Customer Reviews

Moon of Manakoora

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Here is a wonderful collection of the greatest hits of legendary movie sex symbol Dorothy Lamour. Lamour was wildly popular as a singer in the 1930's and 1940's but too often this is overlooked in film history books. This wonderful collection of her big movie musical hits is a must for anyone who is a fan of classic Hollywood musicals. My favorites are "Moonlight and Shadows" (her first hit from 1936), the legendary songs "Moon of Manakoora" and "Thanks for the Memories", plus "This is the Beginning of the End", a wonderful song from JOHNNY APOLLO. These are mainly her early tracks and I guess we will have to wait for a volume two for her later big hits like "I Remember You" from THE FLEETS IN and "Personality" from ROAD TO UTOPIA. Nevertheless this is a wonderful collection on a sexpot who was more of a sweetheart to her public, a truly beloved woman whose memory is still cherished by scores of fans. There never was a movie star with a more appropiate name, "Lamour" meaning love, and "Dorothy" meaning Gift from God Thanks for the memories, Dorothy.

It wasn't exactly the attribute for which she was most famous, but anyone listening closely to that deep throaty voice might have been surprised that it wasn't. She did lots of light, whimsical songs, but that was not her forte. She was at her best singing the love ballads. Torch songs, island songs, memory songs, she did them all superbly. Moonlight and Shadows set the tone for her entire career, and it was a wonderful song. Thanks for the Memory, I suspect, was a tribute to her many-time costar Bob Hope. Moon of Manakoora reminds us of why so many of us longed to be shipwrecked on a desert island. We just knew Dorothy would be there.

Dorothy Lamour was one of several singer-actresses to achieve fame in the thirties and forties, but her style was generally more relaxed than her contemporaries. While (for example) Betty Grable generally sang upbeat, fun songs, Dorothy sang laid-back songs that had a dreamy quality about them, perhaps because of the exotic locations featured in some of her movies.

1937 was the year in which Dorothy made her breakthrough, in a move called The hurricane. Set in Hawaii, it featured Dorothy singing The moon of Manakoora, a song which will forever be identified with her. The version included here was recorded in 1943. Another 1937 move, actually titled Big broadcast of 1938, featured Dorothy singing You took the words right out of my heart. Another song in the same move, Thanks for the memory, was actually sung as a duet by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross - however, Dorothy also recorded the song and her version is included here.

Unlike another singer-actress of the time, Alice Faye, Dorothy was allowed to record songs outside of her movie repertoire. Among several such recordings featured here are her covers of It had to be you and I got a right to sing the blues. Even so, most of the songs on this excellent compilation are from Dorothy's movie career.

She was hot, she was sexy; on celluloid and on vinyl. Good sweet music for a nice relaxing evening.