Good News is the archetypal college musical with the outcome of a football game at its heart. There were many such in the early 1930s, including MGM’s own So This Is College, but Good News was the one based on a big Broadway hit. Indeed, it is the first MGM musical to be unequivocally based on a stage show; earlier efforts such as The Rogue Song bore little resemblance to their alleged theatrical progenitors.
Beef (Delmer Daves), Bobbie (Gus Shy), Babe (Bessie Love) and a 1920s jalopy
The studio brought out a couple of the original production stars to recreate their roles, but it would have been better if they had looked elsewhere. Mary Lawlor, as heroine Connie, is totally lacking in showbiz pizzazz, her whole performance as drab and uninteresting as Connie’s life is meant to be at the start of the picture.
Gus Shy as Bobbie, on the other hand, takes pizzazz to the level of irritation, indulging in far too much overly-theatrical schtick. He is most bearable when teamed with the always-reliable Bessie Love, making the last of her four MGM musicals.
Bessie Love’s dancing has come a long way since The Broadway Melody as she and Gus Shy declare ‘Gee, I’d Like to Make You Happy’
For once, no histrionics are required from Love and she makes the most of her comedy role as the vampish Babe, always appearing to be making up her dialogue as she goes along. She also has an excellent dance number with Shy, ‘Gee, But I’d Like to Make You Happy’.
Stanley Smith replaced the previously-announced Charles Kaley as Tom Marlowe. He is not as wooden as Kaley would have been, but is otherwise dull. The break-out star of Good News is Dorothy McNulty (later known as Penny Singleton), who gives everything to ‘The Varsity Drag’ and ‘Good News’. The former, in particular, represents a new high for MGM in the staging of showstopper numbers, with its athletic dancing and use of animation and special effects.
Flo (Dorothy McNulty) is down on her heels and up on her toes, doing the Varsity Drag
Good News suffered at the time from being released as the public was becoming bored with musicals, and several songs were filmed but not included in the final cut: fifteen songs were announced, but only eight made it.
Sadly, we can no longer view Good News in its entirety as the last reel is missing. But I think we all know that a happy ending with a final clinch are inevitable.
At Tait College, Babe tells her friends that old-fashioned Professor Kenyon has flunked Tom Marlowe in astronomy, which means he will not be able to play football for the college. Tom has another exam tomorrow, but he “doesn’t know a star from a chorus girl”.
Babe is being pursued by footballer Beef Saunders, who warns her to keep away from other boys, and especially Bobbie Randall, who is the substitute on the football team. Later, Babe tells Bobbie that he is now her boyfriend, but Bobbie is afraid of Beef.
Babe (Bessie Love) gives Beef (Delmer Daves) a piece of her mind
Beef tells Bobble to stay away from his girl, because everyone knows he cannot play football when he is upset. [Football].
Coach Bill Johnson decides they must find the best astronomy student on campus to prepare Tom for the exam. Tom suggests his girlfriend, Patricia Bingham. Coach’s assistant, Pooch Kearney, does not think that will work [I Feel Pessimistic].
In the girls’ house, Pat’s cousin, Connie Lane, is a drudge who does all the work. Pat is reluctant to spend the day teaching, and suggests Connie would be much better at it. Connie agrees to help, but Tom does not see how he can learn anything from “a four-eyed old maid”. But Connie’s friends give her a makeover, and Tom does not recognize her until she introduces herself. He immediately begins flirting with her. They agree to postpone the lesson until 8 o’clock by the boathouse.
That evening [If You’re Not Kissing Me], Tom tells Connie she has already taught him more than Professor Kenyon managed in three years [If You’re Not Kissing Me].
Tom (Stanley Smith) and Connie (Mary Lawlor), studying astronomy down by the old boathouse
The next morning, Tom tells his roommate Bobbie that he is in love with Connie. Bobbie is cynical, because Tom falls in love all the time. Tom also tells Bobbie that Beef may not be able to play in the game tomorrow, because Babe has got him so upset, so he has asked Beef to come over and teach Bobbie the signals. Tom leaves, and Babe enters through the window. When Beef arrives, Babe hides under a bed.
