Wonder Man
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Danny Kaye plays a double role as a pair of estranged "super-identical twins", with very similar looks, but very different personalities. Buster Dingle, who goes by the stage name "Buzzy Bellew", is a loud and goofy performer at a classy nightclub (the Pelican Club), while Edwin Dingle is a studious, quiet bookworm writing a history book. The two brothers have not seen each other for years.
Buster becomes the witness to a murder committed by mob boss "Ten Grand" Jackson (Steve Cochran), and is promptly murdered himself. He comes back as a ghost, calling on his long-lost brother for help to bring the killer to justice. As a result, the shy Edwin must take his brother's place until after his testimony is given.
In the meantime, he has to dodge Jackson's hitmen and fill in for Buster at the nightclub. To help him out, Buster—who cannot be seen or heard by anyone but Edwin—possesses him, with outrageously goofy results.
A famous scene features Edwin, possessed by Buzzy, performing at the Club. Under Buzzy's influence, Edwin pretends to be a famous Russian singer with an allergy to flowers. A vase of flowers is nonetheless placed on a table near him, and his song, "Otchi Chornya", is frequently interrupted by his loud and goofy-sounding sneezes.
The story is further humorously complicated by the love interests of the brothers; whilst the murdered Buster was engaged to entertainer Midge Mallon (Vera-Ellen), Edwin is admired by librarian Ellen Shanley (Virginia Mayo).
In the end, Ellen marries Edwin, whilst Midge consoles herself (apparently without regret) by marrying the owner of the club where Buster was appearing.

Review: I have always loved and admired Danny Kaye.Although I agree his brand of zany comedy will not be everybody's cup of tea, his films (especially his early ones like this one) never fail in creasing me up.He not only had singing and dancing ability on par with the greats, he had a distinct flair for comedy and performed it expertly not only through his lines and comic timing, but with his body and facial expressions, not to mention his rapid fire double talk and tongue twisters.
A truly talented man.Wonderman made in 1945 shows Kaye at his best in what was possibly his second or third movie appearance.
Indeed one of the two characters Kaye plays in the film is a nightclub entertainer by the name of Buzzy Bellew not too far removed from the real Kaye himself.The other character Kaye plays is Bellew's egg-head brother, straight as a die and sensible to the core, thus giving Kaye ample chance to show off both sides to his versatile talents.When Bellew is murdered by the mob for knowing a trifle more than was good for him, he returns in ghost form to rope in his gawky identical twin brother, to take his place and bring the mobster to account.The comedy is so funny at times that you fail to realize the real tragedy of the situation, a young man with a beautiful fiancé and successful life in front of him, has been murdered and dumped rather disrespectfully in the river in Prospect Park.But hey....Bellew seems to be so cool and glib about the whole thing, that if he doesn't care too much about it I'm damned if I will.Great musical numbers and (for it's day) state of the art special effects compliment the great comic turns delivered by Kaye.Two funny lines to watch out for are:- "does the acoustic nerve run down that far?" and the powerfully sung, "Frankie SINATRA" in the final opera scene.
Despite the confusing name of this movie, this is actually a top notch ghost story with a twin brother who gets killed and then has to use his living brother to finish his earthly business.
The movie ends up with Kaye turning an opera upside down with his unusual style for flair, timing and nimbleness.
Wonder Man is the first film I've seen with Danny Kaye, and I enjoyed it.
Danny Kaye plays a set of twins, a bookworm and a nightclub comic.
Lots of great one-liners and a couple of catchy songs, notably Bali-Boogie, and more than a couple of Danny's trademark off-beat dance-sequences.With Virginia Mayo and Vera-Ellen on hand to provide dual love interests, this is a must-see for fans of Technicolour Hollywood.
One of Danny Kaye's best films.
Danny Kaye (with a good deal of assistance from his wife Sylvia Fine, who wrote most of his musical numbers) was one of the finest musical comedians ever and is in fine form here in one of his best vehicles.
This is the first Danny Kaye film I've seen and I feel in love with what a wonderfully talented person he is.
