Garden of the Moon

Garden of the Moon with Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, and John Payne.  John Quinn (Pat O'Brien) is the manager of the hottest nightclub in L.A., "Garden of the Moon" in the Royal Hotel.  He rules the place with an iron fist and an attention to details.  When his upcoming headliner, Rudy Vallee, is involved in a bus accident, he is convinced to hire an unknown orchestra by his publicity manager, Toni Blake (Margaret Lindsay).  This new band is led by Don Vincente (John Payne), a talented musician and band leader who refuses to kowtow to Quinn's demands and standards of behavior.  Before Vincente can perform his first number he is given his two weeks notice.  Knowing that Quinn is a sucker for visiting royalty, Toni and Vincente trick Quinn into believing a Maharajah from India is coming to see his old college buddy, Vincente.  The fraud barely lasts the evening and Quinn once again fires Vincente, only to be told by the hotel owners that he is to hire Vincente for a six month contract.  Quinn uses bullying and trickery to alternately force Vincente to leave or convince him to stay.

It wasn't until the visiting Maharajah bit that I realized I had seen this movie before.  Pat O'Brien has the best role with his fast-talking, totalitarian Quinn.  Familiar faces in this movie are Penny Singleton as Quinn's secretary, Melville Cooper as the head waiter, and Jerry Colonna as one of the band members.

Pat O'Brien and Margaret Lindsay

Jerry Colonna