20th Century-Fox, in its heyday of the 1930s and 1940s, enjoyed an special fondness for Technicolor and the sentimental songs of the "Gay Nineties" and not necessarily in that order. So what could be more apt than bringing back beloved song-plugger Paul Dresser, invent a girl named Sally to match the composer's most famous tune, "My Gal Sal," and drench the whole thing in bright hues? Add the equally eye-catching Rita Hayworth and the beefcake champion of the moment, Victor Mature and you have an almost irresistible confection. So what if Mature is about 120 pounds shy of the real Dresser (who had died back in 1906 anyway) and that Hayworth had to be dubbed by Nan Wynn? My Gal Sal is escapism of the highest order and remains as entertaining as it appeared when opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on May 1, 1942. Incidentally, Paul Dresser's even more famous kid brother, future novelist Theodore Dreiser, is portrayed here ever so briefly by boy actor Barry Downing.