Sing Me a Love Song

"SING ME A LOVE SONG" (Warner Brothers, 1936), directed by Ray (billed Raymond) Enright, is a movie musical, which one can gather from the background of musical notes placed during the opening title credits. Not only is it a musical with comedy, but a musical that goes on a different level of entertainment as in previous past. Instead of the usual backstage story, this one's set in a department store headed by tenor James Melton, making his second of three musicals for Warners, doing most of the vocalizing during the interludes of the plot.

Melton plays Jerry Haines Jr., a young playboy whose grandfather was the founder of Haines Department Store (established 1878). The old man's recent death has left the store with no active head, so Jerry is advised by his attorneys, Barton (Hobart Cavanaugh) and Willard (Charles Halton), councils for the Barton estate, to return with them and assume the position as head of the store in hope that he can save it from financial ruin. Once at the department store, which is based in New York City, Jerry decides to go incognito, posing as Jerry Hanley, and employs himself as a clerk in order to learn the inside of the business and to find out why the store is having financial problems. Keeping his identity a secret, Jerry not only succeeds into making improvements and acquainting himself with the other employees, but becomes particularly interested in a pretty young blonde named Jean Martin (Patricia Ellis), working in the music department, thus making "sweet music" along the way.

Although the theme of millionaire playboy/or owner of a department store working amongst his employees incognito sounds like a original idea, a similar storyline, minus music, was put to better use with "THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES" (RKO Radio, 1941), where Charles Coburn plays the middle-aged owner of a department store who takes on a clerk's position in order to investigate the labor problems. Regardles of a misleading title of the aforementioned film which makes one think of it being a horror thriller, that witty film by Norman Krasna remains a comedy classic while "SING ME A LOVE SONG," a similar film of sorts, is forgotten and rarely shown.

Melton, who makes the best in his rare opportunity playing the central character, is overshadowed by his supporting character actors, especially that of Hugh Herbert. As Sigfried Hammerschlog, he plays a shoplifter and kleptomaniac, who on various occasions, arrives in the store using different disguises, regardless of being a man of wealth. Herbert's shoplifting antics alone makes this comedy worth watching, making other comedy scenes pale in comparison. ZaSu Pitts comes a close second in the humor department as a department store klutz accidentally damaging merchandise and buying them through deductions from her paycheck. And let's not overlook Walter Catlett as Mr. Sprague, the floorwalker who observes everybody's business; Allen Jenkins as Christopher Cross, the elevator operator; and Nat Pendleton as Melton's chauffeur named Rocky

The songs, compliments of the reliable composing team of Harry Warren and Al Dubin, are as follows: "That's the Least You Can Do for the Lady" (sung by James Melton); "That's the Least You Can Do for the Lady" (reprise by Patricia Ellis and James Melton); "Carry Me Back to the Lone Prairie" (written by Carson J. Robison, sung by Melton); "Your Eyes Told Me So," "The Little House Love Built," "Summer Night" and "The Little House That Love Built" (all sung by Melton). Of the songs listed, "Summer Night" comes off as both pleasing and haunting. It is possibly a song that was deleted from an earlier Warners musical, "COLLEEN" (1936) in which Dick Powell is heard humming a few bars of that same song while playing the piano in the opening scene.

One final note: Where is Ann Sheridan? When Turner Classic Movies, a cable channel that occasionally plays this movie, had Ann Sheridan as its star of the month back in August 1996, host Robert Osborne mentioned "SING ME A LOVE SONG" to be Sheridan's debut at Warners, playing Lola Parker, Melton's débutante fiancée. True, she did participate in this film, and it is evident, especially in the three minute theatrical trailer with a couple of scenes involving Sheridan, whose name is placed with the others in the casting credits but not in the existing opening credits. After watching this 75 minute product, Sheridan's character of Lola, who's mentioned about a couple of times, once by Pendleton, is nowhere in sight. On top of that, "SING ME A LOVE SONG" suffers in severe editing, especially one where Melton's Jerry is unable to locate Jean (Ellis). Next scene suddenly has him rushing out from his limousine, into the music store where he finds his beloved Jean sitting by the piano, sharing the piano bench alongside her where he sings to her. Talk about speeding things up a bit with tight editing. It's uncertain whether movie was released this way or not, or whether an edited reissue choppy print. Yet, since Ann Sheridan did become a major star attraction for Warners, especially in the 1940s, it would have made sense restoring her scenes, if they exist at all.

