Alternate Best Actor 1945: Danny Kaye in Wonder Man

Danny Kaye did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Edwin Dingle and Buzzy Bellew in Wonder Man.

Wonder Man tells the story of two very different twins, one an entertainer who is murdered by the mob and as a ghost seeks out his intellectual brother to make things right.

Kind of wandering through Danny Kaye's oeuvre you could argue him as kind of almost an auteur actor in that you can see the films are so clearly tailor made for what he brings as a performer, rather than any other element. What that means is we very much always get some kind of Kaye variety experience within the film, though this varies from film to film, but have similar trademarks to each. This film in particular is very open in this concept as we see Kaye get to play two variations on this variety as the two brothers, and really several others as we open the film with the entertainer brother Buzzy Bellew. Where Kaye brings a vocal delivery as a boisterous devil may care sort, where he is outgoing at every venture we see him and really every scene he approaches with a different accent or kind of riff as a character who very much is always on. This is broad, but technically it is broad in the service of a broad character who is purposefully broad, so it all makes sense, particularly for a film of this ilk. I guess where there's hesitation on my part, is I don't exactly love these opening Kaye riffs as much as I often do from him, as his random Irish accent for a moment or his jungle musical routine, are all fine, but I don't think are overly notable Kaye bits, as Kaye bits go and while I wouldn't quite say grating, I would say I kind of had enough of the in your face Buzzy right before he gets murdered by the mob, having been a police witness.

Of course as is frequently the case I did not read the synopsis of this one before going in so there was plenty of Buzzy left over, but first we have to meet Edwin Dingle, the brother of Buzzy who we meet very calmly studying in his intellectual space, with a very deliberate subdued and shy delivery. Kaye often plays the hapless man who is a bit shy and bumbling, but this is a purposeful notch more in really emphasizing it to make Edwin also broad in his own way, but broad in the way he is so intensely modest. And again as I see Edwin, I like Kaye's bit well enough he's doing in this way, but I'm not exactly sold by it the way I was in The Court Jester or Me and the Colonel. Anyway the crux of the film comes in when Buzzy shows up as a ghost, for reasons unknown, and asks him to pretend to be him to still take down the gangster therefore continue as his performer briefly as well. Anyway, Kaye plays off himself, okay, in playing the sort of expected ghost hi-jinks, of others not being able to see him, and playing against himself with the big big Buzzy and the small small Edwin. It's fine, if not overly noteworthy in terms of the bits as they go. The timing is kind of there, as is the general idea, but the moments just aren't as funny as they could be or as prime Kaye shows them to be able to be. Although we actually get far less of this as you'd expect.

The film then goes into what should be a series of hilarious situations as Edwin is the fish out of water pretending to be the confident performer and also being threatened by gangster, and getting flustered by trying to deal with both his and Buzzy's love interests. Unfortunately all of this isn't nearly as funny as it sounds like it should be when you're describing it, as more of the film is spent on the musical performances and less on really getting into some genuinely hilarious situations of Edwin being pulled into multiple places. When Kaye is getting to play Edwin bumbling around trying to be Buzzy, whether that is with the women, or in failed performances, or in even police interrogation, he's at his best doing that fumbling around the lines and physical sort of sloppiness that Kaye does so well. He's a lot of fun in these moments, even if at times the lines just are "where's Buster", but Kaye brings an endearing energy. Less interesting though are the romances, neither that go anywhere comically or romantically. Or the performances of Buzzy when he possesses Edwin to perform, which just aren't Kaye at his most inspired, not that they're terrible, but they're just not great either. And I think that is much of this film, which is likeable enough, but never beyond that. The whole idea of Kaye playing twins, playing off himself as a ghost, playing against gangsters, sounds like the formula for a great romp, but it's only okay as a film, and not all that much better as a showcase for Kaye unfortunately.