Footlight Serenade (1942)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Gregory Ratoff

Writers:

Kenneth Earl (story)
Robert Ellis (writer)

Release Date:

1 August 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

A boxing champ gets involved with a Broadway show and a shapely chorine...who's engaged to his new sparring partner.

Plot Keywords:

Broadway Show | Boxer | Beautiful Woman

Cast

John Payne	...	William J. 'Bill' Smith
Betty Grable	...	Pat Lambert
Victor Mature	...	Tommy Lundy
Jane Wyman	...	Flo La Verne
James Gleason	...	Bruce McKay
Phil Silvers	...	Slap
Cobina Wright	...	Estelle Evans (as Cobina Wright Jr.)
June Lang	...	June
Frank Orth	...	Mike the stage doorman
Mantan Moreland	...	Amos. Tommy's Dresser (as Manton Moreland)
Irving Bacon	...	Stagehand
Charles Tannen	...	Charlie, Stage manager
George Dobbs	...	Frank, Dance director

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Surprisingly, given her ascending popularity with moviegoers at the time, Betty Grable was billed second to John Payne in this movie. However, poster art for the picture emphasized Betty in full figure. Later that year, Miss Grable would receive top billing over Mr. Payne in their next musical, Springtime in the Rockies (1942).

Quotes:

Bruce McKay: She's closed up more nightclubs than the chief of police!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Betty Grable: Behind the Pin-up" (1995)

Soundtrack:

I'M STILL CRAZY FOR YOU

Boxing Meets Broadway

Betty Grable at the point in her career when she made Footlight Serenade was just starting to be known as the GIs number one pin-up girl.

Stardom came late for her, she had been in films for more than ten years. But when it came she became the biggest female star in films. With her singing and dancing and all around good cheer, Footlight Serenade is a classic example of what put her at the top.

Grable gets able support by John Payne and Victor Mature. Payne was also hitting his stride as Fox's singing Tyrone Power and he and Grable have some nice if forgettable tunes. Payne's rival here is Victor Mature also a rising leading man for Darryl Zanuck.

Mature's character is interesting. He's the heavyweight champion of the world, but a champ far more interested in the night life than in his trade. In fact at the beginning of the film, comedian Phil Silvers says to producer James Gleason, Mature has charisma the women are nuts about him, let's put him on stage. Gleason agrees and the film and its situations commence.

I'm convinced that Victor Mature's role is based on former heavyweight champion Max Baer. Baer was one of the 1930s most colorful characters and worthy of a good sports biography. As a boxer there was nothing he didn't lack including a murderous punch that two fatalities could be chalked up to. It was said that Baer lost the killer instinct after that even though he later became heavyweight champion in 1934, beating Primo Carnera. Baer's reign as champion was one long party, just like Mature's character seems to be having. After a year of good times Baer decided to get back in the ring and realizing he was out of shape told his managers to get him a good tune-up fight. The opponent they dug up for him was James J. Braddock who was an unemployed longshoreman in the Depression who took up boxing to feed his family.

Well Braddock the Cinderella Man as he was dubbed beat Max Baer in 1935 and even though he lost in his first title defense to Joe Louis, the Cinderella Man became the stuff of legends. That Cinderella Man moniker got used in another popular film while Braddock was champion and I think Sly Stallone had Braddock in mind when he created the Rocky character.

Oddly enough both Baer and Victor Mature never took themselves too seriously. Baer had a show business career himself and he lived and partied hardy. I think Mature was able to capture this in the role very well.

But it's a Grable picture and for her fans, a real treat.