Celebrating Juneteenth - Killer Diller

All-American, 1948

Starring Dusty Fletcher, George Wiltshire, Butterfly McQueen, and Nellie Hill

Directed by Josh Binney

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Juneteeth, the day the slaves were freed in Texas, with a collection of black talent you won't see anywhere else. Race movies, B-films made for segregated black theaters, go back to the silent movie era. By the post-war era, they were wildly popular, and though there were dramas, mysteries, and non-musical comedies, the biggest of all were the all-black musicals. We saw two other race films from this era back in February. How does this one compare to those? Let's begin with theater manager Baltimore Dumdore (Wiltshire), as he tells his secretary Butterfly (McQueen) to find him a magician, and find out...

The Story: The magician Butterfly digs up is Dusty (Fletcher), and...well, he's not very good. He accidentally makes his girlfriend Lola (Hill) disappear after she walks into two disappearing cabinets. Trouble is, Dumdore just gave Lola a thousand-dollar pearl necklace that vanished with her. The police chase Dusty in and out of his cabinets...and all around the acts in the big variety show Dumdore wanted him for in the first place.

The Song and Dance: With a story that flimsy, the real attraction here is the variety show itself. Nat "King" Cole and his trio make some of their first movie appearances here, and we get a rare glimpse of a slightly watered-down version of Jackie "Moms" Mabley's infamously ribald stage act. Some of the dancing is pretty darn amazing too, especially from the quartet known as The Four Congaroos. 

The Numbers: Our first song isn't until we start the variety show, 15 minutes into a 75-minute movie, but it's the lively "Gator Serenade" by Andy Kirk and His Orchestra. Next, sassy Beverly White has too much fun admitting she loves being single in "I Don't Want to Be Married" and "It Ain't Nobody's Bizness What I Do." Rotund singing comics Patterson and Jackson are next with "I Believe" from It Happened In Brooklyn, a delightful tap routine by Patterson to "Ain't Misbehavin," and their imitation of the Ink Spots, "If I Didn't Care." Moms performs "Don't Sit On My Bed" twice, first after Patterson and Jackson. Later in the night, she's disrupted by Dusty and the cops and gets so fed up, she walks off. We next get another nifty tap routine, this one from the Lark Brothers. 

After that, it's our first Nat "King" Cole Trio number of the night. Cole's having a great time with the adorably charming upbeat ballad "Ooh Kickaroonie." Cole slows things down with the comic blues number "Now He Tells Me," then finishes with "Breezy and the Beat." The Four Congaroos really pick up the pace with their wild Lindy Hop to Andy Kirk and His Orchestra playing "Basie's Boogie." Kirk and His Orchestra stay for two more solo numbers. The variety show's finale features Kirk and his group performing "Apollo Groove" for the "Varietettes Dancing Girls," aka members of the Katherine Durham School of Dancing. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention the flimsy plot? There's a few mildly funny moments with Dusty being chased by the cops and flirting with Butterfly, but they're mostly annoying and unnecessary. (And we never do get to see Dusty do his actual magic act in the show.) I really, really wish BET or someone else would throw money at restoring these, too. The copy on Tubi is awful, scratchy and blurry.

The Big Finale: Worth checking out for the acts alone if you're a fan of Cole or Mabley or the black orchestras and performers of the 40's and 50's. 

Home Media: Like most of the race movies, it's in the public domain and can be found on most formats. It's currently streaming for free with commercials at Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Happy Father's Day! - Hearts Beat Loud

Gunpowder & Sky, 2018

Starring Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemmons, Toni Collette, and Sasha Lane

Directed by Brett Haley

Music and Lyrics by Keegan DeWitt

We're digging into the indie scene to honor Pride Month and Father's Day with this charming tale of a father and daughter who form an unlikely songwriting duo just as their lives pull them apart. Independent musicals go back to the start of the early talkie era, when even smaller production companies were bit by the musical bug. They started up again with their own lower-budget versions of Busby Berkeley in the 1930's. By the 1940's, Poverty Row studios like Monogram were making dozens of musicals mainly catering to the brand-new youth market or to soldiers overseas. Once the war ended, they tapered off...until the 60's, when the Beach Party movies made for drive-in double features suddenly made low-budget antics big again. Even today, low-budget independent musicals like Once continue to prove that you don't need big studio largess to make great music. How does this sweet, simple story fare? Let's begin at Red Hook Records in Brooklyn, where owner Frank Fisher (Offerman) is offending a customer by smoking inside, and find out...

The Story: Frank looks forward to playing music and writing songs with his daughter Samantha (Clemmons) every evening. It's one of the few things in his life that isn't changing for the worse. His landlady Leslie (Collette) just raised the rent on his record store, and he won't be able to keep it open for much longer. Sam insists that she's going away to medical college in California at the end of the summer, and that she's not starting a band with her father. He downloads a song they wrote on Spotify, calling themselves "We're Not a Band." While Frank rejects Leslie's ideas to expand the store with a cafe, Sam writes a song about her relationship with her girlfriend Rose (Lane). It isn't until the day Red Hook Records closes for good that father and daughter agree to play together again. Even though they'll be on separate coasts, they now understand that when they play each other's music, they're never far from each other's heart.

The Song and Dance: This is such a sweet movie. Though Collette as the landlady with an interest in Frank and Ted Danson as Frank's bar-owning best friend have good moments, it almost entirely belongs to Offerman and Clemmons as the fractious father and daughter. He in particular puts in a terrific performance as the doting dad who fears change and hopes that posting their music and getting her to play in a band with keep her from leaving. Some nice cinematography in the real Brooklyn, too, especially as Sam and Rose go on dates throughout the borough. Their relationship is also genuinely charming, even if it doesn't get the screen time that Sam and her father do.

The Numbers: We open with Frank watching "Summer Noon" on his laptop and ignoring a fussy customer who insists that he not smoke inside. We first hear the embryonic form of "Hearts Beat Loud" during a father-daughter jam session. Sam adds lyrics to it later, which her father then uploads to Spotify without telling her. She writes "Blink (One Million Miles)" about her relationship with Rose. He writes "Shut Your Eyes" and "Everything Must Go," the latter on closing the store. They play "Hearts," "Blink," and "Everything" on the final day of the store's operation. She reprises "Hearts" at an open mic night in California alone.

Trivia: The songs were performed live on-set, much as they would have been in real life.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention this is a small-scale, low-budget musical? It's not for someone who wants huge Busby Berkeley spectacles and big stars, or a more complicated story. It's just a father, a daughter, and how they deal with the changes in their lives. Those looking for something more lavish or typical will have to go elsewhere. I also kind of wish we could have seen a little bit more of the girls' relationship and how Rose handled their separation. 

The Big Finale: Small-scale charmer has a lot to love for those who just want to watch something sweet and small with their own dads this Father's Day.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including for free on streaming with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Muppet Musicians of Bremen

Robert Laurence Productions/The Jim Henson Company, 1972

Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Phyllis Marshall

Directed by Jim Henson

Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

Our final Family Fun Saturday review returns to the Muppet well one more time. This is the last of the three Tales from Muppetland specials that Jim Henson developed before he started working on The Muppet Show. This one is slightly more realistic and less romantic, despite the talking animals. It almost seems like a comic preview for Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas five years later, which also had more realistic-looking animal puppets. How does the German folk tale of three unwanted animals who form a band, then accidentally scare off robbers look now? Let's begin with Kermit as he introduces us to our music-playing quartet, and that they weren't always as happy as they are now, and find out...

The Story: After years of faithful service, the old donkey Leroy (Nick Nichols) runs away from his owner, the grouchy thief Mordecai (Francois Klanfer), when Mordecai tries to kill him. The instruments Mordecai stole that he accidentally runs off with inspires him to become a traveling musician. Three other older animals, TR the Rooster (Nelson), Rover Joe the hound dog (Klanfer), and Catgut the cat (Marshall), also join him after their robber owners throw them out. When they come upon a little house in the Lousiana bayou, they think it's the home of a charming family...but it's really their former masters divvying up their spoils. The animals think they're saving a family, but they really end up scaring the thieves off and discovering they make a nice musical family on their own.

The Song and Dance: I give this one credit for going with a more unique and slightly more realistic story than the fantasy specials. The Grimm's fairy tale "The Musicians of Bremen" isn't often adapted for the screen in North America, even in animated or puppet form. Klanfer, Nichols, and Marshall are hilarious whether they're playing music, singing the blues, or dodging their obnoxious or less-than-brilliant owners, and Rasposo's music is almost a catchy as his songs for The Frog Prince. 

The Numbers: We open with the animals briefly playing an instrumental Dixieland number under Kermit's narration before we meet Leroy. He sings the first version of "I'm a Traveling Musician," which is reprised and added to as he's joined by more animals. TD laments "The Cock-a-Doodle-Doodle Blues" to the chickens in the farm before he leaves. Catgut has similar complaints to the rats on the farm as she claims "You've Got to Know Your Friends." Leroy claims that the people living in the old shack are "A Family Together." The others think they see "A Family Together," too...but it's really the robbers fighting over their stolen goods.

