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Once in a Lifetime

Play trailer Poster for Once in a Lifetime 1932 1h 15m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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At the height of Hollywood's "talkie" proliferation, vaudeville performers George (Jack Oakie), May (Aline MacMahon) and Jerome (Russell Hopton) pretend to be connoisseurs of new technology to get jobs at a noted studio. Soon they are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their "expertise." George manages to convince the head of the studio (Gregory Ratoff) to let him produce a film as a vehicle for his new girlfriend (Sidney Fox). Inevitably, antics and misunderstandings ensue.

Critics Reviews

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Pare Lorentz Vanity Fair Emerges from the movie factory weak and trembling and looking itself a great deal like an imitation. Jun 11, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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jordan m I've seen a few comedies older than this one and went into it expecting the jokes to have not withstood the passing of time, but am happy to say that I was mistaken! This could easily have been made 50 years later with only minor updates and been successful. It's an adaptation of a play written by two excellent playwrights, so I was probably wrong to have ever assumed this would suck. Oakie gave off strong Bud Abbott vibes and the scenarios provided to him by the screenplay were fantastic. It's rare to see a pure comedy film turn out so well; there had been humor in some of Universal's Monster Horror franchise but this one played like a Will Ferrell star vehicle of the 2000s. It's one of the few 30s movies I would happily sit through again as the pacing is brisk, the runtime is short and there aren't any big gaps in the jokes per minute rate. It doesn't have any all-time great attributes to make it a timeless classic, but it's a very effective comedy especially compared to its early 30s peers and I'll always remember it for that. Kudos! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Once in a Lifetime

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Once in a Lifetime

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Movie Info

Synopsis At the height of Hollywood's "talkie" proliferation, vaudeville performers George (Jack Oakie), May (Aline MacMahon) and Jerome (Russell Hopton) pretend to be connoisseurs of new technology to get jobs at a noted studio. Soon they are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their "expertise." George manages to convince the head of the studio (Gregory Ratoff) to let him produce a film as a vehicle for his new girlfriend (Sidney Fox). Inevitably, antics and misunderstandings ensue.
Director
Russell Mack
Producer
Carl Laemmle Jr.
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 15m