Man About Town

1939
6.6| 1h25m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 07 July 1939 Released
Producted By: Paramount
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Producer Bob Temple, who's brought an American show to London, loves his star Diana, but she won't take him seriously as a lover. To show her, he picks up stranger Lady Arlington, whose financier husband neglects her. On a weekend at the Arlington country house, Bob is used by both Lady A. and her friend to make their husbands jealous; this works all too well, and Bob is in danger from both husbands.

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Reviews

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
irishfou without getting into all the downer reviews, I watched this movie and delighted in the characters...Jack Benney was funny, Phil Harris was great, Dottie Lamour was THE girl of 1939, she is alluring, exotic, classy, and sings like an angel. Betty Grable is gorgeous and Edward Arnold and Monty Wooley do superb supporting comedy characters. The show becomes very memorable when they show the stage acts. The singing is terrific and Eddie Anderson (Rochester) is the true highlight. He is on of the greatest hoofers I have ever seen, he is graceful and modern. The chorus lines were full of great routines and beauty. I bought the movie and I'd buy it again. I could easily give it a 10 but it didn't have enough Lamour.
malcolmgsw I have always been a big fan of Jack Benny.I was looking forward to watching this film but what a letdown.It was desperately unfunny.There was absolutely no chemistry between him and his co stars.The musical numbers were poor and badly staged.The plot seemed to be a feeble rip off of A Damsel In Distress.Who thought that Edward Arnold was suitable casting as an English aristocrat?Jack Benny was very good in situation comedy but not really at physical comedy.The acrobat sequence is an embarrassment.Lamour is lacking any spark,maybe she was at her best in a sarong.The whole mess limps along to an ending that makes no sense at all.So as has been said elsewhere this makes "The Horn Blows at midnight"seem like a minor classic.
ellaf A Jack Benny vehicle, this film is very watchable even after all these years. Jack Benny, though not as funny as he's supposed to be here, does his job well. One feels like putting an arm over his shoulders watching him being so kind with no success to win Dorothy Lamour.Now, Dorothy Lamour...how can someone NOT like her? She's beautiful, exotic looking but at the same time very down-to-earth. She also possesses a beautiful contralto singing voice and has a great acting talent. Her part was supposed to be Betty Grable's at the time, but well, it went to her. So be it...she's great.The beautiful Betty Grable, unfortunately, is not seen very much here. She has a short song, though, but so short you don't even have time to realize she's on the screen displaying her shapely legs and sparkling personality! A SHAME! Watch for Eddie Anderson! He's the real star in this film and immediately steals the show completely! He's funny, totally into his character and so likable. And he does 2 solo dancing numbers.As for the plot, well, it is messy. It seems the producer wanted to put as many actors as he could in one same movie and had many parts written on the corner of a table at the last minute to put them in the movie. The result is not, therefore, always effective. But, even with this fault, the movie stays very watchable and sports a classy looks.See it.
Arthur Hausner This film was a big nostalgia trip for me, having listened to Jack Benny's radio program in the late 30's and also having watched his program later when it transferred to television. His films were often silly, but knowing his personality and those of the rest of the radio cast made them enjoyable. This film fits that mold, as he brought with him Eddie Anderson and Phil Harris, two of the show's regulars. Benny and Anderson had great rapport that transferred to the screen beautifully. Anderson's character on the show and in this film was as Benny's wise-cracking valet, Rochester, and the name was so well-known that he's billed here in the opening credits simply as "Rochester," although the end credits lists him as Eddie Anderson. I was amazed at his versatility when he does two jazzed up dances in the film, which alone makes the film worth watching. The plot has Benny as an actor and producer in London, trying to make time with his star, Dorothy Lamour, by wooing Lady Binnie Barnes to get Lamour jealous, while Barnes uses Benny to get her husband, Edward Arnold, jealous and more attentive. That scheme was suggested by French friend Isabel Jeans, who does the same thing, since her husband, Monty Woolley, is likewise inattentive. The funniest sequence of the movie has Arnold and Woolley each seeing Benny kiss the other man's wife and keeping mum about it. But when the truth comes out, both are out to kill Benny.The movie is sprinkled with musical numbers throughout, with Lamour, Harris and Betty Grable providing nice vocals for relatively forgettable songs, The Pina Troupe doing some acrobatics and the Merriel Abbott Dancers dancing, all to the music of Matty Malneck's orchestra. When you hear Benny butcher the song "Love in Bloom" on his violin, you should know that it was a running gag on his show to appreciate the humor. Isabel Jeans and Eddie Anderson are both standouts, with the rest of the supporting cast in good form. This is not a great movie, but it is certainly an enjoyable one.