DUFFY'S TAVERN

Ed Gardner

DUFFY'S TAVERN (1945). Director: Hal Walker.

Archie (Ed Gardner), the manager of the old-fashioned saloon Duffy's tavern, has hired 14 soldiers as waiters in the owner's absence because the record factory where they worked has closed down. O'Malley (Victor Moore) tries to raise money to reopen the factory but the bank won't extend him credit. His daughter, Peggy (Marjorie Reynolds of Up in Mabel's Room), meets and falls for one of the out of work soldiers, Danny (Barry Sullivan), not knowing that Archie is in love with her. Archie finally gets the idea of getting celebrities from a nearby hotel to put on a show and raise the needed capital. Archie acts as master of ceremonies, introducing sketches and song numbers with such guest artists as Betty Hutton, Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, and other performers from Paramount studios. 

Billy DeWolfe, Bing, and Betty Hutton

I can imagine how the public must have felt back in 1945 when they went to see a film allegedly starring Bing Crosby, and Der Bingle doesn't even show up until after 80 minutes into the running time! Instead we are treated to dull alleged comedy from Ed Gardner and Victor Moore, one of the unfunniest pairings in film history. Gardner had starred in the radio show Duffy's Tavern, and this picture was a film adaptation; ten years later Gardner starred in a TV sitcom of the same title. Based on his performance in this movie, I can see why Gardner has been completely forgotten -- he also contributed to the largely unfunny screenplay. He might be better known as Shirley Booth's first husband. 

Buck-toothed and brassy: Cass Daley

The last third of the film is somewhat of an improvement although much of it is also nearly unwatchable. Betty Hutton hollers her way through one number, and her less attractive clone Cass Daley (of Red Garters) also screams through a similar number -- both women lamenting the lack of interest they inspire in men. (The question is did Hutton rip off Daley or vice versa?) A terrific dance team temporarily lifts the audience's spirits and there's a quick, mildly amusing sketch with Paulette Goddard, Sonny Tufts, and Brian Donlevy.  The finale features Bing Crosby, first in a cute bio of his life with special guest-stars, and then his rendition of "Swingin' on a Star" with Dorothy Lamour and others joining in. The other generally forgettable songs are by Burke and van Heusen. This is one of the worst of the all-star studio films. Star Spangled Rhythm was a far superior Paramount compendium. 

Verdict: Put on any show but this one! **. 

SOMEBODY LOVES ME

Ralph Meeker and Betty Hutton

SOMEBODY LOVES ME (1952). Director: Irving Brecher.

Blossom Seeley (Betty Hutton of Spring Reunion) becomes a top vaudeville entertainer and sees a trio performing in a club one night. Spying the handsome crooner Benny Fields (Ralph Meeker of Jeopardy) -- one of the trio --  she decides "that's for me!" and hires all of them for her act. This arrangement doesn't work for long, until Benny proposes and becomes her accompanist. But soon he's "Mr. Seeley" and feels like a kept man. But did he marry Blossom for love or other motives?

Billie Bird and Cheetah? 

Although pretty much forgotten today, the real-life Seeley and Fields were once as famous as Jack Benny and Burns and Allen. This biopic revived their careers in the fifties. Betty Hutton gives one of her best performances in this, bold and brassy when she needs to be, and more subdued and lovely at other moments. Although generally one would hardly think of Ralph Meeker for the leading role in a musical, he's fine in this flick, and while he's really not a dancer, he sexily shakes his booty in one number. Robert Keith and Billie Bird [The Cat Burglar] are both first-rate as Blossom's manager and her best friend, who was once an entertainer herself. Adele Jergens also scores in an early sequence when she's a condescending headliner who gets undone by Bird and an adorable chimpanzee (who reads Variety no less). Jack Benny has a famous cameo as himself as a master of ceremonies.

