Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday: Her Majesty, Love (1931)

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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:
Her Majesty, Love (1931) – Musical #643

Studio:
First National Pictures

Director:
William Dieterle

Starring:
Marilyn Miller, Ben Lyon, W.C. Fields, Leon Errol, Ford Sterling, Virginia Sale, Chester Conklin, Harry Stubbs, Clarence Wilson, Ruth Hall, Harry Holman, Mae Madison, William Irving, Irving Bacon (uncredited)

Plot:
Lia Toerrek (Miller) is a barmaid in a cabaret who falls in love with Fred von Wellingen (Lyon). When Fred introduces Lia and her father Bela (Fields) to his family, they are shocked that Lia is a bartender and Bela was a circus performer. Fred’s family tries to break up their upcoming marriage.

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Musical Monday: If I’m Lucky (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:
If I’m Lucky (1945) – Musical #666

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Lewis Seiler

Starring:
Vivian Blaine, Perry Como, Harry James, Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Edgar Buchanan, Reed Hadley

Plot:
A down on their luck band is managed by Wally Jones (Silvers) with trumpet player and bandleader Earl Gordon (James), harpist Michelle O’Toole (Miranda) and singer Linda Farrell (Blaine). The band runs across a political rally for Darius J. Magonnagle (Buchanan) and holds an impromptu concert for the rally. Their music brings people in, so Magonngle hires the band for his campaign for governor. Along the way, the band hires crooner Allen Clark (Como). When Magonnagle is sabotaged by a political machine, Allen is thrown into the race for governor.

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Musical Monday: Calamity Jane (1953)

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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:
Calamity Jane – Musical #49

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey, Gale Robbins, Chubby Johnson, Robert Fuller (uncredited),

Plot:
A fictional story about real-life western figures Calamity Jane (Day) and Wild Bill Hickcock (Keel). In the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, Calamity Jane vows to bring famed actress Adelaid Adams (Robbins) to Deadwood. When she goes to Chicago, Calamity is fooled by Adelaid’s maid Katie (McLerie) who says she’s Adelaid Adams. The town still opens their arms to Katie Brown, and the man Calamity Jane loves, Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin (Carey), falls for Katie.

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Musical Monday: As Long As They’re Happy (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:
As Long As They’re Happy (1955) – Musical #657

Studio:
Group Films

Director:
J. Lee Thompson

Starring:
Jack Buchanan, Janette Scott, Jeannie Carson, Brenda de Banzie, Susan Stephen, Jerry Wayne, Diana Dors, Hugh McDermott, Norman Wisdom

Plot:
John Bentley (Buchanan) is a stockbroker and his wife Stella (de Banzie) retired from acting to marry him. The Bentleys lead a quiet life in Wimbledon, but their three daughters keep them on their toes:
– 16-year-old Gwen (Scott) is in love with the crying crooner, Bobby Denver.
– Corinne (Stephen) is married to a cowboy(McDermott) and has to wire home so the two can return from Texas.
– Pat (Cason) is married to Peter, a bearded beatnik (Green), and the two live in Paris, where Pat sings in a cafe, where Peter discusses existentialism. The two return home after they get into trouble in a brawl at the cafe.
American singer Bobby Denver (Wayne), known as the crying crooner, ends up staying with a family while visiting England. His stay upsets the whole household, with all the women, including the maid, fall in love with Bobby.

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Musical Monday: Killer Diller (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:
Killer Diller – Musical #664

Studio:
All American

Director:
Josh Binney

Starring:
George Wiltshire, Nellie Hill, Butterfly McQueen, Freddie Robinson, William Campbell, Edgar Martin, Sidney Easton, Augustus Smith (as Gus Smith),
Themselves: King Cole Trio, Jackie “Moms” Mabley, Dusty Fletcher (as Dusty ‘Open the Door Richard’ Fletcher), the Clark Brothers, Andy Kirk and His Orchestra, The Four Congaroos, Patterson and Jackson, Beverlee White (billed as Beverly White)

Plot:
A theater manager (Wiltshire) gives his girl fiancé Lola (Hill) an expensive string of pearls. Shortly after, a magician (Fletcher) at the theater makes her disappear. As the police search for the pearls and Lola, a show has to go on.
The majority of the film is a variety show of singing, dancing and jokes.

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Musical Monday: Sepia Cinderella (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.

