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So much average

Just perfect...

Good concept, poorly executed.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Vera-Ellen, David Niven, and Cesar Romero star in "Happy Go Lovely," a 1951 British musical.It's a backstage musical about a show being done in Scotland, the money problems of the director/producer (Romero), and plenty of mistaken identity all around.The story is light and cute, and pretty Vera-Ellen dances beautifully. My problem with this film is the actual musical. It looked lousy, with hackneyed dance routines for the chorus, and the music was forgettable. If it had a few numbers like the musical in "Band Wagon," it would have knocked the film up a few levels and the copyright might have been renewed.Thanks to the cast of Vera-Ellen, Romero, and David Niven, it is quite pleasant. Hard to see graceful and lovely Vera-Ellen without thinking of her sad life, plagued by anorexia, arthritis, and the loss of a child. She was a gentle presence on the screen with beautiful dance ability.

As a lightweight British post-war comedy, it's fine. David Niven's really charming, Vera-Ellen's trying like crazy. As a musical, it's very odd. There's nearly no 'musical' in it, and when you finally get to the two on-stage numbers near the end, you'll be glad. There's one long imitation Gene Kelly odyssey piece about a little girl in a big city that's strangely small and mean and bad. It looks like it should at the start, but I'd swear there wasn't any choreography design per se, just the general idea of a Kelly avant-garde set. Large scope, small stage, and the routines are so disjointed, you'll wonder how dancers learned the sequences. But as a comedy, it's quite adequate. Vera-Ellen mostly shines as she usually does though it looks like a bit of a struggle to hold onto the lead position. Fortunately for her, pretty soon she'll get a boost from David Niven. He's really the reason you'd want to see this movie, he just couldn't be more forthright, very plainly happy to be there. Caesar Romero's miscast but he's also obviously happy to be working. Both those big presences, Niven's nuanced, Romero's steamrolling, make this a piece of film worth keeping. And of course, as always, the number one attraction is how Vera-Ellen wore the clothes!

While this takes place at the Edinburgh Festival which started in 1947, I think it is a production suitable for the Fringe, which was originally a group of eight theater companies rejected by the Festival who set up around the edges. The movie makes it clear this is NOT the highbrow entertainment the Festival had in mind! It's one step above Springtime for Hitler but that's about the best that could be said for it UNTIL the lead quits just short of starvation and Vera-Ellen is put in because of her supposed connections to wealth. Cesar Romero's character reminded me very strongly of the character Walter Abel played in Holiday Inn, the hyperactive promoter.So how is this different from other movies of its kind? It has Scottish actors playing locals not whimsical characters (the only kilt is on Romero) and a cast of Brits of various stripes. I don't know a lot about the British theater of the time but from the few I looked up I'd say they had an embarrassment of riches in the cast and a British audience back then would have seen something different from what I saw.It has Vera-Ellen dancing her pretty little toes off. It has suave and smiling David Niven which isn't exactly common for a musical. And it has some acting that is genuine. The leads don't behave in the usual feather-headed way that we are used to in these mixed identity plots. The fellow is enjoying the situation and not a bit upset at the deception. There's no declaration of, "You are the only one who is totally honest with me," and then the tiresome, "How can I ever trust you again?" The gal confesses to him before it is absolutely necessary and she isn't angry with him when she finds out who he is. In short, they act pretty much the same way normal folks might act in a similarly bizarre situation and I found that refreshing.I looked up how much that check would be in today's money and it was BIG.Vera-Ellen was so talented, her dancing seemingly so effortless. And that rich deep voice, such a contrast to what one might expect from someone her size--definitely different from her delightfully offbeat roommate's voice.I would have liked more Edinburgh shots but this was a nation still struggling up out of the pit, still rationing some items, still dealing with destruction. So you get what you get and in that it's more Holyrood than Hollywood. If you want more of Scotland of the period, albeit rural Scotland, I'd suggest I Know Where I'm Going, from 1945. And for a movie showing some good outdoor scenes in England I'd suggest Passport to Pimlico, 1949, or The Titfield Thunderbolt, 1953.

In Scotland, for the Edinburgh Festival, chorus girl Vera-Ellen (as Janet Jones) mistakes millionaire David Niven (as B.G. Bruno) for a newspaper reporter. "Happy Go Lovely" has them falling predictably in love, with the dubious threat of mistaken identity threatening their relationship. She makes Mr. Niven want to "dance and sing and climb trees," but only off-camera, apparently. While the plot is flat-footed, some of the professional dancers perform well, with the extended London street sequence a highlight. Other than that, watch for Vera-Ellen and a bevy of bare-legged women.**** Happy Go Lovely (3/6/51) Bruce Humberstone ~ Vera-Ellen, David Niven, Caesar Romero, Bobby Howes