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.
Starring:
Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Russ Tamblyn, Jeff Richards, Tommy Rall, Julie Newmar, Ruta Lee, Ian Wolfe, Marc Platt, Matt Mattox, Jacques d’Amboise, Nancy Kilgas, Betty Carr, Virginia Gibson, Norma Doggett
Plot:
Set in 1850 in the backwoods of Oregon, Adam Pontipee (Keel) heads to the city looking for a wife. He finds Milly (Powell), who agrees to marry him. Little does Milly know that Adam is one of seven brothers and she is more of a glorified housekeeper than a wife. She tries to refine the brothers-encouraging bathing and teaching them how to read and dance. They are all eager to find wives of their own and decide to use the story of Romans kidnapping the Sabine women as an example.
Adam (Keel) and his new bride Milly (Powell) who has no idea what she’s in for.
Milly (Powell) inspects the hands of the usually dirty Pontipee brothers before heading to a barn raising social
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.
Starring:
Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman, Connie Marshall, Sara Algood, William Frawley, Sig Ruman, Lee Patrick, Robert Arthur, Vanessa Brown, Kathryn Grimes (uncredited), Mae Marsh (uncredited), Kathleen Lockhart (uncredited)
Narrator: Ann Baxter
Plot:
Narrated from the point of view of a grown daughter, the story follows Myrtle McKinley (Grable) who graduates from high school and accidentally finds herself in vaudeville; shirking her original plans of business college. In vaudeville, she meets and falls in love with fellow performer, Frank Burt (Dailey). The two eventually get married, have children and adjust to life on the road with their children.
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.
Starring:
Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Elsa Lanchester, Douglass Dumbrille, Joseph Cawthorn, Cecilia Parker, Akim Tamiroff, Cora Sue Collins (uncredited)
Plot:
Princess Marie (MacDonald) is ordered by her uncle (Dumbrille) to marry elderly Don Carlos (Kingsford). To avoid this, Marie dresses up like her maid, who plans to sail on a ship headed to New Orleans that is full of brides for the colonists. En-route to New Orleans, the ship taken over by pirates who kill the crew and turn their attention to the women. Before this can escalate, a troop of mercenaries rescue the women and get them safely to New Orleans. The leader of the troop Warrington (Eddy), takes a fancy to Marie, who does not return the feeling. The women are welcomed by the Governor (Morgan) and his wife (Lanchester), and Marie announces that she doesn’t want to marry anyone. While she is disgraced and housed in a different area of the town, the Governor is sure he has seen her somewhere before.
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.
Starring:
Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Paula Raymond, John Lund, Connie Haines, Amanda Blake, Clinton Sundberg, Mel Torme, Bobby Troup (uncredited), Mae Clarke (uncredited) Themselves: Lena Horne, Eleanor Parker, Red Skelton
Plot:
Secretary Ellen Hallit (Raymond) is in love with her boss Doug Morrison (Lund), who constantly has Ellen pretend to be his fiance to get him out tight spots with women. In an attempt to play matchmaker, Ellen’s roommate and best friend Christine (Williams) travels to Sun Valley, Idaho, where Doug is also vacationing. Christine’s plan is to get Doug to fall in love with her, so he will call on Ellen to help him out. However, things get more complicated when Christine meets and falls for bandleader Dick Layne (Johnson).
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:
“Silver Skates” (1943)– Musical #518
Studio:
Monogram Pictures
Director:
Leslie Goodwins
Starring:
Belita, Kenny Baker, Patricia Morison, Joyce Compton, Frank Fraylen, Irene Dare, Danny Shaw Specialty performances: Skating team Frick and Frack-Werner Groebli and Hans Mauch, Eugene Turner, Ted Fio Rito Orchestra
Plot:
Claire Thomas (Morison) owns an ice show that is financially on the rocks. The only thing keeping the show afloat is ice skater Belita (as herself). However, Belita is leaving the show to get married. Show member Eddie (Fraylen) starts a rumor that Belita is in love with the show’s singer Danny (Baker) so she will stay. However, Danny is engaged to Claire. Along the way, Claire meets a war orphan, Katrina (Dare), who joins the skating show and Claire would like to adopt. The only issue is, she needs to be married to adopt Katrina.
