Hotel a la Swing

Starring: Eddie Foy Jr., The Mullen Sisters, Marcia Wayne
Directed by: Roy Mack
Rating: Approved
Genre: Comedy, Short, Musical
Length: 22 minutes
1937

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The Upsy Daisy theatre troupe takes over management of a hotel.

Review:

Tim: I have to say I wasn't a big fan of Hotel a la Swing. I get the idea behind it- it's a chance to show off the Upsy Daisy theatre group by a series of loosely connected scenes. It involves them running a fancy hotel (that's struggling financially) with their trademark brand of musical antics (I suppose). It felt overly long, even at only 22 minutes. I just wasn't all that engaged with the short.

Some of the scenes felt clever, but many of them didn't. The uneven quality of this film definitely hurts it. There were too many scenes that just fell flat, that weren't all that interesting. It also hurts that the film offers us no compelling reason to care about the characters. They might be saving the hotel, but who cares? The whole plot is just a patchwork effort to create opportunities for the performers to perform. If you were truly trying to understand the Upsy Daisy troupe, I could see why this movie would feel worthwhile. For everyone else, it kind of leaves you unsatisfied.

Now, the song "Holiday in Hades" was impressive. It didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the movie and was a little dark for 1937, but it was an impressive musical number. That's really the standout of the short film.

Hotel a la Swing isn't a very compelling short. It's not a terrible film, but besides a few bright spots, is mostly forgettable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hotel Swing