The Phantom President (1932) User Reviews

George M. in delicious, gentle satire

[eschetic · 7/10 · 9 January 2005]

Light weight but winning political satire even in its day, the big news in this well reviewed Rodgers and Hart not-quite-musical (there are just four main musical sequences - the best known song is "Give Her A Kiss") was George M. Cohan's first appearance in a talkie - he would make but one more in 1934 (GAMBLING), three years before Cohan returned to Broadway with Rodgers & Hart in their 1937 hit I'D RATHER BE RIGHT, playing a real president - FDR.

Playing the dual role here of a candidate and his more likable double, Cohan more than justified the hype, and ably assisted by the always wonderful Claudette Colbert as the candidate's girlfriend (shades of THE PRISONER OF ZENDA) and Jimmy Durante who almost steals the film as the nice Cohan's manager (catch Durante in MGM's 1934 STUDENT TOUR playing a crew coach named Merman in an in joke!), Cohan makes this a must-see in any year. In an election year like this one, we can only wish the finale were reality rather than a gentle satire of pandering to public perceptions.

The pleasant surprises don't stop with the leads however. Watch the singing portraits of past presidents in the opening for Alan Mowbray as George Washington and later, Sidney (Charlie Chan) Toler's appearance as a political boss - all smiles but as rooted in what "works" as any current campaign manager - is a joy to behold.

If you've seen Jimmy Cagney dancing to an Oscar as Cohan in the World War II YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (a decade after this effort), take a look at Cohan doing the original steps (in black-face, yet in an "on stage" number) and you'll wonder if Cagney didn't study this film specifically.

In the great legacy of film musicals, THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT is probably little more than a footnote, but it's a very enjoyable, important one.

Yankee Doodle Dandies

[lugonian · 7/10 · 3 August 2001]

THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT (Paramount, 1932), directed by Norman Taurog, stars Broadway legend George M. Cohan (l878-1942) playing a dual role in his talkie debut and, to the best of my knowledge, his only existing movie. As Theodore K. Blair, he is a serious-minded candidate who hopes to win the upcoming election as the next president of the United States. He is in love with Felicia Hammond (Claudette Colbert), who finds him rather dull. Later Blair's cronies who also find Blair to be dull and witless, come across a medicine show barker named Peter Varney who not presents himself in public as likable and full of fun, but happens to be the spitting image of Blair. In order to boost Blair's upcoming election win to the White House, they hire the entertainer to impersonate him, but the plan works out only too well when not only the public starts to favor Varney, but Felicia also, causing the jealous Blair to want to do away with this look-alike by hiring some tough sailors to kidnap Varney and take him unharmed to the Arctic circle.

Aside from this being a double showcase for George M. Cohan, it is Jimmy Durante (in his pre-baldness days) as "Curly" Cooney, Varney's partner and sidekick, who comes off best with his antics. It's possible the public felt the same way back in 1932. In the supporting cast are George Barbier as Jim Ronkson, the political boss; Sidney Toler as Professor Aikenhead; Louise MacIntosh as Senator Sara Scranton; and Jameson Thomas as Jerrido. Look fast in the opening of the story for Charles B. Middleton (the Emperor Ming of the "Flash Gordon" chaptered serials for Universal of the late 1930s) playing a picture frame portrait of Abraham Lincoln, separately along with Alan Mowbray as the George Washington, also in picture frame, coming to life, introducing themselves and bursting into song.

With the music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, the songs include: "This Country Needs a Man" (sung in rhyme talk by senators, tour guides and cast members); "Somebody Ought to Wave a Flag" (sung and tap danced by George M. Cohan in black-face); "Ah, Schnooza" (sung by Jimmy Durante); "Give Her a Kiss" (sung by "birds," "frogs" and voices of nature during Cohan's love scene in a motor boat with Colbert); "Convention/ Blair! Blair! Blair!" (sung by politicians and cast members); and "Give Her a Kiss" (sung by an unknown vocalist on a radio). The songs, with some of them being in rhyming dialog, are passable, but one wonders what tunes would have been used had Cohan written the score himself, as he did with his Broadway plays.

Those watching THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT will find this a rare treat in seeing the real George M. Cohan come to life on the screen. It's been out of the TV markets for quite some time now, and one could only hope it could resurface again, especially as an Election Day movie special on any one of the classic cable movie stations.

