Let's Make Music

1941 film by Leslie Goodwins

January 17, 1941 (1941-01-17)

Running time

84 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Let's Make Music is a 1941 American musical film directed by Leslie Goodwins and starring Bob Crosby, Jean Rogers and Elisabeth Risdon. It was produced by RKO Pictures and written by Nathanael West. The film's songs include the classic "Big Noise from Winnetka".

Plot

Newton High music teacher Malvina Adams (Risdon) is asked to retire since attendance in her classes keeps dropping each year. Trying to prove she's still got it, Adams composes a school fight song which finds its way into the hands of bandleader Bob Crosby (playing himself) who turns it into an overnight hit. Though her niece Abby (Rogers) protests, Malvina travels to New York to perform her song with Bob's band, while her niece falls for the bandleader. The newness of the song fades quickly though, and Malvina tries to write one more hit song before finally giving up and returning to Newton.

Cast

Bob Crosby as himself
Jean Rogers as Abby Adams
Elisabeth Risdon as Malvina Adams
Joseph Buloff as Joe Bellah
Joyce Compton as Betty
Benny Bartlett as Tommy
Louis Jean Heydt as Mr. Stevens
Bill Goodwin as himself
Frank Orth as Mr. Botts
Grant Withers as Headwaiter
Willa Pearl Curtis as Carolyn
Walter Tetley as Eddie
Betty Rowland as Betty, Chorus Girl
Renee Godfrey as Helen, Chorus Girl
Jimmy Conlin as Jim, the Pianist
Jack Norton as Mr. Orton, a Drunk
Benny Rubin as Music Publisher
Gale Sherwood as High School Singer

Production notes

In April 1940 Nathanael West, then a contract writer at RKO Pictures, was asked to work on a script, tentatively named Malvina Swings It, which writer Charles Roberts failed to complete satisfactorily. After working on the screenplay for almost ten nonconsecutive weeks, West had turned it into Let's Make Music, which hoped to benefit from Bob Crosby's popularity. The rewriting was so significant West received solo screenwriting credit.^[1]

Reception

The reviewer from The New York Times commented that, "no doubt worse movies have been made," but was at a loss to name any. The Film Daily critic called it, "a picture for all situations, ages, and types, although it is conceivable that some inflexible devotees of classical music may be holdouts, and term it esthetically 'gross.' But it's plenty gross for the box offices."^[2]