Mamzelle Mitraillette

If you look at Preston Sturges' "Miracle at Morgan's Creek," 1943, staring Betty Hutton as Judy Kockenlocker, you will see how incredibly perverse it was considering the moral standards in the movie industry at the time. You have a movie suggesting that a woman getting drunk and sleeping with a soldier and becoming pregnant without even remembering his name was a hilarious situation. Sturges took delight in repeating her name over and over again, obviously finding it hilarious that it sounded like the painful situation of a "cock-in-locker." This movie is just as hilarious with its outrageous humor, having multiple and deliberate jokes about a judge who gets shot in his buttocks.

Unfortunately, this film came out in 1949, the year that produced the most film noirs and a year where Congressional investigations into Hollywood political transgressions were taking a horribly serious turn.

One can see this film and Preston Sturges as being the victim of the new politics of the time.

Betty Grable looks sexy in every scene and often adjusts her clothes (taking them on or off) to look even more sexy. Her blatant sexuality comes through in the metaphor of her being able to handle a gun better than any of the men in the picture. Never has the penis/gun equation been more straight forward.

If this movie had come out in 1944 or 1954, it would have been hailed as a masterpiece, but in 1949, the U. S. was preparing for a new world war which was expected to be a lot worse than the last one. The last thing the government (issuing daily warnings about impending world war wanted was an outrageous sex comedy filled with double and triple entendres like this film.

Don't miss it, especially if you are a Preston Sturges or Betty Grable fans. Fans of 1930s and 40s comedies will be happy to see at least half a dozen minor comedy stars, like Hugh Herbert, El Brendel, Sterling Holloway, and Porter Hall, plying their trade with obvious skill and joy,

Shortly before "Anne Get Your Gun" was released, this film, which I dub "Betty, Get Your Gun" was released, as an often raucous western comedy, starring Betty Grable and Cesar Romero. But, sometimes the duo of Sterling Holloway and Dan Jackson, as the demented Basserman boys, take center stage. They have a penchant for spying on Betty, and acting up in her class or elsewhere. Porter Hall is perfect as the harried Judge O'Toole: the unlucky recipient of 3 bullets from Betty's gun, in a running gag sequence, that lodge in the least damaging place: his buttocks. Hugh Herbert is perfect as the eccentric doctor who pulls these slugs out. Rudy Vallee plays a dapper wealthy bachelor, who owns a gold mine, and competes with Cesar for Betty's heart. Cesar is a handsome rogue who has a love-hate relationship with Betty. .......During the credits, and at the end, the peppy title song is sung. Rather early on, onstage, Betty sings the melodious "Every Time I meet You", accompanied by a barbershop quartet. This was composed by Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon. Later, in a private setting, Rude Vallee, along with Betty, sing the standard "In the Gloming"......The silliness occasionally gets out of hand, but on the whole I liked it. See this short second feature film at YouTube.

I have loved this movie ever since I was a child. The slapstick comedy never gets old.

Well, as far as I can see, there are only three things wrong with this movie, compared with the rest of the director's output:

1) It doesn't have Bill Demarest in it.

2) It doesn't have Jimmy Conlin in it.

3) It isn't funny.

I loved this movie--but I love most old films better than the newer ones. This one was hilarious and timeless. Any schoolteacher should really love and appreciate this hilarious film. I had the great honor of meeting Mr. Romero also one time, and he was the most friendly, gracious (and good-looking) man. I didn't know he had once been a big star at one time! Ms. Grable showed she had fantastic comedic timing in the hilarious well-colored flick. If you love to laugh like I do--watch it! Shows Ms. Grable had brains, as well as looks!