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Reviews
Meet Me After the Show (1951)
Betty Grable's best dancing role; she shines as a comedienne.
Released in 1951, Betty Grable's star was beginning to fade. Fox cast her in this role, which demanded a great deal more dancing than the usual Grable fair. Working with choreographer, Jack Cole, Betty gives one of her finest dancing performances on film. The film is funny, fast paced and delightful. Grable shines not only as a hoofer, but as a comedianne is this light-hearted romp of love and amnesia. Gwen Verdon appears alongside Grable in several dance numbers. McDonald Carey, Rory Calhoun and Eddie Albert are all superb in their roles of the past and present loves of Kitty Lee (Betty Grable). Memorable lines and songs are abundant in this film. This is a must-see for all Grable fans.
How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955)
Lackluster comedy with a few bright moments...
Stormy Tornado (Betty Grable) and Curly Flag (Sheree North) are a team of "interpretative dancers" (not "belly dancers" as incorrectly identified by a previous user comment) who witness the murder of Miss Cherry Blossom Wang and are the run from her killer. They pool their money to get on a bus and wind up in College City, still dressed in their stage costumes. They wind up in an all-boys college dorm and the film ensues with a series of not very funny events because of their situation, their lack of dress and Curly being accidentally hypnotized. This is one of Sheree North's first "big" roles (she was offered the part that Marilyn Monroe turned down, and at the time was viewed by Fox as their new "blonde" to replace their unwilling star Marilyn Monroe, who wanted more substantial roles). She delivers a very wooden performance. Betty Grable, on the other hand, made this her last film for Fox. While she delivers a typical sassy performance, she can not float the rest of the cast which is struggling with a really poorly written script. Orson Bean couldn't act his way out of a bag in this film. Tommy Noonan (Eddie) and Robert Cummings (Wedgewood) also deliver a zinger or two, but the film is really uneventful. A film only for die-hard fans of Grable or North.