Fri 6 Jan 2012
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: DAMES AHOY (1930).
Posted by Steve under Films: Comedy/Musicals , Reviews[5] Comments
DAMES AHOY. Universal, 1930. Glenn Tryon, Helen Wright, Otis Harlan, Eddie Gribbon, Gertrude Astor. Director: William James Craft. Shown at Cinecon 39, Hollywood CA, Aug-Sept 2003.
An early version of a situation so memorably later treated by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green in On the Town (the effervescent stage musical, somewhat diminished in the MGM film).
Tryon, Harlan and Gribbon are three sailors on weekend shore leave. Tryon and Gribbon promise to help Harlan find the conniving blonde who has swindled Harlan out of half his monthly pay as his wife and go to a dance hall where Harlan had met her.
The problem is that he can only remember a distinctive tattoo and the boys spend much of the film trying to get into position to sneak a peek at the tattoo. During the search, Tryon is maneuvered into a short engagement and quick marriage in a dance contest, but he finds true love, Harlan locates his duplicitous blonde, and all three sailors seem headed toward domestic bliss at the end.
A pleasant, low-keyed comedy.
Editorial Comments: Helen Wright’s movie career was a short one. According to one online source, she was an operatically trained singer with blue eyes and auburn hair. She made only one other film, Spurs, a western starring Hoot Gibson that was also released in 1930.
And in case you were wondering, the tattoo (or birthmark; sources vary) was on her knee.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Is this the silent or the talkie version?
According to imdb, the talkie version was lost, and the simultaneously produced silent version, for cinemas not yet adapted to sound, has survived.
The Doc
January 7th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
I’ll check my program and get back to you on this.
January 7th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
While you’re checking, Walker, another Cinecon report I discovered online says this about the movie:
DAMES AHOY! 1930 Universal. Here is another picture that has all the plot of a two reeler, but this talking feature stays interesting through out its length!
http://www.movieandpop.com/Cinecon-Report-ftopict7478.html
But confirmation of this would be good to have. And perhaps a photo from the program, if I’m not wishing for too much from the Cinecon staff, of Helen Wright…?
January 8th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
The Cinecon program described this as “the rare sound version.”
Unfortunately, the still used is a portrait of Glenn Tryon.
January 8th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Thanks for double-checking this, Walter. As far as I’ve been able to tell, all of the bootleg DVDs offered of this film are the silent version. It’s good to know that talkie exists, even though it seems to be unavailable. I’d like to see it!
And it’s too bad about the photo — not being that of Helen Wright, that is — but you can’t always get what you hope for…