Diamond Horseshoe

20th Century Fox, 1945

Starring Betty Grable, Dick Haymes, William Gaxton, and Beatrice Kay

Directed by George Seaton

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

I return from my vacation with this fluffy bit of fun. Betty Grable was at the height of her popularity as the number one box office draw in the world when this movie debuted. Nightclubs were also wildly popular at the time. Snazzy supper clubs in big cities drew thousands of patrons every night to dance their cares away to the sounds of all the most popular orchestras, singers, and comedy acts. The biggest clubs also had lavish floor shows, with huge revues featuring chorus girls in feathers, spangles, and not a whole lot else.

Impresario Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe opened in the basement of the Paramount Hotel in New York in 1938 and became one of the most successful clubs of the early 1940's. Its very name was enough to evoke class and sophistication during the war years. Does it do the same for this movie? Let's begin with that floor show, as Joe Davis Sr. (Gaxton) appears as a chef singing about his showgirl ingredients, and find out...

The Story: Joe Davis Jr. (Haymes) comes from medical school to visit his father. To the disappointment of his father, Joe now wants to be a singer rather than a doctor. He breaks up with his girl Claire (Kay) to focus on his son. Claire recruits chorus girl Bonnie Collins (Grable) to lure the son away from his father and show business with the promise of a mink coat. Bonnie does too well. She soon falls for Joe Jr, mink or no mink. Now she has to figure out if his place is at medical school, show business...or in her arms. 

The Song and Dance: Grable and some elaborate chorus numbers are the only real reasons to see this one today. She actually does fairly well in the second half as she and Haymes toss Freud references around and she worries about losing him. The symbolism even extends to the lavish numbers, with their huge headdresses and feathered and beaded costumes for the show girls and Grable. The Technicolor glows, even in the so-so copy currently on YouTube. Phil Silvers is a lot more tolerable than usual as the backstage manager who befriends Joe Jr., and even gets a funny running gag involving him asking people why the show must go on. 

Favorite Number: That opening number gives us an idea of what's to come. "Welcome to the Diamond Horseshoe" segways to "Cooking Up a Show," as French chef Joe Sr. sings about his array of chorus girl ingredients, from sugar in frills to all-American mustard and French dressing. "In Acapulco" is another big chorus routine, this time with Grable in a massive white sombrero tapping around Mexican gauchitos while singing about the famous resort town. Haymes gets the hit ballas "I Wish I Knew" with Grable and "The More I See You" solo. 

"Play Me an Old Fashioned Melody" plays on the Horseshoe's original 1890's theme as Kay sings about her love for tunes of the turn of the 20th century, while a more modern Grable comes in singing about "A Nickel's Worth of Jive." This turns into a medley of songs that were hits in the 1890s and the 1940's, like "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "You'll Never Know." The "Dessert Finale" reprises the food theme from the opening, this time with the chorus girls sporting headgear made to look like famous cakes or puddings.

Trivia: The Diamond Horseshoe only lasted six years after this. It finally closed in 1951. The ballroom under the Paramount Hotel in New York is now known as Sony Hall and is mainly a venue for concerts.

Remake of the silent movie The Barker and the sound Clara Bow vehicle Hoopla. 

What I Don't Like: Pretty much everything else. The story is a mess of backstage and family melodrama cliches, with a cliched script and dull music. A dream sequence mid-way through with Margaret Dumont only allowing Grable into her palatial home if she's wearing a fur coat - and Grable's in a full-on mink dress - is more bizarre than interesting. At least it related to the thin story at hand. Most of the other numbers had nothing to do with anything and were more there to advertise the club or show off Grable and Haynes. Haynes is a lot more believable as a singer than he is as an aspiring doctor and has no idea how to deal with the more dramatic moments.

The Big Finale: Only for major Betty Grable fans, fans of the musicals of the 40's, or anyone who remembers or has read about the real Diamond Horseshoe and other clubs of the 40's and 50's. 

Home Media: Currently only found on YouTube. 

YouTube

Animation Celebration Extra - Jetsons: The Movie

Universal, 1990

Voices of George O'Hanlon, Mel Blanc, Penny Singleton, and Tiffany

Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbara

Music and Lyrics by various

First of all, Musical Dreams Reviews is going on vacation hiatus from the 22nd through the 28th. Regular reviews resume the 29th. 

Second, this one means a lot to me. My sisters and I were major fans of Tiffany in the late 80's and early 90's. We had the soundtrack and listened to it constantly on our shiny pink and silver cassette player and eventually taped the movie off cable. We were big fans of the TV show too when it re-ran and debuted new episodes in syndication. Is the movie still enjoyable for today's kids, or does it look as dated as some of the "futuristic" inventions in the original show? To find out, let's begin later in the 21st Century, as normal working dad George Jetson (O'Hanlon) begins his day on the job, and find out...

The Story: After years of suffering verbal abuse from his miserly boss Mr. Spacely (Blanc), George is finally made vice-president of Spacely Sprockets. He and his family are sent to the Orbiting-Ore Asteroid, where metal is mined at 1/12th of the cost of running the factory on Earth. George is the only one who's happy. Elroy (Patric Zimmerman) looked forward to his spaceball championship game, and teenage Judy (Tiffany) is heartbroken when she loses out on the chance to date a rock star. George's wife Jane (Singleton) and his dog Astro (Don Messick) are more supportive.

Judy's much happier when she realizes that the elaborate apartment complex at the asteroid includes a massive mall. While she falls for a handsome blue-skinned alien teen named Apollo Blue (Paul Kreppel), Elroy befriends the kid robot on his new team, Teddy-2 (Dana Hill). Meanwhile, George discovers that Spacely's gone through four vice-presidents who were plagued with accidents at the factory. George recruits Teddy's father Rudy-2 (Ronnie Schell) to help him solve the mystery. The boys and their furry friend Fergie (Russi Taylor) follow them on their own...and are the ones who discover who's really behind the sabotage.

The Animation:  The character animation is similar to any Hanna-Barbara show on the air in 1990, but it's the backgrounds and building designs where this one really shines. This is one time where the early CGI standing out like a sore thumb actually works. Most early CGI tends to be boxy and plastic...and that's perfect for the show's retro-futuristic look. The exterior of the factory and the mall in particular are marvels, all translucent tubes and ovals and pearly colors.

The Song and Dance: First of all, I know many fans of the original show complained about pop star Tiffany playing Judy instead of original voice Janet Waldo, but I don't think she's that bad. At least she's an actual teenager who wasn't much older than Judy at the time. Zimmerman and Hall are hilarious as the feisty kid duo who are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Their Scooby Doo-esque antics and some amusing slapstick from George provide a needed lift to the second half. The music my sisters and I loved so much are still decent examples of late 80's pop and remains catchy and hummable to this day. 

Favorite Number: We start off with "We're the Jetsons" introducing each member of the family and their day. Steve McCormick sings "Maybe Love, Maybe Not," the uptempo ballad rock star Cosmic Cosmo charms Judy with at the concert. "Staying Together" by Shane Sutton provides the background for the family's move to the asteroid. Rudy-2 and George lay into the twisty rhymes of "The Factory Rap" as they relate the rules for running the mining asteroid. "I Always Thought I'd See You Again" is Judy's heartbroken ballad at the mall when she thinks she'll never find another guy like Cosmo. Tiffany also performs the lovely "Home" in the finale as the Jetsons pack to leave the asteroid and bid their new friends a fond but sad farewell.

