Two for Tonight

Paramount, 1935

Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Bennett, Mary Boland, and Lynne Overmann

Directed by Frank Tuttle

Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

Bing was at the height of his early success as a crooner when he made this short movie for Paramount. By this point, Paramount was beginning to codify just what Bing's movies were all about. They needed a goofy supporting cast, a girl for Bing to sing to (whether he actually gets her in the end or not), and some good songs that would make it on the hit parade. This was pretty much the prototype for Bing's vehicles during the 1930's. This may be the most typical of them. Just how does this confection about a songwriter who has to write a show for a demanding star in just a few days look now? Let's begin with Mrs. Smythe (Boland) as she tries to chase off a census-taker at her door and find out...

The Story: Mrs. Smythe has three sons by three different husbands, and they're trying to make ends meet by selling their songs. One day, as the eldest Gilbert Gordon (Crosby) is trying to perform a number for producer Alexander Myles (Maurice Cass) when a plane hits the tree he was singing next to. Gilbert ends up in the hospital, leading his mother to claim he was working on a musical and get $50,000 from the pilot.

Turns out the pilot's a woman, Bobbie Lockwood (Bennett), who can pay them 15 a week...but can also get them in to see her boss Harry Kling (Overmann), a Broadway producer. Kling's having a hard time finding a suitable musical for his actress girlfriend Lily Bianco (Thelma Todd) and thinks Gilbert's show would be perfect. Trouble is, Gilbert never wrote a show, but Kling thinks that the plane incident is the plot. He asks the butler Homps (Ernest Cossart) for ideas, and even starts a riot to get arrested. Even after he gets out, he gets into trouble with Bobbie and Kling when rehearsing a love scene with Lily and Kling walks out. It looks like the show won't go on, until his mother convinces a most unlikely backer to step forward.

The Song and Dance: For a movie lasting a little over an hour, this almost has more plot than Wicked: For Good! There's a lot going on here, including some genuinely good songs. Bing is charming as the eldest son who gets caught up in the lunacy, while Mary Boland is hilarious as his much-married mother who will do anything to get money for her boys. In fact, this has a bit more comedy than usual for one of Bing's movies, including that goofy sequence with the airplane drowning Bing out and how the riot in the nightclub gets started.

The Numbers: We open with Bing performing the title song over the credits. The brothers compose "Takes Two to Make a Bargain" as their mother deals with the census man. It includes several lines that are either spoofs of other songs, or referring to the piano being repossessed even as they work. Gilbert reprises it on the tree that gets drowned out by first a bee, then the airplane. He sings "From the Top of Your Head" to Bobbie while trying to come up with ideas for the play. The lovely ballad "Without a Word of Warning" is Gilbert's attempt to woo Bobbie, but she thinks he's interested in Lily. He performs "I Wish I Was Aladdin" with the prisoners while in jail in the film's only large-scale chorus number. Gilbert reprises "Word of Warning" near the end to win Bobbie back.

What I Don't Like: Um, yeah, for all the crazy stuff that happens, this is about as fluffy as you can get, even by the standards of 30's musicals. Bennett makes slightly more of an impression as strong-willed Bobbie than Todd as Lily, who doesn't have that much to do. The second half is far less interesting as the attempt to put on the show takes a backseat to Gilbert chasing Bobbie while Lily chases him. 

The Big Finale: Harmless hour's worth of fun if you're a fan of Bing or Joan Bennett or want to check out a smaller-scale 30's musical.

Home Media: Maybe it's just as well that the only place you can currently find this one is on YouTube with Portuguese subtitles. 

YouTube

Back to School Again - She Loves Me Not

Paramount, 1934

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

Directed by Benjamin Glazer

Music and Lyrics by various

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

YouTube 

Happy Father's Day! - Here Comes the Groom (1951)

Paramount, 1951

Starring Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Robert Keith, and James Barton

Directed by Frank Capra

Music and Lyrics by various

Frank Tashlin was not the only major director who took a crack at musicals in the 1950's. We saw the first Crosby-Capra collaboration, Riding High, last month for Kentucky Derby weekend. This one might be even more likely for the duo. First of all, this time, we have original material, rather than a remake of an earlier Capra film. There's also a better cast, including Wyman and Alexis Smith as two of the stronger female characters in a Crosby film, and a genuinely effecting story that related to the realities of the post-war era. How does the story of a correspondent who adopts two children, then tries to convince his ex-fiancee to be their mother come off now? Let's begin with switchboard operators putting journalist Pete Garvey (Crosby) through to his boss George Degan (Keith) and find out...

The Story: Pete, who has been helping to find homes for children in a Paris orphanage, is especially enamored by little Bobby (Jacques Gencel) and his sister Suzi (Beverly Washington). He wants to adopt them, but first red tape holds up him getting the kids' birth certificates, then he finds out he has to marry within five days, or the adoption will be void. He thinks his fiancee Emmadel Jones (Wyman) will leap back into his arms, but she's tired of waiting for him and has agreed to marry wealthy Wilbur Stanley (Franchot Tone). After she bonds with the kids, Pete and George work with Wilbur's fourth cousin twice removed Winifred Stanley (Alexis Smith) and Emmadel's alcoholic seaman father William (Barton) to make Emmadel understand that she doesn't belong with the aristocratic Stanleys and that she gets married to the man who loves her for what she is. 

The Song and Dance: Good music and charming performances highlight this exploration into what one man will do to keep his children. Though Crosby comes off well as the newspaper man scheming to marry Emmy, it's the ladies who walk off with this one. No-nonsense Wyman plays off Crosby beautifully as the woman who is tired of waiting for Pete to get away from his work and notice her, and Smtih is such a riot later in the film as Wilbur's hopeful cousin, especially when she and Wyman wrestle each other, you wish she was in more of the movie. Barton and Connie Gilchrist as Emmadel's blousy parents are the other stand-outs, with their salty humor making a wonderful contrast to exasperated Keith and smooth Tone.

The Numbers: We open at the orphanage, with Pete convincing a man from the Boston Symphony Orchestra to adopt budding opera singer Teresa (Anna Maria Alberghetti) rather than Bobby. Her "Caro Nome" is so lovely, especially for someone who may barely be in double-digits, no wonder they took her on the spot. Pete cheers up the kids by telling them about "Your Own Little House." "Misto Cristofo Columbus" gives us an all-star jam session on the plane to the US singing the comic jazz ditty on Christopher Columbus, including Dorothy Lamour, Louis Armstrong, Cass Daiey, and Phil Harris. "Bonne Nuit - Good Night" is Pete's song at the wedding rehearsal.

The standard here is "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." It won an Oscar in 1951, and you can understand from the three times it's heard. The most prominent is the big number with Emmadel and Pete in Wilbur's office. Pete is trying to get her back...and she is almost ready to buy it, after they perform this charming, upbeat ballad together, dancing all around the office furniture.

What I Don't Like: This movie is way too long for what amounts to a romantic farce. They spend too much time with dress rehearsals and in the orphanage and not on the story. Though Pete's genuine fondness for the kids does show through, the way he tries to force Emmadel to marry him after she already had someone else is ridiculous and a bit dated nowadays. Frankly, she and Smith come off better than obnoxious Crosby and blandly manipulative Tone. Also, this is not one of Capra's better efforts. It has even fewer of his touches than Riding High.

The Big Finale: Not Bing's best vehicle, but still recommended for fans of him or the ladies if you love lower-key 50's musicals. 

Home Media: Streaming or a two-movie set with the other Crosby-Wyman musical Just for You may be your best bet for this nowadays.

DVD - Just for You/Here Comes the Groom

Amazon Prime

Riding High (1950)

Paramount, 1950

Starring Bing Crosby, Coleen Gray, Clarence Muse, and Raymond Walburn

Directed by Frank Capra

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen and others; Lyrics by Johnny Burke and others

Bing Crosby's other release of 1950 also had him playing a guy who preferred a "lesser" career or no career to working in an office and was a remake of an earlier non-musical comedy, but is otherwise a different animal...literally, given this one has Bing as the caretaker to a beloved race horse. It was a subject near and dear to Bing's heart. He was a huge horse racing fan and owned many horses in real-life. Capra originally filmed this in 1934 Broadway Bill with Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy, but he was never happy with that version. How well does he do with this retelling? Let's begin after seeing horses racing in the credits with a secretary calling all of the sons-in-law of J.L Higgins (Charles Bickford) for a family meeting...including one who isn't on the job...and find out...

