Shirley Ross

It was in that film that Ross began a brief but fruitful association with the songwriting team of Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, with her memorable reading of their ballad, "I'm Talking Through My Heart," though both the tune and the Ross-Milland romantic pairing were, somewhat predictably, overshadowed by the stream of comic and musical set pieces so typical of the famously episodic Big Broadcast series of musical comedies, and which, in this instance, featured such luminaries as Jack Benny, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Martha Raye and Leopold Stokowski.

Notwithstanding the high-profile distraction, Ross' talent was not entirely obscured, as evidenced by a brief review of the film's premiere, which begins by alerting readers to "what may be the start of a brilliant career for Shirley Ross, newcomer with one of the sweetest voices of any actress on the screen. Her acting and appearance are above average, but her voice is far above average and should lead her to some important roles in forthcoming musical productions." For their part, Paramount didn't need the rave review; they were already sold on Ross. Halfway through the film's production, MGM had decided to drop Ross' option, and Paramount was only too happy to snap her up, signing her to a five-year contract and immediately casting her in the romantic comedy Hideaway Girl. As it happens, her contribution would once again be somewhat obscured, this time by Paramount's decision to give top billing to co-star Martha Raye; that being said, once in the theater, audiences made up their own minds. Read Less

Unfortunately for Ross, these Loesser-scripted tunes were debuted in decidedly lesser movie vehicles, whose increasingly indifferent construction merely reflected Paramount's evident lack of interest in the musical comedy genre, in general, and, in particular, their recently - if erratically - promoted singing ingenue. Read Less