sophieoscarcat

So much was riding on this film to re-invigorate Betty Hutton's film career that the "star" quality of Hutton in this "B" movie overwhelmed the production, making the actors supporting her really have to work to make their scenes memorable in any way. Most did well with the exception of Dana Andrews whose own career was all but on the way out. He is too withdrawn to have any chemistry whatsoever with Hutton who was really trying hard to reign in her own habit of dominating every scene. It's a nice script, an oft told tale of high school reunions but with a twist in that it often centered on the relationship between Hutton and her domineering father who seemed to want his little girl to ever remain a spinster. Anyone looking like Hutton made this spinster character a bit unbelievable.

Others have mentioned Hutton's "cross eyed" moment when she sings "That Old Feeling," but the truth is, she broke character and started chewing up the scenery when the tune which started slowly began to swing. Having seen Hutton in concert in Vegas I can say with certainty that this "cross-eyed" moment was Hutton on stage, not the shy spinster she was portraying. Interesting that they let her loose like that but then, that was Hutton. She never failed to dominate the screen when she lit into a song. I loved it. It was the last song she would ever sing in a film and thank God she gave it the Hutton touch. It may have been the highlight of the film.

Anyone interested in Hutton's career must see this film because it shows her in a more mature mode and she has a bang up scene with the actor playing her father near the end. This should have led to more roles but her own emotional problems began to surface around town and she never made another film. Too bad. Really, too bad.

I was about 11 years old when my parents took me to the Fox Theater in Inglewood, California to see this film. It just so happened that Dean Stockwell was appearing in person before the film and was answering questions from the audience. He was very shy and an adult male did most of the answering. I remember loving this film - perhaps because the star was present - as a western adventure involving a big locomotive. I remember the relationship between the father, looking for the boy, and the son as being more realistic than I had seen in films. By this age I was a veteran film-goer, seeing my first film, a Walt Disney film, at age of six. I gotta get a copy of this film to re-live it.

I saw this film in its original release in Hollywood and have never forgotten June Allyson's shrew of a wife and how she kept putting the psychological knife in her poor, emotionally wasted husband, played by Jose Ferrer. I was too young to know why a wife would do this but the effect has never left me. This film deserves a beautifully restored DVD presentation. June Allyson deserved an Oscar nomination and perhaps the award given the fact that she made a 180 turn against her long established type. Ms. Allyson would only make three more Hollywood films and then escape into television with her own series and then guest host and star in her husband, Dick Powell's, weekly anthology series. She proved her dramatic mettle over and over on television and lived out a serene, much respected retirement in California's wine country near Clint Eastwood's place. Those in Ojai, according to what one resident told me, would see Ms. Allyson in town and about and always gave her the respect of admired distance, yet with warmth. I loved June Allyson, still a handsome beauty to the end.

This film was hurried into production to take advantage of Fred Astaire's availability, part of the agreement MGM signed with Paramount in order to get Betty Hutton on loan to do "Annie Get Your Gun" at Metro. It is such standard fare that it pales when one thinks of Hutton's great triumph earlier in the year with "Annie." She and Fred Astaire were poorly matched given his sophistication and her frenetic singing and dancing. If only the musical comedy had some decent songs it could have gotten by on those alone. Unfortunately, there are few songs and they are mostly unforgettable, save Astair's dance routine on, over and under a grand piano and with a hat rack. There is a comedy song and dance number, "Them Thar Dudes" in which the two stars dress up as a couple of western dudes - both with fake mustaches - and sing and dance a fun and funny number. However, Astaire looks positively pained having to slum as low as this while Hutton steals the song because it is up her alley. There is an embarrassing number for Hutton when she starts singing a love song while her dress - in the rear - gets overheated. This film shows how brilliant Hutton was when she was given good material. The most accessible, direct and embracing singing voice of her time, Betty Hutton always surpassed her material when singing but, as with this film, was given to slapstick and overacting when clearly a director did not have control over her. Such is the fate of this film.

