Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Alasdair Orr Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

SimonJack Rudy Vallee was the top crooner on radio by the time of talking pictures in 1929. "The Vagabond Lover" was his first major picture in which the public got to see the singer they had listened to the past few years. The film is also one of the very first "talkies" made, and had Marie Dressler in it. These reasons combined give the film some historical value. But aside from some of the songs, there isn't a lot else going for it. Others have commented on the low production quality and thin plot. While RKO moved the players away from the fixed microphone positions, the acting still shows signs of the fixed scenes and overly dramatic from the silent era. Vallee is so wooden, one wonders at time if he is alive or a mannequin with a recording playing inside. Some reviewers liked Dressler's overly dramatic scenes, but I agree with those who didn't think those fit well. Although she had only five more years before she died, Dressler went on to some very fine roles, and won an Oscar. She was very good in her comedic roles, without the exaggerated looks and gestures. Vallee's career as a singer never took off in the movies. I think it was mostly due to his rather high-pitched nasal tone. He did have a comeback in the 1940s with roles in some good comedies without singing. He played mostly a straight man or stuffy character. Vallee could carry a tune, but his popularity waned as other crooners came on the scene. Most had deeper, smoother voices that had more appeal, especially to the ladies. By 1932, Bing Crosby was well on his way to becoming the king of crooners for nearly four decades. Merriam-Webster's Third International Dictionary defines a crooner as "a singer of popular songs who uses a soft-voice technique adapted to amplifying systems." Rudy Vallee had a trademark use of a megaphone to project his voice, but it's curious that he didn't use it for any of his numbers in this film. The on-line M-W dictionary defines crooner a little more simply: "a male singer who sings slow, romantic songs in a soft, smooth voice." While Crosby became the undisputed king (more than one-half billion recordings sold), many other singers have crooned their way into our hearts over the decades. Other big names of the past are Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nate King Cole, Andy Williams, Eddie Fisher, Englebert Humperdinck, Frankie Avalon, Johnny Mathis, Robert Goulet and Elvis Presley with his slow love songs.

bkoganbing The Vagabond Lover is a historic film as it was the first to showcase a current popular radio star as its lead. In 1929 Rudy Vallee was the number radio crooner in the country and as such brought a built in audience to the theaters. That he hadn't quite got down the technique of acting period, let alone film acting was incidental for this film with its very slight plot.Rudy and his band The Connecticut Yankees play a second tier orchestra looking for a break. Rudy persuades them to break into the home of a noted leader and idol and audition even after he was rebuffed. When they're caught by the local constable Charles Sellon, they pretend the famous orchestra leader and his group and have to continue the deception right up to playing in a charity event organized by society grande dame Marie Dressler and her daughter Sally Blane. Of course it all works out in the end.The film didn't launch Vallee as a movie idol, his his ascetic personality just didn't work for a leading man. This film was done for RKO and later Warner Brothers tried twice to make a leading man of him with Sweet Music and Golddiggers in Paris and failed. The songs were taken from what Vallee had made popular on his radio program and they included such hits as A Little Kiss Each Morning and the title song. This was probably wise because I'm sure the producers knew this man was not an actor, yet. It would take Preston Sturges who cast Vallee in several of his films to make use of his unique personality and style in great series of character roles. After that curiously enough Vallee rarely sang in films, but still continued as a radio performer. By this time it was the Forties and people like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dick Haymes were crowding Vallee and earlier singers for public attention including Vallee's chief rival Bing Crosby.If you like Rudy Vallee's singing as I do, by all means catch The Vagabond Lover, but realize you will not see the Rudy Vallee you might remember from later work.

Michael_Elliott Vagabond Lover, The (1929)** (out of 4)Early talkie from RKO helped introduce Rudy Vallee to the world. In the film, which was apparently based partly on his life story, he plays an unknown musician who breaks into a famous musicians house and is mistaken for said musician by a rich socialite (Marie Dressler). Soon Vallee begins to fall for her niece (Sally Blane) but he still has this secret to work around. This is a pretty mixed film because on one hand the music itself is pretty good but at the same time the story, acting and directing are all rather bland at best. I think the biggest problem with this film is that RKO didn't want to spend too much on the budget so they really didn't try overly hard to cover up various mistakes in the film. There are at least two scenes that I can think of off the top of my head where the actor messing up their lines but they just correct themselves and move on. It's also rather obvious in a few scenes that the actors miss their marks, which cause them to make sudden stops and throwing off the actor in the scene with them. The performance are a mixed bag as Vallee comes off likable enough but he's way too stiff and his line delivery is pretty weak. Dressler manages to turn in a fine performance but she isn't given a whole lot to do. Blane, Loretta Young's sister, seems to be in love with Vallee but her acting leaves a lot to be desired. She's certainly cute like her sister but she really doesn't deliver much in terms of a performance. The main reason to watch this thing is for the music and songs that include "You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now", "If You Were the Only Girl in the World" and "I'm Just a Vagabond Lover". Vallee and The Connecticut Yankees do fine work in regards to the music but I'd say a CD would be better fit than going through the entire movie.

wes-connors On Long Island, crooner Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees are mistaken for a more famous band, by neighboring socialite Marie Dressler (as Mrs. Whitehall). The ruse, which started innocently, goes too far, and threatens Mr. Vallee's budding relationship with Ms. Dressler's niece, Sally Blane (as Jean Whitehall). It all works out while Vallee sings several songs, including "I'm Just a Vagabond Lover" and "A Little Kiss Each Morning (A Little Kiss Each Night)"."The Vagabond Lover" does not capture the Vallee hysteria, unfortunately. It is his first feature length film. The songs are stylistically representative, but dull; "Honey" had already appeared in a "short", and the film was completed too early for "The Stein Song" to be included. Ms. Blane (Loretta Young's sister) is very pretty; but, the most beautiful woman in the film is most definitely Dressler. It is her first feature length sound film. Later, Vallee would become a surprisingly effective (considering this performance) character actor.**** The Vagabond Lover (1929) Marshall Neilan ~ Rudy Vallee, Sally Blane, Marie Dressler