The Bamboo Blonde came out in 1946 just past the era of World War II when this story would still have an appeal. It's a minor league musical with one of the major league vocalists of the day Frances Langford.Russell Wade a young pilot assigned a new crew is in his last night in the states and he meets up with Frances Langford, singer in a struggling nightclub owned by Ralph Edwards. On his last night state side they have an innocent fling and he goes off to war with her picture and the reputation of a lady killer. Wade's also slightly engaged to Jane Greer.But after a run of bad luck the crew paints Langford's picture on the fuselage and the plane starts racking up zeroes with Memphis Belle like clockwork. Langford becomes a celebrity due to the Army Air Corps publicity machine. She's also quite the inspiration to our fighting men.The film is narrated in flashback by Ralph Edwards who's turned The Bamboo Blonde into a cottage industry. Some forgettable songs by an unforgettable singer. It's a pleasant piece of post war fluff.

Hollywood was turning out these slightly built musicals by the score during the war. Though this one wasn't released until mid-'46, it has all the markings. Hotshot bomber pilot Pat (Wade) meets nightclub singer Louise (Langford) and, guess what, they fall in love. Trouble is he's already engaged to conniving, snooty Eileen (Greer) who won't let him go. So romantic complications ensue. In between these, Langford gets to warble a few tunes, while the fast- talking Edwards gets to act the bigshot promoter. Add the always wise-cracking Iris Adrian as somebody or other named Montana, and you've got an entertaining cast. Sure, it's all forgotten 10-minutes later, but in the meantime, the shenanigans go down like a pleasant little snack.

Anthony Mann, of all people, shows a very capable hand with the musical form in this RKO B, a very-end-of-the-war mixture of patriotism, class consciousness, and utter nonsense. Among its virtues: Frances Langford, always likable and singing up a storm; Iris Adrian, Pauline Kael's favorite sarcastic sidekick of the '40s; Ralph Edwards, showing surprising pre-"This Is Your Life" comic deftness as a scheming agent; and Jane Greer, as Russell Wade's bitch-girlfriend, as stock-character a villainess as you'll ever see. The songs aren't much, but Frances does nicely by "Good for Nothing' But Love" (twice), and a South Sea Islands production number is hilariously, endearingly tacky, with chorus girls slinking about in godawful choreography. The story has loose ends that aren't tied neatly together, and it ends very abruptly, but it's an enjoyable low- budget programmer that fairly screams 1946.

After seeing "Career Girl" the other day - I can honestly say this film is tons better. The only thing that didn't change was that Iris Adrian was still her best pal and still cracking those one liners. With RKO's better production values ("Career Girl" was a PRC production and it showed) Frances Langford looked a million bucks. Having Anthony Mann as director didn't hurt either.Bamboo Blonde is a big cosmetic company and the story is told in flashback to a reporter who comes for a story.Captain Pat Ransom (Russell Wade) is stood up by his fiancée, Eileen (a gorgeous Jane Greer in an early part) - he then meets Louise (Frances Langford), a singer at a club and together they have a wonderful night. When he has to rejoin his crew she plys him with magazines and gumdrops - she's a grand gal. They go to a photo booth and later back at the base an artist paints her picture on their plane and christens her "The Bamboo Blonde". When the plane becomes a famous bomber, Louise's manager decides to cash in on the name by billing her as "The Bamboo Blonde". Pat and Louise meet again when the bomber goes on a nationwide tour. True love doesn't run smooth and Eileen is there to put a spanner in the works. This film ended rather suddenly as well, with Eileen revealing her true colours when she doesn't invite Pat's parents to a big party. The cosmetic empire was obviously an after thought.You view a Frances Langford film to hear her beautiful voice and sing she does. "I'm Good For Nothing But Love", "I'm Dreaming Out Loud", "Moonlight Over the Islands" and "Right Along About Evening" are far superior songs than any in "Career Girl". Miss Langford is far better photographed in this film as well - she is ravishing.