Starring Betty Grable, Robert Young, Adolph Menjou, and Virginia Grey
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Harry Warren and others; Lyrics by Mack Gordon and others
Of course, there was a reason Grable commanded $100,000 per picture by 1953. She'd been the reigning sex symbol of Hollywood since her own star ascended in 1940 with the success of Down Argentine Way. By 1943, she was the biggest star at 20th Century Fox and one of the most recognizable names in films. This movie and Coney Island codified her success with audiences both in the US and with the soldiers overseas who saw her as the personification of the girl they left behind. Does it still go over well today, or should we stop the presses on this one? Let's begin in London, as stage star Madeline Marlowe (Grable) is finishing her run in her latest triumph, and find out...
The Story: Madeline is engaged to marry Charles, Duke of Trippingham (Reginald Gardiner). She's horrified when Police Gazette reporter Ed Malone (Young) exposes her sordid past as music hall singer Rosie O'Grady. Upon arrival in America, she claims to the press that he's her real fiancee, and they planned it all along. When her subterfuge costs him his job, he writes a song about her that he gets published. This turns into a running feud between her touring show and the Gazette and his boss Tom Moran (Menjou), with the two constantly trying to get even with one another...until Charles shows up, and Sweet Rosie O'Grady decides she's had enough of both men.
The Song and Dance: Song and dance are the operative words here, along with gorgeous period costumes and sets that beautifully recreate the world of London and New York in the 1880's. The stunning Technicolor shows off everyone to best advantage. Grable's having a great time as the smart lady who knows how to get back at someone who's done her wrong, and Young comes off as slightly more personable than a lot of the guys who appear in her films. He even gets a few great moments of his own, especially in the end when he fights Menjou for the incriminating notes she wrote as a joke. (And I don't know what it is about Grable's movies, but once again, there's no real villains. Menjou comes the closest, but even he has his reasons for getting that scoop. Charles and Ed even end up drinking together.)
Favorite Number: The movie opens with Grable and the chorus in wedding outfits performing "Where, Oh Where Is the Groom?" This leads to a genuine number from the 1880's, a comic ballad called "Waiting at the Church" about a bride whose groom isn't what he claims to be. The title song is also from the 1880's, and it's heard many times throughout the film, including as a montage of New Yorkers passing it along from newsboys to people on the street, to Madeline's annoyance. Madeline and Ed get drunk, then give us a medley of songs of the period in their carriage on the way to her apartment; they're joined by the driver (Frank Orth) for "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl" and "Little Annie Rooney."
"My Heart Tells Me" is the big ballad, performed by Madeline when she returns to her old haunt Flugleman's at Ed's insistence. The finale starts with newsies yelling "Get Your Police Gazette." This leads into Madeline and the chorus "Goin' to the County Fair" in bright duds as they play games and enjoy the sights. Madeline twits Ed and their feud with a man made up to look like him, "My Sam."
Trivia: Remake of the non-musical 1937 comedy Love Is News with Tyrone Power and Loretta Young, which would turn up again for Power and Gene Tierney as That Wonderful Urge in 1948. Not related to the now-lost silent Sweet Rosie O'Grady from 1926.
What I Don't Like: The story isn't any better or more interesting than the one for Coney Island. Frankly, even at a brisk 74 minutes, Madeline and Ed's annoying feud still goes on for too long and gets a little mean-spirited. You start to wish by the end that Madeline had chosen to handle his claims in a far more adult manner than playing spiteful games. The new songs, other than "My Heart Tells Me," are kind of dull, too.
The Big Finale: Charming bit of blarney is fun for fans of Grable, Young, or the musicals of the 1940's.
Home Media: Currently DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives.
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