This week’s musical:
Sepia Cinderella (1947) – Musical #663

Studio:
Herald Pictures

Director:
Arthur H. Leonard

Starring:
Billy Daniels, Sheila Guyse, Tondaleyo, Ruble Blakey, William Greaves, Jack Carter, Dusty Freeman, George Williams, Harold Norton, Hilda Offley, Sidney Poitier (uncredited)
Specialty Acts and Appearances: Freddie Bartholomew, Deek Watson’s Brown Dot’s, Walter Fuller’s Orchestra, Apus, Estellita, John Kirby Sextet, Leonard and Zolo

Plot:
Bob Jordan (Billy Daniels) is a struggling songwriter. Barbara (Guyse), the adopted daughter of his landlady (Offley), helps him put lyrics to his song, “Cinderella.” Bob’s song becomes a hit, which throws him into society. Bob catches the attention of Vivian (Tondelayo), who owns a nightclub, and replaces her current bandleader (Blakey) with Bob. Vivian’s liking of Bob causes troubles with her fiance and hurts Barbara, as their romance is in the tabloids.

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Musical Monday: Miracle in Harlem (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:
Miracle in Harlem (1948) – Musical #662

Studio:
Herald Pictures

Director:
Jack Kemp

Starring:
Hilda Offley, Sheila Guyse, Kenneth Freeman, William Greaves, Sybil Lewis (billed as Sybyl Lewis), Creighton Thompson, Laurence Criner, Jack Carter, Stepin Fetchit,
Specialty performers: Juanita Hall, Norma Shepherd, Lynn Proctor Trio, Lavada Carter, Savannah Churchill

Plot:
Aunt Hattie (Offley) and her niece Julie (Guyse) run a small candy store. They have a small location and their only help is Julie’s boyfriend Bert (Greaves) and the handyman, Swifty (Fetchit). Julie and Bert want to expand, but Aunt Hattie resists. Wealthy Albert Marshall (Criner) of the big business Harlem Candy Manufacturers tries to put Julie and Aunt Hattie out of business. Marshall and his son Jim (Freeman) trick Julie out of the candy store, but when Marshall turns up dead, Julie is accused.

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Musical Monday: Boy! What a Girl! (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.

This week’s musical:
Boy! What a Girl! (1947) – Musical #426

Studio:
Herald Pictures

Director:
Arthur H. Leonard

Starring:
Tim Moore, Elwood Smith, Duke Williams, Alan Jackson, Sheila Guyse, Betti Mays, Sybil Lewis, Warren Patterson
Themselves: Slam Stewart Trio, Deek Watson and the Brown Dots, Big Sid Catlett, Ann Cornell, Gene Krupa, Harlemaniacs

Plot:
Jim Walton (Smith) and Harry Diggs (Williams) are trying to get a show on Broadway but lack the financial backing. Jim hopes that his girlfriend’s rich father, Mr. Cummings (Jackson), will help fund the show. Mr. Cummings will only help fund the show if wealthy French impresario Mme. Deborah Martin pays for half of the show. In her absence, female impersonator Bumpsie (Moore) poses as Mme. Deborah, but the issue is when the real Mme. Deborah (Lewis) arrives.

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Musical Monday: The Benny Goodman Story

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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 Benny Goodman Story (1956) – Musical #331

Studio:
Universal Studios

Director:
Valentine Davies

Starring:
Steve Allen, Donna Reed, Herbert Anderson, Sammy Davis Sr., Dick Winslow, Berta Gersten, Barry Truex, Robert F. Simon
Themselves: Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, Ben Pollack, Kid Ory, Martha Tilton, Harry James, Babe Russin, Allan Reuss

Plot:
This is a biographical film on clarinet player Benny Goodman (Allen). The film follows Goodman as a child when he learns the clarinet and becomes interested in jazz and swing music. Goodman struggles with gaining interest in “hot” music, especially in New York City. Many prefer classical music, including Alice Hammond (Reed), who is interested in Benny Goodman but isn’t sure about his music. Alice and Benny have a romance, but with his busy music schedule and his skeptical mother, it’s hard for the two to be together.

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Musical Monday: St. Louis Blues (1958)

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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:
St. Louis Blues (1958) – Musical #659

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Allen Reisner

Starring:
Nat ‘King’ Cole, Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Pearl Bailey, Juano Hernandez, Mahalia Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Ruby Dee, Billy Preston, C. Bakaleinikoff (uncredited)

Plot:
A biographical film on composer and musician Will C. Handy (Cole), who is considered the Father of the Blues. Will’s father is a pastor who belives any music outside of hymns is devil-worshipping music. Nevertheless, Will is drawn to writing and performing secular music, which causes a divide between he and his father. As Will becomes successful, he is torn between his success and losing his family.

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