Pointed Heels

Paramount, 1929

Starring Fay Wray, William Powell, Phillip Holmes, and Helen Kane

Directed by A. Edward Sutherland

Music and Lyrics by various

First of all, after today, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be going on hiatus for vacation. Reviews will resume October 7th with the early talkie revue Paramount on Parade. 

Speaking of Paramount and the early talkie era, MGM was far from the only studio where backstage shenanigans came to the fore. Even the smallest studio dove head-first into backstage stories that could make use of music and sound without actually having to to weave them into the plot. Paramount was no exception to this. Pointed Heels was their big attraction for Christmas 1929. It seems to have done well enough then, but has time been kind to this tale of a producer who chases the chorus girl wife of a poor songwriter? Let's begin at a theater with a rehearsal in progress and see...

The Story: Chorus girl Lora Nixon (Wray) is leaving the show to marry wealthy songwriter Donald Ogden (Holmes). His mother is so heartbroken over the marriage, she cuts the newlywed couple off without a cent, forcing them to live in a tiny New York apartment. Donald's too devoted to writing his jazz symphony to take regular work, so Lorna returns to the show. Producer Robert Courtland is still interested in her and invites her to his penthouse. Donald thinks Courtland is what she wants, but the producer knows that's far from the truth.

The Song and Dance: For a last-minute replacement, Wray is lovely as a chorus girl who marries for love, then wonders why. Richard "Skeets" Gallagher and adorable Betty Boop inspiration Helen Kane have their moments as Donald's brother and his wife, Eugene Palatte gets a few good lines as Courtland's partner, and William Powell is delightfully and impossibly suave as the charming producer who understands love a lot more than Lorna does. The other stand-out here is the production. We have some really nifty Art Deco sets, especially in the theater, and gorgeous late 20's gowns and dance costumes for Wray and the ladies. 

The Numbers: Our first, brief number is in a restaurant, where Kane really gets into wiggling along with the music played by wandering musicians at their table. We also get a brief bit by Donald, playing a lovely bit of his "jazz symphony." Gallagher and Kane give us the sweet "Ain'tcha" while he plays the piano at their apartment. Their idea of being "refined" in the dress rehearsals is singing "I Have to Have You" with him in a tux and her in a blonde wig, carrying a huge feather fan. They reprise it in the actual show, this time with him doing goofy drunk dances and her in a much shorter, lacy outfit and doing her Betty Boop "boop-a-doop." 

Trivia: The 2-strip Technicolor "Versailles Ballet" with Wray, the Albertina Rasch Dancers, and the chorus does exist and has been seen recently in museums but is not included in older copies currently on YouTube.

If Fay Wray seems like almost as strange of a choice for a musical as Powell, she was a last minute replacement for, among other women, Esther Ralston and Mary Eaton. 

What I Don't Like: Other than Powell being urbane and some mildly racy Pre-Code moments, this isn't anything you haven't seen in dozens of backstage musicals before and after. Losing the ballet means most of the songs are performed by Kane and Gallagher. They can be funny, but are usually best taken in small doses. Holmes is especially dull, seeming more like a robot than any kind of musician.

The Big Finale: Nothing you haven't seen in other, better backstage films. Only for the most ardent fans of Wray or Powell. 

Home Media: Streaming only. I watched it on YouTube.

YouTube

Cult Flops - It's a Great Life

MGM, 1929

Starring Vivian and Rosetta Duncan, Laurence Gray, and Jed Prouty

Directed by Sam Wood

Music by Dave Dryer; Lyrics by Ballard MacDonald

We're going backstage this week at the dawn of the early sound era. After the wild success of The Broadway Melody, MGM pretty much used that as a template for all of its theater-set musicals from 1929 through 1932. Vivian and Rosetta Duncan were the inspirations and original casting choices for the sister act in Broadway Melody. Their close-harmony comedy act had been captivating audiences in vaudeville, the stage, and on silent film since 1911. MGM figured it made sense to star the sisters in their own Broadway Melody variant about a small-time sister act who breaks up when one gets married. How does it look now, over 90 years later? Let's begin at a department store, where the head manager (George Periolat) is getting ready to lead the clerks in song, and find out...

The Story: Diminutive Casey Hogan (Rosetta Duncan) and her slightly ditsy younger sister Babe (Vivian Duncan) get into trouble when Casey does comedy when she's just supposed to be dancing in the store's annual talent show. That doesn't put her over with Jimmy Dean (Gray), the piano player in the sheet music department who is in love with Babe and is directing the show. Jimmy tries an act with Babe, but it doesn't really work until Casey joins in, too. That puts it over better...until Babe and Jimmy claim they want to get married. Casey is devastated, and they break up the act. Casey is ready to marry David Parker (Prouty), the department store manager who has been in love with her for years...until Jimmy tells her that her sister has collapsed. She's delirious...and will respond to no one but her sister.

The Song and Dance: The first half of this one, when they're at the department store and doing vaudeville together, is actually kind of fun. Vivian's bland and a bit annoying, but Rosetta can be a riot, especially playing off the combative Gray. The movie is surprisingly fast-paced for the era. Wood gives a real sense of bustle to the early scenes, especially at the botched talent show and when the trio are on their vaudeville tour. It's rare for a film of this vintage to still have its color scenes. Apparently, those were rediscovered in the 90's. That fashion show in particular doesn't look too bad today. 

The Numbers: We open with the store song, "Smile, Smile, Smile," during a meeting. Casey finds it to be more than a little maudlin and goofs off and makes wisecracks throughout the entire number. Our first Technicolor sequence is "Fashion Through the Day," the fashion show sequence that goes awry when the girls get in the wrong order and come down when the singer isn't talking about their costumes. The movie returns to black and white for a rather dreadful tenor murdering "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella." He sounds whiny and can't even remember the lyrics. Babe attempts a solo, "The Sweetheart's Song," but she has an attack of stage fright, and Casey saves the number by turning it into a comedy. Casey and Babe do better by their simple, sweet close harmony number, "I'm Following You." 

The Hogans reprise this in their vaudeville act, climbing out of Jimmy's piano. This is actually rather charming, showing us what vaudeville acts like the Duncans meant to their audiences. The two of them dressing in goofy Spanish costumes and singing "It's an Old Spanish Custom" and "If I Love You"as an exaggerated Victorian lass and gentleman is a little stranger. The movie ends with Babe's Technicolor fever dream...and considering the wild Art Deco sets, it's almost literally one. The Hogans start out by singing "Hoosier Hop" with bad back-up dancers in gingham bonnets. They end things by having the chorus girls slide down silvery "sunbeams" in "Sailing On Sunbeams."

