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Palmy Days
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Wikipedia article
'Palmy Days' is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley (who makes a cameo appearance as a fortune teller). The film stars Eddie Cantor. The famed Goldwyn Girls make appearances during elaborate production numbers set in a gymnasium and a bakery ("Glorifying the American Doughnut"). Betty Grable, Paulette Goddard, Virginia Grey, and Toby Wing are among the bevy of chorines. George Raft had an early role.
Plot
Eddie Simpson's(Cantor) family bakery/restaurant grows into a huge success;thanks to Eddie's entertainment shows and a
fortune-telling booth run by the mysterious Yolando(Charles Middleton).
When Eddie discovers the fortune-teller is running a racket that cheats people out of their savings;Yolando and henchman
George Raft do their best to dispose of him by feeding him into one of the large bakery ovens.Their efforts fail,
Two elaborate musical numbers by Cantor---"My Baby Said Yes,Yes" and "There's Nothing Too Good For My Baby".
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Cast (in credits order)
*Charlotte Greenwood as Helen Martin
*Barbara Weeks as Joan Clark
*Spencer Charters as Mr Clark
*Paul Page as Steve
*Charles Middleton as Yolando
*George Raft as Joe Yolando's Henchman
*Harry Woods as Yolando's Henchman
*Eddie Cantor as Eddie Simpson
Reception
The film was one of the most popular movies of the year.Everett Aaker, 'The Films of George Raft', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 18
'New York Times' movie critic Mordaunt Hall, described 'Palmy Days' as "a more or less funny diatribe" with "two or three inconsequential melodies and a great deal to gaze, including pretty damsels from the Pacific Coast and effectively photographed groups of dancers."New York Times, Movie Review, "Palmy Days (1931) The Screen; A Frolic, With Mr. Cantor" September 24, 1931
Product placement
Brand-name products rarely appeared in movies of this period, partly because of the campaign against that practice by the motion picture trade periodical 'Harrison's Reports'. In an editorial, that publication reported the on-screen appearance of an Underwood Typewriter and product of Continental Baking Company.'Harrison's Reports' November 28, 1931, page 189
See also
* List of American films of 1931
References
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