Variety Girl (1947)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Monte Brice (writer)
Edmund L. Hartmann (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Dozens of star and character-actor cameos and a message about the Variety Club (show-business charity)...

Plot Keywords:

Variety Club | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Mary Hatcher	...	Catherine Brown
Olga San Juan	...	Amber La Vonne
DeForest Kelley	...	Bob Kirby
Frank Ferguson	...	R.J. O'Connell
Glenn Tryon	...	Bill Farris
Nella Walker	...	Mrs. Webster
Torben Meyer	...	Andre (Brown Derby headwaiter)
Jack Norton	...	Busboy at Brown Derby
Elaine Riley	...	Cashier (Brown Derby)
Charles Victor	...	Mr. O'Connell's assistant
Gus Taute	...	Assistant's assistant
Harry Hayden	...	Manager, Grauman's Chinese
Bing Crosby	...	Himself
Bob Hope	...	Himself
Gary Cooper	...	Himself

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (cartoon sequence) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Under contract to different record labels at the time -- Bing Crosby at Decca and Bob Hope at Capitol -- the duo could not produce for the marketplace a disc of their specialty number from the film, "Harmony" (music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke). Decca, taking another tune from the score, united Bing with his frequent recording partners, The Andrews Sisters, for a best-selling single of the jaunty city song, "Tallahassee" (music and lyrics by Frank Loesser), a ditty introduced in the picture by Dorothy Lamour and the usually non-singing Alan Ladd. On a Capitol 78, Johnny Mercer teamed with The King Cole Trio for their take on "Harmony."

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Public Enemy (1931)

Soundtrack:

HARMONY

The Paramount studio family

"Variety Girl", a film from 1947, showed up recently on cable. The film, which takes the theme of the Variety Club, which was a charitable organization involving well known movie people, is an excuse for showcasing the talent players employed by the studio. Paramount was at the time one of the most powerful places in which movies were made. As such, the idea behind this picture was to show how united and family-like the studio was.

The story is paper thin. It presents an implausible situation about two young women trying to make it in the movie industry. They, like thousand other hopefuls, attracted by the glamour of Hollywood came to Los Angeles in droves to be discovered. This is exactly what Katherine Brown and Amber Lavonne try to do with amazing results.

The fun in watching "Variety Girl" is recognizing stars, larger than life, being caught in the act of being themselves. Thus, we see the likes of Alan Ladd, Dorothy Lamour, Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, Barbara Stanwych, Gary Cooper, William Holden, William Bendix, and many others involved in either the show that takes the center of the story, or just around the studio, mixing with colleagues and extras.

The funniest sequence involved Olga San Juan, who plays Amber, emoting to the high heavens just to be noticed by the many diners at the Brown Derby. Also the singing duo of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in their rendition of Harmony.

This is just an entertainment as conceived by the studio, no doubt. The best way to watch it is just to do so without expecting anything other than a smile. That way it will not disappoint.