Joyce in Rhythm in the Clouds (1937)

Rhythm in the Clouds was another modest-budgeted musical that Joyce Compton briefly appeared in as comedy relief from all the (rather dull) singing and dancing. The story follows pretty blonde songwriter Patricia Ellis, who makes an impulsive decision to crash a well-known songwriter's apartment — submitting her own compositions as collaborations with the better-known but oblivious man. Neighbor William Hull is annoyed with the noisy Ellis living next door, but faster than you can say "unbelievable coincidence" he is selected to be the lyricist on her next would-be hit song (which gets a gala premiere on a popular local radio show). The song is a hit, and love blooms for the once-quarreling duo.

Joyce contributes a small bright spot to this otherwise forgettable film as the secretary at the radio station where Ellis and Hull work. She played a lot of snappy steno gals around this time; Three Smart Girls (1936), Under Your Spell (1936), Rhythm in the Clouds (1937), Women Are Like That (1938) and Going Places (1938) all had Joyce handling the steno pad, usually as some wealthy exec's Gal Friday.

Rhythm in the Clouds has slipped into public domain and is easily viewable both online and on disc. It can be seen or downloaded at the Internet Archive here. In 2009, Alpha Home Video released this film on DVD paired with another b-musical, Sitting On The Moon (which coincidentally also has Joyce in the cast). It can be purchased at Amazon.com here.