Evergreen

Gaumont British, 1934

Starring Jessie Matthews, Sonny Hale, Betty Balfour, and Barry MacKay

Directed by Victor Saville

Music and Lyrics by various

Come with us across the Atlantic on a holiday trip to jolly old England this week as we take a look at the two most popular vehicles featuring beloved British dance star Jessie Matthews. Matthews started out as a dancer on the London stage in revues for Noel Coward and producer Andre Charlot. She'd been making movies since 1923. By the time this came out in 1934, she had just appeared in the successful movie version of The Good Companions and was looking to follow up on that success. How does the story of a young woman who poses as her own mother to get publicity look nowadays and on this side of the pond? Let's begin "yesterday" with popular music hall singer Harriet Green (Matthews) and her adoring audiences and find out...

The Story: Harriet gives up her career to marry the Marquis of Staines (Ivor McLaren), only to leave him and return to South Africa when her former partner George Treadwell (Hartley Power) tries to blackmail her over her illegitimate daughter. She leaves that daughter to be raised in the country by her old nursemaid. Years later, her daughter, Harriet Hawkes (Matthews), comes to London to get into show business herself. Handsome young publicity man Tommy Thompson (MacKay) sees Harriet's resemblance to her mother and convinces producer Leslie Benn (Hale) to feature her in a new revue as her well-preserved mother. Trouble arises when Harriet falls for Tommy, and not only does the public believe he's her son, but Treadwell comes knocking too, still looking for money. After they discover that they could get arrested for the deception, they have to figure out how to let Harriet be herself, without ending up in jail.

The Song and Dance: No wonder this was a huge hit in 1934 on both sides of the Atlantic. Matthews is simply luminous, an adorable cross between the dainty elegance of Audrey Hepburn and the ingenue proficiency of Eleanor Powell. Some of the numbers simply defy description. They're stranger than what even Busby Berkeley was doing in 1934, especially the "through the years" routine that begins with Matthews singing "When It's Springtime In Your Heart" in 1934 and ends up with women dressed in metal-covered robot costumes being turned into robotic workers in 1918 and people doing the waltz in 1904. The costumes and sets are absolutely gorgeous, with Mathews floating in acres of ruffles, lace, and fluff against a curving Art Deco backdrop. 

The Numbers: We open with Harriet Green wowing her audiences with an instrumental dance in a frilly gown, then singing the traditional music hall number "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-Wow." She and fellow actress-turned-titled lady Maudie (Betty Balfour) sing another music hall ditty, "I Wouldn't Leave My Little Wooden Hut For You" singing and dancing on the tables at their reception. Harriet sings "When You've Got a Little Springtime In Your Heart" twice, as an audition for Leslie Mann and Tommy Thompson after Tommy comes up with the idea of her being her mother, and later in that insane "through the years" number I mentioned above. The number starts with Matthews performing the song in one of her floaty dresses. She keeps turning a time piece, going further and further back, from the Charleston to the women turned into robots for Great War industry, to a waltz. 

Harriet wants to sing "If I Give In to You" and does a wonderful dance to it, but Maudie tells her it would give her away as a young woman. Leslie does the charming "Tinkle Tinkle" with the chorus at a rehearsal. Harriet goes Spanish in another instrumental dance, this time in a ruffled senorita outfit swirling with a passionate matador. Tommy's not really happy with Harriet when they rehearse "Dear Dear." Harriet keeps avoiding giving him a kiss, despite Leslie's insistence on it. The standard from this one is Rogers and Hart's "Dancing on the Ceiling," which Harriet dances in her living room while Tommy listens in his. 

"Over My Shoulder" begins as a romp in 1900, with Harriet and Tommy playing mother and son on an outing in their car. It turns into a more typical Berkeley-esque chorus girl routine in wild costumes. Harriet, finally fed up, comes out and does a striptease during her dance, ditching her "old lady" costume to reveal the young woman she truly is. Harriet reprises "Springtime," singing with her mother's own recording in court, then in a literal heavenly chorus. We end with Harriet singing "Over My Shoulder" with an angelic chorus. 

Trivia: Ever Green debuted at the Adelphi Theater on London's West End in 1930, with Matthews and Hale in MacKay's role. It originally had an all Rodgers and Hart score, but only "Dancing On the Ceiling," "Dear, Dear," and "If I Give In to You" were used in the movie. "In the Cool of the Evening" turned up as background scoring. To my knowledge, it has never made it to this side of the pond and has not been revived.

What I Don't Like: While I give the British credit for getting cheeky in a way no American musical would even attempt in 1934, this is still a fluffy 30's musical. MacKay is cute but otherwise dull as Harriet's love interest, and Hale can get annoying, especially early on when he's barking at everyone. And I do wish they'd kept the full Rodgers and Hart score! Though I do like "Over My Shoulder" (and it became a signature number for Matthews), most of the other non-Rodgers and Hart songs are pretty dull.

The Big Finale: If you love big 30's musicals or vintage British cinema, you'll want to step across time and join Harriet in her backstage adventure, too.

Home Media: Not on disc in North America, but it can be found on streaming.

Amazon Prime

Election Day Special - Hallelujah, I'm a Bum

United Artists, 1933

Starring Al Jolson, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon, and Madge Evans

Directed by Lewis Milestone

Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

Here's a truly unique musical experience to tide you over until the election results come in. After their Love Me Tonight was a critical (though not commercial) success, Rodgers and Hart opted to combine that film's rhyming dialogue and whimsical tone with something that more accurately reflected the political climate of the early 30's. It was also Al Jolson's attempt at a film comeback after his success in the late 20's and early 30's fizzled out. How does this mix of reality, poverty, and comedy look now? Let's begin with homeless men Bumper (Jolson) and Acorn (Edgar Connor) as they encounter Mayor John Hastings (Morgan) of New York on a hunting trip and find out...

The Story: Bumper is perfectly happy as the head of the New York homeless folks. They're not interested in working again, content with living a meager but friendly existence in Central Park and occasionally teasing Egghead (Langdon), a communist who works as a street sweeper. He's friendly with Mayor Hastings, as he once saved his life, and he hopes to be like him someday.

Mayor Hastings wishes he were as happy as Bumper and his carefree followers. He thinks his latest mistress June Marcher (Evans) is cheating on him and slips a $1,000 bill in her purse. When she leaves her purse behind, he thinks she's seeing someone else. Bumper does manage to return the purse, but June thinks Hastings is no longer interested and jumps off a bridge. He rescues her, then falls for her when he realizes she's lost her memory. He's willing to give up his shiftless ways to be with her...not thinking of what will happen when she regains her memories...

