Of course, Benny isn't English either, which is the other odd part about him being cast in the film. Just as the radio program realized it was occasionally very funny to have Harris play against his type by taking a feminine role, the film takes the not-very-masculine Benny and places him in a role meant for a stronger, alpha male type, except the latter doesn't fit. This is very odd for a Jack Benny fan, as I'm used to the set-up where Phil Harris is the local drinker and skirt-chaser to contrast against Benny. It brings to mind Gwenn's alleged deathbed quote, "Dying is hard but not as hard as comedy."īecause Jack's character spends most of the picture in drag, he's given very masculine characteristics, notably being a boozer and womanizer. It also features Edmund Gwenn as the guardian of the two young ladies Gwenn needs to give his consent for them to marry, so Jack's character is encouraged to woo him into writing his consent. So, it's a farce, basically looking for an excuse to get a man to wear drag. Charley's real aunt turns up as well, using a false identity for her own reasons. Jack is an English university lad (who's spent 10 years in school) whose roommate Charley asks to pose as his wealthy aunt so Charley and another friend have a chaperone for their dates on the day they each intend to propose.
It's just one of several film adaptations of a then-popular play, but as I have familiarity with the play, it was as good as new to me. Having done so, I feel compelled to share what I learned hey, you don't have anything better to read, right?Ĭharley's Aunt (1941) came up in scattered references via Jack's radio show, even post-war. Perhaps I should have stopped questing for Jack's films then and there, but within the last week I watched three more of them. It's a neat curio, but felt "off," just as I find his television programs don't entirely click with me. On the other hand, Buck Benny Rides Again was about as close as a movie could come to Jack's radio program, with almost every cast member and even an audio-only Fred Allen putting in appearances and yet, Buck Benny didn't quite satisfy me. The Meanest Man in the World was undistinguished, but not too bad and at least had some choice lines for Eddie Anderson. I had already seen To Be or Not to Be by the time I read the biography, but I went on to see two more of his pictures. It was a fine thing for Jack to ask his fans to forget about his film career, it's another for us to obey. At one point, Jack discussed his film career and wrote happily about his one picture, To Be Or Not to Be, but advised fans interested in his work to avoid the rest of his filmography. Helpfully, the book contains extensive passages which Jack intended to run in an autobiography he never completed. Some time ago, I read Joan Benny's biography of her father, Sunday Nights at Seven: the Jack Benny Story.
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