Sunday, April 15, 2012
Ginger Rogers Film Review #23 - Twenty Million Sweethearts
TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS
(May 26, 1934- First National / Vitaphone)
Run Time (approximate): 89 Minutes
Directed by: Ray Enright.
Assistant Director (Second Unit): Gordon Hollingshead.
Production Management: Al Alleborn.
Dialogue Director: Stanley Logan.
Cinematography by: Sidney Hickox.
Art Director: Esdras Hartley.
Editor: Clarence Kolster.
Camera Operator: Wesley Anderson.
Sound Recorder: Gordon M. Davis.
Sound Mixer: C. A. Riggs.
Lyrics: Al Dubin.
Music: Harry Warren.
Conductor of Vitaphone Orchestra: Leo F. Forbstein.
Music Arranger: Ray Heindorf.
Music Mixer: George Groves.
Makeup: Perc Westmore.
Costume Design: Orry-Kelly.
Costume Jeweller: Eugene Joseff.
Supervisor: Samuel Bischoff.
Also Starring: Pat O'Brien (as Russell Edward 'Rush' Blake), Dick Powell (as Buddy Clayton), Donald Mills (Himself - one of the Four Mills Brothers), Harry Mills (Himself - one of the Four Mills Brothers), Herbert Mills (Himself - one of the Four Mills Brothers), John Mills (Himself - one of the Four Mills Brothers), Ted Fio Rito (as Himself - Leader of the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra), Allen Jenkins (as 'Uncle' Pete), Grant Mitchell (as Chester A. Sharpe), Joseph Cawthorn (as Herbert 'Herbie' Brokman), Joan Wheeler (as Marge the Receptionist), Henry O'Neill (as Lemuel Tappan), Johnny Arthur (as Norma Hanson's Secretary), Jimmy Hollywood (as Himself - one of the Three Radio Rogues), Eddie Bartell (as Himself - one of the Three Radio Rogues), Henry Taylor (as Himself - one of the Three Radio Rogues).
UNCREDITED CAST: Oscar Apfel (as Walcott - Hotel Manager), Diane Borget (as Radio Fan), Matt Brooks (as Third Hillbilly), George Chandler (as Reporter Johnny Klinger), Virginia Dabney (minor role), William B. Davidson (as Bill - Woodcliff Inn Manager), The Debutantes (as Themselves - song 'What Are Your Intentions?'), Shirley Dunstead (as Patron at Woodcliff Inn), Jay Eaton (as Hotel Desk Clerk), Bill Elliot (as Third Man in Brass Rail), Fern Emmett (as Radio Fan in Bed), Leo F. Forbstein (as Conductor Brusiloff), Eddie Foster (as First Hillbilly), Morris Goldman (as Fourth Hillbilly), Eddie Graham (as Brass Rail Patron Wanting 3 Beers), Charles Halton (as Sound Effects Man), Sam Hayes (as Sam, Peggy's Announcer), Grace Hayle (as Mrs. Martha Brokman), George Humbert (as Woodcliff Inn Headwaiter), Eddie Kane (as Second Man in Brass Rail), Milton Kibbee (as Pete's Annonuncer), Charles Lane (as Reporter), Muzzy Marcellino (as Himself), Sam McDaniel (as Deacon - Waiter), Larry McGrath (First Man in Brass Rail), Johnny Murray (as Himself), Dennis O'Keefe (as Reporter), Bob Perry (as Brass Rail Manager), Donna Mae Roberts (as Radio Fan), Jean Rogers (as Radio Fan), Rosalie Roy (as Telephone Operator), Harry Seymour (as Buddy's Announcer), Eddie Shubert (as Reporter Jimmy Bull), Billy Snyder (as Second Hillbilly), Charles Sullivan (as Taxi Driver), Victoria Vinton (as Blonde Radio Fan), Billy West (as Bellboy), Dick Winslow (as Page Boy).
Ginger's Character: Peggy Cornell.
GingerTunes: "Out For No Good", "I'll String Along With You (duet with Dick Powell at end of movie).
Gingery Goodness Factor (GGF) - (1-10): 7.5 - It's gonna be hard to talk about this role and not 'contrast' with her role in 'Finishing School'... but this role is a 'solid' one, ultimately not all that different than her role in 'Sitting Pretty', albeit with one suitor rather than two. She is not overtly 'sassy' here, but IS pretty cool, in a 'good ol' girl' sense...if that MAKES any sense. She is somewhat of a 'pushover' in this one, but does stand her ground at times, such as when she finds out her man has been (supposedly) running around on her. Final analysis...I like this Ginger better...period.
Film Quality (1-10): 8.0 - solid copy from TCM... not currently available on DVD...(WB Archives, are you out there???)
