Symthony of Swing (1939)
*** (out of 4)
Turner Classic Movies recently had a documentary on the career of Johnny Mercer and played this short as well. The film features the then popular Artie Shaw and his swinging band performing four songs including "Jeepers Creepers" with Tony Pastor and "Deep Purple" with Helen Forrest. This was my first time seeing a short with Shaw but he certainly lived up to some of the hype I had heard about him. I'm sure this short wouldn't fly too well if shown on MTV today but if you're a fan of these old swing bands then you're in for a real treat. On the technical side of things we're really not given anything overly special as director Henabery makes the right decision in just staying out of things and letting the band do all the work. Shaw's orchestra is extremely entertaining as they jam one number after another and Pastor does a very good job with "Jeepers Creepers".
