Broadminded (1931) User Reviews

Mildly entertaining only, but at least it's got Lugosi!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 19 August 2006]

This is a very odd film. First, although it's billed as a "Joe E. Brown" film, he is definitely the second banana in this film. Instead, William Collier Jr. and his love life are front and center and Brown just tags along for comic relief. So, if you like Brown, then you might be disappointed he isn't the main focus of the film. My own personal taste is decidedly anti-Brown, so I didn't mind this very much. Also, another odd bit of casting involves having Bela Lugosi play a supporting role as well--as a South American named "Pedro". I don't know about you, but when I see and hear Lugosi, I DON'T think "maybe he's Hispanic"! But regardless of this odd casting, Bela is surprisingly funny in his role as a hot-headed foil for Brown's antics.

So apart from odd casting, what are we left with in the film? Well, as a comedy, it isn't particularly funny most of the time. As a romance, it only works slightly better. No, in the end we are left with a movie that is a definite time-passer--not particularly offensive but not at all memorable except for the scenes with Lugosi.

By the way, it is worth watching just the first few minutes just to say you've seen something DIFFERENT. It's a really creepy and somewhat disturbing sequence where a bunch of rich knuckleheads have a "baby party" where they all come dressed like little kids. Seeing Joe E. Brown in a stroller and drinking booze from a baby bottle just seemed really, really creepy--like they're all at a very sick and creepy "adult" party. YECCH!! I wonder if Sigmund Freud ever saw this film? It was made in 1931 and he didn't die until 1939, so it is possible!!

Joe E. Brown and Bela Lugosi

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 22 April 2021]

1931's "Broadminded" was an early vehicle for the hugely popular Warners star Joe E. Brown, known for his unusually large mouth and inevitable yelp when in trouble (in later years he would become immortalized by three words to climax 1959's "Some Like It Hot" - "well, nobody's perfect!"). As an athlete and former circus clown his rubbery features already looked like a clown without makeup, and this screenplay by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby takes every advantage for facial expressions and bits where he impersonates a gorilla, then Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One need only endure a fairly embarrassing opening reel, where police raid a 'baby party,' all the guests dressed as toddlers with bottles not filled with milk, and an enraged Senior Hackett (Holmes Herbert) hoping to straighten out his ladies man son Jack (William Collier Sr.) by sending him away from New York with cousin Ossie (Brown), who's an even bigger carouser than put upon Jack. A long trip to California is made far longer by Jack's insistence on stopping to flirt with every girl en route (even one milking a cow!), but once they pull over at the Cactus Cafe the fun really starts at the 15 minute mark. Here we get to see Bela Lugosi, still basking in his newfound stardom after "Dracula," making for an excellent comic foil as South American Pancho Arango, unable to get through a promising meal with Ossie throwing salt over his shoulder ("dandruff!"), then using Pancho's own fountain pen to turn his cherished dessert from strawberry to blackberry. A busload of female students distracts Ossie long enough to ram into the car in front of him, which turns out to be driven by a still fuming Pancho: "first you spoil my shortcake and now you ruin my rear end!" Jack and Ossie end up at a hotel where they've made the acquaintance of brunette Constance (Ona Munson) and blonde Penelope (Marjorie White), but Ossie's attempts to humor Connie's disapproving aunt (Grayce Hampton) get him into more trouble (it's a jaw dropping sight watching him eat celery as noisily as possible). When he begins to talk about punching out some South American 'bozo,' who should be in the booth right next to him but Pancho and his gorgeous girlfriend Gertie (Thelma Todd), giving Ossie the full Lugosi stare as he stammers and stutters, admitting defeat by feigning laryngitis. When a blackmailing former flame tries to halt Jack's engagement to Constance, Gertie is hired to play the fiancee to accept Jack's damning love letters but again Pancho spies his girl in a negligee and gets the wrong idea. Kalmar and Ruby were best known for their work for The Marx Brothers but went on to script two more vehicles for Brown, as well as Eddie Cantor and Wheeler and Woolsey. Those unfamiliar with Brown's appeal as a star comedian probably won't be swayed by his material here, but his ability to use his entire body makes him akin to Buster Keaton, and Thelma Todd was always a welcome presence opposite the cinema's top comedians. The underrated Marjorie White unfortunately has no opportunity to display her skillful singing and dancing, a diminutive dynamo who excelled in Wheeler and Woolsey's "Diplomaniacs" before her final screen performance in The Three Stooges' "Woman Haters" (she also appears with Bela Lugosi in "Oh, for a Man!" "Women of All Nations," and "The Black Camel"). With nearly 9 minutes screen time, Lugosi not only holds his own in another surefire box office success, he also gets the girl for the fadeout.

