SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES, one of the lightweight musical comedies that took audiences minds off the depressing war news from 1942, pastel Technicolor fluff directed by Irving Cummings, who knocked out eight popular musicals in the first half of the 40s. Fans of such may enjoy its nostalgic innocence, pros going thru their paces with more than a whiff of familiarity to the proceedings. The cut & paste script by Walter Bullock (The Gang’s All Here) and Ken Englund (Sweet Rosie O’Grady) puts a clutch of Broadway show folk into an engagement in Alberta’s Lake Louise resort (via location backdrop shots) and various comic-romantic entanglements.

Dancer ‘Vicky Lane’ (Betty Grable), fed up with the casual attitudes of partner/boyfriend ‘Dan Christy’ (John Payne), falls back on ex-swain ‘Victor Prince’ (Cesar Romero) until Dan wises up (as we figure from the offset) and the 91 minutes finish with one of those bits where the at the finish of a big swing-rumba bash the cast link arms and smilingly walk toward the camera, managing to be simultaneously quaint, boring, harmless and pleasant.

Grable and Payne spar, she and Romero do some slick swing-tango numbers designed by Hermes Pan, Charlotte Greenwood does some of her bizarre sideways high-kick moves and the guaranteed-to-be-goofy Carmen Miranda gets in a few highlights, including “O ‘Tic-Tac’ do Meu Coração” which she spills out so lightning fast it sounds like a human sewing machine.  She also gives Edward Everett Horton what must be the only onscreen kiss in his career. Harry James and his orchestra play several times. Swell costuming

The $5,700,000 gross ranked 29th in the States, and it was also popular with relief-seekers over in bomb-beleaguered Britain, scooping up £240,000/$960,000.

With Jackie Gleason (26, uncredited), singer Helen Forrest, Iron Eyes Cody, Dick Elliott, Chick Chandler, Bess Flowers (“Queen of the Hollywood Extras”, she was in over 350 feature films),  the Bando da Lua band (backing Carmen) and Russell Hicks. “Buy War Bonds!”