Frontier Gal (1945), 5 Color

A wanderer returns after six years and a one-night honeymoon to make amends with his bride and five year-old daughter.
1h 25min | Family, Musical, Western | 21 December 1945 | Color
Director: Charles Lamont
Stars: Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, Andy Devine, Sheldon Leonard.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037721/
Watched online, horribly fuzzy print. There are a dozen others out there; don't watch this print again.

Soundtracks lists 3 songs, all sung by YD, but only one of them is dubbed by another.

When I saw SL in the cast, I rolled my eyes. But he's not as ridiculous as I thought; his accent doesn't jump out at me. Either he didn't speak much and/or he actually had control of his accent.

The synopsis above is bizarre; we get 32 min of story, showing the "courtship" and marriage of the "wanderer" (RC to YD) before we get a 4th song (sung by Fuzzy Knight & not in the Soundtracks) about RC's imminent return.

Wow, someone could write a term paper in Women's Studies on this film alone. I don't remember why RC first kissed YD against her will, but he walked away, she chased him, turned him around and slapped him. He kissed her again. This repeated twice more, until he walked away into his hotel room (her hotel/saloon), and she followed him. (The whole saloon watched.) She discussed her price for being his, which he accepted, but she left (no time for anyone to think more than kissing occured.) Her price involved jewelry, particularly rings.

Next scene she's preparing for her wedding, and he arrives, surprised that he's the groom. He refuses, says he just wanted to break the colt (YD), not own it. But she insists, with a gun in her hand muff during the ceremony. Something else happens, and then he drags her off to a wedding night, she's protesting all the while.

Cut to the next morning, she's waking up in their bed. He's wanted for a prior murder, and gets dragged off to prison. 

Six years later he returns to find his name on her saloon, and on their daughter. She refuses to give him a divorce because he wants it. He drags her off to bed; we see her wake up there next morning, have another fight, and she leaves him.

RC has a nearby ranch, which he now develops, biding his time to come after SL, the suspected killer of RC's partner, whom RC sought when he came to town in the first place.

YD proposes to SL, contingent on her divorce (yes, she just refused to Give one, but apparently she now wants to Get one.) They were friends before RC's first arrival, and apparently during his absence.

RC comes to the saloon and sees his 5 y.o. daughter on the bar singing mommy/chorus girl's song to sell booze. He snatches her away, argues with YD (who didn't know the girl did such things) about custody, and takes the girl to his ranch. The judge, sheriff & deputy follow him.

RC, his Cherokee houseman and the girl have gotten domestic real quick (after RC spanked the girl for misbehaving: "daddies spank their girls because they love them" she says.) The posse arrives, and the second major misapprehension occurs, when RC admits to the posse that he's been thinking about getting a woman to help raise his daughter. The posse goes to town & tells YD that RC wants her. He was referring to his schoolmarm fiancee in the next town, whom he sent Cherokee to fetch.

Schoolmarm arrives with her aunt, RC offers her the job/ extended engagement, and she accepts. Meanwhile YD has boarded up her saloon, loaded the buckboard with her stuff, and goes out to RC's ranch. Surprise, YD is upset, but discusses the situation with fiancee and aunt, and they convince her it's best for the child if she gives her up. She then goes out to talk with RC about it.

While she & RC are negotiating, SL arrives, and kidnaps the girl. Big chase scene, and girl in jeopardy, especially on a felled tree spanning a waterfall chasm. But RC has to fight with SL's men before he even realizes the girl's in danger. 

When she's saved, YD has another argument with RC about the rescue, and RC spanks YD. Little girl says that means he loves YD, RC confirms it, YD melts. The End.

So an independent woman (she owns the saloon/hotel) just wanted to be broken like a fiery colt, even though she protested every step of the way. NB, men: when a woman says no, she really means yes. So do whatever you want, she'll love you for it.

This is so jaw-droppingly misogynistic that I almost want to give it a "recommended" rating. But that comes with the explanation "Why we still need #MeToo in 2018", so I won't.

P.S. Let's not forget the parallel of this story to women in America in 1945. For the last 3 years, they've been running their own lives, been productive defense and essential workers, and raising their children alone, as did YD when RC was in prison. The WW2 men are about to return home, need to rebuild their civilian lives, put down roots, like the RC character. So is this film advocating that all the self-sufficient women are Shrews who need to be tamed like colts, even if the method includes sexual assault?

Like I said, analyzing this film could be at least a college term paper.

Universal, dir. Lamont; 5-

Road to Utopia (1945), 7+

At the turn of the century, Duke and Chester, two vaudeville performers, go to Alaska to make their fortune. On the ship to Skagway, they find a map to a secret gold mine, which had been ... 
1h 30min | Adventure, Comedy, Family | November 1945 (UK)
Director: Hal Walker
Stars: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Douglass Dumbrille, Jack LaRue, Robert Benchley.

Daniel Dare ... dances stager (as Danny Dare)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038032/

Per IMDb, this wasn't released in the US until late Feb '46.

The middle film in the series (3 before & 3 after); probably my favorite, certainly the one I remember the most. I even remembered the name McGurk was coming. (I really think I have a thing for snow-covered comedies.) This is the one where Hope gets the girl.

Performances (19 custom chapters with menu):

• ch2. Sunday, Monday or Always, Played on a radio and sung by Bing Crosby, off-screen preceding BC's entrance.
• ch4. Good Time Charlie, sung/danced by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in a San Francisco show 
• ch5. It's Anybody's Spring, Played on a concertina by Bob Hope and sung by Bing Crosby, on the ship to Alaska, where they're working (lost their money)
• ch7. Personality, Sung by Dorothy Lamour, as performer in the Skagway saloon
• ch9. Welcome to My Dream, Played on piano and sung by Bing Crosby in DL's room
• ch10. Put It There, Pal, Performed by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, on a dogsled
• ?Welcome to My Dream, Reprised by Bing Crosby with background orchestral music 
• ?Would You?, Sung by Dorothy Lamour 

Nice songs, good comedy; what's not to like?

Paramount, dir. Walker; 7+

Yolanda and the Thief (1945), 6- Color

Johnny Riggs, a con man on the lam, finds himself in a Latin-American country named Patria. There, he overhears a convent-bred rich girl praying to her guardian angel for help in managing ... 
1h 48min | Fantasy, Musical, Romance | 20 November 1945 | Color
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Stars: Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Leon Ames.
Eugene Loring ... dances staged by

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038262/

bootleg, blurry print.

In the Tap! Appendix for Fred Astaire. I don't think he actually taps in this film. Watch for that next time.

I don't remember watching this before, but I previously rated it 6 (14Feb2010), and concur today. I actually dislike some of the dancing, but that's consistent with my dislike of LB's style, and FA tailors his partner dances to his partner's strengths. But it's also lack of energy in the music, lack of purpose to the dances, and lack of complimentary camera movement with the dancing. OK, let's just call it dull choreography. (Maybe my opinion would be better with a better print, but I don't think so.)

Performances (13 chapters, 10 min each):

• ch1. This Is a Day for Love, Sung by Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) and the girls in the convent 
• ch4. Angel, Sung by Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) to herself 
• ch5. FA dream (nightmare) sequence dance, includes Will You Marry Me?, Sung by Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) 
• ch7. Yolanda, Performed by Fred Astaire with harp and Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) 
• ch10. Coffee Time, Sung by Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer (dubbed by Trudy Erwin)

I previously thought that fantasy (guardian angel, dream sequence) was an excellent pairing with musicals, but this film proves that even that opportunity can be squandered. 

MGM, dir. Minnelli; 6-

Cornered (1945), 6- {nm}

Canadian flyer Laurence Gerard finds that his wife has been murdered by a French collaborator. His quest for justice leads him to Switzerland and Argentina.
1h 42min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 16 November 1945
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Stars: Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037615/

This is the first truly post-war film I've watched in this sequence. The Nazis in Argentina talk about having been defeated twice.

