I’m not a huge Danny Kaye fan (though I love his voice work in the old holiday special Here Comes Peter Cottontail) so I had some mixed feelings about his 1945 film Wonder Man. This was only his second lead in a feature film and it does show from time to time. More on that later. In Wonder Man Kaye plays twins- Edwin Dingle and Buzzy Bellew. Buzzy is a comedic nightclub performer while Edwin is a bookish, socially awkward man. When Buzzy is killed by gangsters after witnessing a murder, his ghost seeks out his brother Edwin to help him set things right.
Supporting Kaye in this movie are two beautiful actresses- Vera-Allen plays Buzzy’s fiancé’ and would become a frequent co-star of his, Wonder Man being her movie debut. Kaye’s other co-star was Virginia Mayo (The Best Years of Our Lives, White Heat) who played Edwin’s love interest and would also work with him a couple more times in the future. Both ladies do their jobs and do what the story requires of them. Vera-Allen singing (though her singing was dubbed) and dancing in the big production numbers and Mayo being the confused love interest. I found Danny Kaye’s performance(s) a little inconsistent. Now he was playing two different guys and when he would transition between them it he could be pretty funny. I think his lack of experience in films shows itself with just how big he plays everything. He’s playing to the back row and there isn’t a back row in movies. When the character of Edwin is introduced he plays him very subdued and controlled, but Buzzy, and when Buzzy is driving Edwin, sometimes falls into mugging and just making goofy noises. I could deal with it if it was just once, but it happens a few times and gets less funny each time. I’m not diminishing his talent. Danny Kaye could do the comedy AND the singing and dancing in really big production numbers. If you watch Wonder Man followed by White Christmas, which was 10 years later, you’ll see what I’m talking about. He’s much more polished and in control in White Christmas.
The actual story of the ghost using his brother to bring down the gangsters and the two love stories is pretty simple so some scenes feel like filler, like a whole bit involving a grocery owner (played by S.Z. Sakall, who was a standout in Casablanca) that just goes on way too long and then is revisited later. There are also a few big production numbers that happen in the club where Buzzy works/worked that also fill time in order to bring the film to it’s 98 minute running time. At least for me, I laughed a few times but there were really no big laughs. The technicolor has it’s own beauty, but the transfer I watched made the color seem to smear a bit, almost like black & white movies that have been colorized. I don’t blame the technicolor, just the transfer you can stream on Amazon Prime. Director H. Bruce Humberstone was something of a utility director having done musicals, rom-coms, westerns, several of the Charlie Chan movies, and some later Tarzan flicks. His work here on Wonder Man is fine, but I will say his handling of the special effects, that are actually pretty effective, is quite good. As a matter of fact, the film won the Academy Award for it’s Special Effects, along with nominations for its music.
If you are a fan of Danny Kaye and haven’t happened to see this one, it’s probably worth your time. Personally, I thought it was ok. I liked some of it but it also started to test my patience. A couple of the musical numbers were a little too long, while others were great. Bali Boogie, which can be a bit problematic today, is the standout and the first in the movie. There are better musicals from the 1940’s out there, and even better Danny Kaye musicals, but if you’re in the mood for a goofy old musical with a sense of fantasy, you might enjoy Wonder Man
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