Grade: D-
Synopsis: A wrestling promoter (Humphrey Bogart) pits his lug of a grappler (Nat Pendleton) against an Ozark mountain man, with an Amazon blacksmith as the prize.
Swing Your Lady is awful. In fact, it may be the worst movie of Humphrey Bogart’s career. Yes, worse than The Return of Doctor X (1939). That disaster was so bad it was laughable. This disaster is just so bad.
For starters, despite Bogart and Frank McHugh getting top billing, the film revolves around Nat Pendleton’s character, and Pendleton is hardly up to the task of carrying the picture. His one-note performance has all the charisma of a boulder, and is about as much fun to watch. It’s a double shame, since Bogart and McHugh make a decent pair, but they’re both wasted here.
Next, there are the various hillbilly shenanigans that routinely grind the film to a halt, whether it be the impromptu hoedowns, Louise Fazenda wrestling Bogart into crying “Hootie Owl”, or the atrocious dialog that feels about as authentic as Bogart’s performance. For a film that seems targeted at rural audiences, it’s pretty insulting.
Finally, it’s amazing that, at only 77-minutes, Swing Your Lady feels twice that length. Yes, that’s Ronald Reagan as a sports reporter toward the film’s end, and if you made it that far into the film congratulations. Now go warn others not to do the same.
2 Responses on “Swing Your Lady (1938)”:
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Brandon said:
Wow, “various hillbilly shenanigans” sounds awesome! … to bad they’re not. Who woulda thunk it?
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Sophie Jean Miranda said:
Grade: B+
I loved this film. First of all I was able to find out who Louis Fazenda really was..she’s at her best in this one.And you just wonder that Hal Wallis knew he was in the money when he married her. And I loved Humphrey Bogart before he developed the snarl that made him famous. The scene where he has to chase all the chickens out of his roadster cracked me up as did the impromptu wrestling match with Fazenda where he has to say “hootie owl”. Also, Penny Singleton who went on to fame by taking up the serial role of Blondie in the Blondie and Dagwood films, here is brunette and who knew she had such a professional, controlled singing voice! That was a pleasant and fun surprise. I loved the song “I’m a Hillbilly from Manhattan.” Someone just doesn’t know a treasure when they find one.
Sophie Jean
