No, No, Nanette (1940 film)

Plot summary

Personable Nanette helps her philandering millionaire uncle Jimmy out of several embarrassing situations with beautiful women he's promised careers to; and in the process, Nanette becomes romantically involved with both a musical comedy producer, and a young artist.

Cast

Production

Victor Mature was borrowed from Hal Roach.

Soundtrack

Box office

Although the film was popular its cost meant it made a small loss of $2,000.

Critical

Variety wrote:

Musical comedies rarely have much story. That’s all right. No one expects them to. Plot is compensated for in a hit tune show by good music. That’s an elementary show business lesson taught in a class that producer Herbert Wilcox must have skipped. In making a film version of the 1925 Broadway hit...Wilcox saves all the book but very little of the music. ‘Tea for Two’ and ‘I Want to Be Happy’, as well as the title tune, ‘No, No, Nanette’ have been reduced to virtually incidental music. Even at that, Wilcox has been fortunate. Nanette has a pretty good plot as musical comedy plots go. He has erred, however, in complicating it instead of simplifying it, as was needed. Wilcox has been lavish, however, in instilling production values in Nanette and there’s no denying, despite their age, the lilt of the Vincent Youmans tunes.