Rose of Washington Square (1939), 7-

A singer becomes a star in the Ziegfeld Follies, but her marriage to a con man has a bad effect on her career.
1h 26min | Drama, Musical, Romance | 5 May 1939
Director: Gregory Ratoff
Stars: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Al Jolson.
Seymour Felix ... dances staged by

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031877/

I like the top billed actors, and they fulfill their roles well here. AF and AJ each sing and dance. TP doesn't do scoundrel quite so well as Omar Sharif, and AF isn't totally credible as a woman who'd put up with her husband's dirty dealings. I suppose some beauties might stick with a bad boy, but it seems less plausible. However, it didn't distract me much, because so much time is spent on musical numbers, and so little on the bad things TP did. Plus, he seems to WANT to do right by HER, even if he steals others blind. AF does NOT do an impression of Fanny Brice.

In the featurette, they talk about AJ in blackface, and what a problem that is, but how accepted it was at the time. I can imagine a lot of people not thinking about it then because it was common. I understand the offensiveness. I thoroughly dislike Fred Astaire's "tribute" to Bojangles in Top Hat ('35) because he displays some subservient (my interpretation) body language, and the costume was too ridiculous. As said by other commentators on other dvds, Jolson doesn't act subservient when he's in blackface. Supposedly he did it in his live act because it emphasized the mouth, eyes and hands from a distance. He behaves the same when he sings the same songs without it. (One of the reasons that I like his film The Singing Kid ('36) is that he plays off and with Cab Calloway. However, I am distracted when Wini Shaw gets shiny black skin (fortunately, no white lips).)

The best musical number here is probably the title song (Ch 18), where, among other things (including an adagio pair), AF and some chorus boys do a magic act of producing lit cigarettes over and over and over while dancing a bit. If you look for it, you can see her palming them, and taking the next one out of her belt sometimes, but it's still fascinating. Plus we get to see her dance again. She's a good dancer, and doesn't do enough in her movies. (This is her 15th film watched so far, at least 9 to go. And no, that's not everything of hers. I didn't watch 4 of her films from 1934. I don't have a way of reliably tabulating films where she danced.) 

On the IMDb trivia page:

This film closely resembles the life of entertainer Fanny Brice, and Alice Faye even sings Brice's signature song, "My Man" in the film. According to Biography: Alice Faye: The Star Next Door (1996), Brice sued 20th Century Fox for $750,000. The studio benefited from the publicity generated by the lawsuit - the film became the highest grossing musical of 1939 - and eventually settled out of court with Brice for an undisclosed amount. It has also been alleged that Power's character resembles Nicky Arnstein.

By scanning the list, I'd say 1939 is not a banner year for musicals (although revenue at the time might be another story), so the highest grossing of the year doesn't impress me. The Wizard of Oz was released in August. '39 was a banner year for films, maybe the best single year. Look at the poster roster Google provides, and just keep scrolling, Huh, here's a site that claims to have box office numbers for '39.  Wizard of Oz ($9.8M, #2) and  Babes in Arms ($9.2M, #6) came in ahead of Rose ($6M, #20). Gone With the Wind? $58M, #1.

Here's a nice micro film festival: watch a movie with Fannie Brice (either The Great Ziegfeld ('36) or Everybody Sing ('38), or possibly Ziegfeld Follies ('45)), and this film, and then Funny Girl ('68). Or watch all 3 of FB's, and add Funny Lady ('75). 

Fox, dir. Ratoff; 7-

Broadway Serenade (1939), 6+

Mary Hale (a singer) and Jimmy Seymour (pianist/composer), are a show biz couple working in The Big Apple in small night clubs hoping to hit it big. One night, Larry Bryant (a Broadway ... 
1h 54min | Drama, Music, Romance | 7 April 1939
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Lew Ayres, Ian Hunter, Frank Morgan.
Busby Berkeley...creator / director: finale number
Seymour Felix...stager: "High Flyin'" and "Madame Butterfly" numbers

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031121/

(In the finale, we get drapes that remind me of the giant drapes in the wedding-cake extravaganza of The Great Ziegfeld ('36). I've had that feeling in other MGM films since then, I'm going to start documenting that, to see how much longer they persist.)

This is essentially the same story as the Jimmy Stewart / Joan Crawford pairing of The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939), released just a month earlier, also from MGM. The primary difference is the psychological health of the JS character in Ice Follies versus the alcoholic reaction of the Lew Ayres character here. 

Both begin with a married couple struggling to make it in show biz. The wife ascends first, leaving the husband not much to do. Both husbands are more creative behind the scenes than their performing wives. In Ice Follies, JS leaves her, explaining that he needs to establish himself in his own career path before they can function together. He does, and they do. 

Here, LA just goes into repeated alcoholic rages until JM leaves and divorces him. Then LA's mentor/friend convinces him use his emotional pain to write great music. He works without telling JM of his efforts, so she falls in love with another and plans to remarry. LA shows up on the eve of her marriage trip, and coincidentally JM's producer is the one who bought LA's composition. The producer claims only JM can sing it, blackmailing her into helping her ex-husband establish his first success. She postpones her 2nd wedding, makes a hit, and her would-be husband leaves her (good for him, but he had to get drunk first.) 

During the elaborate finale of the stage musical, JM spots ex-husband LA onstage playing piano, and seems elated. She doesn't yet know that New Man has left her, but LA does. We get no denouement; the ending is quite open.

The music is good, as is JM's singing, of course. Nice to hear her sing Un Bel Di from Butterfly. We do get a lot of "dancing" in the finale, which is more surreal than normal; dancers limply jitterbugging behind masks. But it's a b/w spectacle, very cinematic (although it's supposed to be a theatrical production, but we allow that in musicals). Oh, right, BB designed it. I don't think I've seen anything this surreal since Lullaby of Broadway in Gold Diggers of '35, also by BB. Good stuff.

My lack of enthusiasm is rooted in the mean, sick actions and feelings of the Lew Ayres character, and JM's extended tolerance of it. This is a sick couple, and just when she was about to break free, she sacrifices her happiness for him again. Also sick: the producer who emotionally blackmails her into it. He said (earlier, seemingly good-natured) that her decision to marry and quit the business would cost him a million. And he found his vehicle to prevent those losses. The weird part is that bumbler Frank Morgan plays this producer, so it seems extra mean. If it were Adolph Menjou or Warren William, we'd expect him to shrewdly turn events in his own favor.

In the book Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman, page 420, 

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Schary got on fairly well with the old guard around Mayer. "The greatest beef they had with him was his predilection for making pictures with a message," said Armand Deutsch. "Mervyn LeRoy would actually say, "If you want to send a message, go to Western Union.'"

Dore Schary rose to power at MGM around 1948. I don't see a date attached to this quote, but it's at least a decade hence from this pair of movies. Director/producer LeRoy was not attached to either film.

Lew Ayres was so good at playing weak characters (see him also as the weak brother in Holiday ('38)), it's hard to believe that he starred in the series of feature films as Dr. Kildare, the antecedent to Richard Chamberlain's '61 TV series.

Clearly MGM had a message: two-career couples within show biz will suffer terrible hardship, certainly when the woman is successful first. I couldn't help wondering if we're any healthier today? Women still don't earn the same as men for similar jobs...

MGM, dir. Leonard; 6+

East Side of Heaven (1939), 6

A man finds himself the father, by proxy, of a ten-month-old baby and becomes involved in the turbulent lives of the child's family.
1h 28min || 7 April 1939
Director: David Butler
Stars: Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell, Mischa Auer

Genres: Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031261/

BC sings a lot; it's his job, but delivering singing telegrams, and as a singing cabbie. JB is his fiancee, MA his roommate. The baby belongs to an acquaintance. Lots of machinations by people of varying motives to alter the momentary and long-term custody of the child. The kid doesn't seem to be in danger at any time. The ending appears happy, but there's plenty of room for doubt.

