Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

edwagreen Mickey Rooney as a drummer gets involved with a gangster and a girl, Sally Forrest, whose entire life depends upon making it big in Hollywood.Meeting Forrest is unusual here and he introduces her to his "boss" James Craig, the latter playing the heavy in this 1951 film.The band is made up of the likes of Louis Armstrong, and there are great musical numbers. Even Vic Damone sings in a nightclub as well.William Demarest is in fine form as the owner of the nightclub and tragedy results when Rooney introduces Forrest, his girl, to Sonny Johnson,whom the both sadly feel can move her career.The ending where Rooney drowns himself on the drums to control his grief is fitting.

Boba_Fett1138 This movie is a rather odd mix of musical, romance, drama and crime with a sniff of film-noir to it. It's basically one messy heap of different genres, of which none really works out like it was supposed to.This movie is an attempt by Mickey Rooney to be taken more serious as an actor. He's a former child-star who always used to star in in happy comical- and musical productions at the start of his career. In this movie he picks a different approach (although the musical aspects are still present in the movie). But his role is actually quite laughable within the movie. I mean Mickey Rooney as a tough player? He's an extremely small boyish looking man. He actually was in his 30's already at the time of this movie but he seriously looks more like a 16 year old. Hearing him say babe to women and hearing talking tough to gangsters who are about 3 times bigger than he is just doesn't look and feel right. He simply isn't convincing in his role.Because the movie mixes so many different genres, the story also really feels as a messy one. Somewhere in it there is a crime plot and somewhere in it is a romantic plot-line and one about living your dream but none of it works out really due to the messy approach and handling of it all. It just isn't an interesting or compelling movie to watch. László Kardos is also a director who has done only 10 movies in his lifetime, despite the fact that his career span from 1935 till 1957. He must have been a struggling director who had a hard time getting work into the industry and instead once in a while was given a lesser script to work with. His movies are all unknown ones and normally also not of too high quality.Let's also not forget that this is a '50's movie but yet it more feels like a '40's one or perhaps even as one from the '30's. This is of course mostly due to the fact that this movie got shot in black & white. Generally speaking black & white movies from the '50's often have a cheap looking feeling over it and this movie forms no exception.It's a rather strange sight seeing Mickey Rooney and Louis Armstrong and his band as themselves performing together in a sequence. It wasn't the only movie Armstrong appeared in though and he would often pop up in these type of movies, often simply as himself. I guess jazz lovers can still somewhat enjoy watching this movie due to its music, since there is quite an amount of it present in this movie. The movie actually received an Oscar nomination for best original song.An awkward little movie and outing from Mickey Rooney.4/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

ChanRobt One of the dumber scripts around. The dramatic conclusion to the story takes place off screen and is merely described in a police report. (Girl shoots gangster dead for threatening her boyfriend [Rooney] gets killed herself in the fracas.Some good musical numbers--mainly Satchmo singing "A Kiss to Build a Dream On." Rooney and Demarest are actually both good being Rooney and Demarest.But as an L.A. period piece (released in '51) it's fun to see the Sunset strip and other locations. Particularly if you grew up around here. There are a lot of movies from that period, made on a low budget with crummy scripts. But fun to watch for their money-saving use of locations and for their natural noir ambience.

bmacv The murder/suspense plot is little more than a convenient set of bookends to showcase the post-adolescent Mickey Rooney, Sally Forest and a gathering of jazz greats (Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Vic Damone) in the setting of a Sunset Strip nightspot. James Craig isn't bad as the mustachioed "heavy" doting on his office foliage (after Dewey's defeat in '48, mustaches became quite unAmerican). This movie is neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring, and only marginally "noir" by virtue of date, setting and plotline, but it's watchable -- the music and dance numbers are pretty good. Like a couple of other films ("The Man I Love;" "Love Me or Leave Me") it gives evidence that a new genre might have been in formation: the musical noir.