Música sobre las olas

WE'RE NOT DRESSING (Paramount, 1934), directed by Norman Taurog, may sound like a pre-code movie set at a nudist colony, but in spite of this offbeat title, it's actually a tuneful, in fact, very tuneful musical-comedy set on a South Pacific island. Heading the cast is Bing Crosby, taking a new direction in his fourth leading role for Paramount in a revamped story to James M. Barrie's novel, "The Admirable Crichton."

The story opens on a yacht christianed "Doris" where Prince Alexander (Jay Henry) and Prince Michael (Ray Milland), a couple of phonies out to nab rich women, accompany the wealthy yacht owner named Doris Worthington (Carole Lombard) on a cruise in the South Pacific. Also on board is her Uncle Hubert (Leon Errol), and his man-chasing fiancée, Edith (Ethel Merman). Doris is loved by Alexander and Michael, but while faced with a dilemma as to which one she should marry, she also has her eye on a deck hand sailor named Steve Jones (Bing Crosby). Aside from taking orders from her, he takes on the responsibility in caring for her pet bear, Droopy. When the drunken Hubert takes over the helm of the yacht, causing it to go out of control, it eventually sinks, causing all passengers to jump overboard in their life preservers. The crew is lost at sea while Steve, accompanied by Droopy and the ever-complaining Doris, comes upon an deserted island. Eventually the island is inhabited by the two princes, Hubert and Edith. On the other side of the island are George and Gracie Martin (George Burns and Gracie Allen), a couple of botanists working on experiments, adding more to the confusion.

Unlike the easy-going character he was to play on film through much of his career, WE'RE NOT DRESSING places Crosby on the tough side, especially on the island where he takes control over the castaways, ready to fight the two princes, and keeping the temperamental Doris under control by dunking her head in the ocean water or giving her a facial slap in return for a kiss.

A fine selection of tunes by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon include: "It's a Lie, It's a Lie!" (sung by sailors); "A Sailor Must Be True to Any One Girl," (sung by Bing Crosby); "It's a Lie, It's a Lie!" "It's a New Spanish Custom" (sung by Ethel Merman); "I Positively Refuse to Sing" (with a brief insert of "Stormy Weather"); "May I?" "She Reminds Me of You," "Goodnight, Lovely Little Lady," "Love Thy Neighbor," "May I?" "Once in a Blue Moon" (all sung by Crosby); "It's the Aninal in Me" (sung briefly by Merman); and "Goodnight, Lovely Little Lady" (sung by Crosby). Of the many songs, "May I?" is no doubt the best in the bunch. The latter part of the story finds Crosby crooning the haunting "Once in a Blue Moon" to Lombard in the foreground of the shining moon. According to Bob Dorian, former host of American Movie Classics, in one of its several broadcasts in 1992, commented on the cut number, "It's the Animal in Me," sung by Ethel Merman, and inserted to another musical, THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1936 (1935) starring Jack Oakie. In spite of that tune taken out of WE'RE NOT fadeout.

WE'RE NOT DRESSING can be categorized as the most tuneful of the Bing Crosby musicals, consisting as many as six songs heard before reaching the twenty minute mark. More tunes are sung, some reprized, before coming to its 75 minute conclusion. Reminiscent to early sound musicals of the 1929-30 period, the film consists of a leading couple (Crosby and Lombard) supported by a secondary comical couple (Merman and Errol) taking part in songs while going into their comedic dance. As an added attraction, there's the comedy team of the serious-minded Burns and daffy Allen as another secondary couple around to enlighten things with their now familiar comic exchanges having no bearing with the story. In one prime scene, Gracie demonstrates to George how she captures lions and tigers with her numerous "moose traps." This sequence is generally amusing until George's predicament becomes a bit too painful to become humorous as he falls victim to Gracie's contraption, with his feet trapped in shackles and hands tied over his head to be left behind as he faces a loaded rifle pointing directly in his direction. In spite of this minor flaws, any film consisting of a live crooning and roller skating around the deck, is one crazy movie.

Of the Crosby musicals of the early 1930s, WE'RE NOT DRESSING ranks one of the longer survivors on commercial television in the 1970s before shifting over to cable stations as American Movie Classics (1991-92), the Disney Channel (1990s) and Turner Classic Movies where it premiered August 17, 2006 during its all day tribute to Carole Lombard. Distributed to home video in the 1990s, WE'RE NOT DRESSING continues to find a new audience with its current availability on DVD. Good night, lovely little lady. (***)

OK, take away Der Bingle's singing, and what have you got? ... OK, take away Burns & Allen's comedy, and what have you got? ... OK, take away the music-comedy of Merman and Errol, and what have you got? ... OK, take away the dancing (and roller skating) bear, and what have you got? There must be a story in there somewhere...and there is, but as one of many versions of James Barrie's "Admirable Crichton," it's hardly unique.

So how do you make a musical comedy out of a social lesson? You subjugate the story and make it incidental. You find an appealing star like Carole Lombard and place her in the role of the hoity-toity socialite. You cast a crooner like Bing Crosby opposite her. You add some well-known actors like George Burns and Gracie Allen, Leon Errol, and a twenty-something Ethel Merman for some comic relief. Finally, you toss in a prince or two in the form of a Ray Milland and, in his sole role, Jay Henry, and...voilá, by George, you've got it!