Funny Joe E. Brown comedy which desperately needed musical numbers!

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 6 October 2010]

In one of his funnier early films, Joe E. Brown plays the chaperon to William Collier, a playboy whose wealthy father has asked Brown to watch over him on a trip. What the father doesn't realize is that the seemingly staid Brown is actually just as much of a wild boy as Collier is, and together, they stir up trouble everywhere they go. They create an instant enemy in Brazilian lothario Bela Lugosi (!) whose strawberry shortcake is covered in ink by one of the men. Then, Lugosi thinks that they are after his girl (Thelma Todd) and begins chasing them all over the hotel they are all staying at. This is a loony farce in which one character says that Lugosi comes from the COUNTRY of South America. The only problem is with a script by the songwriting team of Kalmar and Ruby (whose life story was told in the musical bio "Three Little Words") is that there seems to be lots of moments where a song or musical number should appear. That is very apparent in the opening party sequence where all of the participants are dressed in baby clothes. But this was at the time where musicals were box office poison, so if there were songs filmed for the film, they ended up on the cutting room floor.

This was one of Joe E. Brown's last films which paired him with a straight romantic leading man which made his films seem very much like RKO's Wheeler and Woolsey. Brown, Collier and Lugosi are surrounded by several lovely ladies-Ona Munson, Marjorie White (another Winnie Lightner act-alike), Margaret Livingston and Thelma Todd. White is the overly boisterous Penny Packer, who of course, goes after big mouthed Brown, just like Lightner and equally vivacious "Top Speed" co-star Laura Lee did. Lugosi proves he is adept at comedy and is quite the lothario here even at 50. It's funny to see the Hungarian actor attempting a Brazilian accent. He uses his eyes to great comic effect. What was scary in the same year's "Dracula" is funny here.

Weak comedy, but take note of.....

[jaykay-10 · 20 July 2004]

Even staunch fans of Joe E. Brown may be disappointed by this one, which fails to utilize his comic skills, such as they are, with maximum effectiveness. The foremost liability is the scenario, bulging with some of the feeblest jokes and flat sight gags that one is likely to find outside of a high school drama club original. But wait.....

Playing against type (to say the least) are Bela Lugosi doing an effective comic turn as a temperamental Latin/Hungarian (his accent is variable), and Ona Munson (she of the gritty roles in "Gone With the Wind" and "Shanghai Gesture" that came later) as an ingenue. These are curiosities worth seeing. But wait.....

Thelma Todd is here, too, playing the kind of role she did best, even if she hadn't Groucho's priceless reactions to her vamping. And what of Marjorie White, someone altogether new for me (and like Thelma Todd, destined to die young): a perky pepperpot with exceptional comedic attributes, mugging and bouncing throughout, creating a very appealing character without any of the comic (sic) lines having been written for her.

All in all, a third-rate picture well worth seeing.

It would have been a good two or three reel comedy...

[AlsExGal · 4/10 · 6 August 2023]

... which is about 20 or 30 minutes, but at 65 minutes it just outstays its welcome and the jokes drag on for too long.

