The Musicals of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Category: Synopsis

  • Free and Easy

    Synopsis

    Gopher City, Kansas. Elvira Plunkett, Miss Gopher City, boards a train for Hollywood, a prize from the Chamber of Commerce. She is accompanied by her mother, Ma Plunkett, and her manager, Elmer J Butts. Elmer, who has the tickets, is forced to ride on the caboose until the first stop. Elvira and Ma mistakenly occupy the room of Larry Mitchell, an MGM movie star, who is returning to Hollywood for the opening of his new picture.  Ma and Elvira are reunited with Elmer when the train stops. 

    Elmer (Buster Keaton), stuck in the caboose

    The following week, Larry’s picture premieres at Graumann’s Chinese Theatre, with MGM contract players in attendance. Elmer, Elvira and Mas are there at Larry’s invitation. Elmer has to drive miles to park the car and enters the theatre just as the film is ending. He is mistaken for William Haines and dragged onto the stage. Back at their hotel, Elmer tries and fails to tell Elvira that he loves her. 

    Director Fred Niblo, playing himself, attempts to drum a single line into Elmer’s head: “Oh woe is me, the Quoon has sweened”

    The next day, at the MGM studios, Elvira and Ma watch Larry film a musical number [It Must Be You]. Larry introduces them to director Fred Niblo. Elmer arrives, but cannot get through the studio gates. He finally sneaks in with a crowd of extras. Elmer is chased by a studio guard and accidentally sets off an explosion on an outdoor set, before running onto a sound stage where Lionel Barrymore is directing. He ruins a take, then runs onto the stage where Larry is filming and gets involved in a musical number. 

    The guard catches him, but Larry and Elvira intercede. They persuade Niblo to give Elmer a small part in the picture, but it all goes badly wrong. Larry sends Elmer to the transportation department so he can get a ride home, and Elmer ends up getting a job as a driver. 

    His first job is driving Elvira and Larry home from a party; they do not realize Elmer is the driver. He overhears Larry inviting Elvira to go to his house. While Larry sets about seducing Elvira, Elmer, who thinks Larry is asking her to marry him,rushes to fetch Ma. Elmer and Ma arrive to find Elvira in tears. Elmer tackles Larry and they both end up unconscious. Elvira and Ma leave. Larry is ashamed, and he and Elmer become friends. They discover they used to know each other when Larry was Heiny Schwartz, the butcher’s son, back in Kansas. 

    Larry arranges for Elmer to try another part in the picture, and apologizes to Elvira. Meanwhile, Ma unexpectedly wins a part in the picture. Elmer and Ma perform a comic skit in the musical comedy [Oh King, Oh Queen]. Elvira admires Elmer, but has given up on the idea of acting herself; she never wanted to come to Hollywood, it was all Ma’s idea. She could never be happy making-believe all her life. Elmer tells Elvira that a certain movie star loves her very much and only needs a little encouragement; Elvira thinks he means Larry. 

    Ma Plunkett (Trixie Friganza) and Elmer perform ‘Oh King, Oh Queen’

    In another scene from the musical, Elmer is trying to take the girl back to his home in Brooklyn [The Free And Easy]. Elmer is considered a great comedian and offered a contract by the studio, but he is dismayed to learn that Elvira and Larry are getting married. Elvira watches as the final scene of the picture is filmed [The Free and Easy; It Must Be You], while Elmer gazes sadly at her and despairs.   

  • Montana Moon

    Synopsis

    Joan Prescott, the flirtatious daughter of wealthy John Prescott, arrives at the last minute to board her father’s private train. He warns her that he does not want any more foolishness from her. Joan’s sister, Elizabeth, tells her she is in love with Jeff, a man she met in Boston and who is on the train. Joan has often stolen men from Elizabeth, but she promises not to do so this time. 

    Joan does not like Jeff, but that evening he tells her that he is in love with her. On impulse, Joan gets off the train at the next stop. She buys a ticket back to New York but, while waiting for the train, comes across the campfire of Larry Kerrigan, a Texas cowboy. They talk, and Joan tells him how pleasant it is to be away from all the city noise. Larry says he often dreams of going to a city, to get away from the silence. Joan is surprised to find that Larry works on a ranch owned by her father. Larry says Mr Prescott is admired by all his men, but that he has “a pair of high-falutin’ daughters that ought to be hog-tied”. Larry nicknames Joan ‘Montana’ and she sleeps alongside him by the campfire. Over the next few days, they fall in love. 

    City girl Joan Prescott (Joan Crawford) and cowboy Larry Kerrigan (Johnny Mack Brown) bond round the old campfire

    Elsewhere on the ranch, cowboy Froggy meets Bloom, a travelling doctor from the Bronx, who pulls Froggy’s bad tooth. 

