Look Who's Laughing

No, radio characters often don't lend themselves to a visual medium, and this no exception.

Bergen and McCarthy look ridiculous. Bergen was always an obvious ventriloquist who kept moving his head to distract people from seeing his lips move so obviously. And then the worst, acting as if Charlie McCarthy is able to sit by himself and even answer the phone. Waaaaay better on radio.

Gildersleeve probably comes off better on screen than on radio because he's such a buoyant character to behold.

Lucy at the time was eye candy, and later it became harder to view her as so feminine.

Nevertheless, the audience of the day got to see people they loved for years. It was probably well worth it in the day. They likely suspended all of the shortcomings and came away feeling warm.

As a contributor in the 45+ category, I was amazed and somewhat puzzled to note that the highest scores for this movie came from the 18+ group of viewers, and the LOWEST came from my and older generations who would have remembered fondly Fibber McGee and Molly, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and the Great Gildersleeve as a result of listening to their weekly radio shows. Perhaps the evaluation reflects disappointment at seing their favorites not in their familiar formats (though the writers managed to include most of the familiar tag-lines from both radio shows) Certainly the plot (!) is paper-thin and full of inconsistencies. Still, the performers came across as very likeable and there were more than a few chuckles. Probably because of this, the film was a surprise box-office success in 1941. I watched it on tape last night, and had the same strange feeling as the other IMDB respondent, to see Charlie, not on Bergen's knee, interacting with other actors as though he was human. This was even stranger in the follow-up film Here We Go Again, when a midget dressed as Charlie dances on a ballroom floor. It reminds me of the puppets in Great Gabbo and Dead of Night, where the dummy overrides the personality of the ventriloquist.

Perhaps the audience for old radio comedy is dwindling, but those who enjoy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, and The Chase & Sanborn Hour will get a kick out of this silly movie. It's a crossover story in which Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy accidentally crash their plane at Wistful Vista. An added plus: Lucille Ball as Bergen's love interest. An added added plus: Sterling (Winnie the Pooh) Holloway as a soda jerk.

I can't be sure what effect the movie would have on viewers unacquainted with the radio series...the only reason for the existence of the film is for fans to be able to SEE people whose voices they've come to love, saying the popular catch phrases from the shows. Imagine "Where's the Beef? - The Motion Picture!" ...well, it's not that dreadful, but almost as nonsensical for the uninitiated.

Lovers of cinematic weirdness will enjoy a bizarre aspect of the story: Dummy Charlie McCarthy is depicted as a living, independently mobile creature, with several solo scenes. You can kind of accept him sitting there talking, but the effect is pretty eerie when he moves around. A friend of mine found it so disconcerting she left the room.

I saw this movie about fifteen years ago on American Movie Classics. Having a great deal of interest in movies of this time period, I found it a lot of fun to watch. It is true that the plot is pretty thin, but for those familiar with the characters from repeats of old radio broadcasts it is great to put a face with the characters. I was surprised to see Lucille Ball in this picture. She really doesn't have a lot to do, but has some funny moments. I watch this movie with my children once or twice a year. They especially like the hand puppet Ophelia as well as the section where Charley McCarthy gets tipsy while drinking chocolate sodas. (They became familiar with Bergen by watching Disney's Fun and Fancy Free on DVD). Totally enjoyable and great for the whole family. Catch it when you can!

This film based on the Fibber McGee And Molly radio series has Fibber enlisting Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy to get industrialist Neil Hamilton to build an aircraft plant in their town of lovely Wistful Vista. Looking to crab the deal is speculator Charles Halton and the McGees neighbor the ever larcenous Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve.

The McGees were quite the American institution on radio. The films that real life married couple Jim and Marian Jordan allowed America to see the McGees as well as follow them weekly on radio. So in fact was Edgar Bergen and his two wooden companions Charlie McCarthy and Knucklehead Smiff.

Another future legend this one on television Lucille Ball also appears Look Who's Laughing. And Harold Peary who began as a neighbor of the McGees on their show spun off on his own with The Great Gildersleeve. Both Fibber McGee And Molly and The Great Gildersleeve were tried on television with different actors in the starring roles and never found an audience.

The climax is a hoot with McGee accidentally pushing the start button on Edgar Bergen's airplane and taking off. Bergen performs a rescue a long the lines of one that Charlton Heston did in Airport 75. Of course with a lot more laughs than Heston got.

Nostalgia lovers like myself will enjoy this one.