1934's "Gift of Gab" is an example of Universal product advertising radio novelty acts and musical numbers, which no doubt all the studios did; it's just that Universal, further down the ladder and closer to Poverty Row than to MGM, just didn't have the resources to sign top talent. Edmund Lowe is the star, playing Philip 'Gift of Gab' Gabney, obnoxious radio announcer whose confidence tricks eventually backfire on him, an excuse to present various numbers of dubious quality on behalf of station owner Victor Moore. Among the many guest stars playing themselves (Alexander Woolcott, Ethel Waters, Ruth Etting), we have the lovely Gloria Stuart, falling far too easily for the glib Gabney, and a smaller role for adorable Marian "Peanuts" Byron (as a telephone operator), who should have had a bigger career, as her work for Hal Roach would attest. However, the lone reason this film is remembered (and miraculously survived) is one sketch 46 minutes in, as murder victim Paul Lukas makes himself more comfortable on the floor, maid Binnie Barnes screams, and detectives Chester Morris and Roger Pryor search for clues. Hiding in a closet is Bela Lugosi, dressed as a French Apache (which he'd played on Broadway in "The Red Poppy"), asking simply, "what time is it?" Shortly after hearing a description of a mysterious phantom with long hair and a top hat, in through a window climbs The Phantom himself (Boris Karloff), who checks a number in the corpse's little black book, asks for a match, and laughs menacingly as he exits through the same window. Meagre it may be, but the presence of both Lugosi and Karloff, just after the release of their initial teaming in "The Black Cat," provides the only reason to catch the exceedingly rare "Gift of Gab," a curious credit indeed for director Karl Freund, in between "The Mummy" and "Mad Love." Often erroneously mentioned in filmographies for The Three Stooges, the trio that appear, Sid Walker, Jack Harling, and John 'Skins' Miller, bear only a slight physical resemblance to Moe, Larry, and Curly.
Review of Gift of Gab