Trivia: The animals would be used in other Henson projects, including the special Muppet Show: Sex and Violence and The Muppet Show. 

What I Don't Like: This is a bit simpler than Frog Prince or The Muppet Show. It lacks the heartwarming sequences of Emmett Otter or the romance of Frog Prince. It also lacks the humans - this is an all-puppet project. Kermit is the only familiar face - no later Muppets appear - and unlike Frog Prince, he's only on in the beginning. 

The Big Finale: If your kids love animal projects and/or the Muppets, they'll have a wonderful time with the four best animal musicians in the bayou.

Home Media: Alas, this is YouTube-only at the moment. 

YouTube

Honoring Chinese New Year - Step Up: Year of the Dance (Step Up China)

Yuehua Entertainment/Lionsgate Films, 2019

Starring SuperDino, Meiqui Meng, Bobo, and Kim Sung-joo

Directed by Ron Yuan

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's head to modern-day China to celebrate the Year of the Horse and one of the most internationally popular musical franchises. The original Step Up debuted in 2006. It wasn't popular with critics who found its class war story to be too formulaic, but the incredible dancing made it a hit with teens and young adults who loved the moves and the rebellious characters. It was such a success, it led to four more unrelated Step Up movies that were all hits in their own right and a TV show that lasted for three seasons. 

One of the reasons it continued to do well was its enormous popularity in international markets, especially Asia. Even when the fifth film, Step Up: All In, didn't do well in North America, it still made money elsewhere. China took notice and made a Step Up film exclusively for their country in 2019. It came over here as a streaming exclusive in 2020. Is it as good as the other titles in this franchise, or should it be left on the streets? Let's begin with a young Chinese man (SuperDino) right before a big dance battle and find out...

The Story: Tie Hou (SuperDino) landed in prison after a bar brawl two years before, right as he was about to tell his crush Xiao Fe (Meng) he loved her. He's able to reunite with his old dance group the Iron Crew, but she hasn't forgiven him. Wealthy young He Chaun (Bobo) is trying to audition for a major international dance competition with the Black Tigers, but fellow dancer Dai (Sun-joo) kicks Chaun off the stage and injures him. They both get the trophies, but Dai isn't happy when it turns out the judges were paid off. 

Meanwhile, Tie Hou has tried to get a job working with everyone from strippers to kids, but his tougher style of street dance doesn't work with poles or children's classes. He even dances when he works at a construction site. Chaun sees him and tries to get him to join his new dance crew. Hou refuses at first, until he sees Chaun's elegant dance battle with the Black Tigers that even works the cane in. Fe is impressed and flirts with him. She's out of place at Chaun's birthday party, until she shows up the snobs there with a few great dance moves of her own.

Chaun has started a dance team of his own, Sky Crew. Even with Chaun pushing them hard to practice everywhere, they still lose in their first dance battle with the Black Tigers. They come up with the idea of filming their combination dance and Kung Fu moves. That gets them the dance battle invitation, but it also gets them recognized. Hou loses his best friend Tie She when the gang he fought in the bar tries to get him back. Now they really have a reason to beat the Black Tigers, and then take on the American team the Phantoms.

The Song and Dance: And the dance, along with some decent cinematography that makes the best of this film's low-budget origins, is the lone saving grace here. It really is exceptional. Director Yuan was normally a stunt man and martial artist, so he at least had the right instinct about how to shoot the choreography, both for the fight scenes and the dance scenes. Some of the dance scenes, especially the dance battles, are excitingly choreographed and not badly edited for something this cheap. I also appreciate that there's no hard feelings at the end. None of the dance teams indulge in bad sportsmanship or put down the others. Even the Phantoms, who were built up as the villains, bow for their fellow competitors. 

The Numbers: We open with Tie Hou, Tie She, and Xiao Fe doing their own robot moves at the bar before the gang war breaks out. Tie Hou has his solo number as he interprets the fight through dance. There's a chorus routine at a club when he gets out that includes some pretty sweet breakdancing. Hou tries to explain his feelings to Fe during their robot dance duet to "Honey Honey." They even dance with metal poles that he uses to play drums on trash cans at one point. The Black Tiger's slick number in white suits is going great, until Dai gives Chaun that fatal kick.

Next up is our first montage, as Tie Hou first tries to teach dance to strippers, then fan dancers, then children. None of them are there to learn the street dancing he favors. He even dances briefly at a construction site. Tie Hou starts dancing at an outdoor ring, until the same toughs who attacked him at the bar make nasty prison jokes. Chaun out-dances them even with a cane. Fe gets her big solo at the party when some of the snottier girls call her a "street bum," and she dances to show what a street bum can do. Chaun joins her, to the consternation of Tie Hou. Chaun and Hou have a stiff-kneeded dance off to rap music later that night at the party. 

The Sky Crew start off briefly "dance battling" each other before Chaun reminds them that they have their own unique style. The next montage shows the Sky Crew training everywhere - even over a grill and while bench-pressing a fire extinguisher. They're still arguing during rehearsals, until they realize that they do better when they come together as a team. The next montage shows different dance groups - even a black group and an all-kid team - competing at a club. When the Black Tigers are the winners, the Sky Crew film their moves - dance and Kung-Fu - and post them online. The Phantoms rise to the occasion at the competition with their genuinely excellent hip-hop dance. The Black Tigers are more athletic, often dancing on their knees. The Sky Crew start out with traditional Chinese music before getting into their own rap dance.

What I Don't Like: First of all, the dubbing on the copy of this at Tubi is lousy. Lips don't match, voices often don't sound like they belong to the characters. Second, whether this franchise takes place in Baltimore or Beijing, the cliches are the same. There's a reason the Step Up films (this one included) were never popular with critics. No amount of terrific dancing can cover the fact that the story is the same overcoming the odds parable we've seen hundreds of times. Admittedly, Tie Hou having been in prison and his difficulty finding jobs does give it a slightly more realistic edge, but Tie She's death is played for melodrama, and the class war drama isn't nearly as exciting as the movie wants to think it is. There's also this being a low-budget film. It does show at times, especially in the dull sets.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the other Step Up films or of Asian musical cinema, this is worth checking out once for the dance routines alone.

Home Media: Streaming only in North America. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials. 

Tubi

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Jivin' In Be-Bop

Alexander Distributing Company, 1946

Starring Dizzy Gillespie, Freddy Carter, James Moody, and Helen Humes

Directed by Leonard Anderson and Spencer Williams

Music and Lyrics by various

Some race films bypassed flimsy plots entirely to document the popular black singers and orchestras of the time. Gillespie's career began in the mid-30's. He played on several big band orchestras and did arrangements for others before he struck out on his own in a small combo in 1944. He was riding the rise of both small combos and be-bop, then considered to be a jazz sub-genre, when he and his combo appeared in this film. How well do these numbers come off today? Let's let our master of ceremonies, Mr. Freddy Carter, tell us what we're about to see and find out...

The Story: There isn't one. Carter introduces Gillespie and his orchestra and a variety of dancers, from a modern dancer swinging scarves barefoot (Sahji) to a laid-back tapper (Ralph Brown). He does gags trades quips with the musicians between numbers.

The Song and Dance: And obviously, with no plot to discuss, song and dance are the only things of interest here. If you love Gillespie, you're going to have a great time here. We get some of his biggest early hits, including "Salt Peanuts," "Things to Come," and "I Waited for You." Some of the dancing is pretty incredible, too. Sahji can do some amazing moves barefoot, on the floor, and in a skimpy costume, while the jiggerbugging chorus mid-way through has to be seen to be believed. 

The Numbers: And we open with Carter introducing "Salt Peanuts," as played by Gillespie and his orchestra. Singer Helen Humes wrote, performs, and helps to introduce the rollicking "E-Baba-Le-Ba." Gillespie and his boys perform "Oop-Bop She-Bam" and an original instrumental, the latter of which provides the backdrop for comic soft-shoe duo Johnny and Henny. Johnny comes out later for an even more dynamic solo routine. "Shaw 'Nuff" is Sahji's modern dance routine, with her spending more time dancing on the floor than on her bare feet. 

"I Waited for You" gets into more romantic turf, as a handsome young gentleman performs the longing ballad to his sweetheart. Pianists Dan Burley and Johnny Taylor, aka the Burley-Taylor Duo, play their own "Hubba Hubba Blues" for a group of appreciative young ladies. We get a taste of African dance as a leggy duo in a low-budget idea of scanty native costume dance "A Night In Tunsia." Humes returns for another one of her compositions, the slower and sadder "Crazy About a Man." Gillespie's next number with the orchestra is the more jivin' "One Bass Hit." 

Burley and Taylor come back for "Boogie In C," wigged to by a lovely, slender dancer in a scanty white fringed costume with some amazingly high kicks. "Dynamo A" is accurately titled as the chorus takes the floor for some outstanding jitterbugging. "Ornithology" is the first of two tap numbers from Ralph Brown, this one done in top hat, tie, and tails. Gillespie himself performs "He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped" with his orchestra. The slinky "Boogie In C" returns for a faster-pasted number in a slightly more lavish black dress to "Droppin' a Square." 

