Category Archives: Musical Monday

Musical Monday: Lucky Me (1954)

Posted on by
1

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:
Lucky Me (1954) – Musical #184

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Jack Donohue

Starring:
Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers, Martha Hyer, Eddie Foy Jr., Nancy Walker, Bill Goodwin, Marcel Dalio, Hayden Rorke, James Burke, John Alvin (uncredited), Angie Dickinson (uncredited), Dabbs Greer (uncredited)

Plot:
Candy Williams (Day) is incredibly superstitious. She’s also part of an unsuccessful acting troupe, led by Hap Schneider (Silvers). When they wrap up a stint in a movie house, the group doesn’t know where to go next since they are out of money. When the group enjoys an expensive dinner in a Miami hotel with no way to pay for it, they all get jobs at the hotel to pay for their debt. While there, they meet successful songwriter Dick Carson (Cummings), who tries to work them into his show. The only problem is that the show is financed by the father of Lorraine Thayer (Hyer), who carries the torch for Dick.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Playing Around (1930)

Posted on by
Reply

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:
Playing Around (1930) – Musical #796

playing around2

Playing Around, lobbycard, from left: Chester Morris, Alice White, 1930. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

Studio:
First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros.

Director:
Mervyn LeRoy

Starring:
Alice White, Chester Morris, William Bakewell, Richard Carlyle, Marion Byron, Maurice Black, Lionel Belmore, Shep Camp, Ann Brody, Nellie V. Nichols, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes (uncredited), Carolynne Snowden (uncredited), Doris McMahon (uncredited)

Plot:
When Sheba Miller (White) and her boyfriend Jack (Bakewell) are at a nightclub, Sheba enters a “best legs” contest, judged by club patron, Nickey Solomon (Morris). Sheba wins and Nickey begins wooing Sheba, making her toss Jack to the curb. Sheba believes Nickey is wealthy playboy, but the way he earns his money isn’t as honest as she thinks.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Mardi Gras (1958)

Posted on by
Reply

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:
Mardi Gras (1958) – Musical #806

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Edmund Goulding

Starring:
Pat Boone, Christine Carère, Tommy Sands, Sheree North, Gary Crosby, Fred Clark, Dick Sargent (billed as Richard Sargent), Barrie Chase, Jennifer West, Geraldine Wall, King Calder, Robert Burton,
Cameo: Robert Wagner

Plot:
The students at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) are notified that they will get attend the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans and march in the parade. Three pals — Paul (Boone), Barry (Sands) and Tony (Crosby) — realize that French film star Michelle Marton (Carère) will also be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. The three hatch a plan to hold a raffle with the VMI students where the winner will ask Michelle Marton as their date to VMI’s graduation. Once in New Orleans, while the guys try to meet Michelle, she goes undercover so she can have some fun.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Harlem on the Prairie (1937)

Posted on by
1

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:
Harlem on the Prairie (1937) – Musical #805

Studio:
Associated Features

Director:
Sam Newfield

Starring:
Herb Jeffries (billed as Herbert Jeffrey), F.E. Miller (billed as Flournoy Miller), Mantan Moreland, Consuelo Harris (billed as Connie Harris), Maceo Bruce Sheffield, Spencer Williams, George Randol, Nathan Curry
The Four Tones singers: Lucius Books, Rudolph Hunter, Leon Buck, Ira Hardin

Plot:
Doc Clayburn (Williams) returns home with his daughter Carolina (Harris) after 20 years. Upon arrival, Carolina learns that her father was part of a gold heist 20 years prior, and he wanted to return the gold. When Doc is killed by outlaw Wolf Cain (Sheffield) and his team of outlaws, Wolf puts pressure on Carolina for the gold. Jeff Kincaid (Jeffries), his team and friends Mistletoe (Moreland) and Crawfish (Miller) help Carolina get the gold to its rightful owners.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Playmates (1941)

Posted on by
Reply

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:
Playmates (1941) – Musical #375

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
As themselves: Kay Kyser, John Barrymore, Ginny Simms, Harry Babbitt, Ish Kabibble, Sully Mason,
In acting roles: Lupe Velez, May Robson, Patsy Kelly, Peter Lind Hayes, Hobart Cavanaugh, George Cleveland, Marie Windsor (uncredited), Leon Belasco (uncredited)

Plot:
The agents of Kay Kyser (himself) and John Barrymore (himself) hatch a plan to connect the bandleader to the Shakespearean actor to help boost Barrymore’s career. The idea is that Kyser will recite Shakespeare with Barrymore, much to Barrymore’s chagrin.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Basin Street Revue (1956)

