Wonder Bar

The last production number, with Jolson in blackface, is absolutely appalling. In the production's presentation, heaven is segregated, all the black folks are white folks in blackface (even the children), and are happy picking' and singing' picking pork chops off the pork chop tree, and shufflin' along. Until then, it's passible entertainment, but none of the musicals numbers are especially memorable like in the best of Warner's depression-era musicals, and except for Jolson, Dick Powell, and a wonderful performance by Dolores Del Rio, all the other performances are tired and forced. There are way way better choices among Buzz Berkeley's body of work.

All of the Busby Berkeley movies I've seen are marvelous in their own way. This one is no exception. I give it high marks for its very pre-Code attitude: lots of naughty people doing and saying naughty things. The staging of the musical numbers is, as always, spectacular. Be aware, though, that the final number, with Al Jolson in blackface with a giant watermelon and an Uncle Tom joke, makes Song of the South look like a civil rights drama.

. . . impressive sets, jaw-dropping choreography, banal songs, a good example of why Jolson was such a popular entertainer, stupefying dialogue and an eleborate musical number so amazingly condescending that it serves as an entire lesson in race relations.

A dramatic musical with the strangest Al Jolson blackface number ever - Going to Heaven On a Mule. So racist a vision that its almost unbearable, but it does show how America regarded blacks as recently as the 1930's. It's too sharp an image to ever forget and it should be remembered and reviled.

A piece from a time when blackface, misogyny, racist jokes, etc were all considered perfectly fine.Ugh.

One star off, I had to, for the songs (not a good one in the bunch, Warren/Dubin, Hollywood hacks) and the blackface finale. Although (a paradox) this one (and every person in it was white in blackface) was actually slanted slightly pro-black (eg in heaven, a black and white chicken are in a cage, the white one gets fried and eaten, the black one lives on). But -The jokes (all were Jolson's) were actually funny. One I loved (the first one) - Al sees a sad friend, the friend is sad because his wife just had their 5th child, the friend said he'd sworn if his wife had another baby he'd shoot himself. Al says, "Don't do it. You could be shooting an innocent man."Clever, well-structured, dialog wasn't "Casablanca" or "Sunset Blvd." but got the story (and what a story!) clearly across. As I heard Milton Berle shout at a rally (no, I wasn't there) when Jolson had finished a number, "I can see why they call you the world's greatest entertainer!" Jolson was wonderful. If the man did have the massive ego he's disparaged with, it certainly didn't diminish his talent any!I read in other reviews on this site that this flick was released just a few months before Hollywood censorship clamped down. They sure took advantage of their freedom!This is from Warner Bros. Arkive Collection and apparently is a DVD-R. Whatever that would amount to. Disc and case look perfectly commercial. And the picture and sound were as good as anything else from the 30s.I liked it.

Ending was a huge offensive blackface number. Ruined what could have been a charming musical

this DVD arrived on time, well packaged and just as described

In the canon of glorious Busby Berkeley choreographed musicals Wonder Bar is often overlooked, probably because one of its two big numbers, "Going to Heaven on a mule", is by today's standards at best tacky and at worst deeply offensive for religious and racial reasons.However beyond that the film is an excellent example of a "portmanteau" plot in which several stories are successfully interwoven during one evening at the glamourous Wonder Bar in gay Paree. It features an excellent cast, with Dolores Del Rio and Kay Francis vying with each other in the glamour stakes - they were equally fabulous, in exotic creations of black and silver! Al Jolson seemed less ego - centric than he does sometimes, Dick Powell was his usual attractive 'jeune premier' and Ruth Donnelly, Louise Fazenda, Hugh Herbert and Guy Kibbee greatly amused me as they flirted with other guests under the noses of their respective spouses!The score is nice, Dick Powell does well with his two numbers, and the other big routine "Don't say goodbye" is well up to Berkeley's usual high standard and more than compensates for the unfortunate excesses of the other.I think this film was made just before the Production censorship code was introduced as it daringly allows a murder to go unpunished, and also has a very funny little gay exchange as a man cuts in on a dancing couple only to dance away with the man, to which Jolson quips, "Well boys will be boys!" It's one of the most overt gay moments I can recall in any film of this era!Wonder Bar certainly deserves better recognition, it's a snappy, witty production which I greatly enjoyed. The print used is perfectly acceptable with good sound level.You can't go wrong with this one!

I have collected nearly all of the Busby Berkeley Musicals and admire his talent for creating spectacular dance numbers that convey one to another world usually far removed from the 'on stage' situation from which they begin. This film does not quite convey this impression and is not in the same class as 'Gold Diggers Of 1933' for instance, however there are some good moments namely 'Going To Heaven On A Mule'. This may not please the PC brigade but to one who enjoyed the Black and White Minstrels on TV it is all good clean fun. I was not impressed with Al Jolson's character or his songs but Dick Powell is his usual affable self and in good voice. There are some mildly funny performances from Hugh Herbert and Guy Kibble. Altogether I think this rather quirky DVD is a worthwhile addition to collectors of this genre of film.

The DVD was great

If you want to see a film that will never be on TV again then this is it. A film that was controversial upon release for a blatant homosexual kiss ("May I cut in?"), and Al Jolson's closing musical number, "Going to heaven on a mule", with an all-white cast all of whom are blacked up are the highlights, although the plot is a bit thin. The major dance routine choregraphed by Busby Berkeley is excellent and more details of the controversy can be found here: [...]

Received as promised. Played fine. Mother liked it.