Dir. Butler gets story credit here. With this film he ties Lloyd Bacon for most music/musical films watched so far at 9 titles each. (Bacon has at least 7 more on the watch list, with a decade gap in musicals of 1936-46. Butler has at least 13 more on the watch list.)

Universal, dir. Butler; 6

Double Deal (1939), 5

Tommy McCoy and "Dude" Markey are both in love with Harlem singer/dancer Nita. Markey robs a jewelry store and turns the loot over to gang-boss Murray Howard. Later, Markey robs the safe, ... 
1h || 16 December 1939
Director: Arthur Dreifuss
Stars: Monte Hawley, Jeni Le Gon, Edward Thompson

Genres: Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Music | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031245/
Watched online, poor print. Pick a different version next time.

The film opens and closes on Jeni Le Gon performing. She dances twice, and only sings the last time. There is no other reason to watch this film. And frankly, the dancing isn't enough reason either. Surprisingly, this film did not appear in the Tap! Appendix. I added it to that IMDb list, though.

Apparently I'm watching enough race films that non-dancing actors are becoming familiar. One of the male leads here was also the male lead in Gang Smashers ('38) with Nina Mae McKinney. His face would actually pass as white; he resembles George Raft a bit.

I don't know what qualifies this film for the Comedy genre.

George Randol Productions, Dreifuss; 5

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), 6

The story of married couple Irene Castle and Vernon Castle, sensational ballroom dancers prior to World War I.
1h 33min || 29 March 1939
Director: H.C. Potter
Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, Walter Brennan.
Irene Castle ... technical advisor
Hermes Pan ... dance director

Genres: Biography | Drama | Musical | Romance | War
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031983/
DVD died after 1st hour. Watched remainder online, fuzzy print. Ordered replacement disc.

In Tap! Appendix for Fred Astaire/Sonny Lamont.

The problem is: F&G are portraying dancers of a prior era, and being faithful to that style, That's why Ginger doesn't get a mention in the Tap! Appendix; she doesn't tap. So their dances lack the exuberance of their normal fare. The dances they do while courting are rehearsals, not seductions. And we don't get any ensemble dancing beyond snips of social dancing. So we get little of the elements of 30's musicals I like, much less what I love about F&G.

Notice the genres. The story is ultimately sad. We get comic moments, aided by Brennan and Oliver, but not enough to earn an inclusion in Comedy.

Italicized chapters (the Soundtracks list is enormous, mostly with snippets of songs):

• Ch 4: The Yama Yama Man, Sung and Danced by Ginger Rogers 
• Ch 5: By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Danced by Fred Astaire and Sonny Lamont
• Ch 9: Only When You're in My Arms, Sung by Fred Astaire 
• End dance: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
• Ch 10: Waiting for the Robert E. Lee, Danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers 
• Ch 15: Too Much Mustard, Danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers 
• Ch 16: fame montage
• Ch 18: Hello, Hello, Who's Your Lady Friend, Performed at benefit by Fred Astaire, Emmett O'Brien, and soldier chorus 
• Ch 21 of 25: Missouri Waltz, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers 

I remembered this as not great. Unfortunately, I agree now.

RKO, dir. Potter; 6

Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), 6

Now that their parents are back together, the Craig girls think life is going to be easy. It is, until Kay falls in love with Joan's fiance! Complications arise when youngest sister Penny ... 
1h 30min | Comedy, Musical | 24 March 1939
Director: Henry Koster
Stars: Deanna Durbin, Charles Winninger, Nan Grey, Robert Cummings, William Lundigan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032030/

Works as a romcom with music. Not really a musical; I wish I could come up with a rubric for that: at least 3 musical numbers, at least 1 about the conflict of the story, or at least 1 dance solo or ensemble lasting more than 3 minutes? But then you get into quality (does dancing without music count? It does when it's Bill Robinson, In Old Kentucky ('35).) How about humming? Impossible.

The plot is reasonable for a romcom; I'm not sure that's a compliment. DD is not young enough to be the innocent manipulator; witness the fact that the family thinks she is smitten by R.Cummings herself, and go to cruel lengths to "break them up". The end is jaw-dropping; The Graduate ('67)  (or any runaway bride flick) was more plausible.

I noticed that Penny never sought her mother to help with her troubles. Then I remembered from the first film: the girls grew up with her, not him, so that makes this consistent choice even more puzzling. The mother is a lot less sympathetic here (and she engineers that cruel choice I mentioned). The father's (Winninger) absent-mindedness was annoying, until he used it as a cover to execute the reasonable portion of the ending.

Lundigan is handsome, but gets very little screen time. I like Bob Cummings in general and in particular here.

DD is still in fine voice (I don't think she ever loses it; she quit movies at age 26).

Universal, dir. Koster; 6

The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939), 6-

An ice skater jeopardizes her marriage when she becomes a movie star.
(82 min) Released 10 March 1939
Director: Reinhold Schünzel (as Reinhold Schunzel)
Stars: Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Lew Ayres, Lewis Stone.
Frances Claudet ... skating choreographer
Val Raset ... skating choreographer

Genres: Drama | Music | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031470/
Watched online, excellent print.

I love Jimmy Stewart (who doesn't?), but dislike Joan Crawford, and her name is huge on this poster for a reason: she is the focus of the film.

I love Sonja Henie films, and we've had 4 by now. Her skate sequences are brilliant, even when she skates alone, but especially when they have an ensemble blading around her.

Here we get 2 major skate sequences: one in b/w (start ~41 min, lasts 12.5 min), and the finale (start ~68 min, lasts 14 min) in color. They are very dull compared with SH sequences, which are usually shown in a performance venue with an audience. Here, the b/w number had an "audience", but the most you saw of them was a few moving heads immediately adjacent to the rink; mostly you don't see them at all. It's probably not the audience itself that's important, but the camera angles used. SH is often shown from afar, and she moves well and quickly across a lot of space. Some venues add architectural interest; some have ramps that add the potential of spectacular entrances at any moment. Here I feel the confines of a sound stage, and the skaters move slowly (except one barrel jumper; just watched his part again: he does some fast skating before he jumps, but the camera moves with him, and he's in a bright spotlight with darkened surroundings, so you get very little idea of how fast he's moving). When you compare SH with current Olympic champions, her routines can seem tame. But when you compare her with the skating in this film, you recognize an innovator and a champion.

Wow, current IMDb rating is 4.9, with 576 votes, 79 of them are 1's; women (4.3) like it less than men (5.1), and those aged 45+ hate it the most. That's not how the ratings for JC films go; more than half of them have 6^, more than a fourth are 7^.

I'll be curious to see if I ever feel the urge to buy this. I certainly don't now. 

MGM, dir. Schünzel; 6-

The Little Princess (1939), 7- Color

A little girl is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls, due to her father having to go to South Africa to fight in the Second Boer War.
(93 min) Released 1939-03-10
Directors: Walter Lang, William A. Seiter (uncredited)
Stars: Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Arthur Treacher, Sybil Jason

Genres: Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031580/

This is one of the best ST flicks. I deemed it a 7- today before realizing I'd rated it before ... as a 7 (no +/- available).

Good story, although she's a semi-orphan again, with father off to war. I don't want to recount what happens in the hope that I won't remember the next time I watch it. But yes, there's a cranky old rich man, but we don't see ST charming him.

As a musical, this is pale. We get one fantasy number at 1:07:00 which is somewhat musical (actual dancing starts at 1:12:~~ for about a minute), then it's a just a small bit here and a bit there, and nothing as good as Bill Robinson tapping her up the stairs to bed, much less The Toy Trumpet.

