Old Man Rhythm

This is definitely a "B" movie churned out by RKO to fill its theaters. It is a very good B movie with lots of talented people who didn't get a lot of exposure. The most famous name is Betty Grable and a fading overage Buddy Rogers. The musical numbers are well staged (by Hermes Pan) and lively, are very witty, and due to Johnny Mercer, who is one of the stars, has some very good lyrics. The plot is nonsense and doesn't get in the way of the musical numbers. I only wish college had been like this. Did every college have an ice cream shop? The opening titles are very interestingly staged. Eric Blore is amusing and gets to explain the difference between male and female fleas. Erik Rhodes does his Italian thing, and George Barbier as Buddy's father seems to be enjoying himself. You will too.

This is a small and harmless RKO musical galvanized by some tuneful (though unmemorable) songs and rhythmic dances. It is mostly set on campus and captures the youthful zest of its largely unknown players, including Betty Grable, Lucille Ball, George Barbier, Charles Rogers, Barbara Kent, Johnny Mercer, Eric Blore, John Arledge and Sonny Lamont.

For one thing, it is great to watch a very young Betty Grable with her exuberant dancing and carefree enthusiasm before stardom. This is one of her earliest movies I've seen along with 1938's "College Swing"(also a campus musical). George Barbier as the rich and overprotective father who enrolls in college to watch for his son's social life is cool especially in the "Old Man Rhythm" number. Sonny Lamont is amusing as the heavy-set college boy who does some back flips and acrobats.

The song that opens the movie, set on the train where all the college students are singing and dancing is quite catchy. But my favorite numbers are "What Would You Suggest?" and "When You Are in My Arms".

This movie had some GREAT tunes, and not ones that became classics, these tunes will be new to you. I particularly like the one about going to college that the movie starts off with in the first scene. The movie is not about romantic rivalries between father and son, rather the father does not approve of the effect girls have on his son's grades and does not approve of his son's new fiancé' so he goes to college to sort things out.This is an older movie, but very watchable with none of the glitches that you sometimes see in these older films. It is rather an obscure movie from the early thirties, thus it has not been subtitled. I thought that this was a shame because I missed a few of the words to the songs and I would have liked to have heard every word. The kids were in the room when the movie started. They were on the computer and paying NO attention to Mom's old movie, but when the song about college came on, they drifted over and watched the whole, long song. I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did. Thank goodness for TNT!

Any RKO movie with ERIC BLORE and ERIC RHODES in the supporting cast can't be all bad. This is a strictly second-rate little college musical with a trivial plot and a bevy of harmless tunes typical of the swing mood that was on the horizon. Vivacious BETTY GRABLE has one of her early campus sweetheart roles (sings a little, dances a little), and if you look hard enough you can spot LUCILLE BALL among the extras, the girl who would go on to buy the studio one day.

GEORGE BARBIER is the senior who wants to be a freshman (he wants to keep an eye on his son, BUDDY ROGERS) whom he thinks is failing subjects because his mind is on girls. Rogers is a blank in a colorless role. The female lead (unknown today) is pretty brunette BARBARA KENT. Silly nonsense with Barbier becoming a freshman subjected to student pranks with more attention on random song numbers than a plot.

The songs are strictly a blend of the type popular at the time but have the benefit of lyrics by Johnny Mercer which helps a lot and its surprising to see that the B&W photography is by Nick Musuraca who did all those great film noirs later at RKO.

Summing up: Harmless fun that passes the time quickly in 75 minutes.

The plot is silly and the songs are mostly unmemorable, but there are small pleasures to enjoy in this film. First, there's fifth-billed Betty Grable, who is featured in several songs. And she does a rapid-fire tap dance on her toes, ballet style, that seemed very difficult. I never thought her talent extended to the tips of her toes. Next, there's a character called "Blimp," played by heavy-set Sonny Lamont. He does acrobatic dancing usually reserved for people much lighter on their feet. I also enjoyed seeing the great lyricist, Johnny Mercer, in the first of his two acting roles. He seemed to have a natural acting talent that made me wonder why he didn't appear in more films. Finally, there was the challenge and pleasure in spotting Lucille Ball in an early uncredited nonspeaking part. She's there, but I had to re-run the tape and take my focus away from the action and look in the background.