Colleen, A Modista

Many, if not most, of the commentaries about 'Colleen' here on iMDB are.... pretty withering... and if we compare it to earlier Warner Bro. Musicals, or to the fabulous cycle of Rogers/Astaire films coming out of RKO, then sure it doesn't compare. But it's still a good show, given the talent level of the cast and the film's obvious imitation of those musical giants Ginger and Fred. Possibly the worst of all is the music itself.

At several points, both Powell and Blondell are obviously laughing out of character at the screenplay, and they are immeasurably better than the film and their roles and the cast they are saddled with. Keeler and Oakie ! Hugh Herbert! Pretty ghastly roster. But they were both contract stars, professionals, and they turned in high quality performances of the material they were given. Powell was very glad this was the last with Keeler.

Powell was becoming increasingly vocal about the fact that he didn't even like to sing (!!?), and Blondell was writing letters to the executives begging to be given scripts that varied even slightly from the last dozen movies she had made, but the simple truth was, Warner Bros. Didn't have anybody else that could perform these roles, and they didn't have much in the way of scripts or screenplays either. So both stars abandoned Warner Bros altogether when their contracts ran out, and moved on to the best performances of their careers.

It's a shame they couldn't have made those kinds of films in the early and mid-30s, when they were at their physical peaks, particularly Blondell. Happily though, neither of them considered their film careers to be anything more than a great paycheck.

A passable enough movie but all over the map, and while it was a vehicle for the Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler tandem, I liked it more for their supporting cast, featuring Hugh Herbert as a bumbling millionaire and Joan Blondell as a gold-digger. The musical numbers are mildly entertaining, but tap dancer Paul Draper lacks charisma and Ruby Keeler's singing is flat. I liked "Boulevardier from the Bronx" performed by Blondell and Jack Oakie more, as goofy as he was, and perhaps influenced by Blondells's décolleté. It's not horrible or anything, but you can do better. I suggest trying a movie like Footlight Parade from 1933 instead.

I was surprised to see how many IMDb contributors gave this movie a thumbs down. The story isn't any more substantial than a few dozen other romantic comedies of the time. But it moves along at a merry pace, especially when the cast takes over an ocean liner. And there are enough plot twists to keep it rolling. Dick Powell is his usual easygoing self. Ruby Keeler is surprisingly good --for an actress who had more than her share of detractors. Hugh Herbert dithers amusingly. And even Joan Blondell scores as a woman on the loose. Add some stylish production numbers-- with the usual bevy of toe-tapping chorus girls led by Keeler and Paul Draper -- and you've got a pleasant 90 minutes or so.

A fine cast outperforms the material that was given. Two of the dance numbers are worth the price of admission. The major number with Ruby Keeler and Paul Draper leads me to reevaluate Keeler's ability. I have seen a Dick Powell interview in which he stated that Ruby was only an average dancer. She certainly was not an Eleanor Powell or Ann Miller, but "The Stomper" was better than I had thought.

The Joan Blondell/Jack Oakie ballroom type segment was truly enjoyable. In fact, I'll call it delightful. Watched it four times before proceeding with the remainder of the movie.

Two of the reviewers of this movie have each made an incorrect statement. 1.)Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler were not married at the time this movie was made. They never were married to each other. Keeler was married at the time to Al Jolson. The reviewer might have been thinking thinking of Dick's marriage to co-star Joan Blondell. They were wed from September 19,1936 to July 14,1944. 2.)Cast member Hugh Herbert did not co-write the script for "Colleen". F. Hugh Herbert was the co-writer. These were two different persons.

Sorry to have to disagree with the "disaster" rating in the previous "user comments". Just for the record, Dick Powell/Ruby Keeler musical comedies aren't supposed to have thick plots.

This film is supposed to be a light hearted musical comedy for the depression-era audience, and that is just what it is. I'll grant you that the musical numbers aren't as memorable as other Powell/Keeler films(by the way, they were never married - Powell married Joan Blondell that year). I'd also say that Paul Draper's tap dancing is a cut below the flowing moves of Fred Astaire.

However, the film has some redeeming comedic value. Hugh Herbert is a gem of a bumbling business executive, and Joan Blondell was in her element as Jack Oakie's conniving sidekick.

Overall, I found this film to be quite acceptable.