April Showers

The Two Tymes, Joe ( Jack Carson) and June (Ann Sothern), need to change up their dogeared vaudeville act -- fast! Cue their son Buster (Robert Ellis), a cocky hoofer who bolts from boarding school and joins his parents, propelling the trio into the big time. But success brings stress and, on the cusp of Broadway glory, the Gerry Society shuts the Three Tymes down for exploiting their underage offspring, sending Joe into an alcoholic tailspin that breaks up the act and pushes mother and son into partnership with a calculating rival (Robert Alda). From a story by ex-vaudevillian/showbiz chronicler Joe Laurie, Jr. and featuring a fun guest spot for the voice of Mel Blanc, April Showers is a downpour of pleasures, a brisk, unabashedly hokey cavalcade of songs mixed with tugs at the heart. Its jukebox of old favorites ("On Moonlight Bay," "Pretty Baby," "Carolina in the Morning") and new tunes ("The World's Most Beautiful Girl," "Little Trouper"), lushly orchestrated by Ray Heindorf to exuberant LeRoy Prinz dances, weaves a May-flowers bouquet of charm and sentiment.

• drama
• musical