The art direction and color scheming, especially at the end of this nice musical were so beautifully realized.I thought this would be another American in Paris musical but with the plural for America.Notice that while Red Skelton was good here, the plot didn't necessarily allow him to be at his zaniest. Also, Ann Miller didn't do as much dancing as she should have.The plot eventually centers around a guy placing business before friends and what is write, and it worked nicely; especially, with the great dancing sequences of Marge and Gower Champion and the lovely singing of Kathryn Grayson.

One of several MGM musicals from the '50s set primarily in Paris, beginning with "An American in Paris" of the previous year. It reunites 3 of the 4 leads from the minor musical comedy "Texas Carnival" of the previous year, with Kathryn Grayson replacing Esther Williams. Marge and Gower Champion replace Fred and Ginger Rogers in "Roberta". They serve as additional costars, while supplying a high level of off-stage romantic, as well as stagy, song and dance, to complement Anne Miller's sexy dance production with a 'wolf pack' to the "I'd Be Hard to Handle", with intimidating lyrics. Unfortunately, this was her only dance production. Usually, she got 2. The Champions naturally form one of the new love couples. Blasé Anne Miller(as Bubbles) again ends up with Red Skelton(Al), after being knocked from Howard Keel's(Tony) A list by his introduction to Kathryn Grayson's pompous character(Stephanie). This was the second pairing of Keel and Grayson as the top leads("Showboat" of the previous year). The Champions also are returnees from that film, again being featured as a team in 3 dances, each more distinctive than those in "Showboat", and being a more important part of the screenplay.The 3 male costars form a threesome, rather reminiscent of the previous popular "On the Town". Male and sometimes female threesomes were featured in several other '50s MGM musicals, including "Always Fair Weather", "Hit the Deck", "Give the Girl a Break" and "Silk Stockings". The plot is quite absurd, with Red's character, from Scranton, PA, a surprise coheir to a Paris high fashion store(Roberta's), meeting the 2 female coheirs(Kathryn and Marge), who were running the store. Much reminds me of the very similar story line for the prior Fox musical comedy "Something For the Boys", also based on a Broadway play. The 3 arrive in Paris from the states in high spirits, confident they can sell Red's share of the business to provide seed money for a musical show. They gather in front of a street statue of Lafayette, and sing "Lafayette", as they prance down the street toward Roberta's, in "On the Town" style. Along the way, they stop by a flower seller and make up the astonished flower girl to look like the Statue of Liberty, using flowers and a book they spy(Remember, this statue was a gift from France.) Upon arriving at Roberta's, Red takes an eventful ride in the rickety open elevator with a mind of its own, to meet the coheirs upstairs. He discovers it won't be possible to sell his part of the store, as the business is in deep financial trouble. Keel's character(Tony) is very disappointed, but ecstatic about meeting Stephanie. He pursues her for the remainder of the film, despite a rather chilly initial reception, and opposition from a jealous Anne(Bubbles), his current girlfriend, who arrives in Paris a bit later. Gower immediately pursues Marge, engaging in a chase-like song and dance among racks of clothes and manikins on wheels. Marge initially sings "I Won't Dance", but eventually warms up to participate in an exuberant dance: certainly one of the highlights. Tony then makes a serious attempt to seduce a resisting Stephanie, as they exchange singing portions of "You're Devastating". But she's soon very impressed when Tony unexpectedly barges in on a meeting of Roberta creditors to announce a plan to remake the business as a combination fashion, music, and dance showroom, hopefully saving the business. But, then Bubbles arrives, complicating the romantic picture.Later, disaster for Roberta's looms again, as Tony is talked into producing a Broadway show. The rest of the gang refuse to abandon Roberta's, as Tony goes off to NYC. But without the gang, Tony can't come up with anything in NYC, so he and Max(the theater owner) return to Paris to direct the opening fashion show -musical combo before Roberta's is liquidated. Vincent Minnelli was brought in to direct the latter, which serves as the finale big production. Despite imaginative ornate sets, the latter tends to get a bit boring. However, Minelli inserts a segment that looks like it was inspired by his "The Pirate". Dancers with deer heads show up. This is followed by an avant guard Kelly-like dance drama by the Champions, with often garish red-green backgrounds or filters. During this dance, Gower steals some jewelry off a model, and Marge eventually steals these from Gower. Later, Kathryn appears as a model and sings "The Touch of Your Hand", with Keel eventually chiming in, to set the finale, in which the several romantic pairs of stars gradually show up and engage in a 'feel good' finale romantic dance. In this summary, I've neglected discussing 3 of the most memorable musical numbers. First, as Kathryn is in her bedroom, trying on a dress, a ghostly image of Keel appears in one of her 4 floor-length mirrors, as he sings "Lovely to look At". Eventually, his image appears in all 4 mirrors, as he continues to sing. Latter, as Tony goes off to NYC, Kathryn, in a very sad mood, sings the beautiful Kerns standard "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". Prior to this, the Champions did a memorable romantic dance to the same song in a starry night scene, just after Marge finally gave up resisting Gower's persistent advances. Without Gene or Fred, we have a MGM musical well balanced between pure singing and song and dance, with the usual romantic and professional complications of musical screenplays, and some humor here and there. Red was supposed to supply much of the latter, but his main comedic skit falls quite flat. Kurt(Max) and an uninteresting decorative Zsa Zsa Gabor form a marginal 4th romantic couple.Kathryn, Howard and Anne would soon be reteamed to star in the much more remembered "Kiss Me Kate". Between, Kathryn would be teamed with Gordon MacRae, in the also unjustly neglected "Desert Song", based on the Romberg/Hammerstein musical play.

