Those Redheads from Seattle

I really like this movie. It is a good story & has a great cast.

Theresa Brewer has a wonderful voice and I have always liked Agnes Moorehead. All the girls & the mother have red hair except the youngest & she is a blond. The husband/father was killed & they went to Alaska to settle his affairs. He ran the local newspaper & he wrote an item about the local saloon. One of his men killed the father. They find that there is no money. They are in Alaska, totally broke so they all find ways to earn money. Even the youngest sells kittens to help. It is a wonderful musical.

There's the bad guys & the good guys. And each of the girls end up with someone. But Gene Barry plays a bad/good guy.

The attractive thing about this movie is the presence of Teresa Brewer, in her only film. So if you're a fan this is a must see. Secondly, how often do you judge a musical as a great movie in itself? The plot is usually there to support the music and the stars. That's the way I look at it, so I'm not hard on it. I know there are fans of Rhonda Fleming too, and the other stars. They appear attractive in color and the music is fine, especially when Teresa is on stage as a showgirl singing Baby Baby Baby. That was a hit for her that year. The Bell Sisters sing one, and so does Guy Mitchell. Teresa also sings Mr Banjo Man and a duet with Guy of It Must Have Been You All The Time. This film has recently been prepared for a 3-D video release that has not occurred, and there have been a couple of limited theatrical preview showings recently. Never been on video. Can be seen online in some places or as a TV recording. As of 2017 there is a DVD and Bluray 3D release. Better get yours before they are out of stock.

I was so deceived by this Lewis Foster's film. This director was specialized in adventure and western movies, also war and crime, but just a bit. But this movie was definitely not for him. It would have been perfect for the likes of George Marshall, Mitchell Leisen, Preston Sturges. But that depends of what you wish. However, Lewis Foster's goers will be interested by this rare film. It is agreeable, light hearted, and we an consider it as a comedy. For the whole family. The best way to like this movie is to watch it with someone who may like watching it. I don't understand it was made in 3D. Very strange.

When I saw this movie in first run, 1953, everyone in the theater laughed out loud. As the film progressed people started to make random comments aloud, increasing the laughter. In 1953 it was the worst movie I had ever seen and, even though a child, I had seen a lot of movies. It still is though The Sicilian ranks close. Rhonda Fleming was beyond awful. Teresa Brewer, a top of the charts pop singer of the day, not only couldn't act, she looked terrible. Many of the scenes were shot against backdrops to show the vast Artic region, and those shots were also terrible. Gene Barry was miscast. The plot was inane. The acting was painful to watch. The only reason I went to see this movie was because they were having a sneak preview that night and, WHAT LUCK!, the preview was "Singin' in the Rain."

With its catchy title, an exotic location, some peppy tunes, and a good cast, THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE could have been a passably good musical had screenwriters Lewis R. Foster (who also directed it) and Daniel Mainwaring paid more attention to the plot instead of letting the intended 3-D effects carry the burden. As it is, we have an uninspired programmer masquerading as a musical whose only real merit is the introduction of then-current radio chart-busters Teresa Brewer and Guy Mitchell to the movie going public.

All proceedings are undermined by a confused plot which takes place during the late 1800s in a Klondike where the journey from Skagway to Dawson is as easy as a Sunday afternoon constitutional with no White Horse Pass to pose any peril, where the weather is so balmy that the characters need not wear ear muffs or mitts for protection from frostbite or even see their own breath, and where snowstorms are non-existent. There is not even a hint of a single gold strike nor of fortunes won and lost overnight.

The movie just can't make up its mind whether its plot is one of revenge for the murder of the eponymous redheads' father or to showcase the young women's determination to adapt to the "harsh" life in the remote northern reaches of Canada on their own. The requisite villain, a one-dimensional cipher, appears only twice: the first time at the beginning to kill the father and the second time at the end to be dispatched by the hero (Gene Barry) so that the latter can win the admiration and eternal gratitude of the heroine, lovely Rhonda Fleming.

Still, the musical numbers, "Chick-A-Boom," "Baby, Baby, Baby," and the beautiful ballad "I Guess It was You all the Time," performed with verve and gusto by Mr. Mitchell and Miss Brewer, are entertaining in their own right, even if they don't fit the situations or advance the plot in any way.

But there is one good reason for watching this movie and that reason is Teresa Brewer. "Tessie," as she was known to her fellow musicians, simply illuminates the screen with her bubbly effervescence every time she enters a scene. She grabs your attention and holds it. This is no mean feat given that she often has to share the screen with gorgeous Rhonda Fleming but she does just that. Watch her face as she eagerly anticipates greetings from her estranged family as they approach her from church, only to be snubbed by them as a show of disapproval of her chosen vocation as a dance hall singer. Tessie was a natural on-screen performer and it's a shame she didn't pursue a career in movies. Paramount had apparently offered her a contract but she turned it down so that she could have time to raise a family. Had she not done so, she might have gone on to rival the popularity of Warner's Doris Day. She certainly had the personality and talent.