MR. DODD TAKES THE AIR is a Warner Brothers musical comedy that gave Kenny Baker his first starring role in a studio film. He had been in other movies prior to this, but most of those were glorified cameos, where he played himself and had a specialty number to perform. Audiences knew Baker from his gig on Jack Benny's radio show, where he sang and played a comic sidekick to Benny.
Kenny Baker was making $3,000 clams a week on Benny's show, a nice amount during the Depression. Heck, it is still a nice amount now. With that sort of weekly exposure and income he was probably in no hurry to become a movie star. But Benny had enjoyed success on the big screen, and Jack Warner thought Baker had potential, too.
Baker's fresh-faced appeal is put to good use in MR. DODD where he is cast as a naive working class guy who gets a chance to sing on a New York radio show. No great acting stretch here, and the storyline had been done before, with no actual basis in reality.
When Baker is able to demonstrate his vocal talent on the air, he is an instant sensation with the public. He ditches his job as an electrician and concentrates on his new career in radio. Along the way he gets involved with some interesting characters. He is a simpleton fish-out-of-water who has colorful experiences with assorted types of people, or else we wouldn't have much of a story.
Some of these people include Frank McHugh and Jane Wyman. Dependable character actor McHugh plays Baker's manager; while Miss Wyman is cast as a secretary...one of the first significant credited roles she had at the studio after a string of uncredited parts. In fact, I would say that Wyman probably comes off best among the supporting players. It's easy to see why she would have a long and successful career at Warners, though more substantial dramatic roles would not come her way for nearly a decade.
Added into the mix are pros like Alice Brady and Gertrude Michael. Miss Brady plays a ditzy opera singer, the type of high-strung gal she had perfected in other pictures with screwball elements. While I enjoy Brady's performances, sometimes a little bit of her trademark nonsense goes a long way. I am never quite sure if she is trying to emulate Mary Boland who had the patent on these types of eccentrics, or if she is just trying to keep from getting bored with what would otherwise be a routine romcom.
Regarding Miss Michael, she is wisely more subdued as a scheming gold digger. She wants to marry Baker for his money, even though he is more smitten with Wyman.
The advertising department at Warner Brothers promoted the film by calling Baker's character a Radio Romeo involved with three women (Wyman, Brady & Michael). Also, the posters compared this production to one from a rival studio, Columbia, since Deeds and Dodd are similar sounding names. But of course, the two stories have nothing in common.
There's a bit of rigamarole involving Baker's voice and an invention of his. Most of that doesn't really matter. What matters is whether viewers have been sufficiently amused for 87 minutes, and I would say they have.
Kenny Baker was making $3,000 clams a week on Benny's show, a nice amount during the Depression. Heck, it is still a nice amount now. With that sort of weekly exposure and income he was probably in no hurry to become a movie star. But Benny had enjoyed success on the big screen, and Jack Warner thought Baker had potential, too.
Baker's fresh-faced appeal is put to good use in MR. DODD where he is cast as a naive working class guy who gets a chance to sing on a New York radio show. No great acting stretch here, and the storyline had been done before, with no actual basis in reality.
When Baker is able to demonstrate his vocal talent on the air, he is an instant sensation with the public. He ditches his job as an electrician and concentrates on his new career in radio. Along the way he gets involved with some interesting characters. He is a simpleton fish-out-of-water who has colorful experiences with assorted types of people, or else we wouldn't have much of a story.
Some of these people include Frank McHugh and Jane Wyman. Dependable character actor McHugh plays Baker's manager; while Miss Wyman is cast as a secretary...one of the first significant credited roles she had at the studio after a string of uncredited parts. In fact, I would say that Wyman probably comes off best among the supporting players. It's easy to see why she would have a long and successful career at Warners, though more substantial dramatic roles would not come her way for nearly a decade.
Added into the mix are pros like Alice Brady and Gertrude Michael. Miss Brady plays a ditzy opera singer, the type of high-strung gal she had perfected in other pictures with screwball elements. While I enjoy Brady's performances, sometimes a little bit of her trademark nonsense goes a long way. I am never quite sure if she is trying to emulate Mary Boland who had the patent on these types of eccentrics, or if she is just trying to keep from getting bored with what would otherwise be a routine romcom.
Regarding Miss Michael, she is wisely more subdued as a scheming gold digger. She wants to marry Baker for his money, even though he is more smitten with Wyman.
The advertising department at Warner Brothers promoted the film by calling Baker's character a Radio Romeo involved with three women (Wyman, Brady & Michael). Also, the posters compared this production to one from a rival studio, Columbia, since Deeds and Dodd are similar sounding names. But of course, the two stories have nothing in common.
There's a bit of rigamarole involving Baker's voice and an invention of his. Most of that doesn't really matter. What matters is whether viewers have been sufficiently amused for 87 minutes, and I would say they have.