Hollywood Hotel

Warner Bros, 1937

Starring Dick Powell, Lola Lane, Rosemary Lane, and Ted Healy

Directed by Busby Berkeley

Music by Johnny Mercer; Lyrics by Richard A. Whiting

Back at Warners, Berkley was now choreographing and directing his films. Warners had cut back on the budgets when a few too many flopped, but this one had a pedigree beyond mere imitation. Hollywood Hotel was both a real hotel in Hollywood for the rich and famous (which was slightly past its prime in 1937), and a radio series where gossip columnist Louella Parsons would interview celebrities who would then perform condensed versions of the latest films. Since Dick Powell was a regular on the show, it made sense for him to appear in a film version. Parsons made her film debut here as well. How well does the film adapt a show made for a very different medium? Let's begin not in Hollywood, but with Benny Goodman and his orchestra as they cheer singer and saxophonist Ronnie Bowers and find out...

The Story: Bowers (Powell) just signed a ten-week contract with All-Star Pictures. His first assignment is to escort major screen star Mona Marshall (Rosemary Lane) to her latest premiere and out to the Orchid Room afterwards. Turns out he's not really escorting Mona, who threw a fit and refused to attend her premiere, but her double Virginia Stanton (Lola Lane). The real Mona figures it out and has Ronnie fired. 

Ronnie is reduced to working for a drive-in diner along with his newly-appointed manager Fuzzy Boyle (Healy). Director Walter Kelton hears him and hires him to dub Mona Marshall's usual screen partner Alex Dupre (Alan Mowbray). He's not thrilled about it, and is even less happy when called on to dub him on the Hollywood Hotel radio show. Fuzzy and Virginia finally find a way for him to be seen for the wonderful singer he is while on the air.

The Song and Dance: This is one of the better Warners musicals of the late 30's. It's too bad Healy, who died under shady circumstances less than a month before its premiere, didn't live to see his very funny performance as the photographer-turned-manager. I also like that the real-life Lane sisters look enough alike to fool people realistically, no illusion or lavish special effects needed. Lola is charming as the sensible Virginia, while Rosemary is a riot as spoiled, obnoxious, and ridiculously dramatic Mona Marshall. Not only do we get gorgeous sets and costumes depicting Hollywood during the 30's, we actually get scenes filmed in the real Hollywood. I also appreciate the relatively unique story for a Berkeley 30's musical. This one is less about putting on a show and more about who gets seen and who doesn't in Tinseltown.

The Numbers: We open with the movie's best-known song and major standard. Benny Goodman and his band sing "Hooray for Hollywood" while riding out to the airport in cars with boards claiming stars of the era could learn a thing or two from Ronnie. Virginia and Ronnie admit "I'm Like a Fish Out of Water" while splashing around outside of the movie premiere. Mona initially performs "Silhouetted In the Moonlight," which is eventually picked up by Goodman singers Frances Langford and Jerry Cooper. Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (including later orchestra leaders Harry James, Lionel Hampton, and Gene Krupa) perform "I've Got a Heartful of Music" and "Sing, Sing, Sing" at the club. 

"Let That Be a Lesson to You" is the sole large-scale chorus number, as Ronnie explains about his trouble in Tinseltown to everyone at the drive-in. Ronnie dubs Alex Dupre to sing "I've Hitched My Wagon to a Star" in Mona's big Civil War vehicle. The movie ends at the Orchid Room during the Hollywood Hotel broadcast with Ronnie insisting "Sing, You Son of a Gun" with the cast and both orchestra.

Trivia: Look fast for Ronald Reagan as the radio announcer at the premiere of the Civil War movie, Susan Hayward as a starlet, and Carole Landis as a cigarette girl.

Goodman was thrilled when the success of his band in this film gave him enough clout to pull off his famous Carnegie Hall concert in 1938. This movie is also the first time a racially mixed music group was depicted on the big screen.

What I Don't Like: The numbers here are a bit disappointing. Though some of the songs aren't bad, both the opening number and "Let That Be a Lesson to You" go on for way too long, and there's little of the playing with the camera and geometric formations Berkeley's known for. In fact, like Vogues of 1938, the movie is way too long for a fluffy 30's musical and some of the numbers could have been trimmed. No wonder Louella Parsons was so bad at remembering character names, it took all day to shoot one of her scenes. She's a much better gossip columnist and radio hostess than she is an actress. There's also Hugh Herbert and Mabel Todd, both annoying as heck playing Mona's starstruck father and sister. No wonder Mona's nerves are shot, with obnoxious relatives like these. And Herbert turns up blackface in Mona's Civil War vehicle to boot.

The Big Finale: For the most part, this is a surprisingly charming later gem from Warners with some decent music and a fairly unique plot. For fans of Berkeley's films, Powell, or the big lavish musicals of the 1930's.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

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Gold Diggers In Paris

Warner Bros, 1938

Starring Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Allan Jenkins, and Hugh Herbert

Directed by Ray Enright

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer

The Busby Berkeley extravaganzas continued pretty much through the rest of the 30's, but by 1938, they were starting to run their course. Most of the stars who appeared in them had left Warners or moved to other genres, and even Berkeley would be gone by 1940. This would be the last movie in the series Warners made with "Gold Diggers" in the title, and it's telling that, other than Hugh Herbert, it largely has a very different cast from the earlier entries. Warners was starting to dial back the budgets, too - there's only one huge number in this film, and it comes near the end. How does the story of showgirls who end up replacing a ballet company at a Paris dance festival look today? Let's begin with the men who run that festival, including the one charged with finding the entrant for the US, Maurice Giraud (Herbert), and find out...

The Story: Giraud is supposed to bring over the Academy Ballet of America, but he's accidentally brought to the failing Club Balle instead. Although the owners Terry Moore (Vallee) and Duke Dennis (Jenkins) realize there's been a mistake made, they accept the invitation anyway when they realize there's cash prizes involved. They hire ballet teacher Luis Leoni (Fritz Feld) and his student Kay Morrow (Lane) on the boat France to teach ballet to their dancers. Kay falls for Terry, but his ex-wife Mona (Gloria Dickson) is rooming with her.

Trouble is, the head of the actual Academy Ballet of America, Padrinsky (Curt Bois) has figured out by this point what's going on. He cables Giraud on the ship, but the ventriloquist (Mabel Todd) who has been trying to get her big break with Terry and Duke and her "talking dog" convinces him that it's Padrinksy who isn't telling the truth. Trouble is, Padrinsky is already on his way to Paris with his patron, gangster Mike Coogan (Edward Brophy). Duke relates to Coogan when they arrive that they've been having trouble with the representative of the festival, Pierre LeBrec (Mellville Cooper). Coogan agrees to "take care" of the problem, but he "takes care" of Leoni instead of LeBrec. Padrinksy wants the group to be deported, but Mona arranges the order so he and Coogan are shipped out instead...but Kay has found out Terry's deception and is now angry with him, and there's still the fact that the ladies have never really picked up ballet that well...

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a lot more charming than I thought. It's the ladies and the character actors who carry the day here. Lane and Dickson frankly play off each other better than the men. Dickson in particular does well as the ex-wife who does have a softer side. Jenkins and Coogan don't do badly playing up New York and gangster stereotypes, either, while Herbert is slightly less annoying as a Frenchman here than he was as a righteous moral crusader in Dames. There's also The Snicklefritz Band and their wacky numbers adding much-needed musical levity to the first half in particular. 

The Numbers: We open with the number at the Club Balle. "I Want to Go Back to Bali" is a romance in the tropics chorus routine with Vallee as a Navy officer among South Seas beauties. (It's also heard briefly in the finale.) The Snicklefritz Band get their own "Colonel Corn" at the club and "Listen to the Mockingbird" later in Paris. Vallee and Lane sing "Dreaming (All Night Long)" on-board ship and "A Stranger In Paree" in Paris. "The Latin Quarter" was the hit song and is the big number in the finale. We get all kinds of artistic types and Parisian stereotypes joining in, along with the return of the Navy uniforms from the first number. We even get everyone dancing under a huge Navy officer's hat at one point.

What I Don't Like: First of all, Vallee has all the charm of a dead fish when he's not singing. He's so dull, it makes you wonder what Kay or Mona see in him. (He would come off far better as a character actor and comedian from the later 40's through the 60's.) Second, it's obvious this one is a bit lower-budgeted than the earlier entries. Of the three big numbers, only the finale goes full-on Berkeley kaleidoscope. "Back to Bali" in particular is a dull chorus number that could appear in any film. The story is piffle and a bit annoying; of the songs, only "Latin Quarter" is even remotely distinguished.