The big one here is another Tiffany song, the catchy "You and Me." The song Apollo wrote for Judy becomes a random but gorgeously animated abstract romantic reverie making use of everything from heart-themed surrealism to pop art to watercolors. 

Trivia: Last film for Penny Singleton, George O'Hanlon, and Mel Blanc; first theatrically released film for Brad Garrett, who voiced Fergie's father Bertie.

Blanc and O'Hanlon did manage to record their dialogue before they passed away during filming. O'Hanlon had a stroke and could only record one hour a day, but he died in the recording studio doing what he loved. Jeff Bergman filled in anything that had to be re-recorded. The film is dedicated to both men. 

Janet Waldo was set to voice Judy Jetson, but was replaced by Tiffany at the last moment to attract a younger audience. Apparently, she can still be heard as Judy in a few lines. 

While the movie didn't do badly at the box office, it was no blockbuster, either, and flopped only because of the high cost of marketing. It would be 27 years before another Jetsons project got off the ground, and that would be a made-for-video movie with WWE wrestling in 2017. (And apparently, there's a live-action version they've been trying to make since as far back as 1985.)

What I Don't Like: This movie has not dated well at all. The message about diversity and how different races can live together in harmony Apollo brings up in the end would have likely been enough to sustain a full plot. The environmental message with the beings who committed the sabotage feels preachy, dull, and tacked-on. There's no mention of environmentalism up to this point, and the resolution comes out of nowhere. Not to mention, both messages are driven home with all the force of those piledrivers in the asteroid. The perpetrators, when they do appear, are entirely too cutesy for a slapstick sci-fi action comedy and feel like they came from an early 80's Hanna-Barbara show like Monchikis or The Biscuitts. 

And...I think the Jetsons were a little hard on George. He wasn't really running out on them. The job and move WERE important. In fact, some of the characters they met were so interesting, I wonder what would have happened if they'd stayed and we'd seen more of them, especially the hilarious robot Two family. There's also the fact that Judy acted like a brat through most of the film. Yes, losing out on a date with a rock star was disappointing, but she barely met the guy, and she carries on like they'd been dating for years. 

The Big Finale: Opinion online seems to be sharply divided on this one. Some also have fond memories of catching this on video and cable and enjoy the cast and music; others, especially fans of the original show, find it to be too dated, silly, and lament the loss of Waldo. Put me in the former camp, but with reservations. Yes, it's dated, but if you love the original show or the cast or the music from this time period, you might actually have a lot of fun meeting the Jetsons and their friends new and old, too.

Home Media: Easily found in all major formats; the DVD often turns up for under $10.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Texas Carnival

MGM, 1951

Starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, and Ann Miller

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

In the 1950's and 60's, Americans became fascinated with Texas and other southwestern and mid-western states as oil production boomed and drillers became millionaires. How does the story of one such Texas oil man and the two carnival performers who become entangled with him look today? Let's begin on the midway of that carnival, as Cornelius "Corny" Quinell (Skelton) throws a pitch for the dunk booth featuring his beautiful partner Debbie Telford (Williams) and find out...

The Story: Corny and Debbie haven't had much luck at the carnival. Debbie's desperately hungry when Corny helps a drunk man with a cheating carny at another booth. The man turns out to be Texas rancher and oil man Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn). Sabinas calls him brother and even lets him return his car to the hotel he and his sister Marilla (Paula Raymond) are staying at. 

Turns out Marilla is out of town, and Sabinas drunkenly ends up in Mexico. When Corny and Debbie pull up in Sabinas' huge car, everyone thinks they're the millionaires. Corny decides he enjoys the luxury, and Debbie just likes being fed. Corny falls for Sunshine Jackson (Miller), the brassy daughter of the town sheriff. Debbie's interested in Sabinas' head foreman Slim Shelby (Keel). 

After Corny accidentally loses $17,000 in a poker game, the others enter him in a chuck wagon race to earn the money. Dan turns up mad as a hornet because someone's in his room. Corny tries to get him drunk again, but has to ride the race drunk with Debbie and Slim's help. 

The Song and Dance: Williams and Skelton come together for the third and final time in this noisy bit of fluff. Skelton's having a great time with his brand of wild slapstick and goofy facial expressions. Check out him getting drunk with Sabinas, or attempting to drive the chuck wagon as more and more of it ends up on the ground. The colorful western costumes, with their fringes and buckskins and gingham and elaborate embroidery, and brilliant Technicolor wide open spaces make the movie feel a lot more lavish than the small story would indicate. 

Favorite Number: We open with "The Carny's Pitch," as Corny encourages cowboys to throw a ball at Williams in a glitzy pink bathing suit and see if they can dunk her. "It's Dynamite" is Miller's big solo tap routine in the hotel ballroom as Sunshine shows what she thinks is a rich oil man what she can do as she taps on a piano. "Whoa, Emma" is the folksy ballad about a beloved mare for Slim and the cowboy chorus as they gather around the fire. Debbie's attempt at a speech during a party in the ballroom somehow turns into the film's sole large-scale production number, a wild version of "Deep In the Heart of Texas" with Miller and the chorus.

The film's best "number" and Williams' only swimming ballet doesn't actually take place in the water. Slim rescued the famished Debbie from drowning after she arrived at the hotel still hungry. His mind equates her with the water...which is why, in a nifty bit of special effects, she's seen as a swimming vision swishing around his hotel room in white gauze and silver glitter. She's his "underwater dream" as Williams put it in That's Entertainment III. 

What I Don't Like: This is awfully short for a major MGM musical. I wonder if they planned more numbers that either weren't filmed, or ended up on the cutting room floor. Williams surprisingly has no swimming routines besides the dream sequence and Slim rescuing Debbie from the pool. Other than her two big numbers, Miller is barely used. Keel doesn't really do much besides rescue Debbie, either. The title's a cheat, too. While the movie is set in Texas, it's only at the carnival in the first ten minutes or so and the last five minutes. It's mostly set at and around the hotel. The music is dull and the script even moreso. This is a bizarre bit of fluff that could have done with a little sharpening. 

The Big Finale: Probably best for fans of Skelton or those looking for a fun way to pass an hour on TCM.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Musicals On Streaming - Pinocchio (2022)

Disney, 2022

Starring Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, and Jason Gordon-Levitt

Directed by Robert Zemeckis 

Music and Lyrics by various

I've been hit-or-miss with Disney's remakes. I loved Beauty and the Beast as much as the original, thought Aladdin was very funny, Lady and the Tramp had its moments, Pete's Dragon was rather sweet, and The Jungle Book was even better than the animated version. However, Cinderella was only so-so, Dumbo tacked on an unnecessary environmental message and way too much padding, and The Lion King and the movies that turned enjoyable villains into annoying anti-heroes were just dull. Where does Pinocchio fall in the pack? To find out, let's begin in an Italian village in 1895, as kindly Geppetto (Hanks) creates a little wooden boy who almost looks real, and find out...

The Story: Lonely after the death of his wife and son, Geppetto wishes on a star for the puppet to become a real boy. The Blue Fairy (Ervio) grants him his wish and brings Pinocchio (Ainsworth) to life, but says he needs to prove himself brave, honest, and selfless in order to become a real boy. To make sure he sticks to his goal, she appoints Jiminy Cricket (Gordon-Levitt), who stopped into Geppetto's workshop to warm himself, his protector and conscience. 

