Doubting Thomas

This pleasant comedy was adapted from a play by George Kelly called "The Torch Bearers," which ran on Broadway for several months in 1922. Kelly's play poked fun at community theater, or more specifically at the pretensions and self-delusions of people who participate in it and manage to convince themselves that they're far more gifted than they actually are. Adapted for the movies as Doubting Thomas, the material was nicely suited for the special talents of Will Rogers, cast as a businessman named Thomas Brown who is exasperated by his wife's (and his community's) infatuation with play-acting. He eventually contrives a scheme to cure his wife of the theatrical fever once and for all.

It's ironic that a movie poking fun at bad acting features so many first-rate character actors. For the most part, the comedies Rogers made at Fox in the '30s were star vehicles built entirely around his persona, but Doubting Thomas is more of an ensemble piece that gives some of the best moments to an array of colorful personalities in supporting roles. Billie Burke, with her inimitable trilling voice, is perfectly cast as Rogers' dotty wife and gives the funniest "bad" performance in the show-within-a-show. Film buffs will enjoy spotting other familiar faces in the cast: Johnny Arthur, Gail Patrick, T. Roy Barnes, John Qualen, and the possessor of another famous voice, Sterling Holloway, as a nerdy backstage assistant. Best of all, the magnificent Alison Skipworth is in her element as Mrs. Pampinelli, the self-dramatizing director of the amateur show. Skipworth was the only member of the original Broadway cast who repeated her role in this film, and she seizes the opportunity to dominate every scene she's in. Mrs. Pampinelli is an embodiment of the personality type who would today be known as a Diva or a Drama Queen, and Skipworth, who made her London stage debut in the 1890s, was precisely the sort of battle-hardened stage veteran the part demanded.

There are times during this film when the nominal star Will Rogers is almost lost in the shuffle, but he can generally be found off to one side making wry comments about the other players' antics. Rogers' funniest routine comes towards the end, when he turns a bogus screen test into an opportunity to parody crooner Bing Crosby. It's the comic highpoint, but otherwise Rogers is faithful to George Kelly's text -- uncharacteristically so, for a star who usually rewrote his lines. If almost anyone else had been cast as Thomas Brown (for instance, Rogers' friend W.C. Fields) the guy would most likely have come off as sour and selfish, what with his constant complaining that his wife's play- acting mania is keeping her from tending to his needs at home, but Rogers's considerable charisma smooths his character's rough edges. Bearing in mind the age of the source material, we have to accept the attitudes expressed by the playwright as reflecting those of his era; in fact, when this 13 year-old play was filmed in 1935 some critics were already calling it old-fashioned! In one respect the attitude of the male characters seems decidedly misplaced: Thomas Brown's son Jimmy (played by Frank Albertson) echoes his father's irritation over his girlfriend Peggy's ambition to appear in movies, and bluntly tells her she has no talent. But when we see Peggy's screen test it's undeniable that she's a terrific dancer, so good that Jimmy's determination to keep her from going to Hollywood feels short-sighted and sexist. (Peggy is played by an obscure starlet named Frances Grant, who was certainly skilled at dancing but not much of an actress.) It would have made more sense, dramatically speaking, if Peggy had been just as inept a performer as the community theater players.

At any rate, Doubting Thomas is a lightweight, engaging, dated, but generally enjoyable comedy, pleasant and seemingly lacking any ambition to be a laugh riot. It maintains a medium tempo and never accelerates, but it's carried by the considerable talent of a unique leading man surrounded by a first-rate ensemble. Will Rogers fans will certainly want to see it, but you may find that it's Alison Skipworth who makes the strongest impression in the end.

Small-town "Brown Breakfast Sausage" manufacturer Will Rogers (as Thomas Brown) maneuvers to prevent fluttery wife Billie Burke (as Paula) from taking a role in a local play, fearing she may pursue a career as an actress. To make matters worse, their son Frank Albertson (as Jimmy) may lose pretty fiancée Frances Grant (as Peggy Burns) to the footlights. Like his dad, Mr. Albertson wants to marry a housewife. Under the direction of portly and pompous Alison Skipworth (as Mrs. Pampinelli), both women get parts in the town play - along with several other Hollywood hopefuls. Their dramatic efforts to get "discovered" by a visiting talent scout turn to comedy, but Mr. Rogers may get the last laugh…

"Doubting Thomas" was the film playing in theaters when its star's plane crashed. Thus, Will Rogers joined the list of media celebrities who died suddenly, and with obviously much more to contribute. His popularity can best be described as a combination of John Wayne and Oprah Winfrey; relative to the times, he may have been bigger. Rogers' final films were thankfully past the "creaky" transition from silent to sound, but the best of them have core ideals that are unacceptable. In this case, the message "a woman's place is in the house" is hammered home. Not a bad place to be, but everyone should be allowed to consider a career. Fortunately, Ms. Burke and the other women in the cast opted to entertain.