This film is great fun to watch and if you're looking for something that is light, funny, romantic, enjoyable, and has a lovely plot with good effects, this is it.
Kaye is a charming, sweet, and appealing character, and when his ghost twin enters his body whenever he feels like it, his performance is even funnier, especially the scene in the wings of the theatre where he makes farmyard noises into the telephone!
I can't believe that people can love Danny Kaye in such mediocre films as "Hans Christian Anderson" or "The Court Jester" and not even have heard of this one.
A part to look out for is the part where the ghost of the murdered night-club performing brother Buster gets inside the body of his brother for the first time, making the shy book-worm start dancing all over the place insanely.
But this film does contain a very funny sequence in which Kaye sings Orci-cogna (I don't know how you spell it) only getting continuous bouts of hay-fever.
Oh, and I certainly couldn't write a review on this film and omit the great opera scene at the end where Kaye ends up having to have to sing clues about a murder to the police.
This has always been my favourite Danny Kaye movie, it sustains the humour and story up to the end pretty well.
On the other hand maybe we should be grateful for what we've got, and anyway in the end who'd really have wanted him any other way?It may seem a little rough for the charismatic Buzzy Bellew to get murdered and come back as a ghost seeking proxy justice through the intermediary of his mono-zygotic twin brother Edwin Dingle, both comically played by Kaye.
Wonderful Wonder Man. Danny Kaye plays night club entertainer Buzzy Bellew who gets killed and appears as a ghost to his bookworm brother Edwin Dingle (also Danny Kaye).And that means lots of laughs when everybody thinks Edwin is Buzzy.Danny Kaye (1913-1987) was a brilliant comedian.In Wonder Man (1945) he shows us all how good he really was.This movie is filled with scenes that make you crack up.Like the opera scene in the end.I just couldn't stop laughing.
And let's not forget the lovely ladies Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo.Everything just works in this movie.Watch this flick and laugh your lungs out!.
Danny Kaye is fantastic playing the twin brothers that are total opposites; the brother who's a nightclub singer,"Buzzy", is murdered and keeps trying to communicate with his bookworm brother which is what really lends to the comedy of this movie.
The scenes where Buzzy is trying to get his brother to go to "Prospect Park" and what takes place afterward are so funny!!
No one can surpass the incredibly funny sneezing opera singer or the quirky "Bali" song performed with Vera Ellen.
But the first film that Danny Kaye made that has his real hallmarks is WONDER MAN.
In WONDER MAN it is the conclusion of the film, wherein Kaye has to pass a message about a missing key witness to a murder to the District Attorney without being arrested or killed, and does so by taking over center stage in a performance of an opera at the Metropolitan Opera.
In "Wonder Man", Danny Kaye plays two characters--identical twins.
Immediately before seeing "Wonder Man", I saw "A Song is Born" and found that so much of the cast in both these Goldwyn productions overlapped--with Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo and Steve Cochran appearing in both films.
And, at times, the ghost would inhabit his brother's body--with interesting results.This plot, which is very similar to the Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin film "All of Me", wasn't a bad idea for a fantasy.
I even recall her saying "why do you watch stuff like this?!" a couple times during the movie!
As for me, I adore old Hollywood films but found this one too much...just way too much.By the way, I mentioned "A Song is Born" above and in it, Kaye's performance is so very, very different.
He died very young in my opinion, but left us with true classics such as Wonder Man. I am sure all viewers will enjoy this light and uplifting comedy as much as I have.This movie show how versatile and ultimately funny Danny Kaye was and how he could interpret any role.
I miss the times when you actually needed 2000 people to film a scene..
DANNY KAYE was still on a winning streak when he made WONDER MAN for Samuel Goldwyn, a lavish technicolor treat that his him at his dazzling best as a performer--totally convincing in a dual role that expands his range.
All of the effects are worthy of the Oscar they won.His partner is the delectable VIRGINIA MAYO, looking as luscious as usual in her technicolor close-ups and VERA-ELLEN delivering a couple of dance routines that showcase her own special talent.There's an amusing turn by Natalie Schaefer as a matron in the library, and S.Z. Sakall does his usual schtick as a delicatessen owner.
