What's Cookin'

This is a terrific jive/swing/tap-dance musical from Universal, made in 1942 as part of a set of teen pix mostly starring Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean. Woody Herman and his amazing orchestra appear several times and their rendition of Golden Wedding particularly with a knockout acrobatic tap-dance group in an electrifying sequence, The Jivin' Jacks 'n' Jills, could easily have you leap from your seat as well. Basically a formula story of kids out-swinging the older generation and encouraging them to 'get with it'... in WHAT'S COOKIN the fuddy duddies are equally hilariously played by Billie Burke, Franklin Pangborn, Charles Butterworth and Charles Lane, adding genuine witty comedy via excellent shrewed casting. Also, with the kids is Leo Carillo mangling English in a pre-Desi Arnaz way. WHAT'S COOKIN is a delight, and contains truly exciting music and jaw-dropping dance sequences. Great fun all the way of its 70 minutes. Teenage Donald O'Connor in these snazzy Universal musicals is so funny, clever and charming. An opening sequence of a slinky tap dance number on a long staircase hilariously sets the tone.

Billie Burke sponsors a classical music show on the radio that various singers and producers want to turn into a swing show, including her niece, Jane Frazee.

It's a kitchen sink musical meant to star all of Universal's musical talent, including the Andrews Sisters, Gloria Jean doing her junior Deanna Durbin routine, Grace Macdonald, Woody Herman's orchestra (doing a nice version of "Woodchopper's Ball"), nd Leo Carillo and Charles Butterworth each doing variations of sawing a woman in half; Edgar Pangborn is a conductor, and Charles Lane as a producer. There's very little time left for an actual plot, and it's mostly ignored in favor of some nice musical numbers.

Unfortunately the copy I looked at was very fuzzy, even though the sound track seemed in good shape.

A bunch of kids want to put on a show and they plan to hijack a live radio broadcast.

Well, that's what happens with a score of pretty forgettable singing and dancing. It's only forgettable in that there is so much better out there. The kids were too young to grab my interest – some looked like pre-teens and Gloria Jean's singing is pretty stupid for a hep-cat film. Not sure why the Andrews Sisters wasted their time in this.

So, you'll probably laugh at some of the dancing children who like spinning and smiling. Or you'll really dig it man in which case you are not cool. It's funny in parts in a cheesy way.

During the war years of the 1940's, Universal produced a string of "Hep-cat" musicals, one of which "What's Cookin'?". The general idea of these movies was to cram in as much song, dance, comedy, variety, and "hep" talk as possible---then build a story around that. The movies, which were usually the second half of a twin-bill, were built to appeal to the young crowd; as such, they were fast-paced, light, breezy fare.

"What's Cookin'?" was no exception. The plot, an adaption of the Edgar Allan Woolf story "Wake up and Dream", was tailored to the teen viewers: The kids want a swing concert, but a stuffy highbrow adult prefers the classics. The kids contrive to get their way, and swing music wins.

The music and other entertainment is excellent: The Andrews Sisters headed the bill. Popular teen singer Gloria Jean has a prominent part in the movie. There were plenty of other stars of the day: Woody Herman and orchestra, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige, Billie Burke, and The Jivin' Jacks and Jills, to name a few.

But the movie is probably most noteworthy as being the first one made by Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan as a song/dance team. They were listed ninth and tenth in the credits.....something that never happened again in the twelve movies they appeared together in (not counting "Follow the Boys", which featured nearly every star in Universal's employ as well as many who were not).

As is the case with most of the "B" musicals of the 1940's, this one is rarely seen, and finding a copy of it is difficult. However, you can get a copy of this movie from Gloria Jean herself on her website. IMDb policy forbids the posting of URL's in reviews; however you can find her website by using your favorite search engine and her full name of "Gloria Jean Schoonover".

All in all, "What's Cookin'?" is good entertainment, although a lot of the dialog is dated to that era. If you like the old musicals, you'll probably enjoy this one.