MovieChat Forums > The Eddie Cantor Story (1954) Discussion > Keefe Brasselle's performance

Keefe Brasselle's performance

posted 10 years ago by floridagirl47
3 replies | jump to latest

I read all of the reviews here and I have to disagree with the comments about Keefe Brasselle. While he slightly overdid the expressions, he was so good that I did not know if he was the real Eddie Cantor or not. I do remember Eddie, but it was not from my era exactly, so I was not that interested. I watched the movie tonight and I almost changed the channel at first, but I was so intent on finding out if it was the real Eddie that I got hooked! I was amazed at Keefe's performance, especially of the actual performing. The movie was more interesting than I expected and it was a great job for the times. I even enjoyed all of the old songs and learned a lot about Eddie Cantor after I looked him up on IMDb.

[–] mamaleh483 10 years ago

I hadn't seen this movie on TV for many years and then caught it the other day on TCM (my favorite TV channel). I vaguely remember Brasselle's having a summer replacement show that I liked when I was a young child. (Yes, back in the Stone Age when variety series abounded, they often had replacement variety series to cover their time slot in the summer.) I've read stuff about his somewhat checkered past; very interesting.

As to the Cantor story, I'm sure they took liberties, as they do with all bio movies. I know it was a convention of the last century, but I do wonder why and how "blackface" performance came to be. I've seen it in numerous old films depicting that era. If producers wanted a black performer, why not hire one? I know one really can't judge in retrospect, but its popularity boggles the mind--in addition to its being offensive. Cantor has been a peripheral character on BOARDWALK EMPIRE, too. So I'm sure more curiosity about his persona has arisen from that exposure.

[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

A year later: Blackface performing arose out of 19th-century minstrel shows. Cantor and other entertainers of his time (Jessel, Jolson, James Barton) came of of that tradition. Strangely enough, even many black performers did burnt cork, so they were black imitating whites who were imitating blacks! Bert Williams and Pigmeat Markham come to mind.

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] marktayloruk (2378) 2 years ago

Cantor's "review " - If that was my life, I haven't lived."