The Boy Friend

MGM, 1971
Directed by Ken Russell
Starring Twiggy, Tommy Tune, and Christopher Gable
Music and Lyrics by Sandy Wilson

The Story: Sweet little Polly (Twiggy) is the assistant stage manager for a struggling musical in a small English town in the late 1920's. She's almost literally thrust into the spotlight when the real star (Glenda Jackson) breaks her ankle. The poor girl really has no idea what she's doing. The only cast members who seem at all eager to help her are the handsome leading man (Christopher Gable) whom she as a crush on, and her eternally tap-dancing guy friend Tommy (Tommy Tune), who has a rather melodramatic backstory for such a cheerful fellow.

It turns out that Polly's sudden promotion isn't the only excitement going on behind the scenes. The Hollywood director DeThrill (Vladek Sheybal) is in town and has stopped to watch the show. Everyone in the cast tries to outdo each other in the hope of going to Hollywood to become a star. The director, Max Manville (Max Adrian), wishes they had a bigger budget to do more elaborate blockbusters like what the US was churning out during the early talkie era...and his dreams and the cast's become the basis for some truly weird Busby Berkley homages.

The Song and Dance: While the Busby Berkley pastiche numbers can be fun, the movie is at it's best when it concentrates on the talented cast. Twiggy made her debut in this film after leaving modeling, and it's no wonder she and Tune would go on to do another 20's spoof in 1983 on Broadway, My One and Only. They have a charming chemistry together that contrasts well with the eccentricities and hamminess from everyone else, especially Adrian as the starry-eyed director and Antonia Ellis as gold-digging Maisie. 

Favorite Number: "I Could Be Happy With You" is a lovely Busby Berkley homage, and probably the film's single best number, just Gable and Twiggy and chorus girls. The first half of their "Room In Bloomsbury" duet is also adorable. Adrian also gets to have fun with one of the chorus girls in "It's Never Too Late to Fall In Love." He's expecting her to be a demure nun while he sings, but she eventually shucks her habit for something a tad racier...and more appealing to DeThrill.

What I Didn't Like: Like many musicals from the late 60's and early 70's, this one gets way too big for it's britches and for both the stories it's telling. It was originally cut down to 109 minutes when it was released in the US, but was restored to the original two hours in the 90's. Some of the numbers go on for way too long; the second half of "Room In Bloomsbury," with dancing gnomes and elves and flowers, is just weird and totally unnecessary. "Won't You Charelston With Me?" is marred by frantic editing that makes it look more like a recent "found footage" movie and barely lets you see the actual dancing. A ballet mid-way through the film that takes everyone outside and dresses them as gods and satrys comes totally out of nowhere, is never spoken of again, and stops the film cold.

The Big Finale: For all this movie's problems, I have to admit that it's grown on me since I originally found the video of the restored film in 2011. I've since picked up the Warner Archives DVD release, and I think it's now on Blu-Ray as well. If you're a fan of Busby Berkley or Ken Russel's work or Twiggy and Tune, you could be very happy giving this neglected charmer a look.

The Boy Friend On DVD 
On Blu-Ray