Previously rated 5, not sure why. The only familiar names are DP, WS and Jack LaRue. Other faces are familiar, but only marginally so. It's definitely an unpleasant tale, as should be expected from the subject matter. DP is angry and miserable the whole time, and doesn't even come close to making any sort of musical sound. I'd agree this is Film Noir, without a true femme fatale, and the hero does not come to a tragic end. But the ending is not happy or cathartic either. Maybe if I were feeling angry and miserable, this would appeal to me more. The IMDb rating is much higher than mine: 6.8 with 1,485 votes.

With this film, DP's transition to drama is complete. No humor, no music, just grumpy pessimism. Not sure why he chose this path. Bing Crosby managed to sing in his films, even when being taken very seriously, ex: The Country Girl ('54). Tenors sing serious roles in opera; can't they also in musical films?

RKO, dir Dmytryk; 6-

George White's Scandals (1945), 6-

This Broadway revue is about two love affairs. The romance between the comedienne Joan Mason and Jack Evans of Boston is easily disturbed by Jack's cynical sister, Clara Belle Evans, who is...
1h 35min | Comedy, Music | 10 October 1945
Director: Felix E. Feist
Stars: Joan Davis, Jack Haley, Phillip Terry, Gene Krupa & orch, Ethel Smith (organist), Margaret Hamilton, Jane Greer.
Ernst Matray ... choreographer (as Ernest Matray)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037736/

In the Tap! Appendix for Beverly Wills, the child playing young JD. I would love to know how they achieved the endless line of dancers deep into our field of vision in the Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries number, introduced by BW.

That number occurs early in the film, and I don't remember anything else begin worthwhile about the movie. I don't understand the allure of JD, who is not only top billed, but occupies a lot of screen time. She headed many Columbia musicals (unavailable on home video), often paired with Jinx Falkenburg (I couldn't pick her out of a photo array, but she had a small part playing herself in Cover Girl ('44)). JD is one of those women who were deemed odd-looking, and therefore had to be funny. But she's really only odd-looking when she makes silly faces; otherwise I'd call her plain, not ugly. Her comedy is largely physical. If you teamed her up with Martha Raye, Cass Daley and Nancy Walker, she would be the pretty one (and maybe the tall one) of these Four Stoogettes, and they all tended toward the same sort of man-chasing slapstick comedy.

I'm tempted to give this a 5, but it's not quite that bad. We get Ethel Smith tickles her Hammond Organ, and some Gene Krupa numbers, including the finale where chorus girls almost dance while he plays the big timpani drums. (The film is a bit odd, you see.)

RKO, dir. Feist; 6-

The Dolly Sisters (1945), 7- Color

Two sisters from Hungary become famous entertainers in the early 1900s. Fictionalized biography with lots of songs.
1h 54min | Biography, Drama, Musical | 5 October 1945
Director: Irving Cummings
Stars: Betty Grable, John Payne, June Haver, SZ Sakall, Reginald Gardiner.
Angela Blue ... assistant choreographer
Seymour Felix ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037651/

In the Tap! Appendix for Betty Grable, June Haver.

Based on real people called the Dolly Sisters, active in showbiz in the late 1910's-20s. The basic outline of the film does follow what's on the Wikipedia page, but seems independent of this film.

Performances (28 chapters, custom menu):

• ch3. "Hungarian Dance No. 5 (uncredited), Danced by Evon Thomas and Donna Jo Gribble (children), Betty Grable and June Haver 
• ch6. The Vamp, Performed by Betty Grable and June Haver during the rehearsal at the Elmira theater 
• ch7. I Can't Begin to Tell You, Sung by John Payne during the rehearsal at the Elmira theater 
• ch9. Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl, Sung by Betty Grable, John Payne and chorus on record 
• ch12. We Have Been Around, Performed by Betty Grable and June Haver 
• ch13. Carolina in the Morning, Performed by Betty Grable and June Haver 
• ch14. Don't Be Too Old Fashioned (Old Fashioned Girl), Performed by Betty Grable and June Haver 
• ch15. Powder, Lipstick and Rouge, Performed by Betty Grable, June Haver, and showgirls 
• ch17. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, Sung by John Payne and Betty Grable 
• ch19. The Darktown Strutters' Ball, Performed by Betty Grable, June Haver and showgirls 
• ch23. medley of ...Rainbows, ...Oregon, ...Tell You, sung by John Payne 
• ch26. The Sidewalks of New York, performed by Betty Grable and June Haver at the benefit 
• ch28. I Can't Begin to Tell You, performed by John Payne, Betty Grable and June Haver 

I don't feel the urge to highlight any of the performances above as favorites, although I like the song Chasing Rainbows. But some of the songs are staged to illustrate more than the performing talent of the characters; they move a love story forward, or show the anguish of romantic failure. 

The commentary track is good; Drew Casper is a serious academician, and also a fan. He mentions that BG didn't like JH, who she felt was sanctimonious and hypocritical. Perhaps that lack of chemistry comes across somehow.

But we get a lot of songs, great Technicolor, terrific costumes/clothing, and a good cast. So I'm landing on 7...minus.

Fox, dir. Cummings; 7-

Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), 6 {nm}

The misadventures of a group of diverse guests at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan.
2h 10min | Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance | October 1945
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Stars: Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Edward Arnold.
Charles Walters ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038239/

Reworking of Grand Hotel ('32).

Soundtracks only lists 2 performances, both by Cugat & Orch, one with Lina Romay, the other with Bob Graham singing. But there is also a dance routine while VJ is ordering dinner at the Starlight Room (88 min), which we only see glimpses of. The 2 Cugat numbers follow the dance number. I wouldn't have the gall to label this a musical,  I won't fight it, but I'm going to call this a non-musical for my records.

I don't remember the stories of Grand Hotel well enough to know how close this is. I remember Joan Crawford as the hotel stenographer, and Garbo wanting to be alone.

I'm surprised that LT (the hotel stenographer) doesn't get in deeper than she can handle when she begins to be the "private secretary" to EA, expected to "entertain" his business associates. VJ tries to warn her that's not something she'll like, but she wants to climb out of her 10th Ave. upbringing. The most that she says after that first evening is that she danced a lot, and she was right back to 10th Ave at evening's end. Censorship was strong back then.

The whole thing is rather dull, which is predictable given my opinions of the cast. GR doesn't dance, and her romantic interest is WP, who doesn't rise above Dull to me here. Only EA has any edge to him, but without a hero to engage him, it doesn't go anywhere. So neither has a worthy partner/enemy to spar with. Maybe I should add a minus to my prior rating. <shrug>

MGM, dir. Leonard; 6

Duffy's Tavern (1945), 6-

The staff of a record factory drown their sorrows at Duffy's Tavern, while the company owner faces threats of bankruptcy.
1h 37min | Comedy, Musical | 28 September 1945
Director: Hal Walker
Stars: Ed Gardner, Victor Moore, Marjorie Reynolds, Barry Sullivan, Charles Cantor.

Billy Daniel ... dance director (as Billy Daniels)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037662/ 

Watched online, blurry print.

In the Tap! Appendix for Johnny Coy. Should also list Miriam Franklin (aka Miriam Nelson from her marriage to Gene), who danced with him. Their 4 minute story mimed in dance starts at about 69 minutes in to the story. This is her 6th of 9 acting credits, but she has over 50 choreography credits split between movies and TV. This is already the 5th of 8 credits for Johnny Coy.

Soundtracks only lists 4 performed songs. Seems like we got more than that.

Danny Dare, usually the choreographer, gets his 1st of 8 production credits here (associate producer).

This is retread of the idea of Star Spangled Rhythm ('42), except the Paramount stars are used for a block party to raise money. The stars are too numerous to repeat here. 

