Thanks a Million

What a novel idea, have a talented group of entertainers be the opening number in political campaign rallies for a candidate to office. Which is what Ned Lyman discovers, as he and his troupe appear in a small auditorium where a political speech is to be given later on at the same theater by the candidate for governor of the state, Judge Culliman. Mixing theater people with politicians will appeal to voters, or so Ned thinks. The Judge in his run for governor of the state hasn't elicited much sympathy. Add to that a drinking problem and Ned sees a great opportunity.

Ned Lyman is a resourceful man that sees an angle in which keep the company he has assembled together and precede the aspiring candidate's spiel to the crowd. Since Judge Culliman can't get it together, Ned appeals to his star crooner, Eric Land, to read the speech to the audience. The singer becomes a hit and what's more, the political machinery behind the campaign see in him a person that can be manipulated. Are they in for a surprise!

"Thanks a Million" is a delightful comedy with music directed by Roy Del Ruth. Dick Powell, who appears as Eric Land at the height of his singing career is the best thing in the movie. Equally effective is Mel Allen, the radio personality in a rare screen appearances. Ann Dvorak is seen as Eric's love interest, and Patsy Kelly is a singer with the company and Ned's girl.

The film is entertaining as well as has an important message as the end when Eric Land unmask all the people that thought they could use him for their own personal gain.

Although the golden days of radio were long before I was born, I've always enjoyed the great radio comedians and was thrilled to see this Fred Allen movie being shown around the time of the 2008 election.

Fred Allen, who passed away in the early 1950s, was a contemporary of George Burns, Bob Hope, and Jack Benny, who pioneered the format of the sitcom in radio and later onto television. Unfortunately, Mr. Allen did not live long enough to make it into television (and he admittedly had a "face for radio", as he put it).

It is AMAZING to see how much the political parody in the movie Thanks a Million still hits the mark; the song "Square Deal Party" is a gem. If you get the chance to see this movie, don't miss it (I would recommend taping it - if you enjoy political satire, you will probably want to hear the lyrics of "Square Deal Party" again). It should be shown by the classic movie channels again WELL BEFORE 2012!!!

Fred Allen has an enjoyably sardonic, self aware delivery in this movie; it can be argued that his political satire on the radio was the first America had within that genre, if not some of the finest at that time. The Looney Tunes character Foghorn Leghorn (think the big rooster with the southern accent) is obviously based on the character Senator Claghorn from his "Allen's Allen." Fred Allen was a wordsmith who coined the phrase "low man on the totem pole" and is seriously underrated, in my opinion. Anyone who has an interest in American comedy/political satire and is not yet familiar with Fred Allen should spend a little time reading up on him and learning about a great American comedian who is sadly neglected and unknown today.

THANKS A MILLION (20th Century-Fox, 1935), directed by Roy Del Ruth, ranks one of the finer musical-comedies released during the initial years of the newly formed 20th Century-Fox studio. Although reportedly successful, it's so overlooked these days as musicals are concerned that after viewing it, one wonders why it isn't better known. It comes near to something of a political satire from the Preston Sturges (THE GREAT McGINTY, 1940) school for comedy, or Frank Capra's (MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, 1939) common man making good philosophy. Starring Dick Powell and Ann Dvorak, both on loan-out assignments from Warner Brothers, the feature film debut of radio comedian Fred Allen, musical antics by the Yacht Club Boys, along with delightful wisecracking Patsy Kelly, notable faces of Alan Dinehart, Paul Harvey, Edwin Maxwell, Russell Hicks and Andrew Toombes, character actor Raymond Walburn in a memorable performance, and special guest appearance of Paul Whiteman and his Band, THANKS A MILLION should get enough votes to be declared a winner.

