Meet the Baron (1933) User Reviews

Comic Characters in College Campus Comedy

[Ron Oliver · 7/10 · 1 March 2000]

An outrageous liar, pretending to be Baron Munchausen the famous explorer, arrives in new York City with his lowbrow companion. They proceed to defraud everyone in sight, before finally settling in at Cuddle College - where they plan to give the coeds the opportunity to MEET THE BARON.

In the early 1930's, Jack Pearl was a huge success on radio as Baron ('Vas you dere, Charley?') Munchausen, the champion fibber. MGM decided to groom him for film stardom, playing his famous character. Here, in the first of two films -HOLLYWOOD PARTY (1934) was the second - he is surrounded by first rate talent: the great Jimmy Durante as his sidekick; fluttery Zasu Pitts; the inimitable Edna May Oliver as the college dean; and Ted Healy & the Three Stooges.

The movie, while no classic, is enjoyable. Pearl, Durante and Misses Oliver & Pitts all have good moments. Fans of the Stooges will appreciate their contributions to the lunacy of the plot. Film mavens will want to look fast for Robert Greig & Lionel Belmore as explorers and Mary Gordon as the college washerwoman.

'Clean As A Whistle' has to be the strangest song ever included in an MGM movie - it takes place entirely in the college shower room...

One of them love it or hate it movies?

[dwgraham1950 · 7/10 · 26 February 2007]

I confess I found it hilarious. Stooges were a bit stiff, probably because of Ted Healy's (a truly unfunny person) relationship with the Stooges off camera. How can you not love Jimmy Durante? A true ham, hamming it up every second on screen. Zasu Pitts, Edna Mae Oliver, and newborns performing on a twirling fan as the final shot - I can't help but like it. Hey, it's screwball not exploding cars and obscenities mouthed every few seconds while someone passes gas (and that's just a current PG-13.) I'd rather watch a poor movie from this period than any of the trash being spewed out today. The print is of wonderful quality and hopefully more MGM classics of this calibre will surface. If nothing else, perhaps the gorgeous MGM girls routines will bring a new audience to this DVD.

Vas You Dere Charlie?

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 9 November 2010]

It should be pointed out to anyone reading the reviews here that we are not seeing the Baron Munchausen of German literature. For that you would have to see the German epic film that starred Hans Albers and was made by the Nazi controlled UFA studio during World War II. What we are seeing here is a version of Baron Munchausen adapted by vaudeville comedian Jack Pearl for which he had great success on radio during the Thirties. When Meet The Baron came out, Pearl was at the height of his radio success with the character.

Now the radio show with time out for commercials and a guest star consisted of Pearl telling these outrageous tales in this overblown German accent to straight man Ben Bard who is in the film as well. He was the Charlie to whom Pearl answered whenever 'Charlie' would question the Pearl's veracity, "Vas You Dere Charlie?" That line became the catchphrase associated with the show, as well known in its time as Jack Benny's 'well'.

In fact Pearl and Bard do one of their typical dialogs which comes about 20 minutes into the film and goes about 20 minutes. But Louis B. Mayer was smart enough to know that would not fill out a whole feature film, so MGM loaded the film with such people as Jimmy Durante, Ted Healy and The Three Stooges, and Edna May Oliver. They all get to do the shtick they were all known for.

The starts out bearing some resemblance to the Marx Brothers Animal Crackers and then segues into one of those college pictures so popular in the Thirties. It's a girl's college where Edna May Oliver is the dean. She plays a Margaret Dumont type character, but a lot shrewder and Oliver looks like she's enjoying herself.

Jack Pearl's type of humor is most out of date, but I kind of like it and with so much else to enjoy in Meet The Baron you don't have to be a fan of his to like the film.

The shower number is worth the DVD price.

[bolab · 7/10 · 18 February 2007]

I confess. The "Clean as a Whistle" number made me purchase the DVD. I wish that number was a bit longer. The choral blending drives home the art deco musical styles of the 1930's. The Stooge's scene after the water stopped was very good, especially with the head mistress as comic relief. The rest of the film, well, I did manage to watch all of the DVD, sort of. There are a number of musical comedy films from this great period in Hollywood. One that comes to mind is "International House." That one, with W.C. Fields, is worth a view. Bela Lugosi seems a bit out of character in this movie but it was great seeing him in a slightly different roll. The music played over the Chinese Radio station during W.C. Fields bedroom scene is another great example of the 1930's art deco music style.

