Broadminded

This is a very odd film. First, although it's billed as a "Joe E. Brown" film, he is definitely the second banana in this film. Instead, William Collier Jr. and his love life are front and center and Brown just tags along for comic relief. So, if you like Brown, then you might be disappointed he isn't the main focus of the film. My own personal taste is decidedly anti-Brown, so I didn't mind this very much. Also, another odd bit of casting involves having Bela Lugosi play a supporting role as well--as a South American named "Pedro". I don't know about you, but when I see and hear Lugosi, I DON'T think "maybe he's Hispanic"! But regardless of this odd casting, Bela is surprisingly funny in his role as a hot-headed foil for Brown's antics.

So apart from odd casting, what are we left with in the film? Well, as a comedy, it isn't particularly funny most of the time. As a romance, it only works slightly better. No, in the end we are left with a movie that is a definite time-passer--not particularly offensive but not at all memorable except for the scenes with Lugosi.

By the way, it is worth watching just the first few minutes just to say you've seen something DIFFERENT. It's a really creepy and somewhat disturbing sequence where a bunch of rich knuckleheads have a "baby party" where they all come dressed like little kids. Seeing Joe E. Brown in a stroller and drinking booze from a baby bottle just seemed really, really creepy--like they're all at a very sick and creepy "adult" party. YECCH!! I wonder if Sigmund Freud ever saw this film? It was made in 1931 and he didn't die until 1939, so it is possible!!

I recorded this movie to see Buster Collier, who appears in a photo in one of my silent movie star books. I learned that he had dated Constance Talmadge for awhile, and was interested in hearing his voice, to see how close the one I had silently supplied for him was. It wasn't. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Thelma Todd's name in the cast, and she was very good, as she has been in everything in which I've seen her. It's easy to see why she was in such demand.

All through the picture, I kept picturing Jim Carrey in Joe. E. Brown's role. They are both terribly cloying.

I couldn't get over Lugosi's Romanian accent being put across as "South American." All in all,though, it was worth seeing, and only an hour long, but I deleted it from my DVR once I had seen it. I wouldn't sit through it twice. It was a passable time killer.

The normally likable Joe E. Brown is trapped here in an extremely unfunny comedy with an extremely poor script. Missing is his usual screen persona of a brash, cocky naif and is seen here as just a dimwit. The screenplay is surprisingly awful and seems ad-libbed in places. Vaudeville was still alive but I have to think it was funnier than the lame jokes contained in this picture, many of which fall completely flat. Hard to believe Mervyn Leroy directed this mess.

Trapped in this movie is some pretty good acting talent, especially Thelma Todd who was a foil in some Marx Bros. pictures as well as some Laurel and Hardys. Also on hand is Bela Lugosi as a South American playboy. It's hard to tell if comedy was his oeuvre because, as mentioned, there is very little humor here. Give him an A for effort.

Not much to recommend this film except for Bela Lugosi and hard-core Joe E. Brown fans.

Released in 1931 by First National Pictures the Joe E. Brown comedy vehicle Broadminded is a brisk 65 minute endeavor that not only showcases the star but has the added attraction of Bela Lugosi, fresh off his triumph as Dracula, appearing as his nemesis. The story concocted by writers Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby is episodic and serves up some Pre Code style sex and debauchery while director Mervyn LeRoy switches gears from social melodramas to lensing the shenanigans of Brown in a pleasant though uninspired way.

Jack Hackett (William Collier Jr.) is youthful New York playboy living off his father's wealth and indulging in a freewheeling party lifestyle. When his latest escapade nearly ends in scandal his father (Holmes Herbert) orders him to leave town and puts him into the care of his cousin Ossie (Brown) whom the old man somehow believes is a steadying influence. The young duo pack up a car and drive out to Pasadena where they become involved with a pair of society gals (Ona Munson and Marjorie White), their disapproving Aunt Polly (Grayce Hampton), and hot headed South American named Pancho Arango (Lugosi) whom Ossie runs afoul of.

The story presents minimal plot and commences with a truly bizarre party sequence where everyone is dressed like a baby. The film is largely set-bound with a handful of exteriors around the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. Sequences of Ossie and Jack driving are lensed with some hilariously awful rear projection that is so phony it intrudes on whatever suspension of disbelief the movie intends to conjure up. Director Leroy seems to have encouraged broad, theatrical performances from his cast who emote as if they were onstage. One wonders how a film depicting the travails of spectacularly rich and decadent sex-starved characters with unlimited free time went over with Depression audiences.

Fans of Joe E. Brown will likely be pleased with his antics here. The rubber faced, Pac Man-mouth star is frequently amusing and displays remarkable athleticism in several scenes. Perhaps even more delightful is Bela Lugosi as his combustible antagonist Pancho if only because it is so refreshing to witness the horror icon in a completely different milieu. Lugosi deserved costar billing but for some reason is buried down the cast list and not even mentioned in contemporary promotional material. Nevertheless he leaves an impression and all of the film's highlights involve him. William Collier Jr. Is forgettable as the horny heir being haplessly chaperoned by Brown as is a disappointingly vapid Ona Munson who enacts his true love. Spunky Marjorie White and equally vivacious Margaret Livingston chew up scenery as Miss Munson's pal and Collier's spurned lover, respectively, while Grayce Hampton channels Margaret Dumont as the haughty Aunt Polly. Adding plenty of glamour to the show is foxy Thelma Todd whose mere presence causes all kinds of trouble for the men in the cast. Miraculously she ultimately ends up in the arms of Lugosi!

Broadminded is a mirthful exercise in the absurd and will likely entertain most anyone. It serves as a proper gateway film for those who wish to explore Joe E Brown while fans of Bela Lugosi are sure to enjoy him in this atypical role. Toss in the tragic Thelma Todd, frank depictions of amorous protagonists, and Hollywood Pre Code freedom and the recipe for a harmless good time is achieved.

The star of this movie is listed as Joe E. Brown, the big-mouthed (literally) comedian who looks as if he could eat a hamburger in one bite. However, stealing the scene whenever he is present, is Bela Lugosi, in a change-of-pace role considering he starred in "Dracula" earlier that year (1931). Here, Bela (a native Hungarian) is a hot-tempered South American (Pancho). When Joe E. Brown (Simpson) accidentally spurts some ink on Bela's dessert at a diner, Bela goes into a maniacal rage. So naturally, their two paths keep crossing. Later Joe E. Brown has a fender-bender with Bela's car... Bela winds up driving off with Brown's car in tow! Bela has some wonderful opportunities to show his comedic abilities. When his girlfriend asks Bela to explain a mix-up to Joe E. Brown (Simpson), Bela goes: "To Simpson-- never!" and opens his mouth wide in a mugging imitation of Joe E. Brown. A must-see movie for Bela Lugosi fans who only consider him a horror actor.