John T. Ryan
IN FULFILLING HIS obligations with small Hollywood Studio, Mr. James Cagney opted for a return to his ancestral, musical roots. Portraying a now successful Band Leader & Radio personality, Terry Rooney (nee Thadeus McGillicuddy).THE OPENING SCENE toys with the audience by having others dub in both falsetto and a deep, gruff voices done over Cagney's lip-singing the film's title song, "Something To Sing About." The gag is soon revealed to be just what it is; as this is announced to be Terry's last radio program. He is moving on to the green pastures of Hollywood.AFTER INTRODUCING OTHER members of the cast, the locale changes from NYC to Sunny Tinseltown. And it is here that the bulk of the story remains, such as it is.THE MAIN TOPIC is and remains throughout; that being the experiences of an outsider-newcomer's experiences in this new, totally different world of Movieland. We follow the band leader through Studio Front Offices, Acting Lessons, Dancing, Wardrobe Department and Make up.ALL OF THIS business is interspersed with pleasant, but forgettable musical numbers.AS WITH SO many other small pictures, SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT boasts of a great cast membership. With Evelyn Daw as the romantic interest, they were supported by such capable hands as: William Frawley, Gene Lockart, Phillip Ahn, Dwight Frye* and Johnny Arthur.** IF YOU LOOK around the local video or chain store, you will find a highly inexpensive VHS or DVD copy of this movie, which along with Mr. Cagney's other Grand National production, GREAT GUY both long in Public Domain.AS SMALL AND insignificant as this movie is, it proved to be a powerhouse of sorts at the box office; being the one to finally sink the studio, forcing Grand National to close its doors forever.NOTE * Yes, yes! It's the same guy who portrayed so many grotesque and horrifying characters in those classic Universal horror pictures of the 1930's. (In FRANKENSTEIN, Dracula, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, et al.)NOTE ** Johnny Arthur was formerly a Hal Roach Contract Player (portraying, among others, Spanky McFarland's Father), who would later create the role of Imperial Japanese Agent and Emperor Hirohito look-alike, Mura Sakima in THE MASKED MARVEL Serial (Republic, 1943).
writers_reign
On paper - it was made by Grand National, a Poverty Row outfit, the female lead made only two movies before calling it a day - this doesn't have too much going for it, unless you throw in Jimmy Cagney as leading man and hyphenate Victor Schertzinger as director/composer. It was made in 1937 which makes it roughly contemporaneous with both Stand-In and A Star Is Born, two other films that took swipes at Hollywood. Cagney is reasonably effective as a band-leader in the East who is tapped by Hollywood and goes to the coast to make a movie. Evelyn Daw, who made only one other picture the following year, is the singer with the band albeit not too convincing as she was an opera singer rather than a band vocalist. Nevertheless Cagney marries her and then finds out that a clause in his contract prevents him from marrying. YEAH, that old chestnut. It is, on the whole, reasonably entertaining and Schertzinger's score is pleasant if not exactly the stuff that Standards are made of.
