The Dolly Sisters
|
DVD Cover Information Actor: Betty Grable, John Payne, June Haver, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall Director: Irving Cummings Brand: Fox Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer Editor: Barbara McLean Producer: George Jessel Writer: John Larkin Writer: Marian Spitzer DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0 Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 114 minutes DVD Release Date: 2006-06-13 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: 20th Century Fox |
| New | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.98 | ||
| Used | Used Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $4.48 |
Your purchase is protected by the A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee. Amazon.com automatically transfers your payment to the merchant so you'll never need to pay a merchant directly. Amazon.com A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee covers both the delivery of your item and its condition upon receipt.
Movie Reviews of The Dolly Sisters
Movie Review: Completely predictable but superbly produced
Summary: 3 Stars
Take the Alice Faye Plot No 1, the roots of which go back to 1938's "Alexanders Ragtime Band". A few years had passed since it was last aired so now it is Betty Grable's turn. Alice Faye declined to appear with Grable so add June Haver, moving wallpaper, instead as a variation just as Grable was to Faye's "Tin Pan Alley". Include John Payne, as lugubrious as ever. Finally, remove any semblance of wit and topicality. Any resemblance to the real Dolly Sisters is purely co-incidental.
While this film was a box office smash in 1945, it was generally a critical bomb because it rehashed so many of the cliches which Fox filmed endlessly. This is the sort of film which gives Fox musicals a bad reputation because it is SO boring. It really is a pity that the script is so predictable because Grable shows real warmth and sincerity in her "dramatic" scenes.
Although the production values are outstanding, the musical numbers are pretty awful too, particularly the production numbers. The dancing is mostly showgirl strutting, the costumes are garish and ugly and everything is laid on with a trowel - absolutely no subtlety. The best song is "I Can't Begin to Tell You" which happens to be the only song which Grable recorded commercially during her whole career but neither her nor John Payne's voices are really strong enough to carry it.
The DVD print is generally excellent preserving the bright colour for which Fox was famous. There is also a detailed commentary from Drew Casper. Casper has a breathless repetitive delivery which is tiresome but he knows his stuff and there is a wealth of background information here.
If you are indifferent to the charms of Betty Grable, this film is a pretty hard slog. The early much livelier Grable musicals ("Moon over Miami", "Springtime in the Rockies" etc) are more entertaining, if only because they have witty scripts and move at breakneck speed.