Dolly Sisters

Betty Grable was considered quite the hot number in her day-a favorite pin-up girl of American soldiers. I always thought she had a crabby look on her face. Be that as it may, this is one of her biggest hits, probably her most lavish musical, made at the peak of her career. An up-and-coming June Haver also stars. Although it has some basis in the lives of the real Dolly sisters, the film makes no effort to be biographical. It traces the rise and heartbreak of the sisters as they conquer vaudeville, Broadway, and Europe singing tunes like "Carolina in the Morning," "Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl (and leave the rest to Me)," "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," and the newer tune "I Can't Begin To Tell You," which was a Hit Parade favorite. If you watch a copy that hasn't been cut, the outrageous production numbers are considered the height of kitsch today, "monuments to bad taste" they have been called, that must be seen to be believed. "Darktown Strutters Ball" features Grable and Haver in with bronzed faces, singing in mutilated French, and cavorting around a Harlem set as pig-tailed 'picaninnies' surrounded by deeply tanned chorus girls in hats made of watermelons, dice, and playing cards. At least the girls are made up to look gorgeous and not foolish. It's quite a spectacle. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013