Great musical numbers, thin plot
The ten-year period from 1943 to 1953 was a rich one for MGM musicals. Within that decade, the studio produced “Cabin in the Sky,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Anchors Aweigh,” “Easter Parade,” “On the Town,” “Summer Stock,” “Show Boat,” “Royal Wedding,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” and “The Band Wagon.” Another musical from that period was a huge hit for Metro in 1947 but didn’t achieved the status of the others: “Good News.”<br /><br />A color remake of the 1930 film of the same name, “Good News” stars June Allyson and Peter Lawford as college students in 1927. Co-ed Connie Lane (Allyson) falls for football star Tommy Marlowe (Lawford) while tutoring him so he can pass his French class and play in an important upcoming game. But sexy newcomer Pat McClellan (Patricia Marshall) also has her eyes on Tommy and is determined to win him over.<br /><br />This shallow plot provides the means to get from one musical number to the next, and the title tells you that things will work out in typical happy ending fashion. Directed by Charles Walters in his behind-the-camera debut, the film moves swiftly and contains several good songs and production numbers, among them “The Best Things In Life Are Free,” “Lucky In Love,” “Just Imagine,” “Be a Ladies Man,” and the title number. The original score by DeSylva, Brown and Henderson was supplemented by two new songs, “Pass That Peace Pipe” by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and “The French Lesson,” by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. One of the best novelty tunes, “The French Lesson” has Connie teach Tommy the basics of the language in the school library while shelving books randomly without first checking their titles. What’s especially amusing about this number is that Lawford’s French sounds perfect while Allyson’s sounds clunky at best.<br /><br />The Academy Award-nominated “Pass That Peace Pipe” is a big production number featuring Joan McCracken. A crowd of students gathered in the malt shop break into song, with Connie’s best pal, Babe (McCracken), twirling and sashaying as chorus and back-up dancers get in on the action. The choreography is exciting and features 30 dancers with McCracken at the center. The number is a splash of color with McCracken in bright, angled stripes and supporting dancers in primary and pastel shades, all against a black-and-white checkerboard floor. In a tracking shot filmed from behind the counter, one ice cream soda after another is plunked down on every downbeat of the percussion-heavy arrangement. The number is outstanding, with McCracken’s expert and energetic dancing a highlight of the film. The other production number is “The Varsity Drag,” featuring Allyson and Lawford fronting groups of male and female dancers in tight patterns on the basketball court.<br /><br />Allyson, a good dancer with husky singing voice that is distinctive, if not exceptional, handles the role of Connie adequately. Though she made films prior to “Good News,” this one established her as a star. She conveys a sweetness and girl-next-door quality and has good screen chemistry with Lawford.<br /><br />Peter Lawford turned up in a number of musicals during his tenure at MGM and usually looked out of his element singing and dancing, but here he does a pretty good job. His singing range isn’t great and he tends to talk-sing his numbers but he’s playing a jock, so his unconventional singing voice can be overlooked.<br /><br />McCracken is a human engine as she leads the chorus in the title number, weaving in and out of the formations, singing and joyously swirling and pirouetting, and she steals the picture with “Pass That Peace Pipe.” Also in the cast are the “Velvet Fog” Mel Torme and Ray McDonald as Bobby Turner, who is ga-ga over Babe but wary of her jealous boyfriend, Beef (Loren Tindall).<br /><br />“Good News” is part of a musical sub-genre known as the college musical, popular from the early sound era though the 1930s. The 1947 version modernized it somewhat but couldn’t avoid what was even then an old-fashioned, simplistic plot. Though cast members appear to be in their late 20s or early 30s, credibility is stretched to accommodate the talent featured. The film’s running time is brief, the pace is brisk, the songs come often, and the right guys pair with the right girls by the final fade-out.<br /><br />Bonus materials on the unrated Blu-ray release include a deleted musical number, excerpts from the 1930 version of “Good News,” an MGM radio promotion, a song selection menu, and the theatrical trailer.
The movie title "Good News," available on Movies & TV, has received an average rating of 4.6 from 375 reviewers. 
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This title falls under the categories of Movies & TV, Blu-ray and Movies. 
The additional details include the following in key-value format :
 {"Product Dimensions": "0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 5.92 Ounces", "Director": "Charles Walters", "Media Format": "NTSC, Subtitled", "Run time": "1 hour and 33 minutes", "Release date": "January 26, 2021", "Actors": "June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall, Joan McCracken, Ray McDonald", "Studio": "Warner Archives", "Country of Origin": "USA", "Number of discs": "1"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : With boundless enthusiasm and enough jive to meld '20s flapper giddiness with '40s swing, 1947's Good News - the feature directing debut of Charles Walters (Easter Parade, The Unsinkable Molly Brown) and screenwriting debut of Betty Comden and Adolph Gree.