Zeus

Utter Fun and Frolics to Warch

Posted by Gerald Parker on Jul 23rd 2019

I shall not linger long in praising this film and reissue thereof, but it SURE IS SWELL, to use slang of its epoch. It is true that the film is rather lowbrow glamour, but the cast has so much fun and is so utterly sassy that even a number of mind-dumbing fit, like "Your Dog Loves My Dog" comes off magnificently, with dog sniffing dog and man sizing up woman to sexy effect, all to the idiotic lyrics set to almost criminally catchy melody. And so it goes all along.

The big set numbers, in Busby Berkeley style but not quite so spectacular as that original, are eye-pleasing and with the cast singing and speaking in suggestive manner that is quite bewitching. This is not up to a truly classic standard, but sheer, unadulterated entertainment is "the name of the game.

Of the cast, Jimmy Durante, in his prime, is exuberant and lovable, even more so than he still was in his much later days on early TV. The entire cast contributes, in the case each of them, impersonations of real zest and humour. However, the music and dancing are foremost, so even if one may not like the rather banal nature of whatever little plot there is in this movie musical revue, it does not matter, for the choreography, dancing, posing, and antics add up to more than any elements that sheer acting could contribute.

Fun, absolute fun. I watched this one twice in a row the same evening, because it is so captivating! The quality of Zeus' restoration is superb, so there are no worries of a technical sort.