Down to Earth [Rita Hayworth]

Down to Earth (1947), starring Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks

Upset about a new Broadway musical’s mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth …. And lands a part in the show. She works her charms on the show’s producer and he incorporates her changes into the show. Unfortunately, her changes also produce a major flop!

Editorial review of Down to Earth courtesy of Amazon.com

Rita Hayworth really was a screen goddess in the late 1940s–so why not cast her as Terpsichore, the goddess of dance? That’s the premise of this splashy Technicolor musical, which borrows some devices (and cast members) from Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Rita descends to earth to inject authenticity into a Broadway show about Terpsichore, posing as an actress and turning the head of impresario Larry Parks (then in the brief moment between his Jolson Story smash and his blacklisting).

This leads to an overblown, pretentious out-of-town tryout, an amusing sequence that predicts the highbrow disaster in The Band Wagon. In general, this film is funnier than its reputation, although it doesn’t add up to anything and the song score is tepid (with one delightfully weird number where Rita considers bigamy with Parks and dancer Marc Platt). And Rita? Very creamy looking in a series of lavish gowns–and hardly down to earth. –Robert Horton

Songs

• Let’s Stay Young Forever, Music by Doris Fisher, Lyrics by Allan Roberts
• This Can’t Be Legal, Music by Doris Fisher, Lyrics by Allan Roberts
• They Can’t Convince Me, Music by Doris Fisher, Lyrics by Allan Roberts
• People Have More Fun Than Anyone, Music by Doris Fisher, Lyrics by Allan Roberts
• Kiss of the Muse, Sung and Danced by Adele Jergens (dubbed by Kay Starr) and the muses

Cast

• Rita Hayworth (My Gal Sal) … Terpsichore / Kitty Pendleton
• Larry Parks (The Jolson Story) … Danny Miller
• Marc Platt … Eddie
• Roland Culver (Dead of Night) … Mr. Jordan
• James Gleason (Miss Grant Takes Richmond) … Max Corkle
• Edward Everett Horton (Top Hat) … Messenger 7013
• Adele Jergens (Day the World Ended) … Georgia Evans
• George Macready (Knock on Any Door) … Joe Manion
• William Frawley (I Love Lucy, Roxie Hart) … Police Lieutenant