On the way to the exam, Tom meets Pat, who reminds him that they are engaged, and she has the proposal in writing. Pat tells Bobbie she is going to marry Tom if they win the game tomorrow.
In a Latin class, the students are left for quiet study, but Flo decides they should study dance instead of Latin [The Varsity Drag].
PLaying innocent, Babe wins all Bobbie’s money in a crap game [Gee, But I’d Like to Make You Happy].
Coach sends Pooch to ask Kenyon how Tom did in the exam. He failed, but Kenyon agrees to pass him, for the good of Tait College. Words spreads quickly that Tom has passed [Tait Song]. Tom tells the crowd that he is pleased to have beaten Professor Kenyon at his own game. Bobbie announces that Pat has promised to marry Tom tomorrow if he wins the game, causing Connie to faint.
That evening, Babe is pursuing Bobbie, who jokingly tells her that, like Tommy and Pat, they will marry if he wins the game [Gee, But I’d Like to Make You Happy].
Tommy tells Connie that he loves her but, because of his own stupidity, he has to go through with marrying Pat [The Best Things in Life Are Free].
[Good News]. Beef is injured during the game, which is not going well for Tait. At half-time, Coach asks Tom why he is not even trying to play well, but gets no answer. He agrees to let Bobbie start the second half.
Coach (Thomas E Jackson) tells Bobbie (Gus Shy) he is going on
Connie is secretly watching the game through a hole in the fence. With two minutes to go, she is happy that Tait does not have a chance and that Tom’s heart is not in the game. In the final seconds, Bobbie unexpectedly finds himself with the ball in his hands and scores a touchdown. Tait have won. Bobbie agrees to marry Babe. Tom is considered a certainty for the All-American team, but he says he does not deserve it.
At Tom and Pat’s wedding [Football], Tom lifts Pat’s veil to find that he is marrying Connie. Pat had realized that he loved Connie, and stepped aside. Tom and Connie kiss.
In Seville, a lively cantina is located across the street from the Convent of St Augustine. Captain Enrique Vargas, who has been in Africa for seven years, calls at the convent to see his sister Maria, who is a postulant. Their mother died while Enrique was away, leaving Maria Consuelo alone until she entered the convent.
Enrique looks forward to Maria Consuelo taking her vows. Maria Consuelo is about to say that she expected to go with him when he returned, but she is distracted by music from the cantina; she loves “the sweet, sweet songs that they sing in the world out there”. Enrique says she is better in the convent, away from the evil world. Maria Consuelo asks how the world can be evil with such music in it.
Juan (Ramon Novarro) performs at the cantina
After Enrique leaves, a despondent Maria Consuelo goes into the garden to listen to the music. She is in ecstasy at the singing, and prays to the Virgin to let her know if Enrique is right about the world being evil. Then she prays for another song, which draws her to look over the convent wall. She sees Juan de Dios performing in the cantina [Just for Today]. Juan is joined on stage by Lola [dance].
Juan drinks with two young women while Lola stands jealously watching. Maria Consuelo is still watching at midnight, when Juan and Lola leave the cantina. Juan insults Lola, but she accepts it because she loves him. Lola believes nothing is important in life apart from having fun.
Juan lives with a music teacher, Giuseppe Esteban, who had discovered Juan blacking shoes and took him in because he thought he had talent. Esteban was once the greatest opera singer in Spain, but he squandered his talent and lost everything. He is trying to prevent Juan from doing the same, and wants to take him to Madrid, to introduce him to the impresarios he used to know. Juan promises to work harder and see Lola only once–or twice–a week.
Esteban (Ernest Torrence) berates Juan for wasting his talent
At the market, Juan steals oranges and a mantilla and then hides in a courtyard, believing the police are after him. He finds Maria Consuelo, who has run away, putting on a dress. She recognizes Juan and tells him she would follow him anywhere to hear him sing and to hear people laughing. Maria Consuelo leaves payment for the dress.
