Here Comes Cookie / Love in Bloom / Six of a Kind (1934)

Three features (just over an hour each), showcase the well-honed comic patter of George Burns and Gracie Allen during the busiest time in their movie career, the mid-1930s. Gracie's dingbat malapropisms were so perfectly straightforward ("I really shouldn't drink coffee in the morning; it keeps me awake all day"), and Burns's straight-man timing so unerring, the pair was often funnier than their material. They road-trip west in Leo McCarey's amusing Six of a Kind, which is actually at its best when W.C. Fields is polishing one of his pool-playing routines. Love in Bloom casts George and Gracie as carnival folk, in support of a sappy plot of young lovers in New York. They top-line in Here Comes Cookie, which has some nice screwball-among-the-rich energy. The Burns and Allen chemistry was really at its best in their short films, radio, and TV, but these Paramount features are pleasing entertainment nonetheless. --Robert Horton Amazon.com

Funniest film ever made

'Six of a kind' is possibly the funniest film ever made. I hadn't seen it for 30 years, but I found I remembered the entire thing. Fabulous cast of comics: W.C. Fields, Charlie Ruggles, Alison Skipworth, Mary Boland, and George and Gracie ('for short') and the biggest dog in the movies. Brief early appearance by Walter Brennan.

Packaged with two more Burns & Allen gems, but worth it on its own.

Do not miss. February 11, 2008

Not Their Best

I hate to say this because I've always like George and Gracie but for me, the only reason to buy this collection of their movies is for W.C. Fields, who is hysterical in the one movie, otherwise I'd tell you not to waste your money. January 31, 2008

Cute old fashioned comedy

I am a Burns and Allen fan. So, I watched these to see them. Yes, they were good, as I had expected. What I did not expect was the pleasant surprise from some of the other actors and performers.

In Here Comes Cookie, my favorite parts were the seal and the man who drummed on everything. You just do not see seals very often any more and the drummer was simply fantastic. Overall it was a cute movie that I would watch again. I would give it four stars.

I know that I saw Love in Bloom yesterday, but I can not remember a single scene from it. So, it must have not been that memorable, which means that it was neither good nor bad. I will give it three stars. Most likely I won't watch it again.

In Six of a Kind, Charlie Ruggles did the best acting job, overall. I had never watched a W.C. Fields movie before. He really cracked me up as a pool playing sheriff. In fact, I intend to make a point to see other works of his, because of that one scene in this movie. I give it 4 stars. I would watch this one again, also.

I also enjoying watching these for the costumes and the period clothing that the characters wear. Everyone dressed so glamorous, even the out of work performers, the homeless, and the drunks on the side of the road were impeccably dressed. Amazing, isn't it? Wow! Things have really changed.

August 24, 2007

Mediocre to good Paramount programmers

Paramount was a haven in the thirties for radio and vaudeville stars and many of their smaller films of the period preserve the work of these performers at their peaks. This DVD contains 3 programmers, films in support of the main feature, which provide a worthwhile record of the tick-tock timing of the beloved George Burns and Gracie Allen.

In "Six of a Kind", they play a couple who hitch a ride to California with Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland who are trying to celebrate their second honeymoon. When Gracie is dizzy, if the jokes are not corny, she can be very funny but when she is immune to the discomfort she causes around her, as she often is here, she can be unsympathetic and downright irritating. Charlie Ruggles holds the film together but the film peaks when W C Fields enters as a local sheriff.

"Here Comes Cookie" places Gracie centre stage in a screwball comedy about a rich family. Often in these films, there will be a standout moment and in this one, there is a terrific act with a drummer and Gracie performs an amusing song number, demonstrating that she was an excellent singer when she discarded some of the nonsense.

"Love in Bloom" is a depression story set in New York. Dixie Lee, Bing Crosby's wife, plays a down and out showgirl. Lee sounds like Jean Harlow and acts like the early snappy Ginger Rogers. She meets a songwriter also down on his luck and the film depicts their burgeoning romance in a surprisingly credible series of events. Once again, the film has an unexpected gem: the songwriter is played by a long forgotten tenor, Joe Morrison, who delivers an unforgettable moment singing "None but the Lonely Heart". George and Gracie, in supporting roles, play carnival performers and the film also contains the best routine of all of the films - their encounter with a policeman as they drive to New York. Not only is Gracie's lack of logic hilarious, but she subtly implies she knows what she is doing as she cons the policeman - perfection!

The prints of the films are excellent and the set contains the theatrical trailer of "Six of a Kind" but no other extras, which is reasonable at the price. August 10, 2007

Burns and Allen films: 2 gems and 1 dud

GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN: THREE MOVIES is a wildly uneven collection of Depression era comedies. The Paramount studio print masters look and sound gorgeous, and the packaging is attractive. All three movies come on one side of one disk, which presented no technical problem for me. It is easy to go from one movie to another.

HERE COMES COOKIE (1935--****) is a good introduction to the comedy of George Burns and Gracie Allen because they play themselves and have the lead roles. George is straight man to Gracie's screwball pun mistakes. In Depression era Manhattan, millionaire George Barbier stupidly entrusts his entire fortune to Gracie (!), so she naturally (for her) invites all of the unemployed drama actors in the city to her mansion. There must be a hundred of them, eating and playing musical instruments constantly. George can't take a bath because there is a live seal on ice in the tub! At the climax, Gracie has carpenters tear the place apart to transform the house into a theater. This is a wonderful and nutty comedy, only 65 minutes.

SIX OF A KIND (1935--*****) is a zany delight with six major stars given almost equal time over a tight and fast 62 minutes. Charlie Ruggles and wife Mary Boland want to drive from New York to Hollywood. George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Gracie's pet German shepherd answer their ad for companions to share gas money. Unknown to Ruggles, he is falsely accused of being an embezzler, and the movie gets no further than a dusty Nevada town. There, the town's major hotel is run by W.C. Fields (who even gets to play pool in one scene) and Alison Skipworth, who are always welcome. SIX OF A KIND was directed by Leo McCarey, who had Laurel and Hardy silents behind him and GOING MY WAY a decade ahead of him. This one is a comedy gem.

LOVE IN BLOOM (1935--**)--is, alas, a dud with Burns and Allen badly miscast as a husband and wife traveling circus act who take a back seat to a mediocre young lovers subplot. Dixie Lee (Mrs. Bing Crosby) plays George's sister, who falls in love with struggling songwriter Joe Morrison. Too often Burns and Allen take a backseat to Dixie and Joe. One good song: "My Heart is an Open Book." There are far better Burns and Allen movies, including the other two movies on this disk.

The only real bonuses are two theatrical trailers. I wish Universal would add some new filmmaking and vintage comedy/drama shorts, even if they have to charge a bit more than $12.95. The front cover includes three color lobby cards. Rent this disk and only watch the first two movies.



July 27, 2007

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