Wealthy Mabel Robinson has a "Baby Party" where everyone invited must show up dressed as a baby. Naturally the baby bottles all have liquor in them, and prohibition is still in force. When things get rowdy the cops show up and arrest everybody, but Jack Hackett and Ossie Simpson (Joe E. Brown) manage to evade arrest. Still, Jack's father isn't amused as the next morning the scandal makes headlines in the New York papers and names Jack as Mabel's fiance. Jack's father orders Jack to never see Mabel again and to take an extended trip somewhere until the scandal is forgotten. Dad tells Jack's cousin Ossie to go with Jack to make sure he stays out of trouble, not realizing that Ossie is a bigger partier than Jack could ever be and falsely believing that Ossie is a sober young man.

The pair go to Pasadena, and Ossie falls for Penny (Marjorie White) and Jack falls for Connie (Ona Munson), who is a girl of whom Jack's dad heartily approves. But Mabel finds Jack in Pasadena, is angry about being thrown over, and is threatening to show her love letters to Connie and break up Jack's (new) marriage plans. Also, on the road, Ossie has managed to anger a hot blooded South American (Bela Lugosi???) who is also very jealous of his girlfriend (Thelma Todd), an actress.

Originally a play by songwriting team Kalmar and Ruby, this might have also been a musical that had its songs removed because of musical films going out of fashion for the moviegoing public after they had been ubiquitous - and not very good - during 1929 and 1930. That may be why the material seems so stretched out. It's interesting seeing Bela Lugosi playing a hot blooded Latin lover, and coupled with Thelma Todd of all people. Ona Munson, who played Belle Watling in Gone With the Wind, is unrecognizable here. Marjorie White was a unique spritely comedienne, but her life was cut short due to an auto accident in 1935. She was featured in the first Three Stooges short in 1934 which actually was a musical short.

This one was painful to get through, and I say that as somebody who very much appreciates the humor of Joe E. Brown.

A passable time killer

[vontrappe · 6/10 · 19 August 2006]

I recorded this movie to see Buster Collier, who appears in a photo in one of my silent movie star books. I learned that he had dated Constance Talmadge for awhile, and was interested in hearing his voice, to see how close the one I had silently supplied for him was. It wasn't. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Thelma Todd's name in the cast, and she was very good, as she has been in everything in which I've seen her. It's easy to see why she was in such demand.

All through the picture, I kept picturing Jim Carrey in Joe. E. Brown's role. They are both terribly cloying.

I couldn't get over Lugosi's Romanian accent being put across as "South American." All in all,though, it was worth seeing, and only an hour long, but I deleted it from my DVR once I had seen it. I wouldn't sit through it twice. It was a passable time killer.

Failed Marx Bros. Film

[jknoppow-1 · 5/10 · 19 August 2006]

Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar, who would work on three Marx Bros. films, including "Animal Crackers" the play of which was out the year before this film, are the authors of 'Broadminded'.

It's clear to me that this film is the Warner Bros. idea of how to cash in with a cheapie madcap story.

Thelma Todd is as wonderful as ever. She was a fine actress who always managed to do a fine job even with the sorriest material.

Grayce Hampton who played what should have been Margaret Dumont's role is flat and unfunny. The male lead, played by William Collier Jr., looks like a peeled potato, and yet he's a lady killer. He picks up every good looking woman he sees. But he's lumpy and wimpish. He's a very poor choice for the role. I think he's supposed to be Zeppo Marx playing the love interest, but he's not even that good.

Ona Munson is pretty good as the female lead, but she's not given anything to do.

Joe E. Brown who is the putative star does what he does. He mugs unmercifully throughout, and he makes the most out of his circus clown mouth, and he makes a tremendous number of unwarranted sounds. I grew up in the last years of his really active career, and I thought he was great until I was about seven, when that wore off, and from then on I found him to be darn near intolerable.

But even if were someone else playing the part, it would still be a (in my opinion of course) dull and completely predictable film.

There is absolutely zero witty repartee in this film. There's no singing, no dancing, no harp or piano or guitar playing.

Bela Lugosi does steal the greasepaint mustache that Groucho put on, but now it's in the form of extenders for Lugosi's sideburns.

