Cappelli in aria

Two cities in Texas are fierce rivals. They are each producing expositions to boost themselves and hire publicity men. One is John Payne. The other is Mae Clarke -- well, they thought they were getting a man. Miss Clarke hires Franklin Pangborn to be "him" and goes to spy on Brennan under her own name.

It's not the missing Laurel & Hardy short. Instead it is, for Grand National, a big-budget musical, with Busby Berkley style production numbers. Besides Payne in his second movie credit and first leading role, it's notable for being Samuel Fuller's first screen credit as a writer.

Those two firsts and Luis Alberni aside -- he plays a big show producer -- this movie, while always engaging, substitutes bombast for wit. The performances are good: Miss Clarke acts the business woman by being business-like and straightforward; Mr. Payne is, surprisingly for him, a tenor, both in speaking and singing. Yes, it's a musical with John Payne and he sings, despite being a baritone in those musicals with Betty Grable.