Earl Carroll Vanities
Broadway producer Earl Carroll was a Ziegfeld-like entrepreneur who staged lavish revues featuring attractive young ladies. Carroll's annual "Vanities" provided story material for three Hollywood films: Murder at the Vanities (34), A Night at Earl Carroll's (40) and Earl Carroll Vanities (45). This last film was produced by Republic Pictures, a bread-and-butter studio specializing in Westerns and serials; Republic had made musicals before, but few of them were expensive enough to allow for lavish production numbers. Earl Carroll Vanities is likewise rather threadbare, though some of the individual musical highlights aren't bad. The plot, such as it is, concerns financially strapped nightclub owner Eve Arden, who finagles Earl Carroll into staging one of his revues at her club.
Insights
Plot Summary
A wealthy young man inherits a Broadway theater and decides to put on a new musical revue. He faces opposition from the mob who want to control the theater, but with the help of a spirited showgirl and her fellow performers, he fights back to bring his vision to the stage. The film features musical numbers and slapstick comedy.
Critical Reception
Reviews for 'Earl Carroll Vanities' were generally mixed to negative, with critics often finding the plot weak and the humor too broad. While some acknowledged the musical numbers and the energetic performances of its cast, particularly Joan Davis, the film was largely seen as a formulaic musical comedy that failed to distinguish itself.
What Reviewers Say
- The musical numbers provided some entertainment, but were often overshadowed by a thin plot.
- Joan Davis's comedic talent was a highlight, though her efforts couldn't entirely save the film.
- The Dead End Kids provided their usual boisterous presence, fitting the film's lighthearted, albeit disjointed, tone.
Google audience: Audience reception is not widely documented for this film, but contemporary reviews suggest it was a middling musical comedy that appealed to fans of its stars and genre.
Fun Fact
The 'Earl Carroll Vanities' was a popular and long-running Broadway revue series from the 1920s and 1930s, and this film served as a cinematic adaptation of that successful stage production.
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