This is the only film for radio star Ed Gardner, who also gets writing credit. This film is based on his radio character & show. His heavy Brooklyn accent paired with multiple malapropisms per sentence is grating. Damon Runyon he ain't.

The plot line of the record company is skippable. Although I like VM, he's not so charming, portraying a lazy/incompetent company owner.

If MR danced, I missed it. She plays VM's daughter.

I'm not sure if I've ever liked Barry Sullivan, and if that's caused by the types of characters he plays. Here he's a returned vet who's rather nasty about VM having let the record company slip away. He's the one who brings it back to life, but I don't like him.

Betty Hutton and Cass Daley each have a song, and neither is something I need to see again.

Other than Johnny Coy's number, the only reason to fire this up is Bing Crosby's number Swinging on a Star, which he shares with a lot of the stars. But he's prominent enough to make it worthwhile. It's the finale for the film.

Paramount, dir. Walker; 6-

A Thousand and One Nights (1945), 6 Color {nm}

Tongue-in-cheek fantasy film set in Baghdad and loosely based on the One Thousand and One Nights medieval story.
1h 33min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy | 20 July 1945 | Color
Director: Alfred E. Green
Stars: Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens, Cornel Wilde.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038165/
Watched online, ok print.

Not sure how this came to my attention, but it is a borderline musical: CW (dubbed) sings 3 songs, and PS sings 1. I won't submit the additional genre, but it could be.

CW is a former Olympic fencing team member (but quit without going to the Olympics), so to have him in a sword fight here is quite natural, and extra believable.

When first unveiled (literally), I wondered if the Princess (AJ) was being played by Virginia Mayo. AJ looks and sounds like her here.

PS plays his usual character, complete with prescription glasses (very out of place in the time of the story), and cracks wise as though he's in wartime America. A bit player is even given the line that "he says he's born 1200 years too soon".

EK has top billing here as the Genie in the lamp. She looks prettier here than I've ever seen her. I like the story's rule that he who holds the lamp owns it, because the lamp is finally handed to her, and she makes good use of it. (Another rule of this lamp: if you owned the lamp, received favors from it, and then lost the lamp, everything you received from it would vanish.)

This is a pretty Technicolor production, with a decent story and players.

Columbia, dir. Green; 6

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), 8+ {nm}

A Norwegian farmer lovingly raises his daughter in rural World War II-era Benson Junction, Wisconsin.
1h 45min | Drama, Family | 6 September 1945
Director: Roy Rowland
Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O'Brien, James Craig, Agnes Moorehead.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037963/
Watched online, blurry copy.

So do they only give the good scripts to MO (b. 1935), or is it MO that made the films so good?

I'm thrilled to see EGR and AM in roles that are kind, hardworking parents, instead of gangster and harpy. The script (and perhaps the novel) included a situation where they weren't perfect parents, but neither was the child perfect.

We get some suspense when children are in jeopardy, and some tragedy (separate situation).

At one point the story went to a sentimental Christmas-y place, but that wasn't where I needed the hanky.

We also get a young couple to find interesting; the woman is the outsider, the man (JC) is so perfect that he's almost not believable. The war intersects the story with these characters, but only slightly.

I'm gonna keep it that vague, because some day I'd like to watch this again with eyes as fresh as possible. Unfortunately, this might be good enough that such cannot be.

MGM, dir. Rowland; 8+

Ziegfeld Follies (1945), 8- Color

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. looks down from Heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
1h 50min | Comedy, Musical | 13 August 1945 | Color
Director: Vincente Minnelli (opening credits)
Stars: below
Dance Directors:
Robert Alton ... dance director
Roy Del Ruth ... additional choreographer
Eugene Loring ... additional choreographer (Traviata, onscreen)
Charles Walters... additional choreographer (Interview, onscreen)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039116/
Available online, or $3 rent on Prime.

In the Tap! Appendix for Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, their only dance together on film (ch17; except for a tiny bit of soft shoe on a That's Entertainment installment.)

The bubble dance (ch18) is discussed in the featurette as being somewhat dangerous: the bubbles got out of control, dancers lost their way and felt as though they were suffocating.

This may be the only post-1929 pure revue film with NO connecting story between segments, only the premise that Ziegfeld from heaven has wished a new Follies into existence.

Segments:

• ch1,2. Overture, Credits
• ch3,4. Ziegfeld memories and wishes, by William Powell
• ch5. Here's to the Girls, by Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Lucille Ball w/live horses and chorines, dir. George Sidney
• ch6. continuation, Bring on Those Wonderful Men, by Virginia O'Brien
• ch7. A Water Ballet, by Esther Williams, dir. Merrill Pye
• ch8. Number Please, by Keenan Wynn, dir. Robert Lewis (onscreen)
• ch9. Libiamo from La Traviata, by James Melton and Marion Bell
• ch10. Pay the Two Dollars, by Victor Moore and Edward Arnold, dir. George Sidney
• ch11. This Heart of Mine, by Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer, dir. Vincente Minnelli
• ch12. A Sweepstakes Ticket, by Fanny Brice with Hume Cronyn and William Frawley, dir. Roy Del Ruth (onscreen)
• ch13. Love, with Lena Horne, dir. Lemuel Ayers (onscreen)
• ch14. When Television Comes, by Red Skelton, dir. George Sidney (onscreen)
• ch15. Limehouse Blues, by Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer, dir. Vincente Minnelli
• ch16. A Great Lady Has an Interview, by Judy Garland, dir. Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters
• ch17. The Babbitt and the Bromide, by Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, dir. Vincente Minnelli
• ch18. Beauty, by Kathryn Grayson, Cyd Charisse (bubble dance) dir. Vincente Minnelli
• ch19. Exit Music

I'm glad to have Fanny Brice in a full color, lengthy skit. The earlier black and white recordings of her are not so clear, and not so close-up. She really acts with her whole body: she can curl her upper back to look hunched in profile. I hope I remember that when I watch B.Streisand in Funny Girl ('68) to compare what she does.

MGM, dir. Minnelli et al; 8-

State Fair (1945), 7- Color { IM }

The Frake family attends the annual Iowa State Fair; each member of the clan has their own reason for doing so.
1h 40min | Comedy, Drama, Musical | 30 August 1945 | Color
Director: Walter Lang
Stars: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Charles Winninger, Fay Bainter, Donald Meek, Frank McHugh.
Hermes Pan ... choreographer
Dave Robel ... assistant dance director (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038116/

5th film credit for JC (b.1925), 18th film credit for DA, his first after Laura ('44).

Only film written for the screen by Rodgers&Hammerstein, and their first film together. It's not surprising that this is an integrated musical, given the independent works of R&H, and their stage version of Oklahoma! opened on B'way in 1943, and Carousel in 4'45. That's not to say that all songs here are personal. VB is a performer, she sings onstage at the fair, and she & DH sing at a party.

The film (via song It Might as Well Be Spring and dialog) explains why JC is attracted to DA: she has a itch for something new, someone new, and her "fiance" is the son of a farmer whose big ambition is to use modern methods on his own farm, which she finds boring.

But DH has a girlfriend who wasn't able to come to the fair, so his involvement with VB is more puzzling. And he takes it seriously, it's not just a fair fling.

CW & FB are charming as the parents and contestants at the fair.

Soundtracks only lists 6 songs; it seems like more in the film because they are sung over and over. The dvd special features has a songs-only chapter list that shows 4 runs at It Might as Well Be Spring, 2 of That's For Me and 3 of It's a Grand Night for Singing, making 12 song scenes total. 

The commentary track points out that some of the songs are presented as though they are contemporary hit songs that people are singing because they're popular. That's a good explanation for why Our State Fair is sung by each character independently; as contrasted with a song being passed from person to person in Love Me Tonight ('32). Similar situation for It's a Grand Night for Singing being sung by unrelated couples at the fair. 