The Story: Dan Brooks (Crosby) gives up managing Higgins' box company and marrying his daughter Margaret (Frances Gifford) so he can devote himself to racing his newest horse Broadway Bill. He and his partner Whitey (Muse) want to race Bill in the Imperial Derby, but they need money. They try to get it from Professor Pettigrew (Walburn), but he's a con-man who doesn't have much more than they do. Even when they do get the money, Bill ends up throwing his rider and running from the track.

Dan is determined to try again, but they're even more broke now. Whitey tries gambling, but he's beaten instead. Alice does manage to get the money, but it's no use. Bill is carted away and Dan winds up in jail...until a sick but wealthy man (Gene Lockhart) thinks Bill is a sure shot and bets on him. Now gangster Eddie Howard (Douglas Dumbrille) would rather his own horses win. Dan still insists that his jockey Ted Williams (Frankie Darro) get Bill across the finish line...but pushing the horse to do so ends up having tragic consequences.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a pleasant surprise. Bing fits in far better here as a race track fan who loves his horse than he did as a songwriter in Mr. Music. He's more than matches by a terrific cast of character actors, many of them reprising their roles from the original film. Walburn is a delightfully twinkly and befuddled Professor, Muse manages to be dignified even when he's been ripped to shreds for gambling, and William Demarest gets some very funny lines as one of Dan's race track buddies. I even like that the ending gets a little bit dark. It does ultimately end on a happy note, but most of the final twenty minutes are more bitter than sweet. 

The Numbers: Our first song isn't until almost ten minutes in, but it's the lovely ballad "It's a Sure Thing," which Dan sings as he dresses for the family meeting. Whitey starts off "Someplace On Anywhere Road" while he and Dan drive Broadway Bill to the races. Dan eventually joins in. He and the Professor sing Yale's "Whiffenpoof Song" to get out of paying their restaurant receipt. Alice, Whitey, and Dan cheerfully sing and dance as they make a "Sunshine Cake" in the guys' ramshackle shack...before it starts raining. "The Horse Told Me" is a chorus number for Dan and everyone at the track the night before the big race. Dan, Alice, and Whitey are joined by a group of kids for "Camptown Races" as they walk Bill to the track.

Trivia: Look for Oliver Hardy in a rare solo cameo as a gambler at the first race.

Final film for venerable character actor Harry Davenport, who died three months after filming ended, radio comedian Ish Kabibble (M.A Bogue), and Frances Gifford.

What I Don't Like: Capra's not quite firing on all cylinders here. Apparently, a lot of footage is reused from the original Broadway Bill, including scenes at the track and sequences with Dumbrille and Walburn. It was due to budget concerns, but many people online complain that it looks cheaper. Gray is cute and does "Sunshine Cake" well with the guys, but she's certainly no Myrna Loy, who originated the role. Gifford has even less to do. Muse's dignity and Dan treating him like an equal partner does make his slightly stereotypical role a lot easier to take. 

The Big Finale: Not Capra's greatest achievement, but this is one of Bing's better musicals from later in his career. Check it out this Kentucky Derby weekend if you're a fan of Capra, Crosby, or the original Broadway Bill. 

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Mr. Music

Paramount, 1950

Starring Bing Crosby, Nancy Olsen, Charles Coburn, and Ruth Hussey

Directed by Richard Haydn 

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

We move from the early spring holidays to the busier late spring and early summer season with our reviews this week, kicking off with two of Bing Crosby's lesser-known vehicles from 1950. Our first is based on the 1935 Broadway comedy Accent On Youth, where an older playwright fell for his younger secretary. It wasn't much of a stretch to turn the playwright into a songwriter and tailor it to Crosby's laid-back persona. How well does he work in this all-star comedy that also includes several big cameos at the end? Let's begin with the announcement that producer Alex Conway (Coburn) is going to produce Paul Merrick's (Crosby) first musical in three years and find out...

The Story: Alex and Paul visit Paul's old alma mater Lawford College, where they're putting on one of his older shows. The school's no-nonsense valedictorian Katherine Holbrook (Olsen) demands that he adds a phrase about her boyfriend and champion athlete Jeff Blake (Robert Stack) in one of his songs. Paul's more comfortable joining in on the production. 

Worried that Paul will spend more time on the golf course than working, Alex hires Kate as his secretary to keep him on track. Paul would rather lavish money on his girlfriend Lorna Mavis (Hussey). Lorna finally decides she prefers someone who actually has the money to spend and leaves Paul for millionaire Tippy Carpenter (Donald Woods), the show's backer. After Jeff arrives, Paul tries to get Kate interested in Jeff, but she prefers more worldly Paul. 

Paul tries to push her towards Jeff again when Lorna returns, but then Kate learns that Tippy pulls his money from the show. Kate's Aunt Amy (Ida Moore) tries to interest her wealthy and eccentric friend Jerome Thisbee (Haydn) in being the back, while the Friar's Club and an all-star array of Hollywood luminaries stage it for a benefit. Kate is still ready to run, but "Mr. Music" may still have some surprises up his sleeve, especially when Lorna realizes she really does love money more than him.

The Song and Dance: With a story that pedestrian, the song and some decent performances are the only saving graces here. Half the reason to see this is for those cameos at the end, including Dorothy Kirsten and some very funny lines from Groucho Marx. The other is the supporting cast. Moore is fun as the dotty old dear who knows her niece's heart better than the girl does, while Tom Ewell has some good moments as Paul's valet and chauffeur who doesn't appreciate his boss calling him "Cupcake." Olsen makes for a nice strong-willed college student, too.

The Numbers: Our first big routine is "Once More the Blue and White." Paul joins in Lawford's school song, before he realizes that the kids are actually cheering on Jeff. The students (including a young Norma Zimmer) perform "Milady" in Paul's ancient Viennese-style operetta. Paul comes onstage for "And You'll Be Home." He tells Lorna that she's "High On the List" at a swank nightclub, then reprises it out of pure anger when Kate tells him to sit down and start writing or else. She finally gets a song out of him, "Wouldn't It Be Funny," which he performs to Lorna after she visits his apartment. 

"Accidents Will Happen" turns up twice. Paul sings it to himself on a tape recording as he and Kate work on the instrumentation. He and Dorothy Kirsten reprise it in a big number near the end of the movie, complete with lavish sets. We get a tiny bit of "Wasn't I There?" from Paul before he and Peggy Lee sing the charming "Life Is So Peculiar." Marge and Gower Champion get a nifty routine to it in the apartment afterwards. Paul and Groucho Marx reprise it hilariously near the end of the film, following an equally delightful run-through by the Merry Macs. The chorus gets the title song. 

What I Don't Like: Some cute numbers aside, most of this movie is a crashing bore. I'm not sure what Kate saw in Paul or Jeff. Jeff was obsessed with his track titles and nothing else, while Paul was a jerk who really was too old for her. Stack did make a surprisingly energetic track star, but Crosby didn't seem terribly interested in the whole affair and had no chemistry with Olsen or Hussey. Hussey was even more bored in a thankless and underused other woman role. 

The Big Finale: Honestly, some terrific numbers and the charming "Life Is So Peculiar" aren't enough to offset a dull plot and Crosby's uninterested performance. Skip the movie and see if you can find the "Life Is So Peculiar" sequence and the finale around instead. 

Home Media: And this will be made easier by the fact that currently, the only way you can see this is on a wildly out-of-print video or on YouTube in a washed-out copy with Portuguese subtitles.

YouTube

Cult Flops - The Emperor Waltz

Paramount, 1948

Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Fontaine, Roland Culver, and Richard Haydn

Directed by Billy Wilder

Music and Lyrics by various

Our first two movies this week have a lot in common. They're historical romances from 1948 featuring major stars and directors that went through troubled productions and received mixed reviews on release. This one started with Wilder's desire to do a light-hearted musical set in his native Austria after having seen concentration camps in Europe. Crosby was Paramount's go-to musical star at the time, but not only did he have problems with Wilder, but with the fluffy script as well. How did all this effect the tale of a traveling salesman in turn-of-the-20th-century Austria who falls for a countess? Let's begin at a grand ball, where gramophone salesman Virgil Smith (Crosby) dances with the chilly Countess Joanna Franziska (Fontaine) and find out...

