Starring Gale Storm, The Three Stooges (Moe and Curly Howard and Larry Fine), Phil Regan, and Edward Brophy
Directed by Phil Karlson
Music and Lyrics by various
Jukebox musicals go back much further than most people realize. Many very early stage musicals had songs culled from the popular hits of the day. As late as the early 30's, musical comedies on stage, even ones that weren't revues, often tended to be jumbles of whatever hit songs the producers could get their hands on. The situation was changing in New York by the 1940's as more composers followed Rogers and Hammerstein's lead and wrote all of the music for the whole show, but the Poverty Row studios frequently couldn't afford this route.
Monogram did manage to get popular radio singer Storm and borrowed the Three Stooges from Columbia for what is a relatively lavish affair for them. How does the story of a singer who finds herself mixed up with a new nightclub and three very goofy waiters look today? Let's begin with Carol Lawrence (Storm), the young lady in question, as she's being evicted from her apartment for not paying the rent and find out...
The Story: Carol goes to millionaire Daniel Warren (Russell Hicks) for a secretarial job. He ends up hiring her to deliver an eviction notice to his son Danny Warren Jr. (Regan) that would close the nightclub he's been working on. Warren Sr. wants his son to join him in the family business. Gale is first hauled off by the three dishwashers (The Three Stooges) Danny hired, then faints from hunger.
After she realizes how kind they've all been to her and that Danny never touched her, she agrees to audition as a singer. She passes...but she still hasn't served that eviction notice. Daniel Sr. goes to the club to find out what's going on, but after the Stooges throw him out, he's more convinced than ever that his son needs to close down and come home. Wealthy patron Marie Finch (Mary Treen) is the one who finally gets through to him and makes him understand that there's no harm in going out and having a little fun once in a while.
The Song and Dance: This was much better than I figured it would be from the low-budget pedigree. Storm is reasonably charming. Brophy plays it to the hilt as the stage manager determined to keep the Stooges in line and process servers out, while Treen runs with her rare chance to portray a relatively sophisticated lady instead of a maid or secretary. Curly Howard is a bit peppier and like his old self here than he was in the shorts the Stooges made at Columbia around this time, maybe because they aren't the whole show. Monogram even brought in a couple of real hit bands and singers, including Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five and Connie Boswell.
Favorite Number: We don't get our first real number until almost 15 minutes in, but it's Storm singing "Oh Brother" at the audition. Almost all of the other songs are performed at the nightclub. Boswell ladles her throbbing contralto into "Stormy Weather" twice, in her solo performance and in the big finale. Louis Jordan and his boys are really glowing when their instruments light up for "Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule." They have the hit "Caldonia" earlier.
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" turns into one of the show's big numbers, with dancers swinging in glittery star-trimmed costumes as they swing around Storm. Treen gets to join Will Osborne and His Orchestra to remind Carol and Danny that "A Tender Word Will Mend It All" and "Just a Little Fond Affection" will do their relationship a world of good. Danny's big ballad is "Small World." He finally joins Carol for "After All This Time" in the finale.
Trivia: There's a colorized version (which is what I watched).
Rifftrax did a show around this as Swing Parade.
What I Don't Like: Many Stooge fans aren't really big on this film and wish they had more to do besides chasing Storm off a few times. I wish Regan was as much fun as them. He's about as interesting as the cardboard nightclub sets. Obviously, this isn't for someone who wants a stronger story. It's also not for those who aren't fans of the Stooges or the big band and swing music of the 30's and 40's.
The Big Finale: Fun time-waster if you're a big Stooge fan or really love big band and swing music.
Home Media: On DVD from the Warner Archives. It can currently be found streaming for free on Tubi.
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