TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS has no Busby Berkeley production numbers, indeed, has no dancing at all, and replaces stalwart Ruby Keeler with Ginger Rogers, but mostly it's a typical second string musical from a studio that put out a million of them in the thirties. So far as plot is concerned, Pat O'Brien is the actual star, playing the sort of fast- talking hustler, this one a talent scout, that showed up in countless Warners' pictures of the decade. Besides O'Brien, Lee Tracy made a career out of them, and Jimmy Cagney in his lighter moments was another of the brotherhood. This time it's O'Brien pushing a new singing sensation towards a radio career. Dick Powell is the very passive object of his machinations, and other than having some unusually nice songs to sing (the big hit, I'll String Along With You, is beaten to death in the movie), this is the kind of role that left him deeply dissatisfied and led to his surprising turn to tough guy Noir parts later in his career.House composers Warren and Dubin came up with a very nice score, and it is the picture's strong point. What there is of humor in TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS is mostly provided by Allen Jenkins and Ginger Rogers, and one wishes that their roles had been considerably extended. A very nice duet (or was it a quintet?) between Powell and the Mills Brothers of a song sung rousingly by Rogers a few scenes earlier was another highlight. The plot contrivances, however, are anything but rousing and pull the movie down to the mediocre level.One thing I didn't understand: Dick Powell wows everyone with a rendition of 'The Man On The Flying Trapeze' while working as a singing waiter, but when he performs the same number as a radio audition it's seen as embarrassingly awful by everyone who hears it. What happened?

What a fun film, and what an education about the entertainment field, taking us back to the early '30s and the importance of radio.Pat O'Brien has one of his wheeler-dealer roles as Russell Blake, an agent who's not delivering the great talent he's promised his boss but keeps getting pay advances nonetheless. Finally he's fired. However, at a restaurant, he hears a singing waiter, Buddy Clayton (Dick Powell) do a goofy "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" and brings him to the attention of the radio station. Reluctantly, his boss (Joseph Cawthorne) gives Buddy an audition - and is immediately sorry. Admittedly it's hard to hear Buddy's real voice singing the Flying Trapeze song.Eventually, however, everyone hears Buddy sing and a radio show sponsor wants him. The current singer, Peggy Cornell (Ginger Rogers) clicks with Buddy, which makes for complications.The score by Dubin and Warren is very good, as well as other songs, and there are performances by the Mills Brothers, bandleader Ted Fio Rito, Ginger Rogers, and The Radio Rogues.The versatile Dick Powell had a beautiful tenor voice, showcased here, and Rogers is delightful. They made a cute couple. Besides his in front of the camera talent, Powell was a very astute businessman and had a keen eye for talent himself. During his career, he acted, produced, directed, and was responsible for giving Aaron Spelling and Sam Peckinpah their starts. Rogers of course would go on to do her films with Astaire.Fun film, some good music, loved the cast.

This is an interesting film to watch with the closed captions turned on because the film features a lot of impersonations of famous radio stars at the very beginning--and very, very, very few viewers will be able to identify who the imitations are supposed to be! But, the person who did the captioning listed who the impersonation was of--making it a lot easier for viewers. While I recognized impersonations of Kate Smith and Amos 'n Andy, most of the rest were complete ciphers--thanks to captioning I could place them.The plot involves a fast-talking agent (Part O'Brien) who is down and out and desperately looking for a star who will help him back on his feet. When he happens upon a singing waiter (Dick Powell), he thinks this guy might just be his salvation. Although Ginger Rogers has top billing along with O'Brien, she doesn't appear until about 15 minutes into the film. She plays a radio singer that Powell is smitten with and their first meeting makes little sense. She's singing on the radio yet she walks all around the recording booth--and is nowhere near the microphone as she sings! But, being a Hollywood film, they are soon head over heels.As far as Powell's big break goes, O'Brien is actually able to finagle him a chance. However, O'Brien insisted that Powell sing a terrible old tune ("Man on the Flying Trapeze") and the opportunity is lost. Naturally, you know that despite this, eventually Powell will be recognized and everyone will have a "happily ever after". But, when this does occur, O'Brien nearly blows it again--as he is, apparently, a total idiot! When Powell does make it big, he's the idol of women across the country. However, the sponsor is now worried that if Powell marries his sweetie (Rogers) that women will be turned off! So, it's up to O'Brien to try to stop the marriage--and he does it in the most devious and nasty way possible.Aside from the main plot, I really enjoyed the Mills Brothers and was happy they performed three times (including a nice number with Powell)--and I enjoyed their singing far more than the sappier tunes sung solo by Powell. Also, Allen Jenkins is entertaining as the host of a horribly saccharine kid's radio show--and as a result, he absolutely hates children! Overall, a pleasant little film but one where there simply is too much singing. Back in the 30s, a lot of Dick Powell and the rest went a long way. Today, it just seems to be too much--as it clearly gets in the way of the plot. A pleasant but not particularly great film.

Twenty Million Sweethearts is out of that era of wonderful musical entertainment that Warner Brothers did the very best of in the Thirties. It's a musical about radio during that quarter of a century when it was the most popular entertainment medium. Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers play a pair of young hopefuls eager to break into radio and Pat O'Brien is Powell's discoverer/manager whose machinations get Powell in the door and almost out of the industry before he's started.O'Brien played this part so often in those years he could have phoned in the performance, but it's what you expect of him. He finds Powell as a singing waiter doing a boffo version of The Man On The Flying Trapeze, a very popular song in 1934 with it getting a prominent place in It Happened One Night. Pat may be a little too sharp for his own good, but he does know talent and he brings him to radio station owner Grant Mitchell and sponsor Joseph Cawthorn. They've got a girl singer in Ginger Rogers already, but Ginger and Dick hit it off. But there are complications and they make up the rest of this film.Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote most of the original score for this film and the best song in the film is one of my personal favorite Dick Powell number, I'll String Along With You. It's sung both solo and as a duet with Rogers. Powell recorded it and Fair and Warmer for Brunswick records and it enjoyed a good sale during the Depression. It was recycled for Doris Day for her film My Dream Is Your's where it's done as a lullaby to her small son. But when you hear Powell do it, you will hear him at his best as a singer. Interestingly enough Doris's film is also about the radio industry. Powell also does a nice scat version with the Mills Brothers of Out For No Good which is also done by Rogers as a solo.Twenty Million Sweethearts was done by Ginger on loan out from RKO where she had just signed a long term contract. She had just done Flying Down To Rio, her first with Fred Astaire. Previously she had worked with Powell though not opposite him in 42nd Street and Golddiggers of 1933. Jack Warner thought they'd make a good team together and they did make some beautiful music and beautiful box office. But she made even bigger box office with Flying Down To Rio over at RKO with Astaire and RKO wasn't about to give her up. So the screen team of Powell and Rogers never made another film.Take note of the performance of Allen Jenkins as the grouchy host of a kid's radio program, he's got some very nice lines. When you hear talk of a Hooper rating, back in the day that referred to the barometer of popularity, like the Nielsen is for today's television. I liked hearing the Radio Rogues, only hearing them mind you, at the beginning of the movie where you hear them do their imitations of the current radio stars. They had appeared in Bing Crosby's We're Not Dressing earlier in the year at Paramount and now that they were not in his film, his imitation is added to their repertoire. Twenty Million Sweethearts is charming and entertaining with a nice cast going through their usual paces on screen. It may not be the best film ever made about radio, but until the day that one comes along, I'll string along with Twenty Million Sweethearts.