While I have to agree with many of the points made in the preceding reviews (and I'm surprised there are so many) no one has pointed out one of the main attractions of LOVELY TO LOOK AT; it is simply one of the most beautiful Technicolor films ever made.Once upon a pre-home-video time this was one of the legendary vanished films of my youth. So (some years ago) I jumped at the chance to see a rare revival of it at the late, much lamented Regency in New York when it was screened as part of a Jerome Kern film retrospective.The Regency must have unearthed an original Technicolor print because the film was even more stunning visually than I remembered. The deep blues in the Champions' "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" number, the infernal reds in their "Yesterdays" sequence in the fashion show, the misty pastels in Keel and Grayson's dawn ride in the Bois de Bologna, the gilded primitif look of Miller's "Hard To Handle" nightclub act…..These are among the most stunning Technicolor sequences ever shot.MGM Technicolor seemed to peak in the late 40s and early 50s (prior, I might add to the industry-wide conversion to inferior but cheaper Eastman color). MGM films such as HOLIDAY IN Mexico (1946) and THE PIRATE (1948) through LOVELY and SCARAMOUCHE (both 1952) brought the art of color cinematography to a peak it was never to equal again.Musically LOVELY is stunning too, with it vintage Jerome Kern score, beautifully arranged (mostly) by Leo Arnaud. The modernistic, sometimes jazz-tinged orchestrations are brilliant, especially in the fashion show instrumentals. (Listen again to the "Yesterdays" arrangement here, if the smoldering reds behind the Champions do not blow you away).And Kathryn Grayson's rendition of the classic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is one of the highlights of her career.Rhino recently released the full soundtrack in stereo, a CD worth pursuing for those with an interest in vintage musicals and arrangements.Both musically and visually LOVELY TO LOOK AT defines'50s Populuxe. It will take a super DVD release to reveal both the visual and aural riches of this flawed under-rated classic.Grayson and Keel allegedly both loathed this film, but everyone in it is also at their peak of '50s attractiveness. The plot is secondary, and there are emphatic lapses such as Red Skelton's routine about mid-film when director Mervyn Leroy, in a rather shocking sequence for MGM, apparently just let the camera roll because Skelton was on one.The Tuesday matinée series at the Los Angeles Museum of Art has LOVELY TO LOOK AT scheduled for screening in Dec. By fortuitous coincidence one of the most gorgeous Technicolor musicals is followed (the next week) by one of the most beautiful BxW musicals ever made, Lubitch's 193 THE MERRY WIDOW.I only hope LACMA gets a print comparable to the one I saw at the Regency in New York so many moons ago! (Did anyone mention Vincente Minnelli guest-directed the fashion show finale?)

That 30 minutes includes the dance numbers by Ann Miller and The Champions (indeed they were). The other 15 minutes is at the end of the film, a gorgeous fashion show designed by Adrian. It's the ultimate display of fantasy 50s feminine fashion. The designers and runway models of today should view this on how it should be done rather than the current crop of strident and pouting stringbeans who posture and pose in the drab and dreary unimaginative rags that pass as au courant fashion.Grayson and Keel didn't really gel in this confection. Grayson always seems to be pouting, but that seems to have been her basic acting style. Keel is a bit stiff here, but his singing is right on the money. Red Skelton was quite funny back then and hugely popular; alas, his type of humor seems to have lost its appeal over time. Zsa Zsa was never the consummate actress like her sister, Eva (!!!) but her presence here added a daffy charm that soon became the Gabor sisters' trademark.Still, the star of this flick is Adrian with his array of fab 50s feminine fashions that are definitely "Lovely To Look At". The gowns were especially spectacular and they inspired many a prom dress back then; also, debutante balls, weddings, and beauty pageants.Glad to see that this film has finally become available. For many years, I believe it had problems being released because of copyrights held by the Jerome Kern estate.