Tag Archives: 1940s musicals

Musical Monday: Lady Be Good (1941)

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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.

lady be goodThis week’s musical:
Lady Be Good (1941) – Musical #260

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
Busby Berkeley, musical numbers

Starring:
Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Eleanor Powell, Lionel Barrymore, Tom Conway, John Carroll, Red Skelton, Reginald Owen, Virginia O’Brien, Dan Dailey, Phil Silvers, Rose Hobart, Buttons the Dog
Themselves: Connie Russell, The Berry Brothers

Plot:
The film begins in the divorce court telling the story of married songwriters Eddie Crane (Young) and Dixie Donegan (Ann Sothern) begin to grow apart as they find more success. Dixie prefers their more simple life together, while Eddie revels in the glamorous party set of high society.

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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: Stormy Weather (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.

stormy weatherThis week’s musical:
Stormy Weather (1943) – Musical #731

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Andrew L. Stone

Starring:
Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Dooley Wilson, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, Flournoy Miller, Johnnie Lee, Emmett ‘Babe’ Wallace (uncredited), Ernest Whitman (uncredited),
Themselves: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Katherine Dunham and Her Troupe, Fats Waller, The Nicholas Brothers, Ada Brown, Mae E. Johnson

Plot:
Told as a flashback, dancer Bill Williamson (Robinson) reminisces about returning from World War I and meeting (and falling in love with) singer Selina Rogers (Horne). Bill works to get into the show business.

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Musical Monday: Till the Clouds Roll By (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:
Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) – Musical #166

till the couds

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Richard Whorf
Vincente Minnelli (Judy Garland’s numbers)

Starring:
Robert Walker, Van Heflin, Lucille Bremer, Dorothy Patrick, Harry Hayden, Mary Nash, Paul Langton, Paul Maxey, William ‘Bill’ Phillips
Specialty Performances from: June Allyson, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Kathryn Grayson, Angela Lansbury, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Gower Champion, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Ray Macdonald, Virginia O’Brien, Caleb Peterson, Karin Booth, Sally Forrest, Johnny Johnston, Matt Mattox, Lee Wilde, Lyn Wilde

Plot:
The musical biographical film on the life songwriter Jerome Kern (Walker) and his rise to fame, starting with his collaboration with song arranger James I. Hessler (Heflin).

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Musical Monday: No Love, No Leave (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.

no love no leave6This week’s musical:
No Love, No Leave (1946) – Musical #716

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles Martin

Starring:
Van Johnson, Keenan Wynn, Pat Kirkwood, Edward Arnold, Marie Wilson, Selena Royale, Leon Ames, Marina Koshetz, Joey Preston, Arthur Walsh
Themselves: Guy Lombardo, Xavier Cugat

Plot:
Sgt. Mike Hanlon (Johnson) is home from the war on leave and is a decorated hero. When Mike is invited on a radio show hosted by Susan Duncan (Kirkwood), he’s reluctant to be in the spotlight, eager to get home to his sweetheart and his mother. Mike has his friend Slinky (Wynn) pose in his place on the radio program — but regrets it when a surprise is that Mike’s mother (Royale) calls in to speak with him. His mother also shares a private message with Susan — to keep Mike occupied and in New York City until she arrives to break bad news about his sweetheart. However, Susan believes Slinky is Mike, causing confusion and complications.

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Musical Monday: The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947)

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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.

shocking miss pilgrimThis week’s musical:
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) – Musical #717

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
George Seaton

Starring:
Betty Grable, Dick Haymes, Anne Revere, Allyn Joslyn, Gene Lockhart, Elizabeth Patterson, Elisabeth Risdon, Arthur Shields, Charles Kemper, Roy Roberts, Coleen Gray, Lillian Bronson (uncredited)

Plot:
Set in 1874, Cynthia Pilgrim (Grable) graduates as a star student from the Packard Business College of New York. She’s thrilled when she lands a typist job at the Pritchard Shipping Company in Boston. But her boss John Pritchard (Haymes) is not thrilled with having a woman in his office. And Cynthia discovers finding room and board in Boston as a working woman is a challenge. She gets involved in the suffrage movement, which Mr. Pritchard also doesn’t like.

