Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) DVD-R

Starring John Carroll, Susan Hayward, Gail Patrick, Eve Arden, Melville Cooper, Walter Catlett
Directed by Albert S. Rogell

Print: black/white
Runtime: 90 min.
Genre: comedy
Print quality: B

 

One of the many films made at Republic with a year attached to the "Hit Parade" title, which came from the "Hit Parade" radio program sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes. On reissue all of the entries underwent a title change from "Hit Parade of 19??" to, usually, a title of a song contained in the film, as happened in the case of this film when it was reissued as "Change of Heart" in 1949, and not known under that title until 1949. Not reissuing the film under the original title of "Hit Parade of 1943" had a two-fold purpose; the audiences of that era were not much interested in seeing a film twice, and a changed title-even when the original title was clearly shown in (very) small print in the ads and on the posters---had a chance of being seen again by that segment of the ticket-buying public who didn't read the small print. The plot here is just a trifle---Susan Hayward ghost writes songs for composer John Carroll, whose charms evidently outweighed his song-writing ability---...