Mon amie Sally

I think I heard of Paul Dresser and wanted to hear his music. Only song I can say I knew - faintly- was the Wabash song, which turns out to be the Indiana State song. So, yeah, I didn't know much about this story. It was interesting to see the 1890s period sets. Mostly I watched this to see Rita Hayworth. Never saw anything of hers (but I probably did). She is actually a good actress and dances well. Victor Mature seemed to be an odd pick for the role of Paul. But their chemistry on screen was apparent.

It's interesting that Paul started out singing at carnivals before hitting the big time on Broadway. I suppose that's similar to singers/songwriters who toiled away in bars before getting discovered.

Anyway, the movie was comfortable, pleasant, relaxing to watch and gave me a glimpse into a seemingly simpler happy world, even if it's idealistically presented. Thank you TCM for keeping these flicks on the air.

MGM musicals dominated the genre. No one could make musicals like they could, although a few studios tried with lesser success, as is the case with this one done by Fox in 1942.

Irving Cummings was a director that tried his hands at directing musicals with mixed results. "My Gal Sal" is the biography of Paul Dresser, an American composer who wrote tuneful, if somewhat bland songs. The screen play is by Theodore Dreiser, a writer on his own right, but who had nothing to add to make this film work better.

This is a musical that has a dated look from the beginning. The situation is preposterous, at best.

Rita Hayworth shines as the red headed Sally Elliott, a singing star of the musical theater of the time. She is responsible for the discovery of young and inexperienced Paul. She likes his songs and doesn't hesitate in stealing one to include in her show. Never did the technicolor loved anyone as it loved Rita Hayworth! She was a beautiful woman who lights up the screen any time we see her.

Victor Mature, as Paul, plays an unworldly Paul Dresser. He is a country boy and it shows. It is through his association with Sally that he gets the kind of sophistication he never had.

In minor roles James Gleason, as Paul's agent is excellent. This character actor graces with his presence dozens of films where he is always in the background. The great Phil Silvers appears briefly in a couple of key scenes. He was a talented actor of the stage and the screen and television that was always a welcome addition to everything he appeared in. Also, Carol Landis is seen in a small role.

See the film as a curiosity piece. The songs are tuneful, if forgettable.

The plot is silly & preposterous, as is the case most often when it comes to these eye candy extravaganzas, but it is kept alive by the irrepressible charm of Rita Hayworth & Victor Mature, not to mention Fox's customary glowing Technicolor (there are some moments that are not only gorgeous to look at, but also sublimely awe-inspiring and evocative of its Gay 90s milieu).

"My Gal Sal" is basically a nostalgic period musical, about 1890s songwriter Paul Dreiser (Mature) who leaves his country town in Indiana to find a big success on Broadway in New York. He meets and falls in love with a musical performer, a gal named Sally Elliott (Hayworth). They start hating each other at first but soon grow into one another. Their contrived romance is kept afloat by various passable numbers, including the title tune (written by Paul), "On the Big White Way," "The Convict and the Bird", "Liza Jane", and "Mr Volunteer".

Not a classic, but it passes the time. Try to watch it along with Hayworth's other musical of 1942, the gloriously carefree "You Were Never Lovelier" with Fred Astaire.

Darryl Zanuck loved doing these period musicals because the music of the time had by now passed into the public domain. For My Gal Sal, Zanuck didn't have any contemporary composers write anything original for the score on this one. Those original songs are what win Academy Awards as he would prove the following year with You'll Never Know.

My Gal Sal which along with On The Banks Of The Wabash was the most popular song that Paul Dresser ever wrote serves also as the title of this musical biography of Dresser. Paul originally named Dreiser was the oldest of nine children and the youngest was famed novelist Theodore Dreiser and Dreiser wrote a short essay in tribute to his older brother which was the basis for this film. Young Theodore only appears as a child at the beginning of the film.

But the title role is fictional musical comedy star Sally Elliott who is played by Rita Hayworth. She's got publisher John Sutton panting after her, but she's got this love/hate thing going on with Victor Mature as Dresser. The plot for Sutton must have seemed familiar, it's the same one that 20th Century Fox used in A Yank In The RAF where Sutton was in the same position as in this film only with Tyrone Power and Betty Grable.

If this were being made today we would get the real story which was that Paul Dresser was a man of large frame and large appetites. The 'Sal" he wrote this song for was in real life a bordello madame of a certain house that he favored and occasionally took aspiring novelist Theodore in for a quickie. He was also a man close to 300 pounds and the guy who could have played him for real at the time was on the 20th Century lot and that was Laird Cregar.

But Mature and Hayworth were just coming into their own and Zanuck got full use of them. Mature was his studio's property, but Rita was on loan from Columbia where Harry Cohn was starting to realize what a great find Hayworth was. Zanuck was developing his star with three films, this one, Blood And Sand and Tales Of Manhattan. They both looked real good and sang real good with dubbed voices.

A lot of period music, costuming, and sets is what My Gal Sal gets its best marks for. In fact the film won an Oscar for Best Art&Set Design. Rita looked and danced divinely even using someone else's voice as she always did.

It's not the best film of this type that Fox ever did, but if your taste does run into period musicals than you can't go wrong with My Gal Sal.

Amiable musical is loaded with good music and sprightly performances. Originally planned for Betty Grable whose pregnancy prevented her appearance, then Carole Landis who stubbornly refused to change her hair color and was punished by Zanuck by being relegated to a secondary part he then borrowed Rita from Columbia. She was in the midst of her climb to the top having made strides over the previous two years in a succession of spotlight parts and this continued her ascent.

As a biography it's worthless but as a showcase for Rita's talent and beauty it can't be beat. There are one or two occasions where she is so heavily made up and dressed in an unflattering pink that she appears corpse like but otherwise looks sensational in her period costumes and her dancing and singing are marvelous. Mature is fine as the male lead but is overshadowed by Rita.

Not a classic but a bright, pleasant entertainment. A must for Hayworth fans.