Slapstick radio

[MikeMagi · 7/10 · 11 November 2010]

For years, Hollywood has been turning TV stars and their shows into movies -- a trend that began back in the days of radio. A good illustration is "Meet the Baron" starring Jack Pearl in his popular persona as an habitual liar with a mittel European accent and an endless supply of puns. Providing him with comic support are a young Jimmy Durante as his manager, a man who never met a malaprop he couldn't mangle, and Zasu Pitts as his daffy love interest. When things slow down, a chorus line of MGM starlets, masquerading as college co-eds, perform a mildly risqué musical number in the shower. And for those who wonder how Moe, Curly and Larry started out, they appear (playing hapless janitors) as Ted Healy and his 3 Stooges. Sure, it's a curiosity piece and a not a very good movie. But oddly enough, it's a lot of fun.

Jack Pearl?! Who or what's a "Jack Pearl"?!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 20 August 2009]

This movie starred a totally forgotten star from the 1930s, Jack Pearl (radio's "Baron Munchausen") as well as Jimmy Durante. However, 7-1/2 decades later, it's being billed as a Three Stooges film because they are the only ones in the film who the average person would recognize today. Film fanatics will also recognize the wonderful Edna May Oliver as well as Zazu Pitts.

As for the Stooges, this is a film from there very early days--before MGM had any idea what to do with the team. At this point, they were known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges" as Healy was the front man. Fortunately for the Stooges, they soon left this nasty and rather untalented man (read up on him--you'll see what I mean) and the rest is history. Within a year, they were making very successful shorts for Columbia and executives at MGM were soon kicking themselves for losing the team. This sort of thing was a common occurrence at MGM, a great studio which had no idea what to do with comedy (such as the films of Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and others). In fact, up until they left for Columbia, MGM put them in a wide variety of odd film roles--including acting with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford in DANCING LADY. And, oddly, in this film they didn't act as a team--they just did various supporting roles, such as Larry playing the piano!

This particular film begins with Pearl and Durante lost in the African jungle. When they are rescued and brought home, all sense of structure to the film falls apart and the film becomes almost like a variety show--punctuated by scenes with the leads here and there. As for Pearl, I could really see why he never made a successful transition to films, as he has the personality of a slug (but slightly less welcome). As for Durante, I never knew what the public saw in him--as least as far as his films are concerned--he was loud and...loud! He apparently took time off from helping MGM to ruin Buster Keaton's career to make this film. Together, Pearl and Durante rely on lots of verbal humor(?) and Vaudeville-style routines that tend to fall rather flat.

In this film, the Stooges they didn't yet have the right chemistry. Seeing Healy doing the job that Moe did in their later films is odd. What they did in the film was pretty good, but because all the segments were short, they came on and off camera too quickly to allow them to really get into their routines. Stooges fans might be very frustrated at this, though die-hard fans may want to see this so that they can complete their life-long goal of seeing everything Stooge--even the rotten Joe DeRita and Joe Besser films (oh, and did they got bad after the deaths of Shemp and Curly).

Overall, the film is rather dull and disappointing. However, there are a couple interesting things to look for in the mess. At about the 13 minute mark, you will see a brief scene where a tour guide on a bus is singing. Look carefully, as this is Walter Brennan in a role you'd certainly never expect! Another unusual thing to look for in the film is the "Clean as a Whistle" song starting at about 22 minutes into the film. This song and dance number is clearly an example of a so-called "Pre-Code" scene that never would have been allowed in films after 1934 (when the Production Code was strengthened). Despite the word "Clean" in the title, it's a very titillating number with naked women showing lots of flesh--enough to stimulate but not enough to really show anything! It's quite shocking when seen today, though such excesses were pretty common in the early 1930s. Finally, at the 63 minute mark, see Jimmy Durante set race relations back a few decades. See the film, you'll see that I mean!

