Melody Cruise

In this RKO musical Charlie Ruggles was brought over from Paramount but he's playing his usual role of a cheating playboy who has written an indiscreet letter and wants it back before wife Marjorie Gateson sees it. She's in Europe and Charlie is on a delightful cruise to California through the Panama Canal with cuties June Brewster and Shirley Chambers.

Along for the ride is Ruggles's pal Phil Harris who finds some true love on the cruise with Helen Mack. Some forgettable songs are in Melody Cruise save for its main theme Isn't This A Night For Love repeated throughout and best used as an ice ballet when the ship docks in California and Phil and Helen are in Squaw Valley. I have to say Busby Berkeley could not have done better over at Warner Brothers given the bigger budgets he had than what RKO did here.

What's hard to believe here is that Phil Harris was ever that young for those of us who remember him as Jack Benny's brash bandleader and in only a few more years. Handles his end of the singing nicely.

One only wishes that RKO had borrowed Mary Boland as well as Ruggles from Paramount. Ruggles always did his best work with her though no complaints about Gateson.

Nice ending for Ruggles when he knows the jig is up.