Coney Island

Betty Grable is a nightclub singer-dancer in turn-of-the-century Coney Island whose boss/boyfriend (Cesar Romero) is tricked into hiring his childhood friend/nemesis (George Montgomery) as a show manager. Montgomery is intent on making flashy, hyperkinetic Grable sing and dance like a lady, which she resists, but the results put stars in both their eyes, and soon Montgomery is planning on opening his own nightclub--with Grable as the star attraction. Fox musical was so popular, the studio remade it--with Grable--just seven years later as "Wabash Avenue". She's terrific here, snapping off her lines with streetwise cynicism, her beauty mark usually in a different location. Fox overloads the film's musical moments with specialty numbers--a Plantation number, a Louisiana showboat number, a Christmas number, an Irish number, etc.--but what really makes Grable shine are her ballads delivered standing still (just like her character is told to do). Montgomery is rather like a riverboat cardsharp--slick and cunning, he never elicits our feelings--but he's preferable to Romero, who acts with his teeth. Phil Silvers is less offensive than usual in support, and the soundtrack has some gems including "Cuddle Up a Little Closer", "Pretty Baby" and the title song. **1/2 from ****

Copyright 18 June 1943 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York release at the Roxy: 16 June 1943. U.S. release: 18 June 1943. Australian release: 20 July 1944. Lengths: 8,837 feet, 98 minutes (Australia); 8,666 feet, 96 minutes (U.S.A.). SYNOPSIS: Temporary tavern partners on Coney Island woo dumb blonde showgirl. Time: around 1910. NOTES: Newman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, but dipped out to Ray Heindorf's This Is the Army. COMMENT: The plot divides Coney Island into two neat sections. The first half is delightfully jolly. Newman really deserved his Oscar nomination, this first half is such an absolute wow, a nostalgic musical whizbang of zap evergreens, zestily orchestrated and zippily played. Playing the lead in her first really big solo hit (Coney Island grossed a staggering $3½ million in its initial domestic release), Betty Grable is outstandingly convincing as an ultra-dumb showgirl. Certainly an unusual role (Hollywood usually prefers heroines to compliment their physical charms with at least a modicum of intelligence), Betty draws it with bouncy gusto. Unfortunately, in the second half of the film, the character's circumstances change. True, she's as dumb as ever (which is a point in the script's favor), but instead of laughing at her stupidity as before, we are required to sympathize. The emphasis changes from ribaldry to sentiment. How stupidity can be sentimentalized beats me - it's a feat that taxed the powers of Bernard Shaw in Pygmalion - but Seaton has a crack at it anyway. As a result the plot falls apart. It's no longer believable. I mean no-one could be that dumb. Dramatically, the character's self-centered naivety is so appalling, the film's romance is a mere charade. What a pity Seaton didn't stay with comedy! Of course, the story is of secondary importance in a musical. The primary purpose of the device after all is to introduce more glamour into the film. This happens all right. But stunningly costumed and dazzlingly color-photographed as the production numbers are, they are much less entertaining than the rowdy, earthy, zesty simplicity of the vaudeville numbers they supplant. And they're even less interesting musically. Despite their elaborate staging, not one of the later songs is the least bit catchy. How we long to get back to Coney Island! But no! Betty is uptown, wallowing in anemic glamour. If only she would throw off a few sparks of her old rowdy self (in which she seemed to be limning a boisterous Betty Hutton impersonation), but she obviously loves the bland, demure bit, inviting us to sentimentalize with her stupidity which she now plays for tears rather than laughs. It doesn't work. Lang's blandly straightforward direction doesn't help. He too was obviously more interested in the strident vitality of the Coney scenes. When the action moves uptown, it is comparatively dull. George Montgomery makes a personable hero, while the rest of the support cast led by the delightful Phil Silvers, is a joy. We wish that Andrew Tombes had played the "banker" with less straight a face, but Charles Winninger, Paul Hurst, Frank Orth, Alec Craig, Dewey Robinson and Harry Masters are divertingly preposterous. Production values are magnificent, with superb photography, gaudy sets, opulent costumes - and that marvelous Fox sound. Perlberg remade the film (again with Grable in the lead) in 1950 as Wabash Avenue.

