Sensations of 1945 Reviews

Basically an excuse for a potpourri of vaudeville acts and musical numbers, the plot of this entertaining musical deals with the conflict between Pallette, an old-fashioned, anything-goes press agent, and his conservative son, O'Keefe. The latter wants to make deals with dignity, while Pallette is all flair and bombast. To confound his progeny and teach him a lesson, Pallette turns over the operating reins of his firm to a client, dancer Powell, who has even wilder notions than he. Her promotional peregrinations get her into a great deal of trouble, finally landing her in jail, where junior bails her out. A fun show-business saga featuring an amazing variety of turns, from rope-walkers through performing horses, with lots of dancing and music. W.C. Fields is superb in an all-too-short cameo in this, his last film appearance. Powell went into virtual retirement following this film; she had gotten married to actor Glenn Ford the year prior to its release. She did dancing cameos in THE GREAT MORGAN (1946) (but her appearance in that film was comprised of out-takes from an earlier film) and in THE DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950), an Esther Williams vehicle. The film earned an Oscar nomination for its score. Songs by Al Sherman and Harry Tobias include "Mister Hepster's Dictionary," "Wake Up Man You're Slippin'," "One Love," "Kiss Serenade," "No Never," "Spin Little Pin Ball," and the Sophie Tucker standard "You Can't Sew a Button on a Heart."