Straight Place and Show

I'm not sure if I've seen a Ritz Brothers movie before this one. In terms of brother comedy acts they haven't stood the test of time like the Marx Brothers, perhaps because they lack distinctive personalities, but they have a lot of energy and know how to sell a joke.

The rest of the cast is fine. Ethel Merman is the standout of the bunch, but her character is little more than a character device devoted to either breaking the obligatory cute couple up or getting them back together. She has a couple of good songs, but seems to good to be a bit player in a low-budget comedy.

The film's biggest weakness is the script, which is just a mess. It centers around a relationship in peril because of the woman's love of her horse, and it can be remarkably inane. Besides Merman's poorly-defined character, there is a "bet" that makes no sense and a moment when the guy, who is portrayed as being a really swell fellow, considers doing something not-good to his girl's pet. The lack of character continuity is so notable that it feels like the characters were written by several different writers who didn't read any part of the script they didn't write.

But it's quite amusing all the same.

OUR FIRST VIEWING of the act that was the Brothers Ritz was on that old, now classic NBC sports/comedy hybrid, JACKPOT BOWLING WITH MILTON BERLE. Don't feel bad if you don't recall or have never heard of it.

THE FORMAT OF this series was to cover real, live pro bowlers, with a sort of intermission in which the guest star(s) would come on, do a little schtick with "Uncle Miltie" before rolling one ball for charity. (Hmm, could it be rebooted ?)

AS FOR THE film being reviewed, STRAIGHT, PLACE AND SHOW (20th Century-Fox, 1938) was a comical farce which pretty much was a typical representation of the sort of fare being done in that era. It had the comic team, the romantic interest and a fanciful, yet compelling, plot toward the notion of getting rich quick. This is always a winning formula, especially when there was still a Depression on in the country.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM manages to adapt a story by Damon Runyon and capitalize on the nation's love of horse racing. They throw in, just for good measure, a brief junket into the squared circle World of Professional Wrestling. Rather than being just a reason to have Harry Ritz do a comic impersonation of a pro grappler, this, sort of sidebar to the plot, helps in moving the story along.

ADDITIONALLY, WE FIND in the cast Phyllis Brooks and Ethel Merman. They provided the romantic sub-plot; with Miss Merman's singing making its contribution to our entertainment (not!)

SOME HAVE CALLED the Ritz Brothers a sort of road show or imitation of the Max Brothers (be they in the original 4 or later 3). We maintain that this could not be further from the truth. Both groups were actual, blood brothers; who just happened to be Jewish.* That's the end of their similarities.

WHEREAS THE MARX boys displayed their madcap zaniness in a fast-paced, rapid fire style, they still maintained individuality and distinctive personality. With the Ritz Brothers. the pace was no slower. But viewing them was like seeing things in triplicate. The singing, eccentric dance maneuvers and the distorted displays of mugging were all well coordinated and uniformly displayed.

OUTSIDE OF VIEWING this picture or others in their list, a very good impression of the Ritz comic genius can be seen on display in THE AUTOGRAPH HOUND (Walt Disney/RKO, 1939. This is a Donald Duck starring vehicle; which uses caricature of many Hollywood luminaries, including a very accurate at the Ritz Brothers brand of humor on the screen. Bye, bye for now ! NOTE: * Someone once asked Jack Benny why all comedians seemed to be either Jewish or Irish. Jack thought for a brief moment, then replied; "Ever meet a funny Lutheran ?"

Like the Marx Brothers who found themselves with a racehorse in their classic film A Day At The Races, the Ritz Brothers also gain possession of a thoroughbred courtesy of a spat between engaged parties Richard Arlen and Phyllis Brooks in Straight Place And Show. The parallels between the two films are truly obvious and I won't belabor you with them.

A whole lot of the same gags are used. But I and others have noted that unlike the Marx Brothers the Ritz Brothers have no individual identities. It's one of the reason their work is not as acclaimed as other comedy teams.

The film's best moments occur when the guys are at a wrestling match and Harry Ritz goes in the ring to earn money for an entrance fee. Very funny stuff, wrestling was as honest a sport then as now.

Straight Place And Show is not a bad film, very funny in spots still.

Possibly the least talented "act" ever seen, The Ritz Brother infested many a 30s film. Here they star in an unfunny comedy as dopes who are given a race horse. Richard Arlen and Ethel Merman are trapped in this stupid comedy as are Phyllis Brooks, Ben Weldon, Sidney Fields, Willie Best, George Barbier, and Sidney Blackmer.

Ethel Merman looks great but sings two sub-par songs; Richard Arlen looks fat, and no one else cause of ripple of interest. The Ritz Brothers make the Three Stooges look like Olivier, Gielgud, and Richardson!

An oddity is that Ivan Lebedev, Raphael Storm, and Gregory Gaye appear as 3 Russian jockeys.... the three also appeared together as princes/suitors to Constance Bennett in Merrily We Live that same year. What was THAT about?

Straight, Place & Show was not one of the Ritz's better films for 20th Century Fox. Those were Life Begins in College, Kentucky Moonshine, Three Musketeers, as well as their outings with Alice Faye: On the Avenue and You Can't Have Everything. But Straight, Place & Show was acceptable despite the woefully low budget. The film editor and the director seem not to have talked to each other; the film looks choppy. The screenplay was adapted from a play written by Dmon Runyon (think Guys & Dolls) and Irving Caesar, but the only Runyonesque characters we meet are characters played by Sid Fields, Stanley Fields and Ben Weldon. Wiile Best is wasted.Even the Ritzes are cut down to two specialty numbers. But they do their best, as does Ethel Merman in crystalline voice. Phyllis Brooks tries to put life into her role. If it were not for the Ritz Brothers and Merman, I'd say pass on this film. But because of La Merman and Al, Jimmy & Harry Ritz, it is worth a look and will provide some chuckles. Yeah, yeah. You either love'em or hate 'em. But to call the Ritz Brothers untalented, as a previous reviewer did, is ridiculous. They were expert precision dancers and could sing as well as do physical and verbal comedy. By the 1940s many budding comedians (Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks)were heavily influenced by the Ritz Brothers' zaniness.