Sometimes it seemed that Fox had a patent on musicals set at the turn of the century with a plot that consisted of the two male leads constantly double crossing each other and/or pulling gags that were often as not kidding on the level; in some cases they were trying to get control of a business, often a club/theatre, and sometimes they were trying to beat the other's time with a woman and sometimes it was both at once. This is no exception with a back story that saw Cesar Romero con George Montgomery out of several grand. Now Romero is in the chips and owner of a profitable club in Coney Island. Montgomery turns up demanding a piece of the action and is brushed off, paving the way for a string of set ups. Caught in the middle is Betty Grable, a singer in Romero's club who both have eyes for. That's all there is to it except that this rivalry is punctuated by song and dance, some old, some new. If you like this sort of thing this is the sort of thing you'll like.

Get ready for a dated musical. Coney Island buys into every offensive stereotype, so only the die-hard Betty Grable fans need to watch it. There are black waiters in the saloon who sing and dance while serving the patrons, a perpetually drunk Irishman, a blackface production number, and a villain who actually strokes his mustache during his "mean" lines. Poor Charles Winninger, who normally plays lovable Irish characters, has to make fun of his heritage in every scene. He's always drinking, always drunk, and always ready for a fight. During a barfight, Charles is all bluff and doesn't even get in a single punch before passing out. He's lured awake again by the smell of whiskey. The main plot of the movie is the thievery of George Montgomery. He steals Cesar Romero's saloon by means of an elaborate deceit and blackmail. He repeatedly insults the lead performer, Betty Grable, and forces her to change her style by handcuffing her until she does his bidding. He lies, cheats, manipulates, and yet Betty prefers him to Cesar? Cesar is kind, respectful, and has the grace to be a good loser - and he's way cuter. This movie doesn't make sense. I never would have thought it, but Phil Silvers is the best part of the movie. Charles Winninger asks Phil Silvers his choice at the bar, and Phil says, "Nothing. Just breathe in my face. That'll be enough." In the most hilarious scene, he tries to communicate a secret message to his business partner George and ad-libs a song with funny lyrics. If you love Betty Grable and Phil Silvers, you can try renting this, but it really doesn't stand the test of time well.

Nothing like a 20th Century Fox musical for color and energy! Coney Island, remade later as Wabash Avenue, stars Betty Grable. Grable stars here with George Montgomery, Cesar Romero, Phil Silvers, and Charles Winninger. The story is one of rivalry and deceit and un-pc segments. Grable looks gorgeous. She so vivacious and sparkly, it's no wonder she was so popular. The acting is good - I love Phil Silvers, he's always funny. Montgomery and Romero were so handsome, they made good rivals for Betty's affection. The music was nothing to write home about, though the scenes when Betty was working for Hammerstein were lavish. Enjoyable. I have a statement: I again protest at Turner Classic Movie trying to rewrite history. Their books, the 50 Greatest Leading Men and the 50 Greatest Leading Ladies don't include actors who were pretty much exclusive to 20th Century Fox. Betty Grable was in the top 10 box office for 10 years, and she's not included. Tyrone Power was the 21st most popular male in film history, and that includes Harrison Ford, Hanks, Cruise, etc. According to the Cogerson Book, the 50 Greatest Stars: Statistically Speaking, and he didn't make it either. When TCM did a documentary on 1939, they quickly mentioned Jesse James was #4 box office that year - very quickly. After all, they don't own it. (I realize that the top box office lists aren't all the same).