"You ain't heard nothin' yet!" Gillespie tells Carter as we move on to "Things to Come" with Gillespie's orchestra. A less well-dressed Brown returns with a more laid-back tap routine to "Ray's Idea." The "dance creation" turns out to be "Bag's Boogie," as the "Tunsia" male dancer gives us a more polished and airy performance on a literal pedestal. We end back with Burley, Taylor, and the slinky female dancer, this time in scanty black and silver for "Hubba Hubba Boogie."

Trivia: There's a version of the film on DVD called Things to Come that cuts Carter's prattle with the musicians between the numbers. 

What I Don't Like: Obviously, this isn't for you if you're looking for an actual plot with your musical numbers. It's also not for those who don't love Gillespie or the jazz, be-bop, or dance styles of the mid-late 40's. This is another one that could use some restoration, too, especially given how much it relies on audio. The film is scratchy here too, the audio distorted in places.

The Big Finale: Mainly for huge fans of Gillespie or the be-bop, jazz, and dance from this era.

Home Media: This is another one in the public domain, making it easily found everywhere and in all formats.

DVD

Tubi

Beware! (1946)

Astor Pictures, 1946

Starring Louis Jordan, Frank H. Wilson, Emory Richardson, and Valerie Black

Directed by Bud Pollard

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we dive into Black History Month with two "race movies" from the late 40's. From the 1910's through the early 50's, black filmmakers made movies directly for African-American audiences. They were usually low-budget efforts released through small independent companies, but some of them, especially in the silent era, could get quite elaborate. Later films featured singers, performers, and orchestras who were often neglected or could only manage cameos in mainstream movies of the time. Most of these films were largely forgotten or lost until they started to show up on cable in the 90's, and later streaming. Now that many of them are more visible, are they worth checking out, or should they be left at school? Let's start at Ware College in Ohio with Professor  (Frank H. Wilson) and find out...

The Story: Lucius "Louis" Jordan (Jordan) attended Ware in his younger years, but is now a famous bandleader. He and his band are passing through and only end up there because their train is being held over. Ware is in the midst of major enrollment and financial problems. The son of the founder Benjamin Ware III (Milton Woods) wants to close the school and marry pretty teacher Annabelle Brown (Black). Annabelle only has eyes for Louis, whom she's had a crush on for years. She and the head of the school Dean Hargreaves (Emory Richardson) convince Louis and his band to put on a show that will save the school. Louis is more interested in figuring out what's going on with Benjamin Ware, who seems a little too interested in having his family's namesake college shut down.

The Song and Dance: Jordan's no actor, but he is a charmer in this surprisingly fun low-budget effort. It's no worse than other school-based musicals of the period. In fact, just this being set at an all-black college in Ohio makes it a little bit more unique than most college shows. There's some really nice music, too, including Jordan's not-bad rendition of the Billie Holliday standard "Good Morning Heartbreak." 

The Numbers: Our introduction to Jordan and His Orchestra is the rollicking "How Long Must I Wait For You?" in a montage on a train that shows us Jordan's success. He sings a lovely "Good Morning Heartbreak" the day after encountering Annabelle again for the first time in years. He and his orchestra perform "In the Land of the Buffalo Nickel" for a tiny class of a few students...that gets bigger and bigger the more they play. He sings and plays "Hold On" on his saxophone for Annabelle, Professor Leary, and the dean...but Ware is only slightly impressed.

Annabelle walks into an instrumental dance routine for the students in her own classroom that doesn't amuse her or Professor Leary. This turns into "You Gotta Have a Beat" when Jordan takes over the class. Their mule mascot inspires Jordan's "Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule." We get another brief instrumental chorus jitterbug routine at the dance before Ware starts admiring Annabelle a little too much. "Long Legged Lizzie" is one heck of a dancer at the school prom after Ware announces that the school isn't closing down. Jordan slows things down with the bluesy "Salt Pork, West Virginia." "Beware, Brother, Beware" is Jordan and the orchestra's warning against the lady who says one thing and does another. We end with "Old Fashioned Passion" as Jordan woos the slightly reluctant Annabelle.

What I Don't Like: First of all, I wish someone would take a crack at restoring more race films. Beware is in only slightly better shape than the 1941 Sunny, all scratches and raspy sound. Second, while the story is slightly stronger than usual for either a race or college movie, it's still full of all the attendant school musical cliches. About the only thing we don't get is a big football game, and they probably didn't have time for that in an hour movie. Note what I said up there about Jordan not being an actor. He's not the only one. Black's there as window dressing, and Woods is so smarmy, I'm surprised Jordan wasn't the only one who figured out what he was up to ages before this. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of either Jordan or the black musical films of the 40's, this is worth checking out for the good songs alone.

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it's easily found anywhere and on most formats. 

DVD - Harlem Double Feature - Jivin' In Be-Bop/Beware

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - The Frog Prince (1971)

Robert Laurence Productions/The Jim Henson Company, 1971

Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and Richard Hunt

Directed by Jim Henson

Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

We end the month as we began it, with the Muppets. This time, we jump way far back, to when Jim Henson was trying to prove that his felt characters could be more than commercial announcers or filler between variety show numbers. This is the second of three fairy tale-based specials Henson did featuring Kermit, and probably the best-received of the three. It was so popular, four of the Muppets used in this special would go on to appear on The Muppet Show three years later. Does it still cast a spell today? Let's begin with our narrator Kermit the Frog (Henson) by the well and find out...

The Story: Sir Robin the Brave (Gordon Thomson) is turned into a frog by the wicked witch Taminella (Jerry Juhl). Kermit and his friends by the well in the castle garden don't believe him, even when he tells them he can't swim. He has to befriend a princess and get her to kiss him, and the lovely Melora (Trudy Young) would seem to be the perfect candidate. Trouble is, she too is under a spell. Her words are twisted backwards by the evil woman who claims to be her father King Rupert (Henson)'s sister. Robin recognizes her as Taminella, who wants to take Melora's throne on her birthday and become queen. Robin and Kermit try to translate Melora's backwards warnings and dodge Taminella's big, dumb ogre Sweetums (Carl Banas).

The Song and Dance: This is by far my favorite, not only of the Muppet fairy tale specials, but of the specials Henson did before he developed The Muppet Show. Robin and Sweetums were so adorable and hilarious respectively, they've been used in Muppet shows and films ever since. Raposo's songs are a delight, too, especially Young singing with Robin the Frog (Nelson) and Sweetums' noisy number. Nice costumes too, on Muppet and human alike. I like that Kermit's a little more involved with this than he would be with The Muppet Musicians of Bremen and the later Christmas specials, too. 

The Numbers: We open with the "Frog Chant" from the frogs at the well and the chorus. Robin explains what happened to him to turn him from "Sir Robin the Brave" into a little frog. Kermit and his friends insist that it's great to be "Frogs." Robin interprets Melora's turned around "N'I'm Ineteen" ("I'm Nineteen") in a charming duet. After he gets into the castle, Robin is almost stomped on by Sweetums, until he manages to insist "Sleep, Sweetums." "Sweetums," for his part, isn't happy with having been manipulated and just wants his frog dinner. "Anthems of Joy" is the happy ending, as Melora and Robin embrace, the people of the country are glad to have the right queen, King Rupert is happy for his daughter, and Kermit misses his froggy friend.

Trivia: Robin and Sweetums aren't the only Muppets from this special who would turn up on The Muppet Show. Featherstone and King Rupert made occasional appearances in royalty-themed skits during the first season. 

What I Don't Like: While we do get Robin and Sweetums here along with Kermit, don't expect the rest of the Muppet gang like Piggy or Fozzie. This came out three years before that show debuted. Young's adorable as the Princess, but what little we see of Thomson is a bit stiff for a dashing prince. Frankly, Taminella is more annoying than she is threatening. How the king fell for her, I will never know. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the Muppets or of fairy tales like me, this is worth swimming a well for if you can find it.

Home Media: Alas, at press time, it can only be found on out-of-print videos and a blurry copy on Dailymotion. 

Dailymotion

Sunny (1930)

First National Pictures, 1930

Starring Marilyn Miller, Lawrence Gray, Joe Donahue, and O.P Heggie

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music and Lyrics by various

Operetta, of course, isn't the only musical genre to see remakes. Nor are remakes a recent phenomenon. This week, we're going to look at a musical comedy that got two very different versions a decade apart from each other. Sunny was producer Charles Dillingham's follow-up vehicle for Broadway superstar Marilyn Miller after the phenomenal success of her hit Sally. Is this circus-set romantic comedy worthy of the $150,000 she earned for it, or should it be left in the center ring? Let's start at the circus, as men ogle the posters for bareback rider Sunny Peters (Miller) and find out...

