Painting the Clouds with Sunshine

Warner Brothers' 1950s recycling of their old films and their old songs gave us this remake of Gold Diggers of 1933 (itself a remake of the lost Gold Diggers of Broadway).

Songs which appear within 'Painting the Clouds ...' include Tip Toe Through The Tulips, With a Song in My Heart, You're My Everything, and We're in the Money. About the best routines are those which accompany The Mambo Man, and The Birth of the Blues.

In the cast are Virginia Mayo, Lucille Norman, and Virginia Gibson, as a girl trio of singers and dancers looking for rich men with no ties and lots of spare cash. Dennis Morgan is a slightly dull singer, Gene Nelson a dancer with a secret, and Tom Conway is Nelson's well-to-do uncle (not older brother as in Gold Diggers of 1933, although Conway looks very like Warren William did in the earlier film). An unnecessary subplot gives the irritating Cuddles Sakall something to do.

A likeable musical which gives us nothing new but helps to pass the time.

Dennis Morgan stars in this color (Technicolor !) thang with Virginia Mayo. Big Yawn. Lots of musical numbers that don't really have anything to do with the plot, but give the stars a platform. The only good thing about this film is that Sandor Sakall is in here, for comic relief. (he only worked a couple more years after this one... died in 1954.) The paper thin plot here is that the girls need to find money to help Uncle Felix (Sakall) in Vegas, so they bring rich guy "Ted" along (Gene Nelson). Mayo, Lucille Norman, and Virginia Gibson are "The Dillon Sisters". There's an operatic version of "With a Song in My Heart".... too bad they couldn't do a fun, contemporary version. I thought the windows were going to shatter. They really rely on Sakall to carry this thing, but the script, the acting, and the direction are so lame it just kind of bumbles along. Not one of the better projects from Warner Brothers. One entertaining number where the trumpet player doubles as the dance partner. Directed by David Butler.. started in silents. Moved to directing television a couple years after this one. According to IMDb, he had played both a northern soldier AND a southern soldier in Griffith's Birth of a Nation ! This one is okay, but there are so many better films to watch.

Painting The Clouds With Sunshine casts Virginia Mayo, Lucille Norman, and Virginia Gibson as a singing trio who disappointed in love go west to Las Vegas. That city was just starting to develop as the sin city capital of America although it was a decade or so until the Rat Pack really put it on the map. The clubs in Las Vegas, Reno, and other areas in the state were just starting to attract show business acts like you see the women portray here. Singer Dennis Morgan with a bad gambling addiction is also there and so is Gene Nelson who is a hoofer who has a terrible secret, he's a Back Bay Boston millionaire.

Terrible at least in the eyes of his cousin Tom Conway who wants to save him and the family reputation from Nelson's chosen career. Of course he falls for one of the women as well.

I saw elements here from films like Moon Over Miami and Goldiggers Of 1933 and even Donovan's Reef in Painting The Clouds With Sunshine. The musical numbers were nice, but nothing terribly new. The score was taken from a variety of composers, I'm sure the Brothers Warner owned the rights to them. The film is a remake of the first Goldigger films both of which may be lost.

Everybody here has done better work.

Lounge singer Vince Nichols (Dennis Morgan) is trying to quit gambling for girlfriend Abby (Lucille Norman). Abby, Carol (Virginia Mayo), and June (Virginia Gibson) are The Dillon Sisters. The men disappoint the ladies. Carol wants a rich man and convinces her sisters on a hunting trip to Vegas. Ted Lansing (Gene Nelson) follows the girls to dance with them. The girls' uncle Felix Hoff (S. Z. Sakall) had expanded from a motel to his new casino, but it is in trouble.

I don't really like gold-digging stories. They are often the antithesis of romance. The girls are literally looking for something other than love. At least, this one sets it up well. The girls are tired of love's disappointments. This is not necessarily the type of story or music that I like. It is still interesting enough since I care about the matchups.

I have to say that I would never have watched this films by some of the reviews I read online, but glad I took a chance. It is a delightful film! I will admit I was pleasantly surprised with how much I did like it. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased a DVD copy for my own film library. Yes the story is corny by today's standards, but then again I can only take so much of 'today's standards'. This is a light, funny and wonderfully musical film that has a beginning, a middle, and an end unlike most films that are produced today. Love Virginia Mayo, who looks more beautiful in color than you could imagine.Dennis Morgan sings...who could ask for more! A great movie for a rainy afternoon...nothing more than pure entertainment!