Family Fun Saturday - The Little Mermaid (2023)

Disney, 2023

Starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy

Directed by Ken Marshall

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Lin-Manuel Miranda

Let's revisit that world under the sea in Disney's latest live-action remake. I've had mixed feelings on these movies, which range from good as the original to unnecessary and why in the heck did they bother? It doesn't help that the original animated Disney Little Mermaid has its good points, but was never a huge favorite of mine. Is this one also good as the original, or should they have left this sleeping dogfish alone? Let's once again begin with Prince Eric (Hauer-King) and his men on his ship as they glide across the sea and find out...

The Story: Ariel (Bailey), a mermaid, is obsessed with the world of humans on the surface. She goes to the surface of the water to see fireworks, and ends up rescuing Eric when his ship runs against rocks during a storm. Her father King Triton (Javier Bardem) understands neither her interest in humans, nor her collection of objects from above. After he destroys her collection, Ariel goes to the sea witch Ursula (McCarthy) to help her get above. Ursula agrees to give her legs for three days, but only if she gives up her voice. If she can get Eric to kiss her, she'll stay a human. If she doesn't, she belongs to Ursula. Ariel's friends Scuttle the Northen Gannet (Awkardfina), Sebastian the crab (Daveed Digs), and Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) do everything they can to help her kiss him...but Ursula isn't going to make things easy...

The Song and Dance: Bailey is the thing here. She's a perfect Little Mermaid - sweet, spunky, and curious about everything. The more realistic designs and animation mostly work well with the actual humans around them. Somehow, Sebastian looks cuter as a real crab than he did as an animated one, and Ursula's eels are a lot scarier when you can really see their teeth. McCarthy has a ball as a delectably over-the-top Ursula, Bardem is a commanding Triton, and Hauer-King has a lot more spirit than Eric did in the original movie. I also appreciate that Ariel is a tad more proactive here, doing things herself that other characters did for her in the original film, including taking on Ursula in the finale.

Favorite Number: We open with "Part Of Your World" this time as Ariel explores her treasures with Flounder and wishes she could be with those who originally used them. "Mysterious Fathoms Below" is now a short drinking song for Eric and his men onboard ship before the storm. "Under the Sea" remains a showstopper with more realistic sea creatures dancing and swimming in Busby Berkeley routines. I like that Ariel takes a bigger part in the number here, dancing and singing with the others. Eric has the big ballad "Wild Uncharted Waters" after his mother Queen Selina (Noma Dumezweni) tells him he needs to focus on land and stop going out to sea, looking for girls that don't exist. 

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is also more-or-less the same here, with McCarthy throwing herself into it just as much. "For the First Time" is a charming number for Ariel when she's on the surface and wondering about everything she sees, from corsets to riding into town. "Kiss the Girl" is also pretty much the same, if maybe a bit smaller, with fewer animals flitting around and Scuttle more integrated into the number. Awkardfina gets the other new number, the rap "The Scuttlebut" as Scuttle tells her friends what's happening and how Ursula tricked Eric.

What I Don't Like: Some problems from the original film remain. This still doesn't have much in common with the original Hans Christian Andersen "Little Mermaid," and letting Ariel and Eric go around the world instead of just getting married doesn't make it less of a cop-out. Other than Eric's "Wild Uncharted Waters," Miranda's rap and R&B don't really fit in with the more traditional Ashman-Menken Broadway tunes. Awkwardfina's "Scuttlebut" sounds especially ridiculous. The special effects are disappointing. The animals look more realistic, but the watery backgrounds are dark, dreary, and look like the CGI they are. The extra scenes are mainly padding and draw the movie out for way, wayyy too long. 

The Big Finale: This seems to have garnered mixed reviews all around...including from me. For everything they got wrong, there's a lot they got right, including some excellent performances. Not horrible, but as with all of the Disney remakes, simply not necessary. Recommended mainly for families with mermaid-or-ocean-crazy kids and those who loved the original movie. 

Home Media: As a brand-new movie, this is easily found in all major formats. It's now on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Let's Make Love (1960)

20th Century Fox, 1960

Starring Yves Montand, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Randall, and Frankie Vaughan

Directed by George Cukor

Music and Lyrics by various

Grable wasn't the only Fox blonde who had trouble with her career in the 50's and early 60's. Monroe was one of the most beloved stars in the world and an icon of beauty and sexuality by 1960, but what she wanted was to be a respected actress. Her increasing frustrations were drowned in liquor, drugs, and troubled marriages. Monroe had just come from the wildly successful Some Like It Hot. Originally, her next movie was to have been The Misfits, written by her then-husband Arthur Miller, but Fox was so delighted with Hot that they held her to her contract and rushed her into something lighter. Montand, who appeared in a French version of Miller's The Crucible, replaced Gregory Peck when Miller came on to shift the focus to Monroe's character. 

There were problems from the start. Monroe didn't want to do the movie and thought the script was awful, Montand didn't speak English well, and two strikes disrupted filming. With all that, how does the story of a French businessman who joins a revue making fun of him and falls for its leading lady look today? Let's begin with an opening prologue revealing the history of the billionaire Clement family and its current scion, Jean-Marc (Montand), and find out...

The Story: Clement's publicity man Alexander Kaufman (Randall) reports that an off-Broadway revue has a sketch that makes fun of his playboy lifestyle. Intrigued, he goes to the theater to see what it's all about. He's immediately smitten with leading lady Amanda Dell (Monroe) and accepts a role in the show when director Oliver Burton (David Burns) thinks he's an actor. Clement is jealous of Amanda's attention to the show's male lead Tony Danton (Vaughan) and hires Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, and Gene Kelly (themselves) to teach him how to really put over a performance. He even ends up backing the show when one of his employees tries to end the show by raising the rent on the theater. He still, however, has to tell Amanda the truth about who he is and why he's there...

