Main Cast: Eric Alden, Mary Hatcher, William Bendix, Olga San Juan, MacDonald Carey, DeForest Kelley, Joan Caulfield, William Demarest, Stanley Clements, Frank Faylen
Release Year: 1947
Country: US
Run Time: 83 minutes
Plot
This story of two young hopefuls who come to Hollywood is merely a thin device to feature almost every star working for Paramount Studios in 1947. Mary Hatcher plays Catherine Brown, a woman of humble origins who arrives in Hollywood, where she meets another wanna-be movie star, Amber La Vonne (Olga San Juan). They work their way through the Paramount studios, trying to impress every important person. Mostly, the film is a cavalcade of songs by various stars that take place at several studio and Hollywood locations, including the famous Brown Derby restaurant. Many of the film's songs were written by Frank Loesser. Dorothy Lamour and Alan Ladd sing "Tallahassee"; Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play golf and sing a duet, "Harmony"; the Original Dixieland Jazz Band plays "Tiger Rag"; and a host of other top performers of the era appear in brief cameos. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Review
Hollywood had a love affair with the revue form but also mistrusted it intensely. Thus, they would produce many films like Variety Girl, essentially a revue but saddled with a flimsy plot to loosely connect (and give an excuse for) a number of songs and skits. Variety is a middling effort in the genre, an uneven excursion that sometimes soars and sometimes falls flat on its face. Among the highlights are a delightful George Pal puppetoon sequence built around the song "Romeow and Julicat"; Pearl Bailey lazily spilling out the languorously amusing "Tired"; the "Harmony" finale with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby; and the sight of Paulette Goddard clothed in soap bubbles. On the flip side, there's some annoying work from Spike Jones, a number of dated and decidedly unfunny skits, and the sight (and sound) of Alan Ladd trying to get through "Tallahassee." Mary Hatcher is quite good as the nominal star of the film, more than holding her own against the cavalcade of cameos and guest stars. There's nothing she can do with the flimsy plot and dialogue that is dull when not inane. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Robert Clatworthy - Art Director, Hans Dreier - Art Director, Billy Daniels - Choreography, Bernard Pearce - Choreography, Edith Head - Costume Designer, Dorothy O'Hara - Costume Designer, George Templeton - First Assistant Director, George Marshall - Director, LeRoy Stone - Editor, Joseph Lilley - Composer (Music Score), Frank Loesser - Composer (Music Score), Edward Plumb - Composer (Music Score), Joseph Lilley - Musical Direction/Supervision, William Cottrell - Makeup, George Pal - Makeup, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Lionel Lindon - Cinematographer, Stuart Thompson - Cinematographer, Daniel Dare - Producer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, Ross Dowd - Set Designer, Farciot Edouart - Special Effects, Gordon Jennings - Special Effects, Robert L. Welch - Screenwriter, Monte Brice - Screenwriter, Edmund L. Hartmann - Screenwriter, Frank Tashlin - Screenwriter
Variety Girl (1947) is an all-star movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby. The story revolves around two young girls who exchange identities, causing confusion at the Variety Club (show-business charity) and the Paramount studio.
The elaborate closing song, "Harmony," begins with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope singing and dancing on stage in matching checkered suits and straw hats, eventually moves to a merry-go-round with Gary Cooper in cowboy regalia seated on a plastic horse while talking through a couple of stanzas with Barry Fitzgerald, then gradually incorporates the entire cast, which includes almost everyone under contract to Paramount at the time, in a rousing finale launched by William Holden and Ray Milland chasing a scantily-clad woman across a soundstage.
