Variety Girl

Director: George Marshall

Overview

This story of two young hopefuls who come to Hollywood is merely a thin device to feature almost every star working for Paramount Studios in 1947. Mary Hatcher plays Catherine Brown, a woman of humble origins who arrives in Hollywood, where she meets another wanna-be movie star, Amber La Vonne (Olga San Juan). They work their way through the Paramount studios, trying to impress every important person. Mostly, the film is a cavalcade of songs by various stars that take place at several studio and Hollywood locations, including the famous Brown Derby restaurant. Many of the film's songs were written by Frank Loesser. Dorothy Lamour and Alan Ladd sing "Tallahassee"; Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play golf and sing a duet, "Harmony"; the Original Dixieland Jazz Band plays "Tiger Rag"; and a host of other top performers of the era appear in brief cameos. ~ Michael Betzold

Product Details

Release Date:	09/02/2014
UPC:	0025192235894
Original Release:	1947
Source:	Universal Mod
Presentation:	[B&W, Colorized]
Time:	1:33:00
Sales rank:	27,628

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eric Alden	Makeup man
Olga San Juan	Amber LaVonne
DeForest Kelley	Bob Kirby
Mary Hatcher	Catherine Brown
Frank Faylen	Stage Manager
Frank Ferguson	J.R. O'Connell
Gary Cooper	Guest
MacDonald Carey	Himself
Bing Crosby	Guest Star
Cass Daley	Herself
Howard Da Silva	Himself
Edgar Dearing	Cop
William Demarest	Barker
Billy DeWolfe	Himself
Ann Doran	Hairdresser
Pinto Colvig	Special voice impersonation
Stanley Clements	Himself
William Bendix	Himself
Barry Fitzgerald	Guest
Mona Freeman	Herself
Paulette Goddard	Herself
Johnny Coy	Himself
Joan Caulfield	Guest
Sterling Hayden	Himself
Jerry James	Assistant Director
Roberta Jonay	Girl
Dick Keene	Dog Trainer
Cecil Kellaway	Himself
Patric Knowles	Himself
Alan Ladd	Himself
Veronica Lake	Guest
Dorothy Lamour	Herself
Burt Lancaster	Guest
John Lund	Himself
Diana Lynn	Herself
Frank Mayo	Director
Torben Meyer	Andre, the Headwaiter at Brown Derby
Ray Milland	Himself
Jack Norton	Busboy at Brown Derby
Nanette Parks	Herself
Elaine Riley	Cashier
Gail Russell	Guest
Lizabeth Scott	Herself
Barbara Stanwyck	Guest
Glenn Tryon	Bill Farris
Sonny Tufts	Himself
Charles Victor	Assistant to Mr. O'Connell
Nella Walker	Mrs. Webster
Richard Webb	Himself
Arleen Whelan	Herself
Patricia Barry	Actor
Pat Moran	Drunken Tumbling Act
Jimmy Mulcay	Actor
Albert Ruiz	Specialty Dancer
William Snyder	Actor
George Marshall	Actor
Sally Rawlinson	Actor
Barney Dean	Actor
Renee Randall	Usherette
Mitchell Leisen	Himself
Pearl Bailey	Specialty
Spike Jones	Himself
Mikhail Rasumny	Himself
Virginia Welles	Herself
George Reeves	Himself
Wanda Hendrix	Herself
Roger Dann	Himself
Lucille Barkley	Secretary
Carolyn Butler	Secretary
Russell Hicks	Man at steambath
Crane Whitley	Man at steambath
Charles Coleman	Man at steambath
Hal K. Dawson	Man at steambath
Len Hendry	Man at steambath
Lorin Raker	Man at Steambath
Sammy Stein	Masseur
John Stanley	Specialty dancer
Joel Friend	Specialty dancer
Bob Alden	Autograph Seeker
Willa Pearl Curtis	Sister Jenkins
Mildred Boyd	Sister Jenkins' Daughter
Audrey Saunders	One of the Six DeWaynes
Ray Saunders	One of the Six DeWaynes
Raymond Largay	Director of Variety Club
Alma Macrorie	Proprietress
Duke Johnson	Juggler
Catherine Craig	Secretary
Walter Abel	Himself
June Harris	Herself
Cecil B. DeMille	Himself
Eddie Fetherstone	Man at steambath
Spike Jones Orchestra	Actor
Mildred Mulcay	Actor

Technical Credits

George Marshall	Director
Monte Brice	Screenwriter
Robert Clatworthy	Art Director
Sam Comer	Set Decoration/Design
William Cottrell	Makeup
Billy Daniels	Choreography
Daniel Dare	Producer
Ross Dowd	Set Decoration/Design
Hans Dreier	Art Director
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
Edmund L. Hartmann	Screenwriter
Edith Head	Costumes/Costume Designer
Gordon Jennings	Special Effects
Joseph Lilley	Score Composer,Musical Direction/Supervision
Lionel Lindon	Cinematographer
Frank Loesser	Score Composer
Dorothy O'Hara	Costumes/Costume Designer
George Pal	Makeup
Bernard Pearce	Choreography
Edward Plumb	Score Composer
LeRoy Stone	Editor
Frank Tashlin	Screenwriter
George Templeton	Asst. Director
Stuart Thompson	Cinematographer
Robert L. Welch	Screenwriter
Wally Westmore	Makeup

Editorial Reviews

Hollywood had a love affair with the revue form but also mistrusted it intensely. Thus, they would produce many films like Variety Girl, essentially a revue but saddled with a flimsy plot to loosely connect (and give an excuse for) a number of songs and skits. Variety is a middling effort in the genre, an uneven excursion that sometimes soars and sometimes falls flat on its face. Among the highlights are a delightful George Pal puppetoon sequence built around the song "Romeow and Julicat"; Pearl Bailey lazily spilling out the languorously amusing "Tired"; the "Harmony" finale with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby; and the sight of Paulette Goddard clothed in soap bubbles. On the flip side, there's some annoying work from Spike Jones, a number of dated and decidedly unfunny skits, and the sight (and sound) of Alan Ladd trying to get through "Tallahassee." Mary Hatcher is quite good as the nominal star of the film, more than holding her own against the cavalcade of cameos and guest stars. There's nothing she can do with the flimsy plot and dialogue that is dull when not inane.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler