Starring Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, Arthur O'Connell, and Jeanette Nolan
Directed by Henry Levin
Music by Paul Francis Webster; Lyrics by Sammy Fain
Pat Boone was one of the most popular singers of the 1950's and early 60's. In fact, only Elvis Presley got close to him in record sales...but in all other ways, he was as different from Elvis as bubble gum pop is from the blues. He was a nice boy from Tennessee who finished college, went to church, was married to the same girl from 1953 until her death in 2019, and was the type girls brought home to meet their mothers with no hesitation. Ironically, his second movie had him playing a "bad" boy from the city who gets sent to the country to be reformed. How does this work with Boone's squeaky-clean image? Let's begin with the arrival of Nick Conover (Boone) in rural Kentucky and find out...
The Story: Nick was sent to live with his Aunt Henrietta (Nolan) and Uncle Jed Bruce's (O'Connell) horse farm after he and some friends stole a car for a joyride in the city and was caught. He lost his license and was sent to spend the remainder of his parole in the country. Uncle Jed not only isn't happy to have him, he's not happy, period. He's let his horse farm go since his son, Jed Jr, died in the Korean War. There's only one horse left on the farm, the onery Tugfire, whom he kept because he was his son's favorite.
Liz Templeton (Jones) meets Nick when she rides her horse over to invite Jed to see her father's (Matt Crowley) horses. Nick doesn't do well with them. He can't get on Liz's horse, Tugfire scares him, and he doesn't know what a sulky - a small racing carriage - is. Liz thinks he's cute, but it's her sophisticated older sister Fran (Dolores Michaels) he's interested in at first.
He manages to fix his uncle's car and drive it around the fields, but it scares Tugfire. After he rescues the horse from brambles, Jed's convinced he can get Nick to race Tugfire in the county fair sulky race. Nick's more interested in a barbecue with the Templeton girls. He thinks no one will know if he races Fran's beau Al (Bradford Jackson) in their cars...until it gets him into trouble with the sheriff right before the big race.
The Song and Dance: This is far better than I thought it would be. I assumed we'd get a little country romance with a few Boone ballads shoehorned in. To my surprise, it's a full-on musical, with seven songs and two reprises. Boone isn't the only one doing the singing, either. Jones gets numbers to herself, and there's several big chorus routines, including at the fair and a local dance. Boone's so charming, you can understand why Liz falls for him. Nolan and O'Connell do well as the kindly aunt who worries about her nephew's well-being and the taciturn farmer who thought he lost his son, until he saw Nick help Tugfire out. There some gorgeous widescreen cinematography, much of it actually filmed in rural Kentucky. You can almost feel the soft breeze and smell that clover Nick croons about in the opening number.
Favorite Number: Nick gets the first number as he walks to his aunt and uncle's farm from the main road, singing about the "Clover In the Meadow" and that sweet country air. He claims "Give Me a Gentle Girl" after he meets Fran and she and Liz invite him to the local dance. Liz sings her version as she prepares for her shower...for she knows that for all her tomboy ways, she's a far gentler girl than her sophisticated sister. He sings the smash hit title song to earn 15 dollars at the dance. She joins him while driving him home, but is disappointed when he just says she's a "good sport."
The group numbers are even more fun. "Do It Yourself" has Al, Nick, and the girls putting together an old-fashioned barbecue, with a hand-cranked ice cream maker and home-made sauce. "First Meeting" is the chorus routine at the dance. The kids' swinging moves prove to Nick that they're definitely not "square dancers!" Everyone sings about "The Bentonville Fair" as they enjoy the rides and cotton candy on the midway. The entire cast reprises the title song in the finale as they all drive happily home from the fair.
Trivia: Remake of the 1944 Fox film Home In Indiana with Jeanne Crain in Jones' role, which was a more faithful version of the best-selling book The Phantom Filly.
What I Don't Like: This story is older than the hills of Kentucky. No one would believe for a minute that clean-cut Boone would do anything worse than politely ask to borrow a car; he certainly doesn't look like the type who would go out joyriding. While he does have chemistry with Jones and they work well enough together, their relationship is so chaste, Boone wouldn't even kiss her because of his wife and his religion. It doesn't make their getting together in the end terribly believable. Not to mention, the melodrama with Nick and the race comes on too suddenly and is cleared up much too easily.
Despite the wide-screen pedigree, this is also pretty small-scale for a mid-century musical, with only two major chorus numbers and a small cast. It's not for people looking for one of the splashier Broadway adaptations of the time. Most of the other songs in the score pale besides the Oscar-nominated title number (though "Do It Yourself" is pretty cute).
The Big Finale: Far better than I expected, this bucolic charmer is recommended for fans of Boone, Jones, or those looking for a lower-key musical to enjoy on a warm April afternoon.
Home Media: Expensive on disc and not on streaming. You may want to look for this one used.
No comments:
Post a Comment