HOLLYWOOD HOTEL

Dick Powell and Rosemary Lane

HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937). Director: Busby Berkeley. 

Saxophonist Ronnie Bowers (Dick Powell of Susan Slept Here), who has somehow been given a movie contract, is tapped to accompany movie star Mona Marshall (Lola Lane of The Woman Condemned) to a big premiere. He is unaware that an angry Mona has refused to attend and his date is actually a lookalike named Virginia (Rosemary Lane). When the studio drops Ronnie's contract due to the complaints of Mona, Ronnie and Virginia cook up schemes to get him back in the business. Meanwhile Benny Goodman and his band play a couple of snappy numbers, Dick and the Lane sisters sing some pleasant if forgettable songs, and three comparative freaks of nature -- supremely homely columnist Luella Parsons, "singer" Johnnie Davis, and buck-toothed Mabel Todd as Mona's sister -- nearly shatter the camera lens. 

Freaks: Johnnie Davis and Louella Parsons

Hollywood Hotel is an amiable bit of nonsense with a slender plot and some lively musical moments. Fritz Feld has a very funny bit as a Russian customer in a coffee shop, Ronald Reagan appears for a few seconds as an emcee at the premiere, Harry James -- still playing for Benny Goodman at this point -- makes smooth music with his trumpet, and Raymond Paige and his orchestra play an exciting Russian-style number. Others in the cast include Ted Healey (who put the Three Stooges together before being ousted) as "Fuzzy," Ronnie's alleged manager; Frances Langford; Glenda Farrell as Mona's secretary; Alan Mowbray (of Becky Sharp) as Mona's leading man; Perc Westmore as himself; Grant Mitchell as the head of the studio; Allyn Joslyn as his assistant; and others. Goodman's integrated band includes drummer Gene Krupa and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. A gay fashion designer is named "Butch" -- oy vey!

Verdict: Some fun but perhaps not enough. **1/2.