TANNED LEGS (1931)

An early sound musical with a romantic farce plot, but without the farcical timing. The whole thing takes place among the rich set who are vacationing at the Breakers Beach Club. Pretty, young June Clyde is being pursued by goofy, boyish Arthur Lake (later to play Dagwood in the 40's Blondie movie series), but she's more concerned with her family members' affairs: her mother, trying to live like a flapper, is flirting with a younger playboy; her father, yearning for his Romeo days, is flirting with a society woman (Dorothy Revier); her sister (Sally Blane) is ending an affair with the possibly sinister Edmund Burns and trying to retrieve some compromising love letters from him. It turns out that Burns and Revier are professional crooks in cahoots trying to fleece the family. There are indiscreet room entrances and exits, a fake hold-up, a real shootout, and a happy ending. There are also occasional musical numbers which occur during rehearsals for the annual Orphan's Benefit being held at the club. The songs, co-authored by Oscar Levant, have fairly catchy, Gershwin-lite melodies. I didn't recognize many of the actors except Lake, but it's all light fun fairly well played. I was charmed by the use of the slang phrase "cake eater" here, though Wikipedia classifies it as an "ethnic slur" against people of an "affluent background" (since when is wealth an ethnicity?) [TCM]