More Burlesque Show Than Movie, It is Zany at its Best, Dumb at its Worst

[jayraskin1 · 6/10 · 23 June 2011]

This movie was written by Herman Mankiewicz. We may ask, "Is this as good as his "Citizen Kane?" This movie was produced by David O. Selznik. We may ask, "Is this as good as "Gone with the Wind?" This movie has song lyrics by Dorothy Fields. We may ask, "Is this as good as "Swing Time," "Roberta" and "Sweet Charity?"

Unfortunately, I would have to say, "No" all five times.

While this is a zany hour or so of music and vaudeville style comedy, it is too slight to be considered more than an amusing, quirky farce.

There's a lot of talent both behind and in front of the camera and everybody seems to be having fun, but nothing matches, meshes, or stands out (with the exception of two minutes of naughty precode fun watching some singing beauties taking showers.

Seeing Edna Mae Oliver and Zasu Pitts is always a joy. I didn't find either Jack Pearl or Jimmy Durante more than occasionally amusing.

Some reviewers have attacked Ted Healy for his bad treatment of the Three Stooges. This is the third or fourth film I've seen him in with the Stooges and I think he does interact very well with them. He is just playing a character and his mean treatment is just part of the act, not anything real. Essentially Moe just takes over Healy's harsh boss role after they split. We should give Healy the credit he deserves for creating the successful slapstick formula. If you watch Healy in "Varsity Show," you'll see a totally different side of him. He is both funny and charming in that movie. Sadly, he was killed a few months afterward. I think if he hadn't died, he would have continued to be successful without the Stooges. Perhaps he could have answered some of the charges that the Stooges later brought against him.

Introducing Larry, Curly & Moe!

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 25 January 2006]

Strained comedy, a sketch-like revue which was initially a vehicle to showcase one-time radio star Jack Pearl but is now best remembered as America's introduction to The Three Stooges. Actually, Larry, Curly and Moe are billed alongside comic Ted Healy as Ted Healy and his Three Stooges. Although the supporting cast features Jimmy Durante (who is completely wasted on dim material) and ZaSu Pitts, the only audience for the film these days are Stooges-addicts, and even they won't find much to applaud here. Incredibly loud and overbearing, it shows how far Hollywood had to go to reach a certain level of slapstick sophistication. *1/2 from ****

Early Three Stooges film work is the main reason I wanted to watch Meet the Baron

[tavm · 6/10 · 9 May 2014]

After years of seeing the Ted Healy & His Stooges sequences of this movie on the VHS tape "The Lost Stooges", I just finally watched the whole movie of Meet the Baron. It stars Jack Pearl as the title character who tells tales that can't be believed. Jimmy Durante provides support as his manager, Edna Mae Oliver is the dean of a girls college, and Zazu Pitts is a maid. As for Ted Healy with Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Jerry (Curly) Howard, they're plumbers sent to get water back in operation so the female students can continue showering. You know this was a pre-Code movie when you see various nude (though strategically covered with water) ladies singing while showering! Overall, the Stooges were perhaps the funniest parts of the movie with some amusing lines from Pearl, Durante, Oliver, and Pitts. Not really hilarious all the way through but Meet the Baron had some good moments. P.S. I wonder if Herman J. Mankiewicz got the Rosebud name that became a part of a classic he co-wrote called Citizen Kane from this film which he also had a hand in writing and in which the mule is called by that name!

Meet the Baron (1933) *

[JoeKarlosi · 2/10 · 4 December 2006]

Oh, brother. The only reason this very irritating film avoids getting the total "bomb" from me is because it's at least historically noteworthy as the first Three Stooges film (when they weren't yet on their own and were still saddled with that painfully unfunny Ted Healy). But even as a longtime Stooges fan I'd have to say that young Moe, Larry and Curly are badly used here as three zany assistant janitors to Mr. Healy's taller boss janitor. They're not featured steadily through the movie and their silly on-and-off-again stints paint them more like zany overactive cartoon characters trying too hard to be amusing. Most of this toothache deals with Jack Pearl seeking in vain to get some chuckles from the audience himself as a man who impersonates Baron Munchausen (here's a good example of the level of humor: "I object!" "On what grounds?" "Coffee grounds!"). His sidekick is none other than a young Jimmy Durante, but even the schnoz himself is a bore. * out of ****

