The Big Broadcast of 1938 / College Swing Double Feature

Starring:W.C. Fields, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Shirley Ross, Lynne Overman, Bob Hope, Ben Blue, Leif Erickson, Patricia Wilder, Grace Bradley, Rufe Davis, Lionel Pape, Virginia Vale, Russell Hicks, Kirsten Flagstad, Wilfrid Pelletier, Tito GuÃzar, Shep Fields, Harriette Haddon, Bud Geary
Director: Mitchell Leisen, Raoul Walsh
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Nostalgia
Good fun
"Well, you go ahead and sing...I'll stand over here so they won't think I'm beating you."
thanks for a plethora of great entertainers in a pair of minor memories
Bob's First Films but Martha Raye Stills the Show

The Big Broadcast of 1938 / College Swing Double Feature
Starring: W.C. Fields , Martha Raye , Dorothy Lamour , Shirley Ross , and Lynne Overman
Director: Mitchell Leisen , and Raoul Walsh
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005UMFC
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Customer Reviews:

Nostalgia.......2007-06-27

Both of these movies have very enjoyable moments. Neither is strong on plot. College Swing has some fun Burns and Allen. The Big Broadcast is a dogs dinner of a movie, with a preposterous W.C.Fields plot moving haphazardly along parallel to a shipboard entertainment/romance plot. Fields does not wear well. This movie is memorable for the introduction of Thanks for the Memories by an impossibly young and dashing Bob Hope and Shirley Ross, which is worth the price of the DVD. Tremendously charming.

Good fun.......2007-06-18

These films, while packaged as Bob Hope vehicles, are typical all star programmers from Paramount in the late thirties, populated by numerous performers of which Hope is but one. These were his first 2 feature films although he had appeared in shorts for some years. Both are screwy and absurd in the Paramount fashion and accordingly good fun.

"College Swing" showcases Gracie Allan doing her thing but Martha Raye, as a French Professor of Love, steals the show, partcularly in a funny number with Hope "Howdya like to love me"? "The Big Broadcast" stars an obnoxious W C Fields and when he is unsympathetic, he is not very funny. His golf routine is amusing. The famous highlight of the film is Hope's song with the charming and easygoing Shirley Ross "Thanks for the Memory". The film also benefits from some stylish camera angles and deco set design, typical of the director Mitchell Liesen. Look also for some famous stars before their peak - a perky and spirited Betty Grable as a co-ed, handsome John Payne as the male ingenue and Robert Cummings as a radio announcer in "College Swing" and an insipid Dorothy Lamour in "Broadcast" long before she developed any sense of self parody which became her attractive trademark.

The prints are in excellent condition and the photography in both elevates the films above their routine status. The DVD extras are minor except for a few liner notes about each of the films and a trailer for "College Swing".

"Well, you go ahead and sing...I'll stand over here so they won't think I'm beating you.".......2006-09-17

The Big Broadcast of 1938 was the final entry in the Big Broadcast film series. Although Bob Hope only got fifth billing in the opening credits (W.C. Fields had star billing above the movie title), this musical comedy is a landmark film because it boasts Old Ski-Nose's debut in full length features. The flimsy plot involves an ocean liner race between the SS Gigantic and the SS Colossal, but that storyline serves merely as a staging area for the stale vaudevillian routines, the throwaway gags, the mostly forgettable songs, the dull specialty numbers, and one dubious cartoon sequence. Already with Fields and Hope's famous schnozzes on board, this movie only needed Jimmy Durante in it to achieve some kind of nasal trifecta. But, you know what? The routines and songs may be old and creaky, but this musical still has enough charm and the funny in it to be worth a look.

W.C. Fields may have headlined, but his star power does not overwhelm here. It's Bob Hope who carries this movie - as much as an ensemble cast member can carry a movie. As radio broadcaster Buzz Fielding, Hope tries to put on a radio show while contending with three ex-wives and his new girl, Dorothy (Dorothy Lamour), who is on the verge of straying with the hunky inventor. This film offers other romantic entanglements, but the subplot that tugs best at the heartstrings is Buzz's amiable relationship with ex-wife Cleo (winsomely played by Shirley Ross). It's pretty obvious that sparks still may fly between the two. Hope and Ross have great chemistry together, and they make a fun couple as they joust verbally. The highlight of the film comes an hour into it when Buzz and Cleo reminisce at a bar and segue smoothly into a riveting, bittersweet rendition of "Thanks for the Memories." This number was carried out by Hope and Ross with conversational, off-the-cuff flair that was still very personal and emotional. Apparently, Damon Runyon was so taken with the performance of that song that he chose to review only that portion of the film. And, while I don't consider it to be a showstopper, Dorothy Lamour does sweetly croon "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth."

