Three Wise Fools (1946), 5- {nm}

It had been forty years since Richard, James and Theodore insulted The O'Monahan and he put a vexing blessing on them. All three have obtained their dreams of grandeur, but they all live in... 
1h 30min | Comedy, Drama | 26 September 1946
Director: Edward Buzzell
Stars: Margaret O'Brien, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Arnold, Ray Collins, Jane Darwell, Harry Davenport.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039031/
Watched online, fuzzy print.

Not a musical; watched because I'd been so pleased with MO in other films. Well, here's the film to show me that MO does not transform any story into something worthwhile.

I'm not sure who this aimed at: children or adults? Perhaps you need to be Irish to appreciate this story: fairies that don't believe in humans and humans that don't believe in fairies. I don't remember what bad thing will happen to the fairies if their tree is cut down. Is this common mythology somewhere, or just made up out of 1 writer's head?

With this team of actors, I expected something likeable. I did not get it. I don't blame them. It's the story that's completely outside my comprehension.

MGM, dir. Buzzell; 5-

The Thrill of Brazil (1946), 6+

Steve, revue producer in Rio de Janeiro, is still in love with his ex-wife Vicki, his star Linda is in love with Steve and Tito is in love with Linda. Because of this they all get small ... 
1h 31min | Musical | 6 September 1946
Director: S. Sylvan Simon
Stars: Evelyn Keyes, Keenan Wynn, Ann Miller, Allyn Joslyn.
Nick Castle ... dance director
Jack Cole ... dance director
Eugene Loring ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039032/

bootleg, ok copy.

Remake of His Girl Friday ('40), with the change of occupations from journalism to stage shows, and locale from NYC to Rio. Some dialog is familiar. 

Cast correlation:

Cary Grant::Keenan Wynn

Rosalind Russell::Evelyn Keyes

Ralph Bellamy::Allyn Joslyn

Songs performed (order not confirmed):

• The Custom House, Danced by Ann Miller 
• Man is brother to a mule, Sung and danced by Ann Miller, Tito Guízar, and chorus 
• Copa-Cabana, Performed by Tito Guízar 
• Minute Samba, Performed by Enric Madriguera and his orchestra 
• Mucho Dinero, Performed by unidentified singer, with Enric Madriguera and his orchestra 
• Thrill of Brazil, Performed by Tito Guízar 
• You Never Say Yes, You Never Say No, Performed by Tito Guízar 

(Somewhere in there is the finale: a dance number by the ensemble, which has a Jack Cole flavor to it.)

The execution of the bickering between the 2 leads requires finesse. CG & RR had it. Plus, CG & RR shared a LOVE of journalism, of chasing the story and writing it most artfully. Here EK loves staging musical numbers, but KW is not her equal, cannot edit her. So it's not at all justified that she wants to return to him.

In HGF, RB was calm, naive, moral. Here AJ is nervous, fearful.

The dancing in this film is superior to most, and that's not a surprise given AM and the choreographers involved. I'd like an official release.

Columbia, dir. Simon; 6+

Three Little Girls in Blue (1946), 7 Color

A reworking of the movie Three Blind Mice (1938) based on the play of the same name, which in turn led to another remake Moon Over Miami (1941). This remake is set during the turn of the ... 
1h 40min | Musical | 3 September 1946 | Color
Directors: H. Bruce Humberstone (as Bruce Humberstone), John Brahm (uncredited)
Stars: June Haver, George Montgomery, Vivian Blaine, Celeste Holm, Vera-Ellen, Frank Latimore.
Seymour Felix ... dance director

Babe Pearce ... choreographer: ballets

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039026/

Bootleg, very blurry print.

In the Tap! Appendix for Vera-Ellen; not sure that she actually taps.

Another Fox re-re-remake, where * means non-musical: The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932)*, Three Blind Mice (1938)*, Moon Over Miami (1941), Three Little Girls in Blue (1946), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)*. Interesting that in '41, the 3 sisters concept became 2 sisters and an aunt; in '53 it became 2 friends and a stranger.

Cast comparisons ('38::'41::'46, in order of '38 billing):
Loretta Young::Betty Grable::June Haver
Joel McCrea::Don Ameche::George Montgomery
David Niven::Robert Cummings::Frank Latimore
Stuart Erwin::Jack Haley::Charles Smith
Marjorie Weaver::Charlotte Greenwood::Vera-Ellen
Pauline Moore::Carole Landis::Vivian Blaine
Binnie Barnes::?::Celeste Holm

Although the character names were changed, this is very close to Moon Over Miami ('41) but with different songs.

Previously rated 8 on 2010-02-27. I can't imagine why I gave it such a high rating, especially when the print is SO poor. Today it feels more like 6+.

Vera-Ellen does some excellent dancing, especially in a fantasy sequence to You Make Me Feel So Young.

Six songs are performed, and have Music by Josef Myrow, Lyrics by Mack Gordon, and make their film debut here: "On the Boardwalk in Atlantic City", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "Always a Lady", "A Farmer's Life Is a Very Merry Life", "I Like Mike", "Somewhere in the Night". Those first 2 are standards, so that earns bonus points. 

I won't downgrade the rating until I see an official print. But that will have to wait until the next good sale comes along for Fox MODs, or someone posts it online. Pulled it down to 7 because I don't want to buy it unless the price is great.

Fox, dir Humberstone, Brahm, Bacon; 8 7

Thanks a Million (1935), 6

Entertainers enter a political rally to get out of the rain and become part of the show. One of them (Powell) gives a speech in place of the besotted candidate (Walburn) and is chosen to be... 
1h 27min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 15 November 1935
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Stars: Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Fred Allen, Patsy Kelly, Raymond Walburn.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027088/
Watched online, good print.

In the Tap! Appendix for Ann Dvorak, Patsy Kelly. I saw them dance; it was nothing special, more soft shoe than tap.

