Earl Carroll Sketchbook (1946)

Though Republic had decided to forego plans for an annual film edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities, their reciprocal deal with the Broadway impresario was still very much in effect in 1946: Hence the creation of the musical extravaganza Earl Carroll Sketchbook. The highly forgettable plot involves a serious composer named Tyler Brice (William Marshall) who "sells out" to write radio commercials. Artistically redeemed by heroine Pamela Thayer (Constance Moore), Brice decides to lend his talents-both as composer and singer-to producer Earl Carroll's newest nightclub revue (Richard Lane plays the Carroll character, here named Richard Starling). The Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn tunes are hardly classics, though "I've Never Forgotten" has possibilities. The film also revives Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler's "I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues", first introduced in the 1932 edition of Vanities. TV prints of Earl Carroll's Sketchbook have been retitled Hats Off to Rhythm ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi