Before And After

TCM was showing films with big bands, so I got a change to see the low-budget 1941 film Las Vegas Nights. No great shakes, but there were a few interesting things.

First, it's a rare film featuring Bert Wheeler without partner Robert Woolsey. Wheeler & Woolsey are all but forgotten today. They're nowhere near as good as Laurel & Hardy or the Marx Brothers. In fact, I'm not even sure if they compare to the Ritz Brothers. But I still find them fascinating. Like the Marx boys, they started in films at the dawn of the talkies. They churned out features throughout most of the 30s, but Woolsey died in 1938, and Wheeler (the more "charming," less obviously funny member) made a few more films before his career went over the cliff.

Las Vegas Nights, however, is best remembered for one thing--the first cinematic appearance of Frank Sinatra. Tommy Dorsey's band is heavily featured, and we get to see young Frank sing lead on the #1 hit "I'll Never Smile Again." But the musical highlight comes late in the film, when Dorsey shows off his band, and we get a lengthy drum solo from Buddy Rich.