Time Out for Rhythm

This little known Columbia musical stars Rudy Vallee and Ann Miller, but is of great interest due to the appearance of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard (aka The Three Stooges). Although they are not starred and have nothing to do with the nonexistent plot of the film, the Stooges have a good amount of screen time and what they have is stellar. In this film, they perform their trademark set piece "Maharajah". Compare this version to the 1946 version with a sick Curly. Here Curly is high energy and the piece is full of life. It is also superior to their television versions with Shemp and Curly Joe. The Stooges show up often in the film for a handful of gags and they participate in a group of musical numbers. The finale with the Stooges "au natural" is priceless. Vallee had developed into a fine character comedian as well and Miller's dancing is always welcome. This is a light, fun budget musical comedy.

I first read of this rare Three Stooges-Moe, Larry, and Curly-feature when reading the book "The Stooges' Lost Episodes" which loved the Stooges' routines here especially the "Maharraja of Vulgaria" one when Curly hadn't yet suffered his stroke as they say was evidenced when he later performed that in the Three Little Pirates short. Anyway, the Stooges aren't the only highlights here, tap dancer Ann Miller is introed by her glamorous legs first before we then see the rest of her in her maid outfit. No wonder Columbia gave her a long-term contract after she performed in this. Character actor Allen Jenkins Is also on hand doing fine comedy takes as well as occasionally doing a musical number as he does with Ms. Miller here. Crooner Rudy Vallee does occasionally sing with one of the numbers being with Joan Merrill who warbles a couple more solo. Besides the Stooges, Blanche Stewart and Elvira Allman also provide comic relief as secretaries Brenda and Cobina. Watch both teams during the rumba number near the end, what laughs! So on that note, I highly recommend Time Out for Rhythm for all the Stooges fans out there.

Here's another solid 'B' musical, this time not from Universal but Columbia. Universal has bunches of these which have never been released on VHS or DVD (e.g., "The Merry Monahans(1944), but Columbia is somewhat more liberal with their product. Here is one that could go over well in release. It stars, principally, Rudy Vallee and Richard Lane as theatrical agent partners who butt heads over egotistical chanteuse Rosemary Lane. Lane likes her, Vallee does not - he finds Ms. Lane irritating and is taken with Ann Miller. This picture marks a departure for Vallee, whose character has more depth than most of his other movie appearances, and a meatier role for Richard Lane than at any other time in his career. Though not top-billed, he is the male lead and he is quite good.

There are several good musical numbers sung by Joan Merrill, and couple of song-and-dance numbers by Ann Miller, including one with Allen Jenkins (I'll bet you've never seen him sing and dance - and he's pretty good!). Throw in the Three Stooges with some comic routines and you have a pretty fair movie. The music is from the 40's, of the jive and swing variety. Just the right mix of comedy, romance and music to earn a rating of 7. A quality production in all departments.

This hilarious and very hep B grade Columbia musical turns up often on Australian Television, so someone at Channel 9 besides me likes to see it programmed a lot. Good swing/jive music, great Ann Miller tap numbers, some spooky boogie woogie, Allen Jenkins being obnoxious and a lot of very funny 3 stooges routines.....and Brenda and Corvina....yikes! Two female stooges! I would never have believed it. Must have been great fun to see in the 40s in a 2000 seater and a full house. The "Twiddling My Thumbs Number" is a lot like the Jesse Matthews "Dancing On The Ceiling" number from Evergreen but here its a real toe tapper from Ms Miller.

Time Out for Rhythm (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A great cast elevates this musical-comedy but it can't quite reach a good level. The story itself is pretty simple as business partners (Richard Lane, Rudy Vallee) try to get Frances Lewis (Rosemary Lane) into the big time. The duo eventually break up so the Lane character tries to make Kitty Brown (Ann Miller) a superstar.

TIME OUT FOR Rhythm features a pretty good cast full of familiar faces but the plot is just so routine and predictable that the film never manages to be more than a decent "B" picture. I think the best thing the film has going for it is the cast, which is certainly good enough to keep film buffs entertained throughout the short running time. Lane is actually pretty good and believable in his role here and Vallee makes for a nice rival. Allen Jenkins is also good in his supporting bit as a piano player and there's no question that Lane is good. Ann Miller easily steals the film in her role and her dancing is certainly the highlight. THe Three Stooges appear throughout the film in brief skits as they are constantly trying to break into show business. I found their skits to be decent but at the same time they take away from the main focus of the story.

As I said, there are some problems here with the screenplay being the biggest issue. There's a love conflict that's thrown in but just adds a bunch of boring scenes and you know where they're going to go. The musical numbers are fairly good considering the budget. TIME OUT FOR Rhythm isn't a classic but if you're a fan of the cast then it's certainly worth sitting through.