As the film's poster above indicates, this was filmed in Technicolor. Amazingly, it fell into public domain. The copy I watched is a p.d. copy, but really very good quality. I mean, the color looks faded, but the story is set in Victorian times, in a boarding school with uniforms, not a colorful combo. Then again, we see some royal guards that I thought wore red coats, but not here.

Richard Greene and Anita Louise are the secondary couple (ST and her father are primary, plotwise), and RG is better suited for that slot than as the leading man opposite Sonja Henie in My Lucky Star ('38).

Interesting that Sybil Jason, playing the urchin servant at the school does not sing/dance here; maybe they planned something and cut it for time, because this one is long for ST. Sybil's effective at being plucky yet pathetic, which is quite different than her role as Jolson's country neighbor in The Singing Kid ('36).

Ian Hunter as the father is spot on. Arthur Treacher as the former music hall hoofer is fun. Cesar Romero as the Hindi servant of the cranky old man is wonderful. And the parrot's colors really pop.

Fox, dir. Lang & Seiter; 7-

Honolulu (1939), 8

Wanting a break from his overzealous fans, a famous movie star hires a Hawaiian plantation owner to switch places with him for a few weeks.
(83 min) Released 1939-02-03
Director: Edward Buzzell
Stars: Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns, Gracie Allen.
Bobby Connolly ... dance director (as Bobby Connelly)
Sammy Lee ... dance director

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031442/
Bootleg copy, wouldn't play on Samsung Blu; fine on external laptop player and on Oppo; ok print with intro/outro by Robert Osborne.

Last film for GB for 36 years; Gracie makes 3 more.

Song/dance:

• 21:30 Honolulu, Sung by Gracie Allen and The Pied Pipers, Danced by Eleanor Powell with Gracie a bit, with jump ropes a lot
• 34:30 This Night Will Be My Souvenir, Performed by Billy Paye AKA Billy Starr 
• 35:30 The Leader Doesn't Like Music, Sung by The King's Men, Performed also by Gracie Allen 
• 39:10 Danced by Eleanor Powell in her blackface Bill Robinson [excellent] medley with stairsteps
• Old Folks at Home 
• Listen to the Mockingbird 
• Old Black Joe 
• The Darktown Strutters' Ball 
• 1:08:40 Hawaiian Medley, Played by Andy Iona's Orchestra (as Andy Iona's Islanders), Sung by The King's Men, Danced by Eleanor Powell 

EP's 3 dances are fabulous. Her blackface routine is a true tribute to Robinson, with whom she learned and worked. I'd wager that at least parts of it are tap-for-tap what Robinson did in Harlem is Heaven ('32) and likely in his stage act. It's a shame at the end that she put her hand on her back under her jacket, because I'd enjoy seeing her replicate his signature hand-on-hip (open hand, back of hand to back of body). If I find more about this routine in the books I have, I'll post it here. I'd like to know if BR consulted, or some other expert, or if she watch HiH footage.

The plot is mildly entertaining. But great dancing is worth a lot of points in my book.

MGM, dir. Buzzell; 8

Blondie Meets the Boss (1939), 5 {nm}

Blondie takes over Dagwood's job while he goes off on a fishing trip.
(75 min) Released 1939-03-08
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Stars: Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms,..., Dorothy Comingore

Genres: Comedy | Music
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031107/
Watched online; fair print.

The opening credits looked too modern to me. They start with King Features, which IMDb shows having TV rights to this in '95, but the credits feel more 50s/60s. The envelopes in the credits have stamps much more modern than '39 (yes, I collected stamps as a kid), and the last frame of credits has a cancellation mark of 1964.

A better synopsis: When Dagwood inadvertently resigns, Blondie is offered over his job. Dagwood gets roped into a fishing trip, with additional detrimental consequences.

This is the second of 28 Blondie movies, 1938-50, 1 of 2 tagged Music. Someone has a playlist of all 28 on YouTube.

Larry Simms (b. '34) is in all 28 as Baby Dumpling, who finally gets the name Alexander in '43's entry It's a Great Life. (Oddly, the actor also plays "Bailey Child - Pete" in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life ('46).) He's very precocious here. His last film credit (uncredited!) is the year after the final Blondie.

This got the tag Music from the brief jitterbug contest entered by Blondie's sister and her boyfriend, and attended by Dagwood. I'm putting it on the non-musical list.

Dorothy Comingore, the future Susan Alexander Kane in Citizen Kane ('41, her 17th credit), plays Francine Rogers, pivotal to the plot, in her 4th of 20 credits. We see her well at 28 min.

I'm amazed that Universal released the whole Francis the Talking Mule, and Ma and Pa Kettle, but Columbia didn't release these? Where is Treeline/Echo with these? Someone is offering the set on Amazon for $39. So they're in PD? Yikes.

The film is shruggable for me. 

Columbia, dir. Strayer; 5

Idiot's Delight (1939), 7-

A group of disparate travelers are caught and thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the beginning of World War II.
(207 min) Released 1939-01-27
Director: Clarence Brown
Stars: Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, Edward Arnold, Charles Coburn, Joseph Schildkraut, Burgess Meredith

Genres: Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031473/

This has no business being classified as a musical. Just because CG executes a few dance steps at the beginning (with a comic, then as a chorus boy) and at the middle of the movie (now with a burlesque chorus) doesn't mean the film is a musical. Oh, well, it's all subjective.

No way would I have selected CG as part of the male chorus we see. The boys next to him all have narrow faces; he looks like the exception on an IQ test. He also moves differently than the others. His "dance" steps are correct, but his gestures and body language are different. He's more of a star than a drone.

Burgess Meredith plays a young leftist who warns about the profits, and human costs, of war. E.Arnold is a war profiteer. C.Coburn is a scientist (medicine?) The view at the hotel, looking down on an airport, is the most memorable thing after CG's dancing. J.Schildkraut plays an officer of the aggressive country (I don't think the nationality was identified.)

Shearer's character overacts so much that it's tiresome. NB: it's not MS who is overacting, it's the character she plays. Speaking of vaselined lens and bright white lights (Paris Honeymoon '38), MS (b. 1902) gets that on closeup too. Recall, husband Irving Thalberg died 9'36; this is only her 2nd film since then. (I'm assuming it was an actual love match. Their children were born '30 & '35.) She has 58 credits (1920-42) and made only 4 more films after this. (She retired after marrying again.)

I suspect my prior rating was made when I was studying WW2, and I found this informative about what it might be like to be caught up in such events. It's good that way.

MGM, dir. Brown; 7-

Fisherman's Wharf (1939), 8-

Carlo Roma and his foster-son, Toma, and their friend Beppo, are living a happy fisherman's life in San Francisco until Carlo's widowed sister-in-law, Stella, shows up with her brat-son, ... 
(72 min) Released 1939-02-03
Director: Bernard Vorhaus
Stars: Bobby Breen, Leo Carrillo, Henry Armetta, Lee Patrick

Genres: Adventure | Drama | Music
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031313/
Watched online; nice print; available on Amazon Prime.

I finally LOVED a Bobby Breen film. This has LOTS of music (people entertaining each other and themselves with instruments). And the story was riveting. I won't say more; the plot summary above says enough.

Leo Carrillo and Henry Armetta (I liked him in Road Demon ('38), a few films ago) portray a warm loving family for BB; they also have a long-term cook/housekeeper at home for the mother-figure. The fishing business has its dangers, so sometimes I watched to see whether a character gets injured or worse. When the sis-in-law and son arrive, they gum up the works but good. At the end it's not clear that all her damage is undone.

