Samba d'amore

"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.

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.

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.

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.