Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951)

When boyfriend Vince Nichols won't give up his gambling, Abby joins vaudeville partners Carol and June in a trek to Las Vegas searching for millionaires, followed by playboy Ted Lansing ... See full summary »

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Harry Clork (screenplay), Roland Kibbee (screenplay),

Stars:

Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson

Cast

Cast overview:
Dennis Morgan	...	Vince Nichols
Virginia Mayo	...	Carol
Gene Nelson	...	Ted Lansing
Lucille Norman	...	Abby
S.Z. Sakall	...	Uncle Felix
Virginia Gibson	...	June
Tom Conway	...	Bennington Lansing
Wallace Ford	...	Sam Parks

Storyline

When boyfriend Vince Nichols won't give up his gambling, Abby joins vaudeville partners Carol and June in a trek to Las Vegas searching for millionaires, followed by playboy Ted Lansing with a big crush on Abby. When the girls learn that uncle Felix Hoff is going broke with his casino, Abby accepts Ted because of his wealth. Arriving to halt the nuptials is Ted's banker cousin from Boston, Bennington, and an irate Vince.

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Plot Keywords:

millionaire | jealousy | disguise | songwriter | gambler | 

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Taglines:

The Warner Bros. musical that out-shines 'em all!

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Genres:

Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alâimisema Ülkesi

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of this picture, director David Butler said, "That was the worst of the whole bunch I made. I thought it was terrible, and I think the audience agreed with me."

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Connections

Remake of The Gold Diggers (1923)

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Soundtracks

"Buffalo Gals"
(uncredited)
Written by William Cool White
Sung by a chorus at the hoedown

User Reviews

Great Leroy Prinz Choreography

This color remake of the landmark 'Gold Diggers' series of musicals of the 1930s is a pretty limp effort, despite individual bits that are excellent. 'Cuddles' Sakall is present for his usual Bavarian doubletalk, partnered, for some reason, with Wallace Ford playing a knife-throwing dessert rat. Dennis Morgan, tailing off in his Warners' career, plays the other guy. Basically this is a typical Warners musical of the era: a lightweight, retread plot and songs lifted from the catalogue. All it misses is Doris Day and she turned down the script.

The real point of this movie is the dance numbers, featuring lead Gene Nelson with choreography by Warners' stalwart dance director Leroy Prinz. Nelson never really became a star, but he was as fine a dancer as any, averaging much more athletic and balletic than headliners Astaire and Kelly; his signature step was a leap onto a table from the floor. Prinz directs him perfectly with monochromatically colored lights that allow him to act and move without words. 'Birth of the Blues' is the real highlight of the film.

Alas, aside from those moments, it's pretty much of a rote production. See it once for the dance numbers and be done.