Lugosi pretty much mugs his way through this film along with the rest, but he looks as though he's playing along because he's being paid. And he's never convincing. He's always Bela Lugosi gone slumming. Not that he was bad, but I'd say that he was skirting it.

I'm glad I had a chance to see this film, I've been hungering for it for several decades now, and it's often presented in movie books as practically a tour de force performance for him.

It isn't.

I did not keep a copy of the film, although I've got many Lugosi films in my library. I just don't think I'll ever want to sit through it again. As it was, it took me two days to get through it.

I gave it a five rating because my tastes aren't universal, and Lugosi and Todd fans should certainly see it.

good role for Joe E. Brown

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 1 August 2023]

Mabel Robinson hosts a party where everybody dresses like a baby. Hard-partying playboy Jack Hackett brings his cousin Ossie Simpson (Joe E. Brown) in a baby stroller. Mabel announces her engagement to Jack. The cops break up the party. Jack's father is tired of his partying ways. Ossie is supposed to straighten him out on their trip to California. Jack falls for Constance Palmer raising Mabel's anger. Ossie gets the best friend Penny Packer.

This is a Pre-Code comedy. I don't think that I've ever seen a baby party, either in real life or on the screen. It's a fun decadence and a great way to introduce the relationship between the lead guys. This is possibly the best way to use Joe E. Brown. He's the wacky slightly-sleazy sidekick. The meet-cute is pretty cute although it would be cuter if the car didn't work. The drama shouldn't be that dire. Jack should be able to dismiss Mabel as an angry ex... which she is. I guess that times were different back then.

not bad

[HandsomeBen · 5/10 · 11 November 2022]

This was not bad at all. I was able to sit through it with ease. The first movie i've seen of joe e brown where he wasn't unbearable. I usually do not find him funny, but rather obnoxious and grating. The beginning with him dressed as a baby was rough, and did not know if i would be able to sit through it. Thankfully the rest of the movie picks up, and i liked the comedy and story. I got a couple of chuckles, and the pacing was good. It ended when it needed to, and it was typical and cute. I do think the south american guy side plot was rushed. Probably would not watch it again but worth seeing at least once.

A cure vehicle for someone. I'm not sure who.

[mkilmer · 7/10 · 3 June 2007]

William Collier Jr. as the lady's man (Jack Hackett) in this flick, but Joe E. Brown's character (Ossie Simpson) got the most alluring girl, little Marjorie White as Penny Packer. I cannot go beyond that without giving a spoiler, but the movie is shallow on plot.

It's a sort of vacation-esquire film, with Collier and Brown heading across country to get Collier away from gambling, booze, and women. It doesn't work out. He falls in love. The fiancée he left in New York, played by Margaret Livingstone, should have been given a chance to be interesting, but the script writers didn't have it in 'em.

Brown's character begins the film dressed as a baby and winds up being chased through a hotel by Bela Lugosi, so if you want madcap, it's here. Talking pictures were in their infancy, and this one could have made it as a silent, but it was great to see Thelma Todd playing it effortlessly. (I felt that Zasu Pitts should have been there.) Bela Lugosi is scary. No surprise.

It was a cute, little vehicle for someone, perhaps Brown. I'm not sure.

And the worst actor of the Cenozoic is...

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 5/10 · 28 November 2014]

May I have a drum roll, please! At age 65, having watched films since about the age of 5, I am ready to announce the award for the worst actor of all time. I always suspected it, but this film convinced me. No, not Joe E. Brown, but Bela Lugosi. Lugosi is here as the somewhat bad guy foreigner. The man couldn't speak English worth a ----. He didn't know to simply stand. Or walk. Or fold his arms. Possibly the most awkward man I have ever seen in motion pictures. Interestingly, this film was made after "Dracula".

