Times Square Playboy

This was the second filming of George M. Cohan's 1926 comedy about Warren William inviting his long-time friend, Gene Lockhart, to be best man at his wedding. Lockhart perceives that his fiancée, June Travis, and her family are gold diggers taking William for a ride, so he proceeds to wreck the relationship. Gene Lockhart has the best role, the best lines and the best performance. The only trouble with the movie is that it takes too long for William to set Lockhart straight. It would have been a better movie if William tried more forcefully at first but failed because Lockhart constantly interrupted him. As it is, there are enough pauses to make me think he didn't try just to extend the running time, which is a short 62 minutes anyway. It's clearly director William McGann's fault. But Lockhart is great as the supreme conclusion jumper and buttinsky, and this movie is still much better than the 1940 remake. I'd love to see the first 1928 version, also a talkie.

You might notice a credit error: Craig Reynolds is credited onscreen with the character name of Joe Reynolds, but he is called Joe Roberts throughout the movie.

One critic wrote, "it's fifteen minutes for sure before there's an inkling of what the story's about." That's one of the elements that makes it so good: you can't figure it out. This is not formula, but a tightly written play from George M Cohan. The second scene has a clichéd conversation between two characters. Later, one player takes the chat and puts a totally negative spin on it. The other actors argue that everything he interpreted is opposite from the truth. This is like a good courtroom drama. Other elements that make it great are Gene Lockhart and Bart MacLane at their best. The comedy is funny, especially when Lockhart gets apoplectic. It has slapstick, and proves that a wrestling move taught in act 1 must be used in act 3. True screwball, the best of all movie genres.

Times Square Playboy (1936)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charming, if incredibly routine and predictable tale from Warner has country boy Vic Arnold (Warren William) making it big in the city and about to marry a stage star (June Travis) but their relationship hits the rocks when the best man (Gene Lockhart), also a country boy, shows up and thinks his friend is being taken advantage of. TIMES SQUARE PLAYBOY probably would have worked better had it been made during the pre-code era because it could have allowed some of the situations to be more frank and open. For a comedy there aren't too many laughs to be had here but I think the cast makes it worth sitting through and the 62-minute running time goes by without any slow paces. I think the best thing going for the film are its performances but the real standout is Lockhart who plays a major idiot who is constantly saying the wrong things. There's a sequence where he goes off on all the city people in his friend's life and the fast, maniac style that the actor does here is quite amusing and you'll be wanting to punch him in the nose by the time it's over. William could play this type of role in his sleep and he too does a nice job here as does Travis as the bride to be. Dick Purcell adds nice support and Kathleen Lockhart does a good job with her husband. The biggest thing working against the film is that not enough of the laughs work and I'd also say that the material is way too predictable for its own good. The fast paced nature of the attempted jokes will remind people of the type of screwball comedies that would be so popular in the 1940s.

I definitely agree that this picture was 'stolen" by Gene Lockhart. He is delightful as he storms around, ranting about how his buddy is about to be "taken" by the family of the woman he is going to marry. Lockhart's real life wife Kathleen plays his wife in the movie. Her acid tongued rejoinders to him are delightful. It was also a treat for me to see Barton MacLane in a role where he is not some kind of bad guy. It's a real change of pace for him and he handles it very well. There's not much plot to this film, no criminals or thugs, but it is a nice, simple story of two life long friends and how they resolve a major misunderstanding. At 62 minutes it moves quickly and the viewer won't become bored.

Wall Street tycoon Warren William is engaged to nightclub singer June Travis, so his oldest friend from Big Bend Indiana, Gene Lockhart, comes to town with his wife Kathleen Lockhart, to be best man. But Lockhart -- Gene, not Kathleen -- is suspicious of Miss Travis, and her family, and her ex-boyfriend. He quarrels with William, then the wedding is called off.

It's an ensemble piece, but Lockhart gets a rare chance to be the de facto lead, and does a decent job in this second-feature remake of 1928 THE HOME TOWNERS. It was based on a George M. Cohan play and directed for speed by William McGann. Like many a Warner B of this period, it's adequate without being memorable.