weezeralfalfa WARNING: A blackface musical number is included. If sensitive to such, best not to view this film, or closes your eyes during this portion.One of the most popular of Eddie Cantor's string of musical farces produced by Sam Goldwyn from 1930-36. It was among the first non-cartoon films to be partially filmed with the new 3-strip Technicolor process. Only the finale Ice Cream Fantasy production was so filmed, the rest in standard B&W. This Technicolor film would remain the most popular type of color film for Hollywood films for the next 18 years, until adequate single strip film replaced it. Because filming in this medium required the rental of bulky cameras, along with their sometimes cantankerous technicians, as well as much brighter hotter lights in indoor shoots, use of this technology was limited, especially in the early Depression years. This was also the first film in this series that didn't include Busby Berkeley as chief choreographer. He had moved to Warner, where he would carry his signature features to new heights in a series of popular musicals, starting with "42nd Street"....Finally, this was probably the first film of this series to be scrutinized by the full power of the Motion Picture Production Code.Eddie plays his usual timid nerdy character, this time living on a barge anchored off NYC with his loyal sweetheart. No clue what he was doing for a living. His life would soon change dramatically with the news that his archaeologist father had died, and left a fortune in Egyptian grave artifacts he had discovered. This fortune is presently in the hands of an Arab sheik in Alexandria(no explanation why?). Eddie will have to fight for this treasure with several other claimants. These include jazz singer Dot(Ethel Merman), abetted by her dim-witted gangster boyfriend(Louie), who bases her claim on being the decease's lover at some time in the past, thus perhaps legally considered his common law wife. Southern gentleman Col. Larrabee, whose claim is based on the fact that his organization : The Virginia Egyptology Society, sponsored the trip that lead to the discovery of the treasure. All these people happened to take the same ship to Egypt, where they get to know each other. Louie tries to take advantage of Eddie's seasickness to try to dump him, blindfolded, into the ocean. Dot((Ethel) tries to get Eddie to sign a paper of unknown content, but presumably giving up claim to the fortune in favor of Ethel's claim. Eddie wiggles out of this.In an Alexandria market, Eddie and Louie encounter a fake magician who seemingly turns people into dogs, including Louie. His cigar-chomping canine incarnation runs away into the lap of the daughter(Princess Fanya) of the sheik, who is immediately smitten by Eddie, and clearly has a few loose screws, creating some comic scenes. Fanya falsely claims that Eddie saved her from a lion attack: "I've never seen such a lion" "I've never heard such lyin'" retorts Eddie. Fanya also claims Eddie kissed her, thus is obligated to marry her, supported by the sheik. However, when Eddie admits to being the claimant to the treasure, the sheik says he must die, specifically by being boiled to make camel(Campbell?) soup. But he is saved at the last moment, only to be hounded by Fanya's boyfriend. When Eddie tells the boyfriend that he doesn't love Fanya and doesn't want to marry her, he calms down and leads Eddie to the chamber of death, where the treasure is hidden, along with some sarcophagi. Eddie, as well as Louie and Col. Larrabee, hide in empty sarcophagi when the sheik arrives. They pretend to be the spirits of his ancestors, telling him to lay off Eddie. Louie tries to make off with the treasure in a small plane, but is arrested, Eddie takes his place in the plane and flies to NYC, where he cashes in the treasures so that he can build a giant ice cream establishment and serve, free of charge, ice cream products and milk chocolate to the neighborhood kids. The stars and others take turns singing a number of songs, either new or old, abetted by the singing and dancing of the Goldwyn Girls. Young Harold Nicholas dances to "I Want to be a Minstrel Man", as the Goldwyn girls sing. This is followed by the big production with Eddie in blackface, singing Irving Berlin's "Mandi", with George Murphy and Ann Southern reprising "Your Head on my Shoulder" in the midst of this production. Both Nicolas brothers dance in a segment...The "Ice Cream Fantasy", in Technicolor, occurs at the end, with Eddie and Ethel doing most of the singing. What a great production for Depression kids, especially!This was George Murphy's debut in a Hollywood film. It provides no hint of his dancing talent, as exhibited in "After the Dance", and "Broadway Melody of 1938", for example.

