Plot-- A blue-collar trombone player joins Goodman's orchestra but lets it go to his head. So he has to learn humility before he can be a real success.
The movie is typical of the musical programmers turned out during the war. It's Goodman's name and his swing band that's intended as the draw. Among the leads, Bari and Darnell look enough alike to be sisters-- same hair-do, same coloring, same features. In fact, I got them mixed up, at times. Seems unusual to find two such look-alikes in the same movie, but they're sure a lot of eye candy. Then there's poor Cardwell, who's got all the charisma of dried cement, which doesn't help. Good thing his trombone playing is well dubbed. Good thing too that Oakie's on board to supply comedy relief.
The sequence at the military school is the funniest, and the music and dancing the movie's best. Most of the numbers I didn't recognize, but that's okay since it's the trademark Goodman sound. Anyway, TCF was obviously counting on the big band name to put this slender B-production over to wartime audiences who doubtless could use some musical uplift.
The movie is typical of the musical programmers turned out during the war. It's Goodman's name and his swing band that's intended as the draw. Among the leads, Bari and Darnell look enough alike to be sisters-- same hair-do, same coloring, same features. In fact, I got them mixed up, at times. Seems unusual to find two such look-alikes in the same movie, but they're sure a lot of eye candy. Then there's poor Cardwell, who's got all the charisma of dried cement, which doesn't help. Good thing his trombone playing is well dubbed. Good thing too that Oakie's on board to supply comedy relief.
The sequence at the military school is the funniest, and the music and dancing the movie's best. Most of the numbers I didn't recognize, but that's okay since it's the trademark Goodman sound. Anyway, TCF was obviously counting on the big band name to put this slender B-production over to wartime audiences who doubtless could use some musical uplift.