The Big Finale: Mostly for major fans of Vallee or the big Berkeley musicals of the 30's. Everyone else is better off starting with 42nd Street or Gold Diggers of 1933 instead.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

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Dames

Warner Bros, 1934

Starring Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, and Hugh Herbert

Directed by Ray Enright

Music by Harry Warren and others; Lyrics by Al Dubin and others

This week, we're diving into Busby Berkeley's signature kaleidoscope numbers in two of his lesser-known Warners films. Dames was a direct result of the massive success of Gold Diggers of 1933, 42nd Street, and Footlight Parade. Warners wanted more of the same and immediately put a lot of the actors from those three films at work on this one. Trouble was on the horizon, however. The new Production Code forbade scanty costumes and sexual ogling...and all of this is reflected in this movie. How does the lavish Berkeley sensibility mix with the story of an eccentric millionaire (Herbert) who is determined to raise morals and eliminate those he doesn't find upright, upstanding citizens...especially show business folk? Let's begin with Ezra Ounce and his principles and find out...

The Story: Ezra visits his cousin Matilda Hemingway (ZaSu Pitts) in New York City, which he considers the center of vice and immorality in the US. None of them are happy when they find out that Matilda's daughter Barbara (Keeler) is actually dancing in a show, or that she's in love with "black sheep" singer and songwriter Jimmy Higgens (Powell). Matilda's husband Horace (Guy Kibbee) ends up in trouble when he gives a showgirl named Mabel (Blondell) a ride home in his private train car. He's so terrified of scandal, he leaves her money and a note saying not to tell anyone...but Mabel uses his connections to her and to Barbara to blackmail him into backing their show.

The Song and Dance: The supporting cast definitely waltzes off with this one. Herbert's a supremely weird and enjoyable eccentric rich uncle, fluttery Pitts is hilarious as his stuffed-shirt sister, and Kibbee is all enjoyably flustered bluster as her husband whose kindness to a showgirl starts the trouble. We're still at the height of Berkeley's initial influence and popularity, too. One of the most famous songs from any of the Warners/Berkeley came from this film, and one of its most unique numbers. Berkeley's famous playing with the camera to turn showgirls into Ruby Keeler for "I Only Had Eyes for You" and girls in black and white frills tapping in formation for the camera in the title song.

The Numbers: "I Only Have Eyes for You" is the standard ballad here, and it gets not one, but two numbers worthy of it. The first, less lavish has Jimmy crooning the hit to Barbara on the ferry to Manhattan with other couples looking on. The second is far more elaborate. Powell dreams of every girl dancing in white frills looking like Keeler, with Keeler's face being held up by chorus girls. "Dames" shows said ladies sleeping, dressing, and showering before going into their ruffle-and-black stocking kaleidoscope tap dance for the camera. 

"The Girl at the Ironing Board" is more whimsical. Early 1900's laundress Mabel dances with laundry after wishing for more romantic love. It's funny and charming, and Blondell looks like she's having fun with it. "Try to See It My Way" is Barbara and Jimmy again, and there's the satirical "When You Were a Smile On Your Mother's Lips and a Twinkle In Your Daddy's Eyes."

What I Don't Like: Not one of the better Berkeley comedies. The story is silly and kind of annoying, even by the standards of 30's musicals. Keeler and Powell are fine, but they're not nearly as much fun as the hilarious supporting cast.The songs don't start until nearly 20 minutes in, and while they are good, there aren't that many of them. 

The Big Finale: The great numbers and supporting cast are fun for fans of Berkeley movies and 30's musicals, but casual viewers will likely want to start with 42nd Street or Gold Diggers of 1933 first. 

Home Media: The solo DVD is pricey, but it can be found on several Berkeley collections and on streaming.

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Million Dollar Mermaid

MGM, 1952

Starring Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, and Jesse White

Directed by Richard Thorpe and Busby Berkeley

Music and Lyrics by various

Williams had wanted to play Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman for years. Kellerman was more-or-less the blueprint for Williams' later success, a champion amateur swimmer of the early 20th century who later became a star on Broadway and in the movies. Williams brought Kellerman herself in to convince MGM that it would be perfect for her next extravaganza. They went all out with this one, bringing in Victor Mature from Fox as her leading man and letting Busby Berkeley go wild with water pageantry. How well does a beloved swimming star of one era represent another? Let's begin at the Kellerman Conservatory in a suburb of Sydney, Australia as little Annette (Donna Corocan), who was stricken with polio and walks in braces, watches girls her own age dancing and find out...

The Story: Annette's musician father Frederick (Pidgeon) finds her swimming in a near-by bay. He's against it at first, until she insists it's made her legs stronger. Indeed, Annette (Williams) swims so often, she's eventually able to walk normally and join the ballet class. By her teens, she's winning amateur swimming championships. 

After a downturn in the Australian economy causes Fredrick to lose most of his students, he sells the conservatory and takes a job in London. When the job falls through, Annette tells promoter Jimmy Sullivan (Mature), whom she met on the boat going there, that she'll swim to Greenwich as an ad for his boxing kangaroo. Annette's feat is a far bigger success than any kangaroo, prompting Sullivan to take her and her father to New York to star in the enormous Hippodrome theater. Manager Alfred Harper (David Brian) tells her she needs to be better-known in New York before they'll take her on.

Annette attempts another long swim in Boston, but gets in hot water with the local authorities for wearing a then-daring one-piece bathing suit. She gains so much notoriety from the indecency trial, Jimmy showcases her in carnival diving shows. He's more threatened when a lecturer wants to do something classier and finally walks out on Annette. She doesn't have long to be upset. The Hippodrome finally calls, asking her to be a specialty number. She and her lavish shows are huge successes, enough for Hollywood to call. Tragedy strikes as she's making one of her movies, finally bringing Jimmy back to her side and making Alfred realize who she really loves.

The Song and Dance: This is more like it. For once, Williams' big numbers aren't shoehorned into a barely-there plot, but are the reason the plot exists. Despite a lot of the story being fabricated, it's still five times more interesting than something like Thrill of a Romance. No wonder Williams so badly wanted to play Kellerman. She's equally good showing off those one-piece bathing suits in Berkeley's aquatic fantasias and putting Jimmy in his place. Mature never did fit well in musicals, but he's not bad as the slightly smarmy promoter who falls for this Broadway mermaid. Pidgeon and White do equally well as Annette's doting father and the poor assistant promoter who keeps getting stuck with the worst parts of Jimmy's schemes. The costumes are gorgeous and for once, mostly historically accurate, including the infamous one-piece bathing suit that caused such a scandal, and the Technicolor is some of the best from any MGM movies of the 50's. 

The Numbers: The film starts with the students at Kellerman's music school playing various classical pieces, including the miniature ballerinas Annette so envies. She does so well with swimming, she's eventually able to join them. Ballet makes a brief return later in the film at the Hippodrome. Annette admires ballerina Anna Pavlova (danced by another famous ballet diva, Maria Tallchief), who swirls to a stunning version of her famous The Dying Swan in a massive white tutu. 

Of course, the real reason this movie exists is for those three famous Berkeley extravaganzas. The first one has Williams, clad from the crown on her head to her glittering toes in gold sequins, doing huge dives among spurting fountains. Annette begins the second to The Nutcracker gliding around poles in a flowing tutu. She ends up swimming into an enormous clam. The third brings in the chorus and tons of red and yellow smoke as girls in yellow swimsuits and boys in red briefs do Berkeley formations around Williams in a glistening ruby bathing suit. This one ends with a lot of scarily high dives off swings and the chorus surrounding Williams on an enormous sparkling platform.

Trivia: In real life, Kellerman's parents encouraged her swimming to help with her weak legs and were the ones who enrolled her in classes. She had already been involved with show business long before she met Jimmy Sullivan, having done mermaid shows and diving exhibitions as a teenager in Melbourne. She did attempt to swim the English Channel several times, but never made it across. The truth of her Boston publicity stunt seems to be in doubt as well. Kellerman also protested that Jimmy Sullivan was a quiet, unassuming man and not a loud-mouthed huckster. She did get hurt when a tank cracked and broke during the filming of A Daughter of the Gods, but only had cuts and bruises, not a damaging spine injury. (And Sullivan was never in charge of Rin Tin Tin!)

Kellerman's not the only one who got injured during the filming of one of her movies. Williams wound up in a body cast after one of the high dives during the first number with the fountains, thanks to that huge crown being too heavy for the stunt. 

Of Kellerman's movies, only Venus of the South Seas and part of Neptune's Daughter exist today. 

What I Don't Like: Though the story is more interesting than most of Williams' films, it's still a mess of biographical cliches. Those three numbers are so incredible, I wish they could have gotten another one in there somewhere, maybe in the beginning in Australia or in the end before the tank cracked. Then again, this is already pretty long for a biography, especially in the second half when the water ballets end and the romance picks up. Also, there's the simple fact that Kellerman isn't even all that well-remembered in her native Australia anymore, let alone in the US. 

The Big Finale: Who am I to argue with a Million Dollar Mermaid? Williams thought this was her best film, and I have to agree with her. Highly recommended for her fans, ballet lovers, or fans of the big musicals of the 1950's and 60's. 

