Musical comedy film short about a scatter-brained Hollywood director named Mr. Nitvitch (Fritz Feld) trying to make a film called "The Texas Tornado". But he can't pronounce "tornado", and it comes out the Texas "tomato". The dialogue milks this for all it's worth. The film's overall tone is lighthearted, with a touch of romance.Acting trends melodramatic, probably deliberately so. A highlight is the sequence at the "Superb Studio Cafe", where waitresses burst into song and dance, and then-current real-life actors make cameo appearances, with snippets about their careers, meant to be promos. Actors include: George Brent, Marie Wilson, Pat O'Brian, Humphrey Bogart, and John Garfield.A couple of melodic songs helps a lot: "Drifting On The Rio Grande" and "The Toast Of The Texas Frontier".Kinda silly and corny, the film nevertheless presents viewers with a time capsule of how movie making was viewed in the 1930s.

Academy-award nominated Short Subject. It's about director Nivitch (Fritz Feld) trying to shoot a Western but having nothing but trouble. He needs a girl with a Southern accent...and finds one working as a waitress in the studio restaurant. You can write the rest yourself.This sounds pretty terrible but it's amusing. It's shot in Technicolor and has some pretty good songs and dances--the dances especially are designed to take advantage of the color. The acting is just OK--Kathryn Kane and Jerry Colonna are the leads. There are also some cameos from Warner Brothers stars in the restaurant. Among them, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien--all in color and smiling for the cameras!Nothing great but fun. Worth seeing.

I happened to spot this short on the 'extras' list for the Bogart 'They Drive by Night' DVD release, so figured that it was worth buying just for that! It's obvious this Vitaphone short is a promo for many of WB's great actors of the period, but don't expect Bogart to do more than just sit at his table in the cafeteria. For anyone interested in behind the scenes camera and sound setups of the late 1930s though, this short will prove of great interest.Forget about the story which has been down a hundred times - beautiful girls come to Hollywood, and most end up serving behind a counter in a store, or much worse. Maybe our female lead here is the lucky one; where else could she meet all the great stars of the period? She is offered her chance which enables the all very capable cast to perform some comedy skits. That was the difference in the Golden Age; even second and third string actors could come up with good performances.To finish it off, it's all in lovely color. Although the short may not have been totally restored, it looks as though it probably came off a close to original negative. Here's hoping more shorts of this nature can be included on future big name movie releases.

The plot of Swingtime in the Movies is mildly amusing and of the appropriate length. The real highlight is seeing some of the great actors of that time in cameo appearances.The Humphrey Bogart bit is a must-see for all Bogey fans!