Tag Archives: 1940s musicals

Musical Monday: Rio Rita (1942)

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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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

Screenshot 2024-10-04 172405This week’s musical:
Rio Rita (1942) – Musical #532

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
S. Sylvan Simon

Starring:
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson, John Carroll, Patricia Dane, Tom Conway, Barry Nelson, Peter Whitney, Arthur Space,
Themselves: Eros Volusia, Eros Volusia Brazilian Dancers

Plot:
Rita Winslow (Grayson) runs the Hotel Vista del Rio, which is located in Texas on the border of Mexico. She eagerly awaits for famous singer Ricardo Montera (Carroll) to arrive for his visit. Rita and Ricardo had a brief romance years before. To help manage the hotel, Rita hired Maurice Craindell (Conway), who is also a Nazi spy and using his work at the hotel as a cover. A bumbling pair Doc (Abbott) and Wishy (Costello) arrive at the hotel and unwittingly expose the Nazi spy ring.

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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: 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: Moonlight and Cactus (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.

This week’s musical:
Moonlight and Cactus (1944) – Musical #778

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Edward F. Cline

Starring:
Themselves: Patty Andrews, Maxene Andrews, Laverne Andrews
The cast: Leo Carrillo, Elyse Knox, Tom Seidel, Shemp Howard, Eddie Quillan, Murray Alper, Tom Kennedy, Frank Lackteen, Minerva Urecal, Jacqueline deWitt, Mary O’Brien, Mady Correll
Performers: Chitita Tovar, Lollita Tovar, Mitchell Ayres Orchestra

Plot:
When the Merchant Marines go on leave, Tom Garrison (Seidel) invites everyone to his ranch in San Diego. While the group is willing to go, they are disappointed knowing there won’t be any women on the ranch. Much to everyone’s surprise — including Tom — his ranch is filled with women who are working the farm while the men are fighting overseas. The workers are female students from the local agricultural students, and while Tom automatically assumes they are ruining his business, he finds that they have doubled his business, led by the foreman, Louise Ferguson (Knox). The only problem is that someone has been stealing their cattle, and Louise hires Pasqualito Luigi (Carrillo).

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Musical Monday: Song of Nevada (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.

This week’s musical:
Song of Nevada (1944) – Musical #777

song of nevada2

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
Joseph Kane

Starring:
Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dale Evans, Thurston Hall, John Eldridge, Mary Lee, Lloyd Corrigan, Forrest Taylor, George Meeker, Emmett Vogan, LeRoy Mason, Bob Nolan, Si Jenks (uncredited), Ruth Roman (uncredited)
Themselves: Sons of the Pioneers

Plot:
Wealthy John Barrabee (Hall) is discouraged that his daughter Jennie (Evans) has “left the prairie for Park Avenue,” especially now that she’s engaged to snooty Rollo Bingham (Eldridge). Barrabee leaves New York City to head back out west to Nevada. During the flight, the plane makes an emergency landing and Barrabee wanders off, meeting Roy Rogers (himself) and his friends. He’s having such a good time with Roy, that Barrabee misses his flight which crashes; leading the newspapers and Jennie to believe that he’s dead. As soon as his death is announced Rollo begins liquidating Barrabee’s estate. Barrabee and Roy hatch a plan to keep Jennie out west where she belongs.

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Musical Monday: Melody Ranch (1940)

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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.

melody ranch2This week’s musical:
Melody Ranch (1940) – Musical #775

Studio:
Republic Pictures Corp.

Director:
Joseph Santley

Starring:
Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, Ann Miller, Barton MacLane, Barbara Jo Allen, Gabby Hayes, Jerome Cowan, Mary Lee, Joe Sawyer, Horace McMahon, Clarence Wilson, William “Billy” Benedict, Billy Bletcher (uncredited), Veda Ann Borg (uncredited), Dick Elliott (uncredited)
Performers: The Kidoodlers

Plot:
Radio star Gene Autry (as himself) is asked to return home to his hometown of torpedo for their Frontier Day celebration. Convinced it will make good publicity, the announcer of his radio show, Cornelius Courtney (Durante) and his radio co-star Julie Shelton (Miller), travel with him. During the celebration, Autry is made honorary sheriff, a role he takes seriously when he learns his childhood enemies, the Wildhack brothers (MacLane, Sawyer and McMahon) are running the town. Autry doesn’t feel he can return to the city and leave the town in this state. When everyone believes he’s turned soft in the city, Pop Laramie (Hayes) helps toughen up Autry to run for the real role of sheriff.