Home Media: Warners seems to agree with Williams as well. This may be her easiest movie to find, on streaming and on disc via the Warner Archives. 

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Gold Diggers of 1937

Warner Bros, 1936

Starring Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Victor Moore, and Glenda Farrell

Directed by Lloyd Bacon

Music by Harry Warren and Harold Arlen; Lyrics by E.Y Harburg and Al Dubin

Despite the success of the 1935 Gold Diggers, Warners was starting to notice diminishing returns with its other Berkeley-esque backstage extravaganzas and lowered the budget on this one. Bacon took over the directing reigns here, letting Berkeley to concentrate on what he did best - creating elaborate dance numbers that let the cameras do the dancing. The studio initially wanted Arlen and Harburg to write the music, but they were so disappointed with the results, they brought Dubin and Warren back in. How well did they all do with the bizarre story of a life insurance salesman who convinces a Broadway producer to buy life insurance and has to keep him alive in order for him to continue to make money from it look today? Let's begin at an insurance convention in Atlantic City and find out...

The Story: Rosmer Peek (Powell) is the top salesman with his insurance company. He hires former chorus girl Norma Perry (Blondell) as his secretary and convinces Broadway producer J.J Hobart (Moore) to sign a million-dollar life insurance policy. His partners Morty Wethered (Osgood Perkins) and Tom Hugo (Charles D. Brown) squandered all of Hobart's money in the stock market. They want that million dollars to back a new Broadway show and do everything they can to push him closer to death, including sending gold digger Genevieve Larkin (Farrell) to seduce him. Genevieve ends up falling for him instead. Now there might not be a show, unless Rosmer and his friends can find another way to get the money without losing their million-dollar golden goose in the process.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for going with a truly original story this time. I don't know of too many other musicals about singing insurance salesmen and the business of selling insurance. I also love how the insurance company eventually earns the money - via Genevieve's genuine gold digger girlfriends and the wealthy insurance men the snagged at the beginning of the film. Powell and Blondell had just gotten married a few months before this movie's release, and you can see that in their strong chemistry and playful performances. Moore's so adorable as the hypochondriac producer having the most fun he's ever had in his life, you can understand why Genevieve fell for him. Some great costumes, too, especially in the big Berkeley number in the finale, "All's Fair In Love and War."

The Numbers: We open with Powell singing the hit "With Plenty of Money and You" before and during the credits. He also gets our first chorus number, encouraging his fellow salesmen to increase their morale with "The Life Insurance Song." The first version of "Speaking of the Weather" is, surprisingly for a Berkeley musical, a plot number. Rosmer tries to flirt with Norma, even as a storm scatters the paperwork on  her desk everywhere. It's charming and cute, and Powell and Blondell have fun with it. 

"Let's Put Our Heads Together" is another chorus number as everyone at the party for the life insurance company find romance. We also get a bit of "Speaking of the Weather" here as Rosmer's buddy Boop Oglethorpe (Lee Dixon) shows off a wild, arms-and-legs tap routine and Genevieve dances with J.J. "Speaking of the Weather" is reprised again as part of the "All's Fair In Love and War" finale. This men against women military satire begins with all the lovers spooning in massive rocking chairs. This is traded in for military formations as over a hundred women in white uniforms create Berkeley's iconic overhead patterns.

Trivia: A sixth song, "Hush Mah Mouth," was apparently filmed but not used.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention how weird this is? Life insurance seems like a pretty odd subject for a musical, and mixing it with the backstage shenanigans doesn't make much sense. The "All's Fair" number is somewhat scaled-down compared to the bigger, more dramatic "Lullaby of Broadway" and "The Words are the Music In My Heart" from Gold Diggers of 1935. Considering "Plenty of Money" went on to be a hit in its own right, I'm surprised it only gets that quick run-through from Powell before the credits. You'd think Berkeley would have built that up into a big money-based number like in the earlier Gold Diggers of 1933. 

The Big Finale: Worth catching if you're a fan of the cast or the Berkeley backstage imitations of the 1930's for the good numbers and performances.

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

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Gold Diggers of 1935

Warner Bros, 1935

Starring Dick Powell, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady, and Hugh Herbert

Directed by Busby Berkeley

Music by Harry Warren and Al Dubin

Warners and Busby Berkeley were on a roll with their series of backstage comedies featuring snappy repartee, Warren and Dubin's memorable music, and a rotating troupe of not-so-naive ingenues, tough dames, snooty rich backers, desperate directors, and husband-hunting chorus girls. Gold Diggers of 1933 was such a smash, Warners turned it into a series of unrelated backstage musicals revolving around show business folks butting heads with high society. How does the second Gold Diggers movie - and the first full directing assignment for Berkeley - look nowadays? Let's begin as the various managers of the resort hotel Wentworth Plaza admonish their staff on how to treat their wealthy guests and find out...

The Story: Among those wealthy guests are Matilda Prentiss (Brady), a millionairess who keeps her money by spending as little of it as she can. She's trying to encourage her daughter Ann (Stuart) to wed rich and eccentric T. Mosley Thorpe (Herbert), but Ann finds him and his constant talk about his snuff box collection to be insufferably silly and dull. Matilda has already had to bail Ann's brother Humbolt (Frank McHugh) out of four bad marriages and has no desire for her daughter go through the same, but Ann is bored and fed up with both Thorpe and her mother's stranglehold on her. 

Mrs. Prentiss hires desk clerk Dick Curtis (Powell) to escort her daughter around the resort and keep her out of trouble. Dick does it for the money, but he soon falls for intelligent and feisty Ann. Meanwhile, Mrs. Prentiss swears she'll throw the least amount possible into the annual charity show for the Milk Fund, but flamboyant Russian director Nicolai Nicoleff (Adolph Menjou) ends up spending her money like water on lavish numbers. He's hoping to skim off the earnings with the help of hotel manager Louis Lampson (Grant Mitchell), even as stenographer Betty Hawes (Glenda Farrell) blackmails Thorpe.

The Song and Dance: With a story that flimsy, "song and dance" are definitely the operative words here. Though Powell and Stuart have good moments as the star-crossed pair, the real stars are the supporting cast. Brady and Menjou are hilarious as the stingy older woman who laments losing even a penny of her vast wealth and the desperate Russian director who hopes her money will make a hit and put him back in the black. Herbert also has some good moments as the silly snuff box collector, while McHugh and Dorothy Dare as Dick's fiancee make a surprisingly cute second couple. There's some amazing sets and costumes in this film too, both in Berkeley's big musical numbers and in and around the massive New Hampshire resort.

The Numbers: Our first number is an instrumental dance routine for the many workers who keep the Wentworth Plaza humming and its guests happy, from dancing street sweepers outside the hotel to maids who are seen in Berkeley overhead shots. Dick says "I'm Goin' Shoppin' With You" as he and Ann purchase a whole new wardrobe from Berkeley chorus girl shop keepers and spend her mother's money. We originally hear "The Words are In My Heart" when Dick serenades Ann during a moonlit boat ride. It's reprised later in the Milk Fund show, this time in a far more elaborate Berkeley routine. The number starts with Dick and Ann singing in the woods before moving to three sisters playing the piano. This turns into rows and rows of chorus girls in whites performing with pianos that seemingly dance around them, thanks to the men obviously moving around under them.

The big number by far is "Lullaby of Broadway." We begin in darkness, as the camera moves in on Wini Shaw singing the number. She turns into an animated skyline, which becomes shots of the typical day of a working girl (Shaw). Eventually, she goes out with her tuxedo-clad lover (Powell) to a nightclub where we get massive lines of men in tuxes and chorus girls in surprisingly scanty black costumes for a movie made shortly after the Production Code began tapping their hearts out on enormous Art-Deco risers. The whole thing moves to conclusion that might be a little too dark for both the upbeat songs and this largely fluffy movie.

Trivia: Gloria Stuart did have some success in the 30's, including this film, but she's best-known to most audiences nowadays as the elder Rose who tells the flashback sequences in the 1997 Titanic. 

"Lullaby of Broadway" won Best Original Song and Best Dance Direction in 1935.

What I Don't Like: I wish they came up with a more interesting story to stuff between those crazy numbers. It lacks the Depression grit of the 1933 entries and has more in common with the runaway heiress screwball comedies that were also popular in this era. "Lullaby of Broadway" is such a brilliant number, it feels totally disconnected from - and out of place in - the rest of the film. It's also a lot darker than the rest of the movie, including that downer ending.

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for the numbers alone if you're a fan of Berkeley or the big backstage musicals of the 1930's.

Home Media: It's currently pricey on DVD. Your best bet might be streaming.

