Love Thy Neighbor

This film is funny even if you don't know anything about the characters other than Jack Benny, perennially portrayed as a skinflint, and Rochester (Eddie Rochester Anderson), his long-suffering on-air butler. Benny and Fred Allen were radio personalities during the 20 years preceding television, and had a running faux feud with each putting the other down in their own trademark style. This film makes a feature length joke out of that long-running act.

Mary Martin plays Fred's niece, Mary, who attempts to patch up a feud between her uncle and Benny, ends up being confused with a dancer with a completely different name, and ultimately ends up romantically entangled with Jack, here portrayed as a bachelor. Benny was actually married to Mary Livingston from 1927 until his death in 1974.

The film is virtually without a plot, yet hilarious and punctuated by interesting if not tuneful musical numbers. Keep a lookout for Benny's chambermaid. She is played by Mary Kelley, and is always calling Jack "kid" in the film. Before Jack married Mary Livingston he almost married Mary Kelley, which he said would have been a huge mistake because they were always arguing. He said the almost marriage happened because when George Burns and Gracie Allen got married (both longtime friends) their love was so contagious that he caught it too! At any rate, years later, she wound up working for Jack at various times, and this was one of those times.

Highly recommended for fans of Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and old time radio.