First a Girl

Gaumont British, 1935

Starring Jessie Matthews, Sonny Hale, Anna Lee, and Griffith Jones

Directed by Victor Saville

Music and Lyrics by Maurice Sigler, Al Goodheart, and Al Hoffman

If the story here seems familiar, this is not the first time we've seen it at this blog. I reviewed the 1982 remake Victor/Victoria way back in January 2019. The British, however, got there almost 50 years before MGM did. Evergreen was such a massive success, a follow-up with Matthews and Hale was likely inevitable. This time, Gaumont turned to Germany, where Viktor und Viktoria had been a hit in 1933. They adapted it for the enchantingly gamine Matthews and for English sensibilities. How does the story of a woman who dresses as a man who dresses as a woman look today? Let's begin as shop girls watch a lavish society fashion show and find out...

The Story: Shop girl Elizabeth (Matthews) loses her job when she wears the clothes she's supposed to be delivering to an audition instead. Caught in the rain, she meets Shakespearean actor Victor (Hale), who is currently performing a music hall drag act he calls "Victoria." After he comes down with laryngitis, he convinces Elizabeth to take his place as a female impersonator. They play the act for comedy and are such a success, promoter McLintock (Alfred Drayton) offers Elizabeth a contract. Elizabeth takes the name "Bill," and Victor is her manager.

Elizabeth eventually falls for the handsome and wealthy Robert (Jones), while Victor pursues his fiancee Princess Mironoff (Lee). Robert, however, still thinks Elizabeth is a man. She even drinks whiskey and smokes cigars to convince him she's the gender she claims to be. It's not until he rescues her from drowning on the French Riviera that he realizes she's all woman. Elizabeth is tired of the charade, but first Victor has to explain to the Princess that he and Elizabeth are only friends, and then they both have to figure out how to get Victoria off the stage for good.

The Song and Dance: Hale and Matthews are having just as much fun as Robert Preston and Julie Andrews would 50 years later, if not more. In fact, considering the subject matter, this is downright adorable. Hale and Matthews were married at the time, which explains their delightful chemistry and how they worked so well together. The costumes are gorgeous, the production sumptuous, and the farcical script hilarious at times. Heck, just the fact that they can get away with the female impersonator thing in 1935 is notable. This would not have been made in the US in 1935. 

The Numbers: We open with "Little Silkworm," that society fashion show. Elizabeth and the shop girls watch from windows looking into the auditorium. At one point, Elizabeth does an incredibly limber dance full of such high kicks, she actually kicks a shoe into the main theater! She does make a joke about it, but it gets her into trouble. She joins a mass audition singing in chorus, but is pulled quickly. Her first number as a female impersonator is "It's Written All Over Your Face." She's not entirely sure what to do...and then geese come out in the middle of the number. 

She's the toast of Europe by the time of "Half and Half." This one starts out looking normal, with women in male tuxes...before we see they're half in tuxes, and half in frilly dresses. "I Can Wiggle My Ears" is a big chorus routine in a lavish Art Deco nightclub. Singer Donald Stewart performs with the ladies in stripes, while Victor sings to the Princess. Elizabeth revels in wearing women's clothes while basking in the paradise of the French Riviera in "Say the World and It's Yours." "Everything's Rhythm In My Heart" showcases Elizabeth as literally a bird in a cage, as the other birds pamper and dress her. Victor reprises it in drag near the end of the film.

What I Don't Like: Alas, this doesn't have Rodgers and Hart writing songs. The music here is disappointingly bland, with only "I Can Wiggle My Ears" as a stand-out. And although the story makes slightly more sense than Evergreen, this is still a fluffy 30's musical. It's not for those looking for something deeper, or even the slightly naughty things Victor/Victoria did with this material in 1982. 

The Big Finale: Charming and hilarious, I enjoyed this even more than Evergreen. Highly recommended for fans of big 30's musicals, Matthews, or vintage British cinema.