The Story: Sunny's dad (Heggie) wants her to marry Harold Harcourt Wendell-Wendell (Mackenzie Ward), who is wealthy but deadly dull. She becomes smitten with Tom Warren (Gray), an old friend who stops by to see her before he takes a boat back to the US. Stealing boy's clothes, she runs away and follows him onboard. Not only is she caught, but she has no idea he's already engaged to socialite Margaret Manners (Barbara Bedford). 

The only way she can get off the boat is to marry her American friend Jim Denning (Donahue). They plan on getting a divorce the moment they can, especially since Jim is already in love with Weenie (Inez Courtney) from the circus. Sunny, still head over heels in love with Tom, tries to fool him into saying he's in love with her by appearing to be hurt at a fox hunt. When that doesn't work, she plans on returning to England and marrying Harold, at least until Tom sees the light.

The Song and Dance: And with a story that flimsy, song and dance...or really, Miller's dances...are the main points of interest. Miller's wattage, at least when she's singing and dancing, hasn't dimmed between films. She still loves what she's doing and is magnetic while doing it. Donahue and Heggie are the only ones who get anywhere near her as the good-natured guy buddy who helps her out and her stubborn father. Some of Jerome Kern's best songs can be found here, too - Gray and Miller singing "Who" is totally charming.

The Numbers: In fact, the movie puts its best foot forward and starts with its biggest hit song. Gray wonders "Who" stole his heart as he pours his heart out to a delighted Miller. They're both so adorable, it's by far the best sequence in the film. Sunny briefly sings "I Was Alone" after she boards the boat dressed as a boy as she wistfully watches Tom on board. She does a totally joyous instrumental tap dance after she's caught and allowed to stay onboard. After a massive wedding, she and Jim have their own hilarious dance as they wonder "When We Get Our Divorce." Tom and the men sing the old chestnut "Oh, He Didn't Ramble." Sunny finishes with her own interpretation of a fox hunt, complete with crop and top hat.

Trivia: This was supposed to have had three more numbers from the original show, "Sunny," "Do 'Ye Love Me," and "Two Little Love Birds," but they were cut from US prints when musicals fell out of fashion late in 1930. "Sunny" can be heard over the credits and as an instrumental number in the opening. 

The original Sunny debuted in September 1925. It ran a year, a pretty big hit for the time. It also did well in London, where ran nine months and toured for three years. 

What I Don't Like: There's a reason this hasn't turned up since that UK tour. The story is a soggy cream puff that collapses entirely in the second half. Cutting the music doesn't help. Miller's wonderful when she dances, but she's still not much of a singer and even less of an actress. Gray's deadly dull other than that charming "Who?" sequence. They really don't make much of that circus setting. I wonder if the cut numbers were set at the circus or did more with it. They're barely there at all before Sunny runs off to the boat. Oh, and Warners needs to throw some money at restoring this. The copy at Tubi and on DVD is scratchy and has wonky sound

The Big Finale: If you enjoyed Sally, you'll want to give Miller's second starring role a look as well.

Home Media: On DVD via the Warner Archives and on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and Keeto

Yoram Gross Films/Hoyts Distribution, 1985

Voices of Robyn Moore and Keith Scott

Directed by Yoram Gross

Music by Guy Gross, Bob Young, John Levine, and John Zulaikha; Lyrics by John Palmer

Let's return to the Australian outback this weekend for the next film in the long-running Dot series. After Dot and the Koala ended up being something of a cross between a typical Saturday morning cartoon of the 80's and Animal Farm, the next film returned to the original format of Dot encountering Aussie animals in the real outback. This time, the theme is the Australian insect world, including a few most people don't really think of as heroic or friendly. How well does Dot do in her time among the insects? Let's begin in the outback, as a live-action Dot (Ashley Ayre) tries to keep her brother Simon (Leaf Nowland) from harming ants and caterpillars and find out...

The Story: Dot (Moore) eats a magic root in order to explain to the insects that she tried to help them, but she eats the wrong root and shrinks to their size. She first befriends Keeto (Scott), a sweet male mosquito who agrees to help her find the root. Dot tries to go inside to find her mother, but she encounters cockroaches who don't take too kindly to her. Militaristic ants who think she's the one who destroyed their home like her even less. Their queen (Moore) looks down on her. She almost becomes food for a nasty wasp (Moore) and befriends a hungry caterpillar (Scott). Meanwhile, Dot's old friend the kangaroo shrinks down and goes looking for her.

The Animation: Same as most of the other movies in this series. After the weird and too-cartoonish Dot and the Koala, it's almost refreshing to see this one go back to drawing the animals more realistically. They're still not that well-integrated with the actual environments, but they look like the animals they're representing and they move well enough.

The Song and Dance: Like I said, after the preachy environmental message and odd Saturday morning vibe of the previous film, it's rather a relief to see this one return to formula. Good-natured Keeto is at least somewhat more tolerable than annoying Funny Bunny from Dot and the Bunny, and we get to see the mother kangaroo and a bit of her close relationship with Dot again this time, too. It's also fascinating to learn more about both insects that are native to Australia, and ones like mosquitoes and caterpillars that most of us have in our own backyards. 

The Numbers: Our first song goes to Dot as she explains why the "Little Things" of nature mean so much. "Cockroach" and his brethren sing to Dot about how they've managed to survive for so long, while the "Work Ant" marches its way to its home carrying a screaming, furious Dot. "Queen Ant" sings about how she's on top of the heap in her ant hill. Butterwalk the Caterpillar (Scott) tells Dot how he'll become a "Butterfly." There's also talk of the fearsome "Spider." We end with a reprise of "In the Kangaroo Pouch" from Dot and the Kangaroo as the Kangaroo takes Dot home.  

What I Don't Like: Honestly, this one shares most of the same problems as the rest of the series. The animation, though it's improved since the previous entries, still isn't great. The story meanders and wanders along with Dot. It's not for someone who is looking for a more straightforward plot. 

The Big Finale: Honestly, if you liked the other films in this series, you'll enjoy Dot's visit with the Australia's smallest residents just as much. 

Home Media: YouTube only at the moment. 

YouTube

Animation Celebration Saturday - A Little Princess (1996)

GoodTimes Entertainment, 1996

Voices of Melissa Bathory, Lawrence Bayne, Desmond Ellis, and Katherine Giaquinto

Directed by Laura Shepherd

Music and Lyrics by Mark Shekter

Animated films weren't the only movies that had cheap animated knock offs made of them in the 1990's. Almost anything family-oriented that was popular in the era had six hour-long cartoon "movies" released to the direct-to-video market based on it. A Little Princess, based on the beloved children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, was a hit movie in 1995. This animated version debuted less than a year later. How does it compare to the book and film? Let's begin as a carriage takes little Sara Crewe (Bathory) and her father (Bayne) to the Minchin School for Girls and find out...

The Story: Sara's father is extremely wealthy and gives her everything she wants, but she's far from spoiled. On her first day, she helps out plump, shy Ermengarde (Marieve Herington) when she forgets an answer and is kind to the servant Becky (Giaquinto). Miss Minchin (Nonnie Griffin) is only interested in the money Sara's father is paying for her lavish lifestyle. 

On Sara's eleventh birthday, a lawyer arrives and tells Miss Minchin Sara's father has died without a penny to his name. Furious, Miss Minchin forces Sara to work as a servant with Becky to pay off her debts. Sara tries to be cheerful, including telling a story based around her predicament to Ermingarde and Becky and attempting to make friends with spoiled Lavinia (Sarena Paton) when her family can't come to Parents' Day, but it's hard in that cold attic. Even with her mother's "magic" doll Ami Lu, it's hard to believe that things can get better...until she and Becky flee the house and discover a miracle has occurred. and that maybe magic isn't as far away as it seems.

The Animation: Bright and rather sketchy, almost looking like it was made in the 60's rather than the 90. At least the characters have more than one facial expression (as is often a problem in these cheap 90's animated knock offs) and the colors are bright primaries and stark black and whites that pop off the screen. The sketchiness manages to be both charming and annoying, feeling more like a Saturday morning cartoon from this era than this classic novel.

The Song and Dance: Actually, I like some of the things they do here. My favorite change involves the doll. In the book and most movie and TV versions, Sara's doll is named Emily, and she's just a toy she and her father buy at a store before he leaves. Here, Ami Lu is an Indian doll that had belonged to Sara's mother and is believed to be magic, making it even more special and meaningful to her. Sara may even be sweeter here than in the book. She never even attempted to make friends with Lavinia or forgive Miss Minchin. The way they wind the segments from Sara's story (obviously based on what Sara herself is going through) throughout the narrative is creative, too. 

The Numbers: Miss Minchin gets a big goofy solo on how much she loves (and will chase after the symbols of) "Money." Shut up in the attic, lonely and scared, Sara looks out to the London night and performs "Somewhere Far From Home" as she wishes for a better place where someone could love her. 

