User reviews

That romantic & devilishly handsome movie star, Jimmy Durante, decides to throw the HOLLYWOOD PARTY every celebrity in town will want to attend. And he does, with somewhat mixed results.

This nonsense film (no directors are credited, but several important ones were involved) was an excuse for MGM to show off, somewhat ostentatiously, its comedy talent. Enough talent, indeed, to waste. Laurel & Hardy show up for a scene with Lupe Velez and it is hilarious. The ubiquitous Polly Moran, Charles Butterworth & Arthur Treacher are generally worth watching. Ted Healey & The 3 Stooges, Jack Pearl & Eddie Quillan are hampered by inadequate material. Even Robert Young appears for a few moments, playing himself and looking a wee bit silly.

Apparently having wandered over from another studio, Mickey Mouse shows up unexpectedly, in animated form & voiced by Walt Disney. He proves he can hold his own in trading wisecracks with Durante and then introduces a fairly good Disney Technicolor cartoon, `Hot Chocolate Soldiers' and it's enjoyable.

If you get invited to this party, try hanging out with Stan & Ollie, or The Mouse. They're where all the fun is.

This is really a scrapbook of bits linked together by the word "party."

If you have ever wondered why The Three Stooges are so called, it is because they began life in vaudeville as the butt of Ted Healy's gags. In this film we see a rare instance of Healy and his stooges in action.

Classic is the piece where Lupe Velez teams up with Laurel and Hardy. A battle begins, which has since been quoted in a number of compilation films.

Perhaps the piece which steals the show is the colour cartoon by Disney. I have never ever seen it shown on Disney programmes, even though it is one of his best sequences.

It's worth watching just for these three features.

I don't often laugh out loud at movies but I found myself chuckling at several spots in this corny old film. It's one of those feel-good depression era flicks where they jammed lots of stars and production numbers together, without much of a plot, except for the fact that Jimmy Durante's having a party and everyone's invited.

But...who cares? Durante is hilarious, especially in the faux movie trailer for 'Schnarzan.' In a few of his scenes he comes across almost like Groucho in terms of lines and attitude. Lupe Velez is a hoot, especially when she gets excited and starts reaming people out in Spanish. And where else can you find the (uncredited) Three Stooges (with Ted Healy) and Laurel & Hardy under the same roof? With Mickey Mouse? And there's a very surreal color Disney cartoon right in the middle, with an odd song by Brown/Freed.

Use your fast-forward button to get through some of the tedious musical numbers, but make sure to catch the wild set with the orchestra members each on his own mini-balcony (and four pianists). There are some interesting special effects here and there, along with a heavy usage of "swipes" between scenes.

Robert Young and Arthur Treacher are in here, along with many others whom I suppose I would have recognized if I had been a moviegoer in the 30s. And there are a number of lines that must have slipped right past the censors, like Velez saying something about someone's "cook being goosed" or the closing barb by Durante's wife. He asks if he looks like a horse's head (based on an earlier dream sequence). She says, "No, not like a horse's HEAD" (very knowingly).

It's a hairbrained, silly plot but worth it just to watch all the stars go by.

What a hoot. Hilariously bad musical comedy that was butchered by MGM and dumped as a B film stars Jimmy Durante as a failing actor whose Schnarzan character needs a boost. So they decide to buy new lions (with teeth) to beef up his screen image. But his rival, Liondora, also wants the lions. So Durante throws a Hollywood party to lobby the lions' owner, Baron Munchausen, for a sale.

A great cast and some terrifically snappy production numbers and funny bits make this a total trip. Along with Durante we get Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy who got cheated out of the lions, Lupe Velez as Durante's spitfire Jane, Polly Moran and Charles Butterworth as Oklahoma oil millionaires, Arthur Treacher as a butler, Jack Pearl as the Baron, Ted Healy and the Three Stooges as autograph fiends, Eddie Quillan and June Clyde as the lovers, Frances Williams in the great "Hollywood Party" number, Shirley Ross, Harry Baris, and Robert Young as themselves, and a ton of small-part actors like Ferdinand Gottschalk, Nora Cecil, Clarence Wilson, Leonid Kinskey, Tom Kennedy, Gilbert Emery, Jed Prouty, Richard Carle, Edwin Maxwell, Ray Cooke, George Givot and Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey Mouse! "Hollywood Party" and "My One Big Moment" are great songs. Jimmy Durante is fun, Laurel and Hardy get a funny sketch with Lupe Velez and eggs, Polly Moran gets to sing, and then there's leggy and glittery Frances Williams and her great jazzy voice!

