Pop-eyed vaudeville whimsy has its charms, but there's something to be said for underplaying things. This was an early, early talkie musical - 1930 - and look who's arranging the dancing, and who's doing the lensing:
You'll always get some enjoyment out of a Busby production. Gregg Toland was the cinematographer for "Citizen Kane." That movie awaits at the end of the decade; let's see what he's doing when the decade began.
The story takes place at a modern, high-tech doughnut factory, its designs a prelude to the Chicago World's Fair:
It Glorifies the American Doughnut - a term that's morphed over the years, and come to mean its opposite, at least in outcome; for example, something described as a "glorified X" now means the original item hasn't been altered a great deal, but its pretensions or reputation have been exaggerated. Back then I believe the meaning was "Wonderfully improved."
The glorifyin' gals are making doughnuts in spotless outfits, and move with synchronized precision:
Yes, how do you dress for a job where you're dropping dough into boiling grease which spatters all over the place? A sleeveless backless uniform. Of course.
Work is punctuated by a lengthy exercize session. Behold the Shiva of Pastries. Glorify her!
And, of course, there's the patented parade-o-gals walking into the camera for the audience to judge and enjoy:
Wonder how many in the audience thought Hey, is that Louise Brooks?
The choreography is a bit less complex than it would appear in subsequent Busby movies. . .and a bit less precise.
Plot? Who cares. Stuff happens, people sing. But it's precode, so it has a variety of allusions. If you want to call this an allusion.
Unpossible! Audiences would not understand that in 1930!
They'd understand this, of course. Sigh:
It ends with a marriage, but since pop-eyed Eddie isn't handsome, he gets the mannish wacky wide-eyed MAN-HUNGRY GAL.
Worth if for Busby fans, if only see how things went in in the early years.
