Springtime in the Rockies

There are several musicals from the early 1940s with overlapping cast memberships and similar plots. Among these are Down Argentine Way (1940), Week-End in Havana (1941), The Gang's All Here (1943) and this one.

This is my favorite of the lot, and here's why. Carmen Miranda and Edward Everett Horton.

Carmen Miranda was in all the movies I named above, and she steals the show in every single one of them. But in this one, she has a larger part.

The pairing of Carmen with Edward Everett Horton was sheer genius. The talented Horton had a wide range, from serious parts such as Lost Horizon (1937) to being the narrator of "Fractured Fairy Tales" in the 1960s. His best roles, though, were probably his comedic ones, and he was rarely better than here.

Carmen's wild attraction to Horton is funny enough in itself, simply because it is so unlikely. She is head-over-heels for him and throws herself at him in a way only the Brazilian Bombshell can do. Combine this with the diffident Horton's hesitancy, embarrassment and overall dignified befuddlement and you've got a love story the like of which has never been filmed elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong -- this is not the front story, which takes place between Betty Grable and John Payne. It is a secondary subplot. And the story itself is secondary to the music and dancing.

Still, for me, Rosita and McTavish are the sine qua non of the film, and make it my favorite movie in which I have seen Carmen Miranda.

Among the Fox musicals of the early 40s, there isn't much to distinguish one from the others. The leading lady will be Alice Faye or Betty Grable, the leading man will be Don Ameche or John Payne, the setting will be a scenic paradise, the story slight, and the success of the picture will depend on the supporting players and/or specialty acts.

In this case there are some very welcome highlights that elevate the picture above most of the others. Caesar Romero reveals himself to be a first-rate ballroom dancer: lithe, graceful, totally appealing. He brings out the best in Betty Grable in their nightclub routine - she who so often had done the simplest steps in production numbers while the chorus did the real dancing around her. She is put to the test this time, and acquits herself very well.

Then there is Edward Everett Horton, at last able to play a character with aspirations, motivation, a background that matters - instead of the less-than-one dimensional nervous, dithering purveyor of the double-take. Arguably, this is his best performance.

And finally we have Carmen Miranda at the top of her form (Was she ever not?). Good songs, terrific gestures and facial expressions, flashing eyes, dazzling smile - even a part that has an effect on the story (such as it is).

There were no better musicals at this time than those being produced by Fox. MGM was just getting its A-team together, and within a year or two would render the Fox musicals decidedly less impressive than they had seemed. But Leo the Lion had Kelly, Astaire, Garland, Grayson working for him; Fox had to do with less.

Singer/dancer Betty Grable (Vicky) has an offer from Cesar Romero (Victor) to join him in his show in the Canadian Rockies. Romero wouldn't mind a bit of romance as well. However, Grable has her heart set on her singer/dancer partner John Payne (Dan) if only he would stop seeing other women. Well, it seems he can't do that so Grable goes to Romero and they produce successful shows together, even getting engaged. Meanwhile, Payne isn't doing so well on his own so shows up in the Rockies to see if he can get Grable back as his partner. In a stroke of genius, he also picks up Edward Everett Horton (McTavish) as a butler and Carmen Miranda (Rosita) as a maid on his journey out there. Harry James and his orchestra play the music and all ends happily.

It's a great cast with entertaining singing and dancing. My favourite song is the opening song sung by Grable and Payne – "Run, Little Raindrop, Run" – and we get a couple of crazy Carmen numbers as well which are always entertaining. There is also a nice song – "I had the Craziest Dream" – sung by Helen Forrest who was the singer with the Harry James Orchestra. The secondary cast are amusing but the film does lose its way a bit with the romance and Romero is just too nice a guy in the way he takes it all.

The Technicolour here isn't the rich colours that you see in "Cover Girl" but a softer shade. I've never been to Canada, but the presence of Carmen Miranda, the way Helen Forest is made-up for her song and the setting of the venue and the music gives it a South American feel. They could have thrown in a moose or two to keep reminding us that we're in Canada.

20th Century Fox knew how to build films around Betty Grable and this is one of their better efforts, thanks to the presence of a first-rate cast: John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Edward Everett Horton, Jackie Gleason and Harry James & His Orchestra.

The usual backstage story starts with Betty and frequent co-star John Payne having a spat over his womanizing ways. Before you know it, he follows her to the Rocky Mountains resort where the misunderstandings continue, involving Cesar Romero, a very funny Carmen Miranda and the bumbling Edward Everett Horton. Miranda gets to do her thing with some fractured English and some great songs tossed in. Betty displays more than modest talent in the singing and dancing department (especially graceful with Cesar Romero) and Payne firmly established himself as the most presentable leading man of the Fox musicals in the '40s. Everyone looks great in the technicolor photography. If it's musicals you like, what's not to like?

Summing up: amiable, tune-filled entertainment of the kind that doesn't exist any more. Payne's best performance since 'Sun Valley Serenade'.

A film that takes all the stock conventions of Betty Grable musicals and distills them into one big bright package. This shows what the Hollywood dream factory could do with even the most obvious and conventional script. Filmed in lush Technicolor the film is loaded with so much talent and trimmings that the threadbare story becomes unimportant.

Betty Grable was at the peak of her popularity all dolled up in the height of 40's fashion, she and John Payne make a handsome and charming pair. They were strong enough to carry a film themselves but Fox managed to cram all the strongest supporting players from their other various movies. Charlotte Greenwood does the faithful sidekick role she did so well and gets a chance to do her unique dance routine. Caesar Romero is the dashing snook and Edward Everett Horton the droll faithful retainer. Then there's that party all on to herself Carmen Miranda fracturing the language and wearing outfits that as John Payne says are a little overdone outside a Mardi Gras. Topped off with Harry James' stellar music, including Sleepy Lagoon and I Had the Craziest Dream, weaving it's spell throughout this is the kind of shiny bauble that kept the public's mind off the war and still can't help but entertain today.