What I Don't Like: This has more in common with the 1995 movie and the Shirley Temple version from 1939 than the book. Several major characters, including Miss Minchin's nicer sister Amelia and the servant Ram Dass who helps Sara, are eliminated all together. As in the other film versions, it's Sara's father who finally gets her out of Miss Minchin's clutches, not his repentant partner. He doesn't buy the school in the end in the book, and Becky is Sara's servant, not a student. Not to mention, there's the cheap animation and two dull songs. 

The Big Finale: If you have little princesses of your own who might enjoy the story and don't mind or care about the cheap animation and changes from the book, this is an enjoyable bit of fluff to warm you up on a cold winter's afternoon.

Home Media: Your best bet on this one is streaming. It can be found for free with commercials pretty much everywhere, including Tubi.

Tubi

YouTube

Song Sung Blue

Focus Features/Universal, 2025

Starring Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson, and Jim Belushi

Directed by Craig Brewer

Music and Lyrics by Neil Diamond and others

We end our 2025 theatrical reviews the way we began them, with a biography of a unique rock act from the 90's. Although the Diamond tribute duo Lightning and Thunder never made it quite as big as Robbie Williams, they were legendary in their native Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Locals loved them for their showmanship, their devotion to Diamond's legacy, and for managing to overcome some huge hurdles on the way to winning the hearts of Wisconsin classic rock lovers. How does their story look almost 30 years later? We begin in 1994, as 20-years-sober musician Mike "Lightning" Sardinia (Jackman) performs "Song Sung Blue" for his Alcoholics Anonymous group, and find out...

The Story: Mike is sick of the low-level amusement park gigs his manager and dentist Tom D'Amato (Belushi) finds him. He wants to be himself, not imitate another performer. He does fall for the woman imitating Patsy Cline at the show, Claire (Hudson). She's bubbly, sweet, and just as devoted to Cline's music as he is to Neil Diamond's. It's her idea to start a Neil Diamond tribute act, singing his music as themselves with a band of their own. 

Mike's daughter Angelina (King Princess) and Claire's daughter Rachel (Anderson) and her son Dayna (Hudson Hensley) are skeptical at first. They've seen their parents attempt to succeed in show business and not get anywhere. Not only do the kids get along famously, with the girls becoming best friends, but their parents get pretty chummy, too. Though Lightning and Thunder's first gig is a disaster, Mike still proposes to Claire. 

After they get married, business picks up, to the point where they're called to open for Pearl Jam when they play Milwaukee. Things take a turn for the worst shortly after when Claire is run over by a car in front of their home and loses her left leg below the knee. Mike won't sing without her, and a frustrated Rachel reveals she's pregnant, too. Not to mention, Mike is battling his own heart problems. After a hallucination ends with her crawling on the front lawn, Claire finally gets help...and she's the one who convinces Mike, who is hosting karaoke at a Thai restaurant, to give the act one last chance. They're a success all over again, but this time, it's Mike who won't be able to see the results.

The Song and Dance: I know Hugh Jackman is a great singer and a consummate theatrical showman, but who knew Kate Hudson had this in her? I had no idea she had such a way with a Patsy Cline ballad or an upbeat Neil Diamond hit. She's especially good mid-way through, when Claire is having a hard time dealing with the car accident. No wonder Hudson got a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. The kids are great too as the ones who often get stuck with the "adult" roles, especially Princess and Anderson as the teens who bond over their crazy parents. This isn't Brewer's first time in musical territory. He also did the remake of Footloose, and it shows in the amazing energy you get from even the simplest routines. Love the spangled costumes, including Jackman dressing as Diamond, and the location shooting in Northern New Jersey that gives the movie a slightly gritty working-class feel.

The Numbers: Mike performs the title song three times, always for the AA group to celebrate his sobriety. (Dayna films the latter two performances, as Mike and Claire are busy with gigs.) Michael Imperioli, as Buddy Holly impersonator Mark Shurilla, sings "Oh Boy!" with his own band at the amusement park. Claire's "Walkin' After Midnight" is such a good Patsy Cline imitation, Mike is impressed. Their first number together at Claire's ramshackle apartment is "Play Me." They do so well together  and have so much chemistry, they agree to form a band right there. Mark does "Everyday" at his last gig, claiming it's time to retire his Buddy Holly persona. Their version of "Cherry Cherry" with the band and Mark in Mike's garage is so delightful, even the grouchy old lady across the street ends up dancing along. 

The African-inspired "Soolimon" is heard twice. It's the opening number that causes so much trouble at their first gig at a biker bar...and a far better-received opening number at the big show in the finale. The bikers do finally get "Sweet Caroline" before Mike ends up brawling with them. "Crunchy Granola Suite" gives us our first success montage as we see Lightning and Thunder's gigs become bigger and more popular and Claire and Mike get married. "Holly Holy" is heard at the Pearl Jam concert, with Eddie Vedder (John Beckwith) joining in at one point.

"Sweet Dreams" is Claire's hallucination as she dreams of singing in a glittering, glamorous gown surrounded by haze and smoke...until Mike drags her back. Mike sings "Forever In Blue Jeans" with the owner of the Thai restaurant after the karaoke show. "I'm a Believer" covers their comeback at the Thai karaoke bar as Mike helps Claire with her therapy. "Soolimon" is joined by "Brother Love's Traveling Show" at their big sold-out concert. We end with Claire performing the lesser-known Diamond ballad "I've Been This Way Before" with the band at Mike's funeral. 

Trivia: This is not the first time Neil Diamond's songs were heard in a biographical musical. A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical debuted on Broadway in 2022, running two years. This is an actual biography of Diamond, using the framework of the older Diamond talking to a psychiatrist to give us songs and snippets from his long career.

Game show fans will want to look fast for cameos from the 1994 version of Family Feud with an older Richard Dawson during several scenes. 

Unlike Mike, Claire is still alive and singing in the Milwaukee area at press time. 

What I Don't Like: Oh boy, is this cheesy. It's sweet and sad, but it's also incredibly melodramatic. For one thing, although Sardinia did die of a head injury and heart trauma, it was in 2006, not 1996. He met Claire in 1987, not the mid-90's. And obviously, if you don't feel the same way about Diamond as Mike does and aren't a fan of Hudson or Jackman, there won't be much for you here. It also runs a tad on the long side. Honestly, some of that melodramatic middle sags and maybe could have been trimmed a bit.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Jackson, Hudson, or Neil Diamond's music, this is worth joining Brother Love's Traveling Show for.

Home Media: No Amazon listing for the movie yet, but the soundtrack will be on CD in March.

Soundtrack CD

Animation Celebration Saturday - Santa and the Three Bears

Tony Benedict Productions, 1970

Voices of Hal Smith, Jean Vander Pyl, Christina Ferra-Gilmore, and Bobby Riha

Directed by Tony Benedict and Barry Mahon (live-action segments)

Music by Joyce Taylor; Lyrics by Doug Goodwin

This charming short film was originally pitched as an animated TV special. Apparently, networks at the time wouldn't buy a cartoon with no villains, so this ended up as a theatrical release instead. It later became a public domain staple, seen frequently during the holidays on independent stations throughout the US, and then on family cable networks. How does the charming tale of two bears who learn about Christmas from a well-meaning park ranger look today? Let's begin with two live-action children (Beth Goldfarb and Brian Hobbs) as their retired park ranger grandfather (Hal Smith) tells them the story of how three bears discovered Christmas and find out...

The Story: Mr. Ranger (Smith) tells the story of Christmas and of Santa to baby bears Nikomi (Ferra-Gilmore) and Chinook (Riha). They're so excited about Christmas and everything they'll get from Santa, they even get a tree for their cave. Their mother Nana (Vander Pyl) wishes they'd just go to sleep for the winter. She's not happy when she confronts Mr. Ranger and discovers Santa isn't real. Mr. Ranger decides to dress as Santa to make Christmas happy for the cubs. He's waylaid by a violent snowstorm, but someone else still gets through...

The Animation: You can tell this wasn't originally made for the big screen. The animation is no different from your average Hanna-Barbara TV show from this time period. In fact, I thought it was Hanna-Barbara until I checked Wikipedia. Admittedly, the bears look fairly realistic for a kids' cartoon - no exaggerated Yogi and Boo-Boo here - and they move pretty well. There's some pretty colors, too, especially during the cubs' dream sequence.

The Song and Dance: This ended up being much better than I thought it would be for a low-budget cartoon from the early 70's. Like This Christmas, it's charmingly low-key for a holiday that doesn't usually do quiet and sweet. The cubs are adorable, Smith is lovely telling them the story of Christmas and Santa, and Vander Pyl makes a nice concerned bear mother. It has a cozy, gentle air to it that's quite lovely and very welcome. 

The Numbers: The animated segment opens with "When Winter Comes" as the animals around Mr. Ranger prepare for colder weather. "Wintertime" provides the backdrop for the cubs' antics as they play and slide in the snow. The cubs learn about "The World of Toy People" as Mr. Ranger tells them the story of Santa and his elves and reindeer. The chorus lulls the cubs to sleep next to Nana with the "Sleepytime Song," with their pastel dreamscapes and hopes to see Santa. The credits end with "The Wonder of Christmas Time" after the cubs get their gifts, but before we see the live-action children again.

