Review of The Wild Man of Borneo

Who doesn't love a jovial con-man? Frank Morgan is at his mischievous best here, even if he's better remembered as the man behind the curtain, Professor Marvel in "The Wizard of Oz". Although his character here is a former snake oil salesman, J. Daniel Thompson never does do anything in the picture that approaches criminal activity. He's the kind of guy that puffs up his résumé when it suits his particular circumstances, which in this case is virtually every time he's in the presence of daughter Mary (Mary Howard) and the residents of a New York boarding house owned by Bernice Marshall (Billie Burke). It's a bit of a puzzler how Mary takes to her long-lost father since he abandoned her as a baby to satisfy his wanderlust. The story could have used a little more exploration of that background since Mary accepted him with open arms and without reservation when he showed up at her home in Twin Rapids. After moving to the big city, Daniel fails to land an acting job at any meaningful venue, so he accepts a gig as a black faced wild man in a carny side show. Even discovery by his daughter and fellow boarders fails to deflate the outgoing huckster, but it does put him in touch with values he never knew he had. All in all, this is a lighthearted film that old time movie fans ought to enjoy, as it never gets too serious or alarming for the players. And speaking of con men, this was a nice early warm up for Phil Silvers, who could out-weasel the best of them as Sergeant Bilko in the hit 1950's series, "The Phil Silvers Show".