Eddie Cantor's comedies, when they appear, usually still amuse the modern audiences that watch them. The only thing that jars is his use of black-face which crops up in his films - but while not liked by African-Americans it is less jarring with Cantor's films than with his contemporary Al Jolson. Jolson's use of black face in singing mingled his biggest asset (that melodious bleat of his voice) with a racial insult. But Cantor's use of the black face was not as overpowering as Jolson's - Cantor only would do one number in a film in black-face. His main persona was a cowardly or timid schlemiel who sang frequently without racist make-up on. Jolson could do it too, of course (most notably in HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM), but usually he is fully willing to "black himself" up before his biggest numbers. It really was not all that necessary to Cantor's work.

In KID MILLIONS Eddie is the son of an archaeologist (his photo shows Cantor in pith helmet and side whiskers) who found a great treasure in Egypt before he died. The deceased was not a nice guy, and there are a number of people who feel they should be his legal heir. Besides Eddie (his son), there is his girlfriend (Ethel Merman - assisted by her other boyfriend Warren Hymer), there is a southern con-man who may have raised some funds for the Professor's last expedition (Burton Churchill), the con-man's daughter (Ann Southern), and a representative of a learned society that did back the expedition (George Murphy). All of them head for Egypt to get the treasure, but it is actually still in the hands of the Egyptian sheik (Paul Harvey) who considered the Professor an infidel (some things never change).

The interplay of the characters in the story make it so amusing. Besides Cantor's combination of fear and determination to get the treasure, he has to fend off his rivals (in particular Merman and Hymer). Southern and Murphy slowly find themselves falling in love. And Cantor finds he has picked up a lover too (Eva Sully, the Jewish sounding daughter of the Sheikh). As Eddie says in the tune, "Okay Toots", "I like the sheik and his silly daughter, but I prefer her under water!" and proceeds to push the girl into a pool.

The humor is clever at times. While talking on the boat to Egypt, Hymer and Churchill lose track of each other's conversation: Churchill is mentioning his neighbors in Virginia. Hymer, getting momentarily sidetracked mentions a neighbor of his with a name like Birnbaum or Schwartz. Without losing a beat, Churchill says, "One of the finest families of the South", leaving one with the image of an old first family of Virginia with a Jewish name. Hymer is certainly surprised.

Despite the use of black face in the big musical number "Mandy" (and only Cantor puts it on), the film is pretty amusing as an entertainment. I can give it only a "7" because of the racist content of that sequence, but otherwise I think that it would be acceptable to an audience.

It's just a big coincidence that several days after the revelation, or not, of Virginia governor Ralph Northam being, or not, that blackfaced guy on a 1984 medical yearbook page which may, or not, force him to resign, I'm reviewing a movie starring a guy often known for doing many performances in such makeup-Eddie Cantor. Also, that one of the characters happens to be from that very state. The number Eddie appears as such is "Mandy" by Irving Berlin. I should note that neither Eddie nor Irving were racists, per se, as Eddie reportedly was often moved by how the people of the African-American race overcame whatever bigotry they endured, and Irving actually wrote a song for Ethel Waters-"Supper Time"-that described her trying to cheerfully feed her children some food despite her knowing of another lynching for "Thousands Cheer" the year before this movie. I should also note that accompanying Eddie on the "Mandy" number near the end of it were The Nicholas Brothers-Fayard who was then 19 or 20 and Harold who was 12 or 13-with each keeping Eddie from tap dancing when his brother was doing so. Also appearing in this movie were the "Our Gang" kids of the time-like Leonard Kibrick, Tommy Bond before he became Butch, and Matthew "Stymie" Beard, of which Leonard and Stymie had some choice lines. They appeared in the beginning and the Technicolor end. There's also Edgar Kennedy, who previously played a cop in earlier "Our Gang" shorts, playing one of the step brothers of Eddie. Others in the cast were Ethel Merman, Ann Sothern, and George Murphy. In summary, Kid Millions was quite a treat of a musical comedy, despite some politically incorrect elements. P.S. The print I watched online had skipped some frames digitally.

Today, Eddie Cantor is pretty much forgotten--although he was a HUGE star from the 1920s-1950s. He was practically the king of Vaudeville, films and radio--and it's a real shame he doesn't get much recognition today. His singing, dancing and comedic persona were very pleasant and likable--and a few of his films are classics (such as "Forty Little Mothers"). For these reasons alone, it's well worth seeing "Kid Millions". Perhaps a bit of the reason he isn't seen that often might be because he occasionally performed as a minstrel--like he does in "Kid Millions" (uggh!!)! I am not excusing this sort of thing, but it made up a tiny portion of the sort of roles he played in films.

The film begins with an Egyptologist dying shortly after he discovered a huge treasure. Lots of folks want to lay claim to it (including Berton Churchill, Warren Hymer and Ethel Merman) but it turns out the guy has a son (Cantor) and he's sent to Egypt to claim his fortune. Can be manage to avoid letter these hucksters and their underhanded efforts to bilk out of his inheritance? And, can he manage to avoid a sheik crazed with killing off the heirs to this fortune?

The film is a mixture of good and bad. It's always great to see the multi-talented Cantor. You also get a nice routine by the Nicholas Brothers and the plot is silly fun. The VERY surreal color sequence at the end was pretty amazing--a great treat for film historians. However, be aware that Ann Sothern's singing, to put it mildly, was terrible and the minstrel sequence is so incredibly politically incorrect it might make some folks' head explode! But on balance, the good far, far outweighs the bad and the film is worth seeing.

By the way, look carefully and you'll see a few uncredited cameos. You'll see Stymie Beard (with his trademark derby) and Tommy Bond (both of Li'l Rascals fame) and Dickie Jones (the voice of Pinocchio) early on in the movie. And, look carefully, as Lucille Ball and Paulette Goddard as chorus girls! The English comic Charlie Hall (of Laurel & Hardy fame), Tor Johnson (of Ed Wood fame) as well as Dennis O'Keefe. Rarely have I ever seen a film with so many cameos by folks before they were stars and it's a cinemaniac's delight watching for these folks. Heck, there's even a small uncredited role for Barbara Pepper--the lady who played Mrs. Zipfel on "Green Acres"!