Two Guys from Milwaukee

Dennis Morgan teamed with Jack Carson in an earlier film with Ann Sheridan.

What makes this film so good is that eventually the 2 guys will change status and accept what has become of them.

The story basically deals with a Balkin Prince (Morgan, in a non-singing role) who comes to America on the eve of his country deciding whether or not to maintain the monarchy or change to a republic. His goal is to spend some time with the common people and of course, he meets up with cab driver Carson.

Naturally, Joan Leslie, Carson's girlfriend, falls for our prince and there are some very funny scenes as the FBI trails the trio.

The ending is a good one with a big surprise. It has something to do with Morgan's goal throughout the picture.

TCM did an interesting marathon of films by Billy Wilder's frequent writing partner I.A.L. Diamond, highlighting primarily films Diamond did not write with Wilder. In this film, Dennis Morgan plays a European prince who tries to hide out as a regular American, which makes for a silly culture clash comedy, with Morgan getting advice on how to act American from cabbie Jack Carson. It's nothing as funny as his work with Wilder, but it's inoffensively entertaining, features a likable cast, and even boast a funny cameo by Bogie and Bacall.

Two Guys From Milwaukee was a fun, comedic surprise. Yes, it was a little predictable; though, who would win the girl was in question almost until the end. The story moved along quite quickly with smart and snappy dialogue and an array of likable characters.

Beyond the comedy and the quickly developed love story was a very enjoyable window into everyday life in Brooklyn in the mid-1940's--the friendliness, the simplicity (by modern standards), the economic modesty. Director David Butler shot the movie in an intimate fashion, which makes you feel like you're sitting with the characters in the living room, riding the tour bus in Manhattan or waking with them in the morning.

Jack Carson plays the role of Buzz Williams, the very likable Brooklyn cabbie. Carson has played many enjoyable characters, but this one has a unique charm to it. He's a simple enough guy, but with some real life complexity to him. Even during a rather obvious advertisement for democracy (of course, having just won WWII, there's nothing wrong with marketing the winning stuff) Carson delivers the message in a humble, regular-guy-on-the-street way.

All in all, you'll smile through much of the movie and laugh out loud, too. It was a very enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.

Plot-- A European prince travels to the US to learn about life in a democracy. There he meets a Brooklyn cab driver and gets a whirlwind intro to big city America, especially when he and the cabbie compete for the same girl.

Is democracy a better governing institution than monarchy. Boy, there's a tough one for the movie to answer. Forget the plot that has the prince (Morgan) discovering the joys of blue- collar Brooklyn. Instead, it's the cast and a number of comedic touches that lift this romantic comedy. Morgan and Carson may never have reached Hope and Crosby's level of team success, but they're just as likable.

Actually, many of the laughs come from the supporting cast plus good side-action touches. For instance, there's that sly old teddy bear, SZ (Cuddles) Sakall. His fractured English is always good for a chuckle and a hug. Then there's Franklyn Pangborn doing his flustered bit as the theatre manager. It's always fun to watch his officious manner get punctured. The girls, Leslie and Paige, are both fetching and energetic, lending real bounce.

I confess looking forward to these 40's features in order to marvel over the ladies hats. Back then, a woman wasn't really dressed without a dress hat, and invariably the head-gear resembled alien life forms, as the exaggerated plumes do here.

Anyway, Butler directs with verve and style, helping get us over Connie's (Leslie) rather tiresomely repetitive dilemma—will it be blue-collar Bud (Carson) or refined royalty (Morgan) that she ends up with. Too bad the rivalry drags out longer than it should. A trim job here would have given the comedy more punch.

Nonetheless, the likable cast generally keeps the chuckles coming, while Morgan-Carson make an entertaining team. I just hope Bud learns to park his cab before I get there.

Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946)

** (out of 4)

Warner comedy has Prince Henry (Dennis Morgan) landing in America but not wanting to do the normal Prince stuff like meetings and royal dinners. Instead he wants to see NYC and meet Lauren Bacall. He meets a taxi driver (Jack Carson) and the two hit it off until the Prince starts to have feelings for his girlfriend (Joan Leslie). I've read several positive reviews for this film but I must call it a pretty big disappointment for several reasons. I think my biggest problem with the film was that I simply didn't laugh at anything. I didn't laugh at the Prince getting drunk for the first time and I didn't laugh at anything that followed. The movie was fairly boring, although I give Morgan and Carson a lot of credit because you can tell they're giving it their all to try and get laughs but the screenplay really lets them down. For me the movie dragged from one scene to the next and none of them got any better or had any real energy that would keep me into the story. I think it was pretty predictable that the Prince would end up falling for his friends girlfriend and in many ways this isn't all that funny because I personally felt bad for the taxi driver. There's a running joke of the two men telling everyone that they're from Milwaukee but I didn't find this funny either. I think the film would have been better had the Prince actually done his first goal in trying new things. The movie seems to forget this and by the twenty-minute mark he pretty much knows his way around. The movie does end on a very good note when the Prince's main dream comes true but he also meets her better half.