Step Lively

A fast-talking producer (George Murphy) tries every angle to get a writer’s (Frank Sinatra) show made.

Step Lively marked star Frank Sinatra’s second credited Hollywood role, after Higher and Higher. This time around, he’s actually got a decent supporting role that has an effect on the story, but unfortunately, once again the filmmakers seem determined to hand the film over to less capable individuals, in this case George Murphy.

Despite Sinatra’s top billing, this is really Murphy’s movie as the entire story revolves around him and there are only a few moments when he’s not on screen; which makes you wonder why Sinatra’s even around at all. He’s cast as a bumpkin songwriter, not the central character, and the film itself is more screwball comedy than musical, which doesn’t play to his strengths.

Granted, some of the musical numbers are passable, but that and what little there is of Sinatra are the only redeeming qualities of this unfunny, overlong mess.

It’s not until you realize Step Lively is actually a remake of the Marx Brothers film Room Service that it becomes clear that the filmmakers shoehorned Sinatra into a role rather than building a vehicle around his talents. Studio RKO likely had no idea they were sitting on a gold mine and sold his contract to MGM after this film, where he made the wildly successful Anchors Aweigh just one year later.