Delightfully Dangerous (1945)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

The first must-see film of the year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Jane Powell stars as a 15 year-old who goes to a boarding school and idolizes her sister (Constance Moore). This sister, according to Jane, is a Broadway star and she regales her classmates of stories about the sister. However, her sister is NOT the sort of star she assumed, as she is a Burlesque performer. On a lark, Powell decides to leave school and go to New York to see her perform. When she does, she is indeed shocked--and her illusions are destroyed. Moore would like to show Powell around the city, but her show is about to go on the road. Jumping in to save the day is nice-guy Ralph Bellamy--a Broadway producer who has taken a special interest in Jane. In fact, when Jane first sees her sister on stage, she runs away and looks for Bellamy for help. And, naturally, since he's so gosh-darn swell, he agrees to watch Jane and put her on a train back to the school. Naturally the plan doesn't go as expected--mostly because of Powell's hijinx.To me, this was a very unsettling film. Powell looked to be about 15 and when Bellamy jumps in to help, you can't help but feel creeped out--and wonder if he might be a child molester--especially when he practically begs her sister to let him help! Maybe it didn't seem so creepy back in 1945, but with today's sensibilities you can't help but find the plot very worrisome. Now back then, they did NOT put characters in films who were into pedophilia--so it was all pretty innocent. But would you let a strange man you barely know hang out with your teen and be responsible for her?!?! Creepy indeed--and the title doesn't help at all to dispel this feeling! Interestingly, however, I seem to be the only reviewer so far that was bothered by all this--perhaps it's because I am a father with a teenage daughter! If you can manage to look beyond this, the film is a pleasant piece of fluff. How much you'll like it will depend a lot on whether you like the style of singing in the movie, as Powell's voice was almost operatic and not the sort of voice that the average person would enjoy. It's at best a fair musical--and one mostly for die-hard musical fans and non-fathers!

It's a treat to see the majestic, golden-haired, golden-voiced Constance Moore, but what a shame she is in something so cheap and lame. From the first shots we know this movie isn't going to bother with coherence. We see an orchestra leader conducting a symphony, then Jane Powell in her boarding-school bedroom. She falls asleep and we see her dream of joining the orchestra at Carnegie Hall and singing with them. Huh? Who is she? Why should we care about her? Why show us a character's DREAM before showing us anything about who they ARE? The whole thing is slipshod like that. Moore is supposed to be the love interest for Ralph Bellamy, but we never see them do anything but argue. Then, near the end, they are reconciled, but nothing more romantic happens. No love words, no kiss. Then, right at the end, Moore whispers to Powell that Bellamy has asked her to marry him and she will say yes! It's as if the movie makers suddenly woke up and realised, uh-oh, we forgot the love stuff! The movie also has its distasteful aspects--the 15-year-old character (Powell's real age at the time) puts her hair up, wears lots of makeup and a sexy dress to show that she can pass for eighteen and be in a Broadway show. As a result, dozens of soldiers and sailors flock to her eagerly, and she encourages them. It gives the viewer an uncomfortable feeling that she is being taken advantage of.There is also the weird elevation to star status of the mediocrity Morton Gould. He is the conductor at the beginning, playing Carnegie Hall, and throughout the film we are told, ooh, they are putting on an original Morton Gould show, ooh, that's Morton Gould!, ooh, Morton Gould wants me for his radio show! Gould himself, as we see from his appearance in the movie, is as dull as his unmemorable music.And the burlesque! The typical embarrassment of Hays-code burlesque theatre, with men roaring and stamping at girls who wear more clothes than real girls of the time did at the beach. The little sister burns with shame at seeing Moore display a leg (horrors!) to the audience, but in the Broadway show at the end, in which they both star, Moore is wearing a costume that shows BOTH her legs! Ridiculous.It is very nice to see such likable performers as Arthur Treacher and Louise Beavers (there is a sweet moment when he stops making ice-cream sundaes for Powell and instead makes one for himself and one for Beavers, and they dig in). But both have been much, much funnier with better material.

Five writers worked on this kinda-cute/kinda-silly frolic starring Jane Powell as a 15-year-old boarding school youngster who's been bragging about her big sister, a Broadway chanteuse; turns out sis is really a burlesque queen nicknamed "Bubbles Barton", a secret which her idolizing sibling finds out the hard way. Begins with a flurry of teenage activity and wisecracks, some of which are very funny. Second act away from the school settles into more conventional comic material, ending with both sisters on stage for some trilling and hoofing. Pleasant enough, but Super Duper thin. Director Arthur Lubin sets up several creative visual gags, but he can't do much with the film's sentimental side, which is pure mush. ** from ****

This light musical is solid if nothing special, with a story, characters, and production that are all about average overall. The cast is probably the strongest part if it, with a young Jane Powell in the lead role.The story concerns two sisters and their dreams of a career in show business. As the younger of the two, Powell's character wants to be a singer, and Powell is given several opportunities to perform. As her sister, Constance Moore has a simpler role, but she fulfills it adequately. Ralph Bellamy probably gives the best performance, and he is well-cast as a well-meaning, slightly befuddled Broadway producer. Arthur Treacher also pitches in playing Bellamy's butler.Most of the rest of it is rather plain, although there are no real flaws. The story is purely lightweight, but it has enough to keep you watching, and the characters are just believable enough to make you care about them.