The film is engaging because it has at its core the old "mother running with her child from the evil relatives while the Knight is on his way and may or may not make it in time" plot. Because of the material Hutton comes off as Hutton while Astaire suffers badly, saved the minute he begins to tap his feet or open his mouth to sing. Two legends in a mediocre film make it a must see if you are a fan of either or both of the legends.

Few people will remember this rather incredible production, advertised at the time as the "first" 90-minute color television "spectacular." A big, splashy, Broadway type musical comedy starring the incomparable Betty Hutton in a role not that far removed from the character she played in "Annie Get Your Gun." How could it miss?

Well, it missed about as big as a "special" could miss. First, the nation, per TV Guide at the time, tuned in to see color on their black and white sets. Angry, disappointed, the show itself was overlooked and apparently many tuned it out. Critics lambasted the entire production as a cartoon with songs to fill in the slow spots. Betty Hutton was criticized the most, deemed to be "working too hard" and not in good voice. It was a disaster and certainly another nail in the coffin that was becoming Hutton's career.

The original cast recording on a 10 inch RCA vinyl documents the above, but it also documents an often amazing vocal performance by Betty Hutton who belted the tunes out of the ball park as always. The songs were somewhat reminiscent of "Annie Get Your Gun," particularly a duet sung with Kevin McCarthy. If anyone wants to know what was so special about Hutton, why you cannot get away from any of her songs, why she was one of the great "actresses" on record, this is the soundtrack. I do not remember much about the show itself, telecast only once in 1954, but I bought the soundtrack back then and still have a pristine copy and have played it again and again. Just listen to how Hutton "reads" the words and how you are able to visualize much of the action. Her voice was a bit ragged around the edges because she had just had vocal surgery two years earlier and clearly, this being a "live" production, she had little control over the state of her voice at any given minute. But still, it is 100% Hutton and it just doesn't get much better than that. I am not aware that NBC ever released this on any media. But the recording is there and another time capsule of what was once Betty Hutton

To add a note: I bought a copy of the kinescope of Satins and Spurs where the picture is not good but the sound is passable. Quite a trip to relive this unique production and see how hard Betty worked. Following the "show," she comes on screen and introduces the cast and thanks everyone - just like closing night on Broadway.

This was an amazing show that showcased Betty Hutton - a half hour of songs she made famous - with an introduction from Eddie Albert that is not to be missed. Betty looked fine, age appropriate beautiful and she was full of spark and sparkle and verve. Her voice was strong in the mid range only - extremely strong and loud - with almost nothing remaining in the lower and upper registers. But, she made the most of it and on some songs such as 'Can't Get a Man with a Gun' at moments hit the old Hutton notes. She was emotionally raw, talked frankly about the "pills and the booze I had consumed" and hinted that she was getting her confidence back and she may try for a comeback of sorts ala: Bette Davis. We have not seen the likes of Betty Hutton and will not again. So unique - and she did it all: sang, danced, acted (drama and comedy) and major personality in interviews.

Betty Hutton sings all or part (medleys) of about 18 songs, the final documentation of Hutton at her best. The film biog was certainly routine and Ralph Meeker, a non-singer, dubbed, was miscast. He had a role somewhat like that of James Mason in Star is Born but nowhere the talent. He was dubbed with a Bing Crosby-like singing voice that also did not fit. Hutton was a spitfire in the dramatic scenes but Meeker was weak. I have read that the role was offered to Frank Sinatra but he was otherwise engaged in a film. What a different film it would have been. Sparks would have flown rather than the sparks coming only from the magnetic, truly one of a kind star, Betty Hutton. She did have vocal cord surgery and it left her not at all diminished and rather with more 'color.' As the years wore on her voice fragmented too rapidly because of the surgery, leaving her with little range by the late 1950's. Still, as of a few years ago on TCM when she was interviewed in depth, she was funny, poignant, incredibly honest and forthright. I have everything I can get on Betty - an incredible talent, never to be seen again.