Here Comes Kelly

This rather dull Monogram programmer is a remake of a picture from the early 1930s. Despite some interesting antecedents -- including being based on a story by Dore Schary -- it rarely shows much in the way of flair, with the exception of the scenes with Armida, who looks interested in being the new Lupe Velez. But the photography is workaday, the acting rarely more than adequate and the jokes are too low-key to be worth much. Even Luis Alberni can't put much into a rather straightforward performance made between gigs with Preston Sturges. Maxie Rosenbloom is amusing, but he is on for just a couple of minutes.

Most of this can be laid at the feet of director William Beaudine, a veteran of the silent days who worked for another three decades. His nickname was 'One-Shot' and, so long as there was film in the camera and the lens cap off, he rarely bothered with a second take; and of Eddie Quillan, the lead, who was often good playing small comedy bits, but seems to have taken this rare lead too seriously.