Sing, Baby, Sing Reviews

A fast-moving musical comedy that bears more than a slight resemblance to the true-life romance between John Barrymore and Elaine Barrie, SING, BABY, SING finds Alice Faye in the role Joan Warren, a singer looking for her big break in NYC. High society vocalists are all the rage, but despite the efforts of her scheming agent Nicky (Gregory Ratoff), Joan doesn't fit the bill. Fortune smiles on her, however, when Bruce Farrady (Adolphe Menjou), a big Hollywood star, witnesses a performance by her and, inebriated, decides she's the girl for him. Nicky then arranges a radio gig for Joan if she can also deliver Bruce, but the actor's domineering cousin (Montagu Love) is convinced the young singer is a gold digger and, with Bruce in tow, heads back to LA by train. Not to be deterred, Joan jumps on a plane and catches up with Bruce in Kansas City, where everything finally falls in place for her. Darryl F. Zanuck, who personally produced this film, was determined to make Faye a big star and gave this slim story lots of gloss, heavy production values, and a supporting cast of outstanding comic actors to help her up the ladder. Menjou, in particular, is sensational as the drunken movie star, demonstrating a flair for comedy that was to serve him well as he made the transition from leading man to character actor. The Ritz Brothers are also hysterically funny, making their movie debut here as themselves, delivering some of their tried and true vaudeville routines. Good songs from several composers include the Oscar-nominated "When Did You Leave Heaven?" (Walter Bullock, Richard A. Whiting, sung by Tony Martin), "You Turned the Tables on Me" (Sidney D. Mitchell, Louis Alter, sung by Faye), "Love Will Tell," "Sing, Baby Sing" (Lew Pollack, Jack Yellen, sung by Faye), "The Music Goes 'Round and 'Round" (Mike Riley, Red Hodgson, Ed Farley, sung by The Ritz Brothers), "Singing a Vagabond Song" (Harry Richman, Sam Messenheimer, Val Burton, sung by The Ritz Brothers), and "When My Baby Smiles At Me" (Andrew B. Sterling, Bill Munro, Ted Lewis, sung by The Ritz Brothers).