Wonder Man (1945)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Arthur Sheekman (story)
Jack Jevne (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

26 March 1946 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Fantasy

Plot:

Boisterous nightclub entertainer Buzzy Bellew was the witness to a murder committed by gangster Ten Grand Jackson...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Gangster | Ghost | Witness | Twins

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Danny Kaye	...	Edwin Dingle / Buzzy Bellew
Virginia Mayo	...	Ellen Shanley
Vera-Ellen	...	Midge Mallon
Donald Woods	...	Monte Rossen
S.Z. Sakall	...	Schmidt
Allen Jenkins	...	Chimp
Edward Brophy	...	Torso
Steve Cochran	...	Ten Grand Jackson
Otto Kruger	...	Distrcit Attorney
Richard Lane	...	Asst. District Attorney
Natalie Schafer	...	Mrs. Hume
Huntz Hall	...	Sailor
Virginia Gilmore	...	Sailor's Girl Friend
Edward Gargan	...	Policeman in Park (as Ed Gargan)
Alice Mock	...	Prima Donna

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Australia:G (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/6 | USA:Unrated | Sweden:15

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

Vera-Ellen's first film.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Edwin Dingle: Potato salad!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

So in Love

One of the Best Kaye Vehicles

His first film success was in UP IN ARMS with Dinah Shore and Dana Andrews. But the first film that Danny Kaye made that has his real hallmarks is WONDER MAN. Kaye not only had the regular film plot to work with, but tackled cultural satire as well. From his performance of that tongue twisting tune "Tschaikowski" in LADY IN THE DARK, Kaye had done some spoof in his films and music about culture. In UP IN ARMS it was his musical number about the plot of a Hollywood film, but it was done quickly and had nothing to do with the rest of the film. In WONDER MAN it is the conclusion of the film, wherein Kaye has to pass a message about a missing key witness to a murder to the District Attorney without being arrested or killed, and does so by taking over center stage in a performance of an opera at the Metropolitan Opera. It is, after the mess done to Il Trovatore in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, the destruction of an opera by Paul Douglas in EVERYBODY DOES IT, and the miss sung performance of Mae West in Samson and Delilah in GOING TO TOWN, the best spoof of an opera I know of in movie comedies. I don't know what is the opera supposed to be (I keep thinking it is from Verdi's SIMON BOCANEGRA, but I am not sure). The film is good, and was the first to show what to expect from Kaye. Soon would come THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, and THE COURT JESTER. It did get better and better for a decade or so.