Strike Me Pink

If you have not seen "Whoopee!" or "Palmy Days" or "Kid Millions" or "Roman Scandals" or "The Kid from Spain", you may think that "Strike Me Pink" is a pretty funny comedy. However, compared to the films mentioned above, it just doesn't make it. Instead of writing for his usual "frightened and nervous little man" persona, Cantor is given a script which would be better suited to Harold Lloyd. The musical numbers, though serviceable, are not even close to the great songs introduced in the previous pictures. Casting Ethel Merman, so perfect in "Kid Millions", as the romantic lead was a total mistake. Parkyakarkus and Bill Frawley are descent comic foils for Cantor, but somehow it all seems a little contrived. If you have seen the other films Cantor made for Goldwyn, this one may be a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong! There are some funny bits in the film. It's certainly not a total disaster, but compared to the films which came before it, it leaves much to be desired.

I haven't seen the whole movie, but just happened upon the last 15 or 20 minutes on TCM. Most of this time was filled by a chase scene that was actually kind of exciting (though it strained credulity that Our Hero wasn't killed about 8 times) and often funny. I was often thinking, "How did they do that?" I don't know about the rest of the film, but his part was definitely worth seeing.

An interesting aspect of changing technology was that the object of the chase was to get/keep possession of a phonograph record, presumably the only copy of an important recorded conversation. It wouldn't have happened in the digital age!

Several numbers in the film are worth a look just because of the clear influence of Busby Berkeley. The numbers show sophistication and modernist sensibility very different from the tone and style of the rest of the material, and very Berkelesque. In the "High and Low" number,for example, filmed mostly in closeups, Merman's white skin is strongly silhouetted against her very black costume, which itself blends into the black background. Its a chiaroscuro effect highly reminiscent of Winnie Shaw's "Lullaby of Broadway" number in Gold Diggers of 1933.

Later, in "Shake Me Off With Rhythm", the shiny dance floor reflects the dancers so completely that a reflection begins to dance on its own, itself a reminder of Bojangles by Fred Astaire in Swingtime, which was released in the same year. At another point, dancers intertwine so that their one's arm become the other's legs and it becomes difficult to distinguish them, their intertwined bodies still reflected by the shiny floor in a very modernist composition. It all feels like Busby, off center, inventive, playful. Worth a look.

I've seen quite a few Eddie Cantor films and some of them are wonderful films. However, Cantor also made a few clunkers--and STRIKE ME PINK is one of them.

The film starts out well. Cantor plays a milquetoast owner of a dry cleaning business. Because he's so afraid, he takes a correspondence course to make him an assertive man. This aspect of the film is pretty funny and I really was hooked.

When Cantor's friend graduates college, Cantor is offered a job running the amusement park owned by his friend's mother. They hire him because he acts tough and assertive--and they need that because hoods (led by Brian Donlevy and William Frawley) are trying to force the park to place crooked slot machines on the property. The last three managers all met with "unfortunate accidents" or just disappeared, so it looks as if Cantor is in over his head.

Again, so far so good--the set up is just fine and the film is a mildly amusing comedy. However, one problem is noticeable half-way through the film. While Cantor himself often sings cute little songs in his films, this time there are some Busby Berkely-like production numbers and the addition of a lady singer that frankly didn't work. The humor, at times, took a back seat to irrelevant musical numbers. The dumb plot involving the dark-haired lounge singer just didn't work at all.

By the middle of the film, the quality and humor started to fade. However, towards the end the film got really, really bad--like the writers had no idea what to do with the film. Going from a gentle comedy to a "wacky" and outrageous comedy just failed miserably. All too often, Cantor wasn't even in a scenes--just his stunt double. Additionally, with the awful roller coaster scene, too much of a reliance on rear-projection and dippy stunts sank the film. At this point, I just couldn't wait for it to end. It's a shame really, as I wanted to love this film--too bad it all turned to crap at the end.

The fifth and final movie of Broadway star Eddie Cantor's films for producer Sam Goldwyn's independent production company, it was considered the weakest by critics and fans at the time. Even Leonard Maltin gives this a low rating compared to the three stars (out of four) he gives to the other Cantor films. While certainly not as much of a classic, it is certainly entertaining enough to warrant study in this era of Adam Sandler/Jim Carrey comedys.

Always typecast as the scaredy cat milquetoast, Eddie Cantor continues in that mold here as a laundrymat employee who ends up becoming manager of an amusement park owned by a feisty little old lady (Helen Lowell). It seems that the previous managers have all met with fatal accidents thanks to a racket that wants to install pinball machines in the park against the old ladies wishes. When Cantor manages to show a little more verve in front of the old lady and her daughter (Sally Eilers, a sadly forgotten actress), he is offered position of manager of the park, and celebrates with his pal by visiting his favorite singer, Georgia (Ethel Merman) who flirts with him in order to get him to install the pinball machines for her gangster friends.

There are several memorable production numbers which use the Busby Berkley style flare for overhead shots previously used in the Cantor musicals which Berkley choreographed: "Whoopee"; "Palmy Days"; and "The Kid From Spain". Other choreographers took over the reigns for his last three Goldwyn pictures, and here, Roy Del Ruth gets the job. Cantor's "The Lady Dances" production number at the amusement park is very elaborate, although it is Merman's "Shake It Off With Rhythm" that stands out here especially with the dancer whos shadow in the well-polished nightclub floor does her own steps. And when the bevy of chorus girls (thanks to the obvious presence of other chorus girls beneath them) start a dance while sitting on the floor, the number goes into the Hollywood musical books as one of the wackiest production numbers in film history. Merman and Cantor also sing a duet while on a ferris wheel which shows them with old-age make-up. Audiences familiar with Merman's later Broadway, film, and TV appearances will find it amusing to see young Merman (then 27) in old lady disguise.

Merman also sings a torchy number (with chorus) at the beginning that is well photographed but not at all in the same league with her big number. The two big production numbers are topped by a riotous finale (later used in "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood") where Cantor tries to flee from the rackateers (one of whom is William Frawley, aka Fred Mertz) by escaping on a rollercoaster. Of course, all sorts of visual comedy takes place, turning it into a fast-moving and laugh-filled ending. There really isn't a lot of Merman here; She is more a red-herring in the plot than anything else. Helen Lowell, as the old lady, is a live action version of tweety bird's owner; All she is missing is the bird and cage. Parkyakarkus, a popular radio comedian at the time (who also had a brief movie career), is stupidly annoying, a stereotypical foreigner (apparently Greek) who lacks in too many brain cells to be a body guard. Fortunately, he pops in and out of the action so fast he doesn't have time to really become distracting from the wonderful Cantor.

While the film is certainly not a classic, it is enjoyable enough to give a few laughs and smiles thanks to the fine musical numbers. While comedy today is focusing on more sexually explicit gags for more shock value (chickens being used to humiliate the law and Hitler in hell in a tu-tu with a pineapple for a special decoration come instantly to mind in today's comedys), films like "Strike It Pink" focus on a gentler and less crude style to get their laughs. Hopefully, it will turn up on cable or on the late show where they still show old movies rather than infomercials, so today's film students or fans of classic comedy can get an opportunity to enjoy it.