Springtime in the Rockies

"Springtime in the Rockies" is another delightful 20th Century Fox musical, this time starring Betty Grable, John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Cesar Romero, and Harry James. All of them are wonderful, but Grable really sparkled in this as Vicky Lane, a Broadway actress whose heart is broken by Dan (John Payne). She quits the show they're doing and teams up for a song and dance act with handsome Victor Prince (Romero). The show's producer (Jackie Gleason) is in need of backing for his next show, finds Dan in a bar, and insists that he get Vicky back to New York. She's currently performing at Lake Louise. Payne is drunk out of his mind, so the bartender (Horton) escorts him to the Canadian resort.

Grable looks fantastic and dances with Romero beautifully. Romero was tall, handsome, a beautiful dancer, and could do drama (Captain from Castile) as well as comedy (Julia Misbehaves). He enjoyed a wonderful career but had he not been Cuban, his film work would probably not been limited to supporting roles. Payne is handsome and delightful, and Carmen Miranda as Rosita Murphy is very funny.

The scenery is gorgeous, the music upbeat with lots of great trumpet-playing by Harry James, and the actors marvelous. "Springtime in the Rockies" is a real treat.

I've just viewed the video of 'Springtime in the Rockies' for perhaps the 50th time and it just keeps getting better. My video runs for 87 minutes; just what is in the missing 4 minutes, if the stated 91 minutes running time is correct, I wonder?

What do I like about this movie? It is beautiful to look at with superb sound that sweeps you back to the 1940s. John Payne and Carmen Miranda never made a better movie. Harry James wisely performs with the band and has few lines. But, if I have to pick out one actor, it is the wonderful Charlotte Greenwood, she of the L O N G legs. Her solo on the dance floor is the highlight of the movie. Betty Grable is nice to look at as well, of course! Then we have Edward Everett Horton and a number of other fine supporting actors who go to make up one of the best musicals to come out of the war years.

If I didn't read it somewhere, I'm sure I'd appropriate the assertion myself: "Technicolor was invented for Carmen Miranda." That fabulously talented lady from Brazil possessed a sense of humor which brightened many an hour for me. (Yes, she was assisted by scriptwriters and directors who knew how to showcase her gifts, but her personality simply leaps from the screen and into all those receptive hearts who so regret her untimely passing.)

This is one of the better films in which Carmen appeared (Luvved her character's moniker: "Rosita Murphy" - What fun!) and other comments on this site aptly point out its delights. Everyone in the cast gets to add to the pleasure and let no one cast aspersions on Miss Betty Grable - her verve and naturalness were one of Twentieth-Century Fox's most valuable assets, especially during those difficult WWII years. A friend of mine, whose youthful cinema-going was considerably less supervised than mine, was absolutely besotted with Betty's blonde beauty and bounce. I believe he saw everyone of her films first-run, when he was barely old enough to enter a theater unaccompanied, as he did, and he insisted I catch TV showings of those Grable gems (and her fabled gams) whenever he saw a broadcast listing. Each time I was able to follow his recommendation, I was not in the least sorry. And with Senorita Miranda to whip this confection into frothy perfection...well, as the saying goes: "They don't make 'em like that anymore."

Among the Fox musicals of the early 40s, there isn't much to distinguish one from the others. The leading lady will be Alice Faye or Betty Grable, the leading man will be Don Ameche or John Payne, the setting will be a scenic paradise, the story slight, and the success of the picture will depend on the supporting players and/or specialty acts.

In this case there are some very welcome highlights that elevate the picture above most of the others. Caesar Romero reveals himself to be a first-rate ballroom dancer: lithe, graceful, totally appealing. He brings out the best in Betty Grable in their nightclub routine - she who so often had done the simplest steps in production numbers while the chorus did the real dancing around her. She is put to the test this time, and acquits herself very well.

Then there is Edward Everett Horton, at last able to play a character with aspirations, motivation, a background that matters - instead of the less-than-one dimensional nervous, dithering purveyor of the double-take. Arguably, this is his best performance.

And finally we have Carmen Miranda at the top of her form (Was she ever not?). Good songs, terrific gestures and facial expressions, flashing eyes, dazzling smile - even a part that has an effect on the story (such as it is).

There were no better musicals at this time than those being produced by Fox. MGM was just getting its A-team together, and within a year or two would render the Fox musicals decidedly less impressive than they had seemed. But Leo the Lion had Kelly, Astaire, Garland, Grayson working for him; Fox had to do with less.

A film that takes all the stock conventions of Betty Grable musicals and distills them into one big bright package. This shows what the Hollywood dream factory could do with even the most obvious and conventional script. Filmed in lush Technicolor the film is loaded with so much talent and trimmings that the threadbare story becomes unimportant.

Betty Grable was at the peak of her popularity all dolled up in the height of 40's fashion, she and John Payne make a handsome and charming pair. They were strong enough to carry a film themselves but Fox managed to cram all the strongest supporting players from their other various movies. Charlotte Greenwood does the faithful sidekick role she did so well and gets a chance to do her unique dance routine. Caesar Romero is the dashing snook and Edward Everett Horton the droll faithful retainer. Then there's that party all on to herself Carmen Miranda fracturing the language and wearing outfits that as John Payne says are a little overdone outside a Mardi Gras. Topped off with Harry James' stellar music, including Sleepy Lagoon and I Had the Craziest Dream, weaving it's spell throughout this is the kind of shiny bauble that kept the public's mind off the war and still can't help but entertain today.