Sometimes a film will just entertain an audience, nothing else. No heavy-handed social messages, no need to make specific points about society. Just entertain. Paramount's MAN ABOUT TOWN with Jack Benny is one such film. It puts the popular comedian alongside some skilled studio contract players, and it reunites him with some of the more well-known personalities from his long-running radio program. In this case, bandleader Phil Harris as well as Benny's sidekick and occasional foil Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, who both transfer over to the big screen from radio.
I wouldn't say this film is laugh out loud funny, but there are some rather amusing bits. Every now and then Mr. Benny can't resist revisiting a joke that didn't work too well the first time, or redoing a gag that is probably past its expiration date. In short, not everything that Jack Benny considers funny is actually funny to the audience, but once a gag is finally finished and we return to the story and Jack's hilarious facial reactions resume, things quickly get back on track.
The story for this 84 minute farce involves Benny playing an American entertainer named Temple, who is basically a fictionalized version of Benny himself. He's in London with his troupe of performers about to put on a show that involves some swing music and sexy gals.
The musical numbers vary in length, and they present the ladies in glamorous shots. Some of the revue numbers expose a lot of female flesh and present some rather risqué ideas, which seem like they belong in a precode that Hollywood would have made several years earlier.
The film's director is Mark Sandrich, having recently moved over to Paramount from RKO where he made five musical comedies with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Sandrich has the right understanding for this type of fluffy material, particularly when it comes to staging musical segments for lead actress Dorothy Lamour and supporting actress Betty Grable. Miss Grable would soon headed over to 20th Century Fox and major stardom. As for Mr. Sandrich, he'd spend the rest of his motion picture directing career at Paramount; these productions rival anything MGM director Vincente Minnelli did in the genre.
Supporting cast members include some of the finest character actors and actresses of this era. Edward Arnold is a larger than life aristocratic businessman negotiating a contract with a French businessman (Monty Woolley). Their wives feel neglected and use Benny's hapless character to make them jealous one weekend at a country estate. One of the wives is played by Binnie Barnes, who has good rapport with Benny. We also have E. E. Clive as a sour-faced British butler and Cecil Kellaway in an uncredited part as a headwaiter. Really and truly, the cream of the crop.
But the biggest scene stealer, of course, is Eddie Anderson as Rochester. He had only been with Benny's radio show for two years and was already quite a fan favorite. Incidentally, this was the first time the Rochester character appeared on screen with Jack Benny. There'd be a few other movie collaborations. It's obvious Benny admired Anderson's talents, since Anderson is given two very memorable musical numbers of his own.
Rochester's first number involves some intricate footwork that seems like a precursor to Michael Jackson's moonwalk. The second number has him dressed in a Middle Eastern costume doing a routine in which he ends up moving around on the floor, which feels like an early form of breakdancing. When Rochester isn't singing and dancing, his comedy shtick is paving the way for later comedians like Flip Wilson. Lots of talent on display in this movie, which is a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half of your time.
I wouldn't say this film is laugh out loud funny, but there are some rather amusing bits. Every now and then Mr. Benny can't resist revisiting a joke that didn't work too well the first time, or redoing a gag that is probably past its expiration date. In short, not everything that Jack Benny considers funny is actually funny to the audience, but once a gag is finally finished and we return to the story and Jack's hilarious facial reactions resume, things quickly get back on track.
The story for this 84 minute farce involves Benny playing an American entertainer named Temple, who is basically a fictionalized version of Benny himself. He's in London with his troupe of performers about to put on a show that involves some swing music and sexy gals.
The musical numbers vary in length, and they present the ladies in glamorous shots. Some of the revue numbers expose a lot of female flesh and present some rather risqué ideas, which seem like they belong in a precode that Hollywood would have made several years earlier.
The film's director is Mark Sandrich, having recently moved over to Paramount from RKO where he made five musical comedies with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Sandrich has the right understanding for this type of fluffy material, particularly when it comes to staging musical segments for lead actress Dorothy Lamour and supporting actress Betty Grable. Miss Grable would soon headed over to 20th Century Fox and major stardom. As for Mr. Sandrich, he'd spend the rest of his motion picture directing career at Paramount; these productions rival anything MGM director Vincente Minnelli did in the genre.
Supporting cast members include some of the finest character actors and actresses of this era. Edward Arnold is a larger than life aristocratic businessman negotiating a contract with a French businessman (Monty Woolley). Their wives feel neglected and use Benny's hapless character to make them jealous one weekend at a country estate. One of the wives is played by Binnie Barnes, who has good rapport with Benny. We also have E. E. Clive as a sour-faced British butler and Cecil Kellaway in an uncredited part as a headwaiter. Really and truly, the cream of the crop.
But the biggest scene stealer, of course, is Eddie Anderson as Rochester. He had only been with Benny's radio show for two years and was already quite a fan favorite. Incidentally, this was the first time the Rochester character appeared on screen with Jack Benny. There'd be a few other movie collaborations. It's obvious Benny admired Anderson's talents, since Anderson is given two very memorable musical numbers of his own.
Rochester's first number involves some intricate footwork that seems like a precursor to Michael Jackson's moonwalk. The second number has him dressed in a Middle Eastern costume doing a routine in which he ends up moving around on the floor, which feels like an early form of breakdancing. When Rochester isn't singing and dancing, his comedy shtick is paving the way for later comedians like Flip Wilson. Lots of talent on display in this movie, which is a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half of your time.