"Hooray for Love" is a potboiler comedy romance and musical revue typical of so many that all the Hollywood studios made in the 1930s. After sound entered moving pictures at the end of the 1920s, these musical revue type of films began to supplant the live performances that people were used to from vaudeville. But, a studio couldn't just string together a bunch of numbers and routines on film; although to audiences within a few decades looking back, it appeared that many of these old films were little more than that. So, they wrote stories in which to place all those numbers. And, most of these turned out to be little more than strings to tie together the musical numbers and comedy sketches.
The absolute rubber stamp of all these films is their setting in New York City. It had to be there because that's where Broadway is located. Broadway isn't just a street. It's the name of the general theater area of New York where live plays are staged, and that the street traverses. And, Broadway had been the birthplace and headquarters of theater shows since its first theater opened after the Dutch bought Long Island from the natives in 1626.
With so many movies showing the glitz and glimmer of the Big Apple, the draw of the big city to many small town kids was strong. The vast majority of those who left home for the lights and glamour of New York never made it in show biz, obviously. Some stayed and settted down after finding real work. Others went back home. And some struck out, seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Of course, Hollywood wouldn't have sold many tickets to movies that showed disappointment. Struggling and hard times, yes, until the breaks came. But then, the hero and or heroine would get the break and make it big with a hit on Broadway. A frequent variation on this theme would be the traveling theater shows that would take trains across the country to put on shows. In short order, these types of musical films - the revue formats, set on and off Broadway, became like the dime novels of literature of the time. The better talents appeared in musicals with more story substance and/or quality music and dance; and they were set in numerous locales from nightclubs in exotic cities to every imaginable setting.
Now, back to this 1935 musical revue and comedy romance. It's the standard hair-thin plot with just a slight variation, set on Broadway but without any standout musical talent, or any memorable numbers. Bill Robinson, a song and dance man of the period does some nice tap dancing and singing, but his numbers are forgettable, and the scenes are far too long and unimpressive. Legendary jazz piano player Fats Waller is wasted with some mundane key work. The music is sparse and not of star quality. Indeed, the film has just a few numbers stretched out and repeated a couple times.
One wants to give Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern better marks. They are very likable here. But the story just drags on and quickly becomes boring. Even the best of the humor, provided mostly by a middle-aged (53) Thurston Hall, wears thin after a while. This movie just doesn't have much.
For a comparison of films of the musical revue type, look at another RKO picture that also starred Gene Raymond. Two years earlier, the studio made "Flying Down to Rio." It was loaded with talent and great musical productions, and it had a good plot.
