Starring Mitzi Gaynor, Scott Brady, Mitzi Green, and Marguerite Chapman
Directed by Harmon Jones
Music and Lyrics by various
We honor singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor, who died on October 17th, this week with our first two reviews. Gaynor began at Fox in 1950 at the age of 17 in the musical My Blue Heaven. They wanted to build her into a major star to rival their famous "Fox blonde" Betty Grable. She never became quite that big, but she did make some really interesting musicals on her own. This retelling of a Damon Runyon short story was her second starring role after the biography Golden Girl. How well does she do in this tale of a backwoods girl with a fine singing voice who is discovered and promoted by a gangster? Let's begin with three of Runyon's typical gangsters on the town and a singer in a nightclub and find out...
The Story: That singer is Yvonne Dugan (Chapman), who is persuaded to appear in court for her gangster boyfriend Robert "Numbers" Foster (Brady) while he's hiding out in Georgia. After his arrival there with Harry "Poorly" Sammis (Wally Vernon), Numbers overhears someone beautifully singing a hymn. Turns out to be local girl Emily Ann Stackerlee (Gaynor), who was singing for her grandfather's funeral. Numbers drives her and her two bloodhounds to New York to star in his nightclub. He turns her over to Poorly's sister, 52nd Tessie (Green), who becomes her best friend. Yvonne, however, is jealous, and she'll do anything to get this newcomer out of her hair...even turn on her current boyfriend.
The Song and Dance: Gaynor makes an adorable Georgia farm girl here, bolstered by a genuinely funny script and some good dance numbers. All those Runyonesque gangsters shine here, including Vernon as the fussy Poorly, George E. Stone as Ropes McGonigle, Henry Slade as Dave the Dude, and Richard Allen as slick dancer Curtaintime Charlie. Chapman does so well as the jealous dame who can't stand to see this little hillbilly steal the spotlight, you wish she had more to do in the second half, and Green gets some of the funniest lines. We have some gorgeous Technicolor and lovely costumes, in rural Georgia and on Broadway.
The Numbers: We open with "Broadway Rhythm" performed over the opening credits, giving us an idea of what's to come. Yvonne performs the sensual "You Send Me" at the nightclub while Numbers looks on. "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" is the hymn Emily Ann performed at her grandfather's funeral that impressed Numbers so much, he stops and listens. She and local kid Little Eilda (Sharon Baird) do an adorable two-step to "Cindy" on wind-up Victrola that keeps speeding up or running down. We get two short sequences of Emily Ann showing off dance steps her grandfather taught her, but Curtaintime Charlie and Tessie insist that "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" in what becomes a cute tap trio.
After a brief instrumental montage of Emily Ann practicing her steps in the nightclub, we get to see her act. She's a hillbilly claiming she's "Eight Miles from Atlanta" in the first number, prancing with guys in floppy hats and suspenders, then turns glamorous dance star with Charlie for the romantic "I Wish I Knew." The movie ends with Emily Ann as a saloon girl in a Wild West dance hall, singing about that "Jack O'Diamonds" who was a famous card sharp until he fell for a good woman.
Trivia: Final movie for Mitzi Green, who began in the early 30's as a child star. She had largely retired to raise a family by this point and would return to her family after this, only making occasional TV and nightclub appearances thereafter.
What I Don't Like: First of all, this has nothing to do with the actual Damon Runyon "Bloodhounds of Broadway" short story besides its title. There are times when it feels like an imitation Guys and Dolls, with all the goofy vocabulary being thrown around by the gangsters and the cops trying to catch them in the act. As cute as the story is, it can also come off as forced and corny, especially in the second half when Emily Ann uses those bloodhounds of the title to track down Poorly and Numbers after they've fled again. The numbers are a strange mix of old songs and new, and the new songs are nothing to write home about.
The Big Finale: This ended up being a pleasant surprise. If you're a fan of Gaynor, Runyon's other work, or the big, flashy comic musicals of the 50's and 60's, you might get as much of a kick as I did out of Emily Ann's big New York debut.
Home Media: The DVD is in print, but can be pricey. You might be better off streaming this one.
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