Music in My Heart

I have this movie on DVD and I have to say that I truly enjoy this film. It's too bad that Tony Martin and Rita Hayworth didn't do another film together. They compliment each other perfectly. The songs are great and even though this film isn't exactly a "B" movie, nor is it an "A" movie, it's considered an "A-" film, the production values are really good, the cast is great, and the songs are excellent. The only complaint that I have about this film is that it isn't longer. Had the length been a little longer and been directed by a more famous director, this film could have been a movie musical classic. Besides that, I really enjoyed this film and it's interesting to see Rita in one of her early film roles. Definitely a must see movie for any Rita Hayworth or Tony Martin fans.

MUSIC IN MY HEART is the kind of predictable little programmer that Columbia churned out on a regular basis during the late '30s and early '40s. It's not exactly an A-film--more like a classy B flick--but it's strictly formula stuff all the way with a predictable plot based on the boy meets girl--boy loses girl--boy wins girl idea.

TONY MARTIN, looking great and in good voice, gets a chance to dominate the proceedings with his strong vocal abilities, especially on a little number called "It's A Blue World." RITA HAYWORTH, with dark hair and low hairline, is attractive and fetching as his girlfriend, but she barely gets a chance to do more than shake her hips in her one dance number. It's easy to see that she was photogenic in all of her close-ups and on the verge of becoming a big star.

The supporting cast is a good one, including ALAN MOBRAY, ERIC BLORE and GEORGE TOBIAS. I'm not keen about EDITH FELLOWS (as Rita's younger sister), sorry to say.

It's pleasant, light entertainment with a silly story and some humor that is only mildly amusing, involving a rascal of a monkey.

Rita Hayworth stars in a film that would have been better served by having Ginger Rogers in it.

Rita misses the boat and therefore an opportunity to wed wealthy boyfriend Alan Mowbray who has a contentious butler, played by the usual witty Eric Blore. In a taxi-cab mishap, she meets up with Tony Martin, who is about to be deported.

The rest of the film is devoted to hiding Tony out from immigration authorities. George Tobias plays a Russian chef whose major claim to fame was that he was honored by the tsar for his blintzes!

The gags are predictable and we can all guess what the plot shall bring. We needed Tony to be singing more. The film ends with him singing the title song. Hayworth has a one scene fling at dancing which is great but more of this was needed.

Music In My Heart was another step up the ladder in the career of Rita Hayworth to when she became the number one sex goddess of the American cinema. For this one, Harry Cohn borrowed Tony Martin from Darryl Zanuck at Fox for her leading man. The song writing team of Robert Wright and Chet Forrest wrote some nice songs for Martin, one of which, It's a Blue World was nominated for an Oscar in 1940.

Tony Martin is an actor/understudy who gets his first break on Broadway just as he's being deported. In full costume as a Ruritanian guardsman, he jumps in a cab. The cab is racing to the Hudson river pier when it collides with another cab in a fender bender. Who should be in that cab, but Rita Hayworth (Martin, you lucky dog). She's racing to the pier to be with Alan Mowbray, a millionaire she's planning to marry.

I think everyone can guess the rest. That's what it was like in Hollywood back then, silly plots, but oh so charmingly presented.

The supporting cast was pretty good for a B film. Alan Mowbray and Eric Blore as the millionaire and his factotum butler have some very funny moments. So does George Tobias as a phony Russian aristocrat.

In his joint memoirs with wife Cyd Charisse, Martin describes a hilarious incident while shooting this. Martin has a song Punchinello to sing to an organ grinder's monkey named same. The monkey had a mind of his own and started up to the roof of the sound stage and wouldn't come down. Martin says Harry Cohn went into an apoplectic rage over this and got no sympathy from his human employees who enjoyed seeing this monkey make a monkey out of Cohn while costing him thousands of dollars while cast and crew sat around getting paid by the hour.

A nice enjoyable film and a step up in the career ladder of Margaret Carmen Cansino.

This has to be one of the most underrated of Rita's films, yet is up there with the best. A very short runtime of just 69 minutes, it still manages to dish up a delightful 'boy meets girl' tale - when their cabs collide, of course changing both their destinies. A simple little musical, it gives Rita just the one dance, which is not photographed all that well, but shows what will be in years to come. Any Rita fans out there, you will thoroughly enjoy this I guarantee it. I almost didn't buy it when I had the chance due to not being able to find reviews anywhere, so I feel I have to write this to save someone else from passing it up!