Lee Patrick (b. 1901) plays the sis-in-law. She's a familiar face. 68 movie credits: 1929, '37-'64, '75. I think of her as a Noir character (she was certainly femme fatale here, without any fatalities); but her most Noir role as I scan her titles is as Sam Spade's sec'y in The Maltese Falcan ('41), where she's wise and supportive in a flippant way.

This has good music, good plot and good watchable acting (as contrasted with good acting that I don't want to witness, e.g. The Danish Girl (2015).) 

I never thought "this could have been omitted" during any scene. It's been 8 days and 24 films since I liked something (that I hadn't previously rated) well enough to give it a 7- (College Swing '38). I may be over-reacting...I'm sorely tempted to give this an 8. Wow, the 47 voters on IMDb give this 5.8. Only 3 women voted for it, all age 45+, avg 6.3. Then again, 12 people didn't identify as male or female. Similarly, 13 didn't identify as US or non-US voters; oops, I would have been one of those; that's fixed.

Sol Lesser Productions, distr. RKO, dir. Vorhaus, 8-

17Sep2020 update: Bought the Alpha Video version, and it was BAD quality, plus that particular film skipped. So I bought the Roan version, and it is pretty darned good. 

Paris Honeymoon (1939), 6-

A Texas millionaire travels to Europe to meet his girlfriend, a European countess. He stops in a rustic mountain village and meets a beautiful peasant girl. He falls in love with her, then ... 
(92 min) Released 1939-01-25
Director: Frank Tuttle
Stars: Bing Crosby, Franciska Gaal, Akim Tamiroff, Shirley Ross, EE Horton, Akim Tamiroff

Genres: Comedy | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031787/
Watched online. Good print for small screen, fuzzy when on TV.

If you watch this again, check Soundtracks against reality. IMDb lists only 3 songs. I didn't find this very musical, but that sounds like too few.

In the plot, Shirley Ross gets the fuzzy side of the lollipop twice: her soon-to-be-ex-husband insults her, and well, spoiler alert, she doesn't get a 2nd husband here.

The actress playing the peasant girl is unfamiliar to me; this is her penultimate film, and many of her titles look non-English to me. And she ain't no girl: b. 1904, less than a year after Bing. But she's playing a girl, vaselined lens with hot white light and all. 

I didn't watch closely enough to see if they illuminated the reason for BC to fall for the "girl" when he had a perfectly lovely SR as his intended. Don't know if people like to see "love conquer all" when it includes jilting a civil, honorable woman. Did they portray her as unworthy somehow? I certainly saw her as gallant when she let him off the hook (of their engagement) in favor of the new woman. That is psychologically healthy on her part: you really don't need someone who is so easily distracted while you're engaged.

Borderline 5-6, I didn't give it a fair viewing, but it's too long to attempt again without more music and a better print, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Paramount, dir. Tuttle; 6-

Gang Smashers (1938), 6-

Undercover anti-gang agent works in a nightclub where a protection racket is headquartered.
(70 min) Released 1938-12-30
Director: Leo C. Popkin
Stars: Nina Mae McKinney, Laurence Criner, Monte Hawley, Mantan Moreland

Genres: Crime | Music

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135426/

Watched online; fuzzy print, sound out of sync.

Nina Mae sings, sways, and acts in a glamorous, but dangerous role. Unfortunately she doesn't dance.

Good tapper at ~30 min; don't know his name. I'm surprised this film isn't in the Tap! Appendix.

Story by Ralph Cooper, star et al of The Duke is Tops; he doesn't appear here. 

We get a chase scene on the open road, a fight scene, and several explosions. Decent story, shabby setting. I like the listening device. 

The sound problem on this print is profound and distracting, so I'll give the rating the benefit of the doubt.

Million Dollar Productions, dir. Popkin; 6-

Road Demon (1938), 5 {nm}

At the Indianapolis Speedway mobsters try to bump off a young racer just as they did his dad. Junk yard owner tap dances.
(65 min) Released 1938-12-02
Director: Otto Brower
Stars: Henry Arthur, Joan Valerie, Henry Armetta, Bill Robinson

Genres: Crime | Drama | Sport
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030684/
Bootleg copy, mediocre print. Disc gets stuck in a loop after the movie is done. On Samsung BRP, bring up Tools, go back to chapter 1, press Enter, and be patient. (I tried unplugging the power on the player, and it didn't help.) I was not able to play the end of the movie on BRP, but my cheapy external dvd player/burner for laptop was fine. Maybe next time try it on the OPPO; it won't play at all on the portable.

This is not a musical. Bill Robinson does dance for about a minute starting at 37:20. He's dressed in greasy overalls because he's a mechanic, and he dances a little around his shop. Some of it is filmed waist-up. I'm glad I didn't pay much for this, but the completist in me wants all of BR's dancing on film. This does NOT go on the W.D. list.

The most familiar face besides BR is Henry Armetta as the Italian grocer. He adds warmth and humor.

The rest of the film is about auto racing in '38. The cars look like souped up go-carts. The subject doesn't really interest me. Chariot races are much more exciting.

Fox, dir, Brower; 5

Sweethearts (1938), 6- Color

A musical comedy duo in their 6th year on Broadway receive an offer to perform in Hollywood making films. The change of lifestyle is inviting to the Sweethearts as the move will take them ... 
(114 min) Released 1938-12-22
Directors: W.S. Van Dyke (as W.S. Van Dyke II), Robert Z. Leonard (uncredited)
Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan.
Albertina Rasch ... dances and ensembles

Genres: Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030817/

I only like this pair when they are heroic. Here they're Broadway stars, rather shallow, happily married at the onset, tired of their 6-year run in the same play with lots of extra time obligations promised by their assistant, friends, et al. JM is manipulated into thinking NE is cheating on her. They separate, and eventually come back together. I don't remember why they reunite.

The music is mostly Victor Herbert, and I don't care for it. Especially difficult: the title of the movie is the title (and endlessly repeated lyric) of a prior hit for them. So every time they sing this same word in the titular song, my brain rejects the tune.

The choreography is primarily masses of showgirls and boys moving about onstage, not really dancing.

The first J&M film in color; doesn't look great. I'm tempted to watch Robin Hood ('38, Warner), because I remember that as being spot on for color. (I did play RH for a while; it is as well-hued as I remember, although the faces are a bit too pink.) Of course, we don't know how close this print comes to the original showings. Or it may be as simple as they didn't use any red objects so JM's red hair would stand out, and I miss basic red. (I complained about the lack of red in the '81 version of Porgy and Bess. RH has plenty of red.) We get a fashion show were JM tries on a lot of clothing (one enormous gown is orange), and I don't like most of them; her show gowns are much prettier. The time spent on this seemed incredibly gratuitous, likely included due to the Technicolor investment.

I'd better stop now, before I talk myself into a 5.

MGM, dir. Van Dyke & Leonard; 6-

Just Around the Corner (1938), 6

Shirley helps her idealistic architect father get his dream of a slum clearance project; The little miss dances with bill "Bojangles" robinson. Based on paul gerard smith's book, "Lucky penny".
(70 min) Released 1938-11-11
Director: Irving Cummings
Stars: Shirley Temple, Joan Davis, Charles Farrell, Bert Lahr, Bill Robinson

Genres: Comedy | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030302/

Don't remember if they said why ST has no mother here. But her father is "not married". And fallen on hard times, due to lack of building projects for his type of architectural designs. So they've had to move from the Penthouse to the maintenance man's quarters, 'cuz that's daddy's new job. BR is the doorman there, Bert Lahr and Joan Davis were their servants, now hired by the new occupants of the Penthouse.

If you don't remember the building's playroom, the premise is very funny. As is the doggy day care, with the tiny white picket fence containing the big wolfhounds. ST's new crop of non-rich child friends are very low-rent; didn't catch where they live.

