Butterfly americana

LLoyd Bacon, the director of "Call me Mister", had an excellent track record as the man that gave us "42 Street", "Gold Diggers of 1936", "The Frisco Kid", and "Brother Orchid", among others. The film is based in a musical review with music by Harold Rome and Arnold Auerbach.

The plot is a vehicle to show Betty Grable in a musical about a USO performer in post war Japan. The story is just a pretext to present Ms. Grable as an entertainer who wants to share joy among the troops still awaiting repatriation. Ms. Grable had such an effervescence about herself, it's easy to fall under her spell even in such a silly comedy as this one.

Dan Dailey plays the man in Ms. Grable's life. He was an excellent singer and dancer who always projected a masculine presence in anything he did. Both Ms. Grable and Mr. Dailey make a winning combination in the movie.

We get to see other faces that went to make names for themselves. Dale Robertson, Danny Thomas, Richard Boone, Jeffrey Hunter, Frank Fontaine, Jerry Paris and Bobby Short, among others.

The musical numbers were staged by Busby Berkley, a man who always had an edge in everything he did. The last production number stands out as the four principals, Ms. Grable, Mr. Dailey, Ms. Venata and Mr. Thomas take to the stage.

That was entertainment!