Girl Rush (1944)

Wally Brown is Jerry Miles, Alan Carey is Mike Strager, a comedy team who run a successful vaudeville show.

Of course, that success is largely attributable to fetching female singer Flo Daniels (Frances Langford) and a troupe of pretty dancers.

Then gold is discovered in California. Suddenly, everyone is more interesting in panning for fortunes than attending shows.

Faced with financial ruin, Jerry and Mike decide to dig for gold as well. Once they strike it rich, they promise to take the girls and their show to New York.

Next stop: Red Creek, where “Honest” Greg Barlan specializes in getting the miners drunk, then taking their money at his crooked gambling tables.

After all, the miners have nothing else to do. There’s only one female in all of Red Creek, an elderly woman who runs the local boarding house.

Jerry and Mike realize they could fix that. And the miners are more than willing to turn over a good deal of their gold to entice them to bring the girls to Red Creek.

Jerry and Mike figure they might use the money to take the show to New York instead.

But the Red Creek contingent has cowpokes Jimmy Smith (Robert Mitchum) and Muley (Paul Hurst) tag along on their journey east to make sure they return, along with the promised gals.

Wally Brown as Jerry Miles and Alan Carney as Mike Strager in Girl Rush (1944)

Robert Mitchum as Jimmy Smith and Paul Hurst as his partner Muley in Girl Rush (1944)

Review:

Want to see Robert Mitchum wear a dress and a blonde wig as a disguise? Well, you’ve come to the right place, pardner.

This marked his first film with RKO, the studio that made him a star. All these years later, he’s likely the reason someone would watch the film.

But at the time it was released, “Girl Rush” was one of a series of six films being made by the comedy team of Brown and Carney, considered RKO’s answer to Abbott and Costello.

Obviously, they never reached that level of acclaim, but they both enjoyed long careers in film and TV.

This is a mildly entertaining affair where our heroes deal with a crooked town boss (Barlan), a runaway stage, a bear and accidentally knocked themselves out with sleeping pills.

But mostly they try to figure out how to break the news to the girls that they’re bound for Red Creek, not New York.

Turns out handsome cowpoke Jimmy Smith — that’s the Mitchum part — takes care of that chore.

Frances Langford as Flo Daniels in Girl Rush (1944)

Barbara Jo Allen (Vera Vague) as Suzie Banks in Girl Rush (1944)

Directed by:
Gordon Douglas

Cast:
Wally Brown … Jerry Miles
Alan Carney … Mike Strager
Frances Langford … Flo Daniels
Barbara Jo Allen … Suzie Banks
as Vera Vague
Robert Mitchum … Jimmy Smith
Paul Hurst … Muley
Patti Brill … Claire
Sarah Padden … Mrs. Emma Mason
Cy Kendall … “Honest” Greg Barlan
John Merton … Scully

Runtime: 65 min.

Alan Carney as Mike and Wally Brown as Jerry run afoul of Honest Greg Barlan (Cy Kendall) in Girl Rush (1944)

Sarah Padden as Mrs. Emma Mason, the only woman in Red Creek, in Girl Rush (1944)

Memorable lines:

Jerry of Flo Daniels: “What a girl. She’s got everything.”
Michael: “Yeah, especially customers. Which we ain’t never had before.”

Suzie: “Fame! Glory! Thousands, millions of men at my feet!”
Michael: “Shoe salesmen?”

Suzie, as customers learn of a gold strike: “Are they leaving?”
Jerry: “Well, they’re not walking in backwards.”

Michael to Jerry: “We told the girls if we found gold, we’d take them to New York. We found gold and we’re taking them to Red Creek. They might notice the difference.”

Robert Mitchum as Jimmy Smith, in disguise as a woman,in Girl Rush (1944)

Wally Brown as Jerry Miles and Alan Carney as Mike Strager in Girl Rush (1944)