Two Girls and a Sailor

MGM, 1944

Starring June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, Van Johnson, and Jimmy Durante

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

We move north from backwoods Georgia to New York City for our next wartime film. MGM's contributions to the war effort weren't as wacky, but they were just as much fun. June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven made their debuts the year before, mainly appearing in small roles. This would be Allyson's first shot at a major role in a musical. Van Johnson was also one of MGM's up-and-coming actors at this point and was rapidly becoming one of their top hearthrobs, and Tom Drake was fresh off of Meet Me In St. Louis. How do they and Durante manage to fit into a story about two vaudeville singers who start a canteen and fall for the Navy man of the title? Let's begin at the beginning, with family friend Billy Kipp (Durante) taking care of Patsy (Allyson) and Jean (DeHaven) backstage when they were little, and find out...

The Story: When the girls grow up, they start a nightclub act of their own. After they invite a group of sailors to their apartment, they both fall for a handsome sailor named Johnny (Johnson). They wish they could start a canteen as a nightclub for the troops, but they have no money. They're shocked when a gentleman named Mr. Nizby (Donald Meek) hands them the keys to a warehouse they had their eye on and even sends over people to help remodel it. They also find Billy Kipp there; he'd been living there ever since his wife and son left him. 

The canteen is a smashing success, allowing them to hire the best talent and even perform themselves. Jean starts dating Johnny, but Patsy still loves him, too. She throws herself into trying to find out who their mysterious "Somebody" is...and is shocked when she finds out that he's much closer to home than she could have ever guessed.

The Song and Dance: With a story that flimsy, "song and dance" are the operative words here. In addition to one of Durante's signature songs, we get some choice numbers from a top-flight array of MGM talent. Durante actually puts in one of his best performances as the meddling but well-meaning older vaudevillian, and Johnson is charming enough to make you understand how both girls could fall for him. Some nice costumes, too, including the fashion show of 1944 centerfolds for Patsy's "trousseau" in the dream sequence. 

Favorite Number: Durante has some of his best numbers from any of his MGM movies here. He opens with the top hat and cane "Did You Ever Have the Feeling That You Wanted to Go?" and "Who Will Be With Me When I'm Far Away?" in the vaudeville show. The girls's first number is "Sweet and Lovely," spoofing courtship rituals with Allyson in a tuxedo and DeHaven in a blonde wig. They get the ballad "A Love Like Ours" later in the nightclub as they sing about their close relationship. While DeHaven initially gets "My Mother Told Me," it's even better later sung by Johnson, Drake, and Frank Sully as the sailor buddies clean up their room. 

Comedian Ben Blue joins singer Lina Romay for a most lopsided dance to "Thrill of a New Romance" after the canteen opens. Romay and the Wilde Twins joins deadpan O'Brian in admonishing the audience to "Take It Easy." Gracie Allen makes a rare solo appearance playing the piano with one digit in a goofy "Concerto for Index Finger." June Allyson really gets into telling the audience how Harry James is "The Young Man With a Horn." James and Music Makers orchestra also get to perform the swirling "You, Dear" in the sequence where Patsy dreams Johnny changes his mind and wants to marry her. Durante returns near the end for a rousing and hilarious performance of his signature song "Inka Dinka Doo." Lena Horne glides into a sultry version of the hit "Paper Doll." 

Trivia: Gracie Allen's last movie. 

What I Don't Like: Yes, the plot really is that fluffy, and not outrageously so like Something for the Boys. It's basically a silly-sweet romantic comedy holding the numbers together, especially in the second half. This is not the place for someone looking for a meatier story; I have no idea why it was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Drake is barely there as window dressing, and other than his one number with the guys, is so dull you wonder how Jean ended up with him. This one is all about the numbers. Wish I knew why the girls, both of whom were fine singers, were dubbed for a few numbers. Maybe their voices didn't blend as well as MGM hoped? Also, it's way too long at over two hours. Some of the duller second half probably could have been trimmed. 

The Big Finale: Charming wartime fluff is enjoyable for fans of the stars involved, big band music, or the musicals of the 40's and 50's. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Something for the Boys

20th Century Fox, 1944

Starring Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine, Phil Silvers, and Michael O'Shea

Directed by Lewis Seiler

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter and others

Our first two All-American Weekdays reviews covers tales of helpful citizens setting up canteens or hotels for servicemen and their wives during World War II. This started out on Broadway as a vehicle for Ethel Merman with Cole Porter music. 20th Century Fox initially bought it as a vehicle for Betty Grable, but by the time they go to filming it, the white-hot Miranda had taken her role, with Vivian Blaine as the romantic lead. How do they work out in the very peculiar story of three cousins and the mansion they inherit? Let's begin with actress Blossom Hart (Blaine) as she learns about the mansion she and her cousins just got and find out...

The Story: Blossom's cousins, hustler and inventor Harry (Silvers) and defense plant worker Chiquita (Miranda), join her when they learn they all jointly inherited an old mansion in Georgia. The mansion turns out to be a dilapidated wreck that no one's paid property taxes on in years. Paying the taxes on the mansion will leave them heavily in debt. 

Salvation comes in the form of Sargent Ronald "Rocky"  Fullton (O'Shea) and his men. Fulton was an orchestra leader before the war, and Sargent Laddie Green (Perry Como) was his singer. They suggest turning the mansion into a rooming house for the wives of service men. His men pitch in to help with the repairs, and they put on a show to pay for them. 

Trouble comes first in the form of Rocky's snooty fiancee Melanie Walker (Sheila Ryan), who thinks the house was arranged just for her. Chiquita and Blossom don't put up with her snobbery for long...but she gets them into trouble and has the manor shut down. Chiquta and Harry make up for the mess by using Chiquta's ability to pick up radio shows with her teeth to help out the Blue Team when the soldiers hold war games. 

The Song and Dance: Well, you can't say this one isn't unique. It's probably the second most-creative wartime musical I've seen after the truly bizarre Where Do We Go From Here? How many musicals do you know of where the leading lady can pick up radio signals with her teeth? Miranda and Silvers have some great gags, whether the former is butchering English or the latter is trying to develop elaborate "inventions" in the kitchen that prove to be useful only in driving the obnoxious Melanie away. Terrific costumes and sets for a 40's musical too, especially once they clean up the mansion, with color that pops off the screen. 

