Mad About Music 1938

Gwen Taylor, Gail Patrick, is a famous Hollywood film star whose dazzling public image hides a quiet private truth: she is a widow with a fourteen-year-old daughter, Gloria, who lives at a girls’ boarding school in Switzerland. Gloria, never meeting her father—the navy pilot who died in wartime—has invented a fictitious dad, complete with pretend letters she writes herself to keep the illusion alive. The other girls grow curious, and Gloria’s ruse begins to unravel when Felice, [Helen Parrish], a sharp-eyed classmate, grows suspicious and tries to prove that Gloria’s father doesn’t exist. The scene is set with a blend of sweetness and sly humor as the girls’ innocent romances with boys from a nearby school—particularly Tommy, [Jackie Moran]—intertwine with Gloria’s increasingly elaborate daydreams about a real father figure.

At the heart of the film is a quiet moment in a church where Gloria joins a boys’ choir to sing Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod), a small emblem of her longing for belonging and a father’s blessing. The plot takes a playful turn when Gloria decides she needs a real father for a day and goes to the train station to pick one at random. The man she chooses is Richard Todd, [Herbert Marshall], an English composer on holiday, accompanied by his valet and secretary, Tripps [Arthur Treacher]. Amused by Gloria’s boldness, Richard agrees to play along and travels to her school, stepping into the role with a gentle charm that softens into warmth as he spends time with her.

Gloria learns that Gwen plans a visit to Paris and that Richard will also be in Paris on business, so she hatches a plan to follow them. In a bold move, she stows away on a train and manages to persuade Richard to cover her fare, a small but telling gesture that advances the bond between the girl and the man who is temporarily her father. Once in Paris, Richard discovers who Gloria’s real mother is, and a reunion strategy begins to unfold. The pair reunites with Gloria’s mother in a tearful moment that brings Gwen and her daughter back into each other’s lives with renewed warmth and honesty.

A notable shift occurs as a romance starts to bloom between Gwen and Richard, a development that becomes plainly visible as the trio—mother, daughter, and their charming, musical companion—navigates the emotions of restored family ties. The film culminates in a blended sense of happiness and possibility, underscored by Gloria’s shimmering talent. She performs a tender send-off, singing A Serenade to the Stars while the schoolgirls, Gwen, and Richard sit together, united and content in the glow of a restored family connection.