    Joan and Larry arrive at the main camp [Montana Call] and he introduces her to Froggy, Bloom and the others as his wife. He does not tell them she is the boss’s daughter. 

    Joan and Larry say goodbye the next morning [Happy Cowboy] and ride to the ranch, where they tell her father and the others that they are married. Prescott takes Larry into the library. He tells Larry he is very pleased about the marriage, but cannot tell Joan because what he likes she is always against; but Joan overhears anyway. 

    Joan’s friends throw a party for her at the local roadhouse and Larry persuades her to go without him, because he does not have the proper clothes. Larry is unhappy that she does not get home until six in the morning. When Larry says he has to go to work, Joan says he does not have to because her dad will look after them. Larry tells her that is not the way things are going to be. Joan apologizes and he leaves for work. 

    Later, Joan and Larry go together to another party, at which both the city sophisticates and the ranch hands are present. Froggy and Bloom tease Larry about his fancy clothes. [Get Up You Cowboy; Trailin’ in Old Montana]. 

    Larry dislikes Jeff and is unhappy when he sees Joan flirting with him. Larry tells Joan her city friends do not live up to his standards of decency. She says she will dance with whom she pleases. She then performs a tango with Jeff, who snatches a kiss at the end. 

    Joan tells Larry they made a mistake in marrying because neither belongs in the other’s world, and she refuses to leave with him. After a moment, Joan rushes after Larry and apologizes, but he refuses to come back with her. 

    Some time later, back with the other ranch hands [The Moon is Low; Sing a Song of Old Montana], Larry is missing Joan. Mr Prescott comes to tell Larry they are all returning to New York tomorrow. He asks Larry to talk to Joan, saying this is the first time he has ever seen her regret anything. Larry brightens when he hears that, but still refuses. [The Moon is Low]. 

    Froggy (Cliff ‘Ukelele Ike’ Edwards) leads a cowboy sing-song

    At the station, Joan is hoping Larry will at least come to say goodbye. At a water stop, the train is held up by masked Mexican bandits. One of them grabs Joan, who berates Jeff and the others for not helping her, and says Larry would have done something. The bandit carries off Joan and, laughing, she tells Larry to take off the mask because she would recognize his voice anywhere. Mr Prescott explains the trick to the other passengers, while Joan and Larry ride off happily with the other ‘bandits’ [Happy Cowboy].        

  • Lord Byron of Broadway

    Synopsis

    A young woman waits outside the Trocadero Cafe to speak to Roy Erskine, who has been avoiding her. She  says she knows Roy is through with her. She is not complaining because she always knew she would end up as “just another song”. Roy makes love to girls, breaks their hearts, and then turns it into material for a new song. Roy says he did not get a song from her, implying she was just a golddigger. 

    Roy goes into the Trocadero, where he plays piano. He meets flirtatious Bessie, who offers to let him use the piano in her apartment to work. Back at her apartment, Bessie reveals that she has been in love with Roy for months. She has only been in love once before and, to prove it, she shows Roy a bundle of old love letters. While they are kissing, Roy gets an idea for a song. 

    Roy (Charles Kaley) finds inspiration in Bessie’s (Gwen Lee) bundle of old love letters

    Later, in the Trocadero, Bessie introduces Roy to Mr Millaire, who plays in a vaudeville theatre orchestra and is interested in Roy’s songs. Roy agrees to bring an example to the theatre. Now he has written a new song, Roy starts to avoid Bessie.  

    Roy goes to a music shop and asks Nancy Clover to produce a piano copy of a song for him, because he does not read music. Roy and Nancy are attracted to each other. Roy takes Nancy to the theatre [The Japanese Sandman] where his new song is being performed by Joe Lundeen [A Bundle of Old Love Letters]. Roy is shocked to find that Millaire has taken credit for writing the song. 

    Going to  Joe’s dressing room, they find him talking to his agent, Phil. Roy and Nancy perform the song to a sceptical Joe and Phil [A Bundle of Old Love Letters]. Joe and Phil are convinced and Phil suggests Joe, Roy and Nancy form a new act. 

    Three months later, Lundeen and Erskine with Nancy Clover are a hit [A Bundle of Old Love Letters]  and so is the song. Roy is flirting with a dancer “for inspiration,” making Nancy unhappy. In the dressing room, Joe advises Nancy to be patient, saying Roy is on a merry-go-round for the moment. Riccardi, the dancer’s husband, bursts in looking for Roy. Joe pretends he is Roy and that Nancy is his wife, and Riccardi calms down. 

    Joe warns Roy to stop chasing women for inspiration, but Roy ignores him. Time passes and Roy continues composing, using one woman after another. 

