Starring Frank Sinatra, George Murphy, Gloria DeHaven, and Adolph Menjou
Directed by Tim Whalen
Music by Jules Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Frank Sinatra got his start in movies as a singer with Tommy Dorsey's band or a side character. This is the first film where he got star billing. RKO intended to build him up as a major star, borrowing George Murphy and Gloria DeHaven from MGM to partner him in this remake of the 1938 non-musical farce Room Service. How does this very stage-bound play work as a musical? To find out, we begin in the lobby of the hotel where producer/director Gordon Miller (Murphy) is rehearsing his new musical show, and see just how wild a remake can get...
The Story: The trouble is, Miller's broke. He's living off credit, and hotel manager Joe Gribble (Walter Sleazak) is tired of feeding the hungry actors trooping into his room. Head manager Wagner (Menjou) wants them out yesterday, or at least to pay their bills. Miller is facing being kicked to the sidewalk until playwright Glenn Russell (Sinatra) turns up, demanding to know if Miller's producing his play. Miller doesn't remember his play...but he does discover Russell has a golden voice, which he's used to earn money on the side. He first sends his leading lady Christine Marlowe (DeHaven) to turn on the charm and convince him to join them. That works too well. Now they have to keep Wagner off their backs long enough for the representative of their backer (Eugene Pallatte) to see what they can do...and keep an excited secretary (Anne Jeffreys) from chasing Russell.
The Song and Dance: Lively little farce shows off everyone to best advantage. Despite Sinatra's top billing, Murphy is the one who really dominates the lunacy. As the producer who will do anything to stay in the hotel long enough to sell their show, he's perpetually in motion, so fast that he's already coming up with the next big idea while the previous one is still going. DeHaven has a great time vamping it up for Sinatra, before Christine realizes that she's falling for the sweet scribe, and Jeffreys makes the most of her short screen time as the secretary who's nuts about Glenn's singing. The supporting cast has even more fun, especially Menjou as the frustrated hotel manager who can never keep up with Miller's scheming.
Favorite Number: "Where Does Love Begin?" gets two good outings, as DeHaven and the chorus rehearse it in the hotel room in the beginning, and later between Jeffreys and Sinatra as he tries to dodge her advances. Sinatra performs "As Long As There's Music" several times, notably in the beginning when he's showing off what he can do for Murphy. "Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are" begins with Sinatra and DeHaven on a balcony, gradually turning into a huge Busby Berkeley-style routine with black-and-white-clad swirling around them as their colors change in time to the music.
What I Don't Like: Sinatra was a lot more relaxed in comedies by the 50's and 60's, but at this point, he was new at acting and stiff as a board. Neither he nor Murphy can make anyone forget the Marx Brothers from the original Room Service, and DeHaven's no Lucille Ball, either. Jeffreys later became a popular performer on stage and TV and was certainly capable of a lot more than chasing Sinatra around.
Despite the attempts to open up the story with the musical numbers, it's pretty obvious this started out as a stage play. Sinatra and Jeffreys' song is the only one that moves the plot along, and the book scenes are stage-bound and a bit static. Miller's constant lying and yelling and conning and all the craziness gets wearisome after a while.
The Big Finale: Energetic bit of "B" fluff if you love farce or are a big Sinatra fan.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD from the Warner Archives and on streaming.
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