Later, after giving Maria Consuelo the mantilla, Juan finds that she has nowhere to go and asks her to go home with him; she innocently accepts. He gives her his supper and she asks him to sing [Not Quite Good Enough for Me]. Maria Consuelo confesses that she used to watch Juan every night and that she ran away from the convent to find him. She tells him he has shown her that the world is not wicked. Lola arrives, but Juan manages to get rid of her without her seeing Maria.
Next morning, Juan hears that the police are looking everywhere for Maria. He persuades Esteban that they should all go to Madrid, with Maria Consuelo as their cook.
Lola goes to Enrique with Maria’s convent clothes, which she had found in Juan’s room. Enrique decides he will follow them to Madrid.
Later, in Madrid, Juan and Esteban continue with their singing lessons. Their landlady, La Rumbarita [Cavatina from L’Elisir d’Amore] accompanies them to the opera house, where Juan auditions for Esteban’s friend, the impresario Mischa [Questa o quella from Rigoletto]. Mischa is unimpressed, believing Juan to have “neither heart nor soul”. He says great singers must be capable of having their hearts broken. After Juan storms out, Esteban offers to pay Mischa to allow Juan to perform; it is to be their secret.
That evening, Juan takes out his anger on Maria Consuelo, criticizing her cooking. But he relents [Lonely] and tells her how much he loves her. The next morning they go to church and Juan asks the priest to arrange their marriage. Esteban tells Juan he is to sing at the opera that night.
Juan performs ‘Ah! fuyez, douce image‘ by Massenet
Enrique waits for Juan in his room. He tells Juan that he has made a harlot of his sister and that he is taking her away. Lola enters and taunts Juan. Juan convinces Enrique that no harm has come to Maria Consuelo, but the brother is still determined to take her back to the convent. Juan is finally persuaded that he must give Maria Consuelo back to God.
When Maria Consuelo returns, Juan convinces her that he has reconciled with Lola. Believing that the world is as wicked as she was told, Maria Consuela returns to Seville with her brother. Esteban persuades Juan that he must still sing at the opera that evening. [Ah! fuyez, douce image from Manon]. The performance is a triumph and Mischa offers him a contract, but Juan is still heart-broken.
Juan does not leave his bed for many days and Lola sees that he is dying. Lola returns to Seville and sees that Maria Consuelo is also ill. Lola explains that Juan tricked Maria Consuelo because her brother persuaded him it was the best thing for her. Maria Consuelo returns to Madrid with Lola and is reunited with Juan.
Jack Vibart, “the fastest young blood in town,” leaves the Florodora show with his friend Lord Rumblesham.
The six Florodora Girls
In their dressing room, the chorus girls discuss Jack and his reputation. Daisy Dell is the only one from the original Florodora sextet not to have bagged a millionaire; all she has is little Georgie Smith from the cigar store. Daisy does not want to land a man just for his money. Her friends Fanny and Maude encourage Daisy to play the game, which means playing hard to get. “When a man is fascinated, the first thing he wants to do is buy you something expensive”.
To her surprise, Daisy receives an invitation to supper from Jack. Her friends force her to refuse: if he is serious, he will come back. Daisy watches Jack smile fondly as his flowers are returned to him [Don’t Wake Me Up, I’m Dreaming].
All the girls meet their stage door johnnies, leaving Daisy alone. Georgie arrives to take Daisy for a tandem ride, and she makes him stop at the saloon to collect her father [My Mother Was a Lady].
The next day, the performers from the show and their followers are at a beach party. While Daisy is swimming, she sees Jack and pretends to be drowning. Jack ‘saves’ her and carries her back to shore, where considerable efforts are made to revive her. [Pass the Beer and Pretzels; In the Good Old Summertime; A Hot Time in the Old Town; Little Annie Rooney; Obadiah (Swing Me Just a Little Bit Higher); On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away].