The Story: Smith and his white fox terrier Buttons are determined to sell their gramophone to none other than the Emperor Franz Joseph (Haydn), hoping to promote it in Austria. Meanwhile, the Countess Joanna and her father Baron Holenia (Ronald Culver) have come to mate Joanna's pure-blood poodle Schenherezade with the Emperor's poodle. Countess and poodle get into several arguments with Smith and his terrier, the last of which leaves Schenherezade sick. The doctor (Sig Ruman) recommends that she face the dog that frightened her. Joanna insists on Virgil staying in Austria so this can happen. 

Not only do the dogs fall in love, but so do their owners. Joanna is ready to run away with Virgil, until the Emperor reminds Virgil that he's a commoner and she's a noblewoman who is not accustomed to simple living. He buys his gramophone if he'll leave Joanna. Virgil lies and says he never loved her...but it becomes obvious a few months later that their dogs did. When Schenherezade has her puppies, Virgil and Buttons come around one last time to rescue them and prove to the entire Austrian court that, if you're truly in love, nothing else matters. 

The Song and Dance: Gorgeous mountain scenery (filmed in Canada), the period-accurate costumes depicting Austria during the Edwardian period, and some absolutely scrumptious Technicolor add life to this bittersweet confection. The film isn't as sugary as the fluffy story looks at first, especially in the second half, when the class distinctions come to the fore. Haydn makes an especially good Emperor, stubborn, but not uncaring. In fact, I'm actually glad the movie didn't end up painting him as the villain. All he wanted was for his dog to give him some pups. Crosby proves himself more than worthy of the drama in the second half, particularly when he lets the court have it for almost hurting innocent puppies in the name of class purity near the end. 

The Numbers: Our first number is the Johann Strauss title song, given English lyrics by Johnny Burke and danced by the royal court at the ball. It's also the song he tries to play on his gramophone before the horrified soldiers at the court mistake it for a bomb. After the dogs attack each other, he returns to the "Friendly Mountains" to yodel along and watch the local peasants dance. His attempt to encourage Joseph to "Get Yourself a Phonograph" in the woods only ends with him in trouble and Joseph missing a stag he very much wanted to hunt. His first attempt to woo Joanna is his older hit "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame." The second, the German song "The Kiss In Your Eyes," works much better, for humans and canines. It even works for the Countess' chauffeur and two female servants in the inn, who happily dance together. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention that fluffy story? The whole thing with the dogs is silly to the point of being annoying, until it takes a left turn into melodrama near the end with what they try to do to Scheherezade's puppies. No matter how much he wanted to get away from darker stories, musicals aren't really Billy Wilder's turf. He wasn't satisfied with the results, and yeah, I can understand why. The social commentary mixes awkwardly with the overly sweet story. Not only is Fontaine stiff as a board and obviously not happy to be here, she's more realistic clashing with the aloof Crosby in the first half than falling for him in the second. 

The Big Finale: This alternately pretty and bitter class war romance is likely best for huge fans of Crosby, Fontaine, or Wilder. 

Home Media: Not on legitimate streaming at press time, but easily found on DVD and Blu-Ray, the latter from Kino Lorber

DVD - The Bing Crosby Collection: The Emperor Waltz/A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court

Blu-Ray

Road to Zanzibar

Paramount, 1941

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Una Merkel

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

Once again, this was never intended to be a sequel or to feature Bing and Bob. It began life as a jungle drama about two men trekking through the jungles of Madagascar, seeking a lost Colonel. After the studio decided it was too close to the MGM  drama Stanley and Livingstone that had been released two years before, so they turned the story over to the writers of Road to Singapore instead. The adventure drama became a goofy semi-musical jungle spoof, bringing back Bing, Bob, and Dorothy and adding Una Merkel as Dorothy's fellow con-woman. How goofy is it? Let's begin with Bing over the credits singing "You Lucky People You," as he introduces us to what we're about to see...a human cannonball...and find out...

The Story: The human cannonball is "Fearless" Hubert Frazier (Hope), Chuck Reardon's (Crosby) buddy whom he talks into doing dangerous stunts for money. This one ends with a burning dummy flying into a circus tent, setting it on fire. They flee across Africa as the stunts get progressively wilder and damaging to Fearless. He's ready to pack it in when they end up broke in Kenya. Chuck buys a map to a diamond mine off a seemingly harmless wealthy older man (Eric Blore), but he turns out to be an eccentric who'll sign anything, including fake diamond mine maps. Fearless sells the map, but the men he sold it to wants him and Chuck to help them find the mine, which sends them fleeing again.

After arriving in the interior of Africa, Chuck insists they help Julia Quimby (Merkel) keep her friend Donna LaTour (Lamour) from being sold at a slave auction. Turns out they're also con-artists who use the money to keep from starving until Donna can marry her wealthy boyfriend. When the boys set off on a safari across Africa to find that mine, the girls go with them. Chuck and Fearless think Donna is interested in them, but she and Julia are really going to see her wealthy lover. The duo aren't going to take this lying down...especially when Fearless has to fight a fearsome gorilla!

The Song and Dance: This is where the Road To series as most people know it really takes shape. Not only are Bing and Bob con-men from the outset this time, but so is Dorothy...and she and Una Merkel might be even better at it. There's some great gags here, especially in the first twenty minutes or so with the increasingly outrageous stunts Chuck talks Fearless into and them ending up onstage with those ladies in feathers! This is also the first time they really acknowledge the camera and play with this being "just a movie," in this case Chuck explaining to Donna why the playback pops up during his "It's Always You" number in the boat.

Favorite Number: Chuck's "You Lucky People You" in the credits turns out to have double meaning, as we fade from him singing for the viewers to his performance for an audience that's right in front of him. Donna sings "You're Dangerous" to a smitten Fearless...but she turns out to be the one who's dangerous when she reveals why she really wants to go on safari. Chuck and the African natives who help them with their safari perform the title song and "African Etude" as they track across the jungle. Chuck and Donna are carried in litters, but Fearless and Julia don't get such preferential treatment. Bing's big ballad turns into a spoof of ballads as he sings "It's Always You" while revealing to Donna how such numbers are done in the movies during a boat ride in the jungle. 

Trivia: In 1964, the island of Zanzibar joined the mainland African country Tanganyika to become present-day Tanzania. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, like most African-set movies released during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the natives come off as little more than stereotypes who exist to either attack the white people or haul them around. Second, I wish the movie had a stronger ending. Not a whole lot happens after the guys encounter that gorilla. They just kind of wander out of the jungle, make money, and find the girls again. The songs aren't among the most memorable in the series either, other than the "Always You" boat number. 

The Big Finale: I'm going to say your interest in this one will depend on how well you can handle the dated African jungle gags. Like Singapore, this one is probably best for fans of Hope, Crosby, Lamour, or the series in general. 

Home Media: Same deal here - can be found solo on streaming and disc or as part of several DVD collections.

DVD

DVD - The Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Road To Comedy Collection

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Road to Singapore (1940)

Paramount, 1940

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Anthony Quinn

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Music by Johnny Burke, Victor Schertzinger, and James V. Monaco

We hit the road the week before my vacation with three comedies on travel featuring two of the most popular comedy teams at Paramount in the 40's and 50's. Road to Singapore was never meant to kick off a series, or even to feature Bing and Bob. It originally started out as a non-musical comedy for Jack Oakie and Fred MacMurray, then George Burns and Gracie Allen. Hope and Crosby were already friends who appeared together frequently on radio and had just done a duo act at Crosby's Del Mar Racetrack. Paramount added music and Dorothy Lamour, who was best-known at that point for starring in movies set in the South Seas, and came up with this goofy comedy about two playboys who head to a tropical island and end up involved with natives and a local dancer? Let's begin with those two as they claim they'll never get involved with women again and find out...

The Story: Josh Mallon (Crosby) would rather be fishing with his buddy Ace Lannigan (Hope) than be stuck behind a desk at his father Josh Mallon the IV's (Charles Coburn) shipping business. His fiancee Gloria (Judith Barrett) wants him to marry her, too, but he's not interested in settling down. After he and Ace are late for his engagement party and Gloria's brother (Gaylord Pendleton) starts a brawl, the duo end up fleeing for the more hospitable port of Singapore.

