Out of This World

Diana Lynn's all-girl musical troupe is stuck in Pennsylvania. When she hears Eddie Bracken sing -- his voice is dubbed by Bing Crosby -- she figures this is her ticket to the big time, and puts him under contract for $50 a week. To finance her New York assault, she sells locals parts of his contract, adding up to 125% of his net earnings. Bracken is indeed a wild success, but every time he gets an offer, Miss Lynn winds up further in the hole.

It's a kitchen-sink musical comedy with a swipe at the bobby-soxers swooning for Frank Sinatra. It also has a lot of middling musical talent on view; they were big talents in 1945, but their luster has certainly faded. Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen contribute the title song and two others, and Hal Walker's debut as a director is sustained more by the specialty numbers than by the story or comedic talents of Bracken, Miss Lynn or second-billed Veronica Lake.

So corny you'll be passing it for days. It works on the star and ensemble talent. Love that they call Veronica Lake shorty because that's why she was teamed with 5'6 Alan Ladd. Well shot and paced. I don't have much affinity for the music of this era but I resisted using the ff button. Cass Daley as the drummer is a kinda Broadway feature player. Check out her IMDB short bio for a cautionary tale.

As this was made in 1945,before The Jolson Story,Paramount were obviously first to the idea of a lesser light being dubbed by a megastar.In this instance Eddie Bracken plays a small town nerd with the singing voice of Bing Crosby.Diana Lynn signs him up to a contract.To pay her way to a big town chance she has to sell off part of his contract to his friends,and what do you guess happens?A la The Producers she sells off 125% of the contract>she then has to find a way out of her predicament.There are 8 featured numbers,none of which are memorable.There is one number where a number of big band leaders of the day play a selection in unison.Also there is Cass daley and a good supporting cast.I rather like her comedy and i remember seeing her in a show of old timers in 1972.It is the sort of film which would pass a rainy afternoon very pleasantly.

Betty Miller (Diana Lynn) and her all-woman band are in a tough spot. They've been out of work for a long time and the bills are mounting. When a dopey guy named Herbie (Eddie Bracken) is discovered by Miller, their problems might be over. The guy sings like Bing Crosby* and the audiences love him. The problem is that they need to pay their hotel bill in order to get to their big break--a radio broadcast. So, she instructs the band members to sell interest in Herbie. The problem is that they sell 125% of the stock in him...and they are able to leave the hotel but they could end up going to jail. Betty's way of dealing with this is to pay Herbie a paltry $50 a week--even though she's getting paid a thousand a week (and soon more) for Herbie. In essence, she's cheating Herbie out of a fortune...and seems more concerned with saving herself from jail as opposed to what's best for Herbie. Sadly, Herbie is smitten by her...and doesn't realize that the hundreds of thousands he thinks she's banking for him is gone. Not surprisingly, the investors are NOT pleased when they learn the truth.

While the film is supposed to be a romantic comedy, the plot is so cruel and selfish that I was really distracted. I hated Miller and was surprised the writers and studio would ask a cute actress like Diana Lynn to play such a dishonest and selfish character. About the only thing I did like about the movie was seeing Lynn play the piano--and she was a genius at that. Otherwise, the film is just not worth your time.

*By the way, the reason Bracken sounds like Bing Crosby is because it IS Bing Crosby's voice in the film. I think it's pretty obvious that Bracken is lip syncing.

As the film Out Of This World comes to a conclusion, Eddie Bracken gives thanks to the man whose singing voice he borrowed for this film. Half the fun of this film is hearing the voice that has been heard by more people than any other in the history of the world coming from Bracken. All together fitting and proper that Eddie should thank Bing Crosby.

Paramount as it did in Bing Crosby's own film from the year before Here Come The Waves satirizes the swooning phenomenon that that newcomer Frank Sinatra personified. Diana Lynn is the leader of an all girl orchestra like Phil Spitalny's or Ina Rae Hutton's at the time, but they're not going anywhere. But when Eddie Bracken playing his usual schnook character honed to perfection by Preston Sturges in Hail The Conquering Hero and Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, takes to the microphone and out comes Bing's pear shaped tones, the girls have a meal ticket.

Trouble is that they have a cash flow problem so Lynn sells 125% of Bracken to various investors. Among them is Veronica Lake who might have her own plans for Bracken. Keeping that a secret from the investors until the legal problems can be straightened out is about 50& of a very delightful screen comedy.

The other half is the music which includes the all girl orchestra, the comedy of Cass Daley who is Diana Lynn's drummer and above all Bing Crosby singing some nice songs which include the title song, I'd Rather Be Me, and June Comes Around Every Year. I'm sure Crosby wished these had been saved for one of his own films.

Out Of This World holds up well after more than sixty years as a delightful screen comedy and a must for the three visible stars and above all for those who love and treasure Bing Crosby who in this fan's opinion was the greatest entertainer ever.