The Musicals of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Category: Synopsis

  • Flying High

    The Synopsis

    Pansy Potts is a waitress in a diner at the 10th Annual Airshow. A customer, ‘Sport’ Wardell, works for the Pilot’s Gazette, in which Pansy had advertised unsuccessfully for an aviator to marry. She tells Sport she came to the city to raise children, and is prepared to pay $500 for an aviator. 

    Nearby, inventor Rusty Krouse, is working on his Aerocopter, a vertical take-off plane, but has never flown it because he is afraid of flying. Sport befriends Rusty after saving him from a bully. [I’ll Make a Happy Landing (the Lucky Day I Land You)]. Sport thinks the Aerocopter is a good idea and goes into partnership with Rusty, but they are dogged by Rusty’s creditors. 

    Rusty Krause (Bert Lahr) is experiencing some problems with his Aerocopter
    Rusty Krause (Bert Lahr) is experiencing some problems with his Aerocopter

    Sport issues a bad cheque to a creditor who threatens him with jail if it bounces, so Sport needs to get £1,000 in the bank before morning. He is about to sell stock in the company to Fred Smith when he discovers that Smith has no cash either. But when Sport meets Fred’s daughter Eileen, he makes Fred vice-president of the company. Eileen works at the aviation school. 

    Fred Smith (Guy Kibbee) is being persuaded to invest by Sport Wardell (Pat O'Brien), while Rusty listens and learns
    Fred Smith (Guy Kibbee) is being persuaded to invest by Sport Wardell (Pat O’Brien), while Rusty listens and learns

    Sport persuades Rusty to marry Pansy, to get hold of her $500. Sport makes the proposition to Pansy, but she wants to see Rusty before agreeing. He shows her a photograph of Clark Gable and Pansy gives Sport the money.  

    Pansy meets Rusty and at first thinks he has a face meant to frighten women and children, but she becomes excited when she hears he is a mechanic. She decides she will make do with Rusty [It’ll Be the First Time for Me]. 

    Mrs Smith finds Eileen with Sport and warns her that “those windy guys always end up in jail”. 

    Sport persuades Rusty that the only way he can avoid marrying Pansy is to fly the Aerocopter and win the prize money. [song]. Trying to register as an aviator, Rusty finds himself in the office of Doctor Brown, who carries out a medical examination. 

    Sport and Eileen are at a ball [We’ll Dance Until the Dawn]. Rusty is there and Pansy finds him. She says if he will marry her tonight, she will never ask him again. 

    Sport asks Eileen to marry him, but then Sport and Fred are arrested for selling fake stock. Sport tells Rusty everything will be all right if he wins the meet tomorrow. 

    Rusty marries Pansy, so they can use her money to bail Sport and Fred.

    The next day, the Aerocopter is ready for the altitude flight. Rusty is late because he has to wrestle with Pansy to get out of the bridal suite. After causing havoc on the ground, the Aerocopter finally flies upwards, with Pansy as a passenger. The landing gear breaks and the plane continues to rise. Rusty makes Pansy use the only parachute, and the high altitude sends him to sleep. 

    Pansy Potts (Charlotte Greenwood), taking a flight in the Aerocopter with Rusty
    Pansy Potts (Charlotte Greenwood), taking a flight in the Aerocopter with Rusty

    On the ground, Fred celebrates the Aerocopter’s victory. At over 50,000 feet, sleet wakes up Rusty. He syphons off the Aerocopter’s fuel, so that it begins to fall, passing Pansy on the way down. The Aerocopter crashes, but Rusty emerges unscathed and is joined by Pansy [I’ll Make a Happy Landing (the Lucky Day I Land You)]. Sport and Eileen kiss.

  • The Prodigal

    The Synopsis

    Jeff Farraday is a hobo, riding trains with his friends Doc and Snipe. He often tells them that his family owns a great mansion in the South, but they do not believe him. 

    Snipe (Cliff Edwards) and Doc (Roland Young) listen to Jeff (Lawrence Tibbett) talk about his home

    Some time later, Jeff returns home and is given a lift on a wagon by Hokey. As Jeff walks the final stretch, his mother Cynthia is inside the house, with her son Rodman, her daughter Christine, Christine’s husband George, and Carter Jerome, a friend of Rodman’s. Antonia, Rodman’s wife, is keeping them all waiting while she dresses. 