They get as far as the fictional island of Kaigoon before they finally run out of money. That's where they meet Mima (Lamour), a local woman whom they rescue from her abusive dance partner Caesar (Quinn). Mima proceeds to move into their home and run their lives. She even encourages them to find a job, though their attempt to sell spot remover doesn't go as planned. They've gotten together with natives when Josh's father, Gloria, and a private detective (Jerry Colonna) finally locate them. Mima thinks he doesn't love her and chooses to be with Ace, but Ace knows that's far from the truth. When Caesar gets them arrested for being on the island illegally, they flee and go in search of Josh.

The Song and Dance: The Road movies start off well right out of the gate. Some of the series' many running gags originate here, including Bing and Bob's "Patty cake" routine before knocking out bad guys, the cracks about Bing's weight, and them being more-or-less hucksters. Quinn makes such a hunky dancer, I wish he did musicals more often. Coburn also comes off well as Josh's cantankerous father, who just wants his son to continue the family line. 

Favorite Number: "Captain Custard" begins the tradition of Bing and Bob's goofy "buddy" duets that usually kick off the movies. "The Moon and the Willow Tree" is Lamour's big solo, a languid ballad she performs while keeping house for Ace and Josh. "Sweet Potato Piper" is one of three numbers in the series they perform as a trio when they try selling that spot remover. Jerry Colonna plays and (attempts) to sing "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." Josh and Mima duet on how they feel "Too Romantic," which wound up being the film's big hit. The natives sing about their beloved "Kaigoon."

What I Don't Like: In other ways, this feels like the first installment it is. Bing and Bob made far better musicians and con men in later installments than the playboys and layabouts they are here. The story is a bit dull for this series. And for all the comedy and Bing and Bob's ad-libs, it's not quite as zany as later efforts. The duo also end up in dark makeup briefly while trying to fit in with the stereotypical natives, which may mildly offend some people.

The Big Finale: Not my favorite Road movie, and not the best movie to start off with for newcomers. If you're already a fan of the series or want to know how it all started, jump on this boat to Singapore and enjoy the ride.

Home Media: Easily found in all major formats, on its own and in collections.

DVD

DVD - The Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Road To Comedy Collection

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Rhythm on the River

Paramount, 1940

Starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Basil Rathbone, and Oscar Levant

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Music by James V. Monaco and Victor Schertzinger; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

We move from a western ranch to an upstate New York inn for our next Crosby vehicle. By this point, Crosby was one of the top box office draws in the world. His movies were among Paramount's biggest money-makers, and his concert tours sold out everywhere. He even had his own variety show on the radio, Kraft Music Hall. Martin, then just beginning her career as one of the most popular stars on the Broadway stage, was a frequent performer on Kraft Music Hall. How well do they work together in this story of a composer and lyricist who discover they have a lot more in common than they previously believed? Let's begin at a swank party honoring songwriter Oliver Courtney (Rathbone) and find out...

The Story: Despite everyone praising his work on a big Broadway show, Courtney is really a fraud. He hasn't written a song in years. He hires songwriters to do the work for him, including laid-back composer Bob Sommers (Bing Crosby). After his lyricist dies, he convinces Cherry Lane (Martin) to take over. Annoyed with the band that moved to the room next to hers, she goes to find somewhere quiet to work. She's not happy at first that she keeps running into Bob everywhere, including the old inn she ends up taking a room at. 

Turns out the inn belongs to his uncle and he's there for the same reason, to work on new songs. The duo discover they have a lot in common, including being songwriters. They go back to LA, only to learn that they both work for Courtney, and he's not about to let his walking moneybags go. They try to sell their own music, but everyone thinks their songs are Courtney's. 

Bob brings together the band that had made such a racket next-door to Cherry as a way to promote their music. They audition for a big nightclub, but the manager Mr. Westlake (William Frawley) is only interested in Cherry. Bob insists that she sing for him...but all she really wants is Bob and for them to be recognized for the talented songwriters they are.

The Song and Dance: Martin and Bing are definitely the thing here. They play off each other surprisingly well as the songwriters who don't know they're helping the same man. This is also a rare and enjoyable comedy performance from Rathbone, who usually plays villains in dramas and swashbucklers. Here he's also a villain, but one who ultimately learns his lesson. Levant gets his usual digs as Courtney's best friend and voice of reason Billy Starbuck, and crusty William Goodwin has fun as Bob's woman-and-work-hating uncle.

Favorite Number: We open with "What Would Shakespeare Have Said," a comedy number that Bob originally sings when he brings it to Courtney for his show. It's then performed by the show's leading lady Millie Starling (Lillian Cornell), during the party. Cherry initially sings the jaunty "That's for Me" for Courtney at his apartment, accompanied by Starbuck. She's shocked when Bob performs it for her at the inn, believing he stole it. 

The band joins Bob for "Tiger Rag" to show what they can do. "Ain't It a Shame About Mame" is her comedy number with the band later, when they're trying to write their own material. Bing sings "When the Moon Comes Over Madison Square" for producers, but they think they're imitating Courtney. "I Don't Want to Cry Anymore" is Cherry's heartbroken ballad when she's singing with the band, but would rather be writing. 

The hit here was the ballad "Only Forever." Bob initially sings it for Cherry at the inn as they discuss their music. It's reprised as a duet in the finale, when Courtney reveals who really wrote his songs.

Trivia: "Only Forever" was originally intended for If I Had My Way, but was cut from that film.  

What I Don't Like: First of all, while Martin and Crosby work well enough together, she could be given more to do than sing a few numbers and pine over him later at the club. I don't think Paramount ever really figured out what to do with her. Though the plot is slightly more interesting than Rhythm on the Range, it's still pretty goofy. It lacks Range's more colorful supporting cast and genuine location shooting. Other than "Only Forever," the songs aren't all that interesting, either. It's also not for those who like their musicals big and bold; Bing jamming with the band on "Tiger Rag" is big as it gets. 

The Big Finale: If you love Crosby or Martin, or are looking for a smaller-scale romance from the 40's, jump on the catfish boat and enjoy this jaunt down river. 

Home Media: Same deal as Rhythm on the Range. DVD only from the Universal Vault, as a double feature with Range, and as part of a larger Crosby collection. 

DVD - Universal Vault

DVD - Rhythm on the Range/Rhythm on the River

DVD - Bing Crosby: The Silver Screen Collection

Rhythm on the Range

Paramount, 1936

Starring Bing Crosby, Frances Farmer, Bob Burns, and Martha Raye

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music and Lyrics by various

We return to the laid-back world of crooner Bing Crosby with our first two reviews this week. It's not well-remembered nowadays, but Crosby had a strong influence on country music. Though this would be his only musical western, he frequently incorporated western music and country songs into his act, introducing it to audiences outside its usual rural demographics. He became one of the earliest singing cowboys in this entry, just as more authentic cowboy Gene Autry was becoming popular. How does this story of a runaway heiress who falls for a rodeo rider while fleeing out west look now? Let's start not on the range, but at a modern penthouse prepared for a wedding, and find out...

The Story: Doris Halliday (Farmer) is tired of settling for dull but wealthy men. Her Aunt Penelope (Lucile Gleason) wonders why she's marrying someone she doesn't love. Hoping to find a tougher breed of man, Doris stows away on a boxcar with cowboy Jeff Larrabee (Crosby) and his just-bought steer Cuddles. 

Neither Cuddles nor Jeff take to Doris at first, especially after Cuddles chases her in a red scarf and they end up stranded. Doris makes up for it by snaring a car and trailer to take them west. When they arrive, they learn that Jeff's partner Buck (Burns) is now engaged to the very aggressive Emma Mazda (Raye), whom he met on the train. He thinks Jeff should do the same with Doris, but Aunt Penelope worries that Jeff is a gold-digger. Doris knows what real gold-digging is like, and she's ready to tell Jeff she loves him for real.

The Song and Dance: This is really more of a musical than a western, but as such, it has a lot of good moments. Bing's not the most believable cowboy in the world. He does much better crooning "I'm an Old Cowhand" than dealing with the cows. Bob Burns looks and sounds more like a country sidekick. He's especially funny early-on in New York, putting one over on the city slickers. Raye makes a very funny debut as the noisy city gal who falls for Burns while looking for her brother out west. She has some of the best moments in the second half, including jumping around Burns near a freshly-dug well and her exuberant performance of "Mr. Paganini." We also get some rare outdoor shooting for the time at the Alabama Hills in the Sierra Nevada and in New York.

