Flying with Music

"Flying with Music" is a film with an overall rating of 4.0. However, despite this a couple reviewers gave this one 10s...which I just don't understand...especially since 4.0 seems, if anything, a bit generous.

There is not a whole lot of plot in the film...mostly because it is a musical and clocks in at only 46 minutes. The scant plot finds Don running to Latin America from authorities for back alimony payments. Simply paying the money would have ended it...but instead he poses as a nerdy tour guide for some hot to trot young ladies and their fun-hating chaperone. Along the way is a bit of romance and MANY forgettable musical numbers and a particularly bad male singer. It also sports a tacky black-face portion...which just made me cringe.

Because of the silly and thin plot and the overabundance of musical numbers, I actually found this film pretty dull. It's also one of the lowest rated 'Streamliners' from Hal Roach Studios...ultra-short B-movies that they made in the early 1940s. Worth seeing if you love these sorts of movies, but if you must watch some Streamliners, try the military films with William Tracy and Joe Sawyer or the taxi films with William Bendix and, again, Joe Sawyer...all quite enjoyable and with a few laughs.

When I noticed that EDWARD WARD was responsible for the musical score, I had an additional reason for wanting to view FLYING WITH MUSIC, which I understood was a low-budget musical from the Hal Roach studios--without any well-known stars. Another factor was the Oscar-nominated song: "Pennies for Peppino." (Ward wrote the background scores for films like Universal's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA ('43) and THE CLIMAX ('44)).

Well, I was disappointed on both counts. The score is not that impressive and the song was unworthy of an Oscar nomination in a year when "White Christmas" and "Love Is A Song" (from BAMBI) were the front-runners.

Despite obvious drawbacks, FLYING WITH MUSIC is a better than average programmer that is like a time capsule of the '40s-era pop music scene with a Latin beat. The only charmer among the songs is the "Pennies for Peppino" number, nicely rendered by a bunch of native kids.

Other than that, the weak plot is a real hindrance. GEORGE GIVOT is a man on the lam who poses as a tour guide in Florida. He takes a group of young women on an island tour which leaves time for a few nightclub songs and some badly executed comedy routines. MARJORIE WOODWORTH is just passable in the leading femme role but is certainly photogenic.

NORMA VARDEN has a brief role as the chaperone for the girls and there's a very inept performance from handsome WILLIAM MARSHALL which shows why he never made it into star territory.

It's one of those harmless trifles that's entirely forgettable with Ward's music only occasionally making some noteworthy sounds. "Song of the Lagoon" at least gets a production number with a Caribbean touch and a pleasing, languid melody.

But the whole film is strictly small-time stuff and not diverting enough to call for any special attention. GEORGE GIVOT overdoes the mugging routines in the central role and EDWARD GARGAN does his standard schtick as a tax collector.

Summing up: A more ambitious than usual production from a Povery Row studio like Hal Roach.

Okay, so it isn't Oscar material. Okay, so all the leads are completely unknown to today's audiences. Okay, so the plot is silly and laughable. But when you see the extent that was gone to, to put together this musical, with all the sets and the songs, you have to appreciate this really precious little minor musical. It's really a shame that movie makers don't have the impetus to concoct entertainment of this type any more. Commnents such as 'but it was an innocent time' don't deserve credence. It's all around us, the stuff that exists to put together something of this caliber. The girls are beautiful, the sets are interesting and colorful and the songs are a lot of fun. The musical is so reminiscent of it's era that is literally a time capsule of this nation in the grips of World War II and how it was being coped with. It's well worth the time spent viewing and should be converted to DVD to send the message.

This is a typically wacky fast-paced Hal Roach comedy padded with some laughably ridiculous musical numbers.

It has everything - coochie dancers, pan-American travelog, Latin crooners, jungle romance, buxom blondes, blackface mammies, mediums, even a midget. The only furnishing it lacks is a suitably funny leading man. George Givot's performance as the obnoxious boob running from alimony payments wont leave you begging for more. Despite the occasional cramp he puts in the fun, the rest of the cast sail through the gags effortlessly.

I hope it shows up as an extra in a DVD package in the future - a true delight.

A private collector has finally allowed me to see this almost forgotten musical -and it deserves to be forgotten. It is a 50 minute Hal Roach musical programmer that is grade B in every way - there is an erroneous official timing of 71 minutes that proliferates but I am trying to get that removed.

The plot is almost non-existant. The characters are thinly drawn and the direction, acting and production values are beneath contempt.

George Givot plays a man on the lam from a divorce and alimony. He disguises himself as a tour guide for five young socialites. The lead socialite, Marjorie Woodworth, is looking for love from a latin singer she idolizes - the reason for the trip - but is romanced by a pilot. Eventually all things end happily. The only bright spot is a midget, Jerry Bergen, who plays the comic foil for the detective who is trying to nail Givot.

The score (five forgettable numbers) and the song PENNIES FOR PEPPINO earned Oscar noms - totally and irrevocably undeserved - these were the days when every studio could submit its "best" as nominees in the categories of sound, score, scoring, song and special effects.

It took me over forty years to find this turkey and the result was not worth the effort. Note that lyricists Chet Forrest and Bob Wright went on to create SONG OF NORWAY and KISMET on Broadway.