Reviews & Ratings for
The Kid from Brooklyn More at IMDbPro »

10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Kaye Knocks The World Out, 9 January 2006

Author: Big from United States

If you are looking to see Danny Kaye in his absolute prime, look no further than "The Kid from Brooklyn". This film was the third made by Kaye during his first filming contract (MGM) and it's fresh and funny even now in 2006 for so many reasons. Having cut his teeth in "Up In Arms" and "Wonder Man", he appears more polished and his act has found its place. This is the film where he would "find his mark" and then subsequently hit a grand-slam with "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".

Here is the Kaye most beloved by all -- the nervous, lovable milquetoast with a secret extrovert/entertainer side, incredible physical comedy and exuberance; a funny, fast-paced almost screwball script featuring the best on-screen partners Kaye would ever work with (particularly his unscrupulous manager and wonderfully deadpan Eve Arden); the always lovely Virgina Mayo as his love interest; and spectacular music/dance numbers, including his tongue-twisting "Pavlowa". This is Kaye bursting with energy, youth and vitality, on-top-of the world (literally) and knowing it. Kaye could literally do no wrong from 1940 - 1950, and this film captures the confidence and joie de vivre that can only come from knowing that the entire world worships every move you make and word you say. This was Kaye's time in the sun and he soaks up every ray and sends it into the camera.

In addition, this film benefits greatly from a more ensemble feel. Kaye is clearly the star, but there is balance with songs and dancing from other members of the cast. It's my opinion that his best work (if not the most memorable) came when he was still on the rise and had to take orders from the studio bosses. In his later films -- such as "Hans Christian Andersen" -- Kaye would have more control and would even exercise this control to eliminate "competition" from other actors by singing the songs written for other characters. In the "Kid from Brooklyn", we see a humbler, hungrier Kaye.

Also -- this is often overlooked -- the historical context of this film adds much to your enjoyment of it. Not only was Kaye on top of the world, but America was, having emerged victorious from WWII and with a booming economy. The optimism shines through in the songs, the dance, and especially the incredibly saturated, gorgeous color photography. This was a Technicolor picture when most films were shot in black and white (and would continue to be for the next 15-20 years!) and you sense that MGM wanted not just color on the screen, but C-O-L-O-R! Check out some of the outfits, particularly worn by Eve Arden -- they are almost overwhelming in their colorfulness and this adds to the fun. It's almost like watching a Disney cartoon, it is that colorful.

Add to it the period flavor -- the incredible costumes, the inherent dash and style of a bypassed era when even a milkman looked eye-catching -- and you can't help but brim over with fun watching this film. I have watched this many times in my life and here I am, a world-weary Generation Xer hitting 36 and I still let out a pure, spontaneous laugh at the non-cynical humor. This film is just funny and fun -- period.

9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
It helps if you like Danny Kaye, 18 February 2000

Author: bobc-5 from Annandale, VA

This light-hearted fantasy/comedy/musical is basically a showcase for the many talents of Danny Kaye. Those who particularly like the simple and wholesome humor of Danny Kaye will be well entertained. Even those who don't should find some good low-key laughs and be generally amused throughout. The dialogue is sparse but occasionally shows a clever dry wit, as in "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have minded". The entire cast works very well togethor and the interplay between Eve Arden and Danny Kaye is particularly good. The song and dance is competent but uninspired.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Swell cast !, 5 March 2006

Author: wc1996 from walnut creek, calif

Probably the best thing about this film-besides the color-was the cast. Danny Kaye gets top billing & he was good--but he had the backing of Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden, Walter Able--and more. Virginia Mayo made a couple of films with Kaye & also did a couple with Cochran ( check out "White Heat" ). Vera-Ellen filmed mostly @ MGM--but her last film was "White Cristmas", playing opposite Danny Kaye. Brian Donlevy played the part of the fighter in the stage play--the part that Steve Cochran played in the movie. The Kid From Brooklyn proved to be a very profitable film. Fay Bainter does a small bit & she carries it off extremely well. Eve Arden and her endless wisecracks were a kick.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Remake of "The Milky Way", 10 February 2005

Author: zsenorsock from Argentina

This is a complete scene by scene remake of a 1934 Harold Lloyd film called "The MilkyWay" directed by Leo McCarey. It even features some of the same supporting characters the Lloyd version did! (notably Lionel Stander as Spider) Norman Z. McLeod who directed some scenes in "The Milky Way" was even called in to direct this remake. The big difference is the addition of the songs, Danny Kaye and color....and of course the original with Lloyd and McCarey was crisper and funnier. This was made only 10 years after the release of the original, (producer Samuel Goldwyn destroyed the original and many of the copies) which I think has got to be some sort of record. Was anything else ever remade so quickly?

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Kid from Brooklyn-The Milkman Was On His Way **1/2, 28 December 2006

Author: edwagreen from United States

Danny Kaye began to show his comic genius in this so-so film of 1946. He would star with his constant co-star Viginia Mayo. In this film, he plays a milque-toast milkman and often acts like he is ready to do Walter Mytty. He is mistaken for knocking out a prize fighter (Steve Cochran) and that's when the fun starts.

