Wonder Man (1945) User Reviews

Twin Spin

[skallisjr · 7/10 · 24 April 2005]

I first saw this when it was released in the theater. I was in the second grade, and some of the film went way over my head back then. I finally got to see it again, some 60 years later.

The film is entertaining. More astonishing, I remembered whole sections of it! I even recalled what he was about to sing before he belted out, "O Chechonia"! Spoiler: The first meeting with the brotherly ghost I recall from the big screen, particularly the "whirlpool" eddy that was actually the ghost twirling a long keychain. When I first saw it, the ghost standing in a concrete pillar, making his upper body like a bust, noted, "This isn't trick photography," to his brother, though obviously it was. I didn't understand what he was saying then, but it plays well now.

Kaye's Klassik!

[Spondonman · 8/10 · 19 September 2004]

This has always been my favourite Danny Kaye movie, it sustains the humour and story up to the end pretty well. All of his films are a roller-coaster for me: helpless tearful laughter one second, grim pained winces next, and WM is no exception to this rule, even though I love it. Perhaps he only needed a little more ... discipline in his comedy routines, to know when to stop, maybe at the 3rd joke stopped sneeze in a row etc. Sylvia Fine could have been a bigger help in this regard of course. On the other hand maybe we should be grateful for what we've got, and anyway in the end who'd really have wanted him any other way?

It may seem a little rough for the charismatic Buzzy Bellew to get murdered and come back as a ghost seeking proxy justice through the intermediary of his mono-zygotic twin brother Edwin Dingle, both comically played by Kaye. But this was just after the War and people generally weren't too sensitive at that point and didn't normally morbidly dwell on Sam Goldwyn's Technicolor fantasies. And that's basically all there is to it, a fine cast make the most of a good script. The special effects are OK but Time has wreaked its usual havoc on the actual film itself, and technology has also ruined us in the intervening years.

Favorite bits: Kaye repeatedly asking Cuddles in the delicatessen for a pint of Prospect Park; Kaye pretending he was in a pet shop (not a theatre) over the phone to Virginia Mayo; the sudden change into an operatic tenor; hearing Richard Lane's voice scything through everything. Bad bits: the Goldwyn Girls' one scene - no wonder Mayo stood out! The gaps in the mortals' conversation for the ghost to speak his lines was also too apparent - but hey, I said that I love this film!

There was more than one red-headed comic in Hollywood....

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 23 November 2012]

Rising to fame as the same time as MGM's strawberry blonde boy, Van Johnson, Danny Kaye came from Broadway where he captivated audiences with his tongue-twisting talents and boy next door looks. Like many comics, here he gets to play a dual character-a murdered nightclub performer and his book worm twin who poses as his brother while the ghost on occasion enters his body like Patrick Swayze did to Whoopie Goldberg in "Ghost". A fun musical fantasy with a lot of silly moments and some well choreographed (if unremarkable) musical numbers, "Wonder Man" features a huge cast of character performers and two sexy leading ladies: Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo who show a lot of leg and wear some beautiful costumes. The songs by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, are amusing, but not as hysterical as some of her other works.

Filmed in breathtaking Technicolor, adding in some special effects (pretty clever for its time) and a rather hyper performance by Kaye, the film is delightful old-fashioned fun. While a little bit of Kaye can go a long way (he tends to ham a bit too much), you can't help but be amused by him most of the time. Natalie Schafer is amusing as an obnoxious matron who balks at being asked to "Shush!" in a library ("After all, I pay my taxes!", she bellows), with S.Z. Sakall, Otto Kruger, Allen Jenkins and Edward Brophy each showing what made the character actors of the 30's and 40's sometimes even more amusing than the leading players. Toss in the tea-totaling Jack Norton in his usual drunken stupor and the result is the type of movie that can't be made today.

A fresh faced faced Danny Kaye in his prime.

[Scaramouche2004 · 12 December 2004]

I have always loved and admired Danny Kaye.

Although I agree his brand of zany comedy will not be everybody's cup of tea, his films (especially his early ones like this one) never fail in creasing me up.

He not only had singing and dancing ability on par with the greats, he had a distinct flair for comedy and performed it expertly not only through his lines and comic timing, but with his body and facial expressions, not to mention his rapid fire double talk and tongue twisters. A truly talented man.