Jiminy finds how hard it is to keep a puppet from straying when Pinocchio is convinced to join a puppet show by Honest John the fox (Keegan-Michael Kay) and Gideon the cat. The show is owned by the tyrannical Stromboli, who abuses the beautiful puppeteer Fabiana (Kyanne Lamaya) and refuses to let Pinocchio return to his father. 

Jiminy helps him out of that jam, only to lose the wooden boy again when a coachman (Luke Evans) kidnaps him and takes him to Pleasure Island. Pinocchio can sense something's wrong...and he's right when the kids start turning into donkeys. He and Jiminy barely evade that...but even when they do find Geppetto, they end up having to rescue him, his pets, and themselves from the belly of Monstro the Whale!

The Animation: Gorgeous for a streaming offering. While not quite as detailed as the original, Jiminy, Pinocchio, and Fabiana's marionette Sabrina (Jaquita Ta'le) do move very well, and the puppets, at least, largely manage to avoid looking too creepy. Pleasure Island is incredible, with its overwhelming mountains of candy and breakable objects, like a demonic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The water in the finale with Monstro - and how the animated characters interact with it - is well-integrated, too. 

The Song and Dance: This isn't nearly as bad as the terrible reviews make it out to be. I suspect this is one time most people were hoping for a rehash of the beloved 1940 film. What I like here is how they handled the Pleasure Island segment. In the original, Pinocchio went along with everything Lampwick said and did until he started turning into a donkey. Here, he starts questioning things when he sees the kids attacking clocks and other items that remind him of his father. It gives us more of a glimpse of how much Pinocchio's changed since he set out that morning and how much he really does love Geppetto. 

Favorite Number: We start off with Tom Hanks not doing too badly by one of the new songs, "When He Was Here With Me," as he remembers how much he loved his lost son. He sings another new number, the title song, as he, Figaro, and Cleo dance around the workshop with Pinocchio after he comes to life. "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" is still Honest John's charming number luring Pinocchio to Stromboli's...which he has an even easier time doing after the boy is thrown out of school for being a puppet. "I've Got No Strings" starts badly, with Pinocchio literally falling on his face. After Sabrina gets him going, they resume with the French and Russian puppets from the original film. Pinocchio dances so fast with the Russians, his feet literally burst into flame! 

And yes, "When You Wish Upon a Star" is heard twice, once at the beginning with Jiminy, and over the end credits by Ervio. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, while Fabiana and Sabrina are charming and help get rid of Stromboli, they otherwise don't add much to the film besides a sob story and the so-so ballad "I Will Always Dance." Second, while Stromboli is punished for abusing his workers, the Coachman, Honest John, and Gideon still get away with all the terrible things they did. We never see the con-animals again after they turn Pinocchio over to Stromboli - they don't help the Coachman here - and the Coachman once again vanishes after Jiminy and Pinocchio escape Pleasure Island. Third, the Brooklyn-accented seagull Sofia (Lorraine Bracco) is an annoying funny animal character who is only useful in the end, when she's the one who brings Jiminy and Pinocchio to Geppetto at sea. 

And...why didn't they use the entire score? Why did they cut "Give a Little Whistle," one of my favorite songs from the original? Couldn't figure out how to animate Jiminy dancing? The additional songs are mediocre at best. Not to mention...yeah, like most of the other remakes, this lacks the charm and heart of the original. 

The Big Finale: While it's better than the critics made it out to be and does have a few perks of its own, you're still better off showing your kids the original. 

Home Media: Disney Plus streaming exclusive at the moment. 

Disney Plus

Smilin' Through (1941)

MGM, 1941

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Gene Raymond, Brian Aherne, and Ian Hunter

Directed by Frank Borzage

Music and Lyrics by various

MacDonald also continued to appear with other leading men during the years she starred with Nelson Eddy. She and Raymond married in 1937 and would stay together until her death in 1965, but this is the only movie they made together. This is the third version of the hit 1919 play. Earlier retellings included a silent film in 1922 and an early talkie with Norma Shearer in 1932. Frank Borzage remains best-known for his sentimental romances like Seventh Heaven and Bad Girl, making him the perfect man to direct the tale of a man who mourns his lost love for 50 years, only to see the son of her killer fall for his niece. How does this look today? Let's begin on the day of another long-lived English queen's anniversary in 1897, as John Carteret (Aherne) takes in his little orphan niece Kathleen (Jackie Horner) and find out...

The Story: Carteret raises Kathleen as his own daughter. He's shocked when she falls for the handsome American soldier Kenneth Wayne (Raymond) and orders her to break off their engagement. She tries to leave with him, but Ken realizes how much her uncle means to her. He returns after four years, but he's now crippled and doesn't want to burden her. 

John hates Kenneth so much because his father Jeremy (Raymond) was a rival for his beloved fiancee Moonyean (MacDonald). The drunken Jeremy accidentally killed Moonyean when he tried to shoot John during their wedding ceremony, right before she said "I do." He's never forgotten her memory and badly wants revenge for her loss. It's his friend Reverend Owen Harding (Hunter) and Moonyean herself who finally make John understand he's built a life based on bitterness, and destroying his niece's relationship will only keep him from the woman he loves.

The Song and Dance: Sweet and touching, with truly glorious Technicolor. Jeanette's radiant as Kathleen and Moonyean; color always did suit her. The costumes are glorious, especially the amazing frilly 1868 hoop skirts for Moonyean and the women. The blue gown MacDonald wears really makes her red hair and turquoise eyes stand out. I also like Hunter as the kindly reverend who is there for John through thick and thin, and Aherne's not bad as the stern thwarted lover. Not bad aging makeup for the time, either, especially on John.

Favorite Number: Our first major number is "The Kerry Dance." It's initially sung and played on the piano by Horner, until MacDonald takes it over as we see an exquisite flashback of Kathleen growing up at John's home. MacDonald performs the old ballad "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes" on the piano early on and the French "A Little Love, A Little Kiss" at the canteen in France where she meets Raymond. They also perform "There's a Long, Long Trail" with the soldiers. MacDonald performs another French song, "Ouvre ton Coeur," with the orchestra in the flashback sequence. She and Aherne later dance a waltz to it outside in their spot in the garden.

What I Don't Like: Despite the World War I setting, a sentimental romantic operetta probably wasn't what audiences wanted on the verge of another war. Many modern audiences may find this too mawkish or melodramatic. Raymond's better as the drunken Jeremy than he is as Kenneth, who really has little personality beyond his going to France and giving up Kathleen. Ironically, despite them being happily married in real-life, they have no chemistry, making Kathleen and Kenneth's relationship come off as bland. It also tends to get a bad rap compared to the exquisite 1932 version. 

The Big Finale: Lovely melodrama is recommended mainly for fans of operetta, MacDonald, or those who also enjoyed the 1932 Norma Shearer version like I did.

Home Media: DVD only via the Warner Archives.

DVD

Cult Flops - New Moon (1940)

MGM, 1940

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mary Boland, and George Zucco

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard

Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by various

By 1940, the ultra-romantic operettas MacDonald and Eddy specialized in were starting to go out of fashion in favor of zippier, less expensive musical comedies...and indeed, this was their first out-and-out flop. They already died out on Broadway, with only a few flops debuting in the 30's, but the success of MacDonald and Eddy and Grace Moore at Columbia in the mid-30's gave film operetta a shot in the arm. New Moon would be their last flat-out operetta, and their last film together for two years. How does this New Orleans-set colonial romance look today? We begin on the boat to Louisiana, as French nobles in snowy frills dance their cares away...but things are quite different below-decks...

