Mar 10, 2023
Our Fox 1942 episode explores two different modes of Betty Grable Fox musical (both choreographed by Astaire collaborator Hermes Pan) that draw on the Hollywood musical modes established in the 1930s:in black and white, the Warneresque backstager Footlight Serenade, shot by Lee Garmes; and the Technicolor farce Springtime in the Rockies, with comic support by Edward Everett Horton and Carmen Miranda, whose eccentric comedic styles confront one another and produce what might be chemistry.
Elise comes around a little on Betty Grable, whose persona we discuss, along with the covert feminism of Footlight Serenade's plot. And in Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto, we Siskel and Ebert Claudia von Alemann's feminist filmic essay Blind Spot (1981), but agree that the sandwich-eating and pickle-refusing scenes are great.
Time Codes:
0h 00m 45s: FOOTLIGHT SERENADE [dir. Gregory Ratoff]
0h 48m 11s: SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES [dir. Irving Cummings]
1h 15m 19s: Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto: Blind Spot (1981) by Claudia von Alemann
Studio Film Capsules provided by The Films of Twentieth Century-Fox by Aubrey Solomon and Tony Thomas
Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler
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* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s
* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)
* Read Elise’s latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating.
* Check out Dave’s new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!
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