Favorite Number: Our first number is Jeff singing the ballad "Empty Saddles" during the Madison Square Garden rodeo, one of two standards to come from this film. We get many reactions from the touched cowboys around the arena as they remember their own friends they lost. He sings "Roundup Lullaby" to Doris in the boxcar and laments "I Can't Escape From You" after that car she stole busts a tire. He admonishes Cuddles to "Settle Down You Cattle."

The majority of the songs are performed after they've all arrived at the ranch during an engagement party for Buck and Emma. "Mr. Paganini" is Emma's energetic satire of opera, noisily comparing it to swing music. She also briefly gets "Love In Bloom." Jeff joins Russian cowboy Mischa (Leonard Kinsky) for the Russian drinking song "Drink It Down." Look for Louis Prima and Roy Rogers with the Sons of the Pioneers in this number, "One More Ride," and the other big hit from this movie, "I'm an Old Cowhand." 

Trivia: Film debut of Martha Raye; first major role for Bob Burns. We even get to see his famous "bazooka" home-made musical instrument when he's fleecing the cowboys at Madison Square Garden.

Though the arena sequences were filmed at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it's not the current Garden that hosts concerts, the Knicks, and the Rangers. This one was the third version, which was demolished in 1968 after the current arena was built. 

What I Don't Like: Even Rogers' 40's and 50's vehicles have more west in them than this. This is less a western than a cross between a Bing Crosby movie and the runaway heiress screwball comedies that were popular in the 30's. Troubled Farmer is at least a little bit more interesting than most of the women Bing crooned to in his movies, but other than stealing the car, she doesn't have that much to do. As is common for Bing's vehicles in the 30s, the film stops cold so Raye, Burns, Crosby, and the Sons of the Pioneers can do unrelated numbers. 

The Big Finale: Fun for fans of Bing, country music, or those wondering where all those singing cowboy films of the 30's, 40's, and 50's got their start. 

Home Media: Not officially online, but it can be easily found on DVD, on its own and as part of two Bing Crosby sets.

DVD - Universal Vault

DVD - Rhythm on the Range/Rhythm On the River

DVD - Bing Crosby: The Silver Screen Collection - The 30's

Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Top 'O the Morning

Paramount, 1949

Starring Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Ann Blyth, and Hume Cronyn 

Directed by David Miller

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate the day of all things Irish with this unique musical mystery. This is the last of three films Fitzgerald and Crosby made together that began with the Oscar-winning Going My Way. All three revolved around Crosby's laid-back lifestyle clashing with Fitzgerald's more traditional one...and what better place for a clash of cultures than in Fitzgerald's native Ireland? Let's begin just outside of Blarney Castle and find out how an insurance investigator who is looking for the stolen Blarney Stone deals with a very traditional policemen and their differing worldviews.

The Story:  Joe Mulqueen (Crosby) arrives at the small town outside of the castle, only to be rejected by the fearful townspeople. The town's police chief Briany McNaughton (Fitzgerald) is especially distrustful of him. He wants to prove he and his deputy Hughie Devine (Cronyn) can solve a local case on their own, without outside interference. 

Joe ends up having more on his mind than finding the Blarney Stone. Briany's daughter Conn (Blyth) has been waiting for the day the man who fits the prophecy told to her by wise woman Biddy O'Devlin (Eileen Crowe). She's thrilled when it turns out Joe is the perfect match, and a fine singer to boot. Joe, however, hasn't told her why he's really in Ireland. Biddy knows, however, and it's her stories of Irish folk lore that eventually leads Joe, Briany, and Inspector Fallon (John McIntire) to the man who not only stole the Blarney Stone, but committed a murder, too.

The Song and Dance: This is probably the closest Crosby would get to appearing in film noir or doing a flat-out thriller. Truth be told, for most of the movie, the real interest is in how Crosby reacts to Irish folk lore and Ireland's colorful citizens. He and Blyth work relatively well together despite the two-decade difference in their ages. In addition to Fitzgerald, I also like Crowe as the enigmatic wise woman who knows far more than she'll ever tell and Cronyn as the deputy whose enthusiasm for the case hides a dark secret. 

Favorite Number:  Joe performs the title song three times, first over the credits, then later with the maid (Mary Field) who is cleaning his room, and near the end with the two McNaughtons. He sings "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" with a nervous little girl when he arrives in Ireland. His performance of "My Beautiful Kitty" on the accordion is sentimental enough for the policemen to let him out of jail, at least the first time.

 "The Donovans" is the big chorus number at Briany's cottage. It somehow manages to expand to three times its size to fit all of the whirling lads and lasses performing a lively group jig. The other new song "You're In Love With Someone" is the big ballad Joe sings to Conn after the party, before she shows Joe her father's doves. They sing the lovely Irish folk song "Oh, 'Tis Sweet To Think" together at the McNaughtons' cottage. "My Lagen Hunt," the haunting ditty sung by the little boy Pearse O'Neill (Jimmy Hunt) is what finally brings the real thief out of hiding.

Trivia: Crosby originally wanted Deanna Durbin to play Conn, but she had gone into retirement and would never make another film.

What I Don't Like: For all the talk of Irish folk lore, legends, and customs, this feels a lot less authentic than John Ford's opus The Quiet Man from three years later. Paramount probably kept this one on the lot and in black and white because Bing's previous two big-budget musicals flopped. Technicolor and location shooting might have gone a long way to enhancing the drama and adding a lot more real Irish whiskey flavor. This is more like watered-down green beer. 

Blyth is an excellent singer in her own right, on a par with Durbin. Why on Earth doesn't she have more to sing besides her part of "Oh, 'Tis Sweet to Think?" Not to mention, there's the mood whiplash. This is pretty fluffy stuff until the last 20 minutes, when it suddenly takes a screeching left turn into shadowy film noir territory. It ends happily, but getting there is surprisingly dark for an otherwise sweet comedy.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Crosby or Blyth or want to try something a little different for St. Patrick's Day, this venture into Irish folklore and mystery is worth checking out at least once.

Home Media: As far as I can tell, this exclusive to YouTube at the moment.

YouTube

Road to Utopia

Paramount, 1946

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Robert Benchley

Directed by Hal Walker

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

Let's take a trip to the frozen north with our three favorite Road travelers. This Road movie is unique in a few respects. It's the only one not set in a warm climate and then-contemporary times, to be told as a flashback, and to not feature Bing and Bob's "patty cake" routine. In other ways, this is one of the most typical movies in the entire series. How typical, you ask? Well, why don't we begin with Robert Benchley explaining what we're about to see and why Paramount wants him to translate what's going on and find out...

The Story: We learn in flashback when an elderly Duke Johnson (Crosby) returns to visit his friends Sal (Lamour) and Chester Hooten (Hope) how the trio ended up on a trip across Alaska in search of gold. Duke and Chester were originally vaudevillians and con men whose act in San Francisco was ruined when the police came in, chasing criminals Sperry (Robert Barrat) and McGurk (Nestor Pavia). Duke decides that Alaska is Utopia, the promised land, and tricks Chester into joining him there. Unfortunately, they lose the money and tickets and end up working their way across.

After the duo find a map in Sperry's jacket that leads to a gold mine, they take their clothes and pose as them to get off the boat. Turns out they're notorious in the Klondike for murdering the father of "Skagway" Sal Van Hoyden (Lamour) to get the map. Sal, who is also searching for the map, was hired by saloon owner Ace Larson (Douglass Dumbrille) to seduce it out of Duke and Chester. When that doesn't work, the two men rip the map into two pieces and take a slow dog sled out of town. Sal and Ace's nasty girlfriend Kate (Hillary Brooke) are hot on their trail. Chester and Duke  have to dodge Sal's advances, Ace's goons, and the local wildlife if they want to live to find that mine and really enjoy this 'promised land." 

The Song and Dance: The setting and Alaskan gold rush story makes this one of the more interesting and action-packed Road movies. I have no idea why Benchley claims in the beginning that he's there to make the story easier to follow. If anything, this is one of the stronger plots in a series not known for them. Dumbrille, who specialized in obnoxious or evil businessmen and nobles, is at his menacing best as the saloon owner who will literally kill in order to get that gold. Lamour has more to do than usual, too, especially when she's trying to figure out which guy has the map. Great production, too, with gorgeous period gowns for Brooke and Lamour and enough fake snow to bury the Paramount lot for two years.

