Cult Flops - Brigadoon

MGM, 1954
Starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Van Johnson, and Barry Jones
Directed by Vincent Minnelli
Music by Fredrick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner

MGM had high hopes for this adaptation of the hit 1948 Broadway show, so much that they cut the budget for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and gave it to this film. As you can tell from the title of this entry, things didn't go nearly as well as they expected. People at the time decided they preferred westerns to fantasy and flocked to Seven Brides instead. What happened here? Let's head to the title village in Scotland as the mist is rising over the Highlands and find out...

The Story: New Yorkers Tommy Albright (Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Johnson) stumble into Brigadoon, a quaint village in the Scottish Highlands, after getting lost in the mist. The citizens are preparing for the wedding of Jean Campbell (Virginia Bosler) to strapping young Charlie Dalyrumple (Jimmy Thompson). Jean's older sister Fiona (Charisse) is in no hurry to go courting, but she and Tommy find themselves falling for each other. Jeff is far less interested in the too eager Meg (Dee Turnell).

Mr. Lundie (Jones), the head of the school, explains to Tommy and Jeff what's going on. The town's priest wished to protect it from witches and other bad spirits, so he prayed for a miracle. Brigadoon only appears once every 100 years. Outsiders can visit, but no resident can leave, or they'll break the spell and the townspeople will die. Harry Beaton (Hugh Loring), who is heartbroken that Jean is marrying another, rushes out during their wedding ceremony in an attempt to leave and destroy the town. It's Jeff who inadvertently stops him, and Jeff who convinces Tommy that he can't stay for some girl he only just met. True love, however, always finds away...even across time.

The Song and Dance: There's several things to admire about this unusual Scottish romance. The cast, especially Jones as the teacher who relates most of exposition about the town and Loring as they angry and vengeful Harry, are the best of the cast, along with some biting wisecracks from an enjoyably sarcastic Johnson. The beautifully done costumes and huge soundstage sets ably recreate the fantasy setting and admittedly deserved their Oscar nods.

Favorite Number: Probably the best and most famous of the lovely dance routines here is "The Heather on the Hill" pas de deux. Kelly and Charisse convey their passion far more ably here than they do when they speak. Kelly has a decent solo to "Almost Like Being In Love," and has fun joining Thompson for "Go Home to Bonnie Jean." I love the nifty wedding ceremony, which really brings the colorful Highlanders and their culture to life.

Trivia: The original plans were to film this in Scotland...but bad weather and budget problems forced them onto a highly detailed soundstage set.

Five songs from the original show and one dance were dropped. "Come to Me, Bend to Me" was deemed extraneous, Kelly couldn't handle "There but For You Go I" or "From This Day On," and the censors had a fit over the ribald lyrics in Meg's songs "My Mother's Wedding Day" and "The Love of My Life." The first three and "The Sword Dance" were at least filmed. "Come to Me," "The Sword Dance," and "From This Day On" still exist in full and are included on the solo DVD and Blu-Ray; only the audio exists for "There But For You."

The Broadway show has been revived many times since 1948, most recently in a concert at the New York City Center in 2017. There's also a TV movie from 1966 with Robert Goulet as Tommy, Peter Falk as Jeff, and Sally Ann Howes as Fiona.

According to Wikipedia, people still ask about the vanishing village in the Highlands to this day when they're roaming around Scotland.

What I Don't Like: MGM should have sprung for the on-location filming, or at least filmed it outside. This show is as much about its setting as the characters, and while the sets are nice, they also make everything seem cramped and confined. They should have gone for Technicolor, too. The Ansco color lacks its vivid hues and is too muted for such a tale, especially given Vincent Minnelli's affinity for brilliant hues.

But even filming outside wouldn't have overcome deficiencies in the cast and story. Kelly and Charisse have more chemistry in their dances than they do in the book scenes. With her two numbers cut, the role of Meg, which is supposed to bring comic relief to a fairly heavy tale, is little more than a bit part. Charisse was never much of an actress outside of her dancing, and that's especially obvious during the second half where she and Kelly are parting.

The biggest problem is...despite its ongoing popularity, this was never my favorite Lerner & Loewe musical. In some ways, you have to agree with Jeff and Harry that the whole "miracle" seems less like a miracle at times and more like a curse. People can come, but they can't leave, and what's supposed to happen to Brigadoon in the future, as civilization continues to push its way into the Highlands? It feels more creepy than romantic to me. Not to mention, the priest did this without consulting the townspeople or asking them how they felt about the whole thing. Couldn't there have been a better way to protect them from bad spirits?

The Big Finale: Some great duets and ensemble numbers don't make up for the inherent problems with the book, casting, and sets. Apparently, a lot of people who did see it in the theater in the 50's or on TV later have fond memories of it, but it's not a huge favorite of mine. For fans of Kelly, Charisse, Johnson, or the MGM musicals of the 1950's only.

Home Media: The DVD and Blu-Ray are currently available from the Warner Archives, and it's on several streaming platforms.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime