This is a kooky little film from Hal Roach Studios. By the early 1940s, Roach was no longer in the business of making comedy shorts--like the Laurel & Hardy and Charley Chase films. Instead, they tried to fill the niche for B-comedies--all at about one hour in length and starring a wider variety of actors (such as Carole Landis, Adolph Menjou, William Tracy and many others). This one features an unusual cast for a comedy--Dennis O'Keefe, Victor MacLaglen and Marjorie Woodward--not exactly the sorts you'd expect in a comedy. Casting Pasty Kelly and Zasu Pitts, however, in supporting roles was not that radical a departure, as both had been with the studio during the past decade. But what IS interesting about this is that both had been teamed with Thelma Todd in a long series of comedy shorts with Roach--now the two get to appear together (with Todd having died several years earlier). It's sort of a meeting of the sidekicks!
The story is like two stories running in parallel. The main plot involves a Carole Landis took-alike Woodward playing a popular new movie star whose Svengali-like mentor wants her to adopt a baby for publicity sake. However, they then learn that the baby MIGHT be one who has been kidnapped. This puts a cramp in Woodward's budding romance with a nice doctor (O'Keefe). The other plot involves Kelly and Pitts who are tangentially related to the other plot, but frankly almost nothing they do really has much to do with the plot--like they were tossed in at the last minute to provide comic relief. While they really weren't very funny, I was at least happy that Kelly's performance was more restrained than usual, though Pitts was a bit annoying with her Olive Oyl-like performance.
There is nothing bad about this little B-movie, nor, for that matter, is there much good, either. It's mediocrity in film making--a worthy time-passer with a few good scenes but not a lot more. Well, now that I think about it, there was one exceptional scene and that involved McLaglen telling the baby a story--now THAT scene was precious and I wish there'd been more scenes like that, as seeing the bear of a man (McLaglen) trying to make the baby smile made me smile.
The story is like two stories running in parallel. The main plot involves a Carole Landis took-alike Woodward playing a popular new movie star whose Svengali-like mentor wants her to adopt a baby for publicity sake. However, they then learn that the baby MIGHT be one who has been kidnapped. This puts a cramp in Woodward's budding romance with a nice doctor (O'Keefe). The other plot involves Kelly and Pitts who are tangentially related to the other plot, but frankly almost nothing they do really has much to do with the plot--like they were tossed in at the last minute to provide comic relief. While they really weren't very funny, I was at least happy that Kelly's performance was more restrained than usual, though Pitts was a bit annoying with her Olive Oyl-like performance.
There is nothing bad about this little B-movie, nor, for that matter, is there much good, either. It's mediocrity in film making--a worthy time-passer with a few good scenes but not a lot more. Well, now that I think about it, there was one exceptional scene and that involved McLaglen telling the baby a story--now THAT scene was precious and I wish there'd been more scenes like that, as seeing the bear of a man (McLaglen) trying to make the baby smile made me smile.