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The Kid from Spain

Samuel Goldywn/United Artists, 1932

Starring Eddie Cantor, Lyda Roberti, Robert Young, and Ruth Hall

Directed by Leo McCarey

Music by Bert Kalmar; Lyrics by Harry Ruby

This week, we're returning to the wild world of comedian Eddie Cantor with two more of his vehicles for producer Samuel Goldwyn. Cantor's wacky movies were the height of escapist entertainment during the worst years of the Great Depression. Between his stage appearances, his annual movie in November or December, and his radio show, Cantor was one of the biggest stars in the world at this point. Does he live up to that legacy here, or should this movie be chased off by a bull? Let's begin very far from Spain in an oversized college room ala Goldwyn and find out...

The Story: Eddie Williams (Cantor) and his friend Ricardo (Young) are expelled from college after Ricardo gets his friend drunk and leaves him in the women's dormitory. As they figure out what to do next, Eddie accidentally finds himself mixed up in a bank robbery and forced to drive the criminals to Mexico. To Eddie's horror, he learns there's a detective (Robert Emmett O'Connor) who's hot on his trail. 

He reunites with Ricardo in Mexico and poses as Don Sebastian II, a great bullfighter, to avoid being caught. This has its own problems. Eddie tries to help Ricardo win sweet Anita Gomez (Hall), but she's promised to Pancho (John Miljan). Meanwhile, her sister Rosalie (Roberti) falls for Eddie, but she's already involved with the bandit Pedro (J. Carrol Naish). Eddie's going to have to fight that bull whether he likes it or not in order to avoid the authorities and prove to everyone that he has what it takes to be a real fighter. 

The Song and Dance: This wild bit of Hollywood fantasy benefits from Cantor's nutty brand of humor, Goldwyn's typical largess, and delightful directorial touches from both McCarey and Busby Berkeley. Berkeley's signature style is all over this movie, from the sexy (and extraneous) opening number in the pool to the big "What a Perfect Combination" number at the night club. Roberti more than matches Cantor with her odd accent and equally manic energy, while J. Carrol Naish has fun as the menacing bandit who doesn't like Eddie messing around with his girl.

Favorite Number: And we open in that girls' dormitory with their big number, "But We Must Rise (The College Song," as they begin their morning routine. Somehow their morning routine includes doing formations for an overhead camera in a huge pool and descending down a slide to their dorm room. After Eddie gets to Mexico, he sings about all the naughty things that happen "In the Moonlight" as he passes couples. 

"Look What You've Done" Eddie fusses to the delighted Rosalie as she tells him she's in love and he admits he's got a lot more on his mind than romance. Dancer Grace Poggi does a brief flamenco to an instrumental song before Eddie turns up in blackface for his big routine. "What a Perfect Combination" he claims as Goldwyn Girls in black and white lace Mexican-style outfits dance and make formations around him. 

Trivia: Real-life American matador Sidney Franklin is seen showing off his actual skills in the ring right before Eddie comes out.

What I Don't Like: This is pure Hollywood fantasy, even for Goldwyn. None of the Mexicans are played by anyone who looks or sounds remotely Mexican, including Young and Hall. Hall is so dull she fades into the woodwork. Young's having a little more fun as Eddie's more dashing friend. The songs aren't bad, but they're far from Kalmar and Ruby's best. There's also all the skin shown during that (completely extraneous) opening number, and Cantor turning up in his signature blackface for no reason to sing "What a Perfect Combination." 

The Big Finale: If you can get past the goofy stereotypes, this is one of Cantor's better vehicles and his recommended for fans of him or Berkeley's other musicals of the 30's and 40's.

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Palmy Days

Samuel Goldwyn/United Artists, 1931

Starring Eddie Cantor, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Weeks, and Charles Middleton

Directed by A. Edward Sutherland

Music and Lyrics by various

Eddie Cantor was on top of the world after the film version of his Broadway vehicle Whoopee! ended up as the biggest hit of 1930. Producer Samuel Goldwyn immediately put him and director Busby Berkeley into more of the same. Gigantic Art Deco sets replace the Technicolor, but the Goldwyn Girls are still being put through their overhead paces, and Cantor has another hard-nose comedienne to play off of, down-to-earth Charlotte Greenwood. How does his first original starring role on film look today? Let's start, not with Cantor, but with the Goldwyn Girls making cakes and donuts at that massive streamline bakery and find out...

The Story: Eddie Simpson (Cantor) is the assistant for phony psychic Yolondo (Middleton), until he realizes Yolondo is tricking people like gym coach Helen Martin (Greenwood) out of their life savings. He turns on Yolondo and flees, passing himself off as an efficiency expert at the bakery. He tells the owner Mr. Clark that he needs more entertainment to lure in customers, and that he wants his pretty daughter Joan (Weeks) as his secretary. He thinks he's fallen for Joan, but she's in love with Steve (Paul Page). When Yolondo and his men try to make off with the bakery's payroll, it's up to Eddie and Helen to stop them and save the day!

The Song and Dance: Cantor and Greenwood may seem to be a strange fit on paper, but they make a rather charming couple. Her crusty demeanor contrasts nicely with his motor mouth and nervous tics. Goldwyn, as usual, spared no expense on this one. We have the biggest Art Deco bakery in Hollywood, gorgeous gowns for the ladies, and cinematographer Gregg Toland helping out Berkeley with some terrific overhead shots in his numbers. Berkeley continues to show what made him a legend with his two surreal numbers here. Middleton, best known for playing Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials, makes a great exotic heavy, too. 

Favorite Number: The first number takes the Goldwyn Girls from the bakery to the gym as Charlotte Greenwood encourages them to "Bend Down Sister." They certainly do that as Greenwood leads them through calisthenics. Berkeley takes over after the switch to using sticks, slowing them down as their hands wave, filming them overhead and in an S formation. Cantor prances to "There's Nothing Too Good for My Baby" in blackface at the bakery show. 

The big hit here was "My Baby Said Yes, Yes." Surprisingly for one of Cantor's movies, it starts off as a plot number, with Cantor excitedly admitting to Joan that he loves her. The Goldwyn Girls take over mid-way through the song, holding up circle boxes as they make box formations. 

Trivia: Look for George Raft in one of his earliest films as Yolondo's goon Joe. 

What I Don't Like: Cantor's brand of manic comedy is an acquired taste for many audiences today. I think he still has his moments, but others find him to be too annoying or fussy. The songs besides "Yes Yes" aren't that memorable, no matter how many overhead shorts Berkeley gives them. The story is even goofier than Whoopee! and makes even less sense. (Though at least this avoids the stereotypes that mar that film.) Weeks is charming enough as sensible Joan, but Page is so colorless as the guy she really loves, he's barely in the movie. 

The Big Finale: If you like Cantor or Greenwood or want to see some of Berkeley's early work, say "yes, yes" to this wild comedy. 

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

DVD

Amazon Prime

Girl Crazy (1943)

MGM, 1943

Starring Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Nancy Walker, and Rags Ragland

Directed by Norman Taurog and Busby Berkeley

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

We leave New York and head out west for Mickey and Judy's last full film together. By 1943, Garland and Rooney were among MGM's top stars. Garland was gunning for more adult roles, and Arthur Freed wanted to remake the classic Gershwin stage musical after MGM acquired the rights in the late 30's. It's a bit different than the other Judy/Mickey movies in several ways, starting with the western college setting replacing the barns, backyards, and Broadway. It's also the second Broadway adaptation they appeared in after Babes In Arms. How close to the original show is this? Let's start in New York, as college playboy Danny Churchill (Rooney) goes out on the town with two luscious ladies, and find out...

The Story: Danny's wealthy newspaper owner father Danny Sr. (Henry O'Neil) is incensed when his son's antics with nightclub chorus girls land on the front pages of his own publications. Hoping to avoid more of such shenanigans and get him to focus on his schoolwork, he sends him to the all-male Cody College in Arizona. Danny manages to meet and fall for the only girl in the area, postmistress Ginger Gray (Garland), on his way there, but she dismisses him as a useless Easterner. 

She's right at first. He can't ride a horse, won't get up early, and thinks the other students' cowboy abilities are silly. He starts to change his tune when Ginger finally starts to return his interest. Things are finally starting to look up for Danny when the Governor announces the college may close due to lack of interest. He and Ginger come up with the idea for a big western rodeo and a Queen of the Rodeo pageant...but that means there will be more girls at the college, and Ginger will have more competition for Danny...

The Song and Dance: The Broadway pedigree, terrific Gershwin music, and a unique modern western-meets-High School Musical plot makes all the difference here. Helps that, unlike with Babes In Arms, they kept almost the entire original Broadway score. Location shooting at a real dessert ranch in California adds a great deal of authenticity to the western setting. Garland may have been overworked and over-medicated during filming, but it doesn't show in her delightfully sarcastic performance. Here, we come full circle - Rooney is now officially chasing her and showing her what he can do, but she's not buying. He's having a great time, especially trying to ride a horse during a camping trip. Rags Ragland actually puts in one of his best performances as the kindly cowpuncher who befriends Ginger and Danny.

