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Monday, April 2, 2018

TRANSATLANTIC MERRY-GO-ROUND (1934)

Indie-producer Edward Small, who had a knack for turning out smart swashbucklers on a budget (like THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO/’34), here tried his hand at the sort of topical comic ensemble parody Paramount had luck with, often with W. C. Fields fronting a gang of variety players. And, to give it a backhanded compliment, it’s not too bad. At least it starts with a bang, as mob man Sidney Blackmer is gunned down in his cruise ship suite before we jump back 48 hours to show all the possible perps coming on board: a jealous husband, card sharps, mistresses, a blackmail victim, phony cruise staff, an escaped killer with a grudge . . . why you’d think half the passengers & crew had it in for the guy! Luckily, there’s also a police dick on holiday. (Make that ‘busman’s holiday.’) Only Jack Benny, M.C. for the ship’s entertainment & radio broadcast transmission hasn’t got a motive, just charm, smarm & great comic timing. (Benny always poo-poo’d his film career, but worked steadily & well on screen from the mid-‘30s to the mid-‘40s.) Gene Raymond & Nancy Carroll are the main romantic couple and she’s a delight. It's like GRAND HOTEL at Sea, so no surprise that the radio show does a Grand Hotel parody, along with a handful of neat Richard Whiting songs, one boasting a wild Busby Berkeley rip-off ‘Numbo’ tossing girls about like sacks of potatoes! Enter with low expectations; leave with a grin.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Sidekick Patsy Kelly sadly gets lost in the mix, but whenever she does show up, she’s a hoot.

DOUBLE-BILL: Over at Paramount, MILLION DOLLAR LEGS/’32 stands as something of a template for the form.

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