Stand-in, the

 

 

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Leslie Howard is a mathematician sent to run a failing film comapny to see if it is worth saving. Utterly bemused by Hollywood, he is helped by a former child star who is now a long-suffering stand-in (Joan Blondell) and tough director Humphrey Bogart. Howard is absolutely hilarious as the naive intellectual grappling with the mysteries of the motion picture industry, and Blondell and Bogart are wonderful too. Howard finds refuge in the boarding house where Blondell stays, and finds himself among a motley crowd of aspiring actors, who include a trained seal and a penguin. As Howard struggles to understand this alien world he comes to be fond of it (and of course fond of Joan Blondell too), and the film builds to a rousing finale when the put-upon workers, stirred up by Howard, rebel against the closure of the company. A wonderful film, Howard was never better, what a wonderful actor he was. If you've only ever seen him as the rather dull Ashely Wilkes in Gone With the Wind, you really should see him in this.

What's not to like? Fast pace, great dialogue, clever performances -- just watch. Rare fun.

United Artists presents "STAND-IN" (1937) (91 min/B&W) -- Starring Leslie Howard, Joan Blondell, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Mowbray & Marla Shelton

Directed by Tay Garnett

Bookish bank employee Atterbury Dodd (Leslie Howard) is ordered to investigate the near-bankrupt Colossal Studios in Hollywood, to see if the firm is any sort of good risk. Dodd's first brush with Tinseltown's quite different atmosphere occurs when he takes a room in a boarding house for extras, where all manner of eccentrics wander about as they wait for the phone to ring. He befriends Lester Plum (Joan Blondell), a former child star now working as a stand-in for haughty movie queen Thelma Cheri (Marla Shelton), and perpetually soused producer Douglas Quintain (Humphrey Bogart). Aware that the latest epic of autocratic director Koslofski (Alan Mowbray) will ruin the studio, Howard investigates further, discovering that a rival company has bribed Koslofski to pad the budget and thus bring about the foreclosure of Colossal. While his business sense tells him that this is the next logical move, Dodd has fallen in love with Plum.

Based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Clarence Buddington Kelland, this is a light-hearted satire of the movie industry which re-teams Leslie Howard & Humphrey Bogart after their riveting performances together in The Petrified Forest (1936).

Humphrey Bogart turns in a likable supporting role as the mean movie producer. But there is an camaraderie between Howard and Blondell and the brief spoof on Shirley Temple are enough to make "Stand-In" thoroughly enjoyable.

BIOS:
1. Tay Garnett [aka: William Taylor Garnett]
Date of Birth: 13 June 1894 - Los Angeles, California
Date of Death: 3 October 1977 - Sawtelle, California

2. Leslie Howard [aka: Leslie Howard Steiner]
Date of Birth: 3 April 1893, Forest Hill, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 1 June 1943, Bay of Biscay (casualty of war)

3. Joan Blondell {aka: Rose Joan Blondell]
Date of Birth: 30 August 1906 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 25 December 1979 - Santa Monica, California

4. Humphrey Bogart [aka: Humphrey DeForest Bogart]
Date of Birth: 25 December 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 14 January 1957 - Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 91 min on DVD ~ United Artists ~ (May 1, 2007)

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