    Carter sneaks upstairs to Antonia, and jokes that he is safe from discovery because Rodman never enters Antonia’s bedroom. Carter asks her to go away with him because she is unhappy with Rodman. She refuses, even when Carter tells her he loves her. 

    Christine sends Rodman upstairs to hurry Antonia. He does not see Carter, who is on the balcony. Rodman criticizes Antonia’s dress and presumes she has bought it for some other man. Antonia insists she has had no lovers since she married him. She asks him to divorce her so she can go away, but Rodman refuses. When she tells him how unhappy she is, he slaps her face. Rodman leaves, and Antonia tells Carter she will go away with him tomorrow night. 

    Jeff is reunited with his mother, Cynthia Farraday (Emma Dunn)

    Cynthia does not go out with the younger people, and is reunited with Jeff after five years. She forces him to take a bath and burns his dirty clothes, giving him some of Rodman’s. Jeff tells Cynthia he plans to leave before the family returns, but she tempts him with fried chicken. They talk in vague terms about why Jeff had to flee the town; it had something to do with Rodman. Finally, Jeff falls asleep. 

    At breakfast the next morning, the family discusses Jeff’s return. Christine says he is irresponsible, but Cynthia insists he can stay for as long as he wishes. 

    Jeff plays with Christine’s children and they break his bed. While the family goes to church, Jeff is reunited with the servants and meets Hokey again. Antonia has been riding all morning and meets Jeff when she returns. They have a late breakfast and get along well. But when Jeff asks how she came to marry a stuffed short like Rodman, Antonia leaves to join the family at church. 

    Jeff finds Doc and Snipe hiding from the dog, and invites them into the house. After an enormous breakfast, while Jeff goes to fetch drinks, Doc relieves Snipe of the silverware he has pocketed. 

    Antonia returns and finds them singing round the piano [Without a Song]. Rodman, Christine and George return. 

    Jeff arranges to jump a train with Doc and Snipe that evening. Jeff and Rodman are soon quarrelling. Jeff assures his brother that he will be leaving soon. Cynthia interrupts their argument and expresses her pleasure at having all her children together [Home Sweet Home]. 

    That evening, Jeff is about to board a freight train with his friends when he sees Antonia getting onto a passenger train with Carter. Antonia confesses to Carter that she does not love him, but she has to get away. Jeff, having realised what is happening, lures Carter away, then takes Antonia off the train. He takes her back to the house and explains why he had to stop her from ruining her life. 

    Back at the house, Antonia tells Rodman she has been with Jeff and he forbids her from having anything to do with his brother. Later, while Antonia rides with the local hunt, Jeff, Doc, Snipe and Hokey are fishing on the river. They see the fox and hide it from the hunt. Antonia sees what they have done and joins them. 

    Antonia (Esther Ralston) looks on as Jeff quarrels with his brother Rodman (Purnell Pratt)

    Carter finds Jeff and Antonia together and warns Jeff to keep out of other people’s business. Carter accuses Jeff of being Antonia’s lover and Jeff knocks him down. Rodman rides up and Jeff takes the blame for the altercation, apologizing to Carter. Before they leave, Carter goads Jeff again with the fact that he loves his brother’s wife. Jeff tells Doc and Snipe that they are leaving soon. 

    At the Hunt Ball that evening, Cynthia asks Jeff why he is so restless. Jeff tells her he promised to look in at a party being held by Naomie, one of the servants. Rodman accuses Antonia of snubbing Carter because she hates his friends. When Antonia denies that Jeff was responsible for the afternoon’s fight, Rodman leaves to fetch Carter. 

    At Naomi’s party, the food is being prepared [Chitlins]. Jeff and his friends arrive and Hokey gets involved in a fight. A woman goes into labour and Doc is required to help with the delivery. [By the Riverside (?)]. The baby is born [A Child is Born]. 

    Antonia arrives. Jeff walks her back to the house and tells her he is leaving. They kiss and Antonia tells Jeff that he loves her and asks him to take her with him. But Jeff explains that, whatever his feelings about Rodman, he cannot take his brother’s wife. Back at the house, Rodman confronts them and accuses Jeff of running true to form. Jeff admits that he loves Antonia and would be happy to work to support her, but that he has to leave. Cynthia interrupts and tells them that Jeff going away will not fix anything. She tells Rodman, against his protests, that he must divorce Antonia because she does not love him. She tells Jeff to get wandering out of his system and to come back after the divorce. Jeff leaves with Doc and Snipe [Without a Song].

