A Ray of Sunshine: An Irresponsible Medley of Song and Dance (1950) User Reviews

"Already I can smell the greasepaint and the motley"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 4/10 · 22 October 2022]

Ted Ray sneaks into what is supposed to be a gentleman's club at night to have a sleep, he being thrown out of a job as a comedian. The long legged maid wakes him up in the morning and between their times of increasingly alcoholic interaction a variety revue takes place, somewhere. It's all rather vague. As with any kind of variety show one always prefers some things over others and in this case I liked Ivy Benson and her All-Girl Band and impressionist Janet Brown. (Her Kathleen Harrison was uncanny), The rest not as much. Ted Ray himself was dreadfully unfunny as was Morton Frazer's Harmonica Gang. And I could never understand the popular appeal of Wilson, Keppel and Betty. They just seemed bizarre. Only 60 minutes long but most of that time seemed to crawl by.

Variety Review with corny jokes from Ted Ray

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 14 December 2023]

This is a variety Review which features Ted Ray in a waiting room with a comedy dancer telling the most awful unfunny jokes. Thankfully these routines are interrupted by various acts. There is a very young Janet Brown,well before her fame as impersonator of Margaret Thatcher. She does three imitations,I recognised two but not her Kathleen Harrison.

There is the very lively Ivy Benson and her all girl band. Then there is a routine by the great Wilson Betty and Keppel. They do their famous sand dance before Betty does the dance of the seven veils.

There are a couple of other acts that I hadn't heard of.

Ted Ray never had a big film career, little surprise on the basis of this film.

The print I viewed was 52 minutes long. So someone had excised 7minutes, probably more of Ted Rays awful jokes.