Wonderman made in 1945 shows Kaye at his best in what was possibly his second or third movie appearance. In these transformation days from stage entertainer to movie star, he was able to bring his old acts from the circuits and transfer them to screen with ease, for a new and appreciative audience. Indeed one of the two characters Kaye plays in the film is a nightclub entertainer by the name of Buzzy Bellew not too far removed from the real Kaye himself.

The other character Kaye plays is Bellew's egg-head brother, straight as a die and sensible to the core, thus giving Kaye ample chance to show off both sides to his versatile talents.

When Bellew is murdered by the mob for knowing a trifle more than was good for him, he returns in ghost form to rope in his gawky identical twin brother, to take his place and bring the mobster to account.

The comedy is so funny at times that you fail to realize the real tragedy of the situation, a young man with a beautiful fiancé and successful life in front of him, has been murdered and dumped rather disrespectfully in the river in Prospect Park.

But hey....Bellew seems to be so cool and glib about the whole thing, that if he doesn't care too much about it I'm damned if I will.

Great musical numbers and (for it's day) state of the art special effects compliment the great comic turns delivered by Kaye.

Two funny lines to watch out for are:- "does the acoustic nerve run down that far?" and the powerfully sung, "Frankie SINATRA" in the final opera scene. Not funny written here but put in their correct places in the film they will have you bursting with laughter.

A simple formula, but a great movie that really works.

Not one of Danny's best!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 15 March 2018]

Copyright 8 June 1945 by Beverly Produc¬tions, Inc. Presented by Samuel Goldwyn. Released through RKO Radio Pictures. New York opening at the Astor: 8 June 1945. U.S. release: 25 April 1945. U.K. release: 4 Feb¬ruary 1946. Australian release: 10 January 1946. 9,024 feet. 100 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Twins. One is murdered. With the aid of his brother's ghost, the other brings the killers to justice.

NOTES: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award, Special Effects, to Fulton (photographic) and Johns (sound). Also nominated for Sound Recording (The Bells of St Mary's), Scoring of a Musical Picture (Anchors Aweigh), and Best Song, "So In Love" ("It Might As Well Be Spring" from State Fair). Film debut of Broadway dancer, Vera-Ellen.

COMMENT: For rabid Danny Kaye fans only. True, that Technicolor photography is as bright and vivid as the Emerald Isle itself, that Virginia Mayo is one gorgeous colleen, while that Vera-Ellen can sure turn a neat pair of ankles. God's truth, the story is ingenious enough, and the special effects are as creative as they come. And sure, some of Danny's routines are mildly amusing - but the spectacle of him mugging and hamming and eye-rolling without one respite from beginning to end, it's enough to irritate and frighten off the most devoted fan. Even that famous sneezing-Russian routine is as tedious as it is unfunny. Maybe we're so prejudiced against the lad, we just don't appreciate his talents. For sure, the script is cleverly designed to show off every speck of it, - in fact to give us two Dannys for the price of one. Actually, the more subdued Danny isn't too bad, but as for the brash go-getter, the Irish impersonator and the climactic opera mish-masher (this opera routine was pretty stale even in 1945), his fans can keep him. The expansive Mr Goldwyn has surrounded his clownish centerpiece Kaye with loads and loads of talent, both on (just look at that grand roster of support players plus the lovely Goldwyn Girls) and behind the camera (what a pity to waste such particularly attractive costumes and sets to showcase a camera-hogging comedian), though Lucky Humberstone's direction is unusually benign and totally unobtrusive. He too is subservient to the demands of Mr Kaye.

Danny boys

[Lejink · 6/10 · 8 September 2009]

Enjoyable, colourful fantasy romp, with the ever-effervescent Danny Kaye in a double role as a motormouth, lady-killing club comedian, rubbed out by the gangster he's about to testify against, who returns from a watery grave to encourage his long-lost bookworm brother to see that wrong is righted with, not unnaturally a good few humorous songs, dance routines and slapstick scenes helping us to the predictable happy ending.

I'm a fan of Kaye's and love fantasy films, of which there were several in the 40's and 50's. I don't count this his best film, although the man himself gives a performance of much charm and energy and neither do I rate this amongst the very best film of its type, but I still enjoyed it a lot and laughed often.

