User Reviews

So says Harry Korris, the portly music hall comic playing Mr. Lovejoy who can't find a room to rent because of past debts. This overcooked ham is doing his monologue when he finds a kitty in his inside pocket, one of the many silly moments in this musical farce based upon a BBC radio show. The ensemble is filled by a huge plethora of singers, comics and other dancers most people have never heard of, and they are a mixed bag, some really annoying, a few moderately amusing and even less quite good. A good percentage of the film is am Olsen and Johnson "Hellzapoppin'" like comical view of the life of Nero, and now I'll never look at the final episode of "I Claudius" the same way again.

Korris reminds me of a more comical Sydney Greenstreet, a delightful charmer who knows how to talk his way out of any situation in order to get what he wants, even though in the beginning he can't talk his way into getting a room. But he's a con artist who soon finds a way to get back on the boards, and before long, he's putting on his own big show and we're doors were closed in his face before, now they are opening for him. The best supporting performances come from the actors playing real people, not other entertainers, and there is a plethora of various eccentricities which are amusing in small doses. It's very dated but enjoyable, and not to mention of the war which was in full swing when this was released.