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, Monroe has far more chemistry with Montand than bossy Barbara Streisand would have with him a decade later in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. They make a surprisingly lovely couple. In fact, poor English aside, he's rather charming as the French businessman who learns just how much fun and hard work show business can be. The soft DeLuxe Color and attractive costumes (including Monroe's infamous sweater dress in the opening number) adds a great deal to the fluffy story. 

Favorite Number: We're introduced to Amanda in the Cole Porter standard "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Monroe slides around poles in that short sweater dress and not much else as men in tank tops pant around her. Vaughan's introductory number is a slightly re-written "Give Me the Simple Life." He also sings about how Monroe has those "Crazy Eyes" that do wild things to him. 

He and Monroe sing about how "Specialization" can make one a major success in show business. This is the weird number with Monroe strutting around in a wide sequined gown and an embarrassed Clement coming out in his fancy tuxedo to crow like a rooster. Bing Crosby teaches Clement how to be "Incurably Romantic." We then get Clement wooing Amanda with it, only to be supplanted by Danton.  The title song is heard three times, over the credits with Monroe and the chorus, as part of the show with Monroe and Vaughan, and towards the end with Monroe and Montand.

Trivia: In addition to Peck, Yul Brunner, Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, and Charlton Heston were all offered the role that eventually went to Montand.

Remake of the 1937 backstage musical On the Avenue. 

What I Don't Like: Monroe has a point about the script. While she and Montand are charming together, the movie around them is silly, dull, overlong fluff. Of the numbers, only "Daddy" works out well. Most of them are filmed on dark, mostly empty stages. Milton Berle does have a few funny moments teaching Montand how to handle a joke, but Kelly and Crosby have far less to do and are barely seen. Randall could have more to do, too. You can tell Jack Cole is once again in charge of the choreography. Some of the numbers are bizarre to the point of being ridiculous, notably the rather goofy "Specialization." 

The Big Finale: It's too bad this would be Monroe's last musical and her second-to-last movie. I wish she'd ended her musical career (and Montand had begun his) on a better note. Only for the most devoted fans of either of the leads. 

Home Media: DVD and Blu-Ray are currently fairly expensive. If you must see this, you may be better off streaming it. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Three for the Show

Columbia Pictures, 1955

Starring Betty Grable, Marge & Gower Champion, and Jack Lemmon

Directed by H.C Potter

Music and Lyrics by various

By the time this movie came out, Grable's career was in freefall. The down-to-Earth, all-American girl she played in movies of the 40's had been supplanted by more exotic beauties like Audrey Hepburn or sensual bombshells like Marilyn Monroe. This would be her second-to-last movie, and her last musical. On suspension from 20th Century Fox, she joined Columbia. They paired her with up-and-coming dancers Marge and Gower Champion (on loan from MGM) and Oscar winner Jack Lemmon for this musical remake of the W. Somerset Maugham's farce Too Many Husbands, best known for it's non-musical version from 1940 with Jean Arthur. How does it look today? Let's start with a weird musical number under the credits, a unique version of "Someone to Watch Over Me" with harlequins and pirouts dancing in rainbow costumes, and find out...

The Story: Broadway star Julie Lowndes (Grable) married songwriter and performer Vernon Lowndes (Gower Champion) after his best friend and songwriting partner Marty Stewart (Lemmon) is reported missing in action during the Korean War. Turns out Marty is very much alive, and he returns to pick up with his wife. Julie doesn't mind being married to both of them, but they're not as eager to share her. There's also Julie's dancer best friend Gwen (Marge Champion), who has a crush on Marty and wishes Julie would make up her mind.

The Song and Dance: This is one bizarre musical. Between the strange Jack Cole choreography and Julie's insistence on keeping both men despite being branded a bigamist, the story is pretty darn unique. Grable thoroughly enjoys being between the two men, and the Champions have some of their best dances here. The strange story is amplified by some gorgeous costumes, especially in those dances. 

Favorite Number: That first crazy harlequin-themed number under the credits is a very stylized and colorful version of the Gershwin standard "Someone to Watch Over Me." Marge Champion wistfully sings it later, when she's the odd woman out in the marriage triangle. This is followed up by a strange instrumentla ballet, with Grable and Marge literally fighting a duel in ball gowns for their men to the tune of the classical "Polovetsian Dances." Marge admits her feelings for Gower during their duet towards the end to an instrumental "Watch Over Me." 

 "Down Boy" has Julia imagining herself as an Arabian queen with more husbands than she knows what to do with, and each and every one of them pawing her. "I've Got a Crush On You" is simpler, just Grable and Lemmon recalling the early days of their courtship and how they first fell in love over a piano. Grable does her own version of Marilyn Monroe's sweet-sensual routines among languid dancers in tropical costumes as she insists "I've Been Kissed Before" in the finale, before joining the chorus for "How Come You Do Me Like You Do," ending up on top of Lemmon's piano to win him back.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention how weird this is? First of all, most of the numbers have nothing to do with anything...and even when they do, they're too strange to fit in, like that danced duel with the ladies in their long trains. I give them credit for a fairly original plot for a musical, but it doesn't make much sense. Did Julia really think she'd get away with keeping both men? Grable and Lemmon are playing different styles, and she looks about a decade older than him. The newer songs aren't terribly memorable, either. 

The Big Finale: Not Betty Grable's best work, but not as horrible as many online make it out to be. Mainly for fans of her, Lemmon, or the bold and brassy musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc as part of a collection with 20 other musicals and online. It's currently free with ads on Tubi. 

DVD - Musical 20 Movie Collection

Tubi 

Weekend In Havana

20th Century Fox, 1941

Starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda, and Caesar Romero

Directed by Walter Lang

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

I return from vacation with a week of later musicals featuring three of the most beloved leading ladies at 20th Century Fox from the 30's through the 60's. Faye was still very popular at this point, but Fox already had a new leading lady waiting in the wings. Betty Grable could not only sing, but dance, too, and she had legs to spare. Faye's interests were increasingly with her family, but she did manage to make this tropical confection before taking time off. How does the story of a sales girl looking for love in Cuba look today? Let's begin with the owner of McCracken Cruises Walter McCracken (George Barbier) as he learns one of his ships has run aground and find out...

