Good news: it's a good movie! College student Peter Lawford is the most popular guy on campus, and is the star football player too. But, he's so focused on girls and his sport, he has little time to pass his classes. Then he gets student librarian June Allyson to tutor him, and (of course) they fall in love. But gold
digging Patricia Marshall gets jealous and takes him away for his money. Will June get Peter back? OK, maybe "Good News" isn't "Singin' in the Rain" (is there anything in comparison?), but it's definitely a good example of one of those perfect feel-good movies. During the war, bubbly Technicolor musicals were the popular ones, cheering up audiences. I will say I have noticed that after the war, some of them got a little duller, but with this one, it proves it's not so true! When you get a college theme, it's what you expect: fresh, unknown faces that make this movie more fun, not being too worried about anyone popular doing a good or bad job. Lawford might be a weird cast for being British, but when you get Allyson in a very good performance (for a musical), she saves the day and keeps this movie from getting ruined. Unknown Joan McCracken really impressed me with this one, which was actually her only movie. She is a great dancer, a good singer, and an OK actress, a triple threat and really could have been an earlier Debbie Reynolds had she stayed in Hollywood. She leads all of the show-stopping dancer numbers, and makes them more full of life (OK, maybe thats an exaggeration). "Good News" is a good MGM musical with forgettable songs, but excellent dancing. This one isn't too great, so I would say this one is only for the die-hard musical fans, so I would start with "Best Foot Forward" (another Allyson flick) first, then this one.
August 18, 2011
