Tag Archives: 1940s musicals

Musical Monday: Irish Eyes Are Smiling (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:
Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944) – Musical #630

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Gregory Ratoff

Starring:
Monty Woolley, June Haver, Dick Haymes, Anthony Quinn, Beverly Whitney, Maxie Rosenbloom, Veda Ann Borg, Clarence Kolb, Emma Dunn (uncredited), Kenny Williams (uncredited), Marietta Canty (uncredited)
Themselves: Leonard Warren, Blanche Thebom

Plot:
Fictional biographical film of songwriter Ernest R. Ball (Haymes). The film chronicles when Ernest struggles as a songwriter and works to get to New York to follow singer and dancer Mary ‘Irish’ O’Neill (Haver).

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Musical Monday: Carnival in Costa Rica (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.

This week’s musical:
Carnival In Costa Rica (1947) – Musical #625

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Gregory Ratoff

Starring:
Dick Haymes, Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, J. Carrol Naish, Pedro de Cordoba, Barbara Whiting, Tommy Ivo, Fritz Feld
Themselves: Ernesto Lecuona, Ernesto Zambrano

Plot:
The fathers of Luisa Molina (Vera-Ellen) and Pepe Castro (Romero) have arranged that the two will marry when they return home to Costa Rica from school in the United States. The problem is that Pepe is already in love with American Celeste (Holm), who has returned home with him. And during the carnival, Luisa meets and falls in love with American Jeff Stephens (Haymes).

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Musical Monday: On the Town (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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
On the Town (1949) – Musical #57

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

Starring:
Gene Kelly, Vera-Ellen, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, Florence Bates, Alice Pearce, Hans Conried (uncredited), Dick Wessel (uncredited)

Plot:
Three sailors have 24-hours shore leave in New York City. Chip (Sinatra) is eager to sight-see, while Gabey (Kelly) and Ozzie (Munshin) want to meet girls. Gabey spots a sign about “Miss Turnstile” (Ellen) and searches for her.

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Musical Monday: Beat the Band (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.

This week’s musical:
Beat the Band (1947) – Musical #622

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
John H. Auer

Starring:
Frances Langford, Ralph Edwards, Phillip Terry, June Clayworth, Mabel Paige, Andrew Tombes, Donald MacBride, Mira McKinney, Mabel Paige, Grady Sutton, Ellen Corby (uncredited), Tommy Noonan (uncredited), Diane Jergens (uncredited)
Himself: Gene Krupa

Plot:
Bandleader Damon Dillingham (Tery) returns home from the military, thinking his manager (Edwards) and father (Tombes) had been paying his band. Instead, they have been spending the salary money on a losing racehorse. To make money to get the band together, they have Damon pose as an opera instructor and singer Ann Rogers (Langford) is his top dollar student – though Ann prefers swing music.

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Musical Monday: Where Do We Go from Here? (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:
Where Do We Go From Here? (1945) – Musical #618

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Gregory Ratoff

Starring:
Fred MacMurray, Joan Leslie, June Haver, Gene Sheldon, Anthony Quinn, Carlos Ramírez, Alan Mowbray, Fortunio Bonanova, Herman Bing, Howard Freeman, Rory Calhoun (uncredited), Otto Preminger (uncredited)

Plot:
Bill Morgan (MacMurray) is eager to join the military, but he’s 4F and has been turned down by every branch of the military. Bill is in love with Lucilla (Haver), who loves a man in uniform, and Sally (Leslie) is in love with Bill. Since he can’t join the military, Bill helps with the war effort. While sorting scrap metal, he finds a magic lamp with a genie (Sheldon). Bill tries to wish himself into the military but ends up traveling throughout history.

