Greenwich Village
The film tells the mild tale of a midwestern composer (Don Ameche) who comes to the Bohemian world of 1922 Greenwich Village and falls in with a set of splashy nightclub entertainers. The club owner (William Bendix) wants to mount a big uptown show, his singer (Vivian Blaine) wants to star in it, and Ameche wants his score to be used.
The Times review complained that the cast was hardly formidable enough to sustain a movie with such thin plot and characters, and while that may be true, it's still interesting to see how Fox tried to launch Vivian Blaine as a big new star, and it's unique (to say the least!) to see William Bendix sing and dance.
Bendix had recently become a star supporting player and had already perfected a screen persona of a lovable doofus. Time magazine's review of Greenwich Village marveled at how the persona was just that; in real life, apparently, Bendix was cultivated and mannered. "Bendix is probably the world's highest-paid professional ignoramus," said Time. "As such he now rates star billing at his studio and makes more money than the President of the U.S."
Vivian Blaine was touted as a newcomer by the Fox publicity machine, but in truth she had already been credited in four previous films, including Jitterbugs (1943), in which she played a significant role opposite Laurel and Hardy. She went on to do more movies and television but she never became a movie star. She will instead best be remembered for her stage work, especially as the original "Miss Adelaide" in the stage and screen versions of Guys and Dolls (1950 stage, 1955 film).
Carmen Miranda, on the other hand, who here sings "Give Me a Band and a Bandana," was still at the peak of her popularity, with Greenwich Village coming hot on the heels of her best and most famous film, The Gang's All Here (1943). Film historian Jeanine Basinger has written astutely that the Brazilian bombshell "wasn't a real movie star, but someone who did star turns in movies...She was an important escape fantasy of WWII." (from The Star Machine, Knopf) Known for her insanely over-the-top costumes, elaborate, fruit-laden headpieces, and hugely energetic singing and dancing, everything about Carmen Miranda was always exaggerated to a delightful level.
Producer: William LeBaron
Director: Walter Lang
Screenplay: Earl Baldwin, Walter Bullock; Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano (adaptation); Frederick Hazlitt Brennan (story)
Cinematography: Harry Jackson, Leon Shamroy
Music: Emil Newman, Charles Henderson
Film Editing: Robert Simpson
Cast: Carmen Miranda (Princess Querida), Don Ameche (Kenneth Harvey), William Bendix (Danny O'Mara), Vivian Blaine (Bonnie Watson), Felix Bressart (Hofer), Tony De Marco (Himself), Sally De Marco (Herself), The Revuers (Musical Ensemble), B.S. Pully (Brophy, the doorman), The Four Step Brothers (Themselves), Emil Rameau (Kavosky).
C-82m.
by Jeremy Arnold
