The seemingly over caffeinated Betty Hutton had a personality all her own, yet made a habit of playing other famous entertainers. Whether Texas Guinan or Annie Oakley or Blossom Seeley, she added a unique touch to these classic performer's lives. Here, she's silent serial queen Pearl White, tied to the tracks or hanging onto a tree branch coming out of a very high cliff. And this being Betty Hutton, she gets to sing too, in this case some rather jazzy songs by future Broadway legend Frank Loesser. Veteran comedy director George Marshall turns this into a rip-roaring view of Hollywood 101 when everything you saw on screen was dangerously done with little or no special effects.
From laundry worker to big player on the stage to chapter play star, Pearl White's story pretty much fits the standard of all those other movie musicals. How accurate is it? That probably doesn't matter because it's very energetic and entertaining, focusing on a movie funny girl that is probably not for all tastes and has somewhat dated. There's the usual love interest (John Lund), a snooty but wise grand dame (Constance Collier), a Griff film director (William Demarest) and the effete sidekick (Billy DeWolfe), but it's pretty much Betty demanding the attention. The only difference is that here, she commands it too.
As a document on the early days of movie making, it's fascinating, with cameos by surviving silent comics adding to the authenticity, just like 1939's "Hollywood Cavalcade". Collier is hysterical going from serious stage actress to pie in the puss receiving movie actress, a much publicized comedown during the baby years of the flickers. Hutton goes from jazzy numbers to ballads easily, with "Papa Don't Preach to Me!" (no relation to the Madonna song) the standout. This makes a great document of an industry that was just taking off a hundred years ago, showing how far (for better or worse) the industry has come.
From laundry worker to big player on the stage to chapter play star, Pearl White's story pretty much fits the standard of all those other movie musicals. How accurate is it? That probably doesn't matter because it's very energetic and entertaining, focusing on a movie funny girl that is probably not for all tastes and has somewhat dated. There's the usual love interest (John Lund), a snooty but wise grand dame (Constance Collier), a Griff film director (William Demarest) and the effete sidekick (Billy DeWolfe), but it's pretty much Betty demanding the attention. The only difference is that here, she commands it too.
As a document on the early days of movie making, it's fascinating, with cameos by surviving silent comics adding to the authenticity, just like 1939's "Hollywood Cavalcade". Collier is hysterical going from serious stage actress to pie in the puss receiving movie actress, a much publicized comedown during the baby years of the flickers. Hutton goes from jazzy numbers to ballads easily, with "Papa Don't Preach to Me!" (no relation to the Madonna song) the standout. This makes a great document of an industry that was just taking off a hundred years ago, showing how far (for better or worse) the industry has come.