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I figured, from the extensive cast list and from seeing other early George Sidney musicals at MGM, that THOUSANDS CHEER was going to be a bit plotless. In fact, it’s a perfect storm — a plot you can’t care about, interrupted regularly by musical guest slots that don’t relate to it. By the end, Fiona was getting pretty damn impatient, but even that harsh critic did perk up a bit at the sheer spectacle here ~

That’s part of Sidney’s thing, I guess — he can do visual things that are breathtaking, and is as likely to do them in a turkey (early Gene Kelly, when the studio’s policy seems to have been, “For God’s sake, don’t let him dance too much!”) as in one of his legit masterpieces.