Director: Frank Borzage
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Top Billed Actors: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Pat O'Brien
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 2 more:
Outstanding Production - First National
Best Sound Recording - Nathan Levinson
Plot: A private in the Army makes dumb decisions and sings songs because love.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Top Billed Actors: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Pat O'Brien
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 2 more:
Outstanding Production - First National
Best Sound Recording - Nathan Levinson
Plot: A private in the Army makes dumb decisions and sings songs because love.
Frank Borzage's final film in this project is Flirtation Walk (1934), a musical romance flick that concludes one of only two years in Academy Awards history in which there were twelve Best Picture nominees. It is a shame to see him fall into obscurity the later he got in his career. I consider the very first film I reviewed for this project, Borzage's 7th Heaven (1927), my favorite Best Picture nominee up to this point. There isn't much to be said about this film, however. It is one of only two First National pictures to make the cut for this project. First National merged with Warner Bros. in 1928 but still kept its banner on its movies. By 1936, all of their films had Warner Bros. affiliations with them, hence the low amount that are strictly First National. This movie does have a connection with an earlier film in the project. Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler played supporting roles in Warner Bros.' 42nd Street (1933) and jumped to the spotlight with the release of this movie.
Speaking of Keeler, I recall how poor her acting is in the aforementioned 42nd Street. In this picture, however, she improves remarkably. Her lines come more naturally and she looks more comfortable playing her part, especially towards the beginning of the movie when she is bossing Powell around. Powell is also a highlight of the film. His versatility shows as he is a rebellious private in once scene, a helpless romantic in the next, and a studious West Point academic in the next. He also has a good voice to boot, which is why his character is aptly named 'Canary.' The story here is original and is thus refreshing. Not many stories written directly for the screen received accolades in these times. This is why the Original Screenplay nominees don't really align with the Best Picture nominees. The plot here is entertaining from start to finish and it is rewarding to see Powell's progression through his station in Hawaii to his successes at West Point. The extended scenes of the play in the third act is also fun, albeit lengthy.
There are certain parts of the screenplay that is dated. Sometimes the flow of the film will come to a grinding halt as a five minute musical number would come on screen. The choreography at the Luau is impressive but does not add much to the movie. The marching sequences are also remarkable but perhaps could have been half their length. Entire Sousa marches are heard during these scenes. I also do not care for the hurried conclusion. The resolution seemed to occur on a dime and is predictable to a fault.
Overall, if the movie was trimmed during the tedious musical numbers, the acting by Powell and Keeler and the original plot could have carried it to greater heights.
My Score: 6/10
Speaking of Keeler, I recall how poor her acting is in the aforementioned 42nd Street. In this picture, however, she improves remarkably. Her lines come more naturally and she looks more comfortable playing her part, especially towards the beginning of the movie when she is bossing Powell around. Powell is also a highlight of the film. His versatility shows as he is a rebellious private in once scene, a helpless romantic in the next, and a studious West Point academic in the next. He also has a good voice to boot, which is why his character is aptly named 'Canary.' The story here is original and is thus refreshing. Not many stories written directly for the screen received accolades in these times. This is why the Original Screenplay nominees don't really align with the Best Picture nominees. The plot here is entertaining from start to finish and it is rewarding to see Powell's progression through his station in Hawaii to his successes at West Point. The extended scenes of the play in the third act is also fun, albeit lengthy.
There are certain parts of the screenplay that is dated. Sometimes the flow of the film will come to a grinding halt as a five minute musical number would come on screen. The choreography at the Luau is impressive but does not add much to the movie. The marching sequences are also remarkable but perhaps could have been half their length. Entire Sousa marches are heard during these scenes. I also do not care for the hurried conclusion. The resolution seemed to occur on a dime and is predictable to a fault.
Overall, if the movie was trimmed during the tedious musical numbers, the acting by Powell and Keeler and the original plot could have carried it to greater heights.
My Score: 6/10