Well, they had to think up a silly screenplay to fill the time between musical numbers in this musical comedy. I sure got weary of the issue of contract problems for Eddie Bracken(Herbie), and, to a lesser extent, Diana Lynn's(Betty Miller) all girl band, variously known as The Sirens or The Glamorettes. It starts out with a nice jazzy number by the band, followed by a slower tempo song about Chopin, with nice piano work by Diane. A very nervous Bracken follows with lip synching of a Bing Crosby rendition of "Out of This World". Musical numbers by the band are featured periodically throughout the film, sometimes including a lip synching song by Bracken, mimicking Crosby. These latter were composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. I found no information on whether this duo also composed the songs the band did without Bracken. The numbers done by the band alone are more interesting than the mellow numbers done by Bracken. In my opinion, the best of Bracken's numbers is "I'd rather be Me", the lyrics of which were appropriate for the romantic ending with Diana.
The screenplay was written with Betty Hutton in mind as the lead female, but she was contracted to do another film. Hence, Diana took her place as the band leader and as the romantic lead, while Cass Daley filled in to do her zany novelty numbers. Cass came across as a mix of Betty and Martha Raye, who had been Paramount's equivalent of Betty before Betty arrived. Cass also was the percussion person in the band, and used this talent in her 2nd performance. Her career consisted of mostly live performances. I had never before heard of her.
During a radio performance, there was a satirical treatment of a commercial. A few films in the early days of TV similarly satirized TV commercials. But, the main target of satire was the screaming and swooning of Bobbysoxers at Sinatra concerts. Veronica Lake's character signed up a bunch of girls to sit in the front row and scream their heads off. Bing Crosby, himself, at 41, similarly satirized the bobbysoxer phenomena just the year before , in "Here Come the Waves", as did Robert Young, in the pre-Sinatra "Honolulu".
As part of the finale extravaganza, 5 male piano players individually played short segments of various songs, before coming together near the end. Diana Lynn previously had exhibited her exceptional piano playing talent.
On the whole, I most enjoyed the band playing and singing, and feel the film is worthwhile for this alone. How often have you seen and heard an all-female orchestra in a Hollywood film? I've experienced only one other such film. And they played as well as the popular all male bands of the day, even on brass instruments. ...Bracken's nerdy character got a bit wearing after a while, although I found the segment where he develops laryngitis to be amusing....See it at YouTube. That copy had a few skips, but not too bothersome.
The screenplay was written with Betty Hutton in mind as the lead female, but she was contracted to do another film. Hence, Diana took her place as the band leader and as the romantic lead, while Cass Daley filled in to do her zany novelty numbers. Cass came across as a mix of Betty and Martha Raye, who had been Paramount's equivalent of Betty before Betty arrived. Cass also was the percussion person in the band, and used this talent in her 2nd performance. Her career consisted of mostly live performances. I had never before heard of her.
During a radio performance, there was a satirical treatment of a commercial. A few films in the early days of TV similarly satirized TV commercials. But, the main target of satire was the screaming and swooning of Bobbysoxers at Sinatra concerts. Veronica Lake's character signed up a bunch of girls to sit in the front row and scream their heads off. Bing Crosby, himself, at 41, similarly satirized the bobbysoxer phenomena just the year before , in "Here Come the Waves", as did Robert Young, in the pre-Sinatra "Honolulu".
As part of the finale extravaganza, 5 male piano players individually played short segments of various songs, before coming together near the end. Diana Lynn previously had exhibited her exceptional piano playing talent.
On the whole, I most enjoyed the band playing and singing, and feel the film is worthwhile for this alone. How often have you seen and heard an all-female orchestra in a Hollywood film? I've experienced only one other such film. And they played as well as the popular all male bands of the day, even on brass instruments. ...Bracken's nerdy character got a bit wearing after a while, although I found the segment where he develops laryngitis to be amusing....See it at YouTube. That copy had a few skips, but not too bothersome.