Times Square Playboy

Really ? The film I watched was about a girl, who gets accused of chasing a rich guy for his money! It's actually a remake of shakespeare's "much ado about nothing". Vic and beth are getting married, and they have invited old friend bancroft to be the best man. Things are over-heard, things are said. Misunderstandings galore, which happens when one is soused. (do they say that anymore?) can they all make up and straighten things out in time for the wedding? Warren william was the lone wolf and philo vance for years, in addition to so many roles in between. Co-stars gene lockhart and june travis. I don't know much about travis, but honestly, everyone else in the film talks about her character... travis doesn't really have many lines. Lockhart was oscar nominated for algiers. William died pretty young, but left a fun collection of films for us to enjoy. It's entertaining, but nothing real special. And they must have come up with the title over a three martini lunch... doesn't really have much to do with the story. This shows on turner classics.

One critic wrote, "it's fifteen minutes for sure before there's an inkling of what the story's about." That's one of the elements that makes it so good: you can't figure it out. This is not formula, but a tightly written play from George M Cohan. The second scene has a clichéd conversation between two characters. Later, one player takes the chat and puts a totally negative spin on it. The other actors argue that everything he interpreted is opposite from the truth. This is like a good courtroom drama. Other elements that make it great are Gene Lockhart and Bart MacLane at their best. The comedy is funny, especially when Lockhart gets apoplectic. It has slapstick, and proves that a wrestling move taught in act 1 must be used in act 3. True screwball, the best of all movie genres.

The nominal star attraction of "Times Square Playboy" is Warren William, but it's clear even before the halfway point that the real leading actor in this comedy of misunderstandings is Gene Lockhart, who gives a tour de force performance as a small town Joe Average who jumps to ill-informed conclusions when he and his wife come to New York City to attend the wedding of his oldest friend, business tycoon William.

Two other surprises in this 60-minute programmer are some moments of unfaked rough- housing by William and Barton MacLane (as his butler) and an extended one-take jogging scene in an actual park instead of a treadmill with back projection, which would have been more typical for a Warner Bros. cheapie of the period.

The plot, from a well-structured play by George M. Cohan, involves Lockhart's belief that the young cabaret singer William is engaged to marry (Jean Travis) is a golddigger whose family are cheats along for the ride to millions by marriage. Much farcical mayhem ensues. William gets to play a drunk scene, as he often does, and he does it as well as usual. But for sheer acting range it's Lockhart's picture.

Times Square Playboy (1936)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charming, if incredibly routine and predictable tale from Warner has country boy Vic Arnold (Warren William) making it big in the city and about to marry a stage star (June Travis) but their relationship hits the rocks when the best man (Gene Lockhart), also a country boy, shows up and thinks his friend is being taken advantage of. TIMES SQUARE PLAYBOY probably would have worked better had it been made during the pre-code era because it could have allowed some of the situations to be more frank and open. For a comedy there aren't too many laughs to be had here but I think the cast makes it worth sitting through and the 62-minute running time goes by without any slow paces. I think the best thing going for the film are its performances but the real standout is Lockhart who plays a major idiot who is constantly saying the wrong things. There's a sequence where he goes off on all the city people in his friend's life and the fast, maniac style that the actor does here is quite amusing and you'll be wanting to punch him in the nose by the time it's over. William could play this type of role in his sleep and he too does a nice job here as does Travis as the bride to be. Dick Purcell adds nice support and Kathleen Lockhart does a good job with her husband. The biggest thing working against the film is that not enough of the laughs work and I'd also say that the material is way too predictable for its own good. The fast paced nature of the attempted jokes will remind people of the type of screwball comedies that would be so popular in the 1940s.

"Times Square Playboy" is a Depression era comedy about the high life of the well-to-do. One notices that the company that Victor Arnold heads is a stock and bonds firm. This film came out less than seven years after the Wall Street collapse (October 1929) that began the Great Depression worldwide. Perhaps Hollywood was trying to send a message that things were once again healthy, or well on the way to recovery.

It was during this decade that many movies were stories about wealthy people who seemed not to have been hurt by the stock market crash. They were living the good life, especially the good night life. And, the early days of sound pictures seemed to have a fascination for New York City, Broadway and Times Square. Did the movies originate or fuel the myth that every small-town girl dreamed of escaping to the big city?

Most of the people going to the "pictures" in 1936 were in the working class. One wonders what the different thoughts might be when, in this film, the male lead buys a $40,000 bracelet for his fiancé. That would be nearly $740,000 in 2019. The average household income in the U.S. in 1936 was barely $1,000, compared to about $60,000 in 2019. So, that one bracelet then amounted to nearly a lifetime of work for the average working person.

Anyway, this is a comedy that stars some well-known actors of the day. Warren William and Gene Lockhart were seasoned film actors before this, and though William has the male lead, Lockhart has the dominant role here, with more film time. Indeed, this movie seems to be a showcase for Gene, who uses it well with displays of a range of behaviors and moods. He is on the verge of a breakdown, angry to the point of exploding. He is suspicious and amiable, and then rueful and sorry.

Lockhart plays P.H. Bancroft, a long-time best friend of Arnold's. His wife in real life, Kathleen Lockhart, plays his wife here. Lottie Bancroft has her fair share of screen time for some quality acting as well. The Arnold part is rather small for William, who usually had substantial leads. Of course, his physical workouts here detract from the acting, but look quite good as he wrestles, runs and does other workout routines with his butler, Casey (played by Barton MacLane). This reminds me of another comedy, "Hard to Get" of 1938 that stars Dick Powell and Olivia de Havilland. Charles Winninger plays her wealthy dad, Ben Richards, who has an array of physical asides with his valet and right hand man, Case, played by Melville Cooper.

The rest of the cast are fine. The screenplay seems choppy in places, and the technical quality isn't very good. The plot is familiar but has a nice twist. The story is just so-so, but those who enjoy older films should find this one palatable. Those who are hooked on the adrenalin flows in many modern films will probably be bored.