Review of The Bamboo Blonde (1946) by Greg W — 29 Oct 2011

The Bamboo Blonde is a delightful, slightly post WWII musical starring the legendary Frances Langford, the G.I. heart throb of WWII. It's a delightful story of not mistaken identity but unknown identity as a little innocent meeting escalates into a full blown incident with the Air Force brass getting involved.

Frances Langford shows her brilliant comedic talent, no doubt those years with Bob Hope were very helpful, not to mention her gorgeous singing voice and impeccable technique in some very lovely original songs, no doubt written for her considerable talents.

Russell Wade as the 'romantic flyboy' is perfectly cast. His handsome good looks and rather naive persona fits in beautifully with the glamorous Langford. Iris Adrian as Langford's friend, gives her usual great kooky performance, bolstering the film.

Ralph Edwards as the night club owner, does a wonderful job of muddying the waters for Frances and Russell. Jane Greer makes a wonderful villain, trying her best to disgrace the Blonde. The rest of the cast do a wonderful job filling out the plot.

Anthony Mann pulls all of this together into a nice tight ensemble like so many of the so called "B" films. Okay, it's not 'Gone With the Wind,' it wasn't meant to be. It was meant to be an hour and six minute piece of fun, which it is! Oh, and check out the ending.

..Priceless!