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"Greenwich Village" is a musical from Twentieth Century Fox starring Don Ameche, Vivian Blaine, Carmen Miranda, and William Bendix.

The film seems a bit slapped together, especially in light of the fact that one of the numbers was actually footage from "Springtime in the Rockies" that was cut.

There's not much of a story - it concerns a young composer, Kenneth Harvey (Ameche) who meets Blaine and Bendix in a speakeasy. Bendix jazzes up Kenneth's concerto, intending to use it for a show, while Kenneth hopes to have it performed in a classical genre. Kenneth also falls in love with Blaine, whom Bendix considers his girl.

Miranda is a multipurpose performer at the Danny's Den, and has some cute numbers - "Give Me a Band and a Bandana," "I Like to be Loved By You," and "I'm Just Wild About Harry," all energetically performed in some wild costumes.

Vivian Blaine looks absolutely beautiful and sings well. Ameche gives a pleasant performance as someone experiencing New York and the Village for the first time.

A great deal is made here of Greenwich Village as a haven for artists, and the sets are very much like the neighborhood as it must have been in those days - crowded and brightly lit. The street that Danny's Den was on looks like West 8th Street, and it was fun to see.

"The Revuers" who included Judy Holliday, John Frank, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, alas, were cut from the film, and the best number was "It Goes to Your Toes" performed by "untitled black musicians" who were fantastic. They were possibly The Layson Brothers. The DeMarcos turned in some sprightly dancing.

This isn't one of Fox's blockbusters, but it has the tell-tale vibrant Fox colors, likable cast, and good musical numbers normally associated with musicals from that studio.

Greenwich Village of 1922. The living is easy and the speak-easies are in abundance.

A music instructor, Don Ameche, comes to town to get his concerto played and in the process meets up with Bill Bendix, Carmen Miranda and Vivian Blaine. Bendix is a small time hood with a funny heart who runs a joint. He likes Ameche's music and thinks that he can use it in a show that he is planning. Comically, Bendix thinks that he is in competition with Florenz Ziegfeld.

This movie makes for very light musical fanfare. The songs are great, especially Blaine belting out whispering and Bendix is a riot in a Roman toga dancing and singing around. Miranda, a musical dancing genius, is at the top of her game as well and Blaine sings Whispering with that soft voice.

The film is quite entertaining and a joy to watch.

Here is a confection designed to be a showcase for the adorable Carmen Miranda. It is her first starring role and she is given a lavish showcase in which to weave her magic. Vivian Blane, a gorgeous redhead, is given ample opportunity to show off her singing talents. In all, this is a typical example of the Fox musical of the forties. As far as the color goes, no one did it better than Fox. The vivid Technicolor fairly jumps off the screen, and the print on my DVD is extremely well preserved. WW2 saw a whole series of vividly Technicolored Fox films which were designed to take one's mind off the troubles at hand. As escapism, they were light, fluffy confections with good cheer and lovely visuals taking the place of great dramatic weight. Fox Technicolor at this time could be called super-saturated. Very bright and with set and costume design done to take full advantage of the pallete. Most of these Fox musicals have been amazingly preserved, given their age, and all have a nostalgic entertainment value. They really don't make 'em like this anymore.

There are three excellent reasons to settle in with this Technicolor extravaganza: Carmen Miranda, Carmen Miranda, and Carmen Miranda! The "Brazilian Bombshell" is at the top of her dazzling talent and is featured in three production numbers, each with it's own nutty, colorful and surreal style--she never disappoints! The musical itself is a slight bauble about a classical pianist finding his heart in a speakeasy (Don Ameche has written a classical concerto with themes from the pop song "Whispering"!); Vivian Blaine, billed as the "Cherry Blonde," is so obviously an Alice Faye stand-in, doing her best to establish herself in the Fox Pantheon along with Faye and Grable; there is lots of dense color saturation in many scenes, making this a visual candy-colored treat, even if the material is lightweight wartime fluff. I never found it dull, and was always entertained; I gave it an "7" not because it's a deep or particularly thoughtful film, but because it accomplishes what it sets out to do perfectly. Entertain. Sometimes you just need a break

I just enjoyed this movie on a chance discovery and feel compelled to highlight the extraordinary use of colour and coloured lighting. It's something of an art directors triumph, bringing a beauty and warmth to otherwise standard fare for the time. I'm genuinely moved by the painters feel and the drifting coloured light which references the abstract art of the time (there's even a visual 'joke' early in the movie about which way to hang an abstract painting). All this and the ever wonderful Don Ameche!