Home Media: Too bad this one can only be found on YouTube at press time.

YouTube

Evergreen

Gaumont British, 1934

Starring Jessie Matthews, Sonny Hale, Betty Balfour, and Barry MacKay

Directed by Victor Saville

Music and Lyrics by various

Come with us across the Atlantic on a holiday trip to jolly old England this week as we take a look at the two most popular vehicles featuring beloved British dance star Jessie Matthews. Matthews started out as a dancer on the London stage in revues for Noel Coward and producer Andre Charlot. She'd been making movies since 1923. By the time this came out in 1934, she had just appeared in the successful movie version of The Good Companions and was looking to follow up on that success. How does the story of a young woman who poses as her own mother to get publicity look nowadays and on this side of the pond? Let's begin "yesterday" with popular music hall singer Harriet Green (Matthews) and her adoring audiences and find out...

The Story: Harriet gives up her career to marry the Marquis of Staines (Ivor McLaren), only to leave him and return to South Africa when her former partner George Treadwell (Hartley Power) tries to blackmail her over her illegitimate daughter. She leaves that daughter to be raised in the country by her old nursemaid. Years later, her daughter, Harriet Hawkes (Matthews), comes to London to get into show business herself. Handsome young publicity man Tommy Thompson (MacKay) sees Harriet's resemblance to her mother and convinces producer Leslie Benn (Hale) to feature her in a new revue as her well-preserved mother. Trouble arises when Harriet falls for Tommy, and not only does the public believe he's her son, but Treadwell comes knocking too, still looking for money. After they discover that they could get arrested for the deception, they have to figure out how to let Harriet be herself, without ending up in jail.

The Song and Dance: No wonder this was a huge hit in 1934 on both sides of the Atlantic. Matthews is simply luminous, an adorable cross between the dainty elegance of Audrey Hepburn and the ingenue proficiency of Eleanor Powell. Some of the numbers simply defy description. They're stranger than what even Busby Berkeley was doing in 1934, especially the "through the years" routine that begins with Matthews singing "When It's Springtime In Your Heart" in 1934 and ends up with women dressed in metal-covered robot costumes being turned into robotic workers in 1918 and people doing the waltz in 1904. The costumes and sets are absolutely gorgeous, with Mathews floating in acres of ruffles, lace, and fluff against a curving Art Deco backdrop. 

The Numbers: We open with Harriet Green wowing her audiences with an instrumental dance in a frilly gown, then singing the traditional music hall number "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-Wow." She and fellow actress-turned-titled lady Maudie (Betty Balfour) sing another music hall ditty, "I Wouldn't Leave My Little Wooden Hut For You" singing and dancing on the tables at their reception. Harriet sings "When You've Got a Little Springtime In Your Heart" twice, as an audition for Leslie Mann and Tommy Thompson after Tommy comes up with the idea of her being her mother, and later in that insane "through the years" number I mentioned above. The number starts with Matthews performing the song in one of her floaty dresses. She keeps turning a time piece, going further and further back, from the Charleston to the women turned into robots for Great War industry, to a waltz. 

Harriet wants to sing "If I Give In to You" and does a wonderful dance to it, but Maudie tells her it would give her away as a young woman. Leslie does the charming "Tinkle Tinkle" with the chorus at a rehearsal. Harriet goes Spanish in another instrumental dance, this time in a ruffled senorita outfit swirling with a passionate matador. Tommy's not really happy with Harriet when they rehearse "Dear Dear." Harriet keeps avoiding giving him a kiss, despite Leslie's insistence on it. The standard from this one is Rogers and Hart's "Dancing on the Ceiling," which Harriet dances in her living room while Tommy listens in his. 

"Over My Shoulder" begins as a romp in 1900, with Harriet and Tommy playing mother and son on an outing in their car. It turns into a more typical Berkeley-esque chorus girl routine in wild costumes. Harriet, finally fed up, comes out and does a striptease during her dance, ditching her "old lady" costume to reveal the young woman she truly is. Harriet reprises "Springtime," singing with her mother's own recording in court, then in a literal heavenly chorus. We end with Harriet singing "Over My Shoulder" with an angelic chorus. 

