Blog Archives

Musical Monday: Wake Up and Dream (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:
Wake Up and Dream (1946) – Musical #738

wake up and dram

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Lloyd Bacon

Starring:
John Payne, June Haver, Connie Marshall, Charlotte Greenwood, John Ireland, Clem Bevans, Charles Russell, Irving Bacon, Charles D. Brown, Charles Russell, Charles Smith (uncredited), George Cleveland (uncredited),

Plot:
Set in 1943, Jeff Cairn (Payne) leaves the farm and enlists in the U.S. Navy at the start of World War II, leaving his little sister Nella (Marshall) to live with a cousin. After two years, Nella runs away back home, saying she doesn’t like the cousin, she stays with Jeff’s girl, Jenny (Haver). She is also helped by elderly Henry Pickett (Bevans), who the whole town thinks is crazy because he built a boat while living 300 miles from water. When Jeff is Missing in Action, Jenny, Henry and Nella take the boat on a journey to find Jeff on their “secret island.”

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Musical Monday: Hollywood Hotel (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.

hollywood hotel3This week’s musical:
Hollywood Hotel (1937) – Musical #201

Studio:
First National Pictures, Warner Bros.

Director:
Busby Berkeley

Starring:
Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Hugh Herbert, Ted Healy, Glenda Farrell, Johnnie Davis, Mabel Todd, Alan Mowbray, Allyn Joslyn, Frances Langford, Grant Mithcell, Milton Kibbee (uncredited), Carole Landis (uncredited), John Ridgely (uncredited), Ronald Reagan (uncredited)
Themselves: Benny Goodman, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Louella Parsons, Perc Westmore, Ken Niles, Jerry Cooper, Raymond Paige and His Orchestra

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Musical Monday: Love Me Forever (1935)

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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.

love me forever 1935This week’s musical:
Love Me Forever (1935) – Musical #720

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Victor Schertzinger

Starring:
Grace Moore, Leo Carrillo, Robert Allen, Spring Byington, Michael Bartlett, Luis Alberni, Douglass Dumbrille, Thurston Hall, Olin Howland (uncredited), Arthur Hoyt (uncredited),

Plot:
Margaret Howard (Moore) comes from a wealthy family, who have lost everything. Opera loving hood Steve Corelli (Carrillo) hears Margaret sing and wants to make her a great opera star. Steve makes Margaret a great singing star, while falling in love with her; knowing she doesn’t reciprocate the feeling.

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Musical Monday: The Best Things in Life Are Free (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:
Best Things in Life Are Free (1956) – Musical #729

best thing in life

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Michael Curtiz

Starring:
Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Ernest Borgnine, Sheree North, Tommy Noonan, Murvyn Vye, Phyllis Avery, Larry Keating, Julie Van Zandt, Jacques d’Amboise, Roxanne Arlen, Harold Miller, Linda Brace, Patty Lou Hudson, Robert Banas (uncredited), Barrie Chase (uncredited), Ann B. Davis (uncredited), Juliet Prowse (uncredited), Marion Ross (uncredited)

Plot:
Musical biographical film on the songwriting trio Buddy DeSylva (MacRae), Ray Henderson (Dailey) and Lew Brown (Borgnine) and the music they wrote together during the 1920s. The film depicts how the trio worked together and how they grew apart when De Sylva went to Hollywood and wanted to produce pictures, leaving Henderson and Brown behind.

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Watching 1939: Blackwell’s Island (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

blackwells island 31939 film:
Blackwell’s Island (1939)

Release date:
March 1, 1939

Cast:
John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell, Victor Jory, Stanley Fields, Morgan Conway, Granville Bates, Anthony Averill, Peggy Shannon, Charley Foy, Leon Ames (uncredited), Vera Lewis (uncredited), Brenda Marshall (uncredited)

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
William C. McGann

Plot:
Newspaper reporter Tim Hayden (Garfield) is trying to uncover a crime ring led by Bull Bransom (Fields). When Bull and Tim both land in jail at the same time, Bull takes over the prison and Tim works to get to the bottom of the story while he’s close to Bull.

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Musical Monday: Show of Shows (1929)

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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:
Show of Shows (1929) – Musical #721

show of shows3

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
John G. Adolfi

Starring:
Master of Ceremonies: Frank Faylen

Armida, Johnny Arthur, Mary Astor, William Bakewell, Richard Bartelmess, Noah Berry, Sally Blane, Monte Blue, Irène Bordoni, Joseph A. Burke, Marion Byron, Georges Carpentier, Ethlyne Clair, James Clemens, Ruth Clifford, William Collier Jr., Betty Compson, Chester Conklin, Heinie Conklin, Dolores Costello, Helene Costello, Jack Curtis, Viola Dana, Alice Day, Marceline Day, Sally Eilers, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Louise Fazenda, Pauline Garon, Albert Gran, Alexander Gray, Lloyd Hamilton, Julanne Johnston, Sôjin Kamiyama, Lupino Lane, Frances Lee, Lila Lee, Ted Lewis, Winnie Lightner, Beatrice Lillie, Jacqueline Logan, Myrna Loy, Nick Lucas, Tully Marshall, Shirley Mason, Otto Matieson, Philo McCullough, Patsy Ruth Miller, Bull Montana, Lee Moran, Chester Morris, Jack Mulhal, Edna Murphy, Carmel Myers, Marian Nixon, Molly O’Day, Sally O’Neil, Gertrude Olmstead, Kalla Pasha, Anders Randolf, Rin Tin Tin, Bert Roach, Sid Silvers, Ann Sothern, Ben Turpin, Ada Mae Vaughn, Alberta Vaughn, Lolita Vendrell, Edward Ward, Alice White, Ted Williams, Lois Wilson, Grant Withers, Loretta Young, John Aasen

Plot:
With 23 songs and skits, there is little plot to this film. It is a talent revue to exhibit the speaking and singing talent of Hollywood stars during the dawn of sound.