The story opens on a rainy night where Ned Lyman (Fred Allen) and his musical troupe riding on a bus bound for New York City. Departing a bus in New City, Pa., only to have to wait two hours for the next bus to their destination, the troupe decide to escape the rain by entering a building where a political rally is taking place. Campaigning for governor is Judge A. Darius Culliman (Raymond Walburn), making his long-winded speech that puts his attendees to sleep, although many are there only to wait until the rain stops. Noticing a disaster, Lyman suggests to the candidates that the only way for Culliman to get a full house is to try a new approach in hiring his troupe entertain with songs and dancing in between speeches, with Eric Land (Dick Powell) acting as crooner, and Sally and Phoebe Mason (Ann Dvorak and Patsy Kelly) performing as dancers. The idea practically works until one night Culliman arrives drunk, leaving Eric to fill in and campaign for Culliman.Eric's trusting and pleasing personality has the public wanting Culliman to withdrawn his ticket and have Eric run for governor instead. At first he refuses, but Eric does it anyhow, but for the wrong reasons, thus, causing him to lose the love and trust of his girlfriend, Sally, especially after spending more time with Betsy Kruger (Margaret Irving), his campaign manager's (Alan Dinehart) wife, who wants Eric for herself.

On the musical program, with music and lyrics by Arthur Johnston and Gus Kahn, songs include: "Thanks a Million" (instrumental, violin played by David Rubinoff); "Sugar Plum" (danced by Ann Dvorak and Patsy Kelly); "I've Got a Pocketful of Sunshine" (sung by Dick Powell); "Square Deal party" (written and performed by The Yacht Club Boys); "Thanks a Million" (sung by Powell and Dvorak); *"A Fella Has to Learn His A.B.C's Today" (written and performed by The Yacht Club Boys); "Sugar Plum" (sung by Dvorak and Kelly); "Sittin' High on a Hill Top" (sung by Powell); "The Belle of New O'Leans" (sung by Ramona playing piano); "Happy Days Are Here Again" (instrumental); "Thanks a Million" (sung by Powell); and "Square Deal Party" (reprise/sung by cast). Good tunes with optimistic titles quite popular during the Depression era, most largely forgotten today.

*A Fella Has to Learn His A.B.C.'s Today" is a comic number deleted from the final print that exists on a motion picture soundtrack album (double featured with HAPPY GO LUCKY, a 1942 Dick Powell musical) as distributed by Caliban Records in 1981.

Singing dominates dancing in this production, with Dick Powell keeping himself busy in his sixth 1935 theatrical film release, putting his vocal chords to good use. A likable box office attraction, it's no wonder why anyone wouldn't want to vote for him. In 1937, Powell was invited back to 20th Century-Fox for another successful musical, ON THE AVENUE, featuring Madeleine Carroll and Alice Faye, with score by Irving Berlin.

Summed up best as an Election Day movie, THANKS A MILLION was remade by 20th-Fox as IF I'M LUCKY (1946) starring Carmen Miranda, Perry Como, Vivian Blaine and Phil Silvers. Both musicals, currently presented on the Fox Movie Channel, were formerly shown on the American Movie Classics cable channel from 1991-92. (***1/2)

A fine-tuned crooner, two dancing sisters, a fast-talking agent, a gin-soaked gubernatorial candidate and an unemployed orchestra troupe collide with a pack of corrupt officials in this well-honed production, often classified as "the greatest political comedy of the Great Depression."

But, in a broader sense, it may well rank as the most entertaining political satire in film history.

Thanks a Million (20th C Fox 1935) would become an early Musical for the newly-formed 20th Century Fox Studio, for which crews constructed Sound Stage #16, a theatre set, to film "a show within a show," casting scores of extras as audience members.

This films's four leading characters arrive from varying entertainment backgrounds.... Dick Powell, a major star of Warner Bros. musicals, as 42nd Street (1933), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Footlight Parade (1933) and Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934), had performed as a tenor in his early career.

Ann Dvorak, a child star in the Silents, had achieved recognition as a leading lady at Warner Bros. In Three on a Match (1932), she, Joan Blondell and Anne Shirley are billed above Bette Davis Warren William, Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bogart, Allen Jenkins and Edward Arnold.

Fred Allen, host of several radio programs between 1932 and 1949, including "Town Hall Tonight" and "The Fred Allen Show," would arrive from NYC for his first major feature film roll here.

Patsy Kelly, a vaudeville dancer/comedian from childhood, had arrived in Hollywood four years earlier, to co-star with Thelma Todd in a series of comedy short films.

"Thanks a Million" introduces Eric Land (Dick Powell), Sally Mason (Ann Dvorak), Phoebe Mason (Patsy Kelly), Ned Allen (Fred Allen) (Actually should/be Ned "Lymon"), along with Tammany (Benny Baker) and David Rubinoff and the Yacht Club Boys (Charles Adler, Billy Mann, George Kelly, James V. Kern) in its opening scene, aboard a bus being chauffeured (by Herbert Ashley) through a downpour.

