Sound Off

The film Sound Off is titled that to take advantage of Vaughn Monroe's hit record of The Duckworth Chant aka Sound Off. It sold a ton of records back at the time and is the main musical feature of the film.

The other feature is Mickey Rooney's effervescent personality which is working on all cylinders in Sound Off. He plays a nightclub comedian who gets his greetings from the president and has to go in the army to the distress of his agent Sammy White who certainly isn't going to get much of a commission of 10% of Mickey's army pay.

The idea is hardly original in fact the same year Sound Off came out for Columbia, Mickey's old home studio of MGM put out Because You're Mine which featured Mario Lanza as an opera singing draftee.

There's a lieutenant/nurse played by Anne James who Mickey has to compete with Major John Archer for. And Gordon Jones plays Mickey's training sergeant who actually isn't such a bad guy, he just wants Mickey to just straighten out. In fact the best sequence in the film involves Mickey before he gets his draft notice using Jones as a foil in his nightclub act. Jones responds in a good fashion, but lets the Mick know there are no hard feelings if he just soldiers up.

Definitely a film for the Mick's still strong legion of fans.