I actually think there's a nifty plot at play here and was a bit disappointed to see it often reduced to merely linking, or so it seemed, the next song and dance routine. While these are mostly fun, especially Kaye's hay-fever song and particularly the hilarious opera song at the end which is classic Kaye, they do occasionally slow down the action. The villains could have been worked better too but there are compensations with the two female leads, a young and very light-footed Vera Ellen and the comely Virginia Mayo.

The ghostly special effects are entertaining enough and the cinematography a riot of gaudy Technicolour. Probably too much of the acting by the supports is just mugging but everyone knows well enough to get out of Kaye's way when he does his stuff. I prefer his work where he's the sole male lead, even as I appreciate the difficulty in purveying consistently good material for his off-beat persona.

All in all a (pun-intended) spirit-raising musical comedy for all the family.

The Best Of Danny Kaye

[aesgaard41 · 10/10 · 21 April 2001]

Despite the confusing name of this movie, this is actually a top notch ghost story with a twin brother who gets killed and then has to use his living brother to finish his earthly business. Kaye is in top form as he portrays two different characters. As some sort of precursor to Quantum Leap, Kaye is visited by the ghost of his brother who only he can see and hear. Forced out of his rigid and safe world of libraries and research, he has to enter his brother's world of drinking, performing and gangsters. The clashes and confusion of style are much of the humor as lovely Virginia Mayo shifts from loving him to hating him to worrying about him. The somewhat out-dated comedy bits and entertainment peices still work today as does the little mystery story that hides on the background. The movie ends up with Kaye turning an opera upside down with his unusual style for flair, timing and nimbleness. It's still a very wonderful movie for anyone to see.

A bit too much song and dance by Danny Kaye and not enough Mayo and Vera-Ellen

[Ed-Shullivan · 6/10 · 26 April 2018]

The film started off with a very good story line about a gangster named Ten Grand Jackson (Steve Cochran) who is going on trial shortly with the key witness being song and dance funny man Buzzy Bellew (Danny Kaye). So gangster Ten Grand Jackson assigns two of his dumb thugs to drop Buzzy in the lake with a bullet in his head and that is exactly what they do. Buzzy's after life persona immediately contacts his identical twin bookworm shy and introvert brother named Edwin Dingle to set things straight with Ten Grand Jackson as well as with his fiance Midge Mallon.

Now these two identical twin brothers have not seen each other for a few years with Buzzy being the confident extrovert comedian who is engaged to the beautiful Midge Mallon (Vera-Ellen), and Edwin being the brainy and shy twin brother who is infatuated with his own lovely lady named Ellen Shanley (Virginia Mayo). You can surmise that the plot of the film is how will the dead Buzzy Bellew convince his identical twin introvert brother Edwin that he has really been murdered and the only one who can avenge Buddy's murder is his twin brother Edwin.

So the fun begins as Edwin comes to realize that his outgoing (but very dead) twin brother Buzzy will do just about anything to get Edwin to pretend he is his dead brother. Buzzy intends to execute his plan through Edwin's live body to ensure that the mobster Ten Grand Jackson is held accountable for all of his crimes which include murder and that Buzzy's fiance Midge comes to realize that Edwin is who he says he is and that Buzzy is actually dead and he did not abandon Midge at the altar. At the same time with Edwin's body and mind being physically overtaken by his dead twin brother Buzzy's stronger will Edwin has recently neglected his own love interest that being the beautiful Ellen Shanley which he needs to explain why he has been preoccupied by his brother Buzzy's ghost.

It is an above average story line and I would have rated it higher if not for the 30 minutes or so that this film dedicated to Danny Kaye's corny song and dance solo numbers interspersed throughout the film which in my humble opinion confused an otherwise engaged audience. I was looking for more interaction with the two gorgeous co-stars that being Virginia Mayo and Vera-Ellen with a constant comedy themed film along the lines of many of the Abbott and Costello slapstick comedy classics which this film started out as and ended with, but filling so many holes with those corny solo song and dances by Danny Kaye deflated the film rating from a 9 out of 10 rating to an average 6 out 10 rating.

One of Danny Kaye's best films

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 19 February 2001]

Danny Kaye (with a good deal of assistance from his wife Sylvia Fine, who wrote most of his musical numbers) was one of the finest musical comedians ever and is in fine form here in one of his best vehicles. He plays twin brothers and is quite manic at times. The special effects deservedly won an Oscar and the musical numbers are great! Especially the one during the opera. The Marx Brothers aside, opera has never been more fun! This film is a treat and is most happily recommended!

