John Farrow made some great film noirs as did Victor Mature but this one collaboration was a musical - a genre in which Mature had considerable experience but not Farrow. There's a lot of pace and running around but the movie never quite works. Or maybe it does if you're more of a fan of Betty Hutton, the frentic hammy blonde who was so popular in the 1940s. Personally, I could take her or leave her, in this film at least.
I will admit she's got plenty of energy and there's a funny song tribute to Hamlet. June Havoc and Jane Night are a lot of fun as her fellow showgirls as is Frank Loesser as a gangster. But it's strained - it never works.
You only need to compare it to say Bullets over Broadway which had many of the same elements - gangsters backing Broadway shows, showgirls, pretentious theatre directors. But that film knew it was making a comedy - this one struggles. Hutton and Victor Mature don't make a good team, Mature's playing feels off (are we meant to take him seriously? comically?), the gangsters are no threat.
It's frustrating - this film should be awesome fun, but it's not.
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