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Musical Monday: Rise and Shine (1941)

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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.

rise and shine2This week’s musical:
Rise and Shine (1941) – Musical #433

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Allan Dwan

Starring:
Jack Oakie, Linda Darnell, George Murphy, Donald Meek, Milton Berle, Walter Brennan, Sheldon Leonard, Raymond Walburn, Emma Dunn, Donald MacBride, William Haade, Dick Rich

Plot:
To keep Clayton College open, they must have more students enroll. And the way to do that is have a winning football team. However, the star football player Boley Bolenciecwcz (Oakie) is facing scrutiny, because his grades aren’t up to snuff. Boley goes to stay with the family of student and cheerleader Louise Murray (Darnell), including her eccentric parents (Meek, Dunn) and grandpa (Brennan), so he can have a quieter atmosphere to study and sleep. However, a gangster (Leonard) wants Boley kidnapped, because he wants Notre Dame to win against Clayton.

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Musical Monday: Cinderella Jones (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:
Cinderella Jones (1946) – Musical #711

cinderella jones

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Busby Berkeley

Starring:
Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, Julie Bishop, William Prince, S.Z. Sakall, Edward Everett Horton, Charles Dingle, Ruth Donnelly, Elisha Cook Jr., Hobart Cavanaugh, Margaret Early, Johnn Mitchell, Chester Clute, Joseph Crehan (uncredited)
Himself: Don Wilson

Plot:
Singer Judy Jones (Leslie) is left a fortune when her eccentric explorer uncle dies. But there’s a catch. Judy has to marry a man with an IQ over 150. She leaves her bandleader sweetheart Tommy Coles (Alda) and heads to college to find a husband. She catches the eye of Professor Bart Williams (Prince), her roommate Oliver S. Patch (Cook), with Tommy still in the running.

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Musical Monday: Sweet and Low-Down (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.

sweet and low downThis week’s musical:
Sweet and Low-Down (1944) – Musical #713

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Archie Mayo

Starring:
Benny Goodman (as himself), Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, James Cardwell, Dickie Moore, Allyn Joslyn, John Campbell, Roy Benson, Buddy Swan (uncreated), Gloria Talbot (uncredited), Terry Moore (uncredited), Mae Marsh (uncredited), Beverly Hudson (uncredited), Dorothy Vaughan (uncredited)
Themselves: Morey Feld, Jess Stacy and Sid Weiss

Plot:
Benny Goodman (himself) and his band are performing in his hometown, when a child convinces him — by stealing his clarinet — to come listen to his trombone-playing brother, Johnny Birch (Cardwell). Goodman invites Birch to join his band, but Birch’s hot temper sometimes hinders his success. Goodman’s singer Pat Stirling (Bari) takes a liking to Birch, as does socialite Trudy Wilson (Darnell). Though Trudy meets Johnny under dubious settings — posing as a 14-year-old girl while she’s taking her nephew (Moore) to a military school prom.

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Musical Monday: Holiday in Havana (1949)

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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:
Holiday in Havana (1949) – Musical #712

holiday in havana

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Jean Yarbrough

Starring:
Desi Arnaz, Mary Hatcher, Ann Doran, Steven Geray, Sig Arno, Ray Walker, Minerva Urecal, Nacho Galindo

Plot:
When the night club’s singer quits and follows his girlfriend, a bus boy who wants has dreams of leading his own band, Carlos (Arnaz), gets his chance to perform. The band hopes for a woman to sing and dance with them, and popular singer Lolita (Hatcher) is recommended. However, after a misunderstanding with Lolita, Carlos turns it down, believing that she is rude. However, Lolita (under the name Dolores) does perform with the band and the two fall in love.

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