Ralph Meeker

The film has some lively dance numbers and a good score comprised of classic tunes (like Gershwin's title song) and a few new numbers by Livingstone and Evans. The highlights are "I Cried Over You;" "Jealous;" "When I Was a Kid in Dixie;" and "Dixie Dreams." Meeker's voice was probably dubbed by Fields himself, as it sounds like him. An interesting scene has Benny admitting to Blossom that their marriage was essentially a career move, although according to this film he did fall in love with her later on. Hutton did only one more film after this one and then had a few TV appearances.

Verdict: Nice music, excellent performances, put over this lively musical biopic. ***. 

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1951)

Howard Keel and Betty Hutton in Technicolor!

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950). Director: George Sidney.

Famed sharpshooter Frank Butler (Howard Keel of Jupiter's Darling) with Buffalo Bill Cody's (Louis Calhern) wild west show, takes on any challenger, but he meets his match in hillbilly Annie Oakley (Betty Hutton), who falls for him but discovers his male pride takes a beating each time she learns a new trick. During their first match she beats him, but she isn't so sure she wants to win the second one at the climax. On this she is advised by none other than Chief Sitting Bull (J. Carroll Naish) of Custer's Last Stand, who comes to see her as his honorary daughter. Will Annie get the man she loves or the prizes?

Naish, Hutton, Calhern

I had trepidation about watching this film because I had always loved the TV version with the wonderful Mary Martin, which was broadcast seven years after this film came out. I was also afraid Betty Hutton would be too overbearing. There are moments in her performance that are borderline, but I must say Hutton is excellent as Annie, capturing both the vulnerability and the pride of the character. Although Hutton does not sing badly (except on "They Say That Falling in Love is Wonderful" in which Howard Keel saves the day), her vocal skills are no match for Mary Martin's (who played Annie in a more feminine and lady-like fashion). In any case, Judy Garland was originally signed for the lead and did a few scenes that survive, and, frankly, she isn't nearly as good as Hutton.

That "handsome devil" Keel

Now we come to Chief Sitting Bull. Although he was in part responsible for the massacre of American soldiers (who attacked first) at Little Big Horn, I guess that even in the 19th century celebrity trumps everything. The chief joined Buffalo Bill's show and stood around signing autographs -- yes! -- and participating in some re-enactments. Annie Oakley did indeed become like a daughter to Sitting Bull, but whether he encouraged her to throw a competition so she'd get her man is debatable. What is not debatable is that Irving Berlin's score is one of his finest, and one of the best of any Broadway musical, responsible for "There's No Business Like Show Business;""" "Doin' What Comes Naturally;" "The Girl That I Marry;" "My Defenses are Down;" "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun;" etc. although it's disappointing that the film excludes "Moonshine Lullaby;" "I Got Lost in His Arms;" "I'm a Bad, Bad Man" (which could have been quite a showcase for that handsome devil Keel); and "Old-Fashioned Wedding."

In addition to Hutton and Keel, there are fine performances from Naish and Calhern [The Asphalt Jungle] and Keenan Wynn, Clinton Sundberg, and little Brad Morrow as Annie's cute baby brother, Jake. Charles Rosher's widescreen, technicolor cinematography is often breathtaking.

Verdict: The cartoon Indians are questionable in this day and age, but the movie has an interesting (if heavily fictionalized) story and lots of great music and performances. ***. 

SPRING REUNION

Betty Hutton and Dana Andrews

SPRING REUNION (1957). Directed and co-written by Robert Pirosh.