To learn more about the background, life and legend of George M. Cohan, watch the musical-biography, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (WB, 1942) starring James Cagney in his Academy Award winning performance. While portions of that movie are fictional, it's worthy entertainment. The story to "Yankee Doodle Dandy", however, never mentions of Cohan's association with motion pictures (he appeared in few silent ones), only his show business career on Broadway. After THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT Cohan got to appear in one final feature film in his career, GAMBLING (Fox, 1934), but as of this writing, that movie drama is believed "lost." As for THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT, it's a real curio and highly recommended. (****)

Good Record of Cohan's Dancing

[jbsaunders-1 · 5/10 · 9 October 2005]

This film is only of historical interest but it does contain one valuable element. In one scene, GEORGE M COHAN, portraying a medicine-show huckster, actually does a soft shoe dance which is brief, but delightful. Cohan was a renowned dancer on stage and in vaudeville. He learned his dancing on the road, from the best vaudeville performers, and he developed a very distinctive dancing style. This film is possibly the only film image we have of Cohan dancing. (There are plenty of records of his singing, which was only passable.) What's interesting about the dance routine is, once you've seen it, you realize what a great job Jimmy Cagney did in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. Cagney imitates the George M Cohan style perfectly. See this film and YANKEE DOODLE DANDY and compare!

Waiting for GAMBLING, but until then...

[theowinthrop · 5 June 2004]

Apparently George M. Cohan, American Theatrical Giant and God, was one of the most difficult men to work with. Cohan did not like taking orders from others - after all, his productions were of plays or revues or musical comedies he wrote, composed, staged, directed, and starred in himself. But when he was asked to do THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT in 1932 he had to be directed by Norman Taurog and sing the songs of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. That these two song writers were as good as he had been in his heyday did not matter - the only rival composer he liked was Irving Berlin, who waived the flag as well as George M. himself. Early on he showed his dislike for the two song writers, which they did not appreciate. He also did not care for making movies (he had made a couple of silent films of one or two plays, and several of his plays were made into movies). So THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT would be one of only two forays into talkies that George M. would take.

It is not the failure or mediocrity that many critics have considered it to be (including Cohan, and Rodgers and Hart). The tunes demonstrate the inventiveness of the composer and lyricist, who experimented here with their "talk - sing" dialogue in the convention sequence, in the President Picture introduction ("The Country Needs a Man"), and in the snake-oil scene. This is a dry run for the similar scenes in their Hollywood masterpieces LOVE ME TONIGHT and HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM. The chemistry between Cohan and Claudette Colbert is actually good, as is the balance of the smooth Cohan and the explosive Durante. And there are lots of nice little bits by Durante (his election speech on the radio is marvelous), and one unexpected person: Sidney Toler as Professor Aikenhead. An advisor to the party expecting to run Blair for the Presidency, he is an early expert on spin control. Quickly he developes his own niche in the story - an underplayed, common-sensical sense of humor. He wants to see how loveable a character Blair is...a dubious proposition. He gets an apple, and tells Blair to hand it to a nearby horse. "Why?", asks a suspicious Cohan (here as Blair). Unruffled and smiling, Toler just replies, "Because you can't sell it to him!" Toler should have made more comedies, but when he does appear in comedies (like IT'S IN THE BAG) he has a good sense of timing.

But most intriguing is Cohan himself. This is his one surviving example of acting in a talkie, and he does nicely all considered. But he would not appear in another film where he had to take orders from others (in this case Taurog, a highly successful film director from the early 1930s to the 1950s). In 1935 Cohan financed a filming of his own play GAMBLING - this time being in charge of the whole production. It has not survived, and descriptions of it suggest it has little to offer us. Still, one hopes it will one day reappear, just to see Cohan at his dramatic peak. He made it just after appearing in Eugene O'Neill's AH WILDERNESS (his first appearance in a non-Cohan play), and got some of the best reviews in his career for that. GAMBLING, made just afterwards, should have been of some interest. We may never know.

