Coming up next we have 1942's "Springtime In The Rockies", a story about a dancing duo that splits up. When the man chases the woman to the Canadian Rockies, he must break up her engagement to another man and convince her to return to work with him before he loses backers for his new show.
The film's cast includes Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, John Payne, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Harry James, Jackie Gleason, Bess Flowers, Patrick O'Moore, and Helen Forrest.
Broadway star Vicky Lane gets a surprise visit in the middle of a show from her former dance partner Victor Prince.
He wants to get their act back together. Knowing she has other commitments, Vicky puts him off.
Dan Christy is also starring in Vicky's show, and he's very late. The two are romantically involved, though Vicky can't help but be suspicious about his alleged womanizing and reluctance to form any kind of commitment.
After the show, Vicky decides she's had enough. She quits and agrees to join Victor again, leaving Dan on his own.
With Vicky gone, Dan takes to drinking. He's also informed that unless he can get Vicky back, there will be no financial backing for his new show.
He tracks her down to Chateau Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies, where she and Victor are a very big draw to the hotel guests. Dan also finds out that the dancing pair are engaged to be married.
Arriving in Canada in a drunken stupor, Dan is very surprised to find out that he's acquired a valet named McTavish. McTavish comes with a wealth of knowledge of everything except romance. "Though I am a master of romance languages, I’m scarcely
a master of romance.Bachelor of Arts, yes, but awfully tired of
being a bachelor," he says.
And he's even more surprised when he finds out that he's arrived with a spicy South American secretary named Rosita Murphy.
Once he's recovered enough from his hangover, Dan gets to work on finding a way to get Vicky to come back to work with him.
She's very dubious about Dan's supposed "changed" behavior when she meets his secretary Rosita. Thinking that he's the same old Dan, she dismisses his offers to work together and walks away. "Nice for you to make my acquaintance, Miss Lane," Rosita calls after her.
It turns out that Rosita is much more than a secretary. She wants to break into show business. When she turns up in Dan's room with her brothers, she gives him a performance of the "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
At dinner that evening, Vicky and Victor continue to delight guests with their moves on the dance floor.
Dan has dinner at their table, and he brings Rosita along to make Vicky jealous. When Vicky says she needs to go to the powder room, Rosita says, "I'll go with you. My face is a mess, too." That does not endear her to Vicky at all.
However, once in the powder room, the two ladies dish on Dan and become fast friends.
Finding herself alone at table, a tipsy Phoebe (Vicky's friend and dresser) makes her way to the dance floor and delights onlookers with a little performance of her own.
Later, Rosita gives a spirited performance with her brothers which is very well received.
And the two ladies humorously fight over McTavish later in the evening.
Dan and Vicky eventually reunite and decide to get married. However, the backers of Dan's show have decided to pull out, leaving them in the lurch when it comes to funding.
An unexpected source of revenue comes from McTavish, who is on the wealthy side. "Rich? Why, I'm only worth in the neighborhood of, say, six hundred thousand dollars," he tells them when they enquire about his financial means. Rosita smiles and says, "That's a good enough neighborhood for me."
The show opens on Broadway and is a smashing success. Everybody, including the jilted Victor Prince, gets a part.
Cast rundown:
Betty Grable.....................................Vicky Lane
Carmen Miranda................................Rosita Murphy
John Payne.......................................Dan Christy
Cesar Romero...................................Victor Prince
Charlotte Greenwood.........................Phoebe Gray
Edward Everett Horton.......................McTavish
Harry James.....................................Himself
Patrick O'Moore................................Travel Clerk
Helen Forrest....................................Herself
And that's it for Springtime In The Rockies. Alice Faye had originally been cast in the role of Vicky Lane. She had to drop out when she found she was expecting her first daughter. The film pairs Betty Grable with her future husband Harry James. They were married eight months after the film appeared in theaters. The song "I Had The Craziest Dream" that is featured in the film, played by Harry James and sung by Helen Forrest, was played at Betty Grable's funeral in 1973.
As this film is in the public domain, you can watch it here in its entirety.
Our next film is 1944's aquamusical "Bathing Beauty", and it stars Red Skelton and Esther Williams. (FYI, an aquamusical is the term for films in the 1940s/1950s that featured elaborate synchronized swimming and diving performances as well as the traditional musical features). The film's supporting cast includes Basil Rathbone, Bill Goodwin, Nana Bryant, Carlos Ramirez, Ethel Smith, Xavier Cugat, Harry James, Lina Romay, Helen Forrest, Donald Meek, and Janis Paige.
The film opens with Miss Caroline Brooks doing a swimming routine at a pool in California. Her fiance, songwriter Steve Elliot, is there to watch. The two plan to be married the next day. Both have quit their jobs in order to relocate to California and pursue other interests.
The marriage seemingly goes off without a hitch. However, Steve's friend George needs him to finish some songs for a water pageant he's organizing and wants to stop the marriage before it's too late and Steve is out of the business.
He's unsuccessful in stopping the marriage, but he does get Caroline to leave Steve when he hires a girl to pose as Steve's wife whom he never divorced. Steve is just as shocked as anyone. No amount of explaining can keep Caroline with him.
She goes back to her job at Victoria College in New Jersey, a school for girls. Steve follows her there.
Through a loophole in the school's charter, Steve is able to enroll as a student, much to the chagrin of Caroline. She tells him she's started annulment proceedings. Steve is bound and determined to win Caroline back.
Of course, thing aren't easy. Unaccommodating faculty, a big dog, and an old beau of Caroline's make things difficult for Steve to say the least.
But he tries his hardest to make Caroline fall in love with him again. She tries to hold out, but she finds that she's having a lot of trouble not succumbing to Steve's charm.
Steve even has to join an all-girl ballet class as part of his college coursework. This is an absolutely hysterical scene in the movie, which features a non-limber Steve making his way clumsily around the dance floor, a non-compliant candy wrapper, and a teacher who's determined to make Steve move like the others.
Eventually, Steve does get Caroline to fall in love with him. She starts out the evening trying to get him expelled by keeping him after curfew, but she gives way to her feelings and the two reconcile.
Unfortunately, events conspire against Steve and he is expelled from Victoria College and Caroline is fired.
He gets George to give Caroline the starring role in his water pageant, which is nothing short of spectacular.
The elaborate sequence features synchronized swimming and diving and features Caroline swimming through a number of circular moving swimmers. The spectacular finale shows off a fire and fountains effect.
At the end, Steve jumps into the water and he and Caroline kiss to cement their relationship.
The film features a number of musical performances, including Colombian singer Carlos Ramirez.
Trumpeter Harry James and his orchestra also provide us with a few nightclub sequences.
The best, though, is organist Ethel Smith. Her fingers move rapidly over the organ keys as she plays "By The Waters Of Minnetonka: An Indian Love Song" and her own composition, the South American-styled "Tico Tico", featuring Smith play the organ and the tambourine at the same time. I'm in awe at the way this lady plays.
Harry James and Ethel Smith even get to play a duet together during one of the scenes.
And Xavier Cugat and his orchestra are also on hand to provide some Latin spice in the music. Cast rundown:
Red Skelton.................................Steve Elliot
Helen Forrest...............................Herself
Donald Meek................................Chester Klazenfrantz
Janis Paige..................................Janis And that's it for Bathing Beauty. Filming of the opening swimming pool sequence took place in January. The grass surrounding the pool was brown and dying. So, the crew spray-painted the grass green. Though it worked for the duration of the filming, it totally ruined the grass. The studio had to send a crew to re-seed the lawn in the spring. As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.