Vintage Dumb Humour

[frankebe · 8/10 · 8 July 2007]

I don't understand critics. Leslie Halliwell's Guide gives this movie no stars and writes, "An incoherent script provides an opportunity for several comics to do their stuff." So what's not clear about the script? The story seems perfectly intelligible and well-structured, with three foreshadowed, logical but surprising twists of fortune for the main characters. This is a very funny movie, tightly edited and continuously amusing (OK, droll). It picks up steam after the introductory scene, and clips away pretty briskly after that. I intended to see just a few scenes at a time, but ended up watching it all the way through (with no fast-forwarding).

Maybe Halliwell was confused about the script because so much of the action is at a girl's college. Anyway, he's certainly right about the comics. I've been disappointed by Durante films since childhood, but this comes the closest I've seen to a "real" Jimmy Durante movie. (If only he had a song!)

Healy and the Stooges have large sequences throughout, and succeed as the only comedy team to manage a sufficiently interesting 4th member. Although I'm not a fan of Pearl or Pitts, here they seem fittingly cast, with Pitts at her most natural and likable. But the real treat is Edna May Oliver, not a bad looking woman and perfectly cast as the prissy (but not entirely prudish) dean. She is a marvelous comedienne, her timing and gestures and faces are exquisite, and she doesn't shy from an insult, a shove, or a slap in the rear. She takes it in and dishes it out, and her ensemble work with the roughest comedians of the day is stunning.

Jack Pearl's puns seemed much funnier to me watching alone than they did years ago in a revival theatre with an audience. I guess it helps the enjoyment of dopey humour when you don't have people around you groaning.

The film of the Warnervideo release has some nicks at the beginning, but that clears up after a few minutes, and it becomes a clean, sharp, vintage-looking print the rest of the way through.

Eight stars not to signify proximity to a "great" movie, but because that's how much I enjoyed it, and an excellent print to boot.

The Best Film The Stooges Were Ever In? Probably Not After watching it All.

[verbusen · 7/10 · 21 July 2012]

SPOILERS+++++++ I purchased this film on DVD because I have never seen it played on Turner Classic Movies and because I found it very cheap on a Warner Brothers "Classic Comedy Teams" "box set". It contains 3 single sided DVD's one with the 3 Stooges in Meet The Baron and Gold Raiders (I have not watched that yet), 2 Abbott and Costello films (Lost In A Harem and A&C in Hollywood) and 2 Laurel and Hardy films (Air Raid Wardens and Nothing But Trouble). I have not watched the other 5 movies yet, I mainly purchased it for the Stooges and wanted to watch Meet The Baron first because it has the Stooges in their very early film days and I also saw Jimmy Durante and Zasu Pitts in it and I'm a fan of theirs also. Warner's probably released the DVD's as singles at first in 2006 and by the time I was looking for it 6 years later it was part of a box set for less then the price of the single DVD's still being sold online ($9 vs $15). I believe all 6 films were MGM releases so they are somewhat of a rarity since most A&C films are Universal and such, and 3 Stooges are known for their shorts from Paramount and their later feature films for the kiddies. I just wanted to pass that info along if you are in search like I was of early Stooges material, you are better off buying it with Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy in this case. And if you are a Stooges fan you won't mind the other teams coming along for the ride.

So on to the movie, I was really surprised at how elaborate the title credits were and of the early scenes, like the musical parade homecoming, this looks like a decent budget film, BTW the parade was the first scene that made me laugh out loud alone in my place when Durante is looking at the fat maids butt and then looks at the Baron's butt and remarks about a family resemblance. There were three scenes that made me laugh out loud and so I have given this a decent score although I do understand why others give it less, I enjoyed it. I'm surprised it is only 68 minutes long and that it has not been on TV at all as far as I am concerned. You would think with the Stooge's fan base this would get a lot of airplay on at least TCM but no such luck. Go figure. I started writing this review after watching the first 2/3 which were decent and fast paced but the last 1/3 slows down and it has no Stooges in it and really takes the film down a lot.

