Hardly a memorable short from the Academy, with brief snippets of various musical talent on display for a few seconds of screen time. At least there's variety in the musical style, but how sad to see the songs cut off at moments when the peak is not yet reached--such as the very short segment of Lily Pons singing "The Bell Song". This makes the musical segments that are strung together seem pointless and hardly satisfying.
Among those on display: Jose Iturbi playing a Chopin piece and a boogie woogie number (from "Three Daring Daughters"); Lily Pons in a clip from "Carnegie Hall"; Betty Hutton belting out "Doctor, Lawyer and Indian Chief", probably from "Star Spangled Rhythm"; Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald doing a nice job on "Wanting You" from "New Moon"; Red Skelton and Betty Garret in a fleeting rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside"; Leopold Stowkowski conducting; Xavier Cugat and his band; Rise Stevens; Bing Crosby; Yehudi Menunim and his violin; Harry James; Danny Kaye in a tongue-twisting routine from "Up in Arms"; and finally, Judy Garland in a lavish moment from "Ziegfeld Girl".
All of the segments are in B&W which is an added disappointment since many of these films were in color.
Summing up: A trifle of moments easily skipped, even for music lovers.
Among those on display: Jose Iturbi playing a Chopin piece and a boogie woogie number (from "Three Daring Daughters"); Lily Pons in a clip from "Carnegie Hall"; Betty Hutton belting out "Doctor, Lawyer and Indian Chief", probably from "Star Spangled Rhythm"; Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald doing a nice job on "Wanting You" from "New Moon"; Red Skelton and Betty Garret in a fleeting rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside"; Leopold Stowkowski conducting; Xavier Cugat and his band; Rise Stevens; Bing Crosby; Yehudi Menunim and his violin; Harry James; Danny Kaye in a tongue-twisting routine from "Up in Arms"; and finally, Judy Garland in a lavish moment from "Ziegfeld Girl".
All of the segments are in B&W which is an added disappointment since many of these films were in color.
Summing up: A trifle of moments easily skipped, even for music lovers.