Betty Hutton: Double Feature, Vol. 1 (1945)

Great Value

The Stork Club is the first film on this disk, but the quality leaves something to be desired. However, it is still watchable, and since no better prints exist, it suffices. Hutton plays Judy Peabody, a hat check girl at the Stork Club who saves a man from drowning (Barry Fitzgerald). His Irish brogue and simple ways make her think he is poor, so she nicknames him Pop and plans to take care of him. Little does she know he's a very wealthy man and decides to anonymously reward her with her own ample bank account. When Judy's boyfriend Danny (Dan Defore) comes back from service, he gets the wrong idea about Pops and thinks there has been an arrangement in his absence. It is up to Judy to set everything straight, even when Danny will not believe the truth.

The highlight of this film is the music, which is played at the height of animation thanks to Hutton's presence. The most catchy of the songs is "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" which is played early in the film. Later, we have "I'm Just a Square in the Social Circle" and "If I Had a Dozen Hearts."

The second film is more entertaining. The Perils of Pauline is loosely based on the life of serial queen Pearl White (Hutton), the girl who constantly triumphed against the villians, but only after many suspenseful stunts. She begins as a seamstress who breaks into the theater by accident. She proves to be too unprofessional for the stage and accidentally falls into the movies (where Snub Pollard and Chester Conklin make appearances). There she finds real fame doing dangerous stunts but longing for the man who antagonized her so much in the theater.

Somehow I can't imagine that White behaved this way, but Hutton certainly did, and she is the attraction here anyway. It really doesn't matter whether the biographical information is correct because the movie itself is so much fun.

There are several songs in the film, and Hutton shines in them, as musical performances were her true forte. First is "The Sewing Machine," an ode to the appliance that women were strapped to at the early part of the century. Next is her most animated and funny performance; she sings "Rumble, Rumble, Rumble" in a typical and great manner. "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" was nominated for an Academy award. It is slow, romantic and beautiful. Last is "Papa Don't Preach to Me," a lesser song in many ways, but very upbeat and showy. June 20, 2007

Classic Betty Hutton Films

What a gal!! Always fun. Will watch these again and again,for many years to come. Well worth the buying. May 9, 2007

Wonderful Betty Hutton

This DVD contains two of Betty Hutton's best films, The Stork Club (1945) and The Perils Of Pauline (1946). The former is the best of the two. The music is terrific, and the chemistry between Barry Fitzgerald and Hutton is something to behold. Perils contains too much soap opera, and John Lund is almost a statue. But Betty shines once again in the musical numbers, proves herself to be a fine comedian, and she could act! Enjoy. One wishes Hutton had signed with a better film company, for her talents were formidable, and few of her films display them all. Paramount's musical numbers, especially the choreography, pale badly when compared with MGM's. March 11, 2007

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