Two For The Raid

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 12 September 2015]

After shooting a number of shorts in the late 30s Danny Kaye made his feature film debut for Sam Goldwyn in 1944s Up In Arms and followed up with a dual role as identical twins the next year. For reasons that needn't detain us here I missed both Wonder Man and his subsequent entry The Kid From Brooklyn (which I have still not seen to this day) and I have now caught up with Wonder Man via the BBC. On the whole I found it enjoyable in 2015 but it's quite possible I would have found it hysterical had I seen it in 1945. What I did find fascinating was the soundtrack; three years after this film was released the two biggest musicals on Broadway were Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate and Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific. Kate featured a standout ballad in So In Love and SP featured a fine semi-ballad in Bali Hai. Wonder Man also features a ho hum ballad called So In Love in which June Hutton dubs Vera Ellen and a zany duet called Bali Boogie. Neither have much to do with the plot and both disappeared quietly whilst the Porter and R&H material became major pages in the Great American Songbook. Kaye is surrounded by fine support in the shape of Virginia Mayo, Otto Kruger, S.Z. Zackall, Allen Jenkins, Edward Brophy and, making his debut, Steve Cochran. Well worth a look.

If it had been a lot more subtle, I would have enjoyed it more....

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 25 January 2013]

In "Wonder Man", Danny Kaye plays two characters--identical twins. While this sort of trickery with the camera is pretty old stuff, you must commend the director and cinematographer for making it look so realistic. Nowadays, such tricks are a lot easier given our computer technology--here, it still looks seamless. Unfortunately, while the tricks are really nice, I was less bowled over than the other reviewers when it came to Kaye and the script. To put it bluntly, at times Kaye way overdoes it--and the film is anything but subtle! If they'd toned it down a bit, I think the film would have worked better.

I was surprised by the casting in this one. Immediately before seeing "Wonder Man", I saw "A Song is Born" and found that so much of the cast in both these Goldwyn productions overlapped--with Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo and Steve Cochran appearing in both films. This made it feel almost like deja-vu watching the two movies! Kaye plays two brothers--one a very outgoing nightclub comic and the other a bookish intellectual. When the nightclub performing brother is killed, his ghost sends off weird psychic vibes that force the other to come to the spot where he's buried. There he meets the ghost and is sent by the dead brother back to the nightclub to get the goods on the killer. And, at times, the ghost would inhabit his brother's body--with interesting results.

This plot, which is very similar to the Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin film "All of Me", wasn't a bad idea for a fantasy. However, at times, I cringed at Kaye's mugging. I am sure it was pretty popular at the time--now he just comes off as a bit obnoxious and in need to some restraint. Now I am not saying he was terrible--but he did need to tone it down a bit. Someone trying THIS hard to be funny is NOT funny. My wife thought the problem was a lot worse, as his shtick made her want to turn off the film. I even recall her saying "why do you watch stuff like this?!" a couple times during the movie! His singing it was the worst of this--and this came AFTER she left the room to let me finish the movie alone.

After looking at the reviews on IMDb, it's obvious that I am in the minority on this one. My assumption is that Kaye fans will seek out his movies and these are probably his more hard-core fans. As for me, I adore old Hollywood films but found this one too much...just way too much.

By the way, I mentioned "A Song is Born" above and in it, Kaye's performance is so very, very different. If anything, he underplayed this part! Odd.

Danny Kaye as twins! Twice as funny!

[soulboy007 · 10/10 · 1 December 2004]

Danny Kaye plays a set of twins, a bookworm and a nightclub comic. When Buzzy Belew, the comic is murdered by the mob, his spirit goes to see his brother Edwin dingle. When Dingle refuses to go on stage to convince the mob that Bellew is still alive, Bellew gets into his body. Together they try to solve the murder and get the girl! Lots of great one-liners and a couple of catchy songs, notably Bali-Boogie, and more than a couple of Danny's trademark off-beat dance-sequences.

With Virginia Mayo and Vera-Ellen on hand to provide dual love interests, this is a must-see for fans of Technicolour Hollywood. THis is Sam Goldwyn at his colourful best!

