The sublime, the ridiculous and the annoying all get a run in this Monogram dazzler made as a mid war morale booster. BELITA, the Brit skate star who reigned as she skated at Monogram for 5 years was an absolutely gorgeous woman, and her appearances in the musicals like this one and LADY LETS DANCE are simply sensational. Also see SUSPENSE and THE GANGSTER both also made at Monogram for a feast and a fest. She is the best thing about this musical jumble; the worst is mannequin-man and whiny singer Kenny Baker... he is so wooden and his Dagwood looks have always left me cold... colder than the slabs Belita zooms across showing us her crotch. Repeatedly.... The annoying is the haphazard production which often seemed filmed in a corner of the studio.... odd short sets that are just a corner with a door, or big production numbers in a deep narrow set. This film has a truly terrible script and a lot of forced romance. Coupled with bad acting and a remote Pat Morison as the female lead actress, SILVER SKATES only works in the terrific musical skate production numbers... fortunately there are many. Though some are oddly dressed and choreographed... skaters arrive and leave in the background without performing, some wear too many clothes, others in groups wear similar ballgowns but are a razzle of colors and patterns, so it just looks like everyone grabbed anything they could and all rushed on to the ice in a mess of every costume hanging out the back... It actually looks like a suburban church production with costumes from a charity jumble sale. In one big number, compete with santasnow, wet bedsheets, a pine tree and cardboard igloos, we have a bevy of skating chorus girls, a fab kid skater, a penguin and an seal. The penguin wanders about all through two numbers and the viewers eye is constantly distracted from the skate show to see which direction the penguin has wandered off to. At one moment a rush of skating chorus girls just crashes straight into him... and the cameras keep rolling and the poor little thing just wobbles about between their legs. No wildlife wrangler at Monogram! There are two children who skate in this film and they are equally excellent. The big finale, which for no reason is a "battleship extravaganza" features squadrons of skaters in (hooray) matching outfits... but it is filmed from another suburb... the camera is so far away from the 'big set' for a lot of the 'big moments' that we are left wondering why there is 7000 acres of wet white ice in front of the show. The closeups of BELITA and her adagio, whizz-bye-s are excellent and as always she is sexy and sensational. It actually looks like a very cheap high school version of the massive Elanor Powell number from the finale of BORN TO DANCE. But this is a Monogram Picture and as such it is their 'biggie for'43'.... and should be enjoyed as such..... but try finding reason or cohesion in the array of dance numbers of what on earth type of show would manage an excuse for the order they come in or why they are presented. The actual fun in this musical is the mish mash of it all. Then you are truly ready for their SWING PARADE OF 1946 which has a crammed jammed and flung-at-you musical finale more in common with Cole Slaw than Cole Porter.
