weezeralfalfa
Hard to believe this was Dan Dailey's first film appearance in 4 years, and his first costarring role, after his pre-WWII serviceman film career was wasted in bit parts, often in non-musicals. After failing to sign veteran stars James Cagney or Fred Astaire in the role of Betty's vaudeville partner, and later husband, Dailey was signed. It isn't hard for audiences to tell that he and Betty were made for each other as a musical comedy team. They were about the same age, both had begun performing on stage as children, and both had the ideal vaudevillian mix of singing, dancing, comedic and acting talent. When given a chance, as in this film, Dailey exhibited an effortless sense of comedic timing combined with an easy-going personality; a sort of guy you would wish to chum with.This first of 4 unions of Dan and Betty in a musical is probably the high water mark of Betty's career, and perhaps Dan's career as well. Present viewers will probably be surprised that this was the top grossing film for Fox in 1947 and the 4th most attended film for all studios, as well as Betty's reported favorite of her films. Although it has its pluses, apparently, it hasn't aged well, as only very recently has it become available as a made-on-demand DVD release. Or look for it on TV, as I did.). Like their later musical "My Blue Heaven", the screenplay departed from most musicals in that the melodrama mostly involved their children or attempt to acquire a child, rather than the usual fare of romantic and professional ups and downs. It's structured more like "Meet Me in St. Louis", except that it's the parents, rather than an offspring, who do most of the musical numbers. It's been pointed out that the inclusion of children was a more relevant topic during the post-war baby boom than during the war. With its largely informal family atmosphere, mostly vaudevillian -styled upbeat musical numbers, and inclusion of Dan, I'm not surprised Betty reports this as her favorite film she did. Dailey would later again costar in a musical(There's No Business Like Show Business) in which he played the eventual father of a vaudeville family. However, the grown children contributed much more to the musical numbers than in the present film, where Iris only sings some in the latter part. The film is presented as a flashback by an occasionally narrating Mikie: their youngest daughter. Dan and Betty's characters are loosely based on the vaudeville team of Frank and Myrtle Burt. Initially, Dan does a solo comedic act to "Berlington Bertie From Bow", dressed like Fred and Judy in "A Couple of Swells" of "Easter Parade", released the next year. When Betty does her impersonation of this act at his birthday party, Dan is impressed enough to offer her to become his stage partner. But first, she joins a chorus of a stage show featuring Dan singing and dancing back and forth to a lively version of the Myrow-Gordon song "You Do". This tune served as the de facto theme song. Betty would later redo it as a slow romantic ballad, as would her older daughter Iris(Mona Freeman) in the finale.Between these numbers, Dan and Betty do a series of brief song and dance numbers to "This Is My Favorite City". Later, both dress in Astaire-like tails and top hat as they dance across the stage while singing "We're a Couple of Broadway Brothers", followed by the catchy "Kokomo, Indiana". You will have noticed by now that Dan's dancing style is more like that of Ray Bolger than Astaire.The next significant scene has the girls making a surprise visit to their parents late on Christmas eve. It's too late to buy a tree, so Dan finds one growing in a front yard, and cuts it down with his handyman knife!, then is chased by a policeman, in a comical scene. A little private show is put on, with a clown, and Senor Wences performing his famous puppet routine, making his hand up to become the face of his most familiar puppet: Johnny. This was before Wences became a household phenomenon, with his repeated performances on the Ed Sullivan TV show. Iris sings "Silent Night".Next, they spend a month at an upscale Berkshire Highlands resort. Unfortunately, they find all the other wealthy guests a bore. Dan dubs this resort "Deadpan Alley". They try to animate the others with an informal "Tra-la-la-la-la", but with little effect. They almost leave prematurely, but Iris pleads she wants more time spent with a discovery: Bob. Also, some guests promise that they will respond to further entertainment attempts by the family. Thus, "Lily of the Valley" is sung and danced to. But, Iris is afraid she will never see Bob again, as he is starting at Harvard. So, it's decided to put the girls in a finishing school near Harvard. Later, on a train, the young people, especially Iris, sing "Swinging Down the Lane" and "Stumbling". But Iris doesn't want her parents to come to a house party, because she feels inferior in status and wealth to the other girls. Nonetheless, they come and perform a show featuring a combination of "There's Nothing like a Song", a reprise of "Kokomo, Indiana", and "Rolling Down Bowling Green": the main version of the latter having been cut. This is followed by Iris's rendition of "You Do", after a group sing of "Fare -Thee -Well, Alma Mater".It's not Astaire nor Berlin, but if you like Dan and Betty, go for it! The last portion, that largely deals with Iris's maturing into a woman, is a bit tedious, but not as bad as some reviewers suggest.
