Something to Sing About (1937 film)

Something to Sing About
original theatrical poster
Directed by	Victor Schertzinger
Written by	Victor Schertzinger (story) Austin Parker (screenplay)
Produced by	Zion Meyers
Starring	James Cagney Evelyn Daw William Frawley
Cinematography	John Stumar
Edited by	Gene Milford
Music by	Myrl Alderman (score–uncredited) Victor Schertzinger (songs)
Production company	Zion Meyers Productions
Distributed by	Grand National Pictures
Release date	September 30, 1937 (1937-09-30) (United States)
Running time	93 minutes 89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$900,000[1] ($14.8 million in 2015)[2]

Something to Sing About (1937), re-released in 1947 as Battling Hoofer,^[3] is the second and final film James Cagney made for Grand National Pictures – the first being Great Guy – before mending relations with and returning to Warner Bros. It is one of the few films besides Footlight Parade and Yankee Doodle Dandy to showcase Cagney's singing and dancing talents. It was directed by Victor Schertzinger, who also wrote the music and lyrics of the original songs, as well as the story that Austin Parker's screenplay is based on. Cagney's co-stars are Evelyn Daw and William Frawley, and the film features performances by Gene Lockhart and Mona Barrie.

The film, which is a satire on the movie industry's foibles, flopped in theaters, causing the just recently started "Poverty Row" independent Grand National,^[4] which had gone significantly overbudget making the film, to close its doors in 1940.

When, at 80 years of age, Cagney was asked which of his films – outside of Yankee Doodle Dandy – that he'd like to see again, this was the film he chose. Since the copyright on the film was not renewed in 1965, the film is now in the public domain in the United States.^[5]