Moonlight And Pretzels (1933)
Director:
Karl Freund
Writers:
Monte Brice, Jay Gorney (screenplay)
Stars:
Leo Carrillo, Mary Brian, Roger Pryor
Vaudeville performer George Dwight (Roger Pryor) finds himself stranded in the small town of Walkerville, and talks his way into a job at a music store owned by Sally Upton (Mary Brian). Dwight's personality and piano playing, and his way with plugging a song help make the store a success, but his real goal is a shot at the big time as a songwriter, and he gets it when he sells one of his compositions. That sends him running to New York -- much to Mary's disappointment -- and he manages to wangle a job with a pair of Broadway producers. Over the next couple of years, working closely with leading lady Elsie Warren (Lillian Miles), George Dwight becomes one of the most successful songwriters on the Great White Way, and when he and Elsie tire of the manipulations of their bosses, they decide to break away so that George can produce his work himself. This gives him the chance to write in a more serious mode than he's ever had the opportunity to do before, something that Elsie isn't thrilled with -- George wants to do a show that's not only popular, but also important, with memorable music and an important message. Sally walks back into his life in the midst of the production, and now he wants to resume the romance that she'd hoped would blossom in Walkerville. But he's soon beset by problems when his former producers try to steal the production out from under him, and he's forced to go to a professional gambler, Nick Pappacroplis (Leo Carrillo) to rescue the show. And just when it looks like he's got his chance, along comes Nick's friend Sport Powell (Herbert Rawlinson), who has eyes for Sally and his own designs on the production.