mark.waltz
Yes, the subject may be vaudeville, but indeed, this is a film somewhat ahead of its time as it details how the absence of parents on their children has an effect on them. It is also the tale of a marriage, a successful career, and an era we will certainly never see again. It is also a lesson about how not to judge someone just because they are old; They may indeed have a past much hotter than yours! "Mother, how could you?" narrator Anne Baxter inquiries as she tells us about the life of the sweet old lady crocheting who at one time could kick up her legs to the delight of the tired businessmen in the audience. Mother is Betty Grable, the pin-up girl, and the young musical comedy star who had the highest insured legs in the business. Having left Oakland for Business College in San Francisco, she got sidetracked by a light opera house (i.e. vaudeville or burlesque hall) and ended up co-starring with the hammy headliner Dan Dailey whom she eventually married. Mother decides to put show business aside when she has children, but when father's partner backs out for a new invention called moving pictures, dad asks that mother return, and her feisty grandmother (Sara Allgood) tells her that she should have been with him all along.As Myrt and McKinnley, they travel the provinces, and are prepared to spend Christmas away from the family when grandma steps in and sends them the best Christmas of all. Realizing that their children are growing up into young ladies and need proper education, they send them to boarding school, and as the oldest, Iris (Mona Freman), begins to grow into a beautiful young woman with social ambitions, she is slightly embarrassed over her parent's occupation. Myrtle and Bert step in to help their daughter adjust to accepting them and show her that not all entertainers are loud hams who jump in to take over a song when a group of youngsters are singing on a train to entertain themselves.The first and best of the Dailey/Grable pairings (although Dailey was nominated for an Oscar for playing an alcoholic vaudevillian opposite Grable in the following year's "When My Baby Smiles at Me"), this is more than just another "Alexander's Ragtime Band" or "Tin Pan Alley". It really goes beyond just being an entertainment, exploring the dynamics of family and how they deal with being separated and getting past identity crisis of the teenage years. It is also filled with a glorious song score including "Berlington Bertie From Bow" (repeated by Julie Andrews in "Star!") and songs written directly for the film like "This is My Favorite City", "Bowling Green", "Tra La La La La" and "Kokomo, Indiana". The main theme, "You Do", is heard several times, first as a chorus number, later as a beautiful solo by Grable and finally by Freeman at her high school graduation, and was deservedly nominated for an Oscar.While Dailey and Grable never became as beloved as Astaire and Rogers, it is apparent that they came too late in the musical game to hold court for longer than a few joint appearances. However, they are glorious together, and unlike Astaire and Rogers are not placed together against type; You really feel they belong together. Allgood gives her good old Welsh charm as Grandmother, while Freeman and Connie Marshall are delightful as the two sisters who as Baxter narrates both loved and hated each other, yet were never not devoted. Veda Ann Borg is very funny as the cynical but wise chorus line pal of Grable's. In smaller roles, William Frawley, Lee Patrick, Maude Eburne and Ruth Nelson also deserve credit in character parts.This is a highlight for the episodic family get-togethers, particularly the funny and touching Christmas sequence (featuring some very entertaining guests including Senor Wences) and the Berkshire Highlands summer resort scenes. Lotte Stein and Sig Ruman are adorable as the elderly European couple who encounter young Marshall while the family is on that holiday. The ending is touching as it reminds us that as our parents get older, the memory of their youth to them is as fresh as ours is to us.
