Broadway legend Nanette Fabray, having rehearsed this show for a week, is out due to an injury and Janis Paige has taken over her spot with minimal rehearsal, joining former "Pajama Game" co-star, as well as Barbara Nichols and special guest star Betty Grable. The divine Grable, known for having the best legs in the business, still glamorous three years after making her last movie, and is still gorgeous. She performs an exotic song and dance number, and then Paige and Raitt sing "There Once was a Man" from "The Pajama Game" which had just come out as a movie with Raitt and Doris Day. Benny gets to playfully flirt with Paige as she sings the title song from "Mr. Wonderful".
As the sketch within the show continues, it's obvious that they are trying to present a little musical comedy. There's a blooper when the narrator announces that Nanette Fabray (in actuality Paige just salad since the name in the script was never changed) and Raitt are visiting Grable. In walks Benny with Barbara Nichols, and Benny tries to get Nichols to be classier. The Kinescope print doesn't do justice to Grable's next big musical number, jarringly cut. The talent of the cast outweighs the dated comedy so the slight groans can be easily forgiven. Raitt sings the theme from the new movie "The Long Hot Summer", his lush voice aided by beautiful orchestrations. The weak premise notwithstanding, this is still better than a lot of the junk that TV today offers with hundreds of channels.
As the sketch within the show continues, it's obvious that they are trying to present a little musical comedy. There's a blooper when the narrator announces that Nanette Fabray (in actuality Paige just salad since the name in the script was never changed) and Raitt are visiting Grable. In walks Benny with Barbara Nichols, and Benny tries to get Nichols to be classier. The Kinescope print doesn't do justice to Grable's next big musical number, jarringly cut. The talent of the cast outweighs the dated comedy so the slight groans can be easily forgiven. Raitt sings the theme from the new movie "The Long Hot Summer", his lush voice aided by beautiful orchestrations. The weak premise notwithstanding, this is still better than a lot of the junk that TV today offers with hundreds of channels.