Edgar Bergen (with Charlie McCarthy), Fibber McGee and Molly, and the Great Gildersleeve all get together with a certain redhead named Lucy in this sitcom of the cinema pre-TV days about the golden age of radio programs. Lucille Ball gets to refer to Fibber as "McGillicuddy", yet other than a splendid display of her legs and comic temper, she is little more than window dressing. Fibber & Molly utilize Edgar in an Airport Landing field property scheme with Gildersleeve as the reluctant bad guy. Bergen and McCarthy, funnier on screen, need to be seen rather than just heard. "You're listening to a ventriloquist on the radio!", an exasperated husband in Woody Allen's "Radio Days" asked. This is his evidence.
The gags are mostly dated, yet historically, the film is definitely worth a study as are the two follow-ups reuniting most of the cast. Bergen and McCarthy could either be corny or creepy (depending on the feature or short), yet their best was the W.C. Fields gem "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man". Thi one combines those two adjectives.
Some great character performers, such as Sterling Holloway, Charles Lane, Jed Prouty, Isabel Randolph, Walter Baldwin and Neil Hamilton appear. Just love Holloway's line, "What fools these morons be!"
The gags are mostly dated, yet historically, the film is definitely worth a study as are the two follow-ups reuniting most of the cast. Bergen and McCarthy could either be corny or creepy (depending on the feature or short), yet their best was the W.C. Fields gem "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man". Thi one combines those two adjectives.
Some great character performers, such as Sterling Holloway, Charles Lane, Jed Prouty, Isabel Randolph, Walter Baldwin and Neil Hamilton appear. Just love Holloway's line, "What fools these morons be!"