gridoon2018 This is the kind of movie that could only have been made pre-censorship. You'd never hear lines like "Boys will be boys!" or "I'm tired too, and I'll feel worse in the morning - I hope" in a post-code film for two more decades at least. The title setting is a hotbed of unrequited love, and the resolution of the main plot is so cynical, and at the same time so logical, that you want to applaud; other characters are simply looking for some hanky-panky (the two married couples, largely comedy relief, but also a refreshingly equal-treatment tale of extra-marital infidelity.) And then there are the Busby Berkeley production numbers: "Don't Say Good Night" is so wondrous you may feel like crying; the "whip tango" with Ricardo Cortez and Dolores Del Rio brilliantly mirrors their ongoing story; "Going To Heaven On A Mule" is embarrassingly racist by today's standards, but also a triumph of production design (does it really matter that the 1st and the 3rd number could never be conceivably executed inside any nightclub? No!). This movie comes from a period in Hollywood when films were aimed at adults and treated them as such: able to make up their own minds about what is right and what is wrong, without having to teach them moral lessons. Not just a must-see; a must-own. *** out of 4.

BlackJack_B Wonder Bar is one of the most notorious films ever released. One of the last Pre-Code films, Wonder Bar is mostly tame by today's standards. The story of a night at Al Wonder's (Al Jolson) Paris nightclub (named after the film) is full of dark humor, crazy cougars, love triangles and crimes of passion. Sadly, it's quite forgettable and these parts of the movie aren't really why anybody would watch Wonder Bar today.The two reasons to view Wonder Bar is first to see Al Jolson sing and he puts on a terrific show. My favorite part is when he talks to the Russian Count and he goes back to his roots (Jolson was born in present- day Lithuania) and develops a Russian accent. Yes, he's playing himself but that's good enough for everybody.The second are the two Busby Berkeley numbers. Don't Say Goodnight is an amazing showcase of his choreography skills with tons of blondes and mesmerizing visuals.Going' To Heaven On A Mule over the years has aged worse and worse. Every time I think of all those kids in blackface I cringe. I find it hard to believe the producers would think Going' To Heaven On A Mule would be listed among the greatest movie musical numbers ever. The idea of hundreds of whites dancing in blackface with Jolson still disturbs me. Maybe Hays was right in this case that having a Code would at least prevent this kind of overt racist humor for a period of time. You would figure back in 1934 Hollywood was liberal enough to discard the watermelon stereotype but apparently not.Wonder Bar is nothing special outside of Jolson and the two big Berkeley numbers. It's definitely a must-watch for serious cinephiles but that's about it.

Elgroovio I am very fond of Al Jolson, But the only film I have seen with him in it is this one. I like it quite a lot but I found it very strange; what the hell was a murder story doing in a 1930's musical? Well never mind about that, just enjoy the rest of the film, with its fantastic score by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). But there is yet another thing which I wasn't particularly fond of in this film which was Dick Powell who, I think, is overrated. If you don't like minstrels then don't see this film (it has Al Jolson in it). Despite being a great lover of music, I am not terribly fond of some of Busby Berkely's stuff, His dance sequences for example, tend to be a bit over-long. Despite the handicaps that I have written here, this film is very watchable. Enjoy. 8/10

Karen Green (klg19) The storyline of this film is fairly ordinary: something of a "Grand Hotel" set in a Paris cabaret in the 20s. What makes it noteworthy -- besides the opportunity to watch Al Jolson in action -- is the jaw-droppingly insensitive closing number, "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule," staged by Busby Berkeley in characteristically over-the-top fashion. A blackface Jolson takes us through a version of heaven with Pork Chop Orchards and Possum Pie Groves, automatic fried chicken, dancing watermelons, and a streetcar going from the "Milky Way to Lenox Ave." And in the midst of it all, a winking Al grins over a copy of a Yiddish newspaper, just to let us all in on the joke.The number makes the Lincoln's Birthday number in "Holiday Inn" look tame. Even Stepin Fetchit suddenly appears endowed with a singular dignity. Watching it helps one to understand the unhappy history of race relations in this country.Which is why I think that the film should be seen, if only in order for younger Americans to understand just where all that racial anger comes from. This is our cultural history, and we shouldn't run from it. It ought to be screened in every cultural studies class in America!