Gildersleeve on Broadway

The third in RKO's series of four movies based on radio show The Great Gildersleeve. This one has Gildersleeve traveling to New York to help out his friend Peavy. In order to help Peavy out, he has to cozy up to widowed drug company president Billie Burke. He also attracts the attention of a gold digger. The situation gets even trickier when Gildersleeve's girlfriend shows up unexpectedly.

Harold Peary is fun as the blowhard Gildersleeve. Richard LeGrand is enjoyable as Peavy ("Well now, I wouldn't say that."). His appearance in drag needs to be seen to be believed. The great Billie Burke is always a treat to watch. Child actor Teddy Infuhr has a hilarious bit part as a kid named Stanley who causes trouble for Gildersleeve. Love that scene so much. Hobart Cavanaugh is good fun as Burke's butler with an archery fixation. Lovely Claire Carleton is great as the gold digger. Equally lovely Margaret Landry takes over as Marjorie after Nancy Gates had played her in the previous movies in the series. Walter Tetley plays a bellboy in a wonderful scene where he gives Gildersleeve advice on how to talk to women. In the radio show, Tetley did the voice of Leroy. He was replaced in the movies by Freddie Mercer. A very wacky entry in the series that gets funnier as it goes along. Fans will love it.

Surprisingly good entry in the Gildersleeve series. The laughs are non-stop, thanks to Peary, a fine script and cast, plus razor sharp direction. Seems Gildy is out to save the drugstores in his town, that is, if he can get past his fiancée, two girlfriends, and a wise-cracking LeRoy. It's a constant shuffle of characters in and out that suggests madcap, but is too smooth to be frenetic. Listen closely for a number of gag lines that are occasionally inspired. Peary's in fine blustery form, while pairing him with the squeaky Billie Burke is like hearing a tuba next to Tweety-Bird. Actually the title is somewhat misleading since only New York City and not Broadway Avenue is the setting.

I love it when droopy-face Peavy (Le Grande) impersonates Gildy's wife—it may make you re- think the whole institution of marriage. Then there's ditzy Burke's lunatic brother who thinks he's William Tell, while Gildy's his favorite apple-head target. Anyway, it's non-stop amusement beautifully orchestrated by director Douglas. In fact the series as a whole benefited greatly from his expert hand, as a list of his superior credits shows. Too bad, these small town characters are now largely a thing of the past. As the series shows, there's a lot of gentle humor to be mined among the non-glamorous.

Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The third in a four film series based on the popular radio show finds Gildersleeve (Harold Peary) having to go to New York to try and talk a woman (Billie Burke) into not closing off her pharmacy department, which would put many smaller stores out of business. Turns out the woman falls for him as does a money-hungry blonde (Claire Clarleton), which doesn't sit too well with the real girlfriend (Ann Doran). This is the second film in the series that I've seen and once again I found myself laughing at many of the jokes. I'm not familiar with the original radio show but there's no question that Peary has a certain charm that might not work well with everyone but if you do find his routine funny then you're bound to enjoy what you're watching. I thought he was very good in the role and I really enjoyed how the played all the nervous ticks and his comebacks were usually pretty funny as well. Just take a look at the scene inside the fancy department store where the money grabber tries to keep on charging expensive items. Burke is also very good in her role and the way she plays this rather eccentric woman makes for many good laughs. Doran's role is pretty bland but Clarleton gets a few good moments. Richard LeGrand returns as Mr. Peavey and gives some very funny moments including one where he goes in drag. The film has some rather strange bits of humor centered around people thinking that Gildersleeve and Peavey are gay as they're both staying in the bridal suite. This jokes gets continued out when a window washer peeks in on them and thinks they're being romantic. This joke gets played out quite a bit and it's funny but not something you'd expect to see so openly in a film like this.

This is one of the four "Gildersleeve" comedies released during the war years. Harold Peary plays the hapless Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve-who says he doesn't seek out problems; they find him.

This film feels like it was written by the author of "Arsenic and Old Lace" with an assist by Groucho Marx, and a dose of "Andy Hardy". Gildersleeve is surrounded by some wacky characters in this screwball story.

His nephew, Leroy (Freddie Mercer), always seems to get the better of him in a contest of wits, but so does everyone else, including a little kid at the drugstore . The druggist, Mr. Peavey, enlists TG in a harebrained scheme to travel to New York City for two unrelated but equally preposterous purposes.

On his missions, Gildersleeve meets an amorous widow (Billie Burke) and a gold-digger (Claire Carleton). Meanwhile, he has a fiancee to appease. The entire cast does a good job with the script, carving out moments of mayhem and hilarity. Watch for the bellboy (Walter Tetley) who imparts his wisdom about women. And the window washer (Leonid Kinskey-"Casablanca") who hangs around for the romantic tutelage.

Director Gordon Douglas keeps the action moving without a dull moment as Gildersleeve gets sucked into the deepening mire of his misadventure. But it never becomes so silly that the story loses its thread or its entertainment value.

HAROLD PEARY as Gildersleeve gets mixed up with fluttery society dame BILLIE BURKE and her crazy brother, HOBART CAVANAUGH, who has a William Tell fixation and likes to shoot arrows into apples atop heads. CLAIRE CLARLETON is the blonde gold-digger with an eye on a mink coat and ANN DORAN is Peary's jealous girlfriend from Summerville who tracks him to the big city to snoop on his activities.

It's harmless fun, with Peary again showing a mastery of physical comedy and timing and all the others keeping up with him. FREDDIE MERCER is again on hand as little Leroy and RICHARD LeGRAND adds a lot of wry humor as the man who always gets a chance to say, "Well, I wouldn't say that." LEONID KINSKEY has a funny bit as an eavesdropping window-washer.

It's another bad day for Gildersleeve and the funny script keeps things breezing along until the end with a final twist.