Diamond Horseshoe (1945)

"Diamond Horseshoe" begins with a stage number wherein all the showgirls are ingredients in a French chef's recipe--with Betty Grable as the main course, of course. She fights with her co-star offstage (he tells the leggy chanteuse, "You are in show business for only two reasons...and you're standing on both of them!"). In order to bring romantic happiness for a gal-pal, wisecracking Betty agrees to come between a singer and his son, the latter of whom was to become a doctor but now wants a taste of the footlights. Taken from John Kenyon Nicholson's play "The Barker", the plot (though relentlessly padded with novelty numbers, revues and sketches) is far stronger than those of other showcases for Grable, and screenwriter George Seaton isn't afraid to be catty and snappy. Some of the put-downs are priceless, with Betty infusing the interplay with a jazzy '40s-era spirit (she's both jaded and sassy). Unfortunately, most of the songs are not singable, and Dick Haymes is such a shallow love-interest that it doesn't make any sense for a tootsie like Grable to fall for him. The production probably looked elaborate in 1945, but today it seems tacky, and at 104 minutes the movie eventually wears out its welcome. ** from ****