Trivia: Ever Green debuted at the Adelphi Theater on London's West End in 1930, with Matthews and Hale in MacKay's role. It originally had an all Rodgers and Hart score, but only "Dancing On the Ceiling," "Dear, Dear," and "If I Give In to You" were used in the movie. "In the Cool of the Evening" turned up as background scoring. To my knowledge, it has never made it to this side of the pond and has not been revived.

What I Don't Like: While I give the British credit for getting cheeky in a way no American musical would even attempt in 1934, this is still a fluffy 30's musical. MacKay is cute but otherwise dull as Harriet's love interest, and Hale can get annoying, especially early on when he's barking at everyone. And I do wish they'd kept the full Rodgers and Hart score! Though I do like "Over My Shoulder" (and it became a signature number for Matthews), most of the other non-Rodgers and Hart songs are pretty dull.

The Big Finale: If you love big 30's musicals or vintage British cinema, you'll want to step across time and join Harriet in her backstage adventure, too.

Home Media: Not on disc in North America, but it can be found on streaming.

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Standing Ovation

Rocky Mountain Pictures, 2010

Starring Kayla Jackson, Alanna Palumbo, Joei DiCarlo, and Pilar Martin

Directed by Stewart Rafill

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's hit the Jersey Shore this holiday weekend with this independent backstage tale. High School Musical was pretty much the template for all teen and tween musicals made from 2006 well into the 2010's, and this one was no exception. Apparently, despite Rocky Mountain Pictures hyping it to the skies in 2010, it was a huge flop with critics and audiences. Now that it's easily available on several streaming platforms, how does this tale of big hopes and bigger dreams come off today? Let's begin at a local contest for pre-teen dance groups and find out...

The Story: The Five Ovations are a talented song and dance pre-teen girl group in Atlantic City. They keep getting sabotaged by the Wiggies, a group of spoiled rich girls who specialize in outrageous wigs supplied by the wealthy father (Sal Dupree) of Ziggy Wiggs (London Clarke). Brittany O'Brian (Kayla Jackson) lives on the boardwalk above a 99 cent store with her Irish grandfather (P. Brendan Mulvey) and her musician songwriter brother Mark (Austin Powell). She's desperate to find the father who abandoned her and her mother. Her family is broke; her grandfather keeps using their money to play the horses.

Major network CDS announces a huge music video contest for pre-teen groups. After the Wiggies take over the school gym to rehearse, the Ovations convince Eric Bateman (William McKenna) to loan them his father's recording studio. They do make the video, but Ziggy and Mark sabotage it. Unfortunately, their "sabotage" turns it into a comedy and makes it popular with the audience at CDS. 

The Wiggies do make it to the finals. So do the Ovations, once someone else drops out. They recruit local dancers to help with their big number. Alanna Wannabe (Palumbo), a young girl who desperately wants to be a star, gets in on it, too. She and her father made a video, but it didn't make it to the finals. Meanwhile, tough girl Joei Battaluci (Joei DiCarlo), the Ovations' manager, uses her tough-guy attitude and menagerie of biting animals she keeps in her purse to help Brittany find out what happened to her father and find out who stole money from Joei's father.

The Song and Dance: This was cuter than I thought it would be from the low-budget pedigree. The numbers have real energy, the dancing isn't bad, and some of the comedy lands. DiCarlo steals the show as the hilariously tough kid who can talk herself into and out of anything and has an army of venomous critters at her disposal to back her up. As someone who has lived in Southern New Jersey all her life, I appreciate the filming in and around the Atlantic City area, including the boardwalks in Atlantic City, Cape May, Ocean City, and Wildwood. 

