Heavenly Music

No, it's not the cornpone country music sung and performed by Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and a bunch of dogs in SUMMER STOCK. It's advertising crooner Fred Brady being met at the Pearly Gates by a disapproving Eric Blore. He's directed to the Hall of Music. There he must prove himself worthy on an odeon stage covered with cotton wool before a committee of 19th Century Romantic composers headed by Beethoven.

No Haydn, no Mozrt, no Scarlatti. It seems that great art is always the art of two generations ago, isn't it? Especially when you listen to Baroque works like the Surprise Symphony and hear "Pop Goes the Weasel." With only seven notes in the scale, as Mr. Brady points out -- and demonstrates -- everyone steals from everyone else. It ain't where you got it, it's what you do with it.

None of the previous reviewers seem to have put this short in historical context. It was produced and shown in 1943, when things were still going badly for us in the war. Europe was still occupied by the Fascists. The Europe of almost every composer on those risers: Beethoven, Wagner - Hitler's favorite -, Brahms, Paganini, Schubert, LIzst, etc.

And yet their place as the great masters of music is never called into question.

There is more to this short than meets the eye. MGM bothered to hire musicians who could compose versions of the American's song that are really in the styles of the various composers mentioned. A lot more work was done here than for the average short. So yes, this short didn't win that Oscar just by chance.

This is propaganda in the good sense, and that would not have been lost on moviegoers of the time.

This short won the Oscar for 2-reelers and its understandable. The concept is a trifle cute but the music is worth the price of admission and Eric Blore (familiar to anyone who's watched just about any Astaire and Rogers film) does a marvelous job here. Entertaining, if lightweight and well-executed for the most part. Turner Classic Movies runs this occasionally as filler and runs it in March as part of their "31 Days of Oscar" festival. Recommended.

I just caught this movie today on Turner Classic, and it's very sweet - but most noteworthy is the leading man, who's a ringer for the young Bill Clinton (and, this being 1943, with a much better haircut than Bill ever had in the '70s). It's also an eye-opener for anyone who thinks the 1940s were an era of servile deference to the Dead White Euroguys of cultural history; our young bandleader is polite, but he argues tough with the millennium's heavyweight composers, and he scores his points. Recommended.

This short film is included as a special feature with the Judy Garland film "Introducing Lily Mars". Like so many MGM releases, a couple of shorts that debuted the same year as the feature are included--this one and a cartoon.

Aside from Eric Blore (who is wonderful as always), the actors and actresses in this one are minor MGM actors who are pretty much unknowns today. The idea back then was to try out short films with potential stars and give them a chance to show their stuff. While Frederick Brady sang nicely, apparently he didn't connect with the audiences and mostly played minor roles during his career.

The film begins in Heaven. Brady stands before the pearly gates and is met by Blore. He is then introduced to some very famous composers like Tchaikovsky and Beethoven--as Brady is a musician himself. They want him to sing--and when he does, it doesn't seem like the singing is coming from him (he could have improved his lip syncing a bit). The old time composers are angered, as they hear parts of their music in Brady's compositions--and he then goes on to say that ALL music bears similarities to each other--as the room breaks into an argument. Can they work out their differences and let him join their ranks? How about if a cute angel helps give him inspiration? Overall, this is a decent time-passer. While it's chock full of music, the plot makes it more palatable. Plus although he has trouble keeping his lips in sync, Brady did have a lovely voice.

By the way, if this is Heaven, why does Beethoven STILL have a problem with deafness? Can't they fix something like that?!