George White's 1935 Scandals (1935) User Reviews

The Plot Doesn't Get Too Much In The Way

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 May 2008]

Famed Broadway producer George White appeared in a second film version of his famous scandals the year after the first one. The original screen George White's Scandals introduced Alice Faye to the screen and Faye is once again featured. White appears as himself again and this time does a little hoofing in a dance contest.

The plot is again a backstage romance story on wish to display various numbers you would have seen on Broadway in the Scandals revue. It involves Alice Faye and James Dunn, a vaudeville team appearing in a small town show that's also in another White show, this one though involving small town producer Elmer White played by that merriest of screen actors, Ned Sparks.

White's passing through town and discovers that the show is really a gold mine of talent. He signs Dunn, Faye, Cliff Edwards, Lyda Roberti and even Sparks himself for his new George White's 1935 Scandals.

Of course both Dunn and Faye let stardom go to their heads a little, but you know it all works out in the end.

Eleanor Powell got her first big break after a couple of bit roles in two previous films. But this didn't lead to a Fox contract, Louis B. Mayer snapped her up right away.

Like the previous film, George White's 1935 Scandals is a nice historic record of a Broadway review. One only wishes Florenz Ziegfeld had lived long enough to create a film version of the Follies himself. But this pales in comparison with what Busby Berkeley was achieving over at Warner Brothers in this decade.

White might have considered hiring Berkeley, but then his personal imprimatur wouldn't have been on the picture. After all he wasn't producing the Busby Berkeley scandals.

Still it's a pleasant enough musical review and the plot doesn't get too much in the way.

Shouldn't it be "Elmer White's Scandals"?

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 17 September 2014]

As the 1934 "Scandals" wraps up, George White prepares to head out of town for a vacation. He promises he won't start thinking about the 1935 "Scandals" until he's been laying on the beach for at least 15 minutes. But no sooner has he gotten out at a five minute rest stop somewhere down south, he finds he's in the territory of "Elmer White's Scandals" which happens to take the poster from the 1934 movie and simply cross "George" off the title. Ironically, the female star of this rural "Scandals" is Alice Faye who played the female lead in the 1934 film. George meets Elmer (Ned Sparks, the Walter Matthau of the 30's) who is not only ticket seller and taker, but usher and stage door man, not to mention mayor of the small town and head of the sewer department as well. (Hysterically, in the first scene, every door White and his companion Lyda Roberti go through has them being greeted by Sparks.)

Acting as if he had never seen her before, George is entranced by Alice and offers her the lead in his new "Scandals". Before you know it, pretty much the entire town (including Sparks) is a part of the new cast, and Alice and her old beau (James Dunn) are at each other's throats, acting as if they had never been unspoiled country folk with a loving Aunt Jane (Emma Dunn) who really may not be anybody's biological aunt, just adopted the whole town. In addition to these three is "Ukeilele Ike" Cliff Edwards who is first seen strumming to "It's an Old Southern Custom" which goes from simple dance number in Elmer's "Scandals" to a big production number in George's Broadway version. With Faye and Dunn at each other's throats, George has no choice but to fire them, but when Aunt Jane shows up, he must get them back in a hurry, otherwise hurt a sweet old lady.

While this definitely features some lavish production numbers, it is not as elaborate as the first entry, and certainly lacking in controversy and scandal, mostly thanks to the advent of the production code. Gone, however, are the racist undertones of the first film which included the outrageous "That's Why Darkies Were Born", showing black-faced chorus girls in "pickaninny" gear and little black-faced children coming out from under the dress of a huge mammy. The only black presence here is a harmonica group playing a brief number in the small town sequences.

In place of the earlier film's big hit ("Oh, You Nasty Man") is "Oh, you Rascal You", not as memorable, even if the staging is equally as elaborate, although some of the chorus girls are not quite in step. Edwards scores with a comical number, "I Was Born Too Late" where he fantasizes about being the Romeo to Juliet, Mark Anthony to Cleopatra and Louis XVI to Madame DuBarry. The surprise of the film, however, is the first film appearance of Eleanor Powell, performing a tap number and dating Dunn while he's on the outs with Faye. "Hunkadola" spoofs the trends of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers dances, even spoofing the titles of "The Carioca" and "The Continental". This may not be a classic in the musical genre, but it helped push Alice Faye to the forefront of movie musical star, and as history would prove, the best was yet to come.

