Phil Silvers was a comedy icon in his day, and along with starring in his TV series The Phil Silvers Show (as Master Sgt. Ernie Bilko) and The New Phil Silvers Show, he had notable success on the stage in two Tony Award winning productions A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Top Banana. Even though Top Banana didn’t have Steven Sondheim as a writer like A Funny Thing, it easily wins out as the production most representative of Silvers’ own comedic stylings. Top Banana is an onslaught of one-liners broken up with the occasional musical numbers. For modern audiences, Top Banana’s comedy might be a bit stale but the energy it carries over from its theatrical roots helps to carry it along so quickly that its faults are easy to overlook. Though a few clever camera choices mask the simplistic sets by which the story takes place, Top Banana still feels like a mediocre attempt at taping a high school play with awkward cuts and shaky stage lighting, even as the talent makes their comic brilliance apparent.
To paraphrase the protagonist Jerry Biffle (Silvers), he had to fight hard to get to the top of the comedy show game and he’s had to fight twice as hard to stay there. Only, he’s losing that fight, and his ratings are slipping, and his sponsors’ confidence with it. Committed to rising back to his former glory, Biffle has to make decisions to freshen up the acts, sharpen the writing, and appease the sponsors, all while a few romances bloom amongst the cast and crew of his production – some of which catch Jerry by surprise.
Though not brilliant in its comic endeavors, there’s enough lightning fast dialogue to keep most people entertained, even as some of the more tired slapstick bits weigh on their patience. In the end, Top Banana serves as an interesting exhibit of the collision of film and theatre before adaptations from one format to the other (in either direction) had become commonplace.
DVD Bonus Features
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"Top Banana" is on sale September 22, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy. Directed by Alfred E Green. Written by Hy Kraft & Johnny Mercer (stageplay), Gene Towne (screenplay). Starring Jack Albertson, Rose Marie, Phil Silvers.
