Hollywood en folie

The only real compensation for watching THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES is the pleasing Technicolor--but, unfortunately, none of the plot is believable nor are any of the characters likely to resemble anyone in real-life Hollywood.

There are some worthwhile bits. The opera sequence with HELEN JEPSON is well done--including a lovely version of "Siempre Libre"; EDGAR BERGEN and CHARLIE McCARTHY are pros in a few amusing sketches; KENNY BAKER does a professional job on songs like "Love Walked Right In"; VERA ZORINA adds some dancing magic and ANDREA LEEDS lends her bland presence to the role of a naive young girl asked to give ADOLPHE MENJOU pointers on what the public wants. Leeds looks an awful lot like either Donna Reed or Olivia de Havilland in her close-ups.

ADOLPHE MENJOU, too, is professional enough as the producer foolish enough to get ideas from a romantic young girl so he can produce the right kind of movie. Too bad Goldwyn didn't get some advice from good script-writers on how to stage this sort of thing.

Summing up: Noteworthy only for the color cinematography and some of the talented bits, but the script is full of dull clichés, lifeless and unbelievable. I found Bergen and McCarthy gave the film its most enjoyable moments.

For starters - (If nothing else) - I thought that this 1938 film's Technicolour effects were nothing short of being absolutely astounding to behold. You could clearly tell that great attention to colour co-ordination was very much a major issue in this $2 million production.

Now almost 80 years old - The Goldwyn Follies definitely had its good points, as well as its not-so-good points. Featuring 7 Gershwin songs - This picture's story of comedy, music, and romance was obviously very much a product of its time. And, because of this it did make it difficult for this viewer not to scrutinize it just a little too critically.... (But I still give it a 6-star rating)

And, finally - When it came to watching famed ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen constantly moving his lips whenever it was his puppet/sidekick Charlie McCarthy's turn to speak - I thought that he was one of the most amateurish and unconvincing performers in his specialized profession that I have ever seen.

Mostly dreadful and overlong this "Follies" attempt patches together a lame plot with a variety of acts.

Adolphe Menjou is fine as the movie producer who hires Andrea Leeds to give him the "human touch" in his films. He falls for her but she's in love with a hamburger slinger (Kenny Baker) she tricks Menjou into hiring for his new film. Throw into this stew Vera Zorina as a temperamental ballet star and you have the framework for this film.

Edgar Bergen (and dummy) provide some humor, especially in a funny bit with radio star Phil Baker. Helen Jepson sings a few numbers (she's no Jeanette MacDonald), Bobby Clark plays the harried casting director, Ella Logan (trying to be Martha Raye) is the chaperone, Nydia Westman is the friend, Frank Shields (tennis pro and grandfather to Brooke) is the assistant director to Jerome Cowan. The Ritz Brothers (dreadful as usual) have one funny bit and stink in the rest of their appearance. Alan Ladd has a bit as an auditioning singer.

Some reviewers hated this movie and, admittedly, it is relatively plot-free, but it's such a time capsule of movies, acts, and music of the period that I love it. If you ignore the script and realize you're listening to some FABULOUS Gershwin songs and that you're seeing The Ritz Brothers, Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy and others, it can be pretty great. Unlike the some others, I love the Ritz Brothers' specialty about the cats. Some people just don't appreciate silly. Later on, they get bogged down in the plotlessness, but WOW!! . . the kitty cat number is hilarious!!!!!!!! "Where is the gosh, darn cat?????" Some people just don't appreciate silly. Lighten up, people!!

Face it, the movie studios of the day used to trot out all their stars for these Cast of Several movies. Take it for what it is. It was never meant to be "Gone With the Wind". It's more along the lines of "Hollywood Party" (1934) . . Enjoy!!

I would sorely miss not having this Technicolor record of what the old Goldwyn studios and the Santa Monica beach looked like in their heyday. Plus a wonderful cultural record of Jepson's singing (if only Goldwyn had gotten Pinza doing a scene from "Don Giovanni" as well), Zorina's dancing, Balanchine's choreography, and two of Gershwin's finest songs (despite some viewer's comment that "Love Walked In" is insipid, it has always been my personal favorite).

Add to this wonderful sets and costumes, masterfully photographed by Toland (in one of his few efforts in color), and you have a movie that while being a failure as a work of art, is immensely worth seeing as a record of the times.

That said, I wish Kenny Baker had been as good a singer and as personable on screen as Dick Powell, that the dippy story had been jettisoned in favor of a better one (how could Ben Hecht have been a party to this?), and, despite the fact that they were cultural icons (of a sort), that the Ritz Brothers screen time had been in another movie. (Yes, I know there are those who think they're the best thing in the movie, but some people like Martin and Lewis, too).