A rare instance of an MGM musical that doesn't wilt between musical numbers, and that's because Betty Comden and Adolph Green, making their screenwriting debuts, did a fabulous job. They livened up a 1920s stage musical, tightening the plot, writing in a bunch of amusing supporting characters, and even making an overage June Allyson and a miscast Peter Lawford look good. It's an Arthur Freed production in gleaming Technicolor, the songs leap naturally out of the narrative, and plenty of cast members who mostly came from the stage-Joan McCracken, Ray McDonald, Patricia Marshall (who married Larry Gelbart and lived happily ever after)-get to shine. MGM's usual bad habit of setting a story in one period (1927) and costuming and styling the cast in another (1947) is at its worst, and charming and well directed as Ms. Allyson is, you have to admit she's too old for the part, not much of a singer, and not much of an actor. Clinton Sundberg, beginning a long stay at MGM, is a help, and Connie Gilchrist always was an asset. The songs and dances are lively and well choreographed by Robert Alton, but here's a musical where the strength lies in the script.
