Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round

Gangster Lee Lother (Sidney Blackmer) is shot and killed during an ocean liner cruise, and we're introduced in flashback to the interwoven stories and characters of the suspects: con-man and jewel-thief Jimmy Brett and his accomplice, a wife who bids goodbye to her husband without realizing he'll stowaway to spy on her, the star of the ship's entertainment revue and her brother with gambling debts, and the Inspector who interrupts his vacation to solve the case.

The film's many musical numbers include a Busby Berkeley-like number with chorus girls in geometric patterns filmed from overhead. A song performed by The Boswell Sisters titled "Rock and Roll", written by Richard A. Whiting and Sidney Clare, is sometimes credited as the first use of that term in a popular song,{{cite book |title=The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1|last= Young|first= William H.|author2=Young, Nancy K. |year= 2007|publisher= Greenwood Press|location= Westport, Connecticut|isbn= 978-0-313-33521-1|page= 506|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYYMqXUyjnUC&pg=PA506|access-date= March 13, 2012}} although in this case the lyrics referred to the motion of the ocean.{{Cite web|url=http://www.songlyrics.com/the-boswell-sisters/rock-and-roll-lyrics|title=Rock and Roll - the Boswell Sisters}}

• Gene Raymond as Jimmy Brett
• Nancy Carroll as Sally Marsh
• Jack Benny as Chad Denby
• Sydney Howard as Dan Campbell, the Drunk
• Mitzi Green as Mitzi{{Cite news|title=Mitzi Green, Former Child Star, Gets First Grown-up Role in Edward Small Feature: ACTRESS SCHEDULED TO DO HER IMPERSONATIONS D. W. Griffith Signs to Direct English Pictures; Jack Oakie Stays on at Paramount|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=July 19, 1934|work=Los Angeles Times|page=11}}
• Sid Silvers as Shorty
• Frank Parker as Frank, the Tenor
• Sidney Blackmer as Lee Lother
• Ralph Morgan as Herbert Rosson
• Shirley Grey as Anya Rosson
• Patsy Kelly as Patsy Clarke
• Sam Hardy as Jack Summers
• William 'Stage' Boyd as Joe Saunders
• Robert Elliott as Inspector 'Mac' McKinney
• The Boswell Sisters as themselves
• Allan Cavan as Ship's Officer (uncredited)
• André Cheron as Frenchman (uncredited)
• Wallis Clark as Ship's Captain (uncredited)
• Don Douglas as Purser (uncredited)
• Bess Flowers as Woman in Audience (uncredited)
• Mary Forbes as Passenger (uncredited)
• Esther Howard as Passenger (uncredited)
• Wilfred Lucas as Policeman at Dock (uncredited)
• Tom McGuire as Detective (uncredited)
• Wedgwood Nowell as Waiter (uncredited)
• Dennis O'Keefe as Passenger Watching Revue (uncredited)
• Lee Phelps as Porter at Dock (uncredited)
• Syd Saylor as Campbell's Taxi Driver (uncredited)
• Larry Steers as Passenger Asked to Get Purser (uncredited)

London comic Sydney Howard was imported to star. The original title was London Showboat or Showboat of 1934.{{Cite news|title=Sydney Howard, Top-Notch Comedy Star of England, Signed for Work in Hollywood: "LONDON SHOW BOAT" TO EXPLOIT STAR'S TALENT "Serenade" by Rex Beach May Be Lilian Harvey Film; Peggy Wood Leaves for East|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=May 3, 1934|work=Los Angeles Times|page=13}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0025905}}
• [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93823/transatlantic-merry-go-round Turner Classic Movies page]

{{Edward Small}}

Category:1934 films

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:United Artists films

Category:Films directed by Benjamin Stoloff

Category:Films produced by Edward Small

Category:American musical comedy-drama films

Category:1930s musical comedy-drama films

Category:1930s mystery comedy-drama films

Category:American mystery comedy-drama films

Category:1934 drama films

Category:1934 comedy films

Category:1930s English-language films

Category:1930s American films

Category:English-language musical comedy-drama films

Category:English-language mystery comedy-drama films