Words & Music (1931)
*** (out of 4)
Ruth Etting has pretty much been forgotten today but those who do know her probably remember the Doris Day portrayal of her in LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. This film features Etting playing a singer named Ruth Eton (how clever) who is growing tired of there not being any good songs out there to sing. About this time her dirty partner cons a new kid into giving him his song for "rewrites" but of course he ends up taking credit for it. A few months later the kid takes his sister to the movies where he sees Eton in a short doing his number. This short isn't going to make people forget the classics from this era but those who spend the 20-minutes to watch it are going to really be entertained. Etting comes off pretty well here and the two numbers (Still I'm Falling in Love, Now That You're Gone) are both entertaining. What really makes this short stand out is its story. It starts off pretty bland as Etting just complains about the poor songs out there but then things pick up when the movie goes away from her and looks at the naive kid who wants to get into the business but doesn't know what he's doing. This includes giving his song to the con man and we get a rather good bit about copyrights and so forth. I found the scenes with the kid to be the most entertaining and they alone make this short worth watching. Fans of the Bowery Boys series will get a kick out of seeing an uncredited Bernard Gorcey playing a waiter. Those only familiar with the series will enjoy seeing him so young and with a full head of hair.