Trivia: Most TV versions (and some older streaming copies) delete the opening and closing live-action sequences.

Movie parody group Rifftrax spoofed it in 2023.

What I Don't Like: This might be a little too quiet for people expecting a noisier, better-animated show. It's just two cubs and their mother learning about Christmas from an elderly ranger with a slightly sentimental twist in the end. To be honest, though the gentle ballads are pretty, they do seem a bit out of place in the calm, laid-back story. It moves a bit on the slow side for something that runs for 45 minutes, too. 

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The Big Finale: Not the greatest thing ever, but it's worth your time this holiday season if you want to show your littlest ones something relatively calm and adorable. 

Home Media: In the public domain, so it's easily found anywhere.

DVD

Tubi

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Nutcracker (1995)

Jetlag Productions/Goodtimes Entertainment, 1995

Voices of Andrea Libman, Tony Ail, Nathan Aswell, and Kathleen Barr

Directed by Toshiyuki Haruma and Takashi Masunga

Music by Nicholas "Nick" Carr, Ray Crossley, and Andrew Dimitoff; Lyrics by Joellyn Cooperman

Our last review for the year of a low-budget animated knock-off from the 90's is actually much better than you might think. Though there was an Canadian animated Nutcracker film that came out in 1992, most previous versions of The Nutcracker were short subjects or live-action recordings of the ballet. That and the fact that this sticks more to the original story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.H Hoffman than to the ballet makes this unique among Nutcracker adaptations, and gives it a stronger plot than most of the Jetlag films as well. How well does this do with the whimsical story? Let's begin as Marie (Libman) and her brother Fritz wait to see their tree and open presents and find out...

The Story: Marie and Fritz love their presents, especially his toy soldiers and the Nutcracker she found on the tree. Their Godfather Drosselmeyer brings them a special present - a castle with figures that really move in an endless loop. Fritz is quickly bored with it, but Marie thinks it's lovely. 

That night, she sees the Nutcracker and toy soldiers fight an evil seven-headed Mouse King. She throws her shoe at the Mouse King to distract him and save the Nutcracker, but hits her head while doing so. She wakes up with a bump on her head, in her bed with her parents worried. Godfather Drosselmeyer tells her how the Nutcracker had once been his handsome young nephew who cracked a nut for the Princess Pirlipat. The princess was cursed into ugliness by the Mouse Queen when her parents trapped the Mouse Queen's children. The cracked nut changed the Princess into a beautiful young woman, but with her last breath, the Mouse Queen transferred the curse to the nephew and turned him into the Nutcracker.

Late at night, the Mouse King comes to Marie and demands her candy, then her clothes and books, or he'll destroy the Nutcracker. Marie knows she can't keep doing this, but she doesn't want her Nutcracker hurt. She finally gets Fritz to give up a sword, so he can defeat the evil Mouse King once and for all and take Marie to the magnificent Christmas Wood, Candy Town, and the Marzipan Castle. She wonders if it was all a dream, until Godfather Drosselmeyer comes and introduces his very familiar nephew...

The Animation: Not the greatest thing ever, but not bad for Jetlag. Everyone has the same enormous blue eyes, but at least the humans have more than one expression. There's some wonderful details on the colorful Christmas Woods and Marzipan Castle in the second half. I do wish they hadn't made the Mouse Queen and Mouse King look so cute and cuddly! It belies their roles as terrifying villains. 

The Song and Dance:  This wound up being a rather big surprise. There couldn't be a greater contrast between this and our previous direct-to-video animated review, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Here, the whimsical comic tone is appropriate for a satirical fantasy. It even uses the entire backstory with Princess Pirlipat that most ballet-centered versions leave out. Marie is adorable, Fritz is funny, and Godfather Drosselmeyer is appropriately roguish, especially insisting that Marie's dreams are true.

The Numbers: We open with "The Season of Love" as unnamed singers tell us what's to come over scenes of people preparing for Christmas. Marie, dressed as a princess, enjoys "Dancing Through the Night" with the Nutcracker near the end of the film. It ends with "A Dream Come True" as Drosselmeyer's nephew and Marie return to the Marzipan Castle, this time to dance forever. "Season of Love" is reprised over the credits.

What I Don't Like: Though it has a better story and script than most of the Jetlag animated movies, it's still a cheap animated knock-off from the 90's. The animation is colorful but stiff, the few songs are tinny and unmemorable ballads, and the Mouse Queen and King are much too cute and cuddly-looking to be believable as villains. You wonder why Marie believed this seven-headed cutie would ever hurt anything, let alone her Nutcracker. 

The Big Finale: Actually, this isn't a bad introduction to the original Nutcracker and the Mouse King for elementary school-aged kids who will enjoy the story and action and be able to overlook the cheap animation and songs.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and on streaming, the latter currently for free with commercials at Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

First a Girl

Gaumont British, 1935

Starring Jessie Matthews, Sonny Hale, Anna Lee, and Griffith Jones

Directed by Victor Saville

Music and Lyrics by Maurice Sigler, Al Goodheart, and Al Hoffman

If the story here seems familiar, this is not the first time we've seen it at this blog. I reviewed the 1982 remake Victor/Victoria way back in January 2019. The British, however, got there almost 50 years before MGM did. Evergreen was such a massive success, a follow-up with Matthews and Hale was likely inevitable. This time, Gaumont turned to Germany, where Viktor und Viktoria had been a hit in 1933. They adapted it for the enchantingly gamine Matthews and for English sensibilities. How does the story of a woman who dresses as a man who dresses as a woman look today? Let's begin as shop girls watch a lavish society fashion show and find out...

The Story: Shop girl Elizabeth (Matthews) loses her job when she wears the clothes she's supposed to be delivering to an audition instead. Caught in the rain, she meets Shakespearean actor Victor (Hale), who is currently performing a music hall drag act he calls "Victoria." After he comes down with laryngitis, he convinces Elizabeth to take his place as a female impersonator. They play the act for comedy and are such a success, promoter McLintock (Alfred Drayton) offers Elizabeth a contract. Elizabeth takes the name "Bill," and Victor is her manager.

Elizabeth eventually falls for the handsome and wealthy Robert (Jones), while Victor pursues his fiancee Princess Mironoff (Lee). Robert, however, still thinks Elizabeth is a man. She even drinks whiskey and smokes cigars to convince him she's the gender she claims to be. It's not until he rescues her from drowning on the French Riviera that he realizes she's all woman. Elizabeth is tired of the charade, but first Victor has to explain to the Princess that he and Elizabeth are only friends, and then they both have to figure out how to get Victoria off the stage for good.

The Song and Dance: Hale and Matthews are having just as much fun as Robert Preston and Julie Andrews would 50 years later, if not more. In fact, considering the subject matter, this is downright adorable. Hale and Matthews were married at the time, which explains their delightful chemistry and how they worked so well together. The costumes are gorgeous, the production sumptuous, and the farcical script hilarious at times. Heck, just the fact that they can get away with the female impersonator thing in 1935 is notable. This would not have been made in the US in 1935. 

The Numbers: We open with "Little Silkworm," that society fashion show. Elizabeth and the shop girls watch from windows looking into the auditorium. At one point, Elizabeth does an incredibly limber dance full of such high kicks, she actually kicks a shoe into the main theater! She does make a joke about it, but it gets her into trouble. She joins a mass audition singing in chorus, but is pulled quickly. Her first number as a female impersonator is "It's Written All Over Your Face." She's not entirely sure what to do...and then geese come out in the middle of the number. 

She's the toast of Europe by the time of "Half and Half." This one starts out looking normal, with women in male tuxes...before we see they're half in tuxes, and half in frilly dresses. "I Can Wiggle My Ears" is a big chorus routine in a lavish Art Deco nightclub. Singer Donald Stewart performs with the ladies in stripes, while Victor sings to the Princess. Elizabeth revels in wearing women's clothes while basking in the paradise of the French Riviera in "Say the World and It's Yours." "Everything's Rhythm In My Heart" showcases Elizabeth as literally a bird in a cage, as the other birds pamper and dress her. Victor reprises it in drag near the end of the film.

What I Don't Like: Alas, this doesn't have Rodgers and Hart writing songs. The music here is disappointingly bland, with only "I Can Wiggle My Ears" as a stand-out. And although the story makes slightly more sense than Evergreen, this is still a fluffy 30's musical. It's not for those looking for something deeper, or even the slightly naughty things Victor/Victoria did with this material in 1982. 

The Big Finale: Charming and hilarious, I enjoyed this even more than Evergreen. Highly recommended for fans of big 30's musicals, Matthews, or vintage British cinema.

Home Media: Too bad this one can only be found on YouTube at press time.

