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.

"Springtime in the Rockies" is another delightful 20th Century Fox musical, this time starring Betty Grable, John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Cesar Romero, and Harry James. All of them are wonderful, but Grable really sparkled in this as Vicky Lane, a Broadway actress whose heart is broken by Dan (John Payne). She quits the show they're doing and teams up for a song and dance act with handsome Victor Prince (Romero). The show's producer (Jackie Gleason) is in need of backing for his next show, finds Dan in a bar, and insists that he get Vicky back to New York. She's currently performing at Lake Louise. Payne is drunk out of his mind, so the bartender (Horton) escorts him to the Canadian resort.

Grable looks fantastic and dances with Romero beautifully. Romero was tall, handsome, a beautiful dancer, and could do drama (Captain from Castile) as well as comedy (Julia Misbehaves). He enjoyed a wonderful career but had he not been Cuban, his film work would probably not been limited to supporting roles. Payne is handsome and delightful, and Carmen Miranda as Rosita Murphy is very funny.

The scenery is gorgeous, the music upbeat with lots of great trumpet-playing by Harry James, and the actors marvelous. "Springtime in the Rockies" is a real treat.

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.

Yes, this was indeed a fun and entertaining film with my favorites John Payne & Betty Grable. Music is terrific and dancing is fantastic. The Nicholas brothers do a fantastic number, and the orchestra is Harry James. Edward Everett Horton (related to me by marriage) is always a delight with his nervous mumbo jumbo and getting hooked by Carmen Miranda and her boys from Mexico. Song that stays in my mind is "I Got The Craziest Dream".

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'.