Lets Sing Again

Lets Sing Again

Director Kurt Neumann began his career in the U.S. of A. making German versions of Hollywood films. Not a very glorious beginning, but he eventually came into his own and found the limelight with films like The Big Cage (1932) and Hold 'em Navy (1936). He spent a while in 1941 making short feature films with the famous Hal Roach but found his groove with low-budget science fiction films like Rocketship X-M (1950) and The Fly (1958). The latter became something of a cult movie and spawned a number of sequels, as well as the famous recent remake with Jeff Goldblum. An avid SF aficionado, Neumann was a recognized master in this genre; nevertheless he also turned out some notable feature films in other disciplines - Mohawk (1956) and Lets Sing Again (1936) are amongst them.

The story begins in Naples, Italy, in 1928. Billy Gordon is born into a troubled family - his father, Leon Alba (George Houston) has professional singing ambitions that cause him to ignore his pretty, unhappy wife Alice (Ann Doran) , who wants to return to America. She finally deserts Leon and sails back to her homeland.

We pick up the thread in 1936 in Mapleton, Connecticut, where young Billy Gordon (Bobby Breen) watches from behind the bars of Mapleton Orphanage as Carter's Traveling Theatre sweeps into town. The children are taken to the show. Billy is fascinated by the death-defying trapeze stunts with Jim 'Diablo' Wilkins (Grant Withers) and Marge Wilkins (Inez Courtney) , as well as with the other acts. However, it is acerbic but kind-hearted over-the-hill tenor singer Joseph Pasquale (Henry Armetta) who captures his attention and Billy decides to run away and join the circus. Though he doesn't remember him, it turns out that Billy has inherited his father's awesome singing voice. Pasquale takes him under his wing. The discontented Jim 'Diablo' Wilkins now has ambitions of having Billy in a new show.

Meanwhile, Billy's father, who is a renowned singing act now, is trying to trace his son through the Missing Persons Bureau. As Jim Wilkins plays dirty to try and get the talented boy for his own selfish purposes, a singular and fortuitous sequence of circumstances unfolds - Billy gets a chance to sing in a professional opera in New York. As he showcases his scintillating talent, he renders songs that have a special relevance to one of the distinguished participants. A heartwarming finale that is replete with all the appropriate emotions finally brings father and son together again!