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:
Sitting on the Moon (1936) – Musical #770

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
Ralph Staub

Starring:
Roger Pryor, Grace Bradley, Pert Kelton, William Newell, Henry Kolker, Henry Wadsworth, Joyce Compton, Pierre Watkin, George Cooper,

Plot:
Danny West (Pryor) is a successful songwriter, when he crosses paths with Hollywood actress Polly Blair (Bradley). Polly used to be a successful Hollywood star, but her career is on the skids when she walked out on a producer who now has her blackballed in Hollywood. Danny is successful because Polly introduced one of his songs in a film. Now, Danny tries to help her in a comeback by writing her a song. In the meantime, they fall in love, but his association with Polly hurts his career.

Trivia:
• The film was originally 66 minutes long and at one point was edited to 52 minutes.

Notable Songs:
• “Who Am I” performed by Grace Bradley
• “Sitting on the Moon” performed by Grace Bradley
• “Lost in My Dreams” performed by Grace Bradley

My review:
Have you ever bought one of those DVD sets with 50+ musicals? Usually the films are all in public domain and aren’t ones many people have heard of?

That’s how I discovered SITTING ON THE MOON (1936). And while this film and the others on this DVD set can be low budget, sometimes you find a gem like this one.

The story is interesting: A blackballed actress, Polly Blair (Bradley) has her career revitalized, because of a songwriter, Danny (Roger Pryor). Though the two also fall in love, Polly overhears that Danny may have gotten married after a drunken evening. While Polly finds success on the radio in New York City, Danny’s career then tanks.

For a low budget film, the story is rather interesting and well-paced. But most importantly, the music is excellent — which is key in a musical.

“Sitting on the Moon” is a great song, but I particularly liked another song, “Who Am I?”

While this film is pleasant and enjoyable, our leads are just okay and not very well known today. Grace Bradley is pleasant and has a great voice. Bradley also reminds me of a mix of actresses, including Margaret Lindsay.

Actor Roger Pryor never does much for me. He has a Humphrey Bogart voice and looks like he grew a mustache to look like Gable. He also doesn’t sing well.

Our secondary actresses are a highlight: Pert Kelton and Joyce Compton. Unfortunately, they both don’t have very much screen time. Kelton is also a blonde in this film.

“Sitting on the Moon” is at a brisk pace of 66 minutes and has a few pleasant songs. It isn’t the best movie musical you will watch, but will keep you well entertained for an hour.

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