As to the quality of this film, I found it wanting. I've watched several of Joe E. Brown's films from 1930 and 1931, and I have found them rather uneven...some quite good, others not very. This one is sort of in the middle. It has its moments when Brown is quite funny, but overall it's rather passive. I was rather appalled by the opening scene -- a party where all the guests at a party are dressed and act like babies. Too much fetish for me, although this was pre-code. At least, after that lowest of low brow openings, the only way to go was up, and the movie proceeds along in jumps and starts. One thing that surprised me was that Joe's character -- a confirmed bachelor -- sometimes acted noticeably effeminate. Were they trying to tell us something? Although he did end up in love with a young lady by the end of the film.

This may sound odd, but I found things about this film rather interesting, even though I didn't think the film was very good. But, no question, not one of Joe E. Brown's better scripted efforts.

Another Mouthful For Mr. Brown

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 22 July 2004]

A couple of BROADMINDED fellows find romance on a road trip to Pasadena, California.

Comic Joe E. Brown scores another hit in this very humorous little Pre-Code film which gives him free rein to engage in his madcap capers. Here he plays the supposedly responsible young man chosen to chaperone his highly libidinous cousin after the latter is forced to beat a hasty retreat from a Big City scandal. Brown, of course, proves remarkably capable of causing trouble wherever they travel, thus providing the film with much of its plot. With his large rubbery face & huge mouth a constant source of amusement, Brown enters the movie with much hilarity -- costumed as a bawling infant at the baby party which opens the film. Further on, the scene where he finds himself locked out of his hotel room in his underwear is particularly jovial.

Most of the cast is on hand to provide support during Brown's antics: William Collier Jr. as his frisky cousin; Holmes Herbert as Collier's stern New York City father; Margaret Livingston as Collier's vindictive former flame; Ona Munson as Collier's new heart throb; Grayce Hampton as her frightful aunt.

Even perky little Marjorie White, as Brown's new gal pal, is not given much to do. The two major exceptions are statuesque Thelma Todd, delightful as a compliant actress eager to help the boys out of a nasty jam, and marvelous Bela Lugosi -- the same year he would become an international star as Count Dracula -- lending his malevolent presence as the fierce Gentleman From South America who menaces Brown throughout the film.

Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Margaret Mann as an elderly hotel guest eager to see some Indians.

Broad Minded stars Joe E. Brown is good for laughs!

[canterburyroads · 7/10 · 30 June 2006]

Broad Minded stars the one and only Joe E. Brown as Ossie Simpson providing laugh after laugh in this funny movie. William Collier, Marjorie White, Grayce Hampton, Thelma Todd, Ona Munson, and Bela Lugosi make a strong supporting cast. William Collier does a great job as the straight man to Joe E. Brown's funny man. Marjorie White a real scene stealer, is the perfect girlfriend for Joe E. Brown's character. Bela Lugosi surprisingly is actually funny in places. The different sets provide the viewer with a glimpse of 1931's America. The story has Jack Hackett's cousin Ossie Simpson escort him from New York to California with instructions from the father to avoid women. And so the scene is set for 65 minutes filled with laughs.

Bela Lugosi steals the show

[curly-17 · 14 October 1999]

The star of this movie is listed as Joe E. Brown, the big-mouthed (literally) comedian who looks as if he could eat a hamburger in one bite. However, stealing the scene whenever he is present, is Bela Lugosi, in a change-of-pace role considering he starred in "Dracula" earlier that year (1931). Here, Bela (a native Hungarian) is a hot-tempered South American (Pancho). When Joe E. Brown (Simpson) accidentally spurts some ink on Bela's dessert at a diner, Bela goes into a maniacal rage. So naturally, their two paths keep crossing. Later Joe E. Brown has a fender-bender with Bela's car... Bela winds up driving off with Brown's car in tow! Bela has some wonderful opportunities to show his comedic abilities. When his girlfriend asks Bela to explain a mix-up to Joe E. Brown (Simpson), Bela goes: "To Simpson-- never!" and opens his mouth wide in a mugging imitation of Joe E. Brown. A must-see movie for Bela Lugosi fans who only consider him a horror actor.

