Moon Over Miami

I have to agree with one of the people who posted, that 20th Century Fox musicals are overlooked due to the expensive, soft-toned family musicals of MGM. It's a shame, because there was nothing more fun than a Fox musical and the Fox cover pallet.

In this film, Betty Grable and Carole Landis play sisters, who with their aunt, work at a Texas diner when they learn they've inherited money. It doesn't come out to a lot, but the gals take off for Florida so that Kay (Grable) can find a millionaire husband. Her sister Barbara (Landis) poses as her secretary.

Before long, pretty Kay has a couple of men on her dance card - Phil McNeil (Don Ameche) and Jeffrey Boulton II (Robert Cummings).

As others have mentioned, the costumes are exceptionally beautiful, and the movie was shot all over Florida, accounting for some beautiful scenery. The songs are tuneful, and the film is highly entertaining.

It's such a talented cast - Fox gets a bad rap for its lightweight film stars, but they were some of the most popular stars in films, particularly Betty Grable, who was probably THE most popular for a time. Landis is beautiful and delightful, and Charlotte Greenwood is very funny.

This was a good film for Cummings, who was always excellent in comedy, and the smooth Ameche, whose light tenor is put to good use here.

One thing about Fox musicals, they were always fun, feel-good movies. Perfect for times like these.

Having just been to Miami for the first time in my life, I finally decided to check out this Betty Grable musical from 20th Century-Fox that took place and was partly filmed there after having taped it from AMC 10 years ago. The flimsy plot about gold diggers is a bit longish but many entertaining musical numbers and some humor does put it over on me quite smoothly. Certainly the cast, which includes Robert Cummings, Don Ameche, Carole Landis, Charlotte Greenwood, Jack Haley, and especially Ms. Grable are very charming here with wonderful Technicolor photography and melodically tuneful songs by Ralph Ranger and Leo Robin. In short, Moon Over Miami was just an entertaining piece of fluff that went over well for audiences that survived the Depression and was just about to enter World War II...

MGM is always the studio that film historians gush about for turning out great musicals. Unfairly snubbed is 20th Century Fox that used the richest, most brilliant color composition in the rainbow for its unforgettable string of Technicolor sundae delights starring Bette Grable. "Moon Over Miami" begins with the bouncy, adorable Texas Tommy Hamburger Drive-in sequence where Grable and Carole Landis show off their figures and talents. Quickly, the action shifts to a long gone Miami of l940 where people actually dressed up in stunning gowns and frocks by Travis Banton. Grable is unusually great looking in her gray ensemble trimmed in fur and she and Landis and Charlotte Greenwood prance around to "Oh, Me, Oh Mi-Ami!" Other fantastic numbers follow, showcasing Grable at her verviest--like her tap dance routine to "You Started Something," then onto "I've Got You All to Myself" and maybe the best, "Conga to a Nursery Rhyme." Banton's costumes, shimmering photography by Leroy Shamroy, electrifying charisma of Grable and the very hunky Don Ameche (who surprises with an outstanding singing vocie), all help make "Moon Over Miami" a sheer delight. Also, dig the decor of the fancy hotel suites, night clubs, the mansions.

This movie is fun because there's Betty Grable,And Robert Cummings, and Don Ameche. What's amazing is that this big party goes non-stop, with music in the background non-stop, reflecting how esteemed a place Miami was back in 1940, for the idle rich or the psuedo-rich!This is nostalgia at it's zenith. It makes you want to party non-stop around the pool, and not have to work for a living like the rest of these people(so it would seem), until Don Ameche announces that he'll sell refigerators!

Here I go again raving about Grable, but this time her main man is Don Ameche. Beautiful music and scenery, and the comedy of Jack Haley, Charlotte Greenwood, Carole Landis. They were all good actors, and how sad it is to tell about Carole Landis' suicide. And, also Robert Cummings plays as a comedian in this; something I didn't remember him ever doing because he was usually a good dramatic actor. I lived in Ft Lauderdale between 1943 and 1946 and went to U of M in Coral Gables. I spent much time on Flagler Ave and the beach at night under that big beautiful moon over Miami.