Breakfast in Hollywood

Having listened to the radio program every single morning in the 40s, it was a trip back in time for me! As soon as I heard Tom's voice I knew who it was. My mother took all three of us children to the live broadcast on several occasions. And Mother wore her hats, always wore a hat and gloves back then. I think you'd need to be of the proper era to appreciate it, and a lot of the other old time movies, as well. The war years were a time unto themselves, and I don't know how this generation could relate well enough to appreciate the nation's, and the world's, philosophies and attitudes of that time.

This movie is a warm fuzzy for us older folks.

This unpretentious film with a remarkable cast features one of the last movie appearances of Bonita Granville, who deserves rediscovery through everything from the newly released "Nancy Drew" DVDs to a very effective performance in "These Three." Here she boosts a simple programmer with charm and conviction.

It's also a film where such contrasting acts as Spike Jones and Nat King Cole appear,and as bonus there's Hedda Hopper, who I always thought had a very interesting screen presence. I'm not familiar with the radio program the film ostensibly showcases, but it was evidently a popular fixture in its day. But it's Granville who anchors the film with her appealing manner and sincere acting.

I occasionally comment on films I find interesting, and it always comes down to- either you 'get' it or you don't. I have a sneaking suspicion those that don't are younger viewers. It was common practice in the 30s and 40s to take a popular radio show and bring it to the big screen. Why? For profit, of course. This being pre-TV, it also created the opportunity for radio listeners to see their favorite performers. These were pop movies, 'programmers'- meant to make a quick buck and capitalize on a radio show's popularity. I find many of them sweet, though not the best quality. Where else are you going to see Tom Breneman, a popular host of BREAKFAST IN HWOOD? The plot of BIH is completely unrealistic (fine w/ me)in that it has Brenemen getting involved in the lives of several of the people that come to see his show. Doesn't know them of course, but wants to help anyway! I found him affable and pleasant- just the kind of host you'd want to listen to shortly after waking up. Other reviewers have told the plot, so I'll stop here. Worth seeing for nostalgia fans, and that's a darn good reason!

Tom Breneman plays himself, the host of a daily radio program called Breakfast in Hollywood. A good chunk of this movie is simply Breneman doing his show—interacting with the guests in his restaurant studio, discussing their breakfasts, searching for silly hats, stepping aside for musical guests, just generally doing what daytime show hosts have apparently always done.

Among the guests are a handful of characters who, one way or another, bring their troubles to the show and whose lives thus become the handful of sub-plots that make up the rest of the film. Zasu Pitts is an eccentric fan who's hoping to win the daily ugly hat contest; her story is humorous if a bit pathetic (though her final scene is hilarious). Beulah Bondi, playing an 82-year-old, is the winner of the oldest guest contest. Billie Burke is a guest who, it seems, doesn't particularly believe in wearing makeup, and whose husband is (thus?) gallivanting around with a pair of wild young babes.

The real featured characters are Edward Ryan as a handsome young soldier on his way home from the war, and the wonderful Bonita Granville, who is in town searching for the fiancé who has neither shown up nor communicated with her. Granville has grown up some from her Nancy Drew days, and gives an excellent performance as a young woman who is bright, attractive, worried, confused, and in love.

Breneman ties together the plot lines and appears to be enjoying himself. And besides the plots, he produces a few other good reasons for watching—his musical guests. Nat King Cole and his trio do a couple of numbers; Spike Jones and his group work their nuttiness; and singer Andy Russell croons a couple of pleasant songs.

One scene is not to be missed: Breneman greeting Hedda Hopper at her table to discuss her hat, which leads to Hopper introducing Breneman to her friends at the table—Gary Cooper's mother, Joan Crawford's mother, and Breneman's own mother! (Hopper herself is very funny in her scenes in the picture.)

Not a great movie….and it has some slow spots. But overall, it is a neat little curiosity with much to enjoy.

Also note: The two young lead characters are first brought together by virtue of their both hailing from Minneapolis. It had not occurred to me that way back in 1946, the pronunciation of Minnie-soh-ta was already material for jokes….but apparently it was.

To demand greatness of a film like this is to misunderstand the function of a programmer. Breakfast in Hollywood is popcorn for the mind, a pleasant interlude with some great characters actors (ZaSu Pitts, Beulah Bondi, Billie Burke, Raymond Walburn, Hedda Hopper) and a chance to see Nat "King" Cole and the King Cole Trio on the screen very early in his career (though carefully segregated from the rest of the cast.) Spike Jones does two numbers with the City Slickers, a wartime romance provides a bit of drama although the war is technically over, and there is even a cute dog. The inimitable ZaSu Pitts is worth the price of admission all by herself! The plot, such as it is, is a sort of comedic Bridge of San Luis Rey, following the lives of A HALF DOZEN people attending the radio broadcast. The stories are funny, romantic, or dramatic -- and no one dies at the end! Pure escapism, nicely done.