Dublin in Brass (1935) User Reviews

Faith and Begorrah, Sure An' 'Tis A Very Oirish Musical Short

[boblipton · 6/10 · 17 March 2020]

Sure and Morton Downey graduates from a police school in Ireland, Trained to become a cop in New York as soon as he can get there in this silly musical Vitaphone short, ending in a big production number with a pair of hard-knock slapstick comics. And how else might you be celebrating him who drove all the snakes out of the Ould Sod?

Downey sings a couple of songs in his tenor. He was a talented singer, and should not be confused with his namesake, Morton Downey Jr., who spent a couple of decades on television spouting right-wing nonsense in an early TV tabloid talk show.

This timely cautionary tale forecasts two top threats . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 16 March 2019]

. . . to our American Homeland in the Modern 21st Century: sidewalk scooters and fake universities. The prophetic prognosticators at the always eponymous Warner Bros. use DUBLIN IN BRASS to convey the sad story of "Danny," an enrollee at a fraudulent educational institution . Warner warns viewers that whether your counterfeit college is called "The Dublin Cop Shop" or "Rump University," a degree in deception will not get you a job anywhere (except perhaps in the Kremlin's Red Commie KGB). Part of the odd curriculum in Danny's Cop Shop classes involves him being challenged by platoons of Scooter Gals. Sound familiar? If you're trying to navigate the USA's sidewalks in 2019, and you happen to be blind, you won't be able to get to the end of a block without breaking your white cane on a scooter thoughtlessly abandoned in the middle of your path. Ever since that defrocked university founder ditched his game show to usurp the POTUS seat at "Mad Vlad's" request, scooters have inundated America's walk ways. With DUBLIN IN BRASS, Warner Bros. connects the dots of this on-going Conspiracy.

The first Morton Downey

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 16 March 2019]

For those who remember that loud and obnoxious shock jock TV host of the early 90s Morton Downey, Jr. some exposure to his dad might prove a tonic. Morton Downey Sr. was a lyric Irish tenor whose highest vogue in popularity came in the early 30s.

This short subject has Irish immigrant Downey having gone to the Irish Police Academy sets sail for New York where tis rumored that one can get employed at the NYPD with his training. He finds that can't be done, but his lyric tenor does make things work out in their own way.

Some singing and dancing and a few forgettable songs marks this short subject. Downey was certainly no actor and he had a bit of a gut. That probably prevented him from ever going real Hollywood. That other Irish singer Bing Crosby fought weight problems in his prime.

At least Morton Downey's art is now immortalized courtesy of this film.

Mildly Entertaining Yet Forgettable Musical Comedy Short

[TimeNTide · 12 October 2008]

I caught this musical comedy short on TCM.

A singing Irishman graduates from a cheesy Police School in Ireland and heads to New York City in order to join the NYPD, leaving his fiancée behind. He arrives on St. Patrick's Day, watches the parade, gets into some trouble, gets a couple of big surprises, and yet still finds a happy ending in an unexpected way. The plot is actually fairly thin for a two-reeler because the meat of the short is the singing and dancing numbers.

Morton Downey sings several songs, including two duets with Andrea Marsh and a fantasy production with leggy dancing girls on scooters. In between stock footage shots of the actual St. Patrick's Day parade we get some tap dancing policemen, dancing Irish ladies, and a rather amusing slapstick comedy routine from the little known Vaudeville group Smith, Rogers & Eddie. Most of the comedy in the non-musical sections is good natured fun poked at Irish Policeman stereotypes.

Personally, I'm not a fan of crooners, so I didn't care for the songs, but I thought the dancing and comedy segments were enjoyable. One's enjoyment of this short probably depends a lot on whether or not one likes old musicals in general and crooning in particular.

From the "I Didn't Know That" department... Morton Downey is the father of the late 80's trash TV talk show host Morton Downey Jr., and there's a good facial resemblance.

Overall... mildly entertaining yet forgettable...