Too many fans seem to be blown away

To me, this movie is perfection.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Whoever thought the beautiful, sexy Susan Hayward would start her career playing a character named "Butch"? In The Forest Rangers, she's not the romantic lead. Paulette Goddard is the beautiful love interest to forest ranger Fred MacMurray, with masculine Susan Hayward waiting in the wings. This love triangle is amusing enough to justify renting this movie, so if you're as much a Susan Hayward fan as I am, I recommend watching it one afternoon for a good laugh.With tons of special effects combined with real footage of forest fires and controlled burns, The Forest Rangers is a pretty impressive movie for 1942. Stunt doubles are used and abused, and the blue-screen effect is very well edited for the time period. The plot is interesting and fast-paced, and there's both a surprise and a good laugh in the end. It's a little more light-hearted than you'd expect, but it's pretty cute. Plus there's a funny scene between Fred MacMurray and Eugene Pallette straight out of any classic comedy: Fred has been out all night with Paulette, Eugene's daughter, and neither man knows who the other is. So, while Eugene is laughing about Fred's conquest, he has no idea that the girl in question is his daughter!

Playing the title role of The Forest Rangers is Fred MacMurray who has both romance and an arsonist on his hands. He's got logging camp owner Susan Hayward kind of pining after him, but he gets good and swept off his feet when eastern tenderfoot Paulette Goddard comes out west with her rich dad Eugene Palette on vacation.Palette who plays a milder version of his Seth Bullock from My Man Godfrey seems grateful to MacMurray for taking her off his hands. But Hayward gets quite a jolt as does everyone around as all assumed sooner or later MacMurray would be hitched with Sue. Hayward's not giving up either.The scenes out in the woods are handled expertly by George Marshall. One of the funniest sequences I've ever seen in a Marshall film is when the stars are out on a river trying to cross it with the logs. Tenderfoot Goddard gets in trouble and MacMurray and Hayward are just as funny, but not so much help in the end trying to get her across. As for the arsonist we get quite the red herring here. But when the arsonist is finally revealed you won't believe the motive.I saw The Forest Rangers years ago and just saw it again for purposes of this review. The color cinematography looked kind of washed out and the sound wasn't the best. Hopefully this is a film that is a priority for restoration.The song Jingle Jangle Jingle came from this film and it made a mint of money for its composers Joe Lilley and Frank Loesser. The Merry Macs had a big hit record for Decca back in the day.Hopefully in the future we'll get treated to a restored version of The Forest Rangers.

As likable as a good old fashioned log roll, this outdoor adventure yarn of human Smokey the Bears is fun from start to finish, featuring a cast to die for. Fred MacMurray is a forest ranger investigating a series of obvious arson related forest fires who married socialite childhood sweetheart Paulette Goddard in spite of the fact that his colleagues believes that he's going to get hitched to his tomboy boss "Butch" (Susan Hayward). The jilted Hayward isn't pleased at all, arranging for the three of them to spend the honeymoon night "bundling" (using body heat to keep warm outdoors) after a minor car mishap arranged by her. But Hayward shouldn't underestimate her big city rival, especially when the three of them do accidentally get caught on a long roll.Mixing comedy, action and romance, this is pure and simple fun. Eugene Palette, Regis Toomey, Lynne Overman and Albert Dekker are also caught up in the intrigue which results in a thrilling final where city slicker Goddard and tough country gal Hayward come to an "understanding". Their re-teaming after the same year's "Reap the Wild Wind" is a bit closer to Goddard's catfight with Rosalind Russell in "The Women".There's also an exciting look at how the log industry works, with Goddard getting in the way at some precarious moments. As for Hayward, her loveliness can't be hidden underneath all of her masculine duds not matter how "butch" she seems. Palette is very funny as Goddard's cranky father glad to be rid of her. The color photography makes this truly a vision, and a Frank Loesser song, "I've Got Spurs That Jingle, Jangle Jingle" is a simplistic delight.

When this movie came out in 1942, technicolor was still a novelty. No new process has surpassed this technique. The star quality of the actors was of the highest order. The story line, while a bit contrived, was and still is entertaining compared to other vehicles of similar themes. The scope of the movie, which includes cast, sets, costumes and scenery, can hardly be duplicated today. It is an outstanding icon of what movies used to be,