4/5 it all makes good sense--now if only I understood it...
  by Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service)
If I'm Lucky is a fairly good musical from Fox. Although the plot is actually rather thin it's good for a few laughs and you gets some eye catching song and dance numbers along the way. The plot moves along at a very good pace and I wasn't ever bored. Carmen Miranda practically steals the show with her fantastic singing and dancing; and it's wonderful to see Harry James & His Orchestra perform in this film. The cinematography is good and the choreography works best in the dance numbers which reflect good taste. The acting is very convincing with the exception of Perry Como who simply looks too stiff; a few times during the film his face does light up with a broad smile but he could have looked much more relaxed and happier at least during the song and dance numbers.

When the action starts, we quickly meet the principle members of a traveling band who are all excited about their audition with the Titan Tire Company for its radio show series. Linda Farrell (Vivian Blaine) sings with the band; Earl Gordon (Harry James) is the bandleader; Michelle O'Toole (Carmen Miranda) sings, dances and even plays the harp and Wallingham M. 'Wally' Jones (Phil Silvers) essentially manages things as they go along.

Unfortunately, their audition is canceled--the tire company doesn't want them after all. Dejected, they walk around hungry--until they spy a gubernatorial candidate's rally with free food! They join the rally and to get themselves hot dogs and beer; and they also meet the sleazy and sometimes drunken candidate for governor, Darius J. Magonnagle (Edgar Buchanan). They also meet a young singer named Allen Clark (Perry Como) and they all get hired, including Allen, to go along with Magonnagle's campaign and provide entertainment to stir up the crowds so that people will vote for Magonnagle.

And that's when things really begin to go wrong. First, the current governor has his cronies push Magonnagle out of the race so he's not a threat to the governor's re-election; and then they place Allen Clark himself as a candidate for governor who would only be a figurehead for them to do what they really want to do behind closed doors. Allen threatens to expose them for being the distasteful crooks they are; but the governor's buddy Marc Dwyer (Frank Fenton) counters that threat by letting Allen know that he'll be in very big trouble and someone just might "take care of him" if he exposes the governor and his cronies for being crooks. Of course, the fact that Allen and Linda have fallen in love only makes matters even more complicated.

Things do look pretty bad. Will Allen risk taking the heat and expose these political phonies for what they are? What happens if Allen Clark gets elected governor anyway--will he accept and be the governor? Allen and Linda break up before Allen decides to expose the governor and his buddies for being crooked; is there any way for them to reconcile? Moreover, what happens to the gang--will they finalize a big deal with Titan Tire Company or be very unemployable if the political machine slanders them along with Allen Clark? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!

If I'm Lucky isn't the best Fox musical I've ever seen; although perhaps I am somewhat biased in favor of those MGM classic musicals with their stunning choreography and that "razzle-dazzle" effect that just doesn't quite show here. On the other hand, however, this is enjoyable entertainment with good singing, nice dancing and jokes; and that's a big plus. I recommend this for people who are fans of the actors in this film; and people who enjoy classic movie musicals in general will want this for their collections as well.


