The Medicine Man

The Medicine Man is a poor example of an early talkie. Slow and dumb, with a rustic cast of German-American characters DW Griffith would gag on. Jack Benny's presence makes it historically interesting, but that's about it. Benny gets off the only good line, "The New York critics have proclaimed this show the greatest amalgamation of merry making mirth provokers since Shakespeare was barred from Avon." And he mispronounces "Avon." The plot is more-or-less the same as The Music Man but without any of the music, acting or dialog. For Benny completists only.

I just finished watching the Medicine man starring Jack Benny. The movie was hokey and had very poor sound quality. It also had silent film gestures. But, you have to keep in mind this movie was made shortly after talkies came on the scene. It was fun to watch as part of film history. Jack Benny is 36 years old and chasing after an 18 year old. That alone makes it worth watching. Another lecher is after the same girl and there is even a guy who only wants to see her happy. The movie was a little sad and I don't know if it was really ever funny. I'll always better remember the later Jack Benny from the 50s where he was portrayed as being cheap and and from an episode of the Lucy Show he starred on.

At the onset, this film has two huge strikes against it. First, it's a very early talkie and most films from this time suffered from very poor sound quality. And, compared to the average film of the time, it's even worse. Second, it's in the public domain—so there's no incentive for anyone to do anything to try to fix this sound problem. So, if you do try to watch it, be prepared. But, if you do it's a pretty good film.

The movie begins with a young lady and her brother living with a VERY abusive father. In fact, it's a bit shocking to see such a brutal depiction of child abuse. However, things look a bit brighter when a medicine show arrives in town, as the boss (Benny) is quite charming and might just be the young lady's ticket away from the horrid father. Tune in to see exactly what happens next.

While Jack Benny will always be remembered as a comedian, I am not really sure if I'd call this a comedy. This is not a bad thing, as the film worked pretty well as a light drama—plus in many of Benny's early films the humor is very forced. Here, however, the film is story-driven and this worked pretty well overall. So, if you are looking for a comedy—look a bit further. But if you are looking for a good movie—without laughs, then look no further.

When watching The Medicine Man with Jack Benny one has to keep in mind that at this stage of his career Benny had not yet hit on the lovable tightwad character in which his comedy was built around. He was just another old vaudeville performer trying to make it in Hollywood at a point when studios were signing them up because of some kind of stage training. Benny's career in film was never all that significant, his primary venue was radio and later television where the tightwad image was so ingrained in your mind, it was what you expected and knew how he would react in a given situation.

That is not The Medicine Man. In this film Benny is a barker for a medicine show, not a respectable profession. But for Betty Bronson and young Billy Butts, brother and sister, he represents a way to get out from a really horrible life with a cruel and repressive father.

Jack does not really cut it as a romantic figure. But that might have not been his fault. The inevitable complaint from performers is about typecasting in a particular role. What was a complaint for most was something Benny absolutely relied on later for his comedy to work. It worked so well that even looking back at films before his hit radio show, he just can't be seen in another part.

But he'd have preferred it that way.

Benny's recognizable even at this early age, however there's none of his trademark understated humor. Looks like he was intended here as a leading man; if so, he underplays perhaps to a fault. In short, the low-key no doubt worked perfectly for the comedian but not for the actor. Good thing his career converted. Then too, movie-wise, whatever spark there is comes from leading lady Bronson whose sweetness shines even as the abused daughter of brutal father Goltz who leather-straps his kids for most any misbehavior. No, this is not a comedy as the Benny name would imply. Instead he runs a traveling medicine show that comes to Bronson's small town where their mutual attraction soon develops. But what's her tyrannical father going to do since he's already picked out an over-age finance for her. That's the plot crux. Still, there're several points to note.

The character Gus, Vadim Uranoff, is a highly unusual one both in looks and behavior. As a handyman he lurks in the background agonizing over Goltz' cruelty, a strangely craggy figure too timid to interfere. Also, note that despite their suspect reputation, Benny's medicine show is made relatively law-abiding, except for the two con men who operate apart from Benny. That way the hero's shown to be morally upright despite a suspect livelihood, and thus someone qualified to identify with. Note too the surprise climax, a case where law appears to conflict with morality though the shooter is not made clear. Still, it's a surprise and a clear case of pre-Code ambiguity that would soon be disallowed by Code censors. Anyway, for fans of comedian Benny, the flick may be disappointing. Nonetheless, there are unusual compensations.