Starring Lily Pons, Gene Raymond, Jack Oakie, and Mischa Auer
Directed by Leigh Jason
Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Edward Heyman
The success of the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy operettas at MGM and Columbia's vehicles for Grace Moore convinced the studios to try other top- drawer opera stars. Pons' first vehicle I Dream Too Much wasn't a huge hit, but it did well enough for her to have a second go. How does Pons' second try at film stardom look nowadays? Let's start at a church in Paris, where opera star Nicole "Nikki" Martin (Pons) is about to get married to her sponsor (Gregory Gaye), and find out...
The Story: Nikki runs off before the marriage ceremony takes place. Looking for adventure, she exchanges clothes with a peasant, abandons her car, and hitchhikes. She's picked up by Windy McLean (Raymond), who leads a musical quartet. He spites her, but she follows him and stows away with him and his four-piece band on an ocean liner bound for the US. She's caught and detained by the authorities, but manages to get off the ship and make her way to their hotel room.
They're trying to get rid of her before the police find her there when Windy's girlfriend Claire (Lucille Ball) shows up with producer Mr. Hammacher (Herman Bing). She got them a job at Hammacher's road house. Nikki manages to talk her way into a job, then convinces them to take her as a singer when she sabotages Claire's dance. Nikki's singing is a sensation, but when a jealous Claire reports her, she has to flee again. After she finally returns to the Met for her career, Windy's group try sabotaging her new act...until they see how well she does.
The Song and Dance: We get a slight glimpse of Ball's embryonic talents in her short but fairly funny dance routine. She keeps ending up on the floor, thanks to Nikki breaking her shoes earlier. It's frustrating for her, but she does it so well it ends up being a highlight. And at the very least, the leading men are a bit more interesting here than Henry Fonda was in Dream Too Much. Raymond is a bit bland, but at least he and Oakie are a lot more accustomed to musical territory and can actually sing. Aurer and curly-haired Frank Jenks are having even more fun as the most fun-loving member of the band and the Russian member respectively.
Favorite Number: Jack Oakie and the band really get into their number "Love and Learn" on the ship to the US. "Moon Face" is another Oakie number. This is the one that Claire tries to dance to, only to end up constantly on the floor thanks to Nikki's sabotage. The band jokingly does a swing version of "The Blue Danube Waltz," but Pons has no trouble joining in. "Une voce poco fa" is the aria from The Barber of Saville Pons appears in during the end that the band almost wrecks. The Wildcats invade Nikki's wedding and join on singing "I Love You Truly" with their own lyrics to alert her to Windy's changing his mind about marrying her.
Trivia: Remake of the 1929 hit Street Girl; would be remade in 1942 as Four Jacks and a Jill.
What I Don't Like: Pons sings beautifully, especially on her Barber solo, but she's still too shrill on-screen. The story is dull and silly, lacking the charm of Street Girl (which Oakie also appeared in). Nikki comes off as less desperate to stay in the US and more obnoxious, breaking up a guy's relationship, especially since Claire wasn't that bad of a person. She's hardly the waif Betty Compson was in the original. Doesn't help that there's no Jerome Kern writing her music this time; the new songs are completely unmemorable.
The Big Finale: Strictly for major fans of opera or Ball.
Home Media: None of Pons' three vehicles are currently available anywhere but occasionally on TCM.
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