Swing Out the Blues

Swing Out the Blues is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair and starring Bob Haymes, Lynn Merrick, and Janis Carter. It was released on May 22, 1938.^[2]

Swing Out the Blues
Poster for the film
Directed by	Malcolm St. Clair
Screenplay by	Dorcas Cochran
Story by	Doris Malloy
Produced by	Sam White
Starring	Bob Haymes Lynn Merrick Janis Carter
Cinematography	Arthur Martinelli
Edited by	Jerome Thoms
Music by	M. W. Stoloff
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Release date	January 20, 1944 (1944-01-20) (US)[1]
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Rich Cleveland and the Vagabonds are a swing band in financial difficulties. Rich, the lead singer, (Bob Haymes) marries wealthy socialite Lynn Merrick (Penelope Carstairs). The threat that Rich and Lynn will abandon the band forms the conflict in the comic narrative.^[3]

Cast

• Bob Haymes as Rich Cleveland
• Lynn Merrick as Penelope Carstairs
• Janis Carter as Dena Marshall
• Tim Ryan as Judge Dudley Gordon
• Joyce Compton as Kitty Grogan
• Arthur Q. Bryan as Larry Stringfellow
• Kathleen Howard as Aunt Amanda
• John Eldredge as Gregg Talbot
• Dick Elliott as Malcolm P. Carstairs
• Lotte Stein as The duchess
• Tor Johnson as weightlifter

Production

Director St. Clair, a veteran of the silent film era, included a lengthy “film-within-a-film” that parodies the early Mack Sennett comedies and appears “in the guise of a home movie.”^[4]