Mixed emotions about this one. Some fun, upbeat stuff, and big names like Margaret Hamilton and Jack Haley, in starring roles, post Wizard. Gene Krupa. Some funny lines in this thing, specifically the diner scene. Clever jokes and banter. Kills some time, but you don't really have to pay attention to the plot. I think the point is to highlight the bands and performers. They also reprise "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries", which shows up in various films from time to time, usually with a stripper or silly act. Didn't really dig the bit where a young girl seems to lip synch, while playing Joan as a youngster. didn't really work. "Liza" played on the organ also brought this to a crashing halt. should have left that out. The thin plot here is just all over the map, but it doesn't really matter. Directed by Felix Feist.
... View MoreI gave this film "5" out of "10", but there's a caveat.The movie itself might be described anywhere along the continuim, from "Awful" to "Excellent", depending on what the viewer is looking for. My rating is purely arbitrary.It's total escapist fare, one of hundreds of films ground out during WWII to divert the American people from the horrors of war for an hour or two, and it must have done its job. It's certainly diverting.But what it is, more than anything else, is a time capsule of the fashions, manners and mores of a particular time and place. It is the year 1945 preserved in amber, and it was completely dated by 1947.From the showgirls in the musical numbers - pompadoured, lacquered and outrageously costumed in what looks like whatever the wardrobe department had left over, to the irrepressible Joan Davis dressed to the nines and beyond in shoulder pads, sequins and hair, hair, hair - this picture is a never-ending parade of "What Not to Wear", '40's style, and it's a hoot.Add a couple of silly romantic sub-plots and the slinky Jane Greer as the backstage back-stabber, and you have the whole package. There's even leading man Phillip Terry - briefly married to Joan Crawford in real life, and the scene-stealing Margaret Hamilton thrown in for good measure. And believe me, anyone who can steal a scene from Joan Davis and Jack Haley in their prime is guilty of grand theft thespeus.So there you have it. This one is not likely to show up on AFI's list of anything. If you're looking for a Golden Age musical, this isn't it. But if you're in the mood to spend a little time watching how your grandparents did it, this one's for you.
... View Moreits an average corny musical,from the mid 40s, that has many flaws, but can still be kinda fun to watch, if you're in to older movies....it has an OK cast including Joan Davis, Jack Haley, Philip Terry, Martha Holiday, Ethel smith, Margaret Hamilton, Glenn Tryon, Jane Greer,Audrey Young.......the musicals parts of the movie are OK but very corny and kinda stupid, like most musicals back then i guess, so i cant totally say i recommend this, but it wasn't totally bad i guess, if you do want to see it, good luck finding it.....
... View MoreThis typical mid-40s RKO musical is enlivened a bit by Joan Davis' goofy mugging. The plot, of course, only serves to gives people time to take a break between the comedy bits and the musical numbers. We also have a view of Roach silent comedy star, Glen Tryon as George White.The musical numbers are pretty good, particularly the first one with Gene Krupa, a triumph of choreography and camera-work. Krupa seems a little.... weird in the number, however, like he's on strong drugs and flipping out. Although this is not unheard of in drummers who are not on drugs, it may be significant that Krupa had spent time in jail on a marijuana rap in 1943, and this might have been an attempt to capitalize on his 'bad boy' image.
... View More