Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Copyright 1 September 1937 by Grand National Films, Inc. New York opening at the Globe: 20 September 1937. U.S. release: 19 November 1937 (sic). No record of any Australian theatrical release. Correct running time is 93 minutes, not 84 minutes or even 90 minutes as some reference books have it.1947 Screencraft Pictures re-issue title: BATTLING HOOFER.SYNOPSIS: New York bandleader takes a Hollywood screen test.NOTES: Bakaleinkoff and Schertzinger were nominated for Best Score, losing to "One Hundred Men and a Girl."COMMENT: A light but entertaining Hollywood satire, "Something To Sing About" has a reputation as an inferior Cagney vehicle that is almost wholly untrue. It's often alleged for example that the sets are strictly Poverty Row, but in point of fact production values are not only extremely lavish with lots of extras milling about, but the sets themselves are both vast yet artistically pleasing and even imaginative. Schertzinger's direction is reasonably stylish and manages to get plenty of pace and mileage out of a fairly simple and straightforward story that uses the same paltry telephone device as an earlier 1937 release "Swing High, Swing Low" — but on this occasion to more entertaining effect.Aside from the lightweight script, the only technical problem in the print under review is at some stages, particularly Miss Daw's numbers, muffled sound recording. Otherwise this Grand National effort is as glossy and polished as any major studio production. A grand support cast too including Gene Lockhart as the sneaky, thoroughly untrustworthy studio chief whose word is just so much window- dressing (a jibe at Jack L. Warner whom Cagney was then suing for breach of a verbal agreement which Warner denied ever having made despite the testimony to the contrary of several witnesses), William Frawley as the typical publicity flack, Philip Ahn in a nice part in which he is given the opportunity to use his distinctive voice to great advantage, Richard Tucker as the dapper, quietly spoken, gentlemanly director (William Keighley?), and Eddie Kane as the theater manager who rescues Cagney from his too-adoring fans.Heroine Evelyn Daw gives a good account of herself too, both musically and dramatically, and more than holds her own in the looks department with Mona Barrie, but this seems to be her only film.Although Cagney doesn't do any singing in this one, it's good to see him don dancing shoes for two or three numbers. True, the songs themselves are pleasantly unmemorable, but Cagney dancing — now that's a joy forever.

Some movies try to do too much. This is a good example. The first hour has Cagney doing a wonderful satire on his own career in Hollywood. This works fine and if they had expanded this part of the film by adding one or two more dance numbers for Cagney, it would have been a comedy classic. Unfortunately, the movie was also trying to make a star out of newcomer Evelyn Daw. So the last half hour has a plot where Cagney is married to Daw, but being a new star, has to hide the fact from the public. The story of a movie studio trying to make a natural born actor into a Hollywood actor is funny, a story about a movie studio fooling the public about the marital status of a star is not so funny. This silly second plot seems tacked on and tacky.Daw was strikingly beautiful and had a lovely operatic voice. She certainly could have been a movie star with the right material, but this wasn't the right material. Her voice was simply inappropriate for the swing numbers she had to sing in the film. Unfortunately, the fact that this, her first film, and it flopped financially, ruined her career. She only made a single film after this.The film certainly has a lot of fun moments. The three gay assistants who try to re-mold tough guy Cagney into a Hollywood star are hilarious. The fake stage fight that turns into a real fight also is memorable. Cagney is as natural and delightful as ever. The three dance numbers he does are too short, but they show off his unique dance style well.For Cagney fans it is a must. For others, I think it will be a pleasant diversion.

On paper - it was made by Grand National, a Poverty Row outfit, the female lead made only two movies before calling it a day - this doesn't have too much going for it, unless you throw in Jimmy Cagney as leading man and hyphenate Victor Schertzinger as director/composer. It was made in 1937 which makes it roughly contemporaneous with both Stand-In and A Star Is Born, two other films that took swipes at Hollywood. Cagney is reasonably effective as a band-leader in the East who is tapped by Hollywood and goes to the coast to make a movie. Evelyn Daw, who made only one other picture the following year, is the singer with the band albeit not too convincing as she was an opera singer rather than a band vocalist. Nevertheless Cagney marries her and then finds out that a clause in his contract prevents him from marrying. YEAH, that old chestnut. It is, on the whole, reasonably entertaining and Schertzinger's score is pleasant if not exactly the stuff that Standards are made of.

James Cagney got tired of film studios wanting him to make gangster films and typecasting him, so he went to Grand National Pictures and made this film with a Independent film maker. In this picture Caqney plays the role as Terry Rooney a band leader who has a great show in Manhattan with a great singer, Rita Wyatt, (Evelyn Daw) and there is plenty of comedy and great dancing routines throughout the show. Terry is very well liked as well as his singer Rita. Hollywood becomes interested in Terry and Bennett Regan, (Gene Lockhart) is a Hollywood director who wants to give Terry a contact to make a picture. Terry finds it hard to break into the Hollywood scheme of things and gets down in the dumps about his performances. Little does Terry realize that the producers and directors all like Terry and feel he is doing a great job, but Bennett Regan does not want to tell him that in order to keep him from getting a big head on his shoulders. Great Cagney film with outstanding dance routines.