Of course the story includes a cranky old man whom ST charms. His name is Sam, and he's the Uncle in the Penthouse's new family, and he could have been the model for the ... Wants You recruiting posters. ST puts on a show, and all conflicts are resolved by the charmed mogul. This feels very Depression Era; apparently there was another recession in '37-8.

In the Tap! Appendix for Joan Davis, ST and BR. Where BR dances:

• Ch 4: This Is a Happy Little Ditty, Performed by Shirley Temple, Joan Davis, Bert Lahr, and Bill Robinson 
• Ch 18: Brass Buttons and Epaulettes (sic on dvd), Sung by Bill Robinson, danced by Bill Robinson and Doormen 
• Ch 19: I Love to Walk in the Rain, Performed by Shirley Temple, Bill Robinson and Chorus 

In that last dance, ST looks well-protected from the rain, but BR looks drenched. Why didn't he get raingear too?

BR makes only 4 more films: 2 this year, 1 in '42 and Stormy Weather ('43).

Fox, dir. Cummings; 6

Climbing High (1938), 6- {nm}

Wealthy young man (Redgrave) pretends to be poor to be close to a model (Matthews) though he nearly engaged to an aristocrat (Vyner).
(78 min) Released 1938-11-01
Director: Carol Reed
Stars: Jessie Matthews, Michael Redgrave, Noel Madison, Alastair Sim

Genres: Comedy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031161/

Watched online, fuzzy print.

Carol Reed's 8th of 30 director credits ('35-'72).

Although it's not a musical, JM does sing opera-ish songs with a crazy man. 

Because of the poor print, I'm not sure how well Redgrave performed. JM got better coverage, and she did well. 

Unfortunately it's another plot where the woman says no, yet eventually succumbs to the persistent male. I suppose the persistence is flattering, but when does it become stalking? 

Gaumont British, dir. Carol Reed; 6-

That Certain Age (1938), 5+

Dashing reporter Vincent Bullit has just returned from covering the Spanish Civil War. His boss, newspaper magnate Fullerton, has more plans to send him off to China. However, first ... 
(95 min) Released 1938-10-07
Director: Edward Ludwig
Stars: Deanna Durbin, Melvyn Douglas, Jackie Cooper

Genres: Comedy | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030854/

The dvd included an introduction by Robert Osborne, who said that this, or perhaps all, DD movies can stand alone without the songs. He intended it as a compliment, that the story is strong enough to not need musical support. I see it as a negative, that the songs do not pertain to the plot, much less illuminate the character's thoughts and feelings, and they interrupt the flow of the story. Fortunately they are very pleasant interruptions, and not all so irrelevant as RO's remark implies.

Perhaps RO wants to watch a teen girl coming of age romantically, and how the teen boy gets (unintentionally) tortured in the process, but I really don't. Especially not when the boy is Jackie Cooper, whom I only like in a '73 episode of Columbo (he was the murderer). Melvyn Douglas (b.1901) looks even older than his number (although people look younger now than those of comparable age in the 1960's and earlier; I think until the late 1960's, being a grownup was valued), and I've never understood his appeal as a leading man. So her crush is bizarre to me.

If you crave more DD singing and have run out of other options, maybe try this again. I don't have the desire to map out where the songs are, but here are the Soundtracks:

• My Own, Performed by Deanna Durbin (uncredited) 
• That Certain Age 
• Be a Good Scout 
• You're as Pretty as a Picture 
• Daisy Bell 
• Les Filles de Cadiz, Performed by Deanna Durbin 
• Aria from 'Romeo et Juliette', Performed by Deanna Durbin 

Universal, dir. Ludwig; 5+

Going Places (1938), 5+

A sports store clerk poses as a famous jockey as an advertising stunt, but gets more than he bargained for.
(84 min) Released 1938-12-31
Director: Ray Enright
Stars: Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Allen Jenkins, Louis Armstrong

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030190/
Watched online, excellent print.

Mostly of value for the 2 Louis Armstrong numbers, which can also be found on YouTube: Jeepers Creepers (early) and Mutiny in the Nursery (53 min in). But frankly, I also miss Dick Powell's singing. This is 1 of 2 musicals released in '38, and the other is on dvd but I don't have it. He has really cut back on his films at this point in his career.

Young Ronald Reagan has a small supporting role as a society sportsman.

Warner, dir. Enright; 5+

Garden of the Moon (1938), 5

John Quinn is the ruthless manager of the night club Garden of the Moon. He has booked Rudy Vallee & his Connecticut Yankees for a season as his band, but due to a car accident Vallee can't... 
(93 min) Released 1938-09-23
Director: Busby Berkeley
Stars: Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, John Payne

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030171/

Not much to like here. The only dancing is social. John Payne's singing is not as good as I thought, or he needs a better vocal arranger, or songs better suited to him.

Oh, look, it's Busby Berkeley directing. When I saw that, I warned myself that we won't get any signature BB dance directing, and this is the most extreme example of that. I can imagine that my prior rating of 5 was due in part with the disappointment of having bought this from BB's filmo', and resented the expenditure. Comparing this with musicals from lesser studios, it's not so horrible.

Margaret Lindsay has lots of energy and good looks, but I don't care to open her filmo' to see if I'll run across her again. (She doesn't sing here. Don't have to mention that she doesn't dance, because nobody dances here.)

Soundtracks (assembled while the movie started; didn't feel the urge to record times):

• Garden of the Moon, Sung by Mabel Todd with Harry Seymour on piano, Also sung by John Payne with the orchestra 
• Love Is Where You Find It, Sung by John Payne and Johnnie Davis with Davis on cornet 
• The Lady on the Two Cent Stamp, Sung by John Payne, Jerry Colonna, Johnnie Davis, Ray Mayer, Joe Venuti and chorus 
• Confidentially, Sung by John Payne and Mabel Todd, Reprised by Payne and chorus at the end 
• The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish, Sung by John Payne, Jerry Colonna, Johnnie Davis, Ray Mayer, Joe Venuti and chorus 

I'd say this film is only of interest if I'm doing a quest for one of the cast/crew. Because the story is about the band, we get plenty of music, but nothing that I care about. The comedy is minimal. We had TWO scenes where Margaret caught JP and Johnnie Davis in their underwear in their hotel room, and they don't realize their state of undress for a while. Was that comedy or an LGBTQ reference c. 1938? The plot is bad, because O'Brien plays a tyrannical club manager who profits from his mean machinations. Even when Payne stands up to him, that gets mean instead of heroic. Fortunately, actual physical violence is minimal.

Yeah, I've talked myself into keeping the 5. It's not horrible enough to warrant a 4.

Warner, dir. Berkeley; 5

Room Service (1938), 6+ {nm}

A penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play.
(78 min) Released 1938-09-21
Director: William A. Seiter
Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx

Genres: Comedy
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030696/

(I wonder if this is a re-issue poster, since Ball, Miller and Albertson are so heavily promoted.)

This was the only MB movie not classified as a musical, yet it has Ann Miller in the cast. So...Roll 'em, Smokey. And...curtain. Nope, no musical here, no Ann dancing. No Harpo harping, No Chico shooting piano keys. No Groucho singing an anarchic song. No Margaret Dumont. I know Irving Thalberg was dead, but most of their formula for success predates their MGM years.

Is it possible that this plot made too MUCH sense? Or maybe I've seen it too often. The zaniest thing I remember (and it just finished) is Harpo bringing the live turkey up to the hotel room because they're hungry. (When they're chasing it, clearly they have a fake on wires. Probably not so much concern for animal cruelty as the ability to make things happen as they want.)

Well, it's not horrible. Just a big let down after the prior 3 (Duck Soup, Night...Opera, Day...Races), which are their all-time best.

