Broadway Gondolier (1935)

Dick Purcell is an American taxi driver who wants to become a singer promoting cheese products. Oddly he thinks the way to do it is to become a gondolier from Venice. Along the way he sings and woos a sassy secretary Alice.

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Sig Herzig (story), E.Y. Harburg (story)

Stars:

Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Adolphe Menjou

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dick Powell	...	Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli
Joan Blondell	...	Alice Hughes
Adolphe Menjou	...	Professor Eduardo de Vinci
Louise Fazenda	...	Mrs. Flaggenheim
William Gargan	...	Cliff Stanley
George Barbier	...	Music Critic Hayward
Grant Mitchell	...	E.V. Richards, Radio Producer
Ted Fio Rito	...	Ted Fio Roto - Orchestra Leader (as himself)
The Mills Brothers	...	The Four Mills Brothers (as The Four Mills Brothers)
Donald Mills	...	Member of the Mills Brothers
Harry Mills	...	Member of the Mills Brothers
Herbert Mills	...	Member of the Mills Brothers
John Mills	...	Member of the Mills Brothers
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Music Critic Gilmore
Joe Sawyer	...	'Red' (as Joseph Sauers)

Storyline

Dick Purcell is an American taxi driver who wants to become a singer promoting cheese products. Oddly he thinks the way to do it is to become a gondolier from Venice. Along the way he sings and woos a sassy secretary Alice.

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Plot Keywords:

venice italy | taxi driver | singer | radio producer | new york city | 

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Taglines:

LOVERS ENRAPTURED -- ...Sweethearts enthralled in the light of venetian moonbeams and music!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 July 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Efterlyst i radioen

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two of Joan Blondell's real-life husbands were involved in this film. Her first husband, cinematographer George Barnes, photographed it. Her second husband, Dick Powell, was her co-star.

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Quotes

E.V. Richards, Radio Producer: Now, Alice, you'll have to take charge of Mrs. Flaggenheim. She's got this foreigner bug in her bonnet and can't get it out.
Alice Hughes: I'll do the best I can, Mr. Richards.

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Connections

Referenced in The Black Network (1936)

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Soundtracks

Lonely Gondolier
(1935) (uncredited)
aka "Il Gondoliere"
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Italian lyrics by Manuel Emanuel
Sung by Dick Powell in Italian as a gondolier in Venice, Italy
Reprised by him in English on the radio show

User Reviews

Breezy comedy with music courtesy of Dick Powell...

DICK POWELL is a cab driver with singing aspirations who doesn't mind holding up traffic while he demonstrates his singing prowess to a couple of captive passengers who are so impressed they arrange an audition for him. Only in the movies, only in the movies.

This is another one of those improbable Warner Bros. comedies with a far-fetched plot that has him spoiling his radio audition when his song turns out to be a children's ditty with his part relegated to imitating barnyard animals. With the mike still on, he loses his temper and the job.

When JOAN BLONDELL, as assistant to radio manager GRANT MITCHELL, is assigned to Italy, who should follow her (as a stowaway aboard ship), but Powell, still intent on impressing her with his singing. Before you know it, thanks to his pal ADOLPHE MENJOU, Powell gets work as a gondolier. After that, the plot follows the rather familiar course of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, all in musical comedy fashion of the '30s.

Dick Powell has a pleasant, if unremarkable voice and his tenor serenading is pleasing enough, as is his flair with light material. Of course, he bowls over the radio station's sponsor (LOUISE FAZENDA) the moment he lifts his voice in song within earshot of those he needs to impress as he rows his gondolier in the moonlight.

Naturally, Blondell re-discovers him in a new setting and romance blossoms. It's the kind of set-up Warners would use later for their female star, DORIS DAY, always being discovered for either a radio show or Hollywood by Jack Carson or Dennis Morgan in her early Warner comedies that used the same formula.

It's pleasant nonsense, easy to take, and makes no special demands on your viewing pleasure if you enjoy watching DICK POWELL and JOAN BLONDELL so obviously enjoying themselves. None of the songs are particularly memorable and it's the kind of film soon forgotten after one viewing, but obviously it offered the kind of entertainment that answered the needs of undemanding Depression-era audiences.