Danny is a popular songwriter whose publisher Bernie is pushing his latest hoped-for hit "A Couple of Birds"; Emma, Bernie's secretary, harbors a secret crush on Danny; Fanny is the vaudeville vocalist who sings Danny's songs and who flirts comically with Andy, her piano player. Into this cozy little group comes Pat, a blonde socialite who flirts heavily with Danny on a dance floor, even though she is escorted by Rod, an older man with whom she seems to have an intimate relationship. Danny falls for her and soon they get engaged, but before the wedding, Danny overhears her tell Rod that she's just "experimenting" with Danny, and she refers to Rod as "Danny's understudy." At the wedding rehearsal, Danny makes a scene and leaves on a drinking binge. The next morning, Emma explains to Danny that the two of them got married while he was drunk; his reaction is ambiguous. Did they really, or is Emma just trying to save Danny from the clutches of Pat? Does he really want to be saved?
The title of this pre-Code film is misleading: I assumed it would be a melodrama about illegitimate children, or perhaps about hedonistic flappers and the men who ruin them. But, no, it's a show-biz musical comedy centering on a traditional love triangle. The pre-Code aspects are thin, mostly present in the casually promiscuous behavior of Pat. At 70 minutes, it would seem like it might be a briskly-paced affair, but almost half the running time is taken up with musical numbers performed in a theater or club (no Astaire and Rogers bursting out in song here). Because the songs are not memorable, the movie feels longer than it should. A couple of the production numbers are interesting: one song called "Dust" features a large bunch of dancing girls decked out in devil outfits (pictured above left), and "A Couple of Birds" has dancing boys in tuxes and blackface. The acting rarely rises above serviceable: Lawrence Gray (bland) is Danny, Wynne Gibson (sweet) is Emma, Helen Johnson (cool) is Pat. May Boley takes a stab at a bigger-than-life turn, playing Fanny like Fanny Brice—she doesn't quite succeed, coming off more like a second-string performer than the big star she's supposed to be, but she's OK. Two actors are saddled with Jewish stereotypes: Lee Kohlmer as Bernie is a bit more subtle than comic actor Benny Rubin as Andy. Jack Benny and Cliff Edwards have cameos as themselves. Amusing line, delivered by Fanny as someone who has had four husbands and is working on a fifth: "A woman is like a car—she never gets to be good until after the first 5000 miles." For fans of early musicals. Pictured above from left are Kohlmer, Gray and Gibson. [TCM]
Danny is a popular songwriter whose publisher Bernie is pushing his latest hoped-for hit "A Couple of Birds"; Emma, Bernie's secretary, harbors a secret crush on Danny; Fanny is the vaudeville vocalist who sings Danny's songs and who flirts comically with Andy, her piano player. Into this cozy little group comes Pat, a blonde socialite who flirts heavily with Danny on a dance floor, even though she is escorted by Rod, an older man with whom she seems to have an intimate relationship. Danny falls for her and soon they get engaged, but before the wedding, Danny overhears her tell Rod that she's just "experimenting" with Danny, and she refers to Rod as "Danny's understudy." At the wedding rehearsal, Danny makes a scene and leaves on a drinking binge. The next morning, Emma explains to Danny that the two of them got married while he was drunk; his reaction is ambiguous. Did they really, or is Emma just trying to save Danny from the clutches of Pat? Does he really want to be saved?
The title of this pre-Code film is misleading: I assumed it would be a melodrama about illegitimate children, or perhaps about hedonistic flappers and the men who ruin them. But, no, it's a show-biz musical comedy centering on a traditional love triangle. The pre-Code aspects are thin, mostly present in the casually promiscuous behavior of Pat. At 70 minutes, it would seem like it might be a briskly-paced affair, but almost half the running time is taken up with musical numbers performed in a theater or club (no Astaire and Rogers bursting out in song here). Because the songs are not memorable, the movie feels longer than it should. A couple of the production numbers are interesting: one song called "Dust" features a large bunch of dancing girls decked out in devil outfits (pictured above left), and "A Couple of Birds" has dancing boys in tuxes and blackface. The acting rarely rises above serviceable: Lawrence Gray (bland) is Danny, Wynne Gibson (sweet) is Emma, Helen Johnson (cool) is Pat. May Boley takes a stab at a bigger-than-life turn, playing Fanny like Fanny Brice—she doesn't quite succeed, coming off more like a second-string performer than the big star she's supposed to be, but she's OK. Two actors are saddled with Jewish stereotypes: Lee Kohlmer as Bernie is a bit more subtle than comic actor Benny Rubin as Andy. Jack Benny and Cliff Edwards have cameos as themselves. Amusing line, delivered by Fanny as someone who has had four husbands and is working on a fifth: "A woman is like a car—she never gets to be good until after the first 5000 miles." For fans of early musicals. Pictured above from left are Kohlmer, Gray and Gibson. [TCM]
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