Jane Powell was under contract to MGM but they weren't sure what to do with her - or rather didn't have anything going for her - so, not unwisely, loaned her out to other studios to learn her trade. Specifically United Artists who were not known for their musicals - musicals worked best when done at studios because you could draw on a whole apparatus rather than ad hoc world of independent production.
This was Powell's second film. She's the best thing about it, sweet and likeable. I wasn't wild about her singing but I don't like that type of singing - she's got a good voice.
But the film isn't good. I saw a murky print but it feels slack and uninvolving, despite being directed by Arthur Lubin. The story has a bright idea - a young woman (Powell) is unaware her beloved elder sister is a burlesque dancer. That's not bad. Frank Tashlin is credited for the story - you can imagine him doing something about burlesque dancers.
But the film shies away from it. They don't do anything with the burlesque factor - I mean you want to see the seedy dives, and gangsters and wise cracking other dancers. I wonder if all this went out when they decided to make it a vehicle for Powell. Constance Moore is dull as the sister; Ralph Bellamy is super dull as the Broadway producer. It feels like it was rewritten into pointlessness.
The music numbers aren't put over with much pizzazz. It's in black and white. There's a weird sub-plot about updating Strauss. This film is a mess.
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