Favorite Number: Our first song once we get into the flashback sequence is "Goodtime Charlie," Bob and Bing's hat-and-cane number before they start their "Ghost-o" act. Bing's solo is "It's Anybody's Spring," which he performs during a talent show on the ship in order to win the money to get ashore. His big ballad is "Welcome to My Dreams,' sung to Sal when she's attempting to seduce him at the saloon. He sounds so dreamy, she ends up in love with him for real. Bing and Bob's buddy duet is "Put 'Er There, Pal" as they ride across the frosty Alaskan landscape on their dog sled. Lamour gets her own ballad in "Would You?" as she literally steams up Chester's lap outside the cabin where they stay with the ladies. 

The hit here also went to Lamour. She sang the jaunty "Personality," on what really attracts a guy to a girl, at the saloon. The boys are so entranced by her saucey delivery (and voluptuous body encased in a glittering gown), they fall for her on the spot.

Trivia: Paramount originally finished filming this in 1943. No one knows why it was held from release for three years. Lamour thought Paramount didn't want to hurt Bing's chances of winning an Oscar in Going My Way. By the time it finally hit theaters, Benchley had been dead for three months.

What I Don't Like: Speaking of Benchley...what in the heck is he doing here? Yes, he does get some funny lines, especially at Hope and Crosby's expense, but the movie hardly needs plot clarification. In fact, some of his asides slow down the pacing. And usual Road movie warning about Bob and Bing's many then-topical references. If you aren't into the time period and don't know much about the two or Paramount, you may miss a lot of the jokes and one-liners.

The Big Finale: One of the better Road movies is well worth watching with your best pal on a snowy day when you just need some laughs. 

Home Media: Easily found in all formats.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Say One for Me

20th Century Fox, 1959

Starring Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, and Ray Walston

Directed by Frank Tashlin

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

We kick off our first full week of holiday reviews with a musical so obscure, I never heard of it until I found the soundtrack record last year. After White Christmas was biggest hit of 1954, it was likely inevitable that Bing Crosby would turn up in a holiday musical again. 20th Century Fox opted to grab Crosby after he left Paramount and borrow Reynolds from MGM, along with picking up handsome newcomer Wagner. 

They tossed White Christmas, Crosby's earlier Oscar-winning turn as a priest in Going My Way, and Crosby's dramatic turn in The Country Girl into a blender and came up with the story of a priest in New York's Theater District who gets involved in the lives of his parishioners. Does this holiday mash-up still work today? Let's begin with Father Conroy (Crosby) and church-going college girl Holly LeMaise (Reynolds) as they prepare for a holiday show and find out...

The Story: Holly takes a job as a chorus girl in a local dive club when her father, former vaudevillian Harry LeMaise (Les Tremayne), becomes desperately sick. Tony Vincent (Wagner), the ambitious young singer at the club, hires Holly as part of his act. He's taken with her, but she finds him terribly obnoxious and forward at first. 

Holly's not the only one in Tony's orbit Father Conroy ends up helping. He befriends Tony's pianist Phil Stanley (Walston), an alcoholic songwriter who is now reduced to playing piano for Tony's act. Tony wants him and Holly to come along when he's booked for a show in Miami, but Father Conroy doesn't approve. He doesn't think Tony's right for Holly. It takes Tony becoming the godparent to the infant son of chorus girl Mary (Connie Gilchrist) and Conroy offering him a spot on his Christmas charity TV special for Tony to understand what real love is about.

The Song and Dance: I'm a bit surprised at how dark this story is for the late 50's. The side stories with Mary and her baby and Phils alcoholism are taken seriously and not played for comedy. This is unusually intense for a cheery MGM-style musical with big numbers and gorgeous color. Reynolds in particular runs with the drama; Bing plays off her fairly well as the priest who promised her father he'd look after her. The DeLuxe color and nifty costumes definitely give off that brassy 50's vibe, with some nice widescreen cinematography in the glowing numbers.

Favorite Number: The movie starts with its biggest assets on display before the credits even begin as Father Conroy and Holly rehearse the title song in the church. Tony hopes to woo Holly in her apartment with pizza and a song, but as Holly reminds him, "You Can't Love Them All." This is heard again later as a more traditional number for Tony and the chorus girls at the club. Tony and Holly joke about Holly's giving up college in their duo routine with Tony calling her "The Girl Most Likely to Succeed." They also get "Cha Cha Choo Choo" in a goofy Puerto Rican number at the club with the chorus girls and a cardboard train.

Bing joins Walston at the piano twice, to sing one of Phil's old hits, "I Couldn't Care Less," and to hear Phil perform the song Father Conroy inspired him to write, "The Secret of Christmas." The teen girl Tony turned down for his act earlier in the movie returns in the charity show to sing the pop spoof "The Night Rock and Roll Died." "Secret of Christmas" gets a full-on rendition in the finale, as Tony insists on Phil playing it and Father Conroy singing it. Holly ends up joining in as she watches them on TV.

What I Don't Like: Wagner seems to be playing a different movie entirely. He's doing tough-guy melodrama while Reynolds and Crosby are in a fluffy MGM musical. Tashlin can never decide if he wants this to be a big, brassy widescreen cartoon or a dark look at what it takes to get ahead in show business. Tony is such a jerk and so obnoxious to everyone around him, you can understand why Father Conroy doesn't want Holly near him. His last-minute conversion is too sudden and way too soppy. Other than "Secret of Christmas," the music isn't all that great, either. 

The Big Finale: The all-over tone and dull numbers make this for major fans of Crosby or Reynolds only.

Home Media: Only on DVD via the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives. 

DVD

East Side of Heaven

Universal, 1939

Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Blondel, Mischa Aurer, and Irene Hervey

Directed by David Butler

Music by James V. Monaco; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

Since we did a Bob Hope movie on Tuesday, we'll do one featuring his old friend Bing Crosby today, and one many of you might not have heard of. Bing was so popular in the  late 30's, he was able to wrangle a deal that allowed him to make movies away from his home studio Paramount. We've already seen the first and the last, Pennies From Heaven and If I Had My Way. How does this one compare to them, and to the other movies Bing made at Paramount at this time? Let's begin in New York, as singing telegram boy Denny Martin (Crosby) delivers a message to a wealthy family, and find out...

The Story: Denny has already postponed his marriage to switchboard operator Mary Wilson (Blondel) three times. Mary's hoping the fourth time is the charm, but the day they're to marry, he loses his job after he stands up for his friend Cyrus Barrett Jr (Robert Kent), an alcoholic whose father (C. Aubrey Smith) wants to take custody of his baby son (Baby Sandy) from him and his wife Mona (Hervey). Mona's had enough of Cyrus Jr and wants a divorce, something his father thoroughly disapproves of. Denny does manage to get a job as a singing cab driver, and even convinces Cyrus Jr. to go into rehab. His father, however, takes advantage of his absence to move against his wife on kidnapping charges.

Desperate, Mona leaves her son at the one place she figures no one will ever look - Denny's apartment. He and his Zodiac-obsessed Russian friend Nicky (Aurer) find themselves hiding the infant from the detectives Barrett Sr. hired to find the child. Mary hears them talking baby talk and thinks Denny's talking to a woman. She reports this to her gossip columnist friend Claudius DeWolfe (Jerome Cowan), who would like nothing more than to discredit Denny in her eyes. He first gleefully parrots her item about him seeing someone else, then decides he wants to deliver the baby to Barrett Sr. himself...

The Song and Dance: There's some charm to be had in this sweet melodrama with music. Crosby and Blondel work better together than you might think; her sarcasm plays well off his breezy manner. It makes you wish they didn't usually work for different studios and got to do more movies together. Smith also comes off well as the worried grandfather who thinks he can give his grandson a better home than with his liquor-addled father, and Baby Sandy is too cute for words as the infant in the center of Barretts' legal battle. There's nifty Art Deco sets, too, especially at the streamlined Frying Pan Cafe. 

Favorite Number: Our first number is "Happy Birthday to You," which Denny sings as he discovers Mona and Barrett Junior and Senior arguing over their child's future. He auditions for a job with the jaunty "Sing a Song of Sunbeams," which somehow lands him the Singing Cabdriver gig. "Hang Your Heart On a Hickory Limb" is the big number at the Frying Pan Cafe. Denny performs this one to sober up the very sloshed Barrett Jr, while waitresses become a makeshift chorus and the owner Mrs. Kelly (Jane Jones) joins two cooks as his backup singers. Denny sings about "The Sly Old Gentleman" to a lady in a cab eagerly listening to his every word. He performs the title song twice, as a lullaby to Baby Sandy and Mary as they look out over the rooftops of New York in the nighttime, and in the finale.

