Chasing Rainbows

Pretty big role for Jack Benny in his very first film acting role, playing someone besides himself (acc to IMDb). He rattles off many of his one-liners as Eddie, part of the big traveling (and unraveling) road show. He should know, after all those years of vaudeville, before getting his own radio and TV shows. This movie is all about taking the show on the road, and Bonnie's (Marie Dressler) facial expressions as she gets elbowed, steam-blasted by the train, and insulted by the rest of the cast. Dressler was showing her age here (sixty something, with pretty big bags under her eyes) but that didn't slow her down any. She made SEVEN films in 1930, and only made a couple more before passing away in 1934. Two of her last ones were biggies, Tugboat Annie, and Dinner at Eight! Co-stars Bessie Love (Carlie) and Polly Moran (Polly) had also started in the silents and continued on with the talkies. Lots of backstage jokes and chiding each other, mostly by Eddie and Polly. Also an on again, off again love story between Carlie and Terry (Charles King, who only made a few films). Some serious, touching moments between the girls as they talk over their intentions regarding the men-folk. Sad to note that the color song and dance portions are missing in action - hopefully someday they will be found. Directed by Charles Reisner, who had worked his way up through every occupation, starting with the silents. Written by Robert Hopkins, who would be nominated for an Oscar for his writing on San Francisco (1936). Good story, no plot holes, very family friendly. I really enjoyed watching this one.... it wasn't as hokey as a lot of those "back-stage, behind the scenes stories" were back then. Good to see J. Benny in an early role.

In 1930, MGM was still ironing out the kinks in its early sound pictures. "Chasing Rainbows" " is one of the earliest musicals that still has some of those kinks. It also shows the lesser quality of performers at the time. But this attention to musicals was paving the way for MGM's undisputed title as king of the musicals through the end of Hollywood's golden age in the early 1960s.

Although there had been singers and dancers with bands on stage, the cinema world had not used them until sound. So, finding the voices, dancers and musicians for films was part of the new challenge. And, interestingly, MGM also filmed part of this movie in Technicolor. The DVD I obtained from the WB Archive Collection has a reconstructed film without the color scenes. Three of those were of song and dance numbers. All the color segments were lost, so this rebuilt film has some black and white still photos showing the scenes that were shot in color.

This film has one other historical value. It's a very good depiction of the traveling stage shows. This was not vaudeville, but production of popular stage shows that traveled around the country to perform in towns that had stage theaters.

Most of the cast of this film weren't known much beyond the 1930s. But two of the main characters were, and it's their performances that make this film worth watching. Jack Benny serves as the stage manager, Eddie Rock. With the traveling show, his job was much more than that of the theater manager. He was also director for rehearsals, in charge of property, and overall supervisor and watchdog of the cast and crew. Benny's Rock is very good with some nice comedy.

The other well-known person is actress Marie Dressler, as Bonnie. She is responsible for the bulk of the comedy, and much of that is in an ongoing spat with Polly, the props manager. Polly Moran plays that role very well.

The female and male leads are Carlie Seymour and Terry Fay, played by Bessie Love and Charles King. Love was a big star of the last 15 years of silent films, and her career segued into sound. But, after a few of these early films with lead roles, she was relegated to mostly supporting roles. The evolution of sound pictures also brought a huge swarm of new talent as the studios searched for new stars with good voices. Some came from the live stage and a few from the silent films, but the large influx was mostly new faces in the 1930s.

Besides Dressler in this film, movie buffs will know the silent stars who transitioned and did as well or better than they had before. They included Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper, William Powell, the Barrymore's (John, Lionel and Ethel), Carole Lombard, Loretta Young, Jean Arthur, Myrna Loy, and Clark Gable. But for each one of those whose careers continued and blossomed from silent to sound, there were 100 who didn't. Not all were because of the sound itself, or their voices. Many had been in pictures for 20 years or more, and couldn't compete with the acting of new people. Some big names that made a few films in sound before they quit were Mary Pickford, Clara Bow and Douglas Fairbanks.

Some of the new talent that the 1930s brought ranged from Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, to Cary Grant, James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Robert Taylor and Spencer Tracy on the male side. And some truly great actresses came to the screen in the 1930s, including Claudette Colbert, Irene Dunne, Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Barbara Stanwyck, Katherine Hepburn, Kay Francis, Lucille Ball, Merle Oberon and Greer Garson.

Of course, across the pond - in the UK and all over Europe more stars were appearing in cinema.

Back to this film. Charles King could sing, but he wasn't anywhere near the talent that would be in the musicals within a couple of years. He was new to films himself, but acted as though he were in a silent film. He exaggerated his moves. His long pauses with a sour puss made him seem to be pouting. It's likely that directors and producers were having to adjust as well.

It's good to have something like this in an early major studio film to show the challenges that studios had in making major changes. My guess is that there wasn't another top singer to be found anywhere who had acted to put in the role of Terry Fay. King had just started in films in 1928 and had four films behind him - all musicals. He did much better in "The Broadway Melody" of 1929, where his song was good and acting just so-so. He made one more musical after this, also in 1930, then a handful more of non-musicals in small parts and his acting career was finished.