lugonian
SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (Grand National, 1937), directed by Victor Schertzinger, stars movie tough guy James Cagney in his second screen musical. Though not in the Busby Berkeley tradition as FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933) where Cagney sang and dance for the first time, nor academy award potential as his legendary performance of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942), it does offer Cagney a slight departure from his usual style. He's not a wiseacre nor is he slapping dames around. Although still handy with his fists when in need of them, there's a gentle side to his nature, especially his loyalty to the girl he loves. As a band-leader, Cagney gets to do some fancy footwork, yet, much of the musical interludes go to newcomer Evelyn Daw. Resembling French actress Simone Simon (CAT PEOPLE,1942) and a diva singing voice of Jeanne Madden (STAGE STRUCK,1936), Daw's film career was as short-lived as Grand National Studios itself. Slightly better than Cagney's Grand National debut, GREAT GUY (1936) due to its higher budget and reasonable plot, SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT also marked his second and farewell with the studio.Following the pattern of a Hollywood story, though not as famous as David O. Selznick's A STAR IS BORN (1937), the plot revolves around Terry Rooney (James Cagney), a New York band-leader, with Rita "Canary" Wyatt (Evelyn Daw), the girl he loves, as his lead singer. He leaves them behind when called to Hollywood to be tested for the upcoming motion picture, "Any Old Love." Arriving by train and met by Hank Myers (William Frawley), his publicity man, and Bennett O. Regan (Gene Lockhart), president of Galor Studios, Terry finds himself going through the motions by being taught to speak correctly by the dialog coach (Marek Windheim) costume changes by the wardrobe man (Johnny Arthur); going through extremes on how to look by the make-up man (Dwight Frye); and the way how he should act by his director (Richard Tucker). During a scene, Terry loses his temper and tears up the set. With all this captured on film, it is used for the sneak preview that turns Terry into an overnight star. Unaware of how good he is, Terry, who has sent for Rita, marries her, and goes on his honeymoon to the South Seas. Upon his return, Terry (real name Thaddius McGillicuty), discovers he's a sensation and is offered a long term studio contract. He's unable to accept due to a clause that forbids him to marry. At Rita's request, he decides to abide by the studio rules, with Rita acting as his confidential secretary. Their marriage soon falls apart when Terry's name becomes romantically linked with Russian actress Stephanie Hajos (Mona Barrie).Other members of the cast worth mentioning include Kathleen Lockhart as Emmy Robbins, a gossip columnist; James Newill, Candy Candido and Harry Barris as members of the band; William B. Davidson as Mr. Richards, the night club manager; and Philip Ahn as Ito, Terry's servant and friend who realistically shows the two ways Japanese speak, articulately, and the Hollywood stereotype of Japanese lingo ("Yes, honorable mastah"). This is something rare in movies from this era, bringing out into the open that Orientals converse just like everyone else.Although the story is routinely done, the songs, written by Victor Schertzinger, come off as unmemorable, though a couple of dance numbers help out during the dull stretches. The song include: "Something to Sing About" (sung by Evelyn Daw during opening titles); "Here Comes the Bride" (danced by James Cagney); "Right or Wrong." (sung by Daw); "Any Old Love" (sung by Cagney); untitled dance number (performed by Cagney and male dancers); "Out of the Blue" (sung by Daw) and "Something to Sing About/"Out of the Blue" (reprise). Aside from Cagney's dancing, the title song comes off best, and is used considerably in underscoring through much of the story, along with "Out of the Blue." "Right or Wrong" the film's weaker song, is vocalized by Daw on a long distance telephone call to Hollywood with Terry (Cagney) listening on the other end.When SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT resurfaced on commercial television in the 1970s, it played under another title, THE BAFFLING HOOFER, actually from a 1940s reissue print 15 minutes shorter than the original 93 minute length. A decade later, it turned up under its original title, and being a movie that fell victim to public domain, was distributed on video cassette through various companies. For years, video copies of SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT were inferior either audio or visually. Its cable broadcasts such as on the Nick-at-Nite Movie on Nickelodeon during the 1980s, and American Movie Classics (1989-1990) were vast improvements. SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT has later been restored with much better copies presented on Turner Classic Movies, where it premiered August 2, 2005, and finally DVD.In closing, without the presence and charisma of James Cagney, SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT might have remained in some dark archive, along with other Grand National releases (1936-1939). Generally, the movie itself is okay, but not nearly as fun as LADY KILLER (1933), Cagney's earlier venture into Movieland. As with other films with a similar theme, it goes through the motions with behind the scenes of movie making and how fame and fortune may or may not be for the main character in question. This movie may not be something to sing about, but actually something to consider since it's a chance to see Cagney in rare form, starring in a musical and an independent production outside his home base of Warners. A fine supporting cast of veteran actors (Frawley and Lockhart) helps. (***)