Well, all I can say was that it was almost a waste of time.Yes, there were a few good bits in "Wonder Man" and the special effects were very good for that time (deserving of the Oscar they received), but the overall film just seemed so sub-par to all of us.We sat here for the full 98 minutes, and kept hoping that it would get funnier as it got along.
There were a lot of long dry bits between the few laugh-out-loud bits.For my money, "The Court Jester" was Danny's best and funniest movie --a great script with excellent pacing, well-designed and executed set pieces, hilarious situations and songs, and just a great and satisfying storyline overall.
The dueling-under-hypnosis scenes are classic for best showcasing Danny's singular ability to change faces/personalities/whole personas back and forth on a dime.See "The Court Jester" if you want to see Danny Kaye at his best with a great script, great writing, beautiful production, and rib-aching comedic entertainment.But back to "Wonder Man" -- besides some of the positive bits mentioned in other reviews here, what really first struck me subconsciously early in this movie and then I became more consciously aware of as the movie progressed is how much it seems that Jerry Lewis lifted from Danny Kaye the manic, physical bits and persona he (Jerry) later became famous for and identified with in the 1960's.
See if you don't get the same impression.In closing, watch "Wonder Man" only so you can say you've seen all of Danny's film work but don't go in expecting that this is his best or anywhere near it.
A bit too much song and dance by Danny Kaye and not enough Mayo and Vera-Ellen.
The film started off with a very good story line about a gangster named Ten Grand Jackson (Steve Cochran) who is going on trial shortly with the key witness being song and dance funny man Buzzy Bellew (Danny Kaye).
Buzzy's after life persona immediately contacts his identical twin bookworm shy and introvert brother named Edwin Dingle to set things straight with Ten Grand Jackson as well as with his fiance Midge Mallon.
Now these two identical twin brothers have not seen each other for a few years with Buzzy being the confident extrovert comedian who is engaged to the beautiful Midge Mallon (Vera-Ellen), and Edwin being the brainy and shy twin brother who is infatuated with his own lovely lady named Ellen Shanley (Virginia Mayo).
At the same time with Edwin's body and mind being physically overtaken by his dead twin brother Buzzy's stronger will Edwin has recently neglected his own love interest that being the beautiful Ellen Shanley which he needs to explain why he has been preoccupied by his brother Buzzy's ghost.It is an above average story line and I would have rated it higher if not for the 30 minutes or so that this film dedicated to Danny Kaye's corny song and dance solo numbers interspersed throughout the film which in my humble opinion confused an otherwise engaged audience.
I was looking for more interaction with the two gorgeous co-stars that being Virginia Mayo and Vera-Ellen with a constant comedy themed film along the lines of many of the Abbott and Costello slapstick comedy classics which this film started out as and ended with, but filling so many holes with those corny solo song and dances by Danny Kaye deflated the film rating from a 9 out of 10 rating to an average 6 out 10 rating..
Has its moments but mostly quite silly.The central plot was fairly ridiculous to start off with: man dies, comes back as a ghost and occasionally enters the body of his twin brother.
He has his moments though.Probably the best reasons to watch this are Virginia Mayo, especially, and Vera-Ellen.
For a much better Danny Kaye-Virginia Mayo collaboration, see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty instead..
I normally like Danny Kaye, but this movie was like fingernails on a blackboard.The story: Nightclub comedian Buzzy Bellew (Danny Kaye) is murdered by gangsters after witnessing a murder committed by their boss, Ten Grand Jackson (Steve Cochran).
The spirit of Buzzy contacts his twin brother, Edwin Pringle (also played by Kaye), a stuffy bookworm, and asks him to testify before the D.A. in Buzzy's place.
The situation causes all sorts of complications with Edwin's girlfriend (Virginia Mayo) and Buzzy's fiancé (Vera-Ellen).The main problem is, Danny Kaye spends too much time trying to be funny by acting funny.
You'd think the last thing he'd want Edwin to do is end up in jail!Danny Kaye is not funny in this scene!