    Roy, Nancy, Joe and Phil visit an expensive nightclub [Blue Daughter of Heaven]. Roy is introduced to the audience and asked to perform [Should I?]. Roy then goes to a party, leaving Nancy with Joe. 

    The next morning, Roy, Joe and Nancy are at a recording studio and hear, over a loudspeaker, the voice of a woman singing Should I?. Joe recognizes the voice as someone he knew a long time ago [Should I?]. Nancy and Joe hear Roy introducing himself to the singer, Ardis Trevelyn. Ardis pretends not to remember Joe, who is upset by this. 

    Joe introduces himself to Ardis (Ethelind Terry)

    Ardis takes Roy back to her apartment for lunch. He tells her meeting her has made this the most important day of his life, and immediately starts composing lyrics based on the idea. Later, Ardis calls Roy when he is performing in Boston: Roy is to write the numbers for her new Broadway show, and he, Joe and Nancy will also perform. [The Woman in the Shoe]. 

    Joe tells Nancy that they have to break up Roy’s relationship with Ardis, because she is not capable of loving anyone. He then realizes that Nancy loves Roy, and decides to set Roy straight. 

    Roy is asking Ardis why she will not marry him when Joe enters. Joe tells Roy that Ardis cannot marry him because she is already married: he and Ardis married seven years ago and she gave him the air after four. Roy gets belligerent and orders Joe to get a divorce. Joe leaves the theatre and is knocked down by a taxi. Back at the apartment Roy and Joe share, a doctor tells Nancy that Joe is dying. Roy and Ardis arrive and hear the news. Joe dies before Roy can see him. 

    Later, Roy writes a song in Joe’s memory. He tells Phil it is the best thing he has written and wants more money for it. Nancy visits Roy and asks him not to exploit Joe’s death in a song. She asks him to do it for her, because she loves him. She does not want him to be cheap and selfish. After Nancy leaves, Roy tells Ardis that he realizes everything he has written was squeezed from someone’s misery and tears. Ardis says she always knew he never had an idea he did not steal. Roy rips up the song about Joe. Ardis tells him he will starve if he stops writing popular songs, and walks out on him. 

    Nancy (Marion Shilling) begs Roy not to exploit Joe’s death, while Ardis looks on

    Some time later, Roy only has $200 left and has been unable to write anything, and he has started drinking. 

    Later still, Roy looks the worse for wear and fails to get back his old job at the Trocadero. He meets Bessie and goes back to her apartment. Roy reminds her of when he called her old love letters mush and says the joke is on him now, because he  has been carrying around a letter from Nancy for months. Roy had sent Nancy a song he wrote for her, but she says she has never listened to it and they should not see each other again. Bessie turns on the radio and Roy recognizes the song he wrote for Nancy [Only Love Is Real]. He realizes that she did play it after all. Roy rushes off to find Nancy, leaving Bess alone. 

    The song is a big hit and Roy and Nancy marry. At their new apartment, Roy gets the inspiration for a new song [You’re the Bride and I’m the Groom].

  • They Learned About Women

    Opinion

    They Learned About Women is a contender for the worst title ever given to a film musical. ‘Playing the Field’ and ‘Take It Big’ were other suggested titles, but undoubtedly lend themselves to innuendo. The other contender, ‘The Pennant-Winning Battery’ would arguably have been worse.

    Van and Schickel were very popular entertainers, and their musical performances give an inkling of why they were so liked. But they were no great shakes as actors and it seems likely they would have gone the same way as the Duncan Sisters after It’s a Great Life, if Schickel’s untimely death had no rendered the matter moot.  

    Sam (Benny Rubin), Jack (Joe Schickel) and Tim (Tom Dugan) at the start of a new season. Jerry (Gus Van) is AWOL.

    They Learned About Women was the second Metro musical outing for the songwriting team of Milton Ager and Jack Yellen, and is notable for being the first of the studio’s musicals with a score entirely written by one team. These remained a rarity for the next forty years. It’s a fairly average set of numbers, though ‘Ten Sweet Mamas’ is notable for several reasons. It is a very early integrated number, in two senses: it is sung by Gus Van not on a stage, but in a shower room, with the chorus engaged in their ablutions while singing; Van washes himself then lies face down on a massage table. 

    The song is also integrated in the way it comments on the themes and plot

    Jerry tells the other players all about his Ten Sweet Mamas

    of the film. ‘Ten Sweet Mamas’ is a variation on ‘Ten Green Bottles,’ with the number of mamas reducing throughout the song; in fact, Van starts singing at the seven point. The song’s subject is unfaithfulness, ostensibly female (“Can’t trust a woman/I have found”), though in fact the blame swings both ways (he loses his last mama because she catches him with his wife). The lyrics foreshadow Jack’s fickleness and Daisy’s duplicity. The shower room setting, coyly shot though it is, positions the film as pre-code, as does the lyric “Had two sweet mamas for my jelly roll,” which was a euphemism for sexual intercourse. 