The Story: Duchess Marianne de Beaunoir (MacDonald) is among those dancing their cares away above. The men in the holding area below are bond servants, criminals to be sold as labor to the merchants and plantations in New Orleans. Among them is the Duc de Villars (Eddy), arrested for singing revolutionary songs in the streets. He calls himself Charles and intends to lead the bond servants in a revolt. He passes himself off as an officer when Marianne catches him trying to get the captain to treat the bond servants better. She's annoyed at first, but soon falls for him.

That only lasts until they debark for New Orleans and he's purchased as a valet for Marianne's household. She's amused, then annoyed when she realizes he's only a bond servant. They eventually realize their love for each other is stronger than any class war...which is why Marianne sells him when she finds out from the Vicomte Ribaud (Zucco) that the French government sent people to arrest him. She thinks he's had dalliances in France; he thinks she betrayed him. 

She and her aunt (Boland) take the next boat out of New Orleans with a group of casquette girls going to the Caribbean. They don't make it far when they're attacked by what turns out to be the former bond servants on their way to the New World. They end up on a tropical island during a storm. Charles insists the colonists all get married to avoid fighting over the opposite sex. He and Marianne try to dissuade others from wooing them by marrying each other, though she's still not buying it...until the colony is attacked by the French...

The Song and Dance: For once, it's Eddy who gets to have the most fun as the noble duke who is willing to give up his titles to see that all people get a fair shake. He's still a little stiff in dramatic scenes, but his banter with MacDonald is hilarious, especially once they get on the deserted island. Boland is adorable as Marianne's gossipy aunt who is not above shoving her niece into a relationship or passing the latest juicy story from Paris. Eddy and MacDonald's chemistry is still off the charts. You really do feel the heat between them, especially during the "Wanting You" sequence in the bayou and in the finale when she thinks he's going off to defend the island.

This is also one of the few Broadway adaptations of the era to actually stick to the original stage show. It did change a few minor details - Charles' name was Robert, Marianne came to Lousiana with her father, not her aunt, the bond servants staged a mutiny instead of commandeering a ship - but it's certainly closer than the version MGM put out in 1930. 

The Song and Dance: We open with the re-written "Dance Your Cares Away" as the nobles above-decks enjoy a carefree ship-board ball. Marianne sings "Stranger In Paris" and "The Way They Do It In Paris" for the crowd to drown out the noise of the bond servants under them...and only partially succeeds. Charles is so smitten with Marianne, he sings about her "Shoes" as he shines them and croons a gorgeous version of the hit ballad "Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise." 

Marianne is once again called on to sing at a ball, this time at her plantation in New Orleans. She gets another hit ballad, "One Kiss," with prompting from Charles and the others. She and Charles wander out to the bayou to hear the African-American spiritual "Troubles of the World," which becomes a gorgeous backdrop for their big duet, "Wanting You." Charles leads the bond servants in the rousing "Stoutheared Men" as they head for the docks to take over that ship. Marianne sobs "Lover, Come Back to Me" after she sends Charles away...which turns into a duet on the island when she thinks they're being invaded. 

"Dance Your Cares Away" gets an ironic call-back when danced by former bond servants and brides during Marianne and Charles' wedding. All of the men on the island woo Marianne with the song bearing her name, to her annoyance, and keep following her everywhere. 

Trivia: MGM originally released New Moon in 1930 with Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett. Not only did it retain just three songs from the original, but for some reason, they reset it in imperial Russia just before the Revolution. 

The New Moon debuted on Broadway in 1928, after a disastrous try-out in Philadelphia that saw nearly the entire score re-written. That worked. It ran for two years, a smash hit at the time, and would be the last major hit of the Golden Age of Broadway Operettas. It's still frequently performed by opera and light opera companies today. In 2003, it became the only operetta to date to turn up as an Encores! concert in New York. (That show went over so well, it's one of the few Encores titles to have been released on CD.) 

Buster Keaton and Nat Pendleton originally had larger roles as Charles' men and comic relief. Most of their performances ended up on the cutting room floor, though they can be seen briefly in the crowd during "Stouthearted Men."

What I Don't Like: It can come off as way too close to Naughty Marietta at times (though I have read this was a complaint with the Broadway version as well). In fact, the first half feels like a gender-reversed rehash of Marietta, with him as the runaway noble and her the one who doesn't know his identity. MacDonald is more frigid than spirited, even after she's supposed to be thawing and falling for Charles (twice). There's a few annoying plot holes, too, like how the very wet Charles suddenly cleans up for a visit to the captain's cabin in the beginning he never mentioned before. 

The Big Finale: One of the better MacDonald/Eddy movies. Recommended for those who loved Marietta or fans of operettas, the stars, or swashbucklers. 

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

DVD

Amazon Prime

Naughty Marietta (1935)

MGM, 1935

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, and Elsa Lanchester

Directed by W.S Van Dyke

Music by Victor Herbert; Lyrics by Rida Johnson Young and Gus Kahn

We're returning to the world of comedienne and opera diva Jeannette MacDonald with our first three films this week. After Maurice Chevalier left MGM in late 1934 and Ernst Lubistch switched his focus to non-musical projects, the studio searched for just the right leading man for MacDonald's next vehicle. They found him in a contract singer already at the studio. Nelson Eddy had three movies under his belt, but they were all cameos that focused on his singing. This would be his first starring role. How does this romantic musical swashbuckler look today? Let's start in France, as Princess Marie (MacDonald) arrives at the pet shop to purchase new love birds, and find out...

The Story: Marie would much rather be singing with her former music teacher and eager students than marrying the dull Spanish grandee Don Carlos (Walter Kingsford). She trades places with her maid Marietta (Helen Shipman) who had signed on with a shipload of casquette girls, young women traveling to New Orleans to marry settlers. Even as Marie befriends sweet young casquette girl Julie (Cecelia Parker), their ship is attacked by pirates. The girls are rescued by handsome Captain Warrington (Eddy) and his mercenaries. Marie initially thinks he's handsome, but he's not interested in marriage.

She heads off men trying to marry her in New Orleans by claiming she's a woman of questionable character. The governor of the colony (Frank Morgan) sends her off with two soldiers, but they're intercepted by Captain Warrington. Marie's not impressed with him, even after he pays for her rent, and eventually gets a job at a marionette theater. Warrington keeps trying, and they do eventually fall in love...just as Marie's uncle, the Prince de la Bonfain (Douglass Dumbrille) shows up to drag her back to France.

The Song and Dance: An action-packed romantic swashbuckler with some of the most famous songs in any operetta. MacDonald's Marie is spirited, sassy, and sensible enough to realize she won't get what she wants in France. Lanchester and Morgan are a hoot as the governor of Louisiana with an eye for the ladies and his suspicious and sarcastic wife, and Parker's adorable as the little casquette girl Marie takes under her wing. The costumes are especially stunning, with even the casquette girls dressed in mountains of ruffles, lace, and bows. 

Favorite Number: We open with the catchy gavotte "Chansonette" as Marie sings along with the students who adore her. "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" is Warrington's big marching number as he and his mercenaries come to the aid of the casquettes. Warrington's "The Owl and the Polecat" is a comic number on love's complications with Warrington and his men. He then gets the gorgeous ballad "'Neath the Southern Moon" as he tries to deflect Marie's idea of romance. 

