Review by planktonrules

This film is nothing like I anticipated. Crazy as it seems, I actually expected that with Jack Benny in the lead that it would be a comedy...and that, sadly, was not the case. Instead, it's a musical with a lightly comedic touch--but NOT a comedy. If you're looking for laughs, you're more likely to find them in an Ingmar Bergman film! "Artists & Models" begins with Benny owning his own advertising firm. He's a total failure and one step away from bankruptcy. However, rather out of the view, a young millionaire (Richard Arlen) approaches him to run a million dollar campaign. Arlen would like to feature some society woman in his advertising and Benny's girlfriend, Ida Lupino, is disappointed. She's a successful model and is angry that she won't even be considered. So, she sneaks off to where she heard Arlen is headed--determined to convince him that she is this society dame.

Along the way, there are a bazillion musical interludes--some pretty good and many very bad. The worst comes late in the film where Martha Raye stars in a Black musical review--and she's in black-face (uggh) with the likes of Louis Armstrong. I cringed as I watched this one.

Overall, the film is a rather tedious musical. Nothing terrible but nothing particularly good, either. It's a shame, as with this cast, it should have been a lot more interesting.