I'm surprised that the screenplay author, Nunnally Johnson, did not get any writing credit on If I'm Lucky ('46), the descendant to this film. The stories are very similar, and even some of the dialog is familiar. Both are Fox productions. Here's the cast comparison:
Dick Powell::Perry Como
Ann Dvorak::Vivian Blane
Fred Allen::Phil Silvers
Patsy Kelly::Carmen Miranda
So 3 of the 4 leads are spicier in the remake.

As much as I miss having DP in musicals, this doesn't grab me. The 6 songs here are ok, but have little dancing to spice them up. Because I knew what to expect from the story, I wasn't paying rapt attention. And because I watched it in the wee hours, I had the sound volume low.

1935 was the last year that I didn't search for musicals online while I was watching in sequence. With 71 total American music/als in IMdb, and only 26 watched, I wonder what else is out there.

Fox, dir. Del Ruth; 6

If I'm Lucky (1946), 6+

Bandleader (James) involved in political campaign.
1h 18min | Musical | 2 September 1946
Director: Lewis Seiler
Stars: Vivian Blaine, Perry Como, Harry James, Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Edgar Buchanan.
Kenny Williams ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038632/

Well, it's an original plot, or at least it was in Thanks a Million (1935). Here: 30-piece big band comes to town to audition for a radio show, but loses before they play a note. They see free food offered at a political rally, so they eat. When the crowd won't settle down to hear the speech, they play a song and hand off the attention to the candidate (EB), who then hires them to go campaigning statewide.

When it looks like EB has a shot at defeating the incumbent, the political machine pulls out the dirt they have on him, and persuade him to quit. But he doesn't announce his decision, he gets drunk backstage at a rally. So PC goes onstage to announce he's indisposed, and makes some good remarks about him. The crowd loves the local boy, and when EB does officially resign, the political machine decides PC should run instead. They want the incumbent to stay, they just want it to "look" like a fair contest.

We get 6 songs performed along the way. Notice CM's all-white costume on the poster; it's a lot more spectacular than it looks there. And since the film is b/w, nice that she didn't taunt us with colors we can't see. Also noteworthy: one of her numbers had a big ensemble dance, where they were in costumes with (probably) 2 colors in large stripes, as was the floor, but those stripes were curved. Even in b/w, the brief overhead shot where the dancers were turning and turning was a bit dizzying.

Just found the antecedent online, so I think I'll take a trip back to '35.

Fox, dir. Seiler; 6+

Children of Hiroshima (1952), 8 {nm}

Post war Hiroshima: It's been four years since the last time she visited her hometown. Takako faces the after effects of the A-bomb when she travels around the city to call on old friends.
1h 37min | Drama, War | 6 August 1952 (Japan)
Director: Kaneto Shindô
Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Osamu Takizawa, Masao Shimizu

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044497/
Watched online; good print on small screen.

Last week I watched a 9'1945 film (maybe Duffy's Tavern; I didn't write about this) where a couple of people in a bar sang, or maybe just said, something very insensitive about the war with Japan. It made me wonder what Americans knew about our dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and what the results were. Did people realize it was worse than when we destroyed Dresden? Or was it all just <shrug> the effects of war?

So I searched for films that had keyword atomic bomb, and didn't find anything terribly interesting. That was a week ago. Today, IMDb reinstated the ability to search for words within plot summaries, so I gave it another try. I found a few more candidates, and this sounded very interesting: what were the Japanese thinking?

This film should be part of any high school WW2 curriculum. It's really too long for 55 minute periods, and watching it in 2 pieces would likely hurt the momentum. But it is fascinating to see that, 4 years after the bomb, people are still living (and dying early) in Hiroshima. They know about radiation poisoning, but not enough to know they should get away from there? The film portrays the city as still being a lot of rubble (I wonder how Dresden looked in '49).

Given that the story looks at 4 children, it's not terribly sentimental or emotionally wrenching. I don't know whether that should drive my rating up or down. But I'm not a fan of silent or subtitled movies, because I can't do anything else but sit and watch. I had NO trouble sitting through this film with that constraint. THAT says a lot.

The characters in this film blamed War (not The war, but war in general) and the A-bomb for their suffering. No mention was made of America or the Allies that I heard or saw in the subtitles.

It's not meant to be a documentary, but I have a lot more questions, like when did we really begin to understand how poisonous radiation was, and how long it lasted? After all, the American film that killed so many cast/crew from cancer because they filmed near an A-bomb test site was The Conqueror (1956), with production date 1954. This web article was the first hit for my google search, and is pretty good (and hopefully accurate).

Notice this film was released on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, August 6, 1945.

This is the 3rd film of director Kaneto Shindô. I've watched one other film where he has writing credit for the Japanese original: Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009; motion picture "Hachiko monogatari", '87), with Richard Gere, which I rated 7 in 3'2017 (before I started blogging). Notice that this director was born and died in Hiroshima, and lived to be just over 100. Not much available on Amazon.

dir. Shindô; 8

P.S. 31Mar'18

Watched some of Cloak and Dagger (1946), where Gary Cooper plays a scientist working on the Manhattan Project who is deployed to Europe to spy on Nazi scientists during the war. While being briefed in his lab, he makes a speech that science will determine how to turn an apple into a bomb, but not how to create an apple. So he's not happy working on the project, and is willing to become a spy. I previously rated the film 5, and didn't find it interesting enough to finish.

Holiday in Mexico (1946), 6+ Color

The U.S. Ambassador's (Walter Pidgeon) daughter falls for a Mexican pianist (Jose Iturbi) old enough to be her grandfather.
2h 8min | Animation, Comedy, Musical | 15 August 1946 | Color
Director: George Sidney
Stars: Walter Pidgeon, José Iturbi, Roddy McDowall, Ilona Massey, Xavier Cugat, Jane Powell.
Stanley Donen ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038606/

Watched online, miserably blurry; tried 3 different copies.

