Thanks for the memories!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

With all the colorful costumes and sensational outdoor cinematography, we never do get around to the 'pink tights' of the title, a bit of misdirection there I'd say with Sophia Loren in the cast. Actually, I find it difficult to pin down who this film might have been meant to appeal to. Nominally a Western, it really doesn't satisfy in terms of an adventure film and most of the scenes plod along waiting for things to happen. It was a bit visually jarring too, to see Sophia Loren as a blonde, although an early scene with Anthony Quinn introducing the characters lent new meaning to the definition of having an hourglass figure. Whatever tension there is, is provided by the subtext of Clint Mabry (Steve Forrest) fulfilling a contract for Bonanza town villain De Leon (Ramon Novarro), while trying to avoid getting greased himself by the bad guy's double cross. His play for Angela Rossini (Loren) basically went nowhere, and if you want to believe he collected on the poker bet with the actress, you have to fill in the blanks yourself. However he does have that exciting exit from the theater stage to help set up the finale, with a happily ever after ending for Quinn's Tom Healy and the beautiful Angie Rossini, something neither one was really counting on when the story started.

Don't expect 100% comedy in this western about the trials of an acting troop making their way through the old west. It's not all feather boas and sequins in this sometimes light- hearted but often dangerous lifestyle where troop leader Anthony Quinn, leading lady Sophia Loren and the remainder of their ensemble face bill collectors, irate or amorous hotel proprietors and Indians as they go from gig to gig. Often, there's a lit more lustful eyes made at the voluptuous Loren with Quinn struggling to keep it altogether. Among the supporting cast are Margaret O'Brien as a supposed 16 year old girl with a mother (Eileen Heckart) who seems to want to sell her off to matrimony, Edmund Lowe as the company villain and Steve Forrest who makes a gamble for Loren's heart. Moderately entertaining, it often switches gears as it goes through various mood swings. I wanted to like it more than I did, although this is a subject matter that doesn't crop up as part of major western plots. The look on the audience's eyes as they watch the goings on stage is thrilling however while the confrontation with the natives is rather frightening.O'Brien seems to be trying to remind everybody that she was "Meet Me in St. Louis's" Tootie, obviously not 16 as Heckart insists and certainly not 20 as she claims to be. Heckart gets some good lines, but I wouldn't call this one of her better parts. Loren, as a platinum blonde, is still enticing, while Quinn just seems to get sexier as he ages. It's colorful but unremarkable, high one moment then disappointing the next.

This film is introduced with the words: "When the great American frontier was resounding with the names of such gunman and outlaws as Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday - a beautiful and flirtatious actress swept through the west with her theatrical troupe. A 'hellion in pink tights,' she was the toast of every settlement from Cheyenne to Virginia City - and became a legend of the old west. This is her story." And, after a creative title sequence, we meet beautiful actress Sophia Loren (as Angela "Angie" Rossini) in a blonde wig, running lines with co-star Anthony Quinn (Thomas "Tom" Healy)...As the theatrical troupe arrives to perform in Cheyenne, Ms. Loren and ruggedly handsome Steve Forrest (as Clint Mabry) exchange mutually sexy glances. However, Loren decides to remain faithful (at least temporarily) to Mr. Quinn. Their relationship is threatened when Loren loses herself to Mr. Forrest in a poker game. When Loren, Quinn and company are suddenly run out of town, Forrest joins them, protecting his "property." They are threatened by bloodthirsty Native American Indians and respectable gangster Ramon Novarro (as De Leon). Forrest helps with the Indians, but has trouble with Mr. Novarro...Loren and Quinn are okay, but surprisingly lack chemistry as a couple. Despite his lower billing, Forrest comes across as more like the story's leading man. The supporting cast is very strong: Novarro, a former "silent screen" idol, is exceptional as the main villain; former child star Margaret O'Brien and Eileen Heckart are a delightfully naughty mother/daughter duo; and Edmund Lowe (as Manfred "Doc" Montague) is a bonus, in his last acting appearance. Director George Cukor and his team make it very stylized, with an emphasis on garish color. The film's jarring attitude was later common on television.******* Heller in Pink Tights (1/1/60) George Cukor ~ Sophia Loren, Steve Forrest, Anthony Quinn, Ramon Novarro

In Old West Wyoming, a traveling troupe of dramatic actors is on the run from bill collectors; a cocky gunslinger comes to their rescue once the caravan hits hostile Indian territory--sticking around to settle a bet with the beautiful leading actress, whom he's smitten with. George Cukor western, adapted from the novel "Heller With a Gun" by Louis L'Amour, has a shaky beginning, a not-bad first act, but absolutely nothing to offer after the first 50 or so minutes. Sophia Loren, in peculiar blonde and red wigs, has a charming early scene getting herself into a poker game (bluffing with 4 sevens), and there's also a stunning, beautifully accomplished sequence wherein the dramatists give an action-filled performance in a packed theater (complete with Loren riding through the crowd on a horse). Still, Anthony Quinn's relationship with Loren never catches fire, and Sophia and Steve Forrest create little chemistry. This may be due to Cukor's direction, which has no magic (and he's particularly insulting to the Indian tribe, who hoop and holler over the left-behind costumes like a bunch of drunken rowdies at a frat-house). A disappointment overall, though small sections of the picture give hint it may have been a fascinating effort under different circumstances. *1/2 from ****