The Song and Dance: This is one of the most original musicals ever made in Hollywood. There aren't too many movies, let alone musicals, dealing with financial hardship, communism, and Marxist theory. Though Jolson is subdued compared to his earlier movies, he's also a lot easier to take as the head of the New York homeless than he was in his early talkies vehicles like Say It With Songs. (And note this is one of only two movies he made where he wears no blackface whatsoever.) 

While not their absolute best, the Rodgers and Hart score is still pretty good, and contains at least one standard in Jolson's ballad "You are Too Beautiful." Morgan matches him well as the troubled mayor, whose mind is on his lady rather than his job. The rhyming dialogue, with music often seamlessly flowing into words and back again, makes this into almost an opera at times. 

The Numbers: We open with Bumper proclaiming "I've Gotta Get Back to New York" as he and Acorn hit the road. He and the others sing their ode to "My Pal Bumper" after they arrive at Central Park. After a choir sings "My Country Tis of Thee" at the dedication of a new building, Mayor Hastings shows how they're "Laying the Corner Stone.

Acorn, Bumper, and Egghead know they owe "Dear Jane," whom they've never seen, for finding that thousand dollar bill, because "Bumper Found a Grand." After they argue over who gets a share of the cash, Bumper reminds them that it's not so important. After all, "What Do You Want With Money?" because "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum." He gets his answer when a "Kangaroo Court" puts him on trial for getting a job. Bumper admits that he did it for love, and "I'd Do It Again." He finally tells his Angel as they dance in their new apartment that "You are Too Beautiful." 

Trivia: Harry Langdon and Chester Conklin (the carriage driver in Central Park) were popular comedians in the silent era. 

Known as Hallelujah, I'm a Tramp in England, where "bum" has entirely different connotations. 

What I Don't Like: This is the definition of "not for everybody." If you're not a fan of musicals, like your musicals more traditional, don't like the rhyming dialogue, or don't agree with the leftist politics in question (or are unable to overlook them), you will not be into this. It's not for those who aren't fans of Jolson or prefer him in bombastic mode, either. Madge Evans isn't nearly as interesting as the guys. She has very little personality whether she's Bumper's angel or the mayor's mistress, making the love triangle not nearly as romantic as the movie wants to think it is. 

Milestone's lack of experience with musicals shows in his constant cutting away from songs before they finish. Even the lovely "You are Too Beautiful" barely gets a chance to end before he's off somewhere else. No wonder his only other musical would be the more traditional Anything Goes from 1936. The whimsical rhyming dialogue doesn't always work all that well with the social commentary, either. 

The Big Finale: This may be one of the most polarizing musicals in existence. Either you'll get a kick out of what Milestone, Jolson, and writer S.N Behrman were trying to do, or you'll find the rhyming dialogue, political waffling, and Jolson's ego insufferable. Give it a chance this Election Day and see which side of the debate you fall on.

Home Media: It's on DVD, and YouTube and the Internet Archive have it streaming at press time.

DVD

YouTube

Internet Archive

Musicals On TV - Dearest Enemy

NBC, 1955

Starring Anne Jeffreys, Robert Sterling, Cyril Ritchard, and Cornelia Otis Skinner

Directed by Max Liebman

Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

We continue our All-American Weekdays with a pair of lesser-known patriotic TV musicals. Dearest Enemy was Rodgers and Hart's second Broadway musical, and their first with an actual plot. It ran a year and a half in 1925 and 1926, a substantial hit for the time, but hadn't been seen since. Some of the songs remained popular enough for NBC to dust this off as one of their musical spectaculars. How well do Rodgers and Hart's very modern music work with the antique setting? Let's begin with a group of grouchy British colonels in London post-American Revolution as they call one specific incident that caused them to lose the war and find out...

The Story: Patriotic New York housewife Mary Murray (Skinner) and her young ladies are making gunpowder and bullets in preparation for the invasion of the British on their shores. They are taken over by General William Howe (Ritchard) and his men, including his aide John Copeland (Sterling). Copeland also brings along Mary's niece Betsy (Jeffreys) in nothing but Copeland's jacket. Her own clothes were blown up by British cannon fire. 

George Washington sent a soldier (Evan Wright) with a message that Mary and her girls should keep Howe and his men at the mansion overnight so he and his troops can reassemble in New York. Not that the girls mind much. Betsy isn't happy at first, until Copeland's charm wins her over. Mary and General Howe also find much in common. Their romances are threatened when Howe figures out what's going on. The ladies, however, still have to keep them from leaving. Even after the colonies win the war, Howe and Copeland never forget those charming American women...but it turns out they haven't forgotten them, either.

The Song and Dance: Jeffreys and Sterling were finishing a two-year-run as the ghostly madcap couple in the TV version of Topper when this came out. That and their own real-life happy marriage shows in their strong chemistry together. Monologist Skinner and TV favorite Ritchard also make an attractive couple and have some of the show's funniest lines. Neil Simon wrote the script to this one, and it shows the witty repartee and some of the goofier gags with how the ladies get the soldiers to stay. I also appreciate that they seem to have kept all but one of the original Rodgers and Hart songs, something that didn't always happen in Broadway adaptations of the 40's and 50's. 

Favorite Number: We open with a prologue set in England after the war, as Howe and the officers lament their loss in "Cheerio." This also becomes the first big chorus number in the US, as Howe, Copeland, and their troops reprise this to the people of New York as they take over the city, reminding them that they can use "Sweet Peter," gunpowder, to keep them in line. Mrs. Murray and her ladies get two numbers lamenting the arrival of the British and the loss of their menfolk to the battlefields, "Heigh-Ho, Lackaday!" and "War Is War." 

Copeland and Betsy get this score's standard, the soaring duet "Here In My Arms." They also have two more numbers together, "I Beg Your Pardon" on Betsy's scandalous entrance sans clothes, and "Bye and Bye" during Mrs. Murray's ball. Mrs. Murray and Howe get their own charming duets, "Old Enough to Love" early on and "Where the Hudson River Flows" during the dance routine at the ball. Howe jokes about how he and his men are tired of living like "The Hermits" after the number and don't mind sticking around. The ladies all admit "I'd Like to Hide It" when they're torn between their new love for the British troops and keeping them from wrecking havoc on Washington's arms.

Trivia: Mary Lindley Murray was a real person who did detain General Howe and his troops so Washington and his men could regroup after the Battle of Brooklyn in New York and move to safer quarters to plan their next attack. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the copy currently put out by VAI Entertainment is not in the best shape. It's fuzzy in many places and worn in others. Considering many TV specials of the 50's that were filmed live remain lost, we're still lucky to have this at all. 