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.
Starring:
Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Binnie Barnes, Paul Kelly, Corinna Mura, Marie Windsor (uncredited)
Themselves: The King’s Men, Six Hits and a Miss
Plot:
Two ex-Marines are reunited at the racetrack where one is sanitation worker and the other a manservant to a grouchy old man. The two decide to rejoin in the Marines and spend a great deal of time at the Shore Leave Club and fight over hostess Vi (Binnie Barnes). Little do they know that Vi and the club’s owner (Paul Kelly) are working against the United States government.
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:
Devil-May-Care (1929) – Musical #536
Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director:
Sidney Franklin
Starring:
Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Jordan, Marion Harris, John Miljan, Ann Dvorak (uncredited), John Carroll (uncredited)
Plot:
Set during the Napoleonic era, Armand de Treville (Novarro) is a soldier for Napoleon and is jailed by the king. He is about to be killed by a firing squad and escapes. He hides in the bedroom of beautiful Leonie de Beaufort (Jordan), who immediately decides she hates Armand because she is a royalist. Armand continues to hide out from the royalists at the home of his friend Countess Louise (Harris), where he hides as a servant. Leonie ends up being the cousin of the Countess and she stays with her and resists the advances of Armand.
Trivia:
-Ramon Novarro’s talking debut.
-Labeled the “first dramatic operetta of talking pictures,” according to Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro
By Andre Soares
-Composer Dimitri Tiomkin wrote the ballet music in the musical score.
Notable Songs:
-Charming performed by Ramon Novarro
-March of the Guard performed by a chorus
-If He Cared performed by Dorothy Jordan
My review:
I honestly wasn’t expecting much as I went into “Devil-May-Care.” In fact, I didn’t know it was going to be a musical until I saw the title card which detailed it as a “musical romance.” But as I continued watching, this ended up being a pleasant little film.
I think my biggest take away from “Devil-May-Care” was that I had no idea that Ramon Novarro could sing and with such a pleasant voice! “Devil-May-Care” wasn’t only the first time audiences heard Novarro sing, but also was the first time they ever heard him sing, as this was Novarro’s first talking film.
At one time, Novarro was a top draw in the box offices and was known the “New Valentino.” While this film is noteworthy as his first talkie, like many others, Novarro’s star began to slip with the dawn of talking pictures.
“Devil-May-Care” has a pretty slow moving story, but it flowed better with song and plot line than any other early (1929-1930) movie musical I have seen to date.
The movie was met with positive, but unenthusiastic reviews. The Dec. 23, 1929, review by Mordaut Hall called is “pleasant entertainment.”
“Mr. Novarro is not impressive as a Frenchman. He sings agreeably, but not as freely as one might anticipate after the constant references to his operatic career,” Hall wrote.
Hall also humorously wrote about troubles in the projection room during his “Devil-May-Care” experience: “The reproduction is fairly good, but once or twice last night the mechanics got beyond control of the operators in the projection booth.”
The plot line itself is uninspired and a bit slow, and it’s a bit distracting that Novarro is supposed to be French but speaks with a heavy Mexican accent. However, this little musical is notable for allowing fans to first hear the voice Ramon Novarro.
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.
Starring:
Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Hugh Herbert, Zasu Pitts, Guy Kibbee
Plot:
Eccentric cousin Ezra Ounce (Herbert) decides to divide up his fortune of $10 million before he dies. Part of this will go to his cousin Mathilda and her husband. However, Ezra hates actors and their daughter is looking at going into show business.
Trivia:
-Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell’s fourth film together.
-Ruby Keeler’s last film with Busby Berkely.
Notable Songs:
-Dames performed by Dick Powell
-I Only Have Eyes for You performed by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler
-Try to See It My Way performed by Dick Powell
-The Girl at the Ironing Board performed by Joan Blondell
Ruby Keeler dancing in “Dames.”
Publicity photo of Dick Powell and several “Dames.”
Highlights:
-The elaborate “Only Have Eyes for You” number that features several large shots and blown up pictures of Ruby Keeler. The best part is when Keeler rises up from below the stage through a trap door, that happens to be in the pupil of her eye.
