Wise-guy carnival barker Windy bilks a group of cowboys out of their money, gets caught and is forced into working off the debt on their ranch. He falls in love with Molly, the pretty owner of the ranch, but runs afoul of foreman Steve, who also loves Molly. Leila Hyams was MGM's perfect leading lady. She had a patrician beauty but a very unaggressive personality so she seemed to fit into any genre. She was paired well with Chester Morris in the powerful "The Big House" and again in the zippy pre-code comedy "Red Headed Woman". Only once did she show a spark of some hidden emotion - that was when she played the carnival girl in "Freaks" but whenever John Gilbert looked at her with intensity or William Haines wisecracked, there she was, unobtrusive and behaving like a perfect leading lady. The main reason I bought this DVD was to hear Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards sing "Singing a Song to the Stars" and even though he didn't get much of a chance to shine in this movie, I can guarantee that listening to his glorious falsetto will send shivers up your spine.<br/><br/>Windy (Haines) is a carnival barker (that's Ann Dvorak on the far left of the dancers) who also doubles as a gambling shyster. He bites off more than he can chew when he steal from a bunch of cowboys who promptly drag him to the nearest tree. He is saved by Buck (Charles Middleton "Ming the Merciless") who suggests that he work off what he stole from the cowboys by working on his shorthanded ranch. He doesn't get off to a good start - flirting with the "help", Molly (Hyams) who just happens to be the boss!!! Most of the movie seems to be centered on the tricks the cowboys play on Windy to bring him down a peg or two - like the old "putting him on a docile horse that just happens to be unrideable" and sending him into town for food which means gathering hay for the cows!! It doesn't really pick up pace until the end when Molly is bitten by a snake and Windy puts the fainting maiden into the car to travel to the Indian doctor. Pansy (Polly Moran) the cook, mistakes what she sees as a kidnapping and sends all the cowboys out for Windy's blood!!<br/><br/>If this was the best that MGM could come up with for one of their top stars (Haines) there might be a case for studio sabotage - on top of that there seemed to be some decidedly off colour jokes (mistaking him for the cook "Pansy") and name calling all at Haine's expense. Cliff Edwards as Trilby has less to do in this movie than any I have seen him in. Among the cowboys, a couple, Buddy Roosevelt and Jay Wilsey were soon to become regulars on the Gower Gulch circuit!! Other than the novelty of seeing a very effeminate performance from leading man William Haines, there isn't much to recommend this picture. It seems that despite the fact that Haines was a major silent star, in the sound age he was given crappy roles. I read a book ("The Leading Men of MGM" by Jane Ellen Wayne) that discussed leading men of the day and the author indicated that studio head, Louis B. Mayer did not like gay actors and so Haines, despite his great popularity, was given rotten films in order to destroy his career. I can't say for a fact that this is true, as the book seemed VERY scandalous and dished a lot of dirt, but based on this film, I tend to believe the author in this case. This isn't even good enough to be considered a B-movie! The writing is pretty terrible and clichéd, the action generally pretty cheesy and the whole idea of a stereotypically gay man trying to win a woman's love just seemed silly. An interesting curio, perhaps, but NOT a good film.
Plaund replied
295 weeks ago