Second, Mary Murray and General Howe may have been real, but Betsy, Copeland, the ladies, and their romances are all fictional. Online research reveals that a lot was changed from the original version of this show, too. In the stage show, Betsy made her first appearance in a barrel, holding a parasol. The ending was different, too. The men were captured and freed, and Copeland reunited with Betsy in America. Also, this is not for those of you who aren't fans of operetta. The ballads sound very 1920's, but the chorus routines and patter songs for Skinner and Ritchard are pure light opera patter and may not be for those who prefer a more modern sound to their musicals.

The Big Finale: Definitely not a bad start for Rodgers and Hart. Too bad this is the only filming of this show to date. Lovely American Revolution romance deserves to be far better-known. 

Home Media: Like all of the VAI TV musical DVDs, this is in print but expensive. You're better off looking for this used or on eBay.

DVD

Higher and Higher (1944)

RKO, 1944

Starring Jack Haley, Frank Sinatra, Michele Morgan, and Leon Errol

Directed by Tim Whalen

Music and Lyrics by various

This began life on Broadway in 1940 as a rare flop for Rodgers and Hart. RKO bought it and turned it into Sinatra's second movie and a vehicle for him and dancer Haley. By this point, Sinatra's star had already started to rise, and he looked like a clear threat to the popularity of older crooners like Bing Crosby. We get an even younger crooner, Mel Torme, here as well. How does this twist on the Cinderella tale of a servant who discovers where she belongs fare today? Let's begin with all the servants of millionaire piano manufacturer Cyrus Drake (Errol) going about their daily duties in song and find out...

The Story: They won't have those duties for much longer. Cyril is broke. He's in bankruptcy, and the courts may foreclose on his home. With Cyril's family on a long trip overseas, they form a "corporation" to turn pretty scullery maid Millie (Morgan) into the spitting image of his daughter Pamela Drake and have her marry rich. They choose wealthy Sir Victor Fitzroy Victor (Victor Borge) as the man for her. Millie is really more interested in Cyril's valet Mike O'Brian (Haley), but she does find handsome crooner Frank Sinatra (himself) attractive. So does Katherine Keating (Barbara Hale), the real debutante daughter of a friend of the Drake family. Mike thinks Millie wants Sinatra, but the others push her towards Victor. Millie has to decide what she really wants, and if she's really willing to go to the alter in the name of money.

The Song and Dance: This turned out to be way more fun than I figured from the B-level cast and small production. Sinatra's still a little stiff, but he's obviously much happier playing himself than he was a writer in Step Lively that same year. Errol and Mary Wickes have delightful moments as the desperate millionaire who will do anything to get back into easy riches and the social secretary who just wants to keep her job. 

Lovely Morgan is especially charming as the scullery maid who only wants to marry the man of her dreams. She gets her own hilarious moment at the ball when she can't figure out how to make a speech and blurts random lines out. There's some gorgeous gowns once they send Millie into high society, especially during the "Butler's Ball" where the two competing debs announce their sponsorship. And I have to admire the creative ending and how they do finally get Drake out of hock. It's also nice to see performers like Borge and dancers Paul and Grace Hartman who rarely made movies. 

Favorite Number: Sinatra naturally gets to croon several gorgeous ballads, including two hits, "The Music Stopped" and the Oscar-nominated "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night." Both are performed with Dooley Wilson, as the family's chauffeur and house pianist. He also gets a funny number with besotted pre-teen maid Marcy McGuire, who claims "I Saw You First" while chasing him around the house and his bike.

We even get three nice chorus routines for the family. The movie opens with "It's a Most Important Affair," as the servants do their duty all around the house to prepare their employer for his evening on the town. "Today I'm a Debutante" and "Disgustingly Rich" are the numbers where Mike convinces everyone to "incorporate" and turn Millie into a high society beauty. Wilson tells Mel Torme and McGuire that "You're On Your Own" in love. It eventually spreads to the entire household, including the two sets of lovers going for a walk in the garden. 

Trivia: This was Sinatra's first and last time playing himself in a film, and Borge's first and last time playing someone other than himself in a film. It's also Mel Torme's first movie. 

"Disgustingly Rich" is the only remaining Rodgers-Hart song from the original show, which barely lasted a month in 1940. It did manage to toss off a standard despite the short run, "It Never Entered My Mind."

Morgan was dubbed by Martha Mears.

What I Don't Like: First of all, Errol, Borge, and Haley are wasted in roles that barely require them to do much dancing or comic piano-playing. Torme only sings in the chorus numbers with the servants, too, and never in a solo. Second, while admittedly the score here is said to actually be better than the one in the original stage show, they couldn't have at least retained "It Never Entered My Mind" for Sinatra? Not to mention, they supposedly changed the plot to shoehorn Sinatra in, too. It does feel like one man too many is after Millie. There's also that fluffy plot. The "corporation" behaves like a pack of wolves after a bone, and it does get a little annoying until Mike stops the whole thing during the wedding. 

The Big Finale: Charming surprise is worth a look if you're a big fan of Sinatra, romantic comedies, or 40's musicals.

Home Media: Easy to find on disc and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Meet the People

MGM, 1944

Starring Lucille Ball, Dick Powell, Virginia O'Brien, and Bert Lahr

Directed by Charles Reisner

Music and Lyrics by various

Meet the People began life as Los Angeles revue in 1940. It moved to Broadway on Christmas Day, where it lasted five months, not bad for the time. MGM hit it with the This Is the Army Syndrome three years later, adding a thin wartime-related plot to stuff between songs. Ball was MGM's glamor girl of the moment; Powell stopped there on his way to RKO by way of Warners. Toss in Bert Lahr and original cast members Virginia O'Brien, Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra, and Spike Jones and His City Slickers, and you have a formula for an extremely of its time musical comedy. Let's begin with stage star Julie Hampton (Ball) talking before a crowd of eager shipyard workers and find out just how much of it's time this show is...

The Story: Welder William "Swanee" Swanson (Powell) lies that he sold the most bonds so he can meet Julie. He's so thrilled, he tells the workers she'll kiss everyone who makes additional pledges to him, allowing him to win. After he does win, he takes her out on a date and shows her the musical he's written, Meet the People. She's impressed and shows it to big-shot Broadway producer Monte Rowland (Morris Ankrum), but he's angry when the showy costumes don't reflect the working man depicted in his show and takes off. 

