Sob o Luar de Miami

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.

Fox believed in remakes and this one was used again in THREE LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE--three girls in search of a millionaire husband. While the plot is a flimsy one, it does give Betty Grable fans a chance to glimpse her in a fluffy technicolor musical (with location photography in Florida), engaged in romantic shenanigans with two leading men (Don Ameche and Robert Cummings), and supported by pros like Jack Haley, Charlotte Greenwood, Carole Landis and Minor Watson.

It's a typical Fox musical made to order for Grable fans and photographed in some scenic Florida locales serving as Miami. Robert Cummings and Don Ameche are impeccably clad and flashing the kind of smiles that belong in a toothpaste ad--thus serving as perfect foils for Betty's curvaceous blonde charms.

Some of the specialty numbers are good--especially those by the Condo Brothers--and Betty herself gets to do a couple of sprightly tap dance routines. None of the music is memorable but it's easy to see why Grable was so popular at the box-office in escapist films of this nature at a time when war weary audiences craved this kind of entertainment at the start of World War II. Her modest talents are on full display here--and Ameche and Cummings show that they had a definite flair for this kind of romantic comedy--especially Cummings who was always better in lighter assignments as opposed to dramatic roles--contrary to what another commentator says.

Carole Landis can do little with her role as Betty's sister (posing as her maid). She is very prettily photographed but walks through the role in an aloof manner that makes her almost invisible.

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!

Of course these Fox musicals of the 40's were flimsy. They were meant to be. They were what they were and MOON OVER Miami is one of the better Betty Grable flicks. Great color, location work, acting and especially the singing and dancing. Grable has been criticized for her singing and dancing. WHY? She was brilliant. Nice acting style for movies of this sort, wonderful voice and her dancing is up there with the best of them, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, and the rest of them. Have the Grable collection and they are all enjoyable but Fox needs to put the rest of her movies on DVD, especially MOTHER WORE TIGHTS, WABASH AVENUE; CONEY ISLAND and SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES as well as BILLY ROSE'S HORSESHOE REVIEW. The plot of MOON is similar to THREE LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE and the wonderful HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE. Yes, they CERTAINLY don't make em' like this anymore.

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.