mark.waltz Review of The Loudspeaker

The Loudspeaker (1934)

For those who remember when a radio wasn't just in your car.

[4/10 · 13 March 2013]

This is basically a combination of a Joe E. Brown movie and a rip-off of the George Kelly play "The Show Off" (made into a movie that year starring Spencer Tracy). It's all about a small town braggart who thinks up corny jokes all day and goes to New York to apply his trade. He manages to become a star (as a radio star on a show produced by a pancake batter company) but his growing egotism is annoying to everybody he encounters. This type of character that Joe E. Brown was usually a milquetoast acting more confidante than he really was, something that some people could identify with, and he was at least fairly likable in spite of that cockiness. This character (played by Ray Walker) simply seems like he's drunk with his own success, and as a result, is hard to take after a while. The film features some well-known character faces who make this a bit more tolerable. Among them are the beloved Scottish actress Mary Gordon and "Wizard of Oz" supporting player Charley Grapewin as Walker's wise uncle. Fans of the Karloff/Lugosi horror gem "The Black Cat" (from the same year) will recognize Jacqueline Wells as Walker's on and off girlfriend, the only one willing to stand by him.