Favorite Number: We open with Vivian Blaine and the chorus performing Cole Porter's title song under the credits and at the theater where Blaine works. Blaine, Miranda, O'Shea, and Silvers wonder "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" to have a hotel helping the soldiers and making them all rich. Como kicks off one of his early hits, "I Wish I Didn't Have to Say Good Night," but Blaine sounds even better when she does a solo. Blaine and the chorus don frilly pink polka dot aprons and a short green dress and parasol to sing about how they're "80 Miles Outside of Atlanta" in the big show. Miranda leaps into "Bactua Nego" with gusto, flinging around the skirt of her white gown. Como once again begins "In the Middle of Nowhere" with the chorus, and it's again finished by Blaine in a balcony. 

Silvers gets the big solo routine here, his tribute to the South when they're trying to distract the Red Army from leaving. He dons a marker goatee to sing of the "Southland," regaling Blaine and the soldiers with several southern standards and the new "Climbin' Up them Golden Stairs." Miranda finishes things off with the chorus and another tropical-themed routine, "Samba-Boogie."

Trivia: Judy Holliday turns up in her third role, in a short but important bit as Miranda's fellow defense worker who points out women have gotten metal in their teeth and started picking up radio waves. 

Perry Como's film debut. 

What I Don't Like: You can't get fluffier than a World War II musical where the leading lady wins war games by picking up radio waves with her teeth. This is about as wartime as you can get, from the references to the housing shortage to Chiquita working in a defense plant. I really do wish they'd kept more of the original show, too, including the rest of Porter's songs. In the original show, Blossom was the one who got the radio waves in her teeth, and instead of ending with silly war games that seemed to exist only to pad out the story, they had a spy in their midst. And while O'Hara is likeable enough and sings decently alongside Blaine, he and Como come off as little more than bland window dressing. Como's barely seen outside of his two big songs. 

The Big Finale: Recommended only for major fans of Como, Miranda, or wartime musicals. For everyone else, this is a random rainy-day watch at best. 

Home Media: DVD only, either solo or as part of The Carmen Miranda Collection.

DVD

DVD - The Carmen Miranda Collection

Animation Celebration Saturday - Tom Sawyer (2000)

MGM, 2000

Voices of Rhett Atkins, Mark Willis, Hynden Walch, Clea Lewis

Directed by Paul Sabella and Phil Mendez

Music and Lyrics by Mark Watters

The beloved Mark Twain novels about carefree Tom, his girlfriend Becky, best buddy Huckleberry Finn, and their adventures have been adopted to film as far back as 1907. Considering their enduring popularity, it's a bit of a surprise that this is the first American animated version, though there were two Japanese cartoons based around the books in 1976 and 1980. This one switches things up by going the Disney Robin Hood route of making the cast all animals and using country music to tell its rustic tale. How well does this classic work as an animated musical? Let's begin at Tom's church, just as it's attacked by the nasty bear Injurin' Joe (Hank Williams Jr and Kevin Michael Richardson), and find out...

The Story: Mischievous Tom Sawyer (Atkins) never stops getting into trouble. He only goes to school at all because he has a crush on sweet newcomer Becky Thatcher (Walch), which infuriates the girl he previously claimed to like, Amy Lawrence (Lewis). His Aunt Polly (Betty White) is tired of his shenanigans, but no matter how often he gets into a pickle, he and his best friend Huckleberry Finn (Willis) always seem to get out of it. They may be in over their heads when they first witness a murder, and then Tom and Becky get lost in a cave and find treasure...and Injurin' Joe. 

The Animation: About on the level with higher-end animated TV shows from this era. It's bright and colorful and the characters move fairly well, but lacks some of the detail Disney and other large studios put into their work. There's a small amount of CGI, mainly the steamboats in the beginning and the end, and they stick out like sore thumbs.

The Song and Dance: Far better than I anticipated for a direct-to-video animated film from the early 2000's. Other than consolidating a few characters and changing one, it actually did a good job adapting the book. It not only included darker sequences like the murder, it actually plays them for suspense and does a good job of it. Atkins is a charming Tom, Lewis is hilarious playing Amy and her crush, and White was apparently thrilled to play not only a well-endowed character, but an animal - she was a well-known animal activist. Don Knotts has a great time as Joe's dim-witted mutt helper who almost takes the rap for him, too. 

Favorite Number: We open with the rousing gospel "Leave Your Love Light On," as the pig Reverend and his all-porcine choir preach to the heavens to bring in money for the poor. Tom's "Can't Keep a Country Boy Down" has him fantasizing he's a pirate or a sultan as he dreams of finding great wealth and adventure. He admits he's fallen "Hook, Line, and Sinker" for Becky Thatcher in another dream sequence, including them actually turning up as fish evading a hook. He convinces his buddies to paint a houseboat in this version with "The Houseboat Painting Song." Becky and Amy admit they share "One Dream" of being Tom Sawyer's only favorite girl. Huck and Tom are "Friends for Life" in a colorful, surreal dream sequence that has them frolicking among sentient lily pads and neon tree leaves that lift them into the air. 

What I Don't Like: Allow me to repeat that this is a low-budget direct-to-home-media release from 2000. The animation is just so-so, and not only are the songs forgettable, but most of them are part of weird dream sequences that have nothing to do with the plot. This probably didn't need to be a musical. Most of the cast will probably mean something only to fans of country music from this time period. There's the changes from the book, too. Some characters were eliminated, others were changed, and while it's pretty dark for a kids' movie from this era, it's still toned down from the originals. 

The Big Finale: This wound up being a pleasant surprise. While not perfect, it's certainly better than it has any right to be, probably one of the better direct-to-home-media animated movies of the early 2000's. Recommended for country fans, animation fans, and those who want to introduce their 8 to 12-year-olds to these classic stories. 

Home Media: Out of print on DVD, but not that expensive when it does appear. You may be better off streaming this one; it can be found for free with ads on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Stars and Stripes Forever

20th Century Fox, 1952

Starring Clifton Webb, Ruth Hussey, Debra Paget, and Robert Wagner

Directed by Henry Koster

Music by John Phillips Sousa and others; Lyrics by various

We continue All-American Weekdays with a second biography set a few years before George M! John Phillips Sousa became one of the first great American composers in the 1880's and 1890's with his beloved marches. Many of them continue to be associated with American holidays and Americana to this day, including the rousing title song. How does the film about his life look today? Let's begin with Sousa (Webb) the day he meets handsome Private Willie Little (Wagner) when they're both in the Marines and find out...