Daisy (Marion Davies) has been ‘saved from drowning’ by Jack (Lawrence Gray)
Fanny and Maude continue to be cynical about Jack’s intentions and remind Daisy to make sure she gets a gift from him. When Jack comes over, Fanny and Maude refuse to leave the couple alone. They tell Jack that Daisy has dozens of beaux. Finally, Daisy and Jack go for a walk and sit together on a swing. They swing high and a rope breaks, sending them flying into the bushes.
Fanny and Maude attend a big college football game, but do not tell Daisy that Jack had invited her. They tell Jack that Daisy is at the Vanderbilt party, but then she arrives with Georgie on the tandem.
Georgie points out Harry Fontaine, the big gambler, who is one of his customers. Jack tells Fanny and Maude that Fontaine is one of the biggest crooks in racing. Daisy waves to Jack, but he acknowledges her frostily. Fontaine gets Georgie drunk and then approaches Daisy. The crowd surges and Daisy ends up on Fontaine’s arm. Jack sees Fontaine making advances, and goes over to take Daisy away.
On the ride home Daisy tells Jack that her friends had not passed on his invitation to the game. She explains that they have been trying to teach her how to fascinate a rich man. After she tells him the truth about herself, Jack declares that now he will be the one who has designs on her. Jack’s mother passes in another carriage and wonders who Daisy can be. Jack is reluctant to tell Daisy who the girl riding with his mother was.
At home, Mrs Vibart questions Jack, who says Daisy is “just one of the Florodora sextet”. She asks Jack when he is going to stop philandering and marry Constance. He says he will marry her in June, and assures her that a man in his position could never take a girl like Daisy seriously.
The next day Jack arrives to collect Daisy in his horseless carriage and takes her for tea [You’re My Kind of a Girl]. Jack gives Daisy a bracelet and tries to persuade her to let him find her an apartment where he can stay over. Daisy is offended, gives back the bracelet and slaps him.
Some time later, Rumblesham calls backstage to see Daisy. He invites her to Mrs Commodore Carraway’s ball. Fanny and Maude persuade her to go and dress her up in a costume from the show.
Daisy and Lord Rumblesham (Claude Allister) at Mrs Commodore Carraway’s Ball
Daisy is approached by Jack at the ball, but she refuses to talk to him. Rumblesham tells Daisy that Jack has been engaged to Constance for a long time. Daisy runs away and Jack follows her. He apologizes to her for his behaviour, and tells her that, while originally he had been playing with her, he now realizes that he loves her. His mother wants him to marry Constance for her money, but when his horse Firebird wins the sweepstake tomorrow, he will have enough money to ignore his mother and set himself up in business.
But Fontaine has got to Firebird’s jockey and the horse does not win. Jack loses everything. At a party to mark Daisy and Jack’s engagement, he asks Rumblesham not to tell Daisy what has happened.
Mrs Vibart sends a carriage for Daisy and tells her that Jack lost their entire fortune at the races. She and her daughters can only be saved from ruin if Jack marries Constance. Daisy agrees to give up Jack.
The other Florodora girls assume the engagement is off because Daisy will not marry a poor man. Daisy has asked Fontaine to take her to a slumming ball on the Bowery. She does not enjoy being with Fontaine, but pretends to be when Jack enters. Jack asks her to come away with him, but she tells him they are through because she is not fool enough to take him when he is broke. Jack leaves and Fontaine comforts her.
Four months later, Fanny and Maude tell Daisy they are engaged. Jack has gone into the horseless carriage business and made a fortune, so he has not married Constance. [Tell Me Pretty Maiden]. Jack tries to speak to Daisy and absentmindedly walks onto the stage with her. He says he loves her and asks her to marry him. When she refuses, Jack picks her up and carries her outside, where the waiting Mrs Vibart says “My dear, this time, we have come for you”.
In a Madrid nightclub, playboy Ricardo watches Goyita sing [Give Me All Your Love (?)] while the women at another table gossip about him. Ricardo rushes backstage and embraces Goyita.
