Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

classicsoncall I have to laugh. In a prior review of one of these Vitaphone film shorts, I mentioned how often director Roy Mack reached into the same bag of tricks to come up with a story that turned out to be a dream. A few I've seen right in a row include "Twenty Thousand Cheers for the Chain Gang", "Soft Drinks and Sweet Music" and "Good Morning, Eve". So with this one it seemed like he was about to break the routine, but at the very end, the impetus for the story turned out to be an April Fool's Joke! Maybe I'll run into a 'real' story yet! Oh well, it's not so bad. With his Cross Roads Gas Station (presumably) burned to the ground, owner Walter Webb (Leon Errol) turns over the claim to his insurance company to cover a replacement. The tip off that this wasn't the real deal should have been the thoroughly modern enterprise that sprang up to replace the run down garage and filling station destroyed in the fire. Particularly appealing in this Technicolor romp are the snazzy uniforms of the singing female gas attendants, gloriously decked out in brilliant white shorts and the most gorgeous shade of purple you'll ever lay your eyes on. Seriously, I'm not prone to exaggeration.The story then transitions over to a golf course with an equally colorful canvas, and for any antique auto buffs in the audience, feast your eyes on the vintage vehicles offered for your viewing pleasure. Fortunately, before this one's over, we learn with the arrival of one big spender at the filling station that he's willing to pony up for - get this - a half gallon of gas for nine cents! And I don't think that was an April Fool's joke!

Michael_Elliott Service with a Smile (1934) *** (out of 4) Leon Errol plays a gas station owner who gets a call in the middle of the night saying his piece of junk station has blown up. Knowing he's going to get the insurance money, he decides to make his status out to be something much better than it actually was. Errol tells a story about a neon lights station being ran by chorus girls. SERVICE WITH A SMILE comes from Vitaphone, features a familiar comic and best of all is in glorious 3-strip Technicolor. There's no question about it but the Technicolor is the reason to check out this two-reeler. Those familiar with these early color films know that the quality of the color is usually very high as long as the materials are good and thankfully they're terrific here. Just check out the sequence in the bedroom with Errol gets the news. The color on his pajamas just jumps right off the screen as do the beautiful looking blankets on the bed. The colors of the room just leap right out at you and this is especially true once we get to the fantasy sequence with all the red neon and the girls. The music numbers are also fairly good and a lot of credit goes to the set designer for making everything look so good. Errol gets a few funny lines here but mostly he's just introducing the music numbers and the girls but hey, there's nothing wrong with that!

ptb-8 Absolutely dazzling and delicious, this eye-popping 1934 Technicolor musical short made at Warner Bros is a must-see for any person and friends who love this vintage era of music and film. As with GOOD MORNING EVE made at the same time, this features Leon Errol and his corny vaudeville jokes wrapped around one singular idea, and - yippee! - is filmed in full spectrum Technicolor. What a treat. I insist you also read all the other comments on this site for SERVICE WITH A SMILE because they will say all the wonderful things I could repeat. I am not sure what disc from WB this features on but it is a treat beyond expectation. It makes you realize how sensational the Technicolor of the time was and also how hilarious was the WB style of chorus girl comedy. With snappy songs, snazzy deco design and delicious color, SERVICE WITH A SMILE is set in a roadside car service station run by girls and with facilities as risqué as the pre-code days would allow. Whoever said it is a vintage car lovers delight is also correct. I thank whoever has preserved and reissued this short; SERVICE WITH A SMILE is quite perfect. For technical buffs, it is a treat to see the overlapping color lines where some of the negative has shrunk, thus inadvertently allowing us 75 years later to get a glimpse of the technique used.

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre "Service with a Smile" (1934) is a deluxe Vitaphone mini-musical filmed in the early 3-strip Technicolor process, and the brilliant colours in this short film are incredible! (Although some of the male performers look ridiculous in bright green shirts that are nearly phosphorescent.) The tunes are catchy, the lyrics are well above average, and the chorus girls are gorgeous. If you've ever wanted to see a line of chorus girls tap-dancing in riding boots and jodhpurs, this movie's your big chance.Australian-born musical-comedy star Leon Errol (a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies) plays Walter Webb, the owner of a small service garage with only one petrol pump. At 4 a.m., he's home in bed when one of his employees rings him up, telling him the service garage was destroyed in a fire. Fortunately, Webb has insurance. Now he hatches a plan: Webb will tell the insurance adjuster that his cheapjack little filling station was actually a super-colossal extravaganza business with hundreds of employees. The insurance company will have to replace the big fancy business which Webb CLAIMS he lost, not the small-time concern that he actually insured. In the insurance agent's office, Webb starts to describe his jumbo-sized filling station.Now, thanks to some movie-musical magic, we SEE the gas station as Webb is describing it. He's got dozens of beautiful girls (in skimpy boiler suits) working as garage mechanics, gas jockeys, and waitresses. They sell gasoline for nine cents a half-gallon, and they transform a customer's beat-up jalopy into a gorgeous motorcar for $1.65, with a free lunch thrown in. There's even a 19-hole golf course behind the lube rack. Meanwhile, the girls have plenty of time for singing and dancing. If a guy wants a date, Webb's chauffeur will drive out to meet him with a lorry-load of girls dressed like the Stepford Wives, and you can have your pick. Yes, this is a FULL-service garage.There are some very funny gags. One motorist is parking with his girlfriend, until a motorcycle cop comes along and persuades the girl to join him on his motorcycle. No problem; the motorist opens the boot of his car and takes out another girl! "I always carry a spare," he says.SPOILER COMING. After Webb describes the super-colossal gas station he SAYS he owned, the insurance adjuster insists on inspecting the wreckage of the fire. Webb happily drives him out there ... and discovers that his service station (in its original grotty state) is intact. The phone call was an April Fool joke ... and now Webb is guilty of filing a false insurance claim. Oo-er!"Service with a Smile" is a delight from start to finish. I have only one complaint. Leon Errol was famous for doing a hilarious rubber-legged eccentric comedy dance: he did it in the Ziegfeld Follies and in several of his "Mexican Spitfire" films with Lupe Velez. Unfortunately, Leon Errol DOESN'T sing or dance in "Service with a Smile" ... which is a shame, because his comedy dancing would fit right into the gorgeous musical numbers you'll see here. Still, I'll rate "Service with a Smile" 10 points out of 10. They don't make 'em like this any more. Do whatever it takes to see this knockout mini-musical.