There's a lot to love about this wacky wartime comedy with the great cast and a very irreverent point of view in telling a nonsensical story. In fact, the story is secondary to the wackiness of the film and its eccentric cast of characters. You've got Pola Negri as an egotistical opera star whose voice alone has the apartment owners sending her dead flowers as a metaphor of her singing, Billie Burke as a wacky matron who goes to a nightclub and orders a Mickey Finn, Adolphe Menjou as the "40 year old father" of a 29 year old sailor Dennis O'Keefe, Martha Scott as O'Keefe's fiance (and Burke's daughter), and "Dainty" June Havoc as a nightclub singer who likes to sing along with the soundiess that she is in and shows in the cabaret where she works. There's also a ton of minor characters who popped in and out for a bit of wackiness including the girlfriend of the producer of the film, something that Burke points out for everybody's benefit.
The general plotline surrounds O'Keefe and Scott's wedding day with Menjou, married to Negri, aiding Burke in dealing with a stock issue and trying to hide the fact from his wife that he has an adult son. The subplot involving the stock market issue is silly and unrealistic, but inconsequential when compared to the wackiness of the unfolding of the silly situation going on around them. The highlight is the concluding segment that has some very ugly wallpaper coming to life while the cast sings Wagner. Everybody is having a great time, and I'm sure when this came out, kids went to see it, caring less about the Romantic plot line and just laughing at how silly the adults were.
Burke gets a lot of good lines as her typical flibbertigibbet society ditzy matron, and Negri seems to be channeling Lupe Velez. The only completely sensible characters in the film are the younger ones played by Havoc, Scott and O'Keefe. Producer and director Andrew Stone seems to have been influenced by "Hellzapoppin" which of course influenced the Zucker and Abrams Brothers in creating the "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" movies. During this time, he was producing and directing a series of light sex farces, utilizing much of the same casts, and this one (which has fallen into the public domain) is probably his best.
The general plotline surrounds O'Keefe and Scott's wedding day with Menjou, married to Negri, aiding Burke in dealing with a stock issue and trying to hide the fact from his wife that he has an adult son. The subplot involving the stock market issue is silly and unrealistic, but inconsequential when compared to the wackiness of the unfolding of the silly situation going on around them. The highlight is the concluding segment that has some very ugly wallpaper coming to life while the cast sings Wagner. Everybody is having a great time, and I'm sure when this came out, kids went to see it, caring less about the Romantic plot line and just laughing at how silly the adults were.
Burke gets a lot of good lines as her typical flibbertigibbet society ditzy matron, and Negri seems to be channeling Lupe Velez. The only completely sensible characters in the film are the younger ones played by Havoc, Scott and O'Keefe. Producer and director Andrew Stone seems to have been influenced by "Hellzapoppin" which of course influenced the Zucker and Abrams Brothers in creating the "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" movies. During this time, he was producing and directing a series of light sex farces, utilizing much of the same casts, and this one (which has fallen into the public domain) is probably his best.