Perfect cast and a good story

I'll tell you why so serious

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Having seen this lavish musical comedy years ago, I watched it again for the first time in years, and was amazed by how much Sandler reminds me of a modern day Eddie Cantor. That endearing freneticness, boyish know-it-all ("but I'm still keeping it to myself!") attitude is something they both share, displaying it in each of their movies no matter where the plot takes them. Like Sandler, Eddie Cantor is that total boyish "I'll let you think I'm an idiot, but I'm having the last laugh!" facade. And here, it begins with a 19 (!) year old Ethel Merman making a 25 (!) year old Eddie Cantor think she is his mother (!) so she can get him to sign legal papers turning over his late father's treasure over to her and "Uncle" Louie (Warren Hymer). The scene where they play "Tickle Me" (along with "Leap Frog" and other games they supposedly played "before you were even born", Cantor inquires, is extremely funny, and Merman is at her early brash best. It is ironic that the romantic lead is played by Ann Sothern, who later starred in the movie version of Merman's Broadway hit, "Panama Hattie".All Eddie wants is enough money "when my ship comes in" so he can build a free Ice Cream factory for his battery of kid friends (he's very much a Pee Wee Herman in this sense) and what an ice cream factory it is. The last five minutes of the film are in a glorious early Technicolor in a musical number that looks straight out of the land of Oz. Goldwyn girls carry giant vats of milk, vanilla, chocolate bars and strawberries, while a chorus of giant cows "moos" along in harmony. Then all of Eddie's kids (many of them veterans of "Our Gang" series) smash in the door for an outrageous finale that is still a treat for young and old. The big minstrel show number (featuring the Nicholas Brothers) is another highlight; Young Faynard is adorable! The racist overtones (Cantor in black-face) may offend some, and the jokes are corny, but overall it is relatively harmless. Irving Berlin's "Mandy" and "I Want to Be a Minstrel Man" are both very catchy tunes, but the love duet between Sothern and George Murphy is a snorer. But for the Nicholas Brothers, Cantor and Merman, the film is truly a must for classic movie fans. Sothern would have to wait for feistier roles at RKO and the Maisie series at MGM to become more exciting.

In a recent and long overdue biography of Eddie Cantor it turns out that Cantor's daughter Marilyn was responsible for the casting of Ethel Merman in this and a subsequent film of her father's. The Cantors and the San Goldwyns saw each other socially quite a bit and young Marilyn Cantor became a fan of Merman's after seeing her on the Broadway stage. She lobbied with Goldwyn to get Merman opposite her father and the man relented.Cantor and Merman did work well together here and in Strike Me Pink. Eddie is playing his usual bullied schnook who is living with what I guess would be considered a foster family on the New York docks. But it turns out he's the son of an archaeologist who went to Egypt and went missing, but who found a reputed treasure. All he has to do is claim the treasure over in Egypt. Of course there are some other people who think they have a claim.Berton Churchill and daughter Ann Sothern helped finance the expedition and Ethel Merman claims a common-law relationship, a scheme cooked up by her hoodlum boy friend Warren Hymer. All of these people perform well and I have to say that Warren Hymer who never exactly played intellectuals on the screen actually dumbs HIS usual character down for the film. But I have to say that the man who seemed to be enjoying himself most playing the villainous Arab sheik is character actor Paul Harvey. He overacts outrageously in his part and I'm sure he was grateful for the false beard and mustache he had to wear to contain the grins he must have had on his face.Playing the Harvey's daughter and her beloved are the vaudeville team of Eva Sully and Jesse Block in their only screen appearance. I'm betting Cantor was responsible for their casting. Eva in her harem outfit and Jewish accent develops a crush on Cantor who's who'd rather be boiled in the sheik's oil than marry her. But that's part of the whole wonderfully silly plot.A whole host of song writing talents contributed to this film, Irving Berlin, Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn and Burton Lane and Harold Adamson. Some sharp ears might recognize a Lane tune that was revived with a different lyric by Alan Jay Lerner and danced to by Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding then called You're All the World To Me. There is also one of the strangest minstrel numbers ever shot on screen where no one but Cantor is in blackface. During it he has to dance with the Nicholas Brothers and I'm sure in the primitive minds back then it was felt he'd better look like them. He shouldn't have tried because Fayard and Harold dance him right off the screen.Other than the minstrel number, Kid Millions is one of the best musicals from out of the Thirties and another showcase of the talented Eddie Cantor.