A small town is the location of a 15 year reunion for the high school class of 1941. The most popular girl in school, Maggie Brewster (Betty Hutton) is unmarried and works in her father's real estate office. Maggie has been trying to sell off a house owned by old classmate Fred Davis (Dana Andrews) -- "most likely to succeed" -- when he comes back to town and changes his mind. A romance begins between the two even as Maggie's friend, Barna (Jean Hagen of Singin' in the Rain), who has a husband and children, finds herself attracted to married former football hero, Jack Frazer (Gordon Jones of The Green Hornet), who seems to exist on reflected glory. Spring Reunion is a pleasant surprise, a light romantic drama greatly bolstered by some excellent performances. Betty Hutton, who I can find overbearing in some of her comedies, is not only lovely and comparatively subdued in this, but gives one of the best and most poignant performances of her career. Andrews is similarly excellent, as are Hagen and Jones, and Laura La Plante [Show Boat] and Robert F. Simon are wonderful as Maggie's parents. Spring Reunion is full of interesting scenes, such as one when Maggie's father makes it clear to her mother that he doesn't like the idea of taking a vacation without his daughter along, that it won't be much fun, and the mother's expression speaks volumes. In another good sequence, Maggie and Fred try to figure out why their lives didn't quite turn out the way they'd intended. James Gleason (billed as "Jimmy") is fine as a lighthouse keeper, and Sara Berner is fun as an impressionist who performs at the reunion. Irene Ryan (Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies) plays a high school official who doesn't know what "Smirnoff" is yet loves the spiked punch, but she isn't given enough to do. Hutton sings "That Old Feeling" and nails it, and Chopin's "Nocturne in E Flat Major" is used as an evocative theme.

Spring Reunion does reflect the attitudes of the time it was made in. Many single women in the fifties probably did feel like "old maids" because they were unmarried in their thirties, but even today women -- and men -- still hope to find someone special to share their lives with. As for Spring Reunion, many of Hutton's fans were disappointed that she wasn't the overly zany Betty Hutton they remembered. Subsequently, this was her last film, although she starred in her own TV show and had other television credits. This was also the last film -- and last credit -- for silent movie star Laura La Plante.

Verdict: Nice romance with some unpredictable touches. ***. 

STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM

Dick Powell and Mary Martin

STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM (1942). Director: George Marshall.

"I just can't make it tonight -- Veronica Lake is going to show me her other eye. " -- Bob Hope.

In this all-star Paramount wartime picture, the main plot has to do with Johnny Webster (Eddie Bracken), a sailor on leave who comes to Hollywood with his buddies. Eddie's father was once "Bronco Billy" Webster (Victor Moore of Carolina Blues), star of silent pictures, but is now reduced to being a guard at the studio gate. Ashamed of this comedown, Billy has lied to his son and told him that he is head of the studio! Eddie's girlfriend, Polly (Betty Hutton of the "craptastic" Betty Hutton Show), helps "Pop" put over the deception but needs some big help from the stars when Pop foolishly promises that his Paramount stars will put on a show for the sailor boys ... Star Spangled Rhythm has some slow stretches -- the whole second half consists almost entirely of acts, including one stop-the-movie-dead skit where four men play poker as if they were women -- but it also has its share of delights, including a hilarious bit when Polly enlists the aid of two men to help her get over the wall of the Paramount studio. Dick Powell and Mary Martin and an uncredited black group (the Mills Brothers?) do an excellent "Dreamtime" number on a train; there's a splendid and rather sexy production number called "Swing Shift" in a factory; and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson stars in another vibrant and all-Black dance number called "Sharp as a Tack." Dorothy Lamour, Veronica Lake, and Paulette Goddard spoof their images in "Sweater, Sarong, and Peekaboo Bang," and Sterling Holloway [Shake, Rattle & Rock], Walter Catlett and Arthur Treacher play the same ladies in drag. William Bendix has a funny shower scene with Bob Hope. Bracken, Hutton, and Moore are all on the money; Walter Abel scores as the real studio head, as does Anne Revere as his secretary; and Cecil B. Demille proves a perfectly adept actor playing himself. Cass Daley does her weird shtick, buck teeth and all. George Marshall keeps the pace fast and makes things visually interesting as well.

Verdict: Enjoyable romp. ***.

LET'S FACE IT

Zasu Pitts, Eve Arden, and Phyllis Povah

LET'S FACE IT (1943). Director: Sidney Lanfield.

