Truly Dreadful Film

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Sentimental film goers will find a gem in Swing High, Swing Low, a romantic 1930s drama starring Fred MacMurray and Carole Lombard. She's a singer, and he's a trumpet player, and together they make beautiful music. I'm just kidding; it's not that corny. But you're going to have to be in the mood for something like this, like right after you watch Sentimental Journey or Random Harvest. I like Carole infinitely better in dramas than screwball comedies, so if you prefer her quick banter, you might not like this one. I happen to really like Fred MacMurray, and paired with Carole, they make a pretty cute couple. Fred has to contend with his inner demons, as well as a couple of unwanted suitors for Carole, but even with all those problems, he's easily endears the audience.Be on the lookout for a very young Anthony Quinn. He's only twenty-two years old, on the screen for about three minutes, and doesn't speak a word of English! All in all, while I might not buy a copy of this movie, I am glad I rented it since it's always fun to see a sweet, black-and-white romance.

There's a lot of seriousness amidst the comedy of the Broadway classic "Burlesque", and in its three movie versions, the plot was altered for various changes in structure. "Swing High, Swing Low" is a semi-musical with Fred MacMurray as a trumpet player who marries the pretty Carole Lombard but drifts apart from her as his career soars. Along the way, he meets Latin spitfire Dorothy Lamour who has no hesitation in going out of her own way to seduce MacMurray, leading to the conclusion Lombard believes to have MacMurray cheating on her with Lamour. She moves on to a potentially more loyal partner, but he's more than determined to get her back.The film starts off amusingly with Lombard and pal Jean Dixon (not the famous psychic of the later day 1900's) working as beauty experts on a cruise ship and getting into trouble when they get distracted while working on someone's hair. What is distracting them? Crossing the Panama Canal, and MacMurray's wisecracks towards Lombard as he tries to get the perky Lombard to go out with him. Of course, she eventually agrees (sort of having no choice being dismissed from her job) and they end up working in a shady nightclub run by Cecil Cunningham. MacMurray leads the band with his trumpet and she sings, but he gets a big opportunity to go to the Big Apple and that's where the scheming Lamour takes advantage.A great cast helps this sometimes slow-moving and somewhat overlong comedy up to being better than it would have been with less talented performers. In addition to Lombard, MacMurray, Dixon and Lamour, there's the always funny Ben Blue, a very young Anthony Quinn and an amusing Franklin Pangborn as the beauty shop boss on the steamship. In some ways, this reminded me a lot of "Young Man With a Horn", particularly one dramatic scene where MacMurray is desperately trying to pawn his trumpet to get some money. A lavish look provided by the excellent director Mitchell Leisen adds to giving the film some style. Unfortunately, it's missing the spark to be consistently enjoyable, lacking substance and much needed more music.

I've always liked Fred MacMurray, and—although her career was tragically cut short—I think Carole Lombard is fun to watch. Pair these two major and attractive stars together, add top supporting players like Jean Dixon, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Lamour and Charles Butterworth, give them a romantic script, team them with noted director Mitchell Leisen and you get…a mediocre movie experience.Skid Johnson (Fred) and Maggie (Carole) "meet cute" during her visit to the Panama Canal, and spend the next few weeks falling in love. Skid's a great trumpeter, so he embarks on a musical career, which is predictably meteoric in both its rise and fall. During his climb to musical stardom, he neglects Maggie, who later inspires him to start over after he's hit rock bottom. Ah, yes…it's the true Hollywood happy ending, which comes none too soon.Stars and a director of this caliber should guarantee success, but this movie is so predictable and slow-paced that it's difficult to watch at times. The early scenes set in Panama are so draggy that they seem to go on forever, and later an alcoholic Skid just wanders endlessly in New York. Fred and Carole try their best, but the tired script and S-L-O-W direction just don't give them a chance. Even the final scene, in which Maggie encourages Skid to rise from the ashes of alcohol and disappointment, just doesn't ring true.This movie should be seen once to watch some early performances from stars MacMurray and Lombard. However, I guarantee that watching it will seem to take about 48 hours.

... so what's in those missing 10 minutes that were so horrible they had to cut them out from the original film? We were three years into the film production code... Barbara Stanwyck had starred in the original play, but here, Carole Lombard plays Maggie King. Co star Fred MacMurray is probably best known for "Double Indemnity", with Stanwyck, as well as his hit TV show "My Three Sons". Keep an eye out for a young Dorothy Lamour (Bob Hope movies) and the too-fabulous Franklin Pangborn, who spiced up just about every film put on tape. Of course, he works in the beauty salon on the ship! Add the sublime Charles Butterworth and Anthony Quinn. Good timing and clever banter at the beginning. Maggie's buddy Ella is played by Jean Dixon, who was the best friend in "Holiday" and "My Man Godfrey". In "Swing High", Maggie the tourist meets a soldier who is leaving the army. Maggie misses her boat when it leaves port and gets tangled up with the soldier. The dashing 20-something Quinn has a small scene at the local bar in Panama where Johnson (MacMurray) has been playing the trumpet. Maggie, Harry (Butterworth), and Skid band together and try to figure out how to get back to the States. Some good singing by Lamour. Good (but brief) acting performance by Cecil Cunningham as "Murph", the wise, helpful owner of the local saloon in Panama. While others have lamented at how bad it is, it wasn't so awful, and is even a little exotic, with the fake Central America locale setting for the first half of the film.