bkoganbing Apparently we're real lucky to have The Milky Way available to us at all today. Producers like Sam Goldwyn who bought up the negatives and all existing copies so that it would not be compared to his remake of The Kid From Brooklyn weren't concerned with historic preservation. Fortunately star Harold Lloyd was.The Milky Way was Lloyd's last really successful film artistically though it did lose money for Paramount. In it Lloyd plays a milkman who happens to knock out middleweight champion William Gargan, sort of. In truth Lloyd has defense down pat which is half the skills of a successful boxer he can bob and weave having been taught to do that as a 98 pound weakling kid to avoid being hit. But when he does that the publicity makes Gargan's manager Adolphe Menjou who seems to have taken his character from Doc Kearns who managed among others Jack Dempsey. Menjou builds up Lloyd with a series of tank opponents all for a real title shot at Gargan. Of course when Gargan falls for Lloyd's sister Helen Mack things do get a bit complicated.Director Leo McCarey loaded this film with a treasure chest of character players. Playing the Eve Arden part before Eve Arden is Verree Teasdale who was Menjou's girlfriend and real life wife. Lionel Stander is the clueless factotum for Menjou and Gargan whose malapropisms are amusing and who nearly tanks the whole set up in the end. I also can't forget George Barbier as the milk company executive who sees a great promotion opportunity in the milkman/pugilist.The Milky Way holds up great and should be seen with Sam Goldwyn's The Kid From Brooklyn for comparison. You can see why Goldwyn thought this would be a great vehicle for Danny Kaye. Lionel Stander repeats his role and Eve Arden plays the Eve Arden part that Verree Teasdale originated.

verbusen I am a big 1930's movie fan and will watch most anything that I see on Turner Classic Movies thats new for me. So I gave this a shot, after all it's the great Harold Lloyd who rivaled Chaplin as a great silent film comedian. I have watched much less of Lloyd's silent films then of Chaplins but I have to say I'm a much bigger Chaplin fan. Anyway this film fell so flat for me that I didn't finish it. I can understand why his sound career was so limited, he didn't get very good material to work with. After you've seen Chaplin, Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, Martin and Lewis, The Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy do boxing spoofs (or violence in general), this one is very forgettable. I was also interested in watching Adolphe Menjou as I really enjoyed him in Paths Of Glory but his role here also did nothing special for me. Maybe they should have gotten into the boxing sooner because at least half the film (at least it seemed that way) is before he gets in a ring. I can tell there are a lot of Lloyd fans here and this wont be a popular review but I must rate this as compared to what else was out there at the time, 4 out of 10. Don't watch this with anyone your trying to get to like old movies as they may not watch another one with you again, very flat. For an alternative to anyone who really liked this or is looking for more little known comedies in general I recommend "Kelly The Second" made a few years earlier, another nobody becomes a boxer comedy with Patsy Kelly and in a supporting role Charles Chase. These have both been shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel.

MartinHafer Considering this is a sound-era film from Harold Lloyd, I expected it would be significantly worse than his full-length silent films. And, unfortunately, this WAS the case--as the plot and style of the film just didn't do much to exploit the talents of this great comedian. However, while it is a big disappointment in this respect, compared to other movies of the day, this is still a slightly better than average flick--about on par with an Abbott and Costello or Bob Hope movie of the 1940s.The plot is VERY familiar (though not for Lloyd) and involves a milk man who people think has knocked out the middle weight champ on a street corner brawl. However, the knockout was just an accident plus the champ was very drunk. However, this incident hurts the champ's reputation. So, his agent thinks "what better way to make the champ look GOOD than by pretending Harold REALLY is a great fighter after all?". So, a significant amount of the movie is spent convincing him to become a fighter, train and box a lot of set-up matches (though Harold thinks they are NOT rigged). Ultimately, he once again faces the champ but, being a comedy, things don't work out like they should but everyone seems pretty happy in the end anyway.Overall, the acting wasn't bad and it was mildly amusing but it just wasn't anything like earlier Lloyd films. The weakest elements were the rather dismal plot and the fact that the movie lost steam towards the end--my interest, and probably yours, lagged. Not a bad film but not especially memorable either. For a better sound Lloyd film, try MOVIE CRAZY or CAT'S PAW.PS--This was remade as THE KID FROM BROOKLYN starring Danny Kaye. However, the plot has also been used in various forms on TV shows and other movies as well--so this isn't exactly a unique film.PPS--The movie and TV veteran Charles Lane is in the film. I'm sure you'll recognize his very familiar face. As of today (6/07), Mr. Lane is STILL alive and doing quite well at 102 years of age! Good luck, Mr. Lane.

Ron Oliver A mild-mannered milkman finds himself swept into the world of dishonest professional boxing.Although forever famous for his silent classics, THE MILKY WAY once again illustrated Harold Lloyd's complete ease with the sound medium. Indeed, Paramount Studios and director Leo McCarey gave him the opportunity to entertain his fans with some very enjoyable gags & comedy routines. Whether frantically trying to find help for his sick horse, teaching stuffy society matron Marjorie Gateson how to duck punches, or sneaking a colt into the back of a taxi, Harold provides ample evidence that he hasn't lost the talent to amuse.A very talented cast of costars lend able support. Gum-chewing Adolphe Menjou scores as an unscrupulous fight promoter. As his long-suffering girlfriend, beautiful Verree Teasdale gets the film's best dialogue with her sarcastic one-liners. Hot-tempered William Gargan as the erstwhile middleweight champ & gravely-voiced Lionel Stander as a fight trainer complete the disreputable quartet.Helen Mack as Harold's sister, and Dorothy Wilson as his sweetheart, both offer perky performances; indeed, they are so much alike that some viewers may have a little difficulty in telling the two ladies apart. Dyspeptic George Barbier plays the blustery owner of Sunflower Dairies. Charles Lane once again reprises his role as a nosy reporter.