Radio City Revels

Radio City Revels is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Bob Burns, Jack Oakie and Ann Miller.

Plot

An aspiring writer arrives in New York and composes musical masterpieces in his sleep. A struggling songwriting team appropriates his work, publishing major hits under their own names.

Cast

Bob Burns as Lester Robin
Jack Oakie as Harry Miller
Kenny Baker as Kenny Baker
Ann Miller as Billie Shaw
Victor Moore as Paul Plummer
Milton Berle as Teddy Jordan
Helen Broderick as Gertie Shaw
Jane Froman as Jane Froman
Buster West as Squenchy
Melissa Mason as Lisa
Richard Lane as Crane
Marilyn Vernon as Delia Robin
Charles Coleman as The Butler
Don Wilson as Don Wilson - Radio Station Announcer
Hal Kemp and His Orchestra as Themselves
William Brisbane as Mr. Ipswich
Rosalind Marquis as Singer
Kirby Grant as Singer
Bobby Barber as Waiter

Production

Although set in New York City, specifically at Radio City, much of the film was shot at RKO's California studios. The company had originally planned to make the film in 1934 with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In 1937 the project was revived and scheduled as a Wheeler and Woolsey musical comedy, to follow the team's film High Flyers, but Woolsey's terminal illness forced him off the screen when High Flyers was completed. The sets for Radio City Revels had been built and the film had already been announced, so RKO quickly recast the project and made the film.

Reception

According to RKO records, the film posted a loss of $300,000. It got a mixed reception from critics at Variety and The New York Times, who praised the work of rising star Ann Miller but were negative about other aspects of the film.