I like JI more each time I see him. Director GS did a good job of making his numbers more visually interesting by tilting the camera, or showing JI in reflection from the music stand, or showing the rapid key mechanisms responding to JI's hands, And the music he plays is right up my alley: romantic classical, and then boogie woogie.

Actual ages: JP (b. 1929), JI (b. 1895). So he's ~51 to her ~17; he and his offspring would need to have been her age for him to be her grandfather. But his is A grandfather in the film, with g'children under age 10. We don't learn this until late in the film.

Although this is coming-of-age romantic nonsense of immature JP & RM (b. 1928, playing younger), which I always find a bit irritating, I would like to see a good copy of this. The Soundtracks lists 19 songs, with no performers; I think I could identify a lot of those, and it would be a pleasure to go through them again. 

Still a Good Neighbor production (dates 28 August 1945 - 4 December 1945). And, let's face it, a lot of Europe was badly damaged; no idea how soon they would be ready to receive their pre-war volume of film imports. And obviously, given the setting (and they're not on holiday; father WP is US Ambassador there), we get some Latin music (Cugat & Orch), but most is classical. Both JP & IM are in the cast; even if they sing pop, it comes out opera.

My rating may go up when I see a clean print. 

MGM, dir. Sidney; 6+

Easy to Wed (1946), 6 Color {nm}

To prevent a libel case against the paper, a reporter tries to compromise the reputation of a tycoon's slandered daughter.
1h 46min | Comedy, Romance | 25 July 1946 | Color
Directors: Edward Buzzell, Buster Keaton (uncredited), Edward (uncredited)
Stars: Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball, Keenan Wynn, Cecil Kellaway, Carlos Ramírez, Ben Blue.
Jack Donohue ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038505/

Remake of Libeled Lady ('36), with same character names, and leading roles replaced as follows:

Jean Harlow :: Lucille Ball

William Powell :: Van Johnson

Myrna Loy :: Esther Williams

Spencer Tracy :: Keenan Wynn

At the moment, Libeled Lady has rating 7.9 with almost 6,000 votes (my rating 7).

Easy to Wed has rating 6.3 with 543 votes (including my prior 6).

Dear MGM, Why remake an A movie with a B cast? Throwing in some musical numbers does not necessarily spice it up, especially when they're not strong musical performers. Any dancing that LB, EW and VJ do is very tame.

EW gets wet a couple of times; she slides down an enormously tall slide into a pool. Later, she swims around VJ on a small inflatable raft in a pool. No water ballet.

The musical numbers consist of:

• Continental Polka, Sung and Danced by Lucille Ball (dubbed by Virginia Rees) and chorus 
• Acercate más (Come Closer To Me), Sung by Carlos Ramírez in a nightclub
• Acercate más, later sung by Esther Williams in Spanish to VJ in hunting cabin
• Toca Tu Samba, Performed on the organ by Ethel Smith 
• Bonecu de Pixe, Performed on the Organ by Ethel Smith, then Danced by Van Johnson, Esther Williams and chorus, sung by them in Spanish!

Carlos Ramirez has a few lines in the story; Ethel Smith has none. By my own very liberal definition of Musical, where you get some numbers performed by characters in the story, this only has 3 such numbers, and is therefore borderline. So I'm not going to suggest this should have the Musical tag. (Even with Mae West films, I only lobbied for films with at least 4 songs, sung by her.)

IMDb lists a production date of 1.Feb.45, so all the Spanish songs and lyrics (sung by Anglos) are still wartime Good Neighbor holdovers. However, I don't remember any reference to the war.

If this had no antecedent film, it would be of even less interest. The story is unpleasant: to prevent the libel suit, the newspaper tries to entrap EW in a compromising situation so she cannot claim her reputation is damaged by their prior erroneous story (in other words, give her a false bad reputation to nullify her damages claim). She's not completely innocent, but the whole thing is a bit nasty. And when this cast does nasty, it feels a bit nastier than when the '36 cast does it.

MGM, dir. Buzzell+; 6

Centennial Summer (1946), 6 Color

In 1876 Philadelphia, two sisters vie for the affections of a Frenchman who's come to town to prepare the French pavilion for the Centennial exposition.
1h 42min | History, Musical | 10 July 1946 | Color
Director: Otto Preminger
Stars: Jeanne Crain, Cornel Wilde, Linda Darnell, William Eythe, Walter Brennan, Constance Bennett, Dorothy Gish.
Dorothy Fox ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038406/

Watched online, ok print for the small screen.

Notice that the top 4 billed in this Musical all have singing dubbers. None are called upon to move more than social dancing, although I think there was some folk dancing that needed a choreographer, but not with the principals.

Songs performed; all music by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Yellen, Robin (2 songs), Hammerstein and Harburg; may not be in order of appearance:

• The Right Romance, Sung by Jeanne Crain (dubbed by Louanne Hogan) 
• Up with the Lark, Sung by Jeanne Crain (dubbed by Louanne Hogan), Linda Darnell (dubbed), Barbara Whiting, Buddy Swan, Constance Bennett and Walter Brennan 
• All Through the Day, Sung by Larry Stevens, Jeanne Crain (dubbed by Louanne Hogan), Linda Darnell (dubbed), William Eythe (dubbed by David Street) and Cornel Wilde (dubbed by Ben Gage) 
• In Love in Vain, Sung by Jeanne Crain (dubbed by Louanne Hogan) and William Eythe (dubbed by David Street) 
• Cinderella Sue, Sung and danced by Avon Long and children, buskers in the bar where WB gets drunk

The songs are specific to the story, but are not necessary to it, so this falls short of being an Integrated Musical in my, er, book.

LD deliberately tried to steal CW from JC, even though she already had a local doctor (WE) as her fiance. And WE wanted her back? I predict trouble ahead for that marriage. And younger sister JC decides to fight fire with fire. Does this sort of plot reflect real life, or shape it?

