New York singing cabbie Dick Purcel (Dick Powell) blows his chance to sing on the radio and ends up as a singing gondolier in Venice where, mistaken for a native Venetian, he is invited to come to New York to sing on the radio. The light-weight plot props up a couple of good songs, lots of mistaken identity fun, and, of course, romance. Powell has a good voice and is fine as the Caruso-wannabe who rebels at doing animal noises on live radio, as is Joan Blondell, who plays Alice, the wise-cracking secretary that Dick 'meets cute', setting up the inevitable bickering romance. The supporting cast is also fun, especially cheese-baroness Mrs. Flaggenheim (Louise Fazenda) who owns the radio show and starts to feel romantic towards Dick's Italian alter-ego. The 'behind the mike' scenes in the radio-studio are entertaining (in a very retro way) and the show's cheesy (literally) theme song is quite funny. Not one of the great depression-era comedies, but still amusing and worth investing ninety minutes in for fans of the genre.
Review of Broadway Gondolier
