Starring Jane Powell, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, and Jack E. Leonard
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Our weekday entries this week honor Jane Powell, one of the last major stars of the Golden Era of Hollywood, who died last Tuesday at 92. She was known for her small-town-girl-next-door roles in cheery musicals like this one. MGM loaned her to Warners to play a role that seems more suited to Doris Day, that of a slightly more mature belting star who hopes to help her producer get the title sailors to back their play. How well do they pull it off? To find out, we'll begin on the submarine, where sailors Choirboy Jones (MacRae), Twitch (Nelson), and Porky (Leonard) are trying to figure out what to do with Choirboy's wad of cash...
The Story: Fast-talking producer Joe Woods (Sam Levene) and singing hopeful Penny Watson (Powell) convince Jones to sink his and his fellow Navy mates' money into his show. No matter how good Penny is, though, the show is a flop. Its operatic leading man Emilio Rossi (Georges Givot) doesn't understand the comedy and after it dies in Boston, he and the author drop out. Jones is ready to leave, too, but can't bring himself to when all his mates are excited about the money they'll be making. His friends are there for him, though...and so's the entire Marines when they have to drum up more money!
The Song and Dance: Powell gets to show off her slightly grittier side with a lot more dancing than usual and nasal belting (and high-pitched yelling) on "Kiss Me Or I'll Scream." Levene's the other stand-out as the obnoxious producer who thinks his show can't lose...until the stage floor suddenly drops out from under him. Love the energetic and vivacious choreography, too, especially in the first version of "The Lately Song."
Favorite Number: We open with Nelson, Leonard, and MacRae entertaining their buddies on the submarine with "You're But Oh So Right." Powell does the rowdy "Kiss Me Or I'll Scream" twice, first as a solo audition song for a none-too-pleased banker, then as a full-on girlie chorus routine to convince the Marines to back their show. She and the three sailors dance "The Lately Song" all over the garage where they're rehearsing, making creative use of lifts, tires, and tools. Powell and Leonard make fun of women's tendency to use men as their credit cards in "Show Me a Happy Woman (and I'll Show You a Miserable Man)" from the first flop version of the show. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" is the big finale that brings everyone together onstage in a huge dancing routine, with solos for Nelson and Powell.
Trivia: Look for a very funny cameo by Burt Lancaster as a Marine trying to get into the show towards the end.
The last of six film versions of the 1925 Broadway play The Butter and Egg Man.
What I Don't Like: That's pretty obvious in the twice-told and derivative story. It's a cross between On the Town and earlier Warners backstagers like 42nd Street. MacRae is a bit too naïve and aw-shucks for a guy who just spent a year in the Navy. Most of the supporting characters, including Veda Ann Borg as a sarcastic secretary, barely register.
The Big Finale: Cute but ultimately forgettable time-waster if you're a fan of Powell, MacRae, or the musicals of the 1950's or run into it on TCM.
Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.
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