The hilarious Jimmy Durante, known for making fun of his own large schnozzola, sings his signature song in this film, "Inka Dinka Doo." Along the way some great songs by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart (before Rogers teamed with Oscar Hammerstein II to create some of America's greatest musicals), including the title song performed by Frances Williams, "Reincarnation" performed by Durante, and "Hello" performed by Durante and Jack Pearly. --Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

I love it when Hollywood parodies itself. That's one reason I decided to watch this film, which depicts the unprecedented frenzy surrounding Hollywood of its time, with everyone wanting to become a movie star or at least be close to one, rich people investing money in movies for both profits and fame, film producers and cast willing to do anything for a profit and movie stars considered to be, both by the public and themselves, the most important persons in the country.

The film shows all that by depicting a wild party in Hollywood thrown by movie star Schnarzan (as Tarzan), who wants to be some new, wild lions for his pictures because the public is bored of his old ones. There's not a sequenced plot, but rather a number of musical and humorous sketches, each directed by a different, always uncredited, director and with a different combination of actors appearing. There's even a short Technicolor cartoon presented by Mickey Mouse!

Both the musical numbers and the jokes presented would probably be entertaining in 1934, but in this day and age seem rather outdated. The clever portrayal of Hollywood paranoia and great performance by Jimmy Durante as Schnarzan save the day, however, and movie fans who have a thing for classic and pre-Code films might enjoy it.

The main reason I watched this movie is because I'm a Laurel and Hardy fan and I thought the boys were the stars. No such thing, however, as they appear only in two not-so-funny sketches, including one with Mexican bombshell Lupe Velez, and their screen time is about a mere ten minutes.

The film is hard to find nowadays and you should just skip it unless you are a fan of similar pictures and, in general, films of this particular era. In that case it's probably worth a shot.

'The Great Schnozzola' hosts a fabulous party at his mansion as part of a scheme to buy real lions (from Baron Munchausen no less) for his star character 'Schnarzan' to fight. The party is just an excuse to showcase a number of MGM stars (some of whom are still well known, some of whom are now obscure). Highlights are Ted Healy and Three Stooges being considered as examples of human evolution, Mickey Mouse (voiced by Walt Disney) introducing 'The Hot Choc-late Soldiers' - a surreal Techicolour musical cartoon, Laurel and Hardy swapping eggs with Lupe Velez, and a surprisingly well-done 'fight' between Durante and a lion. Needless-to-say, there are lots of nose jokes, including a hilarious sight gag about reincarnation in which Durante's role in the American Revolution is profiled. One look at Lupe Velez's thigh-barring gown (and fur pasties (!) in the 'Schnarzan' bit) proves that this is a pre-code comedy (as does the silhouette shot of a young woman getting dressed). Typical of the era and genre, there are some extravagant dance numbers (impressive), songs (not as impressive), and broad humour (some of which is still funny). Not great but worth watching for the highlights.

Jimmy Durante is the Tarzan-like star of Schnarzan the Conqueror. The public is tired of the fake lions and wants the real thing. When Baron Munchausen comes to town with real lions, Durante invites him to his Hollywood party along with all kinds of stars. The Clemps are oil tycoons from Oklahoma and they attract a con-man.

It's a lot of song and dance. I really don't like the Clemps' story. Mostly, I don't find them funny. Durante is only a little better. The Three Stooges have a scene but they end up mostly standing around with a bit of slapstick. Mickey Mouse shows up in another scene. The difference being that he's a bit meaner or maybe he's just more adult. The animated short is fascinating but two ideas came up. First, I'd want Mickey in the short. It seems natural. Second, it's disturbing to see the candy prisoners. Laurel and Hardy then show up to finish the second of the movie and have a much better time than The Stooges. Overall, I like the animated short, and I love Laurel and Hardy. I love Stan taking off his shoe to start a long eggs breaking gag. They saved this rather pedestrian musical with questionable comedy.

