Straight Place and Show

1938's "Straight Place and Show" was one of the later vehicles for Fox's talented Ritz Brothers, just before their greatest triumph "The Three Musketeers," which in turn was followed by their most accessible feature "The Gorilla." Their patter here isn't as bad as some insist, but the script clearly lets them down, unable to do much to enliven shopworn material. The straight story features lovely Phyllis Brooks obsessed with her race horse Playboy, to the jealous chagrin of fiancée Richard Arlen, who bets her that if he doesn't win a race for three months running she loses Playboy to him to do with as he pleases. As one would expect, Arlen wins the bet and decides to just give away Playboy to the Ritz Brothers, a trio of pony ride barkers who figure that Playboy makes a better jumper for a major steeplechase. Phyllis manages to find the boys and become a partner in the venture, but they need $1000 for the entry fee, so Harry Ritz has to pose as champion wrestler Running Deer to win a purse to get by, probably their best scene in the film. The climactic race carries no dramatic weight whatsoever, all the riding done by stunt doubles, the brothers impersonating three crooked Russian jockeys who had planned to sabotage Arlen's riding of Playboy as one last chance to prove his love for Phyllis. Ethel Merman, ending her brief Hollywood career, gets to sing two songs, Sidney Blackmer plays wealthy gambler Lucky Braddock, and Lon Chaney (seen in the earlier Ritz comedy "Life Begins in College") gets a decent bit as Lucky's chauffeur Martin (this early scene inspires the Ritzes to go from pony rides to the race track). A disappointment even for Ritz Brothers fans, but hardly the awful film that some make it out to be. "The Gorilla" later proved an unhappy experience, confined to one setting with no song and dance patter, and after one final picture at Fox, Sol Wurtzel's B unit production "Pack Up Your Troubles," a vehicle for pint sized Jane Withers, Harry Ritz famously quipped that their career had gone "from bad to Wurtzel!" Four subsequent features at Universal failed to improve their fortunes, so they left Hollywood for good in 1944, missing out on the mystery musical "Murder in the Blue Room," which at least would have suited their talents better than "The Gorilla."

OUR FIRST VIEWING of the act that was the Brothers Ritz was on that old, now classic NBC sports/comedy hybrid, JACKPOT BOWLING WITH MILTON BERLE. Don't feel bad if you don't recall or have never heard of it.

THE FORMAT OF this series was to cover real, live pro bowlers, with a sort of intermission in which the guest star(s) would come on, do a little schtick with "Uncle Miltie" before rolling one ball for charity. (Hmm, could it be rebooted ?)

AS FOR THE film being reviewed, STRAIGHT, PLACE AND SHOW (20th Century-Fox, 1938) was a comical farce which pretty much was a typical representation of the sort of fare being done in that era. It had the comic team, the romantic interest and a fanciful, yet compelling, plot toward the notion of getting rich quick. This is always a winning formula, especially when there was still a Depression on in the country.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM manages to adapt a story by Damon Runyon and capitalize on the nation's love of horse racing. They throw in, just for good measure, a brief junket into the squared circle World of Professional Wrestling. Rather than being just a reason to have Harry Ritz do a comic impersonation of a pro grappler, this, sort of sidebar to the plot, helps in moving the story along.

ADDITIONALLY, WE FIND in the cast Phyllis Brooks and Ethel Merman. They provided the romantic sub-plot; with Miss Merman's singing making its contribution to our entertainment (not!)

SOME HAVE CALLED the Ritz Brothers a sort of road show or imitation of the Max Brothers (be they in the original 4 or later 3). We maintain that this could not be further from the truth. Both groups were actual, blood brothers; who just happened to be Jewish.* That's the end of their similarities.

WHEREAS THE MARX boys displayed their madcap zaniness in a fast-paced, rapid fire style, they still maintained individuality and distinctive personality. With the Ritz Brothers. the pace was no slower. But viewing them was like seeing things in triplicate. The singing, eccentric dance maneuvers and the distorted displays of mugging were all well coordinated and uniformly displayed.

OUTSIDE OF VIEWING this picture or others in their list, a very good impression of the Ritz comic genius can be seen on display in THE AUTOGRAPH HOUND (Walt Disney/RKO, 1939. This is a Donald Duck starring vehicle; which uses caricature of many Hollywood luminaries, including a very accurate at the Ritz Brothers brand of humor on the screen. Bye, bye for now ! NOTE: * Someone once asked Jack Benny why all comedians seemed to be either Jewish or Irish. Jack thought for a brief moment, then replied; "Ever meet a funny Lutheran ?"

Straight, Place & Show was not one of the Ritz's better films for 20th Century Fox. Those were Life Begins in College, Kentucky Moonshine, Three Musketeers, as well as their outings with Alice Faye: On the Avenue and You Can't Have Everything. But Straight, Place & Show was acceptable despite the woefully low budget. The film editor and the director seem not to have talked to each other; the film looks choppy. The screenplay was adapted from a play written by Dmon Runyon (think Guys & Dolls) and Irving Caesar, but the only Runyonesque characters we meet are characters played by Sid Fields, Stanley Fields and Ben Weldon. Wiile Best is wasted.Even the Ritzes are cut down to two specialty numbers. But they do their best, as does Ethel Merman in crystalline voice. Phyllis Brooks tries to put life into her role. If it were not for the Ritz Brothers and Merman, I'd say pass on this film. But because of La Merman and Al, Jimmy & Harry Ritz, it is worth a look and will provide some chuckles. Yeah, yeah. You either love'em or hate 'em. But to call the Ritz Brothers untalented, as a previous reviewer did, is ridiculous. They were expert precision dancers and could sing as well as do physical and verbal comedy. By the 1940s many budding comedians (Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks)were heavily influenced by the Ritz Brothers' zaniness.

Like the Marx Brothers who found themselves with a racehorse in their classic film A Day At The Races, the Ritz Brothers also gain possession of a thoroughbred courtesy of a spat between engaged parties Richard Arlen and Phyllis Brooks in Straight Place And Show. The parallels between the two films are truly obvious and I won't belabor you with them.

A whole lot of the same gags are used. But I and others have noted that unlike the Marx Brothers the Ritz Brothers have no individual identities. It's one of the reason their work is not as acclaimed as other comedy teams.

The film's best moments occur when the guys are at a wrestling match and Harry Ritz goes in the ring to earn money for an entrance fee. Very funny stuff, wrestling was as honest a sport then as now.

Straight Place And Show is not a bad film, very funny in spots still.

All comedy is a matter of individual taste, and the Ritz Brothers are no exception. They are the class cut ups, mugging and and crossing eyeballs, shouting and always on stage, minor variations on each other, as opposed to the Marx Brothers, who had clearly differentiated personalities -- except for Zeppo, who had none -- and actually had a intellectual side to them.

In any case, the question of whether you will like this movie depends on if you like the Ritz Brothers. Richard Arlen is present for standard leading-man action, and Ethel Merman to sing a few songs, but this movie is about the Ritz Brothers mugging it up over a racehorse. If you like them, go to it. If you dislike them, avoid it. If you don't know who they are, give it a try.