1h | Comedy, Musical, Mystery, Romance | 4 December 1942
Director: Edward F. Cline
Stars: Al Ritz, Jimmy Ritz, Harry Ritz, William Demarest.
Eddie Prinz ... choreographer
Watched online part 1, part 2, mediocre print. Runtime was 1:09
In the Tap! Appendix for Johnny Downs, Grace McDonald, Ritz Brothers. OK, I'll sign off on their dancing being "tap." But tap sounds were not provided.
Whodunit? A guest clarinetist. Why? Something about the barn's prior use as a ... dunno, some kind of sabotagey thing. And two shots were fired: one from the stage, one from...? So who was the second shooter? Argh.
Songs ok, dancing pretty good, but the plot completely corrupted/distracted from the proceedings. Why would someone need to kill random performers to reclaim a barn? Just move your equipment. Or make loud noises during the performances to ruin the venue?
If you want to see the Ritz Bros dance here, it's toward the end of the film, after the 1st hour. Actually, all the dancing is pretty good (but not "worthwhile"), so just skip past all the non-dancing scenes. (The comedy is skippable too.)
Universal, dir. Cline; 5