WB, and his ambitions as an inventor, his troubles with his boss, plus CB's efforts on his behalf, were far more interesting than the romantic manipulations of LD and JC. I found the invention itself rather odd: why do you need one clock with many faces to show you the time across the country? Won't multiple clocks do the trick just as well? Especially when some regions don't observe daylight savings.

I find it strange that just because this film is anchored by a real event (the Centennial Exposition, which I'm assuming is real), that it gets the genre History. I don't remember any history being discussed, not even why France would want/deserve a pavillion at the fair. And we get the inside look at that pavillion: a model of the city of Paris? Then a costume ball? What was the rest of the Exposition like? Do we get a ring-toss booth and cotton candy? Perhaps a Tunnel of Love?

Fox, dir. Preminger; 6

Specter of the Rose (1946), 5

Ballet dancer Sanine may have murdered his first wife. A detective thinks so, and he's not the only one. Sanine is charming, if a little peculiar. Haidi, a ballerina, marries him. The ... 
1h 30min | Drama, Film-Noir, Music | 5 July 1946
Director: Ben Hecht
Stars: Judith Anderson, Michael Chekhov, Ivan Kirov, Viola Essen, Lionel Stander.
Tamara Geva ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038973/
Watched online, ok print.

Hard to believe this is Ben Hecht the journalist who wrote/produced/directed this. How did he choose madness and ballet as his subject? And why did he try to write as a poet instead of a realist? The dialog here is bad. Did he know people who really talked like this?

The young dancers, the focus of the piece, dance well, but don't act well, and they're obligated to do both. 

LS is cast wildly off-type; is he the alter-ego of Hecht? He says things that seem pompously artsy, not really poetic (but I'm not a poetry fan). 

I had to check if MC was really the same actor as portrayed Ingrid Bergman's mentor in Spellbound ('45). Yes. He seemed so old in that film, and is less than a decade older than the century. Here he's irritating, which is probably intended, but I don't see the value in it.

JA was good, as usual: the burned-out ballerina who teaches in a dingy studio, watching her knitting more than her pupils.

I was not surprised by the climax. It was clearly telegraphed, and by prolonging it we got more of IK's dancing, but in a confined space, and conveying madness not beauty. (This is IK's only film.)

So watch this with thumb on the Ffwd button: skip the story and relish the dancing. But I'm not putting this on my "worthwhile dancing" list; I don't even want to skim through this film again for a long, long time.

Republic, dir. Hecht; 5

Beware (1946), 7-

Ware College is a small Black college in Ware, Ohio. Once prominent, it is now low in attendance, low in enrollment and low on money; and at a meeting with instructors Drury and Annabelle ... 
54min | Music, Romance | 3 July 1946
Director: Bud Pollard
Stars: Louis Jordan, Frank L. Wilson, Emory Richardson.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038353/
Watched online, very dark and blurry.

Ok, you're telling me this 55 minute race film is better than the Marx Bros film you just watched? Yup.

And this is probably the best race film I've seen that didn't have a major cross-over orchestra like Cab Calloway or Duke Ellington and not produced by a major studio (like Cabin in the Sky ('43).)

The acting is not good, or nor was the camera work for non-musical sequences. The sound is a major downfall again, since the dialog sequences all have scratchy silences. Were they using old equipment or early-technology film stock?

The music is definitely antecedent to rock'n'roll. Think Bill Haley and the Comets, who emerged in '52. (A few years earlier, I saw a film with music antecedent to bebop jazz.) This is part of the excitement for me: to see the leading-edge music where I can hear the future. Will "mainstream" films perform that function when race films cease in '50?

Other than the 9 songs, all presented by Louis Jordan (who acts, sings, plays sax, leads the band, orchestrates, composes, produced the film... and probably more), the thing that raises this to a 7 is the story. Set in a college having financial difficulties, the administrators page through its alumni and recites their financial and political successes. This is a refreshing change from poverty-anchored or violent-crime plots.

Louis Jordan acted in 6 films 1944-7; this is the 4th, and we just saw him in Swing Parade of 1946 as one of ~4 musical acts in the new nightclub. His band provided the only black performers, I think. His song about the mule made a lot more sense in Beware than in that film.

He has 33 Soundtrack credits 1944-2013, with writing credit for Is You Is, Or Is You Ain't My Baby, among others. For most songs in a single film, Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947) wins, and it's his last acting credit; I'll see it in this quest.

His production company made only 3 films (1 was a short), and I'll give you 1 guess for the title of the other feature.

Louis Jordan Productions, distr. Astor Pictures Corporation, dir. Pollard; 7-

A Night in Casablanca (1946), 6+ {nm}

The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure.
1h 25min | Comedy | 16 May 1946
Director: Archie Mayo (as Archie L. Mayo)
Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Charles Drake, Sig Ruman.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038777/

Charles Drake is a familiar face. For me, it's for being the young good doctor in Harvey ('50).

Not a musical, and not tagged as such. I just figured Chico plays piano, Harpo plays harp, and the chanteuse sings a few times, so why not watch it. Most MB movies ARE tagged music/al.

I don't think I did a good job watching this. Not enough anarchy/rebellion for me. The MB join with the juvenile (CD) to solve the crime and rescue the treasure. No Margaret Dumont, only the chanteuse (who is in with the Nazis until she overhears that they'll leave without her. Then she calls the cops.) The juvenile has a romantic interest, but I don't remember why she was in town.

Without GM singing, without a Dumont or a Thelma Todd foil, without a specific con of their (MB) own, this omits too many key ingredients to get to a 7.

Maybe I'll change my mind in a subsequent viewing, but this was on my "own, Netflix 3/5 rating" list, and I scanned my other MB ratings from this quest.