James Melton (1904-1961), whose debut film was STARS OVER Broadway (1935), would star in one more musical programmer, "MELODY FOR TWO" (1937), before striking out with the studio, resuming his career on radio and Metropolitan Opera Company. Of the three musicals, "SING ME A LOVE SONG" comes off best. See it not for the songs, not for the romantic leads, not for its almost original screenplay, but for Hugh Herbert who comically makes shoplifting a work of art. If one doesn't get enough of Herbert's antics, he can also be seen playing his own father, Rudy Hammerschlog, and brother, Herman Hammerschlog, vice president of the United Railways Railroad. (***)

This is a strange movie, in a way. It's only 75 minutes long, yet the supporting cast - a lot of familiar Warner Brothers comedians, like Hugh Herbert and Walter Catlett - have more screen time than I have ever seen them allotted in other pictures.

I think what that means is that Warner Brothers, after James Melton's first, undistinguished movie from the year before, *Stars over Broadway*, realized that, to put it kindly, he needed some help bringing off a feature-length film.

He sang well, certainly, so he was given a LOT of songs in this picture. Unfortunately, while Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote a lot of very popular and still remembered songs, none of their contributions here is at all memorable. As a result, Melton really doesn't make much of an impression. His co-star, Patricia Ellis, gets a few duets with him, but makes even less of an impression.

Compare Melton to Dick Powell, for example, who was also at Warner Brothers at that time. Powell projected personality that Melton does not convey. There was also chemistry between Powell and Ruby Keeler, for example, that is completely absent here between Melton and Ellis.

So we are left with the supporting cast, who are given more screen time than usual and, as a result, do really get to shine. I don't generally like Hugh Herbert, but he gets some good scenes here. Walter Catlett gets to develop a whole character here, and does it well. Zazu Pitts and Alan Jenkins do their usual professional jobs.

That doesn't make this a great picture, but it saves it from being the forgettable zero that it could have been with no memorable songs and two pleasant but uncaptivating leads.

This is one of those comedies that I usually go for, since it involves a deception that the audience is in on, but many in the film are not. James Melton (a popular singing radio star at the time) goes to work in the music department of the store he inherited to learn about the business and the people. Only his lawyers and a couple of executives (who are trying to bankrupt him so they can buy the store cheaply) know he's the big boss. The comedy is excellent, with Hugh Herbert, ZaSu Pitts, Allen Jenkins, Walter Catlett, and Nat Pendleton all contributing bits that are very funny. Jenkins has the best lines, and his tongue-twister about his name had me in stitches. There are five good songs, sung by Melton and his love interest, Patricia Ellis, and even ZaSu Pitts sings in this one. I've seen the movie 3 times and it seemed to get better with each viewing.

While the stories differ enough that it cannot be considered a direct remake, "Sing Me a Love Song" was re-worked five years later as "The Devil and Miss Jones" and it is a classic. "Sing Me a Love Song" is a decent film...but the later film is much funnier and better written. Plus, while James Melton had a terrific singing voice in the movie, "The Devil and Miss Jones" is better because it's not a musical at all...just a wonderful comedy.

J. J. Haines Jr. Is set to take over the company business following his father's death. However, instead of just stepping into the office to run the department store, he decides to try working as a regular employee in order to see what it's like working there. During his time working in the music department, he becomes a well liked guy...and his new friends have no idea who he actually is.

"Sing Me a Love Song" is still a very good film...well written and the singing isn't too invasive. But the idea works so much better in the later movie. My advice? See them both!! One is a true classic...the other still a very good film. It sure helps that so many familiar character actors are in this First National release...such as Walter Catlett, Allen Jenkins, Nat Pendleton, Hugh Herbert and Zasu Pitts.

I've been searching for this film ever since I started my personal film log about 16 years ago with the advent of the VCR and Cable. I saw it in a neighborhood theater in 1936 or '37 in Ohio or Missouri. Though I had forgotten all the story elements and principals, I distinctly remembered the character of Hammerschlogg the klepto -- Hugh Herbert, who I thought at the time must be the funniest man in the movies.

Herbert is still highly amusing, but on my recent rediscovery of the picture on cable, I was much more impressed by the magnificently effortless soaring tenor of James Melton. He had several great songs in this film, but his "Your Eyes Have Told Me So" left me with goose bumps!

The inane story line is no worse than the average musical, and the music and comedy elements more than make up for it. A very entertaining movie that I can recommend without reservation.