STRIKE ME PINK

US, 1936, 95 minutes, Colour.
Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman.
Directed by Norman Taurog.

Strike Me Pink is one of several Eddie Cantor vehicles of the '30s. Cantor succeeded in burlesque and made a transition to the screen. His vehicles are now dated but have many very good comic effects. He is the Jewish comedian, the Little Man, put upon and bullied. This is seen here in the opening sequences at the college. However, he is contrasted with the good-looking hero who is actually not very shrewd and somewhat dumb. Cantor is matched here with Ethel Merman and they join in a number of songs. The style and the photography of the songs (by Greg Tolland) is somewhat avant garde. There are the usual stereotype characters: the devoted mother, Clarabelle the heroine, gangsters led by Brian Donlevy.

Eddie Cantor does a number of comic routines and there are some effective chases. The finale on the roller coaster is quite exciting as well as funny. The material of the Cantor films is very similar to that of subsequent TV series for comedians. There is a pleasant blend of the romance and comic style. There was a biography of Eddie Cantor, called The Eddie Cantor Story, starring Keefe Brasselle, in 1953.