9/10
So,where's Jack Carson?
19 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Jack Carson was a frequent co-star of the leading man here: Dennis Morgan, but is not found here, although he was included in several early Warner Doris Day films around this time.............This musical comedy is the first of 3 released from 1951-53 that included Virginia Mayo and Gene Nelson among the stars. I would say it's probably the most entertaining of the 3, certainly in terms of memorable music, although the songs were retreads...........Dennis Morgan was a first-rate tenor, while guest star Lucille Norman was also a first rate singer,as well as a looker blond to rival Mayo. I always think of Dennis as an Irish tenor, although I discovered that he actually has a Swedish heritage! In any case, he begins this film by singing the standard "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". Gene Nelson can also sing professionally, although his main claim to fame is his athletic dancing style. .........Although Mayo (as Carol) is first billed among the actresses, she doesn't really stand out here. Her musical forte was always stage dancing, her singing always being dubbed. In fact, I would say that Lucille Norman(Abby) is more like the leading lady. ........Abby, Carol, and June(Virginia Gibson) comprise the Dillion Sisters singing trio, although they claim that they aren't really sisters. My favorite of the songs they sing is their first: "A Man is a Necessary Evil" Nelson(as Ted Lansing) then immediately pops up and begins to sing and dance to the standard "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", with the sisters eventually joining in. Interestingly, this song as well as their prior "A Man is a Necessary Evil" were composed by the team of Sonny Burke and Jack Elliot........Dennis(Vince) plus Lucille(Abby) sing 2 of the most memorable standards: "With a Song in my Heart", composed by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart for the musical "Spring is Here", as well as "Jalousie"(Jealousy, in English),composed by the Danish Jacob Gade, also in the '20s. Meanwhile, Carol(Mayo) sang "The Birth of the Blues", while Nelson danced around her, while supposedly chiming in with a trumpet..........Supposedly, the film was sort of a remake of Warner's "The Gold Diggers of 1933)". The first song in that film: "We're in the Money" was appropriately the last song in the present film, after the girls had snared their millionaire beaus and hoped-for husbands. I didn't notice any other song the 2 films had in common.........Of the 3 Dillion Sisters, June(Virginia Gibson) was the least prominent . However, in the Western festival, she demonstrated that she too had appreciable stage dancing skills, while clowning with Nelson..........There are also a number of non-musical supporting players. English-challenged 'Cuddles' Sakal, as 'uncle' Felix Hoff, is the owner of the Golden Egg Casino, of Las Vegas, where most of the action, except the first part, takes place. He has strange dealings with eccentric knife-throwing desert rat cowboy Sam Parks(Wallace Parks). The latter sleeps on the floor, with a small log for a pillow, so that he "will sleep like a log"(sorry). He follows Cuddles around because he wants to buy into the casino business. At one point, he wants to kill Cuddles with his knife throwing. These 2 are supposed to carry much of the humor..........Then, there is aristocratic Tom Conway, as Bennington: Nelson's cousin and president of a family bank in the East, which is the main source of Nelson's considerable wealth. He arrives at the Golden Egg to try to break up the impending marriage of Nelson and Abby by devious means...........As I mentioned, the Dillion girls came to LV to find millionaire husbands(a very familiar plot, as in "How to Marry a Millionaire", at a time before women owned more wealth than men in the USA). In the finale, the girls each have a promising wealthy beau and all are singing "We're in the Money". A fun upbeat film! See the film(on DVD) to find out who apparently ends up with whom(as if you cared!).
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