{"id":18225,"date":"2011-06-23T20:24:15","date_gmt":"2011-06-24T03:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18225"},"modified":"2021-02-02T19:02:23","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T02:02:23","slug":"big-broadcast-of-1938-the-1938","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18225","title":{"rendered":"Big Broadcast of 1938, The (1938)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Remember the last time we were in jail together, darling?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-1938-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-1938-Poster-152x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-1938-Poster-152x300.png 152w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-1938-Poster.png 196w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 152px) 100vw, 152px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe owner (W.C. Fields) of an electrically-charged ocean liner challenges a rival ship to a race, while a radio show host (Bob Hope) with multiple ex-wives (Shirley Ross, Grace Bradley, and Virginia Vale) and a new fiancee (Dorothy Lamour) announces the ships&#8217; progress and keeps listeners entertained with performances by Tito Guizar, Kirsten Flagstad, Martha Raye, Shep Fields, and others.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At Sea<\/li>\n<li>Bob Hope Films<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Dorothy Lamour Films<\/li>\n<li>Ensemble Films<\/li>\n<li>Mitchell Leisen Films<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Radio<\/li>\n<li>W.C. Fields Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThe synopsis of this Paramount Studios musical variety film gives an accurate indication of how paper-thin its &#8220;plot&#8221; is. I suppose we&#8217;re meant to nominally care which ship &#8220;wins the race&#8221;, and then of course there&#8217;s the little matter of romantic entanglements between Hope, Lamour, Ross, and Leif Erickson (Hope is engaged to Lamour, who falls for Erickson; meanwhile, Hope falls BACK in love with Ross). But seriously, it&#8217;s all just an excuse to see the musical acts, which are a mixed bag but occasionally fun: the opening live action\/animated orchestral sequence, for instance, is cleverly done, and it&#8217;s trippy to watch Martha Raye (playing Fields&#8217;s loud-mouthed daughter) contorting and bouncing her way across the shipdeck with the help of a bevy of buff seamen. This film (the fourth in a series of similarly titled movies with similarly structured &#8220;plots&#8221;) is perhaps best remembered today for starring Hope in his feature-length debut, singing &#8220;Thanks for the Memories&#8221; with more genuine feeling and pathos than one would expect. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bob Hope singing &#8220;Thanks for the Memories&#8221; with Shirley Ross<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Bob-Hope.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Bob-Hope.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Bob-Hope.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Bob-Hope-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Bob-Hope-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The fun live action-animated sequence with Shep Fields&#8217; orchestra<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Droplet.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Droplet.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Droplet.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Droplet-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Droplet-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Martha Raye&#8217;s impressive gymnastic feats while dancing and singing &#8220;Mama, That Moon is Here Again&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Raye.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Raye.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Raye.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Raye-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Big-Broadcast-Raye-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book &#8212; likely because of the presence of Fields (though he&#8217;s not particularly memorable).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0029912\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1938\/03\/10\/archives\/the-screen-big-broadcast-of-1938-at-the-paramount-loses-a.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=3199\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=4626&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagoreader.com\/chicago\/the-big-broadcast-of-1938\/Film?oid=1056435\">Chicago Reader Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Remember the last time we were in jail together, darling?&#8221; Synopsis: The owner (W.C. Fields) of an electrically-charged ocean liner challenges a rival ship to a race, while a radio show host (Bob Hope) with multiple ex-wives (Shirley Ross, Grace Bradley, and Virginia Vale) and a new fiancee (Dorothy Lamour) announces the ships&#8217; progress and keeps listeners entertained with performances by Tito Guizar, Kirsten Flagstad, Martha Raye, Shep Fields, and others. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: At Sea Bob Hope&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18225\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18225"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68186,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18225\/revisions\/68186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}