Four Jacks and a Jill

Okay, first of all this is the second remake of RKO's wonderful STREET GIRL. The first remake was THAT GIRL FROM Paris with Lily Pons. Anne Shirley is the faux continental who sings. It sounds like Vera Van doing the actual vocals (Vera sang in DARK VICTORY and DUST BE MY DESTINY). The cutting of this picture is a disaster, which is pretty ironic seeing as the director is a former editor. It is very obvious that scenes were trimmed and transitions shortened. There are holes all over the place. The songs are so-so. One of them, "Boogie Woogie Conga" is almost a carbon copy of "Congo Beso" from HELLZAPOPPIN. For my money, the two best reasons to watch FOUR JACKS are June Havoc and Jack Durant. Durant, late of the team of Mitchell (Frank) and Durant, is quite hilarious as a slightly psychotic gangster. Russian tough mug Constantin Romanoff actually has a few lines in this one. If you're into cinema archeology, watch this one to compare and wonder.

This is a fun B' musical. Bolger literally runs into Shirley one evening and it turns into the worst night of his life. He considers her a jinx. But later, she helps him out of a tight jam and he decides to help her in return. Bolger and his buddies play in a band at a nightclub. Shirley is a singer. So the group all get together and try to help each other out.

Shirley is charming and talented. Bolger is funny and talented. Desi Arnaz is featured in an early role. The rest of the cast features a group of reliable character actors. The songs are forgettable, but it's fun, short and sweet. What more do you want in a B' musical? Of note, Bolger and his co-stars from the Wizard of Oz all starred in a B' musical at RKO in the 1940's. Bolger, here; Bert Lahr in Sing Your Worries Away 1942; and Jack Haley in Sing Your Worries Away 1945.

"Four Jacks and a Jill" is a B-musical comedy from RKO which stars Ray Bolger, Anne Shirley and Desi Arnaz.

Nifty (Bolger) is part of a four-piece band. After meeting Nina (Shirley), she is able to help the band secure a date due to her supposed friendship with King Stephan VIII of Aregal. To 'prove' this, she gets a cabbie (Arnaz) to pose as the King. Complications ensue...especially when the real king shows himself.

This is a very slight film...with okay singing, okay dancing and an okay plot. Nothing really memorable here...just simple B-movie shennanigans with nothing to offend nor attract the viewer.

This film isn't much and it doesn't make much sense. It is one of the few vehicles designed for comedian Ray Bolger. When MGM finally cast him as the Scarecrow, they got it right. (Bolger was the goofball, Haley was the worrier, Lahr was the cowardly clown, and Morgan was the inept con artist.) Well, Bolger is at his goofy best in this film. He does a routine as a tap dancing boxer which is absolutely hysterical. The film also uses the comic talents of Fritz Feld, Eddie Foy, Jack Durant, and Desi Arnaz, but it is Bolger's vehicle. The biggest problem with the film is that it does not end. It merely stops. Bolger would fine a better vehicle on Broadway with "Where's Charley".

Silly antics, with some song and dance numbers tossed in. Nifty (Ray Bolger, just after doing the Wizard of Oz) does a fun, impressive number right at the start, "I'm in Good Shape". He and his co-horts are musicians in a restaurant, and they share an apartment too. Nifty meets up right off with Nina (Ann Shirley), who doesn't have a place to stay, so of course she moves in with them. As we are in the middle of WW II, and there was a major housing shortage, this would be OK, in spite of the film code being in full force by now. They keep bumping into Noodles, the crime boss, played by Jack Durant. The producers didn't spend much on the script here... its all pretty silly, but it kind of works as long as you don't take it too seriously. Nina thinks she can speak with foreign accents, so that comes in handy. Even Desi Arnaz gets caught up in the plot. According to wikipedia, this was only the third role for Desi, and he was on the musical soundtracks for all three of these roles. This about ten years before I Love Lucy. Its OK, but as we can see, it didn't win any awards. This film was just like watching one of Lucy's schemes gone wrong; maybe that's where Arnaz got the idea. Directed by Jack Hively, who also directed a bunch of "The Saint" movies.