(You wonder why the cop, who has a billy club, doesn't just whack Danny over the head and cart him off to the funny farm.) From there on, Buzzy possesses Edwin only when he wants to -- not when Edwin needs him to.
One of the most painful scenes in the movie comes when Edwin is called to testify in the D.A.'s office about the murder that Buzzy witnessed.
Vera-Ellen does a tap dance number with the Goldwyn Girls that is AMAZING to watch.
Vera-Ellen was an incredible dancer, and it's too bad she didn't achieve greater stardom in her career.Except for the Vera-Ellen dance number, I would skip this movie, unless you like having your nerves twisted watching people who are not funny trying to be funny..
How lucky can I guy get working for the first time with both Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo.
One love for each of his twin personas.In this story Kaye plays twin brothers, a shy professor and an outrageous nightclub entertainer.
Which is the cause of much of the humor in Wonder Man.Vera-Ellen is a nightclub performer who dances divinely and who sings like June Hutton who did her vocals.
Vera-Ellen never sang her own songs in films, just like Rita Hayworth.
Enjoyable, colourful fantasy romp, with the ever-effervescent Danny Kaye in a double role as a motormouth, lady-killing club comedian, rubbed out by the gangster he's about to testify against, who returns from a watery grave to encourage his long-lost bookworm brother to see that wrong is righted with, not unnaturally a good few humorous songs, dance routines and slapstick scenes helping us to the predictable happy ending.I'm a fan of Kaye's and love fantasy films, of which there were several in the 40's and 50's.
I don't count this his best film, although the man himself gives a performance of much charm and energy and neither do I rate this amongst the very best film of its type, but I still enjoyed it a lot and laughed often.I actually think there's a nifty plot at play here and was a bit disappointed to see it often reduced to merely linking, or so it seemed, the next song and dance routine.
The villains could have been worked better too but there are compensations with the two female leads, a young and very light-footed Vera Ellen and the comely Virginia Mayo.The ghostly special effects are entertaining enough and the cinematography a riot of gaudy Technicolour.
Wonder Man is an awful movie which has some good special effects, wonderful technicolor photography and a couple of a decent song and dance numbers which makes it barely tolerable.Danny Kaye plays identical twins.
At times the dead brother could inhibit his body, useful for some later show numbers.Kaye's performance is over the top, almost like he was some kind of prototype Jerry Lewis.
Don't forget you get two Danny Kaye's and Vera Ellen in these films..
Like many comics, here he gets to play a dual character-a murdered nightclub performer and his book worm twin who poses as his brother while the ghost on occasion enters his body like Patrick Swayze did to Whoopie Goldberg in "Ghost".
A fun musical fantasy with a lot of silly moments and some well choreographed (if unremarkable) musical numbers, "Wonder Man" features a huge cast of character performers and two sexy leading ladies: Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo who show a lot of leg and wear some beautiful costumes.
The songs by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, are amusing, but not as hysterical as some of her other works.Filmed in breathtaking Technicolor, adding in some special effects (pretty clever for its time) and a rather hyper performance by Kaye, the film is delightful old-fashioned fun.
Film debut of Broadway dancer, Vera-Ellen.COMMENT: For rabid Danny Kaye fans only.
After shooting a number of shorts in the late 30s Danny Kaye made his feature film debut for Sam Goldwyn in 1944s Up In Arms and followed up with a dual role as identical twins the next year.
It not only features Kaye's ridiculous songs, which were later to become a staple and slightly banal part of his on screen persona, but it has special effects that were at the time dazzling.
The movie has Danny Kaye playing twin brothers where one is a entertainer and the other a scholarly bookworm.
The entertainer is engaged to Vera Ellen and the bookworm is trying to get acquainted with Virginia Mayo.
Several funny scenes with Danny Kaye talking to his dead brother while others can't see the ghost.
Danny Kaye gives a very frantic and funny performance in the movie.
One is the casting of Vera Ellen as the love interest to Danny Kaye's entertainer character.
The other is the scene when Danny is performing in front of an audience after the dead brother has taken over the body of the bookworm brother.
Still, it is an enjoyable movie with the usual Danny Kaye hilarity.