The song All I Owe Ioway is almost an imitation of the R&H state-loyalty song Oklahoma!, and gives us the only big production number. I wonder if they changed the venue to Texas in '62 just to jettison that song.

I really don't know how to rate this film. I like the stars, the Technicolor and the music, but not the story. Even when I try to weigh "do I recommend it" as the deciding question, I come up unsure.

The commentary track is skippable. The dvd also has a 30 minute featurette about the 3 film versions ('33 ,'45, '62) and the subsequent stage play. Fun story from that: DA was an operatic singer who never told the producers he could sing, figuring the guy they hired to dub him needed the work.

Released 30Aug45, the final frame has the Buy Bonds logo. I wonder if people were eager to buy war bonds after VE day in June and VJ day 15Aug. Japan formally surrendered 2Sep.

Fox, dir. Lang; 7-

Christmas in Connecticut (1945), 7 {nm}

A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
1h 42min | Comedy, Romance | 11 August 1945
Director: Peter Godfrey
Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, SZ Sakall.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037595/

According to the Soundtracks, DM sings 2 songs, making this a borderline musical in my book. 

I'm an enormous Barbara Stanwyck fan. Of the 49 of her titles that I've rated, only 1 scored below 6, and I expect to watch that again some day and find it not as horrible as the first time. 

My prior rating for this was 7, and I stand by that. This is a pleasant bit of fluff. A comedy of deception, not too frantic, with the extra joke of pretending to have a baby (won't say more to protect future viewing). 

BS does a great job showing us that she's falling for DM, and the film (and DM) shows us why. Of course, I love the fact that she's domestically incompetent, and buys herself a fur coat that costs 6 months salary. Her discomfort with children and animals is perfect, and DM being oblivious to it is testimony to the idea that if you're previously convinced that something is true, you won't notice evidence to the contrary.

SG is delightful in a comedic role (doesn't he always provide a bit of comic/eccentric relief, even when he's menacing in dramas?), and his intentions turned on a whiff of cooking odor here.

Cuddles Sakall is his scene-stealing self; delightful as always. I think he actually looked at SG and commented under his breath that SG was fat. (And SG _is_ wider than SzS, but...)

I've seen RG with more to do in other films, so they wasted him a bit, but he fulfills the stuffy suitor role perfectly. In fact, perhaps it's a bit odd that he's so initially cooperative in the deception.

Not such a strong comedy that it can pull me out of a funk, but a definite palate-cleanser after a run of dull mediocre films.

Warner, dir. Godfrey; 7

for Warner customer service

Submitted moments ago to

https://www.warnerbros.com/customer-service

Recently I discovered that 4 of 5 discs in the Esther Williams Vol 1 box set were rotted, which I learned because the replacement set had 3 of 5 rotted.

I'd picked up snippets on the web: 2007 Warner releases were the problem; the cause is disintegrating glue that holds the 2 layers together, so when the 2nd layer is accessed, no data comes back. That was consistent with my experience that the disc fails in the second half of the film, or when 2 films share a one-sided disc, the 2nd film fails.

I tested around 300 discs from various studios. My list of 46 rotted discs is annotated here:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls023673057/

All but 1 of the rotted discs are Warner releases from Feb.2006 to Apr.2008. Some boxes in that timeframe still work properly, as do some titles within boxes. One box was originally released in 2004, but I bought it in '06, and that's when one of the titles was released as a single. The 4 damaged Esther Williams Vol 1 titles have been re-released in a set without the special features of the original, so that means I have to keep the original damaged discs.

In case you think the Esther Williams set must have been the worst... nope, Doris Day's Vol 2 wins that prize, with 6 out of 6 discs freezing/skipping at least part of the second half. Honorable mention to the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland set from 2007, where 4 of 4 rotted.

I did test some older boxes, and they were fine. So it's not just age that's the problem here. It's some manufacturing flaw that endured for almost 2 years, but only manifests after a significant time. (I'm sure I would have watched most of these titles without trouble when I bought them.)

The bigger problem: many of these titles are still only available for purchase in the original box and/or release date, which means the replacement might be just as bad as the rotted ones I have now, as happened with both Du Barry was a Lady, and the Esther Williams Vol 1 set.

I would hope that any of your titles released in the 2006-8 timeframe would be assigned priority to get a Warner Archive release (if they haven't already), namely these sets:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PAAK5K/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UJCAK4/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MGBLQO/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PC8AL4/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000FBC9/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011FDVEK/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001WTWYW/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I2JDF8/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YRY7VC/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NJXG68/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GRUQLK/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCY7V2/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PKG7DE/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HWZ4DY/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O179IG/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI9OCW/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GIXLVQ/
Note: you may have released other box sets in that timeframe that I did not purchase.

I am now retired and on a fixed income. Replacing these sets (or individual discs) is costly; some are priced as rarities. Any assistance you can provide will be appreciated.

Anchors Aweigh (1945), 9 { IM }

Two sailors, one naive, the other experienced in the ways of the world, on liberty in Los Angeles, is the setting for this movie musical.
2h 20min || 19 July 1945
Director: George Sidney
Stars: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Jose Iturbi, Dean Stockwell (b. 1936)

Stanley Donen ... assistant choreographer

Gene Kelly ... dance sequences created by

Jack Donohue ... dance director (uncredited)

Genres: Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Romance | War

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037514/

In the Tap! Appendix for Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Tom? and Jerry Mouse (cartoons). (Tom appears very briefly as a servant to King Jerry, but does not dance.)

Performances (38 chapters, custom menu; IM indicates "integrated musical" number):

• ch2. Anchors Aweigh, Played by a Navy Band conducted by José Iturbi 
• ch4. We Hate to Leave, Sung and Danced by Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra (IM)
• ch8. Largo al factotum della città from "Il barbiere di Siviglia", sung by Carlos Ramirez
• ch10. "Brahms' Lullaby", Sung by Frank Sinatra and hummed by him  (IM)
• ch11. I Begged Her, Sung and Danced by Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, bouncing on cots (IM)
• ch14. If You Knew Susie, Sung by Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly  (IM)
• ch16. Jealousy (Jalousie), Sung by Kathryn Grayson  
• ch17. What Makes the Sunset?, Sung by Frank Sinatra  (IM)
• ch19. (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings, Sung by Kathryn Grayson  (IM)
• ch20. The Donkey Serenade, Played on the piano by José Iturbi 
• ch22. The King Who Couldn't Dance (The Worry Song), Sung & Danced by Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse (voiced by Sara Berner) (IM)
• ch26. Tonight We Love, Played on piano by José Iturbi and sung a bit by Frank Sinatra  (IM)
• ch27. The Charm of You, Sung by Frank Sinatra  (IM)
• ch29. Jarabe Tapatío (The Mexican Hat Dance), Performed by Gene Kelly and Sharon McManus (child)  (IM)
• ch30. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Played on pianos by José Iturbi and a group of piano students 
• ch31. I Fall In Love Too Easily, Sung by Frank Sinatra  (IM)
• ch33. La Cumparsita, Danced by Gene Kelly  (IM)
• ch36. Waltz from Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48, Performed by Kathryn Grayson and the studio orchestra conducted by José Iturbi, her filmed audition

Previously rated 8. This viewing, I'm appreciating KG more, and the quantity and quality of dancing, and the integration of so many of the musical numbers, which perhaps makes this a pivotal moment in film Musicals history. Then again, other (past) films have integrated the music numbers in the plot, but they've been few and far between. It's time for me to start tracking integrated vs. not. This film still has performance numbers, namely those with JI. But ALL of the GK dances and the FS songs are integrated into the plot or take the place of dialog. Out of 18 numbers, only 6 are pure performance, non-IM. Amazing that this has no commentary track.

