Anyone who likes movies with young discoveries will really enjoy The Star Maker, a movie about a man who attained fame and fortune by discovering children's talents. Bing Crosby takes the lead in this loose biopic of Gus Edwards, the songwriter who wrote "In My Merry Oldsmobile", "By the Light of the Silvery Moon", "School Days" and many others. Bing teams up with Ned Sparks and children all over the country show off their talents. He presents the kids on Broadway, then it starts all over again. There's very little conflict in this movie, but there are tons of songs! Newcomer opera singer Linda Ware enjoys a lot of screen time, but it's a little awkward when she and Bing talk to each other. They give each other such moony eyes, it seems like they might have been romantically involved. Then, when she calls him "uncle" and nothing's going on between them, it just feels weird.
After the sixth song, the movie gets a little long in the tooth, but those of you who like Baby June or other kid shows probably won't think so. I liked the production number "An Apple for the Teacher" which was cute and had different words than I was used to hearing on my Bing Crosby CD, but the plot really could have used a little kick. Plus, every time Ned opened his mouth and tried to be funny, I just rolled my eyes. I'm not really a fan of his deadpan monotone.