After GAMBLING Cohan returned to the "legitimate" stage. Ironically it was for his last major role: playing FDR in I'D RATHER BE RIGHT, a musical comedy by Kaufman and Hart, with music by (ironically) Rodgers and Hart. If you see Jimmie Cagney in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY he does a scene from I'D RATHER BE RIGHT ("Off the Record!") which had new lyrics for the 1942 film regarding World War II. Cagney's Cohan praises Rodgers and Hart in the film - but in reality he still argued with them. He was forced to make comments against his friend Al Smith in the show, and he really disliked FDR. But the real Cohan was shown YANKEE DOODLE DANDY before he died in November 1942. The old trouper liked it.

Two Cohans for one

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 April 2012]

George M. Cohan who in the first decade of the last century was as the title of one of his songs and biography The Man Who Owned Broadway was considered old fashioned by 1932. Still as a performer he had considerable box office and he responded to the pleas of Jesse L. Lasky to come over to Paramount to make his sound motion picture debut. But the songs were to be written by a pair of relative newcomers Rodgers&Hart.

It's come down in show business legend how Cohan barely dealt with them while The Phantom President was in production. He thought they were second rate songwriters and truth be told Cohan thought just everyone else was second rate next to him. He had that kind of ego. But he had the talent to back it up and truth be told the songs that Dick and Larry wrote for this film were truly second rate.

The musical format of this film was song patter, no individual numbers that could have been hits were written for The Phantom President. The patter format worked well in Love Me Tonight and Hallelujah I'm A Bum, but many song hits came from Love Me Tonight and Hallelujah I'm A Bum boasted You Are Too Beautiful from that score. Nothing like that comes from The Phantom President. Maybe Cohan could have written a better score, in fact he was given one number to be interpolated.

But The Phantom President is first rate political satire with Cohan playing a double role, a cold fish millionaire who is running for President of the USA and a carnival medicine show man that his political handlers recruit to go out and do the campaign as he's got a personality the voting public will warm up to.

The political end works well, but carnival Cohan starts cutting in on millionaire Cohan's time with Claudette Colbert a former president's daughter and someone who the millionaire thinks would be a great first lady. He takes some drastic action.

The four handlers are well cast also, George Barbier, Louise Mackintosh, Sidney Toler, Julius McVickers are all familiar enough in roles that are suited to all of them. And of course we have Jimmy Durante who is gloriously himself with some interpolated material for him as well in the song Schnozzola.

There are so many performers whose salad days were well before talking motion pictures were invented that we should be grateful that at least we can see something of what Broadway saw with George M. Cohan. And his dancing style; well you can see why James Cagney was cast in the autobiographical Yankee Doodle Dandy.

"The night's so lovely you could eat it with a spoon!" - Colbert

[glencominc · 5/10 · 15 July 2005]

I saw this movie on PBS in New York many years ago and unfortunately before video tape. I recall reading an article about the way some of the special effects were done. Remember Cohan is playing two roles. There are many scenes in which he is talking and acting with himself. There is a particularly interesting scene on the front porch of an old house. Cohan #1 is in a rocking chair when Cohan #2 approaches him; Cohan #1 gets up to shake hands with Cohan #2- thereby shaking hands with himself. The rocking chair in the background continues to rock. After the hand shake they reverse positions and Cohan #2 walks up and gets into the rocking chair, which has never stopped rocking. Cohan #1 looks on. Done done in split screen? Apparently. but the effects artist died shortly after the film was made and to this day no one knows how he produced the effect. Great line by Colbert's character: "The night's so lovely you could eat it with a spoon".

The only film in which to see and hear Broadway icon George M. Cohan

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 10 December 2021]

"The Phantom President" is the only sound movie still in existence that has George M. Cohan in the lead. If the name isn't familiar to many people today, that's understandable. Well into the 21st century there are likely not many living or who were old enough to have seen Cohan on stage or in this film. It's sure no one living would have seen the one other sound film that came two years after this - "Gambling." Apparently, it was so bad that Cohan wanted all prints of it destroyed right after it was made. It did have a premier and brief release and then disappeared. The Fox Film producers must have agreed that it was that bad.

Interestingly though, there is a review posted on the IMDb Web site for that film. It's by a long-time reviewer and movie buff who read the screenplay for the film, which survives, and the stage play script. From that reviewer's description of the plot, it sounds quite awful. It's also very interesting that two of the three silent films Cohan starred in also are lost. So, that leaves just two films in which one might see George M. Cohan. This one, and the 1917 silent film, "Seven Keys to Baldpate." Cohan wrote a play by that name, based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, of the same title. And, he then wrote the screenplay for the 1917 film in which he also starred. I have that novel, and the 1917 silent film as well as the three best of several sound picture remakes of the story.