After seeing 'Greenwich Village' due to the cast, it was a film that did not disappoint and delivered just about what was expected. If one likes musicals from this period or of this type and take it for what it is, 'Greenwich Village' is most likely to be difficult to resist.

The story is flimsy, silly and occasionally feels disjointed in transitions, while parts of the script is by-the-numbers stuff. A bigger fault is the ending, which is so abrupt you can swear that there is no ending at all and that the film was made incomplete or something.

However, as is true of a number of Technicolor musicals made during World War II, as far as escapist entertainment goes and for anybody wanting a fun diversion to blow away any blues 'Greenwich Village' delivers. The film looks great, with lavish set and costume design, big, bold, rich colours that leap out at the screen that always dazzle rather than nauseate and photographed in a way that shows a lot of love and care.

'Greenwich Village's' songs are pleasant and tuneful, performed with spirit and choreographed in a way that doesn't feel overblown or routine. "Whispering" and Carmen Miranda's songs ("I'm Just Wild About Harry" being particularly notable) fare best.

Much of the script is snappy and has energy and wit, Miranda's broken English sparking the most delight. The film is solidly directed, and has its fun and charms.

Vivian Blaine and Don Ameche have to work with slightly bland characters but do a lot with them, Blaine brings polish and passion and Ameche charm and suavity. William Bendix is very funny, while also giving a touching sincerity. Then there's Miranda, who comes very close to stealing the film with her colourfully wild costumes and her hilariously nutty presence from her butchered English to her deliciously exaggerated facial expressions. Felix Bressart is a lively presence too.

In summary, fun and very enjoyable. 7/10 Bethany Cox

There are plenty of amiable performances in GREENWICH VILLAGE, all involved in making the most of a very light script about struggling singers and songwriters and producers in the Greenwich Village of the 1920s. But it's strictly fluff--an excuse for some bright song and dance routines with CARMEN MIRANDA stealing the spotlight.

WILLIAM BENDIX is the producer of a night club revue who needs more money to put on a show. DON AMECHE is a man they think is a rich guy because he has a $100 bill when he pays for his fortune from Miranda who charges $5 for a reading. Bendix and his gang hang onto Ameche and he soon gets involved with the songstress of the revue, VIVIAN BLAINE.

Blaine came along at a time when Fox needed a back-up for their temperamental Alice Faye and Betty Grable, who were fed up with doing musicals like this and insisted on better scripts. Unfortunately for Blaine, although she's got natural charm and photographs beautifully, this film didn't do it for her. She had a few more roles in Fox musicals but she had to wait until she found better material on the Broadway stage in GUYS AND DOLLS.

Songwriter Betty Comden can be seen as a hatcheck girl who performs in one of the revue numbers. Judy Holliday's scene was cut from the revue but she does appear briefly as an extra in another party scene.

It's got all the Technicolor trimmings one usually gets in these gaudy Fox musicals--and there's a terrific song and dance number by the Four Step Brothers.

Not really bad as far as these backstage musicals go, but very little invention involved in the script which is strictly a by-the-numbers sort of thing. Don Ameche is as pleasant as ever as Blaine's leading man.

