Regina Wolfe-Parks I don't know where to begin except with George Burns quote on this movie "They managed to make Eddie Cantor's life look boring". From the misconceptions (he is called Eddie at age 13 in the movie wen in fact, he didn't change his name to this until he was 21.) as well as the very bad Jimmy Durante imitation that seemed like something out of a Saturday Night Live sketch (replete with the fake putty nose that looks even faker with a big screen high def TV). I couldn't get into the movie because of Keefe Brasselle's crazy eye rolling at the most inopportune times. I finally got through the movie thinking "Here's two hours of my life that I'll never get back". Eddie Cantor had a much more interesting life than what was shown here from his work with the March of Dimes as well as his film work, which was never even mentioned!!! Hopefully someone will do a much better biography on his life one day.

mark.waltz While the real life Eddie Cantor is seen going into a screening room at Warner Brothers to watch this movie with his beloved wife Ida, you sort of have to wonder what he really thought about it. The story and songs are there, but it is really an imitation of his life with a poorly cast Keefe Brasselle in the title role. He's sort of creepy for the most part with enlarged eyes that seem to parody Cantor rather than portray him, and even without the eyes, he really doesn't resemble Cantor, with a speaking voice too shrill to match Cantor's real voice for those of us familiar with the real deal.What starts off as "The Bowery Boys Meet Banjo Eyes" turns into "Cantor Sings Again", covering his discovery by Gus Edwards as a child (after being used by some street gang members to distract audience members from their pick-pocketing), his struggles to get into the "Ziegfeld Follies", and then his moving on to light-hearted book musicals like "Kid Boots" and "Whoopee!". Dramatically, it also tells of his childhood romance with Ida, their issues with his constantly being away, and finally some health issues which threaten to curtail his career for good.There is also of course, his use of blackface, but it never really goes into detail of why he chose that route since he had been popular as himself. Certainly, that aspect of his entertainment personality is dated now and quite offensive, but it is a part of our history that we can't change and certainly shouldn't repeat. Of course, there's going to be comparisons to "The Jolson Story", and the one good thing which can be said is that Cantor didn't have Jolson's massive ego, and mentions of him in Broadway and Hollywood memoirs describe him as a very giving performer. The movie, however, doesn't cover of any of Cantor's film career which saw him under contract to Sam Goldwyn from 1930-1936.Cantor's marriage to Ida (Marilyn Erskine) wasn't nearly as troubled as Jolson's to Ruby Keeler, but the real love of his life seems to have been his delightfully spry grandmother (lovingly played by Aline MacMahon). One very touching moment in the film is Cantor's Follies debut where he looks out into the audience and sees only her. I really wanted to like this movie more, but the severe miscasting makes a major difference between being a predictable but enjoyable by-the-numbers musical bio and a missed opportunity that perhaps nobody could have succeeded in.As Cantor does get to do all his own singing, there are all those great numbers, and Brasselle, at least in the black face, does capture his glove hand clapping and prancing routines downpacked. The various Ziegfeld production numbers, however, seem more 50's in style than 20's and 30's, and that also becomes a minus here.

donniefriedman I love Eddie Cantor and was looking forward to finally seeing this biopic. I really enjoyed the musical numbers, but I have to say the dramatic scenes were painful. I'm sure Eddie Cantor didn't carry his stage personna into his personal life. I'm sure he didn't mug and roll his eyes when conversing with his friends and his wife. But that's what Keefe Braselle did. It got pretty annoying. On the other hand, the musical numbers were tremendous and Mr. Braselle nailed the moves and the facial expressions. Of course, hearing the voice of Eddie Cantor was wonderful. I'm wondering if the songs were recorded for the movie, (as in The Jolson Story) or whether older recordings were used.

Mike-764 The story of Eddie Cantor with plenty put in and taken out by 1950's Hollywood standards. Here Eddie grows up in a tough part of New York City, living with his grandmother. He catches a break when he wins a local amateur contest and gets a part with a group of young performers in a traveling show. When he grows out of the role, he marries his girlfriend Ida and struggles in getting new parts. Pal Jimmy Durante gives him a break in a show out in Los Angeles and leaves Ida pregnant with his first (of five) daughters. He comes back from LA and manages to get a part in a Ziegfeld show and his career takes off despite the loss of his grandmother and the strain it puts on his and Ida's marriage.Plenty of liberties were taken with Cantor's life here, but the film is entertaining. Brasselle looks like Cantor but his performance isn't acting, its more on the line of an imitation. The fact that Cantor dubbed in all of the singing and the cameo by Eddie and Ida at the end of the movie are nice touches. It would have been nice to make more of Eddie's charitable work rather than condense it to 3 minutes at the end.Like I said, a good film, but one I would have liked to enjoy more.Rating 5 out of 10.