The downside to the film is that it's a vehicle for Jack Pearl and not so much Jimmy Durante and that Zasu Pitts' part is totally straight not funny at all. It was worth watching though to see the Stooges and Jimmy Durante and to see Edna May Oliver in a non dramatic part (I mostly remember her from her caricature in the Warner cartoons). They could have left Zasu out entirely and had Jack Pearl go after Edna which would have been a lot like Groucho and Lilian Roth but I guess since this movie is in essence a cheap imitation of Animal Crackers itself they didn't want to go there. I give the film 7 of 10 for the shower musical scene, the parade musical number, and the early 3 Stooges parts. A high score based mainly on being a Stooges fan.

Good ideas, but by one means or another the comedy here just falls all too flat

[I_Ailurophile · 4/10 · 21 November 2023]

Even from the outset it doesn't make a strong impression. The opening scene is kind of rushed and disjointed as written and as directed, and bears a measure of racism in this picture for the first and not the last time. We're then given a musical number that manages to be both more over the top and more dull than a straightforward musical, less fun than we might get were the inclusion purely parodical (a la Monty Python), and more weirdly ill-fitting for this 30s comedy than I think has readily come across in any other similar instance; for good measure, toss in a tiresome fatphobic quip in this same scene, which is likewise the first and not the last we'll get here. In the third scene to greet us we've some witty dialogue and sight gags as the "baron" tells some tall tales, but these rather get lost in the mix as the actors seem more intent on their delivery, and their adopted accents, than on comedic timing. Next follows a musical number, "Clean as a whistle," that's more in line with 30s fare, albeit with highly suggestive imagery that's quite surprising for this period in Hollywood - which makes it the most striking and memorable part of 'Meet the baron' so far. Finally we get some meaningful humor as we broach the half-hour mark, which incidentally is the first real scene here to feature The Three Stooges (who only have a few minutes collectively).

In the most generous estimation it takes more than one-third of the runtime for this to start to be entertaining, and even then the dispensation is wildly uneven. That unevenness flows from the same issues that the picture has already demonstrated up to this point. Apart from the Stooges, whose supporting roles are characterized predominantly by slapstick, the actors on hand continue to seem much more concerned with their performances than with the comedy we're supposed to be getting. I guess there's nothing wrong with an actor focusing on, well, acting - or maybe there wouldn't be, if the cast weren't necessary to supply the vitality of the jokes and gags that writers Norman Krasna and Herman J. Mankiewicz too often do not. The feature really is enjoyable in fits and starts, yet between Krasna and Mankiewicz's screenplay, Walter Lang's direction, and/or the jumbled priorities of the players, a preponderance of these sixty-eight minutes pass by mostly unremarked. As if to illustrate the point, aside from the conception of "Clean as a whistle," the facet that most grabs one's attention here is the sharp editing of James E. Newcom, which at some points shows a degree of splendid imagination. To be sure, there's some fine wit on hand that should inspire laughter, but by one means or another that wit just flops as this presents.

It's well made according to the standards of 1933, including stunts and effects, costume design and art direction, and hair and makeup. Appreciable as such elements are, though, they only count for so much when the proceedings can't truly provide a good time. Those issues that reared their head from the beginning continue to crop up through to the end, from questionable musical sensibilities, to the emphasis of acting over comedy, to writing and/or direction that just outright fail the would-be humor. The result is a film we can "watch" without specifically engaging, for it neither requires nor inspires active attention. With all this having been said, it's hard not to feel disappointed; there was definitely potential in the concept, but in execution the movie just casually, indifferently trundles along to the finish line. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, but I'm surprised I managed to stay awake through the runtime for as dull and unfunny as it mostly was. For all the other timeless classics that are out there for one to check out, it just doesn't seem particularly worthwhile to bother with 'Meet the baron.'

When Bits and Pieces of More Equal Less.

[redryan64 · 6/10 · 23 April 2012]

WE STUMBLED ONTO this old MGM musical comedy quite by by accident last week. The title seemed vaguely familiar, yet it took us a short while to realize what we had found. This was all on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES; which seemed to be doing a sort of short retrospective of Jimmy Durante films.