To prove she has the common touch, Julie goes to work at the same shipyard he's at. Julie's surprised as anyone when she finds the work enjoyable and the people fun to be around, and manages to convince Swanee to sign with Monte again. Bringing in photographers to show her working with the people and her speech to the workers goes over less well, leading him to accuse her of hypocrisy. Things get even worse when his cousin John (John Craven) comes home and learns there's no show. Swanee runs off to secure the funds for the show...but Julie and the workers have more than a few surprises in store for him.

The Song and Dance: Once place where I do give this one credit - at the very least, the plot about everyone banding together to create something that truly shows the voice of the people is a lot less dull than the romantic melodrama Warners shoehorned into This Is the Army. The real interest is the cast and the music. Monroe even gets in on a few numbers, and Spike Jones and the City Slickers have an obvious ball with their routine. (Their performances here and in Thank Your Lucky Stars makes me wish they turned up more often in the movies.) 

Favorite Number: We hear the romantic ballad "In Times Like These" twice, first when Powell and Ball duet on it while he sells her on his musical, and later as a number for Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra. The title song also appears twice, in a stirring version for Powell during a daydream when Swanee imagines his show reaching all the workers of America, and later in a more glamorous rendition during rehearsals for Ball and the chorus, bedecked in feathers and glitter. June Allyson joins O'Brien and Monroe at the worker's dance insisting "I'd Like to Recognize the Tune."

The real emphasis here is on the supporting cast. One young female dancer gives us an amazing acrobatic dance routine during a show at the shipyard, featuring lots of incredible bends and spins. The City Slickers get into swashbucklers spoofs in French Revolution dress for the wacky "Shicklegruber." Bert Lahr gets on the gags as well while making fun of nautical shanties with "Heave Ho, Let the Wind Blow." Virginia O'Brien gets in on the dark and rather disturbing comedy number "Say We'll Be Sweethearts Again," about a young woman who wants to stay with her boyfriend despite him being obviously done with her, at the show. 

Trivia: Bert Lahr's mannerisms in this film and his catchphrase "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" would later inspire the Hanna-Barbara pink lion character Snagglepuss. 

Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart wrote "I'd Like to Recognize the Tune." 

"Say We'll Be Sweethearts Again" found a somewhat more appropriate showcase as a number for Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series. 

What I Don't Like: Powell and Ball are clearly bored. Powell left Warners to get away from this type of malarky. No wonder he never did another musical. While the emphasis on shipyard work and the importance of war workers makes this slightly more interesting story-wise than other semi-revues of the time, it's still too fluffy for its own good and, like This Is the Army, was probably better off as an unrelated collection of songs and sketches. In fact, all that talk about how important war work is and how easy Julie's life is by comparison comes off sounding preachy and annoying nowadays. (Even Julie calls Swanee on it.) Other than "Recognize the Tune" and the rather disturbing "Say We'll Be Sweethearts," the songs aren't all that memorable, either. 

The Big Finale: For fans of 40's musicals or the stars in question only. 

Home Media: Currently DVD-only; in fact, it was one of the earliest Warner Archive titles. 

DVD

Cult Flops - Hollywood Party (1934)

MGM, 1934

Starring Jimmy Durante, Jack Pearl, Lupe Valez, and Polly Moran

Music and Lyrics by various

Directed by various

This movie began life as The Hollywood Revue of 1933, the next in a series of revues that began with MGM's first variety show in 1929. It took a lot of wrong turns on the way to the screen, running through a series of screenwriters and directors who tried to make sense of the strange numbers and random bits from some of the best comedians at MGM, not to mention the addition of a Disney short. How does Durante's wild Tinseltown blow-out look today? Let's begin at a theater with the newest film starring jungle hero Schazeran the Conqueror (Durante) and find out...

The Story: Durante's pictures are flopping fast. His manager (Richard Carle) insists he needs to start fighting real lions again, rather than the worn-out stuffed ones he's been using. Durante holds a huge party to draw Jack "Baron Munchausen" Pearl (himself) and his menagerie, including lions. Also at the party are an Oklahoma oil family hoping to break into California society, Liondora (George Givot), Durante's rival, who also seeks to buy Pearl's lions, and Durante's female co-star in the Schazeran movies (Velez), who doesn't appreciate being left off the guest list.

The Animation: Mickey Mouse himself appears in a very cute sequence where he imitates Durante, then plays the piano for him. Mickey's typical of the stretch-and-squash animation in his shorts at the time, but he interacts very well with Durante and even has a few nice gags with a piano. "Hot Chocolate Soldiers" is better, a three-strip Technicolor short about a chocolate soldier army who attacks gingerbread men. It's on a par with the Silly Symphonies Disney made at the time, particularly in details like their uniforms and the candy animals they ride before and after their battle. 

The Song and Dance: This is one heck of a party! The barely-there story is merely a framework to hang some creative numbers and a lot of goofiness from some of the top comedians in Hollywood at the time. Durante revels in his rare leading man status, happily vamping Moran and looking ridiculous in his half-naked Tarzan spoofs and "reincarnation" number. Larry Fine and Curly and Moe Howard, the original Three Stooges, have a short bit with their original leader Ted Healy as autograph hounds and a photographer, and Laurel and Hardy get a very funny gag with Lupe Velez involving a lot of broken eggs.

Favorite Number: We kick off with the racy title song, as scantily clad phone operators announce the party to all of Southern California, and then we see people getting dressed and ready to dance the night away. "Feelin' High" takes us into the actual party, as Shirley Ross, Arthur Jarrett, Harry Barris, and The King's Men drink to their heart's content and the chorus whirls over the dining tables. Liondora's young cohort Ben Benson (Eddie Quillan) and the Clemps' starry-eyed daughter Linda (June Clyde) perform a cute near-touch dance to "I've Had My Moments." Arthur Jarrett performs the title song of "The Hot Choc'late Soldiers" animated short, written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed in the cutesy style of "The Wedding of the Painted Doll" from The Broadway Melody. 

Trivia: Among the directors who worked on this movie are Richard Boleslawski, Edmund Goulding, Allan Dwan, Russell Mack, Charles Reisner, Roy Rowland, and Sam Wood. George Stevens directed the Laurel & Hardy scenes. 

Some of the many numbers deleted from the movie still exist, including a spoof of "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" for Jimmy Durante and Polly Moran called "Fly Away to Ioway." Others whose skits and numbers ended up on the cutting room floor included Zazu Pitts, Jackie Cooper, Thelma Todd, Max Baer, and real-life Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller. 

Dwan's complaints that the unfinished film was "a nightmare" inspired the finale, where Durante awakens to see his real wife and concludes the whole thing was a dream.

