User Reviews

Television! In 1941? Yep. In 1935, there was "Murder By Television" (a Z grade mystery that didn't predict TV's rise accurately), and six years later, this Republic musical was just a decade ahead of itself even though there were minimal sets about during the 1940's. This isn't science fiction with songs; It's just ahead of its time a little bit in predicting that radio will need a funeral with the advent of TV, and for new station owner Hugh Herbert, his intention to get into TV has nephew Kenny Baker just a little frazzled. They find a sponsor in the eccentric Mary Boland, a department store owner who wants to push her daughter Ann Miller ahead as a singing star.

The only issue is that Miller (dubbed) sounds like future "Kiss Me Kate" co-star Kathryn Grayson on a warbled recording, and she'd rather tap dance anyway. Miller makes goo-good eyes at Baker who only has eyes for talented singer Frances Langford, star of the radio series "The Spinning Wheel Hour", determined to make her the first TV musical star. Langford is reunited with "Every Night at Eight" co-star Patsy Kelly who gets all the funny moments along with the brassy Phil Silvers. They get one of the funniest love scenes in movie history, emoting as if they were rehearsing Romeo and Juliet in a Milton Berle sketch. Langford is brought in to dub Miller, a storyline later utilized in the more well known "Singin' in the Rain".

This entertaining musical programmer (the second of the "Hit Parade's") features a mixture of talent, some horribly dated (Borrah Minevitch) and sensational, as well as some terrific character performers in smaller roles. Sterling Holloway (an ice cream soda jerk), Norma Varden (a fussy antique store customer), Barnett Parker (an even fussier antique store customer), Franklin Pangborn as Boland's store manager and Donald MacBride (the previous radio station owner, desperate to get out any way he can) add a lot of amusement.

Boland is basically playing the same character she portrayed in "The Women", an irony that onscreen daughter Miller later played a major part in that film's musical remake, "The Opposite Sex". Like "The Women", this features a fashion show number, this one with a Latin theme and Ms. Thunder Thighs tapping her way in glamorous attire, followed by a finale spoofing a presidential delegate convention.

The musical highlights include a rivalry number between Langford and Miller where Langford, deepening her voice, sings a jazzy number which Miller attempts to take over in a fiery tap dance. While she had tapped on screen before, this was one of the first times where Miller showed the style that would make her a favorite a decade later at MGM.

The big flaws in the film are Miller's being unaware that she is being dubbed, and Baker's seeming romance of her just to keep her mother as sponsor makes his character rather shady. However, there's an interesting visual of Miller envisioning herself with Baker living happily ever after through dreams seen by the audience in a lampshade. It's interesting to note that future Broadway composer legend Jule Style contributed the music to the mostly forgettable songs, no fault of his music, just pedestrian lyrics.

The similarities to the Jean Hagen/Debbie Reynolds plot from "Singin' in the Rain" isn't the first time that a forgotten musical would be influential in a later film. The plot line of "New Faces of 1937" (which also featured Miller in a guest stint) was later utilized as the main plot of "The Producers". The scene of Miller's untalented singing being exposed isn't as dramatic as what happened later in "Singin' in the Rain", but the earlier visual of Boland's dog reacting to it is priceless. It is obvious that Miller isn't the villain here; The dizzy Boland is. One thing should be noted about the opening credits is that they are so flatly pressed on the screen that it gives a unique visual that makes it appear as if it was filmed on the studio set floor.

It should be noted that while reports of a much edited TV version are certainly correct, there is a longer version available which only appears to be missing less than 10 minutes. Hopefully whoever owns the rights to the Republic catalog will find the entire versions of all the "Hit Parade" movies (five in all), and release them completely restored in a nice box set. This is a musical after all, so we can dream!