Loma Vista Productions, distr. UA, dir. Mayo; 6+

Make Mine Music (1946), 5 Color, Animated

Animation done to contemporary popular music.
1h 15min | Animation, Family, Music | 20 April 1946
Directors: Robert Cormack (as Bob Cormack), Clyde Geronimi | 3 more credits
Stars: Nelson Eddy, Dinah Shore, Benny Goodman, Andrews Sisters

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038718/
Watched online; 2 bad choices to watch: both with wrong aspect ratio. One was blurrier and slower, the other was sped up (audio pitched slightly higher, shorter run time, but really, it was the other version that seemed too slow, but that might be Disney pacing, because each voice sounds like a chipmunk; maybe they just altered the pitch of the audio as will as altering the image) and occupied only 1/4 of the screen. Apparently if you modify a film enough, the owner no longer has copyright control over it.

Since I was attracted to this for Nelson Eddy, I also watched his segment (the finale: singing whale) on the other version. Glad I did, and that they put right on the title card that he did ALL the voices in that segment. The story was silly (whale has 3 uvulas(!) that sing simultaneously and independently in 3 ranges), but the singing was great. (Well, the women's parts: not so much.) Here's the audio only. The story was awful: they kill the whale thinking the opera singer was a human in his belly.

I did not like the "story" drawn for the BG quartet (After You've Gone; the orchestra had an earlier segment), because the instruments were animated (no people), and were attacking each other (in a nice syrupy Disney way). It was very nightmarish, but in pastels. This may be a perfect example of why I dislike Disney sensibilities so much.

So this reminds me of Fantasia ('40), except they used more swing music than classical (although the longest segments are both classical: the whale sings opera, and Peter and the Wolf is Prokofiev). It's just an anthology of several songs put to animation, some without plot/story.

This has a 6.4 IMDb rating with 2800+ votes. Of 44 Disney Animated Musical Features, 36 have better ratings. But this is Music, and there are 8 of these; this is the 2nd lowest.

Disney, dir. various; 5

The Hoodlum Saint (1946), 5 {nm}

A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that it's much more difficult to find work than he expected. Desperate, one day he crashes a wedding... 
1h 31min | Drama, Music | 4 April 1946
Director: Norman Taurog
Stars: William Powell, Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury, James Gleason.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038615/

Only 2 songs in the Soundtracks, both sung by Angela Lansbury (dubbed). I counted 4 songs sung; didn't try to correlate with the 2 titles, but could easily have been repeats of them. I do NOT count this as a musical, but won't fight the tag.

This was too sentimental and pseudo-religious for me. To get his hangers-on off his neck, WP tells them the tale of the hoodlum saint, and sets up an event to make them believe. Later, when he's down on his luck (market crash wipes him out), JG (one of the hangers) convinces him to try asking that saint for help. We don't get angelic choruses, but that group of hangers-on is so impressed with WP turning to prayer, they reform back into believers.

EW doesn't get wet. She's the romantic interest for WP, who's not interested in romance when she is. Her acting is serviceable, but the character she plays is one-dimensional, as is AL, the hard-bitten chanteuse, also romancing WP.

I disliked WP's character enough that I frowned at the "happy" ending. Disliked the film enough to look whether this was a Dory Schary film, but he's over at RKO in '46, doesn't re-join MGM as head of production until '48.

MGM, dir. Taurog; 5

Swing Parade of 1946 (1946), 6

A struggling young singer falls for a nightclub owner whose father, a millionaire, is trying to shut it down. Featuring The Three Stooges as waiters.
1h 14min | Comedy, Music | 16 March 1946
Director: Phil Karlson
Stars: Gale Storm, Phil Regan, Howard-Fine-Howard, Edward Brophy, Mary Treen.
Jack Boyle ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039003/
Watched online; blurry. Also on Amazon Prime.

Had enough dancing that I expected to find a choreographer in the credits, and did.

The story barely interrupts the numerous musical performances. The 3 Stooges barely interrupt the story. What story? The rich dad wanting to prevent his son's opening and running a night club, and the son's efforts to start up that business. So performances come as rehearsals and as opening night sets. Since dad cut off the son's funding, MT is the rich friend of the family who helps bankroll the efforts, and drags dad to opening night, where he finally sees what all this showbiz stuff really is.

Performances, not in this order (and it seemed like even more):

• Caldonia, Performed by Louis Jordan and The Tympany Five 
• Oh, Brother, Sung by Gale Storm 
• On the Sunny Side of the Street, Sung by Gale Storm 
• Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule, Performed by Louis Jordan and The Tympany Five 
• A Tender Word Will Mend It All, Sung by Will Osborne and Mary Treen 
• Just a Little Fond Affection, Performed by Will Osborne and Mary Treen 
• Stormy Weather, Performed by Connee Boswell 
• Small World, Sung by Phil Regan 
• After All This Time, Sung by Phil Regan and Gale Storm 

The poor print prevents this from getting a 6+, and maybe a clear print still wouldn't. This is much better than I would expect from Monogram, with several names and more faces that are familiar.

Monogram, dir. Karlson; 6

The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), 6 Color

After a timid milkman knocks unconscious a boxing champion who was accosting his sister, he decides to take up boxing himself in order to impress a beautiful nightclub singer.
1h 53min | Comedy, Musical | 21 March 1946 | Color
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Stars: Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden, Walter Abel, Lionel Stander, Fay Bainter.
Bernard Pearce ... dances

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038668/

Watched online, blurry.
I had a bootleg copy; it froze midway. Disc had big black splotches visible in the tracks. Tossed it.

In the Tap! Appendix for Vera-Ellen.

First of 4 film credits for Bernard Pearce, all as DD (by some title or other). I especially like the stunts VE does in her first number, for example: she's tossed up to a roof, landing in splits, then tumbles down to the ground (with chorus boys guiding her) and lands in splits there too.