What I Don't Like: Like many real-life wild parties, this one doesn't make a shred of sense. As much fun as it is to see Mickey Mouse, The Three Stooges, Lupe "Mexican Spitfire" Valez, and Laurel & Hardy in the same movie, they don't really interact with one another, and other than Valez, don't have much to do with what very little plot there is. You can absolutely see the tinkering and many cooks involved. It lurches from number to gag with no form or real reason for existing. That may have worked in 1929, but by the era of the Busby Berkeley Warners extravaganzas, it's silly, annoying, and a bit dated.

The Big Finale: Harmless hour's worth of lunacy if you're a huge fan of Durante or any of the comedians involved. 

Home Media: DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

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

Babes In Arms

MGM, 1939

Starring Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Charles Winninger, and Margaret Hamilton

Directed by Busby Berkeley

Music and Lyrics by various

We jump back a year to the first of the Garland-Rooney "put on a show" films. This one started out as a hit Broadway show in 1937. It proved to be even more popular on the big screen, bigger than Garland's other major film that year, The Wizard of Oz. Does it continue to delight audiences with it's talented teens and their barnyard show today, or should it be sent to the orphanage? Let's begin with the birth of a future trooper and find out...

The Story: Mickey Moran (Rooney) is literally born into show business. He dances with his parents in their vaudeville act, at least until the arrival of talking pictures, radio, and the Great Depression brings an end to variety shows. Many aging vaudevillians moved their families to a small town in Long Island, New York after their careers ended, including Joe Moran (Winninger). He encourages the other former vaudevillians in the town to go on tour and prove they're still relevant, before their homes and children are taken away.

Meanwhile, his son is equally determined to show that their children can be every bit the performers their parents are. After their parents claim they'll just be "baggage" on the road, he encourages his sister Molly (Betty Jaynes), his best friend Patsy Barton (Garland), and the local kids to help him put on a show in a barn. Patsy's upset when Mickey initially gives former child star "Baby" Rosalie Essex (Preissler) her role, to the point where she leaves...and there's the lady from the work houses (Hamilton) complaining that the kids should be going to school and studying for a trade, not show business.

The Song and Dance: Berkeley's first movie at MGM shows a lot of creativity, especially in dealing with the kids. There's a lot of energy from everyone, especially the ever-moving Rooney. What I really like is, unlike with Strike Up the Band, there's real stakes here. It's not just winning a contest or helping a friend. The kids are trying to keep their families together by doing what they love during the worst economic downturn anyone ever knew. It makes the melodrama later on a bit easier to take than it is in Strike Up the Band. 

Favorite Number: Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney really get things moving with their lively version of "Good Morning," sung on the piano before an interested song publisher. Betty Jaymes and Douglas McPhail are supposed to be singing a romantic "Where or When" on a moonlit boat ride, but Rooney doesn't think they're putting enough heart into it. He points to Garland to show them how to really pour passion into a song. Speaking of passion, she gets the hit ballad "I Cried for You" on the bus after arguing with Rooney over Rosalie taking her place in the show. The movie ends with a huge patriotic extravaganza, "God's Country," and Rooney and Garland parodying the popular conception of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt at the time, "My Day."

Trivia: The "My Day" Roosevelt spoof was cut after Franklin D. Roosevelt died in 1945. It was thought lost until the 1990's, when it was discovered on 16 millimeter film and restored. "God's Country" was originally introduced in a stage show called Hooray for What! MGM bought it, but never filmed it. 

This was Garland and Rooney's second film together after the drama Thoroughbreds Don't Cry. 

The original show debuted on Broadway in 1937 and did well for the time, running a little over 9 months, with music by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and choreography by George Balanchine. It was heavily re-written and sanitized in 1959; though the original does turn up from time to time, the 1959 version is the one usually seen in revival and performed by community theaters.

What I Don't Like: Too bad they couldn't have kept more of the original plot or songs. Garland and Rooney proved they were perfectly capable of handling gems like "I Wish I Were In Love Again" and "Johnny One Note" in the later Rodgers and Hart biography Words and Music. "The Lady Is a Tramp" can be heard in the background when Rooney's trying to woo Preissler, but it's not performed on-screen. There's also the big minstrel show number, with Rooney, Garland, and all of the kids in blackface and bad southern accents. It was nostalgia for an earlier era of entertainment then; nowadays, many modern audience members will likely be offended well before rain brings the number to a premature end. 

The Big Finale: This one isn't bad, but I think the Garland-Rooney movies got better as they went along. There's enough good numbers here for this to get a recommend, particularly for fans of the two young stars. 

Home Media: All of the Garland-Rooney musicals are easily found on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - I Married an Angel

MGM, 1942
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Edward Everett Horton, and Binnie Barnes
Directed by W.S Van Dyke
Music by Herbert Stothart and Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart, George Forrest, and Robert Wright

MGM wanted to do this movie ever since they got Jeanette under contract in the mid-30's, but the original play and Rodgers and Hart musical were too spicy for the era. By 1942, they'd cleaned it up enough to pass the censors...but MacDonald and Eddy were both past their prime, and the movie didn't do well at the box office. Does this angel deserve a second chance on Earth today? Let's head to the bank owned by playboy Count Palaffi (Eddy) in Budapest and find out...

The Story: Count Willie Palaffi would rather chase all the lovely ladies in town than take care of his bank affairs or pay attention to hard-working secretary Anna Zador (MacDonald). His head teller Whiskers (Reginald Owen) tries to encourage Willie to take a second look at her, but his head secretary Martika (Mona Maris) also has designs on her boss and gives Anna a costume to wear to his big birthday ball. She arrives dressed as an angel, but everyone else is wearing elaborate gowns and headdresses. Willie dances with her until they're laughed at.

He flees and falls asleep in his office, where he dreams that Anna is an angel named Brigitta who has come to Earth to marry him. He thinks she's perfect and does take her for his wife...but she's too perfect and too honest, alienating his society friends and causing a run on the bank. His sister Peggy (Barnes) takes her aside to teach her to be a little more devlish...but it proves to be too successful when she flirts with one of his partners (Douglass Dumbrille).

The Song and Dance: This charming fantasy is a great way for MacDonald and Eddy to go out. They both have some very funny moments; check out her rearranging the Bank's board of directors so they're sitting next to their mistresses, rather than their wives, or the expressions on Eddy's face during the surreal montage towards the end where he can't get to his angel, no matter how hard he tries. The lavish costumes, including MacDonald's "real" angel wings, give the film the appropriate decadent European feel. Great cast, too, including sarcastic Barnes as the Count's sensible sister and Edward Everett Horton as the Count's valet and announcer.

