It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Supposedly set in the old Klondike at the time of the gold rush; we get a jokey opening narration similar to the prologue three years earlier to 'Louisiana Purchase' (1941) advising us in advance that we will be getting glossy escapism, not gritty realism. We see little of the film's hinterland setting beyond a brief shot of what looks like a black & white photograph of a couple of mountains; and the story could just as easily have been set in a speakeasy during prohibition or a contemporary New York nightclub. However, 'Belle of Chicago' or 'Belle of Brooklyn' wouldn't have had quite the same ring - or accommodated Don Loper's colossal saloon set in which most of the action takes place; and which along with his costumes and choreography (dressed in Technicolor by veteran cameraman Ray Rennahan) look as if they consumed about half the film's budget. All those chorus girls in glossy red lipstick flinging their legs in the air would also have been more likely to have encountered problems with the Hays Office in a contemporary setting. No one character ever seems to be the focus of the film; but being the tallest - as well as being Randolph Scott - a smiling Scott just about qualifies as the film's central character. Although in the title role, Gypsy Rose Lee functions more as Dinah Shore's female buddy; and with their long faces, matching blood red lipstick, alarmingly corseted dresses and vertical hairstyles could pass for sisters. The 'action' tends to consist mainly of the two girls singing about their burgeoning romantic passions, until there is finally a conclusion appropriate to a western when Robert Armstrong (who alone appears to be acting in something more rugged) organises a bank robbery to end the film with something passing for action.Some of the sets are sufficiently stylised to have possibly helped ten years later to inspire those for 'Red Garters'; or Vienna's saloon in 'Johnny Guitar'. The film's most eye-popping use of colour is saved for the final scene when the chorus are shot from below energetically dancing the Can-Can, although their pale green dresses flicking about their rose red petticoats manage to look remarkably like costumes from a two-colour rather than a three-strip Technicolor production.

I like this movie as it represents a different style & is refreshing. The costumes & scenery are outstanding & quite something to see especially in colour. I can watch this movie over & over again without being bored. The characters are well played & entertaining. I'm glad I came across it & thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice change to see Randolph Scott play a different type of role & I think he must have had 'fun' doing this movie. Gypsy Rose Lee is perfect in her role as the "Belle of the Yukon". Dinah Shore is well suited as the 'Nightingale of the North' with her singing. The comedic undertones add a lift to the movie & keeps it rolling. All in all this is a light & entertaining type of movie.

Leonard Maltin calls this a minor musical, and that it surely is, but it is still something you can enjoy. I've always enjoyed Randolph Scott and he plays a role much like that role he had in The Spoilers--but with a happier ending--here he reforms! Gypsy Rose Lee is fun and a looker; Dinah Shore's singing is, of course,terrific--though why they didn't do a hair style that would have been more attractive we'll never know. Charles Winninger and Florence Bates are both old pros and always add to anything of which they are a part. The ongoing feud between Bob Burns (how many people know who he was) and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams is fun and brought a number of laughs for this reviewer. The plot is weak so if you're looking for a great movie you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for a pleasant way to spend an afternoon--enjoy!

If you combine the worst acting , the worst songs, the worst script and the worst direction you will describe "Belle of the Yukon" - one wonders how Randolph Scott ever got convinced that he should be in this travesty of , I guess, a Western, but he was able to go through the movie with one expression only. As for Gypsy Rose Lee the less said the better, as her acting attempts were pathetic, and the odd one-liners she had to deliver fell flat in the worst way, and when she tried to look seductive, I was amazed Scott could keep a straight face. Dinah Shore was terribly miscast and looked past it, while two old stagers in Charles Winninger and Florence Bates must have dreamed of their good old days when they had been in good films rather than one of the great disasters of the era! The only redeeming feature was the color photography. Do not waste your time.