Gift of Gab

This lost film has been found. I was able to get my hands on a bootleg VHS of this flick. I'm a big fan of the Universal horror movies of the 30s. It was a treat to see this comedy that is directed by Karl "Mummy" Freund, starring Gloria "Invisible Man" Stuart, and cameos by Lugosi and Karloff. The story kind of jumps all over the place. And I'm guessing that radio comedy bits weren't done on sets with actors in costumes. Also we hear multiple versions of "I ain't gonna sin no more". Otherwise good fun.

I watched this film for two reasons. The first was Ruth Etting. A favorite of mine since I heard her great Columbia LP at a faculty member's home at college. Disappointing here as she sings one awful song and a bit of a reprise and then goodbye. Bummer. The other reason was to see Douglas Fowley a good friend of my Dad's when they were young men. (I think Fowley was at my folk's wedding in 1933 a year before this film. Seeing him as a young man before he adopted his trademark pencil mustache made me see my Dad at that age. Otherwise, Gloria Stuart was lovely, Ethel Waters was fine singing a dull song and it was Alex Woollcott who surprised me. Who knew he was so soft spoken? I always thought of him bellowing as did Monty Wooley in The Man Who Came to Dinner. On the other hand, Edmund Lowe was repulsive as the fast talking con man. Yuch. Watching this once will be quite enough.

Blowhard Philip Gabney becomes a smash radio announcer, until he is canned from the station for a fake broadcast and tries to resume his on air status by attempting a dangerous stunt. Very weak on plot development, but obviously this was done by Universal to promote various radio, vaudeville, and singing stars of the day. Many of the segments from the movie to be done for a radio listening audience seem more suited to a visual mode. Of note, this is the second movie to team Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, even though they don't appear on screen at the same time and are in for a few seconds. Rating, 3 of 10.

It's a movie 1: from Universal; 2: directed by Karl Freund; 3: with Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi. No, you're wrong, it's a comedy starring Edmund Lowe as a street hustler who works his way in as a radio announcer, sports caster, and event broadcaster, with the aid of Gloria Stuart. As his success increases, so does his ego, and as the audience, you're waiting for the inevitable crack-up and wondering if and how he'll manage his redemption.

It has three major variety segments, with musical acts -- some good, like the Downey Sisters, some great like Ethel Waters -- some comedy acts -- all cornball -- and some contemporary celebrity tie-ins. There are several fine screen comedians in support, like Sterling Holloway and Victor Moore, and Lowe is fine as the larger-than-life operator, but it's a typical decent Universal, budgeted at probably a third of what it would cost at MGM -- and why not, since the best cameraman on the lot was in the director's chair and not lensing it?

Painfully unfunny musical comedy from Universal about an arrogant con man (Edmund Lowe) who becomes an even more arrogant radio star. Movies like this remind you how little Universal had going for it at this time outside of their horror pictures. Lowe is about as charismatic as a second-rate William Powell can be. Gloria Stuart has the unfortunate task of playing his love interest. Victor Moore plays one of his nervous nebbish characters I find so irritating. Jack Benny-looking Hugh O'Connell plays Lowe's sidekick. Ethel Waters, Ruth Etting, and Gene Austin sing forgettable tunes. Slightly noteworthy today only for brief cameo appearances by Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Chester Morris, Paul Lukas, and "Sheridan Whiteside" himself, Alexander Woollcott.

The jokes and sketches are all lame. I didn't laugh once. I'm talking "is your refrigerator running" level of humor here. Directed by famed cinematographer Karl Freund but you would never know it as there's no visual style to this at all. Words I was sick of after watching this: stooge, liver, and all variations of gab.