Star of stage and screen Ruth Etting, tired from belting out St. Louis Blues at the recording studio, goes t a small town and rents out a room on top of the ice cream parlor. Can she help the nerdy soda clerk get some respect from his peers by crooning a MELODY IN MAY?
The only reason to watch one of these two-reelers is to see the still pretty Etting sing some standards out of the American Song Book, drive an Auburn boat tail, and model some mid-30s dresses. This follows the formula nicely -- and avoids straining the viewer's sensibilities by following dramatic, teenage drama clichés, rather than two-reel comedy clichés. Etting sings St. Louis Blues in a darker, deeper voice than is typical for her, and sounds great, but not terribly distinctive. She also sings It Had To Be You in her more typical style, but it is clear she is modifying her sound away from her Beiderbecke-like lightness, to something more in keeping with the swing era.
Note, to those who stumble on this movie after LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. Etting does not look like Doris Day. She sounds NOTHING like Doris Day.