Rich, Young and Pretty

Firstly, I had seen Miss Darieux in several movies. In this one, not even a trace of a French accent - amazing. Also, enjoyed Lamas, an Argentinian with a what-kind-of accent. By the way, whatever happened to his heart-throb son? Back to "Rich, Young and Pretty," I say pooh - double pooh - or poohpooh to the naysayers who dissected this movie and found fault with the performers and/or the script.

The songs were good, but certainly not MGM's best. The happiest surprise was "Deep In the Heart of Texas" - what a joy, and the song involving the great Four Freshmen.

The ballads were fairly decent - nothing more, nothing less. As for the fellow with the cane and cigar box who does not like Jane Powell - to quote Gen. McAuliffe when asked about surrendering to Germany - NUTS! I don't know if she was pretty or cute, so I settle for pretty cute. Her voice, not quite as strong as Kathryn Grayson, is still quite beautiful.

One of that era's best singers was Vic Damone who could sing powerfully, or pleasantly. I enjoyed him.

I loved the ending with its flying saucers - and knives, forks, spoons, and French cuisine.

Yes, I enjoyed the movie, and I'm proud to admit it. Onward and upward.

One of Jane Powell's best musicals for MGM is Rich, Young and Pretty and Ms. Powell winds up all three and married to boot.

She and father Wendell Corey and housekeeper Una Merkel are in Paris where Wendell is on business for the United Nations where he works.

But he wasn't always a high powered diplomat. After the first World War he took a French bride, Danielle Darrieux, back to Texas. Texas didn't agree with Danielle and she left Wendell and her infant daughter. Wendell has told Jane her mother had passed away.

Of course all this deception by Corey leaves room for more deception by Danielle upon Jane's arrival in Paris. With a little subterfuge Darrieux and Powell meet. And Powell's also got eyes for a young French official, Vic Damone and she's forgetting about the boy she's seeing back home.

The story line of Rich, Young, and Pretty gets a little too cute, but there are some talented players here to smooth out the rough spots. And Nicholas Brodzsky and Sammy Cahn wrote some nice songs. One of them, Wonder Why, was nominated for Best Song, but lost to In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening. Still Wonder Why is a very pretty ballad, sung by both Damone and Powell.

My favorite song however is Paris, a city that certainly has inspired some of our best songwriters. Here it's done by Fernando Lamas and sung well.

Fans of this talented cast will want to see their stars perform even though the story is a bit silly.

Jane Powell sparkles as Texas gal Elizabeth Rogers who travels to Europe with her single father and finds romance with a young man--and also meets the mother she never knew. MGM musical on a less-than-grand scale, yet underrated Powell really pours on the charm and her song numbers are fairly witty. The picture is a bit encumbered by the studio's restrictions--there are hardly any scenes set outdoors, and the shots of Paris are obviously fillers from MGM's stock--but the cast (including Una Merkel, Fernando Lamas and Wendell Corey) is colorful and the screenplay (worked on by Sidney Sheldon) is lively and fun. **1/2 from ****

This lovely, little-known MGM musical from 1951 stands above most others of its genre by utilizing a strong, often (unintentionally) disturbing and moving storyline as a background for its delightful musical numbers and melodic score.

Jane Powell is fresh as the first day of spring, and in fine voice. Vic Damone's equally engaging as her romantic interest. But the real surprise is the depth and vivacity of the "adult" performers -- Wendell Corey, Fernando Lamas (whose resonant baritone voice is fully utilized) and the delicious Danielle Darrieux in one of her few American movies. She provides charm, elegance and alluring sex-appeal as a woman who abandoned her daughter (Powell) shortly after her birth, divorced her husband (Corey), returned to her native France, and resumed her career as a Parisian nightclub performer, currently in love with her cabaret co-star Lamas. Corey unwittingly takes his daughter to Paris for a vacation, having no idea she will eventually discover the identity of her supposedly "deceased" mother.

The sad undercurrents of the plot are glossed over by a lush Technicolored production and one riveting song after another. The riveting finale is staged and photographed and sung to vivid perfection.

A delicious diversion, with a glorious cast doing full justice to its entrancing score and poignant screenplay. Simply a pity that the delectable, saucy Ms. Darrieux was never teamed with Fred Astaire, though Ms. Powell was one year later in the knockout "Royal Wedding".

No need to recap the plot, which at the beginning resembles that of Giant (1956). Musicals generally live or die by the quality of the music. By that standard, this one is pretty much a snoozer following a string of forgettably bland numbers, which at least don't annoy.

The movie itself stands as a clear instance of lead performers outshining the material— mainly, the always sparkling Jane Powell and a fabulous Danielle Darrieux. Even the seemingly miscast Corey, so usually dour, manages an agreeable father. While in a tacked-on role, a hunky Fernando Lamas is clearly on his way up. One can sympathize, however, with boyish crooner Damone in his first film-- his self-consciousness almost flies off the screen.

I expect critics are right about the problems caused by Powell's pregnancy. The production has a less polished, more constrained look than the usual high MGM standard. This could well be due to a hurry-up schedule and Powell's growing girth. Whatever the reason, the movie's a chance to catch the ravishing French actress Darrieux in one of her few American roles. Otherwise, it's pretty forgettable.