Ricardo (Ramon Novarro) listens to Goyita sing while the women behind talk about him
Meanwhile, Almadar, the self-proclaimed “greatest torero in all Spain”, arrives at the nightclub and demands that Goyita sing for him. Going backstage to fetch her, Almadar finds her in Ricardo’s arms. They quarrel and, back amongst the diners, a fight ensues.
Ricardo arrives home the next morning and tells the butler that he has been with the police all night. He gets into bed fully clothed to hide from his father, the Marques de Castelar, but the Marques sees through the ruse. Ricardo claims to have been in a taxi accident, but his father already knows the truth from the newspaper. Tired of his son’s behaviour, the Marques tells him he must leave Madrid and continue his law studies at the university at Santiago de Compostela. He is to board at the best student accommodation, the House of Troy.
Later, students arrive at the House of Troy [Santiago]. They see all Ricardo’s luggage and are told it belongs to the Marques of Castelar. They carry it to his room and three of them ransack the contents. Ricardo finds them going through his things, but they are reassured when he tells them he is not the Marques de Castelar. The students find his fur coat, which they decide to pawn, with Ricardo’s encouragement. Octavio comes in to complain about the noise, and says he will have nothing to do with Ricardo because of his bad reputation.
Then Ernesto Rivas arrives with an invitation for Ricardo from his father. Ricardo explains to his housemates that the Marques is his father, and assures them that he was amused by what they did. Octavio insults him and leaves.
Ricardo objects to having a picture in his room, until he learns it is Antonio, who died bravely in an illegal duel. He learns that the motto of the house is Above All, Honour [Santiago].
DoñaConcha (Beryl Mercer) defends young men sewing wild oats to Carmina (Dorothy Jordan) and the disapproving Don Rivas (William V Mong)
Later, Ricardo is to visit Senor Rivas and his daughter, Carmina, who has been told about his reputation by Octavio. Her aunt, Doña Concha, tells her there is nothing wrong with a few wild oats. Ricardo arrives with Ernesto and hears Carmina playing the harp. She asks him if he will not find Santiago dull compared to Madrid. Later, when they are talking alone, Ricardo wonders why Carmina does not like him. She tells him that standards of conduct are different in Santiago.
Octavio arrives and Ricardo learns that he is Carmina’s fiance. Ricardo explains that he is unable to stay for dinner because of a prior engagement at a student dinner. Ernesto has also been invited, but Octavio reveals the dinner is to be held in a wine shop and Rivas tells his son not to go.
Later, at the dinner, Ricardo is telling his friends how provincial and self-satisfied Carmina is when Ernesto enters and overhears. Ricardo rushes after him and persuades him that, in fact, he likes Carmina very much, but that she hurt his vanity. They return to the table [Smile While We May].
In Madrid, Goyita receives a letter from Ricardo, asking her to come to Santiago.
Later, at a costume ball, Ricardo helps his friend Corpulento serenade a girl [Into My Heart], but gives away the deception when he is distracted by seeing Carmina. He sings to her and she is pleased, though pretends not to be. Ernesto tells Ricardo that his sister thought the serenade was wonderful. At Ernesto’s insistence, Ricardo dances with Carmina. He takes her into the garden and asks if they can be friends. Carmina agrees, and when Octavio comes to remind her they are to dance, she refuses to go in.
Octavio tries to provoke a quarrel with Ricardo, and Carmina decides to go home. Ricardo prevents Octavio from following her and pushes him into a fountain.
Ricardo prepares to push Octavio (Herbert Clark) into the fountain
Back in her room, Carmina turns a picture of Octavio face down. Ricardo sits on the branch of a tree outside her room and serenades her [Dark Night]. On her balcony, he rips off Octavio’s betrothal bracelet, declares his love for Carmina and compels her to say she loves him before he will let her return to her room.
Doña Concha, who was chaperoning Carmina, returns from the ball and hears Ricardo singing outside. Carmina refuses to admit she likes Ricardo and says he followed her home, to which Doña Concha replies that that shows how interested he is. She tells Carmina that Octavio is not a suitable husband, but that Ricardo is. Carmina says Ricardo is too sure of himself and her aunt advises her to make him less sure of himself by playing hard to get.