Favorite Number: June Allyson channels her inner Merman to demand Danny and various sugar daddies "Treat Me Rough" at the nightclub. It gets even funnier when Danny ends up onstage and the chorus girls shove him around. Garland and the cowboys are "Bidin' My Time" in a laid-back routine during the campout. Danny asks Ginger "Can You Use Me?" when they're driving back to the college, literally climbing all over her jalopy while she's trying to drive. The cleaned-up cowboys tell Ginger at her birthday that there's no one like "Embraceable You" as they all want to dance with her at once. Danny joins Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra for a wild piano solo to the only additional song, "Fascinating Rhythm."

The film's two best numbers are at the end. Garland puts in a gorgeous performance of "But Not For Me" after she loses Queen of the Rodeo and thinks Danny's abandoned her and the college. We end with that massive version of "I Got Rhythm" that Berkeley and Garland feuded over during filming. You'd never know how much trouble that number caused. It's a literal blast, with Garland and Rooney dancing with multitudes of cowboys and cowgirls and running under the girls' ribbons as the boys set off their guns. 

Trivia: Film debuts of June Allyson and Richard E. Strickland (as Danny's rival at the college). 

Berkeley was fired after pushing the dancers too hard and feuding with Garland during the "I Got Rhythm" number. He was replaced by Norman Taurog; Charles Walters did the remaining numbers and appeared as a dancer. 

The original Broadway show debuted in 1930, with Ginger Rodgers in Garland's role and Ethel Merman as a performer who also comes out west. The pit orchestra alone included such later notables as Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden, and ironically, Tommy Dorsey. It came back to Broadway in 1992 in a heavily revised version, Crazy for You, that was an equally big hit. Neither has been seen on Broadway since, though the original turned up as off-Broadway concerts in 2001 and 2009. 

Remake of the 1931 Wheeler and Woosley musical by the same title. Would be remade in 1965 as Where the Boys Meet the Girls.

What I Don't Like: While this is a little bit more mature than Garland and Rooney's previous romps in the big city and suburbs, the story can still come off as a little cliched, especially if you've seen other musical college stories like Good News. Wish Nancy Walker, as Garland's mouthy cousin, had more to do. MGM never did figure out what to do with her. And why did they change Danny from being sent to a dude ranch to a western college? Wanted to go for the Good News vibe, or just thought Rooney looked a little too young to be running ranches? 

The Big Finale: Terrific numbers, a great Gershwin score, and some nice performances make this the best of the four Garland-Rooney movies. Highly recommended for fans of them or the MGM musicals of the 1940's. 

Home Media: Easy to find in all major formats; the solo discs are from the Warner Archives. It's currently on HBO Max with a subscription.

DVD

DVD - The Mickey & Judy Collection

DVD - TCM Greatest Classic Legends: Rooney & Garland

Blu-Ray

HBO Max

Cult Flops - Fashions of 1934

Warner Bros, 1934

Starring William Powell, Bette Davis, William McHugh, and Verree Teasdale

Directed by William Dieterle 

Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Irving Kahal

This isn't technically a musical, but it does have a big Busby Berkeley number that's worth discussing. At this point, Warners was still trying to figure out what to do with Davis. She wanted to be loaned out to RKO to appear in Of Human Bondage, but they opted to give her the glamor treatment first, with a platinum blonde wig and false eyelashes. William Powell was already on his way to MGM after Warners couldn't quite figure out his dapper persona, either. How do both come off in this strange combination of elegant gowns and elaborate cons? Let's begin with con man Sherwood Nash (Powell) as his latest scheme is going broke and find out...

The Story: Sherwood's encounter with struggling fashion designer Lynn Mason (Davis) inspires his next big idea. They provide discount shops with cheap copies of the latest Paris fashions, at least until the designers start complaining. His next plot involves Lynn creating her own gowns, inspired by designer Oscar Baroque (Reginald Owen), but signing the names of famous designers. 

Once again, the designers complain...but this time, Baroque hires the two and Sherwood's photographer buddy Snap (McHugh) to spy on the designs of his rivals. When they're caught, Sherwood manages to blackmail Baroque's current girlfriend the Grand Duchess Alix (Teasdale) into getting her boyfriend to design a musical revue, using feathers sold by a friend of his (Hugh Herbert). It's a sensation...but when Sherwood opens his own competing house, that's when Baroque realizes he may have been outfoxed by this wily American...

The Song and Dance: This hodge-podge does manage some moments of amusement, especially when Powell is going a mile a minute with yet another big idea. He's a shady con artist and borderline crook, but you almost let it pass because he's so darn charming. The other big thing here - the fashions - don't disappoint, either. Warners went all out with costumes here, from glittering spangled gowns to the multitudes of feathered outfits and bikinis in Berkeley's "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" number. 

Speaking of, this is fairly racy for a movie that came out just before the Production Code went into effect. In addition to the scanty costumes, there's McHugh chasing anything that looks vaguely female, a man in Paris trying to sell him "filthy pictures," and some scanty-bordering-on-nude costumes in the Berkeley routine. 

Favorite Number: There's only one major number, but it's a lulu. Berkeley went all out with "Spin a Little Web of Dreams." A shop girl surrounded by feathers dreaming of a better life somehow turns into women playing living harps made of barely-dressed chorus girls, women in bikinis waving feathered fans in time to the music, and Berkeley's famous overhead shots turning them into feathery flowers. 

What I Don't Like: There's no glamor treatment in the world that could make Davis comfortable in even a semi-musical. She's clearly bored throughout, making her decision about whether or not to marry Sherwood or the rather dull orchestra conductor Jimmy Blake (Phillip Reed) unnecessary and dull. And why didn't Warners go full musical with this one? This could have been so much more. Berkeley could have done more with the other fashion show routines, or they could have tossed in a few more numbers or given Reed and burbling Hugh Herbert more to do. 

The Big Finale: The one big number is nifty, but not enough to make this interesting. For hardcore fans of Berkeley or the stars only. 

Home Media: Easy to find on Warner Archives DVD and streaming, including HBO Max with a subscription.

DVD

HBO Max

Back to School Again - Varsity Show

Warner Bros, 1937

Starring Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Pricilla Lane, and Ted Healy

Directed by William Keightley 

Music by Richard A. Whiting; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Even the Busby Berkeley spectaculars of the 1930's went back to school. Berkeley took his overhead formations and perfectly synchronized dancers from Broadway to higher education for that hallowed tradition of many big colleges, the varsity show. How does a college musical revue look like ala Berkeley and Dick Powell? Let's start at fictional Winfield College, where the students and assistant faculty advisor Ernie Mason (Fred Waring) are at odds with th old-fashioned advisor Professor Sylvester Biddle (Walter Catlett) and find out...

The Story: Desperate to make their show a success, the kids hit New York to hire Winfield alumni Chuck Daly (Powell), who is supposedly now a big-shot Broadway producer. The truth is, he hasn't had a hit in years. Hoping to get a big payment, his manager William Williams (Healy) convinces him to take the show and make it they way they want it to be, with lots of nifty jazz and swing numbers, under Biddle's nose.

Even after realizing he won't be getting the money from a school dance, Chuck decides to stay on. Biddle's still insisting on the show being done his way, with "genteel" music and no swing or jazz. Fed up with his fuddy-duddy ways, the kids go on strike and won't show up to class. When Chuck finally leaves to keep them from getting expelled, the kids decide to bring the show to him and prove that he still has what it takes to make it on the Great White Way.

The Song and Dance: The last thing I expected was to see in a 30's musical were college kids picketing the offices and taking part in a sit-down strike. For a while towards the end, I started to wonder if we were in college during 1937 or 1967. Their antics and talk of the realities of higher education during the Great Depression add a unique layer of authenticity to this backstage story. Powell's having a little bit more fun here than he did in the goofier Going Places a year later and Catlett enjoys his role as the stuffy professor whose musical ideas are a bit too dowdy for the Depression. Healy has a great time as the fast-talking manager who tries to avoid nerdy-but-cute co-ed Cuddles (Mabel Todd). 

Favorite Number: We open with all of the kids singing about how "The Varsity Show" is being put on tonight, and everyone is excited to try out. Johnnie Davis joins Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians to show off his big "Old King Cole" routine to a horrified Biddle. Healy, Powell, and the senior class sing why "We're Working Our Way Through College" as "freshmen" Powell and Healy are escorted down the senior walk. Rosemary Lane sings "On With the Dance" as Buck, Bubbles, and the college kids proceed to do just that during the big senior dance. She and Powell share the duet "You've Got Something There" during a romantic dance in the moonlight. 

The spectacular finale brings together all of these numbers, plus the hits "Have You Got Any Castles Baby?" and "Love Is On the Air Tonight," along with a medley of college fight songs. Black dance duo John W. Bubbles and Fort Washington "Buck" Lee start things off with some amazingly dexterous tap  work. Priscilla Lane takes over, cartwheeling her way through "Castles," while Busby Berkeley's overhead formations give us students forming the initials of major schools. 

