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Although the plot plays fast and loose with history, the film is based on the early stage career of 19th century singer Lotta Crabtree, as played with gusto by Mitzi Gaynor, who shows herself to be one of the great dancers of 20th century cinema. Under the guidance of her stage mother, 16-year-old Crabtree began performing for sex-starved California miners and later wealthy city slickers across America, earning a fortune for her family. Set against the background of the Civil War, the melodrama centers on her romance with a South spy and her relationship with her brother-like partner, played by Dale Robertson and Dennis Day, respectively. The beauty of the film is its music, with Gaynor irresistibly innocent and vivacious, Day in his best tenor form, and Carmen D'Antonio as European stage entertainer Loa Montez, Crabtree's inspiration. Top among the cute songs is "Kiss Me Quick and Go." Curiously, "Oh Dem Golden Slippers," which repeats throughout the film, was not written until 1879, many years after the Civil War.