Tag Archives: 1930s musicals

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: Sing, Cowboy, Sing (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.

sing cowboyThis week’s musical:
Sing, Cowboy, Sing (1937) – Musical #779

Studio:
Grand National Pictures

Director:
Robert N. Bradbury

Starring:
Tex Ritter, White Flash, Louise Stanley, Al St. John, Charles King, Karl Hackett, Robert McKenzie, Horace Murphy, Snub Pollard, Hank Worden, Chick Hannan, Milburn Morante, Oscar Gahan, Jack C. Smith (uncredited)
Performers: the Texas Tornadoes

Plot:
George Summers (Smith) and his daughter Madge (Stanley) are ambushed by a gang as they hauling freight wagons. Summers is killed, and the whole event is witness by Tex Archer (Ritter) and his pal Duke Evans (St. John) who are passing by. The mob who killed Summers were hired by a competing freight company, run by Kalmus (Hackett). When Kalmus and his gang realize that Tex likely witnessed the murder, they work to frame Tex and Duke for the killing.

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Musical Monday: Rawhide (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.

rawhide2This week’s musical:
Rawhide (1938) – Musical #776

Studio:
Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Director:
Ray Taylor

Starring:
Smith Ballew, Lou Gehrig (as himself), Evalyn Knapp, Arthur Loft, Cy Kendall, Dick Curtis, Si Jenks

Plot:
Lou Gehrig (as himself) decides to retire from baseball and moves out west to work a ranch with his sister, Peggy (Knapp). When Gehrig arrives, he finds that all the local businesses in town and the ranchers are being strong armed into joining an organization where all the goods are run through one businessman. Gehrig refuses and lawyer Larry Kimball (Ballew) to smash the syndicate.

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Musical Monday: Melody in Spring (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:
Melody in Spring (1934) – Musical #772

melody in spring3

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Norman Z. McLeod

Starring:
Charlie Ruggles, Ann Sothern, Mary Boland, Lanny Ross, George Meeker, Herman Bing, June Gale, Joan Gale, Jane Gale, Helen Lynd, Thomas E. Jackson,

Plot:
Singing hopeful John Carddock (Ross) is hoping to meet with radio advertiser Warren Blodgett (Ruggles). However, John hurts his chances of a job singing for his radio program, after John and Warren have an unfortunate run in while Warren is trying to collect a souvenir bedpost. When the family, travels to Switzerland on holiday, John follows to try to wear Warren down, and also woo his daughter, Mary (Sothern).

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Musical Monday: Sitting on the Moon (1936)

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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.

sitting on the moonThis week’s musical:
Sitting on the Moon (1936) – Musical #770

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
Ralph Staub

Starring:
Roger Pryor, Grace Bradley, Pert Kelton, William Newell, Henry Kolker, Henry Wadsworth, Joyce Compton, Pierre Watkin, George Cooper,

Plot:
Danny West (Pryor) is a successful songwriter, when he crosses paths with Hollywood actress Polly Blair (Bradley). Polly used to be a successful Hollywood star, but her career is on the skids when she walked out on a producer who now has her blackballed in Hollywood. Danny is successful because Polly introduced one of his songs in a film. Now, Danny tries to help her in a comeback by writing her a song. In the meantime, they fall in love, but his association with Polly hurts his career.

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Musical Monday: Broadway Gondolier (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.

broadway gondalierThis week’s musical:
Broadway Gondolier (1935) – Musical #283

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Lloyd Bacon

Starring:
Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Adolphe Menjou, Louise Fazenda, William Gargan, George Barbier, Grant Mitchell, Hobart Cavanaugh, Joe Sawyer, Rafael Alcayde, Bob Murphy, James Burke, Lloyd Bacon (uncredited), June Travis (uncredited), Mary Treen (uncredited)
Themselves: Mills Brothers; Ted Fio Rito Orchestra; Judy, Pete Anne and Zeke Canova

Plot:
Taxi driver Dick Purcell (Powell) has dreams of becoming a singer. When two theater critics hear him sing (Barbier, Cavanaugh), they recommend him to a radio producer (Mitchell) to audition for his show. The producer’s secretary, Alice (Blondell), also thinks Dick has a wonderful voice, but through a series of mix-ups, Dick’s voice teacher, Professor de Vinci (Menjou) sings in his place during his audition—and he doesn’t sing well. The radio sponsor, Mrs. Flaggenheim (Fazenda), believes the only way she will find a suitable singer in Italy, so she travels there. Dick hatches an idea to stowaway and be discovered in Italy.