While few people in the 21st century would know much, if anything, about the actor, George M. Cohan, people on Broadway and actors and those studying acting will know the name. But many outside of the stage may know his name associated with music. If for no other reason, some of his biggest hit songs and familiar tunes will ensure that the name Cohan will live on for ages.

Cohan was such a presence on the Broadway stage in the first three decade of the 20th century, that he was known then as "Mr. Broadway." He was a superb writer who also produced and starred in many of his works. He was the consummate entertainer - a musician and composer who could sing and dance as well. Cohan wrote, composed, staged, and starred in more than 30 Broadway musicals. He wrote more than 50 stage shows and 300 songs. Among the most memorable of his songs is the iconic, "Give My Regards to Broadway;" and his patriotic songs associated with World War I - "Over There," "The Yankee Doodle Boy," and "You're a Grand Old Flag."

In the 1917 silent film of "Baldpate," Cohan is particularly hammy. Actors in the silent films exaggerated a great deal for facial expressions and body gestures to better impart the unspoken words of the story. But stage actors were often even much more exaggerated so that those in the distance in the audiences could better make out everything that was going on. Well, Cohan's role as George Washington Magee in "Seven Keys to Baldpate" must be one of the hammiest performances on film - certainly of any that I have ever seen.

But now, these 15 years later, in his only surviving sound picture role, Cohan's ham is almost all gone. Here he plays dual roles. Theodore K. Blair is seeking his party's nomination to be president, which apparently would be a shoo into the White House. But, however intelligent, educated and right he may be for his party bigwigs, Blair has the personality of a wet noodle. Stumbling into the picture is a medicine show promoter, Peter Varney, Blair's exact look-alike.

Well, one can guess where this story will go, and it does. Along the way there's some mayhem, good comedy, and a little romance. The latter is courtesy of Claudette Colbert as Felicia Hammond. She wasn't interested at all in Blair, who carried a restrained torch for her. But, when the new Blair - ala, Peter Varney, emerges, her wall crumbles. There's a little fun and pun in that. Adding to the comedy and music of this comedy musical satire is Jimmy Durante in a very good role as Curly Cooney. And, among the supporting cast, Sidney Toler (known, for the very early series of Charlie Chan movies) is very good - and funny. Alan Mowbray is another in the supporting cast who will be familiar to many movie buffs.

The quality of this film is not very good. The outdoor shooting, especially has light problems. The screenplay had holes and is quite choppy. There's a huge continuity problem that is glaring to all. The acting is generally fair all around. It's not a real good movie, but a fair one. It is the only film in which to see George M. Cohan acting and singing.

Here are my favorite lines from this film.

Professor Aikenhead (Sidney Toler), "Blair lacks political charm. Blair has no flair for savoir faire."

Prof. Aikenhead, "Chivalry is all right, but a little Chevalier wouldn't hurt."

Felicia Hammond, "You see, I want love. I've heard very good reports about it.

Boss Jim Ronkton (George Barbier), "How does it look to you, Varney?" Peter Varney (Cohan), "I'm just trying to figure... which one of us looks the most alike."

Soso, with some nice touches

[psteier · 5/10 · 24 November 2002]

A populist political satire in the Frank Capra mold.

George M. Cohan's dance is blackface during a medicine show is interesting and the scenes where his two characters appear together are well done.

Jimmy Durante puts in a good performance. Sidney Toler is very good as a political consultant, but doesn't get much screen time, not does the Hawaiian band at the convention.

A rare and wonderful chance to see Geo. M. Cohan in action

[metaphor-2 · 8/10 · 13 May 1999]

If you saw Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy, you've got the wrong idea. George M. Cohan was the smoothest song-and dance-man of them all, not the edgy fireball that Cagney portrayed. (No knock to Cagney; but he couldn't repress his natural energies) Watching Cohan, the original, is a delightful experience.

