Command Performance

Arthur Tracy has become a singing success. He can command a thousand pounds a week on the stage, and he's booked for a royal command performance in a month. But his nerves are giving way and ruining his voice. So he ignores the insistence of agent Finlay Currie, and takes off for a month's golfing holiday with eight shilling in his pocket. He takes the train as far as that will go, hen walks the remainder, picking up a friend in tramp Mark Daly and a caravan of gypsies: blonde ones, including Lilli Palmer.

Despite the supposed short-circuiting of his vocal chords, this movie is an opportunity for Tracy to sing a whole bunch of songs in between the bare threads of a plot. His voice is remarkable, and it's clear why we was a major singing talent in the 1930s, until musical tastes changed and he went into semi-retirement. There were a couple of revivals of interest in him, mostly because of his hit recording of "Pennies From Heaven." He died in 1997 at the age of 98.

Command Performance is probably Arthur Tracy's greatest Movie. Starring alongside the beautiful Lilli Palmer (wife of Rex Harrison) he plays a huge Star of Radio and Silver Screen.

The Movie is very touching and extremely moving in places, with a great cast interpreting their roles beautifully. Haunting melodies throughout make this Movie a true gem! The greatest Star of the Film is undoubtedly Rae Collet who plays 'little Betty'. She gets an Award from me for her role, but sadly for all - and the British Movie industry, this was to be her one and only appearance on the Silver Screen.

A Movie to treasure!

In Command Performance, Arthur Tracy playing himself, is getting rather run down. During a performance while singing Londonderry Air {Oh Danny Boy) he breaks down hitting that high note which with his range should have been within reach. The audience helps him out to finish the song.

The doctor says rest and Tracy agrees. But he leaves manager Finlay Currie without too much cash and no check book. He can't get too far on it. Never mind, he makes the acquaintance of a traveling band of gypsies. And of course falls for the lovely Lilli Palmer the daughter of the gypsy chief, Julian Vadey.

There certainly was no stretch on any acting talent with Tracy playing himself, but he's a charming sort and it's not hard to imagine his popularity on both sides of the pond. In the early Thirties he was a rival to Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo, and Rudy Vallee as a radio singer in the United States. However his description of his own voice as a 'Baritenor' is pretty accurate, he had an astonishing range. Unlike those contemporaries I named, Tracy had operatic training, calling him a crooner would be most inaccurate. In fact the big production number of Command Performance is Tracy doing an English version of the The Toreador Song from Carmen.

There's a very droll performance by Mark Daly who plays an amiable chicken thief who falls in with the gypsies and becomes a rival of sorts for Lilli Palmer. Young Rae Collet is very cute as the little girl who becomes attached to Tracy and to whom he sings A Whistling Gypsy Lullaby. Very similar to the scene Bing Crosby did with Edith Fellows in Pennies from Heaven.

I didn't recognize him at first because he used an American accent, but Finlay Currie as the manager was interesting. Interesting because I always like hearing in foreign films what we sound like to another culture.

For those who want to check out the man known as The Street Singer, Command Performance is recommended.