Bunker Bean

This 1936 programmer starring Owen Davis, Jr. as Bunker Bean shows signs of having been a Douglas Fairbanks Sr. sort of show when it was originally produced for the New York stage in the mid Teens. Bunker Bean, a downtrodden clerk, finds his nerve and self confidence at the hands of some spiritualist swindlers. It is a cute idea and there are several lovely moments, but Davis' performance at the beginning of the movie is so low-key and depressing that it stops the movie from rising much above average. Later on, he seems to turn into Rudy Vallee. The bravura performance that Fairbanks would have given it hangs over the entire story.

Happily, Davis is not the whole show. Robert McWade gives a good turn as his irascible, predatory boss, Hedda Hopper is fine as McWade's annoying wife and, for completists, Lucille Ball has a credited role as a gum-chewing receptionist. But her performance -- indeed the performances of all the employees shown in this movie seem completely indifferent to their jobs and all the bosses seem to think that every good deal must involve a large measure of cheating. This limited range of character types threaten to sink the movie, but some good writing manages to make the entire thing, if not outstanding, amusing.