Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra (1940)
*** (out of 4)
Warner/Vitaphone short has Ozzie Nelson getting to show off his musical talents as well as his acting ones. The short runs just under 9-minutes and is pretty fast paced from start to finish. The "story" has Nelson trying out a few new musicians to put in his band and we get to see the final work. 'Loyal Sons of Rutgers', 'Begin the Beguine', 'Wave the Stick Blues' and 'Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet' are the numbers performed and all four are full of energy and will certainly have your feet a kickin'. Nelson comes off very energetic throughout the entire set and his band members are extremely good as well. The short has a quick scene where Nelson gets a chance to act and he isn't too bad and comes off as having a rather good comic timing. It's probably safe to say that the majority of people today have no idea who Nelson is but if you get a chance to catch this short on Turner Classic Movies it's certainly worth your time.