    The film’s other highpoint is its one production number, ‘Harlem Madness,’ which gave Nina Mae McKinney, the breakout star of Hallelujah, her second and final opportunity to shine. Her singing and dancing is joyously eccentric enough to merit the song’s title.

    Nina Mae McKinney gives it her all in ‘Harlem Madness’

    The direction in They Learned About Women is fairly lacklustre, even though it took two directors to achieve it. It was far from unusual at MGM, at that time, for one director to complete another’s film, but it seems unclear why, on this occasion, Conway and Wood were given a shared credit.

    Bessie Love works hard, as always, but there are diminishing returns for her third dose of heartbreak in a year. Frankly, Jerry is as big a chump as Terry in Chasing Rainbows; she would probably have been better off with Jerry.

  • They Learned About Women

    Synopsis

    Jerry Burke and Jack Glennon are baseball players for the Blue Sox who perform as a vaudeville act during the off-season. They are on a train to Florida for the start of the new season, along with a bevy of chorus girls. Jerry is very drunk, but insists they perform one more song before going to bed [He’s That Kind of a Pal]. 

    Jack gets Jerry into bed, then hears golddigger Daisy Gebhart crying. Her tears are fake, but he is fooled by her pretence of innocence. Meanwhile, Jerry slips out of bed and goes back to entertaining the girls.

     

    Jack (Joe Schenk) is taken in by the tears of golddigger Daisy (Mary Doran)

    The next morning, Jack finds that the carriage containing Jerry was left behind during the night. Jack’s girl, Mary Collins, meets him at the station. As the train is pulling out, Jack thinks he hears Jerry’s voice. He jumps on board, but it turns out to be a record. 

    Later that day, the Blue Sox are training, while Mary types for the team’s owner, Stafford. Jack reunites with his friends Sam Goldberg and Tim O’Connor. Haskins, a new signing, upsets Coach Brennan with his practical jokes. 

    Jerry arrives in a taxi, still in his pyjamas. Brennan tells Jack and Jerry to get Haskins out. They succeed when they realize he cannot handle slow balls. 

    Several days later, the team is relaxing in a hotel. Mary sews on a button for Jerry, who asks if she will still do it when she is married to Jack [A Man of My Own]. Jack is talking to Daisy about her problems; she wheedles money from him and then kisses him. He says they probably should not see each other again, but agrees that they can write to each other. Jack introduces Mary as his fiancee and Daisy leaves [Does My Baby Love?; There Will Never Be Another Mary]. While Jack is talking to Mary, it is clear he still has Daisy on his mind, even though he says “a guy would be crazy to think of anyone but you”. 

    Mary (Bessie Love) sings ‘A Man of My Own’. Between takes, Love would entertain the cast with her trusty uke.

    Half-way through the season, Jack receives a letter from Daisy, to whom he has been writing regularly. [Ten Sweet Mamas]. Jack asks Jerry to have dinner with Mary because he has a business meeting. At a nightclub, Jerry spots Jack and Daisy at another table. He tries to get Mary out, but she notices Jack and Daisy dancing while Jerry is fetching his hat. Mary pretends to be happy while Jerry puts her into a taxi, but cries as it drives away. Jerry goes back into the nightclub and pretends to be drunk, forcing Jack to take him home. 

    Back at the hotel, Jerry tells Jack he is a fool if he is ditching Mary for Daisy. He leaves Jack alone with Mary, who tells Jack she saw him with Daisy and now realizes that she and he are not really in love with each other. They agree to remain friends, but afterwards Jerry finds Mary distraught. 

    The next morning, Jerry tells Sam that Jack has been out all night. They find Daisy waiting in reception and insult her. Back in their room, Jerry and the others try to persuade Jack to stay away from Daisy, but he reveals that they got married that morning. 

    In the off-season, Daisy accompanies Jack and Jerry on tour, but there are gossip column reports of friction in the dressing room. Daisy is trying to persuade Jack to include her in the act. Meanwhile, Jack is impervious to how much Jerry and Daisy hate each other. The ball team and Mary are in the audience that evening, and are meeting Jerry at the hotel afterwards. Daisy says she and Jack cannot join them, because they are going to another party where a big booker will be present, but Jack persuades Daisy to go alone. 

