Starring Vera Hruba Ralston, William Marshall, Ann Rutherford, and Helen Walker
Directed by John English
Music and Lyrics by various
Ralston was Republic's answer to Belita at rival B studio Monogram. In fact, her career somewhat paralleled Belita's. She also came over to the US from Europe, in this case what's now the Czech Republic, and had skated in major championships. She also turned up as a Poverty Row studio's version of Sonja Henie, and also spent the majority of her career in action movies. Republic also had a lot in common with Monogram. They too started as a merger between independent studios. In fact, Monogram was one of their units before breaking off on their own. Herbert Yates, the head of Republic, was smitten with Ralston and tried to show her off to best advantage in big-for-Republic films like this relatively lavish thriller. How does the story of love gone wrong at an ice show look today? Let's put our best skate forward and begin with the big show itself and find out...
The Story: Figure skating star Lila Laughton (Ralston) is so shocked when she sees her former producer lover Carl Lang (Edward Norris) in a box, she stops right as she makes her entrance. She does manage to finish the number, but immediately goes to the apartment he's sharing with a friend afterwards. He tries to blackmail her with letters that could tie her to an accidental death at the theater he took the rap for, but she's not buying it.
She and her conductor boyfriend Don Jordan (Marshall) come back up to get her purse...only to find Lang dead over his piano with a knife in his back. Turns out half the women in the Music Hall worked for him during his producing days...and none of them appreciated his chasing them or his implications in the death of beloved male performer Douglas. There's also the women's glove left in Lang's room that wasn't there when Lila went the first time, and the mysterious blind man selling pencils and shoelaces at the door who is far from what he seems.
The Song and Dance: This is an entertaining little mystery, and one time where the story is more than just a stop between the numbers. There's enough twists and turns that you really do find yourself trying to figure out whodunnit along with the cast by the end. Great supporting cast here, especially Ann Rutherford as ever-hopeful Grace, the understudy who wishes that just once, she'd get a chance to go on, and William Gargan as tough-guy cop Inspector Wilson. Surprisingly decent costumes and sets for one of Republic's musicals, too, with extravagant chorus numbers with some amazing outfits for Ralston and the skaters.
Favorite Number: We open as the chorus in flowing ruffles declares Ralston to be "My Wonderful One." She's not feeling so wonderful after she catches sight of Lang in the audience, even as the chorus tosses her around! Our next number is an instrumental baton-twirling routine for the chorus and an unidentified skater, her fingers moving faster than the eye can catch. Ralston returns for "Lead, Kindly Light," a peculiar routine with one skater in a strange silver costume with an electric-like headpiece and Ralston in a brief Greek-style dress.
The earlier skater returns with a partner for another instrumental routine with the chorus and some impressive spins and lifts. Rutherford finally gets to go for the big finale. She and Ralston, wearing sparkly black outfits with a big heart on the front and surrounded by women carrying torches, hold a figure-skating, choreographed fencing match. Yes, it's strange as it sounds, but the ladies do have some nice moves, especially when they spin with their swords still out!
What I Don't Like: This is a rare time there should have been more story and less musical. The numbers just intrude on the mystery, and they don't really tie into it in any way. I wish they could have done more with them, maybe made them the reason for Lang's death or part of why the women are all so angry at him. Despite Yates' intentions, they don't really show off Ralston to best advantage, either. Two of them don't even feature her. There's also the fact that, no matter what Yates believed, Ralston never did become the best actress and is a bit stiff in the dramatic scenes.
The Big Finale: Never judge a film by its budget. I ended up enjoying the "imitation" skating vehicles by the B-studios far more than most of the standard romantic comedies 20th Century Fox dumped Sonja Henie into. At least they tried something different. This also makes me wish there were more musical mystery stories, and certainly ones as entertaining as this. For mystery lovers, skating and film noir fans, and fans of Ralston and Rutherford.
Home Media: YouTube seems to be the only place you can find this rare tuner at the moment.
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