Hollywood and Vine

Weird Hollywood comedy about a young girl who tries to make a name for herself in Hollywood, meets a nice guy and then finds success as the owner of a dog that makes it big in the movies.

Funny but really strange. The humor and the performances often border on deranged (and I don't mean that in a good way). There were times when I didn't know if it was a comedy or not (though I suppose not knowing whether this was a comedy or drama going in didn't help). At other times I didn't know what type of comedy it wanted to be as it shifted gears through several styles (slapstick,screwball,punny) all at once. There are several great actors in it, Frank Pangborn, Charles Middleton (uncredited) and Frank Morgan who give it their all and make it fun to watch even if you get the feeling that they weren't too sure about the material either.

Its worth a try if you're in the mood for an off beat comedy, but I don't know what you'll make of it, I'm not sure what I did.

Delightful little comedy from an unlikely source, PRC. Except for the charming Wanda McKay and a likable James Ellison, it's a wacky cast, featuring such specialists in exaggeration as Pangborn, Belasco, Lynn, and most of all, little Daisy. Seems Martha (McKay) wants to break into movies, and with her brilliant smile I'd hire her in a minute. Seems too, screenwriter Larry (Ellison) would like to help, but he's too busy being an inept soda jerk. Meanwhile, Daisy shows she can twirl and dance like any two-legged critter, and so gets hired on immediately. Show-biz is nothing if not fickle. So, will our lovey-dovey twosome finally find happiness and success on Hollywood and Vine. Stay tuned. No, this is not Grant or Hepburn or MGM, but it is a minor little gem, just right for an hour's worth of harmless amusement.

First of all, critic db Burroughs, who didn't seem to know what he was watching, didn't know who he was watching. The actor he called Frank Morgan was Ralph Morgan, Frank's brother. Read the credits.

Producers Releasing Corporation usually made Monogram look like MGM, but every now and then they came out with a gem.

I'm fairly familiar with the studio. My father had a one man printing press on the lower east side - Active Printing, yet. Most of his work were one sheeters for clothing manufacturers, but he also printed sheet music for some of the biggies around 52nd St. - that's how I met W. C. Handy - and he did the NYC work for PRC.

This Producers Releasing Corp. item was certainly pretentious-less and, certainly a helluva lot of fun, at times, completely nutty

There was enough corn to fill a couple of Del Monte crates, and most of it produced a lot of laughs.

More laughs from a cast of some of the funniest character actors of the time, essentially playing themselves. The topper, of course, was Franklin Pangborn, always put upon, and, thankfully, given more time in this flick.

Making the most of a little time on screen was Dewey Robinson who always played a not-too-bright tough. His love of a banana surprise was a hoot.

The leads were just fine. James Ellison who played leads in a few major musicals but had no staying power, was coupled with Wandy McKay, a cutie beauty who kept very busy but did not top major marquees. The pair had good on-screen chemistry.

The star, of course, was good old Daisy, on loan from the Bumstead family. Button cute, it did every doggie trick in the books. This movie was made before movie animals talked. Kids today must think animals have mastered the English language.

Bottom line - this, obviously, was a low-budgeter, but who cares? It did what it set out to do - created a lot of laughter.

According to the DVD sleeve summary, "A small-town girl heads to Hollywood in the hopes of making it as a starlet on the big screen. Hanging out at a soda counter in the hopes of being discovered, she befriends the soda jerk not knowing he's really a screenwriter looking for material on a script." Yes, this is a variation on one of filmdom's most frequently wagged tales. This time, the emphasis is on comedy, and the star turns out to be a dog. It's very occasionally funny, with Wanda McKay and James Ellison likable in the leads. The supporting cast works harder at getting laughs, especially Franklin Pangborn and Emmett Lynn. And, newsboy Billy Benedict gets more lines than usual. The location footage of 1940s Hollywood is a plus.

***** Hollywood and Vine (4/25/45) Alexis Thurn-Taxis ~ Wanda McKay, James Ellison, Franklin Pangborn, Emmett Lynn

In his top floor office, millionaire businessman Pop Barkley (Emmett Lynn) tells a roomful of reporters the story of his success. He begins his tale in the days when he ran a roadside diner, and the action flashes back to a pretty girl stopping in for a hamburger on her way to Hollywood….

Wanda McKay is perfect as the girl brimming with brightness and confidence. "It'll be different with me," she tells the friend who warns her that fame and fortune are tough to achieve. "I'm positive I'll get my break immediately."

In the diner, McKay briefly encounters the picture's two other stars: Jimmy Ellison, a popular (and handsome) Broadway playwright on his way to Hollywood himself to write for the movies; and Daisy, the friendly and talented dog who appears from nowhere, begs a meal, and then hitches a ride the rest of the way to the coast.

The dialog is slick, the pacing fast, and the acting enthusiastic in this sweet and nutty comedy. Much of the humor is broad yet affectionate satire of Hollywood types and conventions; Leon Belasco, for example, is the crazy imported director who bashes the latest script he is given: "The dialog is terrible, it's full of accents," he gripes—in his own exaggerated European accent.

Even better is Ralph Morgan as studio boss B. B. Lavish (of Lavish Studios), whose next big picture is going to be a mammoth biography of Napoleon, his hero. He has busts of Napoleon—which he talks to—displayed all around his office. He stands with one hand tucked inside his shirt, Bonaparte-style, when making pronouncements or decisions. Also, his secretary is named Josephine.

A typical line from Robert Greig as (of course) the exceedingly dignified butler: "It has always been my contention, sir, that Hollywood is not a place. It's a state of mind."

Ellison and McKay are charming, witty and beautiful; they look good together and are easy to cheer for. However, it's Daisy who practically steals the show: Daisy dances to Strauss's "Emperor Waltz" playing on the juke box, reacts humorously to the other characters' follies, and just generally out-cutes everyone else on the screen.

Somewhat unfortunately, the picture wraps up in rather a hurry. (We never do find out just how the diner owner made it from burger flipper to millionaire….) But overall, what a happy-spirited movie, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense! Good, wacky fun.

Oh, just for the record: B.B. Lavish's name is not pronounced as you would expect—everyone addresses him as "Two B's."