In this musical, the second entry in a five-film series, a thrift shop owner sells his business and buys a small time radio station. He begins looking for sponsors. He finds one with a department store owner who will only lend him the money if he will allow his daughter, an aspiring tap-dancer and singer, to perform on the air. This is unfortunate as she is tone-deaf. To compensate, the owner hires a real singer to dub the daughter's voice. The singer and the owner's nephew fall in love and mayhem ensues. Songs include: the Oscar nominated "Who Am I?," "Swing Low Sweet Rhythm," "In The Cool of the Evening," "Make Yourself at Home," "The Swap Shop Song," "The Trading Post," "Sally," "Ramona," "Sweet Sue," "Dinah," "Margie," and "Mary Lou."
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You won't be disappointed!
Very well executed
Too much of everything
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
Ho-Hum, another "B" musical from the 1940's. Right away you just know it's silly and stupid. What a waste of good film! Unfortunately a lot of people are ready to apply these tags upon seeing the title and the year. I feel sorry for people like that because they are missing out on some wonderful films with very talented actors and actresses.Hit Parade of 1941 stars the beautiful and utterly charming Frances Langford and the smooth voiced Kenny Baker as the girl and boy who find love. Film veterans Hugh Herbert, Mary Boland, Phil Silvers, Patsy Kelly, Donald MacBride, Sterling Holloway and Ann Miller in her first film add their support and strength to make this a real ensemble piece. The pacing of this movie is superb, it moves right along from one situation to another. The score and the song, the beautiful "Who Am I" were nominated for Academy Awards. They should have won! Is it too late to demand a recount? Frances Langford sings "Who Am I" first as a lovely duet with Kenny Baker, and then Frances does it as a solo in that wonderful dreamy voice of hers. Words cannot describe the honeyed voice of this gorgeous woman. By all means see this movie if you can, and make sure it's not the edited version. You don't want to miss a second of this charming movie. Of course it's all a matter of opinion, if you don't like 40's music and musicals you won't like this one...or will you?
This picture's plot has shocking similarities to "Singing in the Rain", (particularly ironical since Ann Miller was almost cast in that MGM film as well).As it stands, "Hit Parade of 1941" is a pleasant, slickly mounted minor musical, not unlike those being turned out by Universal Studios during the same period, (one keeps expecting the Andrews Sisters to appear).In their place, we have radio songstress Frances Langford who harmonizes beautifully with Kenny Baker in the film's best song, "We Shall Meet in the Cool of the Evening," as well as her own bluesy solo: "Swing Lo Sweet Rhythm." The latter tune is also used to back Ann Miller's first dance routine which is presented in a night club setting. Miller's final contribution is a Pan American samba. Miss Miller's routines are superb, but as "Variety" noted at the time, are not photographed to her advantage, (the camera is too far away from her). Comic honors easily go to dithery Mary Boland and Hugh Herbert, (though the film pushes credulity by pairing them off romantically.) The music is excellent though the film's principal interest to today's viewers will be for Ann Miller completists.
Republic Pictures cut 28 minutes from this film's original running time of 88 minutes and reissued it in 1952 (no less) as "Romance and Rhythm." A lot of the cuts involved Ann Miller's dancing and left a lot of the film's rhythm out of the edited film even if it was included in the new title.The unedited plot found independent radio station WPX losing its important ad accounts to network stations and is about to go belly-up. One of its most important accounts is the Farraday Trading Post, a "swap shop" in a Connecticut suburb. Ferdinand Farraday (Hugh Herbert), entirely devoid of business acumen, accepts the decree of his nephew, David Farraday (Kenny Baker), that their sponsorship of a radio program be discontinued. Station manager Harrison (Donald MacBride) rushes to Wyndham Ferry, flanked by two of his singers, Pat Abbott (Frances Langford) and Judy Abbott (Patsy Kelly), to save the account. Harrison quickly sizes up Uncle Ferd as an unqualified screwball and contrives to trade his insolvent station for the Farraday Trading Post.Television takes the country by storm (in the film, at least, and was about to in the real world if World War II hadn't put it on hold for the duration)and all radio stations, if they are to survive, are obliged to install expensive television equipment. Uncle Ferd borrows money and places the Wyndham Trading Post, which he no longer owns, as security. This makes it vitally necessary for the Farradays to make the station profitable within the ninety-day period of the loan.Mrs. Emily Potter (Mary Boland), a Brooklyn department store tycoon (tycooness?), is persuaded to sponsor a television program, but only if her daughter, Annabelle (Ann Miller), be starred as a singer. Annabelle can dance up a storm on legs that stretch from Monday to at least Friday but singing is not one of her many attributes. No problem. David persuades Pat to supply the singing voice, while Annabelle appears on the television screen, singing into a dead mike.Annabelle becomes a big singing star and Pat is okay with this because she loves David. But, for publicity purposes, David must be seen in public frequently with Annabelle, and he thoughtlessly breaks dates with Pat to do so. Sister Judy is indignant but Pat refuses to expose the hoax. So Donald O'Connor....uh...sorry...make that Judy, taking things in her own hands, switches controls during Annabelle's telecast, and Annabelle's real voice is heard.The jig is up but no harm, no foul for all hands. Pat becomes a singing star and Annabelle a show-stopping dancer. And any film with a cast that includes Phil Silvers as a brassy radio announcer, crying-voice Sterling Holloway as a philosophical soda jerk, prissy-as-usual Franklin Pangborn, Barnett Parker's English-variety humor ( beg pardon, humour), ditzy Mary Boland, little Annie Miller's dancing and Frances Langford's singing is a keeper. At least, in the original 88-minute version. A whole lot of the above is missing in the 60-minute "Romance and Rhythm" version.
I bought a copy of this film off ebay as there is little chance that this will ever be shown in the UK.I am a great fan of Ann Miller.What a disappointment this turned out to be.She is not shown dancing in the reissue and according to the times shown on the listing it has lost 28 minutes.The fact that the plot makes little sense from halfway through is of little concern.However when the main reason for seeing this film is cut out it makes it rather a pointless exercise.What is left is really not very good.It is a typical B musical turned out by Republic.Plenty of music little in the way of plot.Even Phil Silvers and Hugh Herbert fail to shine.In all then rather a disappointment.
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