Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5443 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-09-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Black & White, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 84 minutes

Customer Reviews

Vulgar fun
I'm not surprised how this movie really turns people off. That's why I love it. I have been this movie's biggest fan for years (I even bought the lovely original poster at auction).

The movie--one of the last Warner Bros pre-Code gems (mid-1934 marked the turning point)--runs over the course of one evening in a Paris nightclub. In that time we get: a murder, a suicide, a cover-up, adultery, homosexuality, intergenerational flirting, gold-digging, racism, 2 gigantic Busby Berkeley numbers, Kay Francis and Delores Del Rio standing around looking captivating, and some glamorous art deco sets. This has to be one of the wildest of all the pre-Code films, and certainly one of the "last straws" for the zealous censorship boards that soon got their way and started dictating what Americans could and could not see (hmmm...sound familiar?). If you know how to enjoy good trash when you see it, then you will find the film irresistible.

As for the racist "Goin To Heaven on A Mule" number: yes it is in outrageously poor taste, but considering the smut and indelicacy of the rest of the film, it hardly seems out of place.

Knockout musical numbers - totally offbeat plot & characters
I remember when people used to say that something was in bad taste - you kind of pictured an old-fashioned dowager sniffing in her hanky. Now the expression is politically incorrect & there's no hanky but the look is the same. I think it begs the obvious to call this movie politically incorrect. Since it was made almost 70 years ago & not last year or 10 years ago, that seems a pretty simple-minded observation. What ever happened to context?

This film has some unique insights into the culture of the 1930s. Although it takes place in Paris, it has an almost Weimar era aura in its pessimism & excess & the musical numbers are absolutely haunting, nearly without par on film. A highly original work of art. Without, I might add, any agenda.

All Star Cast
Wonder Bar is like Grand Hotel in a nightclub. It features many notable stars including Al Jolson, Ricardo Cortez, Dolores del Rio, Dick Powell, Kay Francis, and Guy Kibbee. It focuses on the love lives of each character; most mingle together and are rather complex. However, this is more of an exhibition of the actor's and their own personalities than an important film, but that makes the film fun since it has a great cast. It also features some extravagant musical numbers choreographed by the wonderful Busby Berkeley.

Al Jolson is the star of the show; he absolutely exudes personality in every step and really carries the film. Ricardo Cortez and the exotic Dolores del Rio carry on a tempestuous but tepid relationship but add nothing memorable. Dick Powell's part is small but his trademark boyish quality shines brightly. Kay Francis is adequate as an adultering society girl; her speech impediment is very cute. Guy Kibbee is a boisterous drunk as usual, and fun as usual.

The musical numbers are very fun to watch. They could never have been staged in the Wonder Bar, but they bring the audience to another world, something vital during The Great Depression. Berkeley plays with mirrors and beautiful girls to trick and astound the eye. The final number is a vehicle for Jolson; he dons blackface and dances to snappy jazz tunes in a black heaven. This number is filled with stereotypes like watermelon, mules, and shooting craps, but all of it is done in fun and was not meant to offend or discriminate.