Topic: A Star is Shorn (1939) - Danny Webb

[Paul Pain]

https://vimeo.com/492520256

Watch A STAR IS SHORN at the link above. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190037/

I will leave the discussion of Danny Webb to others, but let it suffice to say he had an interesting career even if he isn't well-known today.

A STAR IS SHORN opens in an unique way for a Columbia short.  Since the title is a spoof on the famous A STAR IS BORN, the producers decided to make the title card also be a spoof of the same film.

This is your typical well-supported late 1930s comedy short.  There is a solid cast from top to bottom; there are some great outdoor scenes; we get some crazy shots involving dummies; and there is an extended chase scene.

Ethelreda Leopold gets here her biggest role in any Columbia short she appears in.  In fact, here she is a literal co-star and is the center of the plot.  She shows here that she is much more than just a pretty face.  She could act, and wow does she have a figure 

Danny Webb and Mary Treen carry the weight of the short here in fine fashion.  Danny goes great as the quick-talking, food-obsessed shyster type, and Mary is perfect as the reluctant sidekick.  Supposedly Danny was contracted to make two more shorts, but these were never produced; if they had been made, Mary would have made a good co-star for those as well.  The best thing, though, is that these two clearly had the short written around their talents as opposed to just playing a role.

The supporting cast deserves 2 special mentions: Dudley Dickerson and Cy Schindell.  At the risk of spoiling things, I will say both are top-notch here and deliver a lot of laughs to this short.  Both men were comic geniuses who don't get enough love when discussing these productions.

Everything moves at a good pace, and the plot is solid.  The production value is excellent, and the cast is great.  This is everything you want in a comedy short.

9/10

[Umbrella Sam]

Looking forward to getting to this when I get a chance. Danny Webb was a fairly prolific cartoon voice actor in the late 1930s and early 1940s, probably best remembered for voicing Woody Woodpecker for a brief period (it’s also believed that he was one of Pinto Colvig’s replacements as Goofy when Colvig briefly left Disney). I also wanted to note that Webb also went by the name of Dave Weber, which has caused some confusion among classic cartoon fans, who previously thought they were different people.

[metaldams]

A couple of Stooge references.  We again have a producer named B.O. Botswaddle just like in THREE MISSING LINKS.  There also a scream that can be heard twice when a door is closed on someone later in the short.  Same scream heard in Buster Keaton’s PEST FROM THE WEST - it’s actually Curly’s voice.

1939 Columbia and this one definitely had the production values and though not a reflection of the film itself, this is a real nice print we get to watch this week.  There’s background music in the beginning and tons of scenery changes, so obviously the budget was being used. 

Webb himself is a guy who simply brings energy to the proceedings and does impersonations.  I really dig his Charles Laughton impersonation.  Mary Treen really impressed me.

As for Ethelreda, going to have to respectfully disagree with Paul.  I thought she looked uncomfortable throughout and was upstaged acting wise by Mary Treen, Vernon Dent, or whoever else she was on the screen with.  Obviously a beautiful girl and I really do think she showed potential as the Brooklyn harem girl in WEE WEE MONSIEUR.  I just don’t think it carried over here. 

As far as the parade of beauties at the beginning, some looked familiar, but number three appears to be Suzanne Ridgway.  She also showed up with the chorus girls later on.  Can anybody spot who any of the other girls are?

[Umbrella Sam]

Well, the Looney Tunes fan in me was really happy to see this because it confirmed to me that Webb was indeed the voice of Elmer Fudd’s precursor, Egghead (that little “yes” he does during his Joe Penner imitation matches the “yes” at the end of DAFFY DUCK AND EGGHEAD perfectly).

Yeah, parts of this are quite strange for a Columbia short and the production values seem unusually high. However, Webb and Mary Treen actually do make a pretty good pairing, enough to the point that I think it’s a shame Columbia never actually tried pursuing a series with them (although since Webb enlisted in 1941, it wouldn’t have lasted long anyway). I have to agree with metaldams regarding Ethelreda; she really doesn’t do much outside of that moment at the end where she and Mary Treen are kicking Danny Webb. The chases are fun, though, and Cy Schindell makes for a good cop. There are some stereotype jokes in here I could have done without, but they don’t take up much of the short. For the most part, the focus is on Danny and Mary, and they definitely deliver.