THE TITLE REFERS to featured comedian, Jack Pearl; who had log before had claimed the name for his stage act as Baron Munchausen. The name came from a character of legendary stature from German literature. The Baron seems to have been quite of a B.S. artist (that's a liar, folks).

MAKING GOOD USE of the comic aspects of a pathological liar, added to the equally funny properties of a sort of thick accent of a generic Dutchman (Grerman), Jack Pearl showed off his abilities on the Vaudeville Stage and on early Radio, before being summoned by MGM to Hollywood. His Baron Munchausen character's over the top and highly verbal persona was the sort of thing that seemed to be made for the talkies.

AS FOR THIS film, today's reviewed, MEET THE BARON (MGM, 1933), we find curious mixture of musical & comedy types. Other than the main motivating premise of Mr. Pearl's being a whopper telling liar, there isn't much that could be considered to be original. In fact, the movie seems to be a number of farcical, familiar and time proved stage skits; which are woven together onto a somewhat coherent scenario.

NOW, WE ARE not implying that there aren't truly funny and enjoyable moments on the screen, for there are many. Certainly the inclusion of Jimmy Durante as the Baron's foil* and the casting of Ted Healy and the 3 Stooges were features that made this a 90 minutes that were well worthwhile, time well spent. Additionally, both Zasu Pitts and Edna May Oliver are seen in roles which are used to good effect.

AS FOR A DOWNSIDE to using Mr. Durante as the Baron's Straight Man, it would be that it severely limits Jimmy's being himself; clearly, it's a case of trying to be all things to all men.

AS IN SO MANY other Hollywood traditions, the movie seems to be a good example of the age old tradition of patterning motion pictures on just what has been successful or is popular at the present time. In other words, it is a simple case of the old adage that: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!"

THERE IS MUCH in evidence to support our assertion, for we readily saw so many other then very box office popularity. For example, there are some big singing & dancing production numbers that strongly resemble all of those Depression Era Busby Berkeley Musicals done over at Warner Brothers. Likewise, there is much suggesting a certain affinity to those early Comedies of The 4 Marx Brothers done by Paramount Pictures.One production number clearly has three female performers aping the style and humor of Miss Mae West.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, this may well be a sort of second division comedy feature (to borrow an old Baseball term); but it is well worth taking in, at least once or twice.

NOTE: Jimmy Durante played the role of foil to Jack Pearl, as well that of Buster Keaton in several early sound comedies. He did double duty as he also did his own "Schnozola" routines.

Long time Straight Man for Jack Pearl was one Cliff Hall, who didn't make the cut into Bsaron Munchausen's rather short lived film career. Incidentally, Mr. Hall was seen prominently in 1950's television; first as Horatio Frisby,store owner, on the kids' show, JOHNNY JUPITER. His work is still visible daily as the Head of the Racoon Lodge on THE HONEYMOONERS.

Moe, Larry, Curly, Healy, Durante and Jack Pearl, All in the Same Room Together.

[PCC0921 · 7/10 · 11 August 2023]

In Meet the Baron (1933), the Baron actually refers to Baron Munchausen, the fictional character from literature. The same guy, who is in the Terry Gilliam directed film, Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). That's how I know him the most. The Baron (Henry Kolker) and a couple of nitwits (Jimmy Durante and Jack Pearl), are lost in the wild jungle. Munchausen decides to ditch the nitwits. While Munchausen is gone, the search party mistakes Pearl as the "Famous Baron Munchausen of the Air". I do like Jimmy Durante, who plays Joe McGoo, but only when he is doing other characters, like he does in this film. When he does himself, its oddly confusing, sometimes annoying, because I don't understand how he became a star. Even though he is annoying a tiny bit in Meet the Baron (1933), he was perfect, later on in his career, in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). However, both he and Jack Pearl are pretty good in Meet the Baron (1933).

As we move through this film, we have Mae West impersonators, a singing Statue of Liberty and Ted Healy and his Stooges, I mean, Howard, Fine and Howard. Meet the Baron (1933), was definitely aimed towards the adult audiences of the 1930s, complete with a shower scene performance by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Girls. Edna May Oliver is the Dean of the school and it is so cool seeing her in a comedy. I've only seen her work in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) and the 1933, MGM adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (1933). I've really liked her film work, that I've seen and it was an extra treat finding out she was in this film. Pearl's Munchausen gets the hots for ZaSu Pitts. She is quite good in this.

