Good News

A 1947 remake of a 1930 film.  It definitely feels dated in a way that other classic musicals don’t.  It all just seems so corny, safe and wholesome.  I dunno, I guess you could say the same about The Wizard of Oz or a dozen other wonderful movies, but this picture just doesn’t generate enough charm to overcome it.  The songs are actually not that bad (uncomfortably racist lyrics for “Pass That Peace Pipe” notwithstanding), and the choreography for the big production numbers is terrific.  “The French Lesson” is a delightful tune, and the dance for the big finale “Varsity Drag” is dynamite.  But the only good singer in the entire cast is Mel Torme, making brief appearances here and there (without any spoken dialogue that I can recall).  June Allyson can kind of carry a tune, but Peter Lawford, Joan MacKracken and the rest are barely passable.  There’s a lot of dumb gags and the third act dilemma doesn’t make a bit of sense.  A musical doesn’t need to have a good plot if the numbers are great… the songs here are good, but not good enough to make up for how bland the rest of it is.  I’m giving this a “Fair” rating, but it’s right on the verge of being “Poor”.  Rating: Fair

IMDb