  • New Moon (1930)

    The Synopsis

    The ocean liner New Moon is on the Caspian Sea, sailing to the Russian port of Krasnov. A party of Russian soldiers are on board [Gypsy Chorus]. Lieutenant Michael Petroff, a womanizer, is at a bar, flirting in the mirror with a young woman. He is warned that the woman is Princess Tanya Strogoff, who is accompanied by her uncle, Count Igor, and her aunt, Countess Anastasia. Michael immediately leaves, but Tanya follows him out. 

    Michael Petroff entertains his fellow travellers with the bawdy ‘Farmer’s Daughter’

    Anastasia panics when she notices Tanya’s absence, knowing what always happens when her niece disappears. 

    Tanya watches Michael sing with a crowd of gypsies and soldiers [Farmer’s Daughter]; the song is in a gypsy language and is clearly risqué. Michael notices Tanya just as she is being dragged away by her aunt. He fears he will be in trouble and explains to his orderly, Potkin, that he does not like princesses, because they think they are different from other women. 

    Michael spots a beautiful young woman and follows her, entering a room where he finds Tanya waiting. She interrogates him about the song he was singing, asking to hear the lyrics, so Michael cleans them up. Tanya then reveals that she understands the gypsy language and is fully aware of how suggestive the words are [Farmer’s Daughter]. Michael realizes that Tanya had used her servant to lure him into the room. 

    They drink and talk, and Michael confesses that he had almost forgotten that she was a princess. Tanya offers to help him forget altogether and they kiss. Igor knocks at the door. Anastasia has sent him to ask what Tanya is doing, but the insouciant Igor clearly knows exactly what is going on. He returns to his cabin and, when Anastasia asks if Tanya is in bed, replies “not yet”. 

    On the last evening of the voyage, Michael and Tanya are alone on deck, where she continues to flirt with him. Michael asks when they will be able to stop pretending that they do not love each other. Tanya promises that it will be the following day. Tanya is prevailed upon to sing and she asks Michael to join her [Wanting You]. 

    Princess Tanya Strogoff (Grace Moore), getting along nicely with Michael

    In Krasnov, Tanya allows Michael to believe that they will see each other again, but he soon realizes that she has come to Krasnov to marry the wealthy governor, Boris Brusiloff. Michael drowns his sorrows in a tavern [Lover Come Back to Me]. 

    At the governor’s palace, a ball is being held in Tanya’s honour. Igor warns his niece to keep out of dark corners until the marriage is in the bag. Tanya is very coy with Boris, to the extent that he calls her prudish [One Kiss]. Michael crashes the ball and dances with Tanya, who tries to convince him they merely had a shipboard flirtation. He leads her into a private room, and Igor is unable to prevent Boris from following. Boris makes it clear that he understands what happened on the ship and does not care. Tanya pretends Michael was returning her lost bracelet, and Boris rewards him by appointing him to command Fort Darvaz. This is a garrison in the Caucasus Mountains where the soldiers have been known to murder their officers. 

    Boris announces his forthcoming marriage and Michael expresses his congratulations by taking to the stage and singing an insulting song [What Is Your Price Madam?]. Tanya says she will not forget the insult. 

    The next day, Michael and a handful of troops arrive at Fort Darvaz, only to see the current commander rush through the gates, blinded in both eyes. He falls to his death. Michael quells the mutiny by killing anyone who raises a hand against him. 

    Michael is in urgent need of some stout-hearted men

    Later, observers at the fort see Turkomans from across the border massing for an attack. Tanya arrives unexpectedly and lashes Michael across the face in payment for his insult. Michael tells Tanya and Igor, who has driven her, that they must leave immediately as an attack is pending. Potkin rides in, badly wounded, to report 1500 Turkomans massing in the valley. Michael orders a telegram sent to the governor, but the lines are cut and it is unclear whether or not the message got through. 

    It is now too late for Tanya and Igor to leave. Potkin dies, and the priest suggests that they all prepare themselves for death, as the fort is surrounded.Tanya apologizes to Michael for being the kind of person she is, and tells him that if she had her time over again, she would do things very differently. They embrace and are married by the priest. 

    Michael tells his men that their only chance is a surprise attack on the enemy during the night. The soldiers are scornful at first, but Michael wins them round [Stout Hearted Men]. They ride out and launch their attack; the fighting is fierce and bloody. 

