Music in Manhattan Reviews

Shirley and Day are a song-and-dance duo trying to crack big time show biz. They manage to win an amateur competition and clinch some important bookings, but they still can't find an audience. After Shirley flies to Washington to see if she can con her rich pop into helping them out, she is mistaken for the wife of famous flyer Terry. She is taken to Terry's suite, where she meets the pilot. The two fall in love, and Day is left out in the cold. The comedy is a cute little farce, played well by the principals. However, the songs by Herb Magidson and Lew Pollack, which include "When Romance Comes Along," "I Can See You Now," and "I Like a Man Who Makes Music," are well below the talents of Shirley and Day. The staging of the musical numbers is equally lackluster, thus bringing down the film's overall appeal significantly. Other songs include "Did You Happen to Find a Heart?," "One Night in Acapulco," "Mexico" (Magidson, Pollack). The film earned an Oscar nomination for its sound.