Once in a Blue Moon

I saw this movie in 1974, at the National Film Theatre in London, and I've absolutely no desire to see it ever again. ONCE in a blue moon is plenty!

In the 1930s, Jimmy Savo was a starring comedian on Broadway. One of Rodgers and Hart's greatest musical comedies, 'The Boys from Syracuse', was created as a star vehicle for Savo. He tended to play a chirpy little innocent fellow, fairly similar in appearance and behaviour to Eddie Cantor, Lou Costello or the English comedians Norman Wisdom, George Formby or George Robey. Savo is now utterly forgotten because he made only a few films and no major film appearances.

'Once in a Blue Moon' is one of the movies made at Paramount's studio in Astoria, N.Y. during the brief period when Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur had absolute autonomy to write, direct and produce their own films. None of the Hecht/MacArthur Astoria films are very good (possibly excepting 'Crime Without Passion'), but most of them are unusual enough to command interest. 'Once in a Blue Moon' is painful to watch. Its humour is leaden, its pacing is paralytic, and there are too many sub-Chaplin moments that try to be significant and meaningful.

Savo plays a travelling clown named Gabbo (a name 'borrowed' from a previous Ben Hecht story). Gabbo wanders through Europe with his caravan, searching for audiences whom he can entertain. (He won't find any here.) He crosses paths with some Russian nobles who are fleeing the revolution. To escape the Bolsheviks who are pursuing them, the Russians pass themselves off as circus performers and they travel with Gabbo, pretending to be a circus troupe. This isn't funny, or inspiring, or anything else except boring.

Some of the dialogue in this film is so incoherent, I thought the sound recording was defective. No; the soundtrack is fine, but several of the actors are speaking in (real or faked) Russian accents which are nearly incomprehensible. Edwina Armstrong, the untalented actress who plays the Russian princess, is Ben Hecht's daughter camouflaged by a stage name. Reportedly, Hecht and MacArthur wasted pots of money on this film, shooting endless retakes of Savo entering a room. Very little of that production budget is visible in this movie.

Savo (an Italian-American) eventually retired to Italy, where he wrote and illustrated a very dull memoir titled 'Little World, Hello'. The illustrations in this book (all self-portraits of Savo) are very strange: Savo invariably draws his self-portrait in three-quarter view with one empty eye socket, looking as if he had one eye missing.

'Once in a Blue Moon' rates one point out of 10, at absolute most.

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON is a curiosity today, but well worth seeking out for what it was when issued: a farcical look at the very serious subject of the Russian Revolution and a charming sample of the beloved Broadway clown who Charlie Chaplin called the greatest pantomimist of his time! It is clear from the opening scenes of the film that authors Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (masters of the fast patter and physical comedy in their newspaper farce, THE FRONT PAGE), have no fondness for abusers of power - be they overpowering editors or Russian aristocrats, but they can use them for the objects of comedy when out of their comfort zones. In ONCE IN A BLUE MOON, we see a troupe of such aristocrats (most notably a duchess who later claims to be the wealthiest woman in all Russia, played by Cecilia Loftus, and General Onyegin, character actor and power behind the hit Broadway revue series [1922-1931] Chauve-Souris, Nikita Balieff in his final film role) in 1914 just as WWI is breaking out and three years later when the war and Revolution have swept their world away and they are trying to break out of Russia disguised as circus performers shielded by a classic clown ("Gabbo the Great") played by top billed Jimmy Savo while the Red Army tries to track down General Onygen, leader of the White Russian forces.

The previous reviewer betrays the ignorance (or simple biases) of her youthful self (30 years ago) in dismissing the seemingly weightless performance of Savo who is the real centerpiece of the film in his recreation of some classic clown magic, song and dance bits for an audience of delighted children or giving a pantomime worthy of Chaplin when he discovers a machine printing money amid the adventure overlay. It isn't the Marx Brothers' unrestrained madness of DUCK SOUP, but it works the same territory in a less disguised setting. We don't ask that the unparalleled mayhem created by the Marx Brothers in their films conform to "reality"; it's just as ridiculous to ask that the children's crusade which rescues the condemned Savo do so!

In addition to the sublime clowning of the ever gentle Savo, there is a real treat in discovering (mid-film) the great Howard DaSilva about the time he left "the business" to direct shows for CBS Radio - three years before he would return to create the role of Larry Foreman in Marc Blitzstein's THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and eight years before he would make history as the hot "heavy" that had Laurie conflicted in OKLAHOMA! Inaccurately listed as "uncredited" in the IMDb, he plays Colonel Mirsky, leader of the White Russian forces reporting to General Onygin, and is listed as such in both the opening and closing credits!

At a mere 67 minutes, ONCE IN A BLUE MOON was a mere "programmer" rather than a major release (the only full fledged "A" release perpetual second banana Savo would make was 1937's 87 minute MERRY GO ROUND OF 1938, billed behind Bert Lahr, playing characters patterned after themselves!), but it boasted impressive production values despite that - from a Czarist palace room to the roads down which "Gabbo's" circus trailer roams, to the skinny-dipping pond where some of the clown's fans frolic, to, ultimately, a Parisian ball where he re-encounters his lost love. Even better, it gave Jimmy Savo a chance to show what he did best and let audiences to enjoy a bit of his very pleasant singing voice (although no numbers as memorable as his "River Stay 'Way From My Door" in MERRY GO ROUND OF 1938!). The music, when Savo was not actually singing, was one of the few minor drawbacks of the film - the proper balance with the underscoring not having been found at New York's Astoria Studios, it occasionally threatens to drown out the dialogue, but the film more than survives that in attempting to generate serious fun and impressive satire at the height of the Great Depression out of one of the great tragedies which preceded it.

It's a flawed gem which deserves to be rediscovered among the "crown jewels" of any collector of theatrical history. If you've ever read of the great Jimmy Savo, this is one film you won't want to miss.

As a slight, off topic addenda, the previous reviewer chose to slam Savo's charming late life memoir (and basis for a musical which never made it to New York), "Little World Hello!", despite a highly enjoyable score as indicated by the still circulating demo, so let me offer a hearty endorsement for his earlier memoir of growing up in New York and getting into show business, "I Bow To The Stones." The slim volume is overflowing with charming stories which should warm the coldest heart and supplemented with a bountiful appendix of photos, programs and notes on his other work - including a reference to this film which sent me looking for a copy. I'm so glad it did!