A Mad, Merry, Musical Delight!
The "Caliban-Ariel" romance of fiftysomething John Barrymore and teenager Elaine Barrie is spoofed in this delightful 20th Century Fox musical. Adolphe Menjou plays the Barrymore counterpart, a loose-living movie star with a penchant for wine, women, and more wine. Alice Faye plays a nightclub singer hungry for publicity. Her agent (Gregory Ratoff) arranges a "romance" between Faye and Menjou. Eventually Faye winds up with Michael Whalen, allowing Menjou to continue his blissful, bibulous bachelorhood. Sing, Baby, Sing represented the feature-film debut of the Ritz Brothers, who are in top form in their specialty numbers--and who are awarded a final curtain call after the "The End" title, just so the audience won't forget them (The same device was used to introduce British actor George Sanders in Fox's Lancer Spy [37]).
Director: Sidney Lanfield
Writers: Milton Sperling, Harry Tugend, Jack Yellen
Not available on streaming in your region.
There’s a scene in this where the successful Thespian “Farraday” (Adolphe Menjou) serenades an hot water bottle full of medical rum that shows this actor’s ability to amiably turn his hand to most things, but otherwise this is a thin story of his boozy womaniser and his misunders…
