Follow the Band

I recall seeing this film when it first came out. It was one of a number of similar light romantic comedies built around a name dance band, and featuring cameo performances of stars as night club acts. One of the cameos in this one is Leo Carrillo doing one of his very funny stand-up comedy routines. Before he became a film star, Leo did the night club, vaudeville circuits and Broadway, as a dialect comedian and chalk-talk cartoonist. Leo's act is worth the price, as he appears as a night club act, doing one of his Italian dialect routines as a character named "Tony" using a telephone booth to contact an array of imaginary characters. Beyond some really good laughs, this routine should be mandatory for any aspirant to doing stand-up comedy. For real fans of Leo, you'll have to excuse the mispronouncing of his name by the master of ceremonies, as "Leo Car-ee-yo", (s/b "ka-reel-yo") sorry that. But don't miss this one, or the cameo by the late great Frances Langford, or the early electric guitar of Alvino Rey!