Every Night at Eight

"Every Night at Eight" is a bit of fluff whose biggest distinction is that it introduced the classic "I'm in the Mood for Love"...sung by Frances Langford. Otherwise, it's pretty forgettable...aside from the Chicken Lady! Yes, in a tiny scene. three lady friends are in a talent contest and one of the contestants sings like a chicken. It's VERY funny and that as well as the song are the only reasons to watch this one. Even the stars aren't at their best here.

Patsy Kelly, Alice Faye (on loan from her home studio) and Frances Langford play Daphne, Dixie and Susan and they are all friends who work and sing together. But when the boss catches them badmouthing him, they're fired. So, they decide to try at being professional singers. So, they go on a radio talent show...and lose to a hot new band headed by 'Tops' Cardona (George Raft...who is totally wasted in the film). But Cardona is impressed by their singing and insists they join his band. And, success does come...but rather slowly and the ladies see little in the way of money or fun. What's next?

The film has a lot of music and the three women sound pretty good. But the relationship between Susan and Tops is completely underwritten and comes from out of left field. The same would go for the end of the film. It all just seemed rushed, formulaic and nothing special. Kelly comes off pretty good here but Alice Faye and the rest have little in the way of personality and charisma. Not bad...just not all that interesting.

Three young women get fired from their jobs, have no money or place to stay, and attempt to get on their feet again by entering a radio competition. They carry a nice tune, but after losing to 'Tops' Cardona (George Raft) and his orchestra, they join up with Tops and follow his somewhat stern direction in the hopes of advancing their careers.

The three women are played by Alice Faye, Frances Langford, and Patsy Kelly, and while I enjoyed Kelly's pluck and Langford's singing, I have to say, the film was a little lacking in star power to put it over the top. Alice Faye is a bit like Jean Harlow lite, and Raft is not as effective here as in films like Scarface, though I did like the little bit of cool dancing he did while conducting at one point. Along those lines, in this film we get some banter, but it's banter-lite, most likely because the Hays Code was enforced as of the previous year.

The plot is somewhat thin, but the film moves along pretty well in its 80 minutes. There are some cute amateur acts including an old woman who sings like a chicken, and it was nice to see African-American singer James Miller belt out "I Feel a Song Coming On". The real highlight, though, was Langford performing "I'm in the Mood for Love", and while the song has been covered countless times over the years, this was its first appearance. As a whole, the film is reasonably entertaining, though not very memorable.

Snappy musical is a study in proposed star building. While Alice Faye is top billed along with George Raft her role is secondary to Frances Langford who the studio was trying to build up.

But while Frances sings like a angel she doesn't pop on screen in the way Alice does nor is she able to radiate a comic persona as Patsy Kelly, the other part of the singing trio, does. She's also hindered by some REALLY unfortunate styling in makeup and especially hair-dress. She eventually had a hugely successful music career and was an tireless touring entertainer during WWII who had a minor screen career in B pictures but never at the level that Alice Faye achieved.

The story of the picture is a stock scenario for 30's musicals. Three plucky girlfriends who sing meet a brash scrapper who is trying to make it as a bandleader they join forces and before you know it they hit the Big Time but there is dissension in the ranks all set aright by the fade-out.

Alice Faye, Frances Langford and Patsy Kelly lose their jobs and can't afford to pay the rent. They enter an amateur contest at a local radio station as a singing trio, but lose to a big band lead by George Raft when Langford passes out mid-song due to lack of food. Raft asks them to join his band, and they become famous, which throws obstacles in the way of a romance between Raft and Langford. An engaging enough little trifle which is largely an excuse to include a lot of musical numbers, the highlight of which is a lady doing a song as a chicken.

The thin plot of Every Night at Eight is practically nonexistent, and it's stretched out with endless songs and musical numbers that you may or may not want to fast-forward. While "I Feel a Song Coming On" is pretty cute, you definitely won't want to miss "I'm in the Mood for Love" sung by Frances Langford several times throughout.

Alice Faye, Patsy Kelly, and Frances Langford are three friends who want to make it as singers. They enter an amateur radio contest and meet a handsome, charming bandleader, George Raft. Frances falls for George, but his aloofness and all-business attitude makes her doubt whether her love is requited. Meanwhile, George leads everyone to stardom, and Alice and Patsy enjoy their furs and penthouse apartments. There's not much to this movie, but if you like the cast, you'll want to watch it. Alice is "the singing Jean Harlow", Patsy gives hilarious wisecracks every chance she opens her mouth, and George is extremely handsome, reminding everyone that had he not turned down seven Humphrey Bogart roles including Casablanca, the end of that classic might have been different.