Hollywood jungle king Jimmy Durante (as "Schnarzan") is getting a little lion in the tooth. After seeing Greta Garbo's famous close-up conclude "Queen Christina" (1933), audiences pan a preview of Mr. Durante's newest loin-cloth adventure "Schnarzan the Conqueror!!!" Durante concludes the film franchise needs livelier lions, and has a "Hollywood Party" to celebrate the fact. Contrary to the promotional and opening credits, this film does not star Laurel and Hardy. You will see The Three Stooges (Larry, Moe and Curly) and wonder where you missed Stan and Ollie. They are featured later, with Mr. Hardy wearing a torn suit jacket (understandably, considering). This is a "revue" picture hanged around a spoof of MGM's "Tarzan" with Durante starring. And Jimmy Durante's movie "Jane" is Johnny "Tarzan" Weissmuller's wife Lupe Velez...

The party goes on too long - well, it seems too long even in a short movie. After a good opening, highlights occur sporadically. Don't miss the clever "I've Had My Moments" song and dance sequence by Eddie Quillan (as Bob) and June Clyde (as Linda). It occurs after about 30 minutes, just before The Three Stooges appearance; this Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn song became the film's only "new" hit, making the Hit Parades in a version by Lew Sherwood with Eddie Duchin's orchestra. The "I've Had My Moments" melody resembles the later hit "How About You?" (1941-42). Later, an animated Mickey Mouse introduces the color cartoon "The Hot Choc-Late Soldiers" by Walt Disney. Lastly, Laurel and Hardy become involved; some (not I) think their "breaking eggs" scene with Ms. Velez is a classic. For the end, MGM lions take over...

***** Hollywood Party (5/24/34) Allan Dwan ~ Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez, Eddie Quillan, Stan Laurel

The film is a huge assemblage of near-stars and Laurel and Hardy--with lots of silly Busby Berkeley-style song and dance routines and a totally forgettable romance between Eddie Quillan and some lady about whose identity I could not care less. These people all come to a party at Jimmy Durante's home and Jimmy is trying to convince one of the guests to sell him his collection of lions.

For film historians and fans of classic Hollywood comedy, this is a must-see film--even though the overall results are less than thrilling. That's because although the film lacked a decent plot and had many lulls, it still gives an interesting combination of Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, Jimmy Durante AND Mickey Mouse. Talk about a strange group of party guests!!! Sadly though, Laurel and Hardy get top billing even though they don't appear until near the end AND their scenes are far from distinguished--in fact, they are downright dull. The Stooges don't have a lot to be happy about here, either. Mickey is okay. The only one who had good writing and came off well was Durante--who played an amusing and improbable role as "Schnarzan"--sort of like a hairier and uglier Johnny Weismuller.

Overall, I'd give Jimmy Durante an 8, Stan and Ollie as well as the Stooges a 3, the romance a 1, the song and dance routines a 2 and the overall film a 4 for entertainment value and 8 for historical value. Using my complicated mathematical formula (known only to a select few), I'd give the film an overall score of 6--though this is being a tad charitable.

FYI--According to the Leonard Maltin Guide, TV versions lack the Mickey Mouse and color Chocolate Soldier cartoons, but when this was shown on Turner Classic Movies this was indeed included.

Big budget movie concerning Jimmy Durante throwing a party so that Baron Munchhausen will let him use his killer lions in an up coming entry in his Schnarzan series. Various stars show up and sing and dance.

Scatter-shot- and I do mean scatter-shot musical comedy showcasing many of MGM's lesser stars. Its a good segment followed by a poor, a great throw away line followed by a poor one. Huge production numbers are done to mediocre songs. Its an odd ball affair that I picked up on a used VHS tape because its the only film I know that has both Laurel and Hardy and the Three Stooges (who were still working with Ted Healy). Stan and Ollie, who's pictures are on the sleeve of the tape don't show up until about 55 minutes into the film. They are very good, but no match for Lupe Valez who runs over them and everyone else she comes in contact with. She is the best human in the film.(She was a great actress with the right part).The Stooges show up about 35 minutes in and play autograph hounds trying to get signatures.they are good but their bit is simply too short to really work.