MGM, dir. Sidney; 9

Out of This World (1945), 6

After struggling to become a success, Betty Miller and her all-girl orchestra finally hit pay dirt when crooner Herbie Fenton comes on board. Problems arise when Betty and her girls try to ... 
1h 36min | Comedy, Music, Romance | 13 July 1945
Director: Hal Walker
Stars: Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, Diana Lynn.
Sammy Lee ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037964/

Watched online, ok print.

Let me continue the synopsis: ...raise funds to get to a New York audition. They sell shares in EB's contract that add to 125%. So they try to manipulated events to make him fail, then to make him succeed, and finally to make him unable to sing at all due to illness.

It's all rather tedious. And the whole time I'm waiting for some payoff on the fact that EB's singing voice is Bing Crosby. They even plant the 4 Crosby sons (look ages 5-10) in the early scene at the orphanage (why are they there? "You know pop and his horses.") to confirm that EB's voice is one they know. But all that happens is EB says "thanks Bing" in the final moments of the film.

So the good news is we get a lot of BC singing, but unfortunately without himself onscreen. Also good news: it's not EB being frantic, but Dianna Lynn, and she's sort of calm about being frantic. Other news: Cass Daley sings a couple of songs; she's the poor-man's Martha Raye, even sounds like her, but MR has a much shorter frame and gorgeous legs and hourglass figure if ya know what I mean. Not sure how the choreographer earned his credit, unless it was CD's moves.

So it's pleasant, and if you don't spend the whole time wondering why BC is dubbing EB, it might  be even more so.

Paramount, dir. Walker; 6

Rhapsody in Blue (1945), 8

George Gershwin is a driven composer whose need to succeed destroys his relationship with singer Julie Adams and socialite Christine Gilbert.
2h 15min | Biography, Drama, Musical | 27 June 1945
Director: Irving Rapper
Stars: Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Oscar Levant.
LeRoy Prinz ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038026/

Bootleg copy, fuzzy print.
Available online $3 rental from YouTube, GooglePlay and Vudu.

In the Tap! Appendix for Johnny Downs, Joan Leslie, Tom Patricola. I wouldn't say the dancing was a reason to watch this.

I don't really care how accurate the biography is. This is mostly an album of Gershwin (and other) music, linked by a story. The performances are good, especially Levant's piano playing, dubbed for Alda, and the orchestral and operatic works. And I've long been a fan of Gershwin's music, especially the neo-classical works. I grieve for all of us missing whatever else he could have composed had he lived longer.

The dramatic portions of the film that have an impact on me surround Oscar Levant. He really was George's friend. He really was the foremost interpreter of George's music for 20 years. I don't know if he really learned of GG's death while playing his music in a concert, but that moment had the most impact on me. I hope that making this film, playing himself, helped OL psychologically, because I've read that his mental health was fragile, and his wife had to commit him to hospital from time to time.

Bonus pleasure: Hazel Scott performs 3 songs in succession. I'm glad to know her name, and I think of her as the Lena Horne of piano, but she sings too. She didn't do any tricks (like playing the keyboard backward, as she did in prior films), but did good renditions, supposedly in a Paris nightclub with GG in attendance.

This should probably be a film I watch once a year, maybe 26Sept, GG's b'day.

Warner, dir. Rapper; 8

The Naughty Nineties (1945), 5+

When their captain is swindled out of his riverboat by a trio of gamblers, stage show star Abbott and his bumbling sidekick Costello must put things right.
1h 16min | Comedy, Crime, Romance | 6 July 1945
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Curtis, Henry Travers, Joe Sawyer.
Jack Boyle ... stager: musical numbers (as John Boyle)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037939/

I found this one especially tedious, but part of that might be unfair: that 2 of the last 4 films of '45 have taken place around this time period (although both of those were in San Francisco, and this is on the Mississippi), but it makes the music all about the same, and not in my preference zone. It's very different to see & hear Mae West sing a borderline-bawdy version of an 1890s song, and far more enjoyable. Here, the singer is especially Polly Pureheart-y, so it doesn't hold my interest. (Wouldn't it be funny if she were actually extremely ribald, and I missed it.) Looking at the Soundtracks page, no wonder I'm not excited by this as a musical. If accurate, very few numbers were performed.

This is not tagged as a musical, but it's In the Tap! Appendix for Uncredited lrish jig number on showboat, which I don't remember seeing.

A&C do an extended version of Who's on First here, with 8 of the 9 players now named. See this Wikipedia article for more. This is the highlight of the film, and very well done: ch12. They did a shortened version in One Night in the Tropics ('40).

A&C are not cast as friends here. Abbott is the new leading man in the showboat's company, and Costello is a stagehand. When A slaps C, I don't like it, and it seems just a bit worse when they're not friends. They quickly join forces to help save the boat from the captain's reckless gambling losses.

The production notes refer to "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" as an A&C routine. This is where Abbott yells backdrop directions to the crew while Costello is on stage rehearsing a song. So he interprets directions like "higher" and "more to the left" as intended for his singing. I don't know the origin of this sketch, but I know I've seen it many many years earlier with someone like Fanny Brice or Louise Fazenda singing and the stage manager yelling backdrop or stage furnishings directions in exactly the same vein.

Overall: meh, with a plus for Who's on First.

Universal, dir. Yarbrough; 5+

Nob Hill (1945), 6- Color

The owner of a San Francisco saloon yearns to rank among the upper crust of Nob Hill. When he begins romancing a wealthy socialite it looks like he may have his entry into high society. The... 
1h 35min | Drama, Musical | 13 June 1945
Director: Henry Hathaway
Stars: George Raft, Joan Bennett, Vivian Blaine, Peggy Ann Garner.
Nick Castle ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037946/

Watched online, blurry copy with Spanish subtitles.

Many, many songs in the Soundtracks, and no performance info. If I ever watch this again, I should try to connect performers with songs.

PAG was the child star of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ('45), her film credit just before Nob Hill.

The plot synopsis completely ignores PAG, who introduces GR to JB (the socialite), and fosters their romance. She completely softens the formerly hard GR character, and charms everyone in the story (to my memory).

But my memory likely has gaps on this film. I fell asleep multiple times, My recall of the plot is: saloon/showplace owner GR is sweet on his musical star (VB). PAG arrives (complete with information tag, as though she were a package, as they did back then) to live with her uncle, GR's best bartender, now deceased. VB helps break the news to PAG, and they invite PAG to stay a while since the boat won't be returning to Ireland until it comes back from Seattle.

Her first wish is to go to church, where she sees JB, the socialite with whom she spent time aboard ship. JB invites her to come visit. GR has VB buy a nice dress for PAG, and they go to JB's mansion, where JB has bought her an even nicer outfit. PAG sees the lot next door is for sale, and wishes it were hers (or really GR's). GR's romance with JB rankles VB, who leaves his employ.

JB's brother runs for District Attorney, and they seek GR's endorsement, since that would sway others in his district. He consents, but after the brother is elected, he starts his campaign to close down all the clip joints and crooked casinos in that part of town. This puts GR in jeopardy with his local friends. GR needs help, and PAG tries to find VB, to no avail.

So PAG contacts JB the only way her housekeeper will allow: by a note-wrapped rock through her window. JB finds VB, they have a cat-fight in her dressing room, each now determined to win GR's affections. Oh, yeah, and let's do something to help GR.

VB sings lovingly to GR from the stage in public, and she wins. I'm not sure how GR's community troubles got resolved.

VB sings several onstage numbers, and we get showgirls wiggle/strutting and singing, but no feats of terpsichore to dazzle the eye. We do get some nice gymnastics with some interesting camera choices (ankle-high, for example) in an early number, but that's about it. Or maybe I didn't look enough.

Fox, dir. Hathaway; 6-

Coco (2017), 9-

Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
PG | 1h 45min || 21 Nov 2017
Directors: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
Stars: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt

Genres: Animation  Adventure  Comedy  Family  Fantasy  Music Mystery
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/reference
Watched at the sticky-floor theatre Mainplace SA.