Warrington teases Marie that she can't sing like the gypsy girl who serenades them under his window. She goes on to prove that she can, and better, in the soaring "Italian Street Song." "Ship Ahoy" is the bizarre marionette number, with Marie and and one of the gypsies controlling the legs of the marionettes under their heads singing the song...but it also reflects Marie's worries about Warrington and his tomcat tendencies. Warrington finally admits he's "Falling In Love With Someone" while taking Marie on a boat ride through the bayou. They consummate their relationship on the steps at the ball for Marie with the big ballad and this score's standard, "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life."

Trivia: The original Broadway show was one of the biggest hits of 1910, in New York and London. It turned up again on early TV in 1955 with Patrice Munsel as Marietta and Alfred Drake as Warrington. While it hasn't been filmed since, it does remain a staple of opera and light opera companies. 

When Warrington accidentally pushes Marie into a chair that topples over...it really broke! Eddy really didn't mean to be that formal. MacDonald wasn't expecting it, got upset, and ran from the set. WS Van Dyke had to coax her back.

Won Best Sound in 1935 and was nominated for Best Picture. 

What I Don't Like: Eddy doesn't do nearly as well as MacDonald. He's better when throwing off banter with her at his apartment and in the town square and during his numbers than he is in the dramatic scenes, where he's stiff as a board. While this does retain the original New Orleans setting and some characters, it cuts a major story line about the Governor's son masquerading as a pirate and the woman he loves, Marietta was originally the maid she claimed to be, and more was made of Warrington finishing the lyrics of "Ah Sweet Mystery of Life" in the finale. 

And yeah...obviously, if you're not a fan of MacDonald, Eddy, operetta, or romantic swashbucklers, don't touch this one with a hundred-foot pole. It's genre fluff of the highest order. 

The Big Finale: This is a wonderful way to begin a partnership. My second-favorite MacDonald-Eddy movie after the melodrama Maytime. Highly recommended for fans of operetta, romantic swashbucklers, or the two stars. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Musicals on TV - The Pied Piper of Hamlin (1957)

NBC, 1957

Starring Van Johnson, Claude Rains, Lori Nelson, and Jim Backus

Directed by Bretainge Windust

Music by Edvard Grieg; Lyrics by Irving Taylor

The success of the Mary Martin Peter Pan and the TV showings of The Wizard of Oz prompted a flurry of fairy tale and fantasy story adaptations on the networks in the late 1950's. This one was unusual in many respects. NBC filmed it in Technicolor rather than doing it live. They brought in big-name movie actors Rains and Johnson and based their story on the Robert Browning poem. How well does this tale of a German town and the piper who teaches them an important lesson come off today? Let's begin with the little crippled boy Paul (Rene Kroger) hearing the music of the Piper (Johnson) and seeing his magic in the mountains outside of Hamlin and find out...

The Story:  The greedy Mayor (Rains) pushes the people of Hamlin to build a clock tower that'll rival buildings being constructed in rival towns. The winner will receive a special banner from the king. He even outlaws the children being able to play or attend school. This outrages the school teacher Truson (Johnson), but his pleas and complaints fall on deaf ears. So do that of the town Hamelout, when they're flooded out and desperately need food and aid. 

The rats that no longer have a home in Hamelout invade Hamlin, getting into everything in town. The Piper appears and says he'll get rid of them for the gold in the town treasury. The mayor agrees to it, then goes back on his word and tries to trick the Piper into paying him. Truson angrily points out that the Piper helped them and deserves the money, but he's thrown into jail. His sweetheart Mara (Nelson) is promised to the King's Emissary (Backus). The Piper, however, isn't done with Hamlin...and his revenge for the Mayor's greed will have dire consequences for the children of the town...

The Song and Dance: Lovely little operetta with some decent music and a bravura performance by Johnson, who does equally well as the mysterious musician and the teacher who is too outspoken for his town. You really do believe they're two different people. Rains is an excellent greedy mayor, too, chewing every bit of scenery he can in his big speeches on the importance of beating the competition. As one of the very few TV shows of its era to still exist in its original color, it looks good even in the batter prints currently available. It's saturated, but bright and attractive, especially on the vaguely medieval-esque costumes.

Favorite Number: The first big routine is "Work Song," a chorus for the people of the town as they work tirelessly on the huge clock tower. Johnson asks "How Can I Tell You?" to Nelson twice, first just before his confrontation with the Mayor over the children not being able to work or play, and later when he's in jail. The Mayor and his counselors explain why "Prestige" is more important than anything, including children learning or their people being happy. "Feats of the Piper" gives his credentials to the eager townspeople and skeptical Mayor. He finally calls the rodents for a "Rat Exodus," which leads to "Morning Waltz" the next day as the people celebrate their departure. 

The Piper warns the children that magic is real and they should see "Flim, Flan, Floo" with more than just their eyes. Tucson angrily insists that the Mayor is following "Fool's Gold" and should focus on taking care of his people and their needs instead. Mara wistfully begs "My Heart Will Fly to Heaven" after her father forbids her from seeing Tucson. Pop singer Kay Starr has a brief but touching bit near the end as one of the mothers whose children is missing and just wants to see her son again, "A Mother's Lament."

Trivia: The movie and its soundtrack album proved to be so popular, NBC repeated it in 1958. It turned up frequently in syndication, often as holiday programming. It was even briefly released in theaters in 1966, though it didn't do as well there. 

Johnson went over so well as the Piper, he appeared as a villain called The Minstrel in the 1966 Batman series. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, we get a happy ending tacked on to a rather creepy tale. In the original poem and most other adaptations, the children are never found and the Piper is not seen again. Sometimes, the rhyming dialogue comes off as stiff or uneven and doesn't flow the way it should. Nelson is dull in the thankless love interest role, and Starr has little to do besides her one number. Despite being filmed, it still looks like a TV movie of the 1950's, with simple sets and special effects.

The Big Finale: Catchy songs and Johnson's double performance makes this worth checking out for those looking for fairy tale musicals for younger kids, who saw this as children themselves, or for fans of the stars or 50's musicals.

Home Media: Easy to find on most formats, thanks to it being in the public domain. Tubi currently streams it for free.

DVD

Tubi

Back to School Again Double Feature - All-American Co-Ed & Let's Go Collegiate

Having done a big-budget extravaganza, we go to the opposite extreme with these low-budget tuners. Monogram Studios was one of the infamous "Poverty Row" B-movie specialists who churned out hour-long filler as the second half of double bills from the 20's through the 50's. United Artists released films from independent producers like Hal Roach. They did make occasional forays into musicals, often featuring popular bands or singers who were mostly used as cameos in A-list films. This is one of Monogram's earliest forays into movies for the brand-new teen market. Hal Roach went the radio route and recruited popular recording artist and radio star Frances Langford for their school story. How different - and similar - are these tales of higher learning over 70 years ago? Let's begin at Quinceton College with a line of very unique, er, ladies, and find out...

All-American Co-Ed

United Artists/Hal Roach Pictures, 1941

Starring Frances Langford, Johnny Downs, Noah Beery Jr, and Marjorie Woodworth

Directed by LeRoy Prinz

Music and Lyrics by various

The Story: Quniceton's all-male revue in drag attracts the attention of dean of all-girl's agricultural college Mar Brynn Hap Holden (Harry Langdon). He suggests to Matilda Collinge (Esther Dale), the school's president, that she bump up her failing school by giving scholarships to the winners of pageants with the names of produce and showcase them at their upcoming Fall Festival. He and her niece Virginia (Langford) convince her to make fun of Quinceton's Zeta fraternity as "the least likely to succeed" and ban them from campus. In revenge, the Zeta president Bob Sheppard (Johnny Downs) dresses in drag and enters the contest...but he never expected to fall for Virginia...