In short, turn off your mind and enjoy the ride.

The first twenty minutes aboard a ship has little plot, just some passable musical numbers. When the ship goes down the movie picks up and starts to be quite funny. As another poster mentioned, it seems to be the blueprint for Lina Wertmuller's "Swept Away." However, it apparently has its own roots in something called "The Admirable Creighton". Carole Lombard is quite lively and animated here. You can see her acting roots in silent film. She uses her whole body to act. She carries the movie nicely. Bing Crosby is kind of stiff. He developed into a fine comedian, but here he is just a handsome singer. A young and quite pretty Ethel Merman and an older character actor named Leon Errol provide a good bit of the comedy. George Burns and Gracie Allen suddenly show up and basically do some delightful Burns and Allen routines. I grew up on their television series. I did notice that Burns was a lot grumpier and less forgiving of Allen's silliness than he would become 20 years later on television. There are a couple of bits that seem less funny in post-feminist days. Crosby slaps Lombard and she kisses him in return and at another point he seems to threaten her with rape and ties her up. These moments are just a part of the times and don't appear to reflect a misogynist attitude. I thought the best song was Crosby's 'Love thy Neighbor.' I think the film is a must for Lombard fans, Burns and Allen fans and fans of 30's screwball comedies. Others might not like it very much.

This 30's Paramount film starts out on board the "Doris", luxury yacht belonging to heiress Doris Worthington (Carole Lombard). Along for the ride is her uncle Hubert (Leon Errol), Ray Milland and Jay Henry as two princes who stick together like glue and both want to marry Doris, and friend Edith (Ethel Merman) who says she'll take the prince Doris turns down. Bing Crosby plays singing sailor Stephen Jones who Doris has named caretaker of her pet bear. Aboard ship Doris pushes Stephen around - although not without him pushing back - until uncle Hubert's drunkenness causes the yacht to sink. Now the tides of inequality are turned and it's Stephen with his knowledge of survival skills - and common sense skills like cooking - that give him the upper hand over his five aristocratic companions when they all find themselves shipwrecked on a deserted island.

This is when Bing was in the light and breezy musical comedy part of his film career, and the public ate this amusing escapist stuff up. Besides Bing's singing, Carole Lombard is beginning to hit her stride as a great comedienne, Ethel Merman sings a little but is mainly part of the comedy, and a very young Ray Milland manages to get upstaged by a wrestling bear.

So that the "stranded on a desert island" theme doesn't get tired, George Burns and Gracie Allen are on the island too playing two naturalists in search of wild beasts that can be studied with an amusing bit where Gracie shows George the wild animal trap she's invented.

Recommended as great light musical comedy fare from the 30's that, although it is technically precode, could have easily gotten past the censors had it been released even a year later.

For those who've never seen Carole Lombard, but have heard about her genius for screwball comedy, go check out We're Not Dressing. Simple plot, Bing's a sailor on the Lombard yacht and he, Lombard, her uncle Leon Errol, her friend Ethel Merman and two princes/gigolos, Ray Milland and Jay Henry are shipwrecked after a drunken Leon Errol runs the yacht up on a reef. In order that they survive the sailor has to take charge and does. Oh, and also surviving is Lombard's pet bear, a creature named Droopy.

Droopy comes pretty close to stealing the picture, especially after Leon Errol persuades Crosby to put roller-skates on him while they're still on the ship. He also has another trick, he won't hear any other song but Goodnight, Lovely Little Lady one of the songs written for this film by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel.

Gordon and Revel's best known numbers from this are May I and Love Thy Neighbor which sold a few platters for Bing back in 1934. Soon after writing a score for another Crosby picture Two For Tonight, they moved over to 20th Century Fox where they scored some of Alice Faye's films.

Ray Milland in his autobiography Wide-eyed in Babylon recounts a tragic story during the filming of We're Not Dressing. The bear trainer gave specific instructions that any women whose time of the month it was were not to be on the set that day. One of them lied and the trainer was badly injured and later died of those injuries sustained at the paws of a super hormonally charged bear. He also said that Paramount signed him to a long term contract on the strength of that film.

The six castaways were not quite alone on the island. Burns and Allen were there also with their brand of surreal comedy. Hollywood never knew quite what to do with them. God knows they were funny as all get out, but rarely were asked to carry a whole film.

Ethel Merman was another problem. Like her famous Broadway rival Mary Martin, she never quite made it in Hollywood. Her biggest success was always on Broadway. During the 1930s she would support, Crosby, Eddie Cantor, and most memorably Ty Power and Alice Faye and Don Ameche in Alexander's Ragtime Band. Her number It's The Animal In Me was cut from the picture, although it's briefly sung at the end. Paramount saved it and put it intact into their Big Broadcast of 1936 the following year.

At the time We're Not Dressing was shooting, Carole Lombard was romantically involved with Bing Crosby's singing rival crooner Russ Columbo. Columbo visited the set often and he and Crosby were friendly rivals and were known to do some impromptu singing during breaks. If only some sound man had left the microphone on. Columbo later died that year of a gunshot wound from an antique dueling pistol, a case that a lot of people felt was never satisfactorily solved.

So with Crosby, Lombard, Burns and Allen, Ethel Merman, Leon Errol just the sound of that casts spells some wacky wonderful fun.