Annabel Takes a Tour

Jack Oakie and Lucille Ball are no Lucy and Desi, to be sure. But Jack Oakie evokes laughter without effort. This one is full of further hi-jinx of the ne'er do well starlet and her insane publicity man. Not great movies, but all of the Annabel flix are worthwhile watches because they are good, clean, honest fun. Oakie did others on his own for RKO, some of which are good ONLY because he's there. He did his share of clunkers, and sometimes he appears in films with material that I personally find objectionable. But on the whole, he's one of the funniest characters in film ( and good with drama !!). Obviously Lucy cut her comedic teeth in these films. She can only steal a scene from Oakie by taking pratfalls or by being the butt of jokes. I dig Oakie, Lucy, and the "Annabel" films.

Movie star Annabel Allison (Lucille Ball) is frustrated with her publicity being overshadowed. She runs into Lanny Morgan (Jack Oakie) again who is working for a horse. When the horse overshadows Annabel, she gets Lanny rehired again. He organizes a train trip to Chicago to promote her latest film. She fails to get the front page even after falling through a trap door.

This is a sequel. Somehow, I like her a little less in this one. She is a little higher maintenance. There is one scene of physical comedy during the dance. It's the style she excels at most. The ending is abrupt. I get the idea but a comedy should probably end more traditionally. This is a little less fun. The first one has a high concept comedy situation. This one is simply a little less.

Annabel Allison, the star of Wonder Pictures, is angry about her poor publicity, especially when a rival gets engaged to the Marquis; so she forces studio manager Webb to re-hire the embarrassed Morgan promotion agent for her personal guest appearance. The journey continues with a flurry of Morgan's crazy advertising stunts. Then Annabel has her chance to "insert" the right viscount.

Tired sequel to the uninspired Affairs of Annabel. It's more of the same with publicity agent Jack Oakie getting movie star Lucille Ball into wild stunts for the sake of publicity. All of the problems with the last movie are still here. Oakie is still annoying and not very funny. Lucy plays a smart woman who seems to lose all of her sense when Oakie suggests one of his stupid ideas. The movie starts off with Lucy demanding the studio head hire back Oakie, who was apparently fired between the first movie and this one. She keeps saying how he gets her good publicity, which contradicts the first movie. Then, almost as soon as he's hired back, she starts complaining about his schemes. The few positives of the last movie are still here, as well. Lucy is lovely to look at and she tries to make the most of the weak material. The supporting cast is an asset, including the great Donald MacBride. Lucy fans will enjoy this more than most. There aren't many laughs to be had but the likable cast makes it watchable.

Temperamental movie star Annabel Allison demands publicity--any publicity. Despite the mess that her old press agent Lanny Morgan recently got her into, she insists that the studio hire him back on: At least he got her picture in the papers.

Jack Oakie is boisterous agent Lanny Morgan, and he is indeed available for more work with Annabel. Lucille Ball, wacky and imperious, is Annabel. Their cross-country publicity tour doesn't make much sense but it sure is noisy. Along the way, Lucy decides she would like to have a romance with a viscount because a rival movie star is romancing a nobleman. She meets Ralph Forbes, who meets her requirements but seems rather baffled. Oakie attempts to drum up some photo opportunities with mixed results. The love-hate relationship between Lucy and Oakie seems to be the main story line but unfortunately it just doesn't really go anywhere.

Studio secretary Ruth Donnelly accompanies Lucy on the train trip and is solid as always. Donald MacBride has a couple of funny bits as a train conductor who hates the movies.

Overall it's pleasant enough but there sure isn't much to it....And an abrupt ending sneaks up just when you are expecting something interesting finally to happen.

Funniest scene: Jack Oakie attempts to mount a tall horse but has trouble because the stirrup is too high.