SHOW BUSINESS (what an imaginative title) is a look back at the heyday of vaudeville, with nods to its antecedent, burlesque. When this was made in 1944, vaudeville wasn't that long gone, so I suspect a lot of the original audience must have found the movie a strong nostalgia pull. Eddie Cantor and George Murphy play two vaudevillians hooked up with a pair of female vaudevillians played by Joan Davis and Constance Moore. They perform classic number after classic number in a virtually plot-free movie. Cantor of course is marvelous, if a little long in the tooth for the role. Murphy and Davis, both pretty young at the time, hold their own. Only Moore seems out of place, although she does her best. Musical numbers\include "It Had to Be You" and the Al Jolson classic, "Dinah." A blackface number comes as a shock to these 21st century eyes, but what are you gonna do? Cut it out? I am sure it was in years past, but the number is integral to the proceedings and entertaining without being overtly offensive. It reminds the viewer of vaudeville's deepest roots, the minstrel shows of centuries past.
Review of Show Business
