La cenicienta del hampa

Damon Runyon whose Guys And Dolls was still running on Broadway when Bloodhounds Of Broadway made its debut with a new musical star. It was a built in audience for 20th Century Fox's new musical star Mitzi Gaynor.

Sad to say that Gaynor came along just as musical films were getting fewer and fewer because of the expenses. She got in some good films though including the choice part of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. Mitzi could sing, dance, and when called for could be very funny, the total package.

Bloodhounds of Broadway has Scott Brady leaving the New York jurisdiction to avoid testifying at a New York State Crime Commission. He and sidekick Wally Vernon come to a small Georgia town in the piney woods and there find Mitzi Gaynor with her two trained bloodhounds Nip and Tuck. She's also got Timothy Carey who has ideas of marrying her. I don't know about you but I consider that a fate worse than death. Brady takes her and the hounds back to Broadway though he has to lay low.

Brady also has a jealous girlfriend in Marguerite Chapman who might just blow the whistle on him. Brady is head of a large bookmaking operation that uses a laundry for a front. There is a very funny scene with Mary Wickes who has come in the place to get a wash done and she's being discouraged from patronizing the business for that purpose.

There's a really good performance from that other Mitzi, Green that is who spent most of her career on Broadway. She takes Gaynor under her wing. Also Michael O'Shea as a cop who grew up with Brady who is now looking to nail him.

The music comes from a variety of sources, best number is a hillbilly type dance that Gaynor does with Sharon Baird. You will also spot Charles Bronson in an early role as one of Brady's associates.

And those hounds make it complete. Bloodhounds On Broadway holds up well as nice musical entertainment.

As delightful as it is corny, this comedy-musical is based on a story by Damon Runyan, whose interest in the New York crime world led to the creation of "Guys and Dolls," another must-see musical. Mitzi Gaynor is a delight as a country girl caught up in the escapades of a couple of crooks. This is totally her film, whether she is dancing a duet with Mousketeer Sharon Baird to the folk tune "Cindy" or swinging with Richard Green and Mitzi Green to "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'." However many Mitzis they put in this movie, it belongs to Gaynor, whose enduring career makes her a performing legend and a movie great. In 2020 she was still kickin' going on age 89.

I LOVE the opening shot of Marguerite Chapman! Stunning Mid Century Hard Boiled Glamour Show Girl. Good voice, great figure, and lots of Technicolour screen presence. Flash but not trash. In the mould of Linda Darnell, Jane Russell, Dolores Grey, and even Lynn Bari in Orchestra Wives. Travilla, who dressed Marilyn and Jane in "Blondes", creates some stunning outfits for her too.

Nice to see a fresh faced Mitzi, but I wish Marguerite had been given a little more time on screen - a second song would have been great. Was Mitzi Gaynor star material? I think so. Sweet, but not cutsie. Loved her in There's no business like show business, and South Pacific. I do think she looks likes she's carrying a lot of weight in the bottom half of her body, but hey who cares.

All in all an easy to watch colourful musical!!

Mitzi Gaynor, to me, is an enigma. She could dance well, sing with more than a little ability... but never really grabbed the screen and held onto it. Her performance in this one is a very good example. True, the part is ridiculous, and the character's transition is sloppily written. But her acting, in general, is pure artifice, part of the problem she would eventually face in 'South Pacific'. She is pert and yet lacking charisma. This film does have some charm, including the 'I've Got a Feeling You're Foolin' Number. And Scott Brady happens to be in his element here. To me, though, the film is worth seeing just to admire Marguerite Chapman, one of the most beautiful and unjustly forgotten actresses. Few actresses could show 'spit and vinegar' and temperament in their performances the way Chapman does so easily. Harmon Jones' direction follows the imperfect script. When the structure of a Runyhon yarn becomes so obvious that you take note of its inconsistencies, its plot holes seem like Manhattan potholes.

Lots of slang like used in GUYS AND DOLLS. Well it is based on Damon Runyon's stories, so why not? Gamblers and dolls. Simple plot revolves around a numbers man Scott Brady meeting up with a little hick from GA, Mitzi Gaynor. Shades of what was to become her Nellie Forbush in SOUTH PACIFIC. Her character development in this is kind of sudden. In "life" a real cute little innocent, and in the musical numbers a regular siren. But who cares. This is a musical. Fox should release more of these little gems that were no great shakes at the box office, but are very much needed in this day and age of smutty and violent films. Nice interview with Mitzi on the new DVD. She says nice things about Marilyn Monroe during THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS, but I understand she didn't like her and didn't say very nice things about her. Has she changed her mind? Hope so. Well, let's have more of Mitzi like GOLDEN GIRL and THE I DON'T CARE GIRL. BLOODHOUNDS is certainly worth a look for nostalgia if nothing else.