Arthur Lake takes a break from the BLONDIE series to appear in this very pleasant comedy for Republic. He's the piano-player at Lionel Stander's nightclub and in love with Dale Evans (who's taking a break from Roy Rogers), and unaware that Dale is sweet on him. Convinced that she likes muscular, aggressive men, Lionel convinces her Lake moonlights as "The Devil", a masked wrestler, played by a picture-painting Paul Hurst. Naturally, Dale is distressed by the thought and tries to get Lake to quit the ring; however, Hurst doesn't want to give up the character, and no one can figure out how to fix the situation.
Republic is best remembered for cowboy pictures and one Oscar winner, THE QUIET MAN, but it was quite a lively minor studio which produced some good movies when studio boss Herbert Yates wasn't trying to promote his wife, Vera Hruba Ralston, into a major star. Under the direction of studio jack-of-all-trades Howard Breatherton, it's a lively little musical comedy, with a nicely shot production number early on, a few good eccentric comedy bits by minor players, and some nice acting by the leads; Miss Evans shows more range than she had since her early days at RKO and Lake gets to moderate the flustered idiot he had been playing since silent movies. In total, it's a very pleasant movie with a couple of laugh-out-loud moments.
Republic is best remembered for cowboy pictures and one Oscar winner, THE QUIET MAN, but it was quite a lively minor studio which produced some good movies when studio boss Herbert Yates wasn't trying to promote his wife, Vera Hruba Ralston, into a major star. Under the direction of studio jack-of-all-trades Howard Breatherton, it's a lively little musical comedy, with a nicely shot production number early on, a few good eccentric comedy bits by minor players, and some nice acting by the leads; Miss Evans shows more range than she had since her early days at RKO and Lake gets to moderate the flustered idiot he had been playing since silent movies. In total, it's a very pleasant movie with a couple of laugh-out-loud moments.