    Daisy is trying to get bookings for herself and Jack as a double act, but Jack is feeling guilty about Jerry and about his plan to give up baseball [Dougherty Is the Name; I’m an Old-Fashioned Guy]. In the audience, Tim shouts for them to sing ‘Mary’, until Sam forces him to stop. [Harlem Madness]. 

    At Jerry’s party, Mary gives him and Jack their contract for next season. Jack and Mary are awkward together, while Jerry torments Daisy when she calls to speak to Jack. Sam and Tim try out their new double act, ending when Sam accidentally knocks out Tim with a candlestick. 

    Van and Schenck recreat their stage act

    Daisy arrives, but Jerry has told the house detective not to let her in. She sneaks in anyway and tells Jerry and the others that Jack is through with baseball and that they are throwing Jerry out of the act. When Jack shows signs of weakening, Daisy tells him that Jerry made a play for her before they were married and has been pestering her ever since. Jack punches Jerry and leaves with Daisy. Mary comforts Jerry. 

    Later, the Blue Sox are on a winning streak, largely owing to Jerry’s pitching. A bottle is thrown at Jerry during a match, and Jack, who is in the crowd, punches the offender and is reunited with Jerry. Afterwards, Jack tells Jerry and Mary that his new act has not been doing well, then finally confesses that Daisy has left him and he has not worked for months. Jerry says Jack can come back to the team and goes to speak to Brennan. Jack tells Mary that he has never really loved anyone but her, and she tells him that she is going to marry Jerry. Jack tells her to forget what he said. 

    Later, the Blue Sox are to play in the World Series. Jack is back on the team, but is not pitching well and is benched after the Blue Sox lose their first game. Jerry realizes that Jack is still in love with Mary. At the deciding game, the Blue Sox are trailing badly. During a break for rain, Jerry tells Brennan he should play Jack, and he tells Jack that he cannot go through with his marriage to Mary. Jack confesses that he still loves her, which is why he has been playing badly. When play resumes, Brennan sends Jack on to pitch and he throws well. When the Blue Sox are put in to bat, Jack is hit in the head by the ball. But he plays on and Jerry hits a home run, winning the game. Jack collapses and comes to in Mary’s arms. She tries to pull away from his embrace, Jerry selflessly indicates that everything is all right.                  

  • They Learned About Women (1930)

    Synopsis
    Cast
    Crew
    Songs
    Opinion

  • Chasing Rainbows

    Synopsis

    A roadshow tour of a Broadway hit set during the First World War ends with a big production number [Happy Days Are Here Again].

    Eddie Ross, the stage manager, tells the cost to be on the train in 55 minutes. Carlie Seymour asks her partner Terry Fay to eat with her. He agrees, but then rushes to invite Peggy, the leading lady with whom he is in love, to go with them. Terry then asks Carlie to finish his packing.

    Drunken wardrobe mistress Polly maintains a feud with Bonnie, an older performer.

    Eddie asks Carlie what Terry would do without her, and she laughingly replies that Terry is just a big kid and she never takes him seriously. Eddie asks Carlie to have a drink with him, but she says she is eating with Terry.

    At the station, the company’s trunks are loaded onto the train. Carlie tells Eddie that Terry never showed up at the restaurant. Peggy arrives at the last minute with a “rich barber from Kansas City” who follows her from theatre to theatre. Terry tells the barber to stop bothering Peggy, who then quits and leaves with the barber.

    On the train, Terry hints he may kill himself, but Bonnie indicates this is a regular occurrence [Poor But Honest]. Eddie tells Terry that if he is going to kill himself, he has to give two weeks’ notice. Carlie tries to talk Terry round, telling him no one in the show thought Peggy was good enough for him. She tells Terry that his problem is that he is always too good to women; if he wants one to stick by him, he needs to stay indifferent and not show her too much affection. Terry determines to punch on the nose the next girl he falls for.

    Daphne Wayne joins the company as Peggy’s replacement. Daphne and company-member Don Cordova have had a relationship in the past.

    At the rehearsal, Eddie explains the plot of the show to Daphne: Terry is in love with her, and he is secretly loved by Carlie. Carlie stands in for Daphne to demonstrate the opening number [Lucky Me, Lovable You]. It is the first time Terry has sung a love song to her. The rehearsal continues and Daphne performs her first number [Do I Know What I’m Doing?]. Don and Carlie can both see that Terry is already falling for Daphne.

    Some time later, the company is getting ready for a matinee performance. Bonnie tells Carlie she needs to stop fussing over Terry, but Carlie says she hardly sees him any more. She then goes to Terry’s dressing room and tidies it. Terry is besotted with Daphne, who has told him he is “the first guy I ever really cared for”. When Carlie fails to be excited by this news, Terry angrily tells her she doesn’t know what real love is, but immediately apologizes. Carlie says it is okay, because she knows him so well. [Everybody Tap].