In her second number, VE changes from toe shoes back into her tap shoes during a cut in the film. They're designed to look the same, and I missed the transition TO the toe shoes. But I remember in Happy Go Lovely ('51), while she's performing onstage, she goes offstage and comes back too quickly with different shoes. This is far more fantastic. But after we accept B.Berkeley's surreal "stages" in 42nd Street ('33), all bets are off.

Kay Thompson is listed as Actress (Matron), and also as vocal arranger.

Performances (no chapters, not sure of sequence):

• The Sunflower Song, Performed by The Goldwyn Girls (uncredited) 
• Hey! What's Your Name?, Performed by Vera-Ellen (uncredited) (dubbed by Suzanne Ellers (uncredited)), Frankie Laine (uncredited) and male chorus 
• The Blue Danube Waltz, Hummed by Eve Arden several times, Played at the title fight 
• You're The Cause of It All, Sung by Virginia Mayo (uncredited) (dubbed by Betty Russell (uncredited)) 
• The Sunflower Song, Performed by The Goldwyn Girls (uncredited) (is this the same as the opening song, with different lyrics?)
• I Love An Old Fashioned Song, Sung by Virginia Mayo (uncredited) (dubbed by Betty Russell (uncredited)) and an unidentified man 
• Josie, Performed by The Goldwyn Girls (uncredited) and male chorus, and danced by Vera-Ellen (uncredited) 
• Pavlova, Performed by Danny Kaye (uncredited) 

Eve Arden's blouse and vest (when she's coaching DK in the outdoor ring) has such square shoulders, it looks inspired by zoot suits.

This is a remake of the Harold Lloyd talkie The Milky Way ('36). I remember enough to know this is very close remake; I remember the outdoor boxing ring in both. The character names are the same, and Lionel Stander plays Spider in both films! But the original is not a musical.

This is ok fare; you get what you expect from DK, especially when you see a song with a Russian name as the title.

The real reason to watch this is the Vera-Ellen dances, and for EA's wisecracks. Walter Abel also does some good comic reactions. And LS is always welcome. Fay Bainter even gets in on the physical comedy when DK "trains" her to box, which pays off near the end.

Goldwyn, dir. McLeod; 6

Breakfast in Hollywood (1946), 6

Based on an old radio series with a live audience. It is the story of few of the people who attend the show. Nat King Cole sings.
1h 30min | Comedy, Music | 26 February 1946
Director: Harold D. Schuster (as Harold Schuster)
Stars: Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, Beulah Bondi, Billie Burke, Zasu Pitts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038382/
Watched on AmazonPrime; also on a megapack.

Memorable gimmick of the radio show: live audience, ordinary women, MC interviews them, and tries on the silliest hat in the audience (they all wore hats in '46), interspersed with musical numbers by various performers.

This day the host (TB) gets involved with individuals he meets on the show: the sailor and the shopgirl (BG) from Minnesota, the oldest woman of the day (Bondi). And we follow Burke and her wayward husband, and ZP in her quest to get the most ridiculous hat.

In addition to the expected good results from Bondi, Burke and Pitts, Hedda Hopper is cheerful as herself, winning the craziest hat award that day and interacting with Pitts later. Plus the juvenile lead is very appealing: Edward Ryan (b. 1923), who has 16 credits from '31-'53; this one is in the middle. Next year I'll see him in It Happened on Fifth Avenue.

It's pretty tame, but pleasant, with requisite happy endings (almost?) all around.

Golden Pictures, distr. UA, dir. Schuster; 6

Because of Him (1946), 7-

A young woman who wants to break into the theater schemes to become the protege of a famous Broadway star.
1h 28min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 18 January 1946
Director: Richard Wallace
Stars: Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Helen Broderick, Donald Meek.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038341/

The 4th film of 54 for Joan Shawlee, a favorite character actress for Billy Wilder: she played Sweet Sue in Some Like it Hot ('59). She's an extra here (autograph seeker) and I did not find her.

I've often wondered about the dangers of giving autographs. Here DD has written a letter of introduction for herself, and manipulated CL into signing it, asking for his autograph.

2nd pairing of DD & CL, previously: It Started with Eve (1941).  

3rd pairing of DD & FT, previously: Nice Girl? (1941), His Butler's Sister (1943).

Only 3 songs in the Soundtracks:

ch3. Lover, DD harmonizes with herself, recorded and live, while dressing

ch7. Danny Boy, DD singing in CL's home, persuading him she has acting talent

ch9 (of 11). Good Bye!, DD sings to FT in crowded elevator, lobby, revolving door

HB plays wise supportive friend, not so sarcastic or comedic as usual; she's underused.

Difficult to rate: CL (b. 1899) & DD (b. 1921) perform well, especially together. The play within the film awkwardly pairs them together romantically. Every time they are about to kiss, I cringe and want to avert my eyes. Even FT (b. 1905) is rather old for her. And the DD/FT pairing is contentious, based on his opinion that she is duplicitous. But she merely cheated in the normal showbiz ways, in order to get her foot in the door. Then, after some extreme actions by FT (deliberate cruelty to her during the initial rehearsal, quitting as director and then publicly disowning this play he wrote), he suddenly realizes how wonderful she is, and she is immediately drawn to him. Perhaps the film relied on the foundation of their prior 2 films together, which I didn't see, and the audience was expecting them to get together. I found it rushed and unwarranted. In fact, DD should be repulsed by this petulant oaf. Don't expect his behavior to improve, deary.

Even with too little music and the bad romance, CL & DD together make a "recommended" rating.

Universal, dir. Wallace; 7-

The Harvey Girls (1946), 8

On a train trip West to become a mail order bride Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a " Harvey House " restaurant at a remote whistle stop to provide ... 
1h 42min | Comedy, Musical, Western | 18 January 1946
Director: George Sidney
Stars: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Preston Foster, Virginia O'Brien, Kenny Baker, Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, Cyd Charisse.
Robert Alton ... musical numbers staged by

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038589/

In the Tap! Appendix for Ray Bolger (ch19).