The Numbers: We actually open with a group performing a nervy "Thing 4 U" in 40's threads...before Mr. Wiggs turns off the lights and ruins their number. The Wiggies' first number is the too-sexy-for-their-ages "Blush" in pink wigs. The Ovations attempt "Bounce," but Ziggy paid a stagehand to put pepper on Brittany's microphone and make her sneeze. The Wiggies' rehearsal number is "That Boy," a song Mark was working on (to Brittany's disgust). They film the number on the Ocean City boardwalk, but Mr. Wiggs makes it clear that Alanna is not invited to join them.

Brittany performs a stirring "God Bless America" on a rain-soaked Atlantic City boardwalk, but she and Joei end up confronting a jerk who steals the money she made. Rap group Dacav5 performs "The Runaway" and "The Music Is Dropping You" as the Wiggies shimmy in a nightclub that, once again, is way too old for kids who can't be more than 13 or 14. The Ovations demonstrate different forms of dancing across the 20th and 21st century at an old folks' home in "Crazy Feet." "All I Want To Do Is Sing" provides the backdrop for Joei telling Brittany she has a line on the thief who stole her dad's money. 

The Ovations' first attempt at a music video is the late 60's themed Beach Party spoof "River Deep, Mountain High." While they try to figure out something more modern, Mr. Wiggs and the Wiggies perform "Soup to Nuts" dressed in their idea of upper-crust outfits at a local diner. The Ovations get stuck doing a commercial for a really awful brand of soda, singing "Shake It and Make It"...but they just can't drink that nasty stuff, no matter how much the director wants them to. They finally end up filming "Scream" at the Wildwood boardwalk, including a rap battle with local boys. Alanna's music video is "Go After Your Dream," complete with dancing firemen and her dancing with a moving teddy bear. "Superstars" is the Wiggies' self-aggrandizing video in glittery dresses with scads of dancers. 

Mr. Wiggs and the Wiggies perform "Under the Boardwalk" and "Splish Splash" in rather ridiculous mid-60's-style wigs and dresses at their big show. They look so silly, it's almost a relief when the Ovations let fleas loose in their wigs. A genuinely good gospel group performs "Our Song Begins Again" at the music video finals in New York. The Wiggies' "Dancing Girl" is actually rather bland for their energetic performance of it. Alanna and her dancer cousins from Florida join the Ovations for the vastly more unique space opera-themed "Shooting Star." The movie concludes over the end credits with "Turn It Up," a reprise of "All I Want to Do Is Sing," and the title song. 

What I Don't Like: As funny as this can be, in other ways, it's the ultimate in teen cliches. Even the names on a lot of the characters are painfully obvious. Who on Earth calls a teen music group the Wiggies? There's Alanna Wannabe the wannabe singing star, too. Some of the acting is stiff as a board. The ending is not only a complete wish-fulfillment deux ex machina, but it goes on for at least 15 minutes too long. Ending with the contest and maybe briefly letting Brittany meet her father would have sufficed, instead of drawing it out and having him be the solution to everyone's problems. For all their energy, the original songs are bland and unmemorable. 

The Big Finale: Most critics were really harsh on this one when it came out, but I'll give it a pass for the high-energy numbers, some hilarious bits, and just because not many movies were filmed and set in South Jersey. If you have pre-teen girls looking for background noise at a girl's day in or slumber party this holiday weekend, they can do far worse than this bit of showstopping lunacy.

Home Media: The DVD is currently expensive, but you can find this streaming for free with commercials just about anywhere online, including Tubi and Pluto TV.

DVD

Tubi

Pluto TV On Demand

Thanksgiving Short Subject Special - A Thanksgiving Tale

Showtime, 1983

Directed by James Field

Voices of Paul Fusco, Lisa Buckley, Richard Schellbach, and Lisa Fusco

Music and Lyrics by Richard Schellbach

In 1982 and 1983, Paul Fusco made four holiday puppet-based holiday specials for Showtime that showed off his puppeteering abilities. I covered the Easter special back in April. The Thanksgiving special debuted later in 1983 and would also turn up on Nickelodeon and elsewhere throughout the 80's. Like the rest of Fusco's early work, it vanished in the early 90's, only to reappear in the 2010's as streaming made early holiday programming more widely available. Is it as enjoyable as the Easter special? Let's begin in an alley in Newark, New Jersey with a group of very hungry cats and find out...