The Story: Sousa announces that he's leaving the Marines band. He simply doesn't have the money to keep leading it. He's allowed to bring along Little, who has been causing trouble and fighting with his fellow officers. Sousa is touched when Willie creates a musical instrument and calls it the Sousaphone after him. He takes Sousa to a concert...which turns out to be a dance hall where his girlfriend Lily (Paget) performs. They're barely able to save the young lady from ending up in jail when the show is raided for decency. 

Sousa eventually creates his own band, featuring the finest musicians from around the world, but he doesn't allow married men to join. This becomes a problem for Willie when he and Lily get married. He finally convinces Sousa to hire her as the band's singer so she can join them on their many concert tours. They even play at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exhibition and managed to draw three times as many listeners as previous bands. 

Willie and Sousa rejoin the Marines after the US enters the Spanish-American War. Sousa wants to start another band, but he ends up going home after a bout with typhoid. The long trip does give him the time and impetus to write his most famous composition, "Stars and Stripes Forever."

The Song and Dance: I was expecting a biography of a great composer of marches to be loud and bombastic, but this is surprisingly low-key and charming.  Webb did appear in musicals on Broadway, but this was one of his rare chances to do one on the big screen. He's not only looks something like the real Sousa, he's as passionate and stubborn as the real one was said to be. Warm and intelligent Hussy more than matches him as his beloved wife Jennie. Gorgeous costumes and sets and some nice cinematography beautifully recreate Sousa's world of expositions, outdoor band concerts, and lavish European-style operettas.

Favorite Number: Our first actual number is "My Love Is a Weeping Willow," which Webb performs right before leaving the Marines. "Oh, Why Should the Spirt of Mortal Be Proud?" with lyrics from an 1824 poem, is the patriotic tableau performed by Paget and the chorus girls in skimpy white costumes...right before one rips her tights and gets them all arrested. Paget shows off that dance hall training at the Sousa home, to the shock of the Sousas, as she cavorts around the living room to "Father's Got 'Em!" 

My favorite number is ironically one not written by Sousa. The all-black Stone Mountain Choir performs a stirring rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition. Paget and the chorus provide a more traditional musical routine, the original song "When It's Springtime in New York," as a lead-in to the real-life 1890's hit "The Bowery" describing colorful New York nightlife in the late 19th century. "I'm Afraid" is supposed to be from Sousa's operetta El Captain, but despite being energetically danced by Paget and the chorus at the rehearsal for that show, is another original song. The movie ends with the famous title march performed by the current Marines Band...lead by the ghost of Sousa, seen wherever his most famous composition is played. 

What I Don't Like: Like most musical biographies, this one plays fast and loose with the subject matter. For starters, Sousa invented the Sousaphone, not a young Marine officer. Willie and Lily are purely fictional, and frankly, their side plot with them hiding their marriage is silly, boring, and cliched. I really would like to have seen more focus on Sousa and how he developed some of his most famous marches and less on Willie and Lily and their romance. Sousa created "Stars and Stripes Forever" after war canceled his European vacation, not on his way there. And "Stars and Stripes" debuted in 1887 and was not performed at a veteran's concert.

The Big Finale: Worth checking out if you love Sousa, Webb, or the big, bright, colorful musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: Was released in a combination DVD/Blu-Ray set in 2011 that is currently out-of-print. You may be better off looking for this one used.

DVD/Blu-Ray

Musicals on TV - George M!

NBC, 1972

Starring Joel Gray, Nanette Fabray, Bernadette Peters, and Jack Cassidy

Directed by Martin Charnin and Walter C. Miller

Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohen

We kick off two weeks of All-American Weekdays with a pair of patriotic biographies. The flood of Broadway adaptations was still so all-persuasive in the early 70's, it even reached television. George M! debuted on Broadway in 1968. Cohen passed away shortly after Yankee Doodle Dandy came out, which allowed the stage show to be more honest about Cohen's two marriages and his dust-ups with the actor's union Equity later in life. How well does Cohen's colorful and complex personality come across on the small screen? Let's begin in the theater where the show is rehearsing and find out...

The Story: George (Gray) is added to Jerry (Cassidy) and Nellie's (Fabray) vaudeville act almost immediately. He's soon joined by another trooper, his little sister Josie (Peters). They work their way up the theater circuit to play for none other than impresario E.F Albee (Jesse White) in Cedar Rapids. He's not impressed, first claiming he'll only take Josie, then offering them a few weeks in New Jersey. George won't be happy with anything less than New York and books them into a small theater there. It's there he meets his first wife Ethel and finally convinces her to marry him and join the act. 

"The Five Cohens" are now a success in vaudeville, but George wants more. He creates a full-length musical around their act. The first one, The Governor's Son, isn't a success, but he finally hits the big time with his second show Little Johnny Jones. He joins with producer Sam H. Harris (Red Buttons) to create a series of wildly popular shows in the late 1900's and 1910's, all around the same theme of the young American man making good. 

But by the end of World War I, the stage has begun to evolve. Broadway's unionizing, but George sides with the producers despite being an actor and director too, making him very unpopular with his fellow thespians. He does continue to write and produce hits into the 20's, but they're often considered to be old-fashioned compared to the faster, shinier shows on the boards. Worse yet, his parents retire, then pass away, his sister gets married, and Ethel leaves him. George finally retires with his second wife Mary (Danner), but he's too restless to stay away from the stage for long...

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, at least this movie's honest about its low-budget origins. We don't even have the cardboard sets seen in other TV musicals of the time. It's just a group of talented people discussing George M Cohan's life and singing his songs on a bare stage, and it's more riveting than you might think. Gray throws himself into the nervy, egotistical Cohen, playing him as a slightly more self-centered piece of work than Cagney did. Cassidy and Fabray are warm and charming as his parents, Peters is a lovely and sensitive Josie, and Red Buttons has a lot of fun in the second half as Cohen's energetic producing partner Sam H. Harris. I was especially impressed by the sequence towards the end where Jerry tells his son he's retired. Cassidy's notorious for being a ham, but he manages to play it beautifully and even touchingly. 

Favorite Number: Our first real number is "All Aboard for Broadway," which the Four Cohens sing with cobalt blue derbies and canes in hand for E.F Albee. The song is so catchy, and the choreography is so much fun, you wonder why he wasn't impressed. The Four Cohens woo Ethel with George's explanation as to how courtship - like everything else in the new century - moves at the speed of light. It's "Twentieth Century Love" now. Ethel doesn't understand why he wants to conquer New York and Broadway so badly, but George does. It's "My Town," and he won't rest until he's a part of it. 