When John Hodiak smiles, his face really lights up. When he scowls, it's really stormy. He's a good match for JG here. Although he runs the saloon and knows a legitimate restaurant with attractive wholesome women can be stiff competition for his type of saloon/casino, he insists on competing fair and square, and fights with his former allies who use criminal methods to dissuade the women from staying in town.

Performances (26 custom chapters with menu):

• ch2. In the Valley (Where the Evenin' Sun Goes Down), Performed by Judy Garland 
• ch4. Wait and See, Sung by Angela Lansbury (dubbed by Virginia Rees) 
• ch5. On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, Sung by Ben Carter, Marjorie Main, Ray Bolger, Judy Garland and chorus
• ch8. The Train Must Be Fed, Sung by Selena Royle, Marjorie Main and chorus 
• ch9. Oh, You Kid, Sung by Angela Lansbury (dubbed by Virginia Rees) and chorus. The voice dubber for AL is not a good match for her voice, particularly in ch9.
• ch11. It's a Great Big World, Sung and Danced by Judy Garland, Virginia O'Brien and Cyd Charisse (dubbed by Marion Doenges) 
• ch14. The Wild, Wild West, Sung by Virginia O'Brien 
• ch17. Wait and See, Sung by Kenny Baker 
• ch19. On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, Danced by Ray Bolger 
• ch20. Swing Your Partner Round and Round, Danced by Ray Bolger, Judy Garland, Marjorie Main, Cyd Charisse and chorus 

This is an enjoyable film with rousing tunes. I wouldn't call this an Integrated Musical. Although the songs are customized for the story, they don't illuminate much about the characters. Namely, if you took the songs out, you wouldn't miss anything except their performances. Don't get me wrong, that would be a lot to miss, and would completely devalue the film. But the characters and story are fully formed by dialog and action independent of the songs.

I own 16 George Sidney-directed movies, and rated 6 more. That's 22 of his 30 total, and I'm pretty sure I've seen one other. The ratings: 98888877777666665555. GS himself does the commentary track; I got distracted midway, and didn't want to go back to it right now.

MGM, dir. Sidney; 8

Story of G.I. Joe (1945), 8 {nm}

During WW2, Pulitzer prize winner and war correspondent Ernie Pyle joins the army and writes articles about his comrades in his daily columns.
1h 48min | Biography, Drama, War | 18 June 1945
Director: William A. Wellman
Stars: Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038120/

The only reasonably priced discs were Region 2, shipped from UK, so this took a bit long to get here, and I'm watching this more than 6 months out of sequence. VE-day (8 May) is a few weeks prior to the premiere of this film. VJ-day (2 Sep) has yet to come.

RM had made 25 films before this, but began only in 1943 (lots of oaters among those early films). So he is NOT an established star, and had to audition for this part. He received his only Oscar nom (for best supporting actor) here.

This is hailed as a realistic film about the infantry. It certainly gives an unpleasant impression of the experience. Cold, wet, dirty, hungry, making little or no progress, losing comrades to death, it's no propaganda film to boost morale and enlistment. But it honors the infantry nonetheless.

My first thought as the film rolled: did the cast/crew think "We really need to get this right. Our boys are dying over there; we got dirtied by the makeup department, and can have a hot bath tonight."

Except for BM, this is a cast of unknowns, and made a star out of RM.

On my copy, starting around chapter 9 (of 11), the sound goes out of sync; (might want to check online versions next time). Then again, it just adds to the chaos. And no, you didn't miss anything: the final death in the film was not explained, it just was.

Lester Cowan Productions, distr. UA, dir. Wellman; 8

People Are Funny (1946), 4

Two rivaling radio producers try to get the same sponsor. So they try to top each other with new ideas.
1h 33min | Musical | 11 January 1946
Director: Sam White
Stars: Jack Haley, Helen Walker, Rudy Vallee, Ozzie Nelson.
Jack Crosby ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038831/

Supposedly Frances Langford sings I'm in the Mood for Love in this film. I didn't hear or see her. This copy may be a re-release that needed to cut her song. She and the song are definitely listed in the opening credits, but they would have needed to film a new title sequence (2 cards) to excise those references.

In 6'2014 I rated this a 4. I'm not feeling so strident today, but it's a definite waste of time to watch this. I never find pranks funny, and the show, hosted by Jack Haley at the local (origination) level, and Art Linkletter at the national audition, is just a bunch of real people who agree to get on stage have bad things done to them. As with other films about radio shows, too much of the humor is visual to make sense for radio.

The plot surrounding the radio show performances involves a duplicitous trio of 2 rival producers and the (woman) writer who manipulates them. The producers steal physical objects from each other at her behest, and it's quite clear that she is only interested in her own success, even if measured only by what she can get them to do. She also manipulates JH, and supposedly feels remorse, but then she calls for theft to rectify the situation. 

So all the way around, these are people I don't want to watch. No one gets maimed or sent to prison, but they are not worthy of my time, not even as a retired person. Hmm. Maybe the 4 should stand.

Pine-Thomas Productions, distr. Paramount, dir. White; 4

Tars and Spars (1946), 6+

Howard Young is a coast guardsman who has been on shore duty for three years despite his efforts to be sent into action. His nearest approach to sea duty was on a harbor-moored life raft ... 
1h 26min | Musical | 10 January 1946
Director: Alfred E. Green
Stars: Janet Blair, Alfred Drake, Marc Platt, Sid Caesar.
Jack Cole ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039010/

Watched online, blurry copy. Try another one next time.

In the Tap! Appendix for Marc Platt. The film is worth watching just for his dancing time. He sometimes pantomimes emotions with exaggerated movements, but it's better than someone who just does the steps. His appeal is his terrific athleticism and grace, obvious ballet training, but ability to dance any style. He earns the film a place on my "worthwhile dancing" list.