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Musical Monday: Cinderella (1965)

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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.

cinderella 1965 11This week’s musical:
Cinderella (1965) – Musical #144

Studio:
CBS

Director:
Charles S. Dubin

Starring:
Lesley Ann Warren, Stuart Damon, Walter Pidgeon, Ginger Rogers, Pat Carroll, Barbara Ruick, Celeste Holm, Jo Van Fleet, Trudi Ames, Betty Noyes, Bill Lee,

Plot:
Set to music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the story focuses on Cinderella (Warren), a lonely young woman whose father has died and she lives only with her stepmother (Fleet) and stepsisters (Ruick, Carroll). Her stepmother and stepsisters have made Cinderella their servant, while Cinderella dreams of a better life. The Prince (Damon) is in search of a wife, and the King and Queen (Pidgeon, Rogers) hold a ball so he can find a wife. Cinderella’s fairy godmother (Holm) helps her get to the ball, but she must leave by midnight.

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Musical Monday: The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957)

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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.

pied piper5This week’s musical:
The Pied Piper of Hamlin (1957) – Musical #723

Studio:
NBC

Director:
Bretaigne Windust

Starring:
Van Johnson, Claude Rains, Lori Nelson, Jim Backus, Kay Starr, Brian Corcoran, Doodles Weaver, Stanley Adams, Rene Kroper

Plot:
The people of Hamelin are working to build a clock tower for a visit from the king. Because of this, they are driven by the mayor (Rains) to work constantly, with play and schooling outlawed. When the town is invaded by rats, a magical Pied Piper (Johnson) is called to play a special tune to rid the town of the rodents — the pure of heart won’t be able to hear his tune. After the piper frees the town of rodents, the mayor refuses to pay the piper, who says they will rue the day. Townsman Truson (also Johnson) begs the town to pay the piper before it’s too late and he fulfills his threat.

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Musical Monday: Let’s Face It (1943)

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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 face it 2This week’s musical:
Let’s Face It (1943) – Musical #722

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Sidney Lanfield

Starring:
Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Zasu Pitts, Phyllis Povah, Dave Willock, Eve Arden, Dona Drake, Marjorie Weaver, Raymond Walburn, Andrew Tombes, Joyce Compton (uncredited), Yvonne de Carlo (uncredited), Kay Linaker (uncredited), Noel Neill (uncredited), Barbara Pepper (uncredited),

Plot:
Three wives — Maggie Watson (Arden), Cornelia Figeson (Pitts) and Nancy Collister (Povah) — are suspicious of their husbands who went on a “fishing trip.” Staying at a health farm near an Army base, the women connect with soldier Jerry Walker (Hope) and ask if he and two friends can come to the Hamptons with them to get back at their husbands. The problem being that Jerry is supposed to be getting married to his long term girlfriend, Winnie Porter (Hutton), who also runs the health farm.

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Musical Monday: Up in Arms (1944)

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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.

up in arms6This week’s musical:
Up in Arms (1944) – Musical #205

Studio:
Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Distributed by RKO

Director:
Elliott Nugent

Starring:
Danny Kaye, Dana Andrews, Dinah Shore, Constance Dowling, Louis Calhern, Lyle Talbot, Elisha Cook Jr., Benny Baker, George Matthews, Tom Dugan, Walter Catlett, Lillian Randolph (uncredited)

The Goldwyn Girls: Virginia Mayo, Betty Alexander, Gale Adams, Gloria Anderson, Betty Bryant, Jan Bryant, Alma Carroll, Joan Chaffee, Linda Christian, Virginia Cruzon, Myrna Dell, Cindy Garner, Dorothy Garner, Myrna Dell, Inna Gest, Renee Godfrey, Ellen Hall, Eloise Hardt, June Harris, Mary Ann Hyde, Mildred Kornman, June Lang, Rosalyn Lee, Florence Lundeen, Mickey Malloy, Dorothy Merritt, Lorraine Miller, Mary Moore, Kay Morley, Diana Mumby, Lee Nugent, Dorothy Patrick, Shelby Payne, Helen Talbot, Ruth Valmy, Virginia Wicks, Audrey Young

Narrator: Knox Manning

Plot:
Hypochondriac Danny Weems (Kaye) is drafted into the Army. He’s in love with Mary (Dowling), who is in love with his pal Joe (Andrews), and Virginia (Shore) is in love with Danny. Despite all of his imaginary illnesses Danny (and Joe) are drafted. When Danny learns they are shipping off, he can’t bear to imagine leaving without Mary and sneaks her on to the ship.

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