Luckily I saw this slice of candy corn at Cinefest, the annual silent & early film festival held each March in Syracuse, New York. I was one of 200 lucky viewers who got to see Ed Wynn at his peak of popularity. Seeing Ed's childish face and extreme mannerisms one can see why he became such a big hit on stage and with that silly voice a huge hit on radio. I've read he could work a room into hysterics, but was basically shy one on one. The plot is thin, but this is a star vehicle, so if you like the star -- it works hilariously. Decades later Red Skelton, Jerry Lewis and more recently Jim Carrey would imitate this style of comedy, with its child-like giddiness. Support film preservation & attend film festivals and write your reviews for the IMDB. The more these little gems get exposed the more like they will be released on video & DVD!
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vert00122 October 2016Ed Wynn was a popular comedian for many decades. He starred in FOLLOW THE LEADER and didn't have much of a film career. Ethel Merman, THE Broadway musical star of the century, made her film debut in FOLLOW THE LEADER and didn't have all that much of a film career, either. Ginger Rogers had one of her earliest film roles in FOLLOW THE LEADER and I'm tempted to say that if you looked good in something like FOLLOW THE LEADER you had it in you to become a film legend, but 'good' is stretching it even though Ginger probably came out the best of anyone involved in this turkey, mostly because she had so little to do. I'm afraid that I found FOLLOW THE LEADER completely unfunny and downright incoherent. It seemed that huge amounts of screen time were given over to a comedian named Lou Holtz, and these minutes were painful to behold. I wouldn't be surprised if FOLLOW THE LEADER was the worst film in the resumes of everyone involved.
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AAdaSC17 November 2018The waiter in question is Ed Wynn (Cricket) and the film starts off as it means to continue, so if you find Wynn's character and style of comedy funny then you are in for a treat. Occasionally, he is funny with his quickness and randomness when telling his stories. He uses repetition and a certain degree of fluid thinking in his comic delivery. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. He also throws in a girly, child-like giggle at the end of his sentences which just sounds retarded.
The story involves Wynn becoming leader of a gang of thugs and playing match-maker to a rather boring Ginger Rogers (Mary) and equally uninspiring Stanley Smith (Jimmie). The plot is to make Ginger a star on stage by kidnapping her rival Ethel Merman (Helen) who clearly has way more talent that Rogers as demonstrated by the song she sings. Rogers doesn't get to sing and is only given a very basic dance step to perform which is a complete waste given that she was a champion Charleston dancer 4 years prior to this film.
I expected more from this film so it was a disappointment. Phil Silvers clearly based his comedy persona on Wynn. They are identical in both looks and style.