ABSTRACT
The easy money of the middle 1920s was not an unmixed blessing. With an angel in every speakeasy and an almost inexhaustible supply of box-office patrons, Broadway’s stages were uncritically hospitable to almost anyone who thought he could produce a revue and knew he could finance its production. From the distance of a quarter century, it seems incredible that 104 audiences would have been willing to attend something called Bunk of 1926; but they did, and applauded Gene Lockhart as an American variant of Balieff in a piece that offered little else in the way of humor or invention. Bad Habits of 1926 fared less well, reaching only nineteen showings, with Robert Montgomery in the cast; its title should have been more appealing, signifying as it did that its patrons could expect to see bare bodies and hear dirty jokes. A similar orientation was evidenced by Great Temptations (1926), produced by the Shuberts, of which the World said, “There are probably more chorus girls, more pink feathers, more high notes on the cornet, and more sets of steps than in any two shows ever given.” The Herald Tribune noted the presence in the cast of a newcomer, Jack Benny, “a pleasant imitation of Phil Baker.”
