Certainly, records were not new in 1937, but many artists weren't making them, preventing audiences who didn't have access to seeing them live from hearing them sing. When mobster Leo Carrillo takes over a record company, he demands that new artists be signed, his employees scurry to find top talents. This leads to performances by Cab Calloway and his orchestra, Ted Lewis and his band, and the fantastic Kay Thompson and her ensemble, all able to be seen by Carrillo in his office on a devise which resembles early television. Phil Regan is a temper-prone singer fired by the previous full owner, and secretary Ann Dvorak utilizes Carillo to help him get his job back. When Regan is ordered to sign Italian opera singer Tamara Geva to a recording contract, his romance with Dvorak is threatened as misunderstandings add up. One misunderstanding is pretty shocking considering this was after the Hays code refused to allow any type of gay reference in a film. After meeting Geva, Regan tells his pal James Gleason he had hinted to him to kiss Gevas's hand, then proceeds to kiss Gleason's hand. Two young ladies spot the kiss, make limp-wristed hand gestures and laugh before departing. How this got past the Hays code (made after some outrageous gay references in "Palmy Days" and "Wonder Bar", among others) is pretty surprising.Gene Autry and Joe DiMaggio (singing!) make brief appearances as themselves, and while the plot may sometimes be tedious, it is made up by the number of musical acts in the film. Of course, there's a few acts that Carillo must watch that remind me of Ned Sparks' line in "Gold Diggers of 1933" where he says, "Let's get out of here before the acrobats and midgets arrive!". "Have You Ever Been to Heaven?" stands out amongst the songs, with Cab Calloway swingin' "Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm" right into your ears with delightful results.

I just saw Manhattan Merry Go Round and thought it was a pretty good film. I am writing this because I did not like some of a previous viewer's extremely negative comments. It may not have been the best musical, but some of the songs were nice and the storyline interesting. I thought Leo Carrillo was humorous as the head gangster, who was "a man of few words". Phil Regan and Kay Thompson were good and so were the rest. I was even surprised to see Joe Di Maggio in his role. Ann Dvorak did very well as "Jerry's love interest" and I thought Tamara Geva was good as Madame Charlie. I had not seen her before, and thought she was similar to Tallulah Bankhead with some of her gestures. James Gleason and Moroni Olsen were good, too. In short, there are many WORSE films out there today, which is why I usually watch older ones, not of my time.

I can enjoy a truly brainless musical if it has some snappy songs and an interesting cast. "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" is a brainless movie with a few dull songs, and guest appearances by celebrities who (mostly) don't show up long enough to do anything interesting. Some great character actors are in this film (James Gleason, Luis Alberni, Moroni Olsen): they've given wonderful performances in other movies, but in "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" they merely go through the motions.Here's the plot: some deeze-dem-doze gangsters take over a record company (WHY?), and they strong-arm several celebrities into making recordings. The head gangster is played by Leo Carrillo, who usually played funny crooks. In this movie, he isn't funny. The gangsters manage to round up some interesting "guest stars" to perform for their record company, including Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, Gene Autry and cowboy comedian Max Terhune. All these lads are solid show-biz professionals, but in "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" none of them do anything interesting. Cab Calloway was usually a dynamic performer, but in this movie he's almost comatose.The one and only interesting scene in this movie occurs when the gangsters kidnap Joe DiMaggio, of all people. They prop him in front of a microphone, and force him at gunpoint to sing "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" (An interesting choice of song for the future husband of Marilyn Monroe.) DiMaggio wasn't much of an actor, and this movie proves he's no singer. Joltin' Joe croaks his way slowly and painfully through his big number. It's fascinating to watch and listen to Joe DiMaggio's performance ... but fascinating only in the way that a train wreck is fascinating.Some musicals are so inept, they become enjoyable on an "Ed Wood" so-bad-it's-good level. "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" is just awful. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Nowhere near this film, I hope. I'm rating this movie one point out of 10 ... it would be batting .000 without DiMaggio's weird performance.