The Song and Dance: Decent music and a few funny performances highlight this battle of the sexes. I also love the costumes at the actual pageant that makes the ladies look like the fruits and vegetables they represent. Downs in particular is hilarious as the young man trying to navigate in an all-woman's world, including getting into a girdle. And at least they're honest about how little this resembles actual college life, even adding it as a disclaimer in the opening. This is also one of the few college movies I know of that doesn't revolve around sports or a big dance. The Fall Festival and pageant more-or-less replace both.

Favorite Number: We open with long lines of legs under the credits...until Downs comes out to reveal that those "legs" belong to attractive guys! He sings "I've Got a Chip On My Shoulder" dolled up in an incredible long gown and wig. Langford does a more traditional version later at Mar Brynn. She also gets the sole ballad, the Oscar-nominated "Out of the Silence." Downs in drag and the Tanner Sisters join Langford for the very funny "Up at the Crack of Dawn." The film ends with the girls singing the tale of "The Farmer's Daughter" in nifty overalls and gingham costumes at the pageant. 

Trivia: This is the only film directed by long-time Warner Bros choreographer LeRoy Prinz.

What I Don't Like: The story may be relatively original for collegiate musicals, but it's also pretty silly, even for collegiate musicals. Two colleges get into a pranking war that involves a guy running around in drag? Most of the supporting cast, including silent comedian Langdon and Alan Hale Jr. and Noah Beery Jr. as jocks pursuing Downs, are saddled with dull material or don't have that much to do. It's also marred by a few black stereotype jokes with a porter (Dudley Dickerson) near the end. 

The Big Finale: The not-bad numbers alone makes this worth checking out for fans of Langford or the music of the 30's and 40's. 

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it can pretty much be found anywhere, including streaming for free on Tubi and Pluto TV.

DVD

Pluto TV On Demand

Tubi

Let's Go Collegiate

Monogram Pictures, 1941

Starring Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, Jackie Moran, and Frank Sully

Directed by Jean Yarbrough

Music by Edward Kay; Lyrics by Harry Tobias

The Story: Frankie (Darro) and Tad (Moran) are members of Rawley College's rowing crew who eagerly await the arrival of star rower Bob Terry. When they learn Terry's been drafted, they desperately recruit truck driver Hercules "Herk" Bevans (Sully) to pose as Terry. It works for the party their girlfriends Bess (Jones) and Midge (Gale Storm) hold for Terry, but Bevans gets terribly seasick and hasn't had a high school class in years. The boys bring him seasickness pills and put their own academic careers on the line to help tutor him. Despite this, he ends up very popular with the kids on campus. Bess and Midge even get "engaged" to him at the same time. As it turns out, not only does Bevans have a criminal background, but Frankie may risk losing the big Regatta  

The Song and Dance: Once again, we're offered a nice variation on some school movie tropes. I don't think I've ever seen another college movie that revolves around rowing. Rawley is also a surprisingly diverse campus for 1941, with Asian Keye Luke prominent as Tad and Frankie's good friend and the assistant for Coach Walsh (Barton Yarbourough) Buck Wing (and not played for stereotypes) and African-American driver Mantan Moreland basically considered to be one of the gang. Look for Frank Faylen of It's a Wonderful Life as one of the men who eventually call Bevans out as a crook. 

Favorite Number: Storm does get into the bouncy uptempo ballad "Look What You've Done to Me" with Moran's band at the party to introduce "Terry." Jones and Moran join Moreland and sassy maid Marguerite Whitten for "Let's Do a Little Dreamin'." 

What I Don't Like: This movie has the (slightly) stronger story, but the music is limited to three dull band numbers shoehorned in to give Moran's orchestra something to do. Darro still looks too old to be playing college kids, though the rest of the cast is more passable. Some of Moreland's stereotypical lines are pretty wince-inducing today, especially compared to how well Luke is treated. And considering Bevans is neither attractive, nor an especially pleasant character, the entire side plot with how both girls dump their boys to marry him comes off as ridiculous rather than romantic. 

The Big Finale: I mildly recommend Co-Ed over this for the better music and cast, but they're both enjoyable enough time-wasters for fans of 40's musicals or people looking for something fluffy and fun to watch on streaming. 

Home Media: Though it's also in the public domain, streaming seems to be your best bet for this one. It's free with a subscription to Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)

MGM, 1969

Starring Peter O'Toole, Petula Clark, Sian Philips, and Michael Redgrave

Directed by Herbert Ross

Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

MGM kicked around the idea of doing a musical remake of their hit 1939 film since at least 1951. They pulled it out again after the success of My Fair Lady around 1964 for Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, but that version also fell through. Even after pre-production finally began in 1968, they ran through directors and leads before finally settling on Clark, O'Toole, and in his first film, Ross. They couldn't have picked a worse time to release the movie, too. It came out just as epic traditional musicals were quickly becoming albatrosses on both sides of the Atlantic. Does it still deserve to be shunned today? Let's begin with Mr. Chipping (O'Toole) as he greets the boys at Brookfield School just outside of London and find out...

The Story: Arthur Chipping teaches Latin, but he can't seem to get across to his pupils, who find him dull. He's married to his work, until he meets music hall star Kathrine Bridges (Clark) in the dining room at the Savoy Hotel in London. They encounter each other again at Pompeii during his summer vacation. She's on a cruise to escape her most recent lover and a life that no longer satisfies her. He's mystified by her; she's delighted with him and asks him to see her show in London. Even though he thinks they have nothing in common, he still returns to Brookfield with a lovely new wife on his arm. 

His students think Mrs. Chips is gorgeous and are all happy to see that she manages to soften his rougher edges, making them both far more popular among the student body. Katherine is not popular with the straight-laced faculty, however. Lord Sutterwick (George Baker) threatens to withhold a large donation to the school because of Kathrine's background. Katherine is shocked and runs off, but she and Chipping end up getting help from her friend Ursula Mossback (Phillips) who knew Sutterwick years before. 

Chipping and Katherine are married for 20 happy years after that. By 1939, war is on the horizon, but his mind is mainly on becoming headmaster. Unfortunately, in retaliation for him insisting on remaining married to Katherine, they choose conservative William Baxter (Jack Hedley) instead. Chipping does finally get the longed-for promotion...but Katherine doesn't live to see it. Mr. Chips still has his students, his "hundreds of boys" who now adore him, and he lives out his life taking care of them and with his happy memories.

The Song and Dance: Considering current reviews tend to compare it unfavorably it to the classic 1939 film, I actually found this to be very sweet and touching. I figured O'Toole would be miscast, but he surprisingly makes a wonderful Chipping, alternately cold, awkward, and charming. He completely deserved his Oscar nomination. Clark simply glows as the stage star who loves Chipping so much, she's willing to give up her posh life to be a schoolmaster's wife. Phillips (Peter O'Toole's real-life wife at the time) is hilarious in her brief but memorable role as Ursula, who is always on, even when she's a little off. The cinematography is incredible, especially those long shots of the two in Pompeii and London. Authentic locations in Italy, London, and an actual public school go a long way towards enhancing the performances.

