L'ora, il luogo e la ragazza

A boilerplate Warners mid-'40s musical, but a triumph for the Great American Songbook, this backstager has some gorgeous Arthur Schwartz melodies married to Leo Robin lyrics wittier than anything in the script. The Oscar-nominated "Oh, But I Do" is one of Schwartz' loveliest melodies ever, and the little-known "A Thousand Dreams" isn't far behind. There's "A Gal in Calico," which once it gets in your head simply won't leave (it's been in mine for days) and "A Rainy Night in Rio," part of the South American craze then hitting the Hit Parade. There's "A Solid Citizen of the Solid South," done in grimace-inspiring blackface, but actually a pretty good number if you can get past that. All are "diegetic" numbers, meaning they're part of the stage entertainment in the film rather than related to plot or character, and they're backed by luscious Warners orchestrations, which were brassier and jazzier than what the arrangers turned out at Paramount or 20th or MGM. To get to these goodies you have to sit through a lot of inconsequential backstage plot, not to mention the tiresome jowl-shaking of S.Z. Sakall and the badly dated comedy of Jack Carson. But there's Martha Vickers, pretty and appealing, and Janis Paige, always reliable for sex appeal and a tart way with a good line. And Dennis Morgan, a Warners staple in the '40s, who had more presence and testosterone than most of the singing-capon tenors movie musicals of the day typically turned out. Carson and Morgan were sort of Warners' Hope and Crosby and were teamed many times. This is one of their more tolerable efforts, thanks almost exclusively to the efforts of Messrs. Schwartz and Robin.