Sweet And Low Down (1944)

When a young trombonist (James Cardwell) is given the opportunity to play with the Benny Goodman orchestra, it isn't long before his growing ego threatens to sabotage his career. Directed by Archie Mayo (THE PETRIFIED FOREST). In the 1930s and 40s, band leaders were the rock stars of their day. To cash in on their popularity, it was inevitable that Hollywood would put them into the movies so names like Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Harry James and Paul Whiteman to name a few were put in movies even though they weren't actors. The movies were either built around them or they had featured cameos. This was Benny Goodman's (he gets top billing) turn. The plot here is hackneyed and a 10 year old could have put the script together. It's the musical sequences that stand out and on those terms, the film could be called successful. The trite narrative is just filler until the next musical number. Still, it was sad to see the lovely Linda Darnell totally wasted as the "girl". Did she piss off someone at Fox and this was her punishment? The song I'm Making Believe was nominated for the best song Oscar. With Lynn Bari, Jack Oakie and Allyn Joslyn.