SPOILERS -- Annoying. Some annoying things in this film... I'm sure some of that is the black-face, the white person imitating a black person in such a racial, stereo-typed manner. But it's a little insulting that just everyone buys into the silly make-up and silly accent on Marion Davies, as she plays Lucille, the black maid, who is really a spy. As someone else pointed out, they break into song every couple of minutes. ( "Sleepy Head" by the Mills Brothers is actually quite well done.) The plot here is secondary... every now and then they stop singing to pretend the the Civil War is going on around them. Dramatic scene where "the maid" has to give evidence against a fellow spy, her friend, in the name of duty. Gary Cooper is in here, ostensibly co-starring. Some other fun cameos in here -- Sidney Toler, Hattie McDaniel, Sterling Holloway, Curly Howard. There's a skeleton of a plot in here, but I wish they had used more plot and less music. Davies, singing "Once in a LifeTime" as she swings, is just ridiculous. She did successfully jump from silents to talkies, but only made a couple more films after Operator 13. Much debate over whether the Hearst connection actually helped or hindered Davies' career. This one is okay. I was pretty surprised at the high rating, but it is only the result of 1000 votes so far. Gets better as it goes along. Directed by Richard Boleslawski, who died young a couple years after making this.
Review of Operator 13
