I am not a fan of musicals, but if I am to watch one I prefer this type: where the story is told in dialogue, interrupted and built onto by the songs. The movies that are pure music — including dialogue, threaten to cause me to slide out of my chair onto the floor and stare at the ceiling.

The writing is a bit hokey and sometimes predictable, but overall it is entertaining and quite watchable. We wondered where they found room in the building for the huge set that was created, but rule number one here is to suspend your disbelief, and ignore niggling little questions such as: where are the parents of the general’s granddaughter?

So it was a pleasant enough watch. I saw a review that spoke of Danny Kaye’s bad acting, but really I thought he and everyone did just fine. The songs are all good, except for the title song, which is of course perfect.