Nanette Fabray puts over the sweet and simple ballad "Mary Is a Grand Old Name" as they explain how they convinced Fay Templeton to join the musical Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway. Cassidy and Buttons ham their way delightfully through the Irish dialect number "Harrigan." Peters discusses how Josie met the man she married in "Nellie Kelly, I Love You." George is supposed to perform the Rogers and Hart song "I'd Rather Be Right" in the end, from the show of that name, but he keeps making changes and forgetting he's not the boss. He ends with a dynamic "Yankee Doodle Dandy" to prove he still has the stuff for Broadway.

Trivia: George M! did relatively well in 1968, running over a year; Peters and Gray repeat their Broadway roles. It hasn't been in New York since, but it does occasionally turn up in regional theaters, along with the off-Broadway one-man show about Cohen's life, George M. Cohen Tonight. 

What I Don't Like: This isn't for people looking for a big, elaborate show. It's about as bare-bones as you can get. I wish there was more showing and less telling. We hear about things like George's other shows and how they wore down Fay Templeton and convinced her to appear in Forty Five Minutes from Broadway, but we don't see them. They could have pulled someone from the chorus to briefly be Templeton. There's also "Over There," the World War I military march. It doesn't sound right performed as a slow ballad by Blythe Danner. Speaking of "Over There," this is also missing a lot of the lesser-known material that made it into the stage version, including almost all of the chorus numbers. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out at least once if you have any interest in Cohen and his work, the cast, or Broadway or TV musicals of the late 60's and early 70's. 

Home Media: This rarity is currently only available on YouTube. 

YouTube

Happy Father's Day! - Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Shirley Temple, Michael Whalen, Jack Haley, and Alice Faye

Directed by Irving Cummings

Music by Mack Gordon; Lyrics by Harry Revel

Shirley Temple was the biggest star in the world when she made this movie. Most of her movies has her as a poor girl who suddenly comes into money. This is one of three that goes the opposite route of having her be a wealthy child who is suddenly poor and shows how she deals with it. It's also another one that plays on the economic realities of the time. Many real-life companies bought each other out or merged during the Depression years. Radio became one of the most popular forms of advertising. Companies did everything they could to have celebrities appear on their program and advertise their products. For performers looking for work, appearances on radio brought them to a wider audience and could be make or break for their careers. How does this play into Temple as the lonely daughter of a soap company magnate? Let's begin at the home of Richard Barry (Whalen), owner of Barry's Soap, as his daughter Barbara (Temple) eats lunch and find out...

The Story: Barbara loves her daddy, but not all the time he spends taking care of his company. She wishes he'd pay more attention to her, but he's too busy. He sends her to boarding school so she can be with other girls her age. She's separated from her fussy nanny Collins (Sara Haden) at the train station when she's hit by a car while searching for her purse. Barbara declares herself to be on vacation and follows Tony (Henry Armetta), an organ grinder who resembles a similar character in a book Barry's housekeeper Woodward (Jane Darwell) always read to her. She claims she's an orphan, convincing Tony, his wife (Mathilde Comont), and their many children to take her in.

Jimmy (Haley) and Jerrie (Faye) Dolan, a pair of vaudeville performers hoping to find a spot in radio, overhear her dancing. Jimmy's so impressed, he convinces her to join the act as their little girl. She charms the crotchety owner of Peck's Soap (Claude Gillingwater) to take them. They become a sensation on his show. Needless to say, Barry's not happy when he hears his daughter singing jingles for the competition and will do anything to get her back. Meanwhile, he's also pursing the pretty head of Peck's advertising department Margaret Allen (Gloria Stuart), and there's a far less friendly man who is also after Barbara (John Wray).

The Song and Dance: Faye and Haley make this a little more interesting than most of Temple's melodramatic vehicles. They play well off each other and show some terrific chemistry as the optimistic dancer and his pessimistic singer wife. We even get some action at the end when they save Barbara from the man who really wants to kidnap her. Temple is charming and funny as ever, especially following Tony and playing with his children as Barbara enjoys the first real companions her own age she's ever had. 

Favorite Number: Barbara laments that her dolls are the only ones she has around to take care of, even if she doesn't regard them as the best-behaved, in "Oh My Goodness." Temple amusingly reprises it in an accent representing each of her toys' nationalities - German, Russian, Japanese, and African-American. We even get some nice special effects as the dolls seemingly come to life and dance for Barbara, thanks to forced perspective. The ballad "When I'm With You" is heard three times, most effectively when Faye sings it during the radio show towards the end. 

"You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach" is Faye and Haley admonishing Temple that she's a kid, and she has to take her lumps whether she likes it or not. It's a hilarious callback to Barbara trying to avoid the spinach she had for lunch in the beginning, and is just plain adorable. It may have been hard for Faye, Haley, and Temple to get into step for the big "Military Man" precision tap dancing finale, but it was worth it. The song is funny as heck, and they all look terrific as they imitate soldiers marching in perfect unison.

What I Don't Like: First of all, let's discuss Temple's rendition of "When I'm With You." She sings it to her father after hearing Tony Martin perform it on the Barry's radio show. Unfortunately, it also retains the romantic lyrics, making her sound more creepy than cute or sweet nowadays. There's also the stereotypical accents in "Oh My Goodness." Barbara also manages to run away from her father and nearly get three people arrested without anyone scolding her. I'm hoping her father at least punished her a little later on for causing so much trouble. Speaking of her father, his romance with Margaret Allen is almost an afterthought, providing little more than a love interest and someone who puts the Barry's-Peck's rivalry into context.

The Big Finale: One of Temple's better movies is fun for her fans or for fathers to share with younger kids who will enjoy her antics. 

Home Media: For some reason, this is currently one of two Temple movies not on DVD in the US. You're better off streaming this one. 

