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Strong and Moving!

As Good As It Gets

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.

I stumbled upon this little gem of a movie just as I was about to go to bed late one night. Already a fan of old black and white films I decided to tape it and watch the next day however, my attention was suddenly caught by the very handsome Bob Crosby,which made me even more curious as I didn't even know that Bing had a brother. So, I ditched the tape and sat there for the duration of the film....and I was not disappointed at all. I was completely captivated by this charming little movie with its unusual storyline and great personable characters but mostly for its fantastic music. I was already an old devotee of jazz, swing and big band music but had forgotten how addictive it is. So of course, not only was I now smitten with the cute and adorable Bob Crosby but I fell in love with big band music all over again. This film is not to be dismissed lightly, it has something for everyone in it and is a lovely feel good movie that puts a smile on your face just by the music numbers alone. Personally, I couldn't stop tapping my feet when the band started to play and was itching to get up and dance. Wishing I had taped the movie after all so that I could watch it again and again.

Nathaniel West, author of Day of the Locust and Miss Loneleyhearts, also wrote for the movies. At first blush, a movie featuring Bob Crosby (Bing's brother) and his popular jazz orchestra, would seem unlikely.But this film is no embarrassment for the screenwriter, as the script is surprisingly subtle, and not full of the usual loud, bad comedy (see any Kay Kaiser film) that you see in movies that feature big bands. Instead, this is the tale of an old maid schoolteacher -- approaching 60 -- who knows painfully well she is boring her students, but is just not ready to hang up th towel. At the advice of her beautiful (but not really very kind) niece, she writes a fight song for her school, which, through a series of old movie devices, becomes a novelty hit for Bob Crosby & His Orchestra. The movie takes on the topic -- how will the schoolmarm deal with the success of her tune, and how will she handle things when the tune falls out of favor? The ending, while sentimental, fits the material.Bob Crosby plays Bob Crosby, bandleader, just fine. He's no worse than Bing in his early movies. The music, while OK, does not real justice to the Bob Crosby orchestra. The three featured tunes are production numbers, with changes in tone, tempo, and emphasis, that do not feature much of the dixieland-tinged swing that made this band different than all of the others of the 30s-40s. (Big Noise from Winnetka -- the second big number -- was originally a novelty number jammed by the bass player and the drummer for two-and-a half minutes. In the movie, we have a little bit of the drum/bass byplay, full orchestra, the pretty girl trio singing a chorus, Bob Crosby singing a chorus.) If you want to get an idea of how this band sounded on most of its records, catch some of the non-featured songs being played by the band during the night-club scene.

Here's a swing musical with a 65 year old woman as the main character! There are some excellent big band numbers courtesy of Bob Crosby and his Bobcats or Bobalinks (as HE says anyway) and the usual excellent RKO production qualities. Dear Aunt Malvina writes a college fight song which ends up on the radio hit parade in a different tempo with added 1941 style bop and shuffle. It is generally a lovely film If I can say that without sounding twee, because it ultimately has a lot to say about a good and talented woman too long in conservative isolation (and corralled by her drone niece) who really enjoys freeing up her music and her self. Grannies who saw this on first release would have been inspired to do the same! The two main numbers are strong and the first one has a dynamite 60 secs of aerial jitterbug. The main showpiece is the hit parade link "Big Noise From Winnetka" which is really as much a novelty song as the "fight song from Newton High" that Mulvina writes. The film is about the fleeting fame that novelty songs allow and the crash that comes if one is not aware. The scene where Malvina has the curtain dropped on her is especially fascinating as it appears to be filmed on one of either Keith or Orpheum's old theaters (that were wired for sound, dearie) in the amalgamation that came in forming R-K-O with the Radio Corp in 1928 to create this monopoly entertainment giant. Lets Make Music indeed. Malvina did and so did Bob; and if you have the chance to enjoy this gimmick musical you will smile as I did and marvel at the generosity of spirit this simple but honest musical allows. Charming...with groove and swing!

The plot was a bit tedious and unbelievable, but there was one musical number that made watching this movie worthwhile. The song "The Big Noise from Winnetka" was a big hit at the time it was recorded by Bob Crosby and to see it performed by him and orchestra was a big treat. Ray Bauduc was the drummer and Bob Haggart was on bass (both were co-composers of the song along with Crosby) and it winds up as sort of a duet with Bauduc and Haggart. The multi-talented Haggart whistles the tune between his teeth and fingers the bass violin while Bauduc uses his drumstick on the bass violin to make the music. A very enjoyable piece to listen to and watch, and it will surely be appreciated by lovers of the big band era, swing or jazz.I was a bit confused at the credits calling Crosby's quartet of singers "The Bobcats" while Crosby himself always refers to them as "The Bobalinks." I wonder what that was all about.