Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday: Murder at the Windmill (1949)

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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:
Murder at the Windmill(1949) – Musical #753

windmill burlesque2

Studio:
Grand National Pictures

Director:
Val Guest

Starring:
Garry Marsh, Jack Livesey, Jon Pertwee, Eliot Makeham, Diana Decker, Donald Clive, Jill Antsey, Pamela Deeming, Johnnie Gale
Themselves: Jimmy Edwards, The Windmill Theater Trope, Robin Richmond

Plot:
When a man is found dead in the front row of the Windmill Theater, police inspectors (Pertwee, Marsh) ask for the cast to re-perform the whole show so they can evaluate how the man was shot and determine who killed him.

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Musical Monday: Kelly and Me (1956)

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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:
Kelly and Me (1956) – Musical #752

kelly and me

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Robert Z. Leonard

Starring:
Van Johnson, Piper Laurie, Martha Hyer, Onslow Stevens, Hebert Anderson, Douglas Fowley, Frank Wilcox, Dan Riss, Kelly the Dog, Madge Blake (uncredited)

Plot:
Set in 1930, vaudeville performer Len Carmody (Johnson) has a corny, failing act. When another performer abandons his trained dog, Kelly (Kelly the Dog), the dog becomes attached to Carmody. When the dog walks out on stage during Carmody’s act and the audience goes nuts, he realizes he may be on to a new act. The pair become successful on stage and are traveling when they meet Mina Van Runkel (Laurie), who happens to be the daughter of a film studio executive (Stevens). Mina convinces her father to give Carmody and Kelly a role in a film. As Kelly becomes a great film star, Carmody resents the dog’s celebrity and playing second fiddle in his films.

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Musical Monday: Mystery in Swing (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.

mystery in swingThis week’s musical:
Mystery in Swing (1940) – Musical #751

Studio:
Aetna Film Corp.

Director:
Arthur Dreifuss

Starring:
Monte Hawley, Marguerite Whitten, Tommie Moore, Edward Thompson, Buck Woods, Robert Webb, Sybil Lewis, Jess Lee Brooks, Josephine Edwards, Alfred Grant, Tom Southern
Themselves: The Four Toppers, CeePee Johnson and His Orchestra

Plot:
Trumpet player Prince Ellis (Webb) is leaving his job at the Penguin Club for Hollywood. On his last night of the club, his womanizing catches up with him:
• Teenage Mae Carroll (Moore) is ready to run away with Prince, though her father (brooks) shows up and tells Prince to leave his daughter alone.
• Nightclub singer Maxine Rae (Edwards) is in love with him and jealous of the other women in his life
• And the ex-Mrs. Ellis (Lewis) shows up asking about her alimony.
But that night, Prince is murdered and Maxine witnesses his death but doesn’t know who did it. The body is discovered by reporter Biff Boyd (Hawley) and his girlfriend Linda Carroll (Whitten), who also see Maxine leaving his apartment.

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Musical Monday: Murder in the Music Hall (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.

murder in the music hallThis week’s musical:
Murder in the Music Hall (1946) – Musical #750

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
John English

Starring:
Vera Ralston (billed as Vera Hruba Ralston), William Marshall, Ann Rutherford, William Gargan, Nancy Kelly, Helen Walker, Julie Bishop, Jerome Cowan, Edward Noris, Jack La Rue, Frank Orth, Fay McKenzie, Mary Field, Anne Nagel, Joe Yule (uncredited)

Specialty Stars on Ice: Condon and Bohland, Red McCarthy, Patti Phillippi, John Jolliffe, Henry Lie

Plot:
During an ice skating performance, star skater Lila Laughton (Ralston) spots a familiar face in the balcony: Carl Lang (Norris). Lang was the show’s former director and producer, just released from jail. He was jailed for criminal negligence when a man, Douglas, was found dead of poisoning that was an accident—though murder is suspected. When Carl is murdered, Lila, her boyfriend, and bandleader Don Jordan (Marshall) and fellow performers, Gracie (Rutherford) and Millicent (Walker), try to find the murderer. At the same time, police Inspector Wilson (Gargan) is investigating the case.

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Musical Monday: Sarge Goes to College (1947)

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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.

sarge goes to college2This week’s musical:
Sarge Goes to College (1947) – Musical #749

Studio:
Monogram Pictures

Director:
Will Jason

Starring:
Freddie Stewart, June Preisser, Frankie Darro, Warren Mills, Noel Neill, Arthur Walsh, Alan Hale Jr., Frank Cady, Monte Collins, Selmer Jackson, Margaret Brayton
Themselves: Arthur Walsh, Russ Morgan and His Orchestra, Jack McVea and Orchestra, Dusty Fletcher, Candy Candido, Les Paul, Abe Lyman, Jess Stacy, Wingy Manone, Joe Venuti, Jerry Wald

Plot:
A Marine, Sarge (Hale Jr.), is due to have surgery, but doctors don’t think he is prepared for the procedure and needs to get away from the military atmosphere for a rest. He is transferred to San Juan College, were Freddie (Stewart) and his friends (Preisser, Darro, Neill, Mills) are planning to put on a show. As Dodie (Preisser) and Betty (Neill) help Sarge with his studies, romantic misunderstandings happen as the their boyfriends (Stewart, Darro) when Betty thinks Dodie is jilting Freddie for the Sarge.

