Musical Merry-Go-Round #3

Martin Block interviews bandleader Ray Noble and plays some of his hits in this episode of Block's short-lived MGM shorts series.

Noble started off in radio as an announcer. During the Lindbergh kidnapping case, he was in charge of the microphone, and to pass the time between news announcements, he played musical records. From this, he invented the "Make Believe Ballroom" (lifting the format from West Coast DJ Al Jarvis) and a long career as a disc jockey. He retired from a regular job in 1960 and died in 1967, aged 64.

Noble's hits include "Good Night, Sweetheart", "Serenade", and "The Very Thought Of You." The first two are performed on this short.

Musical Merry-Go-Round #3 (1948)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Third entry in the series is yet another entertaining one. The premise is the same as Martin Block is at his desk and we're made to believe we're seeing him on his actual radio broadcast. With guests in the room with him, Block introduces some popular songs when we then flash to sequences where these artists perform. Ray Noble and His Orchestra get to perform four songs and Noble also appears as one of the guests. Buddy Clark is also with Block and gets to perform with Noble on the last song (I'll Dance at Your Wedding). If you're a fan of music then this short will be mainly for you as it will give you an opportunity to see some popular music acts who are pretty much forgotten today. I found Noble and his men to be in fine form and the songs they performed were fairly good, if nothing overly special. Good Night Sweetheart, Linda and Serenade are the three other songs. The first and third are on a soundstage but Linda gets out into the open as Clark sings while trying to pick up a beautiful blonde. A quick look at Wikipedia and another review at IMDb shows that Clark ended up dying in a plane crash the year after this short was released.

I have never heard of Martin Block before and this isn't surprising, since he was a popular disc jockey back in the 1940s. He made about a half dozen shorts for MGM...and knowing which is which is tricky. All have the same title AND all were made the same year! The only way to know which is which is by the guest stars in each film.

This installment of the Block series features the Englishman, Ray Noble as well as his orchestra perform. Soloist Buddy Clark is on hand among the songs they perform are "I'll Dance at Your Wedding" and "Linda". All of them are pleasant but compared to other installments, this one his among the most forgettable music. Not bad...just that you can do better with a few of the other Martin Block shorts.