No, No, Nanette

Okay, so there is a front view of a Checker taxi, probably late 1930s model. It has the great triangular shaped headlights. There also is a DeSoto cab in this black and white, character driven, almost a musical love gone wrong story.

The real pleasure here is the look at 1940s room interiors and fashions and hotel elevators. The hair styles, male and female are gorgeous. If Dolly Parton had Victor Mature's hair she could have made it big. There is an artist loft that would be the envy of every Andy Warhol wannabe.

If you watch this expecting a great Casablanca storyline or Sound of Music oom-pah-pah, you will be disappointed. There is a nice little story beneath the runway model approach in this film.

My copy on DVD with another movie for $1 was very viewable. The title sequence was cute but not up there with Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World or The Pink Panther. This was an RKO movie but it did not have the nice airplane logo that RKO used to use.

I liked Victor Mature in One Million, B.C., and Sampson and Delilah and especially in Violent Saturday. See if you can find that one. He was wonderful in the comedy with Peter Sellers called Caccia Alla Volpe or After The Fox.

Richard Carlson went on to do I Led Three Lives on TV in the early 1950s.

Vic Mature was offered the part of Sampson's father in the remake of Sampson and Delilah. He supposedly was asked if he would have any problems playing the part of the father since he was so well known as Sampson. Victor replied, "If the money is right, I'll play Sampson's mother."

Tom Willett

One of the greatest of stars of the British cinema was Anna Neagle and her marriage with her producer Herbert Wilcox has a just claim of one of the greatest star/impresario partnerships in history. Right up there with David Belaco/Mrs. Leslie Carter and Phineas T. Barnum/Jenny Lind.

Wilcox made a three picture deal with RKO Pictures and brought Anna over to this side of the pond to star in three film versions of famous musical comedies, Irene, Sunny, and this film No No Nanette. Though her charm and singing and dancing talent come through, the two that I've seen so far seem to suffer from a lack of decent production values.

The Vincent Youmans score is almost completely eliminated as the only numbers retained are the title song and the standards I Want To Be Happy and Tea For Two. Still Anna does them charmingly with both her co-star Richard Carlson and her uncle Roland Young.

The plot is on two tracks, there's débutante Nanette who is courted by artist Richard Carlson and Broadway director Victor Mature. And her uncle Roland Young is an incurable romantic, forever pursuing young ladies to the displeasure of her aunt Helen Broderick. Trundling through it all is the family maid Zasu Pitts who has the difficult task of keeping everybody's secrets.

The version I saw was only 87 minutes and it says here that the USA version was 96 and the UK version of No No Nanette was 116. It was thought for a long time the film was lost altogether so I'm guessing it was pieced together as best it could be. Because of the unavoidable bad editing I can't give it more than I have.

Still for fans of Anna Neagle, something to see.

This version is likely available at your local dollar store on DVD. The print is not great, nor is the sound, but if you have $1.00 and 90 or so minutes to spare, you'll get your money's worth (which is not saying an awful lot). Anna Neagle is extremely vapid as Nanette. Whatever her charms may have been back in the day, they are not evident in this film. A great number of fine character actors appear in this film (Helen Broderick, Zasu Pitts, Even Arden), but the material falls remarkably short of their talents. Still, it is interesting to see how such accomplished performers make the most of the weak writing. The musical numbers (there are really only two) are quite horrible. Clearly the studio did not feel compelled to cash in on the rich musicality of the original "No, No, Nanette". For what it's worth, the DVD can be had for $1.00. It's worth that much just to say you've seen it.

Looks like RKO was showcasing lead actress Neagle. She's in almost every frame, trying hard, all bounce and giggles as aging ingenue Nanette. Trouble is she may be trying too hard without let-up. Then too, the airy farce is itself trying too hard, almost frantic in its machine gun editing and pacing. Too much spark speeds by without time to digest or to maybe even enjoy. The rapid-fire also undercuts a good chance to dig into a stellar cast of supporing players, like Pitts, Arden, and Gilbert. Nonetheless, there are compensations, such as occasional snappy dialogue, women's hat stabbers, and a sexy character named Sonyabich (How'd they get that one by the censors). Anyway, had the pacing slowed without trying to crowd in so much, along with more and better musical numbers, the musical farce might have scored, instead of speeding its way into movieland obscurity.

This sad little film bears little similarity to the 1971 Broadway revival that was such a 'nostalgic' hit. Keep in mind that when Burt Shevelove directed that revival, he rewrote the book extensively. I have a feeling that this screenwriter wrought as much of a change from the original 1925 version as well. I played the 'innocent philanderer' Jimmy Smith on-stage in 1974, and thought this $1 DVD would bring back memories. Not a chance. Even the anticipated delight of seeing "Topper" Roland Young play 'my' part was a major disappointment. Three songs from the play remain, and are done very poorly. Even the classic duet, "Tea For Two", is done as a virtual solo. The many familiar faces in this 1940 fiasco do not do themselves proud at all, and the star, Anna Neagle, just embarrasses herself. When I feel gypped by spending a dollar, I know the film must be bad. Another commentator mentioned the Doris Day version, which is actually called "Tea For Two" and is about doing the stage play (the original, of course), so those who are seeking the true "No No Nanette" might find a more recognizable version there.