Artists and Models

Plot

Jack Benny had one of his first starring film roles in this breezy comedy with plenty of music. Benny plays Mac Brewster, an advertising man trying to hold on to his biggest client, a silver company run by Alan Townshend (Richard Arlen). Elsewhere in the office, Paula Sewell (Ida Lupino) longs to compete in the Artists and Models Ball and win the title of Queen. However, professional models are frowned upon at the Ball, and all entrants must be debutantes, which is two strikes against Paula; besides, snooty Cynthia Wentworth (Gail Patrick) looks to be a shoo-in to win. But Paula has a plan, and if it works she'll have won more than a crown at the end of the night. Comedy stars Ben Blue and Judy Canova highlight the supporting cast; the great Louis Armstrong performs a tune with Martha Raye. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

Artists and Models is only a middling musical, but it's somehow much more enjoyable than it should be. Certainly this is not due to the screenplay, which is the same sort of goofy claptrap that is found in dozens of other period musicals, especially those which are essentially vaudevilles with a thin storyline tying the specialty acts together. Yet the plot is a wee bit more developed than usual in these pics, and some of the comic bits are actually amusing. And while the score is far from stellar, it's quite pleasant, especially the handful of Burton Lane tunes that tickle the ear without lingering there for a very long time. Friedrich Hollander's "Whispers in the Dark" is quite lovely, especially as sung by the irreplaceable Connee Boswell. Judy Canova and Ben Blue are lively as all get out, and Martha Raye and Louis Armstrong stomping through "Public Melody No. 1" is a treat. That last song, by the way, marked the first film contribution of Vincente Minnelli and also caused a scandal among some filmgoers for showing a white woman and a black man performing together. Ida Lupino is worth watching, if wasted, but the film's biggest asset is star Jack Benny, demonstrating his perfect timing and generating laughs simply from the way in which he pauses. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Jack Benny - Mac Brewster
• Ida Lupino - Paula Sewell
• Richard Arlen - Alan Townsend
• Gail Patrick - Cynthia Wentworth
• Ben Blue - Jupiter Pluvius II

Judy Canova - Toots/Specialty; Kathryn Kay - Lois Townsend; Cecil Cunningham - Stella; Hedda Hopper - Mme. Townsend; Yacht Club Boys - Themselves; Rube Goldberg; Russell Patterson - Artist; Martha Raye - Herself; Connee Boswell - Specialties; Sandra Storme - Model; Madeline Grey - Marjorie; Alan Birmingham - Craig Sheldon; Donald Meek - Dr. Zimmer; Andre Kostelanetz - Himself; Louis Armstrong - Himself; Peter Arne - Artist; Jerry Bergen - Bartender; Virginia Brissac - Seamstress; Ethel Clayton; Edward Earle - Flunky; Harry Hayden; Dell Henderson - Lord; Howard Hickman - Mr. Currie; David Newell - Romeo; Henry Johnson; Pat Moran - Tumbler; Anne Canova; Harry C. Johnson - Juggler; Jane Weir - Miss Gordon

Credit

Vincente Minnelli - Choreography, LeRoy J. Prinz - Choreography, Raoul Walsh - Director, Ellsworth Hoagland - Editor, Alma Macrorie - Editor, Frederick Hollander - Composer (Music Score), Leo Robin - Composer (Music Score), Victor Young - Composer (Music Score), Victor Milner - Cinematographer, Lewis E. Gensler - Producer, Sig Herzig - Screen Story, Walter de Leon - Screenwriter, Francis Martin - Screenwriter, Gene Thackery - Short Story Author

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