What I Don't Like: The entire legal battle over the baby comes off sounding more like one of Shirley Temple's movies than one of Crosby's and gets very annoying after a while. Aurer's Russian astrologist is dated and a little too goofy. Some of his gags with the baby seem to be more there to pad out the film than anything. In fact, the movie really takes a while to get where it's going. The plot with Denny and Nicky doesn't kick in until nearly 40 minutes into a 90 minute movie. 

More surprisingly, the songs are among the weakest from any Crosby film. None of the music really stands out in any way. "Sing a Song of Sunbeams" was a minor hit at the time, but even Crosby was disappointed with his songs in this outing. (Though he apparently otherwise enjoyed making it, later calling it one of his favorites.) 

The Big Finale: Not one of Bing's best films; mainly recommended for major fans of him, Blondel, or Temple's family melodramas.

Home Media:  Easily found on DVD, both solo and as part of two Crosby sets.

DVD - Universal Vault

DVD - Screen Legend Collection

DVD - Silver Screen Collection: The 30's

Road to Bali

Paramount, 1953

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Murvyn Vye

Directed by Hal Walker

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

It took almost five years for Hope, Crosby, and Lamour to come together again for another jaunt down the Road. Once again, Crosby and Hope financed it through their own companies. A lot of things had changed since 1947, though. Newer comedy teams with faster, hipper acts were coming into films, and there was also the looming specter of television. Paramount upped their ante with color, bigger numbers, and cameos by major stars of the era. How does all this work with the story of two American singers in Australia who help a South Seas princess look for treasure and save her from head hunters? Let's begin with a travelogue of Australia as it describes some of it's most famous treasures...including those two American singers, who are currently performing in Melbourne...and find out...

The Story: Harold Gridley (Hope) and George Cochran (Crosby) barely escape Melbourne ahead of several farmers who want shotgun marriages. After they flee the train, they're hired in Darwin on the coast by the Prince Ken Arok (Vye) who wants them to uncover a long-lost underwater treasure. He takes them to his kingdom not far from Bali, Indonesia. There, they compete for the favors of the lovely Princess Lala McTavish (Lamour). 

Turns out that the treasure Arok wants them to dive into the coral for is guarded by a legendarily monstrous squid. Even after they manage to escape the squid and Arok with the treasure, they accidentally wreck the ship and end up on another remote island. If encountering tigers, traps, and an amorous female gorilla wasn't bad enough, they also have to contend with Arok and the chief of a group of head hunters who wants to marry Lala and get them out of the picture...and the movie, too. 

The Song and Dance: Along with the lush Technicolor cinematography, the gags are the best thing about this. This one features some of the funniest fourth-wall breaking wisecracks in the entire series and some amusing gags revolving around Hope and a flute he plays that can bring up beautiful women from a basket. Lamour has slightly more to do than usual, including the trio's second and last number together. Look for cameos from Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (Paramount's major comedy team of the time), Humphrey Bogart in a clip from The African Queen, Bing's younger brother Bob Crosby, and in the finale, Jane Russell. 

Favorite Number: The boys' vaudeville hat-and-cane number in the opening here is "Chicago-Style," which is disrupted by two Australian farmers who think the guys want to marry their pretty daughters. Lamour's languid ballad "Moonflowers" is heard twice. She's introduced singing it to her handmaidens as they weave a Scottish tartan that is definitely out of place in Indonesia. After they've been shipwrecked, she sings it again while floating around in a crystal-clear pool of water. The boys watch in delight...but Paramount knows better than to let two lusty middle-aged men join her, even after the branch they lean on breaks. 

We get a strange dance routine with many-armed golden Indonesian statues at the party for Harry and George on the island that perform a stiff, waving instrumental number. The princess and her court prefer this spectacle over Harry and George's Scottish spoof "Hoots Man," with them in kilts, playing bagpipes, and trading bad Scotsman jokes. My personal favorite comic number from any of the road movies is "The Merry Go Run-Around." Lala admits that yes, she does love both guys but can't decide in a hilarious trio that ends with them swinging around on vines. It sums up the entire series and Lamour's role in it more than any words could. 

Trivia: There were to have been two more numbers, a large-scale routine for Crosby, Hope, Lamour, and the chorus to the title song, along with an extended Indonesian ballet. The numbers was ultimately cut. The title song can only be heard in the opening credits and on a soundtrack album featuring Crosby and Peggy Lee. 

Currently owned by Sony Pictures via Fremantle, but it's generally considered to be in the public domain.

What I Don't Like: Even more than most of the Road movies, it helps to know something about the early 50's in Hollywood and Australian and American pop culture at the time to get a lot of the jokes. Those who aren't up on their history of the mid-20th century may be a little confused or wonder what all the fuss is about. Other than "Merry Go-Run-Around," the songs aren't nearly as memorable as some of the earlier entries in the series. After the bizarre wedding with Lala almost marrying both guys and them nearly getting killed by the head hunters, the ending is weird and more than a little anti-climatic. 

The Big Finale: Opinions on this one seem to be divided online. Some think it's one of the funniest Road movies; others lament the silly story and the dated references. For me, it's my second-favorite Road movie after Morocco. Highly recommended for fans of the series (though I still say you should start with the earlier Morocco or Zanzibar before before coming here). 

Home Media: Thanks to it being in the public domain, it's easy to find anywhere, often for under $10. Look for the Kino-Lorber Blu-Ray and streaming copies. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Road to Rio

Paramount, 1947

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Gale Sondergaard

Directed by Norman McLeod

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

After they hit the frozen Yukon in Utopia, Paramount brought their Road travelers back to warmer climes for their fifth film, one Bing and Bob financed themselves. This time, it was such a hit, it wound up being the biggest film of 1948. Is it still hilarious today, or should it be left onboard? Let's start with Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and Hot Lips Barton (Hope) getting chased literally across the US map, and find out...

The Story: Scat and Hot Lips stow away on an ocean liner bound for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil after accidentally starting a fire at a circus. Once onboard, they swear they'll never get involved with women again...until Scat discovers Lucia de Andrade (Lamour) about to commit suicide. He talks her down and learns that she's returning to Brazil to marry her fiancee, the brother of her guardian Catherine Vail (Sondergaard). They don't know what to think when she turns them in, only to get them jobs as musicians on the ship minutes later. 

They finally sneak her off the ship when they arrive in Brazil. Corralling three local musicians (The Wiere Brothers), they pass themselves off as a band in a night club with Lucia as their singer. Once again, the moment Catherine finds her, she gives them away. They learn from an agent (Robert Barrat) that Vail wants to control Lucia and her vast fortune via certain papers locked away in Lucia's home. Turns out Catherine's hypnotizing her into doing her bidding. She tries it on Scat and Hot Lips, too, but they manage to snap out of it. Now they have to find those papers and stop the wedding, before Catherine tries any more of her tricks.

The Song and Dance: Sondergaard gets high marks here as probably the best - or at least, the most unique - villain from the Road series. Her creepy wiles scare even Bing and Bob and lend a slightly eerie vibe to the crazy goings-on. In fact, this has one of the more intriguing plots in the series, with Lucia's back-and-forth and the race for the papers in the second half. The Wiere Brothers have some funny moments during the nightclub segment in the middle of the film when Scat teaches them hipster argot, and it's the only English they know. 

Favorite Number: Scat and Hot Lips open at the circus with their big vaudeville duet on the wonders of "Apalachicola, Fla." Bing explains why "But Beautiful" is just a song when he describes what's really going on in a scene from a movie musical showing on board to Lucia. Bing joins The Andrews Sisters on the ship as they insist "You Don't Have to Know the Language" to understand the language of love. "Experience" is Lucia's number at the nightclub as she laments that said "experience" keeps her from love. "Batuque No Morro" is the big number at the wedding. The Wiere Brothers sing and clown to the genuine South American number, to the delight of the crowd. Scat and Hot Lips do their idea of a tempestuous tango, Hot Lips as Carmen Miranda in drag.

Trivia: Look for Jerry Colonna in the end as the head of the cavalry that never makes it to Lucia's wedding. 