Amazon Prime (Colorized)

Musical Documentaries - Soul to Soul

Cinerama Releasing Corporation, 1971

Starring Ike & Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Carlos Santana, and Guy Warren

Directed by Denis Sanders

Music and Lyrics by various

Juneteenth is the newest Federal holiday, but African-Americans in Texas and other southern states have celebrated it since 1865. It honors African-Americans being released from slavery in Texas, the last state of the Confederacy to do so. This year, we honor their independence by celebrating freedom of a different sort. Ghana declared its independence from England in 1957. Poet Maya Angelou approached the government in the early 60's about a concert with African-Americans and local talent, only to see that government overthrown. It took another pair of Americans, father and son Ed and Tom Mosk, to convince the Ghana Arts Council that the time was right for Ghana to rock. How does the concert look today? Let's begin right in the thick of things, with Tina Turner shimmying to the title song, and find out...

The Story: Some of the top names in rock, jazz, and soul arrive in Ghana to appear in Black Star Square (now Independence Square) and celebrate the 14th anniversary of their independence. In between numbers, we see them interact with the people of Ghana, and even get to see some dynamic West African folk dances and ceremonies.

The Song and Dance: Wow. As awesome as the performances were, I think the people of Ghana may have them beat. Some of their routines were downright incredible. It's wonderful to see how the people of West Africa bring the musicians in on their ceremonies, and how much they respect them and treat them like royalty. For the African-American musicians, this was a chance to learn about their own heritages and discover more about the world many of their relatives and ancestors came from. 

Favorite Number: We open with Tina Turner showing off her early raw style with the title song. She and Ike go into their hit "River Deep, Mountain High" towards the end of the film, and they also get the bluesy "I Smell Trouble." Wilson Pickett delights the huge crowds with his dynamic performances of his major hits "In the Midnight Hour" and "Land of 1,000 Dances." Carlos Santana wows the crowd with his frenzied guitar playing and manic energy to his two biggest hits of the time, "Black Magic Woman" and "Jungle Strut." Amid the celebrating, jazz singers Les McCann and Eddie Harris remind the crowds of "The Price You Gotta Pay to Be Free," while the Staple Singers wonder "When Will We Get Paid." Roberta Flack puts out the only ballad of the night, crooning about "Trying Times." Amoah Azango is a local witch doctor who can do incredible things by just shaking a calabash, a ball-shaped percussion instrument. 

Trivia: Robera Flack's performance was cut from the current DVD copies at her request.

What I Don't Like: Some of the language, in the music and between the performers, and a few of the dances from the people of Ghana may border today on stereotypical or inappropriate. Some of the discussions between numbers does use language that may offend today.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of soul, jazz, or rock from this era, want to learn more about African, rock, or black cultural history, or if you loved Summer of Soul from last year, you'll want to dig around for this celebration of all kinds of independence, cultural, personal, and countrywide. 

Home Media: The DVD is majorly expensive, hard to find, and edited. There's currently a copy on YouTube with Japanese subtitles that retains Flack's number, though it's admittedly not in the greatest shape. If you really love the music, you may want to sign with The Coda Collection, which streams musical films and documentaries with a subscription.

DVD

The Coda Collection

YouTube

Cult Flops - Hedwig and the Angry Inch

New Line Cinema, 2001

Starring John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Andrea Martin, and Stephan Trask

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell

Music and Lyrics by Stephan Trask

There's a lot to celebrate this week, so we're going to begin by honoring Pride Month with one of the most unique musicals of the last 20 years. John Cameron Mitchell's magnum opus began not as a theater workshop, but as a series of gigs in small rock venues and clubs, like the ones played by the title character. It finally debuted off-Broadway in 1998 and was a hit, running two years. It was inspired by his life growing up as a gay youth with a love of mythology whose major general father had the family situated in East Berlin in the late 80's; Hedwig was loosely based after his German babysitter. How does this exploration of gender politics and what it means to be uniquely you look more than 20 years later, at a time when gender politics are more in the news than ever? Let's begin with one of Hedwig's (Mitchell) concerts in the early 90's, as she explains who she is and what happened to her, and find out...

The Story: As we follow Hedwig and her band, the Angry Inch, through a series of gigs for a small chain of ratty clubs, we learn her life story and see why she's traveling. She began life as Hansel Schmidt, an East German boy raised by his uncaring mother after his American soldier father ran out. He's obsessed with "The Origin of Love" that talks about how there were once three beings, and they were split into two halves. He wants to find his other half, and marries American officer Luther Robinson (Maurice Dean Wint) to get out of East Germany. His sex change operation to pass as Robinson's wife is botched badly, leaving him with scar on his vagina that's the "angry inch" of the title. 

After Robinson leaves her for a man, she forms a rock band with Korean-born army wives and takes up babysitting. The friend of one of her charges, Tommy Speck (Michael Pitt), strikes up a friendship with her. It becomes something deeper when she teaches him history and songwriting and grooms him for the stage. Renamed Tommy Gnosis, they become a success in local venues...but Tommy leaves her and steals her music after he becomes an overnight star and learns she's not a woman. Hedwig is convinced Tommy is her other half and arranges it so her gigs follow his sold-out tours. Her husband Yitzhak (Shor) is jealous, but she's still in love with Tommy.

The Song and Dance: Mitchell's relationship to the subject matter makes this far more intimate than most musicals. The low-budget works with the down-and-dirty locations, the dingy bars and dump of a trailer where he lives with Robinson after they leave East Germany. There's even pencil-sketched animation representing the mythology Hedwig always talks about with the two halves of the whole. Mitchell's touching and even heartbreaking as the East German who only wants to find the other part of himself; Pitt nearly matches him as the object of his affections, who goes from callow and curious youth to self-centered rock god. 

Favorite Number: We open with "Tear Me Down" at the first gig, as Hedwig explains why he wants to stay in drag. He and the band tell the audience about "The Origin of Love" as he describes how the two halves were separated. "Sugar Daddy" and "Angry Inch" relate how Robinson lead him with love and convinced him to have that sex change operation. "Wig In a Box" depicts how he brought the band together and accepted his new feminine persona. "

Wicked Little Town" gives us how Hedwig first met Tommy; "Freaks" and "The Long Grift" go into Tommy's harsh abandonment of Hedwig and his rise to fame. "Hedwig's Lament" and "Exquisite Corpse" bring us to Times Square, as Hedwig finally finds herself in the spotlight...and starts to bring together both sides of her persona...as the band goes from black to white-clad and she literally sheds her layers of clothes and sexuality.

Trivia: Hedwig was a major success off-Broadway from 1998 to 2000; it also turned up briefly in an equally small fringe West End house. While the movie was a flop in 2001, it did see a Broadway revival with Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig and Lena Hall as Yitzak that ran a year and won a best revival Tony. It's since become a favorite with the midnight movie circuit; the stage show is popular with small theaters looking for more adventurous material.

