Pin-Up Girl
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Movie Reviews of Pin-Up Girl
Movie Review: "We should have used our imaginations"
Summary: 4 Stars
Skewering her real life role of a pin up girl, this 1944 movie stars Betty Grable as Lorry Jones a pretty and feisty young girl who works for the USO and is heading for Washington DC. Aboard the train, a conversation with friend Kay (Dorothea Kent) reveals that the pair isn't headed for the USO, but will instead take jobs as stenographers.
On the way, the pair decides to visit New York, where they see Molly McKay (Martha Raye) flirting with Guadalcanal hero Tommy Dooley (John Harvey). Later, Lorry claims to know the hero to gain admittance to the packed Club Chanteuse. The Club itself is a grand affair; a huge swing band plays on a giant stage that stretches from floor to ceiling, whilst the actual show consists of singers, dancers and even roller-skating routine featuring the Skating Vanities!
When Tommy eventually turns up at the club, he is immediately besotted with the cute Lorry. But Molly - the real star of the Club Chanteuse - is secretly seething; she knows that Molly is a fake so she asks her sing a song from the show. Lorry gets back at Molly when she belts out the tune as if she sang it every night on stage, even with back up singers!
Lorry and Kay continue on their journey to Washington DC and eventually bump into Tommy who coincidentally is looking for a stenographer - of course he picks Lorry. Of course Tommy can't tell who Lorry is because she's wearing glasses and has her hair in a bun, and every time he looks at her, she's looking back at him with crossed-eyes!
The story is silly and trite and almost non-existent, and it's all merely an excuse for framing the elaborate musical numbers, which are centered on the three-tiered bandstands where Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra sit. Indeed most of the action takes place in the nightclubs where Lorry and Tommy mostly hang out.
Obviously made for all the GI's, the film has an innocent quality combined with a sort of fierce patriotism and you really get the sense that the film is pushing the merits of the allied war effort. There's no doubt that Grable is sparkling and bubbly and she does a good job with the singing and dancing, even though the role is a bit of a caricature. But you can easily see how much she contributed to the war effort.
It's interesting to watch films such as this - not just for the flashy musical numbers, which sometimes border in the gaudy, but also for the social relevance, and for the forties nostalgia.
Although Pin-Up Girl may not be the best example of a War musical - the film is slight and is basically restricted to the pattern of boy-meets-girl and they live happily ever after - it's still a welcome and harmless diversion - just like Betty Grable, with her long silken legs, was a distraction for lonely soldiers of World War II. Mike Leonard July 06.
Movie Review: Finally, Grable on DVD!
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a shame that all the Fox musicals haven't been released on DVD, especially the gorgeous Technicolor titles featuring Alice Faye, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda.
Most agree that this wasn't Betty's best film ... the ending is especially weak, although the all-girl marching routine is impressive. The commentary by noted film historian/critic Richard Shickel is not especially helpful and uninspired. His comments on Martha Raye and Joe E. Brown are good but he incorrectly states that this was their only film together ... wrong. They co-starred in "$1000 A Touchdown" for Paramount in 1939. And this was Raye's third film with Grable, which Shickel doesn't mention. He also passes up the fact that Raye was married to one of the dancing Condos Brothers in the movie. The notes in the colorful and well-designed DVD liner by film historian Sylvia Stoddard are much more fun and accurate.
The film transfer itself seems a bit on the dark side, but it's still gorgeous.
Thanks, Fox! As a Grable and Raye fan, I've waited for this for a long time!
Movie Review: Great Period Piece
Summary: 4 Stars
I've read a lot of mixed reviews about this film. It's not surprising, as 20th Century Fox was not the musical leviathan that MGM was. The first time I saw it, I groaned a bit at a long routine consisting of Betty Grable drilling a group of WACs. But there's a lot of fun to be had in "Pin-Up Girl." Betty had really good comic timing, and in this film she's very charming. The music is enjoyable as well. There is a great number featuring Betty dancing with Hermes Pan, a prolific choreographer of the thirties, forties and fifties who resembled Fred Astaire in looks and ability. I also liked a number done by a group on roller skates, and Martha Raye is her usual non-mousy self. Most of the music is of its time, and that's one of its best qualities. As music goes out of schools and history goes untaught in an honest manner, people's myopia about other times and places tends to grow. "Pin-Up Girl" could be a good teaching tool in spite of its small shortcomings.Movie Review: Engaging musical comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great film if you enjoy silly humor, musical comedy and hair brained high jinx. Betty Grable's character gets into the thick of it with this film when she and a girlfriend head off to Washington for a new start but like Bing Crosby gets talked into stopping in Vermont in White Christmas, Betty Grable convinces her girlfriend to stop in New York City.
After a few white lies the girls find themselves neck deep and more in trouble. If you enjoy classic musical comedies by entertainers such as Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire you'll laugh and sing along with Pin-Up Girl.
Movie Review: Beware missing lobby cards
Summary: 4 Stars
When Fox upgraded from Studio Classics to Cinema Classics brand, they upgraded the price too. What you get are a larger booklet insert, four "lobby cards" and a slipcase. This title, "Daddy Long Legs" and "Week-End in Havana are each missing 3 of the 4 lobby cards. Twentieth Century Fox is aware of the problem, but offers no replacement for defective packages.
Other than that, the film is great fun and it's wonderful these Grable classics are being released.