Much later, Ricardo complains to Ernesto that all his letters to Carmina are returned unopened, and Ernesto tells him she pretends to be out when he calls at the house. To Ricardo’s surprise, Goyita arrives at the house; he has forgotten he invited her. Then, the Marques de Castelar’s car pulls up outside. Ricardo hides Goyita in his wardrobe. Ricardo has told his father in a letter that he is really in love with Carmina and the Marques approves. Inside the wardrobe, Goyita does not like what she is hearing.
The Marques has brought a betrothal bracelet for Carmina. Ricardo tries to persuade his father to go for a walk and the Marques reveals he has already been to the Rivas house and seen Carmina. He has arranged the marriage with her father, but Ricardo tells him he is no longer sure that Carmina is in love with him. The Marques laughs this off. Ricardo tells Goyita to stay in his room while he goes out with his father.
Carmina is getting ready to greet Ricardo when he and the Marques arrive. She continues to be off-hand with him. Back in Ricardo’s room, Goyita is spotted by Octavio.
Senor Rivas sends Ricardo to meet Carmina in the garden, where she finally acknowledges she loves him; she is wearing his bracelet. Octavio arrives during dinner and tells Rivas about Goyita. Ricardo is called to the library, after which the Marques hears shouting. Octavio states that Ricardo has come straight from the arms of a disreputable woman and says he can prove it. They all go to Ricardo’s room, where Goyita is waiting in her underskirt. She tells the Marques she is there because Ricardo asked her to come. Carmina hears everything and returns Ricardo’s bracelet. The Marques will not listen to any explanation, and leaves. Ernesto slaps Ricardo, meaning there must be a duel.
Carmina confesses her love to the wounded Ricardo
The next morning, Carmina learns about the duel and rushes to stop it, but she is too late. Ricardo fires into the air and is wounded himself. Carmina spurns Ricardo until she sees that he is hurt, when she begs his forgiveness and tells him she loves him. Later, Ricardo and Carmina are married [Santiago].
[The Rogue Song is a lost film. The following is a summary based on a few extant segments and the soundtrack, which has survived.]
The Russian Empire in 1910 [Beyond the Dawn]. Yegor is the chief of a bandit group known as the Robbing Larks, and they are celebrating a successful raid. They go to the inn of Ossman to trade stolen goods for gold.
Yegor (Laurence Tibbett), surrounded by his men
Two of Yegor’s henchmen are Ali-Bek and Murza Bek. The latter claims to have saved Yegor’s father from mountain lions by slapping them to death.
Ossman the innkeeper tells Yegor that he has two female guests: an Imperial Princess and a Serene Countess. Princess Vera and Countess Tatiana hear the bandits singing in the room below. Tatiana has previously seen Yegor from the window and tells their servant Petrovna to bring to them “the tall, strong one who sings”. [The Rogue Song].
Meeting Vera and Tatiana, Yegor denies the Robbing Larks are thieves because they pay for what they take with a song. Yegor tells them he is from a line of bandits [Love Comes Like Bird On the Wing]. Tatiana offers to pay for the song, but Yegor says all he wants is the young lady’s hat with a funny little feather on it. Vera refuses and goes to bed, advising Tatiana to send Yegor on his way. Tatiana flirts with Yegor and gives him a string of pearls. To her annoyance, Yegor then says good night and leaves.
Yegor asks Princess Vera (Catherine Dale Owen) for her hat
Ossman subsequently tells Tatiana she will never be able to find the bandits’ hideout, so she decides instead to wait until Yegor tries to dispose of the pearls, when she will get her revenge. Ossman agrees to signal the captain of Cossacks so that Yegor can be arrested.
Murza-Bek tries to show Ali-Bek how to close a door properly, causing snow from the roof to fall on him.
Yegor climbs in through Vera’s window. He tells her he has come for her hat, then leaves.
Murza-Bek falls into a barrel of ice water after Ali-Bek tries to help him mount his horse.
