All Girl Revue

THE GIRLS HAVE taken over the town and this is a musical. With those two premises' being established, the one reeler short landed on its feet, hit the ground running and stayed its course to the end. (So Schultz, how's that for using multiple clichés?)

WHEN WE FIRST viewed this on Turner Classic Movies a few days ago, we must confess that we were ignorant of the fact that the perky and beautiful young woman who was cast as "the Mayor" was perky and beautiful June Allison. Hers is the only name that we recognize in the credits and her performance bode well in showcasing what would be her definite "Star Quality."

PERHAPS SOMEONE GOT the idea to do this by crossing the standard "Boys Day at City Hall" plot with the females only policy as displayed in the film version of the Clare Booth Luce play, THE WOMEN (MGM, 1939). (Just a hunch, Schultz.)

OTHER THAN THAT, there is not really a lot to recommend this and it seems to race along at a very merry rate, but not fast enough for Schultz and myself. Perhaps a little 1940's style 'cheesecake' and good old fashioned titillation would have livened things up a bit.

Even though women finally got the vote in 1920, women were relegated to second class citizens behind men. This film short is a musical where June Allyson is Mayor of New York City. A world famous opera singer is coming to town. This light musical short indicates that women were still not perceived as equals in a male dominated society. New York City still hasn't had a female mayor to this day. The music is sweet and light hearted. There is not much of storyline but it is entertaining. June Allyson is terrific in the role. The other singers also do a wonderful job. If the film was meant to entertain, it did a good job. As for enlightenment or education, it displayed how women were relegated to love interests, comedic characters, but never equals to women in politics.

The headline states: "Girls Take Over" - "Fair Sex To Rule City For A Day." The story begins, "Oodles of fun," said her honor, the Mayor, in her first official interview at the city hall this morning. The girls will assume all the responsibilities of the city administration for one day."

To open the "show," we hear the mayor (a very cute June Allyson) and three other ladies sing, "We Have To Make The City Pretty." Later, we hear two other songs, one by Edith Brandell and other by the operatic Beverly Kirk, and then see two dance numbers. There is quite a bit to offer in just eight minutes....like watching a mini-musical.

It's very dated looking and sounding, of course, but it's cute in a way. Allyson came off the best, so it was no surprise that she was the only one who was or became a star. She had that quality. This was part of the "The Roaring Twenties" DVD.

In this gem of a short subject June Allyson, not yet the star that should would eventually become, plays a temporary mayor for a city in order to make it more attractive. With the help of several other well meaning dames, she urges other city employed women to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

A musical short, the first two songs in this one are amazingly catchy. Particularly a song about an overworked information girl. We are then presented with a near-opera number and finale that's very cheerful and features quite the funny little joke.' You can catch this one on the Warner Brothers "Roaring Twenties" DVD. Recommended.

Girls take over the city for a day and decide to clean up the town.... in the words of the song Mayor-for-a-day June Allyson sings at the beginning of this short, "Gotta make the city pretty" by shining up garbage cans.

This Vitagraph short is a bizarre one, although there is a nice line of identical-looking chorines dancing in Grand Central Station. The plot of this short has the mayor head over to greet visiting opera singer Beverly Kirk.

There are some decent songs by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin, but nothing outstanding. Director Lloyd French tries to spice up the standard musical revue that the Warner Brothers' shorts unit had been turning out, but it winds up looking bizarre rather than funny.