"When we were first married he could lull me to sleep with his tuba." -- Zasu Pitts

"Now he can't even lift it." -- Eve Arden

Private Jerry Walker (Bob Hope) secretly sells food to some of the larger, starving ladies at the fat farm run by his fiancee, Winnie (Betty Hutton). Along come three middle-aged ladies -- played by Eve Arden [Three Husbands], Zasu Pitts and Phyllis Povah -- whose husbands have bundled them off to the fat farm while they go fishing. These women are convinced their husbands are secretly meeting honeys at a summer lodge, so they inveigle three soldiers into coming to the lodge to make their men jealous. Jerry desperately needs money so he agrees to go but he drags along two buddies -- neither actor makes much of an impression -- because he insists that the ladies "look like Veronica Lake, with two eyes!" Let's Face It has some cute moments, good lines and performances, but it runs out of plot around halfway through. The songs are forgettable, even if they are by Cole Porter, though there are two excellent dance numbers: Bob and his pals do a very cute shuffle; and a bizarre, violent dance act in which the couple seem to be illustrating the battle of the sexes. The script is kind of rough on women who have the misfortune not to be young and beautiful, and it's full of what you might call "fat abuse." What's ironic is that Hope and his buddies act as if the three ladies are so hideous, even Arden, when they are not exactly prizes themselves. Hutton gets one especially horrible song number and sings it horribly. Joe Sawyer [Roses are Red] is swell as Jerry's gruff sergeant and Hope's gal pal Dona Drake [Valentino] has a small role.

Verdicts: Some funny moments to be sure but not the hilarity you're hoping for. **.

THE PERILS OF PAULINE (1947)

Betty Hutton and John Lund

THE PERILS OF PAULINE (1947). Director: George Marshall.

Pearl White (Betty Hutton) leaps from a factory job into "show business" when she joins a traveling theater company with the help of a dowager named Julia (Constance Collier). Tired of her mistreatment by the dreamy head of the troupe, Michael Farrington (John Lund of No Man of Her Own), she walks off and finds herself in silent pictures, becoming the great and wealthy serial heroine of The Perils of Pauline and others. But when she offers Michael a job as her leading man will it lead to lasting love for the couple or just disaster? The Perils of Pauline is very loosely based on the life of Pearl White, which actually had enough drama in it without the screenwriter's inventions. Hutton, never one of my favorites, is excellent, however, and she gets good support from Lund (playing a truly obnoxious character whose good looks only make slightly more palatable), Collier [Rope], Billy De Wolfe, and William Demarest as a film director. Songs by Frank Loesser [The Most Happy Fella] include "Rumble," "I Wish I Didn't Love You So," and "Papa Don't Preach." In real life serials were made very quickly, but in this the filming of The Perils of Pauline stretches out for years and years!

Verdict: Hutton in fine form and an entertaining biopic, if mostly balderdash. ***.

AND THE ANGELS SING

AND THE ANGELS SING (1944). Director: George Marshall.

Pop Angel (Raymond Walburn) lives with his four daughters and tries to encourage them in a musical career, but only one of them, Bobby (Betty Hutton), has singing aspirations. Forcing her sisters to accompany her on a club date, they meet bandleader Happy Morgan (Fred MacMurray), a heel with a conscience. He promises Bobby a job in New York and takes money she won gambling, which sister Nancy (Dorothy Lamour) is determined to get back. To Manhattan the four gals go. Happy finds himself romancing both sisters to keep them at bay, although he's only in love with one of them. Can true love find a way through this mess...? And the Angels Sing is pleasant and the performances are good. The other two Angel sisters are played by Diana Lynn [Ruthless] and Mimi Chandler. MacMurray sings, but not that well, and Hutton [The Betty Hutton Show] "overacts" her supposedly comedic song numbers to the point where they're hard to take. A subdued Frank Albertson [Psycho] plays Nancy's easily discarded boyfriend, Oliver, and Eddie Foy Jr. is cast as MacMurray's bandmate, Fuzzy. There are a couple of saucy song numbers.