First film credit of 22 for Sid Caesar. Third of 10 film credits for Marc Platt. First of 3 film credits for Alfred Drake. Ninth of 19 for Janet Blair.

Only 3 songs listed in Soundtracks, with no performance info. Next time you watch this, capture placement and personnel, and update IMDb. No idea if Janet Blair is singing; if not, the match of dubber to her speaking voice is very good. It probably is her, since her mini-bio says she was the lead in the touring company of South Pacific. Then it's a shame she only made 6 music/als, and only 1 more in '47 remains in this quest; the last one in '68 is Disney, available to rent.

If I didn't know the release date, I would guess this was screened while the war was in full swing. (No production dates are listed in IMDb today.) AD is Howard Young (see synopsis above), and the musical numbers all come from rehearsals/performances of the Tars & Spars show within the film, put on by service members (male and female).

Columbia, dir. Green; 6+

How many musicals watched each year?

year	total musicals watched	watched online	online %	total musicals	watched %
1945	33	14	42.4%	68	48.5%
1944	41	14	34.1%	92	44.6%
1943	36	13	36.1%	92	39.1%
1942	28	10	35.7%	61	45.9%
1941	42	21	50.0%	68	61.8%
1940	35	12	34.3%	53	66.0%
1939	31	15	48.4%	50	62.0%
1938	33	11	33.3%	64	51.6%
1937	41	15	36.6%	78	52.6%
1936	38	14	36.8%	65	58.5%
1935	25	0	0.0%	71	35.2%
1934	19	0	0.0%	53	35.8%
1933	13	0	0.0%	39	33.3%
1932	6	0	0.0%	14	42.9%
1931	4	0	0.0%	29	13.8%
1930	10	5	50.0%	94	10.6%
1929	13	2	15.4%	74	17.6%
1928	1	0	0.0%	5	20.0%
1927	1	0	0.0%	1	100.0%
totals	450	146	32.4%	1071	42.0%

I know I wasn't searching for musicals online in the early days; didn't realize it was for that many years. I'm sure the '29 and '30 films online were watched after I started watching other years online.

NB: some of the online films are also in my megapacks, and I'm not going to research how many at this point, because the IMDb search doesn't support OR and I have several megapack lists.

I've watched 4 more musicals, all released after '45.
And I've watched 74 non-musicals.

Doll Face (1945), 6

Burlesque star (Blaine) makes it in the big time.
1h 20min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 31 December 1945
Director: Lewis Seiler
Stars: Vivian Blaine, Dennis O'Keefe, Perry Como, Carmen Miranda.
Kenny Williams ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037650/

This feels like a major demotion for VB & CM to be in a black and white movie. Perhaps this is a post-war decision, that audiences didn't need color to boost morale anymore. Or maybe it's a lack of confidence in a Gypsy Rose Lee-penned play, or its subject matter. (Her prior and first writing credit, Lady of Burlesque was in '43. Her 3rd and final is Gypsy ('62), each produced by different studios.) CM has only 1 more Fox film, in '46, also VB & PC top-billed, also b/w; this is 15th of her 20 film credits. This is VB's 9th of 19 films, and she makes only 2 more for Fox. So the demotion theory holds water.

The Soundtracks lists 6 songs with 3 reprises: 1 without a performer, and only 1 by CM. She really dances here, and has a male partner shorter than she, while she is BAREFOOT. The dvd includes another number with her (She Was Always True to the Navy), and her turban has a lighthouse on top. The collar suggest a sailor uniform, so I'd guess the gown is (a very shiny) navy blue. Don't miss the rope-shaped bracelet.

Perry Como gets 2 duets and a solo that becomes a dance number for the chorus. He also acts in the backstage story. He's so young and pretty, but his quiet personality is better suited for TV, where he had a variety show '48-'67.

DO again does not dance at all. Former chorus boy for years, and not an ankle shaken.

Twice a burlesque woman (don't remember if VB was one, or if it was Martha Stewart both times) does a very bad job of swinging 1) a fur boa or 2) the stage curtain. Bad because it's not properly timed to the music. Barbara Stanwyck did a much better job of both in Lady of Burlesque.

This is pleasant, but the plot is not very interesting, or maybe it's just not well executed.

Fox, dir. Seiler; 6

The Stork Club (1945), 6+

A hat-check girl at the Stork Club (Hutton) saves the life of a drowning man (Fitzgerald). A rich man, he decides to repay her by anonymously giving her a bank account, a luxury apartment ... 
1h 38min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 28 December 1945
Director: Hal Walker
Stars: Betty Hutton, Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore, Iris Adrian, Bill Goodwin, Robert Benchley.
Sam Ledner ... dance supervisor (uncredited)
Billy Daniel ... stager: musical numbers (as Billy Daniels)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038119/

Watch on A.Prime, poor quality; also on a megapack.

Look, BF is a charming scene-stealer, and that's no different here. And he's in a lot of scenes.

BH is not as annoying as usual, until she sings one of the songs. Then she reaches out and yells at us like we're deaf.

I don't remember any dancing per se, especially given Billy Daniel's credit above, plus a supervisor. The only mention of dancing in the Soundtracks is what I do remember: BF dancing with his wife to a slow waltz.

IA has a minor role, but she's always welcome.

RB is BF's attorney, and really the cause of most of the trouble. BF wants to reward a simple hatcheck girl, and make her happy. But RB has been living the highlife for so long, his idea of what makes a girl happy is an incredibly luxurious apartment and unlimited credit at the best department store in NYC. So of course, the girl spends like crazy and can't explain it to her boyfriend when he returns from the war.

Conflict ensues, and gets resolved. It's much better than I expected, given my experiences with BH. 

B.G. DeSylva Productions Inc., distr. Paramount, dir. Walker; 6+