Yegor visits his mother and his sister Nadja. He gives his mother the pearls, which he tells her came from a countess, and gives the hat to Nadja. He tells his sister the hat came from the daughter of a Russian prince, and she replies that she wants nothing to do with princes. Yegor deduces that Nadja is in love. She says she “hates” someone, but will say no more. Yegor promises to bring her a Parisian nightdress from the thieves’ market.
Ossman is at the thieves’ market with a Cossack captain. He has been pointing out thieves to be hanged, but it is Yegor the captain wants. Yegor arrives at the market and leaves Murza-Bek and Ali-Bek in charge of his horse. [The Narrative].
Vera warns Yegor that the Cossacks are there to arrest him for stealing Tatiana’s pearls. She knows he did not steal them. Yegor sends Vera to a room to wait for him while he completes some business.
The captain questions Murza-Bek and Ali-Bek about Yegor’s horse and they deny knowledge of everything. He orders their arrest and they flee.
Yegor tells Vera about his mother and sister, the only women he allows in his house. He has always avoided other women but he tells Vera he could love her [The White Dove].
Ali-Bek and Murzak-Bek buy cheese, but are chased by insects. When Murzak-Bek tries to swat a bee, he accidentally slaps their mule, which runs away.
Ossman is found dead. A note (?) says “Yegor punishes his betrayers”.
Vera asks Yegor if he is running away and he replies that his head stays on his body, the better to kiss her.
The Cossacks pursue Yegor on horseback, but he loses them and heads for home. He finds his mother grieving, and Nadja bleeding from self-inflicted dagger wounds. She has been raped by Prince Serge.
Yegor’s sister Nadja (Florence Lake) commits suicide after being raped
Yegor searches for Serge. One of his men tells him Tatiana is holding a ball that evening and Serge is bound to be there. Yegor breaks into Tatiana’s room and finds her there. He returns the necklace and offers to sing at the ball. [Swan Ballet]. After a ballet is performed, Tatiana announces to her guests that they are to be entertained by a singing bandit.
Vera is introduced to Princess Alexandra, and in turn introduces her brother, Prince Serge. Vera is shocked when Yegor walks onto the stage. Yegor sings a song telling Nadja’s story [Once in the Georgian Hills]. As he sings, his anger increases towards the man who seduced Nadja. Yegor follows Serge from the room and chases him.
[Intermission].
Yegor confronts Serge, and strangles him. Vera enters and finds Serge dead. She will not listen to Yegor’s explanation. Vera screams and Yegor flees, taking her with him. He tells her she will stay with him in a place her world can never find. She has shown no pity for Nadja, so she will work as a servant.
Later, Yegor mocks Vera, but then sings to her [When I’m Looking at You], revealing that he still loves her.
The bandits cross the desert, and Ali-Bek attempts to shave Murzak-Bek.
Ali-Bek(Stan Laurel), about to get Murza-Bek (Oliver Hardy) into another fine mess
Yegor is unable to break Vera’s spirit. Yegor’s mother tells him no good will come of what he is doing to a woman he still loves.
Vera attempts to seduce Hassan, Yegor’s right hand man. Yegor sees what she is doing and warns her to stop. During a terrible storm, Yegor carries Vera to safety. Vera tells Yegor that she does not hate him, because only the living can hate. Yegor pleads with her not to be so unhappy, and offers to take her to a lake in the mountains that she used to visit as a child.
Vera persuades Hassan to help her escape, on the understanding that no harm shall come to Yegor. At the mountain lake, Yegor is captured, causing Hassan to kill himself. Yegor is whipped in public [The Lash; When I’m Looking at You ; The Narrative].
The public whipping of Yegor
Vera goes to Yegor in his cell and asks him to forgive her. He says there is nothing to forgive and that they are even now.
A tree concealing Ali-Bek and Murzak-Bek collapses, dumping them into the lake.
Vera has Yegor released and says goodbye to him. They express the hope that, at some future time, they can be together. Yegor rides towards the sunset [When I’m Looking at You].
