by Daniel White
Alice Faye may have possessed a more melodious set of pipes, but Betty Grable was the better actor. She certainly was a fine farceur, a talent she demonstrates with impressive comic broadstrokes in Twentieth Century Fox's That Lady in Ermine (1948). It is the last film Ernst Lubitsch would be credited with as director. However, he did very little directing, dying of a heart attack eight days into filming. Otto Preminger would take over and complete the movie, but insisted his friend, Lubitsch, received sole credit.
A charming Douglas Fairbanks Jr. co-stars as an Hungarian colonel who falls in love with Grable while occupying her castle in a mythical European country she rules over. Fairbanks claims that Preminger ruined the film with his leaden technique but I disagree. If anything, it's the less-than-spectacular musical score by Leo Robin and Frederick Hollander that harms it the most. But even the so-so songs can't detract from this frisky film that is much more of a delight than a debacle.
I love Betty Grable and she's in excellent form here in dual roles as Countess Angelina and her ancestress, Francesca. A potent combination of risque ribaldry and girl-next-door gumption, Grable is wonderful. Cesar Romero assists Miss Grable nicely as bridegroom Mario who flees the castle on their wedding night. Lubitsch originally wanted Jeanette Macdonald for the lead but THAT would have been a sure misfire. Miss Jeanette had plenty of sizzle and spark at Paramount when they worked together. However, a decade of soggy operettas at MGM had sucked all the humor out of her screen image.
No, saucy, sassy Betty Grable was the right choice. That Lady in Ermine may not be perfect, but La Grable makes it more than watchable; she makes it a helluva a lot of fun. Outfitted by Rene Hubert and choreographed by Hermes Pan, Betty Grable was in great hands. With splashy, sumptuous Technicolor, handled by cinematographer Leon Shamroy, That Lady in Ermine is currently available on YouTube.
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