Miffed about the way a new Broadway musical is portraying Greek mythology, goddess Terpsichore gets herself to Earth and promptly lands a part in the show. As she charms the show's producer, Danny Miller, and he incorporates her ideas into the show, the show becomes a flop, and there may just be a hint of love in the air to further complicate matters.
Down To Earth is like a cake that has been on display in the window all day. It looks nice on the outside but when you get to the inside there really isn't much taste to it. Worthy of a watch primarily because of Rita Hayworth {Terpsichore} in Technicolor {it's easy to accept such beauty as a goddess} Alexander Hall's musical version of his own Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a rather flat and uneventful affair. Not to decry the sweet nature of the story, and it "is" a charming fable, there's too many things wrong to make it fully function as an uplifting musical.
The songs from Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts are weak and uninspiring, and they are further hindered by the overtly evident voice dubbing of the cast. Not normally an issue to me, but when the lyrics are so tepid the focus is drawn to the irritants. Then there is the lack of spark between Hayworth and her leading man, Larry Parks as the show's producer Danny Miller. Parks was riding the crest of a wave after his Oscar nominated turn in Al Jolson the previous year, but here he struggles and looks nothing like leading man potential. The choreography is fine, including a well constructed sequence in a play park, and the set design is easy on the eye. But there is no getting away from it, without Rita Hayworth in the lead, this film would have sank without trace from the musical aficionado's memory bank. A generous 5/10 from me as it looks fabulous on a High Definition TV, where you can see that producer Dan Hartman at least had the vision to put on a glossy show.
Down To Earth is like a cake that has been on display in the window all day. It looks nice on the outside but when you get to the inside there really isn't much taste to it. Worthy of a watch primarily because of Rita Hayworth {Terpsichore} in Technicolor {it's easy to accept such beauty as a goddess} Alexander Hall's musical version of his own Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a rather flat and uneventful affair. Not to decry the sweet nature of the story, and it "is" a charming fable, there's too many things wrong to make it fully function as an uplifting musical.
The songs from Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts are weak and uninspiring, and they are further hindered by the overtly evident voice dubbing of the cast. Not normally an issue to me, but when the lyrics are so tepid the focus is drawn to the irritants. Then there is the lack of spark between Hayworth and her leading man, Larry Parks as the show's producer Danny Miller. Parks was riding the crest of a wave after his Oscar nominated turn in Al Jolson the previous year, but here he struggles and looks nothing like leading man potential. The choreography is fine, including a well constructed sequence in a play park, and the set design is easy on the eye. But there is no getting away from it, without Rita Hayworth in the lead, this film would have sank without trace from the musical aficionado's memory bank. A generous 5/10 from me as it looks fabulous on a High Definition TV, where you can see that producer Dan Hartman at least had the vision to put on a glossy show.