Rhythm in the Clouds

The plot of "Rhythm in the Clouds" really makes no sense at all. It's an enjoyable enough film but you need to turn off your brain to enjoy it.

Judy Walker (Patricia Ellis) is a homeless lady who comes up with a scheme to find a place to live...at least temporarily. When she learns that a famous composer is going out of town, she convinces everyone that he's his niece is she is supposed to be house-sitting. However, after moving in, she oddly picks a fight with a neighbor. The irony of this is that the pair later become song collaborators...while not knowing who the other is. Soon, the actual homeowner arrives. What's Judy to do to find a way out of this mess?

This film is a B movie from Republic....and is about what you'd expect from such a picture. With a short running time (about an hour) and second and third-string actors, it's pleasant but not much more. Enjoyable...if you can look past the implausibility of it all.

This tedious 'musical' from 1937 was clearly an A grade Republic production maybe hoping to tag along on the bottom half of a double bill with a smart A grade film from MGM or Paramount. Very well produced with lavish and well furnished big sets and some style RHYTHM IN THE CLOUDS is basically a company calling card or showreel of Republic's 'expertise'... but...someone forgot to create something for the audience to enjoy. Screenplay by Nathaniel West (Of Day Of The Locust fame...he also later adapted Let's Make Music for RKO) who must have used a blunt pencil for this one. An A grade film out of Republic was a B+ for RKO or Columbia which might indicate the level of expertise on show. Basically it is about a dishonest female music arranger sneaks into the apartment of a vacationing composer and creates the impression they are collaborating. Her music with his name on it too. It becomes a hit and makes the radio. He returns: "screwball situations" . It just isn't very interesting. A no-star cast who might have been Boston stage actors recently and a forgettable music score makes this film dull. If you want to some ambitious production imagery and set design and camera work etc hard at work at Republic in their early days of 1937 here it is. A 30s production curio only. Amusingly, it is what Grand National or later in 1937, Monogram was striving for.

Not a bad way to spend 53 minutes staring at beautiful people, glamorous gowns and well designed sets, accompanied by lilting tunes. The story isn't too bad, even though the dialog tends to rely too heavily on comedy even when nothing is ready at hand. Patricia Ellis is so-so - rather pretty yet not as glamorous as several other leading B-ladies of the thirties, and a bit too temperate for a screwball comedy. As she only joins in shortly for the last song, it's hard to say anything about her voice. Warren Hull is a good-looking and sexy hunk with very good voice, but there appears to be no sparks flying between the two. Nevertheless, the film flies by very quickly (at 53 minutes - as presented in Classic Musicals 50 movie pack - it should) and keeps your attention well in grasp. Quite enjoyable, even though there is very little actual rhythm and almost no clouds to be seen.

You can find this miserable waste of celluloid in those bargain basement 20 movies for $6 type of sets. Some of those films are really good! But not this one.

If you purchase one of those sets, please skip over this movie. If I can save one person from wasting 53 minutes of their life, this posting will be worth it.

Where o where did republic come up with this poor excuse for a cast? There are no obscure names here, obscure suggesting they were once well known. No has-beens, suggesting actors once had a decent career. The best thing I can say about the leads is that they looked pretty good. I can't comment on the acting since there wasn't any acting. There was some over acting from that annoying second rate Allen Jenkins type character - so incredibly unfunny. The leads were just a waist of space - and they couldn't sing either - and this was a musical. In fact, not one of them could even so much as carry a tune. I really hated the male lead's voice which was just a lot of bad vibrato.

There was only a couple of songs. None of them good.

So we are down to a bad attempt at comedy (writing and acting), terrible music, non existent direction, and putrid acting. Did I mention the horrid attempt at comedy yet? No charm, no fun, no nothing.

Other than that, it was great.

Shame on you, Republic Pictures. Stay out of the musical business.

Do not watch this film.

Patricia Ellis is cute as struggling songwriter Judy Walker. Thrown out of her cheap apartment, she wrangles a much nicer place using a letter she received from a much more successful songwriter, the letterhead on his stationery, and a bottle of "ink eraser." Basically, she moves into his place while he is out of town.

The new apartment is awfully nice—an excellent place to work on her songs. There is, unfortunately, a loud neighbor next door; Judy and the neighbor quickly start a noisy war of banging on each other's walls. For the most part, however, Judy is set. She lounges on the couch drinking champagne, sharing high-toned conversation with her imaginary guests: "Mr. Gershwin, take it easy. Of course I'll help you write your new rhapsody….Mr. Berlin! Irving! Do tell the boys how many copies of our last number we sold....Now, Bob McKay—Let me see those lyrics of yours…." We assume that "Bob McKay" is another well-known songwriter; soon enough we learn that…

The guy next door with whom Judy has been fighting through the wall is indeed popular lyricist Bob McKay—a big star and an enthusiastic feuding partner. Naturally, it takes Judy and Bob a good chunk of the picture to discover each other's identities; the scene where they finally make that realization is nicely done and quite funny—it's one of those scenes where you can see it coming but that makes it all the funnier. That scene is typical of the picture as a whole, actually: never especially surprising but pleasantly amusing nevertheless.

Warren Hull is pretty good as Bob McKay, the lyricist next door; Hull and Ellis make a nice couple, two attractive people snapping dialog back and forth and gradually getting together.

The supporting cast have some decent roles: Richard Carle plays the exasperated head of an advertising agency looking for songs; William Newell is the assistant whose job includes rounding up the talent and getting fired every time Carle is in a bad mood; Zeffie Tilbury is hilarious as "the Duchess de Lovely," whose beauty cream products sponsor the radio program Carle is producing.

There's not much to it, but it's easy to look at these beautiful people in their classy outfits and stylish apartments and sparkling radio studio settings.

My favorite line: "Does 'resignation' have two g's?" "I don't know, I always get fired."