My Sunny Oaklyn

It was once again sunny, windy, and in the lower 50s when I awoke this morning. I leisurely finished Look For the Silver Lining, had breakfast, and sent my brother's Easter card out in the mail, then headed to the laundromat to finally get this week's load done. It was fairly big and took a while. This wasn't helped by it being busy. There were tons of people around, getting their laundry done during their lunch hours and before the holiday rush. I just barely got a washer. I had an easier time with the drier, but by the time I left, most of them were full.

When I got in, I put my laundry away, then worked on Lemon-Chocolate Chip Bread while running another musical biography, Three Little Words. Despite featuring fewer classic numbers than the other films, this may be my favorite of the bunch. Fred Astaire and Red Skelton play songwriters and screenwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, whose main claim to fame were some successful tunes written for musicals in the 20s and a few early talkies, including "Who's Sorry Now?," "I Wanna Be Loved By You," "All Alone Monday," "Hooray for Captain Spaulding," and "I Love You So Much." Vera Ellen and Arlene Dahl are the ladies in their lives; Keenan Wynn is their agent. They also had totally different personalities and drove each other up the wall...but unlike Rogers and Hart, they usually came back to each other in the end, with and without their significant others' help.

That's pretty much all there is to the plot...but that's all there needs to be. I don't know enough about the real Kalmar and Ruby to be able to tell  you what's fact and what's fiction here. I do know this is one of MGM's most refreshingly modest musicals. The emphasis here is on comedy - two girls, three guys, and lots of fun vignettes. The only "guest stars" are Gloria DelHaven (playing her mother, Mrs. Carter DelHaven, and performing "Who's Sorry Now?") and Debbie Reynolds (singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You" with the voice of the song's originator, Betty Boop inspiration Helen Kane).

Fred Astaire called this his favorite of his films, and I can understand why. He gets to show what else he can do besides dance, including some great comic bits (like him and Skelton with the animals in the magic act). Skelton has fun on the baseball diamond. Vera Ellen joins Astaire for two big dance numbers, "Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer at Home" and the opening "Where Did You Get That Girl?" Arlene Dahl isn't seen as often, though she does get the sole big chorus number, "I Love You So Much." A must-see for fans of the four stars or MGM musicals, a lot of fun for casual viewers who run into it on TCM or on DVD.

I worked on making lists of things in my life I want to simplify and organize for a while before heading to work. Once again, clouds suddenly rolled in and it started raining on my way there, heavier than last night. It still didn't last long; the clouds were already moving out as I was heading into work. Work was on-and-off busy all night. I helped put candy away between customers.