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Sorry, this movie sucks

Excellent adaptation.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Terpsichore comes down from Parnassus to fix a Broadway show in which she is depicted in lowbrow fashion. Presumably after the war they could relax a bit but this really is a dire idea for a musical. The heavenly theme is carried over from "Here Comes Mr Jordan" (1941) - it allows Hayworth to make the transition from goddess to ordinary gal but the fantasy stuff is just too bogus and the putting-on-a-show stuff is dire (all the singing is dubbed). Hayworth looks good but gets better support from her Playtex than from Larry Parks, who is uncharismatic, and Edward Everett Horton who isn't funny - putting Horton in a military uniform was surely some kind of a mistake. Bizarrely bad.

Whimsical and colorful, a fantasy in which Terpsichore (Hayworth), the Greek muse of song and dance, comes to earth and lands a part in a play directed by Larry Park, pretending to be a chorine named Kitty Pendleton. She insists that the play be "artistic." Parks lets her have her way. The play is a dud in Philadelphia, so it's back to the original song-and-dance music in New York and tremendous success.I see no special reason to make this comment long or analytical. The movie is an attempt, not very original in execution, to imitate the success of the play and its film adaptation, "Here Comes Mister Jordan." There are multiple allusions to the earlier film.Rita Hayworth is at least as beautiful as she's ever been elsewhere. The rest of the cast is at least adequate.But there's nothing worth remembering about the movie except the colorful sets and the energy that drives the performances. It's a musical but the songs, by George Duning, are instantly forgettable, both in their tunes and lyrics. Nobody gets credit for the choreography, which may be just as well. A lot of élan that goes nowhere. It's not the fault of the dancers. Rita Hayworth was pretty good with Fred Astaire. And Marc Platt, as the second male lead, is shown to good advantage as one of the brothers in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". He's the one with the russet Van Dyke beard. But all this physical display seems pointless and unfocused here in the context of such unimaginative melodies and such formulaic devices as showing us that Larry Parks, not Marc Platt, is going to end up with the girl because Parks plays a major in the Air Force while Platt is only a captain.It's a constant surprise to see how heavily most musicals depend on their songs. Sometimes the libretto is itself worth attention, as with some of Comden and Greene, but more often the movie sinks or swims on its tunes. Not even three fine hoofers -- Gene Kelly, Michael Kidd, and Dan Dailey -- could save "It's Always Fair Weather." Kelly, by the way, would have at least brought some charm to this story. Parks is charmless.

They did an interesting thing with the character names that tie this movie to another Alexander Hall directed movie, "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", which Warren Beatty remade as "Heaven can Wait". Actor James Gleason is in both the 1941 "Jodan" and in the 1947 "Down to Earth" and he has the same name in both pictures, Max Corkle. In "Down to Earth" they have to come up with a stage name for Rita Hayworth's character and her agent Gleason/Corkle suggests the name "Pendleton" for the boxer Joe Pendleton, who Gleason/Corkle says came out of nowhere to win a championship. In "Jordan" James Gleason was a boxing manager by the name of Max Corkle and his fighter's name was... you guessed it... Joe Pendleton, played by Robert Montgomery in the roll Warren Beaty would later play.

Rita Hayworth shows why she was dubbed "The Love Goddess" in this technicolored musical fantasy incorporating some of the supporting players of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" to flesh out its plot about Terpsichore returning to earth to help producer (Larry Parks) put on a correct version of his mythological musical. Unfortunately, the script doesn't provide Larry Parks with a role up to his Jolson impersonations and the chemistry between them isn't quite enough to make this more than a routine musical.Rita is perfectly cast as a goddess and is at her most ravishing. She has several good dance routines which she performs with her customary grace and skill. Larry Parks, then riding the crest of his popularity after "The Jolson Story", does a workmanlike job in a lackluster role. But she steals as the spotlight as the Greek muse of the theater, unhappy about the way the nine Muses are being portrayed. Along with an angel (Edward Everett Horton), she is allowed to go down to earth in an attempt to give the show some class. It's a pleasant enough fantasy and gives Rita the chance to do some fancy footwork in dance routines staged by Jack Cole. The good cast includes Roland Culver, James Gleason and Marc Platt.For more about Rita, watch for my upcoming career article slated for publication in FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE sometime soon.