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There's Magic in Music
a.k.a: The Hard Boiled Canary
Paramount Pictures
Released: June 8, 1941
Runtime: 80 minutes
This film is about the Interlochen music camp that was founded in Michigan. You get to see some incredible child musicians like a 14 year old Finnish conductor. Allan doesn’t get to sing much, as the film was made more to showcase the talent at Interlochen. Joining the cast is Susanna Foster, his co-star in “The Great Victor Herbert.”
The movie starts with the camp orchestra led by Heimo Haitto. They perform Wagner’s “Rienzi” along with the opening credits. Michael Maddy is the son of the founder of the Interlochen music camp, a place where young performers receive intensive musical training during a summer course [it is still running today, there is a homepage on the web]. His father is ill, so he takes charge. He hears that there is a talented operatic singer, Toodles LaVerne, who performs at a burlesque theatre. So, he and his associates go see her perform “Shadow Song” (from the opera “Dinorah”), and plan to recruit her with a scholarship. The theatre is raided by the police but they manage to get her away in their car. Michael auditions her on the piano, and she sings, “Voices of Spring.” She is tries to run away and is hard to convince. After some thought, she joins, but it’s not too long before her past threatens the camp…
When they arrive, the camp’s marching band and other students greet her with a big performance of “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Michael, Toodles, and everyone, joins to sing in the march. Some of the students Toodles meets are Heimo Haitto, a Finnish refugee conductor/violinist/composer, Patricia Travers, a snooty violinist, Kaye Connor, a pianist, and Diane Lynn, a singer and violinist. Sylvia Worth is the new efficiency expert who Michael takes interest in. When Toodles meets with her roommates (Diane, Patricia, and Kaye), she is not about to follow all the rules, for she only plans to stay a while. She is actually on parole for reform school, so she plans to stay while she can get out of it. But, this soon changes after Michael gives her a spanking and teaches her to reform. During Toodles’ first practice session with her roommates, (they perform Rubinstein’s “Romance in E-flat”) she is overwhelmed by their proficiency and her lack of musical training. She can’t read the music, so Diane sings it for her with perfection, leaving Toodles in awe. She grows frustrated and thinks none of the kids like her. One night, the students have a dance and sing along to “Fireflies on Parade.” Michael tells Toodles to go onstage to see if she can win the kids over. She does some impersonations of famous singers, like Judy Canova and Marlene Dietrich. Everybody loves her, and Toodles finds her place in the hearts of the camp.
The next day, Toodles and her new friends join around a campfire and sing, “Animal Fair.” Michael talks to Sylvia and they drift off together in a sailboat. Next, Heimo does an amazing performance of “Hungarian Dance No. 5.” Some judges from New York will be coming to the camp for an audition and Heimo will be conducting the orchestra for the grand concerto. Toodles’ friends have secretly been training/teaching her for the past few weeks, and they are sure that she can sing in the performance. Michael and everybody else think she can’t because she hasn’t learned enough, but on that day, Diane pretends she is sick so Toodles can sing. She and Michael sing with the orchestra to Grieg’s “Concerto in A Minor.” She receives raving reviews from the judges and is officially the camp’s opera diva. However, not all is well; a friend of hers from the burlesque theatre just got out of jail and is printing an article about both of them in a new show. Toodles tells her to cancel it immediately, for she doesn’t want to hurt the camp’s image.
However, Toodles’ friend couldn’t cancel the article. Soon enough, parents are taking their kids out of the camp and the camp looses support; with no funding, it may not be able to go on the next year. Toodles leaves in tears, so she won’t hurt the camp any further. But, there is an upcoming benefit performance that is very important to the camp. So, Michael and the kids race down to where she is staying and take her to the theatre. The end performance is a wonderful combination of the operas “Faust” and “Carmen.” Michael plays Faust and Toodles is Marguerite. The two casts sing major arias from each opera to each other with new lyrics simultaneously. Toodles sings her famous high G above high C notes, and again wins over the audience. With the success of the show, Toodles proves herself, and the camp is saved.
Credits
Director …Andrew L. Stone
Producer…Andrew L. Stone
Writers…Robert Lively, Andrew L. Stone
Cinematography…Theodora Spark
Film Editing…James Smith
Art Direction…Hans Dreier, A. Earl Hedrick
Musical Director…Phil Boutelje
Music Advisor (opera scene)…Edwin Lester
Cast
Allan Jones…Michael Maddy
Susanna Foster…Toodles LaVerne
Margaret Lindsay…Sylvia Worth
Lynne Overman…George Thomas
Grace Bradley…Madie Duvalie
William Collier Sr. …Dr. Joseph E. Maddy
Heimo Haitto…himself
William Chapman…himself
Kaye Connor…herself
Diana Lynn…herself
Patricia Travers…herself
Richard Bonelli…himself
Richard Hageman…himself
Irra Petina…herself
Tandy MacKenzie…herself
Fay Helm…Miss Wilson
Esther Dale…Miss Clark
Deems Taylor…himself
Soundtrack
• “Fireflies on Parade”
o Sung by Interlochen children, performed by band
o Words and Music by Ann Ronell
• “Carmen” opera scene and selections
o Performed by stage extras
o Written by Georges Bizet
• “Faust” opera scene and selections
o Sung by Allan Jones (as Faust), Susanna Foster (as Marguerite), and William Chapman (baritone), and chorus
o Written by Charles Gounod
• “Hungarian Dance No. 5”
o Performed by Heimo Haitto
o Written by Johannes Brahms
• “Shadow song” (from opera “Dinorah”)
o Sung by Susanna Foster
o Giacomo Meyerbeer
• “Concerto in A Minor”
o Sung by Allan Jones, Susanna Foster, Performed by Interlochen orchestra
o Written by Edvard Grieg
• “Voices of Spring”
o Sung by Susanna Foster
o Written by Johann Straus
• “Rienzi”
o Performed by Interlochen orchestra during opening credits
o Written by Richard Wagner
• “Tannhauser” (possibly played for short amount of time)
o Performed by Interlochen orchestra
o Written by Richard Wagner
• “Stars and Stripes Forever”
o Sung by Allan Jones, Susanna Foster and Interlochen children
o Written by John Phillip Sousa
• “Romance in E Flat”
o Sung by Diana Lynn, Performed by Patricia Travers, Kaye Connor, and Interlochen girls
o Written by Anton Rubinstein