Love on Tap

Mary Howard is about to get married to Truman Bradley, but every time they're about to head off, there's a crisis among the chorines of the Merriel Abbott Dancers, and the great day must be postponed.

It's a silly little short, intended to show off the acrobatic dancing troupe, and it does so very nicely under the direction of George Sidney. He had begun directing shorts for MGM in 1936, and in 1941 would switch to features. Although he would turn out the occasional swashbuckler, his specialty was musicals, and he would continue to direct them until the end of the 1960s, including VIVA LAS VEGAS.

Besides directing movies, Mr. Sidney was a co-founder of Hanna-Barbera and from 1957 through 1968, the company's president. He died in 2002, age 85.

A controlling leader of a girls' dance team is engaged. The problem is, every time she and her VERY patient boyfriend are about to get married, some emergency involving the team occurs and she leaves the poor sap waiting. You really feel sorry for the guy, as his girl seems very self-centered and indifferent to his plight. He seems like such a nice guy, you really wish he'd just leave her and find someone worthy of his love. But despite his warnings that "enough is enough", she somehow keeps stringing him along until the film's conclusion.

Unlike many shorts, this one looks like it could easily have been stretched into full-length since the film had a relatively complex plot and since it was acted at break-neck speed. This short is both a musical and has a love story as well--and as I mentioned, this is a lot for a musical short--many others just featured music. As far as musical shorts go, this one isn't bad like some because of the addition of an honest-to-goodness plot, but it also isn't great or especially memorable either. One of the things working against the film (other than the forgettable dance numbers), is that the female lead really is a self-centered jerk and so instead of rooting for her to finally tie the knot, I wanted him to dump her once and for all--and this is not a good basis for a film.

This short film shows hot, attractive, and beautiful girls dancing, talking, and moving throughout the film. Some of the girls are beautiful, their hair in particular and their faces/body. So much nostalgia of the swing back in the good old days from 1929 to 1947.

Overall, this short musical feature is pretty bland, but it does have a couple of good moments. The plot is based on a familiar idea, and the characters are one-dimensional, so it relies a lot on the dancing sequences and on an upbeat tone.

The story focuses on an engaged couple (Mary Howard and Truman Bradley) whose wedding plans have already been postponed a number of times. It gives the idea a slightly interesting variation (from, for example, the way that it was used in numerous Bulldog Drummond features) by having the prospective bride be the one whose responsibilities keep getting in the way. But after this setup is established, the rest of the plot is mostly predictable. The couple themselves are likable, but not particularly interesting.

A good part of the screen time is given to some performances by the Merriel Abbott Dancers, and their routines have some good moments. There is also some variety in the musical numbers, with a formal stage number and a more informal outdoor routine. They help to give a little life to an innocuous, but plain, movie.

LOVE ON TAP is basically a short MGM musical designed to showcase the Merriel Abbott dancers, with MARY HOWARD and TRUMAN BRADLEY as a pair of would-be honeymooners whose marriage plans are interrupted by the needy girls (an annoying plot device) and the lady's willingness to put their plans on hold once too often.

It's a brisk, harmless piece of fluff which makes the girls' dancing routines look like "The Rockettes" in rehearsal, with perhaps more acrobatics than usual for high-kicking dancers working out with a swing band, courtesy of GARWOOD VAN and his orchestra.

The whining girls always have a petty problem that needs instant solving but, of course, it's pretty clear that all will end well before their final tap dancing routine.

Summing up: A trifle easily forgotten after one viewing. Mary Howard looks like an even prettier version of Norma Shearer--and whatever happened to Truman Bradley? He had leading man possibilities.