Ending a series on a low note

Wig-Wag (1935)
Starring: Dorothy Granger, Jack Mulhall, Grady Sutton, Jane Darwell, and Carol Tevis
Director: Sam White
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

After his fiance (Granger) breaks their engagement just before the wedding, Jack (Mulhall) decides to win her back by making her jealous. To do this, he convinces his friend Grady (Sutton) to dress up like a woman and pretend to be his new bride.

Aside from the very first installment, this is the weakest entry in the "The Blonde and the Redhead" series. It's almost as if the series came full circle, but in the worst possible way.

The problem with "Wig-Wag" is that it wants to rely on slapstick humor, but what it offers in that department is executed without energy and in a very feeble fashion. I don't know if it was under-rehearsed or ad-libbed on the set, but the performers weren't leaning into it. Nor was the production department for that matter; sometimes, slapstick is made funnier with exaggeration through sound effects... but that wasn't done here.

The filmmakers would have done viewers a service if they'd focused more on dialogue and characters here. I suppose they did as much with homosexuality and gender roles as they could in the 1930s, but the scenes where the cross-dressing Grady is in "danger" are the most amusing, especially the awkward kissing scenes. These scenes also contain the only truly funny lines in the film, with the "She's the biggest thing to come into my life" being prime among them. (And Sutton is BIG in this picture, given they put an already tall man in heels.)

As for the actors, they seem to be giving it their best, considering what they're working with. Jack Mullhall and Dorothy Grangers are the stars here, with Grady Sutton supporting them nicely; he is mostly serves as the straight man, which is an odd phrase to say about a hulking cross-dresser. Carol Tevis' role is the smallest she's had in any of the episodes, whether it be screen-time or role in the plot. She could have been left out entirely, and it wouldn't have made a difference.

"Wig-Wag" is the fourth and final short included on the second DVD collection of these RKO short films. It's the most risque of them humor-wise, but, as mentioned, it's also one of the worst when it comes to execution. Still, this is a collection worth checking out, as it also contains two of the best entries in the series, "Bridal Bail" and "Contented Calves".

The 'Ocean Swells' bring laughter

Ocean Swells (1934)
Starring: Zeffie Tilbury, Dorothy Granger, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Cully Richards, Landers Stevens, and Edgar Dearing
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

While on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation on Catalina Island, three laundry workers (Granger, Tevis, and Tilbury) pose as high society ladies. When the two younger ones meet a pair of handsome rich men (Richards and Sutton), and are mistaken for relatives of a wealthy yacht owner, the women decide to take full advantage of the situation. Unfortunately for them, the wealthy young men are also just posing...

The sixth installment in RKO's "The Blonde and the Redhead" non-series series (a "non-series" in the sense that while the same core performers are featured in most of them, they are playing different characters in each film) is different from previous ones in a couple different ways. First, June Brewster has been replaced as the Redhead by Dorothy Granger. This change is hardly noticeable, except Granger's comedic timing is better than Brewster's (which could go a long way to explaining why Granger's career continued into the 1950s and Brewster's was essentially over at this point). Secondly, the actual lead here is Zeffie Tilbury, both in the sense that she's the instigator of plot complications as well as portraying the character with the most lines and screen time. Usually, its some lie or clever idea from one of the "girls" that gets them in trouble. It's only fair that Tilbury should get to take center stage in this film--she had been performing on stage and in films for 20 years when this film was made--but it's still an unusual move, given the formula of the series.

"Ocean Swells" is a comedy of errors and it's very amusing even while being absolutely predictable. From the moment "Auntie" (Tilbury) promises that she's going to hook her young friends (Dorothy Granger and Carol Tevis) up with rich men, viewers have a sense of where this film is going to end up. As is often the case in the "The Blonde and the Redhead" series, the stakes keep getting higher and the situation gets more and more complicated as the film unfolds, and so the viewers continued attention is assured to be held.

The film's funniest moment come during the "seduction" scene between Tevis and Grady Sutton; it plays with the height difference between the two actors--with Tevis barely clearing 5' and Sutton being over 6' tall and Sutton playing his typical romantically challenged character. That one scene is worth a whole Star in my rating, by itself.

'Contented Calves' makes contented viewers

Contented Calves (1934)
Starring: Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, June Brewster, Charles Dow Clarke, Sam McDaniel, and Bud Jamison
Director: Sam White
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

While trying to scam a free lunch, June and Carol (Brewster and Tevis) become the legs and faces of a new ad campaign for Fool Proof Hosiery silk stockings. When Carol discovers the ad makes her look unattractive and refers to her as a "dumb-bell", she gets her lawyer boyfriend (Sutton) to file defamation suits against anyone and everyone involved with the manufacture, sale, and promotion of Fool Proof Hosiery.

