Thanks to a screening by movie archivist Eric Grayson, I had the chance to see a very rare print of this comedy about a Hitler-like figure orchestrating the destruction of a Hollywood propaganda movie via two stooges.
John Barrymore, who was near death from his alcoholism, plays the clownishly conceited producer of the film. He is awful, as is the usually terrific Eugene Pallette, who as Barrymore's right-hand man, is all screaming and gesticulating. I suspect that having to play off the degraded Barrymore had something to do with it.
Frances Farmer plays the star of Barrymore's film, who spends most of the movie in a jealous rage because her husband and leading man (Ricardo Cortez) is chasing a blonde supporting actress (Virginia Dale). The blonde's husband (Don Castle) is a publicist, but their marriage is a secret because otherwise it would jeopardize her career.
Fritz Feld as the pseudo-Hitler and Sig Ruman and Luis Alberni as the buffoonish saboteurs give the best performances; but even their antics grow stale, thanks to a tedious script by Earl Felton and Gordon Kahn. A tiger and a monkey provide thrills and humor; Feld slapping the tiger across the face provides the movie's single best moment.
