Hit Parade of 1943

Just watched on Netflix Streaming this obscure musical comedy called Hit Parade of 1943 (though the print that ran on screen had another title called Change of Heart with the original in small print below it with "formerly" preceding it). In it, Susan Hayward plays Jill Wright, an aspiring songwriter who finds out the publisher and singer she's been going out with, Rick Ferrell (John Carroll), has taken sole author credit to her consternation. So she plots with her sister, Belinda (Eve Arden), to ruin him and his publishing partner, J. MacClellan Davis (Walter Catlett). Meanwhile, Ferrell is also dating a Toni Jarret (Gail Patrick). I'll stop there and just say that this was quite a funny and musically entertaining picture. In fact, I was surprised at how much I laughed at the whole thing with that cast. And much of the songs were quite enjoyable which probably shouldn't be a surprise since the writers were Jule Styne and Harold Adamson. The reason I decided to watch this one having not known about it before was because with Black History Month a few days away, I wanted to find out about what was available to view from someone like Dorothy Dandridge who was best known for Carmen Jones but had previously made various cameo and supporting parts in the preceding years. So when I looked her up on Netflix, this was listed as available for streaming. Anyway, she sings with the Count Basie band on a number called Harlem Sandman. It's accompanied by dancer Ruth Scott who I saw in Stormy Weather and Murder at the Vanities and by a couple of tap dancing pros named Pops (Albert Whitman) and Louie (Louis Williams). The latter two really impress with their backflips. Other African-American players include Nick Stewart-best known as Lightnin' on the TV series "Amos 'n' Andy" and who would later co-star with Ms. Dandridge on CJ-as Willie the janitor who gives inspiration to Jill and Rick for the Harlem number, Cordell Hickman-who I first saw as a kid in the last Our Gang short Tale of a Dog as Buckwheat's friend Big Shot-as someone who Jill takes over on a yard chore so he can spy on some wartime enemies, Ernest Morrison-who was an original Our Gang member with the name "Sunshine Sammy"-as the Heaven Air Pilot in the Harlem number, and The Golden Gate Quartette-who I previously saw as waiters accompanying Dick Powell and Mary Martin in the "Hit the Road to Dreamland" number of Star Spangled Rhythm and in "The General Died at Dawn" number of Hollywood Canteen-who appear in two sequences: as the kitchen help singing a love song as Jill and Rick leave Cordell's yard for some lovin' and as soldiers on a radio show performing a song with the title of "Yankee Doodle Tan". They were all pretty enjoyable. So on that note, I recommend Hit Parade of 1943. P.S. John Carroll is a native of New Orleans, a two hour drive from the city where I live in. Oh, and since I always like to cite whenever a player from my favorite movie It's a Wonderful Life appears in something else, that's Mary Treen as Carroll's secretary, Janie.

Minor programmer has a silly plot but Susan Hayward, looking beautiful, is saucy in the lead and was actually engaged briefly in real life to costar and Clark Gable lookalike John Carroll. Eve Arden is thankfully aboard to offer her peerless wisecracks and look glamorous. Gail Patrick is on hand as well playing a silky villainess adding a nice touch to the proceedings. They are all better than the nothing script deserves. On top of that you get Count Basie and Dorothy Dandridge in a wonderful specialty number. Originally called Change of Heart this is as good an example as any of the low budget films studios used to pump out on a weekly basis to keep their theatre chains supplied with product but it's also how they built stars. With all the superior talent involved it's worth catching once but that will probably be enough.

It's kind of hard to separate Hit Parade Of 1943 from its time of origin. Only people my age might barely remember the Hit Parade on television and radio and for those of the World War II generation they would remember it best. If it were not for the presence of Susan Hayward in the cast Hit Parade Of 1943 would be totally forgotten even with two Oscar nominations to its credit.

It's also a Republic Pictures product so it won't have the production values that something from one of the major studios would give us. That being said it's still a nice snapshot of the wartime home front topped off by the radio broadcast of a war bond drive.

Susan Hayward plays an aspiring song writer who sends a song to publishers John Carroll and Walter Catlett who make some cosmetic changes and it becomes a hit. Of course she and pal Eve Arden plan some sweet revenge, but of course you know it all works out in the end.

The song Change Of Heart was Oscar nominated for Best Song and the film was nominated also for best Musical Scoring. John Carroll had a nice lusty baritone and did a few musical films of the B variety mostly. He's best know musically for being Kathryn Grayson's leading man in Rio Rita. He also did some straight dramatic roles and most notably there as the second lead to John Wayne in The Flying Tigers. Hayward whom we know sang in I'll Cry Tomorrow as the screen Lillian Roth might well have done her own brief vocals here, but there's no information either way.

Hit Parade Of 1943 is best viewed as first history and then entertainment. All four of the leading players I mentioned fill out the roles you would expect of them. And the musical acts consist of big bands Count Basie, Ray McKinley and Freddie Martin. The groups the Music Maids and the Golden Gate trio are here and as a real treat the vocalist with Count Basie is Dorothy Dandridge. That's enough reason to see Hit Parade Of 1943.

Although this was a dull film, the 20 year old Dorothy Dandridge was outstanding in this token production for marginalised performers. It was good to get Dandridge alongside of Susan Hayward, but as a self contained film it was diabolical.

The plot is so tiny it almost falls off the screen. Of course it's just an excuse for Hayward to look gorgeous and for the performance of a number of wartime hits. But what is remarkable here are the black performers, including Count Basie and Dorothy Dandridge and a pair of amazing male dancers. The central Sandman of Harlem number is outstanding.

The rest is pretty dull with John Carroll trying to be Clark Gable - but Eve Arden provides a few laughs and she works very well with Hayward.