''Radio City Revels'' is a 1938 American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...

directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Bob Burns,

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (194 ...

and

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Van Nest Polglase Van Nest Polglase (August 25, 1898 – December 20, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Best remembered as head of the design department at RKO Pictures, he worked ...

. Although set in New York City, specifically at Radio City, much of the film was shot in RKO's

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

studios. The company had originally planned to make the film in 1934 starring

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

. In 1937 the project was revived with a new cast.

Plot

A struggling song-writing team strike gold when an aspiring writer arrives in New York as he composes masterpieces in his sleep. They begin to appropriate his work under their own name, scoring major hits.

Cast

* Bob Burns as Lester Robin *

as Harry Miller * Kenny Baker as Kenny Baker *

as Billie Shaw *

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

as Paul Plummer *

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

as Teddy Jordan * Helen Broderick as Gertie Shaw * Jane Froman as Jane Froman * Buster West as Squenchy * Melissa Mason as Lisa * Richard Lane as Crane * Marilyn Vernon as Delia Robin * Charles Coleman as The Butler * Don Wilson as Don Wilson - Radio Station Announcer * Hal Kemp and His Orchestra as Themselves * William Brisbane as Mr. Ipswich *

Rosalind Marquis Rosalind Marquis (September 11, 1915 – June 12, 2006) was an American actress. Early life and career She was born Rosalind Saindon on 11 September 1915 in Chicago. She was the sixth of eight children of Leopold Saindon, an usher of modes ...

as Singer * Kirby Grant as Singer * Bobby Barber as Waiter

Reception

According to RKO records, the film made a loss of $300,000. It got a mixed reception from critics at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' who were negative about aspects of the film while praising the performance of rising star Ann Miller.Shellley p.22

References

Bibliography

* Shelley, Peter. ''Ann Miller: Her Life and Career''. McFarland, 2020.

External links

''Radio City Revels''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

* 1938 films RKO Pictures films 1938 romantic comedy films 1938 musical comedy films American romantic musical films American musical comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s romantic musical films Films directed by Benjamin Stoloff Films set in New York City 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{romantic-musical-film-stub