Warner Bros. 'B' picture starring Ronald Reagan in his first film as a radio reporter who gets in trouble going after corrupt city officials. So he's demoted to hosting a kids' show. The radio station boss hopes it will make him quit, as they can't fire him due to his contract. Will it work? Doubt it.Reagan is fine, likable and charming. My only complaint was the constant yelling of his lines, but that was undoubtedly because of Warner Bros. Most of the lead actors in their 'B' films at the time did this, and even some in their 'A' films. The title makes no sense really. It implies the film is a romantic comedy and it's not. This is a watchable way to pass an hour. Remake of Paul Muni's "Hi, Nellie."

... "Hi, Nellie!". Warners did this a lot, sometimes not even waiting five years to recycle a script. In this case they only waited three years, but even if you've seen the precode "Nellie", this one is worth seeing for all of the energy and charm Reagan brings to the role in this very short B film. Andy McCaine (Ronald Reagan) is a crime reporter for a local radio station who gets a promise from the head of a citizens' group, creamery owner George Copelin, that he'll get the low down on who at city hall is in league with the rackets the next night. Now, Andy seems like a bright guy, so he's got to know that it isn't the smartest thing in the world to broadcast - literally - that you'll be outing the corrupt powers that be the following night plus tell everyone who the source of the information is. I mean, criminals have radios too.As expected, the creamery owner disappears permanently before Andy can get the details, and since the mob has the creamery's auditor on the hook for a big gambling debt, they get him to cook the books to make it look like Copelin stole the creamery's money and disappeared because of the theft. Andy gets on the air and broadcasts what he thinks really happened to Copelin and who he thinks is responsible, although he has no proof. The mob has strings in high places including Andy's station's sponsor, and Andy gets pulled from his crime beat to hosting the station's kiddie show. How will all of this work out? Watch and find out.This one has some interesting twists on the original script - for one thing Reagan cheerily makes lemonade out of the lemons he is handed with the kiddie show assignment, unlike Paul Muni's character in "Hi, Nellie" who drank heavily to handle his demotion. An interesting parallel - Robert Barrat plays a big role in both films. Other than Barrat and Reagan there are no Warner stars or contract players of note that show up here, so it is impressive how Reagan pulls this thing off pretty much single-handed. Recommended as one of the better Warner B films of the 30's.

Love is on the Air (1937) ** (out of 4) The title has nothing to do with this "B" picture from Warner, which features Ronald Reagan in his debut. Reagan plays a hot shot radio broadcaster who decides to use the airways to bring down racketeers but this gets him into trouble with his boss and puts his life on the line by the bad guys. This 61-minute film goes by pretty fast but in the end it's pretty light on story, action and acting. Reagan is decent in his first film, although at times it seems like he's trying to do an impersonation of James Cagney. The supporting cast is mostly forgettable and there's really nothing that stands out here among the various other "B" films of its type.

When I saw the movie was entitled "Love is in the Air", I naturally assumed this was a romance, but there is really very little of that. Instead, it's much more of a suspense film with a touch of comedy and a tiny smidgen of romance! Ronald Reagan plays a hot-shot radio announcer--much like Walter Winchell. His specialty is talking about politics and exposing crime, but when the local mob sees he's poking his nose around a bit too close for comfort, they do what they can to de-rail his career. He is demoted to doing sappy children's programs and longs to return to his former job. Later, when Reagan gets a lead on the whereabouts of two people who might have been liquidated by the mob, he sets a pretty clever trap--leading to a dandy as well as violent little conclusion.While this is a very slight film and there isn't a lot to make it stand out from the crowd, LOVE IS IN THE AIR was a very good start for Reagan. This was his first film and he came off pretty well and less wooden than he did in a few of his later films. He was good as a fast-talking yet likable radio star--not much of a departure, as he had been a radio announcer before being discovered by Hollywood. Plus, as a "time passer", it's pretty watchable and interesting--especially considering it was pretty much a B-film with very low expectations from Warner Brothers Studio.