The Dolly Sisters

Essentially a more lavish Technicolor remake of the 1940 B&W film "Tin Pan Alley", including two of the stars of the original: John Payne and Betty Grable. Both films have their relative pluses and minuses. I enjoyed the many outlandish costumes of the female stars and of the various extras, a common feature of many 1940s musicals. Grable and June Haver are much more of a sister act than Alice Faye and Grable were in the original, when they mostly performed their own numbers. The troubled on again off again romances, which fill in between musical shows, get awfully tedious, more so than in the original. If Alice Faye had taken Haver's part, as originally planned, it would have been interesting to see if she were again cast as the dominant sister(I doubt it). To me, Faye has more charisma than Haver, but the later makes a more look alike sister for Grable. I really missed Jack Oakie in this one. Frank Latimore was simply not an adequate substitute for Oakie's cheerful comic relief from Payne's serious demeanor. Payne's character is much more of a heel than in the original. That poor foxy woman he led on to believe he cared more for than Grable, left alone in the audience in the final scene, when he was reunited with Grable on the stage!

I was 8 years old when I first saw this movie in 1945. I was so impressed with the blond beauty of both girls and to know that the Dolly Sisters were real people. June Haver and Betty Grable really looked alike. In my childs mind I thought they were my private dancers and I wanted to be just like them. I actually thought I was the only one who knew about them and they were my secret......What a kid! Thanks for listening. Florence Forrester-Stockton

The real Dolly Sisters were dark, in both complexion and hair, Hungarian dancers with complex personalities and troubled lives, in fact Jenny had committed suicide several years before the debut of this musical, so if you are looking for anything resembling a depiction of the actual Dolly Sisters story look elsewhere. However if a sumptuous overstuffed showcase for blonds Betty Grable and June Haver is what you seek this is for you. Filmed in almost blinding Technicolor with some good songs and one great and beautiful one, I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, eye popping costumes and hairstyles this is old fashioned entertainment dished up with style.

The real-life Dolly sisters were brunettes but that didn't stop Fox from pairing Bette Grable and June Haver as the famous duo, in addition to fictionalizing their rise to fame in vaudeville and the legit circuit. Nevertheless, this is a typical 1940s charmer of a musical, with the talented John Payne for added appeal and good performances by S. Z. Sakall and Reginald Gardiner. Grable and Haver are seen in a good number of singing and dancing routines and there is even one new song ("I Can't Begin To Tell You") supposedly penned by John Payne. It's all very likeable technicolored entertainment in lavish style. Betty's role is a little more dramatic than usual and she does a good piece of emoting in the final scenes. If you're a Grable fan, you can't afford to miss this one! And she was never better than when she was teamed opposite John Payne--good chemistry and believable sparks.

There may be better film musicals out there than 'The Dolly Sisters', but it succeeds very well as colourful fun with enough to put a smile on one's face and clearly knows what it's trying to be and what to do with it.

A huge part of wanting to see 'The Dolly Sisters' was the cast. With the likes of Betty Grable, June Haver, SZ Sakall, Reginald Gardiner, John Payne, there are some talented people here. Also, foibles and all, there is an immense soft spot had for the "Golden Age Hollywood" musicals, a soft spot that has been lifelong held. A fair few of them are flawed in the story department but many are compensated by the music, production values, atmosphere and performances.

While 'The Dolly Sisters' has more merits than it has flaws, the story (if we are to forget that biographically it's very much fictionalised) is as flimsy and predictable as they come and some of the latter parts meander, such as a finale that could have had more oomph. Frank Latimore fails to pass the "remotely amusing" test and further fails to inject much charm or enthusiasm.

Lastly the black face routine is in pretty embarrassing taste now, with a lot of unsubtle and unfunny black stereotypes that feel out of date and not for the easily offended, with very gaudy make-up.

However, the merits that 'The Dolly Sisters' has are numerous. It looks lovely, with only the costumes and make-up in the black face sequence showing signs of cheapness, elsewhere the film is handsomely mounted and photographed beautifully and with such great use of colour. The songs are tuneful and a very pleasant listen, especially "I Can't Begin to Tell You" (Oscar-nominated and not hard to see why) and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows". They are mostly staged with the right amount of entertainment and intimacy.

Scripting is suitably zesty, and Irving Cummings directs with much assurance. The story is not perfect but has such a cheery charm, a huge abundance of fun and heart that it is difficult to be too hard on it. Betty Grable and June Haver were tailor-made for their roles, and are endearing joys to watch. John Payne sings beautifully and looks more comfortable than in some of his other films, while SZ Sakall is so cuddly and funny and Reginald Gardiner is amusing.

All in all, colourful and cheery fun. 7/10 Bethany Cox