1950 Directed by Henry Koster
Andy Clark discovers he was cheated out of a half interest in partner Mike's business, now a thriving dance hall in 1892 Chicago. Unable to win it back, Andy schemes to make Mike's position untenable. He also hopes to turn Ruby Summers, Mike's motor-mouthed burlesque queen, into a classier entertainer, and incidentally to make her his own. But at the last minute, Andy's revenge comes unravelled.
La Venere di Chicago, Varieté-Prinzessin
USA
USA
Surprisingly spry and delightful musical starring Betty Grable in a loose remake of her 1943 film Coney Island. Grable is wonderful as the dive chanteuse whom Victor Mature turns into a Broadway star. Her dancing, singing, and characterization are skillfully executed and wildly appealing. But the show belongs as much to Victor Mature, believable, funny, and adept with smart lines, as the show business con man with a real showman's heart and brain. Phil Harris is fine as Mature's rival both in show business and love, and there's a rich turn by James Barton as a drunken pal of all three leading characters. It's often over the top, as most musicals can be, but its period decor and costumes and rich evocative music of the turn-of-the-century (20th) era in which it takes place are more than pleasant. Henry Koster handles a crowded cast and some intricate staging very well. This was a great deal of unexpected fun.
A lively Betty Grable musical, but it's a rework of one she did before, so don't go in expecting anything fresh. Victor Mature & Phil Harris bring a lot to this as slimy show biz people, which helps with the overall impression. It's a Betty Grable showcase, so you know what to expect, and if you enjoy these, you'll enjoy this.
Ruby Summers (Betty Grable) plays the main attraction at a Chicago burlesque theater run by Mike Stanley (Phil Harris), when Andy Clark (Victor Mature) an old acquaintance, shows up. Set around the turn of the century, with references to Oscar Hammerstein and the suffragette movement (a scene with Margaret Hamilton playing the leader of a militant band intent on wiping out these kinds of establishments leads her girls into Harris' club). The film has numerous musical numbers with Grable dressed up in some stunning outfits, as she sings and dances across the stage backed up by knock-out chorus line girls. The arrival of Harrigan (James Barton) as a heavy drinking tap dancer, energizes an already fast paced film. Phil Harris' part as the slightly crooked owner of the club is great as he and Mature outmaneuver each other for Grable, who looks great in the outfits, with the whole thing photographed in Technicolor.
