Canto Chorado

This down at the heels production provides a lot more laughs than a lot of star filled comedies of its day with leads brought up from the supporting ranks. Zasu Pitts, Nat Pendleton, Edward Everett Horton, Pert Kelton and Ned Sparks more or less apply the same type they excel at in other films without stars stepping in front of their shot or impeding the flow of humor with a half baked romance and for the most part carry it off nicely.

T. Fenny Sylvestor ( Pendleton) makes a good living at cracking safes and kidnapping. During a job he hear's Annie Snodgrass (Pitts) warbling a tune about mom at a rehearsal. stopping the heist dead in its tracks. He then devotes himself to putting Annie on the Broadway stage by way of intimidation.

Sing and Like It is populated with Runyonesque characters playing it broad and sober. The cast of scene stealers have the patter down right and the script by Marian Dix and Laird Doyle runs from high sarcasm (after all Ned Sparks is in the room) to subtle wit (" Look at all the diamonds I've given ya' and not a mark on ya." ) It's unfortunate both writers had brief careers given the promise displayed here.

William Seiter's direction allows for dead moments (How many times must we listen to Ms. Pitts murder the same tune?) as well as a fair share of brutal slapstick in places but overall the team of second stringers he fields all have a good game making Sing and Like It a winner.

Amazing what a good script will do for a movie, especially a comedy. I had never heard of "Sing And Like It" before, but this picture is funny! Lots of wisecracks and asides in this one and it doesn't contain slapstick or lots of pratfalls, as many comedies made just after the silent era did. This one plays like a Billy Wilder picture which relies on clever dialogue. The best lines belonged to Ned Sparks, delivered in his patented deadpan style, and then to Pert Kelton as a jealous girlfriend.

The stars of the picture are Nat Pendleton and Zasu Pitts. He is a gangster boss who hears Pitts sing a song called "Your Mother" for a community group while he and his gang are robbing a bank next door. He is enraptured and saddened by its maudlin tune, and decides to put her in a Broadway show. He strongarms producer Edward Everett Horton to feature her in his show, and Horton himself has some funny one-liners of his own.

This picture was a pleasant surprise, the kind which you hope would never end, and to keep the one-liners coming. Hadn't seen Pendleton in a starring role before and felt he was a little overpowering, and Zasu Pitts played her normal, woebegone character and stayed within herself. Good movie and a very funny comedy, of the type not often made or seen.

Can't beat THAT cast! Zasu Pitts. Ned Sparks. Ed Horton. A gangster's girlfriend Ruby (Perl Kelton) wants to star in a show, so when the gangster "Fenny" (Nat Pendleton) hears "Annie" singing (Zasu Pitts), he puts together a show for her, not the girlfriend. The singing and acting are terrible, but Fenny likes her, so they proceed. And of course, the girlfriend wants the lead role for herself, so Annie better watch out! This one gets a little rough around the edges... the film code wasn't being enforced yet. Honestly, if this had a different cast, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much.. I DO love Sparks and Horton. Also interesting to note that in the first couple scenes, Pendleton calls Ed Horton and one of the other guys "Honey" and "Dearie". Directed by Bill Seiter. Another interesting thang -- when Ben Mank introduced this film on Turner Classics, he stated that Walter Brennan appears in the film, but the trivia section states that Phil Tead is often mistaken for Brennan. Pretty good film, but probably because those key actors are so awesome.

I've seen this a few times and it always makes me laugh. Great cast playing for all it's worth, and very pre-code: When told she is to be Annie's chaperone, Ruby replies "She'd be safe on a battleship"; the gum scene; Ruby: "I belong to the world", Fenny: "You probably did before you took up with me." The end has a couple of neat twists too. It drags a bit in the middle, but all in all it's quite sarcastic and funny. And let's not forget Annie Snodgrass, who must sacrifice all because she is an "artist". The "Mother Song" is a neat take-off on a musical genre of the late 20s: "Who taught you wrong from right, while holding you so tight, who misses you tonight... Your Mother". Listen to the words, if you can take the delivery: it's one of the sappiest songs ever written. If you like old movies, pre-code humor and sarcasm, and plenty of 30s slang, this is to be seen.

The Production Code was strengthened in 1934; this racy RKO comedy must have just gotten in under the wire. It's a very funny gangsters-in-the-theater comedy, not unlike "Bullets Over Broadway," in which every player plays exactly what they played in dozens of other movies: ZaSu Pitts flutters and dithers (and at one surprising point tells Nat Pendleton "take me, I'm yours"), Edward Everett Horton does slow burns, Pert Kelton does sassy and grasping, Pendleton flexes muscles and plays dumb hood, Ned Sparks grunts sarcastic asides, and John Qualen does meek- spouse. They're all expert, and they have a rude, funny screenplay that pokes fun at misplaced ambition, theater critics, and the gross sentimentality of mother songs. The production values are first-rate, and the twist ending is hilarious--I totally didn't see it coming.