What should have been a great movie fell short even in the hands of the great Walter Lang. Instead of sparkling with many great song-and-dance routines it tends to slump, overloaded with far too many numbers at the expense of plot. The wonderful Donald O'Connor performs some of his comedic routines: but he worked best as a second lead, not the lead in a film. Monroe is clearly the star, but it is as if she has been reluctantly shoe-horned in instead of building the film around her. Much of the acting and script is pedestrian, and Ethel Merman's singing is bearable until we are treated to too many rather average songs and reprises. Monroe's appearances, for all the constant razzamatazz, are easily the most memorable, and possibly not so much because of outstanding on her part but as a welcome breath of fresh air amid the rather lacklustre cacophony.
