Just Watched: "The First Traveling Saleslady"

...Made in 1956, this movie is your basic '50's Western'... not really my favorite 'genre', but they are ok... of course, this one has our VKM going for it, so there's your motive for watching it! (duh)... and she IS the central character, so that's the perfect 'foundation'...speaking of 'foundations', that's exactly what Ginger's character, Rose Gillray, is selling...corsets, that is. Evidently, that is easier said than done, as corsets were not 'acceptable' in the Old West...so the business is in trouble, and she has to go to her suppliers and make 'deals'...one of which is the steel manufacturer, where the corset 'stays' (I think that is what they are called) come from. Anyway, this company also makes barbed wire, which is also not accepted in the west... well, that's about as far as I will go, but you probably see where it is going...
As usual, there are many suitors pursuing Ginger, with only one eventual winner... won't tell you that, either.
Her character basically has 'moxie', as one would expect from the first traveling saleslady, no? Although she has her share of 'setbacks', she keeps plugging away at the problem at hand... and we all know what happens when Ginger sets her mind to anything!
As for Ginger's wardrobe, it is nice, 'turn-of-the-century' stuff, but more 'business lady' style; there are only a few scenes where she is 'to the nines'... she has a dinner date, and is in a white number with gold and black flower print on it... 'off-the-shoulder' style (what I would call it, anyway)...pretty nice.
Ginger is in her mid-forties in this one, and is as fetching as ever, IMHO - I think I have written before that the 'middle-age' Ginger is quite attractive to me, being in my 'low-to-mid-forties' myself....
The fact that it is in color is an interesting feature, too... I know "Ginger in B/W" is our mantra, as it well should be, but it is neat to see Ginger in color every now and then (I wish she would have made one of her color films while she was in her 'dark-hair color' mode, just to figure out the exact color...(just let it go, dude...let it go... :-]).
There is only one 'small' thing about this one, and it is really 'nit-picking'... but Ginger basically kicks her voice up a noticeable amount 'higher' in this one... it may well be that her 'sales partner' (Carol Channing, who is quite funny here in her screen debut) has that 'unusual' voice, and Ginger just thought of a 'complementary' timbre for her character, since they are doing a good chunk of the movie dialouge together... it's not to the point of 'annoying', but I guess enough to be 'aware' of it... but not THAT big a deal, I assure you...probably shouldn't have even mentioned it - sorry.
Overall, it is a pretty 'cute' little movie, and Ginger is the primary focus... and she is her usual charming and perky self... the plot is somewhat predictable, and the 'western' aspect is typical, but without any 'out-and-out mean' characters... just 'antagonists'.
This was the LAST RKO movie made, and thus very appropriate Ginger is in it... also, check out a young Clint Eastwood - his character is a somewhat minor one, tho... and, James Arness is featured, the fellow who played 'Marshal Dillon' on the 60's TV show 'Gunsmoke', which actually ran well over a decade, I believe...
Rating? well, it is in the 'middle' of the pack, I guess... quite entertaining, and 'easy' to watch - nothing too 'heavy', plot-wise. Thumbs-up overall!
Hope this helps out somebody somewhere...
Thanks, JW