User Reviews

In 1942 Dick Powell signed a contract with Paramount Pictures on condition that he vary his roles and would occasionally do some dramatic films which Warner Brothers had refused to cast him in. But his first film for them was Star Spangled Rhythm and his bit part in that wartime musical was with Mary Martin doing probably the best number in the film, Hit the Road to Dreamland. They certainly seemed well suited for each other.

With that in mind Powell got to do his first color film Happy Go Lucky with Martin the following year. But for some reason Mary Martin never quite clicked with film audiences. I'm at a loss to know why myself because she certainly had a sparkling personality.

Powell did this one with Martin with the hope that dramatic parts would eventually come his way and Happy Go Lucky is certainly amusing enough. Powell and Eddie Bracken play a pair of beachcombers on a tropical island in the Caribbean created nicely on the Paramount sound stage. Martin is a cigarette girl pretending to be a débutante hoping to land a rich husband and her sights are set on Rudy Vallee who is reprising his role from The Palm Beach Story replete with glasses and all. Also along for the ride is Betty Hutton who is a fellow cigarette girl traveling with Martin and an old flame of Bracken's.

Certainly Bracken and Hutton seemed to team well together as they had in The Fleet's In and Star Spangled Rhythm and both would be used again to even bigger acclaim by Preston Sturges in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero. In fact Hutton stole the film right out from under the leads with her rousing rendition of Murder He Says.

As long as Rudy Vallee and Dick Powell were appearing in the same film it would have been nice if they had sung together, but Rudy did not sing a note and an opportunity was lost.

I don't think I have to talk about the plot too much more with the ingredients I've given you, I'm sure you know exactly how this will all come out. The only other item involved in this film is a voodoo love potion that apparently is spread to victim like you were spraying your garden for pests.

Happy Go Lucky is an amusing average comedy from Paramount that led to nothing for its leads, but it's supporting cast did just fine.

The musical cinema careers of both stars was almost at an end when this film was released.Dick Powell clearly knew that his time as a juve lead was nearing its natural end as he appeared in "Farewell My Lovely" the following year.Mary Martin made one more film in this era before returning to the stage.She made very few films so a musical such as this is of great interest .Although she is quite delightful i do not think that she had the glamour of say Rita hayworth or the brashness of Betty Grable to enable her screen career to really take off.All of her performances that i have seen have been engaging without being memorable.Dick Powell does what he had been doing for 10 years on screen.Betty Hutton,Eddie Bracken and Rudy Vallee all lend support in this very entertaining and colourful 40s musical.

This is clearly a cast-off Crosby-Hope script with a couple of additional songs for Hutton and Martin. Panama and Frank do their regular "Road" story and the color is nice. All it needs is a patty-cake routine.

I like all the actors who appear in "Happy Go Lucky," but not much in this film. This movie bounces all over the place, the plot is a jumble of small plots, and the screenplay is lousy. Even the musical numbers don't go over well. Betty Hutton as Bubbles Hennessy is way overboard, especially in her singing. She could make some ugly faces with her facial contortions in songs. I think it was poor directing that let stuff like that get through. I'll bet she shuddered if she saw the film and how she appeared in her songs.

Mary Martin as Marjory, Dick Powell as Pete and Rudy Vallee as Alfred don't seem to have any energy. In Alfred's case, it may be intentional; but with few others showing any zip for their roles, this film soon becomes a ho-hum. Eddie Bracken is OK, and I like to see Eric Blore in his supporting roles. But they don't have enough to lift this film above poor. What little humor there is can't save the film either.

It appears to be a lavish production from the opening scene with many people in costume and the boat landing setting. But it soon turns out to be a very poor film. This was a Paramount picture, and I wonder if this wasn't one of its "B" level films. I had a hard time staying with it. It just isn't that interesting or entertaining.

Dick Powell is a completely relaxed Island Scavenger and his sidekick, Eddie Bracken, has a girl friend, Betty Hutton, who is fanatically crazy about him. Betty uses an energetic approach which would wear out three sidekicks. Dick's co-star, Mary Martin, flashes a great pair of legs in the show's stopper, "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay". I was only thirteen when I saw this show and I think she made a leg-man of me. Miss Martin has set out for the sole purpose of catching herself a millionaire, Rudy Vallee. Rudy does the rich shtick very well, through his nose, and is a fore-runner of Mister Howell of Gilligan's Island fame. The site is also somewhat familiar.

Mary Martin and Dick Powell make a healthy, handsome couple who are a pleasure to watch, giving an effortless performance. The movie was aptly named and was a thoroughly satisfactory piece of entertainment. But then, again, she was a fine looking lady in those days and maybe it was just adolescence. By the way, the picture is in really good color.

To get rich, Marjory Stuart, a gold digger, goes to Trinidad and poses as a debutant. The beach boy, Pete, immediately reveals it, but offers to help catch his enemy, Alfred Monroe, on a sailboat. Turns out Marjory's buddy, Bubbles, is Pete's old flame, Wally's buddy. Every well-planned effort to land Monroe ends in slapping simplicity; then Wally's voodoo priestess gives her a love potion that works ...