Favorite Number: The title number is heard twice, first as a solo for Eddy, then as a duet for him and MacDonald as he introduces her to his bank board at his wedding reception. "Spring Is Here" is also heard twice - MacDonald sings it in the opening, and she and Eddy perform it together later when they're on their honeymoon. Eddy talks to "Hey Butcher" on the streets in Paris, leading into "I'll Tell the Man In the Street." "Tira Lira La" is the big number for the Count's girls in their fancy costume at the party; they later sing it at the wedding reception when he's getting married. Barnes teaches MacDonald how to be a human woman with "A Twinkle In Your Eyes," complete with a really cute little jitterbug.

Trivia: This was originally going to be a Paramount musical in the early 30's, but Rodgers and Hart moved it to Broadway when the Hays Code declared the idea of an angel losing her wings to a mortal man to be too racy. The original I Married an Angel debuted on Broadway in May 1938 and ran nine months, not bad for the time. While it's probably too fluffy to be revived, it has been seen as staged concerts recently, including an Encores! concert in New York in 2019.

What I Don't Like: The fluffy story is cute but insubstantial, and is likely one of the big reasons this has rarely been seen outside of concert halls since 1938. The idea of a mortal "deflocking" an angel and the angel being corrupted may rub some people the wrong way even today, let alone then, and the film and show aren't terribly kind to women, either. MacDonald and Eddy, as funny as they are, were also a tad old for their roles by this point.

The Big Finale: Many MacDonald and Eddy fans aren't crazy about this one, but I think it's a great way for them to end their partnership. It was just the wrong movie at the wrong time. A European-set fantasy romance probably wasn't the best thing to be releasing during the height of World War II, and the stars had probably worn out their welcome by then, too. One of their better and more unique films.

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

DVD
Amazon Prime

My Funny Valentine - Love Me Tonight

Paramount, 1932
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Maurice Chevalier, Myrna Loy, and Charlie Ruggles
Directed by Rouben Mamoulien
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

After I reviewed the tragic romance Carmen Jones for Valentine's Day last year, I figured this year's entry called for something much lighter. Rouben Mamoulien's frothy romantic comedy about a princess who falls for a tailor is considered by many critics to be one of the finest musicals of the 30's, if not of all time. Does it deserve those accolades? Let's begin the morning in Paris with the tailor Maurice (Chevalier) and the rhythmic sounds of the city and find out...

The Story: Maurice (Chevalier), tailor from Paris, travels to a country chateau to collect outstanding debts from the Viacomte de Vareze (Ruggles) for tailoring work. On the way, he passes the lovely Princess Jeanette (MacDonald), the Viacomte's niece. Jeanette is a young widow who only lives with her family because there are no eligible men of her station and rank her age in the area. He falls for her the moment he almost knocks her off the road, but she's not nearly so interested in him.

She's a lot more intrigued when the Viacomte claims he's a baron and a friend of his. Now the whole household is beholden to his charms, including the head of the family Duc d'Artelines (C. Aubrey Smith), man-crazy Valentine (Loy), and three aunts who spent most of the movie working on a tapestry. He rescues a fox from a hunt, winning over even Jeanette with his boyish ways. She's not as happy when she finally learns who he really is...but when she realizes how she feels, no matter who he is, she discovers that a modern princess can make her own happy ending.

The Song and Dance: Every book I've read about movie musicals praised this to the skies, calling it one of the best and most cinematic musicals ever made. For once, they were entirely right. Mamoulien sought to break out of the mold of static early musicals by bringing the songs off the stage and into real life. Everything makes music in the opening "The Song of Paree" sequence, taking us from the sounds of the city to Maurice's shop. "There's career-best performances from just about everyone, including Maurice and Jeanette as the lovers; Loy is a riot as Valentine, who is desperate for any kind of male companionship that isn't her family. Rodgers and Hart's songs are probably their best work in Hollywood. "Lover" and "Love Me Tonight" in particular can be heard in the background of many a Paramount movie to this day.

Favorite Number: Every number in this movie is a delight, but "Isn't It Romantic" is a major stand-out. It starts out with Maurice singing about his idea of love in his shop...and we follow the song as it carries from the city to a train to soldiers to the country and Jeanette, who gives a much more traditionally romantic view. It's one of the most exhilarating use of editing in any film musical. Chevalier has a blast with his patter number "Mimi" at the party...and it's just as cute to see various members of the family sing it afterwards in their own way. MacDonald and Chevalier duet on the lovely title song in the garden during the party, and Maurice is sent away to a montage of servants and aristocrats alike whispering that "The Son of a Gun Is Nothing But a Tailor."

Trivia: Censors cut several bits after the movie was re-released in the mid-30's. Among the losses were a few ribald comments from Valentine, Loy's rendition of "Mimi" (supposedly, her breast could be seen through her sheer nightgown) with the rest of the family, and the doctor's number as he examines Jeanette, "A Woman Needs Something Like That." Alas, a full, uncut version of the film has yet to be found.

What I Don't Like: Obviously, if you're not a fan of frothy romantic comedy or the two stars, this won't be your glass of French champagne. It's also not for dance nuts. Here, the cameras and editing do the dancing.

The Big Finale: If any movie musical deserves to be better-known, it's this one. If you love romantic comedy, the two stars, or Mamoulien's other work, you owe to yourself to check this one out.

Home Media: While the movie is currently available through the made-to-order Universal Vault collection, the original Kino International DVD I have is neither expensive,  nor difficult to find.

DVD - Universal Vault
DVD - Kino International

Pal Joey

Columbia, 1957
Starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Rita Hayworth, and Barbara Nichols
Directed by George Sidney
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

This was originally a minor hit on Broadway in 1940, but a revival in 1952 was such a smash, Columbia Studio head Harry Cohn bought it for his most popular actress, Rita Hayworth. By the time they got to filming it, Hayworth had switched to the older woman role, and the ingenue role went to Cohn's newest discovery Kim Novak. Columbia also couldn't get original 1940 star Gene Kelly and ended up reworking the title role into a singer for Frank Sinatra. How does the story of a heel who uses women and people to get his own nightclub look nowadays? Let's join Joey (Sinatra) on the train to San Francisco and find out...