It was really neat seeing Moe, Larry, Curly, Healy, Durante and Pearl, all in the same room together. Now that's a piece of film history right there. I thought this film was pretty funny. Eventually, the real Munchausen (Henry Kolker again), shows back up and vows revenge on Pearl for stealing his identity. Meet the Baron (1933), has the feeling of being a buddy film, because it's really, all about Durante and Pearl. The addition of the other actors in this great cast, are just as costars to our two main nitwits. The film feels like a 1960s TV sitcom, like I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970). I also get vibes, telling me, this film was like, a 1933 representation, of a Blake Edwards film. It also reminded me of a 1933 version of a movie, like Caddyshack (1980), too. Stay with Meet the Baron (1933) and enjoy it to the end, because the last shot of the film, is great!

7.4 (C+ MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.

Clean as a Whistle!

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 18 April 2020]

This film is uneven: the first half is very promising, and it looks like "Meet The Baron" could develop into a classic of the absurdist-nonsense school of comedy, in the same vein as "Duck Soup" and "Horse Feathers". But the second half has too much violent, unsophisticated slapstick, and too many lame word puns ("take it with a grain of salt" - "you mean you can eat it?"). The two best sequences are the two musical numbers: the satirical "The Best is None Too Good", and especially the very pre-code "Clean as a Whistle", which must have been considered extremely hot by moviegoers back in 1933, and remains quite provocative and teasing today. Great closing gag, too! **1/2 out of 4.

Neglected pure Thirties gem

[jcorelis-24336 · 7/10 · 27 April 2017]

Perhaps this film has been largely forgotten because it's usually marketed (if you can find it at all -- I saw it in a region 1 DVD from Warners Home Video in an adequate but not great print/transfer) as a 3 Stooges film, but in fact The Boyz play only a minor supporting role. The film in fact is a much classier production than the later Stooges features, with a screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz, whose other scripting credits include Dinner at Eight and Citizen Kane, and songs by Dorothy Fields, one of the all time great popular songwriters who wrote or co-wrote classics like I Can't Give You Anything But Love, On The Sunny Side of the Street, and The Way You Look Tonight.

The ostensible lead is Jack Pearl, reprising his radio-show characterization of the folk hero Baron Munchausen -- the show made a national catch-phrase of Pearl's trademark query, "Vas you dere, Sharley?" which is of course worked into the movie. But the show is totally stolen by a startlingly young Jimmy Durante, whose speech is one long rapid-fire stream of malapropisms, and who in one great scene is asleep snoring: "Hot cha-a-a-ah! Hot-cha-a-a-ah!" The plot is too silly and irrelevant to need summarizing, having something to do with the real Baron deserting Pearl and Durante in the wilds of Africa, after which Pearl travels to America where he gains fame and fortune by impersonating the Baron, which results in an invitation to lecture at the all-female Cuddle College, a venue which provides the opportunity for several girls' dormitory bevy-of-beauties musical numbers a la Busby Berkeley. Edna May Oliver, veteran of a million character roles, is the no-nonsense Dean. The script is almost composed of a series of outrageously and deliberately bad jokes slapstick, sometimes veering into the surreal, reminiscent of the Marx Brothers' antics in Duck Soup.

All in all, a delightful, outrageous 1930s confection which deserves to be better known.

Amiable 30s Comedy

[jcaraway3 · 8/10 · 3 November 2011]

Our film begins in one of the last places I would have guessed: A jungle. Jack Pearle and Jimmy Durante (both heavily bearded) are abandoned by Baron Munchausen. The two are rescued, and Pearle is mistaken for the real Baron Munchausen. He is thrown a parade, is asked to speak at an all girl's college called "Cuddle College", (And by the way, why give a speech there of all places? Why not Harvard or Yale or something?), and even finds himself romantically involved with a beautiful maid, Zasu Pitts. Yep, things seemed to be going well for our illustrious impostor, until the real Baron shows up...and I won't give out any more than that. Anyway, on to the critique. "Meet the Baron" has much to offer. It moves at a lightning pace, with jokes often coming mere seconds after another, most of them good. Though underused, the scenes with the Three Stooges in them are especially good, with slaps and quips that work quite well. Jimmy Durante had the most jokes, and was probably the most entertaining. The relationship between The "Baron" and Zasu Pitts was endearing and sweet, with an especially funny scene in a freezer. And the shower scene! Yowza! I'm not giving this any more than 8 stars, because, while fun, it does sometimes show it's age, and doesn't break much new ground. But by all means, give "Meet the Baron" a spin in your DVD player if you are a fan of classic comedy.

