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:
Hats Off (1936) – Musical #739

Studio:
Grand National Films

Director:
Boris Petroff

Starring:
Mae Clarke, John Payne, Helen Lynd, Luis Alberni, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Franklin Pangborn, George Irving, Robert Middlemass, Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited)
Themselves: The Three Radio Rogues (Jimmy Hollywood, Henry Taylor, Eddie Bartell)

Plot:
Two towns and Texas are trying to outdo each other when it comes to putting on fairs for Texas’s centennial. One town has press agent Jimmy Maxwell (Payne) in charge and another town hires press agent Jo Allen (Clarke). Jo goes undercover and romances Jimmy to steal their ideas.

Trivia:
• Samuel Fuller’s first original screenplay credit. Fuller co-wrote the script with Edmund Joseph.
• Trade publications noted the similarities of the Texas towns in the movies and Dallas, TX and Fort Worth, TX when they celebrated the Texas Centennial.
• Second film of John Payne. His first film role was “Dodsworth” (1936).
• First feature film of director Boris Petroff. In total, Petroff only directed eight films and his next film wouldn’t be until 1952.

Highlights:
• The fashion show with wild costumes, like a precursor to “Ziegfeld Girl”
• Mae Clarke singing
• The montage of the performers getting ready for the fair
• The merry-go-round dance

Notable Songs:
• “Let’s Have Another” performed by the chorus and Helen Lynd
• “Zilch’s Hat” performed by the Three Radio Rogues
• “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” performed by John Payne
• “Where Have You Been All My Life”
• “Little Odd Rhythm”

My review:
Director and screenwriter, Samuel Fuller was well-known for off-beat films, like “The Naked Kiss,” or films with a message that packed a punch, like the Korean war drama “The Steel Helmet.”

But his first writing credit it a bit different: the poverty row musical “Hats Off,” where two competing press agents help two “twin city” towns in Texas outdo each other in their centennial fair. The press agents are played by John Payne in his second film role and Mae Clarke, after she had left her home studio of Warner Bros.

In his autobiography, Fuller says that the film’s director Boris Petroff wanted Fuller to write a treatment for a lighthearted comedy.

“I accepted the challenge and concocted a yarn about two prehistoric cities who declare war on each other,” Fuller wrote. “The cities square off because each wants the services of one of the great showmen of the day to create elaborate musical numbers with beautiful girls diving into swimming pools.”

The finished film had nothing to do with Fuller’s original story, but he got a writing credit.

“Petroff cut out all the political aspects of my story, kept only the most absurd stuff and made Hats Off,” he wrote. “Petroff fashioned a movie that made people forget about their problems. I’d wanted to expose man’s foolish belligerency.”

Though “Hats Off” runs a brief 61 minutes, the film doesn’t lack entertaining songs, humor and impressive Busby Berkeley-like dance numbers (whoever staged that finale must have been taking notes).

I particularly enjoyed the “Zilch’s Hat” number as the Three Radio Rogues sing a description of the boxing match that’s occurring. I also enjoyed “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” which isn’t the lullaby, but just a song with the same title. This tune gave audiences to hear John Payne sing for the first time, cementing him as the musical star he later became. We also have the rare opportunity to hear Mae Clarke sing this song, which surprised me, as I hadn’t heard her sing in a film previously. She does a decent job. Her voice may be deep and slightly week, but she holds her own, I feel.

My favorite musical number was the finale, where the dancing girls ended up riding on merry-go-round horses around the stage as another dancer performed a solo in the center. It was visually beautiful.

Several of the songs were also performed by the film’s secondary leading lady and our comedic actress, Helen Lynd, who capably performs and dances during the songs.

It was an interesting juxtaposition to have John Payne and Mae Clark as co-stars. Payne was a newcomer in his second film (he previously played a small role in “Dodsworth”) and Mae Clarke’s star was on the decline after performing in films at her home studio at Warner Bros. Both are great, and while the film was of a lower caliber than what Clarke was used to, she still does a good job.

In the supporting cast are also character actors Luis Alberni and Franklin Pangborn, who are always highlights in the film. They often are the best part in their films.

This film seems to end a bit abruptly, but it was also a perfectly-timed film that didn’t need to be any longer than needed.

If you’re looking for a “Samuel Fuller film,” this isn’t one of them and you will have to seek his later works. However, if you want a lighthearted musical, this will do the trick.

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