Runtime: 75 minutes
Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Ned Sparks, Robert Barrat, Berton Churchill
From: Warner Bros.
This is another Mervyn LeRoy film that until this month-when it was added to the Criterion Channel-was difficult to track down. Someone on Letterboxd is probably waiting to hear what I thought of this film-that’s why I didn’t want to delay & leave them hangin’, you know.
The two most famous faces are the leads: Paul Muni (thankfully not playing an ethnic character this time) as the managing editor of a newspaper-one of several in New York City-and Glenda Farrell playing-as typical-a sassy, confident dame. He received “the ballyhoo sack” (i.e. fired) after he wants to stick up for a lawyer dude named Frank and refuses to believe he embezzled from a bank-his boss sacked him as every other paper had it as a big front-page story.
However, due to legal reasons he can’t be fired; instead, the boss has him replace Farrell as the writer of an advice column for lovers under the pseudonym Nellie Nelson. Everyone writes to the column w/ the phrase Hi, Nellie! That phrase is heard often so prepare to point at the TV like Rick Dalton. Muni’s character is a “stubborn bull-headed jackass” and he threw a temper tantrum in his new office one day but that made it hilarious that he got ribbed for his new job, even by the 1930’s version of Charles Hawtrey. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have his funny moments, such as apologizing to the “rat poison” hard liquor for Farrell insulting it along with him for his drunken ways.
Of course, he starts to take the job seriously and the column suddenly packs a wallop. And of course, a case related to the columns proves to be related to the Frank/alleged embezzlement scenario. Muni was good as the lead and among the supporting players, Ned Sparks was delightful as SHAMMY, the exact sort of guy you’d expect a Shammy to be.
However, of course it was that little dynamo Farrell who was the highlight, a bold, confident blonde who was more than just a pretty face and always adept at delivering witty banter/snappy patter. Another highlight: the Merry Go Round Club, a hip joint which has a rotating bar in the middle that goes 360 like a merry go round.
This was the typical solid WB programmer that was an easy watch, especially at only 75 minutes.
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