Thirties slapstick

[raskimono · 7/10 · 26 July 2002]

Early talkie does not utilize the talents of Joe E Brown to the fullest. I'm no Bela Lugosi fan, I didn't even notice he was in the movie, so that is irrelevant. Joe E Brown plays another one of his shy templetons who is sent away from the city because his dad thinks he is getting into too much trouble, which of course is all a misunderstanding. There, he meets a girl and falls for her and a guy, probably Lugosi who is hounding her. Complications arise as Brown is always in the wrong place or in uncompromising situations. Scenes of note are Brown imitating a baby, a funny slapstick finale with Brown running around in his PJs in a hotel and trying not to be seen. Mistaken identity and sexual innuendo is also rife. That's about it.

What Part of South America Does Lugosi Come From?

[boblipton · 6/10 · 29 July 2023]

When Buster Collier Jr.'s participation in a party that gets raided hits the paper, his father, disgusted with his son's girl-chasing, sends him to California, where he seems to imagine there are no pretty girls. To make sure he behaves, he sends fellow chaser Joe E. Brown with him.

It's a funny comedy that relies more on dialogue and situations than Brown's easy ability with slapstick -- he had begun as a circus tumbler. Still, there are some amusing circumstances, and Thelma Todd is in the movie, which makes it a must-see in my book. There's also Ona Munson, Marjorie White, and Bela Lugosi as a short-tempered South American.

A Must-See for Lugosi Fans

[Michael_Elliott · 8 August 2010]

Broadminded (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Pretty good comedy about a playboy (William Collier, Jr.) whose father grows tired of his constant woman-chasing so he sends him out west with his cousin (Joe E. Brown), which turns out to be a major mistake. Out west the playboy strikes up a relationship with a woman who he plans to marry if they can stay away from a crazed South American (Bela Lugosi) that they keep running into. At 73-minutes the plot doesn't really carry even that short running time but there are enough good things here to make this worth sitting through at least once. Brown gets top-billing but the picture actually belongs to Collier with the big-mouthed comedian playing more of a supporting role. Brown certainly eats up each scene that he's in and actually manages to turn in some very funny moments including one where he spoofs Jekyll and Hyde and another sequence where he talks about how he almost beat up a South American only he doesn't realize the guy is sitting and hearing everything he's saying. Marjorie White and Margaret Livingston add nice supporting performances as does Thelma Todd who plays a friend of the boy's who ends up getting them into more trouble. I didn't care too much for Collier and in fact thought he dragged the film down a bit as he was a bit too stiff in the role and really didn't add any laughs. The highlight of the film is without question Lugosi who easily steals the film with his hilarious performance. I've often wondered what would have happened had the actor never appeared in Dracula and got type cast in horror roles. Many of his early films show he had some nice talent that studios could have worked with and he shows that off here. He mainly plays a guy whose job is to scare Brown by screaming and raving but Lugosi is so good that you'll have a laugh riot just watching him. The strawberry shortcake scene is a minor classic as is the scene that follows during the car wreck. The screenplay has several weak spots but I guess that's to be expected as the film certainly goes for many laughs but in the end it only gets about half of them. I doubt those who hate older movies are going to change their opinion by watching this but this remains a must-see for fans of Lugosi and of course Brown fans will want to check it out.

Misfire for Joe E. Brown

[GManfred · 2 September 2010]

The normally likable Joe E. Brown is trapped here in an extremely unfunny comedy with an extremely poor script. Missing is his usual screen persona of a brash, cocky naif and is seen here as just a dimwit. The screenplay is surprisingly awful and seems ad-libbed in places. Vaudeville was still alive but I have to think it was funnier than the lame jokes contained in this picture, many of which fall completely flat. Hard to believe Mervyn Leroy directed this mess.

Trapped in this movie is some pretty good acting talent, especially Thelma Todd who was a foil in some Marx Bros. pictures as well as some Laurel and Hardys. Also on hand is Bela Lugosi as a South American playboy. It's hard to tell if comedy was his oeuvre because, as mentioned, there is very little humor here. Give him an A for effort.

Not much to recommend this film except for Bela Lugosi and hard-core Joe E. Brown fans.