Musical Monday: The Great Morgan (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.

This week’s musical:
The Great Morgan (1945) – Musical #736

great morgan

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Nat Perrin

Starring:
Frank Morgan (as himself), Leon Ames, Rand Brooks (uncredited), George Chandler (uncredited), Inez Cooper (uncredited), Ken Davidson (uncredited), Dell Henderson (uncredited),
Themselves: Cedric Gibbons, Douglas Shearer, Irene
Stars in archival footage: Eleanor Powell, Virginia O’Brien, The King Sisters, Tommy Dorsey, Lucille Norman, Carlos Ramirez, Jacqueline White, John Nesbitt, Ben Blue

Plot:
Frank Morgan (as himself) is fed up with his acting career and wants to produce his own film. The studio head (Ames) is fed up with actors wanting to produce, so allows him to produce a film. While Morgan’s own film is being edited, he knocks over film reels and ends up with a mix of MGM films.

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Musical Monday: An American in Paris (1951)

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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.

americanThis week’s musical:
American in Paris (1951) – Musical #8

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Vincente Minnelli

Starring:
Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Nina Foch, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, Madge Blake (uncredited)

Plot:
Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) is an American living in Paris trying to make it as a painter. He often doesn’t sell his work and pals around with his unemployed concert pianist friend, Adam (Levant). One day, wealthy American Milo Roberts (Foch) takes an interest in Jerry’s work … and more. But then Jerry meets and falls in love with Lise (Caron), who happens to also be engaged to his pal (Guétary).

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Watching 1939: Angels Wash Their Faces (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.

angels41939 film:
Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)

Release date:
Aug. 26, 1939

Cast:
Ann Sheridan, Frankie Thomas, Bonita Granville, Ronald Reagan, Henry O’Neill, Eduardo Ciannelli, Berton Churchill, Bernard Nedell, Dick Rich, Margaret Hamilton, Marjorie Main, Minor Watson, Cy Kendall, Grady Sutton, Aldrich Bowker, Cy Kendall, William Hopper (uncredited)
The Dead End Kids: Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsly, Gabriel Jordan, Bobby Jordan

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Ray Enright

Plot:
Teenager Gabe Ryan (Thomas) is released from reform school on good behavior, and he returns home to live with his older sister, Joy (Sheridan). However, life isn’t easy when Gabe returns home. After a local mobster’s (Ciannelli) romantic advances are turned down by Joy, a mob starts framing Gabe as an arsonist, accusing him of setting fires. Because of his reform school background, locals and school teachers corroborate the story. A group of neighborhood kids (Granville, The Dead End Kids) help to clear Gabe’s name after the mob burns down an apartment home and frames Gabe.

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Musical Monday: Hooray for Love (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.

hooray for love3This week’s musical:
Hooray for Love – Musical #734

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Walter Lang

Starring:
Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, Thurston Hall, Pert Kelton, Georgia Caine, Lionel Stander, Etienne Girardot, Sam Hardy, Lucille Ball (uncredited),
Themselves: Bill Robinson, Jeni Le Gon, Fats Waller, Maria Gambarelli

Plot:
College graduate Douglas Tyler (Raymond) is eager to get into show business. Doug meets and falls for performer Patricia Thatcher (Sothern), and her father (Hall) cons Doug into mortgaging his family home to put money into a musical show.

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An interview with Russ Tamblyn

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When you think of actor Russ Tamblyn, the first image that comes to mind is an energetic young man.

Tamblyn stood out in his films, particularly because of his acrobatic style of dancing, whether the role was in SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954), HIT THE DECK (1955), WEST SIDE STORY (1961) or THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BROTHERS GRIMM (1962).

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Russ Tamblyn on the red carpet at the Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival. Photo by Comet Over Hollywood

Tamblyn attended the Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival (TCMFF), held April 13-16 in Hollywood, and introduced SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, PEYTON PLACE (1957) and participated in a one-on-one interview focusing on his career.

Starting his career as a child, Tamblyn grew up in Los Angeles and watched Hollywood history firsthand as a young actor. Tamblyn’s first film was in 1948, THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR, when he was a young teen.

“I worked for Cecil B. DeMille (in SAMSON AND DELILAH), for god’s sake. I think I’m the last one alive that worked for him,” Tamblyn said in an interview with me at the red carpet opening night event at TCMFF.

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Musical Monday: Going Places (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.

going placesThis week’s musical:
Going Places (1938) – Musical #198

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Ray Enright

Starring:
Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Allen Jenkins, Louis Armstrong, Minna Gombell, Walter Catlett, Harold Huber, Thurston Hall, Ronald Reagan, Joyce Compton, John Ridgely, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Larry Williams,

Plot:
Sporting goods store clerk Peter Mason (Powell) learns a major horserace is happening nearby and no one has entered their store to buy any riding gear. Peter and his boss (Catlett) pose as a famous jockey and his valet to infiltrate among the horsey set to sell sporting goods. The problem is when he finds fans of the real jockey, including beautiful Ellen Parker (Louise).

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Comet in Hollywood: Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival 2023

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At the 2022 TCMFF

I’ll be returning to the Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival to cover the 2023 event.

The 2022 festival was the first in-person TCMFF since 2019, and it was a happy occasion being back with friends in person.

This year’s festival has special guests like Russ Tamblyn, Frankie Avalon, Angie Dickinson, Ann-Margret and composer David Newman.

Eighty films will be screened during the festival, which will take place from Thursday, April 13, through Sunday, April 16.

Below are ways to follow my Hollywood adventures:
• Twitter: @HollywoodComet
• Instagram: @HollywoodComet
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CometOverHollywood

I’ll also be logging the films I watched on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/HollywoodComet/

tcmff 23

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: Fashions of 1934 (1934)

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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:
Fashions of 1934 (1934) – Musical #233

fashions of 1934

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
William Dieterle

Starring:
William Powell, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert, Verree Teasdale, Reginald Owen, Dorothy Burgess, Nella Walker, Henry O’Neil, Arthur Treacher

Plot:
When one business fails, Sherwood Nash (Powell) teams up with fashion designer Lynn Mason (Davis). The two of them set out to plagiarize haute couture fashions and sell them at a cheaper rate. When they are caught by American fashion houses, they set sail for France to create new fashions, which include ostrich feathers and a phony duchess.

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Musical Monday: Love in the Rough (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.

love in the rough3This week’s musical:
Love in the Rough (1931) – Musical #468

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles Reisner

Starring:
Robert Montgomery, Dorothy Jordan, Benny Rubin, J.C. Nugent, Penny Singleton (billed as Dorothy McNulty), Allan Lane, Tyrell Davis, Harry Burns, Catherine Moylan, Ann Dvorak (uncredited), Polly Ann Young (uncredited)

Plot:
When Jack Kelly’s (Montgomery) boss is on the verge of firing him, Jack learns that his boss’s demeanor is because of bad golf game. Jack says he can help him with his game, and gets into golf society at a country club.

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