3/5 If I'm Lucky-not the sum of its' parts!
  by Robert Badgley (London,Ontario,Canada)
If I'm Lucky is a good musical,typical of the period and should have been much better than it was considering the talent involved but it unfortunately suffers from a tepid plot that the cast just can't overcome.
The story involves a band that is unemployed and is summoned by their former manager(Phil Silvers) with the lure of a job that never pans out.They're starving and decide to go across the road for a free meal supplied by a political candidate McGonnagle(Edgar Buchanan),running for governor.McGonnagle tries to give a speech but the crowd is more interested in the meal than him,so he decides to cut the chow and the crowd gets a little upset.The band decides to kick things into action and plays to lure the crowd to the podium area to hear the wanna be governor.It works and McGonnagle is so impressed he hires them to travel with him throughout the campaign.Perry Como enters the picture as a wanna be singer,gets an audition and joins the band intially as the carrier of Carmen Mirandas' harp(!),a job Silvers is delighted to pawn off to this unsuspecting mug.Miranda however intervenes and Silvers ends up with his job back toute suite.Everything goes along well until McGonnagle gets a little too honest for his crooked backers.They threaten to expose him if he doesn't back down and,for his stubborness, he is fired from the [...] who is given the job reluctantly,takes his place and eventually he learns who is really pulling the strings.Como had initially figured he'd lose by a landslide but instead it appears he will win by one.When he tries to pull out he is threatened also.While giving his final campaign speech he makes the gutsy move of revealing the truth and the men responsible for the corruption in the state.In the end the public vote him in anyways and all live happily ever after.
It's a plot I think many of us have seen time and again(the little guys being duped by the corrupt politicos)but this time it's just repackaged for a musical,and not very well at that.It plods along and by the 60 minute mark you start looking for the ending.Harry James himself is an integral part of the story as he acts and sings,along with his usual playing duties with his Music Makers.This is James in his musical prime and is wonderful to see his great technical ability on display.Carmen Miranda again is a pure delight as always and her only strictly Brazillian number is the Batacuda,which she shares with James.It is a big production number with a great number of male and female chorines strutting their "samba" stuff.Vivian Blaine does her usual nice job in all her acting and musical chores.Phil Silvers also comes through with flying colours but unlike"Something For The Boys" gets little to showcase his abilities in the comedy department.Perry Como of course gets more than a few chances to showcase his singing but his acting as always is just a shade shy of stiff.The music is spread throughout the cast as solo,duo and trio spots or for the entire group."If I'm Lucky" is the title and main tune in this picture and is a very nice number but it verges on overplay we hear it so much.
The verdict in the technical department is the best thing of this DVD.This movie is a black and white marvel and is stunningly crisp.20th Century Fox has done a marvellous transfer job with this picture.Included with the picture is the trailer,a stills gallery and a delighful excerpt from the series of "Army/Navy-Sing with the Stars" shorts produced by Fox during the war for the servicemen.It features Carmen Miranda singing her hit "I Yi,Yi,Yi,Yi,I Like you very Much" ,then a sing along portion for the spectators,with words and a bouncing ball to follow.It's a wonderful little rare gem of film footage and a very welcome addition to this DVD.
In concluding I can honestly find no way to give this movie more than the three stars I have;in fact some might find that more generous than it should be.But with the wonderful crisp transfer and the delightful extra film excerpt I will stand by my rating.The movie itself is unfortunately not as good as it should have been considering it's stars but it was a good enough and decent time waster and money maker for 1946.If you don't expect too much then you might get some modicum of enjoyment out of it.

4/5 IF I'M LUCKY
  by TICOOO (Boston, MA)
This is another post-war B&W Musical from FOX. It was intended to showcase the talents of PERRY COMO and VIVIAN BLAINE, but of course CARMEN MIRANDA steals the show. The political plot is boring but within the story is some very nice tunes. Carmen has three musical numbers one of which is a SHOW STOPPER. It is called "THE BATUCADA", here she performs in a magnificent production number designed to be presented in B&W. Artist and Costume Designer SHASHA BRASTOFF created a costume for Carmen that was mostly made up of white shredded plastic. The lighting in this number is awesome thanks to a great set designer and costumer, plus the terrific transfer of this film makes it worth the price of this disc alone. A 'MUST HAVE for the CARMEN MIRANDA COLLECTOR. It can be purchased separately or as part of the new 5 disc CARMEN MIRANDA COLLECTION. Extras include stills and promo.

5/5 Brilliant transfer at last!
  by M. A. Dunnington (Stourbridge, West Midlands United Kingdom)
This is how films should be re-released. This is a quality transfer of both vision and sound. A bonus feature is to isolated the soundtrack - oh boy do you get a sound that is so great!!!! The quality feels like they just recorded it today!!! Thank you 20th Century Fox for a truly magnificent release - a bonus for the Como fans!!!!!!