Wake Up and Dream

Maybe Wake Up and Dream is not that. But that is the title of one of three songs Russ Columbo both sung and had a hand in writing for this film that was to launch his career as a musical film star with Universal Pictures.

In his other feature film lead, Broadway Through a Keyhole, Columbo was not called on to act much, but sing beautifully. He does again here, but also begins to show traces of a nice film personality. No doubt he would have been a fine romantic lead.

Russ, together with June Knight and Roger Pryor are a vaudeville trio act where Russ is clearly the lead and the talented one. The film is a story of their misadventures to get to stardom for at least one of them and the romantic triangle that was complicating things.

At the time Wake Up and Dream was being shot Columbo was doing a fifteen minute weekly radio show with Hollywood columnist Jimmy Fidler. I happen to have a bootleg recording of that broadcast where Fidler plugs his co-star's upcoming film. It was in July of 1934 and on September 2, 1934, Russ Columbo was shot accidentally with an antique dueling pistol by friend and companion Lansing Brown.

Even more ironically on August 31, 1934 Columbo entered a recording studio for the first time in a year and a half. He had a dispute with RCA Victor which kept him contractually from recording anything. He did four sides in that session, the three songs from Wake Up and Dream: Too Beautiful for Words, Let's Pretend There's A Moon, and When You're In Love together with I See Two Lovers from the Rudy Vallee/Helen Morgan film, Sweet Music. This was to be the start of a long term deal with Brunswick Records who had just lost the services of Bing Crosby who had gone to that new company Decca, that year. As you can see this man's career was entering into high gear.

In fact Universal planned to star him in what would be their big budget musical film, Showboat as Gaylord Ravenal. Eventually of course Allan Jones played the part opposite Irene Dunne. Jones was great in the role, but Russ would have made a fine Ravenal.

Wake Up and Dream also features Henry Armetta as Columbo's foster father who is being chased by lovesick fortune teller Catherine Doucet. They do a fine obbligato version of When You're In Love after Columbo and June Knight sing it as a duet.

When Russ Columbo died before the film was released, Universal of course took a great loss. Columbo was intended to be their musical star opposite Bing Crosby at Paramount or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at RKO or even Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald at MGM or Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler at Warner Brothers. Universal had to wait a few more years before getting a box office bankable musical performer in Deanna Durbin.

It was a great loss monetarily for Universal Pictures, but an even bigger loss to cinema that Russ Columbo died so tragically at the age of 26. I think you'll agree with me if you ever see Wake Up and Dream.

On a warm September evening in 1934, popular crooner Russ Columbo stopped by his best friend's house to tell him how WAKE UP AND DREAM, his first starring role for Universal, was going. His buddy, Lansing Brown, lit a match too close to an antique dueling pistol he was fooling around with and shot Russ in the eye, killing him. The film, released the following month, was very similar to Fox's BOTTOMS UP, another B-list musical made the same year: Penniless promoter Charlie Sullivan (smooth-talking Roger Pryor) teams up with singing pals Paul Scotti (Columbo) and Toby Brown (June Knight) to stay one step ahead of the law as they travel cross-country from NY to LA in search of fame and fortune. Only one succeeds, unfortunately, but there's still a happy ending for two out of three.

A bit more "polished" than the Fox musical, WAKE UP AND DREAM is also chocked full of forgettable songs (one of them, "Too Beautiful For Words", is reprised no less than three times) and Tinseltown stereotypes from the self-centered movie queen to the apoplectic stage manager proliferate as well. The by-now requisite love triangle between Columbo, Knight, and third wheel Pryor comes as no surprise but the undeniable charm -and voice- of Russ Columbo and a great supporting cast (Henry Armetta, Andy Devine, Catherine Doucet, Wini Shaw) make this a mildly amusing diversion despite its predictability.

Russ was better looking than his main rival, Paramount's Bing Crosby, and also had an easy way about him in front of the camera so who knows what might have happened if that fatal tragedy hadn't occurred. Universal had high hopes for Columbo and planned to star him in SHOW BOAT in a role that later went to Allan Jones. The opening studio logo of a plane circling the globe and the end credits proclaiming "A Good Cast Is Worth Repeating" made me feel like I just ran into an old friend.

This is an fun musical comedy with really no dancing, just marvelous singing to show off Russ Columbo's dreamy crooner voice. Unfortunately, Russ died before the opening from an accidental bullet wound.

The plot: Russ, Roger Pryor, and June Knight are all friends in a vaudeville act, and Roger Pryor is always coming up with crazy ways for them to make it big in show business, and his schemes usually result in big trouble. And Russ and Roger are both in love with June and she knows which of the guys she loves, but hasn't the heart to break it to to the other one. Winnie Shaw plays a Russ's vampy musical co-star. Herny Armetta plays his food-crazy Italian uncle who does, as the other reviewer says, steal every scene he appears in.

WAKE UP AND DREAM is obviously a B musical but still seems to shine through it's simple sets and costumes. After this movie June Knight would go to MGM where they knew what to do with her. I think she was better off playing supporting roles as "the other woman" or roles of the like. She looks hopelessly unglamourous and mundane in this movie and if you watch her in Broadway MELODY OF 1936, VACATION FROM LOVE or BREAK THE NEWS you can see a tremendous difference in her appearance. MGM sure was the expert at glamming up it's actors.

In all for WAKE UP AND DREAM: Cliché plot, miserable production values, and knock-out, fun performances. Worth your time if you like this sort of film.

What a surprise this film was! While not very original, it did leave this viewer with a good feeling. The cast is very good. Armetta steals the show in every scene he's in. Nice songs and musical score for that period. Give it a chance!