Here Comes Cookie

In this sort of sequel to MANY HAPPY RETURNS, retired millionaire George Barbier finds his daughter Betty Furness, is engaged to a gold-digger Rafael Alcayde. To stop this, he gives all his money to his other daughter, Gracie Allen, and goes down to the small rural town he was born in, to wrestle Harry Holman. Completely misunderstanding -- surprise! -- Miss Allentakes in every broken-down vaudevillian and his trained seal. Plus when Alcayde learns of what Barbier has done, he tells Gracie he loves her and she him. So she decides to put on a show using all this lack of talent.

It's a particularly crazy comedy in which Miss Allen is in charge, and is visually inventive. While Burns nd butler Andrew Tombes are discussing how to find an unused bathroom, a spoons player or troupe of acrobats might pass in foreground or background. Credit director Norman Z. McLeod not only for his experience in silent comedy, but his time directing the Marx Brothers.

The plot is thin but the casting is stuffed with major faces from the heydey of Vaudeville. For most of these performers, uncredited as they were, this is the only recording of parts of their act. Enjoy the silliness and pretend you're at Minsky's.

I gotta admit up front that I am not a huge Burns & Allen fan. To me, their type of humor goes a long way and I can take them only in small doses. In light of this, it is a bit surprising that I'd watch a DVD with three of their films. My overall verdict isn't that different from what I expected and "Here Comes Cookie" is probably my favorite film of the bunch.

The film starts with a plot that makes no sense at all--and this set up is the weakest element of the movie because it is so contrived. A rich man, Mr. Allen, is frustrated at his one grown daughters. She wants to marry a man who obviously is a sleazy fortune-hunter--a man who wants to get a hold of the father's millions. So, to make this daughter less attractive to the sleazy Lothario, he transfers all his money to his other daughter, Gracie. Now considering that Gracie's IQ is 12 and she has the common sense of the Octo-mom, the idea of letting Gracie run the finances is pretty tough to believe. However, I must admit that some of the insane things she did were kind of funny...to a point. Instead of exercising common sense (???), Gracie turns her home into a boarding house for bizarre stage acts and wants to put on a show. Most of the acts are pretty lame, but I did enjoy watching the guy with the drumsticks--especially at the end of the film.

Overall, the film has some fun moments but also a few that fall pretty flat. Plus, combined with a dumb plot device, the film is probably not one to convert the average viewer into a fan of the comedy team. But, it's also harmless fun and worth a look if you like this sort of thing.

George Burns and Gracie Allen: my favorite Hollywood couple of the golden age! And this might just be my favorite movie of theirs. At least so far!

I'm on a bit of a George Burns and Gracie Allen kick after discovering that one of the ways to fall asleep peacefully at night is to listen to Old Time radio. I first started listening to the old detective shows, because they do sound soothing - but be careful, because they can get into your subconscious while you're sleeping and impact the kind of dreams you'll have. So, I found out the hard way that it's much better to listen to something lighthearted like the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and I fall asleep feeling confident that my dreams will be at least not scary. They are such a comfort to me, those two!

My favorite part about this movie - the way Gracie Allen keeps calling George Burns Georgie Porgie. I could just feel the chemistry between them, and how wholesome their relationship was in real life, as mirrored by the wholesomeness of their relationship in this movie, however farcical it is.

Bonus points for the fact that Gracie Allen's father in the movie is named Harrison, my surname. Whenever my name or my girl's name is in a movie, I always know there's a positive message to be found there for me - a personal message. And I certainly found one here, one of lightheartedness and love.

So glad George and Gracie existed in this world, and thank God for the film restoration people that make sure old movies like these are not forgotten but live on through the passage of time.

Burns and Allen who usually were in support of other stars got to carry this one by themselves. It is a laugh riot from start to finish. Trying to keep his normal daughter, Betty Furness from marrying a gigolo, George Barbier turns over his fortune to his other dimwitted daughter, Gracie Allen. What follows is one madcap situation after another as Gracie turns their home into a hotel for unemployed actors and then decided to produce her own show.

As good as Gracie is, mention must be made of George Barbier. A fine character actor who played fathers, his blustering reactions to Gracie's schemes are worth seeing the movie in and of themselves.