MGM, dir. Seiter; 6+

My Lucky Star (1938), 7-

The son (Romero) of a department store owner enrolls the store's sports clerk (Henie) at a university to use her as an advertisement for their fashion department. She falls for a teacher (... 
(83 min) Released 1938-09-09
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Stars: Sonja Henie, Richard Greene, Joan Davis, Cesar Romero, Buddy Ebsen, Arthur Treacher, Gypsy Rose Lee.
Nick Castle ... choreographer
Harry Losee ... skating ensembles

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030481/

bootleg copy, fuzzy print

This really suffers from lack of a good leading man. Richard Greene does not measure up to Don Ameche, much less Tyrone Power, who have been her leads prior to this.

Sing/dance/skate:

• 28:30 This May Be the Night, Sung and reprised by Arthur Jarrett, Sonja Henie, Richard Greene, Joan Davis, Buddy Ebsen, and Chorus 
• 34:00 Classy Clothes Chris, Sung by Men's Chorus in drag and 37:00 skated by Patricia Wilder 
• 38:00 By a Wishing Well, Sung by Arthur Jarrett and Mixed Chorus, and skated by Sonja Henie 
• 49:30 Could You Pass in Love?, Played during the opening and closing credits, Sung and danced by Buddy Ebsen and Joan Davis, Reprised by Mixed Chorus and 52:50 skated by Sonja Henie 
• 1:10:00 I've Got a Date with a Dream, Sung by Arthur Jarrett and Ladies' Chorus, and by Buddy Ebsen and Joan Davis, Skated by Sonja Henie and Company 
• 1:15:00 Alice in Wonderland Ballet, Skating finale by Sonja Henie and chorus of "Alice in Wonderland" characters 
• 1:18:00 March of the Toys, Skating finale by Sonja Henie and chorus of "Alice in Wonderland" characters 

This film has 2 curved ramps where skaters can enter the rink in style. The skating, particularly the finale with so many other skaters on the ice, is done really well. This is what I like, the soloist is featured, but we get a large ensemble working as well.

Fox, dir. Del Ruth; 7-

Carefree (1938), 7

A psychiatrist agrees to hypnotize his friend's girlfriend in order to convince her to accept his proposals of marriage, but she ends up falling for the psychiatrist instead.
(83 min) Released 1938-09-02
Director: Mark Sandrich
Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy.
Hermes Pan ... ensembles stager
Bill Brande ... dance director: rehearsal (uncredited)
Hermes Pan ... choreographer (uncredited)
Vasso Maria Panagiotoupulos ... dance director: rehearsals (uncredited) (Hermes' sister; her only IMDb credit)

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029971/

Sing/dance (all Irving Berlin):

• Ch 5 Since They Turned Loch Lomond into Swing, Danced by Fred Astaire. FA hits golf balls while dancing, and shows good golf form too.
• Ch 9 I Used To Be Color Blind, Sung by Fred Astaire, Danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. This is a dream sequence, and the dance is shown in slow motion. Fabulous! He lifts her a LOT, and they kiss at the end! Very unusual for Astaire.
• Ch 15 The Yam, Sung by Ginger Rogers, Danced by Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire and Chorus. Really nice when she does levered leaps over his leg (braced on a new table) several times in a row. They look like they had fun at the end. Yup, the Susie Q was mentioned and gestured among many fad dances.
• Ch 21-2 Change Partners, Danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; dance by hypnosis.

• Carefree, Danced by Fred Astaire is listed in the IMDb Soundtracks, but it's not among the chapter titles on the dvd, and I can't find any such song with Google; is it the second part of Loch Lomond? I didn't submit a correction.

'Meh' plot: whatever happened to the idea that you can't be hypnotized to do something you don't want to do? Was it convenient to use this misconception, or did they not know that in '38?

I miss having an EE Horton or Eric Blore or Helen Broderick (Luella Gear is a pale imitation) to bring comic spice.

Too few dances, but they're good, of course. Yes, this is in the Tap! Appendix for F&G.

RKO, dir. Sandrich; 7

This is the penultimate RKO pairing of F&G. I don't remember the last favorably; hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise. Here's a recap of the ratings for all 8:

Flying Down to Rio (1933); 7-

The Gay Divorcee (1934); 8+

Roberta (1935); 6+

Top Hat (1935), 10

Follow the Fleet (1936), 7

Swing Time (1936), 9

Shall We Dance (1937), 7+

Carefree (1938), 7

Give Me a Sailor (1938), 6 {nm}

Jim and Walter are two brother sailors in the United States Navy. Walter tells Jim as soon as they get home he is going to ask his beautiful girlfriend, Nancy Larkin to marry him. But Jim ... 
(80 min) Released 1938-08-19
Director: Elliott Nugent
Stars: Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Betty Grable.
LeRoy Prinz ... choreographer

Genres: Comedy | Romance 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030185/

Jack Whiting was Dicky Randall in Sailing Away (earlier '38, Jessie Matthews). This is his last film credit. He was a B'way guy.

When I saw this cast, and the choreographer, I couldn't believe it wasn't a musical. It's borderline. 

The opening scene is sailors singing in their quarters. At 27:30 BG sings the song playing while social dancing, and after a lot of cutting in, JW gets very annoyed and aggressive, peeling her off from the crowd and they dominate the floor for a while.

Then at 39:30 MR sings while cooking at a picnic; she's alone and anticipating the man she loves (JW). She's surprised by BH instead, as is he. She reprises the song when she wins the best legs contest (BG didn't enter, and MR still could have won), and they film a newsreel on her lawn. Not sure where the 4th song in the Soundtracks occurs, and it doesn't list a performer.

BG plays a very unpleasant character, confident of her effect on men, and she plays it well. After  winning the contest, MR provides a stunning gown and car to fill my glamour quota; she has another fur-trimmed dress during the final scene. The dress that BG wore while danced by JW was pretty too.

Paramount, dir. Nugent; 6

Sing, You Sinners (1938), 6-

Of the singing Beebe brothers, young Mike just wants to be a kid; responsible Dave wants to work in his garage and marry Martha; but feckless Joe thinks his only road to success is through ... 
(88 min) Released 1938-08-17
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Donald O'Connor, Elizabeth Patterson

Genres: Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030752/
bootleg disc, fuzzy print; only 6 chapters, last 2 are not the movie.

The first 3 billed play brothers, Patterson their mother. Birth years:
Crosby 1903
MacMurray 1908
O'Connor 1925 (this is his 4th credit; started in '37)
Patterson 1875

Early song (I'VE GOT A POCKETFUL OF DREAMS) in nightclub: DO does a little dancing with a full-sized accordion strapped to him; it's half his height and looks like it's going to pull him over.

Did every reviewer write "too much Sinning, not enough Singing"? There's 1 hymn, 4 songs and a reprise. For 88 minutes? Ugh. They only perform in street clothes, so I get 0 glamour until the very last moments. And there's a big brawl near the end. Is this a remake of that Victor McLaglen flick? (No, and it's a different studio.)

The 3 "brothers" sing well together. Just wish it would have been a different type of show. Saved from being a 5 by their harmony and DO's tiny bit of hoofing (he's also a good actor).

Paramount, dir. Ruggles; 6-

Little Miss Broadway (1938), 6

An orphan is provisionally adopted by the manager of a hotel populated by show business people. The hotel's owner doesn't like the entertainers and wants the girl returned to the orphanage.
(72 min) Released 1938-07-22
Director: Irving Cummings
Stars: Shirley Temple, George Murphy, Jimmy Durante.
Nick Castle ... dances staged by
Geneva Sawyer ... dances staged by

Genres: Drama | Musical

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030371/

This is a full-blown musical where ST sings and dances. George Murphy leaps to the challenge and brings his easy-breezy best. 

