Música Atômica

And a few other co-stars, obviously. I'm not that well versed in "Poverty Row" entertainment, like some of the major studios. When it comes to Monogram or PRC, or a few of those other outfits, it's either hit or miss. The presence of the "Stooges" may be the obvious draw for this one--they definitely provide most of the humor; although Ed Brophy in a Healy type role is great himself. A lot of attractive women running around too--if you're into that sort of thing.

The story--what there is of it--is easy enough to understand. Process servers, a father who doesn't want his son in the entertainment business, some jilted landlords, and a pretty good looking movie in spite of it's budget limitations. Usually these B or C grade turkeys look just like that--but, if you didn't know any better--this would look like the same sort of movie Columbia or Universal could have cranked out.

This is a pretty good movie, it's relatively short and it's got the Stooges, however they're more side characters in this film, but great side characters they were. The plot is also simple, a man opens up a nightclub, but his rich father objects and wants to shut it down so his son will take over the family business. He doesn't want to deliver the paper that will shut down the nightclub himself, so he offers a woman who had just visited the club looking for a job singing (she's just been evicted from her apartment) $50 to deliver it. She gets there and now she is offered a job, so she doesn't even mention the paper. The father sees her name in a newspaper so he heads off to the club himself. The Stooges make an appearance every now and then, and when they do, they steal the show. This movie wouldn't have been all that great without them, but they're in it, so check it out.

"Swing Parade of 1946" is a Monogram musical. Have you heard enough yet? Actually, it's not that bad a movie, with better production values than you would suspect. It's even in color, which is a definite plus. They gathered several 'B' list actors and some fairly good musical talent, and even some cute chorus girls. They just didn't get a good enough story to go with the rest of the production.

The Three Stooges are billed near the top of the ticket but their screen time is only about 6-8 minutes, which will be a disappointment to Stooges fans. Gale Storm is pretty, can sing and dance a little but I always felt her acting tended towards ham, and a little of Gale goes a long way. Louis Jordan and his Tympani Five are on hand, and they do "Caldonia", which livens up matters but the rest of the score consists of several forgettable songs. The dance routines are fair-to-middling.

I would have given this picture a rating of 4 but for the presence of the aforementioned Stooges - I confess I am a fan of their mayhem/ humor. I ended up with a 5 despite the uninspired storyline.

In honor of Black History Month, I've been making comments on films that featured African-Americans. We're now in 1946 with Swing Parade of 1946. In this one, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five perform "Don't Worry About the Mule" and "Caldonia" in segments that could easily be edited out by Southern theatres of the time without ruining the plot-what there is of one (which easily explains why he and his group are nowhere near the musical finale). Both performances bring a rollicking attitude that lifts the movie above the norm. The main reason I, and I'm sure many, would want to watch this movie today is because of The Three Stooges with Curly, especially, in fine form months before his stroke forced him to retire. The singing leads here are Phil Regan and Gale Storm. Ms. Storm displays some comic talents that served her well in her later TV shows, "My Little Margie" and "The Gale Storm Show". She also sings a wonderful rendition of "The Sunny Side of the Street" and "Oh, Brother". There's also Connee Boswell singing the third version of "Stormy Weather" I've heard this month (following Ivie Anderson and Lena Horne) that again takes my breath away. Ed Brophy provides perfect blustery segue from the plot to the Stooges as their boss "Moose". And Windy Cook provides some amusing impressions of boat motors and plane engines though the movie becomes a bit long by that point. And there's another player from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, here-Mary Treen who plays Marie Finch and does a nice duet with band leader Will Osborne on "A Tender Word Will Mend It All". No great shakes, but with the presence of the Stooges and Louis Jordan, Swing Parade of 1946 is definitely worth a look.

"Swing Parade of 1946" is a most unusual film for two reasons. First, because it was made by tiny Monogram Studios, I was surprised to see them take a stab at a traditional 1940s sort of musical extravaganza....the sort of movie usually made by the more prestigious studiots with more talent. Second, the Three Stooges were apparently slumming it and instead of being with their usual studio (Columbia), they were loaned out to Monogram. I wonder if perhaps Columbia was punishing them...though I must admit they did help the movie quite a bit.

The plot involves the son of a rich man trying to build a nightclub while process servers sent by his father are trying to stop him. Mostly, however, the plot is ultra-thin and the movie actually is a giant musical showcase with one song after another after another--occasionally punctuated by funny bits by the Stooges or some plot...but mostly just singing. As far as the singing and dancing go, it's all quite competent but none of it is memorable and the songs (aside from those done by the African-American band) were poor. I think a lot of it was because unlike the major studios, Monogram simply couldn't afford to pay for the rights for popular tunes.

Overall, a dullish sort of musical extravaganza made tolerable by some Stooges. While I am not a big fan of the trio, here they definitely helped.