Thursday, July 1, 2021

Pin Up Girl

20th Century Fox, 1944
Starring Betty Grable, Dorothea Kent, John Harvey, and Martha Raye
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Music by James V. Monaco; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

Women didn't just work in defense plants during World War II. They were everywhere, from the military up into the the higher echelons of government. Hundreds of women left suburbs and small towns to get well-paying jobs as secretaries and stenographers in Washington DC. Betty Grable, the nation's top box office star and beloved dreamboat of the boys overseas, pays tribute to those women in this light-as-air romantic comedy about a Washington stenographer whose little white lies get her into a ton of trouble. Let's start at a USO canteen in Missoula, Missouri, and see what all the fuss is about...

The Story: Laurie Jones (Grable) is Missoula's favorite canteen hostess. She's in charge of keeping every serviceman happy and always accepts every marriage proposal, even though she doesn't really mean it. She and her friend Kay Pritchett (Kent) are on their way to Washington DC, where they've accepted jobs as stenographers. Laurie figures one more white lie won't hurt and talks Kay into a night on the town in New York. When they're not allowed in a nightclub unescorted, Laurie claims they're with Navy hero Tommy Dooley (Harvey). The owner Eddie Hall (Joe E. Brown) lavishes the girls with champagne. Tommy and his friend Dud (Dave Wilcock) think they're blind dates. Laurie doesn't help when she and Kay claim to be stage stars.

Laurie's shocked when she encounters Tommy in Washington. Worse yet, she's assigned to be his secretary. She borrows mousey Kay's clothes and glasses and goes by her real name. Tommy's still smitten with "Laura Lorraine" and not only insists on taking her out, but convinces Eddie to feature her in his newly-opened DC nightclub. Not only is Eddie's star attraction Molly McKay (Raye) jealous, but then one of those men Laurie thoughtlessly accepted a proposal from back in Missoula appears, demanding she actually marry him.

The Song and Dance: You can't get much more patriotic or World War II than this movie. The entire premise was likely inspired by Grable's famous back-to-the-camera pin-up photo (which is seen briefly when Tommy shows it to Eddie) that graced so many footlockers during the 40's. Grable - along with some good comic bits from Raye and Brown as the cheerful nightclub owner and his jealous star - is the main reason to see this one nowadays. She's obviously enjoying her Clark Kent-like disguise, especially when she tries to talk up "Laura Lorraine" to Tommy. There's some awesome Technicolor costumes for the time, too, especially with rationing going on.

Favorite Number: June Hutton and the Stardusters perform a lovely ballad as we enter Eddie's nightclub in New York, "Time Alone Will Tell." Martha Raye introduces "Red Robins, Bobwhites, and Bluebirds," which is then done in a huge flurry of red, white, and blue sequins and feathered fans by champion roller skater Gloria Nord and the Skating Vanities. Grable does the lively "Don't Tell Tales Out of School" twice with Charlie Spivack and His Orchestra, first with male dancers the night she meets Tommy, and later near the end of the film in her "Laurie Jones" secretary outfit. Raye takes everyone on a "Yankee Doodle Hayride" dressed as an extremely unlikely farm girl, with the Condos Brothers doing a terrific tap solo in overalls afterwards. 

The movie ends with "The Story of the Merry Widow." It starts as a more typical chorus dance, with Grable in her black feathered gown amid dancers clad in white lace. Mid-way through, Grable turns up in uniform and leads real WACs through a long but complex and interesting drill routine. 

Trivia: Grable was seven months pregnant during the shooting of this film.

This was originally to be a drama staring Don Ameche and Linda Darnell. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, anyone besides Grable, Brown, Raye, and Eugene Pallatte as a blustery admiral is pretty much window-dressing. Harvey is such a snore and reacts so badly to her supposed "engagement," I'm not sure what she or Raye see in him in the first place. The story is utterly ridiculous, even for one of Grable's movies. I have no idea how Tommy doesn't realize who "Laurie" is to begin with. Her disguise isn't exactly that thorough. What happened to Kay after she loaned Laurie her clothes and glasses? She vanishes during the second half without explanation. 

And what's with the non-ending? We don't even get to see the lovers reunite after the big drill finale, just a smile from Tommy. A few lines of reconciliation from the lovers or a final embrace would have been nice.

The Big Finale: The numbers alone make this worth checking out for major fans of Grable or the patriotic musicals of World War II.

Home Media: Not on streaming at press time, but it can be found on DVD and Blu-Ray (the latter from Twilight Time). 

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