YouTube

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

Family Fun Saturday - Standing Ovation

Rocky Mountain Pictures, 2010

Starring Kayla Jackson, Alanna Palumbo, Joei DiCarlo, and Pilar Martin

Directed by Stewart Rafill

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's hit the Jersey Shore this holiday weekend with this independent backstage tale. High School Musical was pretty much the template for all teen and tween musicals made from 2006 well into the 2010's, and this one was no exception. Apparently, despite Rocky Mountain Pictures hyping it to the skies in 2010, it was a huge flop with critics and audiences. Now that it's easily available on several streaming platforms, how does this tale of big hopes and bigger dreams come off today? Let's begin at a local contest for pre-teen dance groups and find out...

The Story: The Five Ovations are a talented song and dance pre-teen girl group in Atlantic City. They keep getting sabotaged by the Wiggies, a group of spoiled rich girls who specialize in outrageous wigs supplied by the wealthy father (Sal Dupree) of Ziggy Wiggs (London Clarke). Brittany O'Brian (Kayla Jackson) lives on the boardwalk above a 99 cent store with her Irish grandfather (P. Brendan Mulvey) and her musician songwriter brother Mark (Austin Powell). She's desperate to find the father who abandoned her and her mother. Her family is broke; her grandfather keeps using their money to play the horses.

Major network CDS announces a huge music video contest for pre-teen groups. After the Wiggies take over the school gym to rehearse, the Ovations convince Eric Bateman (William McKenna) to loan them his father's recording studio. They do make the video, but Ziggy and Mark sabotage it. Unfortunately, their "sabotage" turns it into a comedy and makes it popular with the audience at CDS. 

The Wiggies do make it to the finals. So do the Ovations, once someone else drops out. They recruit local dancers to help with their big number. Alanna Wannabe (Palumbo), a young girl who desperately wants to be a star, gets in on it, too. She and her father made a video, but it didn't make it to the finals. Meanwhile, tough girl Joei Battaluci (Joei DiCarlo), the Ovations' manager, uses her tough-guy attitude and menagerie of biting animals she keeps in her purse to help Brittany find out what happened to her father and find out who stole money from Joei's father.

The Song and Dance: This was cuter than I thought it would be from the low-budget pedigree. The numbers have real energy, the dancing isn't bad, and some of the comedy lands. DiCarlo steals the show as the hilariously tough kid who can talk herself into and out of anything and has an army of venomous critters at her disposal to back her up. As someone who has lived in Southern New Jersey all her life, I appreciate the filming in and around the Atlantic City area, including the boardwalks in Atlantic City, Cape May, Ocean City, and Wildwood. 

The Numbers: We actually open with a group performing a nervy "Thing 4 U" in 40's threads...before Mr. Wiggs turns off the lights and ruins their number. The Wiggies' first number is the too-sexy-for-their-ages "Blush" in pink wigs. The Ovations attempt "Bounce," but Ziggy paid a stagehand to put pepper on Brittany's microphone and make her sneeze. The Wiggies' rehearsal number is "That Boy," a song Mark was working on (to Brittany's disgust). They film the number on the Ocean City boardwalk, but Mr. Wiggs makes it clear that Alanna is not invited to join them.

Brittany performs a stirring "God Bless America" on a rain-soaked Atlantic City boardwalk, but she and Joei end up confronting a jerk who steals the money she made. Rap group Dacav5 performs "The Runaway" and "The Music Is Dropping You" as the Wiggies shimmy in a nightclub that, once again, is way too old for kids who can't be more than 13 or 14. The Ovations demonstrate different forms of dancing across the 20th and 21st century at an old folks' home in "Crazy Feet." "All I Want To Do Is Sing" provides the backdrop for Joei telling Brittany she has a line on the thief who stole her dad's money. 

The Ovations' first attempt at a music video is the late 60's themed Beach Party spoof "River Deep, Mountain High." While they try to figure out something more modern, Mr. Wiggs and the Wiggies perform "Soup to Nuts" dressed in their idea of upper-crust outfits at a local diner. The Ovations get stuck doing a commercial for a really awful brand of soda, singing "Shake It and Make It"...but they just can't drink that nasty stuff, no matter how much the director wants them to. They finally end up filming "Scream" at the Wildwood boardwalk, including a rap battle with local boys. Alanna's music video is "Go After Your Dream," complete with dancing firemen and her dancing with a moving teddy bear. "Superstars" is the Wiggies' self-aggrandizing video in glittery dresses with scads of dancers. 

Mr. Wiggs and the Wiggies perform "Under the Boardwalk" and "Splish Splash" in rather ridiculous mid-60's-style wigs and dresses at their big show. They look so silly, it's almost a relief when the Ovations let fleas loose in their wigs. A genuinely good gospel group performs "Our Song Begins Again" at the music video finals in New York. The Wiggies' "Dancing Girl" is actually rather bland for their energetic performance of it. Alanna and her dancer cousins from Florida join the Ovations for the vastly more unique space opera-themed "Shooting Star." The movie concludes over the end credits with "Turn It Up," a reprise of "All I Want to Do Is Sing," and the title song. 

What I Don't Like: As funny as this can be, in other ways, it's the ultimate in teen cliches. Even the names on a lot of the characters are painfully obvious. Who on Earth calls a teen music group the Wiggies? There's Alanna Wannabe the wannabe singing star, too. Some of the acting is stiff as a board. The ending is not only a complete wish-fulfillment deux ex machina, but it goes on for at least 15 minutes too long. Ending with the contest and maybe briefly letting Brittany meet her father would have sufficed, instead of drawing it out and having him be the solution to everyone's problems. For all their energy, the original songs are bland and unmemorable. 

The Big Finale: Most critics were really harsh on this one when it came out, but I'll give it a pass for the high-energy numbers, some hilarious bits, and just because not many movies were filmed and set in South Jersey. If you have pre-teen girls looking for background noise at a girl's day in or slumber party this holiday weekend, they can do far worse than this bit of showstopping lunacy.

Home Media: The DVD is currently expensive, but you can find this streaming for free with commercials just about anywhere online, including Tubi and Pluto TV.

DVD

Tubi

Pluto TV On Demand

Cult Flops - The Lottery Bride

United Artists, 1930

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, John Garrick, Joe E. Brown, and Zasu Pitts

Directed by Paul L. Stein

Music by Rudolf Friml; Lyrics by J. Keirn Brennan

If you thought The Desert Song was campy, get a load of this. Arthur Hammerstein, uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, was known at that point for producing lavish operettas. He'd just come off the successful Rose-Marie and so-so Golden Dawn when he headed west to Hollywood for more opportunities. He joined up with United Artists, known as the home for independent producers like Samuel Goldwyn, and got on the early talkies operetta band wagon with one of the most expensive movies the company had put out at that point. Hammerstein even borrowed up-and-coming soprano Jeanette MacDonald from Paramount and popular comic Joe E. Brown from Warner Brothers. How does all this manage to mix with a dance marathon, a rescue on the ice, and an Italian dirigible? Let's start at the Viking Ship, a club Oslo, Norway, as American orchestra leader Hoke (Brown) arrives for his gig there and find out...

The Story: Hoke suggests a dance marathon to drum up publicity for the Viking Ship and the orchestra's gig. Club singer Jennie (MacDonald) enters to help her brother Nels (Carroll Nye) with his gambling debts, against the wishes of her sweetheart Chris (Garrick). Jennie is arrested when the police, encouraged by Italian dirigible pilot Alberto (Joseph Macauley), come looking for Nels. She's arrested for helping him escape. Heartbroken, and believing her to be in love with Alberto, Chris runs up north to join a mining camp.

To his shock, Jennie turns up there as well. She and Hilda (Pitts), the owner of the Viking Ship, offered themselves as "lottery brides," brides for the men in the camp. Jennie is won by Chris' brother Olaf (Robert Chisholm). Olaf is kind to Jennie, but she and Chris are still deeply in love. After Alberto turns up with his dirigible, Chris joins the crew. Jennie's terrified when the ship goes down in the Arctic wastes and insists on organizing a search party herself. Meanwhile, Olaf goes after his brother on his own with a sled dog, hoping to bring his brother home and back to his beloved Jennie.

The Song and Dance: Well, I give this one credit for being original. At least, unlike the last operetta I reviewed that was set in Norway, this one moves pretty fast for a movie of its era and involves no children whatsoever. MacDonald and Garrick sing beautifully and wear some pretty fabulous costumes, including fur coats that must have cost more than the entire city of Oslo. Brown and Pitts make the most of their limited roles, stealing the show with their surprisingly decent chemistry whenever they're on-screen. 

The Numbers: We open with the college students and their sweethearts populating the Viking Ship performing "Yubla," before MacDonald and the chorus take over. Chris and Jennie insist that they are "My Northern Lights" while strolling together at the club. "The Marathon" is performed to a driving instrumental number from the orchestra that picks up as we see more and more couples drop out. "When a Brother Needs a Friend" is the rousing number for the brothers and the chorus in the mining camp's recreational hall. "I'll Follow the Trail" is the camp's song for the dirigible crew when it arrives. It's reprised by the chorus when the dirigible leaves for its ill-fated journey with Chris as part of the crew. "You're an Angel," Olaf sings to Jennie, not knowing she's in love with his brother.