Posted on by
1

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:
Basin Street Revue (1956) – Musical #802

Studio:
Studio Films

Director:
Joseph Kohn, Leonard Reed

Starring:
Host: Willie Bryant
As Themselves: Sarah Vaughn, Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra, Paul Williams and his Orchestra, Jimmy Brown, Amos Milburn, Faye Adams, Charles ‘Honi’ Coles, Colly Atkins, Herb Jeffries, Cab Calloway, Martha Davis, Mantan Moreland, Nipsey Russell, Marie Bryant

Plot:
A musical review of the top performers of the time.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: The Proud Valley (1940)

Posted on by
Reply

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.

The Proud Valley, poster, Paul Robeson, 1940. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

This week’s musical:
The Proud Valley (1940) – Musical #801

Studio:
Ealing Studios

Director:
Pen Tennyson

Starring:
Paul Robeson, Edward Chapman, Simon Lack, Rachel Thomas, Edward Rigby, Dilys Thomas, Janet Johnson, Charles Williams, Jack Jones, Dilys Davies, Clifford Evans, Allan Jeayes, George Merritt, Edward Lexy

Plot:
American David Goliath (Robeson) leaves his ship when he arrives in Wales. He hops on a freight and ends in a small town. Hearing a choir, conducted by Dick Parry (Chapman), David stops to sing outside to sing along. Dick Parry is stunned by David’s beautiful voice and hopes he will sing with the miner choir in competition. Dick also invites David to come stay with his family and helps him get a job with him in the coal mines. When disaster strikes the mines and closes them down, David helps by walking with the miners to London to get them open and working again.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)

Posted on by
1

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:
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) – Musical #799

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Mervyn LeRoy

Starring:
Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, David Brian, Donna Corcoran, Jesse White, Howard Freeman, Maria Tallchief, Charles Watts, Wilton Graff, Frank Ferguson, James Bell, James Flavin, Willis Bouchey, Paul Frees (uncredited), Dabbs Greer (uncredited), Creighton Hall (uncredited), Betty Lynn (uncredited)

Plot:
Biographical film about Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman (Corcoran as child, Williams as adult). As a child, Annette had polio and strengthened her legs with swimming. The daughter of a musician, Frederick Kellerman (Pidgeon), Annette had ambitions of becoming a ballerina and the Kellermans travel to England to find work in the arts. When Mr. Kellerman’s job falls through, Annette links up with promoter, James Sullivan (Mature). James builds Annette up through a series of publicity stunts, and she eventually finds fame performing at the Hippodrome Theater in New York City.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Scott Joplin (1977)

Posted on by
2

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:
Scott Joplin (1977) – Musical #800

Studio:
Produced by Motown Pictures, Distributed by Universal Pictures

Director:
Jeremy Kagan

Starring:
Billy Dee Williams, Clifton Davis, Art Carney, Margaret Avery, Eubie Blake, Godfrey Cambridge, Otis Day, Mabel King, Taj Mahal, Spo-De-Odee, Samuel Fuller, Seymour Cassel, David Healy, Lionel Richie (uncredited)

Plot:
Composer Scott Joplin (Williams) works his way up from being pianist in a brothel, known as “a Professor,” to becoming a successful composer — transforming the landscape of music with ragtime hits. While largely known as a genius, Joplin wants to be seen as a high-brow composer and works to compose his opera, “Treemonisha.” His life and career are hindered by heartache and tragedy, like an illness and death of a child.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949)

Posted on by
Reply

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:
Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949) – Musical #798

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
John M. Stahl

Starring:
Mark Stevens, June Haver, S.Z. Sakall, Charlotte Greenwood, Gale Robbins, Jay C. Flippen, Andrew Tombes, Eduad Franz, Robert Gist (uncredited), Ray Walker (uncredited), Victor Sen Yung (uncredited)

Plot:
A biographical film about composer Alfred Breitenbach (Sakall), who became known as Fred Fisher for his Tin Pan Alley songs. In the film, Alfred has ambitions of composing great music, such as an opera. However, he and his family — wife Anna (Greenwood) and daughter Doris (Fisher) — are very poor. Song plugger Larry Kelly (Stevens) meets Alfred by accident and hears some of his music. Larry jazzes up portions of Alfred’s opera and writes lyrics to it, making Alfred’s music a success with mainstream music, where he is credited as Fred Fisher. Alfred struggles with being known and becoming famous off music he doesn’t like, though he and his family are living more comfortably. Outside of this, Larry and Doris are also falling in love.

Continue reading →