The Show-Off

Skelton recreates the role of J. Aubrey Piper from the Broadway production of George Kelly's play by the same name. Skelton, whose medium was comedy and in his younger days, could do a prat-fall as good as Peter Sellers, made his fortune with a face that seemed made from putty and that marvelous element necessary to all good comedians, timing. Marlyn Maxwell, the gorgeous blond who stole our hearts in the Lemon Drop Kid with Bob Hope, another great comedian, singing "Silver Bells," and giving us another musical icon for the Christmas season, was very good in comedy roles, usually as the ingenue or naive girl-friend. There are some others in the excellent film, which might seem a bit slow and tedious to today's audiences, Marshall Thompson, Leon Ames, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Marjorie Main-- well known to us as Ma Kettle. The plot works around a guy who believes his own BS. Potential tragedy follows as the innocent Amy Fisher, against all the warnings and misgivings of her family, marries the loud-mouthed bragadaccio, Piper. It was a good play, a bit time-worn, and it was a good movie. Skelton is excellent as the hapless Piper and Maxwell (who once angrily retorted to someone who had compared her to Marlyn Monroe, "I'm the blond with her clothes on.") is great. No video, no DVD. Look for it on the late night show.