W.C. Fields had little moments here and there, most notably in the outrageous golf and pool sequences (hey, the man cheats!). Throughout the movie, he resorts to his patented mumbled insults and putdowns, although one lady does get one back when she impertinently asks, "Is that a tomato he's eating? Or is that his nose?" But I had a bigger chuckle over Martha Raye's bit where she raucously sings, "Oh, Mama," whilst being tossed and flipped around by sailors.

Other negligible subplots revolve around a $50,000 bet, a bad luck daughter who cracks any mirror she gazes at, and an inventor unable to make his invention function. But all that is fluff. This film is mindless spools of fun that would otherwise be relegated to the back closets of Hollywood if not for its two saving graces: the debut of Hope as a feature film player and the introduction of his signature song "Thanks for the Memories." On a lesser note, this is also the first time Hope teams up on-screen with Martha Raye and, more importantly, with Dorothy Lamour. For those things, The Big Broadcast of 1938 becomes a key cinematic event.

Lastly, for those interested, the SS Gigantic wins the race. Sorry for the spoiler.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The second offering in this Bob Hope tribute collection dvd is College Swing. In his second feature film, Bob Hope inches up in the world, as this time, he receives fourth billing in the credits, one name up from his debut movie. The plot is silly and has to do with a wager placed in 1738 between Gracie Alden's ancestor and the college head. The wager is if, in 200 years, no descendant of the grandfather's graduates, then all his fortunes will go to the college. If someone passes, the college will be ceded to the Alden family. So, now, cut to 1938, 200 years later, where dimbulb Gracie Alden (Allen), after 9 years of attending college, has one last shot at passing the exam. Bob Hope's sly character gets himself contracted to tutor Gracie in exchange for money and other benefits. Gracie passes the exam with flying colors, inherits the university, and begins to make sweeping changes, some of which are fairly dubious.

Huh. That film synopsis took longer than it really should have. Basically, this film boils down to swing music and college silliness. College Swing stars Gracie Allen, who shows off more of her goofy, addled humor. I swear some of that woman's hare-brained comments would make Yogi Berra wince. The film also features her husband/straight man George Burns, a blithely dancing Betty Grable, a brassy Martha Raye, a discombobulated Edward Everett Horton, and, of course, Bob Hope.

College Swing offers up the energetic film title number, which showcases cute Betty Grable, and an amusing duet by Hope and Raye, "How'd You Like to Love Me?" Also mildly entertaining is the opening scene set in a 1738 school as the students stuffily sing a school psalm, only to have a student turn it to scat. An outraged elder asks him, "What is thy name?" - to which the lad replies, "Benny Goodman." College Swing is not a movie I would have purchased by itself, but as the second feature in this package, it'll do.

thanks for a plethora of great entertainers in a pair of minor memories.......2006-08-03

a fun double feature. the latter is most notable for the work of george burns & gracie allen, doing what they did so well; the former, starring w. c. fields, is best remembered for the brilliant sequence wherein bob hope (in a duet w the sadly forgotten shirley ross) introduces "thanks for the memory". not a must-see, but a good enough way to while away an evening.

Bob's First Films but Martha Raye Stills the Show.......2006-05-24

This double feature contains two of Bob Hope's early movies. He was not the star in either film but a featured role in both. Both are typical musical revues of the early age of Hollywood musicals, little story songs to service the performers and not the story. This is very similar to Broadway musicals of the 20's and 30' but with a little more vaudeville in them.

College Swing finds Gracie Allen is the last of her line of nitwit women. If she cannot pass her college exam, the college reverts from her family to the city. Bob is a con artist who figures out how to make her pass. In return she is to put him in charge of the college. George Burns and Edward Everett Horton are the head of the board of trustees and are confirmed bachelors. But it's not George that Gracie winds up with. This is all set to swing music.

The Big Broadcast of 1938 would be totally forgotten if it did not introduce Bob Hope's theme song Thanks for the Memory. Bob is a radio host who has a penchant for gambling and ex-wives. He is to host a radio broadcast aboard a new radio wave powered ship that is racing the ship that holds the current crossing record. W.C. Fields is the named star of the film as the twin brother of the owner of the new ship who has a bad luck curse. The ship makes a detour to rescue the passengers of a sinking boat which includes Fields' like wise cursed daughter, Martha Raye. Also on board is Bob's three ex-wives and his current flame, Dorothy Lamour - yes, they didn't meet on the road. The film has plenty of irrelevant splashy musical numbers. But it is Bob and Shirley Ross' rendition of Thanks for the Memories that is the high moment in the film.

The best thing about these two films is Martha Raye. She shines in both films and shows her talents. Too bad Hollywood never found a place for her. But these two films and her great performance in Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux make a great tribute to her.

This DVD is a must have if you are one of the following:
*A Bob Hope fan
*A Martha Raye fan
*Someone with an interest in early Hollywood musicals

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