Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday: Good News (1947)

Posted on by

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:
Good News (1947) – Musical #70

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director: Charles Walters

Starring:
June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall, Joan McCracken, Ray McDonald, Mel Tormé, Robert E. Strickland, Donald MacBride, Tom Dugan, Clinton Sundberg, Loren Tindall, Connie Gilchrist, Jimmy Lydon (uncredited), Tommy Rall (uncredited)

Plot:
Set in 1927 at Tait College, all of the boys are falling for new student and sorority girl, Pat McClellan (Marshall) – including football star Tommy Marlowe (Lawford). Gold-digging Pat doesn’t want anything to do with Tommy, finding him unrefined. To show her he can be worldly, Tommy heads to the library to learn French and meets student Connie Lane (Allyson), a sorority sister of Pat. Tommy and Connie fall for each other, but soon Pat turns her attentions to Tommy.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)

Posted on by

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:
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini– Musical #291

Studio: American International Pictures

Director: William Asher

Starring:
Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, Buster Keaton, Frankie Avalon, Beverly Adams, Harvey Lembeck, John Ashley, Mickey Rooney, Michael Nadar, Sheila MacRae, Marianne Gordon, Len Lesser, Bobbi Shaw, Stephanie Nader, Sue Hamilton (as Sue Williams), Michele Carey (uncredited)
Themselves: The Kingsmen
Cameo: Elizabeth Montgomery

Plot:
While Frankie (Avalon) is away in the Navy on an island, he worries Dee Dee (Funicello) is being as unfaithful as he is. He works with witch doctor Bwana (Keaton) to use magic to spy on Dee Dee to see if she’s faithful. Bwana also creates a sexy distraction, Cassandra (Adams), to keep all the boys away from her. Advertising representatives Peachy Keane (Rooney) and Ricky (Hickman) arrive on the beach to pick an all American girl for their ad campaign with B.D. MacPherson (Donlevy) to change the image of motorcycles, and Ricky falls for Dee Dee.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Show Boat (1936)

Posted on by

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:
Show Boat (1936) – Musical #78

Studio: Universal Pictures

Director: James Whale

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Helen Westley, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Queenie Smith, Donald Cook, Sammy White, Hattie McDaniel, Marilyn Knowlden, Sunnie O’Dea, Arthur Hohl, J. Farrell MacDonald, Francis X. Mahoney, Clarence Muse, Eddie Rochester Anderson (uncredited), Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited), Barbara Pepper (uncredited), Bobs Watson (uncredited), Delmar Watson (uncredited),

Plot:
Set in the 1880s, the Cotton Palace Show Boat travels from town to town to perform. When the show’s leading lady Julie LaVerne (Morgan) is told to leave because of a case of miscegenation, or an interracial relationship, Capt. Andy (Winninger) and his wife (Westley) have to find a new leading man and leading lady. Their daughter Magnolia (Dunne) takes the part and a gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Jones) is hired. The two fall in love and are married, against Magnolia’s parent’s wishes. The couple moves to Chicago and lives off of Gaylord’s gambling success, which is short-lived.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Ship Ahoy (1942)

Posted on by

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:
Ship Ahoy – Musical #204

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Edward Buzzell

Starring:
Eleanor Powell, Red Skelton, Bert Lahr, Virginia O’Brien, William Post Jr., Stuart Crawford, John Emery, James Cross, Eddie Hartman, Philip Ahn (uncredited), Moroni Olsen (uncredited), Mary Treen (uncredited), Grant Withers (uncredited), Bobby Larson (uncredited), Addison Richards (uncredited)
Himself: Tommy Dorsey, Ziggy Elman, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines, The Pied Pipers,

Plot:
Tommy Dorsey’s (himself) nightclub act, starring dancer Tallulah Winters (Powell), is sent to Puerto Rico to perform. Before boarding the cruise ship that night, Tallulah is approached by men who say they are government agents and ask her to take a powerful magnetic mine to South America. The agents end up being spies and got the idea to approach Tallulah from a comic book story written by Merton Kibble (Skelton), who is also on the cruise ship with his assistant, Skip Owens (Lahr). Skip wanted to take the trip because he is in love with performer Fran (O’Brien), while Merton falls for Tallulah. Allied agents are on the ship as well to try and intercept the mine before it gets in enemy hands.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Summer Stock (1950)

Posted on by

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:
Summer Stock (1950) – Musical #9

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director: Charles Walters

Starring:
Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Gloria DeHaven, Phil Silvers, Marjorie Main, Carleton Carpenter, Eddie Bracken, Ray Collins, Hans Conreid, Nita Bieber, Carol Haney (uncredited), Johnny Duncan (uncredited), Michael Chapin (uncredited), Bunny Waters (uncredited), Almira Sessions (uncredited

