The Perils Of Pauline (1947)

A factory worker (Betty Hutton) dreams of becoming a stage actress. She joins a small acting troupe but her inadequacies as an actress ruin the shows. So what's an aspiring actress to do? Why go into the movies, of course! A highly fictionalized account of the silent film actress Pearl White and directed by George Marshall (MY FRIEND IRMA). If there's an iota of actual truth in any of this movie, it's an accident. Pearl White had died in 1938 so she didn't live to see this travesty of her life. What it is, is a vehicle for Betty Hutton, at the time, Paramount's biggest female star. Hutton is an acquired taste. Her manic style can be exhausting as evidenced in some of her musical numbers here like Rumble Rumble Rumble but when she stops all the antics and just sings, she can be effective as in her restrained rendition of the Oscar nominated I Wish I Didn't Love You So. My own favorite musical number is Poppa Don't Preach To Me (no, not the Madonna song). For Hutton fans only (there must be a few). With John Lund, William Demearest, Billy De Wolfe, Constance Collier and Frank Faylen.