1h 31min | Musical, Western | 1 February 1954 | Color
Director: George Marshall
Stars: Rosemary Clooney, Jack Carson, Guy Mitchell, Pat Crowley, Gene Barry, Cass Daley, Frank Faylen, Reginald Owen, Buddy Ebsen, Joanne Gilbert.
Nick Castle ... choreographer
IMDb lists this as 1.85 : 1, but the dvd print was definitely not WS, nor does it appear to be cropped or pan/scan.
11 songs in the Soundtrack: 5 solos by RC, 3 by GM, 1 duet with them, 1 by JG, 1 by ensemble; 3 have dance mentions, and the large ensemble numbers are enjoyable. Some songs are sung more than once, which isn't included in those counts.
GB (b. '19) looks marvelous with mustache, sideburns, and he dances well. What a shame we didn't get more of the same.
RC sings a lot of peppy stuff, but my favorite is the sad ballad.
This is an absurdist western musical with modern music and dancing. The sets are just indications of what they should be (ex: a door standing without walls), most colors are primary, and the sky is usually yellow (blue in 1 scene).
I find the mockery of its genres a lot of fun. The first half of the film is one musical number after the other. It only lags when it gets caught up in its plot about the duel do-over, which is non-musical.
Paramount, dir. Marshall; 8-