"Contented Calves" is one of the best films in RKO's "The Blonde and the Redhead" series of short films. Although the plot is a little weak--the film consists of four comedy sketches that could stand equally well on their own, even if two of them are tightly connected--the characters are all sharply drawn through clever dialogue and there isn't a joke or gag that doesn't go off perfectly. The only scene that could have used a little more work is a slapstick routine about halfway through the film; it's funny, but i's not as good as what you might see elsewhere, including other entries in this series.

Series stars June Brewster, Grady Sutton, and Carol Tevis are back as their familiar characters--Brewster as the schemer, Tevis as the ditz, and Sutton as the dorky boyfriend, and they do their usual excellent jobs. In this outing, Sutton is a recent law school graduate who is struggling in his own private practice, and Tevis is his girlfriend. Brewster plays a supporting role in outing, sniping at the other characters from the sideline with jibes and petty insults while Tevis's dimwitted blonde takes center stage with Grady Sutton. Esquire, in the attempt to avenge Tevis' slighted honor. This is Sutton and Tevis's picture (a reversal of the previous installment in the series where Tevis played a supporting role.)

"Contented Calves" is one of four short films included on "Blondes and Redheads, Volume 2" and although it runs 21 minutes, it feels like half that because of the non-stop gags. This film is a high point of the collection, as well as the entire "The Blonde and the Redhead" series.

Blondes and Redheads look for 'Bridal Bail'

Bridal Bail (1934)
Starring: June Brewster, Grady Sutton, Carol Tevis, George Lewis, Sam Appel, and Matt McHugh
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When a local theater offers to pay a couple to get married in front of an audience, sisters June and Carol (Brewster and Tevis) concoct a plan to use the occassion for June to marry and elope with her boyfriend (Lewis). Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.

"Bridal Bail" is a wild comedy of errors that hits the ground running and keeps building speed and layering complications until almost the very last minute. The story features the perfect storm of good intentions going sideways that makes the best of these old short films so much fun. They're even more fun when, like here, the cast is all perfect in their roles and working with snappy dialogue. Grady Sutton and June Brewster are particularly funny in this outing, which was the third entry in a series of relationship-based comedies they starred in along with Carol Tevis.

This film belongs to Sutton and Brewster, with Tevis is in a supporting role in this outing. Still, she is excellent in her part, playing well off Matt McHugh (the boorish police officer who wants to marry June, but whom June wants nothing to do with) and George Lewis (the handsome gentleman June wants to marry), as she and the rest of the supporting cast becomes swept up in the swirling mess that June and Grady create after following through on a really bad idea suggested by Carol

"Bridal Bail" is one of four short films included on "Blondes and Redheads Volume 2" and it's worth the price of admission almost by itself.

'Flirting in the Park' is a weak start

Flirting in the Park (1933)
Starring: June Brewster, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Eddie Nugent, Brooks Benedict, and Donald Haines
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

Two office ladies (Brewster and Tevis) spend a Saturday afternoon trying to one-up each other while on dates in the park.

"Flirting in the Park" was the first in a string of short films starring June Brewster, Carol Tevis, and Grady Sutton, all of which have been collected on a two-volume DVD series titled "Blondes and Redheads." When I first started watching and reviewing these films, I wondered why the Alpha Video releases didn't present them in order, but instead led off with films from the later period of the series.
Now that I've watched "Flirting in the Park", I understand why.

While "Flirting in the Park" starts out with some nice workplace comedy, not to mention a look into office life nearly a century ago, the viewing experience quickly sours. It's great to dislike the villainous manager who sexually harasses June (played by June Brewster) and then forces her to work Saturday afternoon when the rest of the staff gets to leave early, but it's not great when the characters we're supposed to like turn out to be petty, mean, and shallower than parts of the lake they go boating on. If this had been the first film in the series I'd seen, I don't know if I'd bothered with any others, until the day where my pile of unwatched DVDs was almsot empty. (A day that will likely never come because I have YEARS of backlog to go through.)

Much can be forgiven for characters who are funny, and that's the biggest problem here: There's very little that's funny in this film, even in the office where the film was at its most amusing. The only character here who has any charm to it is the one portrayed by Carol Tevis. She's socially awkward, but wants to be a guy magnet like her friend June... or at least be SEEN as such by June (even after June steals back the date that Carol stole from her early in the film). Carol also has the only really funny bit during the later part of the movie, a gag revolving around her showing June how good she is at flirting. (I don't want to give anymore details, because I don't want to ruin the only truly good part of this film.)