The Story: The cats live in a tool shed in the alley. They have a home, but have run out of food. The dogs who guard the restaurant next-door have cleared out all of the mice. They have plenty of food, thanks to their jobs, but live outside in the freezing cold. The cats think they have their Thanksgiving dinner all sewn up when Tom, a turkey with Broadway ambitions (Fusco), turns up on their doorstep. The dogs try to rescue him, which eventually results in a literal cat and dog fight. It's Queenie the female cat (Buckley) and Tom who finally realize that each group has what the other needs. Tom puts on a play that finally teaches both groups the importance of sharing what they have and working together.

The Song and Dance: For 30 years, I had vague memories of a Thanksgiving puppet special involving a group of cats and dogs who end up helping each other. I couldn't remember the title or any other details, until the Fusco shows started turning up on YouTube. I definitely enjoy this one more than the Easter special. The story is charming and unique, Fusco's Tom Turkey and his theatrical aspirations are hilarious (and he doesn't sound too much like his later creation ALF this time), and the cats and dogs all have well-delineated and very funny personalities. The puppets are slightly more interesting, too, with Tom being by far the most expressive.

The Numbers: The dogs get our first song, as they lament shivering outside and being homeless in "They Say It's a Dog's Life." The cats give their side of the story and why they think they own their turf in "We are the Cats." We finish after their Thanksgiving pageant with Tom and both groups realizing how important friendship and cooperation is in "Thanksgiving Magic." 

What I Don't Like: Though the story and puppets are a bit more interesting than the ones made for the Easter show, this is still pretty obviously a low-budget special made for cable in the early 80's. The sets are minimal, the characters can occasionally be grating, the score mainly consists of synthesizer music, and there's some mild Mexican stereotypes with the displaced chihuahua. 

The Big Finale: I'm glad to see that this mostly holds up pretty well. It remains a fun watch before Thanksgiving dinner for families with young kids or fans of ALF, the Muppets, or other similar kids' puppet shows.

Home Media: Streaming only, but it can be found for free with commercials pretty much anywhere, including Tubi and Amazon Prime.

Tubi

Amazon Prime

Two for Tonight

Paramount, 1935

Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Bennett, Mary Boland, and Lynne Overmann

Directed by Frank Tuttle

Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

Bing was at the height of his early success as a crooner when he made this short movie for Paramount. By this point, Paramount was beginning to codify just what Bing's movies were all about. They needed a goofy supporting cast, a girl for Bing to sing to (whether he actually gets her in the end or not), and some good songs that would make it on the hit parade. This was pretty much the prototype for Bing's vehicles during the 1930's. This may be the most typical of them. Just how does this confection about a songwriter who has to write a show for a demanding star in just a few days look now? Let's begin with Mrs. Smythe (Boland) as she tries to chase off a census-taker at her door and find out...

The Story: Mrs. Smythe has three sons by three different husbands, and they're trying to make ends meet by selling their songs. One day, as the eldest Gilbert Gordon (Crosby) is trying to perform a number for producer Alexander Myles (Maurice Cass) when a plane hits the tree he was singing next to. Gilbert ends up in the hospital, leading his mother to claim he was working on a musical and get $50,000 from the pilot.

Turns out the pilot's a woman, Bobbie Lockwood (Bennett), who can pay them 15 a week...but can also get them in to see her boss Harry Kling (Overmann), a Broadway producer. Kling's having a hard time finding a suitable musical for his actress girlfriend Lily Bianco (Thelma Todd) and thinks Gilbert's show would be perfect. Trouble is, Gilbert never wrote a show, but Kling thinks that the plane incident is the plot. He asks the butler Homps (Ernest Cossart) for ideas, and even starts a riot to get arrested. Even after he gets out, he gets into trouble with Bobbie and Kling when rehearsing a love scene with Lily and Kling walks out. It looks like the show won't go on, until his mother convinces a most unlikely backer to step forward.