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Musical Monday: Tars and Spars (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:
Tars and Spars (1946) – Musical #615

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director: Alfred E. Green

Starring: Janet Blair, Alfred Drake, Marc Platt, Jeff Donnell, Sid Caesar, Joseph Crehan (uncredited), Hugh Beaumont (uncredited), Anita Alvarez (uncredited), Alex Romero (uncredited), Dick Winslow (uncredited)

Plot:
Howard Young (Drake) is in the U.S. Coast Guard but has had shore duty throughout the war. Though he wants to be sent out on shore duty, he is stuck with a desk job on base. His only time at sea performing a military experiment for 20 days in the raft in the base’s harbor. When he returns from the operation, he meets Christine Bradley (Blair), a SPAR who is now on the base. Howard’s friend Chuck Enders (Caesar) jokes and tells her that he is a military war hero and was shipwrecked.

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Musical Monday: The Chocolate Soldier (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.

This week’s musical:
The Chocolate Soldier – Musical #217

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Starring:
Nelson Eddy, Risë Stevens, Nigel Bruce, Florence Bates, Dorothy Raye, Nydia Westman, Max Barwyn, Charles Judels, Jack ‘Tiny’ Lipson , Dorothy Morris (uncredited), Yvette Duguay (uncredited)

Plot:
Maria (Stevens) and Karl Lang (Eddy) are married singing stars. Karl is convinced that Maria is a flirt and may be cheating on him. To see if she is being true to him, Karl dresses up like a Russian soldier to woo his wife.

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Musical Monday: Broadway Melody of 1940 (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.

This week’s musical:
Broadway Melody of 1940 – Musical #83

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy, Ian Hunter, Frank Morgan, Lynn Carver, Florence Rice, Ann Morriss, Trixie Firschke, Irving Bacon (uncredited), Herman Bing (uncredited), Gladys Blake (uncredited), Mel Blanc (uncredited), Joe Yule (uncredited), Hal Le Sueur (uncredited), Douglas McPhail (uncredited), Charlotte Arren (uncredited)

Plot:
Producer Bob Casey (Morgan) sees down on their luck dance team Johnny Brett (Astaire) and King Shaw (Murphy) and is interested in Johnny. However, due to a mix-up in names, he hires King Shaw to star alongside top Broadway star Clare Bennett (Powell) in her next show. King’s work ethic is lacking, and Johnny has to help cover up for his faults.

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Musical Monday: Good News (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.

This week’s musical:
Good News (1947) – Musical #70

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director: Charles Walters

Starring:
June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall, Joan McCracken, Ray McDonald, Mel Tormé, Robert E. Strickland, Donald MacBride, Tom Dugan, Clinton Sundberg, Loren Tindall, Connie Gilchrist, Jimmy Lydon (uncredited), Tommy Rall (uncredited)

Plot:
Set in 1927 at Tait College, all of the boys are falling for new student and sorority girl, Pat McClellan (Marshall) – including football star Tommy Marlowe (Lawford). Gold-digging Pat doesn’t want anything to do with Tommy, finding him unrefined. To show her he can be worldly, Tommy heads to the library to learn French and meets student Connie Lane (Allyson), a sorority sister of Pat. Tommy and Connie fall for each other, but soon Pat turns her attentions to Tommy.

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Musical Monday: Ship Ahoy (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.

This week’s musical:
Ship Ahoy – Musical #204

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Edward Buzzell

Starring:
Eleanor Powell, Red Skelton, Bert Lahr, Virginia O’Brien, William Post Jr., Stuart Crawford, John Emery, James Cross, Eddie Hartman, Philip Ahn (uncredited), Moroni Olsen (uncredited), Mary Treen (uncredited), Grant Withers (uncredited), Bobby Larson (uncredited), Addison Richards (uncredited)
Himself: Tommy Dorsey, Ziggy Elman, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines, The Pied Pipers,

Plot:
Tommy Dorsey’s (himself) nightclub act, starring dancer Tallulah Winters (Powell), is sent to Puerto Rico to perform. Before boarding the cruise ship that night, Tallulah is approached by men who say they are government agents and ask her to take a powerful magnetic mine to South America. The agents end up being spies and got the idea to approach Tallulah from a comic book story written by Merton Kibble (Skelton), who is also on the cruise ship with his assistant, Skip Owens (Lahr). Skip wanted to take the trip because he is in love with performer Fran (O’Brien), while Merton falls for Tallulah. Allied agents are on the ship as well to try and intercept the mine before it gets in enemy hands.

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