Color films were at a premium during the war years, but when one of the reigning sex symbols of the era was starring in a film, the technicolor cameras were rolling. In Coney Island, the better to catch Betty Grable's blond All Americans looks and those gorgeous legs of her's, on prominent display as a turn of the last century entertainer working in a club in Coney Island. A few years earlier the roles played by George Montgomery and Cesar Romero would have gone to Tyrone Power and Don Ameche. But both these guys would never have been second billed to Betty Grable now and this film is strictly her show. Romero is a club owner in Coney Island where former partner and rival George Montgomery tries to chisel in. But one look at Grable who Romero considered his and they become rivals in love as well as business. Montgomery totally had Ty Power's hero/heel character right down to perfection. It's so obvious that his part was originally written for Power. 1943 was the year Power went in the Marines so I really think it likely. Brooklyn had two landmarks of note that the world knew about. One was Ebbets Field where the Dodgers played and the other was that entertainment mecca, Coney Island. The Dodgers are gone and Coney Island looks a bit frayed around the edges, but you can still see some traces of the glamor of the period that Betty and the cast are portraying. At least Nathan's Hotdogs is still operating though they wouldn't come into being until long after the era that this film is set in was over. Coney Island had some original songs written by the former Paramount team of Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, but the interpolated period songs gave Betty Grable her best vocal opportunities. Her rendition of Cuddle Up A Little Closer is a classic and the song after almost 40 years enjoyed a bit of a revival then. Betty didn't join in it though because Darryl Zanuck banned his stars from commercial recordings. Scoring the whole business was done by Alfred Newman who received an Academy Award nomination for his work. He actually won an Oscar that year, but for scoring the dramatic picture, The Song Of Bernadette. The plot is thin, but the players put it over and Coney Island is one of Betty Grable's best films from the height of her career.

Despite a slow start and trifling plot, "Coney Island" turns out to be One of Betty Grable's most sheerly exuberant musicals and another shimmering, glossily produced, exquisitely Technicolored Fox tuner set in the Gay 90s, directed with chic elegance by Walter Lang. Betty is wonderful all the way and gave what she had as Kate Farley, the stage show entertainer/singer who is transformed by George Montgomery into a classy Broadway star with musical and vocal talents, despite the protests from Kate's manager, played by Cesar Romero. Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers and Hurst are the capably eccentric supporting players. The songs and numbers are joyously, spectacularly staged, including the unforgettable "Cuddle Up a Little Closer", "Pretty Baby", "There's Danger in a Dance", "Beautiful Coney Island", "Put Your Arms Around Me", and "Lulu from Louisville."

I remember a fun energetic guy who tricks and plays jokes on an old buddy. There is a woman that works for his buddy. He ends up falling in love with a her and at the same time he changes her reputation as an actor to be a real star.It turns out that his buddy plays a joke right back and well.... you should watch it.

Eddie (George Montgomery) arrives at a nightclub owned by old friend Joe (Cesar Romero) and asks to become a partner in his business. Joe's girlfriend/protégé, Kate (Betty Grable) is a singer at the club and the story follows how these 2 men fight over her and her transformation from a trashy performer into a classy performer. The film is only interesting when Betty Grable is performing. Thankfully, she sings and dances in quite a few numbers, so saving this film from being bad. George Montgomery is terrible as the lead - very cheesy - and the supporting characters - Finnigan (Charles Winninger) as a drunken Irishman and Frankie (Phil Silvers as his usual self) - are annoying. The only characters with any credibility are Cesar Romero and Betty Grable and they save this film from being a complete turkey. The colour is good, the songs are good and Betty Grable single-handedly brings the film into the overall "ok" category.

CONEY ISLAND was such a successful Fox musical that seven years later it was turned into another starring vehicle for Grable called WABASH AVENUE. It's a breezy turn-of-the-century show biz tale about two Coney Island hucksters and the tricks they play on each other to win patrons at their establishments. Betty is the brassy singer with the garish costumes and exaggerated singing/dancing style that Montgomery has to tone down by tying her to a prop so she can't move but has to deliver her ballad ("Cuddle Up A Little Closer") without gyrating all over the stage. Naturally, the love/hate relationship blooms into romance with Grable and Montgomery making a pleasing match as a team. Lost of comedy relief from PHIL SILVERS and CHARLES WINNINGER, some nice song and dance numbers for Grable, and the whole backstage story is easy to take, the usual misunderstandings and schemes backfiring before the fadeout to a happy ending. For BETTY GRABLE's fans, this one has to be rated one of her best.