Here are the chapters where musical numbers are found, for those times you want to skip 'the orphan is in jeopardy' + 'the rent is due' plot:

• Ch 2: Be Optimistic
• Ch 6: How Can I Thank You?
• Ch 8: We Should Be Together *dancing ST & GM
• Ch 11: If All the World Were Paper (hooray, good grammar)
• Ch 21: Thank You for the Use of the Hall
• Ch 22: Swing Me an Old-Fashioned Song
• Ch 23 of 24: Little Miss Broadway *dancing ST & GM

Apparently Daryl Zanuck had lifted his ban on unrealistic settings for musical numbers in the last one. Which makes it welcome in my book. Make sure you watch well enough to appreciate GM's vertical prowess in both dances.

Note: Ch 4 has no musical number despite having an italicized title in the menu.

The plot and the 'meh' songs push this to a minus, but GM rescues it back to mezzo 6.

Fox, dir. Cummings; 6

The Duke Is Tops (1938), 6-

A theatrical producer puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer.
(73 min) Released 1938-06-01
Directors: William L. Nolte (as William Nolte), Ralph Cooper (uncredited)
Stars: Ralph Cooper, Lena Horne, Laurence Criner
Lew Crawford ... ensemble numbers

Genres: Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030089/
Watched on Amazon Prime, decent print. But very little control for ffwd. So dig out the disc: 3A of megapack: Classic Musicals 50 if you want to ffwd.

Lena Horne's (b. 1917) first film. She was married since '37 and had 2 children by 1st husband. Didn't marry Lennie Hayton until '47, 3.5 years after her divorce. They worked on 4 films together, starting with Ziegfeld Follies ('45). 17 credits as actress, 1938-1978 (The Wiz).

The poster shows the '43 re-release title (per Wikipedia), Lena now with first billing. Probably safe to assume this was after the '43 all-black releases Cabin in the Sky (3rd billing, MGM, April) and Stormy Weather (1st billing, Fox, July). But changing the billing and the title doesn't change the fact that this movie is primarily about Duke (Ralph Cooper, who also co-wrote and co-directed). RC has only 7 acting credits, and that's his dominant category.

• The first number is Blackberry Baby, Sung and danced by unidentified cast in the music hall, and not well, followed by 
• LH singing I Know You Remember. 
• At about 10 min in, we get Rubberneck Holmes doing his comedy tap specialty. It's clear that's him by his neck contortions. My fave: tapping with his hands while doing a handstand.
• At 41:28 LH sings her second song, Don't Let Our Love Song Turn Into a Blues at a nightclub.  
• At 46:50 Killing Jive, Performed by Cats and the Fiddle at a medicine show.

In the Tap! Appendix for Willie Covan & chorus line, as part of the finale, which starts ~58:30:

• Harlem Is Harmony
• Sung by Ralph Cooper and the Harlemania Orchestra, then
• danced by male & female chorus and RC, who make way for 
• Danced by Willie Covan and dance troupe 
• Thursday Evening Swing, Sung by Basin Street Boys 
• Chorus girls dancing in skimpy "African native" sequined bikinis with black tail and front feathers
• herded away by large native with a whip, to make way for the soloist in white wig and more elaborate white tail feathers. The black-feather girls sway and sit-dance from the sidelines.
• I Know You Remember, Reprised by Lena Horne 
• chorus girls return in evening gowns, then more girls and boys, and they ensemble dance. (OMG, I think this the 5th movie, all '38, where dancers do the Suzie Q for a moment: hands together, wiggle)
• bows for the soloists, re-reprise of You Remember, and credits

I'll not put this on the Worthwhile Dancing list. WC's dance didn't dazzle me. BTW, the sound seemed to be recording the taps live (and the band was playing minimal notes, as if to allow the taps to come out.)

The whole medicine show plot seems borrowed from WC Fields, but I like the finale, so I'll stick with prior 6.

Million Dollar Productions, dir. Nolte & Cooper; 6-

Gold Diggers in Paris (1938), 6-

Owners and show girls of the bankrupt Club Ballé are mistaken for the Academy Ballet of America and are off to Paris to compete in an International Dance Exposition.
(97 min) Released 1938-06-01
Director: Ray Enright
Stars: Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins.
Busby Berkeley ... dance numbers created and directed by

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030191/

I find 2 things comforting: that I bought this in a box set, so it sorta cost nothing, and both Warner cartoons on this disc have not been released elsewhere. The obsessive collector in me might have bought the disc just for those.

So, for a film with plot centering on a nightclub chorus line sailing to France to compete in an international ballet contest, you'd think we'd get a lot of rehearsal, and girls bucking the proscribed technique to wriggle back to swing. Yeah, not so much. We only get showgirls wiggling in Ch 3, and the real ballet corps for a few moments in Ch 24, and some snippets of the competition (with camera askew) in Ch 26. Finally, in Ch 27, after a lot of singing, we get a Rockettes-style kick/tap line, again shown with camera askew (why not upside down, BB?), and for less than a minute. More dancing in Ch 28, but not much. And by the way, the only Gold Digger is RV's ex-wife.

I should start a list of mistaken identity plots. I wonder if every musical has at least 1 such thread. Here the signal for the kidnappers is a briefcase, which is given to the wrong man. It's a minor twist, completely excisable.

Soundtracks: 

• Ch 3: I Wanna Go Back to Bali, Sung by Rudy Vallee and the showgirls, Played by The Schnickelfritz band 
• Ch 4: Listen to the Mockingbird, Performed by the Schnickelfritz Band 
• Ch 11: Daydreaming (All Night Long), Sung by Rudy Vallee 
• Ch 12: Colonel Corn, Performed by the Schnickelfritz Band 
• Ch 13: Old Hank, performed by the Schnickelfritz Band
• Ch 15: A Stranger in Paree, Sung by Rudy Vallee and Rosemary Lane 
• Ch 17: Tiger Rag, performed by the Schnickelfritz Band
• Ch 27: The Latin Quarter, Performed by Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Allen Jenkins and Mabel Todd, Performed by the Schnickelfritz Band 
• Ch 28 of 29: I Wanna Go Back to Bali, Performed by the Schnickelfritz Band, Sung by Rudy Vallee and the showgirls, danced by many but very briefly

The Schnickelfritz Band was needed in 7 of 9 musical numbers? There's a story behind this, but I don't know what. On this site about the band, it says they were hired last minute, so their scenes are mostly alone with reaction shots cut in. Did BB get "sick" and not choreograph enough?

I've not yet learned to like Rudy Vallee. Maybe a tiny bit when he does a decent send-up of Maurice Chevalier. Really, Allen Jenkins carries this movie for me. I like some of the songs, so it doesn't get a 5. 

Warner, dir. Enright; 6-

Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), 8

This send-up of ragtime song and dance begins in 1915 San Francisco when society boy Roger Grant decides to pursue popular rather than serious music.
(106 min) Released 1938-05-24
Director: Henry King
Stars: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman, Jack Haley, Jean Herscholt, Helen Westley, John Carradine.
Seymour Felix ... dances staged by

Genres: Drama | Musical | Romance

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029852/

This film is in the Tap! Appendix for Dixie Dunbar and Wally Vernon; their number is ok, mostly comedic. Also good, but not tap: the dancing demons in Pack Up Your Sins.