Of real interest (and the best thing besides Velez) is the appearance of Mickey Mouse. This is a cantankerous Mickey who gets into a fight with Durante before singing a song which leads into an animated segment called Hot Chocolate Soldiers.This is a light song about a chocolate soldier army going to war against gingerbread people.The images are rather dark and nasty and had I been a kid the whole thing might have given me nightmares.(or not since the darkness comes from knowing what war is, which as a child I wouldn't have understood as well.) Its an strange piece that like much of the film doesn't fit with anything else.(It also seems more like a Fleischer or Van Buren cartoon as opposed to a Disney one.

Worth a look on TV, but not as something to search out, odds are anyone loving old movies or cartoons will find something to like (even as they find much to dislike). 5 out of 10 for the good and the bad.

This film is excellent if you take it for what it is - a thin but pleasant comical storyline as an excuse for what turns out to be practically a revue of MGM's lesser stars of the day, plus two great stars - Laurel and Hardy - that didn't even work for the studio. However, Hal Roach did distribute his films through MGM, thus the boys do show up in a couple of MGM films of this era. Also, Disney's Mickey Mouse shows up for a comedic bit. I'd love to know how MGM ever worked that out with Walt.

The jist of the plot is that Schnarzan (Durante) is losing his audience for his jungle jaunt movies since the death of his original lion. People think that the subsequent lions he wrestles in his films are flimsy excuses for courageous carnivores and box office receipts are beginning to drop. His producer says that he can guarantee a hit if Durante can procure one or more of the lions of the famous Baron Munchausen who is a renowned hunter of wild beasts. Durante decides to wine and dine the baron at his mansion and give a big party in his honor.

There are a couple of very good precode musical numbers in this film including the title song featuring scantily clad chorus girls in various states of undressing/dressing and singing and dancing telephone operators dressed up in weird metallic outfits. At the party Lupe Valez spars with Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges put in an appearance back when they were still with Ted Healy, and there is an early musical cartoon number involving chocolate soldiers with music by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Finally there are Charles Butterworth and Polly Moran as a wealthy oil magnate and his wife who have some hilarious moments.

If you don't know who any of the people I just mentioned are, you are probably not going to like this film. If you know who all or most of them are you are sure to enjoy it as one of the last pre code films made, released just one month before strict enforcement of the code began.

This really is a movie with a story you just couldn't care less about.

The movie had some good potential, with a couple of at that time well known actors appearing at a Hollywood party. Sounds like enough material to make a fun and good movie with. The movie however isn't that much fun as you would expect. It's totally uninteresting to follow, with a bunch of characters and different love stories you just don't care about. The movie gets still fun and is somewhat saved toward the ending of the movie when Mickey Mouse and Laurel & Hardy appear in the movie (yeah a weird combination I known).

The movie also features some horrible and typical signing and dancing routines that don't seem to end and at times go on for over 5 minutes. You know, songs that always sound the same and are about cheerful things, with lines that don't even sound musically. Thank goodness for the fast forward button.

It's a real waste of some good potential and some good actors. Obviously Laurel & Hardy are underused, also because at the beginning of the movie they are falsely presented as two of the main characters. Jimmy Durante is a good and fun actor but it just isn't enough to spice things up in the movie. Guess that the highlight of the movie really is the animated chocolate soldiers sequence, presented by Mickey Mouse himself, who also gives a pretty good Jimmy Durante imitation.

The move could had been so much more fun to watch but it still definitely has some moments in it that makes this movie a still perfectly watchable one.

6/10

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MGM hodgepodge of Jimmy Durante throwing a big party for everybody in Hollywood. No major stars show up--we get the Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, Durante and Lupe Velez. I didn't recognize anyone else--they were probably unknowns (for good reason). The movie contains annoyingly unfunny jokes and some truly dreadful songs and choreography. The only things that save this from being a total disaster are Laurel & Hardy's "battle" with Lupe Velez and a wonderful color Disney cartoon called "The Hot Chocolate Soldier". It's a beautiful, very colorful cartoon that gives the movie a huge boost. Otherwise, the movie is a colossal bore. There's no director credited--what does that tell you?

