Unrelated to the precocious teen musical of the 1970's, this silly Hollywood spoof is actually a B, scaled down version of a 1939 forgotten Broadway musical hit. Starring Eddie Foy Jr. as the country bumpkin who comes to Hollywood's Mammoth studios as an adviser for "the common man". Buggsy, it turns out, is a real life racketeer (played by Albert Dekker) whom studio owner Alan Mowbray wants to play a fictional version of himself. When mobster goes Hollywood, he brings sister Joan Davis with him, providing naive Foy with a funny romantic interest as he courts Dekker to take the film offer.
Davis, singing a deadpan song a la Virginia O'Brien, takes on the role originated by Judy Canova, an ironic fact considering that Canova joined Republic the very same year. Davis, going from secondary roles in A films to leads in B's, goes all the way for laughs, reminding me that funny girl Fanny Brice's first choice to play her was indeed...Joan Davis, not Barbra Joan Streisand. Foy, with his vaudeville background, is a great foil, showing great promise, which lead him to Broadway character actor stardom with "The Pajama Game" and "Bells are Ringing".
It's hard to gage the obscure Broadway musicals based upon their film versions, considering that a bulk of the score and book was tossed out. In fact, often, the only thing they seem to probably have in common is the title, one or two songs and possibly a cast member or two. This doesn't seem to even have the story, just the few songs. But it's not bad for a B movie, with talented comics, character players and some truly zany moments, spoofing the Hollywood gangster film a in good fun. Lynne Carver is a delightfully bitchy untalented starlet who gets what she deserves in competing with Davis for Foy.
3 out of 3 found this helpful