jacobs-greenwood George Archainbaud directed this B Musical, produced by Hal Roach, which features an Oscar nominated Score from Edward Ward and the Academy Award nominated Song "Pennies for Peppino", with lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright; Louis S. Kaye and M. Coates Webster wrote the screenplay. The story (between the songs) that holds it together is pretty lame:A debutante, played by Marjorie Woodworth, travels by clipper plane to the Caribbean with several of her comely girlfriends (Claudia Drake, Jane Kean, Jayne Hazard, and Dorothy O'Kelly aka Kelly) to find a Latin lover she'd written to that had sent her an autograph picture. Her father funded the trip because she'd convinced him that it would be strictly an education excursion; he sent a chaperon (Norma Varden) along, and hired an elderly guide to make sure. But the first person the girls meet is Harry Bernard (George Givot), a younger man with an annoying giggle who's on the run from the law (Edward Gargan) and poses as the older guide (Byron Foulger, uncredited), who'd been too afraid to fly in any case. Meanwhile, the plane's pilot (William Marshall) woos the debutante while the lawman's efforts are hindered by a half-pint shyster (Jerry Bergen).Thankfully, the comedy's running time is barely 45 minutes.

Ray Faiola Hal Roach's musical streamliners were given plenty of production (FIESTA was even filmed in Technicolor) but were often sorely lacking in the scenario department. There's usually a comedy team of sorts - in this case it's big Ed Gargan and diminutive Jerry Bergen. Marjorie Woodworth is invariably the ingenue in these 5-reelers. I guess Roach must have seen SOMETHING in her. Oh well. The protagonist is George Givot, a longtime vaudevillian who specialized in Greek dialect. Here is plays it straight with the exception of a detour as a blackface mammy with composer Edward Ward matching his dialect on the soundtrack. Little Billy Roy apparently made a hit as a native boy in ALOMA OF THE SOUTH SEAS and he repeats the role singing the Oscar-nominated "Pennies For Peppino". This picture was directed by RKO's early turgedian George Archainbaud and all I can say is, where was Gordon Douglas when we needed him! Very few of the gags work and, in one of the strangest affronts to comedy, hilarious dialectician Benny Rubin - playing a French maitre d - had his voice looped! It's nice to see Norma Varden in an early role and there are plenty of familiar dress extras, including the ubiquitous Ellinor Vanderveer. I'm giving this a rating of 5 because it's only 5 reels. If it had been a longer picture I would have been much more severe in my critique. But it's 47 minutes of amiable entertainment. No harm done.

Neil Doyle When I noticed that EDWARD WARD was responsible for the musical score, I had an additional reason for wanting to view FLYING WITH MUSIC, which I understood was a low-budget musical from the Hal Roach studios--without any well-known stars. Another factor was the Oscar-nominated song: "Pennies for Peppino." (Ward wrote the background scores for films like Universal's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA ('43) and THE CLIMAX ('44)).Well, I was disappointed on both counts. The score is not that impressive and the song was unworthy of an Oscar nomination in a year when "White Christmas" and "Love Is A Song" (from BAMBI) were the front-runners.Despite obvious drawbacks, FLYING WITH MUSIC is a better than average programmer that is like a time capsule of the '40s-era pop music scene with a Latin beat. The only charmer among the songs is the "Pennies for Peppino" number, nicely rendered by a bunch of native kids.Other than that, the weak plot is a real hindrance. GEORGE GIVOT is a man on the lam who poses as a tour guide in Florida. He takes a group of young women on an island tour which leaves time for a few nightclub songs and some badly executed comedy routines. MARJORIE WOODWORTH is just passable in the leading femme role but is certainly photogenic.NORMA VARDEN has a brief role as the chaperone for the girls and there's a very inept performance from handsome WILLIAM MARSHALL which shows why he never made it into star territory.It's one of those harmless trifles that's entirely forgettable with Ward's music only occasionally making some noteworthy sounds. "Song of the Lagoon" at least gets a production number with a Caribbean touch and a pleasing, languid melody.But the whole film is strictly small-time stuff and not diverting enough to call for any special attention. GEORGE GIVOT overdoes the mugging routines in the central role and EDWARD GARGAN does his standard schtick as a tax collector.Summing up: A more ambitious than usual production from a Povery Row studio like Hal Roach.

Bob Tinsley Okay, so it isn't Oscar material. Okay, so all the leads are completely unknown to today's audiences. Okay, so the plot is silly and laughable. But when you see the extent that was gone to, to put together this musical, with all the sets and the songs, you have to appreciate this really precious little minor musical. It's really a shame that movie makers don't have the impetus to concoct entertainment of this type any more. Commnents such as 'but it was an innocent time' don't deserve credence. It's all around us, the stuff that exists to put together something of this caliber. The girls are beautiful, the sets are interesting and colorful and the songs are a lot of fun. The musical is so reminiscent of it's era that is literally a time capsule of this nation in the grips of World War II and how it was being coped with. It's well worth the time spent viewing and should be converted to DVD to send the message.