Playmates

This appears to have been the last movie of the great John Barrymore. (The filmography listed here must be wrong in following it with a movie in 1966. I've seen that movie and it is an old one.) As such, it has historical importance.

John Barrymore will always be remembered as one of the great men of American theater as well as a fine movie actor. He looks puffy and tired here, but boy! Does he give it his best shot.

The on screen credits have him as a supporting player, with Kay Keyser -- a tiny fleck on the radar screen of movie history -- before the title. However, I'd guess that Barrymore has at least as many lines as Keyser.

As to the quality of the lines: That is another story. In the movie, the always funny Patsy Kelly plays his agent. In real life, it's hard to imagine that any agent would have allowed him to play in such a startlingly vulgar movie. Maybe bills just needed to be paid.

This movie is so vulgar, it is entertaining, though our hearts break for Barrymore being paraded around in such sorry physical shape (and ending the movie in some sort of bizarre drag, hardly flattering to his corpulent figure. It is supposed to be Shakespearean garb but I've never seen a play by the immortal Bard that had its lead got up like that.) (Of course, I have never seen one with a male Portia, either, though Keyser is shown practicing her lines from "The Merchant Of Venice.") Lupe Velez is also served very badly here. She has a small role and is, as she generally was, a caricature. She is overly made up and is made to seem thoroughly unappealing in character as well.

May Robson is always good. I have never seen a bad performance from her. Here she is in the small role of Keyser's mother and does fine with what she has. It is scarcely one of the highlights of her career, though.

Ish Kabibble is a very odd presence. He seems to have the haircut on which the Beatles (whom I love; please understand) based theirs. He is harmless, as is Keyser, as is Ginny Simms. I don't care for that style of music, but obviously many did.

Having John Barrynore laugh at, or even be on the same sound stage with, Ish's corny jokes is really sad, though. The whole thing is sad. But it isn't dull.

If Barrymore were alive today, one has the feeling from his presence here, he might be doing guest bits on reality TV shows -- letting it all hang out but making enough to pay the bills and to keep his name in the public eye.

Painful self humiliation from a fallen star. Barrymore here plays himself as a has been Shakespearean star so desperate for a Radio contract that he agrees to appear opposite Kay Kyser and band in a festival of the bard's plays.

John was on his last legs when he made this, as testified by a bloated and sometimes drunken appearance and he's treated badly by the script and cast (all his tax and drinking problems are trotted out as "humour" and in a dream scene Barrymore is even shown as a bull defeated by toreador Kyser). Yet this film does have a certain weird amusement value if you catch it in the right mood and if you can forget it's his final film..

Barrymore works very hard to make the most of this script, bellowing and posturing his way through the proceedings. It's a million miles from subtle but with his snorts and grunts and bulging eyes he certainly holds the attention and even generates the odd laugh. Occasionally there's a flash of his old talent. At one point he delivers part of Hamlet's To Be Or Not To Be soliquey in an attempt to demonstrate how Shakespeare should be performed. The film and the scene to this point lead us to expect that Barrymore will send the speech up.

Instead in the midst of the frantic mugging Barrymore gives a heart felt and totally straight reading of the scene. It lasts a minute and is intensely moving. There's genuine rawness here and John himself seems quite overcome. (It's extraordinary they kept this in) For a few scenes after this we get to hear his voice giving further beautifully modulated readings from Romeo and Juliet before the movie goes back to it's demeaning purpose.

Patsy Kelly is one of the other talents who help save this farrago from complete disaster.

