1h 27min | Comedy, Music | 18 February 1941
Director: Hal Roach
Stars: Adolphe Menjou, Carole Landis, John Hubbard, Charles Butterworth, Patsy Kelly, Willie Best
Watched at Amazon Prime; also in a megapack.
A vocal group called The Charioteers sing a few songs. They have beautiful harmony, but they don't do enough of it to make this genre Music or Musical for my money. But I won't be militant about it. Once they back up a singer on stage (Roach's daughter?), another they sing while doing roustabout chores. Carole Landis sings (dubbed) in the shower with unseen backup harmonizers. There's a 4th in the Soundtracks, but I can't find it on the Prime preview images.
The Road Show of the title is a traveling carnival, which, based on a lie that their new member (the playboy) is a tamer, adds lions to the mix.
Things get very physical (Hal Roach produced and directed), and Adolphe Menjou does as much shtick as the next man. Willie Best is at his exaggerated cowardly, well, best, but overcomes his fear and manages to recapture the escaped lion. Butterworth brings his usual wealthy eccentric to the show. Carole Landis and Patsy Kelly are the proprietors of the Show, which is in debt, of course. John Hubbard is handsome, and sufficiently wacky for the script. The ending is very happy.
Hal Roach Studios, distr. UA, dir. Roach; 6
