I sensed this was a stinker - no one seems to say anything good about it - and I was right.
It's main gimmick is that it's Deanne Durbin's sole colour film. It has production value to spare - set in the old west during the gold rush. There's plenty of outfits for Deanna, coaches, camps, horses, townships... but it all feels kind of pointless. I mean the West is pretty in colour but... a musical in the West, I don't know... the money would have been better spent for a comedy at Coney Island or something.
Deanna sings and is blond and is nice. It's a dumb story where she chases soldier David Butler to the West and instead falls for Robert Paige.
There's some comic antics involving Akim Tamiroff and a fellow character actor as con men. Thomas Gomez sort of just pops up at the end. There's no villain, no threat.
Robert Paige is a chunky unexciting romantic lead - not good enough for Deanna. Deanna needed more status - was it too much for Universal to have her go out west to pan for gold or be a sheriff or something? Or be a singer? Her best films were when getting the man was a side plot not the main plot.
The film does get some points for depicting President Polk!
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