I'm In Love With Ned Sparks....
What the hell is she talking about, you may ask?  Who is Ned Sparks?  Good grief, is your head in the sand?  He's a HUNKASAURAUS REX!  And darned cute, too!

He had a voice somewhere between a leaky drainpipe and a frog with high pitch.  Low key, sarcastic, always frowning (although not in this photo!) and once in a while appearing to be the only person who really knows what is going on.  I guess I fell in love with him when I saw him in the 1934 version of "Imitation of Life".   He was in Mary Pickford's last film, "Secrets" and was wonderful, intense, a wonderful proof of what a fine actor he was.   Barney in "Goldiggers of 1933" and "42nd St".  Every sweet story needs a Ned Sparks.  As food does not taste good without salt, a good musical needs something to flavor it.  As I glanced through his credits I found he was in my favorite musical of all time, "Going Hollywood"!

Who stands out?  Ned does.  Sure Bing Crosby can sure sing a tune, and M-G-M can really stage 'em, but look at Ned!!  He's the whole scene...ok, in my opinion.  And sexy?  Who needs these so-called cute guys nowadays?  Not me.  I want Ned.  What a guy!  Who needs adorable when you got character?

Just a little to whet the appetite.  For once we have a hero that knows how to tell 'em where to go and how to get there!  He lights up the room.  And sometimes, during a program film like those Busby Berkeley films seemed to be, Ned is the one and only person (with perhaps the exception of Guy Kibbee and Bebe Daniels) who makes the film REAL and takes it out of the fluffy fantasy that a lot of the musicals of the period seem to be.  Ned has that down the nose look DOWN.  Right down and BOOM!  Drops a bomb on 'em.  Even Walt Disney knew there was a magnificent opportunity to animate the man.  From a guy that was so still, so damned smart and sassy, and probably one of the greatest characters we will always love and enjoy.  You just rock, Ned.