Radio review – Lux – “Coney Island (1944) ***

You miss the technicolour and crowd scenes that livened up the Betty Grable musical, not to mention Phil Silvers, but the cast of this one could easily have slotted into the same story had it been shot for Paramount: Dorothy Lamour, Alan Ladd and Chester Morris. Alan Ladd speaks in a faster, more clipped tone than we’ve become used to but he’s clearly putting a lot into it and it’s a shame he never got the chance to act in something like this on screen. Lamour even sings some of the same songs from the film, including ‘Cuddle Up a Little Closer’.