Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Mother Wore Tights (1947), 6 Color

In this chronicle of a vaudeville family, Myrtle McKinley (class of 1900) goes to San Francisco to attend business school, but ends up in a chorus line. Soon, star Frank Burt notices her ... 
1h 47min | Musical | 20 August 1947 | Color
Director: Walter Lang
Stars: Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman.
Seymour Felix ... choreographer
Kenny Williams ... choreographer
Angela Blue ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)


In the Tap! Appendix for Dan Dailey, Betty Grable. This is the first film viewed in this quest where DD dances.

Yes, it's Anne Baxter narrating the story.



Performances (6 chapters, no menu):

  • ch1. Burlington Bertie from Bow, Sung and Danced by Dan Dailey
  • ch1. At a Georgia Camp Meeting, Danced to by Betty Grable, Stephen Kirchner and chorus in the School Musical scene 
  • ch1. You Do, Sung and Danced by Dan Dailey with chorus
  • ch2. Burlington Bertie from Bow, Sung and Danced by Betty Grable 
  • ch2. This Is My Favorite City, Sung and Danced by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey 
  • ch3. You Do, Sung and Danced by Betty Grable with quartet
  • ch3. We're a Couple of Broadway Brothers, Sung and Danced by Dan Dailey and Betty Grable 
  • ch3. Kokomo, Indiana, Sung and Danced by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey 
  • ch4. The Mountain, Written and Performed by Señor Wences 
  • ch4. Silent Night, Holy Night, Performed by Mona Freeman (voice dubbed by Imogene Lynn) 
  • ch4. Tra-La-La-La, Sung by Betty Grable, Dan Dailey and Connie Marshall 
  • ch5. Lily of the Valley, Sung by cast and chorus 
  • ch5. Swinging Down the Lane, Sung by Mona Freeman (dubbed by Imogene Lynn), 'Robert Arthur (I)' and chorus 
  • ch5. Stumbling, Sung by Lee Patrick and Chick Chandler 
  • ch6. There's Nothing Like a Song, Performed by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey 
  • ch6. Kokomo, Indiana, Sung and Danced by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey 
  • ch6. (Rolling Down Bowling Green) On a Little Two-Seat Tandem, Sung and Danced by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey 
  • ch6. Fare-Thee-Well, Dear Alma Mater, Sung by chorus 
  • ch6. You Do, Sung and Danced by Mona Freeman (dubbed by Imogene Lynn) 
It's nearly 2 years since VJ-day, and we're still doing old-timey musicals (the young romantic interest is in a WW1 uniform in the final scene), but perhaps now the reason is not to avoid the war?

It's very different to have BG with a tall male partner who dances with her step-for-step and is also the romantic lead. Of her 11 remaining films, 8 are musicals, and 3 have DD as costar. (Of her 62 total film credits, 44 are music/als.)

Previously rated 6, and I'll stay with that. Although this looks like a lot of musical performance, most songs listed are very short/partial. Nothing about the staging is particularly interesting, and nothing about the dancing is very thrilling. (Contrast that with Gene Nelson's first dancing in I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now ('47), which was far more brief than DD's screen time here.) It's all just pleasant, with a little bit of conflict in the plot to make it more than a revue.

Fox, dir. Lang; 6
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