Huey's Review for GINGEROLOGY: The tale of Twenty Million Sweethearts is one of those "rise to fame - fall in love - lose love because of fame - lose fame because of lost love - regain love due to second chance (you know, the fool's name for fate) - regain fame - and ultimately live, if not happily ever after, at least reasonably so" type films that we all know and love... OK, maybe it's not THAT simple, but, it's the general storyboard...and sorry if I give away the ending, but...c'mon, y'all...you KNOW how it's gonna wrap up...
So, let's focus on how we get to that ending, shall we? We begin with a swarthy talent scout named 'Rush' Blake (Pat O'Brien), who is in San Francisco looking for singers for his radio network boss back in New York City, Chester Sharpe (Grant Mitchell).
Rush is barely afloat (well, is 'underwater' financially, as a matter of fact), and is about to give up, when he wanders into a Beer Garden (which appears to just be a saloon that also allows women to drink beer), where a young waiter gets up and wails out the 'Flying Trapeze' tune, which works pretty well in this, how you say, "Beer Garden" (which only needs pizza at this point to become a full-fledged Shakey's Pizzeria (kids, ask your parents...)).
Well, the folks just love it, which impresses Rush to the point of grabbing this young fellow Buddy Clayton (Dick Powell) and persuading him to go to NYC for a radio audition... but, Buddy points out to Rush that patrons of the beer garden will pretty much cheer on anything that is presented to them...no matter, for Rush's REAL motive is to get Buddy to pay their (read: Rush's) way back to NYC.
Well, the duo arrive in the Big Apple (was it the 'Big Apple' in the 30s? I'm asking lots of questions today, aren't I?), where they make it into the Consolidated Radio Network studios... and Rush does talk his boss Sharpe into giving Buddy an audition. It's while Buddy is waiting outside the office and wanders around where he happens upon Peggy Cornell, who is 'in studio' rehearsing a tune, Ginger - Out For No Good...well, he makes a rather bad first impression on Miss Cornell, who draws the shades on him.
Well, we HAVE to get those two kids together, right? And it happens in short order in the lunchroom/bar/commissary area, and soon Buddy walks Peggy home (that ALWAYS seems to work, y'all...) and hit it off, as expected.
Buddy has his rehearsal...but he wants to sing a typical 'crooner' tune... for some unexplained and totally asinine reason, Rush insists he sing the 'ol 'Flying Trapeze' tune... but remember, we're not in the beer garden anymore, Tito... and of course Buddy fails miserably.
Well, days pass, and Buddy and Rush are hanging on by a thread, trying to find a gig...when along comes one of the writers for the network, "Uncle" Pete (Allen Jenkins), who is also a sort of 'Depression-era radio Captain Kangaroo' (again, ask your parents...) for the station. Well, Pete has scrawled out a pretty nice tune, I'll String Along With You (a song you'll know by heart by film's end...) - he shows it to Buddy, who jumps on the keyboard and sings it very 'crooner-ly'...which catches the ear of Rush in the shower. Well, they all rig up a 'impromptu' performance during Peggy's show (she feigns fainting fairly fastidiously) - and Buddy jumps in and sings the tune.
Well, the 'twenty million sweethearts' are awakened from their dreadful slumber across the nation (and 6 stations in Canada), and Buddy becomes an overnight sensation. All is well, as Buddy plans on marrying Peggy ASAP...until Rush and the bigwigs determine it's not good to have Buddy hitched, when so many women everywhere are enthralled with him. So, Rush breaks up the nuptials by throwing a lot of slander about Buddy out there... mainly that he is hooked up with some actress chick whom Buddy's never even met... but SHE'S got the rep of 'playing the field', so the headlines are hard to discredit.
Buddy gets out of the singing game for awhile, and Peggy is in a stage play-production of some sort, and neither one is happy without the other... Rush feels bad about the deal, and works the two back together by getting Buddy to sing at some joint outside of town...Rush gets Peggy to show up, and she falls in love with Buddy all over again, and bails him out when he forgets the lyrics to the song he has song a million times - well, at least 3-4 times in the film ALONE.
And, well, that's it, y'all. some cool appearances by actual radio personalities of the day, most notably the Mills Brothers...actually, the best 'non-Ginger' tune is when Dick Powell and the Mills Brothers do 'Out for No Good' - they are a 'scat' singing band, and Powell jumps right in with them pretty well.
Overall, a good way to spend 90 minutes, although this is one of those films they could have 'trimmed' down 15 minutes or so, and probably wouldn't have lost anything.
