A musical comedy with R. Armstrong, Irene Hervey as the dance-hall hostess and Paula Stone as her friend, a tribute to the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, assuredly directed; the script itself is very good. This highly unusual comedy is soothing and endearing, recommended for a Saturday evening, and restores the trust. It was unexpectedly good, as were Irene Hervey, who deserved a better career (and when the vengeful guy promises to launch her, he seems to mean the actress, not only the hostess), and R. Armstrong as a craggy comedian.We are treated with a lot from 'The Mikado', perhaps not the team's best operetta, but dreamlike.This lovable, graceful farce, heartfelt and also heartrending in the great scene of the Hathaways' return on stage, is an author movie, by A. Stone, who gave it a kind vibe, a nice feel, and this vibe makes it outstanding. It is a sex comedy, about people from the dance-halls and café basements, till the leading character understands what his revenge and thought of impoverishing the dance-hall hostess turned into, the movie opens on this masterly festive feel. The whole cast deserves kudos.R. Armstrong reminded me again of Brando's appearance, beginning with his closely fit, tight suits …. Here, R. Armstrong does a striking performance in the scenes following his discovery that his company gave up their regular jobs; as an actor, he didn't have Brando's range, but who had it, a comparison would be unfair, but their styles of humor were kindred, and the older player, one of the busy leading men of that age, had a craggy, intriguing, peculiar acting style, his trademark sternness and gloom.

It's tempting to go overboard in superlatives when a little gem like this comes along and to gloss over some of the film's shortcomings, like the basic implausibility of the plot, the long time spent setting the stage before the film gets going, the modest production values and somewhat too-dark photography in some prints (but NOT in the superb DVD from Alpha which presents the movie in its original tint under the title, "With Words and Music"), the too verbose dialogue, the hackneyed devices of plot (ugly duckling transformed, the show a success) and direction (endless reaction shots of Armstrong looking worried backstage) and Armstrong as a somewhat charmless romantic lead – although admittedly offset by the utterly entrancing Irene Hervey who comes across like gang busters in both her impersonations. But having said all that, let's turn the coin over and aver that the film is an unmitigated delight, full of joyful G&S numbers, entrancingly sung and staged, with Irene Hervey looking even more radiant after her transformation and acting with considerable color before. Stone has directed with amazing zip and other production credits are first-rate. The plot is a Runyonesque variation on "The Producers" and frankly I loved every corny and implausible minute of it.

If you like a simple movie that leaves you happy, this is the film for you.I first saw this movie more than forty years ago. I only saw it once, but I've never forgotten it, or the wonderful part-performance of The Mikado that featured in it. I've been searching for its name for ages.Thanks to the IMDb community, I finally learned the name of this gem and found a copy on the film archive. I just watched it last night again. It is a simple story, but it isn't over-sentimental and leaves the viewer feeling great. I enjoyed it as much last night as I did when younger.The story is about Jimmy, who earns a living with his business partners by gambling and acting as selling agent in racehorses. No woman would ever get the better of him. He was too smart and tough.One night, as he returns home with his business partners, he sees a poster of a beautiful dance hall girl outside a dance hall. He goes in to meet the girl with a plan of spending no more than $10 (it is the 1930's remember) but is film-flammed for all of his money. The dance hall specialises in separating men from their money and this girl is their star film-flammer.Jimmy sets out to wreak revenge on the girl by pretending to be a talent scout and that he sees a new Broadway star in the girl. He convinces her that he will make her a star and that she will debut in a musical.Add to that a troupe of Gilbert and Sullivan performers whose stars have waned, eking out a sad existence by running a diner. They are sad people who dream of a comeback one day. Then Jimmy tells them that he wants them for a new show and suddenly the troupe comes to life. The actors who play these troupe-players makes the movie. They are brilliant and their performance of the music is spot on.Will Jimmy wreak his revenge, or will he repent? Will the show go on or fold after one performance? Watch it and see.

What a strange film! Some quite witty dialogue between Armstrong and the very pretty Irene Hervey, who plays the 10 cents a dance hostess. I found the "Swingland" scenes fascinating. And plenty for the G and S fan by way of set pieces. Robert Armstrong is quite convincing as the ripped-off punter intent on retrieving his cash from the girl who's relieved him of his money. It's hard to see who this film is aimed at. Fans of stock crime or romance films would be (possibly) annoyed at the amount of G and S, while operetta fans may not like the rather silly, contrived plot. I'm not sure if the phrase "genre busting" had been coined at that time (I suspect not!) but I feel this film falls into this category. All in all, this film kept me watching. A must for any G and S completist!