Larceny With Music (1943)

Leo Carillo is the manager of The Blue Room, a night club in his hotel. He used to run liquor in Prohibition days, but has gone straight - well, relatively. The bank is on his case. Just then an attorney comes up searching for Allan Jones, a singer who has come into a large inheritance. Carillo goes looking for him. He finds him in a run-down restaurant and signs him up with a deal that cuts him in on any revenues Jones gets, from whatever source. (William Frawley is his manager.) Kitty Carlisle has been singing in the Blue Room behind a chamber orchestra - part of the reason for the sparse patronage. Alvino Rey and his orchestra show up along with the King Sisters; they have been performing with Jones.

Carlisle cannot be fired because of her contract, but she is relegated to being a chamber maid. She is suspicious because of the deal that Carillo cut and wants to stick around to "find the body." Her first job is to vacuum Jones' room early in the morning, waking him up. She fools Carillo into admitting that Jones is a millionaire (which, of course, Jones does not yet know). However, Frawley overhears the conversation, and since he was the one who hired the actor to pose as the attorney bringing the inheritance news, he has to keep it quiet. The actor, Gus Schilling, comes in later for his cut of the dough, but gets kicked out.

Jones begins to fall for Carlisle and asks her to join their show. Carillo is still trying to locate the lawyer handling the ficticious inheritance case, and Frawley keeps pressing him for money for promotion. In the meantime Schilling shows up again pressuring him for a slice of the dough. The band stuffs him into a tuba case, but he gets out in Brooklyn and calls Carlisle to spill the beans - for a price. She confronts Carillo, Frawley and Jones to tell them that the rich uncle is phoney. She assumes Jones is in on the gag. Carillo pulls out his old artillery and goes after the band. About this time big crowds start showing up at the Blue Room and Carillo starts begging for singers and band, but Carlisle won't talk to him. Then Schilling tells Carlisle that Jones had nothing to do with the scheme, and remorsefully she heads after the band.

Naturally, the band makes it back to the hotel in time for a big final number and a final embrace between Jones and Carlisle. The banker is smiling, the band is smiling, Carillo is smiling, everyone is smiling - as is always the case.

This is another in a long list of short musicals, with a pleasant but predictable plot sandwiched in between musical numbers. Light stuff, but enjoyable.

Carlisle was best known in later years on the TV panel show To Tell The Truth, where she was a regular for about 22 years.




Allan Jones (link here)


Carlisle