Joan Blondell causing trouble for Guy Kibbee in “Dames.”
My review:
While “42nd Street” and “Footlight Parade” are my top two favorite Busby Berkeley directed films starring Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell (one of seven), “Dames” comes in at a close third.
Like the other two, “Dames” has it all: An excellent cast, breathtaking Berkeley directed musical numbers, toe tapping songs, humor and it’s very pre-code. In fact, I find “Dames” to be pretty hilarious.
An great example of humor and pre-code in “Dames” is when Guy Kibbee finds Joan Blondell stowing away in his bed on a train. Blondell isn’t wearing pajamas and Kibbee is fearful of a scandal that would make him lose the millions of dollars his very moral cousin has agreed to leave him. When Kibbee orders her to leave, she says “Why? I don’t snore.”
More humor comes when cousins Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell are in love, but we learn Powell is Keeler’s 13th cousin.
The film’s plot mainly revolves around Cousin Ezra’s (Herbert) moral code and hating theater people. This is why Ezra has disowned his relative Jimmy (Powell), because he is in the theater and trying to put on a show. As long as his family members Horace (Kibbee), Mathilda (Pitts) and Barbara (Keeler), don’t interact with Jimmy, they will get $6 million. However, Barbara is in love with Jimmy and also plans to audition to for his show.
Further complications arise when Mabel (Blondell) plans to blackmail Horace for money, know he would lose the $6 million if Ezra knew of their run in on the train.
Joan Blondell is wonderful in this film, as she is with everything else. We learn in these musicals that she really lacks the pipes to carry a tune, but her character and humor make up for it.
The “Only Have Eyes for You” number is really outstanding. it’s really a solid 5 minute homage to Ruby Keeler, complete with people dancing with large cut outs of her face and her face becoming the dance floor.
As far as Busby Berkeley, pre-code musicals go, “Dames” is the tops. Add it to your list of “must sees.”
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.
Starring:
Priscilla Lane, Jack Carson, Richard Whorf, Lloyd Nolan, Elia Kazan, Billy Halop, Betty Field, Wallace Ford, Joyce Compton, Howard Da Silva, Faith Domergue (uncredited), Faye Emerson (uncredited), William Hopper (uncredited)
Plot:
Jigger (Whorf), Leo (Carson), Peppi (Halop), Nickie (Kazan), and Pete (Whitney) have formed a jazz band and want to take it on the road. With Leo’s wife, “Character” (Lane) as the lead singer, the group rides the rails and hitchhikes to each gig. Character and Leo’s marriage is unstable, as he gambles a great deal, and she’s afraid to tell him when she gets pregnant,because she knows he doesn’t want to be tied down. The group runs into escaped convict Del Davis (Nolan) who steals their money and then offers them a job at a New Jersey road house since they didn’t turn him over to the police. The road house is a dump but they eventually build it into a swinging establishment. Even with more steady work, their problems haven’t ended. Kay Grant (Field) first has her sites set on Leo and then turns to Whorf, causing him to eventually have a nervous breakdown.
Trivia:
-Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Best Original Song, “Blues in the Night”
-Faith Domergue first role in a film as an uncredited jitterbug dancer.
-Richard Whorf’s role of Jigger was offered to both James Cagney and John Garfield, according to Anatole Litvak: The Life and Films
By Michelangelo Capua
-The original title of the film was first “Hot Nocturne” and then “New Orleans Blues,” according to Anatole Litvak: The Life and Films
By Michelangelo Capua
Notable Songs:
-Blues in the Night performed several times throughout the film
-Hang on to Your Lids, Kids performed by Priscilla Lane
-Says Who? Says You, Says I
-This Time the Dream’s on Me performed by Priscilla Lane
Hightlights:
-Blues in the Night performed in the jail
-The crazy montage of when Richard Whorf has a break down
My review:
Betty Field in “Blues in the Night”
While categorized as a musical, “Blue in the Night” is an interesting blend of crime, noir and music. This isn’t your typical upbeat musical and Priscilla Lane isn’t plucky and carefree.
The film depicts the struggles of an up and coming jazz band and the dynamics of an unstable marriage. Priscilla Lane and Jack Carson are married in the film, but it’s clear that while he married her, he really doesn’t want to be tied down and is constantly gambling and carousing. When Priscilla Lane’s character gets pregnant, she is afraid to tell her husband because it would ruin his care free lifestlye and she fears he would leave her.