The Story: McCracken sends his vice president Jay Williams (Payne) to the grounded vessel in order to circumvent legal action. He's able to get every passenger to sign a waiver for passage on a later voyage but Nan Spencer (Faye). Nan is a shop girl who has saved for her vacation for years and can't get another two weeks off. Jay offers for the company to give her an all-expenses-paid trip in Cuba. Nan says she'll sign the waiver if she has a good time.

Nan's idea of having a good time is finding romance. Jay tells gambler Monte Blanca (Romero) he'll pay off his debts if he courts Nan. Monte's girlfriend Rosita Rivas (Miranda) is jealous, even after Jay agrees to manage her while Monte is busy. And then there's Jay's fiancee Terry (Cobina Wright), who has come to Havana to check on her fiancee, and finds him in love with another...

The Song and Dance: Faye does a lot better in this outing than as Don Ameche's wife in That Night In Rio earlier in the year. Her shop girl is determined, feisty, and almost as fierce as Miranda. Payne does better in the first half as the stiff vice president who is just doing his duty than when he defrosts later in the film. There's also the gorgeous Technicolor production and stunning frilly or floral costumes for Miranda and the performers at the nightclub, stunning gowns for Faye, and huge sets representing Cuba between the wars.

Favorite Number: Our first song is the title number on the delights of Havana, performed in the opening by a lively Miranda, a background band, and a multitude of chorus dancers in tropical orange and yellow costumes. Miranda also gets the authentic Cuban "Rebola a Bola" and "When I Love, I Love," which pretty much sums up her character in most of her movies. Miranda's unnamed band initially performs "Tropical Magic" in Spanish. Faye picks it up in English. Faye later sings it with Payne on a hay wagon back to Havana. Romero and Faye sing about "Romance and Rhumba" on the dance floor at the nightclub, and even do a little dancing themselves. Miranda finishes things with another tropical chorus number, "The Nango." Even Faye and Payne join in here.

Trivia: Faye was pregnant during the making of this film. 

What I Don't Like: The story is just as slight as other 20th Century Fox musicals of the 30's and 40's. Payne was never that comfortable in musicals, despite his good singing voice, and he does better as the stuffy vice president than he does later in the film, when he's supposed to be defrosting. Nifty as those sets are, they don't look much like the real Cuba to me. The only actual Hispanic to be seen is Miranda. 

The Big Finale:  Charming tropical time-waster if you love the 20th Century Fox musicals of the 40's and 50's.

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Marquee Musicals series.

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Wacky World of Mother Goose

Embassy Pictures/Videocraft (Rankin-Bass), 1967

Voices of Margaret Rutherford, Bradley Bolke, Bob McFadden, and Laura Leslie

Directed by Jules Bass and Kizo Nagashima

Music by George Wilikins; Lyrics by Jules Bass

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be going on vacation hiatus from the 18th through the 25th. Reviews resume the 26th. 

Second, we return to the wild world of Rankin-Bass for their first 2-D animated film. Having done Hans Christian Andersen stories and world history for their first two movies, they turned their attention to Mother Goose. These little rhymes go as far back medieval England, but the versions that are most familiar nowadays are Charles Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose from the 17th century. How does the story of Mother Goose (Rutherford) and her triumph over the Crooked Man (Bolke) look nowadays? Let's begin as Mother Goose and the chorus explain about their topsy turvy world over the credits and find out...

The Story: Mother Goose is nervous when she travels over the moon to visit her sick sister (Bryna Raeburn). She has good cause to be. Count Walktwist the Crooked Man and his enchanted army swoop down and kidnap Old King Cole's daughter Princess Harmony (Leslie) and her sweetheart Prince Robin. He holds them for ransom and forces Cole to give up the kingdom to him. All of the adults are made servants, and the knights become evil slaves to him. Upset at the loss of their parents, Little Jack Horner (Kevin Gavin) and Mary Quite Contrary (Susan Melvin) try to find a way over the moon to tell Mother Goose what's going on and bring her home to save them. They're later joined by cheerful egg Humpty Dumpty (McFadden). 

The Animation:  Some of the earliest design work from Paul Coker, Jr, and his only theatrical 2-D work. The caricature of Rutherford is spot-on, but other characters look bland or have strange designs. The Crooked Man is all green angles, while Princess Harmony is wispy and white. Where this stands out in the color. The vibrant primaries and black and white used for Mother Goose's world really pop, even on the copy currently at YouTube. 

The Song and Dance: Some decent songs and performances liven up this one. Bolke in particular makes a deliciously over-the-top Crooked Man. Melvin is funny and spunky as tough little Mary, who is determined to show that girls can be just as good on adventures as boys. Rutherford has some funny moments when we do see her.

Favorite Number: We open with Rutherford and the chorus performing "Great Big Wacky World" as she flies over the sights and landmarks of her kingdom; the chorus reprises it over the end credits. "Good-Bye" is a sort-of song for Rutherford as she wonders why she's leaving her beloved people. She talks the lyrics, but there's a rather lovely sad melody under them. Harmony tells her father that "I Still Believe In Fairy Tales" and romance. 

Humpty Dumpty reassures Jack that "It's Never Too Late" to save his parents and the kingdom in a charmingly upbeat duet. Mary asks stubborn Jack why he won't give her "Half a Chance" to show what she can do. Harmony and Robin complain that "I Can Predict" what the other will do, even while in the dungeon. The Cat with the fiddle gets the purple cow dancing to jump over the moon in a lively instrumental number. 

Trivia: Margaret Rutherford's last film. 

What I Don't Like: For a musical called The Wacky World of Mother Goose, this is neither all that wacky, nor does it have much of Mother Goose. In fact, Rutherford's role is limited to the first ten and last ten minutes and a few minutes in between at her sister's house. The story is downright dark for Rankin-Bass. Soldiers are turned into evil crooked versions of themselves; parents are kidnapped for slaves. Goosey Goosey Gander is a giant gray nightmare of a bird. They even manage to make that giant candlestick Jack jumps over look terrifying enough to give kids nightmares. Most of the characters are either as bland as the kids or annoying as heck. 

