Reviews

Without making comparisons, I've always delighted in this film -- and I saw it when it was first released. Betty Hutton does an excellent job without the need for "Murder He Says" or "His Rocking Horse Ran Away" kinds of songs, singing with a style that seems to me to be historical Seeley. Some say that Ralph Meeker's singing voice was dubbed, yet IMDb indicates on the "Soundtracks" section that his songs were sung by Ralph Meeker. I read somewhere that Meeker in school had studied music theory somewhere along the line. Whosever voice it is, the style seems to be quite like Benny Fields' style. Fields, as I remember, was a big, seemingly athletic kind of guy and Meeker, IMO, fits the mold quite well. The music from the era is fun. For me, the movie is always enjoyable to view.

All the previous reviews/critiques are probably right-on. I was happy to see the film because it presented a bit of theatrical history, showing something of what minstrel shows were like, especially in the opening "Gentlemen Be Seated" bit. Of course, there are similar historical pieces in other movies as well. I don't know that I had ever seen Benny Fields before, although he apparently had done many television appearances in the past, so I was curious to see him and hear him sing. Having seen this film, I rather understand why Ralph Meeker was chosen to play Fields in "Somebody Loves Me" opposite Betty Hutton and I now appreciate that bit of casting.

I saw this movie when it was "first run" in 1947. Betty Grable was at the height of her popularity and "Mother Wore Tights" helped her to remain as the highest paid woman of that year. The back-stage story, a cliché and, perhaps, quite trite in 2005, was fresh, especially because of the family element: two Vaudevilians raising their two daughters, one of whom provides the voice-over narration (done by Anne Baxter). Visually, the film is spectacularly Technicolorful. The songs and dancing are typical of the era and delightfully entertaining. While "You Do" was nominated for Best Song, I think that "Kokomo, Indiana" is a better candidate. This is one of the best of Betty Grable's films, and for the first time she has a male partner in Dan Dailey who is more than just a dancing extra. After almost fifty years, the film is still fun to watch. It's too bad that a similarly appealing film, the 1948 "When My Baby Smiles At Me" with Grable and Dailey, is not available.