Don't keep your sunny side up for this artificial film version of the hit 1925 musical. Most of that hit show has gone the way of high button shoes and prohibition and ended up a wounded circus horse. Even the show' s two hit songs end up severely edited, heard throughout but never in complete versions. In spite of being a lovely dancer with a sparkling personality with more than just a passing resemblance to Irene Dunne, Anna Neagle is not a strong singer and there is where the film falls flat. She tried the same thing with "Irene" and "No No Nanette" with fairly better results, "Irene" being the best of the three.
While the basic story has remained, the setting has been Americanized to include a lavish Mardi Gras setting. This is where circus performer Neagle meets John Carroll, a member of high society and must past muster with his world traveling aunt Helen Westley. Setting out to do just that, she faces another challenge when her old friends show up to disrupt the wedding.
Westley offers much amusement as the salty matriarch as does Edward Everett Horton as the family retainer who has an amusing encounter with a magician. Ray Bolger gets relatively little to do as the circus's song and dance man. In fact, the entire circus is actually more of a traveling musical revue.
While the basic story has remained, the setting has been Americanized to include a lavish Mardi Gras setting. This is where circus performer Neagle meets John Carroll, a member of high society and must past muster with his world traveling aunt Helen Westley. Setting out to do just that, she faces another challenge when her old friends show up to disrupt the wedding.
Westley offers much amusement as the salty matriarch as does Edward Everett Horton as the family retainer who has an amusing encounter with a magician. Ray Bolger gets relatively little to do as the circus's song and dance man. In fact, the entire circus is actually more of a traveling musical revue.