The Big Finale: Recommended only for those who must see everything Rankin-Bass or are looking for background noise for elementary-schoolers. 

 

Home Media: The DVD is out of print and ridiculously expensive. If you must see this, it can currently be found for free on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

DVD

YouTube

Internet Archive

Road to Bali

Paramount, 1953

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Murvyn Vye

Directed by Hal Walker

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

It took almost five years for Hope, Crosby, and Lamour to come together again for another jaunt down the Road. Once again, Crosby and Hope financed it through their own companies. A lot of things had changed since 1947, though. Newer comedy teams with faster, hipper acts were coming into films, and there was also the looming specter of television. Paramount upped their ante with color, bigger numbers, and cameos by major stars of the era. How does all this work with the story of two American singers in Australia who help a South Seas princess look for treasure and save her from head hunters? Let's begin with a travelogue of Australia as it describes some of it's most famous treasures...including those two American singers, who are currently performing in Melbourne...and find out...

The Story: Harold Gridley (Hope) and George Cochran (Crosby) barely escape Melbourne ahead of several farmers who want shotgun marriages. After they flee the train, they're hired in Darwin on the coast by the Prince Ken Arok (Vye) who wants them to uncover a long-lost underwater treasure. He takes them to his kingdom not far from Bali, Indonesia. There, they compete for the favors of the lovely Princess Lala McTavish (Lamour). 

Turns out that the treasure Arok wants them to dive into the coral for is guarded by a legendarily monstrous squid. Even after they manage to escape the squid and Arok with the treasure, they accidentally wreck the ship and end up on another remote island. If encountering tigers, traps, and an amorous female gorilla wasn't bad enough, they also have to contend with Arok and the chief of a group of head hunters who wants to marry Lala and get them out of the picture...and the movie, too. 

The Song and Dance: Along with the lush Technicolor cinematography, the gags are the best thing about this. This one features some of the funniest fourth-wall breaking wisecracks in the entire series and some amusing gags revolving around Hope and a flute he plays that can bring up beautiful women from a basket. Lamour has slightly more to do than usual, including the trio's second and last number together. Look for cameos from Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (Paramount's major comedy team of the time), Humphrey Bogart in a clip from The African Queen, Bing's younger brother Bob Crosby, and in the finale, Jane Russell. 

Favorite Number: The boys' vaudeville hat-and-cane number in the opening here is "Chicago-Style," which is disrupted by two Australian farmers who think the guys want to marry their pretty daughters. Lamour's languid ballad "Moonflowers" is heard twice. She's introduced singing it to her handmaidens as they weave a Scottish tartan that is definitely out of place in Indonesia. After they've been shipwrecked, she sings it again while floating around in a crystal-clear pool of water. The boys watch in delight...but Paramount knows better than to let two lusty middle-aged men join her, even after the branch they lean on breaks. 

We get a strange dance routine with many-armed golden Indonesian statues at the party for Harry and George on the island that perform a stiff, waving instrumental number. The princess and her court prefer this spectacle over Harry and George's Scottish spoof "Hoots Man," with them in kilts, playing bagpipes, and trading bad Scotsman jokes. My personal favorite comic number from any of the road movies is "The Merry Go Run-Around." Lala admits that yes, she does love both guys but can't decide in a hilarious trio that ends with them swinging around on vines. It sums up the entire series and Lamour's role in it more than any words could. 

Trivia: There were to have been two more numbers, a large-scale routine for Crosby, Hope, Lamour, and the chorus to the title song, along with an extended Indonesian ballet. The numbers was ultimately cut. The title song can only be heard in the opening credits and on a soundtrack album featuring Crosby and Peggy Lee. 

Currently owned by Sony Pictures via Fremantle, but it's generally considered to be in the public domain.

What I Don't Like: Even more than most of the Road movies, it helps to know something about the early 50's in Hollywood and Australian and American pop culture at the time to get a lot of the jokes. Those who aren't up on their history of the mid-20th century may be a little confused or wonder what all the fuss is about. Other than "Merry Go-Run-Around," the songs aren't nearly as memorable as some of the earlier entries in the series. After the bizarre wedding with Lala almost marrying both guys and them nearly getting killed by the head hunters, the ending is weird and more than a little anti-climatic. 

The Big Finale: Opinions on this one seem to be divided online. Some think it's one of the funniest Road movies; others lament the silly story and the dated references. For me, it's my second-favorite Road movie after Morocco. Highly recommended for fans of the series (though I still say you should start with the earlier Morocco or Zanzibar before before coming here). 

Home Media: Thanks to it being in the public domain, it's easy to find anywhere, often for under $10. Look for the Kino-Lorber Blu-Ray and streaming copies. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Road to Rio

Paramount, 1947

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Gale Sondergaard

Directed by Norman McLeod

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

After they hit the frozen Yukon in Utopia, Paramount brought their Road travelers back to warmer climes for their fifth film, one Bing and Bob financed themselves. This time, it was such a hit, it wound up being the biggest film of 1948. Is it still hilarious today, or should it be left onboard? Let's start with Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and Hot Lips Barton (Hope) getting chased literally across the US map, and find out...

The Story: Scat and Hot Lips stow away on an ocean liner bound for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil after accidentally starting a fire at a circus. Once onboard, they swear they'll never get involved with women again...until Scat discovers Lucia de Andrade (Lamour) about to commit suicide. He talks her down and learns that she's returning to Brazil to marry her fiancee, the brother of her guardian Catherine Vail (Sondergaard). They don't know what to think when she turns them in, only to get them jobs as musicians on the ship minutes later. 