Favorite Number: "Fill the World With Love" is the school's song and the movie's theme. This stirring chorus number is heard many times over the course of the film, notably after the boys arrive at school in the opening and when Katherine bursts into a solo during the faculty introduction after Chipping comes to Brookfield with her. Katherine's big number in the music hall show is the rousing "London Is London." This is the film's sole large production number, with her leading the chorus through every conceivable British stereotype, from buskers in studded costumes to English beauties in gossamer pink. 

Katherine gets a series of ballads reflecting her tumultuous thoughts in Pompeii as Arthur shows her the town, including "And the Sky Smiled" during a montage of their stroll and her brief prayer to "Apollo." His solos are "Where Did My Childhood Go?" as he wonders how to connect with his students, and "What a Lot of Flowers" after he marries her and starts to see color in his gray academic world. The boys reflect on what wonderful things they'll do "When I Am Older" after their school vacation ends and join Mrs. Chips for the rousing "Schooldays" at an assembly saluting the retiring schoolmaster (Redgrave). She sings the touching "You and I" as they discuss their 20-year union and his near-resignation. 

Trivia: Director Herbert Ross' first film.

MGM cut the movie to two hours after its initial road show run didn't go over well, including many musical numbers that explained the characters' inner thoughts. Thankfully, all current streaming, cable, and DVD prints are of the full 2 1/2 hour film. 

After Julie Andrews proved unavailable, MGM wanted to reunite Rex Harrison and Samantha Eggar from Doctor Doolittle. Harrison wouldn't do it, so they went with Richard Burton. They replaced Eggar with Lee Remick, then replaced Remick with Petula Clark. Remick sued for damages. Burton wouldn't work with a music star and dropped out, to be replaced by O'Toole. At one point, Elizabeth Taylor campaigned for the female lead, likely to work with her husband again. Others considered for Chipping included Albert Finney, Peter Sellars, Christopher Plummer, Richard Harris, and Paul Scofield. 

Bricusse wrote "London Is London" for a Sherlock Holmes stage musical. The show finally debuted in 1989 with the song intact. 

An English stage version in 1982 restored the original plot and several songs cut from the film.

What I Don't Like: Note that "restored the original plot." This makes a lot of changes from the 1933 James Hilton novella and 1939 MGM non-musical film. For one thing, the book and the film begin in the 1870's, with Chipping's first day at school, not when he's already an established faculty member. Katherine is in barely a half-hour of the film. She's a suffragette, not a singer. She and Chipping are only married five years before she dies in childbirth, not twenty. The book also has a lot more focus on Chipping and how he winds the boys over.

In fact, this is one of the few times I wish one of these epic road show musicals could have been even longer! They skip over so much. I would have liked to have seen how that meeting with the governor about Lord Sutterwick's withdrawn donations went and at least a montage of how Arthur and Katherine weathered the Depression. (Maybe that's why two later versions made for the BBC in 1984 and 2002 were mini-series.)

The Big Finale: It may not be equal to the 1939 movie, but it still has many of its own charms, including two intense leading performances and stunning cinematography. I'm glad this underrated romance is finally getting its due. Highly recommended for fans of the two stars or the extra-long musicals of the 60's and 70's. 

Home Media: Both 1939 and 1969 versions of Chips are easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - College Swing

Paramount, 1938

Starring Gracie Allen, George Burns, Bob Hope, and Martha Raye

Directed by Raoul Walsh

Music and Lyrics by various

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be going on vacation hiatus from September 22nd through the 28th. To make up for it, you'll be getting an extra review a week this month, starting tomorrow.

This week, we're taking four very different looks at musicals about education, starting with this wacky ode to colleges. George Burns and Gracie Allen are not the first people you'd associate with a musical about college life, but then again, this isn't your typical college. At least, not after Gracie gets her hands on it. Let's turn back the clock to 1738, as Gracie Alden (Allen) fails school for the 9th time, and find out just how this particular bit of big band blarney came to be...

The Story: Gracie's grandfather is so fed up with her inability to pass, he leaves the school to the first female of the family to graduate within 200 years. That brings us to the present Gracie Alden (Allen), who is being tutored by fast-talking teacher Bud Brady (Hope). To everyone's shock, she does manage to pass and inherit the school. She immediately does away with entrance exams and encourages Bud to hire wacky teachers like Madame Teresa Teresa (Raye), aka former singer Mable, and acrobatic phys ed teacher Ben Volt (Ben Blue). 

Needless to say, none of this goes over well with the actual professors, especially woman-hating Hubert Dash (Edward Everett Horton). He pulls his nephew (John Payne) from school and sets up a second test for Gracie. Bud's determined she should pass this exam, even if he has to use underhanded means to do it. 

The Song and Dance: The terrific cast alone makes this worth checking out. This is one of the rare times Allen and Burns get to be front and center, or at least, Allen is, and they run with it. Allen is adorable as the scatterbrained heiress who just wants to see everyone get a fair chance at an education, even her. Hope and Raye may be even funnier as the fast-talking pair who don't want to let Allen blow their opportunity to make big money. Look for future 20th Century Fox stars Betty Grable as a student and John Payne as Dash's handsome nephew Martin Bates. 

Favorite Number: We open with the colonial children's choir in 1738 performing a traditional version of "The Old School Bell." One enterprising lad (Robert Mitchell) tries a little jazz scat, but Horton scolds him. Martin gets two sweet duets with dean's daughter Ginna Ashburn (Florence George), the romantic "I Fall In Love With You Every Day" and comic "What Did Romeo Say to Juliet?" George also gets to introduce the lovely "Moments Like This" early in the film after Martin serenades her during a fraternity initiation prank. 

Raye and Hope get their own comic duet after he hires her, "How'd Ya Like to Love Me?," that ends with them literally walking through his office door. Allen joins Horton in his car on the way back from a nightclub that "You're a Natural" with ladies, then proceeds to dance a hilarious jig right on the dirt road to "Irish Washerwoman." Raye and Blue wonder "What a Rhumba Does to Romance" as they entertain faculty and students at the school dance. 

The movie begins and ends with the title song. Betty Grable and her then-husband Jackie Coogan dance to it at the local soda shoppe "The Hangout" in the opening while big band leader Skinnay Ennis and his orchestra play alone. The huge finale has Raye singing with Ennis while the kids, Burns, Allen, Blue, and Horton dance along, then walk towards the camera. 

Trivia: Filmed on location at UCLA in Los Angeles. Matte paintings of buildings and towers were added to backgrounds to make the college look larger. 

What I Don't Like: The barely-there story exists for Allen and Hope to do their goofy and wiseguy shtick respectively. Once again, Allen is largely solo and barely interacts with George, though she does have a good scene with him as she takes the second exam. Grable and Coogan barely have anything to do beyond their numbers (Coogan doesn't even have a line), and though Payne does manage to show some of the charm he'd display in his 20th Century Fox musicals a decade later, he's still the designated love interest, complete with some very stiff dialogue. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out for the numbers alone if you love Burns and Allen, Hope, Raye, or swing music. 

Home Media: Currently DVD-only via the made-to-order Universal Vault series.

DVD

Happy Labor Day! - If I Had My Way

Universal, 1940

Starring Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean, Charles Winninger, and El Brendel

Directed by David Butler

Music and Lyrics by various

With many people changing careers or looking for different forms of work, it makes sense to celebrate Labor Day this year with a musical about a construction worker who finds equal happiness constructing a life for a little girl. Crosby convinced Paramount to let him make a movie a year outside of his contract as an independent producer. This is his second and last independent film released by Universal. 

