Office Blues (1930)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Fans of Ginger Rogers will certainly want to check out this early short from Paramount. In the film she plays secretary Miss Gravis, a woman in love with her boss but he doesn't even know she exists. Miss Gravis keeps turning down her co-worker and one day she begins to sing a sing, which catches her bosses attention. There's no question that this film was rushed into production and very little money was spent on it. It's also rather obvious that the studio had the songs written first and then "filler" scenes were just shot around them. The story itself is rather weak as the love story isn't ever all that believable but that's okay because the main reason people are going to see this is for Rogers and her voice. Two songs are performed (We Can't Get Along, Dear Sir) and there's no question that the best is the first (Along) as we get to see Ginger solo and there's no doubt that the second film is somewhat hampered by the supporting singers. The majority of the running time has everyone squeezed onto one small set but there's a breakout number towards the end when some extras are added but this musical piece is a lame rip of much better things we've seen from MGM. With that said, fans of Rogers will certainly want to check this out due to her great voice and lively performance.
