Mother Wore Tights

Director: Walter Lang Walter Lang

Overview

The riotous lives of a turn-of-the-century vaudevillian family provides the basis of this tuneful comedy that stars Betty Grable as the mother, a former trouper who left the stage to raise her daughters. After they are grown, the mother attempts a comeback, much to the embarrassment of one of he daughters who attends the snooty finishing school near the theater where her mother is slated to perform. Mother Wore Tights is a particular favorite among Betty Grable fans.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/18/2014
UPC:	0024543934349
Original Release:	1947
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Sales rank:	31,512

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Betty Grable	Myrtle McKinley Burt
Dan Dailey	Frank Burt
Mona Freeman	Iris Burt
Connie Marshall	Mikie Burt
Vanessa Brown	Bessie
Robert Arthur	Bob Clarkman
Sara Allgood	Grandmother McKinley
William Frawley	Mr. Schneider
Ruth Nelson	Miss Ridgeway
Anabel Shaw	Alice Flemmerhammer
George Cleveland	Grandfather McKinley
Veda Ann Borg	Rosemary Olcott
Sig Rumann	Papa
Lee Patrick	Lil
Senor Wences	Specialty
Maude Eburne	Mrs. Muggins
William Forrest	Mr. Clarkman
Kathleen Lockhart	Mrs. Clarkman
Chick Chandler	Ed
Will Wright	Withers
Frank Orth	Stage Doorman
Harry Cheshire	Minister
Tom Stevenson	Hotel Clerk
Ann Gowland	Mikie at Age 3
Harry V. Cheshire	Minister
Joan Gerians	One-Month-Old Baby
Anne Baxter	Narrator,Narrator
Billy Greene	Actor
Kenny Williams	Dance Director
Eula Morgan	Opera Singer
Tom Moore	Man
Harry Seymour	Man
Lee MacGregor	Boy
Stephen Kirchner	Myrtle's Dancing Partner
Alvin Hammer	Clarence
Brad Slaven	Sailor
David Thursby	Policeman
Ted Jordan	Sailor
George Davis	Waiter
Karolyn Grimes	Iris at Age 6
Lotte Stein	Mama
Antonio Filauri	Papa Capucci
Michael Dunne	Roy Bivens

Technical Credits

Lamar Trotti

Walter Lang	Director
Lamar Trotti	Screenwriter,Producer

Editorial Reviews

While first rate screenplays are always desirable, some films -- especially musicals -- can be first rate with less than top drawer scripts, as is the case with Mother Wore Tights. Not that Mother's screenplay is bad, mind you; much of the dialogue is quite good, there's decent character development, and the structure is sound. But Mother's basic storyline is rather thin, and it's a situation that has been visited in one form or another many times before. Fortunately, this proves to be merely a minor distraction in Mother, which ends up a sparkly, bubbly entertainment. Chief credit goes to its cast, headed by the lovely Betty Grable and the amiable Dan Dailey. The team displays the same chemistry that they did in their other pairings, but somehow there's even more of it on display in Mother. As expected, they light up the screen during their musical numbers, but their dialogue scenes also have more "oomph." Certainly director Walter Lang deserves some credit for this, as well as for bringing all of the ingredients of the film together and mixing them up into this delightful soufflé. The score, some of which is original and some of which is pulled from hither and yon, is a mixed affair, but it all works in context, with each number coming across as just what was needed in context. Harry Jackson's yummy cinematography is also a major plus, and the sets and costumes are appropriately colorful. It all adds up to a piece of fluff -- but a thoroughly engaging one.