"Lovely to Look At" is one of the lesser films of the legendary MGM musical era. It doesn't have the extravagance of musical numbers or elaborate and flashy choreographed dance numbers that were MGM trademarks. It's a remake of the 1935 RKO smash hit , "Roberta." And while it doesn't have Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Irene Dunne, it has a very good cast of musical performers. The story has some major changes in the characters to accommodate the cast. The plot and some original songs of the first film followed the successful Broadway play it was based on. And it had some added tunes, including two that would become hit tunes and long-time favorites - "Lovely to Look At," and "I Won't Dance." While MGM used the one hit tune for the title of this film, and kept that song, the rest of the film has mostly very good Jerome Kern tunes from previous years.
That's not to say this isn't a very good and entertaining film. How could one not watch and enjoy the singing of Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel? How could one not enjoy the wonderful music of Jerome Kern, whenever it's played or sung? The camera work and color are very good, and it has a different twist with a splashy fashion show set music and some colorful set designs. And, the public liked it in 1952 when it finished the year in 28th place in box office revenues.
Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel are the musical leads as Stephanie and Tony Naylor. Red Skelton is most of the comedy in the film, but his Al Marsh isn't a barrel of laughs. Ann Miller does a couple of dance numbers with songs and Zsa Zsa Gabor adds some light humor in her flighty champagne-drinking and partying fun.
But the best reason to see this film - and what raises it to the level of very good, is the dancing of Gower and Marge Champion. This is just one of seven films in which they have respectable lead or supporting roles. They are fine as actors, but it's their dancing that shines. It's too bad that MGM didn't have some better films that the Champions could have acted and danced in. But this one is a keeper if just for one big electric dance number.
They were not Astaire and Rogers, nor were they Kelly and Charisse. But the Champions had a vibrant, fast and snappy dance style that showed great talent and that entertained many people. They did appear in a number of other movies - usually, just for one or two dance routines. They were in some TV programs and had a short-lived program of their own in 1957. As interest in musical films decline, the Champions turned to Broadway.
The couple married in 1947 and divorced in 1973. Marge won an Emmy in 1975 for choreography of the TV movie, "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom." Gower Champion received 15 Tony nominations from 1949 to 1981. He won eight Tony's, five for choreography and three for directing musicals. His last Tony for choreography was presented posthumously for the smash hit musical, "42nd Street," for which he also received a directing nomination.
Champion never saw the show because he died the morning of its opening. After long standing applause with several curtain calls that night, producer David Merrick announced from the stage that Gower Champion had died that morning of a rare cancer. He was 59. The show was the best hit of all of Gower Champion's musicals that included "Bye Bye Birdie," "Hello, Dolly!" and "I Do! I Do!" When it closed after 3,486 performances in 1989, "42nd Street" was the third longest running Broadway show in history. As of November 2018, it was in 14th place of all time.
Besides this movie, there are some others in which the Champions have solid parts or leads with superb dance numbers. The best are "Mr. Music" of 1950, "Show Boat" of 1951, "Everything I Have is Yours" of 1952, "Give a Girl a Break" of 1953, and "Three for the Show" of 1955.
Here are a couple of favorite lines from the film.
Tony Naylor, looking at the dress shop catalog, "Now, there's a little number calculated to drive a man clean out of his mind. Who dreamed that one up?" Stephanie, "I did. That was designed for the Baroness de Risor, our oldest customer." Naylor, "And when she dies, you're out of business, huh?"
Tony Naylor, when his girlfriend arrives from America, "This is, uh, Miss Stephanie, uh, Bubbles Cassidy. She, uh, owns a small piece of, uh, our piece, of.. your piece."