What I Don't Like: This one is a tad less freewheeling than some of the other Road movies. Few stereotypes, but also not as many wacky gags or talking animals. The middle drags a little despite the gags with the Wiere Brothers, and really doesn't have much to do with the rest of the movie. The plot is stronger than usual, but ultimately doesn't make much sense. The papers suddenly appear half-way through the film and disappear when they've served their purpose in the end. 

The Big Finale: Probably not the best Road movie to start with for newcomers, but fans will enjoy Bing, Bob, and Dorothy's antics in South America. 

Home Media: On Blu-Ray from Kino-Lorber International. 

Blu-Ray

Road to Morocco

Paramount, 1942

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Anthony Quinn

Directed by David Butler

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

This week, we're going to hit the road with Bing and Bob in three of the most popular Road to... comedies. The first movie, Road to Singapore, had never intended to be part of a series, or even to feature Bing and Bob. They made so much of the slight story, and worked so well with leading lady Dorothy Lamour, they ended up making seven movies that featured them as performers conning their way across some exotic landscape, running into Lamour as a beautiful native or leader. 

This is the third, and probably the most famous of them today. How well do Bing and Bob handle this spoof of desert adventures? Let's start not in the desert, or even on the road, but with a series of news anchors from around the world announcing that an American transport has been blown up, and all are accounted for...except for two stowaways...

The Story: Orville "Turkey" Jackson (Hope) and Jeff Peters (Crosby) find themselves stranded on the coast of Morocco without a cent to their name. Desperate to get money for food, Jeff sells Turkey into what he thinks will be slavery. After he dreams that Turkey's Aunt Lucy (Hope) scolds him for selling her nephew, he searches for him, only to find he's been bought by the Princess Shalamar (Lamour). 

Not only is Turkey not a slave, but he's set to marry the Princess. Shalmar claims she was advised by her wise man (Vladmir Sokoloff) to wed him. She ends up falling for Jeff instead, while Turkey is more interested in the energetic lady-in-waiting Mirhimarh (Dona Drake), but Shalamar sticks to the wedding. This not only upsets the guys, but it also makes her original fiancee Mullay Kasim (Quinn) angry. Even when it turns out the wise man's "prophecy" isn't what they think it is, they still have to save the ladies and themselves from Kasim and his desert raiders.

The Song and Dance: This is probably the most typical of the Road movies, and one of the funniest. All of the most famous running gags can be found here, from Bing and Bob's "patty cake" to take bigger goons by surprise to the the wisecracks about Paramount movies and spoofs of exotic Arabic swashbucklers. We even get Hope in drag as Aunt Lucy. All that, and a camel that spits in Turkey's eye, then sums up pretty much the entire series later-on during the melee at Mullay Kasim's. Paramount runs with the lunacy, making everything as obviously stereotypical as possible, from Shalamar's lavish gowns to the obviously fake desert sands the boys cross.

Favorite Number: Jeff and Turkey get our first song as they cross the desert by camel. "We're Off On the Road to Morocco," they joke as they name-drop their home studio and everything they're likely to meet, including Dorothy Lamour. "Ho-Hum" is the song Jeff sings while searching for Turkey after he's sold to the princess. It doesn't attract Turkey, but it does bring out several appreciative ladies. "Constantly" introduces Shalamar as we see just how Turkey is hardly being tortured...if "torture" can be called 'the new favorite of a princess and her lady-in-waiting."

The standard here is the hit ballad "Moonlight Becomes You." Jeff first gives it a more traditional run-through under Shalamar's balcony, to her appreciation. Later on, Jeff and Turkey sing along with a mirage of Shalamar when they're lost in the desert. Half-way through the trio, we're reminded that this is a movie - and a semi-musical, at that - when they all start singing with each other's voices. The men's reactions to getting each other's voices are especially funny.

Trivia: The camel spitting at Hope wasn't in the script, and neither was Crosby's amused reaction. Butler decided it worked with the characters and wacky shenanigans and kept it in. 

What I Don't Like: The stereotypes may have been funny in 1942, but some audiences may be mildly offended nowadays with how Morocco is depicted here. This also isn't the place for you if you don't want to watch two middle-aged men chase after women half their age. (Something I heard they often did in real-life as well.) Women besides Lamour don't often come off terribly well in the Road films. Drake is basically window-dressing.

The Big Finale: My favorite Road movie, and probably the best place to start if you're interested in the series or are a fan of the stars or goofy film satire.

Home Media: Easily found on every format, often for under $10.

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Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime 

Pennies from Heaven (1936)

Columbia Pictures, 1936

Starring Bing Crosby, Edith Fellows, Donald Meek, and Madge Evans

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Music by Arthur Johnson; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

We ease into the spooky season with this Crosby vehicle, the first of three he did as an independent producer releasing with studios other than Paramount. It's also the first of four vehicles where the focus is on his relationship with a child, though there is a love interest here, too. Bing has been known to dive into the Christmas season, but this is the closest any of his laid-back movies get to horror. How does the tale of a drifter who helps a little girl and her grandfather find a home look compared to the similar If I Had My Way and Sing You Sinners...and why are we including it for Halloween? Let's begin in prison, as an inmate (John Gallaudet) on his way to the chair gives a letter to his fellow inmate Larry Poole (Crosby) and find out...

The Story: Larry delivers the letter to little Patsy Smith (Fellows) and her dapper grandfather (Meek). The letter admits that the man killed Patsy's father accidentally, and he's given them the key to his home and hideout to make up for it. The house is a dilapidated wreck and reputedly haunted...and that's the least of Larry's troubles. For one thing, Larry really wants to become a gondolier in Venice, not adopt a family. Susan Sprauge (Evans) of the local Welfare Office has been trying to take Patsy to the local orphanage, claiming her grandfather can't bring her up properly. 

Larry makes a lot of con-deals in an attempt to turn the haunted house into The Haunted House Nightclub, but it comes to bite him in the rear when he's unable to con the county license board. When his attempt to make quick money for a restaurant license lands him in the hospital, Susan's boss takes Patsy away. Larry attempts to rescue her, but it's Patsy who saves herself in the end and brings Susan and Larry together.

The Song and Dance: Bing had to fight for Columbia to let Louis Armstrong and his band appear, but he was very right, and right to give him second billing. Their spooky song mid-way through livens up the film, and while his role is stereotypical, Armstrong shows some charm and works well with Crosby and Meek. Crosby gets a rare chance at drama as a former jailbird, and Evans is one of his few leading ladies to match him well as the tenacious social worker. There's a nice score, too, with one big hit in the Oscar-nominated title song that remains a standard to this day. 

Favorite Number: Our first number proper isn't until almost 20 minutes in, but it's "So Do I," with Larry playing his antique lute for a tenement and Patsy dancing along to gather those pennies. Patsy, Larry, and Gramps ride a hay wagon to their new home, singing goofy lyrics to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." Crosby performs the title song three times, first for Patsy when she's frightened during a thunderstorm at the haunted house, briefly when singing for the orphans, and late in the film when he's searching New York for Susan. 

Armstrong gets the delightful horror-tinged "Skeleton In the Closet," with a dancer in a skeleton costume and Patsy popping jokes and tricks at the nightclub patrons. Bing joins him for the ballad "Let's Call a Heart a Heart." He gets "One, Two, Button Your Shoe" with the kids at the orphanage during the carnival's appearance there. 

What I Don't Like: Mixed feelings on the nightclub setting. On one hand, the haunted house club was so creative, and the two numbers done there so enjoyable, I wish they did more with it. On the other hand, this doesn't degenerate into a series of club numbers with little story in the end, so kudos to Columbia for attempting a stronger ending. Unfortunately, it comes off as melodramatic, meandering, and unbelievable. Crosby is no jailbird, and there's no real reason for Susan to fall for him so quickly. Fellows comes off more like a nasty brat who hates everyone than a scared kid who wants to stay with her grandfather, too. It's a little dark for one of Bing's 30's vehicles, what with Bing being a former prisoner and the child under threat of being sent to an orphanage, not to mention that haunted house. 

The Big Finale: This is too meandering and strange to be one of Bing's better vehicles. Recommended mainly for major fans of his or Armstrong's, or anyone who wants to find out where the title song came from.

Home Media: On DVD, but expensive. Your best bet is streaming. Tubi currently has it for free.

DVD

Tubi

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