The Hit Parade
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Gus Meins
Frances Langford
Phil Regan
Max Terhune
Edward Brophy
Louise Henry
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Agent Pete Garland convinces advertiser Mulrooney and radio station owner J. B. Hawley to accept popular singer Monica Barrett's new contract, even though it is for double her previous salary. When Pete brings Monica the good news, however, he discovers that she is replacing him as her adviser with society lawyer Teddy Leeds, who also has the inside track on Monica's affections. That night, at a party Pete hosts for Monica, she makes it explicit that she is throwing him over for Teddy, whom she considers her social equal. The disappointed Pete then resolves to find another singer whom he will raise from obscurity to stardom. Pete begins his search with his friend, cowboy ventriloquiest Rusty Callahan, and after many fruitless stops, they go to a beer hall, where they hear Eadie White and Ruth Allison sing. Pete immediately knows that Ruth is the singer for whom he has searched, and signs her to a contract, despite some initial confusion when the girls think Pete is the parole officer who is pursuing Ruth. Pete drives Ruth hard in rehearsal, but it pays off when she is hired for a variety of jobs. Ruth is worried, however, that she will be found by the parole officer who has been searching for her since she was released from Joliet prison. Ruth had been incarncerated on a trumped-up charge and later, after being released, she jumped parole when the police demanded that she lead them to her accomplices. Ruth keeps her prison record secret from Pete, who is still mooning over Monica and does not realize that Ruth is falling for him. Meanwhile, Monica is steadily losing popularity due to her swelled head and refusal to sing anything but opera, and when she walks out on Mulrooney's show in a fit of pique, Ruth gets her big break. Pete arranges for Ruth to sing on Mulrooney's show and she is a hit, which prompts Mulrooney to hire her and fire Monica. The jealous Monica retaliates by telling the press about Ruth's past. Ruth disappears, and in a desparate effort to find her, Pete goes on the air with testimonials to praise her. Other big radio personalities pitch in, and soon Hawley's desk is overflowing with telegrams of support for Ruth. Mulrooney is treated like a hero for giving Ruth a break, and when she finally returns to the station and joins Pete on the stage, the parole officer finds her and gives her a pardon from the governor, who has received confessions from the real culprits. Rusty and Eadie happily embrace, while Pete and Ruth share a kiss to celebrate.
Director
Gus Meins
Cast
Frances Langford
Phil Regan
Max Terhune
Edward Brophy
Louise Henry
Pert Kelton
Pierre Watkin
J. Farrell Macdonald
Monroe Owsley
Inez Courtney
William Demarest
George Givot
Sammy White
The Gentle Maniacs
Tic Toc Girls
Carl Hoff And The Hit Parade Orchestra
Duke Ellington And His Band
Ivie Anderson
Eddie Duchin And His Orchestra
Molasses And January
Pick And Pat
Al Pearce And His Gang
The Voice Of Experience
Ed Thorgersen
Oscar And Elmer
Ranny Weeks
Edith Dick
Johnny Arthur
Stanley Fields
Kathleen Howard
Rita La Roy
Roy Smeck
William Newell
Harvey Clark
Otto Fries
Emmett Vogan
Eddie Kane
Grace Hayle
Princess Luana
Galante And Leonarda
Wedgewood Nowell
Maxine Frances
Jerry Fletcher
Harry Anderson
William Jeffrey
Dagmar Oakland
Harry Tracy
Harry Strang
Kit Guard
Kay Des Lys
Harry C. Johnson
Phil La Toska
Marie Astaire
Kathryn Sheldon
J. Delos Jewkes
James Farley
Francis Sayles
Jack Daley
Jac George
Alphonse Martel
Jack Egan
Wynn Davis
Ray Taylor
Johnnie David
June Gittelson
Carleton Young
Crew
Colbert Clark
Alberto Colombo
Alberto Colombo
John T. Coyle
Duke Ellington
Eloise
Cliff Friend
Harry Grey
Lou Handman
Walter Hirsch
Terry Kellum
Nat Levine
Matty Malneck
Ernest Miller
Ernest Nims
Lester Orlebeck
Samuel Ornitz
Bradford Ropes
Bradford Ropes
Harry Ruskin
John Ducasse Schulze
Murray Seldeen
George Sherman
Sam H. Stept
Ned Washington
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was We're On the Air. The picture was later re-edited and released under the title I'll Pick a Star, which is the version that was viewed. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, the production was budgeted at $500,000, which made it the most expensive Republic film until that time. Hollywood Reporter news items noted that Ralph Staub supervised the filming of Eddie Duchin, Ed Thorgerson and some of the other radio acts that was done at the Biograph Studio in New York in late January 1937. Although contemporary news items indicate that Andre Kostelanetz, Peggy Bernier and Ben Grauer were to be in the cast, their participation in the completed film has not been confirmed. Some contemporary sources call George Givot's character "Herman," but in the film he is referred to as "Nick." This was the last Republic film produced by Nat Levine, who had been with the studio since its inception in 1935. Republic took the film's title from the popular radio show Your Hit Parade, which ran from 1935 to 1959. A television version of the program, also titled Your Hit Parade, ran from 1950 through 1959, with a one-season revival in 1974. Republic made four other films with the "Hit Parade" format: The Hit Parade of 1941, The Hit Parade of 1943, The Hit Parade of 1947 and The Hit Parade of 1951.
