Musical Monday: Up in Central Park (1948)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Up in Central Park (1948) – Musical #840

Studio:
Universal Studio

Director:
William A. Seiter

Starring:
Deanna Durbin, Dick Haymes, Vincent Price, Albert Sharpe, Tom Powers, Hobart Cavanaugh, Thurston Hall, Howard Freeman, Mary Field, Tom Pedi, Moroni Olsen

Plot:
Boss Tweed (Price) is a corrupt politician, who runs New York City politics from Tammany Hall with his political machine. Rosie Moore (Durbin) and her father, Timothy Moore (Sharpe), are Irish immigrants who arrive in New York City seeking a better life and quickly get entangled with Boss Tweed. As Timothy begins working for Boss Tweed, reporter John Matthews (Haymes) befriends the Moore family to expose Tweed’s corruption.

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Musical Monday: The Powers Girl (1943)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
The Powers Girl (1943) – Musical #839

Studio:
United Artists

Director:
Norman Z. McLeod

Starring:
George Murphy, Anne Shirley, Carole Landis, Alan Mowbray, Jean Ames, Mary Treen, Rafael Alcayde, Helen MacKellar, Harry Shannon
Themselves: Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Peggy Lee, Dennis Day
Billed as Powers America Beauty Pageant Model: Jayne Hazard, Lillian Eggers, Linda Stirling, Evelyn Frey, Eloise Hardt, Patsy Mace, Barbara Slater, Rosemary Coleman, Edna Johnson, Rebel Randall, Teala Loring

Plot:
Photographer Jerry Hendricks (Murphy) takes a photo of school teacher Ella Evans (Shirley) in a compromising position, which ends up on the cover of a magazine. The photo causes Ella to lose her job, so she travels to New York City to live with her model sister, Kay (Landis). Kay realizes her sister never signed a release for the photo, and sets her sights on get-rich-quick plan by suing the magazine. Jerry intercepts Kay and makes promises that she could become a Powers model.

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Musical Monday: I’ve Always Loved You (1946)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
I’ve Always Loved You (1946) – Musical #838

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
Frank Borzage

Starring:
Phillip Dorn, Catherine McLeod, Bill Carter, Maria Ouspenskaya, Felix Bressart, Elizabeth Patterson, Vanessa Brown, Lewis Howard, Adele Mara, Gloria Donovan, Cora Witherspoon, Fritz Feld

Plot:
Leopold Goronoff (Dorn) is a world famous maestro and concert pianist. He meets Myra Hassman (McLeod), the daughter of his former colleague, Frederick Hassman (Bressart) who is hopeful to become a pianist. Leopold takes Myra on as his protégé, and she travels the world with him and his mother (Ouspenskaya), learning and participating in concerts. Myra falls in love with Leopold, which is unrequited, and she goes home after Leopold ruins her debut performance at Carnegie Hall. She marries farmer George Sampter (Carter), but George always wonders if she’s still in love with Leopold.

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Musical Monday: They Met in Argentina (1941)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
They Met in Argentina (1941) – Musical #837

Studio:
RKO Pictures

Director:
Leslie Goodwins, Jack Hively

Starring:
Maureen O’Hara, James Ellison, Buddy Ebsen, Alberto Vila, Robert Barrat, Joseph Buloff, Diosa Costello, Luis Alberni (uncredited), Fortunio Bonanova (uncredited), Chester Clute (uncredited), Victoria Córdova (uncredited), Betty Jane Rhodes (uncredited)

Plot:
Americans Tim Kelly (Ellison) and his colleague Duke Ferrell (Ebsen) are in Argentina on business to bid on land for oil. While he’s unsuccessful in his oil business, he tries to bid on a race horse, which is owned by Don Enrique de los Santos O’Shea (Barrat). Tim falls for his daughter, Lolita O’Shea (O’Hara). Don Enrique objects, because he doesn’t want his daughter to go to the United States.

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Musical Monday: Let’s Make Music (1940)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Let’s Make Music (1940) – Musical #268

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Leslie Goodwins

Starring:
Jean Rogers, Elisabeth Risdon, Joseph Buloff, Joyce Compton, Benny Bartlett, Louis Jean Heydt, Bill Goodwin, Frank Orth, Grant Withers, Benny Rubin, Gale Sherwood (billed as Jacqueline Nash), Donna Jean Dolfer, Walter Tetley
As themselves: Bob Crosby, The Bob Crosby Orchestra, Bob Haggart, Ray Bauduc

Plot:
Small town high school teacher, Malvina Adams (Risdon), teaches a classical music class that most of the students find boring. In an effort to excite the students about music, she writes a school spirit song. The students don’t like it, but she sends it to a music publisher. Bandleader Bob Crosby (as himself) finds it and thinks the song is great, inviting Malvina to New York City to perform it. Her niece, Abby (Rogers), objects to her aunt going to the city and joins, but Malvina decides she’s going to have fun with her new success.

