Tag Archives: dick powell

Musical Monday: Riding High (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:
Riding High (1943) – Musical #830

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
George Marshall

Starring:
Dorothy Lamour, Dick Powell, Victor Moore, Gil Lamb, Cass Dailey, Bill Goodwin, Rod Cameron, Glenn Langan
Themselves: Milt Britton’s Band

Plot:
Ann Castle (Lamour) returns to her hometown and her father’s silver mine, Grenada Silver Mine. Steve Baird (Powell) is her father’s new business partner is trying to raise funds for the mine, while someone is also passing around counterfeit money. Ann is hired as an entertainer for a dude ranch and she and Steve fall in love.

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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: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

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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:
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) – Musical #146

gold diggers of 1933 2

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Busby Berkeley and Mervyn Leroy

Starring:
Warren William, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks, Billy Barty (uncredited), Eric Blore (uncredited), Hobart Cavanaugh (uncredited), Theresa Harris (uncredited), Charles Lane (uncredited), Clarence Nordstrom (uncredited), Sterling Holloway (uncredited)

Plot:
Broadway performers (Blondell, MacMahon, Keeler, Rogers) are having a hard time, because shows keep closing due to the Depression. Finally, producer Barney Hopkins (Sparks) is able to put on a show when songwriter Brad Roberts (Powell) says he can back the show, who is in love with one of the performers, Polly (Keeler). The showgirls are astonished and questioning where his funds could possibly have come from. After the show becomes a hit, it’s reveled that Brad comes from a wealthy family, his brother (William) and family lawyer (Kibbee) arrive to untangle Brad from show business and show girls, believing they are all gold diggers. Carol (Blondell) and Trixie (MacMahon) keep the two relatives distracted so Polly and Brad can be together.

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Musical Monday: Going Places (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.

going placesThis week’s musical:
Going Places (1938) – Musical #198

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Ray Enright

Starring:
Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Allen Jenkins, Louis Armstrong, Minna Gombell, Walter Catlett, Harold Huber, Thurston Hall, Ronald Reagan, Joyce Compton, John Ridgely, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Larry Williams,

Plot:
Sporting goods store clerk Peter Mason (Powell) learns a major horserace is happening nearby and no one has entered their store to buy any riding gear. Peter and his boss (Catlett) pose as a famous jockey and his valet to infiltrate among the horsey set to sell sporting goods. The problem is when he finds fans of the real jockey, including beautiful Ellen Parker (Louise).

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Musical Monday: Hollywood Hotel (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.

hollywood hotel3This week’s musical:
Hollywood Hotel (1937) – Musical #201

Studio:
First National Pictures, Warner Bros.

Director:
Busby Berkeley

Starring:
Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Hugh Herbert, Ted Healy, Glenda Farrell, Johnnie Davis, Mabel Todd, Alan Mowbray, Allyn Joslyn, Frances Langford, Grant Mithcell, Milton Kibbee (uncredited), Carole Landis (uncredited), John Ridgely (uncredited), Ronald Reagan (uncredited)
Themselves: Benny Goodman, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Louella Parsons, Perc Westmore, Ken Niles, Jerry Cooper, Raymond Paige and His Orchestra

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Musical Monday: The Singing Marine (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.

This week’s musical:
The Singing Marine – Musical #238

Studio: Warner Bros.

Director: Ray Enright

Starring:
Dick Powell, Doris Weston, Lee Dixon, Hugh Herbert, Jane Darwell, Allen Jenkins, Jane Wyman, Larry Adler, Marcia Ralston, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Veda Ann Borg, Henry O’Neill, Addison Richards, Eddie Acuff, Berton Churchill, Ward Bond (uncredited), Richard Loo (uncredited), Sam McDaniel (uncredited), Bert Moorhouse (uncredited),

Plot:
Bashful Marine Bob Brent (Powell) is too shy to date or converse and is most comfortable when he’s singing. His Marine buddies send him to New York to perform in an amateur radio contest, especially because his voice makes their girlfriends swoon. Bob travels with singing hopeful Peggy Randall (Weston), who he likes but is too bashful. When Bob becomes a big hit as the “Singing Marine,” his Marine friends find that he has become a snob and not willing to go back to his military life.

