| One of my favorite comedies | 1fatts 03/26/2007 |
This comedy, famously modelled on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs places the great Barbara Stanwyck doing the "heart of gold tramp" in the middle of seven ivory tower professors living a monastic life, dedicating themselves to the writing of a new encyclopedia. (You remember written encycolopedias; you used to be able to find them in libraries near the microfiche.)
The professors are a splendid gathering of the best of the character actors of the time: "Cuddles" Sakall, Henry Travers, Hichard Haydn and on and on. Their leader and chief egghead is Gary Cooper playing wonderfully against type. (He did this in a great comic western once: See "Along Came Jones" when it comes along.) The result is funny and charming; and, yes, we really are touched by the innocence of long ago and far away.
For those who don't know the work of the young Barbara Stanwyck, this is a good one to serve as introduction. She really is a ball of fire. |
N/R, 111 min.