Playmates (1941)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

John Barrymore plays himself in this his final movie, which sees the great actor go out on a rather bad note. In the film Barrymore is pretty much playing his real life problem as he can't get any good press so his agent (Patsy Kelly) comes up with a scheme to say he's going to teach bandleader Kay Kyser how to be a Shakespearean actor. As with Barrymore's THE GREAT PROFILE, this so-called comedy has more frowns than anything else as it's rather sad seeing Barrymore having to spoof himself and make fun of his rather serious alcohol problem, which would claim his life the following year. With that in mind, it's sometimes rather hard to laugh at certain jokes that are clearly aimed to spoof him and his drinking. It's also rather obvious that he's quite bloated here and in many scenes he appears to be drunk so this here too will stick in your mind while watching the film. I will add that he isn't a complete wash out like many reviews would have you believe. Yes, he's incredibly over the top but no one does that quite like Barrymore and in his own charming way the performance is rather charming. His first appearance in the film will certainly put a smile on your face and you can't help but feel, at times, that he's really giving it all and giving a complete work out of a performance. We also get to see him act out Hamlet and give the famous "To be or not to be..." line. That alone is worth sitting through this otherwise forgettable film. The biggest problem is the actual screenplay that has one joke and it's not a very funny one. Barrymore teaching Kyser to do Shakespeare. That whole joke isn't funny and that means the film itself isn't going to be funny. We do have some mildly amusing moments but the pacing is incredibly bad and the 94-minute running time drags by rather painfully. Kyser gets a couple good musical numbers and he has his own bit of charm in terms of his performance. Kelly gets a few good lines with Lupe Velez and May Robson giving some support. In the end however, this is a pretty poor film that would sadly be Barrymore's last. Fans of his might want to check it out but others would be better served to see the actor in some of his better roles.

Well, I'll stick my neck out & say that I think the great JB enjoyed himself making this movie & was happy to not be the " star ". I'm ignorant of the genre but seems that Mr. Kyser is the big name here based on his musical skills & radio profile. Ish, what can we say about Ish ... " What is the difference between a duck ?" This guy was a long haired pot smoker 25 years before the rest of the world caught up. No folks here we have The Nanny, with minor twists, in 1941. The major characters are there, check it out. Any plot line that could support a TV series with less that great entertainers, in any field, has no problem sustaining 95 minutes with this cast. This movie is a hoot, enjoy it for the farce that Mr. Barrymore played it as.

Count me in with the group who enjoyed this film thoroughly. As a Kay Kyser vehicle it wasn't meant to be high art, it was a lowbrow comedy and in that it succeeds wonderfully. I laughed continually throughout the picture.

And NO, John Barrymore was not "sad", he was *hilarious* in his portrayal of a self-absorbed ham who would rather be boiled in oil than appear onstage with a bandleader. Unfortunately a rather large and unexpected bill from the IRS leaves him little choice, and a much-needed radio endorsement deal is contingent upon his appearing with Kyser in a Shakespearean production...much to his chagrin. Barrymore's over-the-top, pompous delivery was pure gold, and he played it to the hilt with gusto. He rolled every "R" three times as long, and his use of "me" rather than "my" in all his musings was quite humorous..."I have played 'Hamlet' before Kings and Queens! Had them groveling at me feet in abject worship! And you sacrilegiously affiliate me magic name with a barefoot bumpkin, a bifocal billy goat, from the hills of North Carolina! Where to this day, civilization has not yet penetrated!" Wonderfully delivered...anyone who finds this "sad" obviously doesn't get it.

This film is in the exact same vein as the Eddie Cantor vehicle "Thank Your Lucky Stars", which ragged Cantor mercilessly from start to finish as a celebrity with an ego the size of a bus. Barrymore - like Cantor - shows he was a good sport overall for being the recipient of an endless string of insults that were obviously delivered in good fun. The fact that several reviewers here find it pathetic...well, I couldn't disagree more. From what I saw Barrymore had a lot of fun himself making light of his well known reputation.

Throw in a little spice with Lupe Velez, and the formula is complete.

The music is great, and Ginny Simms is absolutely gorgeous. Ish Kabibble is 100% corn as always, those who are familiar with his routine expect nothing less. And no matter what anyone says about Kay Kyser's "acting" (which was also cut to shreds without mercy in this picture)...when he's in front of an audience doing his thing with the band, his stage presence cannot be touched. His style was completely unique and was extremely popular, with good reason. Kay Kyser was the MAN.