Sensations of 1945

Sensations of 1945... no, not Hiroshima, the Labour landslide or Hitler's suicide. These sensations include a dancing horse, some roller-skating bears and Cab Calloway singing 'Hepster's Dictionary'. Powell and O'Keefe play feuding press agents, a framework which permits a succession of variety acts and song-and-dance routines. Amid acres of tedium there are some curiosities, including WC Fields' final appearance, the ravages of the bottle so evident that in half his footage his back is to the camera (and in the other half you wish it were). Powell tap dances her way around a pinball machine set: she is sensational, but the set's chronic.