Anyone looking for the Greenwich Village of bygone days will be sadly disillusioned by this film. The area known for all time for its Bohemian atmosphere and now for its outrageously overpriced just about everything will not be found here. Club owner William Bendix isn't even fond of bootleg whiskey in his joint as he's continually throwing out bootlegger Tom Dugan from his place. Of all the places in New York State during the Twenties where Governor Alfred E. Smith stated publicly he would not enforce prohibition, Greenwich Village was the area that flouted the Volstead Act the most with impunity and flare.

The score for Greenwich Village is made up mostly of old standards and the film was an opportunity for Darryl Zanuck to launch a new musical star in the tradition of Alice Faye and Betty Grable. Vivian Blaine was 'introduced' in Greenwich Village and in film she never quite got the success the other two ladies did. She did best on Broadway, most unforgettably as Adelaide in Guys And Dolls. The new songs were nothing to remember.

Young Don Ameche arrives in Manhattan from Wichita, Kansas where he was a professor of music there and he's written a concerto. No big market for concertos, but there's a passage in the concerto that sounds promising to William Bendix. It turns out to be the big hit song from the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, Whispering. Bendix has big ideas wanting to put on a big revue and if he can't get Ameche's bankroll which he's carrying, he'd sure like a loan on his talent.

It's all an excuse to put on a lot of numbers, but Greenwich Village seems to lack the creative flair of 20th Century Fox's earlier films with Betty Grable and Alice Faye. William Bendix, borrowed from Paramount where he mostly played good natured mugs, just does not strike one as a would be Ziegfeld. Carmen Miranda is just Carmen Miranda and she's the best thing about Greenwich Village.

Just not the best musical Fox ever put out.

If you are looking for some light entertainment with a few pleasant musical numbers, this is the film for you. The story is silly, but Don Ameche is good in his role as the would-be composer. Unfortunately, the ending is abrupt and unbelievable.

It amazes me that other postings about films are so critical of movies intended to be entertaining fluff, for being fluff.

And trite? What movie today isn't a rehash of something already done over and over again?

Musicals of the time weren't intended to be "South Pacific" or "Oklahoma". The plots were devised to be excuses to have music or dance performances or comedy bits. You probably noticed that the plots are mostly "backstage" stories and the characters portrayed are singers or dancers.

Technicolor is always pleasing to the eye, and so are the performances of Vivian Blaine and Carmen Miranda in this film.

So just sit back and enjoy.

The film, not surprisingly, is set in Greenwich Village, New York (actually a sound stage at Twentieth Century-Fox) and begins with an eager young composer, Kenneth (Don Ameche), arriving in town--hoping to make it big. Soon, he meets up with Dan (William Bendix) and his friends at Danny's Den--the strangest speakeasy in Hollywood history. At this 'joint', Carmen Miranda and Vivian Blaine perform. After hearing some of Kenneth's music, Danny decides to put on a show to showcase his sweetie. The problem is that this sweetie (Blaine) might just be in love with Kenneth AND some sharpie (Felix Bressart) is interested in having the music performed instead by a big-name director instead of on some stage show in the Village. What's next? See the film....or not.

I am glad I watched this film when I did, as I had just finished watching a GREAT MGM musical, "Anchors Away". Although both films were in color, there weren't too many other similarities. "Anchors Away" had great music, singing, plot--everything. And, by comparison, "Greenwich Village" just looked tired and second-rate...which, is what it was. As for Carmen Miranda, she seemed unnecessary to the film and a bit lost. Additionally, fair tunes and the studio's lesser singers (Alice Faye was out on maternity leave), the film never really hit the mark and is a few steps below the average Fox musical of the period. And, when it was over, I couldn't remember much of anything about it. Adequate and no more.

By the way, I was VERY surprised to see Ernest 'Sunshine Sammy' Morrison in the film dancing and singing a musical number with a number of other black entertainers. While I was VERY familiar with him as a member of Our Gang (since its beginning) and the East Side Kids, I had no idea he was so talented in other ways.