I looked at the Soundtracks page a while ago, and saw lots of songs performed. But while watching the film today, I didn't get the same impression. I doubt that I'll watch this again to track whether the multiplicity of songs is really a lot of brief segments or perhaps even samples.

I got tired of tracking the mythology of the film. I could read more about Dia de Muertos, but I'm not interested whether the film is faithful to the pre-Spanish southern and central-Mexico traditions. (I was curious about it's origins and geographic popularity, so Wikipedia got a glance.)

I can see why the story required animation. Live actors can't portray the dead quite so well. But until we got to the Land of the Dead, I was fascinated by how life-like yet not creepy the animated living creatures looked. Just the fact that they had 4 fingers and a thumb on each hand, and the hands also looked lifelike, struck me. Even with computerized animation, I wonder how much longer this took to produce than a life-action version would have taken.

I liked the colorful spirit guides. My high school mascot was the griffin, so flying mythical beasts are ok by me, and then giving them the multiple colors like tropical birds was candy for the eye.

I didn't do a head count, but I felt like there were about 10-20 people in the theatre for this Tuesday matinee. But this is 4 months after the film's release, and you can buy used copies of the dvd already, so it's really a testament to the success of this film that it's still in theatres at all. I picked a good location to sit, because I was joined by several others in my row and immediately behind me.

So when I felt the urge to yell out "sing the song!" when Miguel wants Coco to remember her father, and that hasn't occurred to him yet, I managed to suppress it.

And when I started crying, I tried to sniff only when the movie made more noise. Fortunately my scarf was multi-colored, so any stains shouldn't be too visible.

I don't want to see this again. My tears were not happy or strictly sentimental. During the murder trial on which I was a juror, one of the hard things for me was thinking that no prosecutor could trot out similar hardship witnesses if I were the murder victim, especially if I were retired. This film is all about remembering the dead in order to keep their spirits alive in the next world, but it admits that eventually everyone vanishes from there when the last person forgets them. I chose a solitary life, and I love it, but society does lots of things to discourage it, like this big sales pitch on family (which only works because they come around to supporting Miguel's music).

So I acknowledge it was a good film. Good characters, good story, well-presented. I had a moment in the middle somewhere that I wanted them to "move it along", but that's probably true of most films. But like The Best Years of Our Lives ('46), which I also like, I don't want to watch it often/again. It's just too sad. (And drama is NOT one of the 7 genres assigned here.)

Favorite line from the film, when Miguel finds out who his great-great-grandfather is: "A minute ago I thought I was related to a <spoiler censor>! You're a total upgrade!" I wonder how that terminology will be heard in 80 years. Y'know, by the artificial intelligence that watches old movies just to tilt their heads and wonder.

Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, dir. Unkrich & Molina; 9-

The Gay Desperado (1936), 6

Chivo, a singer who works in a movie theater providing live entertainment, is and apprehended by a music-loving Mexican bandit Braganza who wants to make Chivo part of his band. Braganza, who admires American gangsters, also kidnaps Jane and her rich boyfriend, Bill. to become more like the American movie gangsters he admires.
1h 26min | Comedy, Musical | 2 October 1936
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Stars: Nino Martini, Ida Lupino, Leo Carrillo, Mischa Auer.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027660/
Watched online on small screen, good print.

Watched this now, so very very out of sequence, because a copy finally came up for auction on eBay, and I wanted to know whether to bid. Mamoulian has only 18 director credits, and I adore Love Me Tonight ('32), so here's another musical, had to give it a try.

We get only one person singing, and NM sings a LOT. The Soundtracks list only 5 songs, but some day I'd like to record the duration of each; I think they're longer than usual songs sung. I like opera, but this is like listening to a Pavarotti cd. I'd prefer Three Tenors, or SOME variety. During the Good Neighbor Policy era (WW2), musicals were not devoted to one singer, not even Carmen Miranda.

The story is pretty bad. NM becomes an early version of Patty Hearst, enlisted to become an unwilling part of the gang while he is captive. He and 2 henchmen are the ones who kidnap the couple. IL (b. 1918!) is a strong-willed young woman who stands up to the banditos on the road (originally seeking to steal the couple's car), and also during captivity. While NM guards them, the couple persuade him to let the man escape (he justifies that he's in more danger, since he's the rich one, and he has to travel through the desert), but she recognizes that he's a coward, willing to abandon her, and not worthy of her love.

But then she has a big pottery fight with NM, and falls in love with him. It's a little more complicated than that, but her moment of psychological health is completely reversed by those results. Then again, it gives NM that much more reason to Sing.

I wish I could say Leo Carillo or Mischa Auer were amusing here.

I did catch a moment of Mamoulian-signature shadows on the wall, with the banditos lined up. I may not have seen the entire sequence, but I got the impression of dolls on a shelf.

I was not watching this carefully, so it may deserve a better rating than I'm giving today. I encourage myself to watch on a bigger screen. Hopefully the sound won't go out of sync again (I hope that's a result of having too many tabs open, and a direct cast to the TV doesn't run through the same memory constraints.)

Pickford-Lasky, distr. UA, dir. Mamoulian; 6

Wonder Man (1945), 6 Color

After being murdered by gangsters, an exuberant nightclub entertainer returns as a ghost to persuade his meek twin brother to help bring his killers to justice.
Approved | 1h 38min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical | 8 June 1945
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone (as Bruce Humberstone)
Stars: Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen.
John Wray ... dances

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038260/

In the Tap! Appendix for Vera-Ellen, Danny Kaye. First film credit for VE (b. 1921, films '45-'57). Her 2 musical numbers are the reason to watch this film. She dances in ch3 (Bali Boogie) and ch11 (So in Love).

DK (b. 1911) actually looks quite good half-dressed as VE's partner (plus the Goldwyn Girls) in the Bali Boogie (ch3). Nice chest, good shoulders. When he dances, is he pretending to be a dancer, or is he dancing? Somehow I feel like he's pretending, but he looks great doing it.

When he's "hidden" himself onstage during the opera (ch19), he sings his testimony to the D.A. in the audience. I want to compare it to the Marx Bros disrupting the performance in A Night at the Opera ('35). Both were evading bad guys. But MB were not trying to perform opera; they tried to blend in with the extras and Harpo ended up climbing around in the backdrops. Here DK chose to co-opt the costume of a principal performer (alone vocalizing in his dressing room.) So when he went out on stage he would have to perform in a very visible way. Not sure if DK's character in the film understood his choice and intended to relay his testimony that way; his facial expression seemed more like he decided to seize the opportunity at the moment. But the script writers are being much more disrespectful of opera than MB was. And why does the soprano embrace DK right away when he arrives onstage? But it's kinda cute, and he looks good in tights.

DK's repeatedly and insistently calling out to his twin's ghost in desperation is very tiresome, especially in the flat of SZ Sakall. Even Cuddles can't upstage this mania.

Goldwyn, distr. RKO, dir. Humberstone; 6

Where Do We Go from Here? (1945), 6- Color

Bill wants to join the Army, but he's 4F so he asks a wizard to help him, but the wizard has slight problems with his history knowlege, so he sends Bill everywhere in history, but not to ... 
1h 14min | Musical, Fantasy* | 23 May 1945 | Color
Directors: Gregory Ratoff, George Seaton (uncredited)
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Joan Leslie, June Haver.
Ruth Fanchon ... dances stager (as Fanchon)
Seymour Felix ... dance director (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038245/
Watched online, ok print; also on bootleg disc, but played on computer or portable, not Blu.

According to Wikipedia, this is the only Kurt Weill musical written for the screen. Neither Wp nor IMDb does justice to who performs what, and I'll assign that to myself for a subsequent viewing.

