Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Memorable, crazy movie

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It's a glossy MGM Technicolor dream and one critic admitted that might be the best part of it. A curiously bland musical with a sterling cast and a surprisingly tiresome Zero Mostel as the "Swami"(?) The Du Barry opening number is a beauty with Miss Ball wearing a gorgeously stunning costume gown, but the song is quite unmemorable and is only there to support the fantasy sequence later. They replaced half the Broadway Songbook of Cole Porter with fluff and toned down both the story and the cast. Lucile Ball is not a true redhead and it's dyed so bright it would make "Rudolph" wince! Everybody's songs are dubbed. Several highlights make it worthwhile: Tommy Dorsey and several famous singing groups give great performances on an oversized nightclub stage the size of a football field, as in "White Christmas". The Esquire Magazine calendar girl number is a knockout pinup piece with another forgettable non-Cole Porter tune. The 40 minute "Mickey Finn" fantasy with Red as Louis 15th is fun, but in order to see it, you have to sit through the rest of the movie (Alas, this was before discs.) Red Skelton is in fine form and Miss Ball never looked lovelier. Gene Kelley seems to be best on stage and but not worthwhile swashbuckling around! The studio's "French" segments are gloriously staged. Finally, a finish with a Cole Porter classic song. You will agree with me that the whole thing should have been better!

There have been quite a few films dealing with the life of 18th century French courtesan Madame Du Barry. But, I'll bet none of the others remotely approach this treatment. Actually ,only about the last half features the court of Louis XV, with Lucille Ball as the Madame. It's essentially a lavish musical variety farce, loosely based on the play of the same title. Most of Cole Porter's songs have been deleted for the film, and new ones added. Among Porter's songs retained are "Do I Love You?" , "Katie Went to Haiti", and "Friendship". Many details of the screenplay were also altered from the play. Apparently, The Black Arrow component was tacked on to the film version. The Black Arrow was the hero of a R.L. Stevenson novel set in 15th century England. Thus, there is no historical connection to 17th century France.We have 3 multitalented leads in Red Skelton as Louis XV, Lucy as Madame Du Barry, and Gene Kelly as The Black Arrow. They, along with various others, alternate between singing, dancing, verbal and physical comedy, and strait story. Also present is Virginia O'Brien, as the cigarette girl, who wants to marry a reluctant Skelton, as Louis, the hat check man who morphs into Louis XV in his drug and bumped head-induced dream. Virginia gets to sing "Salome" in her trademark deadpan style, which enjoyed some popularity as a novelty during this era.This was Lucy's first Technicolor film, and she took advantage of it by dying her hair a bright orange. She sure looked great throughout, along with many other beautiful ladies who were shown for just a few moments. This was also her first MGM film, having been acquired from RKO. This was only Kelly's second Hollywood film and, again, his first in Technicolor. Skelton had been kicking around MGM for a few years. However, this is probably also his first Technicolor film.Kelly and Lucy would later develop much more of a comedic dimension to their acting. Probably 90% of the comedy here was generated by Skelton, with some input from Rags Ragland and Zero Mostel. The latter played a swami who parodies Charles Boyer, especially in "Algeria". The opening chorus girls also have Swami turbans. The Swami theme soon disappeared.Kelly gets one solo dance routine in tux and tails, not especially innovative. Otherwise he spends his time mooning over Lucy's character or playing The Black Arrow, who wants to lead a revolution against the French monarchy. The Tommy Dorsey Band gets more exposure here than in other films I've seen. This sometimes includes The Pied Pipers, including Jo Stafford. I definitively prefer Jo's recorded version of "Do I Love You" over Kelly's singing here. The 3 Oxford boys do an amusing vocal parody of some of the popular dance bands of the day, including : Kay Kaiser, Fred Warring, Harry James, and Guy Lombardo.The basic plot is a romantic foursome, where it's not crystal clear who is going to end up with whom until the finale: a very common plot in musicals of that era. Skelton's and Kelly's characters both want to marry Lucy's character. But she rejects both because they aren't rich enough. She does have some romantic feelings for Kelly, but not Skelton. However, Skelton wins the Irish Sweepstakes. Now , he feels confident in asking Lucy to marry him. She has said it's better to marry for money than love. She tentatively agrees to marry him. However, he soon is bankrupt, having spent or given away all his money except what he owes the IRS. See the ending to find out how things work out. The finale has the principals singing "Friendship".

Nightclub singer dreams of marrying into money but is in love with a poor fellow. Fluffy musical comedy plays like a variety show, with minimal plot holding together musical numbers and comedy skits. The film looks good in Technicolor, with red hairs of Skelton and Ball (dyed for this film and kept so thereafter) featured prominently. It's nothing special, but it's not terribly painful to watch either. Lucy mostly plays it straight while Skelton provides the comedy as a hat check man who wins the sweepstakes and woos Lucy. In only his second film, Kelly completes an unlikely love triangle as Lucy's poor and sullen boyfriend.

This film is best-appreciated if seen as a series of skits and songs, a vehicle for the actors. It provides a chance to see Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Virginia O'Brien and Zero Mostel in comedic action. Gene Kelly only does one solo dance number, but his agility as The Black Arrow foreshadows greater roles like that of D'Artagnan. And seeing Tommy Dorsey dressed up and dancing (or trying to) with the rest of the cast is delightful! There are funny parts as well as parts that presume themselves funny and come off as annoying, but the movie is fun to watch if you don't expect it to be a masterpiece.