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Musical Monday: Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) – Musical #824

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Jeremy Slate, Laurel Goodwin, Benson Fong, Robert Strauss, Guy Lee, Frank Puglia, Lili Valenty, Beulah Quo, Ginny Tiu, Elizabeth Tiu, Alexander Tiu, Mary Treen (uncredited), Gavin Gordon (uncredited)

Plot:
Ross Carpenter (Presley) has dreams of buying his own boat, but in the meantime, he’s having too earn his money by working as a fishing guide in Hawaii. However, when his employer, Papa Stavros (Puglia), becomes ill, Ross is going to have to find other means of employment. He goes to share his sorrow with his sexy girlfriend, Robin (Stevens), where he meets wealthy but sweet Laurel (Goodwin), which causes issues with Robin. When wealthy Wesley Johnson (Slate) buys Stavros’s boat, Ross battles him for access to the sailboat and also the affections of Laurel.

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Musical Monday: Big Timers (1945)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Big Timers (1945) – Musical #836

Studio:
All American

Director:
Bud Pollard

Starring:
Stepin Fetchit, Francine Everett, Lou Swarz, Gertrude Saunders, Ed Hunter, Duke Williams, Elveta Hunter, Milton Woods, Walter Earle
Specialty Acts: Rocky Brown, Skylight, Tarzana, The All American Girl Band

Plot:
Betty Washburn (Everett) is engaged to Tom Powers (Williams), whose family is eager to meet Betty and her family. The problem is, Tom is wealthy and Betty’s mother (Swarz) works as a maid in a swanky apartment building. A performer in the building, Mabel Page (Saunders), lets the Washburns use her apartment and puts on a special performance for the Powers family.

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Musical Monday: Stars on Parade (1946)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Stars on Parade (1946) – Musical #835

Studio:
All-American

Director:
Joseph Seiden

Starring:
Milton Wood, Francine Everett, Jane Cooley, Duke Williams, Claire Graham, Lou Swarz, Dan Michaels, Jimmy Wills
Themselves: Bob Howard, Ray Greene, Eddie South, Una Mae Carlisle, Phil Moore and his Orchestra (The Phil Moore Four)

Plot:
When Johnny Bennett (Wood) is drafted to serve in World War II, he leaves his sister Jane (Cooley) in charge of his radio station. While she has tried to carry on without him, the radio station has lost advertisers. When he returns, Johnny tries to revive the station. When radio star Lucille Nester (Graham) is stranded in town when her car breaks down, she begins to woo Johnny, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend, Patty (Everett), who has waited on his return from the war.

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Musical Monday: Rock n’ Roll Revue (1955)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Rock n’ Roll Revue (1955) – Musical #834

Studio:
Studio Films Inc.

Director:
Joseph Kohn

Starring:
Host: Willie Bryant
As themselves: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Larry Darnell, Cholly Atkins and
Charles ‘Honi’ Coles (billed as Cole & Atkins), The Clovers, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, Big Joe Turner

Plot:
A musical review of the top performers of the time.

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Musical Monday: Jericho (1937)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Jericho (1937) – Musical #804

Studio:
Capitol Films

Director:
Thornton Freeland

Starring:
Paul Robeson, Henry Wilcoxon, Wallace Ford, Kouka (billed as Princess Kouka), John Laurie, James Carew, Lawrene Brown, Rufus Fennell, Ike Hatch, Frank Cram, Frank Cochrane, George Barraud, Federick Cooper, Henry Aubin, Eugene Cozier, Charles Farrell, Peter Gawthorne, Danny Greene, Percy Parsons, Eslanda Robeson

Plot:
The story begins during World War I on a ship heading towards France. When the ship is torpedoed, Jericho Jackson (Robeson) is trying to save men who are trapped in the boiler room so that they don’t drown. When a superior orders Jericho to forget it and evacuate, Jericho pushes the man, killing him. Despite saving several men and the defense of his friend Capt. Mack (Wilcoxon), Jericho is Court Martialed and held for murder. Jericho escapes and Capt. Mack is blamed and jailed for his escape. On a boat with another deserter (Ford), Jericho ends up in North Africa, where he meets and leads the Tuareg people.

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