As the vehicle's radio receives an instrumental version of the song "Thanks a Million," performed by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, Ned challenges the Bus Driver that his troupe could outperform (after a little edging by Phoebe).

As the band prepares, Sally learns from Eric that he hails from this state, which they're crossing en route to New York City, and once swore that he wouldn't have returned without achieving success as a singer.

But soon, they're stranded. During a stop over, Ned schemes employment with Mr. Grass (Andrew Tombes) and other Commonwealth Party's gubernatorial candidate's election committee members to embellish the ticket with entertainment coinciding with speech-making.

This plan partially backfires on the heels of Sally and Phoebe's song and dance performance of "Sugar Plum" and Eric's spectacular delivery of "Sittin' on a Hilltop," no one would stay to hear Judge Culliman (Raymond Walburn).

At a celebration party, with Eric, Phoebe and the Yacht Club Boy's singing a politically flavored rendition to the tune of "Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue," Ned enters to douse their enthusiasm, delivering an ultimatum from campaign headquarters, thereby redirecting any plans from New City on.

But the plot thickens as Judge Culliman arrives at the next venue not feeling much pain. Enter politicians from the Commonwealth Pary: Mr. Kruger (Alan Dinehart) Maxwell (Paul Harvey), Mr. Casey (Edwin Maxwell), plus Mrs. Kruger (Margaret Irving), who form agendas of their own.

Before the election is decided, more tunes fill the air: Eric and the Yacht Club Boys team for the magnificent "Sittin' on a Hilltop."

Gov. Wildman's (Charles Richman) reelection committee hires Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, featuring Ramona and the King's Men, to perform "New O'leans."

And with David Rubinoff at his side on violin, Eric delivers the title song, "Thanks a Million," which would go on to become one of Dick Powell's hit records, as well as signature song.

Patsy Kelly and Fred Allen keep the wisecracks coming through to the ending, a scene which ranks among the most highly implausible endings in film history.

But the very premise of "Thanks a Million" is political farce, so this makes it all the more memorable.

...made at Fox shortly after Darryl F. Zanuck took over the studio when he realized that Warner Brothers would always consider him just another employee. There is quite a bit of talent taken from Warner Bros. - director Roy Del Ruth and leads Dick Powell and Ann Dvorak as well as Alan Dinehart who always played less than reputable characters.

A traveling vaudeville troupe is having difficulty getting gigs and is on their way back to New York when the bus stops in a small town during a pounding rain storm. Troupe manager Ned Lyman (Fred Allen) goes inside an auditorium to get out of the rain and sees an old has been judge of a politician stumbling through a boring political speech - He is the Commonwealth Party's nominee for governor. When the rain stops everybody leaves. Nobody wants to hear what this guy has to say. So Lyman convinces the Commonwealth party leaders to hire his troupe to entertain before the judge speaks to get people in a receptive mood.

This is working out pretty well until one night the judge shows up drunk to a rally and is thus in no condition to speak. They get crooner Eric Land (Dick Powell) to give the speech for the judge and he's a huge hit with the audience. The party leaders come to Eric and ask him if he'd consider running for governor in the place of the judge. He agrees only after his girlfriend Sally (Ann Dvorak) tells him that he'll be singing on the radio and that the publicity would be a great way to get out of vaudeville and into radio for good. Besides, who would vote for a crooner for governor? What could go wrong?

Well what goes wrong is that the party boss who enlisted him has a wife who likes the material trappings of her marriage but likes to play the field, and Eric is the field she'd like to play in next. Also, Eric is actually pulling ahead of his opponent AND apparently Eric will be expected to hire a bunch of grifters into his cabinet so that they can steal from the taxpayers. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.

This film is much more sublime than Warner Brothers musicals of the 1930s after the code, many of which put lots of fast talking and flurries of action to replace the sharp edged dialogue and situations they could no longer do. Zanuck figured out how to do musicals in the time of the code - he'd do plenty in the 1940s - but at this time he didn't have the talent to do them yet. Thus all of the borrowing. This has the great feel of old time radio with what I'd even call a "cozy" scene opening the film as the troupe travels on the bus in the pounding rain one night with the movie's signature theme "Thanks a Million" playing on the radio.