Lovely to Look at (1952)

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Alice Duer Miller (novel)
George Wells (writer) ...

Release Date:

July 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

M-G-M's Technicolor spectacle! Jerome Kern's music!

Plot:

Al Marsh, Tony Naylor and Jerry Ralby, Broadway producers, are desperately looking for backers. Al is one of the heirs of a dress salon in Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Business | Paris France | Title Based On Song | Beautiful Woman | Chorus Girl

Cast

Kathryn Grayson	...	Stephanie
Red Skelton	...	Al Marsh
Howard Keel	...	Tony Naylor
Marge Champion	...	Clarisse
Gower Champion	...	Jerry Ralby
Ann Miller	...	Bubbles Cassidy
Zsa Zsa Gabor	...	Zsa Zsa
Kurt Kasznar	...	Max Fogelsby
Marcel Dalio	...	Pierre
Diane Cassidy	...	Diane

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #15754) | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Howard Keel's character was named "Tony Naylor". During the 1950s and 60s, one of the most popular hang-outs for the stars in to meet after the filming was called "Tiny Naylors". It was located in Hollywood at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Vine Streets. Keel's characters' name was a nod to that famous coffee shop.

Goofs:

Continuity: In one scene Stephanie and Tony ride through the park in a carriage. About once per minute the background jerks and then repeats showing that it is back projected on a loop.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Yesterdays

'Smoke-'y.

This was a remake of the RKO Astaire-Rogers pastiche ROBERTA (1935), but it had its own merits. MGM used its 'Jack Cummings' unit of talent- most of the alumnae from SHOW BOAT and KISS ME KATE- to perform here. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson represent the singing couple (Irene Dunne essayed the role originally in ROBERTA, but her mate was the non-singing Randolph Scott), and do very nice renditions of the songs 'The Touch of Your Hand' and their witty first duet, 'You're Devastating.' The dancing couple was none other than Marge & Gower Champion, married in real life and presenting the dances with a bit more romance. They first dance to the call-and-response ditty 'I Won't Dance' in a fitting room with mannequins on wheels. Later, in an after-hours café, they discover they are falling in love and dance to an instrumental version of 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes-' particularly breathtaking because it is staged as a love scene instead of a performance, and it makes the most of a dreamy, starry-night set piece, of which the dance floor is put to a great deal of use in its climax when the Champions swing each other around in romantic pirouettes. Finally, there is Red Skelton assuming the role of the actual salon heir, cutting up on a piano rag and narrating the gargantuan fashion show finale. The remake includes a sexier version of 'I'll Be Hard to Handle' tapped out by Ann Miller, and 'new' songs 'Tomorrow Night' and 'Lafayette.'