Doll Face

Some good talent here, but all have done better and some are not used particularly well. 'Doll Face' is watchable, mostly for curiosity or for any musical fan who wants to continue to find more to watch, but while there are good things here one couldn't help feeling that it could have been better than it turned out.

'Doll Face' is nicely photographed, and has very professional-looking set and costume design. Would have preferred for it to be in colour, and numbers like "Chico Chico" cried out for it, but depending on budget and such not every musical or film can have the benefit of being in colour. It would have been more preferable but it made do, the film still looks nice enough (if not giving the wow factor) without it.

The songs are lovely and pass the memorability test, the highlights being "Walking in My Dreams", "Dig You Later" and "Here Comes Heaven Again" and all three are sung beautifully and performed with spirit. In terms of choreography, most not much to write home about but Miranda's big production number captivates in its energy. The cast are a very mixed bag, but faring best are a hilariously sparkling Carmen Miranda and vivacious Martha Stewart. Dennis O'Keefe also tries hard and does have moments of amusement.

On the other hand, Vivian Blaine is a polished but passionless lead, and while Perry Como looks handsomely and sings exquisitely (then again when did he ever not?) he's pretty bland and doesn't look very at ease. That is true with much of the male cast actually, the roles are underwritten and people may also object to the way they're written too, sexism has been brought up in a couple of comments and understandably (the male characters' attitudes towards women doesn't really hold up now and be a sour note for a fair few).

"Chico Chico" aside, the choreography is very routine aside, most of the numbers being so indifferently choreographed and directed, as well as confined, that the one with the most energy and the most cinematic-feeling feels over-produced in comparison. The story makes thin ice seem thick and feels plodding and dreary in the non-musical scenes, and was expecting more energy and wit from the script here which felt bland.

Overall, worthwhile enough curiosity but unremarkable and had a lot of room to be much better. 5/10 Bethany Cox

To call "Doll Face" dated would be an understatement. First of all, it deals with burlesque. Secondly, Dennis O'Keefe recommends hitting women to keep them in line. And third, and most egregious, lyrics of one song celebrate the bombing the Japanese.

Vivian Blaine, called Doll Face, real name Mary Elizabeth, plays a queen of burlesque who auditions for a Broadway musical, only to be recognized by one of her patrons.

Though she's a lovely singer, she's rejected for the show because the producers don't feel she has enough class for their production. Nowadays they would put a chimpanzee in a Broadway musical if they thought he could make money, so there's another indication that this is an old movie.

Her boyfriend (O'Keefe) decides she should ghost-write her autobiography and, after using a lot of high-faluting language, she'll be classy enough for Broadway. The man he hires, however (Michael Dunne), becomes interested in Doll Face, and not just as a client. Problems ensue.

For me, this film was interesting because of the presence of a very young, extremely adorable Perry Como. I grew up with him, every Saturday night, and it was a delight to see him and hear him sing. He had a beautiful voice, singing "Red, Hot, and Beautiful," "Here Comes Heaven Again," and "Dig You Later."

Martha Stewart, a vivacious performer, did an energetic job as someone wanting to take Doll Face's place. And Carmen Miranda was...Carmen Miranda, singing "Chico Chico."

There were lots of numbers in this film and not much story. The music was by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson and was pleasant.

It was just hard to get past extolling domestic abuse and bombing innocent people. Don't get me wrong. The Japanese government was very aggressive against the U. S., and what they did in China was atrocious.

However, that was their government, and not its citizens, who were told Japan was winning. The bombing remains controversial. And it doesn't belong in a song.

This film wastes the talents of Vivian Blaine and Carmen Miranda. Evidently produced right after the end of World War II, Fox didn't care to spend the money on Technicolor, and "cherry blonde" Blaine and flamboyant Miranda should have never been photographed in black and white.

The score is ho-hum. The composers did a much better job on the previous film "Nob Hill" also produced in 1945 in Technicolor and also starring Blaine, with two superb ballads, even though the songs are nearly forgotten today.

Miranda is given only one performance, with the typical tropical theme, a boring song, again losing a lot without Technicolor.

So why did Fox bother? I suppose when you have people under contract, one has to use them somehow in something. Perhaps if the burlesque subject matter had been played up and more burlesque comedy used this film might have ended up a better product.

I came across this movie only as an inclusion in the Carmen Miranda Collection, and I am commenting here for those in the same situation, who are wondering if this is worth having.

As for Carmen: she sings one number, "Chico Chico (from Porto Rico!)", which features a lot of dancing with the chorus. The main drawback as far as Carmen is concerned is that the film is in black and white, and we are deprived of some of the gaudiness and festiveness that we expect from her participation in a movie. I know that Technicolor was expensive, but it seems bizarre for Fox to have made black and white musicals after the public came to expect color, and to cast the colorful Carmen Miranda in them! A better number was excised from the movie, but included in the Special Features --- Carmen wears her famous outfit with the phallic lighthouse atop her head (which lights up on the downbeats at the end of the song), and the number is done in a burlesque style on a runway. Carmen gets quite a bit of dialogue in this movie, and is actually integrated into the plot, not just a nightclub performer as in some films (like "Down Argentine Way"). I wish she were given more musical numbers to do, though. One funny bit (five seconds long) has Carmen's character, "Chita," disparagingly mimic Carmen Miranda!

The movie itself is watchable and has some fun moments, but on the whole suffers from a bland cast. Vivian Blaine lacked the spark of an Alice Faye or Betty Grable, the other Fox stars of the day, and came across as brittle and not particularly likable. The leading men, including Perry Como, were also uninteresting, and there is even a misogynistic undertone to the movie, with male characters bragging about beating their girlfriends to keep them in line. There is something wince-inducing about seeing bland Perry Como threaten to beat his girlfriend, who gets turned on by it! As for the music, there are a couple of serviceable numbers, but they are reprised to death -- I found myself muttering "oh no, not this one again" by the middle of the movie. Como and Blaine's "Hubba Hubba" duet was the only number which for me was fresh and fun, and not overdone.

In general, this is not a terrible or unpleasant film, but is not one many would want to rewatch. As another commenter noted, the melodrama seems to take over at times, and for me, the characters are not sympathetic or likable enough for me to get drawn in by the non-musical aspects of the plot. If you are wondering whether this adds anything of value to the Carmen Miranda collection --- in my opinion, it is only a very minor addition.

A wartime soufflé from a play by Gypsy Rose Lee (as Louise Hovick), DOLL FACE features a lightweight plot with some snappy dialogue and delivery among the clichés, while director Lewis Seiler's vision is properly focused upon contemporary swing music, highlighting the vocal skill of Vivian Blaine, Perry Como, Carmen Miranda and Martha Stewart (no, not that one). The scenario has as its primary business a rocky romance between Doll Face Carroll (Blaine), a burlesque queen, and her manager, Mike Hannegan (the stalwart Dennis O'Keefe), along with the latter's efforts to boost his proletarian protégé into the realm of operetta. Seiler manages to remain faithful to the story line while seamlessly blending in the many musical numbers which, interestingly enough, prove more of a showcase for the perky Stewart and smooth Como than for the top-billed and certainly very pleasant Blaine; the production number for Miranda is a wild one, indeed.