations are inherently amusing, but lack the snap and polish needed to put them over. When Benny falls into the old well, for example, there's neither the reassuring dialog nor comedic reaction that would separate comedy from tragedy. Surprisingly, the scene closes with Benny down the well and viewers in doubt.

Jack Benny was one of the funniest guys around. But his humor was subtle and grew out of character. Radio and TV were perfect since he could play versions of his familiar tightwad personality. As good as he was in those venues, he was not a comedic actor. Here he's permanently flustered with a lot of dialog-- not the strongest suit for a comedian whose specialty were moments of quiet exasperation. He does well enough, but truth be told, the part could have been handled just as well by a dozen other actors. The role was perfect for a Cary Grant-type tizzy as Blandings would prove.

It's Percy Kilbride who walks off with the movie. There's been no one like him before or since. Drop a bomb on him and his deadpan expression wouldn't change. He's totally unflappable with a meat cleaver nose that could slice a side of beef. And what a moment of comedic inspiration when his crackling down-home voice slides into I'll Never Smile Again; it's like a head on Mt. Rushmore suddenly breaking into song. So out of character, it's a total crack up. The movie may not be front-rank, yet it does have its moments.

The classic of the "ramshackle house in the country" genre is without doubt "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", and although this predecessor by 6 years does not attain its succesor's high comic level, it is still amusing and worth a see. I must admit I feel ancient when a viewer here writes "Remember Jack Benny?" For those of us who grew up in the fifties he was a titan of early television. Although he and Ann Sheridan cannot match the chemistry of Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in the later flick, they still work well together, and the whole project is abetted by a marvelous script from the unmatched talents of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, whose best lines go to Benny's Bill Fuller. Also notable are a contribution from Charles Coburn and a cameo from the inimitable Franklin Pangborn. Worthwhile comic viewing.

George Washington Slept Here is a tour-de-force for the great Jack Benny. He is given the opportunity to fully display his comedic acting skills here, as the movie is written and directed with class and style. He's ably assisted in the hilarity by the equally great Ann Sheridan, and supporting cast members Percy Kilbride and Charles Coburn add even more comic class to the movie.

This is the kind of movie you can watch with your kids where you find that the entire family enjoys it equally. While some cynics may not enjoy this movie as much as I do (it is clearly a product of it's time), if you find that you enjoy classic comedies then you should give this one a chance.

Hopefully it will be released on DVD soon. (As of this writing, 2/05/05, it is not yet on DVD.)

Percy Kilbride shows up often on Jack Benny's radio show, particular those broadcast during World War II. His deadpan delivery always had the cast and audience in stitches and it is a real treat to encounter Kilbride in roles as a postal official or delivery man, bent on enforcing the "rules" much to the chagrin of Benny, and his sidekicks. Later, as Pa Kettle, Kilbride enjoyed his greatest success. Any fan of Jack Benny and anyone who has access to Benny's radio shows can benefit from "George Washington Slept Here" because you not only get a good look at the man himself, but in this case you get the extra benefit of seeing Benny and Kilbride reprise, so to speak, their wonderfully workable comedy.

Ann Sheridan buys a dilapidated house believing that "George Washington Slept Here" in this 1942 film also starring Jack Benny, Percy Kilbride, Charles Coburn and Hattie McDaniel.

Sheridan and Benny are husband and wife Bill and Connie Fuller, about to be evicted from their apartment because of their dog shredding the hall rug.

Wanting to plant roots, Connie has fallen in love with an old house and purchased it, possibly without thinking it through. There's no water, the roof leaks, and Bill falls through the floor and continually falls down the stairs.

Their budget triples as their hired handyman (Kilbride) needs to buy more gravel, more this, more that, all the time drilling for water (and finding the neighbor's) - until the couple is nearly out of money.

After putting everything they have into the house, they can't pay the $5000 note on it. Hope is in the form of Connie's annoying Uncle Stanley (Coburn), who's come for a visit.

Based on the play by Moss Hart, "George Washington Slept Here" makes a good transition to the screen, thanks to the fabulous delivery of Jack Benny, who is a riot, the charm of the lovely Ann Sheridan, and the deadpan affect of "Pa Kettle," Percy Kilbride. He gives Benny a run for his money in the comedy department. You won't want to miss his rendition of "I'll Never Smile Again" and the one different facial expression he uses in the entire film.

All of the cast is good, including Hattie McDaniel, who watches the dinner table with the dinner on it float away and Charles Coburn as an uncle who only gives gifts of his photo.

Typical chaotic, warm, funny Moss Hart play that he wrote so well. Definitely worth seeing.