The Song and Dance: For a movie lasting a little over an hour, this almost has more plot than Wicked: For Good! There's a lot going on here, including some genuinely good songs. Bing is charming as the eldest son who gets caught up in the lunacy, while Mary Boland is hilarious as his much-married mother who will do anything to get money for her boys. In fact, this has a bit more comedy than usual for one of Bing's movies, including that goofy sequence with the airplane drowning Bing out and how the riot in the nightclub gets started.

The Numbers: We open with Bing performing the title song over the credits. The brothers compose "Takes Two to Make a Bargain" as their mother deals with the census man. It includes several lines that are either spoofs of other songs, or referring to the piano being repossessed even as they work. Gilbert reprises it on the tree that gets drowned out by first a bee, then the airplane. He sings "From the Top of Your Head" to Bobbie while trying to come up with ideas for the play. The lovely ballad "Without a Word of Warning" is Gilbert's attempt to woo Bobbie, but she thinks he's interested in Lily. He performs "I Wish I Was Aladdin" with the prisoners while in jail in the film's only large-scale chorus number. Gilbert reprises "Word of Warning" near the end to win Bobbie back.

What I Don't Like: Um, yeah, for all the crazy stuff that happens, this is about as fluffy as you can get, even by the standards of 30's musicals. Bennett makes slightly more of an impression as strong-willed Bobbie than Todd as Lily, who doesn't have that much to do. The second half is far less interesting as the attempt to put on the show takes a backseat to Gilbert chasing Bobbie while Lily chases him. 

The Big Finale: Harmless hour's worth of fun if you're a fan of Bing or Joan Bennett or want to check out a smaller-scale 30's musical.

Home Media: Maybe it's just as well that the only place you can currently find this one is on YouTube with Portuguese subtitles. 

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - Wicked: For Good

Universal, 2025

Starring Cynthia Ervio, Ariana Grande, Johnathan Bailey, and Jeff Goldblum

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Music and Lyrics by Steven Schwartz

The idea of making Wicked into two separate movies was controversial from the outset. For one thing, the second act of the musical has always been problematic on Broadway. (And to be fair, the second half of the book the show is based on is, too.) Critics have long carped that it's long on plot and melodrama and short on music and characterization. For another, most movies separated into two parts are science fiction multi-verses or big action movies, not musicals. How well does this work with the story of how Elphaba and Glinda embrace their destinies and become the Witches of Oz? Let's begin with the creation of a familiar golden road, helped along by abused animals, and find out...

The Story: Five years after Elphaba (Ervio) left the Wizard's (Goldblum) tower, she's still fighting for animal rights from her own home in the woods. Fiyero (Bailey) is engaged to Glinda (Grande), who is the Wizard's assistant and spokes-witch. She still has no powers of her own, so Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) gives her a flying bubble to transport her around Oz. Elphaba tries to encourage the animals of Oz to join her, but they'd rather flee than go up against the Wizard once the Cowardly Lion (Colman Domingo) wails that he never wanted to be freed from his cage as a cub.

Elphaba's sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is angry and resentful because Elphaba abandoned her and didn't come to their father's funeral. She's also frustrated with Boq (Ethan Slater), who tries to leave her and return to Glinda. Nessa uses Elphaba's "Grimmerie" spell book to make him love her, but it shrinks his heart instead. Elphaba's attempt to fix the spell just turns him into a Tin Man. 

Elphaba flees to the Emerald City, where the Wizard and Glinda almost persuade her to join them...until she sees animals in cages below his throne room. She releases the animals and lets them stampede over Glinda and Fiyero's wedding. Furious when Fiyero joins Elphaba, Glinda tells Madame Morrible to use a rumor that Nessa is in trouble to bring Elphaba out of hiding. 

