Highly Overrated But Still Good

Crappy film

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

After years of first reading of this movie in a Laurel & Hardy filmography book (They were supposed to appear in this but Stan's illness after Atoll K prevented it. They were replaced by Smith & Dale who I had never seen before.), I finally watched this on a DVD I checked out from the local library weeks ago. In summary, it was quite enjoyable on its own merits though it seemed a bit long during the last 30 minutes when a bit too many numbers were being performed. Still, I liked Tony Martin's singing, at least when he went for more pop tunes though I was amused when he performed "There's No Tomorrow" which would later become Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never"! Also pretty entertained by Janet Leigh's singing and dancing. Interesting fact: One of Ms. Leigh's early films was a straight part in Words and Music which was supposed to be a bio of Rodgers & Hart where Mickey Rooney performed "Manhatten". Here it's performed by her and Martin with some added lyrics mentioning "South Pacific" which was a current musical by Rodgers & HAMMERSTEIN! She's not bad doing either singing or dancing which was choreographed by the legendary Busby Berkeley. The best dancing is by Ann Miller, of course, every time she spins and taps up a storm! Eddie Bracken and Gloria DeHaven are the comic couple and they're quite funny throughout. I also liked a funny number concerning Bob Crosby and his famous brother who appears as a mannequin but then comes to life at the end though we don't see if that actually was Bing by that point though it certainly looked like him from behind! As for Smith & Dale, well, I thought they were funny enough though part of me can understand why they didn't make too many movies during their lifetime. In summary, I mostly enjoyed Two Tickets to Broadway. P.S. That Indian number at the end is definitely not politically correct today!

Pelican Falls Vermont seems to have a pride that surpasses Broadway conventions. The town band seems to think that they can interrupt the Bob Crosby Show on television (without being stopped by security) to honor through their silly high school sing one of their own who just half an hour was ready to give up her dream for Broadway success. She's Janet Leigh, playing a former majorette named Nancy who just months before got a huge send-off from the same band and chorus who rhymed "Mary Martin" with "Kindergarden" and "Merman" (as in Ethel) with "German".Ironically, the composer of that song was Jule Styne who later wrote a few songs for Ms. Martin for "Peter Pan", and of course, wrote the music for Merman's final Broadway smash, "Gypsy". This Broadway of two male vaudeville performers (Smith and Dale) who run a delicatessen and argue like an old married couple has chorus girls returning from an out of town engagement on a show boat (which sunk) and a hotel for women in show business where the ladies act out a day in the city to the tune of Rodgers and Hart's "Manhattan" (which includes, ironically, new lyrics mentioning Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific"). Any comparison between this and even early 1950's Broadway reality as as close to life as Disney is.The musical numbers range from corny but fun ("The Worry Bird") to downright tacky ("Petrolium"). Ann Miller gets to do her traditional tap-and-twirl, while Gloria DeHaven is a bit less dainty than normal as the girlfriend of sleazy agent Eddie Bracken who lies to singer Tony Martin and the other girls about getting them a gig on the Bob Crosby television show. Barbara Lawrence, the fourth member of the team, has no other purpose than to fill out the female foursome. Pretty Technicolor is a major plus, although the television show finale, which would be black and white on the air, seems far too lavish for an early network variety show. Bob Crosby's spoof of brother Bing ("Let's Make Comparisons") is a wonderful novelty number, and a humorous acrobatic sketch is another highlight. Ironically, like the Russian ballet in "Bye Bye Birdie" (starring Ms. Leigh"), the acrobatic number is victim to foul play by Bracken so the group can get on the air without having to wait a week.

Tony Martin was the only singer/actor who I EVER had a crush on, so I totally disagree with the reviewer who said that he's only fit for gangster roles (REAL women don't want a man who looks pretty like a woman)! I graduated HS in 1955, so I was younger than Janet Leigh in 51, but I loved his big hit "I get ideas". As to the film, he did not look as good as I remember in publicity pictures (there was not the extent of distribution back then so I do not remember ever seeing him in film). I agree that his acting was not superb, but not much worse than Gene Kelly, tho' the dancing could be better. In those days the studios tried to make their people as versatile as possible. I think I'll save this one on DVD just for old times sake (of my old crush) because (with that "Big Chief Hole in the Ground" musical number), it will probably not get much exposure in the future. It is not at all PC (it's almost offensive even to me). It is surely offensive to native Americans.

This is not a bad musical. It's also not a good one. Tony Martin has a solid - yet unexciting - singing voice, and Janet Leigh - of course - cannot sing OR dance. So she was the perfect choice for a musical? It all drifts along without offending or titillating (now and then touched by a nice bit from Eddie Bracken, or the "Jewish" banter of the restaurant owners), and one can watch it or not. And then Martin appears as "Big Chief Hole-In-The-Ground" in a musical number that should be profoundly repulsive to modern audiences. Its caricature of reservation Indians as being somehow rich, due to oil being found on the land, is quite offensive when one realizes that many, many times entire tribes were moved off their land simply because it suddenly became valuable. So this bit is no longer amusing in the least. It wouldn't be any great problem (given that such casual racism pops up in a lot of older films), except that the film is so near to being empty of interest, that this concern - at least for this viewer - is downright horrifying. All the film's other problems (Janet's non-musicality, a general lack of wowser tunes, the presence of that "Dancing Loutess" Ann Miller, and a drifting filmic sensibility) fade to nothing beside this large hole in the "entertainment."