That's what young soprano socialite Gloria Jean wants her aunt Billie Burke to do to update the radio program she sponsors. When promising singer Jane Frazee rents the mansion next door, she is immediately bombarded by the Jivin' Jacks and Jills, and later the ever so helpful Andrews Sisters. Like the same year's "Give Out, Sisters" (where the trio helped a young socialite with her three spinster aunts), they work on bringing a more swinging sound onto the boring radio show (a classic orchestra conducted by Franklin Pangborn no less!), and magic strikes! Here, Leo Carrillo is a failed magician, and Burke's droll brother (Charles Butterworth) takes a liking to magic, taking the tricks one step further and placing the Andrews Sisters in a magic box which he intends to cut into pieces with a buzz saw. But before the Andrews Sisters become six hits and a miss, he's fortunately interrupted, with a mini-Virginia O'Brien type kiddie actress named Susan Levine (billed as "Tag-a-Long") standing by with a first aide kit "just in case".
This cute jazzy little "B" musical was just what the doctor ordered for movie audiences during the early days of World War II, and the Andrews Sisters represented the best sound of that patriotic era. Butterworth has a strange habit of breaking plates, and it isn't until the end that you understand why. Musically, this has some lively dance numbers, but the best songs are an "Amen" choir (sounding much like the song sung by Sidney Poitier and the nuns in "Lillies of the Field") and a rousing finale to "Pack Up Your Troubles". Esther Dale has a funny bit as a seemingly sour landlady who has a few tricks up her sleeve, and Charles Lane brings his sour humor to several scenes with Pangborn, Burke and Butterworth. The "Amen" choir song has the benefit of having Frazee, the Andrews Sisters and the teen ensemble sitting around the mansion in a circle and the camera spinning around them without cuts as they each get a close-up performing this jazzy little number.
Among the youngsters are Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan, but they are more part of an ensemble than stand-outs. Gloria Jean is an acquired taste, an apparent threat to Deanna Durbin which never made a dent, but here she is a bit more outgoing, standing up to the gang of kids who give her a bit of "reverse snobbery" when she tries to become one of them. Add in Woody Herman and his band, and you've got the makings of a cool little musical that deserves to be brought out of the Universal pictures closet, perhaps in a deluxe set with the other yet unreleased Andrews Sisters films. Their sounds still swing in our ears 70+ years later, so pack up your DVD Box Set, and bring it on!
This cute jazzy little "B" musical was just what the doctor ordered for movie audiences during the early days of World War II, and the Andrews Sisters represented the best sound of that patriotic era. Butterworth has a strange habit of breaking plates, and it isn't until the end that you understand why. Musically, this has some lively dance numbers, but the best songs are an "Amen" choir (sounding much like the song sung by Sidney Poitier and the nuns in "Lillies of the Field") and a rousing finale to "Pack Up Your Troubles". Esther Dale has a funny bit as a seemingly sour landlady who has a few tricks up her sleeve, and Charles Lane brings his sour humor to several scenes with Pangborn, Burke and Butterworth. The "Amen" choir song has the benefit of having Frazee, the Andrews Sisters and the teen ensemble sitting around the mansion in a circle and the camera spinning around them without cuts as they each get a close-up performing this jazzy little number.
Among the youngsters are Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan, but they are more part of an ensemble than stand-outs. Gloria Jean is an acquired taste, an apparent threat to Deanna Durbin which never made a dent, but here she is a bit more outgoing, standing up to the gang of kids who give her a bit of "reverse snobbery" when she tries to become one of them. Add in Woody Herman and his band, and you've got the makings of a cool little musical that deserves to be brought out of the Universal pictures closet, perhaps in a deluxe set with the other yet unreleased Andrews Sisters films. Their sounds still swing in our ears 70+ years later, so pack up your DVD Box Set, and bring it on!