The plot is a fairly funny political satire. A politician with just what it takes to be president, but none of the "good American sex appeal" needed to get elected, finds an exact double: a medicine show charlatan. The medicine show man is hired to pinch hit for campaign purposes. His sidekick (Durante) comes along for the ride. They turn the medicine show into the convention. Durante does one of his famous "I won't talk on the radio" routines. It's, overall, light fare, but thoroughly enjoyable.

This film used to be shown on New York City local TV every four years on Election Night. Now, it seems to be virtually impossible to see. Too bad Universal (which owns the old Paramount films) doesn't dig it out of the vault and put it on Video.

The Phantom President is the only chance to see the legendary George M. Cohan in a talkie musical

[tavm · 6/10 · 2 July 2020]

With today being the second day of July, it's also the second day I'm reviewing movies with either a patriotic theme or about a patriotic person, in this case about George M. Cohan. Well, actually, this particular one stars Mr. Cohan-one of only two talkies he made though his other one, Gambling, is lost for now-playing two roles: that of an uncharismatic presidential candidate and also of a medicine show man who makes public appearances playing that candidate. Also starring Claudette Colbert as that candidate's girlfriend and Jimmy Durante as the medicine man's sidekick. The songs are mostly by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart though there were also some tunes by Cohan and Durante. I have to note one more appearance-that of Sidney Toler as one of the campaign managers. If he sounds familiar, then you're probably seen many of his Charlie Chan movies! Anyway, this was a pretty entertaining musical comedy though much of Durante's material is uneven even though he's pretty entertaining throughout and there's some unfortunate blackface concerning Cohan but this is the only time we see his expert hoofing on screen. In fact, if James Cagney had not portrayed Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy-which is what I'll review next-years later, the only reason for anyone to watch this movie in modern times would be for fans of Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante to complete their viewing of everything they did! By the way, I also liked the beginning sequence in which four presidential portraits were singing to each other! Those portraits were of the same people who eventually were carved on Mount Rushmore...

The Which Blair Project

[richardchatten · 3/10 · 13 December 2019]

George M. Cohan is rather dry in his talkie debut in a double role facilitated by a mildly satirical storyline, generally good split screen work, very broad comic relief by Jimmy 'Schnozzola' Durante and a sleek foxy young if underused Claudette Colbert. (The most amusing cast member in it is probably Sidney Toler as a laid back political fixer.)

A pair of identical strangers, I am sure this happens all the time...at least in movies!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 17 March 2018]

The famous Broadway song and dance man, George M. Cohan, only made a couple films. So, seeing "The Phantom President" is one of the only ways you can see him acting.

George plays two different people in this story. Theodore K. Blair is a rich guy who's in line to possibly be the next President. However, he's not very good at public speaking. But, when his campaign folks find a very charismatic medicine show man who looks EXACTLY like Blair, they get Peeter Varney to impersonate Blair on the campaign trail. Naturally, they want to keep this sort of thing out of the papers and don't even tell Varney's buddy (Jimmy Durante) nor Blair's girlfriend (Claudette Colbert)...which leads to all sorts of mix-ups.

While Varney's help should be much appreciated, through the course of the film you start to see what sort of a skunk Blair is. In fact, instead of rewarding Varney for helping him become President, Blair plans on sending him off to a hellish reward near the North Pole! What's to become of this evil plan? See the film.

While the music seemed a bit corny to me, I did enjoy the script and the film ended on a marvelous note. It's surprising, then, that this movie was a huge money-loser back in the day. I can't see why except, perhaps, by the 1930s, Cohan was a bit of a has-been...a relic of the past who was popular about twenty years earlier. Regardless, it's well worth your time and quite clever.

He's a Yankee Doodle phony!

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 12 February 2014]

The presence of the legendary George M. Cohan is enough to spark interest in this political musical comedy that took potshots at the Hoover administration just like the Gershwins had done on Broadway the year before with "Of Thee I Sing". Broadway's song-writing team of Rodgers and Hart had gone Hollywood and wrote several rhythmic tunes for this variation of "The Prisoner of Zenda" which had a similar if more action packed theme of look-alikes in government. Of course, the American presidency would get similar skewing years later with Dave.