    The next morning, Tanya and Igor are waiting for Michael to return. Boris arrives with reinforcements, and assumes that Michael and the garrison have deserted. Tanya disdainfully tells him the truth. One soldier has been found and he reports that there are no other survivors. Tanya tells Boris that she loved Michael, but Boris says it does not matter. He sends a telegram to the Czar, recommending three medals for Michael. Tanya cannot stop herself looking everywhere for Michael [Lover Come Back to Me]. She hears the voices of Michael and his troops [Lover Come Back to Me]. 

    Igor secures a promotion for Michael and tells Boris that Tanya and Michael are married. Tanya has rushed to meet Michael and they ride into the fort together. With sang-froid, Boris toasts them.

  • A Lady’s Morals

    The Synopsis

    World-famous soprano Jenny Lind and her party arrive at a Swedish inn. Jenny wants a room with a piano, but the only one suitable has already been taken by Paul Brandt, a young composer. Jenny’s companion, Pauline, demands that Paul surrender the room to the world’s greatest singer, but he pretends he has never heard of Jenny Lind. Jenny finds her friend’s behaviour embarrassing. Paul and Jenny meet and, after being arrogant and flirtatious, Paul agrees to let her have the room. Jenny is intrigued by him. 

    Jenny Lind (Grace Moore)

    At dinner, Paul presents Jenny with a song and asks her to sing it. She refuses, but then he makes it a condition of having his room. When Jenny sings [It Is Destiny], Paul constantly corrects her style. After the song, Paul kisses Jenny, who slaps him. He says he kissed her because he has always wanted someone to sing his song like that. He adds that he fell in love with her the moment he saw her and that they have not met by accident. Paul leaves, but he assures Jenny that they shall meet again. 

    In Malmo, Jenny performs in Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment [Rataplan]. During the performance, Jenny discovers that Paul is now a member of the chorus. She invites him to supper [Student’s Song]. Paul gets rid of Josephine, but Jenny says she cannot dine with him alone [Oh, Why?]. Paul reveals that, far from not knowing who she is, he has long carried her picture with him. He tells her again that he adores her, and Jenny admits she has been thinking about him since the inn. She says they must both be mad. She talks about marriage, but he says he could never be the husband of a great prima donna. Paul warns Jenny that one day the world will turn its affections elsewhere, but that he will always love her. She asks him to go. 

    Paul Brandt (Reginald Denny) and Jenny, falling in love

    Much later, in Italy at the end of a long tour, Jenny is about to perform Norma. She hears Rosatti, a famous Italian prima donna, get a rapturous welcome as she takes her seat in the audience. The performance begins [Casta Diva], with Paul also in the audience. An encore is demanded, but Jenny says she is exhausted and her throat hurts; she does not want to go back on. She is persuaded to sing again [Casta Diva], but her voice goes. The curtain is brought down and Jenny collapses. The crowd calls for Rosatti. Paul defends Jenny and a fight breaks out. Paul is struck hard on the head and passes out. Backstage, Jenny hears Rosatti complete the performance. 

    Later, Paul brings his uncle, the maestro Garcia, to help Jenny recover her voice. Paul is walking unsteadily. After Paul has left, the maestro accidentally reveals that his nephew’s sight has been impaired since the fight in the theatre. Paul will not get the help he needs because all he can think about is helping Jenny. 

    Back in Sweden [Swedish Pastorale], Jenny is with Paul, whose eyes have been bandaged for two months, following treatment. When the doctor removes the bandages, Paul pretends that he can see for the sake of Jenny, but confesses the truth to the doctor, who says the blindness will be permanent. Before Paul can tell Jenny the truth, she reveals that her voice has returned [It Is Destiny]. Paul slips away, leaving a note telling Jenny that he loves her but must go. 

    Jenny and Paul, following the operation intended to restore his sight

    Jenny makes her debut in the United States, where she is promoted by P T Barnum. Paul is also in America. He is blind, performing his music in a bar. Olaf, a fellow Swede and friend of Paul’s, breaks into Jenny’s dressing room. He has brought one of his blind friend’s songs, hoping that Jenny will buy it and sing it. Josephine takes the song and throws him out. Jenny sees Paul’s name on the manuscript and realizes that he is blind. Jenny tells Josephine to find Olaf. 

    While Jenny sings [Lovely Hour], Paul is in a huge crowd outside the theatre who are listening through the open windows. Later, Olaf tricks Paul into meeting Jenny. She gently admonishes Paul for not telling her about his blindness, and they embrace.                       