    While Terry is on stage [Love Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues], Carlie overhears Daphne tell Don that she is only using Terry to advance her career, but will see him secretly.

    After the performance Carlie goes to Daphne’s dressing room and tells her how devastated Terry would be if he found out about Don. Daphne denies everything, even after Carlie tells her she overheard them. Terry arrives as Carlie is leaving and finds Daphne pretending to cry. Terry challenges Carlie about spreading lies, and she pretends it was just a joke. Terry follows Carlie out of the theatre and says she must apologize to Daphne, but Carlie refuses.

    Returning to the theatre, Terry sees Daphne entering Don’s room. Daphne explains to Don that Terry’s sister is married to an influential theatre owner. She plans to use Terry as a stepping stone to Broadway, and is prepared to marry him if necessary. Terry enters the room just as Daphne and Don kiss.

    Back at the hotel, Terry finds Carlie in her room, sitting in the dark. He apologizes and tells her about Daphne and Don. Terry tells her he is leaving the show, and Carlie replies that he is old enough to know what he is doing. Terry relents and says he will not give Daphne the satisfaction; he and Carlie have worked too hard to get where they are to let Daphne split up the act. He seems to notice for the first time how attractive Carlie is [Lucky Me, Lovable You]. They agree to stick together no matter what happens, and Terry tells Carlie he is beginning to fall for her and then kisses her. He orders dinner and arranges to meet Carlie in the lobby.

    Terry meets Daphne in the hall and she begs for a chance to explain. Later, during the intermission, Carlie tells Bonnie what has happened between her and Terry, but Bonnie is sceptical. Carlie goes to Terry’s room and apologizes for not getting down in time for dinner. Daphne walks in and shows off a wedding ring. Carlie laughs at the joke this will be when the company hears, and is hysterical by the time she gets back to her own dressing room.

    Months later, it is the last town of the tour and Carlie is now dating Eddie. On the closing night, Bonnie and Polly make up their differences and get drunk. Terry shamefacedly tells Carlie he is splitting up the act so he can partner with Daphne. Carlie says it is only natural and that she will be fine. She agrees to spend the summer with Eddie on his mother’s farm. Terry is irrationally jealous and advises Carlie not to go.

    Later, Daphne meets Don in her dressing room and tells him again that Terry means nothing to her. Terry overhears everything from the next room and beats up Don. Terry tells Daphne he never wants to see her again. Terry tells Eddie he cannot go on for the last act, but Carlie finally loses patience and tells him off. Daphne has quit, but the show goes on [My Dynamic Personality]. Carlie joins Terry on stage and they are reunited [Happy Days Are Here Again].    



  • The Hollywood Revue of 1929

    Synopsis

    Three young, blonde triplets hold a sign introducing the first scene: Palace of Minstrel. A minstrel chorus sings and dances [Bones and Tambourines]. Jack Benny enters and introduces Conrad Nagel as the Interlocutor. Nagel starts to introduce Charles King, but is interrupted by King himself. To apologize, King asks the chorus to name the screen’s greatest lover. Before they can answer, Cliff Edwards enters and declares it is he. Edwards plays his ukulele and sings scat. Benny re-enters and takes away Nagel, leaving Edwards to discover he has no audience. He exits and the curtain closes.

    Cliff Edwards, aka Ukulele Ike

    Nagel introduces Joan Crawford, who sings and dances, supported by the Biltmore Quartet [Gotta Feelin’ for You].

    Charles King and a dancing chorus performs [Minstrel Days]. June Purcell sings [Low Down Rhythm] and Joyce Murray performs a toe dance. 

    Conrad Nagel returns, with Charles King as Mr Bones and Cliff Edwards as Mr Tambo. After an exchange with Edwards, Nagel introduces King. [Your Mother and Mine]. King tells Nagel that, as a screen lover, he will now need to use words and music, and reminds him of the serenade to Anita Page in The Broadway Melody. He tells Nagel he is handicapped. Anita Page enters and Nagel serenades her [You Were Meant For Me]. King is astonished, shrinks to a tiny figure and storms off. 

    Jack Benny makes a risqué remark to Ann Dvorak, who slaps him. Benny introduces Cliff Edwards, who demands a bigger build up. [Nobody But You]. The chorus dances.

    Benny returns and plays his violin. He is interrupted by Karl Dane and George K Arthur, dressed as sailors and laying a red carpet. Benny resumes [Your Mother and Mine], so Dane and Arthur roll up the carpet and carry it and Benny away. Benny returns with a cello, but the curtain closes.

