Stage Struck

I doubt if any of the principals were happy to include Stage Struck on their CVs--the songs are drab, and the screenplay seems to have been cut and pasted from those of several other very familiar movies, with its narcissistic, temperamental leading lady; cute, virtuous Midwestern newbie; nervous, devious producer; trampy chorus girls; dictatorial backer; and opening-night crisis when the understudy becomes a star.

It's very hard, however, to believe that this one ever got any raves--and, indeed, Jeanne Madden in real life made two more pictures, then dropped from sight. With her pinched voice, crinkly-faced wholesome looks, and complete lack of sex appeal, she's another Janet Gaynor--of whom one was more than enough. Joan Blondell, usually a reason to cheer up, mugs and clowns to a degree that would be over the top in a revue sketch--she's supposed to be a Park Avenue socialite but makes the role into that of a common, vulgar girl pretending to be one.

Dick Powell, tricked out with an imitation Don Ameche look, seems to be pretending to be somewhere else.

The above is an E.Y. Harburg couplet in a nimble ballad called "Fancy Meeting You," and it distills as well as any other lyric Harburg's huge gift for hyperbolizing hoary sentiments into fresh ones. The movie could use a little more of his wit and whimsy.

It's a slightly off-key Warner Brothers musical that wants to be a screwball comedy, with director Powell fending off wacky relatives and the advances of untalented diva Blondell, while producer William employs Freudian psychology to unite the mismatched pair, while Powell pursues an on-again-off-again-on-again romance with maddeningly fresh-faced ingenue Madden. (Her flat line readings make Ruby Keeler sound like Bette Davis.) Oh, the Yacht Club Boys are in it, too, with two endless specialty numbers that may have had resonance in 1936 -- one's about income taxes, the other about physical culture -- but their forced goofiness has dated badly.

Most surprisingly, despite the Berkeley imprimatur, there are no production numbers here; Warners, one has to assume, was on a budget binge. So the saving graces are the nice Arlen/Harburg songs, and Blondell, in an uncharacteristically broad and unsympathetic role. You don't believe her for a moment, yet she's terrific, batting her eyes and flashing her teeth and cavorting like an over-the-top Carole Lombard. This lady could do anything, but she doesn't really save this all-too-middling musical.

Although made only a couple of years after Busby Berkley's 'big four' starting with 42nd STREET, Warner Brothers' light comedy-musicals were running out of steam by 1935. Most of the old gang were now just making B-movies - even Busby Berkley was making this particularly cheap-looking B-movie. This however is pretty good. You're not expecting much from this are you but you'll be surprised by this one. It is of course not in the same class of the big four, especially as the budget didn't seem to stretch to even just one musical number but honestly, it's better than you'd expect. It's actually better, in terms of enjoyability, than GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 and also ...OF 1937.

If you loved GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 you will like this. Not only has it got most of the original cast but it's got a similar story as well. It's even got a Ruby Keeler substitute who's acting is even worse than the real Ruby Keeler's! STAGE STRUCK was clearly made for fans of GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, it's got that similar cheery uplifting feel that the original had, it's got the same actors such as Frank McHugh essentially repeating their best lines from the previous four films, it's even got the same shabby looking sets. It doesn't sound like it should work but it does.

The positives outweigh the negatives but there are lots of negatives. The main negative is that it looks incredibly cheap, some scenes look like they were filmed in a the back of someone's garage - someone who couldn't afford to have more than one electric light on at a time. Another surprising negative is how flat and unimaginative Busby Berkley's direction is (strange how once he got the director's chair, his sense of innovation seemed to desert him - but I think he only had a $2.00 budget to work with). And possibly the worst thing about this is that it features various ten minute slots of acts who were enjoying their five minutes of fame in 1935. One of these 'turns' a group called The Yacht Club Boys sing a song bemoaning having to pay tax to the government. Doesn't seem very public spirited especially since everyone back then was meant to be pulling together along with FDR! I can't imagine something like this being used back in the good old days when uncle Darryl Zanuck ran Warners.

One final point - Joan Blondell is great in this. We're used to seeing her playing the usual sassy Joan Blondell character so it's refreshing to see her doing something a little different; this time a straight comedy role. It's a shame she never got the chance to do more comedy characters because she could be very funny. Admittedly her part is necessarily completely one dimensional but she's brilliant at it.

George Randall (Dick Powell) is the new dance director of a Broadway show. The producer is out of money and has taken on rich but untalented performer Peggy Revere (Joan Blondell). She's willing to pay to become the new lead. Needless to say, George and Peggy do not get along. Ruth Williams (Jeanne Madden) comes in looking for work just as the show breaks up.

Busby Berkeley is the director. I expected a fun behind the scenes of a Broadway show with big song and dance numbers. I would have preferred not stopping the show in the first half and having the two leads battling it out while falling in love. That seems to be the simpler and best story. George and Ruth have good chemistry. I like sending her away to the flower shop. I do like their story, but they're not the star pairing. Joan Blondell is the star. She's meant to be funny, but she is annoying and wasting time. There are some moments to like, but this is problematic.

Weak musical comedy kept afloat by a great cast. Joan Blondell is amazing as usual. In addition to being a great comedienne, she was a curvy beauty. Joan is one of my favorites from the 30's and here she outshines everybody else by a mile. Mustachioed Dick Powell tries to get away from the boyish roles he had been playing up to this point. He's OK here but this isn't one of his better roles. Warren William is lots of fun as a producer with probably the only good lines that didn't go to Blondell. Solid support from Frank McHugh playing a character type he's played many times over and always to perfection. Carol Hughes is a hidden gem in a tiny part as Powell's sister, pretty and funny. Unknown Jeanne Madden plays Powell's love interest. Madden had a brief three picture career. It's easy to see why. She's not bad just unexceptional. Also look for Jane Wyman in a cameo.

Forgotten comedy and singing quartet Yacht Club Boys provide a couple of weird songs. The first is about taxes. It's really more of a rant than a song. A real oddity. The second song is "The Body Beautiful," a bizarre number about having muscles. It's the highlight of the film. Lackluster direction from Busby Berkeley. Even the aforementioned "Body Beautiful" number was poorly staged by his usual standards. Add to this a predictable script and tepid songs from Powell and Madden. However, I would still say it's watchable for fans of the period and genre. That recommendation is solely because of the personalities of the cast, particularly Blondell, and the odd musical numbers of the Yacht Club Boys.