To give the feel of the traveling show, a couple of scenes show town or theater names between some snippets of very fast-moving trains. In one of those, the film gives the name of show playing. At the Nebraska Theatre, Xmas Week Dec. 22nd, "Good-Bye Broadway" is being performed. Another scene shows a sign of the Vermont Opera House.

Those who might enjoy this film are movie and history buffs. Most others would probably give up on it after a few minutes. Perhaps the missing Technicolor numbers would have lifted the film.

Here's a sample dialog exchange. Carlie Seymour, "Say, I've been through this so much with him, don't you think I'd better go in and talk to him - huh?" Eddie Rock, "Well, all right. If you wanna play Little Daniel in the lion's den, go ahead. But if he bites you, don't blame me."

What a potentially great film (finally got hold of a copy), a big hit MGM musical that boasted Bessie Love, Charles King, Jack Benny, Marie Dressler, and Polly Moran.

What a shame that all the Technolor is gone from the existing print, and even worse, so are all the big production numbers! Title cards appear to tell us where the numbers USED to be. Even the audio is gone.

Indeed we miss Bessie Love leading a chorus in "Everybody Tap," Charles King singing "Love Ain't Nothing' but the Blues." and Marie Dressler singing "My Dynamic Personality." Also the entire finale of "Happy Days Are Here Again" is also gone. Thanks to Richard Barrios for listing the missing songs in a footnote in A SONG IN THE DARK.

The few numbers that are left aren't too great. King sings "Lucky Me and Lovable You" to Love (who does not sing). But they do a short dance number. Dressler does an early number on the train, and Nina Martan (odd spelling) also sings one song.

In this backstage musical about an acting company traveling across country in a show called "Goodbye Broadway," we get the usual stories about jealousy, love, etc. Love is adorable as Carlie, King is better than he was in THE Broadway MELODY, Benny is funny, and of course Dressler and Moran steal every scene they're in. George K. Arthur has a small role as a (gay?) member of the troupe, and so does Gwen Lee as the member who quits early on, requiring them to hire Martan. Eddie Phillips plays the smarmy lover.

After smash hits with THE Broadway MELODY and Hollywood REVUE OF 1929, MGM launched this musical with its A Cast, but by the time the film hit theaters, the craze for musicals was winding down. Revue films were so unpopular that MGM included "Not a Revue" in its advertising for CHASING RAINBOWS. Bessie Love was MGM's #1 musical star of the time, and Marie Dressler and Polly Moran are just plain hysterically funny together.

Let's hope these Technicolor musical numbers are found some day. What a treat that would be!

I won't repeat other reviews; I agree with almost all comments. What I'd like to address is the unprofessional editing. In one scene actors apparently are listening to Jack Benny lecturing but without sound. This is clearly a medium reaction shot, meant to have Jack's voice over. Poly Moran stands in a doorway without moving for about three seconds before action begins. An actor enters a door from the outside - you can't see the door - and then the camera pauses. Then on the inside we see the door continues to open. At the trimmed fade out you see the door start to open again. This is an A picture made by an A studio. Such gaffes are unforgivable.

A troupe of musical comedy performers travel about the country, forever CHASING RAINBOWS of success & happiness.

This early MGM musical, considering its age and the obvious limitations brought on by the new sound technology, does a fair job in entertaining its audience. Although the film features a song that would become a classic ('Happy Days Are Here Again' by Milton Ager & Jack Yellen) it is on the strength of a couple of its performances that its modest success is based.

Pert & pretty Bessie Love is wonderful as a sweet young singer who adores her leading man. She is completely natural with the microphone and exhibits a tender talent which was never allowed to grow to its full potential in talking films. While good throughout, the scene in which she dissolves into hysterical laughter upon hearing some emotionally devastating news is absolutely frightening in its power.

As her love interest, Charles King doesn't fare nearly so well. This is largely due to the fact that his romantic trials & tribulations - involving women other than Miss Love - are of no interest whatsoever and his reaction to them show his character to be both shallow & immature, critical character flaws in a film's hero. King was among MGM's very first musical stars, but his movie career would be very brief, lasting only from 1928 to 1930, for a total of six films.

Playing the stage manager, Jack Benny is the emotional calm point around which the activity swirls. He has very little to do besides move the plot along. His brotherly interest in Miss Love seems platonic and Jack is left out of the film's romantic action.

While not given top billing, Canadian Marie Dressler steals the film as an aging comedienne with too much past. Using her large, homely face & shapeless body to great advantage, she grabs the viewers' attention and never lets go. At this point in her career Dressler was right on the cusp of gaining enormous personal success and within a year she would become Hollywood's biggest star. Even in such a relatively routine role, such as she fills here, Dressler reveals the tremendous heart & common touch which would be the secret to her celebrity. (For an extra chuckle, pay close attention during the opening long shot where the cast sings the last few bars of 'Happy Days' - just to the right of center screen is the Marvelous Marie, swaying across the stage with elephantine grace.)

Appearing as a drunken wardrobe lady, the ubiquitous Polly Moran makes another appearance as Dressler's sidekick. Short, spunky & buxom, Polly was always fun to watch - but never more so than when teamed with Marie.

In a small role, George K. Arthur plays Benny's gynandrous assistant; an important silent comedy star for MGM, this Scottish-born actor would soon sink into talkie anonymity.

It should be noted that the film's original Technicolor sequences - including several songs and the entire conclusion - are now completely missing.