Viva l'allegria

Movie fans who think great stars are enough to make a film great should see EVERYBODY SING. MGM threw together this vehicle for an assortment of wonderful performers they had under contract, but bad writing spoils it.

The following year the same studio would do everything right in THE WIZARD OF OZ, also with Garland and Burke, but here they do everything wrong. A stupid plot, bad dialog, and a director who doesn't know how to tone down veteran stage performers for the camera make for a shrill and charmless musical. Humor here consists of everybody yelling at each other, belting out third-rate songs and then reprising them. (Oh no! Here comes THAT lousy number again!)

Legendary stage and radio comedienne Fanny Brice's inexperience in films is painfully apparent. She gives a performance which would work on stage, but in camera close-up she comes across as hammy and annoying -- bugging her eyes, over-inflecting her lines, and making goofy faces.

Billie Burke, so funny and charming in THE WIZARD OF OZ and other films, is overbearing and shrieky here. Allan Jones, a handsome and likable young tenor, is wasted; in 1938, with operetta going out of style, the movie business no longer had a place for singers like him and Deanna Durbin.

The one reason to watch this is to witness the beginnings of the girl who the following year would blossom into the greatest musical performer in the history of film: Judy Garland. Even Judy is too loud and frantic here -- she's still Frances Gumm, vaudeville's "Little Miss Leatherlungs", with her mother hissing from the wings, "Louder, Frances! Smile, baby! Bat your eyes!!" But there are a few moments where Judy's musical phrasing or reading of a line take your breath away -- she's not yet the unique genius she would become, but she's getting there.

Garland fans should definitely see this, to see her in her "diamond in the rough" stage -- but you'll be in no hurry to see it again.

That's a good screenplay. Judy Garland plays a girl named Judy (what a coincidence !) who has lots trouble in school but, with the help oh her maid and her cook, she will see her life change. I love Fanny Brice's performance. She's so funny! I love all the Judy's movie until now and I want to watch all of them !

This is strictly JUDY GARLAND before she became the Judy we all know. Ditto for the ill used FANNY BRICE, whose "Baby Snooks" routine on radio was socko with millions during the '40s but looks bad here.

The story, a dumb one even for MGM family musicals, is about a bunch of eccentrics in a family that are intent on putting on a show (where have we heard that one before?), and bursting into song numbers at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, none of the numbers are anything worth remembering (or hearing, for that matter). The whole thing falls as flat as a pancake by the time it's even into the middle section.

BILLIE BURKE does her usual fluttery act as a dizzy mother and MGM was still, at this point, trying to groom ALLAN JONES for stardom, but he's even more wooden than Nelson Eddy ever was. He too is saddled with some hard to like songs to give his tenor pipes a workout.

As one who enjoyed the best MGM musicals which came along in the '40s, from a studio whose musical talent was the uncontested best, this is simply a foolish yawner with no interest except serving as an early glimpse of JUDY GARLAND, who is unable to overcome this weak kind of rubbish. Same goes for the entire cast.

Summing up: Strictly below average as entertainment.

"Everybody Sing" is a delightful 1938 film filled with music but, as these things go, not much plot. That's okay.

Judy plays Judy Bellaire, whose mother (Billie Burke) is a busy actress, and her father (Reginald Owen) is a producer. When Judy gets kicked out of school for turning her classical music into jazz, no one will listen to the reason she's home - they're all too busy.

Mom is in rehearsal with her leading man (Reginald Owen), her sister Sylvia (Lynne Carter) is taking a voice lesson, and her father is frantically running around.

Judy's only pals in the house are the chef, Ricky Saboni (Allan Jones), who is in love with Sylvia, and the maid (Fanny Brice), an ex-Russian performer.

Eventually Judy, though underage, gets into a show put on by Ricky, who sings at night in a club. The singing is glorious, Judy singing "Swing Mr. Mendolssohn," "Down to Melody Farm," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and "Ever Since the World Began."

Brice does a specialty number, and Jones, in his beautiful tenor, sings "The Show Must Go On," "Cosi-Cosa," and "First Thing in the Morning." Pre-Wizard of Oz, and pretty Judy sings with an incredible maturity of tone.

Fun, upbeat movie.

Not an awful film, but also not a great one. While Judy Garland doesn't disappoint, generally as an overall whole 'Everybody Sings' is one of her weaker films along with 'Presenting Lily Mars' and 'Little Nellie Kelly'.

Judy is certainly the best thing about it. It was always going to be interesting seeing her before her iconic performance in 'The Wizard of Oz', and while it is not one of her best performance she is endearingly winsome, playful and heartfelt and sings an absolute dream. Not all the cast work, but Reginalds Owen and Gardiner are fun and despite having less than subtle characters they avoid being too hammy. Fanny Brice is mostly amusingly zany, and Lynne Carver is lovely.

The songs aren't amazing and most don't stand the test of time, but they are still very pleasant, with enough fun and emotion, and well performed. They are mostly energetically and gracefully staged, again not outstanding but little of it is overblown and it's hardly static or indifferent either. 'Everybody Sings' looks good in crisp black and white, handsome enough without being lavish.

As said though, not all the cast work. While Allan Jones sounds lovely, he comes over as a very wooden actor, while Billie Burke flutters shrilly to a very annoying degree. While the song and dance numbers are above average on the whole, "Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot" is not for the faint hearted (there are definitely worse examples of black-face and one is very much aware that they were popular then, but that doesn't mean people should like them) and the finale is over-cooked.

Some of the script is witty and charming, others are excessively corny and sentimental, with some of the humour that works well in other media not working well on film (especially the "Baby Snooks" routine). The story is thin and old as the hills, with some parts that feel contrived and parts in the second half that drag.

In summary, average film as an overall whole but Judy is great and the film is worth a one-time watch for her. 5/10 Bethany Cox