Cabaret

ABC Pictures/Allied Artists, 1972
Starring Liza Minnelli, Joel Gray, Michael York, and Helmut Griem
Directed by Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Released at a low point for musicals in general, Cabaret became one of the most successful musical films in history, winning eight Oscars and making stars out of Minnelli and Gray. Does this decadent look at a changing Berlin in the early 30's earn it's "Money, Money?" Let's head to the infamous Kit Kat Klub in the heart of Berlin to find out...

The Story: Sally Bowles (Minnelli) is a singer in Berlin in 1931 who performs at the Kit Kat Klub, a sleazy nightspot. She meets a man from her boarding house, author and English teacher Brian Roberts (York), at the club one night. Despite his seeming disinterest, they eventually become friends, and then lovers. Sally and Brian eventually befriend Max (Griem), a rich German nobleman. He takes them to his country house and proceeds to have affairs with both. He eventually grows bored with them and heads to Argentina, leaving them money, to Sally's general lack of amusement. She's even less happy when she discovers that she's pregnant. Brian wants to take her back to England, but she has no interest in being a dull housewife and gets an abortion.

Two friends of theirs, Fritz, a German Jew who claims he's Christian (Fritz Wepper) and Natalia, a snooty German Jewish heiress (Marisa Berenson), don't do much better. He has to reveal his true religion to her parents...which turns out to not be the smartest thing he could do. The Nazis are rising to power, and they don't like anyone who is different from them, especially Jews. Meanwhile, the Master of Ceremonies (Gray) joins Sally and the dancers at the Kit Kat Klub in musical numbers that comment on the action, showing how the Nazis went in the space of two years from barely being tolerated in the Klub to having prime seats and influencing the numbers.

The Song and Dance: Gray's creepy performance and Minnelli's electric one won them both deserved Oscars. York and Griem are also excellent as the men in Sally's life who are more willing to get out of Germany before things get ugly. Fosse's dynamic direction turns the numbers into a riot of color and motion, showing off his famous knock-kneed, tight-limbed dancing style. The brilliant colors on the stage make a wonderful contrast to the darker tones in the non-musical segments and nearly shimmer in the spooky anthem "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." Love the art direction and costumes that ably capture all the glamour and hell-for-broke sexuality of Berlin in the early 30's, before the rise of the Nazis forced things to be toned down.

It's interesting how the movie portrays sexuality, especially homosexuality. At a time when the subject was just starting to come up more often in the US, it's pretty open about what Brian and Max were. Considering that the Nazis were even less fond of homosexuals than they were of Jews, it's probably just as well that both men left.

Favorite Number: Almost every song in this film has become iconic today, from Gray and Minnelli's classic bump-and-grind to "Money, Money" to Minnelli belting "Maybe This Time." The opening number "Willkomen" and title-song finale perfectly encapsulate the movie's themes as Gray introduces his "beautiful" girls in barely-there stripper costumes and black mascara, and then Sally pretty much demands that everyone join her in enjoying life, no matter what. "Mein Herr," with Sally dancing around the high-backed chair, is probably the one everybody thinks of when this movie comes to mind, along with the chilling Nazi ballad "Tomorrow Belongs to Me."

Trivia: Bob Fosse became the first director in history to win a Tony (for the show Pippin), Emmy (for the special Liza With a Z) and Oscar in one year.

This won eight Oscars in 1972, the most any movie has ever won without winning Best Picture.

The original stage version of Cabaret debuted in 1966. On stage, more time was spent away from the Kit Kat Klub, Brian was named Cliff and his sexuality was far less open, and the second couple were Sally and Cliff's German landlady and the kindly Jewish shopkeeper she was going to marry - until the Nazis come in. Gray had been the Master of Ceremonies in the original cast and would be the MC again in a 1987 Broadway revival. The show would turn up on Broadway again, with heavy revisions, in 1998 and 2014.

What I Don't Like: Definitely not for children, those who prefer their musicals on the lighter side, or aren't into Fosse's style. The book sequences between songs explore sexual, religious, and political themes in a way that's pretty darn grim. After all, this is a musical about the rise to power of one of the nastiest political groups in history. While the numbers do lighten things a bit, especially early-on, most of this is as dark as you can go. There's quite a bit of sex and adult themes, and we see the results of Brian getting a beating from Nazis (though not the actual beating).

Yet another musical I wish had kept more songs from its stage version. I understand that Fosse wanted to focus on the contrast between the escapism at the Kit Kat Klub and the difficulties of everyday life, but some of the cut songs are really good, including "Don't Tell Mama," "It Couldn't Please Me More," and "The Money Song."

The Big Finale: Adults who are fans of Fosse, Minnelli, or want to check out a more thoughtful and darker musical than usual will have a lot to chew on in this decadent, slightly sleazy tale.

Home Media: A restored Blu Ray edition was just released from the Warner Archives this past November.

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