Casey Kirby (William Holden) is a nice guy sailor who is very, very slow with women. However, after a female starlet grabs him and kisses him as part of a publicity stunt, the other sailors think he's some sort of stud. Later, the sailors all have a bet that he'll be able to get a kiss from a pretty singer called 'the Countess' (Dorothy Lamour). However, Casey doesn't care about the bet and behaves like a gentleman when he goes out on a date with the Countess. However, when her friend Bessie (Betty Hutton) finds out about the bet, she tells the Countess who becomes furious with Casey--even though Casey's done nothing wrong nor did he have any evil intentions. What's to become of Casey and the Countess? Will he kiss her and will they fall in love after all?
While the plot to this film is agreeable fluff, the film is hindered by being too packed full of songs. Every time the plot starts gaining momentum, there are several songs to derail the movie. Now the songs might have worked if it wasn't for the fact that they were all inserted in as production numbers and were naturally integrated into the film-- but they weren't. It also didn't help that Lamour's character went from being a nice lady to an angry jerk like the drop of a hat! On top of that the film is hindered by having Betty Hutton--a very brash and obnoxious actress whose appeal I have never understood!! Subtle, she ain't! And, practically every time she delivered a line, she screamed it!! It also didn't help that her character was also so broadly written that I practically hated every scene in which she appeared! Had they killed Hutton and eliminated a few songs, the movie would have been a cute little romantic comedy. But, as it is, it's not one of Holden's finer moments. In fact, I'd probably skip this one.
By the way, the only actor in this film who actually came off well was Holden. He was agreeable and pleasant--unlike practically everyone else.
While the plot to this film is agreeable fluff, the film is hindered by being too packed full of songs. Every time the plot starts gaining momentum, there are several songs to derail the movie. Now the songs might have worked if it wasn't for the fact that they were all inserted in as production numbers and were naturally integrated into the film-- but they weren't. It also didn't help that Lamour's character went from being a nice lady to an angry jerk like the drop of a hat! On top of that the film is hindered by having Betty Hutton--a very brash and obnoxious actress whose appeal I have never understood!! Subtle, she ain't! And, practically every time she delivered a line, she screamed it!! It also didn't help that her character was also so broadly written that I practically hated every scene in which she appeared! Had they killed Hutton and eliminated a few songs, the movie would have been a cute little romantic comedy. But, as it is, it's not one of Holden's finer moments. In fact, I'd probably skip this one.
By the way, the only actor in this film who actually came off well was Holden. He was agreeable and pleasant--unlike practically everyone else.