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Musical Monday: Paris in Spring (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.

paris in the spring4This week’s musical:
Paris in Spring (1935) – Musical #769

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Lewis Milestone

Starring:
Mary Ellis, Tullio Carminati, Ida Lupino, Lynne Overman, James Blakeley, Jessie Ralph, Dorothea Wolbert, Akim Tamiroff, Craig Reynolds, Joseph North, Jack Raymond, Jack Mulhall, Harold Entwistle, Sam Ash, Arnold Korff, Francis Ford (uncredited)

Plot:
Paul (Carminati) and Mignon (Lupino) both meet atop the Eiffel Tower, both in despair over love. Paul’s marriage proposal to nightclub singer Simone (Ellis) was turned down, and 17-year-old Mignon left her cousin Albert (Blakeley) at the alter when he didn’t think she was mature enough. Though Paul and Mignon originally considered jumping off the Eiffel Tower, instead they hatch a plan to make Simone and Albert jealous. In search of Mignon, Albert meets Simone, and then the two of them join forces to make Mignon and Paul jealous.

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Musical Monday: A Lady’s Morals (1930)

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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.

morals2This week’s musical:
A Lady’s Morals – Musical #735

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Sidney Franklin

Starring:
Grace Moore, Reginald Denny, Wallace Beery, Jobyna Howland, Gus Shy, Judith Vosselli, Karl Dane (uncredited), Cecilia Parker (uncredited), Linda Parker (uncredited)

Plot:
A biographical film of opera singer Jenny Lind (Moore).

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Musical Monday: Mad About Music (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.

This week’s musical:
Mad About Music (1938) – Musical #380

mad about music3

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Deanna Durbin, Gail Patrick, Herbert Marshall, Arthur Treacher, William Frawley, Marcia Mae Jones, Helen Parrish, Jackie Moran, Elisabeth Risdon, Nana Bryant, Christian Rub, Charles Peck, Jonathan Hale (uncredited), Martha O’Driscoll (uncredited), Franklin Pangborn (uncredited)
Themselves: Sid Grauman, Cappy Barra and His Harmonica Ensemble

Plot:
Teenager Gloria Harkinson (Durbin) is the daughter of famous film star Gwen Taylor (Patrick), but she has to keep this a secret. Gwen’s manager, Dusty (Frawley), feels it would be bad business if fans and publicity knew Gwen was old enough to have a 14-year-old daughter. Because of this, Gloria creates a fictional father, who is an explorer, who sends gifts and outlandish letters from his adventures. The school’s mean girl, Felice (Parrish), doubts that these stories are true and wants to expose Gloria’s lies. In an effort to keep up the façade, Gloria says her father is coming to visit and greets composer, Richard Todd (Marshall), when he gets off the train. While Richard is initially ready to also fess up to the lie, he’s charmed by sweet Gloria and the two form a friendship.

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Watching 1939: East Side of Heaven (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.

east side of heaven1939 film:
East Side of Heaven (1939)

Release date:
April 7, 1939

Cast:
Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell, Mischa Auer, Irene Hervey, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Kent, Jerome Cowan, Baby Sandy, Jane Jones, Helen Warner, Rose Valyda, Jack Powell, Matty Malneck, Chester Clute (uncredited), Phyllis Kennedy (uncredited), Sterling Holloway (uncredited), J. Farrell MacDonald (uncredited),
Specialty Acts: The Music Maids

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
David Butler

Plot:
Denny Martin (Crosby) is a singing cab driver is engaged to telephone operator Mary Wilson (Blondell), but they have had to postpone their wedding four times. Their nuptials are again in danger of being put on hold when Denny is saddled with a baby (Baby Sandy). His friend Mona Barrett (Hervey) is in the process of divorcing her alcoholic husband Cyrus Barrett Jr. (Kent). In response to the split, her father in law Cyrus Barrett, Sr. (Smith) decides Mona and Junior’s baby (Baby Sandy) needs to stay in his care and tries to legally take the baby away from her. To protect her baby, Mona leaves him with Denny who tries to secretly care for the baby with his roommate Nicky (Auer), while the whole town is searching for the baby.

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