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Musical Monday: Cowboy from Brooklyn (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:
Cowboy From Brooklyn (1938) – Musical #192

Studio: Warner Bros.

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Starring:
Dick Powell, Pat O’Brien, Priscilla Lane, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Johnnie Davis, Ronald Reagan, Emma Dunn, Dennie Moore, Candy Candido, Granville Bates, Harry Barris, James Stephenson, Hobart Cavanaugh, Elisabeth Risdon, Rosella Towne, Mary Field, Jeffrey Lynn, John Ridgely, Mary Boley, William B. Davidson

Plot:
While traveling to Hollywood from New York, singer Elly Jordan (Powell) is stranded in Wyoming. He gets a job as a performer on a ranch resort run by Jane Hardy (Lane). Elly is built up as a singing cowboy, but the only problem is that he’s terrified of all animals.

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Watching 1939: Naughty But Nice (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. 

1939 film:  Naughty But Nice (1939)
Musical No. 610

Release date:  July 1, 1939

Cast: 
Ann Sheridan, Dick Powell, Gale Page, Helen Broderick, Zasu Pitts, Ronald Reagan, Allen Jenkins, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jerry Colonna, Luis Alberni, Vera Lewis, Elizabeth Dunne, William B. Davidson, Halliwell Hobbes, Granville Bates, Hobart Cavanaugh (uncredited), John Ridgely (uncredited), Peter Lind Hayes (uncredited), Daisy Bufford (uncredited)

Studio:  Warner Bros.

Director:  Ray Enright

Plot:
Music Professor Donald Hardwick teaches at Winfield College and is opposed to swing and jazz music. Donald travels to New York to publish a symphony and stays with his Aunt Martha (Broderick), who is the black sheep of the family because she married a jazz saxophone player. Donald falls out of favor with his dean (Hobbes) when he’s tricked by lyricist Linda McKay (Page) and singer Zelda Manion (Sheridan) to write swing music.

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

This week’s musical:
“Colleen” (1936)– Musical #284

Studio:
Warner Brothers

Director:
Alfred E. Green

Starring:
Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Jack Oakie, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Louise Fazenda, Paul Draper, Marie Wilson, Luis Alberni, Hobart Cavanaugh, Berton Churchill, J.M. Kerrigan, Addison Richards

Plot:
Donald Ames, III, (Powell) runs the Ames Company and works to keep his uncle Cedric (Herbert) out of business decision. But when Donald heads out on a business trip, Uncle Cedric wreaks havoc by hiring grifter Joe Cook (Oakie) and pretty chocolate dipper Minnie (Blondell), and buys a dress shop where Colleen (Keeler) works for Minnie because she loves fashion. When Donald returns, he has to clean up the mess.

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Musical Monday: Footlight Parade (1933)

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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.

Poster for Footlight Parade. I’m not sure why the girls aren’t wearing clothes.

This week’s musical:
Footlight Parade (1933)– Musical #230

Studio:
Warner Brothers

Director:
Lloyd Bacon

Starring:
James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Ruth Donnelly, Hugh Herbert, Claire Dodd, Gordon Westcott, Arthur Hohl, Billy Barty (uncredited)

Plot:
Chester Kent’s (Cagney) Broadway musicals are failing, because of talking films, so he reinvents himself and begins producing the musical numbers shown before the movie begins. His secretary Nan (Blondell) is in love with him and helps him with ideas, but they learn that some of his ideas are leaking out to other similar agencies. To get a movie theater contract, Chester makes a dormitory out of the theater so that no one can leak the ideas.

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