Movie Review: Hot Rhythm (1944)
Synopsis: Commercial jingle writer Jimmy O'Brien discovers Mary Adams' incredible singing voice and is determined to get her a recording contract, both to further his career as a songwriter and the hope for romance. He and his friend Sammy record a demo record of Mary singing along to a radio performance of the popular Tommy Taylor Band, meant for their record producer boss J. P. O'Hara only. However, a mix-up results in 10,000 copies being produced and distributed, putting O'Hara in jeopardy of being sued out of business and Jimmy's relationship with Mary on the rocks.
Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Lowery, Dona Drake, Sidney Miller, Irene Ryan and Tim Ryan.
Review: I ended up picking out Hot Rhythm for my morning movie today mostly because I saw it had Irene Ryan and while I am a huge fan of her work from The Beverly Hillbillies, I realized I hadn't seen many (if any) of her movies, especially with her husband, Tim. As it turns out, this was an enjoyable choice for a film, and she was a big reason for it.
The plot seems relatively simple at first, but the chaos Jimmy (Lowery) causes with a simple recording is hilarious. His boss, O'Hara (Tim Ryan), didn't even know what hit him and his over-the-top antics to correct the problem on his own by visiting record stores solely to smash the distributed recording were fun, funny and entertaining.
Unlike many comedies, the movie also proved to be relatively unpredictable. There seemed like there was no way for O'Hara to avoid a lawsuit and Jimmy to avoid losing his job while, at the same time, Mary (Drake) remained anonymous because exposing her singing talent only had the potential to make things worse for everyone. In fact, the movie's happy ending only happened because of coincidences and a lot of misunderstanding.
Irene Ryan, however, as I mentioned, is what makes this movie. She wasn't the top billed star and only appears in the credits as the team of Tim & Irene, but she steals the show every time she's on the screen as Polly Kane. Polly's antics as an office secretary are a joy to watch, especially with how easily she gets confused and with some of the physical comedy that is pulled off as part of the role.
Of course, the way she gets mistaken for the mystery singer with multiple people trying to sign her to a contract added to all of that, especially when it turns out, with the right song, she's not all that bad. I usually fast forward through lengthy musical performances when they don't have anything to do with the plot but her melancholy version of, "The Happiest Girl in Town" was so good, I ended up re-watching it.
Final Opinion: This is a funny and interesting movie with some great performances, especially from the future "Granny" Daisy Moses. It's worth taking the time to watch.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other 1940s comedies:
Movie Review: Smart Alecks (1942)
Movie Review: Lucky Ghost (1942)
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