There are three points that are indisputable when seeing this film:
(1)The late Betty Hutton was an acquired taste as a musical comedy performer. You either "got" her type of excessive presentation or didn't.
(2) There was absolutely no way for Hollywood to tell the truth in a studio-created film biography, because the producers never trusted the public to accept accuracy regarding the facts in a commercially marketed/mass distributed movie.
(3) Film musicals are essentially escapist entertainment that demand the suspension of any semblance of reality in order to succeed with the audience.
Having said all this, it is still a major disappointment that one of the great pioneers in film history (Pearl White) should be honored by such a travesty as this musical biography. It steers way afield of virtually all the interesting parts of Ms. White's life and career. Instead, we are given heavy doses of fictitious sentimentality and fake romance to fill the picture's 96 long minutes.
Ms. Hutton delivers her usual hyper kinetic performance, which after awhile-----generates considerable fatigue as part of the price of admission. Her male co-star, John Lund, is yet one more chip off the old block of Hollywood's large stable of wooden leading actors (Nelson Eddy, John Hubbard, Hugh Marlowe, John Loder, George Raft, Sonny Tufts, etc.). The talented supporting cast (William Demarest, Constance Collier, Billy De Wolfe, etc.) certainly deserved better.
It ought to be possible for Hollywood to make a reasonably accurate film musical biography that is both entertaining and rings true. Perhaps the only one that comes close is Judy Garland's extraordinary "A Star Is Born" (1954)----but of course that was not given to us as the story of Judy's life---yet so much of it seems lifted from her career.
Meanwhile---for fans of Pearl White and her era----you will have to wait for another day to see her real story on the screen. Too bad. It must have been one truly exciting time to be in show business when Pearl was Queen of the Movie Serials!
(1)The late Betty Hutton was an acquired taste as a musical comedy performer. You either "got" her type of excessive presentation or didn't.
(2) There was absolutely no way for Hollywood to tell the truth in a studio-created film biography, because the producers never trusted the public to accept accuracy regarding the facts in a commercially marketed/mass distributed movie.
(3) Film musicals are essentially escapist entertainment that demand the suspension of any semblance of reality in order to succeed with the audience.
Having said all this, it is still a major disappointment that one of the great pioneers in film history (Pearl White) should be honored by such a travesty as this musical biography. It steers way afield of virtually all the interesting parts of Ms. White's life and career. Instead, we are given heavy doses of fictitious sentimentality and fake romance to fill the picture's 96 long minutes.
Ms. Hutton delivers her usual hyper kinetic performance, which after awhile-----generates considerable fatigue as part of the price of admission. Her male co-star, John Lund, is yet one more chip off the old block of Hollywood's large stable of wooden leading actors (Nelson Eddy, John Hubbard, Hugh Marlowe, John Loder, George Raft, Sonny Tufts, etc.). The talented supporting cast (William Demarest, Constance Collier, Billy De Wolfe, etc.) certainly deserved better.
It ought to be possible for Hollywood to make a reasonably accurate film musical biography that is both entertaining and rings true. Perhaps the only one that comes close is Judy Garland's extraordinary "A Star Is Born" (1954)----but of course that was not given to us as the story of Judy's life---yet so much of it seems lifted from her career.
Meanwhile---for fans of Pearl White and her era----you will have to wait for another day to see her real story on the screen. Too bad. It must have been one truly exciting time to be in show business when Pearl was Queen of the Movie Serials!