''Hot Rhythm'' is a 1944 American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and starring Robert Lowery,

Dona Drake Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. Drake was mixed race by ancestry. She often presented herself as Mexican and went by the names ...

, and the radio and vaudeville team of Tim and Irene ( Tim Ryan and

Irene Ryan Irene Ryan (born Irene Noblitt, Noblett, or Noblette; October 17, 1902 – April 26, 1973) was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her por ...

Plot

J. P. O'Hara (Tim Ryan) owns the Beacon Recording Company, with studio and distribution facilities. His biggest attraction is singer-bandleader Tommy Taylor (Jerry Cooper), who is managed by "Honest Herman" Strohbach (Robert Kent). Two staff members, Jimmy and Sammy (Robert Lowery and Sidney Miller), are aspiring songwriters who make their living writing radio jingles. They meet singer Mary Adams (Dona Drake), and Jimmy is so taken with her that he resolves to advance her career by any means possible. He records Mary singing along to an instrumental played by Taylor's orchestra, hoping to interest O'Hara in Mary. When Mary's demonstration record is released to the public accidentally, Taylor's manager threatens to sue O'Hara. O'Hara goes around town buying back copies of Mary's record and smashing them in the stores, which lands him in jail. Confusing matters further is O'Hara's new secretary, Polly Kane (Irene Ryan), who makes her own recording and is thus mistaken for mystery vocalist Mary. Mary's stormy romance with Jimmy is finally smoothed over when Jimmy tells O'Hara the truth about his finagling to promote Mary. Mary joins Tommy Taylor's band as his new singing star.

Main cast

* Robert Lowery as Jimmy O'Brien *

as Mary Adams * Tim Ryan as J. P. O'Hara *

as Polly Kane * Sidney Miller as Sammy Rubin * Jerry Cooper as Tommy Taylor *

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

as Mr. Whiffle * Robert Kent as Herman Strohbach *

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

as Brown *

Cyril Ring Cyril Ring (December 5, 1892July 17, 1967) was an American film actor. He began his career in silent films in 1921. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in over 350 films, nearly all of them in small and/or uncredited bit ...

as Jackson, record-shop proprietor * Joan Curtis as Alice Jones *

Paul Porcasi Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Mr. Peroni, cafe owner

Production

Monogram was a "budget" studio that made feature films for a fraction of what the big studios spent. Its hourlong

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...

mysteries of the 1940s typically cost about $90,000 each, compared to the

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Chan films of the 1930s, which cost between $200,000 and $300,000 each. Monogram's Chan films were instrumental in getting other Monogram features shown in more theaters, resulting in a period of ambitious expansion for the studio. ''Hot Rhythm'' was Monogram's biggest production of 1944, with an unusually long running time of 79 minutes, and with the studio's top cameraman Ira H. Morgan and director

joining forces to make the economically staged scenes look more elaborate.

References

Bibliography

* Michael L. Stephens. ''Art Directors in Cinema: A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary''. McFarland, 1998.

External links

* {{William Beaudine 1944 films 1944 musical comedy films 1940s English-language films American musical comedy films Films directed by William Beaudine Monogram Pictures films American black-and-white films 1940s American films