HAR!HAR!HAR!the sets are cheesy,the staging is corny and wooden, and except for Ms.Temple and the babies(Angela Cartwright and some other goofy little kid i've never heard of)the acting is pretty sloppy and non-committal.But i loved every nostalgic moment.
I love the Vic Herbie operetta and try to watch every version i can(the Disney and Hal Roach comedy being the very best)and this version does'nt disappoint. sure Joe Besser and Jerry Colonna act like they escaped from a psycho ward somewhere,(and i'm not sure i mean that in a positive way)and at times it seems like only Ms.Temple and the two kids are the only actors who care if the production goes smoothly(sets actually start to fall over and only the kids seem to notice or care about holding them up or in place,and only Temple and the kids seem to have properly rehearsed their dialouge)Johnathan Winters is hammy and boring as Barnaby the villain(did he actually say nanu nanu here?)the choreography is full of clichés(they probably should'nt have let the babies dance or sing because they can't do either,but that's the fun of this whole thing).
This is definitely an Ed wood type version of Vicitine Herbitettie but that is what makes it so much fun. The Disney version and the great Hal Roach version have too much quality to be this funny. Heck,anything is better than the depressing trailer park putridness of the Barrymore,Reeves version(all you have to do is mention the song 'Cincinnati' and i think of stale Christmas candy well past it's expiration date)Also check out Angela Cartwright giving a great film scream in the Boo Boo scary forest.
This is a must see for fans of Mr. Herbert.
I love the Vic Herbie operetta and try to watch every version i can(the Disney and Hal Roach comedy being the very best)and this version does'nt disappoint. sure Joe Besser and Jerry Colonna act like they escaped from a psycho ward somewhere,(and i'm not sure i mean that in a positive way)and at times it seems like only Ms.Temple and the two kids are the only actors who care if the production goes smoothly(sets actually start to fall over and only the kids seem to notice or care about holding them up or in place,and only Temple and the kids seem to have properly rehearsed their dialouge)Johnathan Winters is hammy and boring as Barnaby the villain(did he actually say nanu nanu here?)the choreography is full of clichés(they probably should'nt have let the babies dance or sing because they can't do either,but that's the fun of this whole thing).
This is definitely an Ed wood type version of Vicitine Herbitettie but that is what makes it so much fun. The Disney version and the great Hal Roach version have too much quality to be this funny. Heck,anything is better than the depressing trailer park putridness of the Barrymore,Reeves version(all you have to do is mention the song 'Cincinnati' and i think of stale Christmas candy well past it's expiration date)Also check out Angela Cartwright giving a great film scream in the Boo Boo scary forest.
This is a must see for fans of Mr. Herbert.
