GIRL CRAZY (1932)

This Gershwin musical was filled with 16 tunes (including the classics "I Got Rhythm," "But Not for Me," and "Embraceable You") when it ran on Broadway and made a star out of Ethel Merman, but when RKO brought it to the screen, they got rid of all but three songs (and had George Gershwin add a new one) and turned it into a slapstick vehicle for the comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey. The plot of the movie (which may or may not be the same as the stage play) is negligible: a playboy (handsome juvenile Eddie Quillan) is sent out west by his father to live on a ranch in order to cure his girl-craziness, but instead he turns the place into a dude ranch resort. Woolsey and his wife (Kitty Kelly--not the celeb biographer) head out to the ranch for jobs, driven in a taxi by Wheeler and his kid sister (Mitzi Green). There is tomfoolery involving sheriffs, romance, and hypnotism, some spicy pre-Code humor, and a happy ending for all, but as in most Marx Brothers movies, the plot is strictly secondary, with music mostly relegated to a distant third place. Wheeler and Woolsey are enjoyable, and the silly new song, "You Got What Gets Me," is fun, but it's a shame the great Gershwin score was treated so shabbily. "I Got Rhythm" has some good moments, with the club audience singing along and huge cactuses swaying to the beat, but Kelly's voice is harsh and not up to the song. Mitzi Green, only 12 at the time, does some spot-on imitations of stars like Edna May Oliver and Bing Crosby singing "But Not For Me." Arline Judge and Dorothy Lee are more than acceptable as romantic interests. The last 15 minutes consists of some well done knockabout farce. This is more lively than the Garland/Rooney version in the 40's, but probably only of interest to fans of Wheeler and Woolsey--see my review of HIPS HIPS HOORAY on 7/20/04. [TCM]