HotToastyRag
When a stuffed shirt millionaire gets mistaken for a penniless reporter, it's a comical delight in Happy Go Lovely. The beautiful Vera-Ellen is a dancer in a theater troupe, headed by the always hilarious Cesar Romero, but they don't have any money to put on their show. By chance, Vera-Ellen gets a ride to a rehearsal from David Niven's chauffeur, and Cesar thinks she's intimately involved with millionaire Niven himself! Naturally, with one of his leading ladies dating a rich man, Cesar plans to exploit him and get backing for the show. When does the meet-cute tagline come in? You'll have to keep watching to find out.Happy Go Lovely is absolutely delightful, but as cute as the premise is, it wouldn't have risen above B-movie stature without the talent of its three leads. David Niven is pure comic genius, and paired against Cesar Romero, the battle of the frazzled is hilarious to watch. And, as I always say, it's a great bonus to watch two beautiful people fall in love with each other. The Niv is as handsome and studly as ever, and Vera-Ellen gets to show off her beautiful figure and incredible legs. She sings and dances, and her cuteness rubs off on Niv's character, letting his sweetness shine through as the movie continues.It's not the most well-known backstage musical out there, but it's awfully cute.
Unless you actively dislike The Niv or Vera-Ellen-I can't imagine why anyone would-there's no reason why you won't love this darling little romantic comedy. It's sweet, funny, and has plenty of eye candy!
blanche-2
Vera-Ellen, David Niven, and Cesar Romero star in "Happy Go Lovely," a 1951 British musical.It's a backstage musical about a show being done in Scotland, the money problems of the director/producer (Romero), and plenty of mistaken identity all around.The story is light and cute, and pretty Vera-Ellen dances beautifully. My problem with this film is the actual musical. It looked lousy, with hackneyed dance routines for the chorus, and the music was forgettable. If it had a few numbers like the musical in "Band Wagon," it would have knocked the film up a few levels and the copyright might have been renewed.Thanks to the cast of Vera-Ellen, Romero, and David Niven, it is quite pleasant. Hard to see graceful and lovely Vera-Ellen without thinking of her sad life, plagued by anorexia, arthritis, and the loss of a child. She was a gentle presence on the screen with beautiful dance ability.
mike48128
The most amazing dancer: tiny waist and perfect unbelievable legs and figure. A ballerina and tap dancer "extraordinaire". Not quite "full-figured" but otherwise quite adorable. The too few dance numbers spoil the show. There are only about four. The first one is intentionally terrible to show why the "star" is quitting. The showpiece British version of a "Guys and Dolls" or "Broadway-type" number is too pretentious and falls flat. The other numbers are better but still unmemorable. She does a good job considering the limited material she has to work with. Like Fred Astaire, she can make a hat-rack look good as a dance partner. Cute story with two really good actors in their prime: Cesar Romero and David Niven as two fish-out-of-water: An "uncouth" American producer and a Scottish greeting card millionaire who pretends not to be himself! At least it's in color and it's certainly a Vera-Ellen vehicle. Her singing is only fair and it might be dubbed in. I enjoyed it in spite of it's own shortcomings, and you will too. Color is a bit "off" at times and the sound is a "brassy" optical track.
April Glaspie
Happy Go Lovely is a waste of everybody's time and talent including the audience. The lightness of the old-hat mistaken identity and faux scandal plot lines is eminently forgivable. Very few people watched these movies for their plots. But, they usually had some interesting minor characters involved in subplots -- not here. They usually had interesting choreography and breathtaking dancing and catchy songs. Not Happy Go Lovely. And Vera-Ellen as the female lead played the whole movie as a second banana looking desperately for a star to play off it -- and instead she was called upon to carry the movie, and couldn't do it. The Scottish locale was wasted. Usually automatically ubiquitous droll Scottish whimsy is absent. The photography was pedestrian. The musical numbers were pedestrian. Cesar Romero gives his usual professional performance, chewing up the scenery since no one else was doing his part, in the type of producer role essayed frequently by Walter Abel and Adolph Menjou. David Niven is just fine, and no one could do David Niven like David Niven. At the end of the day, if you adore Niven as I do, it's reason enough to waste 90 minutes on Happy Go Lovely. If not, skip it.
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