Donald O'Connor's success in Singing in the Rain and Call Me Madam prompted Universal to splash a little more cash on this vehicle, including colour and importing Janet Leigh from MGM. Lloyd Bacon directed.
The plot is spectacularly stupid. O'Connor is out of the army where he played a band. And he tries to start up a band. Hackett is his mate. Janet Leigh is a girl who was in the army. Oh and O'Connor's family is rich and he inherits money to be an opera singer. Who cares? The crux of the plot is about O'Connor trying to find the right "sound" for his band. I think Leigh is meant to be worried she's too poor for O'Connor's family as well. It's inept.
There's some really racist moments - Buddy Hackett impersonating a Chinese waiter and O'Connor and Leigh doing a black and white minstrel number.
Scatman Crothers sings some songs. Sidney Miller who has a support role was O'Connor's collaborator on TV shows and films - Miller would write him songs.
The musical numbers are great, except the minstrel stuff. The dancing is fabulous. Just a lousy book.
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