Song/dance:

• Alexander's Ragtime Band, Performed by Alice Faye with Tyrone Power on violin, Don Ameche on piano, Jack Haley on drums, and others 
• Ragtime Violin, Performed by Jane Jones, Otto Fries, and Mel Kalish 
• That International Rag, Performed by Alice Faye, Jack Haley and Chick Chandler 
• Everybody's Doin' It Now, Performed by Wally Vernon and Dixie Dunbar (dance and vocal) and chorus, then sung by Alice Faye and chorus 
• Now It Can Be Told, Performed by Don Ameche (piano and vocal), Reprised by Alice Faye and by the band 
• This Is the Life, Performed by Alice Faye, Wally Vernon (dance and vocal) 
• When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam', Performed by Alice Faye 
• For Your Country and My Country, Performed by Donald Douglas at a recruiting station 
• I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in the Y.M.C.A., Performed by The King's Men 
• Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning, Performed by Jack Haley and army chorus 
• We're On Our Way to France, Performed by chorus 
• Say It with Music, Performed by Ethel Merman 
• A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody, Performed by Ethel Merman 
• Blue Skies, Performed by Ethel Merman and Alice Faye with the speakeasy patrons joining in 
• Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil, Performed by Ethel Merman and chorus 
• What'll I Do, Performed by an offscreen chorus 
• My Walking Stick, Performed by Ethel Merman and chorus 
• Remember, Performed by Alice Faye 
• Everybody Step, Performed by Ethel Merman and chorus 
• All Alone, Performed by Alice Faye 
• Gypsy in Me*, Sung by Fred Santley with Ron Wilson at piano 
• at the Carnegie Hall concert:
• Marie, sung by chorus 
• Cheek to Cheek, Played on the radio, broadcast from Carnegie Hall 
• Easter Parade, Performed by Don Ameche and chorus 
• Heat Wave, Performed by Ethel Merman and chorus 
• Alexander's Ragtime Band, Reprised by Alice Faye 

*by Cole Porter; all others by Irving Berlin

Best fact from the commentary track: 60 of 108 minutes are music. (Length on dvd matches IMDb: 1:46:21. There are 3 deleted musical scenes on the dvd, for another 5 min.) Yes, there was plenty of plot too, but that explains my (prior) rating. This is a story of a band, 3 members, and their era, told via the songs they perform. More musicals should have this ambition, but with more dancing. Y'know, like Singin' in the Rain ('52); I guess "the band" is optional.

Fox, dir. King; 8

The Great Waltz (1938), 6+

In 1845 Vienna, Johann Strauss II - Schani to his friends - would rather write and perform waltzes than anything else, this at a time when a waltz is not considered proper society music. ... 
(104 min) Released 1938-11-04
Directors: Julien Duvivier, Victor Fleming (uncredited), Josef von Sternberg (uncredited)
Stars: Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravey, Miliza Korjus.
Albertina Rasch ... dances by / ensembles by

Genres: Biography | Drama | Music | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030202/
Watched online, good print.

A very good collection of Strauss waltzes, well played. Good dancing (waltzes, of course, with a little ballet), well photographed; predates Vincente Minnelli's madness waltz of Madame Bovary ('49) by more than a decade. The speed and whirling must have been dizzying compared with minuets. Much of the music is joyous.

The biographical aspect of the film is not to be trusted. They open with a title card declaiming any accuracy; they were aiming for the spirit of the man, not the facts. Well, did he almost leave his wife? Did he have an affair with an opera singer? Who cares! Let's get rid of the attempt to get Luise Rainer her 3rd consecutive Oscar, and bring on more dancing.

MGM, dir. Duvivier, Fleming, Von Sternberg; 6+

Josette (1938), 6-

Two young men try to wrest their father from the clutches of a gold digger but by mistake think the woman is a young nightclub singer with whom they both fall in love.
(73 min) Released 1938-06-03
Director: Allan Dwan
Stars: Don Ameche, Simone Simon, Robert Young.
Nick Castle ... choreographer
Geneva Sawyer ... choreographer

Genres: Comedy | Crime | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030291/
Watched online, excellent print.

A pleasant bit of fluff, but 3 songs under Soundtracks should not a musical make.

Because I watched online, and have no ffwd, and this site has no preview frame when you mouseover the timeline, I won't go back to see if she sang each one herself & alone (Ameche and Young have both sung on film, and the real Josette may have sung, I don't remember).

Nice to have a film set elsewhere than NYC or H'wood, but anything we see of New Orleans is only on the river; IMDb only lists Fox studios for filming location, but I doubt that the river scenes are models in a tank. Might be stock footage.

Worst moment: William Demarest plays the owner of a diner, with the wife as cook. They seem to have a contentious relationship, and she gets violent with him offscreen, throwing him into frame. This is intended as funny, although she looks to be about as big as he, and domestic violence should never have been funny, regardless of the aggressor.

We get some chorus boys and girls framing Josette in her final song, but it wouldn't really pass for dancing. (She's singing in a N'O nightclub for white folks.) Was there more dancing I forgot already, enough to justify 2 choreographers?

Fox, dir. Dwan; 6-

Kentucky Moonshine (1938), 6-

Tony Martin goes to Kentucky to find talent to boost radio ratings. There it is learned that the Ritz brothers are really from New York and only pretending to be hillbillies to get on Martin's show.
(87 min) Released 1938-05-20
Director: David Butler
Stars: Harry Ritz, Jimmy Ritz, Al Ritz, Tony Martin

Genres: Comedy | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030318/
Watch online, pristine print, dubbed in Russian

A reviewer wrote that the Ritz Bros did some of their precision dancing here, so I wanted to see if this was worth a purchase (official release is available.) It's really not. I didn't find they did much in the way of precision dancing. Unfortunately they set a high bar in On the Avenue ('37), which I have from a box set.

The top 4 billed are as you see them here. And the plot synopsis omits an important improbability: that the RB and Marjorie Weaver hear about TM's desire to find Kentucky talent while they're in New York, so they GO to KY, set up house in a broken-down shack, and wait for TM to arrive. It's not clear how they knew his itinerary so well that they could pinpoint the back road he would travel to find them. (I know, suspension of disbelief, but this is WAY out there.)

So this is pleasant; perhaps more so because I couldn't hear the dialog for the dubbing.

Fox, dir. Butler; 6-

Doctor Rhythm (1938), 5

Dr. Bill Remsen pretends to be a policeman, and ends up being assigned to guard Judy Marlowe. Amazingly, he falls in love with her.
(80 min) Released 1938-05-06
Director: Frank Tuttle
Stars: Bing Crosby, Mary Carlisle, Beatrice Lillie

Genres: Comedy | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030078/
Watched online, fuzzy print uploaded in 6 segments.

Didn't hold my attention. The beginning seems completely unrelated to the bulk of the movie; a reunion held in a menagerie of 4 high school teammates who sing. Their reunion continues until they're in underwear (doesn't this sound like a different sort of film altogether?), and the zoo keeper decides to free the animals. Huh? What? He gets in the water with a seal, who bites him on the ass, so he catches the seal (yeah, right, it's Andy Devine, not Johnny Weissmuller) and bites IT on the ass.)

Later, we see that one of the 4, Bing, is an MD, who threatens a plump (not obese) middle-aged patient that either she work off the fat, or he'll cut it off with the long carving knife he holds. (Where's a cop when you need one?)

Somehow this doctor has time to substitute for a policeman friend in a body-guarding gig, and the aunt, Beatrice Lillie, of the guardee is putting on a benefit for the policeman's fund. (I was hopeful when I saw her name. But I'm not sure anyone could have made this palatable. She has only 7 credits; I remember her from Thoroughly Modern Millie ('67).)

So we get some songs, a big gypsy dancing number at the benefit (near the end), and some extra mysteries to solve. Oh, I get it now: they had a special file cabinet/dumpster with discarded ideas, reached in, grabbed a handful, and made this movie. Of course.

Recommended for insomnia sufferers who won't go OCD trying to follow the plot.

I didn't rate it 4 because I didn't/couldn't pay sufficient attention to be sure that's deserved.

Emanuel Cohen Productions (as Major Pictures Corp.), distr. Paramount, dir. Tuttle; 5