What I Don't Like: Yeah, I can see why this was such a flop, the Duncans never made another feature-length film. It starts out pretty cute, but the bottom drops out pretty quickly once Jimmy and Babe get married. The melodrama is dull, silly, and annoying. Some of Casey and Jimmy's bickering gets obnoxious to the point of being plain nasty. No wonder Babe got so sick. Jed Prouty is supposed to be Casey's love interest, but he's such a nonentity, you understand why Casey ran back to her sister. (Oh, and Warner, the color on the copy currently at YouTube could stand for some restoration, particularly in "Sailing On Sunbeams.")

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of the Duncans, vaudeville, or the early talkie era. Everyone else would be better off looking for the Technicolor numbers solo online.

Home Media: It's on DVD from the Warner Archives, but like most 1929 titles now in the public domain, you're better off streaming this one.

DVD

YouTube

Animation Celebration Saturday - Plankton: The Movie

Netflix/Nickelodeon, 2025

Voices of Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Tom Kenney, and Bill Fagerbakke

Directed by David Needham

Music and Lyrics by various

We're remaining at Netflix, but going to a whole different franchise. SpongeBob SquarePants is the story of a very enthusiastic sponge who lives in under the sea and has some of the most peculiar friends in all of animation. Plankton is technically one of the show's villains, a tiny one-eyed creature with an ego three times the size of his body who is married to a computer and thinks stealing the formula for Krabby Patties will help him take over the world. Although the film revolving around SpongeBob's squirrel friend Sandy Cheeks wasn't well-received critically, it was popular enough on Netflix for them to go ahead with this one. How well does music fit with SpongeBob's oddly sunny world? Let's begin with SpongeBob as he introduces us to the world of his home Bikini Bottom and find out...

The Story: Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) is furious when his computer wife Karen (Talley) tries to make over his dreary restaurant, the Chum Bucket, to be more cheerful and "contemporary" and actually get customers. Him destroying the restaurant is the last straw. She turns into a larger robotic form with three heads and claims she'll take over the world without him. Her new fortress magnetizes the Chum Bucket, stealing it and other buildings in Bikini Bottom.

Plankton wants to get to the bottom of why Karen's behaving badly, so he lets SpongeBob (Kenny) hypnotize him to recall his past. This leads him to remember Karen's previous form as a calculator attached to a potato, which he upgraded at Bikini State University. They built their first machine to take over the world there. That didn't work, but it led Plankton to the Chum Bucket and to overhearing Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) jokingly say that the Krabby Paddy formula will help him take over the world is what made Plankton want it for his own. It's not until he encounters Karen's "Gal Pals" Sandy Cheeks (Carolyn Lawrence), Mrs. Puff (Mary Jo Catlett), and Pearl Krabs (Lori Alan) that Plankton realizes what he'd been missing...and downloads her empathy chip into his own brain to see that what she really wanted all along was to be acknowledged as his favorite partner in crime.

The Animation: The SpongeBob movies have been done in 3D for several years now. This is...just ok. Everything looks the way it should, including Plankton and Karen's many forms, but it doesn't always move as smoothly as it could. Some of the 2D and 3D isn't very well-combined, either. It looks more-or-less like the TV show, which is really all this franchise needs in the end. In fact, the film looks better when it gets away from computer animation, including the psychedelic sequence where Plankton experiences empathy for the first time. 

The Song and Dance: SpongeBob was always a bit...strange...and this movie is no exception. Kudos to them for doing something a bit different with this material. To my knowledge, the other SpongeBob films are all straight action comedies. This is the first time they've done a film musical...and it's not bad. Mr. Lawrence and especially Talley have a lot of fun with the spoofs of 80's movie musical tropes, and Kenny's attempt to hypnotize and understand Plankton's overwhelming ego is hilarious. This goes slightly darker than usual for SpongeBob, which doesn't often go into complicated marital relationships or why empathy is so important for humans and AI alike, and it's rather refreshing for the show. 

The Numbers: We open with SpongeBob cheerfully introducing us to life in the colorful undersea world of "Bikini Bottom." "I'm Plankton" introduces Plankton, Karen, and Plankton's usual desire to take over the world. Karen insists that her husband "Say My Name, Karen" when she suddenly turns into a monstrous version of herself. "I Made a New Friend" says Plankton when he creates Karen as a child. He finally admits "I'm a Jerky-Jerk" to Karen by way of an apology. "Taking Over" brings everyone together to fight Karen's new forms. "Welcome Back to Bikini Bottom" is SpongeBob's big chorus finale as the underwater world is restored. We end over the credits with "You and Me."

What I Don't Like: Start with the so-so animation mentioned above. There's also the cliched plot points...and the fact that, if you don't know the show all that well, especially in its later seasons, you might be slightly confused. There are times when, despite being the title character, you wish they actually focused more on Plankton and a bit less on SpongeBob. 

The Big Finale: Highly recommended if you're a fan of SpongeBob or Plankton, or just want a unique animated musical to watch with your older elementary school-age kids. 

Home Media: This is a Netflix exclusive at the moment. 

Netflix

Seven Hills of Rome

MGM, 1957

Starring Mario Lanza, Marisa Allasio, Renato Rascel, and Peggy Castie

Directed by Roy Rowland

Music and Lyrics by various

Having visited Mexico in our last Mario Lanza vehicle, we head to Italy for an all together happier story. This is actually a co-production between American studio MGM and the Italian studio Titanus, where most of the interiors were filmed. As such, it's as much about Italy and its people, which was just beginning to emerge from its post-war malaise, as it is about Lanza and his music. How well does Lanza work in the story of an Italian American opera singer who discovers more than great scenery when he follows his socialite fiancee to Rome? Let's begin in the US and find out...

The Story: Marc Revere (Lanza) is working on his own TV show when he finds out his high society fiancee Carol Ralston (Castle) is flying to Rome. He follows her, looking up his cousin Pepe Bonelli (Rascel) to stay with. On the train to Rome, he meets sweet young Raffella Marini (Allasio), who needs a place to stay. She ends up with the guys, which causes considerable friction with Carol when they arrive in Rome. Angry when Carol is out with a male escort, he gets into a fight with the man and destroys the bar where he's singing. He ends up performing there for free to pay for the damages...but it does finally make him realize which woman is truly right for him.