Jimmy Durante spoofs Johnny Weismuller's Tarzan by playing a jungle film star who throws a lavish party for his Hollywood friends (complete with Zeigfeld style musical numbers). Lupe Velez (the real life Mrs. Weismuller) spoofs Maureen O'Sullivan's "Jane" character (controversial at the time for "Jane's" skimpy outfits). Durante is annoying but Velez shines with the best bit teaming her with Laurel & Hardy. The Three Stooges appear as autograph seekers. This MGM musical features an appearance by Mickey Mouse who spoofs Durante and introduces the Disney color cartoon "Hot Chocolate Soldiers." The 70 minute plot is a mess with the parts being better than the sum, however a must for fans and collector's of the aforementioned appearances.

"Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" is what Oliver Hardy would say to Stan Laurel whenever they both were in figurative hot water. Well, this movie was a nice mess their boss, Hal Roach, managed to get them into by loaning them to M-G-M, the studio that distributed the Roach films at the time, for this! L & H are some of the few comic gems in the movie especially when they do the "egg battle" sequence with Lupe Velez. They're top-billed here but they're not the stars. That goes for next-billed Jimmy Durante playing a movie star known for Tarzan-like movies. Yes, that plays as ridiculous as it sounds as some of the scenes involving that premise is pretty funny. But the movie takes breaks from that plot to showcase some interesting numbers, as well as showcase Ted Healy and his Stooges-Moe, Larry, and Curly. After this movie, Healy and those Stooges would split with Ted remaining at Leo the Lion's studio and his former Stooges going to Columbia doing short subjects that would be rerun in perpetuity to the present day! Oh, and also Mickey Mouse makes a rare appearance outside of the Disney studio and intros the Technicolor cartoon called Hot Chocolate Soldiers which was pretty entertaining. In summary, Hollywood Party was an interesting hodgepodge of scenes that may or may not amuse you depending on your mood for such material...

Jimmy Durante, star of the Schnarzan film series, is slipping in the box office and needs something to spice up his films. A visiting baron has some wild lions that might just do that, so Durante throws a big party at which he will attempt to close the deal. His arch rival Liondora has the same idea and crashes the party, disguised (barely) as an archduke. Things really get out of hand when Micky Mouse does a Durante imitation, the 3 Stooges show up as photographers, and Laurel and Hardy arrive to claim the lions as their own.

If this sounds too good to be true, be forewarned that the previous paragraph pretty much covers all the highlights of the film. Although truly hilarious in a few places (Laurel and Hardy particularly stand out), the comedy is unfortunately overshadowed by mediocre song and dance routines which probably won't hold much interest for today's audiences. The film has a certain nostalgic value and the opening Schnarzan sequence is a must see for any Jimmy Durante fan, but there are otherwise many better films in which to watch these stars at work.

This movie starts out with two lavish production numbers, including attractive, skimpily-clad young women and elaborate dance routines. One could be forgiven for mistaking it for the beginning of one of Paramount's first big Marx Brothers movies, except that the songs are completely forgettable. Yet some of these songs were written by Rodgers and Hart!

The movie goes downhill from there, except for a pleasant if not great color animation sequence with Mickey Mouse that was contributed by Walt Disney.

Others loved the sequence with Laurel and Hardy and Lupe Velez. It didn't make me laugh. In fact, almost nothing in this movie did.

It's just stale humor, not even really trying to make us laugh.

I sat through this movie - it's only 68 minutes - because I had a head cold and wasn't up to anything else, stuck on the sofa with a box of Kleenex. If you have anything better to do, I'd advise you do it rather than watch this waste of time and money.

"Hollywood Party" is one of those films that has no plot and a few famous faces thrown in. The film is a right shambles and pretty boring. That is except for the cameo made by Laurel and Hardy. They make "Hollywood Party" worth it, thanks to a few marvellous sketches. They play a couple of lion sellers who turn up at the party in question to collect their money from the owner of the house. Once Laurel and Hardy leave the film, it is time to stop watching.

For film buffs, this one has real curiosity value. There are plenty of reasons for today's fans to be turned off by the poorly staged musical interludes--but movie buffs will appreciate seeing Lupe Velez, The Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, Mickey Mouse and Jimmy Durante all doing their best to liven things up.

The script is a mess and somebody came up with the idea of having all the creaky episodes turn out to be a dream that Jimmy Durante wakes up from for the final scene, a device that may have been well ahead of its time.

