UnowPriceless hyped garbage

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Richard Chatten A cast like this under the direction of Raoul Walsh results in a strangely talky and uninvolving film. The script has its share of amusing wisecracks, most of them delivered by Patsy Kelly; but the end result is very bland and conventional. Walsh shows an interesting liking for visually lining up his three female leads across the screen; and while its always fun to see Alice Faye during her glossy platinum blonde phase, with the mysterious exception of the uncredited James Miller nobody is really given much to do. And it does go on.

rdoyle29 Alice Faye, Frances Langford and Patsy Kelly lose their jobs and can't afford to pay the rent. They enter an amateur contest at a local radio station as a singing trio, but lose to a big band lead by George Raft when Langford passes out mid-song due to lack of food. Raft asks them to join his band, and they become famous, which throws obstacles in the way of a romance between Raft and Langford. An engaging enough little trifle which is largely an excuse to include a lot of musical numbers, the highlight of which is a lady doing a song as a chicken.

mark.waltz You've heard of the Andrews Sisters. Old movie fans certainly remember the Boswell Sisters, and maybe even the Duncan Sisters. Now meet the Swanee Sisters, three old friends who pretend to be siblings in order to get a radio contract with the help of egocentric band leader George Raft. It takes starving and suffering for them to rise to the top, but when they do, fame is the name of the game, and they are winners almost instantly. But with the workaholic Raft dominating all of their free time, they don't have an opportunity to enjoy their new found success, although it is obvious that it is love at first sight between Raft and one of the trio, the sweet, quiet Frances Langford who really is in the mood for love and more anxious to settle down in marital bliss than to find fame like her partners Alice Faye and Patsy Kelly.Some of my fondest memories of the wonderful musical revue "Sugar Babies" were the two songs that stand out in this Paramount movie musical. Ann Miller made her entrance gloriously while singing "I Feel a Song Coming On", and later had a moving solo of "I'm in the Mood For Love". These two songs with music by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields and George Oppenheimer have become standards, although it took a while for "I'm in the Mood For Love" to get the attention that it deserved. It is here sung by Frances Langford while dialog by co-stars George Raft, Alice Faye and Patsy Kelly rudely interrupted it for the audience to enjoy the song thoroughly. Faye got the chance to sing another song utilized in "Sugar Babies" with "I'm Shooting High" in the following year's "King of Burlesque".But "I Feel a Song Coming On" gets a glorious treatment, a big rousing musical production number where black singer James Miller takes over halfway through and literally makes it his own. His booming voice helps the audience get over the fact that he's surrounded by chorus girls in bandannas and an obvious Southern setting with a painting of a field seemingly of watermelon in the background and Mississippi Steamboats adding to the atmosphere. What makes this all the more stunning is the fact that he is singing this while white band leader George Raft plays, a rare occurrence on film in 1935, making me believe that this segment might have been trimmed out in Southern showings, or possibly the film not showing there at all in smaller communities.The film has a very amusing amateur radio show contest, with the Radio Rogues providing some spot-on imitations, one of them doing Dick Powell amazingly well. The fact that this imitator sang "Don't Say Goodnight" (from Warner Brothers' "Wonder Bar") and that this is a Paramount film is all the more interesting. The radio amateur show also features a very amusing performance of Florence Gill singing "Luigi Arditi" as a chicken clucking. Ms. Gill would do voice overs in many animated cartoons as a chicken, but to see her here is a real treat. For those who adored Charlotte Arren doing the same song a la Fanny Brice and Beatrice Lillie in "Broadway Melody of 1940", this is even more thrilling.As far as the three ladies are concerned, they all do very well, but it is interestingly the only major leading role in an "A" film where the focus is on Ms. Langford, with Alice Faye and Patsy Kelly providing adept support without the benefit of a romantic storyline. Most of her other appearances in films were supporting roles, guest appearances, or leads in "B" films. Alice gets to show what she would look like as a brunette, and in spite of her beauty as a blonde, it ain't pretty. There's a very funny bit with Kelly wearing a man's hat and an obnoxious piano mover making an obvious lesbian reference concerning her. As far as movie musicals go, this ain't earth shattering, but you'll have an awfully good time and might even find yourself singing along.

kidboots It didn't matter that most of Frances Langford's films were pretty forgettable, she made them memorable with her heavenly, sultry voice. Even though she had only appeared as herself in a couple of early musical shorts before "Every Night at Eight", she fitted in perfectly with veterans George Raft, Alice Faye and Patsy Kelly. Alice Faye was the female star although Langford was given the role of Susan, the quiet one, who only wants to settle down, marry and live in a house with a white picket fence - a sure sign that she is going to "get the guy" in the closing scene. And what a guy!!! George Raft actually looked as though he was having a lot of fun in this movie. He had all the right moves and seemed just itching to go into a dance routine - he actually did a few steps and turns when he was performing in the amateur hour segment. He had been one of the top dancers in New York in the 20s (that's what Fred Astaire said).For this movie he had to settle for being a band leader. He plays "Tops" Cardona - a dance band leader who is great and knows it!!! He and his band perform on an amateur hour and win by default when Susan, one of a trio of harmonizing singers, faints through lack of food. The girls manage to get through "Speaking Confidentially" and were certain to win. Also featured on the amateur program were Walter Catlett as the Master of Ceremonies and The Three Radio Rogues (called here Romeos) a novelty group who did impersonations of just about everything - radio serials, news reels and famous singers of the day (here they impersonate Dick Powell singing "Don't Say Goodnight" from "Wonder Bar") - in this movie they were ousted from the contest as professionals!!! Susan (after being revived with coffee) sings the soulful "Then You've Never Been Blue" - a song that Langford wrote herself.Alice Faye was going through her brassy Mae West period, (before 20th Century Fox softened her look) so she didn't have a lot to do but add her unique singing styling to the story. Patsy Kelly was fantastic, as usual, her witty wisecracks saved many a film - "he's just like a brother - especially to me"!!! As "The Swanee Sisters" they team up with Tops and his band and hit the big time. "I Feel a Song Coming On" is the film's highlight - there is harmonizing, torch singing (ala Miss Faye) and even a soulful rendition by a fabulous singer James Miller. Of course Susan, being the quiet one, has fallen for Tops - it seems he rubs everyone up the wrong way - everyone except Susan!! Fortunately she gets to sing "I'm In the Mood for Love" - a few times because Tops believes she isn't putting enough feeling into it. Her sultry, mellow, "out of this world" voice helped make this song a standard.Someone to watch for - Harry Barris, who in the 20s was part of a group called "3 Boys and a Piano" which evolved into the Rhythm Boys - one of the boys was Bing Crosby!! Harry plays Tops' livewire pianist, Harry!!Highly, Highly Recommended.