The Song and Dance: This is basically "Serenade done right," or at least less melodramatic. It's an almost identical story - Lanza plays an opera singer in love with a wealthy woman who falls for a girl closer to his own age in an exotic land - but in this case, the land makes all the difference. The burning passions and bullfights of Mexico are replaced by a buoyant post-war Italy, where every rugged green landscape is drenched in glittering sunlight and Rome isn't merely the romantic land of ruin, but the very living world of Pepe and his neighbors. Rascel is hilarious as Lanza's cousin, while Allasio is so sweet and lovely, you understand why Marc fell for her. Lanza is far looser and funnier here playing off Rascel than he is in most of his vehicles. His imitations of several popular singers of the time deftly reveals that he did have a sense of humor to go with the artistry. The scenery really is gorgeous, with its stunning views of those seven hills and of a modern Rome.

The Numbers: We open with the title song over the credits. Rascel sings his own "Arrivedeci Roma" when his cousin arrives in Italy. "Calypso Italiano" plays over the sequence where Raffella, Marc, and Pedro fly over the Italian countryside in a helicopter. Pedro sings and plays "Vogliamoci tanto bene" during the party, while Marc encourages everyone to "Come and Dance With Me." Lanza sings a bit from "The Loveliest Night of the Year," his hit from The Great Caruso, along with the Italian song "Cielito Lindo." He does imitations of Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong.

Trivia: Allasio's last film (she gave up her career to marry a count) and Lanza's second-to-last film.

Known as Arrivedeci Roma in Italy. That was to have been the title of Lanza's next film in 1960, but he passed away before filming could begin. 

What I Don't Like: While infinitely more palatable than the melodrama in Serenade, this is still a pretty fluffy story. Carol is so obviously wrong and obnoxious from the start, you wonder why Marc pursued her in the first place. More often than not, the story, the music, and even Lanza are secondary to all that gorgeous footage of Italy. This was an Italian-American co-production, and it's more than likely that the Italians were eager to build themselves up again after their wartime sacrifices.

The Big Finale: By far my favorite of the three Lanza vehicles I reviewed this week, the great music and gorgeous scenery makes this worth checking out for fans of Lanza, opera, or 50's musicals.

Home Media: Once again, easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Serenade

Warner Bros, 1956

Starring Mario Lanza, Vincent Price, Joan Fontaine, and Sara Montiel

Directed by Anthony Mann

Music and Lyrics by various

Lanza's temperamental and erratic behavior on the set of Because You're Mine didn't make him popular with pretty much anyone on the MGM lot. His difficulty with his ballooning weight and his temperament ultimately cost him the title role in the operetta The Student Prince, where he had the indignity of dubbing another actor. Warners picked him up when MGM put him on suspension and tossed him into this cauldron of opera sequences and overheated melodrama. They also gave him the up-and-coming Mann as a director, a James M. Cahn story, and Fontaine and Price, two of the biggest actors in Hollywood, in the cast. How does an opera singer's affair with an older socialite look today? Let's begin at the grape vines of Napa Valley, California, where one young opera hopeful is about to get a job that will change his life, and find out...

The Story: Damon Vinceni (Lanza) gets a job at a local restaurant known for hiring opera hopefuls. It's here that he meets socialite and producer Kendall Hale (Fontaine) and her companion Charles Winthrop (Price). She tags him for an opera star the moment she sees him. He gets singing lessons she paid for and, with their help and hers, is able to make his debut at the San Francisco opera. He truly loves Kendall, but she's known for being fickle. When she turns her attention to handsome young sculptor Marco Roselli (Vince Edwards), he has a nervous breakdown and walks off-stage during a performance of Otello. 

Traveling to Mexico to recover and regain his voice, he falls for beautiful bullfighter's daughter Juana Montes (Montiel) and marries her. His manager Tonio (Harry Bellaver) calls him back to perform at that same local restaurant again. Damon brings Juana, but she feels out of place among San Francisco's opera elite. She thinks she's lost him when Kendall and the San Francisco opera seemingly take him back. It's not until tragedy strikes and Damon almost loses Juana that he finally realizes which woman he truly cares about.

The Song and Dance: Lanza and Fontaine make a surprisingly sharp couple in this operatic melodrama. Her brittle sass helps cut through his temperamental bravado. Vincent Price plays off both of them beautifully as the sarcastic friend caught in the middle of their tryst. Gorgeous costumes (especially in the opera sequences) and vivid cinematography of the real Mexico helps ground the romance. Mann, mostly known for his action movies, does manage the occasional interesting touches, once again mostly during Damon's sojourn in Mexico.

The Numbers: We open at the vineyard, with Damon singing "Nessun Dorma" to the other workers while driving a tractor. "Dio Ti Giocondi" from Otello is his number at the restaurant. He sings "Serenade" and "My Destiny" for Kendall and Charles. We get "Il Mio Tesoro" from Don Giovanni at singing practice, then a lovely "Ave Maria." Next up is a montage of Damon's great opera roles, including the Italian Tenor Aria from "Der Rosenkavalier" and "Di Quella Pira" from "Il Trovotore." The Otello number is reprised...but not finished before Damon walks off the stage in frustration. "Tono a Surrento" is Damon's big number in Mexico after he's recovered his voice and married Juana. "O Paradiso" is his number at the nightclub after he gets his job back there. He sings "O Soave Faniculla" from La Boheme before tragedy strikes. We end the movie with him reprising the title song onstage.

What I Don't Like: Not only is this overheated melodramatic mush, but it apparently doesn't have much to do with the James M. Cain book that inspired it. There, the impresario and socialite is male and gay, Damon is far less ethnic, and the Mexican woman he falls for is a prostitute who wants to open a brothel for him. The movie is also way beyond too long at over two hours. This load of operatic hogwash barely has enough going on for one hour, let alone two. Montiel lacks the charisma of her co-stars, coming off as bland rather than young and passionate.

The Big Finale: Unless you really love Lanza, I'd leave this one stranded onstage. You're better off looking for the film's soundtrack instead.

Home Media: Once again, easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warmer Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Because You're Mine

MGM, 1952

Starring Mario Lanza, Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, and Rita Corday

Directed by Alexander Hall

Music and Lyrics by various

For our last three-review week until next month, we're going to look at three of the vehicles featuring Philadelphia opera sensation Mario Lanza. He had just come off the smash success of his biggest vehicle The Great Caruso when MGM rushed him into this one. He had reservations, to say the least, about the quality of the script and the leading lady, which led to myriad tensions and problems on the set. Was all the fuss and fury worth it? To find out, let's begin as a narrator explains about the then-prevalent draft system, and one man, opera star Renaldo Rossano (Lanza), who is caught in it...