Twin brothers become one

[CCsito · 7/10 · 21 August 2009]

The movie has Danny Kaye playing twin brothers where one is a entertainer and the other a scholarly bookworm. The entertainer is engaged to Vera Ellen and the bookworm is trying to get acquainted with Virginia Mayo. The entertainer gets murdered in order to prevent him from testifying against a gangster who is implicated in another murder. The dead brother then enlists his bookworm brother to help in catching his murderer. Several funny scenes with Danny Kaye talking to his dead brother while others can't see the ghost. Danny Kaye gives a very frantic and funny performance in the movie. I think the movie had two weak spots. One is the casting of Vera Ellen as the love interest to Danny Kaye's entertainer character. She looks much too young for him. And when she finally gets fed up with his delay tactics from getting married, she switches to another man in the nightclub much too easily. The other is the scene when Danny is performing in front of an audience after the dead brother has taken over the body of the bookworm brother. He goes through a routine making a lot of noises and gestures as the audience in the movie listens to in silence. When it is over, you only hear polite applause. His act did not seem funny and the audience in the movie's response seemed to indicate that. Still, it is an enjoyable movie with the usual Danny Kaye hilarity.

Not a wonder

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 23 October 2016]

Wonder Man is an awful movie which has some good special effects, wonderful technicolor photography and a couple of a decent song and dance numbers which makes it barely tolerable.

Danny Kaye plays identical twins. One of them is an exuberant club comic and song and dance man. Who is killed by some gangsters who he squealed on and returns as a ghost, contacts his bookish, intellectual brother and persuades him to go back to the nightclub to apprehend the killers. At times the dead brother could inhibit his body, useful for some later show numbers.

Kaye's performance is over the top, almost like he was some kind of prototype Jerry Lewis. The plot consists of a lot of shenanigans and some lengthy song and dance sequences to pad out the thin script.

Funny, entertaining film.

[Plaided · 28 April 2000]

Wonder Man is the first film I've seen with Danny Kaye, and I enjoyed it. The humor is light, inoffensive, and Danny Kaye does it well. Besides Kaye, there were a few notable funny characters, such as the deli shop owner and the drunk at the bar. Well worth watching if you're in the mood for a happy and funny film.

light-hearted comic fantasy

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 18 January 2019]

A fanciful, light-hearted comedy with cheerful dance numbers and jolly jokes. This means that the movie was pretty much the polar opposite to what had been happening in the real world for the last ten years or so.

The visual and special effects were superb for their time - they're still quite successful - but this was about the only aspect in which the movie was innovative and progressive. The general subject matter (twins and twin-related confusion) is as classic as can be, going back all the way to Antiquity. Moreover, the movie's denouement rests on one of the great staples of comedy and farce, to wit a royally messed-up opera performance. (Still, the person who wrote the lines "Choo-Choo.. Laverne... is.. is.. is... Minnie Smith !" deserved a pay rise the size of China.)

Well worth a watch, although the colours may seem somewhat harsh and gaudy to the modern eye.

Brilliant effects for the time and great fun to watch.

[moose-51 · 9/10 · 25 June 1999]

This is the first Danny Kaye film I've seen and I feel in love with what a wonderfully talented person he is. This film is great fun to watch and if you're looking for something that is light, funny, romantic, enjoyable, and has a lovely plot with good effects, this is it. Kaye is a charming, sweet, and appealing character, and when his ghost twin enters his body whenever he feels like it, his performance is even funnier, especially the scene in the wings of the theatre where he makes farmyard noises into the telephone! Definitely recommended to anyone who loves Kaye's comedy, or simply wants an hour or two of entertaining fun!

Fantastic

[Elgroovio · 10/10 · 26 June 2004]

I love this film! I can't believe that people can love Danny Kaye in such mediocre films as "Hans Christian Anderson" or "The Court Jester" and not even have heard of this one. Kaye simply steals the show as both a nervous book-worm and as his popular night-club performer brother. "Cuddles" Sekall is equally great with his rib-splittingly hilarious delicatessan-owner ("I ask you vot you vant?") and Otto Kruger also has a role in the film. A part to look out for is the part where the ghost of the murdered night-club performing brother Buster gets inside the body of his brother for the first time, making the shy book-worm start dancing all over the place insanely. The only thing that I would say is wrong with this film (and with many other Samuel Goldwyn films for that matter) are the ghastly scenes featuring the Goldwyn Girls. But this film does contain a very funny sequence in which Kaye sings Orci-cogna (I don't know how you spell it) only getting continuous bouts of hay-fever. Oh, and I certainly couldn't write a review on this film and omit the great opera scene at the end where Kaye ends up having to have to sing clues about a murder to the police. This film a rightly deserved oscar for best special effects, and was nominated for a few others including best song. All in all, a highly underrated film that is well worth seeing. Enjoy! 10/10

NOT his best! Not even close.....