Verdict: Amiable tomfoolery. **1/2.

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

Cornel Wilde pitches the woo to Betty Hutton

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952). Producer/director: Cecil B. DeMille.

Late in The Greatest Show on Earth, star Betty Hutton (also star of the "craptastic" Betty Hutton Show), playing trapeze artist Holly, is shown doing acrobatics on a cross bar in a parade down Main Street. Or rather Hutton is superimposed over the parade, and you can actually see through her in an embarrassingly cheap process shot. That pretty much encapsulates this whole cheesy movie, which purports to be about circus life. What it actually is -- against a backdrop of Barnum and Bailey/Ringling Brothers circus -- is a tiresome soap opera wherein Holly is in love with manager Brad (Charlton Heston), rival trapeze artist Sebastian (Cornel Wilde) is in love with Holly, and Jimmy Stewart wears clown make up throughout because he's hiding a secret. Dorothy Lamour of Donovan's Reef sings a number or two and is sardonic, while Gloria Grahame, also carrying a torch for Heston, has a good scene trading minor barbs with Hutton. The acting in this isn't bad -- even Hutton is more palatable than usual -- but you may find the elephants far more impressive. Wilde swaggers around with an okay Italian accent and is effective. (Although Wilde is billed over Heston, the latter is featured on the DVD cover due to the vagaries of Hollywood fame.)  There's a not-bad train crash at the climax. DeMille only directed one more movie, The Ten Commandments, four years later.

Verdict: Okay, but Berserk is more fun. **1/2.

THE "CRAPTASTIC" BETTY HUTTON SHOW

Dennis Olivieri and Betty Hutton

THE BETTY HUTTON SHOW (1959 - 1960).

When I first came across this sitcom that I never heard of on the Internet Archives -- a site that lists thousands of public domain TV shows, films, radio broadcasts and more for free watching or downloading -- my attention was caught by the term "CRAPTASTIC" -- the term with which the person who uploaded the show onto the site labeled the series, meaning it was bad, bad, bad. How bad is The Betty Hutton Show? I just had to find out, wouldn't you know? Judging by the three episodes available for viewing, it was pretty bad. In other words: Craptastic! Hutton plays Goldie Appleby, a manicurist who becomes guardian of three park avenue children. Their lawyer is played by Tom Conway (George Sanders' less interesting brother), who had a long, long list of mostly B movie credits. The teenage girl is played by child star Gigi Perreau [Journey to the Center of Time], and the boys by Peter Miles and Dennis Olivieri, who is a very talented boy and easily out-acts almost everyone on the show, including Hutton, who is generally terrible. Norma Varden [Witness for the Prosecution] plays Goldie's aunt, and is also vastly superior to Hutton. (Peter Miles was the brother of Perreau and appeared with her in Roseanna McCoy, in which he was excellent.)

In one episode a bosomy client of Conway's sets her cap for the lawyer, so Goldie concocts a dumb story about his having a wife and children. In another Goldie encourages Perreau to take up painting, and a misunderstanding develops when she overhears the girl and a boy friend acting out parts in a play. The third, and most watchable episode, has Goldie dealing with two con artists who try to con her out of money allegedly for an orphanage (they are very well played by Robert Emhardt and Ellen Corby). This last episode at least has a couple of minor chuckles.

Unfortunately, the others are almost unwatchable. Hutton -- and I admit she was never one of my favorites -- is at her most over-bearing worst, shamelessly mugging, obvious and vulgar, and even seems drunk at times. Unlike Lucille Ball, Joan Davis and even Eve Arden, she has no real skill as a comedienne, but simply lumbers about trying desperately to get laughs.

Betty Hutton, producer, should have fired Betty Hutton, star. The show lasted only one season.

Verdict: Definitely "craptastic!" *.