Trivia: Priscilla and Rosemary Lane's film debuts. 

The movie was released at over two hours. In 1942, Warners re-edited it, losing 40 minutes and at least four more musical numbers, including more songs for Powell and Waring. The original version remains lost. 

Davis is best known to animation fans as the voice of "Owl Jolson" in the Looney Tunes short "I Love to Singa." 

What I Don't Like: First of all, Ernie's lucky he and the kids weren't arrested for just walking into a theater and taking it over. That was weird, and frankly kind of silly. Yeah, some of the plot can be pretty goofy or veer too close to other Warners/Berkeley extravaganzas of the time, and all of the Berkeley in the world can't make the dull music exciting. Lee and Bubbles are the janitors and are pretty slow and stereotypical unless they're dancing. Waring as the drama coach determined to have the kids show off their talent is a little too corny to be believable and comes off somewhere between stiff and creepy. 

The Big Finale: Some good numbers make this worth checking out for fans of black dancers, Powell, or the Berkeley musicals of the 1930's. 

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

DVD

Amazon Prime

Easy to Love

MGM, 1953

Starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, and John Bromfield

Directed by Charles Walters

Music and Lyrics by various

Esther Williams was at the height of her popularity in the late 40's and early 50's. Her extravaganzas grew bigger and bigger, with more elaborate water ballets and fancier special effects. None other than Busby Berkeley did the choreography for the big finale number in this one, and he has a far bigger stage than usual to work with. Cyprus Gardens opened in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936; by 1953, its lavish trees and flower displays and famous water skiing shows made it one of the top attractions in central Florida. How does this story of the Gardens' star attraction and her demanding boss look today? Let's begin at Cyprus Gardens with a show in progress and find out...

The Story: Julie Hallerton (Williams) is the biggest star in central Florida. She's so popular, her boss Ray Lloyd (Johnson) pushes her from show to beauty pageant to photo shoot...but doesn't pay her enough or really appreciate her. Her swimming partner Hank (Bromfield) wants to marry her, but she finds him dull. 

On a trip to New York with Lloyd, Julie encounters singer Barry Gordon (Martin) at a set for a lipstick ad. Barry's smitten with her and introduces her to the producer of a water show in New York. Julie would love the money, but what she really wants is Ray. At least, she thinks she does, until it only seems like he loves her star status. Then Gordon comes down to Florida, setting off Hank's jealousy. Julie has to figure out which man she truly loves, before they all dunk each other into the blue Florida waters.

The Song and Dance: Williams is at her best when she can play off leading men who are equal to her charisma in and out of the water. Johnson and Martin are more than up to the task as two of the three men who fall under her spell. The Cyprus Gardens cinematography is gorgeous, showing off the Technicolor with blooming flowers on turquoise waves and Williams' gorgeous array of pastel and creamy black and white gowns. 

Favorite Number: Martin gets his first number in a New York night club, warning "Look Out! I'm Romantic" to a bevy of chorus girls...and Julie, too. He performs the title ballad with Julie in a beautiful swan boat on her way to a romantic swimming ballet in Cyprus Gardens, then while laying on a pier. Martin serenades the swooning older ladies at Julie's hotel with "That's What a Rainy Day Is For" as a heavy rain shower falls outside. He encourages the ladies to sing along, and even gives them flowers.

The big numbers here are the three instrumental water routines. The first introduces Julie as she swims through rows and rows of rainbow blossoms with Hank. The second gets her dressed as a water-bound clown goofing off with a chimpanzee and avoiding a mechanical crocodile. Berkley's elaborate finale shows off the famous Cyprus Gardens Water Skiing Show, with Williams and an army of water skiiers jumping over the orchestra and weaving around water spouts. It's spectacular, beautifully filmed, and is probably Berkeley's last great masterpiece.

Trivia: Carroll Baker made her film debut as Barry's jealous girlfriend Clarice.

Williams was pregnant during filming, which is why she wouldn't do the incredibly high dive off the swing into the water during the finale.

Cyprus Gardens eventually fell victim to the tremendous popularity of Walt Disney World down the road and several hurricanes in the 90's and early 2000's. It closed in 2009 and is now a part of Legoland Florida. 

What I Don't Like: For all the incredible numbers, the story is pretty much water-logged. Ray is such a jerk to Julie until the last few minutes of the film, you almost wish she would take Hank, who at least treats her well. Smarmy Barry is no prize, either. The second half of the film, where they're all arguing over her like she's a piece of meat, gets really annoying after a while. The ending is less an ending than "we're almost done, let's throw everyone with someone." (Although who Barry ends up with is really funny if you know anything about Martin's long-time marriage.)

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Williams and her water spectacles, dive right in. Silly story aside, this is one of her better ones. 

Home Media: Only on DVD as part of the Esther Williams Spotlight Collection Volume 2. You're better off looking for this one used or catching it occasionally on TCM. 

DVD

Cult Flops - Flying High

MGM, 1931

Starring Bert Lahr, Charlotte Greenwood, Pat O'Brian, and Kathryn Crawford

Directed by Charles Reisner

Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Bert Lahr is today best known for his very funny performance as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 Wizard of Oz. He got his start as a low comic in burlesque, where he honed a lot of his noisier schtick. He hit the big time with a Broadway role in 1927; by 1931, he was one of the most popular stage stars in New York. MGM brought him over to film his big 1930 hit, replacing singer Kate Smith with her complete physical opposite, dancer and comedienne Charlotte Greenwood. Does this wacky comic musical fly high like Lahr's "Aerocopter" today, or should it be grounded? Let's head to a diner frequented by pilots and mechanics as waitress Pansy Potts (Greenwood) laments about her marital state...or lack thereof...and find out...

The Story: Pansy has just offered a $500 dollar dowry to the man who'll marry her. That money looks mighty good to Sport Wardell (O'Brian), who's trying to push goofball mechanic Rusty Krouse's new "Aerocopter" that can go side to side as well as up and down. Rusty spent all his money on his invention, and now they're so broke, they can't pay their bills or rent. Even when Sport does manage to find an investor (Guy Kibbee) and fall for his daughter Eileen (Crawford), the investor is broke. They both may end up behind bars for selling illegal stocks...unless Rusty can get Pansy's money and enters the Aerocopter in a race at an air show and keeps her in the sky.

The Song and Dance: This may be intended as a vehicle for Lahr, but he's overshadowed by Greenwood and one of Busby Berkeley's earliest choreographic assignments. Even here, you can see how well Berkeley does with playing to the camera, including the same kind of kaleidoscopic overhead shots he'd use two years later in the Warners backstage movies. Greenwood's having a great time chasing Lahr all over the Oakland Airport, and later when she jumps in the aerocopter with him and has to retrieve an important part from the wing and the landing wheel.

Favorite Number: "Happy Landing" is the big one...and unlike most musicals, it can be found in the first 20 minutes. Crawford performs this huge routine with the chorus, who hold wooden airplane silhouettes over their heads for the camera and form airplanes and the names of famous pilots. It's a nifty number, and a good preview of things to come for Berkeley. He does something similar with the nightclub routine "Dance Until the Dawn," this time letting the chorus dance in until they start making those airplane formations. Lahr tries to explain why he's not fond of the idea of marriage, while an eager Greenwood tries to rope him into a union in "It's the First Time for Me."

Trivia: The music for the original Broadway show was by DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson, but none of their songs were used for the film.

Film debut of Bert Lahr. 

The photo Sport shows Pansy of "Rusty" is actually of Clark Gable. 

"Happy Landing" and "Dance Until the Dawn" were later edited into the MGM Three Stooges short Plane Nuts. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, O'Brian comes off no more interesting here than he would in later musical outings at Warners like In Caliente. Musicals just aren't his forte. Crawford is even more colorless, other than her bit singing "Happy Landing" and "Dance Until the Dawn." This is very much a Pre-Code musical, with some scanty costumes. a few mild swears, lots of slapstick, and one sequence where doctor Charles Winninger examines a roomful of would-be aviatrixes who are more than happy to strip for him. 

The biggest problem, other than some lingering early talkie stiffness, is Lahr himself. No wonder he tended to work better in later films as a fantasy character or second banana to slightly less loony comedians like Red Skelton. He's way too much, mugging to the camera and jumping all over and yelling and ducking away from Greenwood like there's no tomorrow. It gets wearing and very annoying after a while. 

The Big Finale: Mainly for those interested in Berkeley's style, Lahr, Greenwood, or the early talkie musicals. 

Home Media: One of the earlier Warner Archive releases, this remains DVD-only at the moment. 

