Starring Vera-Ellen, David Niven, Cesar Romero, and Diane Hart
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Music by Mischa Spoliansky; Lyrics by Barbara Gordon and Mischa Spoliansky
William Bendix wasn't the only American film star to work in England during the 1950's. Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, and director H. Bruce Humberstone joined British star David Niven to make this veddy English take on the backstage extravaganza. How does the story of a chorus girl who mistaken for the sweetheart of a millionaire look nowadays? Let's begin in a theater at Edinburgh, Scotland, during the first preview of the show Frolics for You and find out...
The Story: Right now, it's looking like there might not be a show. Director-producer John Frost (Romero) can't afford to pay his cast, let alone his creditors. Chorus girl Janet Jones (Vera-Ellen), desperately late for rehearsal one day, gets a ride from Bates (Hugh Dempster), the genial chauffeur for millionaire B.G Bruno (Niven). The moment she's seen stepping out of a millionaire's limo, everyone at the theater thinks she and Bruno are an item. Frost decides to use this to his advantage, giving Janet the star role after the original star quits and telling his creditors he now has a millionaire backing his show. Janet even gets a visit from the dressmaker (Barbara Couper) who had been hounding her to pay her before to make new clothes.
The clothes bill finally gets back to the real B.G Bruno. Bruno is an unassuming young greeting card tycoon who is more interested in his business than romance. He goes to Janet, only for her to mistake him for the reporter who is supposed to interview her, Paul Tracy (Gordon Jackson). B.G is so charmed by her, he lets her think he's Tracy. She and her friend Mae (Hart) even convince him to "play" B.G Bruno when Frost demands to see him. Bruno does give him money for the show...but now Janet thinks he's in trouble for forging a check and tries to get him out of that theater, and fast!
The Song and Dance: Debonair Niven and sassy, charming Vera-Ellen aren't the first people I'd pair off, but they're surprisingly cute together in this really fun backstager. His wiry charm and her brittle warmth play off each other well, and they have so much chemistry, I wish they'd worked together again. They're backed by a lovely production at England's Elstree Studios, with a gorgeous soft Technicolor palate, lovely gowns for the ladies, and fine suits for Niven.
The Numbers: The movie opens with the lavish "Macintosh's Wedding," the original big number before the star quits. A young Scotsman isn't thrilled to marry his sweetheart, until a bump on the head convinces him otherwise! The lovely "One, Two, Three" is a charming ballet with Janet and the chorus dancing in frilly white dresses over rainbow petticoats. "London Town" is the other big chorus routine, a ballet with Janet as a tourist who falls for a British guard. "Would You, Could You?" ends the film with Janet's big solo ballet, pirouetting in a gorgeous white and gold dress as she dances for the audience, but only has eyes for B.G.
Trivia: This is a loose remake of two earlier European movies, the German And Who Is Kissing Me? from 1933 and English Paradise for Two from 1937.
What I Don't Like: Cute though it is, story is not this movie's strong suit. The backstage aspect is nothing you haven't seen in put-on-a-show films on both sides of the pond, while the romantic aspect is so tangled, B.G isn't the only one questioning his identity by the end! Romero is less charming and more annoying as the other transplanted American (though interestingly, he doesn't end up paired off with Mae or one of the other chorus girls, which I thought they might end up doing).
The Big Finale: If you love Niven, Vera-Ellen, or 50's musicals, you might want to travel over to Scotland and give this highland fling a shot.
Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it can pretty much be found anywhere on DVD and streaming.
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