Betty Hutton
Have I ever told you about how much I love Dinah Shore? She’s pretty much my favorite vocalist in the entire world, but that’s a subject for a different post. I was listening to a “Best of” compilation of hers the other day and noticed a track that I hadn’t paid much attention to before, called, “‘Murder,’ He Says.”
Dinah Shore – “‘Murder,’ He Says”
It’s from early-on in WWII, and written by Frank Loesser, best known for How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Guys and Dolls on Broadway, and a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. Shore’s version was pleasant enough to catch my ear, especially with the opening line:
Finally found a fella
Almost completely divine
But his vocabulary
Is killing this romance of mine
His… vocabulary? Is that anything like a girl’s “Personality”?
Dinah Shore — “Personality” (20s sample)
I did a youtube search out of curiosity, and unearthed what is perhaps one of the greatest clips ever committed to film: a version of “‘Murder,’ He Says” recorded by a 22-year-old Betty Hutton, for benefit of the troops:
This is a song about being irritated that your boyfriend uses too much slang. What? Hutton really hams up the slang, making it seem even more utterly ridiculous than it would normally sound to us, this 50+ years later. About a minute in, the song really hits its stride, and her facial expressions really pep up to match:
That winking at the microphone gets me every time. Bob Hope is right to call her a “vitamin pill with legs” at the end (they’re appearing together to support their recently released Let’s Face It!, a film adaptation of one of Cole Porter’s lesser musicals).
Hutton’s greatest triumph, generally acknowledged, was the 1950 film adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun, playing none other than Annie Oakley. Her exaggerated, clowning style was a perfect match for the rough-and-tumble Oakley (famously played on Broadway by Ethel Merman). I don’t love the film, but it’s worth watching for the amazing Irving Berlin-penned songs, including “Anything You Can Do,” “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” and my favorite, “I’ve Got the Sun in the Morning.”
Really, the point of this post is just me saying that if a time machine ever becomes available, please don’t give it to me. Instead of going and stealing baby Hitler or teaching Freud some feminism, I’d just go find RCA Victor and attempt some serious makeouts.
Tags: betty hutton, cole porter, dinah shore, frank loesser, irving berlin, video
