There has to be a story here: Warner Brothers celebrates the second anniversary (less three days) of the release of its own "Kid Galahad" with a similarly-titled, VERY similar story, "The Kid From Kokomo". Both films feature a tainted manager and his long-suffering girlfriend fleeing from a crooked situation and accidentally discovering a farmer they can turn into a champ in the ring. Both fighters are played by Wayne Morris. Both fighters find love, have mother issues, battle the mob, and are faced with throwing a title bout. There's also a key difference: "The Kid From Kokomo" is rowdy, fast-paced, and often hysterically funny.
I signed on for Joan Blondell here- I'll watch anything she's in- and this might be her most lovable performance. She sets the pace from the beginning, as usual for her bubbly thirties self- and she's crisply funny and spot-on as a semi-reformed bubble dancer. Her handling of two hilariously lazy hillbilly rustics in an early scene raises the bar on this comedy. But even Joan steps back to make way when a batty old kleptomaniac suddenly appears, hauled before a judge, and instantly takes over the film.
Holy H. Smokes, it's May Robson! This is the wildest, funniest performance you will ever see from anyone born before the American Civil War. May mugs, schemes, bellows, and prances as an aging con artist who stumbles into a sweet set-up. The fun she's clearly having is an irresistible force for the rest of the film.
"The Kid From Kokomo" has a major secret ingredient for a comedy of this type: wonderful, funny supporting characters (and the cast to play them). The whole thing feels like Preston Sturges might have waved his hand over it. It never loses the pace, and it never loses control- even the brawling is funny. It exits with a bang precisely when it should, and leaves us laughing.
I signed on for Joan Blondell here- I'll watch anything she's in- and this might be her most lovable performance. She sets the pace from the beginning, as usual for her bubbly thirties self- and she's crisply funny and spot-on as a semi-reformed bubble dancer. Her handling of two hilariously lazy hillbilly rustics in an early scene raises the bar on this comedy. But even Joan steps back to make way when a batty old kleptomaniac suddenly appears, hauled before a judge, and instantly takes over the film.
Holy H. Smokes, it's May Robson! This is the wildest, funniest performance you will ever see from anyone born before the American Civil War. May mugs, schemes, bellows, and prances as an aging con artist who stumbles into a sweet set-up. The fun she's clearly having is an irresistible force for the rest of the film.
"The Kid From Kokomo" has a major secret ingredient for a comedy of this type: wonderful, funny supporting characters (and the cast to play them). The whole thing feels like Preston Sturges might have waved his hand over it. It never loses the pace, and it never loses control- even the brawling is funny. It exits with a bang precisely when it should, and leaves us laughing.