Durante is his old irrepressible self but the highlight of the film is when he interacts with an animated Mickey Mouse, who then proceeds to steal the film by introducing a color short from Disney called "Hot Chocolate Soldiers".

The cartoon sequence is the only valid reason for paying attention at this point. Amusing, clever and maybe astonishing is the word when you consider Disney made this little color cartoon in 1934, before his studio was capable of the kind of stuff they did later on.

Well worth watching for Mickey alone!

I love this film! The storyline is cheesy & campy but just so much fun to watch! It's a parody on Busby Berkely's choreography, and there are so many inconsistencies it's a real kick to laugh at & just enjoy, after all, isn't that why it was Done in the first place? The early 30s was the heyday of the "Musical Novelty" genre, and this one puts it all together in one piece! Making fun of its own "stars" Jimmy Durante's "Schnarzan", Charles Butterworth's dry deadpan humor, (so bad that it's good!) Jack Pearl's doing his own character of Baron Munchhausen, and omigod!!! Polly Moran as a sex object, and her trying to sing!!! They're all making fun of themselves and each other, and all seemed to be having a whooping fun time doing the picture! But its saving-grace scene, which makes the whole thing worthwhile, Is Lupe Velez with Laurel & Hardy, the eggs-in-the-pants unspoken piece of shtick, with only the body English performing, is just hilariously beautiful! And when She starts laughing, and socks them both, they all start breaking up, the camera cuts away to the next shot, I'm convinced they ad-libbed the whole thing just for the hell of it, and broke down when they couldn't't hold back any longer, it's that funny! This is a true comedy classic, a welcome relief from the heavy dramas of the day, a real keeper in my book!

Watching this film reminded me of the story of Buster Keaton's descent as an actor/director/producer. His stock company was dissolved in the late 20s and he eventually went in "all softened up" with drink and signed a contract with MGM, who promised him the moon. He managed to make one great picture with them, "The Cameraman" before succumbing to MGM's comedy "machine." They surrounded him with "funny" producers, directors and production workers who ignored Buster's natural comedic genius. He became depressed, due to drink, personal problems and MGM's incompetence with comedy, to make one sad picture after another through the 30s and 40s, and even appeared drunk on film. MGM almost ruined his career, if it wasn't for a resurgence having to do with television and film in the 50s and 60s.

Before launching into my critique and utter confusion as to what the rest of the commentators found funny in Hollywood Party, I'd like to make an observation about comedies in general. They are very, very hard to make. That is why there are so very few memorable comedies. Many of them fall flat and are soon forgotten. In my opinion, there are less than 5 funny films that are truly funny per decade.

With that in mind, MGM's "comedy touch" is on full display with Hollywood Party. That is, they have none. Their comedy by committee, led by LB Mayer, falls incredibly flat here. That no director actually took credit for this excessive, putrid mess signals the genesis of the "Alan Smithee" idea.

It seems this film attempted to make a star out of Jimmy Durante by solely featuring him and his antics. He is very annoying. His Schnarzan one-joke character falls flat and like in the picture, the public (and the audience) quickly tires of his fake lions and what follows. Schnarzan, MGM's self-promoting spoof on its Tarzan series, turns out to be nothing but a dream...a sure sign of the producer throwing up his hands and copping out.

This Lollapalooza film with no comic material wastes talent like Laurel and Hardy and Ted Healy and The Three Stooges, although the L&H sequence with the ill-fated Lupe Velez was outstanding in comparison. Many have made light of an all-star cast but most of the cast was actually anonymous. A clip of Greta Garbo was thrown in to add star power...Marie Dressler and Joan Crawford were mentioned, but didn't appear in the film. The rest of the "stars" included Jack Pearl, Polly Moran, Charles Butterworth, Arthur Treacher and Robert Young.

The color Walt Disney short, The Choc-late Soldiers is well done but incredibly weird and sick. It has to do with a bunch of soldiers made out of chocolate going to war. In keeping with Disney's bizarre obsession with death and mayhem, many of them come back at the end of the short in a parade, many with broken off limbs.

I love comedies and especially films from the 30s. But this was an overblown stinker and it shows MGM's complete lack of a comedic touch.