But of course it all works out in the end.

One of Gene Kelly's first movies, and one of his best. He and Rita Hayworth do well together, the plot is basic and stands up to having a bunch of odd dance numbers inserted in it (and an even odder flashback kind of thingy), and the musical numbers are excellent. Very, very nicely done.

Eve Arden, TOTAL honey in a dominatrix sort of way, is in this as well, rowf! a welcome diversion from the vapidly pretty models...but then there's the hat factor.

We chez Otter are completely repelled by Mr. Kelly's standard 'this is the funny part' habit of pulling his hat over his ears to signal that a humorous event is occurring...and Phil Silvers as the funny sidekick is just egging him on in this, instead of lending a note of restraint as Donald O'Connor did in Singin' in the Rain or Van Johnson in Brigadoon. Yes, he was a great dancer and an international star...but someone should still have pulled him aside. "Gene," this person could have said, "Just lose the hat. It doesn't work. Trust me." And the history of motion pictures is forever changed for the better...

Anyway. I digress. A real winner, get it, love it.