You probably should know up front that I am NOT a fan of most musicals--even though I do adore classic Hollywood films. This isn't to say I hate them, but they are among my least favorite films of the era. So, keep this in mind as you read the review.
The film has a rather bizarre plot, though it's actually based on some actual stage shows that were made during the 1930s and 1940s. Boxers and other athletes would do variety shows where they mights sing or dance and put on an exhibition of their pugilistic prowess. Jack Dempsey and Jake LaMotta (among others) did such shows. So, the idea of a fat-headed heavy-weight champ (Victor Mature) deciding to headline a musical show on Broadway wasn't that big a stretch--though it sure seemed strange. What also seemed strange was what they did with the plot. In addition, the side plot involving John Payne's romance with Betty Grable just seemed a bit thin, to say the least. How all this worked out in the end was very poor (to say the least) with a miraculous "they all lived happily ever after" resolution tossed in at the last second.
In addition to a fluff-plot, the film is filled with lots of singing and dancing--mostly by the pleasant Grable. None of the songs are memorable in the least and they are mostly in the variety show style. They are inoffensive but I frankly felt that they often got in the way of the story--a problem in many musicals. In other words, whenever the film got rolling, the thing came to a grinding halt for a song or dance number.
The film has a rather bizarre plot, though it's actually based on some actual stage shows that were made during the 1930s and 1940s. Boxers and other athletes would do variety shows where they mights sing or dance and put on an exhibition of their pugilistic prowess. Jack Dempsey and Jake LaMotta (among others) did such shows. So, the idea of a fat-headed heavy-weight champ (Victor Mature) deciding to headline a musical show on Broadway wasn't that big a stretch--though it sure seemed strange. What also seemed strange was what they did with the plot. In addition, the side plot involving John Payne's romance with Betty Grable just seemed a bit thin, to say the least. How all this worked out in the end was very poor (to say the least) with a miraculous "they all lived happily ever after" resolution tossed in at the last second.
In addition to a fluff-plot, the film is filled with lots of singing and dancing--mostly by the pleasant Grable. None of the songs are memorable in the least and they are mostly in the variety show style. They are inoffensive but I frankly felt that they often got in the way of the story--a problem in many musicals. In other words, whenever the film got rolling, the thing came to a grinding halt for a song or dance number.