The Story: Renaldo and his girlfriend and singing partner Francesca Landers (Corday) are furious that the US Army has drafted him right before a major radio performance. Renaldo gets lucky when it turns out his sergeant, "Bat" Batterson (Whitmore), is a big fan of his. In fact, he wants him to help out his younger sister Bridget's (Morrow) career. Renaldo is reluctant to at first, until he discovers that Bridget is not only lovely, she can really sing. He claims he's going to get her to New York to be heard by his manager Albert Foster (Eduard Franz), but his real interest is in that performance. 

Neither Bat nor Bridget are terribly happy when they find out about the deception. Bat starts treating Renaldo far more harshly, culminating in a fistfight that lands them both in the brig. Good thing there's a delegation of United Nations officials arriving who absolutely must hear Renaldo sing, and Renaldo's mother is willing to explain her son's behavior to Bridget.

The Song and Dance: With a story that slight, the song and some good performances are the main interest here. Whitmore and Jeff Bennet are by far the most interesting as the opera-loving military man and his frustrated girlfriend. Spring Byington and Curtis Cooksey have a few funny moments as one of the top generals on campus and his fluttery wife. Doretta Morrow was better-known for her work in stage and TV musicals at this time. It's too bad she'd never do another film. She really does sing beautifully, and manages to be both attractive and frosty when she realizes Renaldo's deception.

The Numbers: We open with a sequence from the opera Cavallera Rusticana as we see Renaldo's original job and how popular he is. He performs "Granada" for the troops after his arrival. Bridget sings a commercial jingle "Gummy for Your Tummy" when we're first introduced to her. She also gets the Cole Porter standard "You Do Something To Me." Renaldo gets "The Songs That the Angels Sing" and "Lee-Ah-Loo" at camp. Bridget and Renaldo duet on the hit title song twice, first at home, then in the finale in front of the United Nations delegate. Renaldo's fellow private Artie Pilcher (Bobby Van) does an instrumental dance routine around the barracks near the end of the movie. Lanza performs a powerful version of "The Lord's Prayer" for the congregation at the camp church, including Bat and Bridget.

Trivia: Lanza apparently behaved abominably during filming, turning the making of this movie into a nightmare. His weight ballooned constantly, and he treated Morrorw so badly, she'd never make another movie.

What I Don't Like: I can kind of see Lanza's point. This is low-grade genre fluff, especially disappointing coming after the genuine drama of The Great Caruso. The story is silly, boring, and ultimately besides the point, and the script is dull to the point of inertia. The only reason to see this is to watch Lanza sing a couple of great songs and interact with some of MGM's better character actors. 

The Big Finale: Yeah, this is for the most ardent Lanza fans only. All others would be better off looking for his commercial recording of the title song and skipping this.

Home Media: On streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - KPop Demon Hunters

Sony (Columbia)/Netflix, 2025

Voices of Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, and Ahn Hyo-seop

Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Applehaus

Music and Lyrics by various

This review is dedicated to the children in the after-school and summer camp program I work for. KPop Demon Hunters was all the older kids at the summer program could talk about all summer long. The girls admired the young women band and warriors. The boys drew artwork of the imaginative demons. Their teachers and caretakers constantly played the catchy soundtrack on their speaker and let the kids dance along. I'd only vaguely heard of this before it caught on in a big way. I'm not the biggest fan of Korean pop. It always seemed so cutesy, regardless of what part of the world it came from. This is about as far from cutesy as you can get. What is this, and why are all the kids into it? Let's head to a concert with Korean pop group Huntrix and find out...

The Story: Huntrix is in reality the most recent incarnation of three female demon hunters who stopped demons from taking human souls for their leader Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun) by creating a barrier from communal energy known as the Honmoon. They're also a wildly popular Korean rock trio, at least until the Saja Boys turn up on the scene with their smash hit "Soda Pop." Their rise coincides with their leader Rumi's (Cho) voice fading. Rumi herself is part demon, but she was raised to hide her demon marks and what she is by former demon hunter Celine (Yunjin Kim). 

The girls quickly figure out that the Saja Boys are demons, but after Rumi has an encounter with their leader Jinu (Hyo-seop), she begins to question what she is and her role in the group. Everything comes to a head at the Idol Awards, where the girls are to perform their new anti-demon song "Takedown." They decide it's too inflammatory and substitute their hit "Golden" instead...but then it seems like Rumi's fellow Huntrix Mira (Hong) and Zoey (Yoo) are against her. Rumi confronts Jinu, then Celine...but she finally learns that the best way to rescue her friends and everyone's souls is to love herself the way she is, demon marks and all.

The Animation: Wow. Done in a style similar to the Spider Man Spiderverse films, replacing that series' palate of primary colors with the bold black, white, gold, and neons of concerts and music videos. It's blocky and sketchy, computer animation that's made to look like hand-drawn, and it's most effective. The demons in particular are really creative, both in design and movement. No wonder the boys wanted to draw them.

The Song and Dance: Ok, I can see why the kids are into this. The action-packed story is very much in tune to Korean culture and the music that's wildly popular right now - and not a bit of it is cutesy. Cho and Hyo-seop are the stand-outs in the voice cast as the young woman who finds her voice when she accepts all of what she is and the man who gave himself to save his family, only to lose his soul. The music is genuinely catchy and well-done. They say as much in the film about "Soda Pop," but that applies to "Takedown," "Golden," and "What It Sounds Like," too. 

The Numbers: We open after Huntrix finally arrives at the last leg of a major concert tour with their confidant "How It's Done" and see just how much their fans adore them. "Look Back at Me" and "Strategy" show us more of Huntrix and their demon hunting past. "Golden" is first their big "I want" single, then Rumi's attempt to shine at the Idol Awards. They're outdone by the Saja Boys and their silly, simple, and totally earworm-worthy hit "Soda Pop." The members of Huntrix respond with "Takedown," their attempt to expose the demons and reveal their true natures to their fans. The Saja Boys replace the effervescent fizz of "Soda Pop" with the moody, eerie "Your Idol" at the Idol Awards. Rumi sings "What It Sounds Like" as she claims her own truth about being part demon. Mira and Zoey join in for the end of that song and a reprise of "Takedown." 

What I Don't Like: For all of their fidelity to Korean music and culture, the story isn't the most creative. You've seen something similar in a thousand sci-fi and superhero movies before it, including the Spiderverse films. Rumi and Jinu are the only characters we really get to know well. Even Mira and Zoey are more archetypes than actual characters, and the other Saja Boys aren't even that. The girls' manager Bobby (Ken Jeong) can occasionally bend into annoying stereotype territory.

