Exceedingly Entertaining
Reviewing this film during its first run (for the New York Times), Bosley Crowther called it "joyous, melodic and romantic". That is a fair assessment.
All the actors feel like they are in their element, and they deliver very enjoyable performances that make this an extremely entertaining film.
The story is about a young woman, Abigail Chandler (Kathryn Grayson), from an upper class Boston family who works in burlesque, though her family believes she performs in opera. Miss Grayson, who is both beautiful and talented, gets to perform with two MGM stars and she makes the most of it. Not surprisingly, they pair her with opera tenor Lauritz Melchior, and they are great together. She also performs some burlesque numbers with Jimmy Durante. It is an unexpected joy to see and hear her perform these very non-operatic songs alongside The Schnoz.
Her sister, Martha, is played by June Allyson. She is paired romantically with Peter Lawford, who plays a young man from an upper crust family. He is perfectly suited to the role of an earnest traditionalist.
The main story of the film holds everything together, but the musical performances are most of the best scenes. I plan to rewatch this film in the future.
All the actors feel like they are in their element, and they deliver very enjoyable performances that make this an extremely entertaining film.
The story is about a young woman, Abigail Chandler (Kathryn Grayson), from an upper class Boston family who works in burlesque, though her family believes she performs in opera. Miss Grayson, who is both beautiful and talented, gets to perform with two MGM stars and she makes the most of it. Not surprisingly, they pair her with opera tenor Lauritz Melchior, and they are great together. She also performs some burlesque numbers with Jimmy Durante. It is an unexpected joy to see and hear her perform these very non-operatic songs alongside The Schnoz.
Her sister, Martha, is played by June Allyson. She is paired romantically with Peter Lawford, who plays a young man from an upper crust family. He is perfectly suited to the role of an earnest traditionalist.
The main story of the film holds everything together, but the musical performances are most of the best scenes. I plan to rewatch this film in the future.
- atlasmb
- Oct 7, 2023