Look Who's Laughing

I saw this movie about fifteen years ago on American Movie Classics. Having a great deal of interest in movies of this time period, I found it a lot of fun to watch. It is true that the plot is pretty thin, but for those familiar with the characters from repeats of old radio broadcasts it is great to put a face with the characters. I was surprised to see Lucille Ball in this picture. She really doesn't have a lot to do, but has some funny moments. I watch this movie with my children once or twice a year. They especially like the hand puppet Ophelia as well as the section where Charley McCarthy gets tipsy while drinking chocolate sodas. (They became familiar with Bergen by watching Disney's Fun and Fancy Free on DVD). Totally enjoyable and great for the whole family. Catch it when you can!

No, radio characters often don't lend themselves to a visual medium, and this no exception.

Bergen and McCarthy look ridiculous. Bergen was always an obvious ventriloquist who kept moving his head to distract people from seeing his lips move so obviously. And then the worst, acting as if Charlie McCarthy is able to sit by himself and even answer the phone. Waaaaay better on radio.

Gildersleeve probably comes off better on screen than on radio because he's such a buoyant character to behold.

Lucy at the time was eye candy, and later it became harder to view her as so feminine.

Nevertheless, the audience of the day got to see people they loved for years. It was probably well worth it in the day. They likely suspended all of the shortcomings and came away feeling warm.

A minor gem thanks to a clever script, fast-paced direction, and top radio stars of the day. Fibber McGee wants to locate a new aircraft plant in Wistful Vista, and gets Edgar Bergen to help him. The machinations fly fast and furious, along with a hair-raising finale where non-pilot McGee is at the controls of a twirling airplane. Everyone gets a turn at getting laughs, including Lucille Ball who already shows a flair for comedy along with a shapely leg. Then there's that blustery small-town blowhard Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, who would soon star in his own movie series. Fibber's wife Molly also gets to do her little girl voice that's so amusing. But the real star is the inimitable Charlie McCarthy. I hate to say so, but after awhile I started thinking he was a real person. I expect he has that effect on a lot of viewers. Anyway, the movie remains a minor delight, and I don't think that's just nostalgia for the entertainment I grew up with.

Holy guacamole, batman. Check out the comedy greats in this one! Neil hamilton was "the commissioner". Lucy. Edgar bergen. Jim and marian jordan, aka, fibber mcgee and molly, who had a huge radio show for twenty years. When edgar's secretary gets married, all heck breaks loose. Edgar and charlie end up in wistful vista, the home of fibber mcgee. Don't open the closet! They land right in the middle of a shady land deal between the town bigshot and a local businessman. Now the wedding may be off, and the mcgees might lose their house. Can they fix all this mess? Fun caper, moves along. Also keep an eye out for sterling holloway in the soda shop... he was winnie the pooh! And charles lane used to hold the record for the most bit parts in film... not sure if he still does. As silly as the story is, the whole point here is to see all the great comedians together in one film. Directed by allan dwan.

As a contributor in the 45+ category, I was amazed and somewhat puzzled to note that the highest scores for this movie came from the 18+ group of viewers, and the LOWEST came from my and older generations who would have remembered fondly Fibber McGee and Molly, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and the Great Gildersleeve as a result of listening to their weekly radio shows. Perhaps the evaluation reflects disappointment at seing their favorites not in their familiar formats (though the writers managed to include most of the familiar tag-lines from both radio shows) Certainly the plot (!) is paper-thin and full of inconsistencies. Still, the performers came across as very likeable and there were more than a few chuckles. Probably because of this, the film was a surprise box-office success in 1941. I watched it on tape last night, and had the same strange feeling as the other IMDB respondent, to see Charlie, not on Bergen's knee, interacting with other actors as though he was human. This was even stranger in the follow-up film Here We Go Again, when a midget dressed as Charlie dances on a ballroom floor. It reminds me of the puppets in Great Gabbo and Dead of Night, where the dummy overrides the personality of the ventriloquist.