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Musical Monday: The Pirate (1948)

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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 Pirate (1948) – Musical #17

pirate5

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Vincente Minnelli

Starring:
Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, George Zucco,
Lester Allen, Lola Albright, Ellen Ross, Mary Jo Ellis, Jean Dean, Mario Murray, Ben Lessy, Jerry Bergen, Val Setz, Anne Francis (uncredited), Alex Romero (uncredited), Dee Turnell (uncredited), Marie Windsor (uncredited)
Specialty Acts: Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas, The Gaudsmith Brothers

Plot:
Manuela (Garland) lives with her aunt (Cooper) in the Caribbean. She’s never been anywhere or done anything and wants to travel and experience excitement, inspired by the adventures of Macoco the Pirate. However, her aunt feels it’s high time for Manuela to be married and arrange a marriage with the town’s mayor, Don Pedro (Slezak). To have excitement before she’s wed, she asks if they can go to the sea to pick up her wedding trousseau. While there, a traveling acting troupe lead by Serafin (Kelly). Serafin is immediately taken with Manuela and invites her to their performance, where he hypnotizes her. Under hypnosis, Manuela reveals her love for Macoco the Pirate. When Manuela and her aunt return home, Serafin and his troupe turn up in her town for a performance.

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Musical Monday: Carolina Blues (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.

carolina bluesThis week’s musical:
Carolina Blues (1944) – Musical #378

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Leigh Jason

Starring:
Themselves: Kay Kyser, Georgia Carroll, Harry Babbitt, Ish Kabibble, Sully Mason
Also starring: Ann Miller, Victor Moore, Jeff Donnell, Howard Freeman, Ruby Dandridge (uncredited), Frank Orth (uncredited), Doodles Weaver (uncredited)
Specialty Acts: Harold Nicholas, the Cristiani Family, the Layson Brothers, the Four Step Brothers, the Golden Gate Quartette

Plot:
Kay Kyser and his band (all playing themselves) return home to the United States from a tour overseas. All of them are exhausted and ready for a vacation, but Kyser’s publicist (Donnell) signed the band up for a bond tour. Kyser agrees to do a performance if it can raise money for a destroyer named for his hometown of Rocky Mount, N.C. Another problem is that Kyser’s lead girl singer, Georgia Carroll (herself), is leaving the band to get married. When Kyser and his band play at a shipyard, the plant’s manager, Phineas Carver (Moore), hopes his daughter Julie (Miller) can be the band’s next singer.

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Musical Monday: Footlight Serenade (1942)

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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.

footlight parade3This week’s musical:
Footlight Serenade (1942) – Musical #771

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Gregory Ratoff

Starring:
Betty Grable, John Payne, Victor Mature, Jane Wyman, Phil Silvers, James Gleason, Cobina Wright, June Lang, Frank Orth, Mantan Moreland, Irving Bacon, Charles Tannen, George Dobbs, Hermes Pan (uncredited), Sheila Ryan (uncredited),

Plot:
Tommy Lundy (Mature) is a famous boxer, who is so popular, that Broadway promoter Slap (Silver) contrives a Broadway show around Lundy. Both dancer Pat Lambert (Grable) and her finance Bill Smith (Payne) get a job in the show — tough Pat auditioned and Bill got the job by happenstance for a boxing portion of the show. Tommy immediately makes a play for Pat, making her the understudy for the lead. When Pat and Bill get married, the show’s director (Gleason) asks that they keep it a secret, since Tommy likes Pat.

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Musical Monday: Spring Parade (1940)

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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.

spring paradeThis week’s musical:
Spring Parade (1940) – Musical #768

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Henry Koster

Starring:
Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, S.Z. Sakall, Anne Gwynne, Mischa Auer, Henry Stephenson, Billy Lenhart, Kenneth Brown, Allyn Joslyn, Walter Catlett, Peggy Moran, Regindal Denny, Franklin Pangborn, Edward Gargan, Samuel S. Hinds, Leon Belasco,

Plot:
While at a festival, Hungarian girl Ilonka Tolnay (Durbin) has her fortune read that says her husband will be an artist and she will meet him in Vienna. She thinks this is ridiculous because she has never been to Vienna. After the festival, she falls asleep on a pile of hay. When she awakes, she finds that she actually was asleep on a cart driven by baker Latislav Teschek (Sakall) and is en route to Vienna. While initially upset, Ilonka realizes this may help her fortune come try. She stays with Latislav and his family, and eventually meets Corporal Harry Marten (Cummings), who happens to be a composer.

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