The Kid from Kokomo

Boxing manager 'Square Shooting Murph' (Pat O'Brien) has to get out of town quick after betting against his own boxer in dirty business fraud. He discovers boxing savant farm boy Homer Baston (Wayne Morris) who is haunted by his long-lost mother. Murph and girlfriend Doris Harvey (Joan Blondell) convince him that the boxing publicity would bring his mother to him. When no mother shows up, he threatens to leave boxing and go home. No matter what, Murph needs to come up with a mother.

It is a fun premise. There is a better ending. I would like Murph doing something powerful and emotional to redeem himself after Homer discovers the truth. That would be the more standard way to go. This one is a bit more goofy and I don't see it as happily ever after as it thinks it is.

Minor little comedy that stars Pat O'Brien, Joan Blondell and Wayne Morris in a cross between Kid Galahad and Lady for a Day. The stars are good, but May Robson steals every scene she's in as the disreputable old lady O'Brien hires to play Morris' mother. Strange plot, but it all comes together thanks to these pros. Stanley Fields and pre-star Jane Wyman also add some fun. Robson is pretty much forgotten today but during the 30s she reigned as a top character actress who could steal a scene from anyone--and did. Catch her in Lady for a Day (Oscar nomination), A Star Is Born, or Bringing Up Baby.

WELL NOW, WHAT have we here? In what could very well have been an obscure title that we'd passed up, our fancy was definitely tickled to a very high degree. Although this KID FROM KOKOMO was undoubtedly pre-classified as a "Pot Boiler" and definitely just one cog in Warner Brothers' yearly output, it certainly did it self proud in showcasing its containing pure entertainment and fun. And its lack of any pretension about being cinematic "art" underscores its true mission in pleasing a movie audience.

WE HAVE FORMULATED a few educated guesses in our review and plead "guilty as charged" about our high level of fondness generated.

WE'VE ALWAYS FELT that, whereas there are so many other great and near great examples of great pictures out there in our film archives and we have been blessed with such fine names behind the film industry, that Warner Brothers somehow had always managed to have its corporate finger right on the pulse of American tastes and preferences. This assertion extends all the way, across the board from the Class "A" features., the "B's", Short Subjects and even to their animation department's LOONEY TUNES and MERRY MELODIES.

AT LEAST SOME of the cause behind our thesis is attributable to the background of the Brothers Warner. Sons of Jewish Immigrants from Poland (Russian Empire), after immigrating to America, then to Ontario, Canada, they were raised in Youngstown, Ohio. This,we contend, gave them a less than provincial outlook on the country and the world. It also prevented them from being indoctrinated with any sort of "Big Apple" syndrome. (Although so many of their pictures were centered on life in our greatest city).

ANOTHER ATTRIBUTE WHICH we must bring to the floor is the Warner Brothers' propensity to simplify production matters. Jack W. was once quoted as saying something about if a script is too long to be read while sitting on and using the commode, it was too long.

THE STUDIO ALSO had a knack for taking stage plays , many having been unproduced, and turning them into celluloid gold. This movie would certainly fit into that category. (By the bye, ever heard of EVERYONE COMES TO RICK'S aka CASABLANCA ?)

AS FOR THE production itself, it is fine example of economy of time and shooting schedule. whereas it certainly was no cheapie or poverty row special, it made great use of many preexisting sets. Added to that we have a fine cast top to bottom. We had Pat O'Brien, Joan Blondell and Wayne Morris in the starring roles. In support we have May Robson, a young Jane Wyman, Edward Brophy, 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom, Sidney Toler (Charlie Chan), Morgan Conway (future Dick Tracy), rising star John Ridgley, Ward Bond and Paul Hurst. In an uncredited role, Al Hill appears (better known to us of the Baby Boomer generation as Heavyweight Champ, "Killer Kilduff" in the 3 Stooges' PUNCH DRUNKS (Columbia, 1934) and as bank robber "Filthy McNasty" in the W.C. Fields starring vehicle THE BANK DICK (Universal, 1940).

AND FOR JUST one last observation, it would appear that the studio was attempting to recapture at least some of the magic that was generated by the previous production of KID GALAHAD (WB/1937), which starred Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. It introduced a young Wayne Morris in a very similar role to this one.

There has to be a story here: Warner Brothers celebrates the second anniversary (less three days) of the release of its own "Kid Galahad" with a similarly-titled, VERY similar story, "The Kid From Kokomo". Both films feature a tainted manager and his long-suffering girlfriend fleeing from a crooked situation and accidentally discovering a farmer they can turn into a champ in the ring. Both fighters are played by Wayne Morris. Both fighters find love, have mother issues, battle the mob, and are faced with throwing a title bout. There's also a key difference: "The Kid From Kokomo" is rowdy, fast-paced, and often hysterically funny.

I signed on for Joan Blondell here- I'll watch anything she's in- and this might be her most lovable performance. She sets the pace from the beginning, as usual for her bubbly thirties self- and she's crisply funny and spot-on as a semi-reformed bubble dancer. Her handling of two hilariously lazy hillbilly rustics in an early scene raises the bar on this comedy. But even Joan steps back to make way when a batty old kleptomaniac suddenly appears, hauled before a judge, and instantly takes over the film.

Holy H. Smokes, it's May Robson! This is the wildest, funniest performance you will ever see from anyone born before the American Civil War. May mugs, schemes, bellows, and prances as an aging con artist who stumbles into a sweet set-up. The fun she's clearly having is an irresistible force for the rest of the film.

"The Kid From Kokomo" has a major secret ingredient for a comedy of this type: wonderful, funny supporting characters (and the cast to play them). The whole thing feels like Preston Sturges might have waved his hand over it. It never loses the pace, and it never loses control- even the brawling is funny. It exits with a bang precisely when it should, and leaves us laughing.

Silly bit of nonsense is played lightly by pros. Certainly the plot was old hat even in 1939 but it's breezily presented.

Wayne Morris pretty much reprises his Kid Galahad character here but he is appealingly earnest and a young Jane Wyman in one of the numerous programmers she churned out that year is fresh and flip. They make a cute couple.

The real enjoyment comes from the fantastic cast of characters that populate this. Pat O'Brien in full on slickster mode. The divine Joan Blondell as a former bubble dancer and wised up gal and the great May Robson, playing another version of Apple Annie, are completely charming. The rest of the cast is filled out with familiar faces doing what they do best. As long as you realize its a B this is a fun undemanding pastime.