Playing Around

Alice White stars as Sheba Miller, a girl who wants more out of life than her soda-jerk boyfriend (William Bakewell) can give her. After winning a leg contest at a nightclub called The Pirate Den, she catches the eye of smooth talker Chester Morris, and she starts dating him. Bakewell hilariously comments that Morris dresses "like all his clothes fit him." Morris also flashes money and drives a snappy roadster. All these things are dear to White's heart. But then there is a neat plot twist that changes everything.

White is adorable and gets to sing "You Learn About Love Every Day." It's her only song but the nightclub acts sing a few more, including "You're My Captain Kidd" and "That's the Lowdown on the Lowdown." By 1930 audiences were tired of backstage musicals so filmmakers moved the numbers out front, which made them more realistic.

Morris and Bakewell are good, and then there's Marion Byron as the jazzy phone operator in the office where White works. White and Byron had also starred together in Broadway BABIES. Maurice Black is good as Joe the Bartender who gets suckered by Morris. Richard Carlyle plays White's father. And in a humorous tenement bit, Nellie Nichols and Ann Brody play a pair of immigrant gossipers who hang out their windows and exchange news in fractured English.

PLAYING AROUND was one of five films White starred in in 1930. In 1931, she had her final starring role in THE NAUGHTY FLIRT.

Worth a look for Alice White and some snappy pre-Code dialog.

If you're looking for a subtle film, then I suggest you not watch "Playing Around". It has a very heavy-handed moralistic plot and it practically bashes you over the head with its message.

When the film begins, Jack (William Bakewell) takes his date, Sheba (Alice White), to a night club. But he's shocked at the prices and can't possibly afford the place on his salary...which is understandable. What isn't understandable is the drip, Jack, insisting they just go home. Not surprisingly, Sheba is NOT happy about this and a fast-talking playboy, Nicky (Chester Morris) notices...and swoops in to impress the pretty lady. Soon Nicky and Sheba are dating...but trouble looms as Nicky is a cheap crook...and ends up shooting Sheba's father!!! It's the most insane of coincidences, that's for sure!

The coincidence is bad enough...but the film is so obvious and amateurishly written that I won't recommend you watch it. Not a terrible film exactly...but far from a good one! It's a shame as I usually love Chester Morris films.

Soda jerk William Bakewell (Jack) works at a drugstore managed by Richard Carlyle (Pa) who has a daughter Alice White (Sheba). Alice and William are dating and the film starts in a swanky nightclub where poor William can't afford anything. Alice enters a 'best legs' competition on stage and is noticed by popular customer Chester Morris (Nickey). Oh dear, this doesn't bode well for poor William. Chester pursues Alice and we gradually realize that Chester isn't such a nice guy.

The musical numbers are entertaining in this film - there are three - and this adds to the film's enjoyment. The cast are ok, if slightly wooden, and you will have to sit through a couple of scenes with some irritating dialogue between 2 nosey neighbours. Those scenes could have been cut. The story is easy to follow, a little nonsensical at times, but it's a fun film to watch. Chester Morris reminds me of Ray Liotta.

Alice White is just shy of being engaged to dull but dependable William Bakewell when she's picked up by Chester Morris. She easily falls for his smooth manner, and his seemingly endless wealth. But that's not who he is at all.

Although director Mervyn Leroy keeps things moving at a slightly stodgy pace in the dialogue, and Miss White seems to be a nitwit, there are some nice points to this movie. For one, there are a few songs by Sam Stept and Bud Green -- and no, I don't think I've heard of them before either. Miss White sings "You Learn About Love Every Day", and it's a good song, with the tune reprised a couple of times. Another song, "That's The Lowdown on the Lowdown" is an okay piece, but it's given a fine performance by Carolynne Snowden. In addition, there's a fine moving shot with talking going on. Since this was finished and copyrighted in 1929, someone should have told the sound engineer Earl Sitar you couldn't do that, not in Hollywood. He was suitably punished by being uncredited, and being stuck in the B movies.

Although there's a lot to kvetch about here, the things that it does right outweigh those easily, particularly Morris' performance, clearly meant for a star build-up. With Richard Carlyle, Marion Byron, and George "Gabby" Hayes with his teeth in.

"Playing Around" was obviously intended as a silent movie (note the screen credit, "titles-- silent version.") But with the advent of sound, First National quickly converted it to an all-talking and sometimes singing-and-dancing thriller. When we meet sassy tenement girl Alice White, she's dating gormless William Bakewell whose height of ambition is a raise to $35 a week. Then she's smitten with playboy Chester Morris unaware that his only means of support is an occasional stick-up. His next robbery stretches the long arm of coincidence to the breaking point. But director Mervyn Leroy doesn't let anything as trivial as the plot detract from the over-the-top musical numbers. And the result is surprisingly entertaining, especially for a movie made in 1929 and released in 1930.