3/10
Cringe-worthy but for the Songs and Dailey Dancing
1 May 2020
Beautiful Anne Baxter stars in a completely nonmusical role as the starstruck female equivalent of a "stagedoor Johnny," conniving her way into marriage with her song-and-dance-man idol played by Dan Dailey. One thing leads to another and she becomes a silent movie star who then, inexplicably, forbids her daughter from going into show biz. Baxter whines and Dailey lies and it all culminates with their Shirley Temple wannabe daughter (played by Shari Robinson) singing "On the Good Ship Lollypop-in a movie set in 1924, even though the song was not published until 1934. There are only two reasons to watch this film: the high point with Dan Daily showing his skill as one of the best movie dancers of his time and the low point with Dailey doing a cringe-worthy turn as a stereotypical "Uncle Tom" looking and acting like a fool in full blackface. Oh, and along the way you get to hear some really great songs: "Varsity Drag," "Charleston," "Ain't She Sweet," "Would You Like to Take a Walk?" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (which was written in 1941). Fast forward button highly recommended.
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