"Puttin' on the Ritz" is an early sound picture by a small production company, Feature Productions, that made just 41 pictures, and after Al Jolson's "Halleluiah, I'm a Bum" of 1933, went out of business. And, the technical quality of this film shows much of the early woes of filmmaking of all of Hollywood during the transition from silent to sound pictures.
But this film may be of interest to movie buffs for a number of reasons. The music is by Irving Berlin, and that makes it quite good. It's the first silver screen production of Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz," a very popular tune, that is so catchy that it has become popular a couple of times since then, if not on the music bandstands, then in movies with historical settings. Harry Richman was the first to sing the song that was written for him - 16 years before Fred Astaire would revive it in "Blue Skies." But, that wasn't even the first after Richman's debut of the song. Astaire's performance was a dazzling one that featured his solo dancing. While Richman also did some hoofing, he was mostly known for his singing. His voice was a tenor with a sound that was later identified as "megaphone."
Then, with that number and some others, this small film company staged a lavish production with numbers that had dozens of dancers, and a set with painted skyscrapers that bent, waved, and swayed to the music. It's a pretty amazing show of stage craft and artistry of the time. When the 21st century is so used to CGI and other screen trickery, it's something to imagine that audiences actually saw such creative things that were all done mechanically and by hand.
This is one of just five films that Harry Richman made, so it's a look at that entertainer who was mostly known and hailed for vaudeville and his night club performances in New York and other cities. Another reviewer, kidboots, gives some interesting background on Richman.
Another unusual aspect of this film is its considerable portrayal of a staged "Alice in Wonderland" show. Again, this is on stage, performed before an audience, all of which is filmed for this movie. Just look at the extent to which the makers created the costumes for the characters in Alice. Joan Bennett was just 20 years old and this was just her second co-starring role after "The Mississippi Gambler" of 1929. Bennett wasn't a singer, so the scene in which the audience wants her to sing is part of the story in which Richman then saves her by joining in the duet from the balcony.
As for the plot, it may be the earliest version in sound pictures of a story that has been played a number of times. An entertainer becomes very famous, and his (or her) success goes to his head and he forgets his former friends, turns to drink or drugs, and falls into infamy. In this one, and with a few more films, the discarded lover comes to the rescue.
I know of one other film in which a top star performs "Puttin' on the Ritz." As unlikely as it seems, it was Clark Gable. And he was quite good, singing and dancing the number with a bevy of girls in his troupe, in the 1939 film, "Idiot's Delight." That's a good comedy and satire just before WW II, with an impressive cast. In addition to Gable, it has Norma Shearer, Ed Arnold, Charles Coburn, Burgess Meredith, and Joseph Schildkraut. That film's worth watching just to see Gable doing "The Ritz."
Here are my favorite lines from this film.
James Tierney, "So you finally went and done it!" Harry Raymond, "How many times have I gotta tell ya never to say you went and done it?" Tierney, "Neve mind my grammar."
Harry Raymond, "I was too good for her when I was a success. Well, she's too good for me now. And what's more, know it."
