Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 1 September 1937 by Grand National Films, Inc. New York opening at the Globe: 20 September 1937. U.S. release: 19 November 1937 (sic). No record of any Australian theatrical release. Correct running time is 93 minutes, not 84 minutes or even 90 minutes as some reference books have it.1947 Screencraft Pictures re-issue title: BATTLING HOOFER.SYNOPSIS: New York bandleader takes a Hollywood screen test.NOTES: Bakaleinkoff and Schertzinger were nominated for Best Score, losing to "One Hundred Men and a Girl."COMMENT: A light but entertaining Hollywood satire, "Something To Sing About" has a reputation as an inferior Cagney vehicle that is almost wholly untrue. It's often alleged for example that the sets are strictly Poverty Row, but in point of fact production values are not only extremely lavish with lots of extras milling about, but the sets themselves are both vast yet artistically pleasing and even imaginative. Schertzinger's direction is reasonably stylish and manages to get plenty of pace and mileage out of a fairly simple and straightforward story that uses the same paltry telephone device as an earlier 1937 release "Swing High, Swing Low" — but on this occasion to more entertaining effect.Aside from the lightweight script, the only technical problem in the print under review is at some stages, particularly Miss Daw's numbers, muffled sound recording. Otherwise this Grand National effort is as glossy and polished as any major studio production. A grand support cast too including Gene Lockhart as the sneaky, thoroughly untrustworthy studio chief whose word is just so much window- dressing (a jibe at Jack L. Warner whom Cagney was then suing for breach of a verbal agreement which Warner denied ever having made despite the testimony to the contrary of several witnesses), William Frawley as the typical publicity flack, Philip Ahn in a nice part in which he is given the opportunity to use his distinctive voice to great advantage, Richard Tucker as the dapper, quietly spoken, gentlemanly director (William Keighley?), and Eddie Kane as the theater manager who rescues Cagney from his too-adoring fans.Heroine Evelyn Daw gives a good account of herself too, both musically and dramatically, and more than holds her own in the looks department with Mona Barrie, but this seems to be her only film.Although Cagney doesn't do any singing in this one, it's good to see him don dancing shoes for two or three numbers. True, the songs themselves are pleasantly unmemorable, but Cagney dancing — now that's a joy forever.

wes-connors Dancing "Big Apple" band leader James Cagney (as Terry Rooney) heads for Hollywood to make his "Galore Pictures" debut. After his down-to-earth attitude is mistaken for arrogance, Mr. Cagney leaves tinsel-town thinking he's a failed actor, and marries singing sweetheart Evelyn Daw (as Rita Wyatt). Meanwhile, Cagney's debut makes him the country's newest movie star. Publicist William Frawley (as Hank Meyers) and studio chief Gene Lockhart (as B.O. Regan) hope to cash in, but with the now married Cagney as a more appealing single man.Mr. Frawley demonstrates some "Fred Mertz" mannerisms, and Mr. Lockhart apes a certain studio mogul.On "leave" from Warner Bros., and with multi-"talent to burn," Cagney more than proves his worth. Jack Warner wisely made him "an offer he couldn't refuse," and Cagney re-signed before another studio - MGM, the references to Gable, Montgomery, and Taylor would suggest - got too interested. His hoofer role reached its fruition with Cagney's magnificent "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942). "Something to Sing About" is a tuneful title; of the songs written by director Victor Schertzinger, "Right or Wrong" was the biggest minor hit, for swing singer Mildred Bailey.****** Something to Sing About (9/30/37) Victor Schertzinger ~ James Cagney, Evelyn Daw, William Frawley, Gene Lockhart

writers_reign On paper - it was made by Grand National, a Poverty Row outfit, the female lead made only two movies before calling it a day - this doesn't have too much going for it, unless you throw in Jimmy Cagney as leading man and hyphenate Victor Schertzinger as director/composer. It was made in 1937 which makes it roughly contemporaneous with both Stand-In and A Star Is Born, two other films that took swipes at Hollywood. Cagney is reasonably effective as a band-leader in the East who is tapped by Hollywood and goes to the coast to make a movie. Evelyn Daw, who made only one other picture the following year, is the singer with the band albeit not too convincing as she was an opera singer rather than a band vocalist. Nevertheless Cagney marries her and then finds out that a clause in his contract prevents him from marrying. YEAH, that old chestnut. It is, on the whole, reasonably entertaining and Schertzinger's score is pleasant if not exactly the stuff that Standards are made of.

Karen Green (klg19) The plot of this film is fairly ordinary--bandleader/hoofer goes to Hollywood and becomes a star, studio wants to play up his credentials as a lover so they put the kibosh on announcing his marriage and cook up an on-set romance for the papers, the strain threatens his marriage. If it were with any other cast, that might have been the end of it. But with Cagney in the starring role, the movie just pops. The man had star quality positively oozing out of him, which had been evident from his earliest bit roles, in films like "A Handful of Clouds."This was Cagney's second and last film with Grand National studios, where he'd taken refuge during a contract dispute with Warner Brothers. The first film had cast him in standard dramatic fare, but this one reunited him with his NY dance coach, Harland Dixon, who staged the dances for the film. Cagney's dancing is even more spirited than in "Yankee Doodle Dandy"--at one point, where other dancers might kick their heels, he kicks his knees! According to a NY Times article cited in the AFI Catalog, Cagney practiced his steps with Fred Astaire before filming.What's most striking to me, though, in this film is Cagney's incomparably naturalistic acting. One scene in particular, where Cagney phones his fiancée back in New York while sitting in the dark in his Hollywood apartment, and listens to her sing a new song, is as moving and realistic as anything I've seen.Many scenes will evoke more famous moments from later films--Cagney dancing on piano keys, like Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia in "Big," or Cagney working on his pear-shaped tones, like Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain." Cagney gives them all his unique brand of liveliness. There is also an almost anachronistic recognition of the degradation Hollywood visited on minorities, in the person of Philip Ahn, who plays Cagney's manservant, Ito.Evelyn Daw, as Cagney's fiancée, was a discovery of the director, Schertzinger, and this was her first film. She's got a cute little smile, but her voice is absolutely wrong for the sort of band Cagney is supposed to be leading. She does well enough, though, and holds her own with William Frawley as Cagney's sympathetic press agent and Gene Lockhart as the studio boss. The only real sour note is sounded by Mona Barrie, as the Hungarian star set up as Cagney's love interest by the studio press machine. She's neither attractive nor talented, and one has to wonder why she was supposed to be such a big star.This movie is out on DVD, unlike all too many of Cagney's early efforts, and it's worth checking out for a side of Cagney seen entirely too seldom.