Norman Z. McLeod (1895–1964)

Great cast overplaying their roles make the comedy part of this film very entertaining. Walter Abel is especially great as a not-on-the-level fight manager who tries to make a fortune off of milkman Kaye who everyone believes knocked out the middleweight champion of the world--the unbelievably charismatic Steve Cochran, who does great in a comedy role. But the musical numbers suck--at least the opening milk commercial with the Goldwyn Girls. I almost stopped watching it was so bad. Later numbers with the likable Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo--whose singing is actually dubbed--are not total embarrassments, but are a big waste of time. Kaye has a totally out of character song dealing with ballet. Still, the star power here is almost blinding. Cochran--watch White Heat--is one of the most indelible actors ever. What a life he led--see IMDB or Wikipedia for his demise. To see Kaye at his best, however, watch The Court Jester or The Inspector General. Eve Arden has a nice part here as well. And the technicolor (or whatever it is) is beautiful. If only they had left out the musical parts! (This is a remake, I believe, of a non-musical version, and Lionel Stander, he of the gravelly voice, played he same role in both.)… (mais)