What I Don't Like: As you can tell, this is very dark for a musical. It's also very indie, with it's non-linear story and obviously cheap and low-budget sets and costumes. It can occasionally get a bit too arty or meta-physical for its own good, especially in that strange finale that has a naked Mitchell walking off into the shadows. The discussion of gender politics, body parts, and Cold War history, not to mention some fairly heavy swearing, makes this absolutely not for children. 

The Big Finale: If you're looking for something different in your musicals, are interested in gay theater history, or want to see how a small musical can be done right, you'll want to head down to the concert to check out Hedwig and her band of hard rock-loving misfits. 

Home Media: It was re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray by The Criterion Collection in 2019 and can be easily found for streaming as well.

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Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Another Cinderella Story

Warner Bros, 2008

Starring Selena Gomez, Jane Lynch, Drew Seely, and Jessica Parker Kennedy

Directed by Damon Santostefano

Music and Lyrics by various

The original A Cinderella Story was a non-musical romantic comedy featuring then-hot ingénue Hilary Duff as the put-upon teen of the title. It was such a smash with kids, Warners followed it with a series of direct-to-DVD films that all followed the same theme. This was the second in the series, and the first to be a musical. Selena Gomez was another popular teen star of the time, having made waves the year before in the Disney Channel fantasy sitcom The Wizards of Waverly Place. How well does she do in a less overtly magical story? Let's begin with a dance routine in the head of Mary Santiago (Gomez) and find out...

The Story: Mary was taken as a child by lazy and vain fading pop star Dominique Blatt. She and her silly twin stepdaughters Bree (Katherine Isabelle) and Britt (Emily Perkins) treat Mary like a servant, working her to the bone. The spoiled duo make Mary's life miserable in and out of school, where they bully her and her more courageous best friend Tami (Kennedy). 

Mary's school is up in arms when handsome pop star Joey Parker (Seely) returns for his senior year. He's hoping to regain his inspiration and remember why he started dancing. His best friend Dustin "The Funk" (Marcus T. Faulk) arranges a dance contest for the end of the school year. Dominique wants to shove her girls at him or at least sing with him, but he can see straight through her and refuses. Meanwhile, Tami convinces Mary to attend their school's Black and White Ball with her. She dances with Joey without knowing who he is...and flees when she finds out. She leaves behind her music player as the only clue to her identity. Joey has to figure out who has that specific playlist, then convince Mary to finally come out of her stepfamily's shadow for good.

The Song and Dance: Gomez makes a lovely Cinderella here, showing all of the charm that made her a favorite on Waverly Place and other Disney programming of the time.  She's also a good enough dancer to pull off some of the more intricate moves in several numbers, including when she and Seely are matching moves in the "two-way mirror dance class" number. Lynch may be the craziest, most over-the-top stepmother in these movies yet, with her wild costumes and mile-high beehive hair, even if you don't believe for a minute that she was ever a major pop star. We also get a rare reference to some older versions of Cinderella where the stepmother gives her tons of chores like picking peas out of lentils in the ever-growing list of chores Dominique piles on Mary.

Favorite Number: We open with serious dancers in black before a black backdrop performing the hit "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" with Mary. The number ends abruptly when Mary's awaken by the domineering Dominique. "Hold 4 You" and "Baby Got Bacne" are part of the ridiculously over-the-top advertisement for zit cream that Dominique's been reduced to doing in order to hang on to her lavish lifestyle. Dustin and Joey sing about how they're going to find a "1st Class Girl" who will capture Joey's heart. Joey falls hard for Mary when they do the "Valentine's Dance Tango" at the Black and White Ball. They write "New Classic" during a date at Dominique's mansion; later, this becomes the song Joey uses to convince Mary to come onstage for the big finale at the dance contest.

What I Don't Like: Not only is Seely no more interesting as the male lead than other "Prince Charmings" in the Cinderella Story movies, but he's a decade older than Gomez and looks it. The stepsisters have all the personalities of two wet mops and other than arranging for Mary to find Joey with his ex-girlfriend Natalia (Nicole LaPlaca) and their awful dances in the end don't have much to do. Dustin and Tami are the obvious "best friends" too, and while Kennedy can be charming, Faulk is just annoying. It's also as obviously low-budget as the other films in this series, with most of it set in the school or mansion. And yes, there's the fact that the story is a mass of cliches you've seen a thousand times before in stories of this stripe and will again (including four more times in this series). 

The Big Finale: As with the other movies in this series, this would make great background noise for a slumber or birthday party for girls in the appropriate 8 to 14 age range.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats; it's on disc paired with the original Cinderella Story. HBO Max currently has it with a subscription. 

DVD - A Cinderella Story/Another Cinderella Story

Blu-Ray - A Cinderella Story/Another Cinderella Story

HBO Max

Judy Garland Centennial - Presenting Lily Mars

MGM, 1943

Starring Judy Garland, Van Heflin, Spring Byington, and Richard Carlson

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music and Lyrics by various

By the early 40's, Judy was a full-grown adult and one of the biggest stars at MGM. They were ready to give her the glamor treatment and a vehicle of her own, without support from a leading man or elaborate special effects. Presenting Lily Mars started life as a best-selling novel by Booth Tarkington in 1933. It was originally planned as a drama for Lana Turner, but Turner dropped out and the studio retooled it as a screwball backstage musical for Garland. How well did they do? Let's begin in small-town Indiana, where the eccentric Mars family begin their day, and find out...

The Story: Lily Mars (Garland) would do anything to land a part in stage producer John Thornway's (Heflin) new musical, including remind him that his doctor father helped bring her into the world. Thornway doesn't think much of amateurs and thinks she's too much of a child to bother with. She's so desperate for a role, she follows him to New York. 

He does find her a place to live in a theatrical boarding house, but she still wants a real acting job. He's dating Isobel Rykay, the Russian actress who is appearing in his current operetta, but Isobel isn't thrilled with John's attention Lily. Lily gets the lead when Isobel throws a fit and vanishes right before the curtain goes up...but she's devastated when Isobel returns in time for the show. It takes her family's encouragement to remind her that even the smallest part can be a step up to something better along the line.

