Audience Member
western musical or a musical western either way not for me
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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Audience Member
An underrated oddity made toward the end of Preston Sturges' career, this is an unabashed, unrestrained farce with a whole lot of things going for it. Betty Grable fits the part perfectly; she is smart and sexy, a dangerous and unpredictable presence who controls every scene and keeps the film sharp. She is backed by a fine cast of oddballs and misfits, the most enjoyable being Rudy Vallee, an actor who made a number of memorable movies with Sturges. Part of what makes the film so charming is its total lack of pretension; it is what it is and it knows it, a wild and carefree comedy heavy on the slapstick and without any manners whatsoever. It dashes from one scenario to the next without worrying about the logistics of its story and delivers a thick dose of laughs for a fleeting seventy-one minutes. It's a film that works on far more levels than just as a Sturges curio, one that has been mostly forgotten but is very much worth digging up.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
Audience Member
By the time "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" was out, Betty Grable was the number one box-office draw in the U.S, and the same went for Preston Sturges as a director. However, both were a little down on their luck at the time: Grable just had a gigantic flop with the previous year's "That Lady in Ermine", and Sturges' career was in a major decline after "Sin of Harold Dicklebock". Both of these figures are very important to the movie business, so I'm guessing when this one was a major flop, movie producers everywhere were scratching their heads. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it's very easy to see why this was so catastrophic. People loved Betty in sweet, cutesy musicals, and seeing her morph into a tough-talking, gun-totting dame was too much. With Preston, it was probably more because of the critics, because had they not said anything, this could have been a little more well-received. No, this is not as witty as "Sullivan's Travels", or any of his other films for that matter, and even though this humor might be a little less smart, I still found myself laughing a lot. I'm a huge fan of his, and this one did not disappoint a bit, in fact, it exceeded my expectations! Gags, physical comedy, and gun battles make this movie extremely fun, plus the Technicolor makes it a treat to watch. I felt he really made the most of it, and it makes she shocked it took so long for people to see that this movie is a gem. This could possibly be Grable's best film next to "How to Marry a Millionaire". She gives an awesome performance or even her best (something unusual) and made me laugh all the time. She has great comedic timing and adds so much flair to her role, likewise to co-star Olga San Juan. "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" is way too underrated, and watch it cause now it's available!
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Enjoyable but nothing out of the ordinary, Betty Grable is good as she usually is. Colorful, elaborate costumes and an overall good production is a plus.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The opening scenes of a lil girl and her grandpa shootin bottles for ma, pa, and brother, god rest their souls, is really fun. Then little Freddie grows up, tries to shoot her two timing guy, but people get in the way and she shoots the judge. THe Wicked Witch of the West plays the judges wife... frightening!
Freddie and her friend high-tail it and take other's identities, which really is starting to work out for them in wonderful ways... Unil the two-timer shows up... then everything blows up!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One of the weaker entries in the Sturges oeuvre but it gets bonus points for using the Sturges' phrase "Well, dog my cats!" at least twice.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
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