Garden of the Moon

What distinguishes "Garden of the Moon" more than anything else is its nonstop script. Like the changeable weather in Hawaii, if you don't like one scene, wait a few seconds and something entirely different will come along. This is a romantic big-band musical that wants to be a Marx Brothers movie. The pace is hectic throughout.

The title refers to a posh nightclub in Hollywood that is run by John Quinn (Pat O'Brien), one of the most unlikeable characters in films. He treats everyone with contempt and likes nothing more than to take advantage of everybody he deals with. His publicity agent/booker is Toni Blake (Margaret Lindsay), a swell kid and a go-getter. On short notice, she books an unknown band--Don Vincente and His Orchestra. She falls for Don and, thereafter, has a conflict of interest.

The musical numbers are boisterous and campy. The songs come from Harry Warren, Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer. Some of them are clever and fun.

The cast is a real collection of talent and they chew the scenery just the way the director, Busby Berkeley, asked them to. Jerry Colonna, for one, may over do it with his googly eyes and double-talk.

I can't say this is a good film, but Berkeley certainly fills every frame with content.