Murzak-Bek tells the bandits that Yegor is dead and he is now their leader. The bandits laugh, then hear Yegor singing [The Rogue Song]. Ali-Bek and Murzak-Bek resume their normal duties.
Successful songwriter Danny Regan bumps into Jack Benny while coming out of the subway, then fails to persuade a drunk to sing one of his songs. He calls into a theatre to watch Fanny Kaye perform one of his numbers [A Couple of Birds with the Same Thing in Mind]. He sits next to, and admires, an attractive young woman, but she leaves before the end of the number.
Danny Regan (Lawrence Gray) bumps into Jack Benny for no apparent reason
Finally, Danny calls at the office of his partner Bernie, a publisher and agent, who is busy dictating telegrams. His old friend Emma Gray is working there and he starts to tell her about the girl he has just seen, until she has to stop and help Bernie.
Cliff ‘Ukelele Ike’ Edwards looks in and talks to Danny about the song he is performing. Bernie recalls how it was Emma who first introduced him to Danny as a songwriter with potential.
Fanny Kaye is planning to come over and listen to a new song Danny has written for her. Emma asks Danny to finish his story about the girl, even though it is clearly painful to her. Fanny arrives with her pianist, Andy Little. It seems Fanny always marries her pianists and she has her eyes on Andy.
Danny and Emma demonstrate the new number [Dust]. Soon, the song has been turned into a production number for Fanny [Dust]. During the performance, Danny spots the young woman he saw earlier sitting in a box.
Bernie (Lee Kohlmar) chats to his partner Danny, while devoted Emma (Wynne Gibson, in the Bessie Love part) looks on devotedly
Fanny calls Danny onto the stage and he nervously thanks the audience, while being admired by the young woman. Later, Danny and Emma are dancing at a nightclub when he sees the young woman again. Her name is Pat Thayer, and she is accompanied by Rod Peck. Danny invites Pat and Rod to his table, where he introduces them to Fanny and Andy. Pat lies about where she first met Danny, claiming to have almost killed him with her car.
Danny is invited to perform one of his songs [Girl Trouble]. At the table, Pat looks on admiringly while Emma looks troubled. Danny suggests Andy sing, and Andy asks Emma to join him in a more cynical version of the song [Girl Trouble].
Danny and Pat dance, and he learns that she is part of a wealthy oil family. Rod tells Emma that he has been engaged to Pat a dozen times, on and off. The orchestra plays one of Danny’s songs [The Better Things in Life]. Later, Emma tries unsuccessfully to warn Danny that Pat may not be as serious as he is.
Pat visits Danny at his office [Leave It That Way]. Danny proposes and Pat accepts. She agrees to keep it secret so they can have a quiet wedding. Emma helps Danny choose a ring, and they see Pat and Rod at the same store. Pat is choosing favours for the bridesmaids, and tells Danny they cannot really have a small wedding, but must have a big affair with a rehearsal the night before.
At the rehearsal, the older guests gossip that the marriage will not last, and the servants agree. [The Whole Darned Thing’s for You]. Danny overhears Pat flirting with Rod, who tells her she does not love Danny any more than any of the other men she has played with. Pat says the marriage will be an experiment to find out if that is true. If it fails, she will come back to Rod. Later, Danny breaks up the rehearsal of the ceremony and repeats Pat’s own words back to her.
Pat (Judith Wood) explains her cunning plan to Rod (Kenneth Thomson)
Some days later, Emma and Bernie are worried because no one knows where Danny is. Fanny tells them she and Andy are getting married, which is news to Andy. Danny calls and Emma rushes to his apartment. She finds him drunk and feeling cynical about love. Then he tells Emma he loves her and they should get married straight away.
The next morning, Emma tells Danny that he passed out after the ceremony and she slept in the other room. She asks him if he loves her and laughs when he says yes. Pat arrives, at Emma’s invitation. Emma tells Danny she was not fooled by him and there was no wedding. She says Pat really loves him and leaves them alone together. Danny tells Pat she is sweet, but then rushes out after Emma.
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 Ma 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.
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].
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].
