Let's Go Native (1930)

1930 was James Hall's busiest year, a popular leading man of the silents, talkies proved he had a pleasant, recordable voice and he could sing - an indispensable attribute in those crazy all talkie, all singie days. But even though he was the star of "Hell's Angels", by the end of the year he was on his way out - courtesy of alcohol and a reputation for being unreliable.It was advertised as "more fun than a circus" and had the usual 1930 Paramount cast - overworked supports Jack Oakie and "Skeets" Gallagher (who surprisingly didn't get a song to sing), slinky "other woman" Kay Francis, silly ass Englishman William Austin (who did get a song and was very funny) and personalities Eugene Palette and Charles Sellon. Beautiful Jeanette MacDonald who fitted into the zany proceedings perfectly, had created a splash in "The Love Parade" but musicals were on their way out and after this one Paramount dropped her. This film was so typical of what killed off the early musical cycle - stars stepping into production numbers at the drop of a hat, mediocre songs and indifferent choreography but in spite of all that this wacky film works and no one seems out of place.This terrifically fun film features MacDonald as Joan Wood, a costumer who loses her shop because all of her money is tied up in a South American bound revue with F.O.B. (Fast Outcurving Blondes)!!! James Hall plays her boyfriend Wally Wendell who has been disinherited by his grandfather (Sellon) because he refuses to marry slinky Constance (Francis) a childhood friend. Before she sails and for the edification of the tradesmen (accident prone Eugene Palette) she and Wally sing "My Mad Moment". Also shipboard are Wally's friend Basil (Austin) and taxi driver "Voltaire" (with non stop comment about his name)(Oakie) - on the run from, it seems, the whole New York police force. Typical of the weirdly conceived musical numbers is "It Seems to Be Spring" which starts as a rehearsal then becomes a wild life montage as MacDonald and Hall peel off their coats when it begins snowing!! It has some zany comedy - what starts as a couple of chaps throwing boaters into the ocean ends with a whole crowd and boaters going everywhere. The scene is set for Jack Oakie as he goes into "Joe Jazz" - which would have been great staged in the conventional way with Oakie doing his patter and the chorus cuties tapping on their boxes but there is just so much inter-cutting and over direction - the whole effect is just too busy.Suddenly the liner hits a wreck and our intrepid group find themselves shipwrecked on an island ruled by King Jerry (Gallagher) and his island sweeties ("they were part of the Virgin Islands but they drifted"!!) who have to dodge oil geysers and throw pearls around like marbles. The title song "Let's Go Native" is staged in a good innovative way as the dancers, strutting their stuff at the beach, are reflected in the water. And maybe the film's highlight - Kay Francis, in a low melodious voice, doing her own singing to "I've Gotta Yen For You". Francis who out shines MacDonald in looks and barely there costumes (Jeanette's outfit of seaweed and cocoanuts makes her look frumpy) had to be content with finding true love with "Joe Jazz".Even Paramount's musical misfires were often witty and now "Let's Go Native" can be looked as a satire to that whole crazy, lovable period.Very Recommended.

O.K., so Jeanette MacDonald comes off unscorned in one of the many variations of "The Admiral Crichton", altered so much here, and filled with some offensive stereotypes (particularly gay, as well as a few Jewish slurs). Some good production numbers add an enjoyable early 30's feeling, but without fast forwarding, it is extremely difficult to get through the remainder of the film. The basic story surrounds a second- rate musical revue troop preparing for a trip to Argentina, the romantic troubles of Jeanette MacDonald and James Hall, the boat's sudden capsize, and the "Lost" segment on a deserted island filled with oil and pearls. You'll really get a sinking feeling when the whole island begins starts shaking and a huge earthquake suddenly hits. That segment is actually quite impressively filmed, taking place right after the big title production number.Oakie gets one of the worst jokes in movie history, explaining how he got his first name of Voltaire, and the comic antics of the annoyingly stereotypical gay William Austin, assumed through his over-the-top mincing performance, are too much in the show's short running time. Kay Francis fans will be disappointed here by her all-too-brief appearance, playing a well-dressed socialite who seems to be at first involved with Hall but gets a duet with Oakie. This would be Francis's only opportunity in her screen career to sing, being dubbed in other movies such as "Confession" where her character had to sing.MacDonald does get a lovely song entitled "It Seems to Be Spring" which intersperses stock footage of various wild and farm animals and their babies as the show falls around her and Hall. The few dance numbers liven things up, but the script flounders, especially with jokes whose intentions seem more hateful than the usual pre-code spoofing of various races and lifestyles.

This is a movie in which movement is very much confined – although Leo McCarey's extremely skillful direction manages to disguise the fact that it was all filmed in front of an absolutely stationary camera enclosed in a sound-proof booth. But what the ingenious McCarey could not disguise was the washed-out quality of the filmed-under-glass photography. Never mind, if you like the players – and who could resist Jeanette MacDonald, teamed with Kay Francis? – you probably won't notice the consistently dull, murky texture of the toneless photography at all. Mind you, I'm not a Jack Oakie fan. A little of Jack goes a long way with me, and here he is allowed to really hog that stationary camera – especially bad of him when we would have all liked to have seen and heard a lot more of the movie's number one star, Jeanette MacDonald. Nevertheless, the screenplay does boast a few witty lines here and there. And what with Jeanette and Kay, it's not by any means a total loss!

This musical comedy defies its own plot and meanders on its merry way from Broadway to an ocean liner headed for Brazil but gets sunk, shipwrecking the stars on a remote island inhabited by natives who have been turned into showgirls by the previous shipwreck victim! With that said, there's little point in trying to follow this film but just sit back and enjoy the funny and sexy Jeanette MacDonald (yes she sings too) as she is romanced by James Hall (he also sings). Hall is mostly forgotten now but was a big star in late silent and early talkies (HELL'S ANGELS). Jack Oakie does to production numbers that are lively and well edited. Kay Francis shows up as an heiress and sings the lovely (I've Got a Yen for You). On the island they meet Skeets Gallagher who has turned the local girls into showgirls (Virginia Bruce and Iris Adrian among them).Also on hand are David Newell and and funny William Austin as Pistol. Then there's Eugene Palette as head of the moving crew that is repossessing MacDonald's furniture.MacDonald, Oakie, and Francis are terrific.