Customer Reviews

Be Yourself!

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
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Be yourself released on DVD by kino is a real early talkie treat! Has it all, great music, Fanny's singing and comic nature, boxing, great mugs and more. Robert armstrong is perfect in the role as a punch drunk boxer, and works well with fanny. If you are into early talkies this one is a fun one. A treat to see fanny in a film.Sound quality is good for an early talkie, print is not as could as other kino releases, but is very good for a film this rare. A must have for any fan of early sound films.

The quality of reproduction on this DVD is excellent, given the limitations of the original source, and it's wonderful to have an almost complete Fanny (or Fannie, when she was in Hollywood) performance. However, the print that was used for the DVD is missing Fanny's most famous number from this film, "I'm Sasha, the Passion of the Pasha." We see Fanny leave her dressing room to perform the number, and then there is an obvious cut, and the story continues from the moment AFTER the number has been performed. Well, this is a rare film, and the producers of the DVD obviously were duped when they obtained the print from which they worked. For the sake of history, let's hope a complete version eventually makes it to DVD, because, even with the missing number, the film is really charming and shows us a lot about Brice's great gifts.

This is a must have for movie buffs. Fanny Brice is funny, witty, and original. Her voice is something you will never forget.

Be Yourself! is one of the best early talkies I've seen! Fannie Brice turns in a fantastic performance and the rest of the cast act very convincingly, too. The cinematography could have been a little bit better but I suppose that this was a relatively low budget film; there aren't many stage sets throughout the picture. The sound quality is the usual fair to average quality that we get so often with early talkies; but the plot actually has meat on it and the story moves along at a good pace. Look also for Fannie Brice to sing some fine numbers, including "When A Woman Loves A Man."

When the action starts, two men in a nightclub, Jerry Moore and 'Mac' McCloskey (Robert Armstrong and G. Pat Collins, respectively) get into a fight over the nightclub singer Fannie (Fannie Brice). Although Jerry loses, it isn't long before Fannie and her outdated stereotyped Jewish lawyer brother Harry (Harry Green) start to manage Jerry so he can finally become a professional prize fighter. Their work pays off, too--Jerry goes from being a guy who lies down in the ring way too much to being a champ.

As the plot moves along other issues come up. Will the Gold Digger Lil (Gertrude Astor) succeed in winning Jerry away from Fannie? Will Jerry keep on winning all his future fights? How does Fannie's brother help her to keep Jerry as her boyfriend--if Harry helps her at all? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch the movie and find out!

Unfortunately, the DVD comes without a single extra feature. We get scene selections but that's it. Not even a trailer! However, it's great to see Fannie Brice sing her heart out; I liked the opening number and the refrain of "When A Woman Loves A Man." In addition, the song Fannie sings as she is making breakfast for Jerry and her brother Harry is absolutely wonderful and very catchy.

Be Yourself! is a fine early talkie with a great performance by Fannie Brice; and Robert Armstrong gives an especially strong performance as Jerry. I highly recommend this film for people who like pre-Code films, early talkies and Fannie Brice.

In the early talkie era musical BE YOURSELF!, Fanny Brice co-stars with Robert Armstrong, best remembered as Carl Denham in KING KONG (1933).

Born in NYC to Hungarian Jewish immigrant parents, Fania Borach quit school in 1908, changed her name to Fanny Brice and entered burlesque as a "soubrette," a demure singer. Brice kept her clothes on there and in the Ziegfeld Follies, where she appeared for over 20 years, beginning in 1910. During her Follies run Miss Brice introduced "My Man" and "Second Hand Rose." She later starred on radio as "Baby Snooks" and also headlined six movies. "Be Yourself" is the third of these.

In "Be Yourself!," Fanny performs five songs: "Cookin' Breakfast for the One I Love," "Is There Something the Matter With Otto Kahn?," "It's Gorgeous to be Grateful," "Kickin' a Hole in the Sky" and "When a Woman Loves a Man." (A sixth, "I'm Sasha" is missing from this print.)

The picture's story is typically an excuse to hang the musical numbers on. Here, two men duke it out for the love of nighclub singer Fannie Field. The loser ends up becoming trainer for the winner, whose successful boxing career brings him both money and the affections of a young blonde-- a rival that Fanny has to contend with.


The only other Fanny Brice movie currently available on DVD is one she has a small part in, ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946).


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.

(6.6) Be Yourself! (1930) - Fanny Brice/Robert Armstrong/Harry Green/G. Pat Collins/Gertrude Astor/Budd Fine/Marjorie kane/Rita Flynn

a little slow at first, after all it was a more subtle time. the video info claims it was released in 1905 when talkies hadn't even been invented. it was actually released in 1930 and is a FANTASTIC record of fanny brice's talent as a singer and comedian, and even an actress. she had us laughing hysterically during the swan number which obviously inspired the ballet number in "funny girl". it's a must see for a fanny fan! the costumes are wonderful, too. another highlight is the giant devil number...see what i mean.

I was curious about Fanny Brice in her younger years, and this is the only commercially available film that stars her of which I am aware. The plot is thin and preposterous, but that's not the point. The point is viewing Fanny's comedy and musical talents and some unusual production numbers as well as the great art deco style of the nightclub in which she works.

Fanny plays a nightclub performer who has financed her younger brother's law school and also set him up in business for himself. He has quite the memory for individual laws, but is a little too ambitious at chasing ambulances only about ten years after ambulances have been around. Enter down-on-his-luck boxer Jerry Moore (Robert Armstrong), who frequents the club where Fanny works. He gets mad one night at a fellow patron, boxing champ Mac, who has been mouthing off to him, and Jerry knocks him out after only a few punches. This gives Fanny and her brother the idea that maybe all that Jerry needs is a good manager to organize his career, and they decide to take on the job. After Fanny invests in a bunch of training equipment for Jerry she learns that he's only fought four times and he's only won once, and that was a technical decision. She doesn't quite have on her hands the diamond in the rough that she thought she had. Will she get him to stop lying down every time after he is punched the first time? Is a lasting romance in the cards for the two? Can she get her brother to stop suing people? Watch and find out.

As for the songs - "Cookin Breakfast for the One I Love" is very cute and is probably the only time you'll ever see Robert Armstrong in a duet with anybody, the production number "Kicking a Hole in the Sky" has Fanny and chorus dueling with the devil, and "When a Woman Loves a Man" has a torch song quality to it. The five numbers included here really showed Brice's musical range.

There's also some cute comedy bits involving the other girls that work in the club. One mentions that she told her boyfriend that if he didn't marry her she'd kill herself. While she's getting ready for the next act a package arrives from him. Expecting an engagement ring she instead receives a gun.

The audio on this old film was really quite good, but the video wasn't as crisp as I'd expected. There was an overall lack of contrast, and maybe the original elements are so bad this is the best Kino could do, but for the price I was expecting more. There are no extra features on this DVD. Still I would recommend it to anybody who likes the early talkies.

I can play this dvd in The Netherlands (region 2). This ia a region free dvd.For over 42 years collecting everything about miss Fanny Brice is my GREAT hobby. This dvd is a wonderfull item to my collection.More about Fanny Brice-het life and times,the Fanny Brice Collection- on, [...]

I LOVE THIS MOVIE CAUSE I SAW BARBARA DO HER MOVIE AND I WANTED SEE THE REAL FANNT BRICE SPEAK. A+++++++++++