I guess if you're in the mood for this piece of fluff you might find it diverting. I realize it was directed by Douglas Sirk, who has a following, as they say, but it's really undistinguished. To find it otherwise because of who directed it, is to commit the fundamental error of attribution -- "Sirk is a genius and therefore everything he does is outstanding by its nature." Don Ameche is a movie director and impresario who believes he's found in showgirl Dorothy Lamour the perfect expression of French charm and talent. (Actually she's from Brooklyn or someplace.) The movie is based on that idea. The only surprise in it is that in a supporting role Adele Jergens -- Queen of the B movies -- shows some background in dance. I've always admired dancers for the same reason I admired athletes. They can do all kinds of things with their bodies that are forbidden to the rest of us because we are born with a psychokinetic deficit.
Dorothy Lamour. The name doth run trippingly from the tongue. Ah, l'amour, l'amour. Toujours l'amour. Ironically, Dorothy Lamour, born Mary Slaton in New Orleans in 1914, had Louisiana French forbears. (Her sister's name is Jean, pronounced "Zhawn.") The New Orleans cat house depicted in Brooke Shields' breathrough movie, "Pretty Baby," in which the Madam addresses her clientèle as "M'sieur," was set in the Storyville section of the city at a time when Lamour was a child.
She was a pretty, unpretentious, and good-natured woman whose career was fading when this movie was made. She sings most of the songs and does her best with them. The best known is "Let's Fall in Love," which Cole Porter wrote in 1928. She didn't have much of a singing voice but had so much charm that it didn't matter much. And in other movies she managed to introduce a couple of songs that became standards -- "I Remember You," "But Beautiful", and "Personality," later adapted for use in a Wesson Oil commercial.
In fact, though, both the leads are likable. It's just that the movie is too weak to carry them.
Dorothy Lamour. The name doth run trippingly from the tongue. Ah, l'amour, l'amour. Toujours l'amour. Ironically, Dorothy Lamour, born Mary Slaton in New Orleans in 1914, had Louisiana French forbears. (Her sister's name is Jean, pronounced "Zhawn.") The New Orleans cat house depicted in Brooke Shields' breathrough movie, "Pretty Baby," in which the Madam addresses her clientèle as "M'sieur," was set in the Storyville section of the city at a time when Lamour was a child.
She was a pretty, unpretentious, and good-natured woman whose career was fading when this movie was made. She sings most of the songs and does her best with them. The best known is "Let's Fall in Love," which Cole Porter wrote in 1928. She didn't have much of a singing voice but had so much charm that it didn't matter much. And in other movies she managed to introduce a couple of songs that became standards -- "I Remember You," "But Beautiful", and "Personality," later adapted for use in a Wesson Oil commercial.
In fact, though, both the leads are likable. It's just that the movie is too weak to carry them.