The Big Finale: No wonder the kids love this. Stunning animation, admirable fidelity to Korean culture, and terrific music more than make up for the unimaginative story and characters. If you have kids ages 6 on up and a subscription to Netflix, you've probably already seen this. Even if you're an adult, it's still recommended for the animation and music alone. 

Home Media: It's a Netflix exclusive at the moment.

Netflix

Frankie and Johnny (1966)

United Artists, 1966

Starring Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, and Nancy Kovack

Directed by Fredrick de Cordova

Music and Lyrics by various

Our next western heads to the Mississippi River for another historical comedy adventure. Elvis Presley's southern heritage and his "dangerous" reputation may have been the inspiration for this version of one of the most famous "she done him wrong" songs of all time. How did this tragic ballad look played as a comic historical-set riverboat romp? Let's begin on that riverboat with compulsive gambler Johnny (Presley) and find out...

The Story: Johnny would do anything to have one lucky payout. He's borrowed money from everyone, including his best friend Cully (Morgan) and his girl Frankie (Douglas), and now he needs just a little more to get that one lucky break. He learns from a gypsy and her tea leaves (Naomi Stevens) that a beautiful redhead will give him good luck. He never expected that redhead to be Nellie Bly (Kovack), his boss Clint Braden's (Anthony Einsley) ex-girlfriend. She touches the chips while he's at the roulette wheel. He keeps winning, and now he thinks the gypsy was right. This doesn't tickle Frankie, Braden, or Braden's current girlfriend Mitzi (Sue Ann Langdon). 

Frankie tries shooting Johnny when Cully's performing his latest song, prompting him to turn it into a ballad. It's a big hit with a Broadway producer, who suggests they take the show to New York. Johnny wants to earn the money to go east at a masked ball in New Orleans. Nellie, Frankie, and Mitzi inadvertently wear the same costume, playing a trick on Johnny to make him think the wrong girl is bringing him luck. Braden thinks Johnny is still after Nellie and orders his goon Blackie (Robert Strauss) to switch bullets on Frankie's gun in the number and make the song a reality. Johnny, however, isn't out of luck yet...

The Song and Dance: Elvis is backed by a lavish production for his films and a not-bad supporting cast. Morgan and Audrey Christie are the stand-outs as Johnny's henpecked best friend and his wife who knows better than to let him get away with anything, and Kovack makes a sly and witty Nellie. The costumes are gorgeous, a riot of rainbow stripes, checks, ruffles, and sequins. We even get shooting in the real New Orleans during the ball sequence. 

The Numbers: We open with Elvis inviting us to "Come Along" over the credits. "Petunia the Gardener's Daughter" is Frankie and Johnny's first number on the riverboat, with Frankie prancing in a short pink dress among huge smiling cardboard flowers. "Chesay" is our first major chorus number, a salute to the gypsy drink that supposedly gives good luck. Elvis believes he's "What Every Woman Lives For" on the riverboat. "Frankie and Johnny" is heard twice as a chorus number. The first time, there's only blanks in that gun. The second in the finale is when Blackie replaces the blank with a real bullet. 

"Look Out Broadway" says the cast as they sing about how they're going to make it in New York. Elvis sings about his "Beginner's Luck" before attempting to win money for the trip east. The traditional "Down By the Riverside" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" are the riverboat troupe's parade in New Orleans to announce their arrival. Elvis' "Shout It Out" in New Orleans is an incongruous full-on rock number among the somewhat more historically-accurate number. Elvis laments his "Hard Luck" in New Orleans, then begs Frankie to "Please Don't Stop Loving Me." He says "Everybody Come Aboard" for the last show.

Trivia: Eileen Wilson dubbed Donna Douglas. 

What I Don't Like: On one hand, I appreciate that this isn't a typical Elvis vehicle, with costumes and a supporting cast far above the norm for his movies. On the other hand, the story is more than a little ridiculous...and what does Elvis being a gambler and their going to Broadway really have to do with the song "Frankie and Johnny?"Anyone could tell you they're not really going to kill off Elvis in the end, either. This is not going to have the same tragic ending as the song. Speaking of, the new songs aren't horrible, but they're not terribly memorable, either. 

The Big Finale: One of Elvis' more interesting films is still worth checking out for his fans or fans of big 60's musicals. 

Home Media: The DVDs are currently expensive, but like most of Elvis' movies, this can be found pretty much anywhere on streaming, often free with commercials.

DVD

DVD - Elvis Prestley Movie Legends Collection

Tubi

Pardners

Paramount, 1956

Starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lori Nelson, and John Baragrey

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

We're staying out west with two more popular comedians who ironically also began at Paramount. By 1956, rumors abounded that Martin and Lewis were breaking up their very profitable partnership and going solo. This movie was one way they denied those rumors. How does this remake of the Bing Crosby vehicle Rhythm On the Range look nowadays? Let's begin out west, as Matilda Kinglsey (Agnes Moorehead) flees the K Ranch with her son Wade Jr shortly before bandits kill her husband Wade (Lewis) and his partner Slim Mosley (Martin) and find out...

The Story: Wade Jr. (Lewis) longs to be a cowboy in the real wild West, but his mother would rather he marry a formidable girl from a wealthy family. He's impressed with the son of Slim (Martin), who is a ranch hand at the K-Ranch, and his cousin Carol (Lori Nelson), who runs it, and follows them to the rodeo. Slim wants to win a bull named Cuddles and replenish their stock after a raid, but Wade's bungling costs him the top prize. Feeling guilty and still wanting to see the authentic West, Wade buys him Cuddles and inadvertently ends up following him there when he gets stranded on the train. Slim was annoyed with Wade at first, but finally warms up with him to the point where they agree to become partners like their fathers.

There's even more trouble when they do finally arrive at the K Ranch. Banker Dan Hollis (Baragrey) has been trying to buy the ranch and sell the land for a dam and asking Carol to marry him. She's not interested in selling or marrying him. Slim, hoping to avoid teasing, claims Wade is Killer Jones, the roughest, toughest man in the entire state. The townspeople dub Wade their new sheriff, but because they think he's the one who stopped a runaway stagecoach. It was really Slim, who has to help keep Wade from ending up like all the other sheriffs in town and dig up the dirt on who is really after the K Ranch and its holdings.