That Wp article also says this is where FM and JH met. It's certainly their first credit together on IMDb, and their only feature film. They didn't marry until 6'54. He was 6'3, she was 5'1. With heels and hair, she doesn't look quite that much shorter.

I should like this movie better; I certainly remember it more fondly than my final impression today. JL can dance, but doesn't get much. JH too, and the danciest she gets involves some stunt dancing from bar to stools, up and down, wasting the opportunity completely, and making me worry that she'll fall and injure herself, although she's being handed off among male dancers as she goes. It's inelegant, unfun and unnecessarily risky.

The storyline, of a genie who can't get it right (his time-travel watch is blamed, but it manages to get FM to key moments in history) should be cuter. FM goes from the American Revolution to Christopher Columbus, then rows from Cuba to Manhattan, buys the island, pops forward in time to New Amsterdam, and finally home. FM meets JL and JH in at least 2 vignettes each, and it helps him realize which one he really loves. When he gets back to his own time, the draft standards have been lowered, so he's now accepted into the Army, and he marches in a parade. The End.

This is not presented as a dream. Although FM is hit on the head by some kitchen pots, he goes to his scrap yard and accepts the bottle while nursing his bruised head. When he comes back to 1945, he's suddenly marching with WACs (so the time travel machine wasn't completely fixed). I've submitted the addition of Fantasy to the genres; and it's accepted while I reread this post.

Fox, dir. Ratoff & Seaton; 6-

Flame of Barbary Coast (1945), 5

Duke falls for Flaxen in the Barbary Coast in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. He loses money to crooked gambler Tito, goes home and  learns to gamble, and returns. After he makes a ... 
1h 31min | Musical, Romance, Western | 28 May 1945
Director: Joseph Kane
Stars: John Wayne, Ann Dvorak, Joseph Schildkraut, William Frawley, Virginia Grey.
Larry Ceballos ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037702/
Watched online; ok print.

As a musical, it's well below enjoyable. All songs are performed onstage in 1900's Barbary Coast casinos, by one of two actresses: AD or VG. Soundtracks gives no indication of who performs what and whether it's dubbed or not. The dancing amounts to showgirls wiggling and strutting, except a tiny bit of tapping that was filmed from a distance.

The SF earthquake effects are pretty good, but no awards were issued. The film did get nom'd for Oscars in sound and music.

The script and acting is not good enough to make me root for AD choosing JW or JS, and she seems to lean toward JS until the very end. (I usually think JS is a terrific actor, so maybe script and direction should be blamed.) Both are relatively young here, and handsome, although JW is the more physical presence. Each of them cheats the other, so morally neither character is a better choice, although supposedly JW cheats JS after JS does so first.

So this gets my "don't watch again" rating.

Republic, dir. Kane; 5

Molly and Me (1945), 6+

A vivacious actress needing work becomes a housekeeper for a crusty retired politician, and gives his life the shaking-up that it needs.
1h 17min | Comedy, Musical | 25 May 1945
Director: Lewis Seiler
Stars: Gracie Fields, Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall, Reginald Gardiner, Natalie Schafer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037923/
Watched on AmazonPrime

Previously rated 7; I know not why.

RM (b. 1928) sounds like his voice hasn't quite changed yet, but looks like the late teen he is. He's a charming and mitigating force in this story about a gruff father who's tamed by his son and the troupe of actors who work as his servants for want of acting work.

As a musical, GF sings 5+ times, but it's all terribly casual, sung for each other. No need of a choreographer here. And the songs don't particularly relate to plot or characters.

MW plays gruff well, and softens well too. So it's a warm story with a happy ending. And the horrid ex-wife is dispatched in a very satisfying fashion. But 7 means I recommend it, and I don't know that it meets that standard.

Fox, dir. Seiler; 6+

Pillow to Post (1945), 5+ {nm}

With a war on and most men being drafted, Howard Oil Supply Company has no salesmen left. So daughter Jean hits the road and does not make one sale. She finally gets one tentative sale with... 
1h 32min | Comedy | 9 June 1945
Director: Vincent Sherman
Stars: Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, Stuart Erwin, Ruth Donnelly.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037990/
Watched online, very good print.

I'm not sure how this came to my attention, but the musical performance here is Louis Armstrong on trumpet (band leader?) with Dorothy Dandridge (b. 1922, she looks even younger) singing. It was sweet/cute in a nightclub where they were the entertainment. It was a one-off, unfortunately.

This is not about women at work for the war effort; it just pretended such in the beginning. Instead it's a meet-cute rom-com, and an imitation of Miracle of Morgan's Creek (except the multi-birth couple is not the one who isn't married.) It's all terribly frenetic and irritating. I thought it might be fun to see IL and SG in a comedy, but this wasn't. She's an incompetent heiress, and comes back from a sales call where she finally "closed the deal" with her lipstick smeared. It's sexual harassment painted as normalcy.

Then the majority of the plot is consumed by her convincing a soldier to pretend to be her husband so she can rent a motor court cabin to get a night's sleep. But his C.O. is also staying there, so he can't slip away after registering as originally planned. Then his mother shows up for a visit, and the deception is revealed after the unmarried couple spent the night (he outside, she in). 

If I haven't made it sound awful enough, go ahead, watch it. At least the print is good.

The plus is for Armstrong/Dandridge. Unfortunately I didn't note the time of their appearance; I think it was the first half of the film, perhaps when IL was out with her husband and the prospective buyer.

Warner, dir. Sherman; 5+

Thrill of a Romance (1945), 6

A swim teacher and a wealthy businessman are married after a brief courtship. A charming war hero falls in love with this newly-married woman, after her husband abandons her on their honeymoon for the sake of a business meeting.
1h 45min | Musical, Romance | 23 May 1945
Director: Richard Thorpe
Stars: Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Henry Travers, Spring Byington, Lauritz Melchior.
Charles Walters ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038170/

We get a lot of big band (Tommy Dorsey with Buddy Rich on drums) and a lot of singing (LM in full operatic throat), and swimming (EW & later VJ) and diving (EW, but with a diving double?? in the cast/crew), but we get no water ballet, and no dancing that I saw (does social dancing need to be choreographed?)

The plot is adequately described above, except maybe that LM befriends EW & VJ, and tries to assist their friendship.

The new husband who abandoned EW is a candidate for abuse school. He swept her off her feet in a month, and was angry with HER when he returned after more than a week. But EW, being the strong woman she is, immediately accepted his offer of an annulment, and wanted no cash.

It's not a story that I enjoyed. EW's abandoned, gets swept up by another man, dumps the husband that dumped her, and is romanced by the new guy again at the end. Very messy, and not inspirational during the war. Plenty of brides would have felt abandoned by servicemen husbands, although their need to leave was legal. The singing wasn't fun, and no dancing makes for a poor musical. Tempting to give this a minus, but LM gets a good moment when a black teen bellman/messenger at the hotel demonstrates his singing talent, and LM promises to get him singing lessons.

MGM, dir. Thorpe; 6

Vertigo (1958), 10

A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
2h 8min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller | 9 May 1958
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/

Saw this in the theatre via Fathom Events and TCM, Sunday matinee. Did March Madness keep the viewers away? Definitely NOT a packed house. I think The Philadelphia Story (1940) was better attended last month.

Looking at bonus features on the dvd: he even edited the moments in the bell tower before Judy dies: the nun is not a black silhouette before she appears; we see some of her habit immediately, and Judy screams as the nun moves forward. (I thought in the film that the black spectre was what frightened Judy, she stepped back as it moved forward.) As with the non-censorship version, we see Scottie standing on the ledge, intent ambiguous, not terrified of the height per se. Cut to Midge's apartment; she is listening to the radio report on Elster, thought to be living in the south of France, talking about extradicting him once he's found. Then a local story, and Midge turns it off. Then Scottie arrives, Midge hands him a drink, and neither of them says anything. The End.

