Sweet Music (1935)

College band-leader "Skip" Houston keeps his band together after graduation, they turn professional, and they are a big hit on the radio and in nightclubs. He falls in love with Bonnie ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Jerry Wald (story), Jerry Wald (screenplay)

Stars:

Rudy Vallee, Ann Dvorak, Ned Sparks

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rudy Vallee	...	Skip Houston
Ann Dvorak	...	Bonnie Haydon
Ned Sparks	...	'Ten Percent' Nelson
Helen Morgan	...	Helen Morgan
Robert Armstrong	...	'Dopey' Malone
Allen Jenkins	...	Barney Cowan
Alice White	...	Lulu Betts
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Sidney Selzer
Al Shean	...	Sigmund Selzer
Phillip Reed	...	Grant
William B. Davidson	...	Billy Madison
Henry O'Neill	...	Louis Trumble
Addison Richards	...	Mr. Thomas
Russell Hicks	...	The Mayor
Clay Clement	...	Mr. Johnson

Storyline

College band-leader "Skip" Houston keeps his band together after graduation, they turn professional, and they are a big hit on the radio and in nightclubs. He falls in love with Bonnie Haydon, a dancer who hates him because he is constantly taunting her about her act and offering suggestions for improvements. She slowly learns that any engagements or work she has is because of Houston.

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Plot Keywords:

actor shares last name with character | actor shares first and last name with character | dancer | nightclub | fictional biography | 

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Genres:

Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Melodias Radiantes

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Bonnie Haydon: [to Barney] What sinister forces are keeping *you* off the Brain Trust?

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Soundtracks

Ev'ry Day
(uncredited)
Music by Sammy Fain
Lyrics by Irving Kahal
Sung by Rudy Vallee
Danced by Ann Dvorak

User Reviews

Sweet Is The Word

Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler must have been busy doing Shipmates Forever or Flirtation Walk when Sweet Music was given to Rudy Vallee and Ann Dvorak as leads. The property is typical of the stuff Powell and Keeler were doing at Warner Brothers at the time.

Vallee appears in Sweet Music with his Connecticut Yankee orchestra and when they weren't backing Rudy up when he was seriously singing, they cut up in a way that was not seen until Spike Jones made an appearance. Rudy and Dvorak start out as rivals for a Broadway review and then a radio show. Of course you know in the end they'll discover true love.

Ann plays a dancer and I have to say she had some nice moves in Sweet Music. The score is from a variety of composers and it has some Vallee standards like the title song, the comic song Outside which he introduced in the Twenties and There Is A Tavern In the Town. However the main song of the score is the Allie Wrubel-Mort Dixon ballad I See Two Lovers which is done by Helen Morgan.

Morgan appears as herself and she is singing the song in an audition and Vallee accompanies her with his orchestra. It's one of her great torch ballads and it was also recorded by Russ Columbo and Dick Powell. Any one of the three recordings I have of the song is a treasure.

Some of Warner Brothers best stock players are in this film with Ned Sparks as an agent, Allen Jenkins as a publicity man with a streak of zaniness in him. One of his zany stunts involves Alice White trying to drown herself for love of Rudy Vallee which results in White's brother Robert Armstrong who's a gangster trying to arrange a shotgun wedding with Vallee and White. Watch the film if you want to see how Rudy gets out of that one.

Dick and Ruby didn't miss anything with Sweet Music, nevertheless it's a pleasant musical comedy from Warner Brothers and will give the viewer a lot of pleasure still.