Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937)

Director: David Butler

Starring: Eddie Cantor, Tony Martin, Roland Young, June Lang, Gypsy Rose Lee, Raymond Scott and His Quartet, John Carradine, Virginia Field

More info: IMDb

Plot: A movie company is doing the Arabian Nights when a hobo enters their camp, falls asleep and dreams he's back in Baghdad as advisor to the Sultan. In a spoof of Rosevelt's New Deal, he organizes work programs, taxes the rich and abolishes the army.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Hells, yeah!



I've known of Eddie Cantor since childhood but I never saw any of his pictures. HOLY SHIT THIS GUY'S FUNNY! This picture is a lot of fun. It's goofy and ridiculous and I loved it. Cantor's a ham and he knows it. He even pokes fun at himself at the end of the picture.

How about those eye rolls? I'm kind of at a loss for words. Not all of the gags were great but there were so many that I was surprised most of them hit their mark, but then this is the 1930s and people back then knew how to make some funny. I guess it's the overall playfulness of Cantor and the cast that jives with me. Oh, and the songs were bouncy and fun.

I found this picture delightful and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Cantor's films. I just don't know where I'm going to go next. Oh, and the guy that plays Cantor on the current HBO show, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, nails it.