Sitting on the Moon 1936

Danny West wakes up in a taxi outside Regent Pictures Inc., beside an unknown woman, with only hazy memories of the night before. The woman is still asleep, and he quietly asks the driver to drop her off where they picked her up. The morning scene sets the tone for a movie built on chance encounters, old loyalties, and the blurred line between work and romance in the life of a working songwriter.

Danny West and his songwriting partner Mike are soon pulled into a high-stakes assignment: deliver a tune to a powerful studio executive, Tucker. The studio politics quickly become tangled with love and ambition. Actress Polly Blair once walked away from Tucker, and now she’s finding that he won’t even consider her for the chorus. Mattie, Polly’s steadfast friend, stands by her side as the behind-the-scenes drama unfolds. Danny feels a personal pull toward Polly, remembering how she chose his and Mike’s song “Who Am I” for the film Fugitive Princess, a decision that helped launch Danny’s career. That breakthrough song remains a touchstone for both of them as Danny composes “Sitting on the Moon” for Polly, which Polly performs with Charlie Lane and his ensemble, giving the moment a shimmering, hopeful energy.

Before the engagement party, winds shift: Danny and Mike are fired from the studio. Charlie Lane, who has secured a broadcasting deal in New York, hopes Polly will join him on a new path, but Polly chooses to stay with Danny. Blossom, the taxi woman who sparked the whole morning after scene, shows up at the party and drops a bombshell: she and Danny allegedly married that night. She leaves, and a crushed Polly and Mattie exit with her.

The plot thickens as Blossom presses for a divorce in exchange for $10,000 in cash. Mike urges Danny to head to New York, but Danny declines, choosing loyalty and the uncertain future with Polly. Polly’s star, however, continues to rise on New York radio’s Happy Go Lucky Hour, and her record sales soar. Mike discovers a troubling discrepancy: Charlie, who signed Polly, is earning $3,500 while paying her only $100—a clear sign of the inequities behind show business glamor.

Driven by the urge to protect Polly and push back against unfair treatment, Danny travels to New York and confronts Charlie, who raises Polly’s salary to $1,000 a week. Polly is thrilled to hear Danny is in town, and the energy between them crackles with renewed purpose. A tabloid clip shows Blossom boasting of “eleven husbands,” a sensational twist that only adds fuel to Polly’s resolve to prove herself on her own terms. The live show becomes a turning point: against the wishes of the show’s owner, Polly interrupts the broadcast to sing “Lost in My Dreams,” a song Danny wrote for her. The moment is electric—she sings a cappella at first, then is joined by three musicians hired by Danny, followed by a full ensemble.

The performance changes everything. The owner finally invites Polly to stay on the show and signals that Danny’s talent will be used to write songs for her moving forward. What started as a chance encounter in a taxi becomes a test of loyalty, heartbreak, ambition, and the power of music to bridge both professional and personal divides.