Musical Monday: Rhythm in the Clouds (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:
Rhythm in the Clouds (1937) – Musical #842

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
John H. Auer

Starring:
Patricia Ellis, Warren Hull, William Newell, Richard Carle, Zeffie Tilbury, Charles Judels, Robert Paige, Joyce Compton, Suzanne Kaaren, Esther Howard, Eddie Parker (billed as Ed Parker), James C. Morton

Plot:
Judy Walker (Ellis) is an aspiring composer and is down-on-her luck. When she’s evicted, she concocts a scheme to stay in the posh apartment of composer Phil Hale (Paige). While staying in the apartment, Judy and her wall neighbor, lyricist Bob McKay (Hull) have a feud about both being too loud – though neither has seen each other. Walker and McKay begin to work together on the radio without knowing that they are their hated neighbors.

Trivia:
• Originally ran at 62 minutes, but the only prints accessible now are 52 minutes long.
• Patricia Ellis and Warren Hull were paired in three films: Rhythm in the Clouds (1937), Freshman Love (1936), Love Begins at Twenty (1936).
• Patricia Ellis was borrowed from Warner Bros. for this film.

Highlights:
• The character played by Zeffie Tilbury

Notable Songs:
• “Don’t Ever Change” performed by Warren Hull
• “Hawaiian Hospitality” performed by Suzanne Kaaren
• “Two Hearts Were Dancing” performed by Suzanne Kaaren and Warren Hull

My review:
Like with most films, we have varying levels of movie musicals. There are some magnificent, large scale musicals with lavish set and musicals numbers, like BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936 or SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952).

But then there are lower budget musicals with a quick plot, pleasant songs and the B team as far as leading actors go. This week’s Musical Monday, RHYTHM IN THE CLOUDS (1937), falls under that description.

Judy Walker (Ellis) is an aspiring composer and is down-on-her luck. When she’s evicted, she concocts a scheme to stay in the posh apartment of composer Phil Hale (Paige). While staying in the apartment, Judy and her wall neighbor, lyricist Bob McKay (Hull) have a feud about both being too loud – though neither has seen each other. Walker and McKay begin to work together on the radio without knowing that they are their hated neighbors.

Patricia Ellis and Warren Hull are both attractive, pleasant actors and sing well. But they can also be easily confused as carbon copies of larger caliber stars. Studios seemed to fancy the pair as a screen team, since they were paired three times together: in this film, FRESHMAN LOVE and LOVE BEGINS AT 20.

Ellis’s career ended by 1939, and similarly, Hull’s film career ended in 1940 with a few TV roles in the 1950s.

Suzanne Kaaren isn’t a very convincing vamp or “other woman,” or perhaps, the role and film length didn’t give much opportunity for development. But her career is more interesting than her character. Kaaren was a Radio City Rockette and when she was a teenager, Florenz Ziegfeld wanted her for the Follies but her parents said no.

I mainly know Robert Paige as Deanna Durbin’s leading man in her final film, CAN’T HELP SINGING (1948). Paige plays the owner of the apartment that Ellis is staying in. He doesn’t have much opportunity to make an impression either.

To me, the most interesting character was played by 73-year-old Zeffie Tilbury, who plays the Duchess, a female advertising executive. She was fun.

There is one odd-scene in the film where we see Warren Hull’s wet feet and legs as he gets out of the shower. It almost felt like a Pre-Code scene.

RHYTHM IN THE CLOUDS (1936) is not much to write home about. There aren’t too many songs, but for a 52-minute film, it feels adequate enough. Though it’s not the best, it’s also a fairly pleasant way to pass less than an hour.

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