    Benny and William Haines exchange comic remarks while Haines destroys Benny’s tuxedo. Gwen Lee enters: Haines whispers to her and she slaps Benny. Haimes and Lee leave and a disheveled Benny takes a miniature Bessie Love from his pocket. She grows to her normal size. Bessie Love talks about the demands of talking pictures, then sings and dances with chorus boys. [I Never Knew I Could Do a Thing Like That].

    Bessie Love: I Never Could Do a Thing Like That

    Jack Benny enters wearing a suit of armour. The curtains open and Conrad Nagel introduces Queen Marie Dressler and Princess Polly Moran. Dressler slaps Benny but hurts her hand on the armour. Dressler sings. [For I’m the Queen]. 

    Marie Dressler is the Queen

    Jack Benny enters in his normal clothes. While he is making an introduction, the curtains open to reveal Laurel and Hardy setting up a magic act. Benny leaves and Laurel and Hardy perform a skit which ends with Hardy and Benny covered in cake. Benny introduces Marion Davies, who enters in miniature through the legs of a line of soldiers. She is in military uniform, and sings and dances. [Tommy Atkins on Parade]. 

    The Brox Sisters enter dressed as toy soldiers and sing while the chorus marches and dances. [Strike Up the Band]. The curtain closes for the end of the first half.

    The orchestra tunes up and plays a medley. The triplets display another sign: Tableau of Jewels. James Burroughs sings offscreen [Tableau of Jewels], while a tableau displays costumes by Erté. scantily-clad Carla Laemmle dances. The scene changes to the undersea world of Neptune, leading to a skit called ‘Dance of the Sea,’ with Buster Keaton in drag. 

    Jack Benny introduces Gus Edwards, who sings [Lon Chaney Will Get You If You Don’t Watch Out] and is joined by dancing ghouls. Benny then introduces an acrobatic dance number with the Natova company, [Turkish Adagio] which he interrupts occasionally with commentary.

    Benny introduces Norma Shearer and John Gilbert in the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Director Lionel Barrymore receives a letter from the New York office saying Romeo and Juliet is old fashioned and they want it modernized. Shearer and Gilbert perform the scene again using modern slang. 

    The triplets hold a sign introducing ‘Singing [sic] in the Rain’. Cliff Edwards sings to his own ukulele accompaniment [Singin’ in the Rain] and the chorus dances in the rain. Then the Brox Sisters take up the song.

    The Brox Sisters singin’ in the rain

    Jack Benny introduces Gus Edwards, Charles King and ‘Ukulele Ike’. [Charlie, Ike and Gus]. The triplets introduce ‘The Italian Trio’ and Charlie, Ike and Gus reappear as Italians (with Cliff Edwards in drag). [The Italian Trio]. 

    Benny introduces five lovely girls: Bessie Love, Marie Dressler and Polly Moran. [Marie, Polly and Bess]. In the middle of this skit, Moran breaks away. [Sonny Boy]. Marie, Polly, Bess, Charlie, Ike and Gus sing. [The Fountain in the Park]. 

    Charles King sings to Myrtle McLaughlin. [Orange Blossom Time]. The Albertin Rasch troupe dances.

    Finally, most of the cast gathers for a reprise.  [Singin’ in the Rain].  

  • So This Is College

    Synopsis

    It is registration day at the University of Southern California and best friends Biff and Eddie are reunited after the vacation. Both have many girlfriends, but they agree to “cut out the women” until the football season is over.

    Biff (Robert Montgomery) and Eddie (Elliott Nugent) getting ready to “cut out women”

    Immediately afterwards, they each meet Babs Baxter, a new co-ed. Eddie says he will see her at 8, but Babs’s preference is for Biff, with whom she makes a date.

    Back at their fraternity house [College Days], Eddie and Biff both announce that they have met a new girl. At dinner, Biff is offended by Eddie’s intention of sharing his new girl, even though that is what they always do [Until the End].

    That evening, at Babs’s sorority house [I Don’t Want Your Kisses If I Can’t Have Your Love], Eddie and Biff discover they are interested in the same girl. A number of other young men turn up and Babs asks the other girls in the house to help her out, stipulating that Biff is hers [Campus Capers].

    Eddie and Biff continue to argue over Babs during an entomology field trip. Babs tricks Eddie into leaving them, then tricks Biff into giving her his fraternity pin.

    Babs (Sally Starr) about to get her hands on Biff’s fraternity pin

    The boys race caterpillars to decide who will accompany Babs to the Glee Club Hop. Biff wins, though by cheating. On the night of the Hop, Biff sends Eddie’s dress trousers to the cleaners so he won’t be able to go. [Sophomore Prom]. Eddie gets there by stealing a freshman’s trousers, then inserts his name into Babs’s dance card.