  • Madam Satan

    The Synopsis

    Socialite Angela Brooks asks her maid, Martha, if it is worthwhile for a wife to try and please her husband. They both agree it is impossible to please a husband. 

    Bob Brooks arrives home drunk after a night on the town with his friend Jimmy Wade. Angela reads in the paper that she, Bob and Jimmy were arrested during the night for drunk driving, but she was not out with Bob. Angela finds a card from Trixie in Bob’s pocket, but he tells a disbelieving Angela that Trixie is Jimmy’s new wife. Angela leaves, and Jimmy asks Bob why he runs around with Trixie when he has a wife like Angela. 

    Jimmy Wade (Roland Young), Bob Brooks (Reginald Denny) and, under the blanket, Angela Brooks (Kay Johnson)

    That evening, Bob sleeps when he and Angela were supposed to be going to a concert. Angela tells Martha she is beaten. Martha’s advice is to make herself so attractive to Bob that he will not want to leave her [Live and Love Today]. But that does not meet Angela’s ideal of true love. 

    Bob complains that when Angela became his wife, she stopped being his pal and became cold:”Love can’t be kept in cold storage; it’s a battery that has to be recharged every day”. Bob walks out.

    Angela asks Jimmy if she can spend the night with him and his ‘wife’. Jimmy tries to decline, suggesting instead that Angela come and make whoopee at a masked ball he is holding next week on the zeppelin. Angela remembers Martha’s advice [Live and Love Today] and follows Jimmy so she can fight for her happiness. 

    Trixie, a vaudeville performer, is rehearsing a new number in her apartment [Low Down]. Jimmy rushes in but, before he can explain, Angela arrives. Jimmy maintains the pretence that Trixie is his wife. Trixie goes along with it and Angela pretends to. Inviting herself into the guest room, Angela reveals that she has a gun. Jimmy locks Angela in the room and tries to sneak out, but is caught by the arriving Bob. Jimmy then barricades himself in Trixie’s room and Angela hears Bob trying to get in.

    Trixie hides on the balcony. Angela finds a connecting door to the other bedroom and Jimmy hides her under a blanket. Bob believes it is Trixie under there, and only accepts it is not when the real Trixie shows herself.

    Bob tells Jimmy and Trixie that he has left Angela, and he and Jimmy leave. Trixie mocks Angela for getting caught in her own trap. Trixie says she will keep Bob by giving him what he wants. Angela accepts that as a challenge, and says she will make Bob sick of vice. 

    On the night of Jimmy’s masked ball, guests arrive at the zeppelin moored over the city [The Cat Walk; Ballet Mécanique].Bob and Trixie arrive together in costume. At midnight everyone unmasks, and there is an auction of the most beautiful women in the room. The one who attracts the highest bid will be queen of the ball [song]. Just as men are wildly competing to buy Trixie, Angela enters in the guise of Madam Satan and draws them all away [Meet Madam]. 

    Trixie (Lillian Roth) and Madam Satan eyeball each other

    The newcomer joins the auction and Bob bids a huge amount to win her. Angela warns him that he will get burned [All I Know Is You’re in My Arms/Live and Love Today]. Trixie is furious that Bob is being taken away from her, but can do nothing to prevent it. 

    Angel-as-Madam Satan declares she wants the wickedest man there, and Bob replies that he could never think anything he did was a sin. Angela and Bob go to the chart room and engage in an extended flirtation. Finally, Angela admits that she is not the devil she seems, just a woman attempting to keep her self respect. Bob says he finds that even more attractive. A well-intentioned Jimmy separates them by telling Bob that Madam Satan is the woman who was under his blanket. 

    A storm begins, alarming the zeppelin’s captain. He suggests that Jimmy send his guests back to the ground. Angela and Trixie compete for Bob’s attention [Low Down]. Bob is angry at Angela, but still obsessed with her and ignores Trixie. Bob chases Angela and she unmasks: “You said I was below zero, so I raised my temperature”. Bob is angry at the deception. 

    Lightning strikes the zeppelin, which breaks its mooring. The captain orders everyone into parachutes. Bob gets a parachute for Angela, but she gives it to Trixie, on the understanding that she never sees Bob again. Bob finds another parachute, but she will not leave without him. Bob forces her to jump. 

    Bob forces the unmasked Angela to take the last parachute

    The zeppelin breaks up and crashes to earth. Bob manages to jump into the reservoir at the last minute. 