It also features Gloria Jean, one of several child sopranos Universal showcased after their wild success with Deanna Durbin's vehicles. Swedish comedian El Brendel moved to Universal as a freelancer after his popularity with 20th Century Fox petered out. Let's start with Buzz Blackwell (Crosby) narrating a film showing himself and his buddies Axel Swenson (Brendel) and Fred Johnson (Donald Woods) clowning while building the Golden Gate Bridge and find out how well all this works together...

The Story: Tragically, Fred dies in an accident shortly before the Bridge is completed. Buzz and Axel take his daughter Patricia (Jean) cross-country to live with her Uncle Jarvis (Allyn Joslyn) in New York. Turns out Jarvis and his wife Brenda (Claire Dodd) are spoiled rich socialites with no interest in raising a child. They send the trio to his uncle Joe (Winninger) and his wife Marian (Nana Bryant). They're more than happy to have her, but they're ex-vaudevillians with no money. Buzz wants to give them the money Fred left for Pat, but Axel gets drunk and ends up buying his old friend's Swedish restaurant instead. 

The restaurant isn't a success, until Buzz comes up with the idea of turning it into a nightclub and highlighting former vaudeville performers like Joe and Marian. He sells an eager Jarvis shares of a gold mining venture. Turns out the shares are a fraud...but the nightclub is already up and running. Axel and Patricia do what they can to keep Jarvis at bay and let the show go on!

The Song and Dance: I'm surprised at how sweet and charming this is. This is the second Crosby film I've seen where he doesn't get the girl, or even have a traditional love interest. The focus is on his relationship with Pat. Jean is adorable and very funny as the sensible tomboy who badly wants to stay with the people she loves, and Crosby works well with her. And while the nightclub acts in the end do come off as filler, they're also genuine stage history. We get to hear vaudeville headliner Blanche Ring and real-life minstrel performer Eddie Leonard do the songs they made famous, and catch glimpses of two other vaudeville favorites who seldom appeared in sound films, Trixie Frigenza and Julian Eltinge, as well. 

Favorite Number: Buzz and Pat sing the comic ditty "Meet the Sun Half-Way" twice, once in the beginning of the film at a party celebrating the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge, and again in the end at the nightclub. The two and Axel claim "I Haven't Got Time to Be a Millionaire" when they come to Jarvis' palatial penthouse in New York and wonder how he made his fortune. Buzz and the Johnsons describe "The Pessimistic Character," a sourpuss who hates everyone, while eating dinner at the Swedish restaurant. Buzz gently performs the standard title ballad to Pat after she worries about him leaving. Blanche Ring revives her old "Rings On My Fingers" routine with Six Hits and a Miss at the nightclub, who also join Bing for "April Played the Fiddle."

What I Don't Like: The story is sweet but cliched. If you've ever seen Shirley Temple's vehicles or Bing's other movies from this time, you have an idea of what to expect. The sequences with the vaudeville performers in the end may be history, but they also likely exist to pad out the wafer-thin second half. There's also Eddie Leonard doing his number in blackface. It's part of the minstrel tradition, but more people will likely be offended nowadays than nostalgic. El Brendel's Swedish hayseed jokes still had their fans in 1940, but nowadays, they tend to come off as annoying, dated, and overdone. 

The Big Finale: One of the hidden gems in Bing's filmography, this is worth seeing for some good songs and his chemistry with Gloria Jean alone.

Home Media: Only on DVD as a solo Universal Vault title and as part of a Bing Crosby collection.

DVD - Universal Vault

DVD - Bing Crosby: Screen Legend Collection

Catalina Caper

Crown International Pictures, 1967

Starring Tommy Kirk, Del Moore, Peter Duyrea, and Robert Donner

Directed by Lee Sholem

Music and Lyrics by various

We move offshore to Southern California's Santa Catalina Island for our next summer party adventure. The Beach Party movies proved to be such a sensation, almost every studio in town tried to toss their own contracted teens into beach-bound drive-in fodder. Like American International, Crown International specialized in foreign releases, thrillers, and exploitation films made for outdoor and older theaters. How does their mystery beach party compare to the ones AIP released? To find out, let's start at a museum in Los Angeles where a robbery is in progress and find out...

The Story: Don Pringle (Kirk) finds himself in the middle of several wild adventures when he and his friends take the ferry to Santa Catalina Island for the summer. The thief, portly and brightly-dressed Larry (Jim Begg), brings the scroll to con-artists Arthur (Moore) and Anne (Sue Casey) Duval. They intend to exchange the Chinese scroll he stole for a fake and sell it to Greek art collector Dino Lakopolos (Lee Deane). Lakopolis, however, picks up on what's going on pretty quickly and sends his own man Borman (Peter Mamakos) to retrieve the scroll. Duval's son Tad (Duryea), Don, and their friends are determined to find the scroll themselves and return it to its rightful place in the museum. 

Meanwhile, Don falls for a frigid European beauty (Ulla Stromstedt) who already has a hunk of a boyfriend (Lyle Waggoner), his friend Charlie Moss (Brian Draper) attracts every girl from miles around, Charlie's sister Tina (Venita Wolf) develops a crush on Don, and an agent named Fingers (Donner) who is also after the scroll keeps ending up on his face or in the water.

The Song and Dance: Mystery Science Theater 3000 covered this early in their second season. Even they had a hard time arguing with some aspects of this. Little Richard may have looked stoned, but his random appearance brought genuine talent and excitement to the first half. I do give them credit for attempting some originality. Even AIP never had Frankie and Annette dealing with art thieves and heist capers. It does make for an action-packed second half as everyone, from the kids to Duval and Larry to Lakopolos' goon Borman, goes after the scroll. I also toss out kudos to the creative animated opening credits that are pretty darn cute. 

Favorite Number: Little Richard seems a little too laid-back as he comes down to the kids on the ferry to announce it's time for a "Scuba Party," to the point where Joel and the robots wonder if he ingested a few slightly less-than-legal substances before filming began. Rock group the Cascades were on the verge of breaking up when they announced "There's a New World" while the kids gyrate wildly on the boat. Carol Connors joins the Cascades to tell the kids about "The Book of Love" during a concert at the docks. Mary Wells sings the ballad "Never Steal Anything Wet" over the beginning and end credits.

Trivia: The ferry boat the kids partied on was, indeed, the real S.S Catalina that took people from LA to Santa Catalina Island from 1924 to 1975. It transported more passengers than any ship in history before being retired in 1975. It passed back and forth between California and Mexico before it broke free of its moorings in 1997 and ran aground. The owners abandoned it for a decade before they finally broke it up for scrap in 2009.

What I Don't Like: I'm afraid you need the jokes from Joel, Crow, and Tom Servo to make some sense of the strange and dull plot. The three main stories have nothing whatsoever to do with each other, and Kirk is clearly bored. The musical numbers are even more shoehorned in, without even the vague attempts at plot relevance in the AIP films. Fingers the agent was likely an attempt at a random Buster Keaton pantomime character (as in Beach Blanket Bingo), but while Donner proved to be an adept comedian in later TV shows like Mork & Mindy, he's no Buster Keaton. 

The Big Finale: Only if you're a really, really huge fan of Kirk, the Beach Party movies, or the early Joel seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000. 

Home Media: Can be found on DVD with three other MS3K episodes skewering Crown International movies and solo on streaming. 

DVD - Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume One 

Amazon Prime