Happy Go Lovely

As a huge fan of both Gene Kelly and Danny Kaye from a young age, it was something of a no-brainer for me when I came across this film on one of those public domain movie channels on my old Roku box, and saw that it starred the wonderful Vera-Ellen. Ellen was a co-star of Danny Kaye's in many of his movies, and was of course the unforgettable 'Miss Turnstiles' in Gene Kelly's all-time great 'On The Town.' With that kind of pedigree I am surprised that Vera-Ellen didn't star in more movies, and upon seeing this lovely little film musical, that feeling of surprise has only been strengthened.

Okay, so the plot isn't anything new; dance troupe struggle to get the finance needed to put on their show, and the film's budget is minuscule in comparison to the mega M-G-M Musicals of the period, but don't let either of those two things put you off. Vera-Ellen sparkles as small time singer and dancer 'Janet Jones' while David Niven is wonderfully engaging as the somewhat stiff and reserved B.G Bruno, the successful businessman who comes in to the life of Ellen's character through a misunderstanding.

It's predictable fair, but its two leads make Happy Go Lovely a much better film that it should, and otherwise would have been without them. A thoroughly charming, innocent and enjoyable film.

For my money Vera-Ellen was the best all-round female dancer from Hollywood's golden era. There were better tap-dancers such as Eleanor Powell or Ann Miller, but Vera-Ellen was extremely good at all types of dance including balletic movement. She also had just about the most beautiful pair of legs I have ever seen & they are wonderfully show-cased in this movie. Rooprect in his review says there are two reasons for watching this movie, "VERA-ELLEN'S LEGS". For the ladies there are two handsome, suave & sophisticated men, David Niven & Cesar Romero, but Vera-Ellen's legs are reason enough for me! In his review of "Happy Go Lovely", jacob chiong says the plot is "simple & easily digestible, the humour is light & clean". That very succinctly sums it all up, really!.

As a lightweight British post-war comedy, it's fine. David Niven's really charming, Vera-Ellen's trying like crazy. As a musical, it's very odd. There's nearly no 'musical' in it, and when you finally get to the two on-stage numbers near the end, you'll be glad. There's one long imitation Gene Kelly odyssey piece about a little girl in a big city that's strangely small and mean and bad. It looks like it should at the start, but I'd swear there wasn't any choreography design per se, just the general idea of a Kelly avant-garde set. Large scope, small stage, and the routines are so disjointed, you'll wonder how dancers learned the sequences. But as a comedy, it's quite adequate. Vera-Ellen mostly shines as she usually does though it looks like a bit of a struggle to hold onto the lead position. Fortunately for her, pretty soon she'll get a boost from David Niven. He's really the reason you'd want to see this movie, he just couldn't be more forthright, very plainly happy to be there. Caesar Romero's miscast but he's also obviously happy to be working. Both those big presences, Niven's nuanced, Romero's steamrolling, make this a piece of film worth keeping. And of course, as always, the number one attraction is how Vera-Ellen wore the clothes!

Charming, little British musical much superior to those glossy MGM musicals of the same period. Although David Niven is top billed, this is Vera-Ellens film all the way. She is dazzling in several dance numbers that range from ballet, tap & modern dance - a very versatile dancer!! DVD quality is good - crystal print, lush & brilliant color, and nice sets - check out that gorgeous stain glass door!! Sound is a bit scratchy. This is my favorite Vera Ellen film - she was never lovelier.

I understand that musicals and dancing were very popular back in the day. However, in the case of "Happy Go Lovely", the film really worked well and was a lovely comedy but every time they had dance numbers, the tempo of the film slowed to a crawl. It's a shame, but really think eliminating the production numbers or cutting back on them would have helped the film.

The story is set in Edinburgh, which is a bit odd since it's about an American stage production and its leader, Mr. Frost (Caesar Romero). He's in a bind because the production has run out of money and the creditors are threatening to close them down before they can even open. Later, when he and others mistakenly think one of the chorus girls is a rich man's girlfriend, Frost kisses up to Janet Jones (Vera-Ellen) and gives her the lead...hoping to make her rich 'boyfriend', Mr. Bruno happy. The hope, of course, is that Bruno will then agree to finance the show. Here's where the film gets interesting, Janet actually does meet Bruno (David Niven) but thinks he's a reporter. And when she asks him to pretend to be Bruno, he agrees! What's next, apart from a lot of dull dancing? See the film.

I'd give this one a seven. Without all the dancing, I'd probably give it an 8. But the comedy is sparkling and fun and the rest is filler...to much at times.