bluerider521 I saw this in the NYC Museum of the Moving Image before cable and satellite. I went tom see it because of the early technicolor. The story and the music were quaint at best, but I felt weird as I watched the racist mentality. I was watching a time when people, who probably considered themselves liberal, were clueless about the psychological impact of the racism of daily life.Wheeler and Woolsey surprised and fascinated me. I had no idea that this comedy duo had even existed. There was something about them which gave me a funny feeling in my stomach. They looked strange, particularly Woolsey. They did comedy routines which were meant to be funny, but were weirdly humorless to me.. They might have been doing pantomime; the punch lines just fell flat.. They were like my first taste of pickled olives in childhood. Eech! Yet, like olives, I have gotten used to Wheeler and Woolsey. In fact, they are fairly funny in this movie, once one gets used to them. The two strip technicolor is great.Do not start to see this as a casual entertainment. It will bore you. It has great historical interest to comedy, technicolor, and old musical fans, however.

MartinHafer While I am NOT a bleeding heart, I do find it very odd that very few of the reviews even bother to mention the racist elements in the film. While I would NOT say that you shouldn't watch it (I am a huge believer in Free Speech...period), I think the problematic view of slavery at least deserves a mention!! After all, as the film begins, you see a plantation owner and his son talking about how happy their slaves are--as the human chattel do their "fun" chores and sing. While this might ruffle a few feathers, this is akin to showing a song and dance number at a Soviet gulag! This just reinforced the horrible stereotype of the 1930s that slavery "wasn't THAT bad"! Seemingly child-like slaves who are happy and carefree is just a gross stereotype.The plot involves a circus performer, Dixiana, who has fallen for rich Carl Van Horn--the family who owns the plantation at the beginning of the film. Carl's father is a nice but hen-pecked guy. His mother is a society-conscious old battle-ax--and when she learns of the marriage between her well-connected son and a common circus performer, she blows a gasket and demands the wedding be stopped. Carl is apparently a wiener and caves to his battle-ax mother's whim. All this comes out as Wheeler & Woolsey (who look after Dixiana) have been invited to stay with the Van Horns. As for the duo's behavior during this time at the Van Horns, they mostly kick people in the butt (I am not exaggerating in the least).As for the film, it's a mixed bag. For a 1930 film, the sound is excellent. Many early sound films suffer from varying sound or sound that is simply too soft, as they had still to work out all the ins and outs of the new medium. Unfortunately, the problem is that because of this you can actually hear what's going on!! That's because the two leads warble operatic style songs that make Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy seem like pop singers! In 1930, the public liked this sort of old fashion drivel--now it is a definite chore to get past these god-awful songs. In addition to these two leads, Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee also sing a bit--as does Robert Woolsey near the end of the film. The Wheeler/Lee songs are more cute and enjoyable than the rest, though it should also be noted that Ms. Lee sings almost exactly like Betty Boop!! Be ready to hit the fast-forward button when any song occurs! Be forewarned, there are a lot of songs and they are hard on the ears!Newly teamed comics, Wheeler & Woolsey are on hand for comic relief. Like Abbott and Costello, the studio first used them in this role and only later gave them their own starring films. Their sort of humor is what you might expect--Burlesque style skits and not particularly inspired ones. The team is okay here, but have been better and are not enough to salvage the film. I never thought I'd find myself saying that I wanted MORE Wheeler & Woolsey! The overall film is wretched--far worse than any other Wheeler & Woolsey film I have seen (I've seen about 12-15). While many of their early films have singing, none feature as much or at annoying music. This combined with the whole slavery issue make this a tough film to enjoy.

bkoganbing The title role of Dixiana is played by Bebe Daniels who is a circus performer in an act with Wheeler&Woolsey. Offstage she's pursued by young southern blade Everett Marshall and Snidely Whiplash like gambler Ralf Harolde.Dixiana was RKO Pictures big budget film for 1930. It's given a lavish production, but unfortunately it's crashingly dull except when Wheeler&Woolsey are on and when Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson gets to do a specialty number.Part of the problem is Everett Marshall, fresh from the Metropolitan Opera, makes Nelson Eddy look like Marlon Brando. Marshall does have a stirring baritone and maybe if Dixiana had a few hits come from it, his career might have lasted in films. As it was, Marshall knew he was better on the musical and concert stage and wisely stayed there the rest of his career.Wheeler&Woolsey bring their own brand of humor, shattering certain traditions of the old south as the code duello. The duel they fight for Dorothy Lee's affections is hilarious.As Dixiana is set in the old south, racial and other stereotypes do abound. But unless you like Wheeler&Woolsey and Bojangles, there's no reason to see this film.

didi-5 Back in 1930 RKO was like all the other studios, churning out musicals to please an audience hungry for the new rage of talking pictures. 'Dixiana' was meant to cash in on the success of 'Rio Rita', the Ziegfeld show that became a movie in 1929, and used many of the same cast - the lovely Bebe Daniels in the title role (very like Jeanette MacDonald in this), plus comic relief from Wheeler and Woolsey and pretty Dorothy Lee. The big mistake was in casting Met star Everett Marshall as the male lead; an opera singer with an excellent voice but no acting ability whatever.Add to this mix Joseph Cawthorn and Jobyna Howland as Marshall's parents (Ms Howland goes to town with her over-acting!); plus Mr Bojangles in his debut film appearance (a 3 minute solo); and a two-strip Technicolor finale. The musical numbers are fine (mostly for Everett Marshall and Bebe Daniels; although there's a cute song for Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee about halfway into the film). I've seen this film described as a 'prehistoric turkey', but I wouldn't put it down that much. It has its high points (the colour sequence looks great and is a hoot) and it is about as complete a restoration as you could ask for. And it is the only Wheeler and Woolsey currently on DVD; we need more of their mad movies commercially available. 'Dixiana' is patchy but it isn't prehistoric!