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Musical Monday: Mad About Music (1938)

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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:
Mad About Music (1938) – Musical #380

mad about music3

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Deanna Durbin, Gail Patrick, Herbert Marshall, Arthur Treacher, William Frawley, Marcia Mae Jones, Helen Parrish, Jackie Moran, Elisabeth Risdon, Nana Bryant, Christian Rub, Charles Peck, Jonathan Hale (uncredited), Martha O’Driscoll (uncredited), Franklin Pangborn (uncredited)
Themselves: Sid Grauman, Cappy Barra and His Harmonica Ensemble

Plot:
Teenager Gloria Harkinson (Durbin) is the daughter of famous film star Gwen Taylor (Patrick), but she has to keep this a secret. Gwen’s manager, Dusty (Frawley), feels it would be bad business if fans and publicity knew Gwen was old enough to have a 14-year-old daughter. Because of this, Gloria creates a fictional father, who is an explorer, who sends gifts and outlandish letters from his adventures. The school’s mean girl, Felice (Parrish), doubts that these stories are true and wants to expose Gloria’s lies. In an effort to keep up the façade, Gloria says her father is coming to visit and greets composer, Richard Todd (Marshall), when he gets off the train. While Richard is initially ready to also fess up to the lie, he’s charmed by sweet Gloria and the two form a friendship.

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Musical Monday: Let’s Go Collegiate (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.

let's go collegiateThis week’s musical:
Let’s Go Collegiate (1941) – Musical #748

Studio:
Monogram Pictures

Director:
Jean Yarbrough

Starring:
Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, Jackie Moran, Keye Luke, Gale Storm, Frank Sully, Mantan Moreland, Billy Griffith, Barton Yarborough, Frank Faylen, Marguerite Whitten, Paul Maxey, Tristram Coffin

Plot:
The Rawley University rowing team is eagerly awaiting a star stroke for the crew, Bob Terry. But when Terry is drafted into the Army, the team’s coxswain, Frankie (Darro) and his teammates Tad (Moran) and Buck (Luke), think fast for a replacement. Instead of coming clean to their classmates and girlfriends, Bess (Jones) and Midge (Storm), they decide to hire someone to play the role of Bob Terry. Frankie and Tad see Hercules Bevans (Sully) loading a truck and think he will be perfect for the job as Bob Terry. However, their plan does not run smoothly, as Hercules is rough around the edges, needs to be tutored in his classes and rowing, and their girlfriends fall for him.

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Musical Monday: Get Yourself a College Girl (1964)

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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.

get yourself a college girlThis week’s musical:
Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) – Musical #240

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Sidney Miller

Starring:
Mary Ann Mobley, Joan O’Brien, Nancy Sinatra, Chris Noel, Chad Everett, Willard Waterman, Fabrizio Mioni, James Millhollin, Paul Todd, Donnie Brooks, Hortense Petra, Dorothy Neumann, Percy Kelton (uncredited)
Musical acts as Themselves: The Standells, The Dave Clark Five, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Roberta Linn, The Bellboys, the Animals, The Rhythm Masters, Freddie Bell, Jimmy Smith Trio

Plot:
Theresa Taylor (Mobley) is a student at a strict girl’s college and has been secretly writing and selling music on the side to pay her way through school. Her tantalizing, sexual songs get Theresa in hot water with the deans and college board right before the Christmas holidays. Rather than expel her, they move the day of judgement after the holidays, and ask her to avoid trouble (and men). Unfortunately, Gary Underwood (Everett) has followed her to Sun Valley, Idaho, for the winter holidays with the goal of getting a pin up painting of Theresa.

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Musical Monday: Pan-Americana (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.

pan americana 2This week’s musical:
Pan-Americana (1945) – Musical #435

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
John H. Auer

Starring:
Phillip Terry, Eve Arden, Audrey Long, Robert Benchley, Lita Baron (billed as Isabelita), Ernest Truex, Mac Cramer, Jane Greer (uncredited)
Specialty Acts: Rosario, Antonio El Bailarín, Miguelito Valdés, Harold and Lola Liebman, Louise Burnette, Chinita, Chuy Reyes and His Orchestra, Nestor Amaral and His Samba Band

Plot:
Western World magazine sends a womanizing photographer, Dan Jordan (Terry), to South America to photograph beautiful women. The magazine’s editor, Helen Hopkins (Arden), and staff writer Jo Anne Benson (Long), travel with Dan. Jo Anne is using the assignment to get to South America where her fiancé (Cramer) awaits. Meanwhile, Dan and Jo Anne fall in love.

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Musical Monday: Tea for Two (1950)

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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:
Tea for Two (1950) – Musical #171

tea for two2

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Eve Arden, Billy De Wolfe, S.Z. Sakall, Bill Goodwin, Patrice Wymore, Virginia Gibson, Elinor Donahue (uncredited), Carol Haney (uncredited), Dee Turnell (uncredited), John Wilder (uncredited)

Plot:
Told in the flashback from modern times, we are transported back from the 1950s to the stock market crash of 1929. At the same time Nanette Carter (Day) agrees to finance a Broadway musical, she has lost everything during the stock market crash. However, she doesn’t know and her financier Uncle J. Maxwell Bloomhaus (Sakall) doesn’t know how to tell her. Instead of telling Nanette she has no money, Uncle Max tells her to say “no” to everything for 48 hours. She believes that if she wins this bet, she can get the $25,000 to finance the show.

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