Just perfect...

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Here's another musical biopic hampered by a trite and uninteresting story-line. In the early stages of the film it's hard to tell the two sisters apart, but it soon becomes clear which one Betty Grable is portraying. We are glad that Alice Faye was not induced to come out of retirement and allow herself to be upstaged by Grable. Neither of the sisters as portrayed here display much of the bounce and vitality that made them a yesterfore household word. They are written and played as rather bland, colorless, penny-pinching, naive, selfish, not over-bright go-getters who can sing and shimmy adequately and can display an attractive limb or two.As the romantic lead, Mr. Payne is even more painful and perfunctory than usual, though he does have one or two lively moments (I guess he can't be blamed too much, not even Larry Olivier could make that railway station scene seem convincing); and would you believe it, he sings TWO reprises of his songs. As usual in films of this type, aside from the gorgeously colored photography, the most interesting thing about the film is the musical numbers - and that is certainly the case here. Interesting is right, but not altogether likeable, two of the numbers are extraordinarily grotesque, providing an unexpected feast for students of the really bizarre. Otherwise the direction is as humdrum and routine as the plot.The usual fine gallery of support players liven the proceedings, led by the delightful Trudy Marshall as Payne's girlfriend, and Frank Latimore who brings a welcome touch of asperity to an otherwise routine role. Despite his prominence in the billing, Sakall's part is small, but enough to satisfy his admirers.And at least this movie was expansively produced.

The real Dolly Sisters were dark, in both complexion and hair, Hungarian dancers with complex personalities and troubled lives, in fact Jenny had committed suicide several years before the debut of this musical, so if you are looking for anything resembling a depiction of the actual Dolly Sisters story look elsewhere. However if a sumptuous overstuffed showcase for blonds Betty Grable and June Haver is what you seek this is for you. Filmed in almost blinding Technicolor with some good songs and one great and beautiful one, I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, eye popping costumes and hairstyles this is old fashioned entertainment dished up with style.

Betty Grable and June Haver are "The Dolly Sisters" in this 1945 film also starring John Payne, S.Z. Sakall and Reginald Gardner. Grable enjoyed an unparalleled run - 10 years in a row - in the Hollywood top ten box office, from 1941 to 1951, yet when Turner Classic Movies published their Unforgettable Leading Ladies of the Studio Era book, Grable was left out. For anyone who believes - erroneously - that Turner Classic Movies has any interest in film history, she was left out - just as Tyrone Power was left out of the leading men book - because TCM doesn't own their films.Not realizing that for a huge audience later on, it wouldn't exist, 20th Century Fox spared no expense for this lavish color musical about two real-life Hungarian sisters (actually brunettes) who were big entertainers in the beginning of the century. The story focuses on Jenny Dolly (Grable) primarily and her romance and marriage to Ziegfeld performer Harry Fox (inventor of the "fox trot"), played by John Payne, and how World War I and career separations destroyed their marriage.Grable and Haver look just like sisters and are marvelous together, wearing gorgeous costumes and looking fabulous and radiant throughout. Both bring a lot of energy to their roles. Payne does a good job as Harry, singing and acting well. A versatile actor, he could not only appear in musicals where he did his own singing, but he did plenty of drama and was also a hunk. He was invaluable to Fox during the war years.This is a very entertaining film, but it's a shame that a film on the true story of the Dolly Sisters has never been made. Jenny and Fox were divorced in 1921. She was indeed involved in a car accident with an ex-boyfriend in 1933 and had to sell her jewels to pay for many surgeries, but unlike the film, she never really recovered. She never reconciled with Fox and in 1941, she hung herself. Rosie did marry a Chicago businessman; she attempted suicide in 1962, though it failed, and she died in 1970. The two women were huge gamblers, only hinted at in the film, and made a fortune: They won $850,000 in one season at Deauville and one evening in Cannes, Jenny won 4 million francs, which she converted to a collection of jewelry, and then went on to win another 11 million more francs.I suppose during World War II, no one would have been interested in such a downer, so it's just as well that we have this film, which gives us vibrant entertainment in the best 20th Century Fox tradition.

I was 8 years old when I first saw this movie in 1945. I was so impressed with the blond beauty of both girls and to know that the Dolly Sisters were real people. June Haver and Betty Grable really looked alike. In my childs mind I thought they were my private dancers and I wanted to be just like them. I actually thought I was the only one who knew about them and they were my secret......What a kid! Thanks for listening. Florence Forrester-Stockton