The Song and Dance: You'd never know Martn and Lewis were having problems by this point with hilarious performances here. Martin has more to do, for once, and runs with it, especially in the second half when he's supposed to be protecting Wade and making him look like a lawman. Though this starts out relatively similar to Rhythm On the Range, once they get Cuddles to the ranch, it becomes a whole different - and frankly, far more interesting - story. The focus on Martin, Lewis, and Lewis' antics as a mama's boy who learns to take care of himself also keeps this from degenerating into a series of unrelated specialty numbers like Rhythm did near the end of the film. Not to mention, this feels a lot more like an actual western complete with bandits, shoot-outs, and land-grabbing schemes.

The Numbers: "The Wind, The Wind" is Slim's song at the rodeo, which he performs to win enough money for Cuddles after Wade's antics end with him dropping out of the bucking bronco race. "Buckskin Beauty" is Wade's song once he's out west. They declare themselves "Pardners," first on the way out west with Cuddles, and later in the finale. Slim sings "Me N' You N' the Moon" later for Carol when they're at the ranch.

Trivia: Taurog also directed Rhythm on the Range. 

What I Don't Like: Martin and Lewis are really the only ones who have much to do. Nelson and Jackie Loughery as the saloon dancer Wade falls for barely register as much more than love interests. Both Hollises are pretty obvious villains, too. Where this really falters is with the music. Rhythm on the Range produced the standard "I'm an Old Cowhand" and had a few other decent songs. None of the four numbers here get anywhere close to that, though "The Wind The Wind" is mildly interesting.

The Big Finale: One of Martin and Lewis' better later vehicles is worth checking out for fans of theirs or of 50's comedy.

Home Media: Only on DVD in the US as part of a collection of Martin and Lewis movies, though the solo Blu-Ray is due on September 12th. At the moment, you may be better off streaming this. Like most Martin-Lewis titles, this can currently be found for free with commercials at the Paramount-owned Pluto TV.

DVD - Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection Volume 2

Blu-Ray

Pluto TV On Demand

Go West (1940)

MGM, 1940

Starring Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx, John Carroll, Diana Lewis, and Walter Woolf King

Directed by Edward Buzzell

Music by Bronislau Kaper; Lyrics by Gus Kahn

Saddle up, pardners, 'cause we're going west this week with some of your favorite comedians. We kick off our look at the funny side of the Old West with one of the Marx Brothers' later movies. It's also their only film with a non-contemporary setting and the only time they played with western tropes. How well do the Marx Brothers deal with land-grabbers and family feuds? Let's begin with swindler S. Quenton Quayle (Groucho) as he attempts to buy a train ticket west and find out...

The Story: Quayle loses his ticket money to a pair of even smarter swindlers, brothers Joe (Chico) and Rusty Panello (Harpo). The brothers in turn use that money to buy Dead Man's Gulch from old prospector Dan Wilson (Tully Marshall), who claims it has no gold. As it turns out, it's valuable in another way. Terry Turner (Carroll), the son of Wilson's long-time rival, went to New York to attempt to convince the railroad to buy Dead Man's Gulch. He's convinced them that the gulch is the only route through the mountains linking east and west. He's also in love with Wilson's granddaughter Eve (Lewis), who wishes to marry him no matter what her grandfather thinks. 

After the railroad agrees to buy the property, Quayle attempts to swindle it away from the Panellos. Corrupt railroad executive John Beecher (King) and saloon owner Red Baxter (Robert Barrat) use saloon singer Lulubelle (June MacCloy) to charm the deed off them. Now it's up to Quayle and the Panellos to make sure that deed gets to the railroad officials in New York, even if they have to tear the train apart to keep it going to its destination!

The Song and Dance: This wound up being really cute, probably one of the Brothers' better later efforts. Chico and Harpo in particular have some nice moments. Harpo tearing up the train to keep the engine moving in the finale is one highlight. Groucho both ducking and enjoying Lulubelle's advances are another. King is almost as good here as he was in Night at the Opera and continues to play well off the Marxes, his bluster more than matching their anarchy.

The Numbers: We start over the credits with "As If I Didn't Know." Groucho joins Lulubelle onstage for "You Can't Argue With Love." "Ridin' the Range" has the Marxes joining in with Carroll as they discuss their devotion to their new western home. Eve sings the old Stephen Foster number "Beautiful Dreamer" at home. Chico performs "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" and "The Woodpecker Song" on the piano, while Harpo gets "From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water) for the Natives whom they have to convince to give up their claim on the land.

What I Don't Like: Not one of the Marxes' better movies. Carroll is particularly dull in a thankless role, and Lewis isn't much more interesting and is too nasal to pass for a western heroine. Although it doesn't hit the lows of their next movie after this The Big Store, it's still not one of their best efforts. Only the train finale is really vintage Marx Brothers madness.

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of the Marx Brothers or comic westerns.

Home Media: On DVD and streaming from the Warner Archive.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Aladdin (1967)

CBS, 1967

Starring Fred Grades, Will B. Able, Avril Gentles, and Victoria Mallory

Directed by Nick Havinga

Music by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargey; Lyrics by Jeanne Bargey

Let's return to television and revisit the Prince Street Players for their fourth and final musical special from the mid-60's. In fact, if this seems familiar, I've already covered the Disney Channel remake from 1990. I wasn't crazy about the cheap-ish cable movie, but now that I finally have the chance to compare it to the original, how well does the Prince Street Players' version hold up? Let's begin with the stage manager in Asian dress (Don Liberto) as he explains the story and his role...or roles...in it and find out...

The Story: Aladdin (Grades) falls for the Princess Mei Ling (Mallory) when he chases his kite into the Emperor's garden. They fall for each other right then and there, but Mei Ling is promised to a wealthy man, and Aladdin has no money. Desperate to win her hand, Aladdin follows a man claiming to be his uncle (Robert Dagney) into a cave full of treasures. The man, who is really an evil magician, is more interested in the lamp among the jewels than any treasure chest. Fortunately, Aladdin isn't able to get it to him before he's shut up in the cave. 

Rubbing the lamp produces a genial genie (Able) who is not only able to free him, but gives him and his beloved mother (Gentles) more than enough money to win Mei-Ling. He also gives him a life-sized dancing doll named Fatima (Graziella Able) who impresses the sultan. Aladdin does marry Mei-Ling, but the magician isn't finished with his treachery just yet. Tricking Aladdin's mother, he convinces her to give him the lamp and takes the genie and castle for himself. Fortunately, Fatima has a ring that contains one last genie (Able) who is able to help Aladdin get rid of the evil magician for good.

The Song and Dance: Lovely music and a genuine attempt to recreate Asian theater tropes are the saving graces here. It's kind of fascinating what they do with limited resources, from the nifty effects for the Genie to how the Genie moves the castle. I also appreciate that they stick to the original Aladdin as told in the Arabian Nights. In Arabian Nights, Aladdin is set in China, and there were two genies, one of the lamp, one of the ring. Will B. Able is having by far the most fun here as the lovable Genie, though Grades does make a charming and determined Aladdin, too.