It's a shame that this otherwise good cast is stuck playing such unpleasant, unlikable characters. This goes double for June Brewster, and, despite my distaste for the character she was playing, I found myself thinking it was a shame she was more more successful in her career. (After struggling along in mostly  minor and supporting roles from between 1932 and 1938, she gave up on acting and married a vice cop turned gaming mogul... who went onto become a founding figure of modern day Las Vegas. The parts she played in this film series may well be the biggest she ever had.)

Have a fun time with 'The Dancing Millionaire'

The Dancing Millionaire (1934)
Starring: Dorothy Granger, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Tom Kennedy, and Jack Mulhall
Director: Sam White
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When her wrestler boyfriend (Kennedy) is arrested after a road-rage incident, Dorothy (Granger) decides to trade up to a rich man (Sutton) she meets at her job as a taxi-dancer. Things get complicated when the ex (who doesn't know he's an ex) gets out of jail and shows up at the restaurant where Dorothy is on a date with her new man.

"The Dancing Millionaire" is the most 'mature' of this allegedly risque series of pre-Hayes Code comedy shorts that I've watched so far, at least as far as the jokes and the character motivations go, as as Granger's character's main interest in men being what's in their wallets rather than their heart or personality. Some of the slapstick is a bit on the lame side, but the non-stop pace of this film makes that excusable. What is slightly more annoying is that Dorothy Granger appears to be doing the "high-pitched dumb chick voice" like Carol Tevis always does... and both of them doing that is a bit much. Still, this is a fun film... and a funny twist at the very end.

You can find "The Dancing Millionaire" with several other entries in the "Blondes and Redheads" series on DVD. I recommend picking it up. Some are better than others, but they all have something worthwhile about them.



Trivia: Almost everywhere you look on the Internet--including at IMD--the summary of this film is wrong. They even get it wrong on the back cover of the DVD I link to above. Just about everyone seems to think "The Dancing Millionaire" can be summarized as follows: "A thuggish gangster, trying to prove that he's "sophisticated", gets the girls to help him to win a local dancing competition."... But there is neither a thuggish gangster, nor a dancing competition anywhere in the film.

Love is blooming in 'Rough Necking'

Rough Necking (1934)
Starring: June Brewster, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Spencer Charters, and George Chandler
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

After her domineering father (Charters) forbids June (Brewster) from seeing her boyfriend Grady (Sutton), her younger sister Carol (Tevis) convinces Grady to disguise himself as a woman and visit June right under their father's nose. Complications arise when both the father and a male house guest (Chandler) decide to make romantic overtures to the cross-dressing Grady.

"Rough Necking" is one of those comedies where it's a Bad Thing to think too hard about the events that are unfolding. The situation is very funny in the moment, but I foresee jailtime (or at least probation) for two of the characters when all is said and done.

Although that somewhat mood-spoiling thought was in the back of my mind, I still found this film to be very funny. The laugh-lines are plentiful, the physical comedy is well-choreographed and hilarious, the content is exactly as baudy as the punny title implies, and the ending is about as perfect as it can be. (But, like I said, I would hate to be some of these characters the following day.)

"Rough Necking" was the fifth in a series of comedic short films starring Carol Tevis and a troupe of performers. It has been made available to modern audiences on the Blondes and Redheads: Lost Comedy Classics DVD along with three other installments in the series.

'The Undie-World' is fun, but surprisingly mild

The Undie-World (1934)
Starring: June Brewster, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Dewey Robinson, and Will Stanton
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A gangster (Williams) recruits a violinist (Sutton) to help him impress a pair of sexy roommates (Brewster and Tevis) who live in the apartment across the courtyard from his, by showing them that he's sophisticated and romantic. The girls, however, end up falling for the dorky musician, assuming he's a dangerous Bad Boy. In an effort to salvage his plan, the gangster suggests the four of them go on a double-date. A comedy of errors ensues.

"The Undie-World" is an almost sweet little film that's surprisingly mild, given the title and subject matter. In fact, I can't imagine a more wholesome film where the majority of the main characters are on the make. It's got slapstick, it's got puns, it's got class-based humor... but what it doesn't have is any double-entrendres or anything from the blue category. We get within a mile of "mature" when June Brewster gets knocked down during her first encounter with Grady Sutton and her robe rides up to show some leg, but that's it. Everything though is well-staged and the actors are all perfect in their parts. For the dorky among us, the film even dpresents a little bit of wish-fulfillment as it's the dorky violin teacher who gets the girl(s) in the end.


"The Undie-World" is the first film on the Blondes and Redheads: Lost Comedy Classics DVD collection, but it was the fourth in a series of films that were tied together by featuring as their central characters a pair of young women--one blonde, one redheaded. Although the same actors and actresses appeared in most of them, and usually played characters named after the performers, each film was actually about different characters.