Truly Dreadful Film

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

This minor B drama mixed with comedy and a few big band numbers takes on the kids of 10th Avenue in an effort to particularly keep one kid out of trouble and to keep organized crime our of hoofer George Murphy's dance studio west of Times Square. The kid is Rex Dowling, a forgotten "Our Gang" actor who can dance as well and looks really good with his shirt off. Murphy's partner (Anne Shirley) doesn't approve of his mentoring Dowling, but when Murphy must take on protection racketeer Richard Barthelmess and his gang, she realizes that they've got bigger fish to fry.Overly long and often tedious, this doesn't really hold up interest past Freddy Martin's band and some funny moments from Mary Wickes (once again in a nurse's uniform) and her boyfriend, Millard Mitchell, who looks like an older version of Art Carney. The songs are just so-so and the story not interesting. By the time the plot thickens, you may find yourself checking out your watch.

This is part musical and part gangster film.Unfortunately neither really meshes with the other.Just when we are enjoying a musical interlude the rather routine gangster film comes crashing back in.It seems to me that they really could not make up their minds what sort of film they wanted this to be.The cast is quite interesting.Ann Shirley and Richard Barthelmess both make their swan songs.Also featured are the marvelous Mary Wickes and Millard Mitchell.In fact the exchanges between those two are the best part of the film.There is one rather strange scene when George Murphy asks the young gang leader to come and live with him instead of Ann Shirley.In the next scene Murphy and the boy are seen all hot and sweaty in his gym!I wonder if they were trying to tell us something?