The last time Java's Journey saw Askey he was running away from a bevy of man-hungry beauties in Bees in Paradise (1944). Now he's rounding them up for the war effort, apparently. Arthur Bowman (Askey) runs a failing dating agency that is pepped up with the arrival of his American business partner Terry Arden (Evelyn Dall).
A particularly insatiable customer, Captain Rory O'More (Peter George Wellesley Graves), falls for an escort named Gail (Anne Shelton) who quits the business after one date. He offers financial solvency to the firm if they can set up another meeting. Will they succeed? Will Gail cooperate or find it demeaning?
The premise of flesh peddling is a bit disturbing, but they manage to elicit a chuckle or two out of me. When last we saw him, Graves was out of his element in the outdoors in Bees in Paradise. Here, in a bedroom farce, he's in fine form. The one liners flow out of him easily. I choked with laughter at his sad attempts to woo Gail.
This movie constantly winks at the audience, which is charming or annoying depending on the audience's mood. I find it charming. Gail refers to Captain O'More as a knock-off David Niven, for example. As was common in 1940s comedies, there are impressions of your favorite stars, including Dall impersonating Groucho Marx. She cracks me up!
Recommendation
Bees in Paradise (1944)- a bizarre comedy about an island of women who kill their mates. It's from the same studio as Miss London - Gainsborough Pictures
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