Only for fans of the film's stars and the very curious

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 7 July 2010]

What there is of plot in this film is held together with bailing wire and chewing gum. George White is taking a train to Florida after the closing of the 1934 season of his Scandals revue. When the train stops at a rural station in Georgia for a few minutes, White gets off to send a telegram when he notices a sign advertising "White's Scandals". Curious, he makes arrangements to take a later train and decides to investigate. What he finds is that the "White" in question is Elmer White (Ned Sparks) - mayor of the small town and emcee of the Scandals musical revue. He also happens to be the show's cashier and usher and the town's sewer department. White likes the show and hires the entire bunch to be in his next season's show - the 1935 Scandals.

What follows as far as plot is a very clichéd tale of small town stars going Hollywood - except they're on Broadway. It takes up very little time with most of the movie being the revue itself. Unfortunately, the revue portion is very unmemorable, which is hard to believe with Alice Faye singing and Eleanor Powell tap dancing in her film debut, but believe me it is true. One song, "The Hunkadola", is pretty catchy but seems like almost a copy of 1934's "The Continental" from The Gay Divorcée. Overall the musical revue just lays there. It lacks the snap of the popular Warner Brothers musicals of the era and the flair of the MGM musicals of that same period.

Cliff Edwards and Ned Sparks get the best lines and give the film what little genuine comic flavor it has. I've always been a big fan of James Dunn, but again, since there is very little plot, there is no chance for him to really distinguish himself. Plus I really noticed how old he looked here compared to roles I'd seen him in just a couple of years before - and he was only 33! This was his last year with Fox as his heavy drinking finally caused them to give him the boot.

I'd say this is worth viewing just for the history of it all, but don't expect too much.

All About the Music plus Alice Faye

[Kalaman · 14 November 2003]

This buoyant Fox extravaganza turns out to be a fascinating backstage recreation of a Broadway revue and the process of putting on a lavish show, enriched by some tuneful and highly uproarious numbers.

It involves a big-time Broadway producer named George White who lures a beautiful young aspiring actress (Alice Faye) to star his next show, "George White's 1935 Scandals". It opens with White and his crew just completing their successful "1934 Scandals", and then he travels along with his gal to a music hall show, owned by Elmer White (Ned Sparks who provides the film's funnies gags), where Faye's Honey Walters is performing along with her sweetheart Eddy Taylor (James Dunn). White persuades Honey that she has what it takes to star his next big revue; she agrees and suddenly they all find themselves singing and dancing on Broadway.

This was one of Alice Faye's earliest roles and she really looks like a Jean Harlow-ish platinum blonde; her singing was fun and very enjoyable. We also see some fine tap dancing by Eleanor Powell in her movie debut!

The best numbers are "According to the Moonlight", "It's an Old Southern Custom", "The Hunkadola", and "Side by Side".

Really Sweet

[gkeith_1 · 10/10 · 19 November 2012]

Ms. Roberti really kind in this part. Ned Sparks hilarious, with all his different signs on his hat where we first see him. What a deadpan expert! Cliff Edwards I didn't know much about, later finding out he voiced my fave Jiminy Cricket in the Disney Pinocchio movie -- I remember Jiminy Cricket a lot from the original Mickey Mouse Club -- I'm no fool, no siree -- I'm gonna live to be fifty-three (seemed actually like such a small world). Alice Faye darling as always. James Dunn I always remember as Daddy to Shirley Temple.

I wondered if Emma Dunn and James Dunn were related, but apparently not. George White was a nice and kind man.

The singing and dancing were nice. The Fifi dog was darling. Cliff Edwards as the dog walker was hilarious, with him seeming like he was such a klutz/sap/ignoramus, but apparently not as dumb as he originally seemed.

10/10

[allisonolazabal · 10/10 · 8 December 2020]

I love that one, my mom watching the show, and me watching the show it's really mine out here today