The Numbers: We open with Aladdin singing about "Flying My Kite" as the Station Manager plays his father scolding him and a neighbor discussing Aladdin with his despairing mother. Mei-Ling singing about "A Lovely Morning In China" turns into a chorus number for her, Aladdin, and her ladies-in-waiting in the garden. Mei-Ling reprises it with the ladies after Aladdin leaves. The magician gives us an instrumental dance routine as he verbally describes the reason he needs Aladdin to get the lamp for him. His mother admits that she loves "Aladdin," but he's also terribly lazy. 

"The Magician's Chants" opens the cave and lets Aladdin find the treasure. The Genie does his own spirited dance as he explains to Aladdin that he's "A Good Genie." He releases them from the cave "In the Wink of an Eye." "Fatima's Dance" is intricate and charming enough to impress the Emperor into giving Aladdin Mei-Ling's hand in marriage. "Lovely Evening In China" becomes a chorus number as all of China attends Aladdin and Mei-Ling's wedding. Mei-Ling sings at her "Tea Time" with Aladdin. She's not as happy with her "Tea Time" with the magician after he gets his hands on the Genie. It ends with everyone returning to China to a reprise of "A Wink of an Eye." 

Trivia: Bless Will B. Able for nailing that dance in "A Good Genie!" The entire cast got a flu bug, and he apparently had a 103 degree fever when he filmed it. 

What I Don't Like: The flu bug may explain some of the lackluster performances, particularly from Mallory, who overdoes her Chinese accent to the point of being annoying. Oh, and as in the 1990 remake, there's not an Asian actor to be seen. These are all whites in (bad) Asian makeup. Though they do manage to make the most out of the limited production, the fact remains that this is a TV musical for kids from the 1960's and looks it. You're not getting a recent live extravaganza. Plus, there'a a few points where someone, usually the Genie, will talk directly to the camera or encourage the kids to play along. It's likely leftover from the original stage show, but it comes off as kind of odd on TV.

The Big Finale: This is cute, but it also hasn't dated that well. It's not my favorite of the Prince Street Players musicals, but they all have their good points if you have younger kids (and can explain the thing with people in Asian makeup). 

Home Media: As with the other Prince Street Players musicals, this can currently only be found on YouTube.

YouTube

Back to School Again - College Holiday

Paramount, 1936

Starring Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Mary Boland

Directed by Frank Tuttle

Music and Lyrics by various

Our next collegiate story is a bit more unique. Most of Paramount's college-set stories usually took place on the actual campus. This one varies the setting enough to take the kids on vacation to a fictional resort in trouble, with a bit of Busby Berkeley backstage mixed in. How does this strange combination of school, wacky comedians, and then-fashionable theories on human breeding look nowadays? This time, let's begin as those kids dance at their prom and find out...

The Story: Sylvia Smith (Marsha Hunt) is called from the dance by her father, who had a mental breakdown when he found out they might lose their California hotel the Casa Del Mar, thanks to his less-than-astute partner J. Davis Bowster (Benny). The mortgage is held by eccentric heiress Carola Gaye (Boland), who is given to obsess over whatever strange fad catches her fancy. At the moment, that's eugenics and ancient Greek history, thanks to Professor Hercules Dove (Etienne Giradot). Bowster promises her gorgeous college bodies for her eugenics mating program if she'll fund the college kids staying at the hotel. Bowster tells the kids they're there as entertainers, as he wants to raise enough money for them to put on a show.

The kids aren't happy when they discover that Hercules wants his "genetically perfect" daughter Calliope (Allen) to select who gets to pair off. Dick Winters (Leif Erikson) has been trying to find out Sylvia's first name ever since the dance, and he'd rather be with her than with Gaye. There's also Calliope's actual boyfriend George Hymen (Burns), who would rather avoid she check his measurements to find her Apollo, and the stagehand (Ben Blue) who tries to chase new student Daisy Scholggenheimer (Martha Raye), but has a hard time avoiding the fists she's been trained to use in order to ward off men. They all end up putting together a minstrel show in support of the hotel, and to show Hercules and Carola that true "perfection" is in the eye of the beholder.

The Song and Dance: While the story isn't much, even for a Paramount college musical, some of the individual performances do have merit. Jack Benny has fun firing off some hilarious lines, while Raye and her fists do even better playing off the adorably bewildered Blue. Boland and Dove are befuddled riots as the duo with more wealth than brains who actually believe his ridiculous theories. Allen and Burns have a blast too, especially when Gracie attempts to pair off everyone!

The Numbers: We open under the credits with everyone performing "The Sweetheart Waltz" at that dance. The California Collegians Glee club sings "The Maine Stein Song" on board the train going to the resort. Dick and Sylvia really get into their cute "A Rhyme for Love" tap routine at the back of the train. Bowster even joins in briefly near the end. Daisy wonders "So What?" when asked about men. Bowster also gets to conduct the Collegians singing "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here" and plays (or tries to play) "Love In Bloom" during the minstrel show. 

The ballad "Enchanted (I Love You)," performed by Sylvia and Dick with the chorus, is the big ballad in the minstrel show. Calliope, Ben, and George get into lavish colonial garb for an attempt at what they think is a dainty dance to the "Minuet In G." Martha Raye gets more into her blackface routine to "Who's That Knocking at My Heart?" with the Collegians. 

What I Don't Like: Where to start with this one? How about eugenics has largely been discredited since 1936, making Dove's theories look even sillier now than they likely did then. Or how dull Erikson and Hunt are compared to all the loonies around them. There's also the finale revolving around a minstrel show. In 1936, it was quaint nostalgia from a rosy past. Nowadays, the blackface alone may make the final 20 minutes a slog for many people. Or the songs are cute but nothing special, with only the wordplay on "A Rhyme for Love" being even a mild stand-out. Or Raye and Blue seeming to have come from another world entire; Blue is dropped into the second half with little rhyme or reason.

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of the star comedians. 

Home Media: Once again, this can currently only be found on YouTube (admittedly in a decent copy taken from a TCM showing). 

