Director:
Busby Berkeley
Year: 1937
Rating: 6.0
I kept waiting for the dancing to begin. After all this was directed by Busby
Berkeley whose trademark was intricate geometrical patterns of groups of
leggy females either shot from above or his fetish like close-ups of their
legs and faces as they don't so much dance as act as moving synchronized
pieces on a board game. His films such as 42nd Street, Footlight Parade,
Dames and the Gold Diggers films are all considered classics and his choreography
is the reason why. But by 1937 he was moving away from that style as he felt
it was now overdone to a more mature realistic dance style and was to direct
even more musical classics beginning with the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland
films and others. But this falls into the middle of this evolution and completely
discards any dancing in the musical numbers as they are straight on singing
or instrumentals.
It is a oddly balanced film with comedy dominating the first half and music
overloading the second half. The comedy is quite good - some great witty
lines and well delivered by a plethora of off-beat characters as well as
the lead. Perhaps there are in fact too many comic relief eccentrics but
it creates a wonderfully chaotic silly mood. The music though doesn't really
stand up as well - after a famous first song there is a 40-minute gap until
the next number and then a bunch of them follow on its footsteps ranging
from so-so to solid. This is one of Warner's mid-level musicals - some big
talent but two leading ladies who were not particularly big stars. The lead
male though is Dick Powell who had starred in eight of Berkeley's films usually
playing a genial role in what they termed back then the "juvenile" and that
continues in this film. Within a few years Powell was to run away from these
roles and made a breakthrough and a complete image change with Murder, My
Sweet in 1944.
Here he is a saxophone player in the Benny Goodman band and in the opening
scene they are sending him off to Hollywood where he has a short-term contact
- and singing Hooray for Hollywood - written for this film and has become
an iconic popular song. When he gets off the plane in Hollywood the camera
man meeting him says "He sure doesn't look like star material" and the public
relations guy follow ups with "They made one of Rin Tin-Tin". Events soon
get crazy as the diva star refuses to attend a Premiere and so the studio
find a look-alike and replace her for the night and has Powell escort her.
In most films the actress would play both roles - but here they just used
sisters - two of the Lane sisters - Lola and Rosemary who have a strong resemblance
to one another. The most famous Lane sister, Priscilla is not on hand unfortunately.
They are both excellent.
Some notes of interest regarding the rest of the cast. You can spot Ronald
Reagan at the very beginning of his career as a host at a film gala. Glenda
Farrell plays the tough secretary with the acerbic mouth - she made this
right as her Torchy Blane series began and is always a delight to watch.
Another comedy relief character is Powell's manager played by Ted Healy.
Healy had at one time been one of the highest paid vaudeville stars and was
responsible for forming the Three Stooges in his act Ted Healy and the Stooges.
He was to die from a beating a few days after this film was released. Louella
Parsons plays herself and she was probably the most influential film columnist/gossip
in film history - she also had a radio show in which she brought on actors
who acted out scenes from their latest film - something that takes place
here. Frances Langford plays the female vocalist in the Benny Goodman Band
- she made famous the song In the Mood for Love - and was with Bob Hope on
his many troop visits during WWII. Two other actors do comedy relief - Hugh
Herbert doing his usual schtick as a forgetful eccentric and the screechy
Mabel Todd who was married for years to Morey Amsterdam. Oh and before I
forget - yes another comic actor - Edgar Kennedy famous for his slow burn.
Also of interest though we would barely note it today - but there is a musical
number of Goodman's band that then transitions to just Goodman, his drummer
Gene Krupa, piano player Teddy Wilson and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. Ok
- what is the big deal you might ask - well Wilson and Hampton were black.
And showing an integrated band in a film just wasn't done. Goodman had in
fact helped break the color code in jazz by forming a quartet with these
players but people thought it would ruin his career. It didn't. In fact,
four years later in the film Blues in the Night the scene called for a white
musician to join a black band on stage and it was shot down for being too
risky.
Now what would be politically incorrect today is a scene when Herbert dons
black face in a stupid pointless scene and a fashion designer named Butch
who is clearly gay and at one point asks for high heels - to which Farrell
replies "What are you going to wear with them".
