Footlight Serenade

This is a pleasant musical vehicle for Betty Grable, made early in the war, and photographed in stunning black and white by Lee Garmes. Victor Mature and John Payne literally fight over Betty in this one, while Phil Silvers is the comedy relief, and Jimmy Gleason adds some spice. Footlight Serenade is fairly small scale for a Grable pic, which makes it interesting. Most (if not all) of her subsequent films were done in color. Black and white adds just a touch of menace to the film, and Mature and Payne seem to not really like each other, which gives the movie a slight edginess that works in its favor (if you like edge). Grable's later pictures are much more bland. She didn't need all that Technicolor, as she proves here.