    Biff comes close to telling Babs he loves her. Eddie and Biff continue to compete for Babs during a tag dance [The Farmer in the Dell].

    Back at their room, Biff tells Eddie that he is serious about Babs and plans to ask her to marry him after college. Eddie agrees to back off, but then realises that he also loves Babs.

    Some time later, Babs gets Eddie to go for a drive and asks why he has been avoiding her. Eddie kisses her and she kisses him back. Biff sees Eddie and Babs arriving back very late and kissing. Eddie wants to tell Biff what has happened, but Biff pretends to be asleep.

    The following evening, on the eve of the Big Game, Eddie gives Babs his fraternity pin and Biff punches him. Babs attends the game with Bruce Nolan, and is wearing an engagement ring. When the game starts, Eddie and Biff both play badly and USC is trailing at half-time. The coach threatens to substitute them if they do not improve.

    Eddie and Biff overhear Babs telling Bruce that they both mean nothing to her. Back on the field, their play improves and USC gains ground, but Eddie is injured.  Biff wins the game with a kick in the dying seconds of the game.  Later, Eddie and Biff promise never to let a girl come between them again–and then they see a beautiful girl….

  • Marianne

    3 August 1914 in the French village of Beinville: war has been declared and Marianne says goodbye to her sweetheart, André, promising to wait for him [Marianne].

    André (George Baxter) gives his ring to Marianne (Marion Davies) before leaving for the war

    Four years later, the war is over and a company of American soldiers marches into the now-devastated village, amongst them Stagg, Soapy and Sammy. They are hungry and steal a pig that belongs to Marianne, who now runs an inn. She rescues the pig, whose name is Anatole. Lieutenant Frane, an MP, asks what is happening and Marianne lies to protect the three soldiers. All of them are attracted to Marianne [When I See My Sugar].

    Marianne prepares food for the whole company and they cram into the inn [Blondy]. Marianne resists all Stagg’s advances. Stagg, Soapy and Sammy find out that Marianne is caring for four war orphans.

    The next morning, Stagg approaches Marianne again. She is attracted to Stagg, but continues to reject him [Just You, Just Me], especially after he pretends his girl back home is Mary Pickford.

    Frane pays Marianne to cook Anatole for the General’s dinner. Stagg misinterprets the reason Frane is giving her money [Just You, Just Me]. Later on, Marianne cooks Anatole while the General and his party wait in the backroom. Stagg thinks Marianne has cooked the pig for Frane and steals it, giving it to Soapy and Sammy to take to their comrades. When Stagg discovers his mistake, he rushes to bring back the stolen pig. Marianne tries to cover for him, but Frane realizes what has happened and has Stagg arrested.

    Soapy and Sammy find Marianne very upset about what has happened to Stagg and try to cheer her up [Hang On to Me]. She wants to go and intercede with the General, but Soapy and Sammy explain that he will only see other officers.

    Marianne, as the French lieutenant, appeals to the General (Robert Edeson)

    Marianne disguises herself as a French officer and forces her way into the General’s office. Revealing who she is, she says that she accidentally gave the pig to Stagg, and the General orders that Stagg be returned to his command. Stagg is released and sent back in the General’s car with Marianne, who is still in disguise. Stagg recognizes her and tells ‘the lieutenant’ how sorry he is for getting Marianne in trouble and that he loves her. Then he kisses her.

    Later, Stagg looks for Marianne, who is washing clothes at the river. The company is about to pull out, and Stagg tries to persuade Marianne that he really loves her and wants her to go back to America with him. She tells him about her promise to André, who is a prisoner but will be home soon [Marianne]. Stagg says he will not give her up, but Marianne says she must do her duty and they part.

    The company throws a leaving party at the inn [Oo-La-La-La-La; The Girl From Noochateau; Louise].  Stagg comes in and makes another appeal to Marianne in front of the company [Just You, Just Me]. Stagg says he will wait and fight André and, at that moment, André enters the room. He is blind.

    The next morning, as the soldiers are preparing to leave, Stagg sees André go into the inn and he goes across to bid farewell to Marianne. André asks Stagg to help him persuade Marianne not to waste her life on a man who can only be a burden. Marianne takes André’s hand and says “I love you. I love you with all my heart,” looking at Stagg while she says it. Stagg rejoins his comrades and they march away. While André and Marianne are waving them off, he realises the truth.

    Months later, Stagg, Soapy and Sammy are in business together in New York. A letter arrives from Marianne. André has decided to become a priest and Marianne is coming to New York. Stagg rushes to meet her off the boat.  

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
RSS
Facebook
X (Twitter)
WhatsApp
Copy link
URL has been copied successfully!