It's a strange thing, but some of the quips and jokes in older films such as this are so corny, so crusty and so hijacked over the years, yet still manage to be very funny and quite entertaining. Perhaps it's in the delivery or perhaps it's just surprising that something made over seventy years ago can still possess the wit and suggestiveness that we feel we have a lock on now. Cantor, who's close to being completely forgotten by today's audiences, had a winning formula for movies in the thirties. He played rather dim, but appealing, young men who find themselves in the middle of extraordinary circumstances and who weasel their ways out of danger though luck and fate, usually singing a few splashy songs in the process. Here, in one of his best films, Cantor plays a practically penniless wharf rat who inherits a fortune from his long lost father, a archaeologist in Egypt. He sails for Egypt to claim it, but has several others around him who feel that it's theirs. His chief rival is Merman, a saucy singer with a lunkheaded gangster boyfriend (Hymer.) Fussy Colonel Churchill and young singer Murphy also have their eyes on the loot for varied reasons. Churchill's lovely daughter Sothern is along for window dressing and as a love interest for Murphy. Once the gaggle of wannabee heirs reaches Egypt, they are confronted by the hostile spectre of Shiek Harvey and his giddy, lovestruck daughter Sully. When the dust has settled, Cantor returns to New York and opens a lavish, elaborate, unbelievable ice cream factory (this portion of the film is presented in extraordinary Technicolor.) The plot is paper thin, but the script is zesty and funny. The songs are catchy and extravagantly performed. One extended sequence features the fabulous talents of The Nicholas Brothers, who tap dance with exemplary skill as a (now controversially) black-faced Cantor looks on. The younger of the brothers is given greater showcase and adds plenty of good nature and fun to the proceedings. This same sequence also includes a well-coordinated bit with dozens of dancing girls passing tambourines to each other in sync. Nothing, however, can top the finale which is equal parts charming, bizarre, colorful and amusing. Cantor is given a great rondolet of supporting actors to work with here. Merman is excellent. Her sassy manner and booming voice are complimented by some nice bits (not the least of which is her character of 19 trying to convince 25 year-old Cantor that she's his mother!) Hymer (an actor who made a long career out of playing thugs with names like Pug and Lug) gets one of his best roles and rises to the occasion. He has one startling scene in which he is coerced into kissing Cantor on the lips, creating both a kooky and a kinky sensation for the viewer. Sothern is very pretty and provides some nice singing in a few numbers. Murphy is both green and vanilla, but compliments Sothern well. The biggest treat of all is the presence of Sully. In what is (criminally) her only feature film appearance, she commands every second of her screen time with a riotous, infectious and downright side-splitting portrayal. She's one of the few performers who can score laughs from an audience simply by laughing herself in her inimitable way. The film is delightful throughout, but is worth seeing for her work no matter what. It's a shame that Cantor seems to have such a small following. His work is all about entertaining the masses and quite a few of the masses would still find him entertaining if they only knew who he was!

All of the films Eddie Cantor made for Goldwyn in the 1930s are hysterically funny. Why do I feel that this one is the best? It is the most well balanced of them all. Cantor's songs "When My Ship Comes In", "Okay, Toots", and "An Earful of Music" are beautifully crafted songs of the veteran song writers Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn. The Irving Berlin number "Mandy" is given one of its best all out performances in a film. But this is not all. Cantor has the best supporting team he has ever had in the movies. Ann Southern and George Murphy are the perfect "young lovers". Unlike the romantic leads in other musical comedies of the period, they are not boring or cloying. Southern sings well and has a flair for comedy. Murphy's dancing can only be topped by Astaire and Kelly. The comic villains are played by Ethel Merman and Warren Hymer. Merman had proven herself as a singing comedienne on the stage, but Hollywood had no idea how to handle her. In this film, they got it right. Compare this to "Strike Me Pink", where Merman is cast as the female romantic lead. It just doesn't work! Of course, "Kid Millions" provides Merman with a few opportunities to show off her musical talents as well her comedic talents. I don't know much about Warren Hymer, but he is a fine character comedian and he does not steal the spotlight from Cantor. Doris Davenport is cast as the ingenue and romantic interest for Cantor. She is perfect and stays out of the comedian's way. It is the superior supporting cast and superior musical numbers which make this Cantor's best Goldwyn film. Some say "Roman Scandals" is funnier, but it is all Cantor. Cantor's biggest hit songs were in "Whoopee!", but this early Technicolor film is stage bound. Speaking of Technicolor, "Kid Millions" has a great Technicolor finale, "Ice Cream Fantasy", and if you look close, you will see the kids of Hal Roach's "Our Gang" shorts in a cameo. For those not acquainted with the musical and comedy abilities of Eddie Cantor, "Kid Millions" is a good "first" movie. It moves like lightning and is highly entertaining.