For an actor best remembered for historical epics and film noir, Victor Mature made a surprisingly large number of musicals. This might have been because early in his career he did a stint on Broadway opposite Gertrude Lawrence in Moss Hart’s Lady in the Dark. So during his career he romanced Esther Williams, Rita Hayworth, Betty Hutton and, here, Betty Grable.
Mature looked a little funny when he was younger – he hadn’t grown into his looks, it’s like they’re painted on. But he plays very well with Grable – they saw each other in real life for a while, and they certainly have an easy rapport. Their chemistry is one of the best things about the film.
Despite four writers being credited, the story for this is very slight. Grable and Mature are the children of rival landowners in Hawaii. They break up for some reason around the end of the second act – do you reckon they get back together? It’s on par with the level of Elvis Presley movies that came along twenty years later.
But there’s plenty of colourful photography, island settings, songs and dance numbers, wacky natives (ha ha they’re fat ha ha). Mature doesn’t sing fortunately, but Jack Oakie (the comic relief second male lead – the Phil Silvers part) has a number.
No comments:
Post a Comment