They finally sneak her off the ship when they arrive in Brazil. Corralling three local musicians (The Wiere Brothers), they pass themselves off as a band in a night club with Lucia as their singer. Once again, the moment Catherine finds her, she gives them away. They learn from an agent (Robert Barrat) that Vail wants to control Lucia and her vast fortune via certain papers locked away in Lucia's home. Turns out Catherine's hypnotizing her into doing her bidding. She tries it on Scat and Hot Lips, too, but they manage to snap out of it. Now they have to find those papers and stop the wedding, before Catherine tries any more of her tricks.

The Song and Dance: Sondergaard gets high marks here as probably the best - or at least, the most unique - villain from the Road series. Her creepy wiles scare even Bing and Bob and lend a slightly eerie vibe to the crazy goings-on. In fact, this has one of the more intriguing plots in the series, with Lucia's back-and-forth and the race for the papers in the second half. The Wiere Brothers have some funny moments during the nightclub segment in the middle of the film when Scat teaches them hipster argot, and it's the only English they know. 

Favorite Number: Scat and Hot Lips open at the circus with their big vaudeville duet on the wonders of "Apalachicola, Fla." Bing explains why "But Beautiful" is just a song when he describes what's really going on in a scene from a movie musical showing on board to Lucia. Bing joins The Andrews Sisters on the ship as they insist "You Don't Have to Know the Language" to understand the language of love. "Experience" is Lucia's number at the nightclub as she laments that said "experience" keeps her from love. "Batuque No Morro" is the big number at the wedding. The Wiere Brothers sing and clown to the genuine South American number, to the delight of the crowd. Scat and Hot Lips do their idea of a tempestuous tango, Hot Lips as Carmen Miranda in drag.

Trivia: Look for Jerry Colonna in the end as the head of the cavalry that never makes it to Lucia's wedding. 

What I Don't Like: This one is a tad less freewheeling than some of the other Road movies. Few stereotypes, but also not as many wacky gags or talking animals. The middle drags a little despite the gags with the Wiere Brothers, and really doesn't have much to do with the rest of the movie. The plot is stronger than usual, but ultimately doesn't make much sense. The papers suddenly appear half-way through the film and disappear when they've served their purpose in the end. 

The Big Finale: Probably not the best Road movie to start with for newcomers, but fans will enjoy Bing, Bob, and Dorothy's antics in South America. 

Home Media: On Blu-Ray from Kino-Lorber International. 

Blu-Ray

Road to Morocco

Paramount, 1942

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Anthony Quinn

Directed by David Butler

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

This week, we're going to hit the road with Bing and Bob in three of the most popular Road to... comedies. The first movie, Road to Singapore, had never intended to be part of a series, or even to feature Bing and Bob. They made so much of the slight story, and worked so well with leading lady Dorothy Lamour, they ended up making seven movies that featured them as performers conning their way across some exotic landscape, running into Lamour as a beautiful native or leader. 

This is the third, and probably the most famous of them today. How well do Bing and Bob handle this spoof of desert adventures? Let's start not in the desert, or even on the road, but with a series of news anchors from around the world announcing that an American transport has been blown up, and all are accounted for...except for two stowaways...

The Story: Orville "Turkey" Jackson (Hope) and Jeff Peters (Crosby) find themselves stranded on the coast of Morocco without a cent to their name. Desperate to get money for food, Jeff sells Turkey into what he thinks will be slavery. After he dreams that Turkey's Aunt Lucy (Hope) scolds him for selling her nephew, he searches for him, only to find he's been bought by the Princess Shalamar (Lamour). 

Not only is Turkey not a slave, but he's set to marry the Princess. Shalmar claims she was advised by her wise man (Vladmir Sokoloff) to wed him. She ends up falling for Jeff instead, while Turkey is more interested in the energetic lady-in-waiting Mirhimarh (Dona Drake), but Shalamar sticks to the wedding. This not only upsets the guys, but it also makes her original fiancee Mullay Kasim (Quinn) angry. Even when it turns out the wise man's "prophecy" isn't what they think it is, they still have to save the ladies and themselves from Kasim and his desert raiders.

The Song and Dance: This is probably the most typical of the Road movies, and one of the funniest. All of the most famous running gags can be found here, from Bing and Bob's "patty cake" to take bigger goons by surprise to the the wisecracks about Paramount movies and spoofs of exotic Arabic swashbucklers. We even get Hope in drag as Aunt Lucy. All that, and a camel that spits in Turkey's eye, then sums up pretty much the entire series later-on during the melee at Mullay Kasim's. Paramount runs with the lunacy, making everything as obviously stereotypical as possible, from Shalamar's lavish gowns to the obviously fake desert sands the boys cross.

Favorite Number: Jeff and Turkey get our first song as they cross the desert by camel. "We're Off On the Road to Morocco," they joke as they name-drop their home studio and everything they're likely to meet, including Dorothy Lamour. "Ho-Hum" is the song Jeff sings while searching for Turkey after he's sold to the princess. It doesn't attract Turkey, but it does bring out several appreciative ladies. "Constantly" introduces Shalamar as we see just how Turkey is hardly being tortured...if "torture" can be called 'the new favorite of a princess and her lady-in-waiting."

The standard here is the hit ballad "Moonlight Becomes You." Jeff first gives it a more traditional run-through under Shalamar's balcony, to her appreciation. Later on, Jeff and Turkey sing along with a mirage of Shalamar when they're lost in the desert. Half-way through the trio, we're reminded that this is a movie - and a semi-musical, at that - when they all start singing with each other's voices. The men's reactions to getting each other's voices are especially funny.

Trivia: The camel spitting at Hope wasn't in the script, and neither was Crosby's amused reaction. Butler decided it worked with the characters and wacky shenanigans and kept it in. 

What I Don't Like: The stereotypes may have been funny in 1942, but some audiences may be mildly offended nowadays with how Morocco is depicted here. This also isn't the place for you if you don't want to watch two middle-aged men chase after women half their age. (Something I heard they often did in real-life as well.) Women besides Lamour don't often come off terribly well in the Road films. Drake is basically window-dressing.

