The Half Naked Truth (1932)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Gregory La Cava

Writers:

Gregory La Cava (screenplay) and
Corey Ford (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 December 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Any moment her gun might point at the prominent man of this town who had done her wrong! (original ad)

Plot:

A barker at a down-at-the-heels carnival becomes a powerhouse New York publicity man as he transforms a sideshow dancer into a Broadway sensation.

Plot Keywords:

Broadway | Carnival | Sideshow | Theatrical Producer | Jealousy

Cast

Lupe Velez	...	Teresita
Lee Tracy	...	Bates
Eugene Pallette	...	Achilles
Frank Morgan	...	Farrell
Shirley Chambers	...	Gladys
Franklin Pangborn	...	Hotel Clerk
Robert McKenzie	...	Colonel
Mary Mason	...	Farrell's Secretary

Also Known As:

Phantom Fame (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1504-R; September 1935 for re-release) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The only screen appearance of composer Max Steiner who appears briefly as a Bandleader.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Shirley Chambers' onscreen character name is "Gladys," but she says her name is "Ella Beebee." She is never called Gladys.

Quotes:

James 'Jimmy' Bates: You want to go on the stage, doncha?
Gladys, aka Ella Beebee and Eve: I don't know whether I do or not.
James 'Jimmy' Bates: Has your name ever been on a marquee?
Gladys, aka Ella Beebee and Eve: What's a marquee?

Soundtrack:

O! Mister Carpenter

Ribald shenanigans

This wonderfully ribald pre-code comedy is slightly schizophrenic in style. The first half is a breakneck-paced, rollicking sequence of frantic melees and stinging one-liners, not unlike Lee Tracy's other triumphs of the time, The Front Page and Blessed Event. Once the cast settles in on Broadway, the pace slows and the humour is more characteristic of director LaCava -- absurd situational comedy set up with deliberate pace and milked for effect. Although quite funny in its own right, this section seems to drag in comparison with the opening reels -- it may have worked better in a packed cinema than on the tube.

In any case, this is a must-see for fans of pre-code antics -- there's no way it could have been made three years later. Tracy is terrific in his patented role as a fast-talking con artist, and Lupe Velez is a more lurid version of her Mexican Spitfire -- her minimal costumes rival those of a Busby Berkeley chorus girl. Frank Morgan is perfect as a libidinous Ziegfeld type, Franklin Pangborn is everyone's favourite fastidious concierge, and Eugene Pallette is victim to a hilarious running gag about his gender which alone is worth the price of admission -- he also has a unique method for tutoring fledgling Ophelias. There's an intriguing look at the 30s' conception of nudism, to boot.