The politician Cohan plays here is a rather unromantic square with designs on a former president's daughter Claudette Colbert. She finds him boring until one day she finds Cohan literally flying over her wall in trendier duds. Actually, he's the spitting image of the presidential wanna-be, a vaudevillian who tours with Mr. Schnozolla himself, Jimmy Durante. Political money-men spot him and get the idea of subbing him for the dull real deal in the campaign. Of course, the phony Cohan gets his own idea of how the country should be run which leads to further complications!

After an interesting opening concerning portraits of former presidents commenting on history through song, the film moves to the present day and it is obvious that the writers are hoping for changes in the upcoming presidential election where F.D.R. took over for what seemed like an eternity. The political Cohen, they state, would be like a continuation of Hoover, and the vaudevillian Cohen more down to earth and promising, filled with Hope. Colbert gets to play a surprisingly calculating young woman who turns the tide on the staid politician, and Durante offers much amusement, especially in his song about his middle facial appendage. But it is Cohen who will obtain the curiosity here, and he does not disappoint.

Patently Paramount, a very entertaining movie!

[nlangdon · 9 March 2001]

All the actors sparkle here, even Durante (who killed more than one MGM feature in his day) is a riot. Colbert is dazzling in every scene, even while bathing a dog. Cohan is fresh and fun, too bad he didn't make any other talkies. This production wreaks of Paramount, right down to the Lubitch touches of rhyming dialogue and animals delivering a musical number laced with sexual innuendo. In one instance the camera dissolves from the back side of a jackass to the keynote speaker of the Presidential convention; some things never change and it's still fresh!

Will Hays would have had a lot to say about this production if he could have gotten his hands on it.... :)

From musical comedy to political satire

[leftistcritic · 8/10 · 9 April 2019]

If I was to rely on the two summaries of this film, the first by Sin Jack and the second by Rod Crawford, saying that a presidential candidate is said to have a dull personality with a charismatic medicine salesman and huckster whom looks alike is hired to take his place to win the election, even fooling the girlfriend of this man, and that this hucksters has difficult decisions of his own on the eve of the election, I would think that is all the movie is about. Similarly, if I was to rely on Wikipedia I'd think this film is fictional political satire, based on George F. Worts' novel, where a stiff and colorless presidential candidate is replaced in public appearances by a charismatic and energetic pitchman for a medicine show. While those descriptions aren't wrong, there is a lot more going on. Theodore K. Blair is the stiff candidate whom doesn't have political gravitas, disliked by political bosses like Jim Ronkton (played by George Barbier), Prof. Aikenhead (played by Sidney Toller), and Senator Melrose (played by Julius McVicker), especially after Felicia Hammond (played by Claudette Colbert) rejects his marriage proposal. But when Peeter J. 'Doc' Varney, assisted by Curly Cooney (played by Jimmy Durante) the political bosses are the resemblance between Varney and Blair, whom are hilariously played by the same actor, George M. Cohan. Not surprisingly this temporarily fools Jerrido (played by Jameson Thomas) Blair's butler and Felicia. As the film goes on, Varney gets all the glory as he plays as Blair while the actual Blair eventually becomes tired of this charade and takes action. After Felicia makes a bold move to disrupt Blair's plans, Varney has a crisis of confidence and says he is a huckster on air, but is still elected regardless. As the film ends, Varney becomes president with Curly as his right-hand man while Blair is somewhere in the Arctic circle eating blubber.

There is much more to this film however. As anyone should I grimaced at the blackface worn by Cohen in this film, just as I grimaced at the yellowface worn by Nils Asther, playing General Yen in Frank Capra's The Bitter Tea of General Yen, which came out one year later. While that undoubtedly marks the film down and I thought the part with the singing presidents, like Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln (played by Charles Middleton), and George Washington (played by Alan Mowbray), along with other "founders," was a bit silly, the film was still a strong drama. At one point Barney admits they are selling musical comedy to the masses which is funny because the film is a musical comedy. I also enjoyed the comic relief coming from Curly and the name of Prof. Aikenhead obviously being reminiscent of "egghead."

The film was also, obviously, a political satire. Perhaps it is saying the people of the U$ can be sold on anything for president which is troubling. It is hard to discern what political party Varney/Blair is part of, as I would say it is Republican because of the invocation of Lincoln but they also sound a bit like the view of the Democratic Party. Looking at the party platforms for each respective party in 1932 does not clear this up at all. In this plotline, what does the election of Varney mean? Is he really honest or will be be like a snake-oil-salesman? It's hard to say, to be honest.

