Edit
Storyline
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.
Written by
David S. Smith
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Taglines:
The girl who danced in the side-show laughed at the high pressure press agent. but he was a master of bunk and ballyhoo. Before night-fall she was famous! (Print Ad- Plattsburgh Daily Press, ((Plattsburgh, NY)) 29 April 1933)
See more »
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia
Composer
Max Steiner plays the conductor of the Broadway show. (He also can be seen conducting the studio orchestra in the opening titles of RKO's "Girl Crazy" the same year).
See more »
Goofs
Shirley Chambers' onscreen character name is "Gladys," but she says her name is "Ella Beebee." She is never called Gladys.
See more »
Quotes
Teresita:
Listen, what are you up to now?
James 'Jimmy' Bates:
You do the acting, I'll do the thinking. Get into that costume, baby!
See more »
Soundtracks
Hootchie Kootchie
(uncredited)
Traditional
Danced by
Lupe Velez See more »
Lee Tracy and Lupe Velez are outstanding as press agent and circus dancer in this wild comedy of ambitious impostors. Tracy is a supremely fast talker .but Velez is probably right when she exclaims repeatedly that he's "Nothing but a four flusher!"
A fun supporting cast includes Frank Morgan as big shot Broadway producer Merle Farrell, complete with long cigarette holder that he can't quite handle and the great Eugene Palette as a circus escape artist who tags along with Tracy to the big city as a sort of assistant schemer.
The plot may be somewhat uneven but this picture certainly has its moments. One sensational highlight is Lupe's song-and-dance on Broadway, in which she starts out stumblingly but changes her tune and wins over everyone, including the initially-shocked highbrow producer Morgan.
Eugene Palette's scene staging a publicity stunt in a nudist colony is also hilarious. He shushes a companion complaining about the dress code: "You're lucky it ain't winter."
Energetic performances and some spicy dialog produce plenty of laughs; Tracy and Velez pull off the rapid-fire love-hate bit superbly. If it's a bit inconsistent, this picture is nevertheless full of goofy surprises that keep us watching. Very entertaining.