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I thought LUCKY ME from Warner Bros in 1954 was not the first Cinemascope musical as some comment says.. possibly the 1953 FOX musical ? HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE. Fox patented Cinemascope and hired the process to other studios. The first WBs musical was A STAR IS BORN. But I might be wrong... anyone?

On my Australian market DVD this really silly Doris Day musical has opening credits in cinemascope and the rest of he film in ..horror of horrors! pan and scan TV presentation. On the box it says hooray for Cinemascope but the film itself is not in Cinemascope if anyone from WB DVD office bothers to check. The color and art design is terrific, the musical numbers well staged (as I could tell, as I only saw half of the image), the 50s style and modernity snazzy and Doris Day was beautiful. Its trite script is embarrassing ... a bit like any of the Columbia musicals with Jack Lemmon or Betty Grable of the same year. I was keen to enjoy but the badly presented cropping, down to TV from cinemascope ruined the experience... so I took the DVD back to the store, complained to the bemused 19 year old goth chick behind the counter and got a refund. She seemed to spark to life when I pretended to be interested in a box set of BUFFY Vampire Slayer, but I tricked her and took the money instead.

In sunny Miami, superstitions showgirl Doris Day (as Candy Williams) and her musical troupe find themselves destitute after their show "Parisian Pretties" closes. This is strange, because Ms. Day and performing manager Phil Silvers (as Hap Schneider) appear captivating on stage. The troupe is forced to take menial jobs. While working as a maid, tap-dancing Nancy Walker (as Flo Neely) meets famous songwriter Bob Cummings (as Dick Carson) and learns he is producing a new Broadway show...

Day hopes Mr. Cummings could provide her with a lucky break. Perhaps romance will follow. "Lucky Me" was meant to be a follow-up to the crowd-pleasing "Calamity Jane" (1953), but fell short. The earlier film featured Day's million-selling #1 "Secret Love" single. This film's song highlight is "I Speak to the Stars", a sleepy #16 hit. The closing party is mildly interesting, beginning with Day in a convincing disguise. This is where you can spot black-haired Angie Dickinson, in her big screen debut.

**** Lucky Me (4/9/54) Jack Donohue ~ Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers, Nancy Walker

Candy (Doris Day) and her friends are all talented but out of work stage performers. Because they can't find work, they all get jobs at a local hotel bussing tables and working as dish washers. However, they haven't given up on their show biz dreams and they want more than anything else to meet with a famous Broadway showman, Dick Carson (Bob Cummings), to show him their skills. But again and again their attempts are thwarted. Oddly enough, when Candy accidentally meets Dick, he doesn't tell her who she is and they fall in love. But when she realizes that he's been lying about who he is, they break up. In fact, again and again, the pair seem to have breakups only to quickly reunite...to the point where it sure felt predictable.

Despite the predictable and cliched plot, the film had some very nice song and dance numbers. It was catchy and enjoyable....and also a bit brainless. In other words, if you think too much about the plot, you cannot enjoy the film. My recommendation is that you turn off your brain and just enjoy.

"Lucky Me" gives you everything you want in a musical and more. All the songs are catchy; the banter is quick and witty; there are some big dance productions; and of course, the one and only Doris Day.

Most films from Doris Day leave me wishing there were more musical numbers, but "Lucky Me" has just the right amount. The plot is thin and the romance does not start until about halfway through, but who cares? This film is a whole lot of fun.

If you are a Doris Day fan, this is a must. If not, then this is a good a place as any to find out about one of the greatest entertainers of all time. She can sing. She can dance. She can be really funny.

If you like upbeat, colorful musicals, then check out "Lucky Me."

For the film Lucky Me, Doris Day was reunited with composers Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster who wrote the score for Calamity Jane and gave Doris one of her biggest hits, Secret Love in one of her biggest film successes. Unfortunately none of the songs from Lucky Me was ever any kind of hit for Day and the film is a very ordinary backstage story.

With some establishing shots in Miami Beach done in Cinemascope, Lucky Me is also the name of the show composer Robert Cummings is writing the score for. Doris is part of a quartet act that consists of Phil Silvers, Eddie Foy, Jr., and Nancy Walker. Through some of the usual Phil Silvers shenanigans, the group has to work to pay off a debt to restaurant owner Marcel Dalio.

Cummings is staying at the hotel that Dalio's restaurant is at and again through shenanigans, Day and Cummings meet. Day thinks he's garage mechanic and Cummings keeps up the pretense as has been done in more movies I can remember. That's because he's romancing daughter of bankroll, Bill Goodwin in the person of Martha Hyer.

If you can't tell where this is all going you haven't seen too many films let alone musicals. It would have been nice if Doris and the gang had been given some hit songs from this film, but Fain and Webster who won Academy Awards for Secret Love and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing came up short in the score for Lucky Me.

Eddie Foy, Jr. and Nancy Walker came up short in footage as well. Especially Nancy Walker who is one of the funniest people around. I believe there is some moments for her in the Warner Brothers vaults if anyone wants to do a director's cut for Lucky Me. Oddly enough Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker within the next 10 years would co-star on Broadway in Do-Re-Mi which was a big success, but never made it to Hollywood.

Doris's fans will like Lucky Me, others can take or leave it and be considered lucky either way.