The Big Finale: My favorite Road movie, and probably the best place to start if you're interested in the series or are a fan of the stars or goofy film satire.

Home Media: Easily found on every format, often for under $10.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime 

Family Fun Saturday - Lemonade Mouth

Disney, 2011

Starring Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Hayley Kiyoto, and Naomi Scott

Directed by Patricia Riggin

Music and Lyrics by various

We finish up Back to School week in high school with this Disney Channel original movie. Based after the 2007 teen novel of the same name, this look at four misfits who start a band wound up being one of their most popular films of the early 2010's. Even the soundtrack was a top 4 hit on the Billboard Pop charts. How does this look as more students struggle with self-expression, stricter rules, and the loss or cutting of many programs besides athletics? Let's begin with Lemonade Mouth as they become famous, then learn how it all began...

The Story: It all started when Mo Banjaree (Scott), Charlie Delgago (Blake Michael), Stella Yamada (Kiyoko), Olivia White (Mendler), and Wendell "Wen" Gifford (Hicks) land in detention on their first day of school. Music teacher Ms. Reznick (Tisha Campbell) have them clear out the classroom for a music room. They get so into tapping out a beat and playing the instruments in the room, an impressed Ms. Reznick suggests they should become a band and enter the Rising Star competition.

The kids think that's a great idea, especially since they all want to give local band Mudslide Crush some competition. Tough, outspoken Stella is shocked when she learns that the organic lemonade machine they're all addicted to is going to be replaced by an energy drink that sponsors their athletics teams. After helping shy Olivia with her stage fright, they're a hit at the school's Halloween Bash...until Olivia protests the replacement of the lemonade machine and their inability to express themselves. 

The kids are now banned from playing at school, but their classmates hang posters supporting them and their cause.  They grow closer together when they cheer up Olivia after the death of her beloved cat and their song from the Bash hits the radio, but then they get hurt or sick, and they seem to grow apart. Mo breaks up with her boyfriend Scott (Nick Roux) after she catches him with a cheerleader, too. It takes their arrest after a protest for them to understand that they have a lot more support than they believe. 

The Song and Dance: This is a bit gritty-feeling for a Disney Channel musical. No fairy tales, candy-colored horror, or time-travel here. Everyone has realistic issues, from Mo trying to live up to her immigrant father's wishes to Wen being upset over his father dating a younger woman. The kids all play well off each other, especially Kiyoto as rebellious Stella and Mendler as sweet Olivia. The catchy music is some of the better pop to come from the Disney Channel musicals, with "Determinate" deserving of the radio air play it gets. Given the real-life protests in many high schools over the last few years, the theme of self-expression, standing up for what you believe in, and supporting the arts and other activities besides athletics may be even more important over a decade after this film's release. 

Favorite Number: Our first genuine number is "Turn Up the Music." It starts off with the kids drumming their pencils and writing utensils in unison and ends with them playing instruments and dancing together as they clean up the music room. Their rehearsal song is Olivia hoping to be "Somebody." Stuck up Ray, the obnoxious lead singer of Mudslide Crush, assumes "And the Crowd Goes" wild over him at a local concert. Lemonade Mouth's dance jam "Determinate" at the Halloween Bash is even better-received, at least until Stella encourages the kids to ignore the school rules about dress and be themselves and insist that the lemonade machine be retained.

"She's So Gone" is Lemonade Mouth's number at their local pizza shop, with Scott getting her only solo, playing it rather sexy for high school as she lays seductively on tables and proudly proclaims how much she's changed. "More Than a Band" is the touching ensemble number the kids sing to cheer up Olivia after her beloved cat dies. It gives us a great montage of the kids goofing off and pushing each other into the pool at her house. "Here We Go" is the number that ends with a riot at the pizza parlor after the jocks start a food fight. "Don't Ya Wish U Were Us" is Mudslide Crush's self-satisfied rap routine at the Rising Star contest. Lemonade Mouth falls apart when Olivia can't sing "Breakthrough"...but the school ends up singing it with them.  It ends with the band onstage at Madison Square Garden performing "Livin' On a High Wire" to thousands of fans.

Trivia: There was to have been a sequel, but Disney decided the story was fine as-is and canceled it in 2012. 

What I Don't Like: Though slightly dark for a Disney Channel Original musical, this still follows all the standard beats of a high school coming-of-age film. It's not really all that far-removed from High School Musical. The kids and the wackier adults around them are pretty standard, too. The kids' issues are also apparently different from the book. Both of Olivia's parents are alive, but her mother abandoned her. Charlie never got over his twin brother's death at birth, and Stella has a learning disability. In the book, the kids also play the strange instruments they found in the music room, like ukuleles and trumpets. They play ordinary guitars and pianos here. 

I wish they'd let Mo end up with Charlie as in the book, too. Charlie really appreciated her. I suspect Mo went back to Scott because he was probably the bigger hunk at the time. Scott's change of heart feels sudden, and he's not all that interesting before he switches sides. The finale, with the band on Madison Square Garden, also seems rather ridiculous compared to the relatively realistic drama that came before it.

The Big Finale: One of the better Disney Channel Original musicals is worth checking out with your pre-teen if you're also a fan of rock or coming-of-age stories. 

Home Media: On Disney Plus and DVD in an "extended edition."

DVD

Disney Plus

Back to School Again - School Daze

Columbia Pictures, 1988

Starring Lawrence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell, and Kyme

Directed by Spike Lee

Music and Lyrics by various

Spike Lee has been one of the most provocative directors in Hollywood since his first major movie, She's Gotta Have It, debuted in 1986. School Daze is his first of four musicals. Like many of his films, it's partially auto-biographical, based on his experiences at a real black men's college in the 1970's. This was also his first film with a larger budget, and it shows in the lavish musical numbers, fantasy sequences, and larger cast. What it has in common with his later movie is an often-searing look at the issues within the black community, many of which continue to be debated to this day. How does higher learning look in the decade of big hair and bigger dreams? Let's start with a rally at fictional Mission College in Atlanta, Georgia, and find out...

