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.

Old Man Rhythm is one of those silly college musicals that were so popular during the Thirties. The plots are almost the same in every one of them, but they were diverting. One of the main differences in this one was that it had no football game or hero in it. But like all the others it had very little learning as well. In fact I can't recall a scene with a classroom.

The leads in Old Man Rhythm are an over the hill Buddy Rogers who was going on the downside of his film career. He's the son of wealthy toy manufacturer George Barbier and he's living it up real high on the hog in college. He's got two girl friends, good girl Barbara Kent and bad girl Grace Bradley. Grace is one of those who makes no bones about going to college to find a rich husband and she's got a prime prospect in Rogers.

All this is real unsettling to Barbier who decides to abandon his business even though he's in a battle with a hostile takeover by Erik Rhodes. But he's going to go back to school in any event.

The plot barely gets in the way of a whole lot of musical numbers which are serviceable for the plot, but nothing truly memorable comes from the score. The music is by Lewis Gensler and the lyrics are supplied by the great Johnny Mercer. This was one of the earliest film scores that Mercer did in his career and we do get the added treat of seeing him as a performer as well. Though he wrote some of the greatest songs of the last century, Mercer was a fine performer who for some reason rarely appeared on the big screen.

Old Man Rhythm also has some of the best character actors from the studio era in the cast. Besides those I already mentioned you can also enjoy Donald Meek and Eric Blore. Betty Grable has a featured role in this film as well as one of the shapely coeds and in a bit part you can spot Lucille Ball if you scan carefully.

Of course the film is utter nonsense, but it's delightful nonsense and easy to take.

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.

Oh, come on, I said to myself. Sometimes you expect too much. It's just a second-billed, minor musical, so what's the big deal? I don't often make sense when speaking to myself, but this time I just went with the movie and had a good time, at that. The plot gets pretty far afield and far from reality but you have to appreciate the raw energy of the performers in bringing this trifle to comparative life.

The storyline has been summarized by several contributors and everything they say is on the mark; goofy, absurd, nonsensical, gets in the way of the music, etc. but the musical numbers here (all unheard-of songs which never became standards) really enliven the picture and the wait between them is worth your while. The stars are 'B-list' Hollywood stars interspersed with some good character actors, among them Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes, Donald Meek and George Barbier. Also in the cast is Johnny Mercer who wrote the lyrics to all the songs.

Not for modern tastes as clothing styles and college activities (everyone meets at the soda shop?) are very old-fashioned, but you'll especially enjoy "Old Man Rhythm" if you are of a certain age, say around WW II and before. I hope that doesn't make us too old!

"Old Man Rhythm" is one of those musicals where the studio rounds up talent and creates a story that tries to fit them all in, including whatever specialty acts they are big on. But the plot of this film does not try much to be other than that. It opens with a musical number, on a train, that includes just about every actor in the film. That first scene tells us everything we need to know about the film: it's light and playful and filled with talent.

OMR is driven by the music of Lewis E. Gensler and Johnny Mercer. If you like clever lyrics and toe-tapping tunes, this is a good film to watch. Gensler is talented, but the entire film is Mercerized by the Ogden Nashish lyrics.

Speaking of which, the only slow part of the film is a scene about fleas. Yes, it's true. Apparently the entire scene (apart from being a silly plot device regarding a letter) is just a setup for a poem that is, nevertheless, interesting. The poem is called "Siphonaptera" and if you look it up on Wikipedia, you will learn its origins and its variations.

One more point about the music. It captures a time in the evolution of popular music when you can easily hear the transition from the blues to jazz (and swing). The musical arrangements in this film are filled with examples.

Betty Grable taps en pointe. Hermes Pan arranged the dance numbers, so I guess he might be partly responsible for this difficult feat. Among the other talented performers, I particularly liked Evelyn Poe, though her film career seems to have been short.

The story is not much to write home about. A college boy's father (John Roberts) is concerned that his son (JR, Jr.) is losing his scholarly focus because of a girl (Marion). He enrolls in the same college, hoping to turn the boy's affections toward another girl (Edith) deemed more suitable. Though Junior thinks Marion is the marryin' kind, she proves to be more interested in his familial fortune. They all live in some dormitories that wow and they frequent a soda shop where the local talents shake a leg and croon competently. Which is what the film is all about, after all--the music.

This double-bill special no doubt had the cats boogeying in their theater seats in 1935.