1h 32min | Musical | 31 March 1950
Director: Henry Koster
Stars: Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Phil Harris, Reginald Gardiner, James Barton.
Angela Blue ... assistant choreographer
Billy Daniel ... choreographer
In the Tap! Appendix for James Barton, Betty Grable.
Remake of Coney Island (1943), 8-, but it also borrows some from a Faye/Power/Ameche film (ripping feathers from a dress); I want to say Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), 8. Cast comparison:
Betty Grable::Betty Grable
George Montgomery::Victor Mature
Cesar Romero::Phil Harris
The film is hampered by my dislike of VM, although when he gets serious, I like him better, which he does in some scenes here. PH is ok in his role; I forgot about his being AF's husband after the story started.
BG comes across as more nasty than self-protective here. And in early scenes she (b. '16) looked sort of old/bloated facially, but she's only 34! (This is almost 7 years into her relationship with Harry James.) Her last film is in '55; her first in '29; she died at age 56 ('73).
We get plenty of songs, and some nice dancing, but nothing terrific. JB also sings/dances, but he's playing drunk at the time, so it's not enjoyable. Choreographer Billy Daniel is credited in the cast as Dancer, and I suspected the featured male might be him (it felt like BG with Hermes Pan); again, I didn't see anything terrific.
Fox, dir. Koster; 6