Trivia: The movie as it stands online and on Kino Lorber DVD is missing ten minutes of footage, including the two-strip Technicolor finale with the dirigible and more scenes with Brown and Pitts. That version has been restored and was shown on Turner Classic Movies in 2011. 

John Garrick would go on to be a popular singer and actor in British film during the 30's and 40s. 

What I Don't Like: I don't think even a two-strip Technicolor finale with a crashing dirigible could save this mess. MacDonald is clearly bored other than her singing, and Garrick is playing a jerk who dumps his girlfriend over something she could have explained and runs off, twice. Pitts and Brown may be the best thing about the movie, but their parts are so greatly reduced, they have almost nothing to do in the second half. It's like someone threw together the worst parts of five different movies and tried blending them together. Absolutely nothing makes sense, including the lovers ending up together. Frankly, Olaf may not have been the most passionate guy, but he treated Jennie a lot better than his brother did.

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent enthusiasts of MacDonald, operetta, or the early talkie era.

Home Media: As mentioned, the truncated version can be found on DVD and on streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Golden Films, 1996

Voices of Susan Silo, Charles Martinent, Jeff Bennett, and Cam Clarke

Directed by Diane Paloma Eskanazi

Music and Lyrics by various

Though Golden Films did occasionally dip into original material, like every other direct-to-video animation studio in the 90's and early 2000's, they mostly put out imitations of whatever Disney movie was out at the time. This may have been one of the most unlikely. People at the time were shocked that Disney put out an animated version of this dark, religion-soaked story...and then every direct-to-video studio in existence started doing their versions. Given that the original novel is pretty heavy-going and doesn't even have a happy ending, how does Golden Films deal with those dark themes? Well...they pretty much ignore them. Let's see how different things are in this retelling, starting with a song about spring in Paris...in a story set in the early 1800's...

The Story: Melody (Silo), her mother, and their fellow gypsies are persecuted by the handsome but greedy Jean Claude (Martinent), who has eliminated all magic and music from Paris. Melody and her singing and dancing musical instruments are forced to flee for Notre Dame. There, she falls in love with shy Quasimodo (Bennett) the bell ringer. Melody and the instruments leave when Jean Claude takes Melody's mother hostage, but Melody ends up captured herself. The instruments are the ones who must warn Quasimodo and encourage him to put aside his shyness and rescue his beloved Romani girl.

The Animation: Same as all the other Golden Films productions. The colors are gorgeous, bright and saturated, but the characters all have the same pale blue eyes and no expressions whatsoever. They don't even have the lavish costumes worn by characters in some of the other Golden productions. Everyone wears the same clothes throughout the movie.

The Song and Dance: Well...as out of place as they are, some of the songs are mildly catchy. Bennett at least sounds appropriately gentle and kind as Quasimodo, and there's those bright colors. They help bring a lot more zip to this otherwise pedestrian retelling.

The Numbers: We open with "Dance to the Music of Paris," in which the gypsies celebrate every Parisian stereotype that likely didn't exist in Paris in the early 1800's, including cafes and can-can dancers. "When I'm Looking at You" is the jaunty love song Melody and Quasimodo perform with the bats and mice who live in Notre Dame as Quasimodo rings the bells. Melody turns her prison into a beautiful room in the upbeat and completely inappropriate "When the Magic Is In Your Heart." "It's Like We're Alive" sing the people of Paris after Quasimodo rescues Melody. The movie ends with a reprise of "When I'm Looking at You" over the end credits.

What I Don't Like: What in the heck is this? Disney's version has its fair share of problems and flaws, but at least they retained the book's somber tone and dark look at religious hypocrisy. "Upbeat Broadway musical" does not suit this story or these characters. This feels more like Beauty and the Beast with a hunchback beast, up to and including the Gaston-like Jean Claude. Did Jean Claude and Quasimodo need to be brothers? They did nothing with that after Jean Claude's info dump in the opening. 

The bats, mice, and talking instruments are even more worthless as sidekicks than the annoying talking gargoyles in the Disney film. The instruments admittedly do help rescue Melody, but the bats and mice are useless beyond the "When I'm Looking at You" number. Every single song is an upbeat dance number, even ones like "When I'm Looking at You" and Melody's prison number that are performed during romantic or somber moments. In fact, they totally ruin the impact of those moments. 

How about all those anachronistic Paris stereotypes in the opening, or the dated depiction of the Romani, or the random scene where Melody's mother makes all the animals on the farm dance that's there for no reason, or Quasimodo is less frightening and more "shy, slightly hunched over good looking guy." And even Disney didn't marry him off to the Esmeralda character, something that definitely did not come from the book. 

The Big Finale: This is by far the worst and most ridiculous of the Disney imitations of the 90's and early millennium I've seen. Don't even bother with this one unless you have very, very bored younger children who want to watch something online and won't mind the lack of book-accuracy, dull characters, and out-of-place songs.

Home Media: If you absolutely must see this, it can be found on DVD paired with four other Golden Films titles and solo on streaming. 

DVD - Magical Tales

Tubi

Cult Flops - Something to Sing About

Grand National Pictures, 1937

Starring James Cagney, Evelyn Daw, William Frawley, and Gene Lockhart

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Music and Lyrics by Victor Schlesinger

I Go Pogo was far from the only independent movie that ran into trouble with distributors. Grand National Pictures began in 1936 as an alternative to the many B-level Poverty Row studios. Hiring James Cagney, who was then feuding with his usual home-base Warner Bros, was considered a great coup for them. They threw Cagney into two lavish (for them) films, of which this is the second. It's also Cagney's second time singing and dancing on-screen. He started out as a hoofer on Broadway and still considered himself to more-or-less be one. How does Cagney's second foray into musicals after Footlight Parade look nowadays? Let's join Terry Rooney (Cagney) and his band at their latest nightclub and radio gig and find out...

The Story: Terry is off to Hollywood to make movies with studio owner B.O Regan (Lockhart). He leaves his band and his fiancee Rita (Daw) behind, promising to return. Terry doesn't find his time in Hollywood easy. Fearing his new discovery getting a big head, Regan has ordered his people not to praise Terry in any way. This culminates in an onscreen fist fight that turns too real for Terry's liking. He leaves and goes back to the band, marrying Rita. When he returns, he discovers that the movie has been released and was a huge success. 

The studio already has his second movie planned. They convince him to keep his marriage silent. Studio publicist Hank Meyers (Frawley) plants news stories claiming Terry and actress Stephanie Hajos (Mona Barrie) are an item. Terry is kept in Hollywood for so long dealing with all this and his new contract, Rita feels neglected and returns to the band. Terry has to finally take control of both his careers and prove his marriage to Rita is more important to him than any movie.

The Song and Dance: And "dance" is the real operative word here. We do get to see Cagney strut his stuff, including three solo dances. Great cast for what amounts to a B-pick here, too. Frawley and Lockhart are hilarious as the publicist who thinks he can drum up interest no matter what the real story is, and the studio head who worries that his new discovery will get too big for him to handle.

The Numbers: We open over the credits and in the first few minutes with Rita performing the title song. Terry gives us his first dance sequence, tapping in a rather Fred Astaire-like top hat, white tie, and tails across the nightclub floor. His second instrumental dance number is as he's about to leave for Hollywood. He shows off for Rita and the band, this time in a simpler suit and bucket hat, even swinging an amused Rita around. Rita and the band perform their new ballad "Right or Wrong" over the phone for Terry. 

Terry sings "Any Old Love" with a bevy of ladies in the movie-within-the-movie. His third solo is dancing with two officers (Cagney's real-life partners and teachers Johnny Boyle and Hartland Dixon) on the tramp steamer that takes him and Rita to the South Seas for their honeymoon. Rita sings "Out of the Blue" when she rejoins the band on the East Coast. She sings "Loving You" and reprises "Right or Wrong" at the nightclub in the finale. "Loving You" also gives us one last dance from Terry.

Trivia: Grand National threw everything they had into their Cagney pictures...too much, as it turned out. This and the comedy Great Guy were too lavish for their audiences. Between that, the difficulties a newly-formed company had bucking the studio system of the time, and no breakout hits in the so-so score, Sing About wound up a flop...and took down Grand National with it. Grand National closed their doors in 1940. Warner Bros ended up buying Cagney's contract and the next movie Grand National had intended to make with him, Angels With Dirty Faces. 

What I Don't Like: Cagney, his dances, and the decent cast are pretty much the only things of interest here. Otherwise, it's pretty obvious this was a low-budget B-film from the late 30's. As mentioned, the songs are dull, the story perfunctory, the Hollywood satire toothless. This isn't anything you haven't seen in countless spoofs of the movies going back to the silent era, and this does nothing really new with it other than the idea of Terry walking out.

The Big Finale: Only for the most devoted fans of Cagney and the cast. 

Home Media: This is in the public domain, so it's easy to find anywhere in most formats. It's currently streaming on Tubi with commercials. 

DVD

Tubi