The Song and Dance: "Sweet" and "adorable" aren't normally adjectives you'd apply to a backstage musical, but the small-town vibe on this one has more in common with Sing You Sinners than 42nd Street. Garland is so funny and charming as the talented young woman with hope in her eyes, you can see why this movie confirmed her star status. Despite also working on Girl Crazy at the time, she's as fit and happy as she ever was. I also like Connie Gilcrest as the singer-turned-washwoman who mentors Lily to stardom, Byington as her daffy mother, Leonard Kinsky as the show's dour costume designer, and Douglas Croft as her brother Davey who insists on collecting unique door knobs everywhere he goes. 

Favorite Number: Our first big number isn't until nearly 20 minutes in, but it's "Tom Tom, the Piper's Son," a swingy nursery rhyme riff Lily sings to cover her escape from the Thornways' party. Eggerth's first number is the Eastern-European inflected "Is It Really Love, or the Gypsy In Me?" complete with stereotypical costumes and fiddles. "When I Look at You" is first performed Eggerth during a rehearsal. Garland reprises it - and puts a lot more emotion into it - later at the Panorama Club with Bob Crosby and His Orchestra. "Where There's Music" is the huge finale, with dancers in white swirling around Garland in a black gown. Future director Charles Walters joins her for "Three O'Clock In the Morning," and she sings "Broadway Rhythm" with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra in the very end. 

Trivia: Walters went on to direct Garland in Easter Parade and Summer Stock. 

What I Don't Like: MGM reshot the finale to make it bigger and more appropriate for the star Lily became...but I'm going to agree with Norman Taurog and say it feels out of place and too big for this small movie. Heflin's character switches too quickly from annoyed producer who wishes this kid would stop hounding him to being totally over the moon about her. For what's supposed to be Garland's vehicle, an awful lot of time is spent with the more traditionally glamorous Eggerth, including two major operetta-style numbers. There's also the story falling into sitcom territory again. These are backstage cliches of the highest sort, even if they are played for comedy.

The Big Finale: This and Listen, Darling proved to be pleasant surprises. Don't let them being two of Garland's lesser-known vehicles scare you off. Highly recommend these low-key charmers for fans of Garland or those looking for sweeter, homier takes on the backstage or family comedy genres. 

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

DVD

Amazon Prime

Judy Garland Centennial - Listen, Darling

MGM, 1938

Starring Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor, and Scotty Beckett

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

Music and Lyrics by various

Judy Garland would have turned 100 on June 10th. To honor her centennial, our first two entries this week cover two of her lesser-known vehicles. This was the last movie she made before achieving international stardom with The Wizard of Oz and Babes In Arms. We also honor the start of summer vacation season with this tale of two teens who take the mother of one on a road trip to find her a husband. How well does it come off now? Let's start with the end of the school year, as Herbert "Buzz" Mitchell (Bartholomew) gives a speech for the school that doesn't come out the way he intended, and find out...

The Story: Buzz's girlfriend Pinkie Wingate (Garland) is having far more trouble than figuring out what to do during summer break. Her mother Dottie (Astor) claims she's going to marry a stuffy banker (Gene Lockhart) in order for her children to have a better life. Pinkie's so disturbed by her mother being engaged to someone she doesn't love, she and Buzz practically force Dottie and Pinkie's brother Billy (Beckett) into their trailer for a vacation. 

They meet not one, but two candidates for their mother's hand on the road. Richard Thurlow (Walter Pidgeon) is a carefree photographer and bachelor who loves being on the road. He claims to not want to settle down, but he and Dottie hit it off right away, and Pinkie and Scotty like him. They also like J.J Slattery (Alan Hale Sr.), a wealthy man who lets the children stay at his home. Pinkie favors Richard, but practical Buzz prefers J.J. Now the two have to figure out which man is really right for Dottie, before their vacation comes to an end. 

The Song and Dance: Charming B-movie is basically a family comedy with a few songs, but those songs do show Garland to best advantage. One, "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart," became associated with her for the rest of her life and remains a standard to this day. Astor and Pidgeon make a very sweet and believable couple, especially during the second half when they're laughing over the kids' antics, and Hale makes a twinkly-eyed rich old bachelor. 

Favorite Number: We open with Pinkie singing "Zing!" with the school orchestra. She does so well with it, you can see why her mother wanted to send her away for vocal training. Once Dottie's become more used to the idea of basically being kidnapped, she and the kids sing about how being "On the Bumpy Road to Love" is rough on more than the rear.  Pinkie reassures Billy during a rainstorm that all that thunder and lightning are just "Ten Pins In the Sky" making noise. 

Trivia: Garland and Astor would play mother and daughter again in a far more famous MGM musical, Meet Me In St. Louis. 

Garland was already doing preliminary makeup and costume testing for The Wizard of Oz by this point. 

What I Don't Like: Once again, this is basic sitcom fluff. Pinkie and Buzz are extremely lucky they didn't get into far more trouble for not only more-or-less kidnapping two people, but forcing two more into their schemes. I really do wish it was a lot longer than 70 minutes. They could have expanded it into a full musical. Astor couldn't sing, but Hale and Pidgeon could, and songs for them and Beckett might have been nice. And speaking of Beckett, Billy comes off as more of a spoiled brat than a cute kid, especially when he throws an absolute fit after being attacked by a skunk and not wanting to give up his "Daniel Boone" wild west outfit. 

The Song and Dance: Cute way to pass an hour on your own family's vacation if you're a fan of Garland or charming low-key romantic comedies. 

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

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Amazon Prime 

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Last Unicorn

Jensen Farley Pictures/Rankin-Bass, 1982

Voices of Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, and Tammy Grimes

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Webb

Tales of high fantasy, of swords and mages and knights and barbarians, became big business in the late 70's and early 80's. In the wake of the overwhelming success of Star Wars and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, sword & sorcery novels that were previously considered the realm of sci-fi geeks were now enjoyed by people who had never even read the Lord of the Rings series. Rankin-Bass, who had done film versions of Return of the King and The Hobbit, now turned their attention to a later fantasy novel. The book of the same name debuted in 1968 and was shopped around to several studios, Rankin-Bass was the last they talked to and finally signed on. How does this darkly romantic tale of unicorns and magicians and red bulls look today? Let's start with the unicorn of the title (Farrow) and a singing Butterfly (Robert Klein) who sends her on her way and find out...

The Story: After much cajoling, the unicorn finally goes out into the world to figure out what happened to others like her. She first encounters Schmedrick (Arkin), an incompetent magician, at the sideshow of old witch Mommy Fortuna (Angela Landsbury). He rescues her from Mommy's cage, and later from bandits. The head bandit's frustrated lover Molly Grue (Grimes) agrees to join them as well. 

