Playing Around

"Don't be an eggnog."

What can I say, this is a creaky old morality tale, but I'm a sucker for Alice White and that fact bumped up my review score. She plays a daddy's girl who's dating a stable guy (William Bakewell) she thinks is boring, as evidenced by him eyeing the expensive drinks menu at a nightclub and deciding the buttermilk is about all he can spring for. Despite taking place during the Prohibition era, beer is included in a list of non-alcoholic drinks and one gets the idea there are lot more on offer, but regardless, at $0.40 for the milk and with a cover charge of $1.50 a guest in 1930, which would come to $66 in 2025, he has a point. After she goes onstage on a whim to appear in a "pageant of the knees", where behind a curtain down to knee-level she and other young women strut around so that their legs can be judged (ooh la la), a playboy (Chester Morris) with a fancy car takes an interest in her. The trouble is, despite all his smooth talking, he's a phony, owing money all over town. She's of course smitten with him and his big, er, car, cooing "There's an automobile horn that's really got sex appeal."

It's obvious where this is going to go from there, but it was mildly surprising in how it got there, albeit contrived and poorly scripted. To be honest, it's kind of hard to really like the "good guy" as he's kind of a sap, and also because he quips "It's all right honey, women can't be expected to judge human nature like us men" when delivering the film's final judgment. There are other little bits that make up for that though, including Alice White singing "You Learn About Love Every Day" (obviously playing into the moral of the story), the agile Doris McMahon contorting herself in that early stage show, and Marion Byron as the savvy fast-talking co-worker. I also absolutely loved seeing Carolynne Snowden and her leggy dancing ensemble perform "That's the Lowdown on the Lowdown" near the end of the film. It's the women in this film that made it mildly enjoyable, despite its old-fashioned script.

Soda jerk William Bakewell (Jack) works at a drugstore managed by Richard Carlyle (Pa) who has a daughter Alice White (Sheba). Alice and William are dating and the film starts in a swanky nightclub where poor William can't afford anything. Alice enters a 'best legs' competition on stage and is noticed by popular customer Chester Morris (Nickey). Oh dear, this doesn't bode well for poor William. Chester pursues Alice and we gradually realize that Chester isn't such a nice guy.

The musical numbers are entertaining in this film - there are three - and this adds to the film's enjoyment. The cast are ok, if slightly wooden, and you will have to sit through a couple of scenes with some irritating dialogue between 2 nosey neighbours. Those scenes could have been cut. The story is easy to follow, a little nonsensical at times, but it's a fun film to watch. Chester Morris reminds me of Ray Liotta.

Bubbly blonde Alice White (as Sheba Miller) enjoys an evening out at "The Pirates Den", an expensive nightclub. Her boyfriend William Bakewell (as Jack), a soda jerk making only $35 per week, thinks the place is out of their price range and wants to leave. On the way out, Ms. White enters the club's "pageant of the knees" contest and is judged by suave Chester Morris (as Nickey Solomon) to have the prettiest legs. Named "Queen of the Den," White sings "You Learn About Love Every Day" and arouses Mr. Morris. His friends advise White is a "no," but Morris considers her a possibility. White loves her childhood sweetheart, but is drawn to Morris' fancy lifestyle. White doesn't know it, but Morris has a secret she may not like...

This is a fairly typical plot, but the production turns out to be engaging. The popular elements of early talking pictures fall into place, with nightclub providing a natural site for musical numbers. The acrobatic blonde and other young women are an attractive diversion. Sounds of the city are natural, with Morris' car horn providing a focal point which fits neatly into the plot. The story, from writers Vina Delmar and Frances Nordstrom, is not extraordinary – however, secondary cultural characters and situations help keep it lively. The performances are theatrical, which fits the presentation as "Playing Around" is staged nicely by director Mervyn LeRoy and photographer Sol Polito; their lighting and tracking of sets a highlight.

****** Playing Around (1/19/30) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Alice White, Chester Morris, William Bakewell, Richard Carlyle

Alice White is just shy of being engaged to dull but dependable William Bakewell when she's picked up by Chester Morris. She easily falls for his smooth manner, and his seemingly endless wealth. But that's not who he is at all.

Although director Mervyn Leroy keeps things moving at a slightly stodgy pace in the dialogue, and Miss White seems to be a nitwit, there are some nice points to this movie. For one, there are a few songs by Sam Stept and Bud Green -- and no, I don't think I've heard of them before either. Miss White sings "You Learn About Love Every Day", and it's a good song, with the tune reprised a couple of times. Another song, "That's The Lowdown on the Lowdown" is an okay piece, but it's given a fine performance by Carolynne Snowden. In addition, there's a fine moving shot with talking going on. Since this was finished and copyrighted in 1929, someone should have told the sound engineer Earl Sitar you couldn't do that, not in Hollywood. He was suitably punished by being uncredited, and being stuck in the B movies.

Although there's a lot to kvetch about here, the things that it does right outweigh those easily, particularly Morris' performance, clearly meant for a star build-up. With Richard Carlyle, Marion Byron, and George "Gabby" Hayes with his teeth in.

"Playing Around" was obviously intended as a silent movie (note the screen credit, "titles-- silent version.") But with the advent of sound, First National quickly converted it to an all-talking and sometimes singing-and-dancing thriller. When we meet sassy tenement girl Alice White, she's dating gormless William Bakewell whose height of ambition is a raise to $35 a week. Then she's smitten with playboy Chester Morris unaware that his only means of support is an occasional stick-up. His next robbery stretches the long arm of coincidence to the breaking point. But director Mervyn Leroy doesn't let anything as trivial as the plot detract from the over-the-top musical numbers. And the result is surprisingly entertaining, especially for a movie made in 1929 and released in 1930.