With its catchy title, an exotic location, some peppy tunes, and a good cast, THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE could have been a passably good musical had screenwriters Lewis R. Foster (who also directed it) and Daniel Mainwaring paid more attention to the plot instead of letting the intended 3-D effects carry the burden. As it is, we have an uninspired programmer masquerading as a musical whose only real merit is the introduction of then-current radio chart-busters Teresa Brewer and Guy Mitchell to the movie going public.
All proceedings are undermined by a confused plot which takes place during the late 1800s in a Klondike where the journey from Skagway to Dawson is as easy as a Sunday afternoon constitutional with no White Horse Pass to pose any peril, where the weather is so balmy that the characters need not wear ear muffs or mitts for protection from frostbite or even see their own breath, and where snowstorms are non-existent. There is not even a hint of a single gold strike nor of fortunes won and lost overnight.
The movie just can't make up its mind whether its plot is one of revenge for the murder of the eponymous redheads' father or to showcase the young women's determination to adapt to the "harsh" life in the remote northern reaches of Canada on their own. The requisite villain, a one-dimensional cipher, appears only twice: the first time at the beginning to kill the father and the second time at the end to be dispatched by the hero (Gene Barry) so that the latter can win the admiration and eternal gratitude of the heroine, lovely Rhonda Fleming.
Still, the musical numbers, "Chick-A-Boom," "Baby, Baby, Baby," and the beautiful ballad "I Guess It was You all the Time," performed with verve and gusto by Mr. Mitchell and Miss Brewer, are entertaining in their own right, even if they don't fit the situations or advance the plot in any way.
But there is one good reason for watching this movie and that reason is Teresa Brewer. "Tessie," as she was known to her fellow musicians, simply illuminates the screen with her bubbly effervescence every time she enters a scene. She grabs your attention and holds it. This is no mean feat given that she often has to share the screen with gorgeous Rhonda Fleming but she does just that. Watch her face as she eagerly anticipates greetings from her estranged family as they approach her from church, only to be snubbed by them as a show of disapproval of her chosen vocation as a dance hall singer. Tessie was a natural on-screen performer and it's a shame she didn't pursue a career in movies. Paramount had apparently offered her a contract but she turned it down so that she could have time to raise a family. Had she not done so, she might have gone on to rival the popularity of Warner's Doris Day. She certainly had the personality and talent.