[raketex · 3/10 · 1 December 2006]

First off, I have to say I like Danny Kaye -- I really do. We were watching "White Christmas" on Turner Classic Movies tonight for our annual holiday tradition. I used to watch that movie as a kid with my family and that was where I was first introduced to Danny Kaye's comedic genius.

Then when I saw that tonight TCM was highlighting Danny Kaye movies and that "Wonder Man" was on next, I rushed over to IMDb.com to read the reviews on it since I had never seen or heard of this Danny Kaye movie before.

All the reviews here were so glowing (many remarking how this is Danny Kaye's best), that I convinced my own family to sit tight after "White Christmas" was over to make sure that we wouldn't miss this unexpected treat. Well, all I can say was that it was almost a waste of time.

Yes, there were a few good bits in "Wonder Man" and the special effects were very good for that time (deserving of the Oscar they received), but the overall film just seemed so sub-par to all of us.

We sat here for the full 98 minutes, and kept hoping that it would get funnier as it got along. Somewhere around the first half-hour, it became painfully obvious that it wasn't going to get any funnier or better. Two of us fell asleep before it was over; the other two of us stuck it out to the end just to make sure we wouldn't miss anything in case it did get better. It didn't.

How bad was it? Let me put it this way -- I was videotaping it because after reading the IMDb.com reviews, I felt sure this would be one movie that I would want to watch again and share with friends. But then after the movie was over, I rewound the tape so I can re-use it to record something else. I can't see myself ever wanting to spend the time to watch this movie again.

Now, I'm not saying it was terrible; it just wasn't a continuously funny movie. There were a lot of long dry bits between the few laugh-out-loud bits.

For my money, "The Court Jester" was Danny's best and funniest movie --a great script with excellent pacing, well-designed and executed set pieces, hilarious situations and songs, and just a great and satisfying storyline overall. When we first saw it last year on TCM, our whole family literally busted out laughing uncontrollably, with tears coming from our eyes during the rapid-paced knight-certification scenes (and this is with somewhat-jaded teenagers yet!).

Then you throw in the jousting tournament shenanigans, the dueling-under-hypnosis scenes, and the creative climatic fight and rescue and you really have a very funny and entertaining movie. The dueling-under-hypnosis scenes are classic for best showcasing Danny's singular ability to change faces/personalities/whole personas back and forth on a dime.

See "The Court Jester" if you want to see Danny Kaye at his best with a great script, great writing, beautiful production, and rib-aching comedic entertainment.

But back to "Wonder Man" -- besides some of the positive bits mentioned in other reviews here, what really first struck me subconsciously early in this movie and then I became more consciously aware of as the movie progressed is how much it seems that Jerry Lewis lifted from Danny Kaye the manic, physical bits and persona he (Jerry) later became famous for and identified with in the 1960's. See if you don't get the same impression.

In closing, watch "Wonder Man" only so you can say you've seen all of Danny's film work but don't go in expecting that this is his best or anywhere near it. (Did I mention "The Court Jester" is the movie you ought to see?.....;->)

Danny Kaye is Fabulous!

[robinthegreat49 · 10/10 · 9 September 2006]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time, yes it is a little nostalgic for me, but even as an adult I find this movie genius! It's hilarious, witty, and has great songs! Danny Kaye is fantastic playing the twin brothers that are total opposites; the brother who's a nightclub singer,"Buzzy", is murdered and keeps trying to communicate with his bookworm brother which is what really lends to the comedy of this movie. Yes the story is kinda ridiculous, but thats the FUN of it! The scenes where Buzzy is trying to get his brother to go to "Prospect Park" and what takes place afterward are so funny!! No one can surpass the incredibly funny sneezing opera singer or the quirky "Bali" song performed with Vera Ellen. If you like silly comedy, you'll LOVE this--I do!!

