Palmy Days

Director: Edward Sutherland Edward Sutherland

Overview

Eddie Cantor plays Eddie Simpson, a shy and jumpy young fellow who spontaneously bursts into song whenever he gets nervous. He works with the sly Yolando, a phony but successful psychic. The trouble in this lively musical farce begins when Yolando attempts to swindle the owner of the local bakery.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/04/2015
UPC:	0888574293208
Original Release:	1931
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Time:	1:17:00
Sales rank:	55,910

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eddie Cantor	Eddie Simpson
Charlotte Greenwood	Helen Martin
Spencer Charters	A.B. Clark
Barbara Weeks	Joan Clark
George Raft	Joe the frog
Charles B. Middleton	Yolando
Paul Page	Steve Clayton
Harry Woods	Plug Moynihan
Walter Catlett	Actor
Betty Grable	Goldwyn Girl
Amo Ingraham	Actor
Nancy Nash	Actor
Loretta Andrews	Actor
Nadine Dore	Actor
Ruth Eddings	Actor
Betty Lorraine	Actor
Nita Pike	Actor
Dorothy White	Dancer
Dorothy Wellman	Actor

Technical Credits

Eddie Cantor

David Freedman

Morris Ryskind

Keene Thompson

Edward Sutherland	Director
Harry Akst	Score Composer
Busby Berkeley	Choreography
Eddie Cantor	Screenwriter
Coco Chanel	Costumes/Costume Designer
Con Conrad	Score Composer
Richard Day	Art Director
David Freedman	Screenwriter
Samuel Goldwyn	Producer
Alfred Newman	Musical Direction/Supervision
Alice O'Neill	Costumes/Costume Designer
Willy Pogany	Production Designer,Set Decoration/Design
Morris Ryskind	Original Story,Screenwriter
Keene Thompson	Screenwriter
Sherman Todd	Editor
Gregg Toland	Cinematographer

Editorial Reviews

Palmy Days is an engagingly loopy Eddie Cantor vehicle. It's certainly entertaining, although many of the jokes will cause a wince and the plot is just so much hooey -- complicated hooey, too. There are enough "high concept" ideas here -- Cantor as an efficiency expert, a gang of thieves masquerading as fortune telling mystics, a romantic misunderstanding, a bakery manned by vivacious young women, etc. -- for two or three films. That Palmy doesn't really take full advantage of any of them works to its detriment, but it's still such a good natured film that most viewers won't really mind. Watching Cantor sawing off edges of his desk (ostensibly so that people won't be able to sit or lean on his desk and waste his time) or breaking into song whenever he's nervous makes up for the many problems with the screenplay. As usual, Cantor can't resist donning blackface for one of his songs. While it tends to jolt and jar modern viewers, at least when Cantor is in blackface in Palmy he's still being Cantor (as opposed to suddenly adopting a stereotypical "black" personality). Palmy also benefits from the presence of Charlotte Greenwood, a gifted Amazon of a comedienne whose gifts were rarely well utilized onscreen. Acting like something of a cross between Marjorie Main and Helen Broderick, but much warmer, Greenwood is a great foil for Cantor (and even gets to nonchalantly throw in a couple of her trademark high kicks). And choreographer Busby Berkeley demonstrates that, even this early in his career, he could create some dazzling images. Palmy is terribly slight, but there's a good deal to enjoy.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler