It Pays to Advertise

I tend to identify screwball comedies with movies of the 1930s and 1940s, but a recent return to the Metropolitan Playhouse made me realize that the roots of the genre extend at least as far back as the 1914 play It Pays to Advertise by Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter Hackett.

The comedy, which follows a slacker soap heir who builds up a fake company through advertising, was a hit on Broadway that turned up in Hollywood versions in 1919 and 1931. It also seems to have worked its way into the creative consciousness of Preston Sturges and other movie directors and screenwriters who spun out screwballs filled with satire and scheming.

Following on the heels of the sparkling Metropolitan Playhouse revival of Power, this production of It Pays to Advertise is entertaining enough to give audiences a sense of what made it such a hot commodity for stage and screen. But because the performers seemed under-rehearsed at the preview performance that I attended, it might be a good idea to attend near the end of the run, which comes to a halt on May 31, 2009. Another good idea would be to dress lightly and bring a hand fan—the small playhouse was very hot and stuffy on the night I attended. Considering the heat, I don't understand why the company chose to observe one intermission instead of the two promised in the printed program. And it's a shame that one of the two ceiling fans didn't seem operable. (But just so you know: The one that did work was over the seats that are to the left of audience members as they enter.) Let's hope that the Metropolitan Playhouse can solve its ventilation issues fast. That would be immense—to use a slang expression used in the play!

The Magic of Preston Sturges

The Film Forum ends the year with a mini-fest of movies directed or written by the witty and inventive Preston Sturges, with BAT favorites in the opening and (especially) closing double bills. Among the many good reasons to go is the opportunity to see Barbara Stanwyck at her best.

The opening double bill (December 24-25) pairs the giddy Christmas in July (1940) with the Barbara Stanwyck-Fred MacMurray charmer Remember the Night (1940). If you see Christmas in July, you might understand why I submitted a certain cartoon caption more than eight years ago!

And for the grand finale (which ends 2008 and kicks of 2009) you can share in the joy of The Lady Eve (1941) and The Palm Beach Story (1941), which I'd say is the most sublime Sturges film, even more suitable for re-viewing on video than the others.

Another strong bill, on December 26-27, couples the political satire The Great McGinty (1940) and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? inspiration Sullivan's Travels (1941), featuring a "secretly" pregnant Veronica Lake.

And yes, 1940-41 was quite a productive time for Sturges.

Not included in this "Essential Sturges" festival is The Good Fairy (1935), a charming play adaptation that you can find on video.

Here's a kind of YouTube essay on connections between Sullivan's Travels and O Brother, Where Art Thou?



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SUMMER CAMP!

The Chelsea Classics series at the Chelsea Clearview (23rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues0 kicks off the summer season with presidential candidate Hedda Lettuce hosting Mahogany (Wednesday, June 25th at 9:00 pm), Cry-Baby (Thursday, June 26th at 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm), and Mommie Dearest (Saturday, June 28th at 10:00 pm). (A problem with Thursday night's screening of Cry-Baby is that it's up against MOMA's 8:30 pm screening of Jacques Demy's amazing French musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but if you don't mind missing Guy Maddin's introduction, you might be able to catch the second showing of Umbrellas on Sunday, June 29th at 5:00 pm.)

Then Hedda heads off and homemaking queen Brini Maxwell steps in for a set of Thursday screenings starting with the gloriously cheesy Busby Berkeley extravaganza The Gang's All Here (July 3rd at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm). The other July screenings are Thoroughly Modern Millie (July 10th at 7:00pm and 9:30pm), the superb and subtle Preston Sturges comedy The Palm Beach Story (July 17th at 7:00pm and 9:30pm), Alfred Hitchock's Rear Window (Thursday, July 24th at 7:00pm and 9:30pm), and The Ritz (July 31st at 7:00pm and 9:30pm).

Realizing that managing all these movies and dates might be overwhelming, I offer three suggested must-sees—Mommie Dearest, Umbrellas (at MOMA), Gang's All Here—plus these clever tips on how to get organized. Note that Brini's colors are not unlike Demy's!



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BETTY HUTTON (1921-2007). Brassy Betty Hutton, best known today as the replacement for Judy Garland in the movie Annie Get Your Gun, also played Trudy Kockenlocker in the risque Preston Sturges comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek and belted out a bunch of high-energy tracks.

Here, in a highlight from Let's Dance, Hutton delivers Frank Loesser's tongue-twisting "Can't Stop Talking About Him" with some other performer.



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