With Mouth Wide Open
Two penniless clerks, pretending to be industrial tycoons while staying at a lavish Florida resort, must keep their lies coming at TOP SPEED before their new wealthy girlfriends discover the truth.
Comic Joe E. Brown dominates this little film with his particular brand of slightly naughty physical humor. His agile body, elastic face and tremendous mouth are sure signs to the audience that laughs are on the way. Most of the time he's off the screen you wish he wasn't. He gets to do a little eccentric singing & dancing - ably backed up by energetic comedienne Laura Lee - which makes the rest of the movie's traditional hoofing look dull by comparison.
Jack Whiting plays Brown's buddy, and while a pleasant enough fellow he doesn't generate many chuckles. His romance with pretty Bernice Claire is faintly dull and his lengthy subplot - in which he races a motorboat and matches wits with an elderly extortionist - is interesting but really only serves to fill out the screen time.
Frank McHugh has some funny moments as a wacky inventor; Ward Boteler livens up a few scenes as a single-minded sheriff. Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Edwin Maxwell as a petulant millionaire.
Ultimately, this is Joe E. Brown's film - another rung up the cinematic ladder to movies in which he would be the main star - both with the comedy and the romantic action.
Comic Joe E. Brown dominates this little film with his particular brand of slightly naughty physical humor. His agile body, elastic face and tremendous mouth are sure signs to the audience that laughs are on the way. Most of the time he's off the screen you wish he wasn't. He gets to do a little eccentric singing & dancing - ably backed up by energetic comedienne Laura Lee - which makes the rest of the movie's traditional hoofing look dull by comparison.
Jack Whiting plays Brown's buddy, and while a pleasant enough fellow he doesn't generate many chuckles. His romance with pretty Bernice Claire is faintly dull and his lengthy subplot - in which he races a motorboat and matches wits with an elderly extortionist - is interesting but really only serves to fill out the screen time.
Frank McHugh has some funny moments as a wacky inventor; Ward Boteler livens up a few scenes as a single-minded sheriff. Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Edwin Maxwell as a petulant millionaire.
Ultimately, this is Joe E. Brown's film - another rung up the cinematic ladder to movies in which he would be the main star - both with the comedy and the romantic action.
- Ron Oliver
- Aug 29, 2003