I was expecting more from this, because it has a promising cast and the same director as *The Great Ziegfeld*, which MGM had released five years earlier.
Granted, the premise is hackneyed: three young women are accepted into the Follies and have to deal with the problems that come with fame, especially fame for appearing in a (for its day) skimpy costume.
But, with the exception of Garland's character, the others don't get any good dialogue, no chance to become more than cardboard characters.
At one point, we see Al Sheen do (parts of) his famous vaudeville routine with Charles Winninger replacing his old colleagues Pat Gallagher. Part way through we cut away to an uninteresting moment of drama, rather than getting the whole of what could have been one of the highlights of this film.
The musical numbers here are often lavishly staged, but not in an interesting manner. If you compare it to MGM's *The Great Ziegfeld*, you can see the difference.
That is especially true of the last number, which reuses the wedding cake set used so spectacularly at the end of *The Great Ziegfeld*. The way it is filmed is bland, however, and nothing like the breathtaking finale in the previous picture.
Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr both look beautiful in this picture, but they are largely just window dressing here.
In short, a pretty but disappointing picture.
Granted, the premise is hackneyed: three young women are accepted into the Follies and have to deal with the problems that come with fame, especially fame for appearing in a (for its day) skimpy costume.
But, with the exception of Garland's character, the others don't get any good dialogue, no chance to become more than cardboard characters.
At one point, we see Al Sheen do (parts of) his famous vaudeville routine with Charles Winninger replacing his old colleagues Pat Gallagher. Part way through we cut away to an uninteresting moment of drama, rather than getting the whole of what could have been one of the highlights of this film.
The musical numbers here are often lavishly staged, but not in an interesting manner. If you compare it to MGM's *The Great Ziegfeld*, you can see the difference.
That is especially true of the last number, which reuses the wedding cake set used so spectacularly at the end of *The Great Ziegfeld*. The way it is filmed is bland, however, and nothing like the breathtaking finale in the previous picture.
Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr both look beautiful in this picture, but they are largely just window dressing here.
In short, a pretty but disappointing picture.