Girl Rush (1944)

When Abbott and Costello became the number one team in motion picture comedy in the early 1940's, imitators were bound to pop up, even ones who had already been around. Olsen and Johnson, a popular vaudeville team with a hit Broadway show, "Hellzapoppin'", returned to the movies to some success. While very funny, they only lasted a sort time, but RKO's answer to try and imitate them, Wally Brown and Alan Carney, was not. Each of their "B" grade films was a pale imitations of Abbott and Costello's, and "Girl Rush" is no exception. It is only slightly saved by the singing of Frances Langford, character actress Sara Padden, and the presence of a rugged actor named Robert Mitchum. This entry in their short-lived RKO stay is a Western musical about a gold strike, but the result is a gas strike, and not the kind you put in your car. Add on a helium voiced Gracie Allen imitator (Patti Brill) for further groans. The sight of Brown and Carney in drag would send most gold miners running back to the hills.

Girl Rush was a milestone picture in the career of Robert Mitchum, it marked his first appearance in an RKO Studios film. Within two years Mitchum would be their number one leading actor. But in Girl Rush he is billed behind the comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney, Frances Langford and Barbara Jo Allen better known as Vera Vague from the Bob Hope radio show.Brown and Carney are the comics in a traveling road show of mostly women which has a sudden decline in business when gold is discovered and everyone runs off to prospect. What to do, but Carney and Brown go with the prospects for prospecting.Girl Rush takes a leaf from the plot of Paint Your Wagon when the boys arrive at their destination and discover the men there have no feminine diversion. I don't think I have to go any further. Women as a commodity could be more valuable than gold.Mitchum plays the part of the young cowboy who has needs and one look at Frances Langford and he knows those needs will be satisfied. And if they have kids, she can sing them lullabies. Frances who a few years earlier introduced I'm In The Mood For Love and I've Got You Under My Skin does not get anything near as good to those classics in the score here.Vera Vague has a thing for Carney which he does not reciprocate and he's real glad when Paul Hurst takes a liking to her. She had the same kind of relationship with Bob Hope on his show, the kind Hope later developed with Phyllis Diller.Girl Rush is a pleasant enough film and in his next film Robert Mitchum would get top billing in a western called Nevada. If things had gone differently Mitchum would have wound up as a cowboy actor, but he was destined for much bigger things.

The comedy team of Alan Carney and Wally Brown are often referred to as RKO's answer to Abbott and Costello. The difference is that Carney is not as over-the-top as Costello, and Brown is not a pure straight man a la Abbott--he's bumbling himself (it's as if Costello was 1/3 Abbott, and Abbott had 1/3 Costello in him!). Still, their films are enjoyable comic entertainment, and they are best known for the two films they did with Bela Lugosi:ZOMBIES ON Broadway and GENIUS AT WORK. In this film, they are musical comedy performers who keep producing flops, so they go out West to find some success. That starts the plot in motion (which takes them back East again, then back out West).The great Vera Vague (as Suzy) is in much of the film, romantically interested in Carney, which provides comedic sparks throughout. GIRL RUSH also provides an early starring role for Robert Mitchum. Mitchum had made a ton of films in 1943 (check his 1943 IMDb credits!) as he was establishing himself in Hollywood, and he really is the "hero" in this film. In hindsight, it's also clear how different from other actors Mitchum was--he is as different from others as James Dean was in the 1950's. GIRL RUSH is a competently made piece of bottom-of-the-bill, b-movie entertainment that would not make anyone's "favorite" list for 1944, but surely was fun and entertaining to watch while it was playing. Shown on TV today, GIRL RUSH has much the same effect. Carney and Brown are an excellent comedy team and were probably fine all-around entertainers in their day. With Vera Vague and her madcap antics added to the mix, you have a entertaining 80 minutes for a rainy day.

This is the fourth in the RKO series of films featuring the RKO generated comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney. (The previous films were "Step Lively", "Adventures of a Rookie" and "Rookies in Burma.) "Girl Rush" is a standard Western gold rush comedy with all of the cliches. Frances Langford sings a few songs and Vera Vague is on hand as a foil for Brown and Carney. Most interestingly, young Robert Mitchum is the hero of the piece. Brown and Carney were RKO's attempt to create a rival comedy team for Abbott and Costello. Alan Carney is a decent impressionist with a rubber face, but he is also sluggish. Wally Brown is supposed to be the "Abbott" of the team, but he is much too funny to be just the straight man. Brown is the stronger of the two, with high energy and good instincts for both verbal and physical comedy. Although only Lou Costello could handle himself with musical numbers (Abbott didn't try), both Brown and Carney are decent song and dance men. To make a clearer comparison of the teams, Brown and Carney perform a version of the "Shell Game", a routine that Abbott and Costello put their mark on. In the A & C version, Abbott is the con man and Costello is the patsy. In the B & C version, Brown assumes Abbott's role and Carney plays his shill. The major difference is that Abbott was able to pull off the con, while Brown is as inept as his partner. Where Abbott takes advantage of Costello, Brown and Carney work together and are equally inept. There is a little chemistry between Brown and Carney which makes their partnership work, but they are equally at home working solo. Abbott and Costello had to work together; Abbott kept Costello from being annoying and Costello kept Abbott employed. Brown and Carney are not bad at all. Devotees of low comedy will enjoy their well made films.