Has its moments but mostly quite silly

[grantss · 4/10 · 14 December 2014]

Has its moments but mostly quite silly.

The central plot was fairly ridiculous to start off with: man dies, comes back as a ghost and occasionally enters the body of his twin brother. Throw in villains trying to kill him, a fiancé and a girlfriend and it is very farcical.

It doesn't end there, however. Some of Danny Kaye's antics are incredibly silly. He has his moments though.

Probably the best reasons to watch this are Virginia Mayo, especially, and Vera-Ellen. Both are gorgeous and light up the screen. Mayo provides a great oasis of sanity in the middle of Kaye's hijinks.

For a much better Danny Kaye-Virginia Mayo collaboration, see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty instead.

Wonderful Wonder Man

[Petey-10 · 18 July 2003]

Danny Kaye plays night club entertainer Buzzy Bellew who gets killed and appears as a ghost to his bookworm brother Edwin Dingle (also Danny Kaye).And that means lots of laughs when everybody thinks Edwin is Buzzy.Danny Kaye (1913-1987) was a brilliant comedian.In Wonder Man (1945) he shows us all how good he really was.This movie is filled with scenes that make you crack up.Like the opera scene in the end.I just couldn't stop laughing. And let's not forget the lovely ladies Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo.Everything just works in this movie.Watch this flick and laugh your lungs out!

One of the Best Kaye Vehicles

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 15 April 2005]

His first film success was in UP IN ARMS with Dinah Shore and Dana Andrews. But the first film that Danny Kaye made that has his real hallmarks is WONDER MAN. Kaye not only had the regular film plot to work with, but tackled cultural satire as well. From his performance of that tongue twisting tune "Tschaikowski" in LADY IN THE DARK, Kaye had done some spoof in his films and music about culture. In UP IN ARMS it was his musical number about the plot of a Hollywood film, but it was done quickly and had nothing to do with the rest of the film. In WONDER MAN it is the conclusion of the film, wherein Kaye has to pass a message about a missing key witness to a murder to the District Attorney without being arrested or killed, and does so by taking over center stage in a performance of an opera at the Metropolitan Opera. It is, after the mess done to Il Trovatore in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, the destruction of an opera by Paul Douglas in EVERYBODY DOES IT, and the miss sung performance of Mae West in Samson and Delilah in GOING TO TOWN, the best spoof of an opera I know of in movie comedies. I don't know what is the opera supposed to be (I keep thinking it is from Verdi's SIMON BOCANEGRA, but I am not sure). The film is good, and was the first to show what to expect from Kaye. Soon would come THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, and THE COURT JESTER. It did get better and better for a decade or so.

Kaye is brilliant, as are the special effects and wondrous technicolor...

[Doylenf · 8/10 · 23 May 2006]

DANNY KAYE was still on a winning streak when he made WONDER MAN for Samuel Goldwyn, a lavish technicolor treat that his him at his dazzling best as a performer--totally convincing in a dual role that expands his range. First, he's the brass nightclub comic/singer and secondly, he's the mild bookworm with the photographic memory. He does both roles with such effortless aplomb that he's a pleasure to watch.

Early in the show, we get to see how Sylvia Fine's lyrics for a song like "Balinese-Boogee" can come up with such inventive rhymes as: "she's the Balinese equivalent of Olivia de Havillent". And the trick photography is nothing short of amazing. All of the effects are worthy of the Oscar they won.

His partner is the delectable VIRGINIA MAYO, looking as luscious as usual in her technicolor close-ups and VERA-ELLEN delivering a couple of dance routines that showcase her own special talent.

There's an amusing turn by Natalie Schaefer as a matron in the library, and S.Z. Sakall does his usual schtick as a delicatessen owner. But it's Danny's show all the way--and his romp through an operatic number where he's telling the D.A. who the culprit is, is hilariously witty and full of what appear to be impromptu sight gags in the Kaye style.

Summing up: Ranks with the best of the Danny Kaye films.

The Special effects are really good

[malcp · 3/10 · 23 December 2021]

Seriously, the script is awful, the songs are awful and there is little here in terms of an enjoyable movie that would satisfy anyone who is not desperate for anything that might distract them from the war. Watch Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Andersen, because here his virtuosity is so absolutely wasted that watching the film for anything other than the special effects and his beautiful hair does him a disservice.