Morrible creates a tornado that drops the house belonging to Kansas resident Dorothy Gale (Bethany Weaver) on Nessa instead. Glinda and Elphaba initially come to blows when Glinda gives Dorothy Nessa's shoes, until Fiyero turns up. While Elphaba is determined to save him and get the shoes back, Glinda realizes how important their friendship is when she learns about the tornado and decides that when it comes to friendship, doing the right thing is far more important than any public image.

The Song and Dance: Whew! Some people may have questioned separating the two movies, but I think they did the right thing. There's enough plot for three fantasy movies just in this half! It does correct some of the problems from the first half of the film and the original Broadway show, including giving Boq and Nessa (slightly) more to do, bringing in Dorothy earlier, showing Glinda and Fiyero's wedding, and focusing more on Elphaba's attempts to help the animals. Ervio and especially Grande give powerhouse performances as the two witches, while Goldblum is suitably smarmy as the Wizard who was never able to leave his busker side in Kansas. The production remains stunning, with incredible, glittery costumes and a brilliant Technicolor mix of CGI and practical effects.

The Numbers: We open with "Every Day More Wicked," a reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked," as the citizens of Oz worry about the havoc wrecked by the Wicked Witch of the West. "Thank Goodness" they have Glinda, who claims "I Couldn't Be Happier" to have everything she wants. Elphaba tries to rally the animals to remain in Oz by reminding them that "There's No Place Like Home," but the Cowardly Lion breaks into her big power ballad. "The Wicked Witch of the East" is the extended sequence where Nessa tries to make Boq love her and both sisters end up causing more damage in the end.

"Wonderful" is the Wizard's song, as he and Glinda remind Elphaba that truth can be bent and is what people want to hear. Glinda laments "I'm Not that Girl" after her ruined wedding and Fiyero runs off with Elphaba. The two lovers declare that "As Long as Your Mine," nothing else matters. Furious when her attempt to keep Fiyero from harm transforms him instead, Elphaba angrily declares "No Good Deed" goes unpunished. Boq, now the Tin Man, leads the charge with "March of the Witch Hunters" chorus. Glinda realizes how badly she's been manipulated in "The Girl In the Bubble," the other new song written for the film. Elphaba and Glinda make their tearful goodbyes at the abandoned castle where Elphaba is keeping Dorothy, realizing that they have changed each other "For Good." Everyone gets their just rewards in "A Wicked Good Finale," including Glinda, Elphaba, and the animals.

What I Don't Like: First of all, it's the same deal here as in the first film. If you're not a fan of fantasy, musicals, or The Wizard of Oz (or darker Oz retellings), you're not going to be into this. This is still a colorful world where people burst into song. Second, it may be too dark for people expecting something funnier and lighter like the first film or the 1939 Wizard of Oz. They tried to dial down the violence and sexuality from the book, but it's still pretty violent, and there is the "As Long as You're Mine" romantic sequence. Frankly, this half moves way too slow at times, especially in the middle of the film with the "March of the Witch Hunters," and I never thought the love triangle was all that interesting even in the original show (or the book). 

The Big Finale: While I don't think this is quite as good as the first movie, I don't think it's nearly as horrible as critics are making it out to be, either. They're either not musical fans or were expecting "more of the same." If you give this one a chance and have time on your hands, you may find a lot to love on the darker side of Oz.