The movie has crime and gangster film elements as well when the band gets involved with Lloyd Nolan, a gangster who is hiding out, and his ex-moll, played by Betty Field who has her eyes on most of the men in the band.
Added bonus is that you get to hear Johnny Mercer’s “Blues in the Night” a few times throughout the film.
If you’re looking for a rollicking musical, “Blues in the Night” isn’t really for you.
But if you are looking for a characteristic brooding Warner Brothers film, this could be for you.
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:
“The Cool Ones” (1967)– Musical #531
Studio:
Paramount Pictures
Director:
Gene Nelson
Starring:
Roddy McDowall, Debbie Watson, Phil Harris, Gil Peterson, Richard Harris, Nita Talbot, Glen Campbell, Teri Garr (uncredited)
Themselves: Mrs. Miller, The Bantams, The Leaves, T.J. and The Fourmations, The Forté Four
Plot:
Hallie Rogers (Watson), who dances as a go-go dancer on a variety show, will stop at nothing to become a pop star. During one show, she starts wildly dancing and grabs the microphone from the singer–who happens to be Glen Campbell–and starts singing. Hallie obviously gets fired, but learns that the wild dance she did on stage is now all the rage called “The Trantrum.” Hallie teams up with faded pop singer Cliff Donner (Peterson) to create a boy/girl performing duo. Eccentric millionaire music promoter Tony Krum (McDowall) works to make the two famous as a romantic, singing couple. The only problem is Cliff really is in love with Hallie but she is too focused on her fame to give it up for love.
Trivia:
-Former Warner Brothers actor and dancer Gene Nelson directed this film.
-Roddy McDowall’s character is apparently based on record producer Phil Spector.
-Singer Mrs. Miller’s only film appearance.
-Choreographed by Toni Basil.
Roddy McDowall in “The Cool Ones”
Notable Songs:
-It’s Magic performed by Mrs. Miller
-Have a Tantrum performed by Gil Peterson and Debbie Watson
-The Cool Ones performed by Gil Peterson and Debbie Watson
-Where Did I Go Wrong performed by Roddy McDowall
My review:
New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther wrote “I venture to guess this will disgust even the kids” in his May 11, 1967, review of “The Cool Ones.”
Crowther most likely hit the nail on the head. “The Cool Ones” has earned a place on my list of the worst movies that I have ever seen. But then at the same time, it’s so bad you can’t look away and have to watch the whole movie.
The stupidity of this movie isn’t necessarily the story line or even the cast. For me, it’s the leading lady: Debbie Watson. Her lines and songs are all shouted and she’s simply annoying. “The Cool Ones” isn’t her first offense either. Ms. Watson was equally as bad in her role as Tammy in the last of the “Tammy” film series, “Tammy and the Millionaire” (1967).
Debbie Watson and Gil Peterson in “The Cool Ones”
Watson is so overly dramatic that I can’t even be sympathetic with her character, who is the main focus of the film. For example, when she first asks Cliff if he will team up with her, he says “I’ll think about it,” and she flips her lid and pushes him in the pool.
Roddy McDowall’s character is probably the high spot of the film as the over-the-top, kooky record producer. Though McDowall doesn’t appear until halfway through the film. We even get to hear McDowall sing a bit. It’s also fun to see Phil Harris–husband of actress Alice Faye and frequent Disney character voice–though his character isn’t the most friendly.
You also get to see singer Mrs. Miller in her only film appearance.
It’s almost a shame that this teen, rock-n-roll comedy is so terrible. It’s very colorful and very late-1960s. I didn’t go to this thinking it would be “West Side Story” but at least it would be on the same level of fun as an Elvis movie.
Perhaps “The Cool Ones” wouldn’t have been as painful if there has been a different lead actress. Maybe a Shelley Fabares or Nancy Sinatra would have been better.
Regardless, there is nothing “cool” about “The Cool Ones.”
This week’s musical:
– Musical #215
(1934) – Musical #225
” (1941)– Musical #191
Comet Over Hollywood 