It's extremely well known that Louis B. Mayer had no interest in message films. "You want a message? Call Western Union!" his former partner Samuel Goldwyn said, and the very conservative Mayer wanted glorious musicals with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, costume dramas with the likes of Greta Garbo and Luise Rainer, and family moral lesson comedy/dramas like the "Andy Hardy" series. As Europe geared towards war with problems with Germany rising, America too raced towards the end of the depression with such social dramas as "They Won't Forget" or "Black Legion". But those were over at Warner Brothers, so for MGM to produce a musical short like "Men of Steel" is a rare, interesting look at what MGM could do, probably since Mayer didn't pay much attention to what was going on in the shorts department.
Broadway had created a controversial sensation with "The Cradle Will Rock", and in 1938, the musical revue "Pins and Needles" opened to great success. This musical short is obviously influenced by that show, with its show within the movie called "Nuts and Bolts", focusing on the washing machine industry rather than the garment industry. Andrew Tombes is the owner of the Homey Foamy Washing Machine factory who can't have a board meeting without hearing the factory workers rehearsing for their annual show. A Broadway producer catches a rehearsal and offers them the opportunity to appear on the gay white way, but when Tombes objects, his workers walk out in disgust. Leading man Kenny Stevens is in love with Tombes' daughter (Doris Weston) and must convince the crew to go back to work without loosing the importance of their show. Tombes shows up on their opening night with the intention of causing a riot ("Labor unfair to Management!", quite an ironic reversal of fortune...) which leads to a showdown.
Instead of witty Harold Rome's comment on the garment trade, there's Robert Wright and George Forrest (who later adapted "Kismet" and "Grand Hotel" for the musical stage) putting together a clever little score for the factory workers. This is a pretty lavish production and very well put together. From the moment this began, it wasn't lost on me what influenced it into being made. The surprise was the studio it came from, seeming more in focus with the Brothers Warner who had no qualms about delivering messages and using reels of film to do so rather than Western Union.
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