Music in the Air (1934)

Perhaps this won't be a movie looked back on by Oscar Hammerstein II as one of his finest works - "I told every star, just how sweet you are" - but it does give us a clue as to what we are about to get in this really pretty ordinary romantic comedy. Gloria Swanson ("Frieda") and John Boles ("Bruno)" are a squabbling pair of opera perfumers who cannot live with nor without each other: constantly bickering whilst enthusing about themselves at the same time. They are amidst their latest bout of histrionics in the office of their agent - "Dr. Weber" (Reginald Owen) - when Al Shean ("Dr. Lessing") arrives with his new song; his butter-wouldn't-melt "Sieglinde" (June Lang) and the hunky village school-master "Karl" (Douglass Montgomery). Swanson takes a shine to the innocent young man, Boles to the young girl and soon everyone is involved in the antics as poor old "Weber" tries to get his operetta written and completed in just 4 weeks! You might notice at the start, as the herrenfolk set off from their village to reach the big city, just how gentle and affirming the settings are. Virtually the whole town turns out - all dressed in white, with lederhosen and hats, marching ensemble like a troop of scouts, guitars and drums in hand and smiles on their faces. A far cry from the marching styles they would be using just a few years later... Anyway, there are no political undertones to the story - it's penned by Billy Wilder from Jerome Kern's simple play, that allows the four stars to show off their considerable singing talents and the comedy is quickly paced, at times really quite effective. Though the story is not really much more than some tramlines to get Swanson and Boles heading in the same direction, it's quite an enjoyable watch.