Umpteen film versions of the classic farce have been filmed, and this one (along with the rarely seen musical version) ranks as the most famous. Jack Benny is about as British as I am, but he delightfully parodies the eccentricities of his fellow Oxford residents, mincing deliciously when he is forced to dress up as Whistler's Mother to be a chaperon for his roommates and their lady friends. Pretending to be one of their aunts, he is unprepared for the real aunt's arrival, she being totally amused by his identity theft and the fact that the faker couldn't be any more different than she is. She's the lovely Kay Francis, and he looks like something that would turn a cucumber into a pickle without the use of vinegar.
It's surprising to see Richard Haydn in a straight romantic role considering his comic character parts in films like "Sitting Pretty" and "The Sound of Music". Joined by the handsome James Ellison, they are excellent comic agitators to Benny's blackmailed female impersonator. Anne Baxter and Arleen Whelan are appropriately giddy young girls mostly utilized as window dressing, but oh, what a view... Francis turns a small role (approximately 20 minutes on screen) into a nice return to "A" films after being neglected in her last years at Warner Brothers and reminds how charming she was in light hearted roles. Eccentric portrayals by Edmund Gwenn (hysterically chasing Benny), Reginald Owen and Laird Cregar (having to get blitzed to romance Benny's female character) are excellently bumbling and filled with droll humor.
I should mention the British version made around the same time called "Charley's Big-Hearted Aunt" with Arthur Askey which is not as well known in the States but very funny in a different way with some twists not used in the other versions.
It's surprising to see Richard Haydn in a straight romantic role considering his comic character parts in films like "Sitting Pretty" and "The Sound of Music". Joined by the handsome James Ellison, they are excellent comic agitators to Benny's blackmailed female impersonator. Anne Baxter and Arleen Whelan are appropriately giddy young girls mostly utilized as window dressing, but oh, what a view... Francis turns a small role (approximately 20 minutes on screen) into a nice return to "A" films after being neglected in her last years at Warner Brothers and reminds how charming she was in light hearted roles. Eccentric portrayals by Edmund Gwenn (hysterically chasing Benny), Reginald Owen and Laird Cregar (having to get blitzed to romance Benny's female character) are excellently bumbling and filled with droll humor.
I should mention the British version made around the same time called "Charley's Big-Hearted Aunt" with Arthur Askey which is not as well known in the States but very funny in a different way with some twists not used in the other versions.