Silly Fare

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 28 April 2020]

This is not a great film, but it has great interest for cinemaphiles. One reason is its pre-code action, particularly the "Clean as a Whistle" shower scene. Secondly, the film has a diverse cast of MGM talents on display.

The film's story is silly. After years of searching, they find Baron Munchausen in the jungles of Africa. When they bring him back to civilization, they first take him to Cuddles College (of course), where a bevy of (MGM dancing) girls reside.

Noteworthy cast members include Jimmy Durante, Zasu Pitts, and the Three Stooges.

When the Baron visits Cuddles College, the locals and coeds deliver a rhyming sing-song poem in the style of "The Wizard of Oz" Munchkins six years later. I looked for a connection; Herman J. Mankiewicz was a writer for both films.

Munchausen, played by Jack Pearl, is featured in another film in 1934, so audiences must have responded to this lightweight but light-hearted fare.

"Vas you dere?"

[richspenc · 8/10 · 1 December 2016]

"Vas you dere?" was the very first line in the film by Jack Pearl (he later says his famous "vas you dere Charlie?" during a news interview while fibbing about deep sea diving for sponges). Pearl is with Jimmy Durante and the real baron who makes it obvious he really doesn't want those two schmucks tagging along with him as they're trailing through the African jungle. When Pearl and Jimmy fall asleep, the baron ditches them with the last of the water leaving a note saying he should've shot em since "dead men tell no tales". Pearl and Jimmy make their perfect revenge, they come back to America claiming they're the baron and sidekick. They get an enormous reception, a parade, and a visit and stay at Cuddle college. By the name, you can sure guess the majority of the students just might be a bunch of pretty girls. After a couple of other quirky songs such as " here comes the baron" and "the best is not too good", both played during the big welcoming receptions and the staff and girls at Cuddle college, we then get the raunchy girls' shower song, " clean as a whistle, fresh as a daisy". Beautiful. After the shower song, Ted Haley and the three stooges enter the film. The classic slapping, hitting, poking in the eyes still make me laugh. The funniest was when the college dean (uptight, narrow faced) asks the stooges to fix the shower. At the door to the shower room with the dean, the stooges make a funny comment in unison, and then the way Healy triple slaps them is freakin hilarious. So is the scene when the stooges are in the shower room blindfolded trying to fix the shower and their hygienic there. Healy: "are you men or rats"? Three stooges together: "rats!" Then comes the cute quirky romance between the cute yet slightly daffy maid Zazu Pitts and Pearl. I love the old fashioned way she talks and says "oh my". Who says "oh my" anymore? Two more very funny scenes: Durante saying "ha-cha- cha" in his sleep and saying "come in" when Pearl knocks on his nose right before him actually waking up. Then is the canon going off and the people and an elephant running away really fast. And the noise the elephant made when running, sorta like a weird offbeat elephant trumpet sound, as if the voice box of the elephant wasn't quite developed correctly. Or as it was a slightly different breed of elephant. Either way, it was both bizarre and amusing. And then the speed up fast forward style way the screen suddenly went as they were all running away. I also saw the same style fast forward trick used in "Night of the opera" when Harpo was running down that little spiral staircase and then crawling behind it. I also liked the bit at the beginning in the jungle with Durante mentioning smelling any lions (sort of foreshadowing his roll in "Hollywood party" where Durante wrestles lions in the jungle as movie character Shnarzan (and later in that film at his house)). I didn't care too much for the three Mae West impersonators though (but I love the real Mae West in "Im no angel"). And i didn't care for the bum during 'the best is not too good" bit, the way he threw the pie and the face he made.