DVD

Ziegfeld Girl

MGM, 1941

Starring Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and James Stewart

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard

Music and Lyrics by various

MGM wasn't finished making use of the Ziegfeld name and the idea of "Glorifying the American Girl" after the Oscar-winning success of The Great Ziegfeld in 1935. Instead of going the biographical route, they opted to showcase three of their biggest up-and-coming female stars with this tell-all behind-the-scenes melodrama on the lives of three very different showgirls who get that "glorifying" treatment. How does it come off today? Let's begin at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York, where those girls wait to be "glamorized," and find out...

The Story: We follow the lives of three showgirl hopefuls as they're discovered and become famous in the Ziegfeld Follies. Sheila Regan (Turner) is spied by Ziegfeld's right-hand man Noble Sage (Edward Everett Horton) while operating an elevator in Brooklyn. Susan Gallagher (Garland) has been trying to get into the Follies for months, but only makes it in when Sage catches her vaudeville act with her father "Pop" Gallagher (Charles Winninger). Sandra Kolter (Lamarr) takes the job when her violinist husband Franz (Phillip Dorn) is considered to be "too good" for the pit of a Ziegfeld show and they need the money.

All three women attract beaus right away. Susan dates Sheila's brother Jerry (Jackie Cooper), but is worried about her father, especially when he goes on tour without her. Sandra's pursued by lead singer Frank Merton (Tony Martin), but they both have spouses who love them. Sheila rejects her truck driver boyfriend Gil (Stewart) in favor of a wealthy suitor (Ian Hunter). Stung, Gil gives up trucking and becomes a bootlegger. That sends Sheila on a downward spiral of alcoholism and bad decisions that ends in tragedy, even as Susan's star ascends and Sandra realizes whom she really cares about. 

The Song and Dance: Not hard to tell Busby Berkeley choreographed this one. His often flamboyant and outrageous dances take flight, even as the melodramatic plot remains earth-bound. I especially appreciate Sandra's story. It's rare to see a woman choose not to go with the life of glamor in a backstage musical. Sandra had a good head on her shoulders, and Lamarr did very well with her. 

We also get an early taste of the type of melodrama Turner specialized in later in her career towards the end of the film, when Sheila hits the skids. Look for Dan Dailey as a gambler who comes on to Sheila twice, first when she has money, and later after she becomes a drunk, and for Eve Arden as a supremely sarcastic showgirl who likes to show off the jewelry she got from her five husbands. 

Favorite Number:  "You Stepped Out of a Dream" would be the last hit song for Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed before Freed switched to full-time producing, and it's a great way to go. Berkeley gives us a full-on view of what a real Ziegfeld glitter-and-staircase number was reportedly like, with Martin crooning the romantic ballad to a gala of ladies in amazingly creative (and brief) costumes representing stars, clouds, and air. Garland and Winninger give us a glimpse at old-time vaudeville with their corny-but-cute dance and joke routine to "Laugh? I Thought I'd Split My Sides." 

The costumes are even briefer and wilder - literally, given some are trimmed with tropical birds or aquatic life - in Martin's "Caribbean Love Song." Garland joins the chorus for the rollicking tropical tragedy of "Minnie from Trinidad." Not only does this foreshadow Sheila's eventual fate, it's probably the best number in the movie along with "Dream." Berkley really has fun with the camera here, as the dancers rhumba and wiggle in their odd tan makeup. 

Trivia: There was originally one more song for Garland, "We Must Have Music." It was deleted after the film was finished and is mostly now lost. A fragment of it exists in the short A New Romance of Celluloid: We Must Have Music.

If the finale looks familiar, it was recycled from the "Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" cake-tier number from The Great Ziegfeld, dubbed over with new music. 

What I Don't Like: There's a reason Ziegfeld himself is never seen. The real Florenz Ziegfeld died in 1932. The Ziegfeld Follies were a regular Broadway attraction from 1907 until 1931. They appeared sporadically thereafter through the 1950's, including a 1943 edition. By 1941, women turned to other media, including movies, to be "glorified." Vaudeville was in heavy decline by this point as well, which is likely why Susan mentions her father is stuck in Omaha. 

The biggest problem is the plot. It's mawkish claptrap of the highest caliber, and it goes on for way, way too long. The numbers and the histrionics should have been trimmed way back, especially in the second half. You know darn well where at least Susan and Sheila are going to be by the end of the film, especially after Sheila drops Gil. Sheila's sudden heart problems towards the end and her death nearly fall into camp territory. It doesn't help that Dorn and Stewart are wasted in thankless "love interest" roles. 

(This is also the second big 40's musical this week I'm surprised was filmed in black-and-white. Ziegfeld showgirl parades practically shriek for color.)

The Big Finale: Check this one out for the great numbers alone if you're a fan of any of the stars involved and have time on your hands. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

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Cult Flops - Two Tickets to Broadway

RKO, 1951

Starring Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis, Eddie Bracken, and Gloria DeHaven

Directed by James V. Kern

Music by Jules Styne and others; Lyrics by Leo Robin and others

By 1951, Hollywood was in panic mode. Audiences were flocking to that new device in their living room called television and away from aging downtown and neighborhood theaters. RKO was in the worst shape of the major studios. It had never been the most prosperous to begin with, and it's new owner and producer Howard Hughes did nothing to help with his constant fussing over the tiniest details. One of the projects he produced was this big, bright musical tale with one foot in an old-fashioned "everyone put on a show!" plot and the other in the future of media. Let's start on the road, with three chorus girls on their way back from a disastrous job, and find out just how old-fashioned...and new-fangled...this is...

The Story: Also on the bus is Nancy Peterson (Leigh), the pride of Pelican Falls, Vermont. She's hoping to become a major star on the stage, but she doesn't have an easy start. Her suitcase gets mixed-up with the one belonging to singer Dan Carter (Martin). She chews him out about stealing her things before she figures out they have the same suitcase, then takes off with his. He brings it back and learns that she too is interested in singing. 

Dan and the dancers are represented by Lew Conway (Bracken), an unscrupulous agent who will lie about anything to get his clients work. He tells Dan, the ladies, and deli owners Harry (Joe Smith) and Leo (Charles Dale) he can get them on Bob Crosby's (himself) TV show, then hires a man (Taylor Holmes) to play Crosby's producer and convince the others they can get a spot. Trouble is, Lew can only lie for so long before the others start to realize they're rehearsing for nothing...and Nancy goes to Crosby herself...

The Song and Dance: Hughes wanted to get the film as close to the major musicals made by larger studios like MGM and Paramount, and he mostly succeeded. Busby Berkeley choreographed the numbers, and while they're not as spectacular as some of his earlier ones, they're probably the best thing about this along with the cast. DeHaven enjoys a rare chance to play a tougher singer than her usual dainty ladies. She, Miller, and Barbara Laurence have a fine time as the trio of been-around-the-block chorus dancers who are about ready to throttle Lew if he doesn't give them a chance. This would also be a rare chance to see stage comedians Smith and Dale's work and Bing's bandleader brother Bob as well.

Favorite Number: Our first big number has Nancy's high school insisting she sing a salute to her hometown of "Pelican Falls" as she's about to be sent off to the big city, complete with cheerleaders tossing people around and a marching band. The Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart song "Manhattan" begins as Martin singing with the ladies at Nancy's boarding house on the piano, and ends with them turning it into a spoof of New York types and shows. 

Martin and Leigh perform "The Closer You Are" on a piano in the rain; Martin does surprisingly well as a dancer. DeHaven reminds the ladies that being like "The Worry Bird" won't help their problems in a delightful number in the park tapped by Ann Miller. Bob Crosby jokes about his relationship with his more famous brother Bing, singing "Let's Make Comparisons" to a cardboard Bing come to life. The film ends on a romantic note with "Are You In a Beautiful Dream?" as Martin performs the sweet ballad and Leigh flits around in a filmy yellow dress, against pink feathers. 

Trivia: Laurel and Hardy were originally intended to play the deli owners, but Stan Laurel got sick after filming Atoll K and they weren't able to do it. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, RKO's financial problems means Berkeley couldn't play with the camera or do a lot of the tricks he's known for. I wouldn't have known he directed this if they didn't mention it at Wikipedia and Imdb. Second, while Bracken is a wonderful comic performer, his Lew is an annoying, whiny idiot who does nothing but lie to every single person within earshot. I have no idea why anyone would ever stick by him or why his girl remains with him. For all its TV setting, the story is your basic "put on a show" that had been done before and would be done again, with little that's original. The score is also not terribly memorable, other than the aforementioned dance routines. 

There's also one of the numbers at the TV show, "Big Chief Hole-In-the-Ground." This Native American spoof with Martin as an Indian who struck oil and the ladies as his wives may have been amusing in the 50's, but it's offensive, awkward, and incredibly tacky for most viewers today. 

The Big Finale: Really for fans of the cast, Berkeley, or the big musicals of the 40's and 50's only. 

