Search - Here Comes Cookie / Love in Bloom / Six of a Kind on DVD

Burns & Allen only guests in "their" movies but Gracie sings

Scott MacGillivray | Massachusetts, USA | 01/09/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Vaudeville and radio stars George Burns and Gracie Allen seldom starred in their movies; they were usually comedy relief or part of an all-star format. This DVD features the only two "Burns & Allen" features, and at times you'll think they're merely guest stars, because they aren't always the center of attention. HERE COMES COOKIE (which does NOT feature the hit tune of that name) has tycoon George Barbier discouraging fortune hunters, by temporarily entrusting his money to scatterbrained Gracie, much to secretary George's consternation. Gracie promptly turns the mansion into a theatrical flophouse! You might be scratching your head at some of this -- it wanders from scene to scene haphazardly and sometimes abruptly -- but there are some good gags and Gracie sings a Latin number, "The Vamp of the Pampas." A fun little quickie, accent on "little."LOVE IN BLOOM (which does not feature the title song but DOES feature "Here Comes Cookie" sung by Gracie -- typical Gracie Allen logic!) is the story of hard-boiled Dixie Lee (Mrs. Bing Crosby) and softhearted Joe Morrison trying to get along in the big city. Joe Morrison (in a role perhaps intended for Bing) has a pleasant manner and a very easy way with dialogue; he should have gone farther in pictures. Burns & Allen are the nominal stars but they appear only occasionally as a couple of carnival employees.SIX OF A KIND is a 63-minute exercise in frustration directed by Leo McCarey. Burns & Allen play traveling companions from hell, who make a cross-country automobile trip miserable for Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland. W. C. Fields and Alison Skipworth are seen in the second half as a shifty sheriff and a hotel proprietor. Director McCarey concentrates on all the cruel and terrible complications, making Gracie unsympathetic instead of charming. Fields does his celebrated "pool table" routine, but it's Charlie Ruggles who steals the film with his understated reactions and remarks.Universal deserves applause for releasing these seldom-seen comedies from the vault. The three features are all on one single-sided disc, with no apparent loss in quality. Movie buffs will enjoy the set; those who only care about George and Gracie will have to sit through (or fast-forward through) a lot of other stuff, but the Burns & Allen routines are worth waiting for. Excellent picture and sound quality throughout."

Burns and Allen films: 2 gems and 1 dud

Stephen H. Wood | South San Francisco, CA | 07/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN: THREE MOVIES is a wildly uneven collection of Depression era comedies. The Paramount studio print masters look and sound gorgeous, and the packaging is attractive. All three movies come on one side of one disk, which presented no technical problem for me. It is easy to go from one movie to another.

HERE COMES COOKIE (1935--****) is a good introduction to the comedy of George Burns and Gracie Allen because they play themselves and have the lead roles. George is straight man to Gracie's screwball pun mistakes. In Depression era Manhattan, millionaire George Barbier stupidly entrusts his entire fortune to Gracie (!), so she naturally (for her) invites all of the unemployed drama actors in the city to her mansion. There must be a hundred of them, eating and playing musical instruments constantly. George can't take a bath because there is a live seal on ice in the tub! At the climax, Gracie has carpenters tear the place apart to transform the house into a theater. This is a wonderful and nutty comedy, only 65 minutes.

SIX OF A KIND (1935--*****) is a zany delight with six major stars given almost equal time over a tight and fast 62 minutes. Charlie Ruggles and wife Mary Boland want to drive from New York to Hollywood. George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Gracie's pet German shepherd answer their ad for companions to share gas money. Unknown to Ruggles, he is falsely accused of being an embezzler, and the movie gets no further than a dusty Nevada town. There, the town's major hotel is run by W.C. Fields (who even gets to play pool in one scene) and Alison Skipworth, who are always welcome. SIX OF A KIND was directed by Leo McCarey, who had Laurel and Hardy silents behind him and GOING MY WAY a decade ahead of him. This one is a comedy gem.

LOVE IN BLOOM (1935--**)--is, alas, a dud with Burns and Allen badly miscast as a husband and wife traveling circus act who take a back seat to a mediocre young lovers subplot. Dixie Lee (Mrs. Bing Crosby) plays George's sister, who falls in love with struggling songwriter Joe Morrison. Too often Burns and Allen take a backseat to Dixie and Joe. One good song: "My Heart is an Open Book." There are far better Burns and Allen movies, including the other two movies on this disk.

The only real bonuses are two theatrical trailers. I wish Universal would add some new filmmaking and vintage comedy/drama shorts, even if they have to charge a bit more than $12.95. The front cover includes three color lobby cards. Rent this disk and only watch the first two movies.



"

Mediocre to good Paramount programmers

Douglas M | 08/10/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Paramount was a haven in the thirties for radio and vaudeville stars and many of their smaller films of the period preserve the work of these performers at their peaks. This DVD contains 3 programmers, films in support of the main feature, which provide a worthwhile record of the tick-tock timing of the beloved George Burns and Gracie Allen.

In "Six of a Kind", they play a couple who hitch a ride to California with Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland who are trying to celebrate their second honeymoon. When Gracie is dizzy, if the jokes are not corny, she can be very funny but when she is immune to the discomfort she causes around her, as she often is here, she can be unsympathetic and downright irritating. Charlie Ruggles holds the film together but the film peaks when W C Fields enters as a local sheriff - 4 stars.

"Here Comes Cookie" places Gracie centre stage in a weak screwball comedy. She plays the dizzy daughter of a millionaire who feigns poverty to rid his other daughter of a fortune hunter fiancee. Gracie turns the house into a haven for down and out vaudeville acts which gives an excuse to put on a show. Often in these films, there will be a standout moment and in this one, there is a terrific act with a drummer and Gracie performs an amusing song number, demonstrating that she was a competent singer when she discarded some of the nonsense - 2 stars.

"Love in Bloom" is a depression story set in New York. Dixie Lee, Bing Crosby's wife, plays a down and out showgirl. Lee sounds like Jean Harlow and acts like the early snappy Ginger Rogers. She meets a songwriter also down on his luck and the film depicts their burgeoning romance in a surprisingly credible series of events. Once again, the film has an unexpected gem: the songwriter is played by a long forgotten tenor, Joe Morrison, who delivers an unforgettable moment singing "None but the Lonely Heart". George and Gracie, in supporting roles, play carnival performers and the film also contains the best routine of all of the films - their encounter with a policeman as they drive to New York. Not only is Gracie's lack of logic hilarious, but she subtly implies she knows what she is doing as she cons the policeman - perfection! - 3 stars

The prints of the films are good and the set contains the theatrical trailer of "Six of a Kind" but no other extras, which is reasonable at the price."

Love in bloom is a great movie

J. Miller | NYC | 01/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i'll watch anything that has burns and allen - but "love in bloom" was even a greater surprise because i was unfamiliar with it, and it was a sweet film all around. no way jose could anyone in new york even stand a chance of surviving the way those two young characters (lee and morrison) were able to back then... can't fall in love today either in that same way... cell phones and ipods would distract ears away from morrison's tenor voice. oh well, thankfully there are films to show us how life used to be in this fair city."