Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)

Well Deserved Praise

Purely Joyful Movie!

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS has no Busby Berkeley production numbers, indeed, has no dancing at all, and replaces stalwart Ruby Keeler with Ginger Rogers, but mostly it's a typical second string musical from a studio that put out a million of them in the thirties. So far as plot is concerned, Pat O'Brien is the actual star, playing the sort of fast- talking hustler, this one a talent scout, that showed up in countless Warners' pictures of the decade. Besides O'Brien, Lee Tracy made a career out of them, and Jimmy Cagney in his lighter moments was another of the brotherhood. This time it's O'Brien pushing a new singing sensation towards a radio career. Dick Powell is the very passive object of his machinations, and other than having some unusually nice songs to sing (the big hit, I'll String Along With You, is beaten to death in the movie), this is the kind of role that left him deeply dissatisfied and led to his surprising turn to tough guy Noir parts later in his career.House composers Warren and Dubin came up with a very nice score, and it is the picture's strong point. What there is of humor in TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS is mostly provided by Allen Jenkins and Ginger Rogers, and one wishes that their roles had been considerably extended. A very nice duet (or was it a quintet?) between Powell and the Mills Brothers of a song sung rousingly by Rogers a few scenes earlier was another highlight. The plot contrivances, however, are anything but rousing and pull the movie down to the mediocre level.One thing I didn't understand: Dick Powell wows everyone with a rendition of 'The Man On The Flying Trapeze' while working as a singing waiter, but when he performs the same number as a radio audition it's seen as embarrassingly awful by everyone who hears it. What happened?

Pushy talent agent (Pat O'Brien) makes a radio star out of a singing waiter (Dick Powell). Powell's new heartthrob status means he has to remain single in the public eye but he wants to marry Ginger Rogers. So O'Brien schemes to break them up. Pat O'Brien talks so fast in this I'm surprised he was ever able to catch a breath. Dick Powell's singing is good and he has a rootable quality about him. Ginger's likable and fun. Not one of her better roles but okay. This is an amusing musical comedy. Some laughs and nice songs. One of the best parts is singing quartet The Mills Brothers. This may not be a highlight in the careers of the stars but it's an entertaining way to pass the time. Any movie with Allen Jenkins in it can't be bad.

What a fun film, and what an education about the entertainment field, taking us back to the early '30s and the importance of radio.Pat O'Brien has one of his wheeler-dealer roles as Russell Blake, an agent who's not delivering the great talent he's promised his boss but keeps getting pay advances nonetheless. Finally he's fired. However, at a restaurant, he hears a singing waiter, Buddy Clayton (Dick Powell) do a goofy "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" and brings him to the attention of the radio station. Reluctantly, his boss (Joseph Cawthorne) gives Buddy an audition - and is immediately sorry. Admittedly it's hard to hear Buddy's real voice singing the Flying Trapeze song.Eventually, however, everyone hears Buddy sing and a radio show sponsor wants him. The current singer, Peggy Cornell (Ginger Rogers) clicks with Buddy, which makes for complications.The score by Dubin and Warren is very good, as well as other songs, and there are performances by the Mills Brothers, bandleader Ted Fio Rito, Ginger Rogers, and The Radio Rogues.The versatile Dick Powell had a beautiful tenor voice, showcased here, and Rogers is delightful. They made a cute couple. Besides his in front of the camera talent, Powell was a very astute businessman and had a keen eye for talent himself. During his career, he acted, produced, directed, and was responsible for giving Aaron Spelling and Sam Peckinpah their starts. Rogers of course would go on to do her films with Astaire.Fun film, some good music, loved the cast.

Fast-talking agent (O'Brien) promotes radio career of promising crooner (Powell) despite obstacles.The first half is very enjoyable with a behind-the-scenes look at radio, the Mills Brothers, O'Brien's matchless chutzpah, and Powell's knockout rendition of "I'll String Along with You". Apparently, however, the screenwriters had another 30 minutes to fill, so they recycled much of the first half. The trouble is that unlike love and the old song, the plot etc. is not better "the second time around". What's really unfortunate is that the fine signature tune is repeated to the point of tedium. Too bad the film didn't quit while ahead.Of course, watching Rogers at this career stage remains a treat even if she's more subdued than usual. While O'Brien machine guns out more words per second than a dragster spits out rpm's. His promotional drive almost amounts to a force of nature. At the same time, Powell does his tuneful tenor bit as a "Lochinvar from California" heart-throb". However, some of his facial expressions while crooning the musical's last number are borderline clownish.All in all, the impression is of a pleasant lower-end musical whose repetitive material over- stretches a solid core of performers and a great signature tune.