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:
Murder at the Vanities (1934) – Musical #685
Studio:
Paramount Pictures
Director:
Mitchell Leisen
Starring:
Jack Oakie, Victor McLaglen, Kitty Carlisle, Carl Brisson, Jessie Ralph, Dorothy Stickney, Gertrude Michael, Toby Wing, Gail Patrick, Donald Meek, Charles Middleton, Lucille Ball (uncredited), Ann Sheridan (uncredited), Alan Ladd (uncredited)
Themselves: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
Plot:
It’s opening night of Jack Ellery’s (Oakie) new show, and there’s a great deal of backstage drama. The show stars Eric Lander (Brisson) and Ann Ware (Carlisle) who have planned to get married. Rita Ross (Michael) previously had a romance with Eric and is angry that she’s no the female lead in the show, so she’s out for revenge. Eric has secrets and Rita is ready to expose him, but a murderer backstage has other ideas.
Comet Over Hollywood 