Other than that, the film is excellent. As always, Rogers is a natural; while presently not acknowledged as a great actor, his performance could have been envied by Spencer Tracy. Burke looks like she's influencing Betty White. All of the supporting cast is wonderful. Repeating her stage role expertly, Ms. Skipworth is worthy of a "Best Supporting Actress" award. You'll want to rewind after seeing Ms. Grant's fantastic dance; she moves her body with incredible fluidity. And, don't miss the very, very young William "Billy" Benedict as a golf caddy. The entire "production" staged by director David Butler for "director" Skipworth is hilarious, with sound-effects man Sterling Holloway (as Spindler) leading the charge.

******* Doubting Thomas (7/10/35) David Butler ~ Will Rogers, Billie Burke, Alison Skipworth, Sterling Holloway

An ordinary businessman is appalled when his no-talent wife becomes infatuated with amateur theatrics, propelling Mr. DOUBTING THOMAS into a bizarre world populated by stage-struck eccentrics.

Will Rogers is perfectly cast as the perplexed husband with the wry, homespun humor, bursting balloons of pomposity at every turn. His was a unique personality - always a joy to watch. His dialogue gives him ample opportunity to charm the audience & show once again why he was one of Hollywood's - and America's - favorite personalities.

Will is given two female co-stars worthy of him. Billie Burke, as his wife, is her usual wonderful, flighty self, perfectly playing one of the air head parts she practically patented. Monumental Alison Skipworth, formidable as the play's directress, all but steals the entire picture in her hilarious role. It is a shame this splendid actress is almost forgotten today.

It's also a pity that young Frank Albertson, as Will's son, is given no chance to display his considerable musical comedy talent. The rest of the cast - Gail Patrick, Sterling Holloway, Johnny Arthur, John Qualen - are all given moments to shine.

For Will Rogers this film was a reunion of sorts because he got to play opposite Billie Burke who as we know was the widow of Will's great theatrical benefactor, Florenz Ziegfeld. Ziegfeld died quite broke as a result of the stock market crash and Burke was out in Hollywood trying to support her daughter by going back to work. I'm sure this was one reason why she and Rogers worked together in Doubting Thomas.

The film is based on the George Kelly play The Torchbearers which had a run of 135 performances. It's been updated to change the plot from theatrical hopefuls to movie hopefuls.

This is not a play that's revived too often today because the message of a woman who ought to know her place is in the home would not be received well. Will and Billie play a middle aged married couple who are happy except that Billie has a theatrical urge and thinks she's talented. She's under the spell of Alison Skipworth, the grande dame of their town who is putting on theatrical productions with some of the town's citizens.

I've got mixed feelings about the film and its message, I'm not sure what Kelly was trying to say. One of the great losses with the age of mass communications was the number of home based and touring companies where players learned their trade. Of course Skipworth and her pretensions are great fun. But it is in those companies that talent is honed and refined. Actors need a place to be bad in while they learn the trade.

In fact Alison Skipworth played this same role on Broadway, she's the only member of the Broadway cast to repeat her performance. In fact when she's on, you forget about Will and Billie.

The best part of the film is the production and all that goes wrong with it and Skipworth ready to have a nervous breakdown. Rogers is in the audience and making rather trenchant comments to Frank Albertson who serves as his son and straight man.

Doubting Thomas is dated and certainly politically incorrect for today. But Will, Billie, and Alison put it across nicely.

As if the "bad acting" given by an amateur stock company isn't bad enough, the actual performances aren't much better--even when given by such well-known names as WILL ROGERS, BILLIE BURKE, FRANK ALBERTSON and GAIL PATRICK. David Butler was a reliable director of lightweight material in the '30s and '40s but this is one of his weakest efforts.

The only genuine laughs come from the actual first night performance of the amateur theatrical play where everything goes wrong--all in highly exaggerated style, with STERLING HAYDEN missing all his cues and the other actors bumping into each other and the scenery while the highly theatrical diva ALISON SKIPWORTH frets over each mishap while urging them all on to greater heights.

Outside of that, the rest of the film is hurt by dull dialog when it requires wit--even the barbs thrown around by Will Rogers fall flat most of the time. Billie Burke does her standard dotty act and overdoes the "bad acting" to such an extent that it becomes a parody of what's supposed to be funny.

Summing up: Dated farce falls apart long before the third act featuring a supposedly "talented" Will Rogers (in a faux screen test) making a fool out of himself as a Bing Crosby-like crooner. Forget about it!