My friend thought the revelation scene, where Judy writes a letter to Scottie, rips it up, and then we get a flashback, had almost been deleted from the film. Yup, here's a blog about it. In the Harris/Katz/et al commentary track (only on the dvd, not on the blu-ray) during that scene, Kim Novak talks about sometimes asking Hitch about a scene that she didn't understand (the plot). He explained that it's a mystery, and you don't want it all to make sense and/or be what is expected.

Here is why I have both the blu and the dvds in my binder:
dvd disc1:

• feature commentary w/ Herb Coleman, Harris & Katz (restoration), et al; dvd exclusive
• feature commentary w/ W.Friedkin
• foreign censorship ending
• the vertigo archives: set design & storyboard drawings
• production notes (text); dvd exclusive
• original theatrical trailer
• restoration theatrical trailer

dvd disc2:

• obsessed with vertigo: new life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece
• partners in crime: hitchcock's collaborators:
• Saul Bass: Title Champ
• Edith Head: Dressing the Master's Movies
• Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
• Alma: the Master's Muse
• Hitchcock/Truffaut (14 min short by LevaFilmworks)
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Case of Mr. Pelham"; dvd exclusive

blu-ray:

• obsessed with vertigo: new life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece
• partners in crime: hitchcock's collaborators:
• Saul Bass: Title Champ
• Edith Head: Dressing the Master's Movies
• Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
• Alma: the Master's Muse
• Hitchcock/Truffaut (14 min short by LevaFilmworks)
• foreign censorship ending
• the vertigo archives: set design & storyboard drawings; blu: shrunken, not letterboxed
• feature commentary w/ W.Friedkin
• original theatrical trailer
• restoration theatrical trailer
• 100 years of universal: the lew wasserman era; blu-ray exclusive

This is my 500th movie post since beginning my musicals quest on 16Sep'17. Generalized posts are not included in that count.

Alfred J. Hitchcock Prod., distr. Paramount, dir. Hitchcock; 10

Diamond Horseshoe (1945), 6 Color

A medical student who wants to be a crooner gets involved with a showgirl who has an ulterior motive.
1h 44min | Musical | May 1945 | Color
Director: George Seaton
Stars: Betty Grable, Dick Haymes, Phil Silvers
Angela Blue ... assistant choreographer
Hermes Pan ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037640/

bootleg, blurry copy.

In the Tap! Appendix for Betty Grable, and she does tap a little in one number.

I should like this better. I like the heavily used song, The More I See You (The More I Want You), even when these folks sing it and it's played again and again.

But even +I'm+ offended by BG's rendition of In Acapulco. She's saying Spanish phrases with ugly-American pronunciation. Ex: chicka linda instead of cheecka leenda (to write it phonetically without special symbols). If this is supposed to help the good neighbor policy, it might have the opposite effect. (This is also the number where she taps.)

I'm not fond of DH, and even when the cast says on 2 different occasions that he's handsome, he's not. His voice is well-used here, and he's playing a good guy.

But the plot is a bit grating. DH is 6 months from completing his medical degree, and he helps a couple of people medically, but he wants to be in showbiz like his dad, But dad keeps pushing him back to medicine.

Then dad's girlfriend wants DH to exit, because dad cancelled their planned wedding so he can focus on DH. So gf enlists BG to romance DH and then dump him so he'll go away. As an inducement, gf offers BG her best mink coat, which BG covets, and keeps her motivated.

But BG falls for DH, and they marry, and _she_ directs him back to medicine.

True to H'wood norms, everyone is reconciled and happy at the end. And DH, in ambulance doctor uniform, sings in a mic offstage during the show.

I'm curious why Billy Rose was such a prominent off-screen character. He's mentioned often, and sends telegrams to our characters. He's supposedly starting other shows of various bizarre types in lots of disconnected locales.

I think it's a combination of the plot, the lack of dancing (if the Soundtracks are right, and I think they are, BG only dances twice, even though it has 20 songs performed by various cast members), and the mediocre print. But especially the plot. When I watch this again, I should do the songs performed list.

Fox, dir. Seaton; 6

Salome Where She Danced (1945), 6- Color

A Viennese ballerina is forced to flee to Arizona during the Franco-Prussian War, where she proceeds to vamp numerous men in order to get what she wants.
1h 30min | Drama, Music, War | 17 April 1945 | Color
Director: Charles Lamont
Stars: Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, David Bruce, Walter Slezak, Albert Dekker
Lester Horton ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038046/

Watched on AmazonPrime, good print.

We get a fair amount of dancing, all by YD (b. '22), sometimes with ballet chorus, and she actually dances en pointe in one number. But mostly she undulates, as befitting Salome. She also sings at least once.

The plot makes me feel that these people are leaves on the wind, and the wind is called Salome. The reporter becomes an empresario of sorts. The Confederate solder turned post-war bandit (DB) is swept away, but only after she pursues him, then he travels with her and tries to go straight. The Austrian count she deceives pursues her to the new world, and gets himself killed in a duel over her. Her music master follows where she goes. Only the Russian count (WS), also captivated by her beauty and talents, is sufficiently self-possessed to send her away when she loves another. I just hope he retrieved the Rembrandt he gave her.

Also in the cast is a Chinaman (played by non-Asian Abner Biberman) with a Scottish brogue, but in then-traditional Chinese dress. He is wise, and counsels everyone well. I'm not sure if he's employed by WS, but he's present in his venue.

Previously rated 5, but it's just not that bad. It was good to see the future Mrs. Munster in her youth.

Walter Wanger Prod. & Universal, dir. Lamont; 6-

Song of the Sarong (1945), 5

An adventurer is promised $1 million if he can recover a fortune in pearls, but they are guarded by a tribe of fierce natives.
1h 5min || 1 April 1945
Director: Harold Young
Stars: Nancy Kelly, William Gargan, Eddie Quillan, Fuzzy Knight, George Dolenz, George Cleveland
Carlos Romero ... dance director

Genres: Action | Adventure | Comedy | Music | Romance

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038103/

Watched online, poor print.

To continue the plot synopsis: the fierce natives are lead by a beautiful non-native princess (NK) who was raised on the island since infancy by the non-native former-partner (GC) of the man financing the adventure. The princess is engaged to a native (GD) educated abroad who would have been ruler of the island if she hadn't been around. The adventurer (WG) and his stowaway sidekicks (EQ & FK) are detained on the island, they charm the natives with their harmonizing (they also brought ukulele, harmonica and flute.) WG romances NK. Eventually WG & sidekicks get to the "church" where the tears of the goddess (the pearls, which forms the basis of the island's religion) are stored, helped by GD so he can capture them in the act and execute them, eliminating his marriage competition for NK. During preparations for the burning at the stake of WG, NK seeks GC's help, and he finally reveals that there is a bigger god than the local goddess, bringing out the bible that was attached to the princess as an infant when she was adrift at sea. (The princess is an adult now, and he hasn't taught her any Christianity.) GC gets down on his knees to pray, and NK goes back to the execution site. The fire is lit, and WG squirms. The sky darkens, and a downpour douses the fire. The End.

Along the way, WG, EQ and FK sing at least twice as a trio with nice harmony (once in the airplane on the way to the island, once while imprisoned), NK sings a couple of times (Soundtracks says it's dubbed), and we get some "native" dancing.

The Connections page says the hula sequence was edited from the Abbott & Costello movie Pardon My Sarong ('42), but the choreographers are different (?), and I don't remember other dancing here. The 2 songs the films share are sung by principals. 

The music was not so much nor so good that I'd advocate for or against the Music label. And hopefully my plot description gives the impression I'm left with: yuck.

Yes, George Dolenz is father of Monkee Micky Dolenz. Dad is far more handsome; his part had a very flat, stern personality here, doubly contrasting him with his son.

Universal, dir. Young; 5