mark.waltz Having seen this lavish musical comedy years ago, I watched it again for the first time in years, and was amazed by how much Sandler reminds me of a modern day Eddie Cantor. That endearing freneticness, boyish know-it-all ("but I'm still keeping it to myself!") attitude is something they both share, displaying it in each of their movies no matter where the plot takes them. Like Sandler, Eddie Cantor is that total boyish "I'll let you think I'm an idiot, but I'm having the last laugh!" facade. And here, it begins with a 19 (!) year old Ethel Merman making a 25 (!) year old Eddie Cantor think she is his mother (!) so she can get him to sign legal papers turning over his late father's treasure over to her and "Uncle" Louie (Warren Hymer). The scene where they play "Tickle Me" (along with "Leap Frog" and other games they supposedly played "before you were even born", Cantor inquires, is extremely funny, and Merman is at her early brash best. It is ironic that the romantic lead is played by Ann Sothern, who later starred in the movie version of Merman's Broadway hit, "Panama Hattie".All Eddie wants is enough money "when my ship comes in" so he can build a free Ice Cream factory for his battery of kid friends (he's very much a Pee Wee Herman in this sense) and what an ice cream factory it is. The last five minutes of the film are in a glorious early Technicolor in a musical number that looks straight out of the land of Oz. Goldwyn girls carry giant vats of milk, vanilla, chocolate bars and strawberries, while a chorus of giant cows "moos" along in harmony. Then all of Eddie's kids (many of them veterans of "Our Gang" series) smash in the door for an outrageous finale that is still a treat for young and old. The big minstrel show number (featuring the Nicholas Brothers) is another highlight; Young Faynard is adorable! The racist overtones (Cantor in black-face) may offend some, and the jokes are corny, but overall it is relatively harmless. Irving Berlin's "Mandy" and "I Want to Be a Minstrel Man" are both very catchy tunes, but the love duet between Sothern and George Murphy is a snorer. But for the Nicholas Brothers, Cantor and Merman, the film is truly a must for classic movie fans. Sothern would have to wait for feistier roles at RKO and the Maisie series at MGM to become more exciting.

earlytalkie All of the films of Eddie Cantor are great, but my two favorites have to be "Whoopee!" and this one. The storyline has our hero going to Egypt to inherit a 77 million dollar fortune, followed by a platoon of other people who would like to lay a prior claim to it. Among the co-stars are lovely Ann Sothern, in one of her earliest roles as the ingénue, and amazing Ethel Merman who really gives us "An Earful Of Music" in the opening sequence. Also along for the ride are the very young Nicholas Brothers who prove why they were so popular, and if you blink, you'll miss a glimpse of young Lucille Ball as one of the famed Goldwyn Girls. The finale is shot in spectacular three-color Technicolor, which was in an experimental stage at this point. Love this film.

Poseidon-3 It's a strange thing, but some of the quips and jokes in older films such as this are so corny, so crusty and so hijacked over the years, yet still manage to be very funny and quite entertaining. Perhaps it's in the delivery or perhaps it's just surprising that something made over seventy years ago can still possess the wit and suggestiveness that we feel we have a lock on now. Cantor, who's close to being completely forgotten by today's audiences, had a winning formula for movies in the thirties. He played rather dim, but appealing, young men who find themselves in the middle of extraordinary circumstances and who weasel their ways out of danger though luck and fate, usually singing a few splashy songs in the process. Here, in one of his best films, Cantor plays a practically penniless wharf rat who inherits a fortune from his long lost father, a archaeologist in Egypt. He sails for Egypt to claim it, but has several others around him who feel that it's theirs. His chief rival is Merman, a saucy singer with a lunkheaded gangster boyfriend (Hymer.) Fussy Colonel Churchill and young singer Murphy also have their eyes on the loot for varied reasons. Churchill's lovely daughter Sothern is along for window dressing and as a love interest for Murphy. Once the gaggle of wannabee heirs reaches Egypt, they are confronted by the hostile spectre of Shiek Harvey and his giddy, lovestruck daughter Sully. When the dust has settled, Cantor returns to New York and opens a lavish, elaborate, unbelievable ice cream factory (this portion of the film is presented in extraordinary Technicolor.) The plot is paper thin, but the script is zesty and funny. The songs are catchy and extravagantly performed. One extended sequence features the fabulous talents of The Nicholas Brothers, who tap dance with exemplary skill as a (now controversially) black-faced Cantor looks on. The younger of the brothers is given greater showcase and adds plenty of good nature and fun to the proceedings. This same sequence also includes a well-coordinated bit with dozens of dancing girls passing tambourines to each other in sync. Nothing, however, can top the finale which is equal parts charming, bizarre, colorful and amusing. Cantor is given a great rondolet of supporting actors to work with here. Merman is excellent. Her sassy manner and booming voice are complimented by some nice bits (not the least of which is her character of 19 trying to convince 25 year-old Cantor that she's his mother!) Hymer (an actor who made a long career out of playing thugs with names like Pug and Lug) gets one of his best roles and rises to the occasion. He has one startling scene in which he is coerced into kissing Cantor on the lips, creating both a kooky and a kinky sensation for the viewer. Sothern is very pretty and provides some nice singing in a few numbers. Murphy is both green and vanilla, but compliments Sothern well. The biggest treat of all is the presence of Sully. In what is (criminally) her only feature film appearance, she commands every second of her screen time with a riotous, infectious and downright side-splitting portrayal. She's one of the few performers who can score laughs from an audience simply by laughing herself in her inimitable way. The film is delightful throughout, but is worth seeing for her work no matter what. It's a shame that Cantor seems to have such a small following. His work is all about entertaining the masses and quite a few of the masses would still find him entertaining if they only knew who he was!