Cyclone Cavalier

Al Rogell also happened to direct one of my favorite B musicals, YOUTH ON PARADE, in '42, and I see he seemed to divide his time between B action and B comedy. The best thing I can say about his work here is that he kept the proceedings moving swiftly. He also directed Reed Howes & Carmelita Geraghty in the similar (and much more entertaining) GEARED TO GO (24). Not that there is anything particularly wrong with CYCLONE CAVALIER, nothing that a better script couldn't have helped. Though the attractive Geraghty has next to nothing here, there is certainly enough opportunity for Reed Howes to display his gifts for stunt work, including his standards - climbing up through the ship's rigging (was this seriously a faster way to escape?), convenient rope swinging, high-dives, swift swims, stellar horsemanship, and well-staged, circus-style, seven point exits out of rooms. The copy I saw is missing a few sequences, which alas, is to be expected, but also seemed rather dark, particularly on Miss Geraghty's close-ups. In fact, all things considered, there seemed to be much less care taken in presenting either lead player, than in keeping the action moving swiftly forward. With so little at stake, this was probably best. Perhaps Al Rogell already knew that before they handed him the script.