Musical Monday: Meet Danny Wilson (1952)

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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:
Meet Danny Wilson (1952) – Musical #784

Studio:
Universal International

Director:
Joseph Pevney

Starring:
Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr, Vaughn Taylor, Tommy Farrell, Donald MacBride, Barbara Knudson, Carl Sklover
Cameo Appearance: Jeff Chandler, Tony Curtis

Plot:
Danny Wilson (Sinatra) is a down-on-his-luck singer, but his luck turns when he meets Joy Carroll (Winters), who invites Danny and his pal, Michael Francis (Nicol), to have a drink with her. Joy’s boss, racketeer and club owner Nick Driscoll (Burr) hires Danny as a singer, which launches a successful career for Danny. But as Danny’s star rises, Nick is there to take a cut in the profit.

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Musical Monday: Beware (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:
Beware (1946) – Musical #782

Studio:
Astor Pictures

Director:
Bud Pollard

Starring:
As himself: Louis Jordan
Other performers: Frank H. Wilson, Emory Richardson, Valerie Black, Milton Woods, Joseph Hiliard, Tommy Hix, Charles Johnson, John Grant, Walter Earle, Ernest Calloway, Dimples Daniels
Louis Jordan’s Tympany Band: Wild Bill Davis, Joshua W. Jackson, Aaron Izenhall, Carl Hogan, Jesse Simplain, Eddie Byrd

Plot:
Ware College loses their financial endowment when the grandson of the college’s founder, Benjamin Ware III (Woods). In an effort to raise money in order to stay open, Dean Hargreaves (Richardson) and Prof. Drury (Wilson) reach out to well-established alumni, such as students who went on to become lawyers or politicians. Former student Lucius Brokenshire Jordan (Jordan) is one student they didn’t reach out to, because they don’t know how to reach him and “He was always so involved with his saxophone.” Unbeknownst to them, Jordan is now a successful bandleader, traveling across the country on tour. When his train has a delay near Ware College, he stops in for a visit and realizes their financial troubles, and stays to help.

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Musical Monday: Grease 2 (1982)

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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.

grease 2This week’s musical:
Grease 2 (1982) – Musical #781

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Patricia Birch

Starring:
Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lorna Luft, Adrian Zmed, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Tab Hunter, Connie Stevens, Didi Conn, Dody Goodman, Maureen Teefy, Allison Price, Pamela Adlon, Peter Frechette, Christopher McDonald, Leif Green, Dick Patterson, Matt Lattanzi

Plot:
It’s the first day of the 1961 fall term at Rydell High School. The tough crowd at the high school are the leather jacket wearing T-Birds and the pink satin jacket-wearing Pink Ladies. Pink Lady Stephanie (Pfeiffer) has grown tired of her T-Bird boyfriend Johnny (Zmed). Their group rules say that only T-Birds can date Pink Ladies, and while Stephanie has broken up with Johnny, she still wants a tough guy. Also on the first day of school, exchange student and cousin of Sandy (from the previous Grease) Michael Carrington (Caulfield) arrives and is immediately smitten with Stephanie. The problem is Stephanie won’t look at him if he’s not a leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding “cool rider.”

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Musical Monday: Love & Kisses (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.

love and kissesThis week’s musical:
Love & Kisses (1965) – Musical #781

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Ozzie Nelson

Starring:
Ricky Nelson, Jack Kelly, Kristin Harmon (billed as Kristin Nelson), Jerry Van Dyke, Pert Kelton, Madelyn Himes, Sheilah Wells, Howard McNear, Ivan Bonar, Barry Livingston, Alvy Moore
Cameo Appearance: David Nelson, Skip Young

Plot:
Right before his high school graduation, Buzzy (Nelson) marries his longtime high school girlfriend, Rosemary (Harmon) with the plan of Buzzy still going to college and Rosemary transferring to a nearby high school. The marriage sends Buzzy’s family into a tizzy — Rosemary’s mother is largely absent — and Buzzy and Rosemary find that married life isn’t so easy.

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Musical Monday: Bring Your Smile Along (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:
Bring Your Smile Along (1955) – Musical #780

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Blake Edwards

Starring:
Frankie Laine, Keefe Brasselle, Constance Towers, Lucy Marlow, William Leslie, Mario Siletti, Ruth Warren, Jack Albertson, Barrie Chase (uncredited)

Plot:
New England high school teacher Nancy Willow (Towers) wants to try her hand at becoming a lyricist and goes to New York City for three months to see if she can succeed. While staying at the same boarding house, she meets composer Marty Adams (Brasselle) and singer Jerry Dennis (Laine) who are looking for a lyricist. She overhears their music, jots down a lyric and forms a friendship with them and they write a few songs together. However, their working relationship is hindered when Marty falls for Nancy, who has a boyfriend (Leslie) back home at the high school where she works.

