Cuatro tías y un sobrino

Oh MY.... so many fun names in this. Ann Sheridan could play big parts, small parts, and do it well. check her out in Man Who Came to Dinner. Dick Powell, started out as a singer, did some singing/actor roles, then more serious film roles without the singing. the awesome sidekick Grady Sutton. Ronald Reagan, actor, governor, president! Helen Broderick, the amazing wisecracker in so many Fred Astaire films. Allen Jenkins and Jerry Colonna, always the co-stars. Vera Lewis. Don't forget the incredible Zasu Pitts... probably best known as the sweet, innocent girl who is about to get taken to the cleaners. WOW. the producers sure rounded up the cream of the crop! Zelda and Don (Sheridan and Powell) hit the charts with their new numbers, and the rest of the actors circle around with supporting roles. Colonna was a professional musician, so it was hard work for him to pretend to be awful. the story itself is rawtha silly, but it's great to see all these big names, who would go on to be even bigger. Sadly, Powell and Sheridan would both die quite young. Directed by Ray Enright. started with Mack Sennett in silents, on to the talkies! Catch this one, just for the various hollywood big wigs.

NAUGHTY BUT NICE works. Dick Powell plays a daffy professor, but the real sparkle is from Helen Broderick as the big city aunt who does the jazz thing, gets her visiting nephew, an aspiring classical composer, involved in the wonderful world of pop jazz songwriting. He's a success, despite the criticisms of his University dean (Halliwell Hobbes) and his three quasi-abolitionist sisters (Vera Lewis, Elizabeth Dunne, and the always fascinating Zasu Pitts).

Good film. The Ed "Eddie" Clark character handled a team of songwriters, and while Powell was tricked into working for another, his love interest worked for the Clark team. I found myself standing whenever Clark appeared on screen.

"Naughty But Nice" is a pleasant Dick Powell musical comedy--more enjoyable than many of his other 30s films. He plays Professor Hardwick, a very straight-laced guy who likes writing classical- style music. However, when he accidentally gets drunk, he becomes a bit of a wild man and ends up giving in to his hidden inner urge to write dreaded swing music! Later, after the Hudson Music company publishes one of his songs, they learn it might be plagiarized and sue him.

This is a very slight movie that never takes itself seriously and has a nice sense of humor. My only complaint is that Ann Sheridan is featured first in the credits but it's more a Dick Powell film. In fact, Gale Page is more prominent in the film but comes third-- and this must be some sort of testament to the sudden star power of Sheridan. If you do watch, you'll also see Ronald Reagan in one of his earliest roles in support.

By 1939, movie audiences were well acquainted with Dick Powell's singing talents. The absence of Powell's crooning in "Naughty But Nice" (NBN) probably wasn't a disappointment to movie-goers, and they were likely amused by his performance, which was against type. Theater audiences in 1939 wouldn't have expected Powell's character, uptight college professor and composer Donald Hardwick, to put in a singing performance in this film.

Don't miss the scene early in NBN that takes place in the dining room of the Hardwick home, as Donald's aunts reveal why they haven't spoken with their sister in years. Listen closely to the dialogue as they reveal the story of the brash musician she married, his instrument of choice, his nickname, and the title of the last song he performed before his untimely death. That dialogue had to have spawned at least a few laughs in theaters in 1939.

I don't place comments on most of the movies I watch (and I am a major film buff, particularly the classics of the late 30's, 40's and 50's, but I felt it necessary here as most of the comments are based on viewers with a Dick Powell focus. Powell's heyday was a little prior the timeframe of my expertise so I am not commenting upon those comments, however, Ann Sheridan is one of the most underrated actresses in film and she is outstanding in this, not to mention gorgeous. The movie is more entertaining than Powell's fans have let on with the final third of the movie quite entertaining for anyone. The increasing frustration of Powell's collegiate colleagues culminating in breaking a tree limb is well done. The scene prior to the court trial with Sheridan slapping everyone repeatedly in the producer's office is outstanding and a "must see" for film fans.