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Very disappointing...

Fresh and Exciting

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Arthur Lubin's entertaining but sophomoric comedy western "The First Traveling Saleslady" casts Oscar-winning actress Ginger Rogers are a corset salesperson in the Old West. James Arness and Clint Eastwood co-star. Initially, our heroine Miss Rose Gillray (Ginger Rogers of "Kitty Foyle") with the help of her friend Molly Wade (Carol Channing of "Skidoo") establish the Gillray Corset Company in New York City and persuade sell to theatrical producer Martin Schlessinger (Fred Essler of "G.I. Blues") stage a revue with ladies in their corsets. Schlessinger likes the idea, especially after Rose hints that if he doesn't want to that she can find another producer. Just as Schlessinger had feared, the ladies of the Purity League form a picket line to protest what they consider to be scandalous apparel, and the police shut down the show. Drowning in debt, Rose refuses to sneak out of town as one of her employees suggests, and she goes directly to see one of her biggest creditors, James Carter (David Brian of "Flamingo Road"), who owns the Carter Steel Company. Steel is an integral part of all corsets. When she tries to see Carter, he brushes her off while he complains to Teddy Roosevelt (Ed Cassidy of "Boss of Rawhide") that he cannot make any headway selling barbwire in Texas. The biggest cattleman in Texas, Joel Kingdom (James Arness of "Flame of the Islands"), refuses to buy it, and salesmen who try to sell it often wind up hanged. Rose exploits this predicament as an opportunity to eliminate her debt to Carter, and she argues that she can sell all of Carter's barbwire. Carter admires Rose's spirit, but he thinks that she is biting off more than she can chew. Nevertheless, Rose sneaks out of New York with Carter's barbwire hidden in boxes with her corsets stenciled on them. The primary objection that Kingdom and everybody else in Texas raise is that cattle will suffer being hemmed in by the barbwire. At one point, Kingdom has the local sheriff incarcerate Rose and Molly. Throughout the picture, Rose repeatedly encounters a man in a car, Charles Masters (Barry Nelson of "The Shining"), and he usually complicates matters for her. He crashes into her horse and buggy, and they wind up riding to her New York corset headquarters with Rose's horse pulling Masters' broken-down car. A running joke between them is Charles' ridicule of Rose's feminism. Ultimately, these two cross paths with each other again and again, while Rose brushes off the amorous advances of both Carter and Kingdom. Meanwhile, when they arrive at a hotel in Kansas City where the Cattlemen's Association has convened a meeting, Molly meets a handsome army lieutenant, Lieutenant Jack Rice (Clint Eastwood of "Star in the Dust"), who is recruiting men for Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Mind you, the cattlemen abhor the idea of barbwire because it will hurt their livestock. Eventually, Kingdom has our heroines locked up. Later, after he learns about Molly being thrown in jail, Lieutenant Rice rides in like the cavalry to save the day. Everything concludes with a jury trial to champion the idea that barbwire won't harm cattle. Rose calls on Mexicans to testify at the trial. She wants to prove her point that cattle aren't harmed by barbwire."The First Traveling Saleslady" is no great shakes as westerns go, but it is definitely amusing fluff.

One of the last films to be made at RKO Studios, THE FIRST TRAVELING SALESLADY can boast a startling cast but very little else. Its star, Ginger Rogers, was only slightly exaggerating both ways when she said that she'd been there at the studio's beginnings and was there at its end. She's the saleslady of the title, selling barbed wire in Texas in the year 1897 while throwing her voice. I don't believe that they stole this plot idea from anywhere. Carol Channing is Ginger's buddy, a model (of corsets, not barbed wire dresses) who sings the only song in the movie while playing the traditional comic sidekick. James Arness is the villain who's not all that villainy, really, and seems to be having more fun playing the role than he ever did while playing Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years. Barry Nelson is around as an automobile inventor and love interest for Ginger, but most attention will go to Clint Eastwood in a small role as a cavalry officer who's smitten by...Carol Channing! With Channing, Rogers and Arness in the cast, genuine idols of stage, screen and television respectively, what audience of 1956 would ever have guessed that Clint Eastwood would wind up the biggest idol of them all? Perhaps Clint himself had an inkling, as he flashes more smiles in his small role than he did in pretty much the rest of his career.The movie itself is a mild comedy which is pleasant enough for an hour or so before becoming quite tedious during its final half hour. THE FIRST TRAVELING SALESLADY ranks low on everyone's resume though probably not at the bottom of anyone's. It's a harmless way to while away the time, but that's about it.

I am a huge Ginger Rogers fan. How that studio let her down. Did anyone else notice that they made her talk different to make her appear younger. She was 45-46 years old. I believe a woman of her age could do anything she sets her mind to do. But was it necessary to change her so much. Her hair was so brassy, voice too high. Who were they kidding. She was a beautiful woman, with a sultry voice. They should of showed the true Ginger and this film would have survived a much better rating. Good to see Clint Eastwood and James Arness. They looked great, even though their characters were fairly weak. Carol Channing what a dud. Who did the hiring of this cast. Her voice is enough to send you. Oh, she may of had the best lines but her acting ability was poor. And she was 9 years old than Eastwood. In real life no man like Eastwood would have anything to do with that Molly character. I hate it for Ginger. Those loyal fans will always remember the true Ginger. The one we miss on screen.

RKO went out of business after this movie was made and it is no wonder. Carol Channing is a beast; Ginger Rogers, James Arness, and Clint Eastwood are nearly hopeless. It has got to be the direction and the script because all four are good actors - not to mention all of the very good supporting actors that appear. The plot is almost too silly to be believed and I found myself wishing it would end soon, it is embarrassingly weak. If it were a musical it could at least have some irrational premise that might make it worthwhile, but no such luck. Redeeming features: the costumes, and the chance to see a real star (Ginger Rogers) in action, she is a true professional; rising stars like Channing, Arness, and Eastwood. But don't set the VCR to record.