- After their annual free concert at Chicago's Dearborn Settlement, Benny Goodman and his band are packing up to move on to their next engagement at a military camp, when a kid, Tony Birch, steals Goodman's clarinet. Goodman and Popsie pursue him to a tenement flat where he has led them to hear his brother, Johnny Birch, play the trombone. Goodman offers him a job, over Popsie's protest, with the band. Aboard the train, Johnny accidentally enters the compartment of the band's singer, Pat Sterling, and gets his face slapped. At the military camp, which turns out to be a boy's military academy (which accounts for juvenile players such as Dickie Moore and Harry McKin running around with such titles as General and Major), Goodman finds a real audience in the jive-mad, jitterbug kids. Masquerading as a sweet, 16-year-old girl friend of one of the cadets who is, in reality, her nephew, Trudy Wilson meets her old friend Goodman who introduces her to Johnny, whose music she admired. However, Johnny brushes her off, thinking she is just a kid. Months later, while practicing for their opening at the exclusive Leopard Room in NYC, Johnny runs into Trudy, and is furious that she has followed him to New York. Pat tells Johnny that Trudy is the débutante daughter of Norman Wilson, who runs the symphony association. Johnny decides she is out of his league but they fall for each other when he invites her to a jam session. At a swank party at Trudy's house, where Goodman plays the Mozart Quintet, one of the snobbish guests makes a remark when Johnny's brother Tony, sister Helen and his mother suddenly appear. A brawl ensues and Johnny, feeling he has disgraced himself in front of Trudy, flings his resignation at Goodman and stalks out. Pat's manager gets her to break with Goodman, sets up Johnny as a name band, and hires the Goodman band to join.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
- The time frame of this movie is during WWII and begins with Benny Goodman and his band playing at various military posts. Benny's clarinet is stolen and when he and Popsy (Jack Oakie) chase it down they discover the thief's brother Johnny Birch who is a Trombone player. Goodman is impressed with Johnny's skills and offers him a job with the band. Popsy objects, but when Johnny joins the band Popsy becomes his mentor and gives him a ring which he calls the shiner. It has a large stone and trombone players wear them on their right hand so that when the slide goes out it flashes to the audience. Enter Trudy Wilson, played by Linda Darnell, and a romance begins. At first Johnny thinks Trudy is too young, and then he thinks she is out of his league, but they soon become an item. Now the scene changes to an after hours joint where some of the musicians and Goodman are jamming. Johnny picks up his horn to join in, but Goodman waves him off and says, "Later kid!" Johnny storms out and then starts his own band. Johnny bad mouths Benny and Popsy demands his shiner back. We now see Johnny and his band in a ballroom playing to packed audiences of dancers, but as time goes by the crowd gets thinner and thinner and finally Johnny is unemployed. Popsy looks him up and convinces him to swallow his pride and ask Benny to accept him back. In the final scenes we see and hear the band on stage playing and then from the wings here comes Johnny walking on stage playing his trombone and you can see the shiner sparkling, Benny smiles and we have a happy ending.
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