Main Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Eddie Quillan, Dorothy Lee, Mitzi Green
Release Year: 1932
Country: US
Run Time: 75 minutes
Plot
The 1930 George & Ira Gershwin musical smash Girl Crazy was refashioned for the screen in 1932 as a vehicle for comedians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey. Most of the original play's romantic plotline has been jettisoned, shifting the emphasis to cabdriver Jimmy Deegan (Wheeler) and his larcenous passengers Slick and Kate Foster (Woolsey and Kitty Kelly). After a tortuous cross-country trip, Jimmy, Slick and Kate end up in Custerville, Arizona, where each of the new sheriffs is routinely bumped off by local reprobate Lank Sanders (Stanley Fields) and his gang. When the newly-opened nightclub of city slicker Danny Churchill (Eddie Quillan) proves successful thanks to the singing talents of Kate Foster, Lank Sanders, owner of a rival cabaret, plots to run for the sheriff's office so that he can close down Danny's establishment. Hoping to stave off this eventuality, Danny conspires with Slick to nominate Jimmy as sheriff (Slick figures that a dead man won't be able to collect his gargantuan cab fare!). With the help of his tagalong kid-sister Tessie (Mitzi Green), Jimmy wins the election then has to run for his life when Lank comes a-gunnin' for him. Ending up south of the border in Mexico, Jimmy and Slick manage to get the drop on Lank, and all's right with the world. Contrary to previously published reports, only three of the original Gershwin songs were retained for the film version of Girl Crazy: I Got Rhythm, performed Ethel Merman-style by Kitty Kelly; But Not for Me, rushed through by nominal romantic leads Eddie Quillan and Arline Judge, then parodied by juvenile impressionist Mitzi Green (who does quickie imitations of George Arliss, Bing Crosby and Edna May Oliver); and Bidin' My Time, used as background music for an opening scene in which the camera slowly pans across the tombstones of Custerville's former sheriffs. Bert Wheeler and his perennial screen vis-a-vis Dorothy Lee deliver the film's best number, You've Got What Gets Me, originally written by the Gershwins for their 1927 production Funny Face. Long unavailable thanks to the 1943 MGM remake, Girl Crazy was resurrected in the late 1970s; though it proved a disappointment for Gershwin purists, it won a whole new fan following for Wheeler & Woolsey, who are very funny throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The 1932 version of Girl Crazy is not for Broadway purists or Gershwin fanatics (as far too much of the splendid score is dumped), but it will delight followers of the forgotten comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey. Wheeler and Woolsey never achieved the kind of popularity of Laurel & Hardy or the Marx Brothers or other comedic teams, nor should they have; while amusing and sometimes riotously funny, they don't have that distinctive quality that marks their talent as something for the ages. Still, they do have enough "something" to make Girl Crazy worth a watch. Certainly they're not lacking in the chemistry department, playing off of each other like the old pros they are; even when the gags aren't top drawer, their timing usually is. As mentioned, most of the score is gone, but the songs that remain are choice -- even if the renditions may lack something. Kitty Kelly's "I Got Rhythm" is in the Ethel Merman style, but falls short of the original; it's fine, but one misses the Merm. "But Not for Me" comes off a bit dull initially, but Mitzi Green's subsequent for-laughs take on it works well, and "You've Got What Gets Me" is fine. Green is a joy throughout; a few more scenes with her would have improved the movie considerably. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