Home Media: Currently DVD-only in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Family Fun Saturday - Billy Rose's Jumbo

MGM, 1962

Starring Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, and Stephan Boyd

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Richard Rodgers and others; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart and others

MGM tried for years to get this one off the ground, ever since the Broadway version debuted in 1935. They were first going to it in the 40's with Stanley Donen or Walters directing and Howard Keel starring, and then in the 50's with Debbie Reynolds, but that fell through. It wasn't until 1960 that Doris Day and her then-husband Martin Melcher thought it would be the perfect musical vehicle for her and for Busby Berkeley, who created the circus routines. How does this old-fashioned tale of "Sawdust, Spangles, and Dreams" look today? Let's head to the Wonder Circus as they set up for a show in Iowa and find out...

The Story: Kitty Wonder (Day) loves the circus life and her father, Anthony "Pop" Wonder (Jimmy Durante), but she's tired of him constantly gambling away their finances. Their performers haven't been paid in weeks, and creditors are breathing down their necks. The only ones who are really faithful are Lulu the palm reader (Raye), who is in love with Pop, and the talented elephant Jumbo who is (literally) their biggest asset. 

Enter Sam Rawlins (Stephan Boyd), a strapping young man and virtuoso tightrope performer who insists on a job. Kitty resists him at first, but Pop sees him perform in place of an aerialist who left and hires him on the spot. Sam and Kitty eventually fall for each other, but Sam has his own agenda. Pop's rival James Noble (Dean Jagger) would do anything to get Jumbo, even use a few dirty tricks up his sleeve. Even when the Warners are down, it'll take Sam to remind them that the show must go on, and there will always be "sawdust, spangles, and dreams."

The Song and Dance: An adorable confection with some decent numbers and wonderful sets and costumes. MGM really threw themselves into recreating the circus world of the early 20th century. You can almost smell the peanuts and sweat and feel the sticky cotton candy on the floor. Durante in particular has a lot of fun recreating his Broadway role, including his infamous "What elephant?" line when he tries to hide Jumbo towards the end. Raye more than matches him as the loud-mouth psychic whose lines more often than not seem to be crossed. Day's spunky as ever playing Pop's strong-willed daughter who loves her father, but wishes he'd spend more time pushing the circus and less throwing dice. And I do give them credit for keeping the majority of the original score and plot, with two additional Rodgers and Hart numbers ("Why Can't I?" and "This Can't Be Love") that fit in pretty well.

Favorite Number: We kick off the movie with the romantic "Over and Over Again," as Kitty rehearses with the circus performers, and everyone gets to show their stuff in a Berkeley big-top extravaganza. Berkeley has even more fun with "Circus On Parade," as Raye plays a roaring lion in a cage and a monkey escapes his cage and ends up in the crowd. "Why Can't I?" lament Kitty and Lulu as they wish their men would just pay attention while traveling to the next town. Sam tells Kitty she's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" as he works on the merry-go-round, then waltzes gracefully around the sawdust with her. "Sawdust, Spangles, and Dreams" is the big finale, as Kitty, Lulu, Sam, and Pop show off different acts and explain why they love what they do.

Trivia: This was Busby Berkeley's last film, Jimmy Durante's last major role in a movie, and Doris Day's last musical. 

No one seems to know who dubbed Stephan Boyd, or if he was, indeed, dubbed. Studio singer James Joyce was credited, but he has no listing for any other musical, and no one is credited on the soundtrack.

The original Broadway Jumbo debuted at the massive Hippodrome Theater in 1935, the last show to play there before it was demolished in 1939. Despite the success of the Rodgers and Hart score, it only ran six months. To my knowledge, it hasn't been seen since, though "My Romance," "Little Girl Blue," "Over and Over Again," and "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World" remain standards. 

What I Don't Like: Let's start with that plot. If it was old-fashioned in 1962, it's cliched as heck now, and nothing you haven't seen before in dozens of backstage and circus-themed films as late as the live-action Dumbo from last year. Stephan Boyd is basically cardboard, too stiff and dull to make one believe he could ever liven up a real circus (and was dubbed to boot). The finale "Sawdust, Spangles, and Dreams" is a bit odd, as the four leads play every circus role, from clowns to bareback riders. Is it their imagination? Is the Pop Warner Circus back on top? We never find out. Doesn't help that the song isn't up to the rest of the score - it was written by Richard Rodgers with Roger Edens. 

Not to mention, this movie is just plain too long. A lot of the circus routines and the draggy middle section could have been cut with no one the wiser. 

The Big Finale: This was a flop in 1962, and it was really the wrong movie at the wrong time. It was just too old-fashioned for the streamlined early 60's. If you love Day, Raye, or Durante, or are looking for a fun musical for the whole family, I'd grab a ride on Jumbo and head on down to the Warners' tent. 

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

DVD

Amazon Prime

Lady Be Good

MGM, 1941

Starring Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Eleanor Powell, and Red Skelton

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Music and Lyrics by various

MGM hoped to build comedienne Ann Sheridan up as a major musical star with this release. They paired her with smooth leading man Robert Young and their most popular musical performer, Eleanor Powell, along with up-and-comers like Red Skelton and Virginia O'Brian, and brought Busby Berkeley along as choreographer. How does this mix of experience and vitality look today in this story of a pair of songwriters who can't seem to stay together look today? Let's begin in the courtroom, as Judge Murdock (Lionel Barrymore) hears the story of lyricist Dixie Donegan (Sothern) and her up-and-down relationship with composer Eddie Crane (Young) and find out...

The Story: Dixie and Eddie first start writing together when she's with him and his current lyricist Bill Pattison (Dan Dailey) and they can't think of words for his music. When she sings the words she wrote on a handkerchief, Eddie realizes that she and the words are a perfect match. The song is a hit, and they end up getting married. It doesn't last for long. She would prefer to return to work, and he wants to entertain his society friends. The judge decides they're not compatible and grants the divorce.

Dixie's best friend Marilyn Marsh (Powell), singer Buddy Crawford (John Carroll) who has a crush on Marilyn, Eddie's best friend Joe "Red" Willet (Skelton), and his deadpan girlfriend Lull (Virginia O'Brian) all try hard to get them back together. It seems to work for a while, long enough for Dixie and Buddy to write another smash hit, "Oh Lady Be Good" and get remarried. Once again, though, she wants to work and he wants to play - she wants to start in on a show, and he wants to go on a honeymoon. It'll take a ploy playing on Eddie's hot temper and jealousy to make the two of them realize just how much their words and music can't live without each other. 

The Song and Dance: This unique twist on the typical romantic comedy musical is mostly a peg on which to hang some excellent numbers. Powell gets two of her best solo routines and handles the sequence when she and Dixie are using Carroll to make Eddie jealous very well. Skelton and O'Brian have their own fun as the comic relief couple. The Berry Brothers, a black dancing trio, show of some amazing dance moves in several numbers. While not elaborate to the degree of his earlier Warners extravaganzas, Berkeley still puts in some great work, especially on "Fascinating Rhythm." Barrymore makes the most of his brief but memorable role as the judge with some wise words on marriage for Dixie and Eddie in the end. 

Favorite Number: "Your Words and My Music" is the major hit that brings Eddie and Dixie together after they divorce the first time. After they get a cute rendition at the piano, we hear a more operatic version from Carroll and O'Brian's deadpan spin. The Barry Brothers get two amazing, high-splitting dance routines to "You'll Never Know" and "Oh Lady Be Good." "Lady Be Good" turns into a long montage, showing how the song becomes wildly popular across the country. Sothern gives a lovely performance "The Last Time I Saw Paris" at the awards dinner honoring their partnership. 

Powell has the film's two most memorable numbers. She's joined by a lively pup who performs in perfect time to an instrumental "Lady Be Good." Berkeley's touches pop up for "Fascinating Rhythm," including the sets that move as Powell taps away in her white tuxedo, ending with a great finale that has her being tossed to the camera by many hands.

Trivia: When Powell couldn't find a trained dog she liked for the Lady Be Good dog number, she bought one from a prop man and trained it herself. 

"The Last Time I Saw Paris" won an Oscar, despite not being written for the film. Jerome Kern, who intended for it to be a pop song, was one of the major people who pushed for the rule change to only original songs written for the film being eligible. 

The original Broadway Lady Be Good debuted in 1924 and was a hit for the time, running almost a year. There were two film versions. The silent version from 1928 that used the original film has since been lost. This one uses absolutely nothing from the original show but "Lady Be Good" and "Fascinating Rhythm." The Broadway show itself doesn't often turn up nowadays outside of an occasional summer staging. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, as good as the musical numbers are, most of them don't really have much to do with the story and barely move it along. Young's charming and sings well, but he's too laid-back to be a temperamental musician. Southern has the same problem - she's funny, but doesn't seem much like a workaholic, either. The story is a bit of a muddle, especially once they get into the elaborate and rather annoying attempts to make Eddie jealous in the end. 

The Big Finale: The terrific numbers alone make this highly recommended if you're a fan of Powell, Skelton, or the MGM musicals of the 1940's. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD via the Warner Archives and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime