Every Night at Eight (1935) DVD-R

Starring George Raft, Alice Faye, Frances Langford, Patsy Kelly, Henry
Taylor
Directed by Raoul Walsh

Print: black/white
Runtime: 80 min.
Genre: musical
Print Quality: B

Alice Faye, Frances Langford, and Patsy Kelly play three humble factory
workers (with a Hollywoodized wardrobe beyond the budget of any
genuine factory girl) who occasionally sing together for the fun of it. They
harbor dreams of becoming famous, but the prospect isn't likely until
bandleader George Raft hears the girls harmonizing. He promotes the
girls into top radio stars, while each of the girls entertains romantic
thoughts about Raft. Since Alice Faye was top-billed, it is she who wins
Raft at the end. The likable but unimportant Every Night at Eight sparked a
minor controversy in the rarefied world of 1960s film criticism. 'Auteur'
theorist Andrew Sarris pointed out a brief scene in which star George
Raft awakens from a nightmare, cited other such scenes in the work of
director Raoul Walsh, and used this 'evidence' to support his theory that
Walsh was a true auteur who left his 'signature' on each of his films.
Anti-auterist Pauline Kael spoke for many when she advised Sarris to go
fly a kite.