Hats Off

Two cities in Texas are fierce rivals. They are each producing expositions to boost themselves and hire publicity men. One is John Payne. The other is Mae Clarke -- well, they thought they were getting a man. Miss Clarke hires Franklin Pangborn to be "him" and goes to spy on Brennan under her own name.

It's not the missing Laurel & Hardy short. Instead it is, for Grand National, a big-budget musical, with Busby Berkley style production numbers. Besides Payne in his second movie credit and first leading role, it's notable for being Samuel Fuller's first screen credit as a writer.

Those two firsts and Luis Alberni aside -- he plays a big show producer -- this movie, while always engaging, substitutes bombast for wit. The performances are good: Miss Clarke acts the business woman by being business-like and straightforward; Mr. Payne is, surprisingly for him, a tenor, both in speaking and singing. Yes, it's a musical with John Payne and he sings, despite being a baritone in those musicals with Betty Grable.