malcolmgsw
This was the last film for both for Tonyartin,often out of tune,and Vera Ellen,out of form.The story is silly,the music mediocre and the dances are dull.This film highlights all that was wrong with a genre that was going extinct.When this film was being made Bill Haley and Elvis were wowing cinema-goers.The leads were playing a style that might have worked in the forties but was becoming passé.Martin was 44 and Vera Ellen was 36 when this film was made which emphasised the problems of the musicals.All the main musical stars,Astaire,Crosby,Kelly,Sinatra were middle aged and would have to turn to dramatic roles to prolong their film careers.Colour and scope do a lot for Edinburgh but little for the stats
misctidsandbits
I like a lot of the older movies, including B movies and less than stellar musicals. While this one had the Scottish scenery going for it, that's about all as far as I am concerned. Tried to go it, but just couldn't. Too many "ouchies." Vera-Ellen, while good in other things, was a bit painful to watch in this. Same for Tony Martin. The redhead was, to me, hard on the eyes and nerves. The lord character was lackluster. Surprised at the comments of other reviewers that Cyd Charise should have had the female lead. Good grief. Get some proportion. While Tony Martin was married to Cyd Charise, there is a huge difference in their movie presence and draw. They don't cast parts to be cutesy.Ms. Charise played and co-starred with major stars in top films. Mr. Martin never did. There's no comparison. This was way too low a production for Ms. Charise. While Mr. Martin enjoyed success as a recording artist, a strong actor, he wasn't. I didn't even care for his singing in this. Forget the acting, on anyone's part.Definitely give this one a pass - as in pass up. Good performances can override a bad script/plot. That didn't happen here.
wes-connors
After inheriting some money, small Vermont town dancer Vera-Ellen (as Jeannie MacLean) decides to visit Scotland. On the plane, she meets singing Idaho businessman Tony Martin (as Stanley Smith). Romance begins, but things get complicated when she meets dashing Robert Flemyng (as James "Jimmy" MacNairn), a broke English Lord looking for a rich American wife. Meanwhile, Mr. Martin has caught the eye of sexy red-haired Zena Marshall (as Helene). The film's tagline "Tony Rocks 'Em!! Vera Rolls 'Em!!" points to how the two early 1950s stars were being falsely promoted to a new audience, who were not going to find any "Rock 'n' Roll" here. "Let's Be Happy" features nice color and setting.**** Let's Be Happy (5/8/57) Henry Levin ~ Vera-Ellen, Tony Martin, Robert Flemyng, Zena Marshall
bkoganbing
Let's Be Happy is a musical film shot in Scotland by a British film company and released in America under the Allied Artist banner. It also has two American stars, Tony Martin and Vera-Ellen and both made their final big screen appearance in this production. Musicals were certainly becoming rarer and rarer on the screen by 1957. If people have followed my reviews on Tony Martin's films, one my criticisms is why he was never teamed with his wife Cyd Charisse in any movie. Cyd was under contract to MGM and Tony did occasional films there as well. Both would move on to the nightclub phase of their careers as their primary venue and they were one of the biggest acts on that circuit for many years. I think Let's Be Happy was created with both of them in mind, but apparently Cyd was otherwise occupied with work at MGM. She did do Silk Stockings that same year over at that much bigger studio. So Vera-Ellen was brought in instead.The story is a slight one and the songs by Nicholas Brodszky and Paul Francis Webster are pretty forgettable, but they're done well as sang by Tony and danced to by Vera-Ellen. She's a Vermont farm girl who gets an inheritance from her grandfather of $5000.00 approximately, kept in a secret compartment because apparently grandfather did not trust banks. And as a good Scots girl, she decides to visit the old country.She meets Tony on the plane and the two seem to hit it off. But along the way an impoverished title played by Robert Flemyng gets the idea that Vera-Ellen is really loaded and in the tradition of European nobility down on its luck, they woo the rich American.Let's Be Happy does boast some really nice cinematography of Edinburgh, a city which definitely believes in keeping its ancient look up for the tourists. It's a pleasant enough 90+ minutes of entertainment, but I do so wish Tony Martin had done this with Cyd Charisse.
AD
