I figured, "How can anything with Janet Leigh be bad?" and I wasn't wrong. This musical has lots to recommend it.
The Pelican Falls sendoff of Ms. Leigh's Nancy Peterson is a rousing bit of old-time Americana. And who knew that Janet could twirl so well? (My late mom had been a majorette and would have savored that scene.)
I enjoyed Tony Martin's wistful love song -- "So kiss me and hold me tight...There's no tomorrow, there's just tonight" -- to a backdrop of rapt children. Exquisite.
I didn't mind the Eddie Bracken character, as have some earlier reviewers. (Could he have inspired Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose?) His "Oh, well, one problem at a time!" comment is one that we can all live by.
A couple of other nice lines:
"I think I'll resign from the human race!"
"There's always a guy who wouldn't -- who does."
I also liked the performance of the Charlivels, who expertly meld acrobatics and dance. The bit with the cigar-puffing circus barker was beyond cool.
I am the last to be politically correct, but I understand other reviewers' reservations about the Indian number. I think the sequence pays less respect to women than to Native Americans, however.
This colorful, zany film came out only six years after World War II ( and five before my birth). I can see how fare like this might have provided a little respite after humanity's darkest moment.
The Pelican Falls sendoff of Ms. Leigh's Nancy Peterson is a rousing bit of old-time Americana. And who knew that Janet could twirl so well? (My late mom had been a majorette and would have savored that scene.)
I enjoyed Tony Martin's wistful love song -- "So kiss me and hold me tight...There's no tomorrow, there's just tonight" -- to a backdrop of rapt children. Exquisite.
I didn't mind the Eddie Bracken character, as have some earlier reviewers. (Could he have inspired Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose?) His "Oh, well, one problem at a time!" comment is one that we can all live by.
A couple of other nice lines:
"I think I'll resign from the human race!"
"There's always a guy who wouldn't -- who does."
I also liked the performance of the Charlivels, who expertly meld acrobatics and dance. The bit with the cigar-puffing circus barker was beyond cool.
I am the last to be politically correct, but I understand other reviewers' reservations about the Indian number. I think the sequence pays less respect to women than to Native Americans, however.
This colorful, zany film came out only six years after World War II ( and five before my birth). I can see how fare like this might have provided a little respite after humanity's darkest moment.