Tag Archives: British Musicals

Musical Monday: The Balloon Goes Up (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:
The Balloon Goes Up (1942) – Musical #692

Studio:
New Realm Pictures

Director:
Redd Davis

Starring:
Ethel Revnell, Gracie West, Ronald Shiner, Donald Peers, Gordon McLeod, Gertrude Maesmore Morris, Elsie Wagstaff

Plot:
Ethel (Revnell) and Gracie (West) try to enlist in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) so they can go to a dance. In the process, they capture German spies and join the Balloon Command.

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Musical Monday: As Long As They’re Happy (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:
As Long As They’re Happy (1955) – Musical #657

Studio:
Group Films

Director:
J. Lee Thompson

Starring:
Jack Buchanan, Janette Scott, Jeannie Carson, Brenda de Banzie, Susan Stephen, Jerry Wayne, Diana Dors, Hugh McDermott, Norman Wisdom

Plot:
John Bentley (Buchanan) is a stockbroker and his wife Stella (de Banzie) retired from acting to marry him. The Bentleys lead a quiet life in Wimbledon, but their three daughters keep them on their toes:
– 16-year-old Gwen (Scott) is in love with the crying crooner, Bobby Denver.
– Corinne (Stephen) is married to a cowboy(McDermott) and has to wire home so the two can return from Texas.
– Pat (Cason) is married to Peter, a bearded beatnik (Green), and the two live in Paris, where Pat sings in a cafe, where Peter discusses existentialism. The two return home after they get into trouble in a brawl at the cafe.
American singer Bobby Denver (Wayne), known as the crying crooner, ends up staying with a family while visiting England. His stay upsets the whole household, with all the women, including the maid, fall in love with Bobby.

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Musical Monday: Rhythm Serenade (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.

This week’s musical:
Rhythm Serenade (1943) – Musical #652

Studio:
Columbia British Productions

Director:
Gordon Wellesley

Starring:
Vera Lynn, Peter Murray-Hill, Julien Mitchell, Charles Victor, Jimmy Jewel (billed as Jimmie Jewell), Ben Warriss, Joss Ambler, Rosalyn Boulter

Plot:
When her school closes, Ann Martin (Lynn) is determined to join the WRNS, the Women’s Royal Naval Service of Great Britain. Before she can join, her uncle thinks she would be better suited running a nursery for the children of women needed for wartime factory work. While locating a house for the nursery, Ann meets John Drover (Murray-Hill), a mysterious man in a nearby cottage. The two fall in love while Ann’s brothers (Jewel and Warriss) determine why he’s not in uniform.

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Musical Monday: Jazz Boat (1960)

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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:
Jazz Boat (1960) – Musical #641

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Ken Hughes

Starring:
Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, David Lodge, Bernie Winters, James Booth, Joyce Blair, Leo McKern
Themselves: Ted Heath and his Music, Jean Philippe

Plot:
Bert (Newley) brags to Spider (Booth) and his gang that he is an experienced jewel burglar. He’s not, but he gets mixed up in the gang’s jewel heist. After the robbery, he tries to outrun the gang, and they all end up on the jazz boat.

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