Um Tigre Domesticado

One of Danny Kaye's better films while he was with Samuel Goldwyn is this musical adaption of The Milky Way where Kaye steps into the shoes of another comic genius, Harold Lloyd in The Kid From Brooklyn. Kaye proves every bit the adept physical comedian that Harold Lloyd was and he sings and dances besides.

The main weakness of the film is the music which is mostly sung and danced by Virginia Mayo and Vera-Ellen, the score from Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn is not one of their better ones. Kaye does get a patter song Pavlova from wife Sylvia Fine and Max Liebman which is also not one of his better efforts.

But the story of The Milky Way suits Kaye's talents perfectly, the timid milkman from Brooklyn who accidentally knocks out the Middleweight champion, Steve Cochran who while drunk makes a pass at Kaye's sister Vera-Ellen. In fact Kaye is like Inspector Clousseau whenever he's around Cochran.

Cochran's manager Walter Abel sees possibilities in this and gives him the Primo Carnera treatment. Amazing that this same kind of subject could be treated so dramatically in a film like The Harder They Fall and comically in the various adaptions of The Milky Way.

Sam Goldwyn gave Kaye as he did with his previous comedian under contract in the Thirties, Eddie Cantor, a lavish production with a great supporting cast. Mayo is Kaye's girlfriend, Eve Arden is Walter Abel's squeeze who deflates him and is just Eve Arden. And repeating his role from The Milky Way in The Kid From Brooklyn is Lionel Stander as Cochran's trainer and as it turns out the man who makes Danny Kaye's dreams come true and makes Cochran dream.

The final fight scene for the championship is hysterically funny, perfect material for Danny's physical skills. The Kid From Brooklyn is a very good product from Danny Kaye and Sam Goldwyn.

"The Kid from Brooklyn" is a remake of the Harold Lloyd movie, "The Milky Way". Now why they chose this Lloyd story to remake is puzzling, as this original story wasn't very good and is among Lloyd's least films. It's not a terrible film...but a mediocre one. Can Kaye and company manage to improve on the original or is it a dull remake of a pretty dull original?

Burleigh Sullivan (Kaye) is a wimpy but nice milk man. One day, he gets into a fight with two guys on the street and somehow the two ended up being knocked out. One of the pair turns out to be the middleweight boxing champion...so the middleweight's promoter takes on Burleigh as his new boxer. This is because there's been a lot of publicity about this 'fight'. However, soon Burleigh tells them the truth...the pair swung at him at the same time and he ducked...and they knocked each other out. But no matter...the promoter couldn't care less if Burleigh could box or not, as he plans on fixing Burleigh's boxing matches...only to let him get the snot knocked out of him eventually...when the promoter can make a fortune betting against him.

The biggest way this is different from the Lloyd film are several song and dance numbers...ones that in no way improve upon the original. Also, Kaye seems to mug a bit more...at least more than Lloyd did. Overall, an okay remake of an okay film....the very definition of okayness!

Probably the best thing about this film-besides the color-was the cast. Danny Kaye gets top billing & he was good--but he had the backing of Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden, Walter Able--and more. Virginia Mayo made a couple of films with Kaye & also did a couple with Cochran ( check out "White Heat" ). Vera-Ellen filmed mostly @ MGM--but her last film was "White Cristmas", playing opposite Danny Kaye. Brian Donlevy played the part of the fighter in the stage play--the part that Steve Cochran played in the movie. The Kid From Brooklyn proved to be a very profitable film. Fay Bainter does a small bit & she carries it off extremely well. Eve Arden and her endless wisecracks were a kick.

Everyone in THE KID FROM BROOKLYN is at their best--thanks to a zestful comedy based on "The Milky Way" with Harold Lloyd, only this time the timid milkman is DANNY KAYE, who goes from lovable, funny Kaye to totally extroverted Kaye who thinks he really won all those fights that he was signed up for by crooked manager WALTER ABEL.

VIRGINIA MAYO, looking her most luscious in Technicolor, is Kaye's partner again and the great supporting cast includes VERA-ELLEN (as Kaye's dancing sister), EVE ARDEN, LIONEL STANDER and STEVE COCHRAN, who steps away from his usual serious role (as a heavy) to show that he had a flair for slapstick comedy.

The story is nonsense, of course, and even the usually repressed FAY BAINTER gets into the spirit of things as a woman Kaye teaches some boxing pointers to. It's all very lightweight, easy to take and pleasant to watch, especially if you enjoy Kaye's special brand of comedy. Included are some specialty numbers for Vera-Ellen, surrounded by chorus boys and The Goldwyn Girls and a nice song number for Virginia Mayo, all emphasizing some dazzling Technicolor hues.

Kaye does only one of his tongue-twisting routines, but it's a gem--a Russian number called "Pavlova" written for him by Sylvia Fine, his wife.

Summing up: Light-hearted entertainment impossible to dislike and all of it is photographed in gorgeous Technicolor.

Cute, silly very lightweight comic musical with Kaye antic as ever and an amazing array of wonderful supporting actresses.

As for the main story it's a bit of nonsense about beanpole milkman Danny somehow becoming a winning prize fighter after accidentally knocking out the reigning champ. As preposterous as it sounds, the cast still make it fun by playing the goofy situations straight faced.

About those supporting actresses. Eve Arden is acerbic and terrifically droll as a wised up gal with an astounding wardrobe and a way with a quip. Vera-Ellen in only her second film is youthful, fresh and she dances like a dream. She hadn't at this point succumbed to the over dieting that would make her emaciated with a frighteningly tiny waist and is buoyant and peppy. Fay Bainter is all fractured dignity as a society matron with a pugilistic bent and then there's Virginia Mayo sweetly charming and at the height of her beauty. They all perform expertly and since the film is shot in old style Technicolor they are all attired in primary hues which makes the screen alight with color.

Best for Danny's fans but a fun comedy for anyone who is willing to suspend belief for a couple of hours.