Favorite Ginger Moments: Well, Ginger is pretty prominent throughout this one, and has quite a few areas which allow her to throw in a bit of 'sassiness' - although not TOO much - as well as some dramatic scenes... which overall makes for a pretty Gingery experience. Of course, her 'Out For No Good' number yielded umpteen 'screen caps', so I'll have to make a separate post of those in the near future... as for the 'alternate storyboard', well, hopefully Ginger will heed the saying, "Caveat Emptor" ...
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Other Reviews:
"...Brimful of life and vitality...Miss Ginger Rogers is both intelligent and charming." - London Times
"...Miss Rogers puts an amazing amount of feeling into her interpretation. A growing sensitiveness is visible in her acting." - Los Angeles Times
"Ginger Rogers does well as Peggy...Ray Enright's direction is splendid. He reveals originality and freshness in his scenes. It is a happy picture, this Twenty Million Sweethearts." - New York Times
"Miss Rogers, who always strikes me as being one of the most engaging, natural and attractive of the cinema soubrettes, is of vast help to the proceedings, as she usually is." - New York Herald Tribune
"Dick Powell is certain to increase his present popularity through his good work in this one, and you have never seen Ginger Rogers look better or play with greater skill." - New York American
"The lapses in the story are compensated for by the pleasant vocalizations of Mr. Powell and Miss Rogers." - New York Evening Post
From GINGER: My Story: "Pat O'Brien led the billing of another Warner Brothers musical, 20 Million Sweethearts. Perennial Warner Brothers performer Dick Powell was my romantic interest. He was a young man I had met in Indianapolis, where he played a banjo in the orchestra. I thought he would make a very attractive leading man and was pleased that Warner Brothers had found him and pushed him to stardom. When this script came along, I was offered the feminine lead opposite him. I couldn't have been more thrilled, and enjoyed working in that film very much."
Miscellaneous Stuff:
--- The original title of the film was "Hot Air"...really not a bad title.
--- 'Also Known As' titles from other countries: "20 Milhoes de Namorados" (Portugal); "Universo Innamorato" (Italy); "Tyve Millioner Kaerester" (Denmark).
--- Twenty Million Sweethearts is generally regarded as Warner Brother's response to 1932's "The Big Broadcast" form Paramount Pictures; oddly enough, the Mills Brothers appear in both films.
--- a 1949 remake (of sorts) by Warners was "My Dream is Yours", which starred Jack Carson and Doris Day in the leads.
--- Was playing on a TV in a scene from Carnal Knowledge (1971)...decidedly a 'post-code' film...
GingerFilm Ranking: #05 of 24. Well, the comparison to Sitting Pretty generally mandated that this one fall somewhere around that one, and honestly, Ginger is a wee bit better in this one... but it's purt near a toss-up...actually, Sitting Pretty may be a better movie overall.
After Twenty-Three Reviews:
#01 - Rafter Romance
#02 - Professional Sweetheart
#03 - 42nd Street
#04 - Flying Down to Rio
#05 - Twenty Million Sweethearts
#06 - Sitting Pretty
#07 - The Tenderfoot
#08 - The Tip-Off
#09 - Queen High
#10 - Young Man of Manhattan
#11 - You Said A Mouthful
#12 - Carnival Boat
#13 - A Shriek in the Night
#14 - The Thirteenth Guest
#15 - Don't Bet On Love
#16 - Chance at Heaven
#17 - Finishing School
#18 - Broadway Bad
#19 - Gold Diggers of 1933
#20 - The Sap From Syracuse
#21 - Suicide Fleet
#22 - Follow The Leader
#23 - Honor Among Lovers
#24 - Hat Check Girl***
*** - Not viewed or reviewed due to unavailability.
Up Next: Change Of Heart... Ginger has a different role in this one, which overall isn't a very 'uplifting' one... but we'll sort it out for ya.
Until then, as always...
KIG, Y'all!!!
VKMfanHuey
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4 comments:
RonApril 18, 2012 7:33 PMAnother excellent review Huey! I don't think I know this only....I should look for it!ReplyDelete
i have a special spot for Twenty Million Sweethearts, in asking on Barbara's video on youtube if this was available on dvd, it not only led me to 20 Million Sweethearts but also lots of other Ginger movies not to mention a few rarities of Fred's and a few of Powell's other musicals!! Ginger's art of listening to her man clearly shows through in the end number and its beautiful (trots off to watch it again)ReplyDelete- ...it's a pretty nice 'wrap' to the movie...although I was a bit ticked the Rush dude never actually TOLD Peggy that HE was the one who made up all the scandal to break her and Buddy up... guess I didn't really bring that out in the review, eh?ReplyDelete
I need to start jumping back on TCM - it's been awhile since I've watched it - they moved it to the 'digital tier' on our cable system, and we only have that on the downstairs tele... but I need to get back on the 'classic movie' watching...and then review them over on NBABOH...
KIG, Kat!
VKMfanHuey
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