Music in Manhattan

RKO, 1944
Starring Anne Shirley, Dennis Day, Phillip Terry, and Raymond Walburn
Directed by John H. Auer
Music by Herb Pollack; Lyrics by Herb Magidson

Many small-scale and "B" musicals were made during the World War II years to fill double-bills and let the folks on the home front get their minds off their troubles. They often reflected the reality of the time, with people having difficulty finding places to stay, travel restricted and gas rationed, and returning GIs considered heroes and sometimes even celebrities. Let's join Frankie Foster (Shirley) at the struggling off-Broadway revue she and her boyfriend Stanley (Day) are appearing in and find out just how hard it was...

The Story: Hoping to bump up her act with Stanley and keep the revue afloat, Frankie tries to get to Washington DC to borrow money from her rich father. Their manager Professor Carl Roberti (Walburn) gets her on the next plane by claiming she's the wife of returning soldier Johnny Pearson (Terry). She even gets the bridal suite in DC by claiming to be his wife. Pearson is less angry to find a "wife" sharing his bedroom than amused, despite him really being involved with Frankie's friend in the show Gladys (Patti Brill). Frankie isn't amused and ends up walking back to New York.

The show does become a hit...thanks to the Professor and the cast of the show publicizing her "marriage" to Pearson. Frankie laughs it off at first, until Pearson returns and insists on sharing a room with her. Worse yet, his mother (Jane Darwell) arrives, convinced that she now has a daughter-in-law. Stanley is livid and tries to tell everyone within a five mile radius about the situation, but Frankie's wondering if being "married" to Johnny is really that terrible...

The Song and Dance: Shirley and a decent supporting cast really anchor this goofy little wartime tale. Shirley manages to make some of the stranger twists of the plot believable, even when Terry's mother arrives and things really get out of hand. Darwell and Walburn have a field day as the kindly old lady who really thinks her son found happiness and the slick older agent who thinks he's finally found a way to make their small-time show a hit.

Favorite Number: The movie opens with a spicy Latin dance routine and Dennis Day singing about "One Night In Acapulco." The cutest musical number shows Day and Shirley's morning routine in separate rooms, then brings them together for "Did You Happen to Find a Heart?" They also take part in the big, glamorous finale with lots of chorus dancers and glittering gowns, "When Romance Comes Along."

What I Don't Like: Very typical of its time and of romantic comedy. You can more-or-less figure out who Frankie will end up with less than ten minutes after the movie begins. Day sings beautifully, but he comes off more like a whiny twit than someone who is trying to protect his fiancee. And there's this being just this much shy of B-movie fodder.

The Big Finale: Charming bit of 40's fluff if you're a fan of the era or romantic comedy and run into it on TCM.

Home Media: Once again, this can currently only be found in occasional showings on TCM.

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