Home Media: The DVD and Blu-Ray are scheduled to debut on January 26th. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

4K

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - The Lottery Bride

United Artists, 1930

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, John Garrick, Joe E. Brown, and Zasu Pitts

Directed by Paul L. Stein

Music by Rudolf Friml; Lyrics by J. Keirn Brennan

If you thought The Desert Song was campy, get a load of this. Arthur Hammerstein, uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, was known at that point for producing lavish operettas. He'd just come off the successful Rose-Marie and so-so Golden Dawn when he headed west to Hollywood for more opportunities. He joined up with United Artists, known as the home for independent producers like Samuel Goldwyn, and got on the early talkies operetta band wagon with one of the most expensive movies the company had put out at that point. Hammerstein even borrowed up-and-coming soprano Jeanette MacDonald from Paramount and popular comic Joe E. Brown from Warner Brothers. How does all this manage to mix with a dance marathon, a rescue on the ice, and an Italian dirigible? Let's start at the Viking Ship, a club Oslo, Norway, as American orchestra leader Hoke (Brown) arrives for his gig there and find out...

The Story: Hoke suggests a dance marathon to drum up publicity for the Viking Ship and the orchestra's gig. Club singer Jennie (MacDonald) enters to help her brother Nels (Carroll Nye) with his gambling debts, against the wishes of her sweetheart Chris (Garrick). Jennie is arrested when the police, encouraged by Italian dirigible pilot Alberto (Joseph Macauley), come looking for Nels. She's arrested for helping him escape. Heartbroken, and believing her to be in love with Alberto, Chris runs up north to join a mining camp.

To his shock, Jennie turns up there as well. She and Hilda (Pitts), the owner of the Viking Ship, offered themselves as "lottery brides," brides for the men in the camp. Jennie is won by Chris' brother Olaf (Robert Chisholm). Olaf is kind to Jennie, but she and Chris are still deeply in love. After Alberto turns up with his dirigible, Chris joins the crew. Jennie's terrified when the ship goes down in the Arctic wastes and insists on organizing a search party herself. Meanwhile, Olaf goes after his brother on his own with a sled dog, hoping to bring his brother home and back to his beloved Jennie.

The Song and Dance: Well, I give this one credit for being original. At least, unlike the last operetta I reviewed that was set in Norway, this one moves pretty fast for a movie of its era and involves no children whatsoever. MacDonald and Garrick sing beautifully and wear some pretty fabulous costumes, including fur coats that must have cost more than the entire city of Oslo. Brown and Pitts make the most of their limited roles, stealing the show with their surprisingly decent chemistry whenever they're on-screen. 

The Numbers: We open with the college students and their sweethearts populating the Viking Ship performing "Yubla," before MacDonald and the chorus take over. Chris and Jennie insist that they are "My Northern Lights" while strolling together at the club. "The Marathon" is performed to a driving instrumental number from the orchestra that picks up as we see more and more couples drop out. "When a Brother Needs a Friend" is the rousing number for the brothers and the chorus in the mining camp's recreational hall. "I'll Follow the Trail" is the camp's song for the dirigible crew when it arrives. It's reprised by the chorus when the dirigible leaves for its ill-fated journey with Chris as part of the crew. "You're an Angel," Olaf sings to Jennie, not knowing she's in love with his brother.

Trivia: The movie as it stands online and on Kino Lorber DVD is missing ten minutes of footage, including the two-strip Technicolor finale with the dirigible and more scenes with Brown and Pitts. That version has been restored and was shown on Turner Classic Movies in 2011. 

John Garrick would go on to be a popular singer and actor in British film during the 30's and 40s. 

What I Don't Like: I don't think even a two-strip Technicolor finale with a crashing dirigible could save this mess. MacDonald is clearly bored other than her singing, and Garrick is playing a jerk who dumps his girlfriend over something she could have explained and runs off, twice. Pitts and Brown may be the best thing about the movie, but their parts are so greatly reduced, they have almost nothing to do in the second half. It's like someone threw together the worst parts of five different movies and tried blending them together. Absolutely nothing makes sense, including the lovers ending up together. Frankly, Olaf may not have been the most passionate guy, but he treated Jennie a lot better than his brother did.

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent enthusiasts of MacDonald, operetta, or the early talkie era.

Home Media: As mentioned, the truncated version can be found on DVD and on streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime