The Boys from Syracuse [1940] [DVD]

Undercast (and in desperate need of colour), this jolly romp is the filmisation of Rodgers and Hart's Broadway hit, itself based on Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, and boasting two of the all-time great popular standards This Can't Be Love and Falling in Love with Love. Only Martha Raye and Joe Penner seem to capture the requisite.

Broadway brashness, and a wan Allan Jones in the lead looks uncomfortable and strained. Many of the “ancient” jokes pre-date similar humoresques in The Flintstones, and period comedians Charles Butterworth and Eric Blore have a camp old time mining the gags. Connoisseurs will note that three songs have been dropped from the show score and two new ones added for the screen.