The Story: Joey Evans (Sinatra) is literally tossed on the train after getting into girl trouble in his previous job. He manages to talk his way into a gig at a second-rate club, mainly because he's interested in one of the chorus girls, Linda English (Novak). However, as much as he likes her, he has loftier ambitions. He pursues a previous girlfriend and stripper-turned-rich widow Vera Simpson (Hayworth), even living with her on her yacht in order to get her to fund his new club Chez Joey. Even with his relationship with Vera growing, Joey still has eyes for Linda and gets a job for her at the club. Vera, however, doesn't appreciate that one bit...and her growing jealousy ends with Joey having to decide once and for all which woman really owns his heart.

The Song and Dance: If you love musicals that veer toward the dark-ish, you'll probably enjoy this. Even with the story toned down, this is still pretty cynical for a musical. Sinatra is perfect as the man who uses and abuses women, only to be floored when he actually falls for one. Novak and especially Hayworth are also quite good as the women in his life. They're surrounded by a gorgeous Technicolor production, with the ladies dressed in tight-fitting, jewel-toned 50's gowns and San Francisco recreated in all it's gritty and glamorous Golden Gate glory.

Some people may be bothered by the changed ending, but I actually kind of like it. It remains ambiguous and somewhat downbeat for a musical from this era, even as Joey does get himself a girl (and a dog).

Favorite Number: Sinatra scores with two of his best recordings, a relaxed "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" when he talks his way into the first club job, and one of my favorite-ever versions of the standard "The Lady Is a Tramp" later at Chez Joey. Novak gets in on the intentionally cheesy chorus girl routine "That Terrific Rainbow" and sits in an old-fashioned valentine to croon one of my favorite Rodgers and Hart ballads, "My Funny Valentine." Hayworth has two terrific solos, the stripper spoof "Zip" where she poses as a striptease artist who knows about a lot more than taking her clothes off, and another standard Rodgers and Hart ballad, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" as she showers and dresses after Joey agrees to live with her.

Trivia: Gene Kelly and 20's operetta favorite Vivianne Segal were Joey and Vera in the original 1940 Broadway cast. Segal was retained for the popular 1952 revival, joined by dancer Harold Lang. Lang and Carol Bruce appeared in the first London showing in 1954. It's been revived three times, in 1963, 1976, and 2008; none ran longer than three months. The story was substantially re-written in the 2008 version.

What I Don't Like: The ending isn't the only thing that was changed from the original show. A whole subplot about gangsters blackmailing Joey and Vera was dropped, and several characters were combined or eliminated. Vera's husband was still alive, and her affair with Joey was "on the side." There were a few songs that were performed outside of the nightclub; here, all of the numbers but "Bewitched" and the big finale "What Do I Care for a Dame?" are sung as club numbers. Many songs were dropped as well, including Vera and Linda telling each other to "Take Him" and Joey insisting "You Mustn't Kick It Around."

And even with the darker edges sanded off, this still isn't the musical for you if you're looking for something lighter and fluffier or more overtly romantic, or with a stronger story.

The Big Finale: Not my favorite Sinatra movie, but it's worth a look if you're a major fan of his or Hayworth's or love Rodgers and Hart.

Home Media: Currently available via the made-to-order Sony Choice Collection. That and streaming are your best bet - the limited-edition Blu-Ray from Twilight Time is expensive. (I watched it for free on the streaming service Crackle, which was previously owned by Sony/Columbia.)

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime

Words and Music

MGM, 1948
Starring Mickey Rooney, Betty Garrett, Tom Drake, and Janet Leigh
Directed by Norman Taurog
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

This was the second lavish MGM musical biography about popular songwriters of the early part of the 20th century after Till the Clouds Roll By in 1946. The spotlight here is on Richard Rodgers and his first partner, the complex and troubled lyricist Lorenz "Larry" Hart. Hart had a difficult and tragic life that was often reflected in his dark, introspective words to Rodgers' graceful music. How does that come across on-screen in this time period? Let's join Tom Drake as Rodgers as he discusses how his relationship with Hart began to find out...

The Story: Richard Rodgers (Drake) first meets Lorenz Hart (Rooney) when their friend Eddie Anders (Perry Como) introduces them in the early 20's. Larry's late for their very first meeting, but he arrives with the lyrics for "Manhattan" already hashed out. They have little success for the next few years, until starlet Peggy McNeill (Garrett) performs their songs at a party. The number used in the revue The Garrick Gaieties is a hit and turns them into one of the most popular songwriting duos on Broadway. Their words and music are a perfect match, but Dick is getting tired of Larry's habit of disappearing for weeks while working on lyrics, his obsession with his height and lack of looks, and his partying, and his never being on time.

Neither man does especially well with the opposite sex at first. Peggy continuously turns Larry down; Dick is rejected by older Broadway star Joyce Harmon (Ann Southern) and teenager Dorothy Feiner (Leigh). Dick does eventually marry Dorothy and have two girls with her, but Larry never manages to settle down. Even when they go out to Hollywood, Larry still pops up whenever he feels like it after a spree. He's seriously depressed and sick, especially after Peggy rejects him one last time. Dick's tired of his never being on time, his heavy partying, and constantly disappearing and is considering taking a new partner. Larry is deliriously feverish, even as he wanders dazed into the theater in the rain to see one last show.

The Song and Dance: As with Till the Clouds Roll By, the musical numbers are the thing here. Energetic Rooney really throws himself into playing Hart, the brilliant wordsmith who ultimately succumbed to his demons, and Jeanette Nolan is very sweet as his beloved mother (whom he lived with for much of his life). Some of the costumes are gorgeous; I especially love the outfits for Southern's "Where's That Rainbow?" routine.

Favorite Number: "Where's That Rainbow?" was the only song I'd never heard of before I saw this movie. I'm glad I discovered it. Ann Southern and the chorus have a great time with the lively routine in their colorful dance outfits. June Allyson is squired by the Blackburn Twins in their adorable trio "Thou Swell." Lena Horne scores with stunning renditions of two of Rodgers and Hart's best songs, "Where Or When" and "The Lady Is a Tramp." Rooney and Drake (dubbed by Bill Lee) kick things off with a very cute version of "Manhattan." Cyd Charisse dances a lovely "Blue Room," sung by Como, while Ann Alyn McLerie and the chorus join him for rustic Okalahoma-esque "Mountain Greenery." 

The movie is probably best known for two numbers towards the end of the film. Rooney and his long-time friend Judy Garland performed together on the big screen one last time, and it was worth it to get them together. Their "I Wish I Were In Love Again" is absolutely hilarious. Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen perform the Rodgers ballet "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" from the Broadway show On Their Toes as far darker and more dramatic than pretty much anything else in the movie.

Trivia: Although the movie was a hit, it was so expensive that it barely recouped its costs.

