Always Leave Them Laughing

A small-time comic works his way up to the big time.

The two hours is mainly for fans of Uncle Miltie. Berle is in just about every scene, along with a number of his costumed skits. As expected, some skits are funnier than others; however, I wish this overlong movie had stayed on a light comedic level. Instead, it veers off near the end into heavy drama, which could have been easily lopped off.

Catch that bouncy opening—as I recall, it plays much like Berle's hit TV show that helped put TV on the map in the early days. Anyway, if guys get tired looking at the star, there's the delectable Ruth Roman standing around in various stages of undress, and also a shapely Virginia Mayo doing some surprisingly good dance steps. Comic actor Bert Lahr gets his turn on the stage. But to me, his brand of humor is a matter of taste.

I suspect Warner Bros. was testing the waters to see if Berle's appeal carried over to movies as well as TV, in the way it did for Bob Hope over at Paramount. However that may be, I think the movie would be better if shorter and strictly light-hearted.