Rootin',tootin' Grable legs it in Western farce
First time around this Preston Sturges (writer, producer, director)movie was given the thumbs down by most of the critics. However, today it is hailed as classic comedy, with a classy leading lady - Betty Grable! She the cutest li'l ole gunslinging saloon girl who shoots a judge (where it don't show) and legs it with her pal, Olga San Juan, to the next town along the line where she poses as a schoolmarm. Betty only has two numbers in this one, but her comedy performance is first-class, especially aided by Margaret Hamilton, Sterling Holloway, and a whole host of oldtimers. Great fun - if you don't take it too seriously! A very underrated Preston Sturges production. And it's a pity Grable wasn't allowed to do more wacky comedies like this. She's a natural.
Betty's biggest flop plays a lot funnier today
The legend goes something like this: After Judy Garland dropped out of Annie Get Your Gun, MGM called Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, and asked if he would loan out Betty Grable to replace her. After thinking about it over the weekend, Zanuck called Mayer back and said, "Why the hell should I loan out my golden girl when I've got a better property to star her in?" The better property? The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend! Despite starring Hollywood's number one female (Grable was on the Top 10 Box Office list for 10 consecutive years) and being written and directed by one of the best in the business, Preston Sturges (in his autobiography Sturges writes that this was a misfire, and that Betty Grable was so great to work with and such an excellent comedienne she deserved much better) the picture tanked. Today, surprisingly, it plays much better. Grable's comedic talents really do shine (Sturgis was right!) and she gets better than able support from Cesar Romero, Rudy Vallee,...
Betty at her tops.
This movie kept me laughing. The picture quality was very good and so was the sound. I just wish there where extras.
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