Rhythm in the Clouds

Not a bad way to spend 53 minutes staring at beautiful people, glamorous gowns and well designed sets, accompanied by lilting tunes. The story isn't too bad, even though the dialog tends to rely too heavily on comedy even when nothing is ready at hand. Patricia Ellis is so-so - rather pretty yet not as glamorous as several other leading B-ladies of the thirties, and a bit too temperate for a screwball comedy. As she only joins in shortly for the last song, it's hard to say anything about her voice. Warren Hull is a good-looking and sexy hunk with very good voice, but there appears to be no sparks flying between the two. Nevertheless, the film flies by very quickly (at 53 minutes - as presented in Classic Musicals 50 movie pack - it should) and keeps your attention well in grasp. Quite enjoyable, even though there is very little actual rhythm and almost no clouds to be seen.

Cute little screwball comedy. Sure, it's not going to set funny bones on-fire, but the Republic programmer shows what a no-name cast and a cleverly nutty script can do for cheap entertainment. So can desperate Judy Walker (Ellis) manage a musical career by hammering on neighbor's walls, insulting her musical soul-mate, and pretending all sorts of screwball things-- stay tuned! Anyway, B-movie director Aurer keeps things moving and the humor in focus, showing again that even Hollywood no-names can deliver when proper elements converge. So give the little flick a try, even for a not-so-slow evening.

Patricia Ellis is a music writer who is broke and thrown out of her apartment. She goes to visit successful composer Robert Paige, but he's away. So she moves in and begins a banging-on-the-wall feud with her next-door neighbor, Warren Hull. Listing Paige as a collaborator, she gets her music sold to to advertising executive Richard Carle for face-powder magnate Zeffie Tilbury, hiring Hull -- who's a successful lyricist -- to write words for her music. Things are going along well, if confusingly, when just before the premiere of their collaborations, Paige returns.

If it sounds like it could be a comedy or turn into a Nathaniel West tragedy, that's because West was one of the writers of this movie. His great ambition in life was to be a member of literary salons, but he actually had to write to do that, and his publishers went out of business or sold only five hundred copies of a novel, so he went into the movie-writing racket. By the time he killed himself and his wife by running a red light on his way to F. Scott Fitzgerald's funeral, he had written or doctored 14 screenplays.

This Republic musical is directed rather lugubriously by John Auer. The one bright spot is William Newell, who turns every sentence into a tongue-twister. Otherwise, it's standard fare.

In Rhythm Of The Clouds I have to say that leading lady Patricia Ellis has the guts of a burglar. She finagles and forges her way into living in composer Robert Paige's apartment and then says she's his new collaborator on his music. That gets her a contract for a new radio show where Zeffie Tilbury is the sponsor. Of course it's Ellis's own music and it's good. But it's Paige's name who puts it across.

She even gets lyricist Warren Hull to provide words which he usually does for Paige. Problem is that she has had a fight over the phone with Hull when Hull called to complain about the noise. He doesn't know that's his collaborator to be. I think you can see where this is going.

Three years after this film came out, Paramount took some of the same plot premise and fashioned Rhythm On The River for Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. Of course a better score and the production values of Paramount versus Republic a better film was created.

Still Rhythm In The Clouds is not a bad Saturday afternoon' viewing.

The plot of "Rhythm in the Clouds" really makes no sense at all. It's an enjoyable enough film but you need to turn off your brain to enjoy it.

Judy Walker (Patricia Ellis) is a homeless lady who comes up with a scheme to find a place to live...at least temporarily. When she learns that a famous composer is going out of town, she convinces everyone that he's his niece is she is supposed to be house-sitting. However, after moving in, she oddly picks a fight with a neighbor. The irony of this is that the pair later become song collaborators...while not knowing who the other is. Soon, the actual homeowner arrives. What's Judy to do to find a way out of this mess?

This film is a B movie from Republic....and is about what you'd expect from such a picture. With a short running time (about an hour) and second and third-string actors, it's pleasant but not much more. Enjoyable...if you can look past the implausibility of it all.