They do find the legendary red bulls who drove the unicorns to the sea, but it's attracted to the Last Unicorn. Schmedrick turns her into a human to hide her from the bull. He names her the Lady Amalthea when they're found by Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges) and his father King Haggard (Christopher Lee). It was Haggard who ordered the unicorns driven to the sea for his amusement. Schmedrick and Molly look for clues that will lead them to the bull and how to fight it...but meanwhile, Amalthea is falling for Lir, and becoming more and more human and less like a unicorn...

The Animation: While not on the line with even what Disney was doing at this point, it's still some of the best work to come from Rankin-Bass. Most of it was animated by Toei Animation in Japan. Not only had many of these people animated some of the most popular animated shows in Japan, but some would go on to form Studio Ghilbi, creators and animators of some of the most beloved anime ever. The wide eyes and flowing lines of Rankin-Bass are here augmented by some still-impressive special effects, including the red bull and the unicorns in the sea.

The Song and Dance: Dark and dreamy, this has been a favorite of me and my sisters since we were very little. Farrow is perfect as the wide-eyed mythical creature who is delicate enough to make a willowy human, yet tough enough to take on a long journey cross-country. Arkin and Grimes also do very well as the magician who discovers he's better at this whole magic thing than he thought and the cook who wishes she could have seen the unicorn in her younger, more innocent years. Lee's King Haggard is appropriately frightening, and the red bull is the stuff of nightmares when we finally do see it. 

Favorite Number: The dreamy title song has become a bit of a standard over the years; here, it's heard in the opening and closing credits, performed by country band America. They also perform "Man's Road" twice, as the Unicorn as traveling alone early in the film, and later when she's close to her goal with Molly and Schmedrick. "In the Sea (Where Do Unicorns Go?)" has them questioning what happened to those unicorns as the now-human Amalthea tries to remember her goals...but only knows she's in love with Lir. Bridges and Farrow duet late in the film as Lir tries to tell Amalthea how much he loves her, and "That's All I've Got to Say."

What I Don't Like: First of all, despite the G rating, this is a very dark movie. There's some violence with the red bull, especially in the end when Lir nearly dies, and quite a bit of cursing that's retained on most prints currently available. Mommy Fortuna and her sideshow and Captain Cully and his men have grotesque designs that are the stuff of nightmares, and there's Mommy's gruesome fate. Farrow does well in the book sequences, but she can't sing, making her solo "Now That I'm a Woman" flat and a bit painful. Bridges can't sing, either, and it does no favors to the otherwise-decent "All I've Got to Say." Some of the dialogue gets pretty stiff too, once again mostly towards the end in the castle. 

The Big Finale: If you have young fantasy lovers who are up to some of the rougher moments and characters, they'll find a lot to love in this unique romantic fable. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Look for the remastered "Enchanted Edition"; earlier video and DVD releases cut some of the nastier language. Many online streaming companies have it for free, including Tubi. 

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Tubi

Junior Prom

Monogram Pictures, 1946

Starring Freddie Stewart, June Preissler, Noel Neill, and Jackie Moran

Directed by Arthur Dreifuss

Music and Lyrics by various

From 1946 to 1948, B movie specialists Monogram Pictures churned out The Teen-Agers, a series of hour-long musicals revolving around a group of typical swing-loving high schoolers (and later, college students) of the time. This was the first, and is probably the best-known today. Teenagers had started to come into their own as early as the 1920's; by the end of the war years, they had their own language, culture, and world view. The newfound prosperity of the late 40's and 50's suddenly gave them more money to spend, and companies responded with literature, clothing, beauty products, and even movies designed just for them. This is one of the earliest responses to that new culture. Does it still win the vote today, or should it thrown out of the race? Let's begin in music class, where a couple of hep cats are getting bored with opera and its crazy plots, and find out...

The Story:  Freddie Trimball (Stewart) is so upset when a local businessman says he'll withdraw his funding if his son Jimmy Forest (Jackie Moran) doesn't become student body president, he drops out of the race. Freddie rethinks his stance and throws his hat back in the ring when he overhears the cocky Jimmy trying to ask his girlfriend Dodie (Preissler) to the big Junior Prom at the Teen Canteen. Jimmy's campaign manager Roy Dunn (Frankie Darro) courts Dodie's sister Betty (Neill), the head of the school newspaper, and convinces her to write articles in favor of Jimmy. This starts trouble not only between Betty and her sisters, but between the two candidates, too. Now Betty has to decide where her heart lays, before the competition gets too hot for the school to handle.

The Song and Dance: They may not be actual "teen-agers," but there's still a talented core cast around this goofy school tale. Preissler shows off the same knack for comedy and amazingly limber dance moves she displayed in the first two Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney movies at MGM, Stewart has a gorgeous voice (he was originally a singer), and Neill is just as feisty here as she would be a decade later playing a more famous reporter, Lois Lane, in The Adventures of Superman. 

Favorite Number: We open in music class, as the kids give their teacher a hard time about the plots of opera being unbelievable. They'd rather listen to Harry "The Hipster" Gibson "Keep That Beat" and teach them how to swing dance. Freddie and the Clark sisters extoll "Trimbull for President" with their supporters to drown out Jimmy's speech. The kids' record of Eddie Heywood and his orchestra performing "Loch Lamond" turns into what amounts to a video of the real orchestra performing the number. Freddie shows off his singing pipes with "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings" at the Prom. The film ends with a nifty swing dance routine as the kids sing about what happens at the "Teen Canteen."

What I Don't Like: First and foremost, teens have changed a great deal in the past 70 years. Sure, they still chatter away on cell phones, get involved in school elections, and drool over crushes, but most real teens probably would have seen this as somewhere between corny and insulting then, let alone now. Second, none of the actors are actually teens. Granted, most of them can still pass for younger, but Darro's pushing 30 and looks it. Third, this is a low-budget production. It's as fluffy as you can get for a "teen pic," with cheap sets and a silly plot. It's not for someone seeking a darker take on teen life in the 40's or something bigger or higher-budgeted.

The Big Finale: Recommended for some catchy numbers alone if you enjoy the B-films of the 1930's and 40's or swing music. 

Home Media: Not on DVD at press time, but can be easily found on streaming. Tubi has it for free with ads. 

Tubi