    The next day, Angela and Bob are at home. He is still annoyed about her performance as Madam Satan, but she is winning him round [Meet Madam] when a bandaged Jimmy arrives (he landed in the lions’ enclosure at the zoo). Jimmy says he will marry Angela if Bob divorces her. Bob says there is no question of divorce and admits he has been a fool.                

  • Love in the Rough

    The Synopsis

    Jack Kelly and his friend Benny, a Russian immigrant, work in the shipping department of Waters Department Store. After they are both fired, Jack asks Waters why he has stopped being a regular guy and become one of the biggest crabs in town. 

    Jack (Robert Montgomery) and Benny (Benny Rubin), working hard for Mr Waters

    Waters confesses that he is terribly worried, not about the stock market but about his golf game. Upon discovering that Jack is the Municipal Golf Champion, Waters asks for coaching, to get him ready for his club’s forthcoming tournament. He will arrange for Jack to have two weeks’ membership at the club. The club is very exclusive, so he tells Jack not to reveal that he is Waters’s employee. 

    Jack agrees to take Benny with him as his valet, partly because Benny has $84 in savings. At the Oakmont Country Club, Jack struggles to stop Benny being a cheapskate who will not tip properly. 

    Jack and Marilyn Crawford see each other in the corridor and it is love at first sight. Marilyn is the wealthy daughter of Crawford the Wheat King. 

    On the terrace, Marilyn meets her friends, including Harry Johnson and Virgie [I’m Doing That Thing (Falling In Love)]. Jack looks down from his window and he and Marilyn exchange looks. 

    Marilyn (Dorothy Jordan) and chorus boys dance en plein air

    Jack realizes that Benny knows nothing about golf and tricks him into being a caddy. Jack and Marilyn meet again out on the course, to the obvious annoyance of Johnson. At the 8th hole, Jack interrupts Harry by unexpectedly reaching the green in two, which Harry and Virgie recognize is a spectacular shot. Jack joins them for the rest of the round. 

    Benny discovers that the other caddy, C Wesley Rappaport, is from the old country. Benny hires a car from a local farmer, so he can carry the clubs around the course more easily, but crashes into a tree. 

    The next morning, Jack wriggles out of playing with Waters so that he can join Marilyn and Virgie on the practice tee. Benny also turns up, having a crush on Virgie. Jack gives Marilyn a golf lesson [I’m Learning a Lot from You]. 

    While Jack, Marilyn and Benny are out on the course, there is a lightning storm and torrential rain. Jack and Marilyn shelter together and kiss for the first time [Go Home and Tell Your Mother]. 

    The evening before the tournament, Benny pretends to be sick so he can get out of caddying for Jack, who has been selected to go out in the top flight after setting a course record. 

    Jack tends to Benny in his ‘sick bed’

    Downstairs, at the pre-tournament dance, Johnson challenges Marilyn about a $3000 bet on Jack to win. 

    Following Waters’s instructions, Jack had told people he worked in shipping, but there is now a widely-accepted rumour that he is the president of a major shipping company. Waters hears the rumour and accuses Jack of fortune hunting. He accepts Jack’s denial, but says that it is still not right for someone in Jack’s position to be courting Marilyn. Jack agrees to leave immediately after the tournament. 

    Jack tries to tell Marilyn the truth, but she will not listen. He then tries to end their relationship but, after they dance [One More Waltz], he asks her to marry him right away. They rent a room for the night at the house of the Justice of the Peace who marries them. 

    Marilyn gets ready for bed, but Jack is compelled to tell her he is not rich. Jack sees that she presumes he is a fortune hunter. He tells her he loves her, but that she should get the marriage annulled. He then leaves. The next morning Jack and Harry tee off for the tournament title, but Jack is not playing at his best. 

    Back in her room at the club, Marilyn watches from her window. Mr Crawford arrives and is very opposed to the marriage until he learns that Jack is a great golfer. He then chases Marilyn outside to support her husband. Crawford introduces himself to Jack. 

    It is all even at the 18th hole, and Harry’s ball blocks Jack’s. But Jack performs a trick shot, sinks the ball and wins the tournament. Crawford offers Jack a job. Jack and Marilyn leave on a train for their honeymoon, with Benny still acting as valet.   

  • Good News (1930)

    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. 

  • Good News (1930)

    The Synopsis

    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. 

  • Call of the Flesh

    The Synopsis

    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.     

  • The Florodora Girl

    The Synopsis

    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”. 

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