Annabel Takes a Tour

"Wonder Pictures" movie star Lucille Ball (as Annabel Allison) feels her career is in trouble after rival Francis Mercer (as Natalie Preston) eclipses her in popularity and becomes engaged to a nobleman. In spite of his mishandling her publicity in the recently released "The Affairs of Annabel" (1938), Ms. Ball insists publicist Jack Oakie (as Lanny Morgan) be rehired. Ball and Mr. Oakie go on a "Good Will Tour" to promote her new movie. This entry continues Ball's romantic interest in Oakie, which came out of nowhere in the earlier film, and adds courtly Ralph Forbes (as Ronald River-Clyde) to the mix...

Odd as it seems, Ball's dramatic movie characterizations were better than her comic roles during 1930s and 1940s. Her delivery is often very abrasive, and she sometimes seems like she might hurt one of the other actors, or herself; the "Lucy" character she developed on radio (1948) and television (1951) was more finely tuned. This was the second, and last, film in the "Annabel" series. The first one was better, with the time "Annabel" spent as maid to a family being most appealing. Here, hotel manicurist Alice White (as Marcella) is very funny, and grown-up Wesley Barry looks good in a walk on role.

**** Annabel Takes a Tour (11/11/38) Lew Landers ~ Lucille Ball, Jack Oakie, Ralph Forbes, Alice White

Jack Oakie and Lucille Ball are no Lucy and Desi, to be sure. But Jack Oakie evokes laughter without effort. This one is full of further hi-jinx of the ne'er do well starlet and her insane publicity man. Not great movies, but all of the Annabel flix are worthwhile watches because they are good, clean, honest fun. Oakie did others on his own for RKO, some of which are good ONLY because he's there. He did his share of clunkers, and sometimes he appears in films with material that I personally find objectionable. But on the whole, he's one of the funniest characters in film ( and good with drama !!). Obviously Lucy cut her comedic teeth in these films. She can only steal a scene from Oakie by taking pratfalls or by being the butt of jokes. I dig Oakie, Lucy, and the "Annabel" films.

Serious film nuts are out there. I get mail from waves of them every day as I run in the dark, stepping on feet with my comments.

There seem to be two kinds of zealots: those attached to genres and archetypes and those attached to specific people, actors and directors.

I usually blow off the email about actors. Usually actors don't have much to do with the movies they are in, and when they do it is because they coordinate their intent with that of the filmmaker. And except for a short list, most actors — like their brethren politicians — are just dull, empty people.

But I feel differently about actors in the 30s and 40s. Some of them. Those of interest just happened to be there when movies settled down after the great confusions: sound, color, the code, and the great quest of movies to define themselves.

If you want to understand your imagination, you need to follow the grooves in film. And to do that you need to see the family tree of genres, and that is only found in 30s and 40s films. The genres, naturally enough, co-evolved with certain film archetypes, and most of those were invented by actors.

Some of these actors are forgotten while their character type remains: Edna May Oliver. Some have become icons themselves, like Jimmy Stewart. Lucille Ball is worth following.

Any of these icons is worth seeing in their early work when they play characters who are actors. In this case, Lucille is an actress trying to establish an identity (which she did eventually and wonderfully) playing an actress doing the same thing. Oakie plays all the dumb jokes, so is usually that attentiongetter in the Annabel films.

But take a look at this woman. She said she wasn't funny but brave. You can see that. You can also see that she invented her walk after losing that ability because of sickness. And you can already see how she engineers her fake eyebrows after losing those. Her face isn't a funny one, but she makes it so with her mouth and eyes and those eyes are inherently comic, but painted on.

You can also see her — or rather her character — working out how to pair with the type that became Ethyl Merman.

This was in the day when she was a brunette.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

A lackluster screenplay doesn't help this comedy about a movie star, Lucille Ball, whose publicity man, Jack Oakie, uses stupid schemes to get her name in the newspapers. Unfortunately, very little of the film is funny, but it was nice to see a very young Lucille Ball, even in black and white. Ball, Oakie, Bradley Page and Ruth Donnelly reprised their roles in this second and last film based on the characters created in the 1938 film "The Affairs of Annabel" by Charles Hoffman. There would have been more in the series, but Oakie wanted too large a fee for his services.

Temperamental movie star Annabel Allison demands publicity--any publicity. Despite the mess that her old press agent Lanny Morgan recently got her into, she insists that the studio hire him back on: At least he got her picture in the papers.

Jack Oakie is boisterous agent Lanny Morgan, and he is indeed available for more work with Annabel. Lucille Ball, wacky and imperious, is Annabel. Their cross-country publicity tour doesn't make much sense but it sure is noisy. Along the way, Lucy decides she would like to have a romance with a viscount because a rival movie star is romancing a nobleman. She meets Ralph Forbes, who meets her requirements but seems rather baffled. Oakie attempts to drum up some photo opportunities with mixed results. The love-hate relationship between Lucy and Oakie seems to be the main story line but unfortunately it just doesn't really go anywhere.

Studio secretary Ruth Donnelly accompanies Lucy on the train trip and is solid as always. Donald MacBride has a couple of funny bits as a train conductor who hates the movies.

Overall it's pleasant enough but there sure isn't much to it....And an abrupt ending sneaks up just when you are expecting something interesting finally to happen.

Funniest scene: Jack Oakie attempts to mount a tall horse but has trouble because the stirrup is too high.