Wow! What happened. The movie started and then ended. Nothing much made sense. It seems like half the movie was cut as there were so many unexplained incidences abrupt scene changes. Didn't Zanack care about his films? I know he was notorious for cutting his films, but this is ridiculous. It seems he sabotaged one of his own makings. Unforgivable. And too bad the REVUERS number was cut as it would have been great to see Judy Holiday. The good: Carmen Miranda: Vivian Blaine; William Bendix; Don Ameche; the black dancing brothers and the color. Bad: EVERYTHING ELSE. Wonder how this did at the box office. I'm sure the actors were disappointed in the way the film turned out. Not meant to be a classic, and it isn't.

This has to be seen to be believed. The sets, the dancing, the music: unspeakably awful. Poor Carmen Miranda. Poor Don Ameche. It's even more dreadful than the other Twentieth Century Musical made that year, with much the same cast: Something for the Boys.

Shouldn't some sort of award be given for the choreography in this film? Pro wrestling is more artful. Can you find worse anywhere?

In short: lots of fun for those who love to groan.

Let me add my voice to those who say we should not judge this piece of Zanuckfluff with the same standard we'd use for The Bard of Avon or even a Gene Kelly movie. Yes, the story is preposterous, pasted together with no other reason than to showcase the talents of some remarkably talented people, all having a great deal of fun, which I suspect anyone with the slightest nostalgia for the Technicolor movies of the war years will share. William Bendix, an actor vastly underrated, is both funny and touching, and Vivian Blaine and her one day to be fellow cast member from "Guys and Dolls," B.S. Pully, are wonderful. Felix Breshart, wearing the same scarf he wore in "To Be or Not to Be," is lovable as always as the musical con man. This is Greenwich Village as it never was and will never be. Sit back, suspend disbelief, and enjoy yourself. They don't make 'em like this anymore, and I for one regret it.

Kenneth Harvey (Don Ameche) lands on a Greenwich Village set and tries to get his concerto performed. He hangs out with the crowd at "Dan's Den", a club owned by Danny (William Bendix). Will his concerto be performed?

This film doesn't have any good musical numbers. The main song "Whispering" is relentlessly repeated in the score for half of the film as well as making up the bulk of Kenny's concerto, which we hear on numerous occasions. It is then performed again by Bonnie (Vivian Blaine). It is rammed down our necks and it never comes close to being as good as the 1964 recording by Nino Temple and April Stevens. Carmen Miranda is given some crap to perform but she is worth watching for the colour that she brings with her costumes and the humour she brings by being nuts. In fact, the film is only worth seeing for her, the De Marco's ballroom dance at the beginning of the film and the "Four Step Brothers" who put on a great dance routine in the middle of the film. William Bendix is good in his role and performs an amusing dance routine but the film is garbage.

Just watched this 20th Century-Fox musical on YouTube in a clear print. Don Ameche is a classical-like composer but he temporarily joins a pop music revue where he meets boss William Bendix, Carmen Miranda, and a lovely female singer-Vivian Blaine. Both Ms. Miranda and Ms. Blaine have some good numbers. Many of the songs were written by Leo Robin and Nacio Herb Brown. In fact, the "Good Morning" number resembled the song of the same name Brown wrote with Arthur Freed that was heard in Babes in Arms and later in Singin' in the Rain. I'll just now say that Greenwich Village was quite an enjoyable musical. P.S. Performing his dancing skills with the Four Step Brothers-who I previously saw in When Johnny Comes Marching Home-here in this particular film was one Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison years after first being an original Our Gang member and then-for a few years before this film appearance-joining the East Side Kids as Scruno. This turned out to be Morrison's last movie stint as he'd subsequently suffer a jeep accident in Hawaii while serving as a USO entertainer resulting in a permanent limp. So he left show business and worked for an aerospace company in Southern California for seventeen years. He did occasionally appear on TV like on an ep of "Good Times". He'd also become a familiar face at the Sons of the Desert meetings and would eventually be inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1987. He died two years later of cancer in Los Angeles. His former boss Hal Roach attended the funeral as did original OG leading lady Peggy Cartwright and his replacement, Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson who played an instrumental solo there.