The Story: Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap (Fishburne) is a socially and politically-conscious student at Mission who has been involved in a series of anti-apartheid rallies. His activism is mocked by the head of Mission's leading Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity Julian Eaves (Esposito) as being overwrought. Dap thinks Eaves and his girlfriend Jane Toussaint (Campbell) are shallow and avoiding the issues that face black students. Dap's earthy girlfriend Rachel (Kyme) thinks even less of Jane and her friends in the Gamma women's auxiliary, with their tight dresses and chemically straightened hair. Dap's cousin Half-Pint (Spike Lee) just wants to pledge the Gammas. 

Their rivalry comes to a head during an especially wild Homecoming week, and then at the school dance. Rachel wants to join a sorority, but Dap doesn't approve. He's not happy when college president Harold MacPherson (Joe Seneca) tells him to cool it on the rallies, either. His continuing antagonism with Eaves ends with the two of them and their friends and fraternity brothers in a brawl after a dance-off at a pep rally. Darrel finally gets the woman of his dreams the night of the school dance, but it doesn't go at all like he expects, prompting his furious cousin to demand that the staff and students of Mission College finally "wake up" to the troubles around them.

The Song and Dance: Fishburne and Esposito are the stand-outs in this exploration of many issues within the black community in the late 80's, too many of which continue to be relevant to this day. Fishburne's powerful performance would make him an actor of note in the early 90's. Lee's eager Darrel makes you wish he starred in more of his own films. The ladies do almost as well, with Campbell standing out here as Eaves' sweetheart who is accused of dousing her identity in an attempt to imitate whites. 

The most interesting thing about this is watching the all-black cast interact with one another. There's no white lens here, and none needed. I enjoy seeing a rarely-discussed group - black college students - and their stories. It's a call to be proud of one's heritage, no matter what that heritage may be, to "wake up" to what's real in the world and within one's own community. 

Favorite Number: We open over the credits with the stirring spiritual "I'll Build Me a Home," performed by the Morehouse Glee Club and Tracey Coley, over a montage of African-American history, from freed slaves to the Civil Rights Movement. Kyme, Campbell, and their like-minded friends have a dance battle over hair that's "Straight & Nappy" in a very 80's lavender fantasy hair salon with neon all around. "Be Alone Tonight" is the Motown spoof, with Campbell and her friends (including Jasmine Guy) performing the ballad in gorgeous tight black and gray ruffled gowns ala the Supremes. 

"I Can Only Be Me," performed by Keith John on the school stairs, accompanies a montage of Rachel and Dap making love contrasted with a girl being crowned homecoming queen. "Perfect Match" is the sexier version as Julian and Jane have their own lovemaking session. Mission's football team may not be winners, but their band and cheerleaders can sure encourage them to "Kick Out the Tigers" anyway. The big dance routines at the pep rally starts well with "Ice Baby" featuring some amazing leaps from the Gammas, but it degenerates into the ladies tossing insulting chants about their hair over them. Fishburne and his buddies show up in vintage suits for their own big step routine...before punches are thrown and it turns into a huge brawl.

The hit from this was the dance routine "Da Butt," performed by Experience Unlimited at the big party. Everyone does sexy, sensual moves wearing nothing but bathing suits and bikinis. This is somehow followed up by the far classier ballad "Be One," complete with singer Phyllis Hyman in a beaded 40's-style suit and gown accompanied by a saxophonist and a lot of very, very close dancing. 

Trivia: Look for many stars-to-be among the cast, including Guy as one of Jane's Gamma Ray friends and  Samuel L. Jackson as the head of the angry locals who confront Dap and his friends and accuse them of ignoring real black issues. 

Lee arranged for the groups of actors to be housed in separate hotels, with the Gammas and their ladies in a better one than the others. This encouraged the realistic tension in the movie...to the point where the fight that broke out during the pep rally was not scripted. It really happened during a take, but it fit so well with the story, they kept the cameras rolling. 

What I Don't Like: The "wake up" ending doesn't really resolve much. In fact, this is the second college movie I've watched in a row that basically has no ending. There's a lot of loose threads left unresolved, like whether or not the school ever pulled out their investments in South Africa. Also, many of the issues here may resonate more strongly with black audiences than with others. Some may not understand what all the fuss is about; others may wish the movie dove even further into these topics. Not to mention, there's the dated portrayal of the ladies, especially when Julian forces Jane into having sex with Darryl in the end. 

The Big Finale: While this isn't said to be Lee's best work, I'm impressed enough to want to check out more of his other movies, including his remaining three musicals. Highly recommended, especially for black college students who just returned to school and are likely grappling with many of the subjects discussed here. 

Home Media: Easily found in all formats.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - Sweetheart of the Campus

Columbia Pictures, 1941

Starring Ruby Keeler, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, and Gordon Oliver

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Music and Lyrics by various

Ruby Keeler had been one of the biggest musical stars of the early 30's in Warners' Busby Berkeley extravaganzas. By 1941, Berkeley had moved to MGM, and Keeler was dropped by the studio. She did two movies for Columbia before ending her career to focus on her family; this is the only musical. 

At this point, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hillard had been married and traveling together with his band for six years and were still three years from major stardom in their radio sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ozzie's band appeared in several short-subjects and B films, including this one. How do these three very unlikely college students do with the story of a big band that joins a college to save it from being closed? Let's begin with Ozzie Norton, his orchestra, and their singer and dancer Betty Blake (Keeler) at the College Club nightclub near Lambeth Technical College and find out...

The Story: The club is closed by Minnie Lambeth Sparr (Kathleen Howard), the wealthy and prim daughter of the college's founder. She thinks the band's presence is detrimental to the student body. The band pickets the school, only to be arrested. They're sprung from jail by Harriet Hale (Hillard), the daughter of the president of the school. She wants them to help her raise applications and keep the school from closing. They encourage Betty and the orchestra members to join up; their music will encourage applicants. It works...until Sparr loads the newcomers with impossible exams, and Betty realizes that Ozzie has fallen for Harriet. 