Cochran, managed by Walter Abel with a wise-cracking girlfriend, Eve Arden, tries to recruit Kaye to fight in the ring. Kaye is hilarious in the ring but it doesn't take a genius to note that the fights are fixed so that Kaye will win.

Mayo plays his love interest and sings delightfully. Vera-Ellen plays his charming sister and dances up a storm in a number called "Josie." To complicate the plot somewhat, Ellen and Cochran fall for each other.

Fay Bainter is a steal scener playing a patron of the arts who tries to spar with Kaye. The scenes with them doing this are hilarious.

The picture goes downhill as success spoils Kaye and he goes into inane musical routines.

The film is definitely for the lighthearted. Beautifully filmed in Technicolor.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
One of Danny Kaye's best films...sparkling cast..., 26 December 2006

Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

Everyone in THE KID FROM BROOKLYN is at their best--thanks to a zestful comedy based on "The Milky Way" with Harold Lloyd, only this time the timid milkman is DANNY KAYE, who goes from lovable, funny Kaye to totally extroverted Kaye who thinks he really won all those fights that he was signed up for by crooked manager WALTER ABEL.

VIRGINIA MAYO, looking her most luscious in Technicolor, is Kaye's partner again and the great supporting cast includes VERA-ELLEN (as Kaye's dancing sister), EVE ARDEN, LIONEL STANDER and STEVE COCHRAN, who steps away from his usual serious role (as a heavy) to show that he had a flair for slapstick comedy.

The story is nonsense, of course, and even the usually repressed FAY BAINTER gets into the spirit of things as a woman Kaye teaches some boxing pointers to. It's all very lightweight, easy to take and pleasant to watch, especially if you enjoy Kaye's special brand of comedy. Included are some specialty numbers for Vera-Ellen, surrounded by chorus boys and The Goldwyn Girls and a nice song number for Virginia Mayo, all emphasizing some dazzling Technicolor hues.

Kaye does only one of his tongue-twisting routines, but it's a gem--a Russian number called "Pavlova" written for him by Sylvia Fine, his wife.

Summing up: Light-hearted entertainment impossible to dislike and all of it is photographed in gorgeous Technicolor.

Ta da da da da, boom boom., 4 March 2008

Author: JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom

I agree with the other user comments here on this site that state it helps to like Danny Kaye in the first place, because the film offers nothing fresh and exciting outside of a love for musicals and Kaye's effervescent madcap malarkey. It's a perfect showcase for Kaye to let loose and he delivers smartly as the humble milkman mistakenly built up as a prize fighter of note who then proceeds to lose the grip on his ego. He is surrounded by very stoic actors and they all benefit from a tidy script and foot tapping tunes, and sure enough the laughs are dotted throughout the show, but it still feels like they plonked Danny Kaye on set and built a film around him.

It's also of interest to note the back story of the film actually being a remake of Harold Lloyd's 1936 film The Milky Way, that is something that few people are aware of and great effort was made by the makers of The Kid From Brooklyn to distance themselves from the 36 film. So with that in mind it's hard to not view this film as merely a Kaye vehicle without much heart, and with that I say the film is entertaining enough without being close to being a really good Danny Kaye movie, 6/10.

1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Kaye Kayoes At Box Office, 17 May 2009

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

One of Danny Kaye's better films while he was with Samuel Goldwyn is this musical adaption of The Milky Way where Kaye steps into the shoes of another comic genius, Harold Lloyd in The Kid From Brooklyn. Kaye proves every bit the adept physical comedian that Harold Lloyd was and he sings and dances besides.

The main weakness of the film is the music which is mostly sung and danced by Virginia Mayo and Vera-Ellen, the score from Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn is not one of their better ones. Kaye does get a patter song Pavlova from wife Sylvia Fine and Max Liebman which is also not one of his better efforts.

But the story of The Milky Way suits Kaye's talents perfectly, the timid milkman from Brooklyn who accidentally knocks out the Middleweight champion, Steve Cochran who while drunk makes a pass at Kaye's sister Vera-Ellen. In fact Kaye is like Inspector Clousseau whenever he's around Cochran.

Cochran's manager Walter Abel sees possibilities in this and gives him the Primo Carnera treatment. Amazing that this same kind of subject could be treated so dramatically in a film like The Harder They Fall and comically in the various adaptions of The Milky Way.

Sam Goldwyn gave Kaye as he did with his previous comedian under contract in the Thirties, Eddie Cantor, a lavish production with a great supporting cast. Mayo is Kaye's girlfriend, Eve Arden is Walter Abel's squeeze who deflates him and is just Eve Arden. And repeating his role from The Milky Way in The Kid From Brooklyn is Lionel Stander as Cochran's trainer and as it turns out the man who makes Danny Kaye's dreams come true and makes Cochran dream.

The final fight scene for the championship is hysterically funny, perfect material for Danny's physical skills. The Kid From Brooklyn is a very good product from Danny Kaye and Sam Goldwyn.

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