Miss Generala

Even with Ruby Keeler's tinny voice and the fact she doesn't dance a step, Flirtation Walk is an utterly charming musical from the Thirties with Dick Powell at the height of his lyric tenor period.

West Point's image has done very well by Hollywood. The West Point Story and The Long Gray Line are the other two big films about the U.S. Military Academy on the Hudson. But this was the first film of a grand tradition.

Dick Powell is an army private stationed out in Hawaii who's assigned by his sergeant Pat O'Brien to be a driver for Ruby Keeler, daughter of General Henry O'Neill. She's got a boyfriend in her Dad's aide John Eldredge. But on a moonlight night in Hawaii, the old boy/girl thing happens.

Powell receives a rude awakening the next day when he's made to realize the difference in class between officers and enlisted men. Something like the rude awakening John Agar got in Fort Apache when he was courting Shirley Temple even though he was an officer, albeit a newly minted one from an enlisted man's family. So Powell decided he's going to become an officer and sets about applying for West Point.

The next half of the film is set in West Point and in Powell's final year, Henry O'Neill becomes the Academy Superintendent bring of course Keeler and Eldredge come with him. Here we have the same plot device that was later used in The West Point Story, breaking precedent in having a woman in the Hundred Nights show for the graduating class. Who do you think the woman that the cadets want?

Allie Wrubel and Mort Dixon wrote two nice numbers that are used in the musical show, Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name and Flirtation Walk. Powell sings them well although he didn't need Ruby's thin voice doing the reprise. During the Hawaiian portion of the film Powell sang Aloha Oe. Why Ruby wasn't given any dance numbers is beyond me since that was her strength as a performer.

I should also mention Ross Alexander, who came to a tragic early end three years later, as Powell's roommate at the Point. He was a funny guy and had a nice career going in playing best friends to the hero in film. A sad waste.

I think you'll like the characters created and directed by Frank Borzage in this very charming film.

With hindsight,"flirtation walk" appears as a blueprint for "shipmates forever"(and even ,so to speak for "Blue Hawai" in which Elvis played a discharged soldier mind you).Like the 1935 (shall we say "sequel"?)work,it features the same actors and it's the most distressingly mediocre movie by one of the greatest directors of the era."Flirtation walk " pales into insignificance when compared to "no greater glory" "little man what now?" "three comrades" "mortal storm" "young America" "stranded" "big city" .....and I don't even mention the masterpieces of the silent era !Borzage epitomized greatness ,and perhaps are we too demanding ?There is a good idea,the play a la "Hamlet" or how to get a message of love through.

However,Borzage 's touch is nowhere to be seen in this umpteenth version of "I shall become an officer and a gentleman".If you want to see a good patriotic movie by Borzage,do choose " stage door canteen" in which the characters are made of flesh and blood.

Flirtation Walk was an okay film. It is about a private stationed in Hawaii who gets involved with the general's daughter. Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler gave fairly decent performances, but the screenplay is a little slow in places. I thought frank Borzage did an alright job directing this movie. This film back in 1934 was a big hit, mostly because of the popularity at the time of Powell & Keeler, but it's pretty predictable by today's standards. Overall, it has some very nice musical performances, and the photography was well shot, which is reflected by the film being nominated for two academy awards, one for sound and one for best picture. I wouldn't watch it again, and would only recommend to those who favor musicals and romances.

Flirtation Walk is a 1934 musical starring Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Ross Alexander, Pat O'Brien, John Eldredge, and Henry O'Neill.

Powell plays Dick Darcy, a private stationed in Hawaii. He meets the general's daughter Kit (Keeler). The two fall for one another, but she's engaged to another (Eldredge). They break up.

A few years later, they meet again, this time at West Point. Kit is still engaged, but very happy to see Dick. Feeling used by her, Dick rebuffs her and hurts her feelings.

Dick has to write and appear the annual show, and the other cadets want Kit to play the lead. Dick refuses as women are not allowed, but the cadets appeal to her father, who gives the okay.

I love Dick Powell. I'm not such a fan of Ruby Keeler, who was certainly very pretty and did some good films with Powell. I did not find this a scintillating musical. The music was dull, and the story was flat.

I actually watched this to see if I could do what no one else has been able to - find Tyrone Power, who was a cadet in this film.

The only reason he is listed on IMDb is that he became famous as he was not a featured cadet. He was an extra, probably answering a call for young men to be extras at West Point. He cannot be spotted.

By the way, he and Linda Christian lived directly across the street from Dick Powell and June Allyson on Copa D'Oro in LA.

Dick Powell had such a beautiful voice, but it wasn't used a lot or to great advantage here. In short, this can't hold a candle to "42nd Street" or "Dames," or other musicals of the era.

Some good songs, good cast. Dick Powell handles most of the singing, sounding great as always, even in Hawaiian. Pat O'Brien is enjoyable in a familiar role as the tough guy with a heart of gold. Biggest disappointment of the whole movie is no dancing by the lovely Ruby Keeler. What were they thinking? The movie is very different from the 42nd Street-Footlight Parade-Golddiggers musicals that the Powell/Keeler team is most famous for, and if you expect to see that type of movie, you might be disappointed. I love them in those movies, but I also enjoyed this as something different. It would be nice to see this movie released as part of a DVD box set to complement the great Busby Berkley set released in early 2006.