At the end of the film, other than what I have previously outlined, I'm not sure what the full takeaway is. However I would say that Cohan (one of the few films he acted in) and Colbert engage in commendable performances. While I only know Colbert from It Happened One Night (1934), she did a wonderful job here too. I liked Durante's performance as well. Taking this all into account I think it is only right to rate this film as an 8 out of 10, with this review being the 13th one on IMDB of this film.

George M. Cohan's Only Extant Talkie

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 10 December 2022]

The father of American musical comedy, George M. Cohan, is regarded as a legendary giant for his long line of musical compositions, lyrics, singing, dancing, playwriting and producing. Add to this extensive resume his stage and film acting, Cohn is one of those rarest of breeds in the entertainment world. His songs, such as "Over There," "Give My Regards to Broadway," and "The Yankee Doodle Boy," are some of the most recorded and performed American songs ever. Cohan was in just five movies, three of them silent. His only surviving film is Cohn's speaking debut in cinema, at 52, seeing him play a duo role of the United States President and a lookalike stand-in for September 1932's "The Phantom President."

Adapted from an unpublished novel by George F. Worts, "The Phantom President" opens with Cohen, as Theodor Blair, who's an utter bore of a politician. He proposes to his good friend Felicia (Claudette Colbert) just before his campaign for President. Felicia turns him down with a yawn. Coincidentally, shortly after she spots an exact carbon copy to Theodor jumping the fence into her yard, Peeter Varney, a medicine show huckster. Peeter is witty, exciting and the complete opposite of her boyfriend. Blair's handlers realize Peeter is personally a more charming fellow than their candidate. They persuade Theador that Peeter should make the public speeches and appearances while he hides until the election is over. If and when he wins, Theodor can then replace his exciting double.

The farce is a commentary on how the new medium of radio is able to define the likability of a candidates' personality and puts aside his or hers competence and experience. It makes the point that lesser qualified persons could be elected in this country's most important office. Jimmy Durante is Peeter's close advisor, Curly Cooney. "The Phantom President" is the only instance where Cohan's personality and dance style is seen on celluloid. He was opposed to singing Richard Rogers' music and Lorenz Hart's lyrics, which were part of the film. Director Norman Taurog and Paramount Pictures' producers persuaded him as delicately as they could that Rogers and Hart's work was more contemporary than his. Cohan sarcastically called the composers "Gilbert and Sullivan."

Variety praised the film, saying it's a "political satire holding a full share of laughs, it's about the first of its type for the screen, certainly as to the musical comedy vein. A lot of smart stuff packed into this footage." For Cohan, though, his heart was in New York City, where before World War One he was called "the man who owned Broadway." He returned once more to film in the 1934 "Gambling," but all copies have reportedly been destroyed. Cohan was the first entertainer to receive the Congressional Gold Metal, and through the efforts of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, a bronze statue of him sits on Times Square. James Cagney's Oscar-winning Best Actor portrayal of him in 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy," which Cohan was a consultant, was a huge hit for Warner Brothers. Cohan lived long enough to see the completion of the film, saying of Cagney's performance, "My God, what an act to follow."

Same as DAVE

[rr19 · 8/10 · 2 April 1999]

This is the movie that DAVE was based on. Cohan is a song & dance man who is a double for the President - brought in to run for a second term, as the real President has no charisma. Durante is his sidekick.

This film used to be shown a lot on TV, but has been AWOL the last 10 years as far as I can determine.

Cohan's only film.

George M Cohan is Great!

[neelthakrebew · 10/10 · 28 November 2022]

Thank God this movie exists. It shows you why George hand M Cohan was such a hit for decades on Broadway. Cohan was 55 years old when he made this movie, but he shows the dance moves that Jimmy Cagney later copied for "Yankee Doodle dandy".

The portrayal of a mock convention is great, with groups of cowboys, miners, and other assorted types chanting political slogans in unison.

The confab that opens the film between four dead presidents is both bizarre and priceless.

Claudette Colbert plays a hip lady who manages to get the right person kidnapped and deported to Siberia at the end of the movie.

The movie becomes boring only when Cohan is playing a boring but ambitious businessmen . When Cohan goes dead, the movie goes dead.