Eleanor Powell stars as a talented girl who expresses her love for a dashing boy (James Stewart) through spirited song and dance, keeping one eye on her sweetheart and the other on her would-be rival (Virginia Bruce). This classic Hollywood musical is notable for introducing two Cole Porter songs that later became standards: “Easy to Love” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” which earned an Oscar nod for Best Song.
A former journalist, Roy Del Ruth entered films in 1915 as a screenwriter and gagman for Mack Sennett. Turning to directing two years later, he made two-reel comedies with such top comedians as Billy Bevan and Harry Langdon. He began directing features in the mid-‘20s, but found his niche with Warner Bros. in the early 1930s. Del Ruth was one of the directors who turned out the kind of gritty, tightly made urban and crime dramas for which Warners became famous. He left the studio and went to MGM, where he specialized in the kind of splashy, lavish musicals that made MGM’s reputation. Del Ruth was the stereotypical studio director—with the resources and backing of a major studio he was at the top of his form and capable of turning out solid, enjoyable, technically excellent films, but once he left the environment of a major studio and struck out on his own, his fortunes waned. After leaving MGM he made a few musicals and weak comedies (he was also responsible for what is generally considered… read more
