secondtake Search for Beauty (1934)You won't mistake this for a great movie, but it's fast and just perky enough to be fun. And it has Ida Lupino in an early American role.The premise is a diluted sex hook—dozens of great beauties, male and female, are gathered together for a contest and a weekend of health and exercise. So naturally there is, eventually, a lot of skin and buff bodies. Unlike most movies like this, however, it's pretty evenly split between men and women. There is even a massive dance number at the end rather like a Busby Berkeley number. (His first famous dance extravaganza was the previous year.)If the plot is a bit canned, it isn't quite obvious so will keep you guessing. The dialog is so fast it's frantic, and you'll never hear so much word play so relentlessly spoken. It's fun and funny—you can tell they had a blast writing the screenplay.The leading man opposite Lupino is Buster Crabbe, a hunk of a pretty man who just didn't have the acting ability to turn it into stardom. A former Olympic gold medal swimmer, he has a short swimming role here, which is fun. He stuck to athletic roles most of his life—like a serialized version of Tarzan—and is stretched a bit thin for this part.Not that this is a demanding movie. The two sidekick males are both character actors who you'll either enjoy or find irritating (because they push their schtick in well worn ways). Lupino is the highlight overall, still with some of her British accent. As the backstabbing and conniving builds, and the big last third of the movie takes off at a resort camp for fitness and beauty, the scenes get wilder and more chaotic.Love will have its final say, however, and its satisfying enough—more so than that silly last shot as "the end" appears, with a small amount of relief.

LeonLouisRicci One of the Last Pre-Code Movies to Exploit Film Freedom with Cheesecake in the Busby Berkeley Fashion and Beefcake (rarely seen) with Verbal Gags and Innuendos. It is a Film Version of the Real Life Girlie Magazines that were Popular at the Time, some Using a Come On that it was All About Health and Fitness (wink wink).It is Full of Eye Candy for Both Sexes and is Really Nothing but an Excuse for Bawdy Pageantry. Unlike the Berkeley Movies that were Infinitely Better, this Uses the Male as well as the Female Form to get a 1930's Audience Aroused. Couples who went to the Theatre in 1934 to See this "Musical-Comedy" Spoof, Probably couldn't wait to Indulge in a bit of Post Movie Petting.Ida Lupino (a role against type) is Unrecognizable as a Platinum Blonde Eye Filler and Buster Crabbe at the Beginning of a Tarzan, Flash Gordon-Buck Rogers, Cowboy Career that would Span Decades and Give Him a Substantial Place in B-Movie and Television History is in this Bit of Fluff.Also On Hand is Robert Armstrong (a year after King Kong) and James Gleason. They are the Non-Pretty Actors here and Provide the Comedy Relief with Some Racy Dialog. Overall, if You are an Oggler of the Female or Male Physique, and Find this Type of Spicy Stuff Fun, Enjoy.

ptb-8 Well, what can I say other than YIPPEE! Slipped through just before the may 1934 deadline of the Hayes Code this is almost the superlative risqué extravaganza for sex and nudity in a 1930s movie. One astonishing scene in a mens locker room even has full male nudity! Unheard of outside Nazi beauty films of the later era and certainly an eye-full of sassy rudeness both in picture and dialog. Other posts here will tell you the story but since this film features two of the most beautiful actors ever on screen BUSTER CRABBE and IDA LUPINO (in blonde 'do) and then peppers the screen with gorgeous women and men parading and exercising and grabbing each other...! THE SEARCH FOR BEAUTY is everything you might hope for in a pre-code sex comedy and wow does it deliver! Hilarious rude and deliciously nude rude and funny. And cheer breathtaking Toby Wing dancing on a table in a negligee!

Darroch Greer I have to weigh in on this deliciously fun, kitschy movie. Perhaps one needs a historical perspective to appreciate the fun and absurdity of this very game film. The detracting comments have missed the boat. The appreciative comments have laid out the story and gimmicks well. I'd like to add that the big production number, which looks like the concoction of marching band instructor from a military background who saw a Busby Berkeley movie while stoned, has to be seen to be believed. And, yes, the nudity and sexual innuendo seems risqué enough for the time to be very entertaining. Though short on talent, Buster Crabbe is fun to watch, as is a young Ida Lupino who certainly made good from this unpromising start. For me, James Gleason is the treat. Though not nearly as sharp as later performances -- particularly his great drunk scene in MEET JOHN DOE -- it's interesting to see a pro finding his sea-legs on film in 1934. A diamond in the rough!