Wonder Bar (1934)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Geza Herczeg (play) &
Karl Farkas (play) ...

Release Date:

31 March 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Warner Bros.' Wonder Show of the Century!

Plot:

Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man...

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Duplicity | Show Business | Post WWI | Investigation

Cast

Al Jolson	...	Al Wonder
Kay Francis	...	Liane Renaud
Dolores del Rio	...	Inez (as Dolores Del Rio)
Ricardo Cortez	...	Harry the Gigolo
Dick Powell	...	Tommy
Guy Kibbee	...	Henry Simpson
Ruth Donnelly	...	Mrs. Emma Simpson
Hugh Herbert	...	Corey Pratt
Louise Fazenda	...	Mrs. Pansy Pratt
Hal Le Roy	...	Hal - a Dancer in Blackface
Fifi D'Orsay	...	Mitzi
Merna Kennedy	...	Claire
Henry O'Neill	...	Richard, the Maitre'd
Robert Barrat	...	Captain Hugo Von Ferring
Henry Kolker	...	Mr. R.H. Renaud

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (PCA #2699-R) (22 September 1936 for re-release)

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

One scene gave the censors some consternation: A man asks a couple if he can cut into their dance, and while the woman says, "Sure!" and rushes towards him, he dances away with her partner. Upon hearing this, Al Jolson says with a twinkle in his eye: "Boys will be boys!" Warner Brothers refused to cut the scene (and it exists today in the Turner Classic Movies print). At the time, the Production Code was not rigorously enforced. Surprisingly, however, the movie was approved for reissue in 1936 despite this homosexual scene and the fact that someone gets away with murder, both clear violations of the Production Code.

Quotes:

Al Wonder: [rolls eyes as two men dance off together] Boys will be boys, woooo!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fairer on the Riviera

A strange yet likeable film

I am very fond of Al Jolson, But the only film I have seen with him in it is this one. I like it quite a lot but I found it very strange; what the hell was a murder story doing in a 1930's musical? Well never mind about that, just enjoy the rest of the film, with its fantastic score by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). But there is yet another thing which I wasn't particularly fond of in this film which was Dick Powell who, I think, is overrated. If you don't like minstrels then don't see this film (it has Al Jolson in it). Despite being a great lover of music, I am not terribly fond of some of Busby Berkely's stuff, His dance sequences for example, tend to be a bit over-long. Despite the handicaps that I have written here, this film is very watchable. Enjoy. 8/10