I've never really been enamoured with Betty Hutton, finding her a tad too manic for my palate, on the other had the bulk of her output had some great songs, many by Frank Loesser, including the outstanding ballad I Wish I Didn't Love You So from The Perils of Pauline. Arguably for the first time I find her very appealing in this dual role where she more or less has to play serious half the time. This time around the score is down to Johnny Mercer - who worked on an earlier Hutton movie, The Fleet's In - and Harold Arlen and it's out of the right bottle albeit the big number, Accentuate The Positive is performed in blackface for no discernible reason. The plot is the old chestnut about the two buddies trying to con each other out of the affections of a love object but overall the effect is effortless pleasure.
Review of Here Come the Waves