For all the inaccuracies, some things really did happen. Most of Hart's destructive habits, including his chronic lateness, his running off for weeks while working, his obsession with his lack of looks and his shortness, and his partying, are portrayed more-or-less realistically. A friend really did introduce Rodgers to Hart; their first big show was The Garrick Gaieties. Hart was considered to be part of the Rodgers family. Dick and Dorothy's daughters thought of him as a fun-loving uncle.

Sadly, Hart's death is also portrayed fairly accurately. He did indeed die of pneumonia after wandering around in the rain the night of the the opening of the revival of A Connecticut Yankee.

What I Don't Like: This was even more sanitized than Till the Clouds Roll By. Hart was a closeted homosexual, something they couldn't exactly discuss in 1948. He did have problems with his relationships...with men. Richard Rodgers, who was consulted on the film, was well-known for being a control freak and a bit of a jerk. He was nothing like the blandly attractive Drake. Hart was actually witty and soft-spoken, very different from the brash and energetic Rooney. Drake's romances mid-way through the film feel almost as manufactured as most of the second half of Clouds Roll By. His attempt to woo the ladies just isn't that interesting.

Once again, there's no attempts whatsoever to represent the clothes of time period accurately. It looks like 1948 for the entire movie, including in the 20's in the opening.

The Big Picture: Same deal here. If you're a big fan of Rodgers and Hart or the MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's, you'll find a lot to enjoy if you can ignore the inaccuracies.

Home Media: Currently available on DVD and several streaming companies.

DVD
Amazon Prime

Bing Crosby Double Feature I - Here Is My Heart and Mississippi

Bing Crosby was one of the most beloved entertainers of the 20th century. He helped popularize the term "crooning" and pre-recording on radio and television, among other things. He started out in the 30's in two-reelers, but his popularity couldn't be contained to a mere 20 minutes for long. These two short musicals are among his earliest feature vehicles. How does Bing's star charm hold up today?

Here Is My Heart
Paramount, 1934
Starring Bing Crosby, Kitty Carlisle, Alison Skipworth, and Roland Young
Directed by Frank Tuttle
Music by Ralph Rainger and Lewis E. Gensler; Lyrics by Leo Robin

The Story: Wealthy radio crooner J. Paul Jones (Crosby) has always dreamed of presenting two dueling pistols once held by his namesake to the United States Navy. He owns one, but the other pair is in the possession of the Princess Alexandra (Carlisle). It's a family heirloom, and she won't part with it for anything. For all her haughty grandeur, she and her family of former Russian nobles are now poor, and are living in a luxury hotel off goodwill and borrowed money. Jones poses as a waiter to get into their private suite. The truth is, Alexandra is really bored and tired of hanging around with her dull elderly relatives. She wants something different...and this waiter who seems to be interested in her is certainly that. For his part, Jones finds himself falling for her when he realizes that she has a good heart under the icy demeanor and starts to wonder if his deception is a good idea.

The Song and Dance: This low-key romantic comedy with music coasts on the considerable charm of it's two leads. As good as Crosby is as the crooner, I was most impressed with Carlisle as the royal who has a warm heart under her cold outer shell. I also liked Young as the most enterprising of the nobles and William Frawley as a reporter digging for a story. Some of Jones' commentary on the idle rich and how they live (and are condescending to those who aren't in their circles) is actually pretty interesting (and still spot-on).

Favorite Number: The lovely "June In January" was the hit, but "Love Is Just Around the Corner" wins for a very original number where Bing sings a duet with a recording of himself performing the song. I also liked his first duet of "January" on the boat in the opening with Marion Mansfield as his girlfriend Claire.

What I Don't Like: Don't come here looking for big numbers or complicated plots. Jones' playing another waiter to make Alexandra miss him is as complicated as it gets. While the three main songs are quite good, they're played constantly throughout the short running time. I kind of wish there'd been at least one other number, maybe something a tad more uptempo. Carlisle and Crosby have some nice chemistry in their dialogue scenes, but her meticulous instrument doesn't mix well with his crooning, making their duet on "With Every Breath I Take" sound a bit odd.

The Big Finale: Short and sweet, this isn't the most important musical in the world, but it's worth checking out if you're a big fan of the leads or romantic comedy.

Home Media: While it is currently available as part of Universal's made-to-order Vault series on Amazon, your best bet may be to do what I did and buy it as part of a Crosby set with five other films (including Mississippi, below).

Universal Vault DVD
The Bing Crosby Collection DVD Set

Mississippi
Paramount, 1935
Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Bennett, W.C Fields, and Queenie Smith
Directed by A. Edward Sullivan
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

The Story: Tom Grayson (Crosby) is a northerner who has just become engaged to southern belle Elvira (Gail Patrick) at her father's plantation in the pre-Civil War south. Her younger sister Lucy (Bennett) has a crush on him, but he just thinks of her as a nice kid. The wedding is called off after the pacifistic Grayson refuses to fight a duel with Major Pattison (John Miljan), who is also interested in Elvira. He eventually gets a job on a show boat owned by Commodore Jackson (Fields), who promotes him as "The Singing Killer" after a man is accidentally killed in a brawl. He returns to Elvira to find that she's married...but Lucy is all grown up and still crazy about him. She's not so crazy about that new reputation of his, though...

The Song and Dance: While the sets and costumes aren't bad and Crosby and Smith get to sing some great Rodgers and Hart numbers, it's Fields who really walks off with this one. He supposedly worked well with Crosby, especially in the sequence where he tries to teach the young singer how to be tougher. Probably the most famous sequence from this is Fields' outlandish stories during a poker game on how he survived among a bloodthirsty Native American tribe.

Favorite Number: Rodgers and Hart wrote two songs for Crosby in this film that became major hits. While "Soon" gets the big build up, the one that's more associated with him is the sweet ballad "It's Easy to Remember." Smith also gets to have fun with the other Rodgers and Hart number, "Roll Mississippi."

What I Don't Like: For all the fun Crosby has with Fields mid-way through, he's mostly awkward and out-of-place in a period film. Bennett and Patrick aren't much better. Fields feels like the only actor who actually belongs here. The plot seriously hasn't dated well. Many people would likely agree with Tom's views on honor and violence today and think that the Major is being something of a drama queen, while others would be offended by the way the black characters are treated like furniture.

The Big Finale: Worth seeing at least once for fans of Crosby and/or Fields if you can handle the dated plot.

Home Media: Same deal here. It's also part of the Universal Vault, but you're probably better off getting that set, which is cheaper and easier to find.

Universal Vault DVD