Plot:
Jane Falbury (Garland) runs her family farm. Her peaceful daily life is disrupted when her sister Abigail (DeHaven) returns home to the farm accompanied by an acting troupe. Abigail and the group’s director Joe Ross (Kelly) are in love, and the show has to be a hit for the two to be married. Jane agrees that the actors can stay at the farm and rehearse if they Jane’s fiancé Orville (Bracken) disapproves of showbusiness and wants the actors to leave. Jane also finds that she is falling in love with Joe.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Strike Me Pink (1936)

Posted on by

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:
Strike Me Pink – Musical #607

Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Company

Director: Norman Taurog

Starring:
Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, Sally Eilers, Harry Parke (billed as Parkyakarkus), William Frawley, Brian Donlevy, Jack LaeRue, Dona Drake (billed as Rita Rio), Helen Lowell, Gordon Jones, Sunnie O’Dea, Edward Brophy, Charles C. Wilson, Theresa Harris (uncredited), Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited), Mickey Daniels (uncredited)
Featuring: The Goldwyn Girls (including Jinx Falkenburg, Joan Barclay, Harriett De Busman, Dorothy Dugan, Gail Goodson, Mary Gwynne, Carol Hughes, Kay Hughes, Elaine Johnson, Charlotte Russell, Gail Sheridan, Marcia Sweet, Anya Taranda, Vicki Vann, Blanca Vischer)

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Under Western Stars (1938)

Posted on by

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:
Under Western Stars (1938) – Musical #608

Studio: Republic Pictures

Director: Joseph Kane

Starring: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, Guy Usher, Tom Chatterton, Kenneth Harlan, Stephen Chase, Dick Elliott, Dora Clement, George Montgomery (uncredited)
Themselves: Maple City Four

Plot:
Conditions for farming are terrible for ranchers due to the Dust Bowl and drought. Roy (Rogers) runs for Congress in order to get more federal help for ranchers and cowboys.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Broadway Hostess (1935)

Posted on by

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:
Broadway Hostess (1935) – Musical #266

Studio: Warner Bros.

Director: Frank McDonald

Starring: Wini Shaw (billed as Winifred Shaw), Genevieve Tobin, Lyle Talbot, Allen Jenkins, Phil Regan, Marie Wilson, Joe King, Donald Ross, Frank Dawson, Spring Byington, Ward Bond (uncredited), Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited), Mary Treen (uncredited), Jane Wyman (uncredited)

Plot:
Winnie (Shaw) wins a popularity contest back home in Ohio and travels to New York to start a singing career. She makes it big in New York as a torch singer, but falls in love with her business manager Lucky (Talbot), who unfortunately is strictly business.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Red, Hot and Blue (1949)

Posted on by

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:
Red, Hot and Blue (1949) – Musical #362

Studio: Paramount Studios

Director: John Farrow

Starring:
Betty Hutton, Victor Mature, William Demarest, June Havoc, Jane Nigh, Frank Loesser, William Talman, Raymond Walburn, Onslow Stevens, Art Smith, Barry Kelley, Julie Adams (uncredited), Noel Neill (uncredited)

Plot:
Eleanor Collier (Hutton) lives in New York City and is desperate to become an actress. She will do anything to be discovered and for publicity from going to dinner with rich men to modeling to going by the name “Yum Yum.” Eleanor clashes with her boyfriend Danny (Mature), who disapproves of her career gaining methods because he wants to direct serious plays. While trying to get ahead, Eleanor goes on a date with gangster Bunny Harris (Talman), believing he is producing a show when he gets shot. Gangsters kidnap her believing she witness the shooting.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Music in My Heart (1940)

Posted on by

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:
Music in My Heart (1940) – Musical #261

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Director: Joseph Santley

Starring:
Rita Hayworth, Tony Martin, Edith Fellows, Alan Mowbray, Eric Blore, George Tobias, Joseph Crehan, Marten Lamont, Joey Ray, Julieta Novis
Themselves: Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra, The Brian Sisters

Plot:
Hopeful musical understudy Robert Gregory (Martin) is going to be deported. He’s given a chance to be the lead in a show as long as he gets on a boat at 12 a.m. His taxi wrecks with another taxi with passenger Patricia O’Malley (Hayworth) who is racing to meet the same boat to marry a millionaire (Mowbray). When they both miss the boat, Patricia takes in Robert and her younger sister (Fellows) tries to play matchmaker while Robert is avoiding being deported.

Continue reading →