A Girl in Every Port

"A Girl In Every Port" is the story of two navy buddies who are stuck with a bum horse and try with all of their brilliance to turn a buck in the end.

Although not a great comedy by any means, "A Girl In Every Port" still shines in its own right. We are able, once we acknowledge that this is a vehicle for Groucho, to disregard any technical flaws and view it on its primary aspects: acting and scripting. In terms of acting, this is the intersection of three type-cast performers at the height of their type. Groucho Marx, older than we all remember, had just begun "You Bet Your Life," and was beginning to establish himself as a solo performer. His wise-guy persona, without the foils of his brothers, stands up well on its own. Marie Wilson plays her part as spot on as ever. She is a trite as the "dumb blonde," but she is just so good at it that we can forgive the cliché and embrace the goofiness. Finally, William Bendix plays the dumb but lovable tough that we will always remember him as. Mix up these caricatures with a script full of one-liners in three varieties and we have successful lightness. Bendix and Wilson are able to be dumb together, but, of course, in their own way, and the naïveté of their characters is wonderful against the poison that Groucho Marx brings to the screen. The jokes are wicked, mostly, and the story, although confused, unintelligent, and played out, is decent enough to string along the performances of two great B-listers and one master of comedy.

For fans of both Groucho Marx and William Bendix, A Girl In Every Port will give some good moments for fans of both. But as a comedy team the two have no real chemistry between them.

I'm sure that Howard Hughes running RKO at the time must have thought these two were very funny so why not get a film property for both. For those who asked how Bendix and Marx could have been in this film you don't need to be a genius to figure it out. Howard Hughes could write checks and make offers impossible to refuse.

The guys are a pair of aged sailors in Uncle Sam's navy and Bendix is left a racehorse, one that's consistently running out of the money. But he's got a twin that's stakes race quality and so the plot begins.

Marie Wilson is at her airhead best and both guys are panting hot and heavy. But she prefers Don DeFore who loves the sport of kings. And in the end he prefers her to cold society fish Dee Hartford.

Also trying to exploit the twin horses are shady trainer Gene Lockhart, shady jockey George E. Stone, and gangster Teddy Hart. They all get their little bits, a chance to strut their stuff.

Like in A Day At The Races which if memory serves Groucho Marx was also in, there's the climatic big race. I'm still trying to wonder where they got a jockey outfit for Bendix. More important how could his horse win with that kind of weight being carried? Secretariat couldn't have handled it.

A Girl In Every Port is a passably amusing comedy, fans of the leads should like it.

Groucho Marx and William Bendix play two navy buddies, Benny Linn and Tim Dunnovan, who get a race horse that turns out to have a twin.They try to make a little money with the help of the twin horses.Chester Erskine's comedy A Girl In Every Port from 1952 isn't all that bad of comedy, if you ask me.It has got Groucho Marx in it, who can safe any movie.If course this doesn't reach near the classic stuff he did with his brothers Harpo and Chico, but he still gets to deliver some witty lines that safe a lot of this movie.William Bendix doesn't stay too much behind.He and Groucho make a great team.Marie Wilson plays Jane Sweet, a dumb blonde and isn't at all dumb in her role.Don DeFore does also good job as Bert Sedgwick.This movie may not be a masterpiece, but pretty good anyway.It made my Sunday afternoon a little better.

Groucho Marx and William Bendix deserve much better material than what they are given here. A bad script with unfunny jokes gives these two talents nothing to work with. Why they ever agreed to do this film is one of the great mysteries of Hollywood!

In many ways, the plot to "A Girl in Every Port" plays like an Abbott & Costello movie. William Bendix plays Tim...a rather dim sailor who is bossed around by his friend, Lucky (Groucho Marx). As for Lucky, he's a con man...and a fast-talking one at that.

The story begins with Lucky and Tim, once again, in the brig on the ship where they serve. It seems that despite being real rogues, the US Navy is apparently hard up and this alone would explain why they weren't discharged. After Tim foolishly buys a bum horse with his inheritance, their captain gives them time off duty to get Tim's money back for the horse. However, instead of just asking for the money, the scheming Lucky comes up with a plan to not only get Tim's money back...but a bit more for their trouble. This plan includes the help of a ditzy blonde (Marie Windsor) and her lookalike horse.

When the film was made, Groucho was 62 years-old...way too old to be a common seaman in the Navy. But considering how silly the plot is, this is the least of the plot problems in the film. Switching horses like they do isn't possible due to tattoos and other means the racetracks have to make sure horses aren't switched. But again....with a comedy like this, you can overlook all this.

So is it any good? Well, Bendix is just okay...and he doesn't really contribute a lot to the story. Instead, the movie seems much more a Groucho vehicle and he dominates the film. As for Marie Wilson, she's not as one-note and annoying as she often could be with her dumb blonde routine. The best thing the film has going for it, apart from Groucho, is energy and silliness. Not a great comedy but a very enjoyable one.