Times Square Playboy

The nominal star attraction of "Times Square Playboy" is Warren William, but it's clear even before the halfway point that the real leading actor in this comedy of misunderstandings is Gene Lockhart, who gives a tour de force performance as a small town Joe Average who jumps to ill-informed conclusions when he and his wife come to New York City to attend the wedding of his oldest friend, business tycoon William.

Two other surprises in this 60-minute programmer are some moments of unfaked rough- housing by William and Barton MacLane (as his butler) and an extended one-take jogging scene in an actual park instead of a treadmill with back projection, which would have been more typical for a Warner Bros. cheapie of the period.

The plot, from a well-structured play by George M. Cohan, involves Lockhart's belief that the young cabaret singer William is engaged to marry (Jean Travis) is a golddigger whose family are cheats along for the ride to millions by marriage. Much farcical mayhem ensues. William gets to play a drunk scene, as he often does, and he does it as well as usual. But for sheer acting range it's Lockhart's picture.

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.

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.

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.

Pitched about ten decibels too high as though that makes the lame material funnier, the shouted dialog from Vic (William) and Ban (Lockhart) had me reaching for earmuffs. That might be okay if there were enough comedy to relieve the aural assault. But there isn't. Then too the storyline is flat and repetitive, about a mix-up between Vic's best man Ban and his fiancee's family, putting them at loggerheads. Meanwhile, the mix-ups bounce around like pinballs with about that much credibility. The most interesting part is the mock wrestling between "butler" Casey (MacLane) and his uptown employer Vic. Seems Casey is also Vic's physical trainer, a good amusing touch. There's also a promising subplot of big city vs. small town that unfortunately goes under-developed. Fortunately, the movie does have the great Warren William—the main reason I tuned in. Plus, he gets a chance to play outside his usual high-class schemer roles. I'm just sorry that overall the material and direction add up to an over-the-top disappointment.