Sing and Like It

Sing and Like It (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Very good little gem about gangster T. Fenny Sylvester (Nat Pendleton) who hears Annie Snodgrass (Zasu Pitts) singing and decides he wants to make her a star. The only problem is that she's got a horrible voice and can't act. Not seeing the truth, the gangster forces a producer to make her the lead in an upcoming musical. SING AND LIKE IT might sound familiar to you because Woody Allen's BULLETS OVER Broadway has a lot of similar moments. I was really shocked at how hilarious this movie was at times because I had never even heard of it until it came on Turner Classic Movies. This is exactly why I record so many "B" movies off of TCM because you just never know when you're going to discover a gem like this. What works best with the picture are the two leads. Both of them were mostly just character actors their entire careers but being able to play leads in "B" movies like this often gave both a real chance to shine and that's exactly what happens here. Pendleton plays that tough but lovable thug like only he can. Pitts is just perfect as the bad singer who still wants her big break. Pitts has to sing the same song over and over again and her voice is just "perfect" in the sense that it's so bad that you can't help but fall for the song. The screenplay offers up some hilarious dialogue and especially all the back and forth between the gangsters and the show producer. I really liked how the producer was constantly putting down Pitts but Pendleton was too stupid to know what he was talking about so one of the goons had to translate it for him. Another surprising thing about this film is its "comedy" from the gangster beating up his first girlfriend. There are two different scenes of him smacking her around, which just goes to show what some considering humor in 1934. Still, SING AND LIKE IT is a highly enjoyable little comedy that deserves to be better known.

Very funny and endearing comedy about a gangster (Nat Pendleton) determined to make a terrible singer (Zasu Pitts) a success on the stage after hearing her sing a song about mothers. This is a fun little movie with a cast of colorful characters and some great dialogue. Nat Pendleton was one of the all-time great character actors of the 1930s and 40s. He usually played supporting parts but here he proves he can handle being the male lead quite well. Zasu Pitts, an actress whose comedy stylings are hit or miss with me, gives a terrific performance in this movie. A part like this could have easily led to overacting but she walks the line just right. The running gag about her thinking Pendleton is only helping her for sexual favors is hilarious.

What a fantastic supporting cast. There are some greats here and they really shine. Edward Everett Horton as the poor Broadway producer forced to star Zasu in his show. Ned Sparks and his trademark deanpan delivery almost steal the whole movie as Pendleton's right hand man. Pert Kelton is fun as Pendleton's sassy moll who wants to be an actress herself. The great John Qualen plays Zasu's husband and his role in the end of the film is especially funny. Special mention to Roy D'Arcy, who played Zasu's costar on the stage. Not a big name actor and his part is small but he has one of the funniest scenes in the film.

For anyone who's a fan of classic films you know how much of a treat it is to discover a hidden gem like this. About the only way you're likely to see this is on TCM whenever they show it (which isn't likely to be often). So please be on the look out for it because it's worth it believe me.

Sorta like "Bullets Over Broadway" -- A gangster forces a stage producer to use a star who can't sing for a damn. The gangster (Nat Pendleton, as a kidnapping-for-ransom specialist) gets weepy whenever he hears ZaSu Pitts warble "Mother". Everyone else cringes but whatever he says goes. So producer Edward Everett Horton is stuck putting together a show around the spectacularly off-key Pitts. But how can the gang make sure it's a hit? Sour-faced Ned Sparks will twist as many arms as necessary....

The plot's nothing special, but it's got a roll call of great character actors, like Sparks, Horton, Pendleton, John Qualen, and at the top of the cast, ZaSu Pitts. Pleasant escapism.

Amazing what a good script will do for a movie, especially a comedy. I had never heard of "Sing And Like It" before, but this picture is funny! Lots of wisecracks and asides in this one and it doesn't contain slapstick or lots of pratfalls, as many comedies made just after the silent era did. This one plays like a Billy Wilder picture which relies on clever dialogue. The best lines belonged to Ned Sparks, delivered in his patented deadpan style, and then to Pert Kelton as a jealous girlfriend.

The stars of the picture are Nat Pendleton and Zasu Pitts. He is a gangster boss who hears Pitts sing a song called "Your Mother" for a community group while he and his gang are robbing a bank next door. He is enraptured and saddened by its maudlin tune, and decides to put her in a Broadway show. He strongarms producer Edward Everett Horton to feature her in his show, and Horton himself has some funny one-liners of his own.

This picture was a pleasant surprise, the kind which you hope would never end, and to keep the one-liners coming. Hadn't seen Pendleton in a starring role before and felt he was a little overpowering, and Zasu Pitts played her normal, woebegone character and stayed within herself. Good movie and a very funny comedy, of the type not often made or seen.

The Production Code was strengthened in 1934; this racy RKO comedy must have just gotten in under the wire. It's a very funny gangsters-in-the-theater comedy, not unlike "Bullets Over Broadway," in which every player plays exactly what they played in dozens of other movies: ZaSu Pitts flutters and dithers (and at one surprising point tells Nat Pendleton "take me, I'm yours"), Edward Everett Horton does slow burns, Pert Kelton does sassy and grasping, Pendleton flexes muscles and plays dumb hood, Ned Sparks grunts sarcastic asides, and John Qualen does meek- spouse. They're all expert, and they have a rude, funny screenplay that pokes fun at misplaced ambition, theater critics, and the gross sentimentality of mother songs. The production values are first-rate, and the twist ending is hilarious--I totally didn't see it coming.