"Music in Manhattan" stars mostly lesser-known actors contracted with RKO. One of them, Dennis Day, was a bit of a star as he not only starred in a few musicals, but sold a lot of records and was a semi-regular on "The Jack Benny Program". Despite this, the singing and dancing by the rest of the cast was pleasant...as was the story. I was surprised that Anne Shirley sang was well as she did, as she originally gained fame with the "Anne of Green Gables" films...which is why they changed her name to Anne Shirley.
Singing Star Frankie Foster (Shirley) needs to travel to Washington, DC but her agent (Raymond Walburn) cannot get her a plane ticket or hotel room, as the city was swamped with visitors due to the war. Several other films of the time dealt with this problem (such as "The More the Merrier"). So, he lies and says that Frankie is the wife of a war hero en route to Washington to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor (Philip Terry). This does the trick and she manages to get aboard the plane and secure a hotel room...though eventually her 'husband' shows up and that's a surprise! And, instead of being angry at her, the hero embraces it...much to her and her boyfriend's surprise! And, it's all good fun until his mama (Jane Darwell) comes to visit!!
This is a cute and very enjoyable movie. Not exactly a B-movie (as it's 81 minutes long...far too long for a B) but its lesser-name (but still very talented) cast and lower budget make it sort of like a B+ film! But a really good B+ film!
Singing Star Frankie Foster (Shirley) needs to travel to Washington, DC but her agent (Raymond Walburn) cannot get her a plane ticket or hotel room, as the city was swamped with visitors due to the war. Several other films of the time dealt with this problem (such as "The More the Merrier"). So, he lies and says that Frankie is the wife of a war hero en route to Washington to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor (Philip Terry). This does the trick and she manages to get aboard the plane and secure a hotel room...though eventually her 'husband' shows up and that's a surprise! And, instead of being angry at her, the hero embraces it...much to her and her boyfriend's surprise! And, it's all good fun until his mama (Jane Darwell) comes to visit!!
This is a cute and very enjoyable movie. Not exactly a B-movie (as it's 81 minutes long...far too long for a B) but its lesser-name (but still very talented) cast and lower budget make it sort of like a B+ film! But a really good B+ film!