Sitting Pretty

Two guys who want to be song writers -Chick Parker (Jack Oakie) and Pete Pendleton (Jack Haley) - decide to partner up and go to Hollywood. Parker writes music, Pendleton the lyrics. But they are in New York so they need train fare. So Pete gives Chick his life savings of 300 dollars and waits for him to return with the tickets. He does return, but he lost all of the money in a craps game. Chick is unapologetic, but that is not a problem because Pete is a complete doormat. They thumb a ride to California, and when they get there Chick continues to walk all over Pete. But Pete finds his perfect match in diner owner Dorothy (Ginger Rogers) when they give her a bad check for 100 dollars, she loses her business when the check bounces, Chick is unapologetic, and that is OK because Ginger doesn't demand an apology. Pete is in love! He has found the perfect future Mrs. Doormat. But do doormats attract? It's not like being a doormat is like having a common hobby such as bird watching or astronomy. Complications ensue.

This is interesting if for no other reasons than it is very hard to find and that it is the last film Ginger did before her initial pairing with Fred Astaire in "Flying Down to Rio". But it really fails as a musical comedy. Like I said, the leads are either being too obnoxious or too wimpy in every situation, and the music with the exception of "A Dream Walking" is completely forgettable. It has its charms though -There are a few clever funny situations. Gregory Ratoff is hilarious playing the fast talking businessman who changes his position to suit the circumstances and Thelma Todd is effective as a diva actress who has a list of demands and no sense of obligation whatsoever. Todd certainly knew how to play the woman you love to hate. And it has some close up views of movie making as it existed in 1933. The big finale - the only production number in the film is part Flo Ziegfeld and part Busby Berkeley. I think the number and the film might get a higher rating if the available prints could be restored to their original glory.