dougdoepke Hollywood was turning out these slightly built musicals by the score during the war. Though this one wasn't released until mid-'46, it has all the markings. Hotshot bomber pilot Pat (Wade) meets nightclub singer Louise (Langford) and, guess what, they fall in love. Trouble is he's already engaged to conniving, snooty Eileen (Greer) who won't let him go. So romantic complications ensue. In between these, Langford gets to warble a few tunes, while the fast- talking Edwards gets to act the bigshot promoter. Add the always wise-cracking Iris Adrian as somebody or other named Montana, and you've got an entertaining cast. Sure, it's all forgotten 10-minutes later, but in the meantime, the shenanigans go down like a pleasant little snack.

kidboots After seeing "Career Girl" the other day - I can honestly say this film is tons better. The only thing that didn't change was that Iris Adrian was still her best pal and still cracking those one liners. With RKO's better production values ("Career Girl" was a PRC production and it showed) Frances Langford looked a million bucks. Having Anthony Mann as director didn't hurt either.Bamboo Blonde is a big cosmetic company and the story is told in flashback to a reporter who comes for a story.Captain Pat Ransom (Russell Wade) is stood up by his fiancée, Eileen (a gorgeous Jane Greer in an early part) - he then meets Louise (Frances Langford), a singer at a club and together they have a wonderful night. When he has to rejoin his crew she plys him with magazines and gumdrops - she's a grand gal. They go to a photo booth and later back at the base an artist paints her picture on their plane and christens her "The Bamboo Blonde". When the plane becomes a famous bomber, Louise's manager decides to cash in on the name by billing her as "The Bamboo Blonde". Pat and Louise meet again when the bomber goes on a nationwide tour. True love doesn't run smooth and Eileen is there to put a spanner in the works. This film ended rather suddenly as well, with Eileen revealing her true colours when she doesn't invite Pat's parents to a big party. The cosmetic empire was obviously an after thought.You view a Frances Langford film to hear her beautiful voice and sing she does. "I'm Good For Nothing But Love", "I'm Dreaming Out Loud", "Moonlight Over the Islands" and "Right Along About Evening" are far superior songs than any in "Career Girl". Miss Langford is far better photographed in this film as well - she is ravishing.

David (Handlinghandel) I am a great fan of Anthony Mann because of his brilliant and inventive, sometimes scary noirs. I knew he'd directed other types of movies but this is the first (other than his later Westerns and 1950s stuff) I've seen.This is a very appealing romantic comedy. Frances Langford was no great actress but she had a pretty mezzo. She is a little like Doris Day, it seems, and a little like the great Anita Ellis.Russell Wade: Why didn't this guy have a major career? He is very good here, as he is in "The Ghost Ship." And I almost didn't recognize Jane Greer as his bitchy society-girl fiancée! She is (as always, except in a 1950s comedy whose name blessedly escapes me) wonderful. She seemed best in noirs, as bad girls with no conscience. Here she is a rich girl with no conscience.This has the same structure as classic noirs. It is told in flashback. I found the movie appealing from start to finish.

erikpsmith Okay, this movie isn't Citizen Kane. But it is an hour of so of zippy well-produced entertainment -- and I think you have to say it is one of the most perfectly typical movies of its time. I mean, it has every stereotypical character, traditional plot device and normal production touch you might expect in a light comedy produced during wartime. We have a fast-talking and slightly corrupt nightclub promoter. We have an adorable torch singer with a heart of gold. And we have a somewhat naive leading man who nevertheless possesses the sterling qualities that will make him a war hero. Oh, and don't let me forget -- we also have a beautiful and manipulative woman, the sort who doesn't like to lose.The plot is your basic boy-meets-girl stuff. It concerns a man who meets a nightclub singer -- very cutely, of course. They have a nice long chat over dinner and fall deeply in like. The fellow goes to war the very next day. Boy and girl secretly pine for each other, even though each of them knows they really don't have a right to do so. The girl's lovely face gets painted on the nose of our hero's B-29. The plane and crew becomes famous for heroic exploits (which consist mainly of surviving) and then hero and torch singer are reunited for a bond tour. They have to pretend to be lovers. The problem here is that the hero's rich-bitch fiancé intrudes. She doesn't love the guy at all, but now that he's a war hero, she demands that the big lunk go through with the ceremony.You can kind of guess how this one ends. Can't you? Oh, please. And there's a big twist at the end, when we find out about the fellow's family background -- but if you don't see this one coming a half-hour in advance, you probably haven't seen enough thirties and forties movies.Naturally the lovely Miss Langford has some elaborate production numbers, with a wonderful big-band soundtrack.Now, this sort of summary might make this movie sound like the oldest and tritest story ever filmed. But the fact is that every now and then someone produces a movie that so perfectly encapsulates every convention of its genre that you stop seeing a lack of originality as a flaw. Instead you can marvel at its perfection, the way you can admire a perfectly cut diamond. Nothing original about a perfectly cut stone, is there? But it sure looks purty.So of course the boy and girl fall in love. Of course they conquer all. Of course Frances Langford gets to wear skimpy outfits and sing her lungs out. No wonder Bob Hope took her on so many USO tours.I gather that Anthony Mann's involvement is one of the reasons this movie works so well. He became a noted director in the years after this film was made, and while I can't count myself as one of those who is obsessed with his work, I know that there are many who are. Suffice it to say that some directors might have made a mess of a movie like this one, but Mann keeps it moving right along, and the level of acting is pretty much what it ought to be. Okay, so maybe the critics were right when they called this movie clichéd and hackneyed. But there was a reason for those clichés: Sometimes they actually worked. Next time this one shows up on cable, put your feet up, put your mind on hold and let yourself enjoy the darned thing.