"Thinking is a man's job", young balloon salesman David Newell says in this kitchy programmer from Tiffany Studios at the beginning of the talkie era. "All talking, with music!" advertisements declared, and indeed there are several musical sequences which really has nothing to do with the plot. For Yola d'Avril as a stereotypical temperamental French chanteuse, that means a song, and every moment she is on screen, all eyes must be on her or her character will raise the devil. Newell is a local balloon salesman hoping to get a scholarship and saving up money so he can go to college, and creates a stink in the marketplace when a traveling show arrives, claiming they are invading his face. I think their arrival would probably bring him more business, and several minutes are spent with a little boy screaming at him to give him his balloon while he argues with circus dancer Anita Louise.
But by the time their argument is over, it is obvious that the screenplay has them falling in love even though he treats her with absolute disrespect simply because she is a girl. Every word out of his mouth seems to be chauvinistic, and after a while, these lines get laughs simply because you just want to see how more ridiculous they can get. Eventually, he is pushing her to dance in a big contest which results in a production number at the end of the film filled with giant balloons although the camera barely moves. It is obviously a relic, and not a bad one, but not one I'd recommend searching out unless you want to see a real male chauvinist pig at work, even if he is handsome and somewhat charming.
But by the time their argument is over, it is obvious that the screenplay has them falling in love even though he treats her with absolute disrespect simply because she is a girl. Every word out of his mouth seems to be chauvinistic, and after a while, these lines get laughs simply because you just want to see how more ridiculous they can get. Eventually, he is pushing her to dance in a big contest which results in a production number at the end of the film filled with giant balloons although the camera barely moves. It is obviously a relic, and not a bad one, but not one I'd recommend searching out unless you want to see a real male chauvinist pig at work, even if he is handsome and somewhat charming.