And the Angels Sing (1944)

Thanks for the memories!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Apparently folks at Paramount held off releasing "And the Angels Sing" for a year...sure sign that they probably thought the film would bomb. Much of this might have been because Fred MacMurray played a real jerk...not the sort of guy he played in "Double Indemnity" but more of a cad who thinks nothing of stealing or sexually harassing ladies. I don't understand the studio making such a picture...and a few other things didn't help it either.The Angel Sisters (Dorothy Lamour, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn and Mimi Chandler) don't really like each other very much. In particular, Nancy (Lamour) is angry with Bobby (Hutton) because she won't get a job and the family could really use the money. Surprisingly, Bobby finally tells her family that she DOES have a job. She volunteered her sisters to sing with her on Saturday night at some club.At the club, the bandleader, Happy Marshall (MacMurray) horribly sexually harasses Nancy the second he meets her. Well, it turns out this isn't the worst thing about Happy. Later, he promises Bobby a high paying job traveling with the band as their singer...and instead he steals her money and uses it to get his band to Brooklyn!! If this doesn't sound like a very good plot for a film...well, this sure had me thinking the same! So what's next when the four sisters set out for Brooklyn to confront Happy?In addition to MacMurray's character who continues to be a total pig throughout the movie, it also loses points from me simply because I can't stand Betty Hutton. Her shtick is SCREAMING songs and occasionally screaming her dialog...and I have no idea how she ever became popular. Despite all that, I must admit that I liked some of the music (NOT Hutton's solo...good grief, no!). As for the story...well, it's simply horrible. On balance, I can EASILY understand why they shelved this movie. With a few script changes (and gagging Hutton), it could have easily been better.

I recently discovered a slew of Betty Hutton movies on YouTube-some of which, I guess, are in the public domain-so I'm now reviewing those I managed to find there in chronological order. In this one, she's one of the grown Angel sisters of which the others are Dorothy Lamour, Diana Lynn, and Mimi Chandler. They form a singing act though both Ms. Lamour and Ms. Hutton have solo turns as well. Fred MacMurray is the slick bandleader who's not very honest though he is fun especially when he pretend woos Betty and truly woos Dorothy. Mostly funny screenplay by Melvin Frank & Norman Panama and entertaining songs by James Van Heusen & Johnny Burke. Hutton has most of the funny lines and scenes but everyone gets to shine. So on that note, And the Angels Sing is highly recommended. P.S. Since I always like to cite when players from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-are in something else, here, it's Frank Faylen-Ernie Bishop the taxi driver in that one-playing a guy Ms. Lamour mocks when she talks to him in his Brooklynese accent. Also, Frank Albertson-Sam Wainwright in IAWL-plays Dorothy's initial boyfriend Oliver in the beginning scenes.

Fluffy bit of nonsense is well worth seeking out for the quartet of talented actresses in the cast as well as a disarming Fred MacMurray. The story, such as it is, wanders off in several different directions throughout the picture, first the girls are trying to raise money for Pop's farm, then they want separate careers even though when they sing together their popularity seems assured but for some reason they hate to do it despite the fact that they never fight and seem to have several acts worth of material and outfits on hand. Then both Dorothy and Betty fall for Fred, who even sings in one number and pretty well at that, while trying to recover money Fred has hustled out of Betty and both of them running into small hurdles along the way. Both Lamour and Hutton get a chance to show off their comedy expertise. As the other Angel sisters Diana Lynn and Mimi Chandler also get a few good lines but are relegated to the background for most of the picture.An amusing sidelight, as in most classic films while no one seemingly works, as is the case in this aside from an occasional nightclub gig, all the girls have one immaculate outfit after another and elaborate always perfect hairdos. Not that it's a bad thing, it's anachronistic but adds to the glamor of the stars. It's all as silly as it sounds but if you're looking for a tuneful, undemanding little trifle this is a pleasant pastime.

AND THE ANGELS SING is a utterly entertaining comedy/musical starring Dorothy Lamour and Fred MacMurray with rising young actresses Betty Hutton and Diana Lynn in featured roles. This movie doesn't have much of a reputation thanks to the fact it curiously has been seldom seen in recent decades. It has never aired on any major national cable channel to my knowledge yet it was a major Paramount film and a big hit at the time.Lamour and Hutton are the main attractions in a sister singing quartet who get the shaft from sneaky band leader Fred MacMurray. Eventually Betty pursues Fred - and Fred pursues Dorothy. The songs in this film are sensational - Lamour croons the lovely "It Could Happen to You", Hutton stops the show with the outrageous "My Rocking Horse Ran Away", and the sister act sings a lot of songs in best Andrew Sisters harmony including the very charming "The First Hundred Years" and the sassy "Knocking On Your Own Front Door".Too bad TCM didn't get this for their retrospective on Hutton films a few years ago - it's one of her best even if she does play second fiddle to Lamour (though she holds her own). And Dorothy Lamour gives one of her best performances, she can handle comedy and music with equal ease and of course is one of the best lookers ever in movies as icing on the cake.