YouTube

Back to School Again - She Loves Me Not

Paramount, 1934

Starring Bing Crosby, Miriam Hopkins, Kitty Carlisle, and Edward J. Nugent

Directed by Benjamin Glazer

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's head west to Princeton, New Jersey for our next school story. School musicals vanished during 1930, along with other forms of the genre. They too would make a comeback in the mid-30's, though they largely tended to be smaller in scale than the Busby Berkeley dance spectaculars that helped revive the genre. Bing Crosby also rose to prominence around 1933 as he became a popular singer and favorite of women in particular. He was fast becoming one of Paramount's top draws, mostly specializing in small-scale romantic comedies with music like this charming comedy. How does this story of two Princeton students who hide a dancer from gangsters look nowadays? Let's begin as the bell tower of Princeton is contrasted with dancer Curly Flagg (Hopkins) and her routine in a skimpy outfit and find out...

The Story: After Curly witnesses a gangland murder, she flees, with Princeton being the furthest she can afford to go. She ends up in the dorm room of student Paul Lawton (Crosby). He sends her to his buddy Buzz Jones (Nugent), who suggests dressing her as a student and hiding her in plain sight. They cut her hair and give her men's clothing. Paul suggests she get a job with Buzz's movie owner father to support herself.

This turns into her story being leaked to the press in increasingly wild fashion, with the movie men making it look like she's an innocent girl who was taken in by men who wanted to do wrong by her. This upsets both Dean Mercer, the head of Princeton (Henry Stephenson) and his daughter Midge (Kitty Carlisle) who truly loves Paul, not to mention Paul's angry fiancee Frances (Judith Allen). It isn't until Buzz and Paul resign from the school that Curly realizes the trouble she caused...and everyone discovers the gangsters are still on her trail.

The Song and Dance: Charming small-scale school tale with a hilarious premise. Hopkins is the stand-out here. She's straightforward no matter what, whether she's running from the cops, wailing because of the loss of her hair, or doing a tap dance in slippers. Her vivacious heat is a marked contrast to Carlisle, who manages to be both warm and imperious, often in the same moment. Her sweet performance of the hit "Love In Bloom" with Crosby is a major highlight.

The Numbers: We start things off with a Princeton choir singing "Old Nassau" over a shot of a bell in a tower...which takes us into our first number under the credits. Curly, in her skimpy shorts and huge bow top, sings "Put a Little Rhythm Into Everything You Do," finishing right before the gangsters commit murder. She also attempts a tap number in slippers to "Cocktails for Two" after Paul takes her in, and she gets drunk on gin when they cut her hair. Paul and Midge duet on the hit ballad "Love In Bloom" and the jauntier "Straight from the Shoulder." Later on, Paul says "I'm Hummin', I'm Whistlin', I'm Singin'."

Trivia: The song "Love In Bloom" is more associated today with comedian Jack Benny, who used it as his theme song for years.

Would be remade twice, as True to the Army in 1943 and How to Be Very, Very Popular in 1955. 

What I Don't Like: Why was this set at Princeton? The guys are barely shown in school and are never seen studying. Not to mention, there's the problem of them being way too old for college students again and pretty interchangeable. Paul is, frankly, a bit of pill, and is pretty dull for one of Bing's characters. It's interesting too that he ends up with Carlisle, not Hopkins, with whom he really has more chemistry anyway.

The Big Finale: Not Bing's best film, but a cute enough way to pass an hour and a half if you're a huge fan of him or the leading ladies.

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that the only way you can currently find this one is on YouTube in a copy with Portuguese subtitles. 

YouTube 

Back to School Again - So This Is College

MGM, 1929

Starring Robert Montgomery, Sally Starr, Elliot Nugent, and Cliff Edwards

Directed by Sam Wood

Music and Lyrics by various

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be on hiatus from September 27th through October 5th for vacation. I'll be doing an extra review every week this month to make up for the ones I'll miss then. 

That said, we're going back to school this week with our first three reviews. School-set musicals go much further back than most people realize. College students were cheering football heroes and tossing water balloons on their friends in the silent era. Sound gave dimension to the pep rallies and school dances, and indeed the late 20's and early 30's saw a wave of college-set musicals. Prompted by the success of Good News on Broadway, the studios capitalized on their popularity with movies like this one, featuring two of the most unlikely collegiates in the history of film. How does college life in 1929 look almost a hundred years later? Let's begin with the arrival of Eddie (Nugent) joining the high-spirited pranks at real-life college USC, and find out...

The Story: Football heroes Eddie and Biff (Montgomery) swear that nothing will ever break up their life-long friendship, including women. This changes very quickly when co-ed Babs (Starr) dances into their lives. Their pranks as they attempt to keep the other from seeing her start out as harmless, but eventually come close to rupturing their friendship and their football prowess. Eddie initially steps aside when he discovers that Biff wants to marry Babs, but then they learn the truth about her at the big game...and finally come to the conclusion that being pals and good sports is more important than any girl. 

The Song and Dance: Nice to know some things haven't changed on college campuses in almost 100 years. The wild dances, the water in the bags gag in the beginning, the football obsession...yeah, that's stuff you can still see kids doing. Cliff Edwards handles the majority of the musical chores as the campus musician Windy. Starr is so adorable as Sally, you can understand why the two nearly give up their football careers for her. MGM spared no expense on this one. We have glittering low-slung 20's flapper outfits for the ladies, letter sweaters and tuxes for the guys, and shooting on the real-life USC campus (including real footage of an actual college game in the end). 

The Numbers: We open with the guys singing their school song "Cardinal and Gold" as Eddie arrives. Cliff Edwards sings about those "College Days" with the students later, and the students say they'll stay together "Until the End." Starr joins Edwards to sing about those "Campus Capers." Biff initially admits to Babs that "I Don't Want Your Kisses If I Can't Have Your Love." Eddie picks it up later, then we hear it at the prom. Speaking of the prom, Windy sings a whole number about how important it is to the students, "Sophomore Prom." The students claim they'll "Fight On!" at the pep rally. We get a medley of traditional songs performed by the students at the rally as well, including "How Dry I Am," "There's No Place Like Home," "Ring Around the Rosie," and "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here."

What I Don't Like: First of all, this really isn't all that different from dozens of school musicals that came after it, from College Humor to High School Musical. All the attendant school cliches run just as hot and heavy here, though it is kind of refreshing that neither Biff nor Eddie end up with Babs in the end. It's their relationship that really matters. Second, Starr is probably the only actor who is even remotely close to the right age for college. Montgomery, though not a horrible singer, is really uncomfortable in a musical, too, and Edwards is basically there for the songs and has little to do otherwise. Not to mention, this is an early talkie. There are stretches where people are just standing and talking.

The Big Finale: Cute if you're a fan of early talkie or pre-code musicals, nothing you really need to go out of your way to see otherwise. 

Home Media: DVD only via the Warner Archives.

DVD