Always Leave Them Laughing

A small-time comic works his way up to the big time.

The two hours is mainly for fans of Uncle Miltie. Berle is in just about every scene, along with a number of his costumed skits. As expected, some skits are funnier than others; however, I wish this overlong movie had stayed on a light comedic level. Instead, it veers off near the end into heavy drama, which could have been easily lopped off.

Catch that bouncy opening—as I recall, it plays much like Berle's hit TV show that helped put TV on the map in the early days. Anyway, if guys get tired looking at the star, there's the delectable Ruth Roman standing around in various stages of undress, and also a shapely Virginia Mayo doing some surprisingly good dance steps. Comic actor Bert Lahr gets his turn on the stage. But to me, his brand of humor is a matter of taste.

I suspect Warner Bros. was testing the waters to see if Berle's appeal carried over to movies as well as TV, in the way it did for Bob Hope over at Paramount. However that may be, I think the movie would be better if shorter and strictly light-hearted.

My favorite comic will always be Uncle Miltie and he was a scream in this one. Hammy and corny beyond belief, this slapstick had me rolling on the floor. The story involved a up and coming third rate comic trying to break into big time show biz. He must first work second rate clubs and resorts, but finally gets his big shot when taking over a routine for a fellow actor. Lots of good hoofing, sight gags, and joking around in the famous Berle style.

There are a couple of reasons why lovers of musicals on the silver screen might want to watch this old stinker, none of them having to do with its quality as a film. One is the musicals numbers themselves, of which there are many, including great old standards by Harry Warren and George Gershwin. The other is to watch the unbelievably corny shtick performed by Milton Berle and Bert Lahr. It's hard to explain Berle's popularity as a television pioneer; his jokes and routines reek of someone who wants to be the life of the party but ends up being just annoying.

The comedy giants of the black and white era film. Uncle milty. Bert lahr. Alan hale, who must have been in every single movie made before 1950. The top actresses of the day virginia mayo, ruth roman. Kip ( milton berle) is trying to book somewhere, anywhere, but ... he's past his prime, and all his gags are old, dusty vaudeville bits. Television killed off vaudeville way back when. Even one of the agents says "this kind of thing went out ten years ago." there's some funny stuff in here, done by the pro's, but it won't be for everyone. Some fun guests, and many references to other performers. Unfortunately, he does blackface, a reference to al jolson. Possibly the last time it was done in the movies. Fountain pens? Just shows how old the material really was. The story is pretty silly, but we do get to see milty doing comedy. And drag. He did mostly television after this. Directed by roy del ruth, who had started out with the genius mack sennett. Del ruth has an interesting story detailed on wikipedia dot org; he worked with all the greats.

Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, and Jack Lemon. I bet you can think of others.

Unfortunately, Berle ain't one of them. Bert Lahr doesn't do so well either.

It is great to see some of his old acts but some of them don't hold up.