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Musical Monday: Nearly Eighteen (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.

nearly eighteenThis week’s musical:
Nearly Eighteen (1943) – Musical #779

Studio:
Monogram Pictures

Director:
Arthur Dreifuss

Starring:
Gale Storm, Rick Vallin, William Henry, Luis Alberni, Ralph Hodges, Jerry Rush, George O’Hanlon, Bebe Fox, Robert Homans, Sarah Edwards, Kenneth Harlan, Donald Kerr

Plot:
Jane Stanton (Storm) can’t get a singing job at a nightclub, because she’s not yet 18 years old. When she witnesses a raid on bookie Tony Morgan (Vallin) during her job search, Tony refers her to a renowned singing and dancing school to get her out of the way. The problem is … at 17, Jane is too old for the school so dresses up as 14-year-old Janie so she can try to break into show business. The problem is, the school’s headmaster Jack Leonard (Henry) thinks Janie has a great singing future – how long can she keep up the ruse?

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Musical Monday: Top Hat (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.

This week’s musical:
Top Hat (1935) – Musical #99

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Mark Sandrich

Starring:
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore, Helen Broderick, Lucille Ball (uncredited), Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited)

Plot:
Jerry Travers (Astaire) is a dancer preparing for a show in England with his producer, Horace Hardwick (Horton). While in England, Horace invites Jerry to Venice, where his wife Madge (Broderick) is staying. Horace and Madge want Jerry to meet their friend, Dale Tremont (Rogers). Unbeknownst to them, Jerry and Dale have already met and are smitten, but Dale mistakenly thinks that Jerry is Horace — believing that she’s in love with a married man.

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Musical Monday: High Society (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.

high society5This week’s musical:
High Society (1956) – Musical #111

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles Walters

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, Louis Armstrong, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Margalo Gillmore, Lydia Reed, Gordon Richards, Richard Garrick
Louis Armstrong’s band: Edmond Hall, James Young, Arvell Shaw, Billy Kyle, Barrett Deems

Plot:
Days before the wedding of socialite Tracy Lord (Kelly) and George Kittredge (Lund), Tracy’s ex-husband C. K. Dexter-Haven (Crosby) returns back to Newport, Rhode Island, to host a jazz festival. While Tracy is annoyed that her ex-husband is around, matters are complicated further when a reporter Mike Connor (Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Holm) arrive from SPY Magazine to cover the wedding.

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Musical Monday: You’re Never Too Young (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:
You’re Never Too Young (1955) – Musical #778

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Diana Lynn, Nina Foch, Raymond Burr, Mitzi McCall, Veda Ann Borg, Margery Maude, Romo Vincent, Nancy Kulp, Milton Frome, James Burke (uncredited), Hans Conreid (uncredited), Bess Flowers (uncredited), Whitey Haupt (uncredited)

Plot:
Following a jewel robbery, thief Noonan (Burr) slips a diamond into the pocket of unsuspecting Bob Miles (Martin) and then on to barber apprentice Wilbur Hoolick (Lewis). When Wilbur has an encounter with Noonan, thinking he’s a jealous husband, he heads out of town to stay out of trouble.

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Musical Monday: Oklahoma! (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.

oklahomaThis week’s musical:
Oklahoma (1955) – Musical #67

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Fred Zinnemann

Starring:
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood, Eddie Albert, James Whitmore, Rod Steiger, Barbara Lawrence, Jay C. Flippen, Roy Barcroft, James Mitchell, Bambi Linn, Marc Platt, Russell Simpson (uncredited)

Plot:
The story is set in the early 1900s before Oklahoma became a state. Curly (MacRae) is a happy-go-lucky rancher who is in love with Laurey (Jones), who returns the feelings but refuses to show it. Jud (Steiger) is the farmhand on Laurey and her Aunt Eller’s (Greenwood) farm, and he also lusts after Laurey. To make Curly jealous, Laurey agrees to attend a party at the Skidmore Ranch with Judy, but quickly realizes it’s a dangerous mistake. In a secondary romantic plot, Will Parker (Nelson) returns to town from a rodeo, prepared to marry his girlfriend Ado Annie (Graham). However, Ado Annie has recently filled out and is enjoying the attentions of various men, including a peddler, Ali Hackim (Albert). In addition to all of this, there is tension between farmers — who want land for farming — and ranchers — who take issue with fences closing off the land.

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