The Song and Dance: While no Busby Berkeley spectacular, this is still a nifty little musical. It may be one of the earliest musicals to include a TV production as part of the plot. One of the ways the band spreads the word about the college needing applications is on their own early television show. We briefly see early TV recording and a transmitter; wish they did more with this. Keeler is really the thing here, and she runs with it. She's no sweet ingenue anymore, coming off as funny, tough, and even sexy, and dances up a storm. 

Favorite Number: We start off with the film's strongest assets, Nelson's band and Keeler's dynamic dance to the driving "Beat It Out" during a rehearsal at the Club. "When the Glee Club Swings the Alma Mater" is the picket number when the band marches on the school, demanding better treatment. Keeler gets a brief solo instrumental number tapping away in her jail cell, trying to annoy the sheriff into springing them. Hillard performs the gentle ballad "Where" with the band during the broadcast. 

Keeler's big number is "Tap Happy," and while she was dubbed (for the only time in her career), she still means every word with her fast-paced routine. Zoot Watson, the black janitor, joins the broadcast later with his band for the lively "Tom-Tom." Hillard's second ballad, "Here We Go Again," comes right before the announcement that the students must take those exams.

Trivia: Also released under the title Broadway Ahead.

What I Don't Like: Neither Oliver as Keeler's love interest nor Ozzie and Harriet are terribly interesting. Harriet in particular has little to do other than her two numbers. I really wish they'd gone further into those early TV broadcasts. They were honestly more unique and enjoyable than the cliche "save the college" story. It sounds more like a musical version of the slobs vs snobs comedies in the 1980's. The plot is of such little consequence, the film ends with a random montage of earlier musical numbers. 

The Big Finale: Cute enough time-waster if you're a really big fan of Keeler, the Nelsons, or big band music; unnecessary for anyone else. 

Home Media: Not currently on disc, but easily found online. It's free with ads at Tubi.

Tubi

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - Merry Andrew

MGM, 1958

Starring Danny Kaye, Pier Angeli, Salvatore Baccaloni, and Patricia Cutts

Directed by Michael Kidd

Music by Saul Chaplin; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be on vacation hiatus from Monday September 18th through the 25th. Reviews will resume the 26th. I'll be doing an extra review every week for the remaining weeks of the month, starting tomorrow.

Danny Kaye was on top of the world after White Christmas, and if the comic swashbuckler The Court Jester wasn't a hit in theaters, it was well-received by critics. MGM gave him a shot in the spring of 1958, with up-and-coming Italian beauty Pier Angeli as his leading lady and none other than celebrated choreographer Michael Kidd doing the dances and the directing. How well do they do with the story of an outcast teacher who falls for not only a circus aerialist, but the circus lifestyle itself? Let's start with Andrew Larrabee (Kaye) and his history class at a boy's private school in England and find out...

The Story: Andrew is very popular with his students, who love his songs about figures from ancient history and romances like Pan. His unorthodox teaching style doesn't put him over as well with the rest of the staff, especially his extremely traditional father Matthew (Noel Purcell). Matthew considers Andrew, his only son who has never published any research, to be a disappointment.

Hoping to finally publish a book and marry his fiance Letitia Fairchild (Cutts), Andrew bikes over to ancient Roman ruins in Sussex to spend his summer digging for a statue of Pan. When he arrives at the meadow, he finds the Gallini Family Traveling Circus and a sign that claims the meadow will be cleared for a new dairy farm. Andrew is able to convince the meadow's owner Lord Elmhurst to give him and the circus another week. 

Selena (Angeli), the Gallinis' aerialist cousin, is impressed with Andrew after he accidentally digs into the lion's cage and easily handles the animals. She and her family are even more delighted when he dresses as the ringmaster to avoid Letitia and his brother Dudley (Robert Coote) and puts on quite a show. She thinks he has all the makings of a clown. He's still more interested in finding that statue. After he and Selena are accidentally trapped in the tunnel where he's digging, her family insists they're engaged. Andrew is already engaged...but he's beginning to wonder if academia and his stuffy family and fiancee are really for him. 

The Song and Dance: Kaye has ample room for his brand of comedy here, with a story that's slightly gentler than usual for one of his vehicles. For one thing, I'm glad there's no real villain. Lord Elmhurst is set up to be in the beginning, but Andrew quickly deals with him. I'm also glad this is more of an overt musical than a lot of Kaye's vehicles. There's songs for Andrew's brothers teaching him how to deal with their father and the circus people in addition to Kaye's usual patter routines. We even get two of Kidd's vigorous, athletic dance routines. The Technicolor filming, with its contrast between the formal school and colorful circus, is gorgeous. I suspect it was filmed on location as well. 

Favorite Number: We open with Andrew leading his young students in teaching them about the "Pipes of Pan." His brothers encourage him to ask their father for the permission to marry Letitia with "Chin Up, Stout Fellow." Andrew claims "Everything is Tickety-Boo" during his ride to Sussex. The song is so catchy and cheerful, half the bikers in the English countryside end up joining him. He tries to explain "You Can't Always Have What You Want" to the circus people. "The Square of the Hypotenuse" is his big patter number when he's posing as the ringmaster. The circus performers honor what they think will be Selena and Andrew's wedding with the rugged dance number "Salud!" in the circus tent. 

What I Don't Like:  Neither Cutts nor Angeli have much in the way of chemistry with Kaye, making you wonder why he has such a hard time deciding between them at first. In fact, neither of them have much to do at all, especially Cutts. Cutts doesn't even get a song. The story is charming but a little too complicated, and rather silly in the end. Audiences at the time didn't know what to make of it, and some people today may have trouble as well. "Tickety Boo" is mildly catchy, but most of the other songs aren't nearly that memorable, including Kaye's patter number. No wonder this would be his last try at a traditional musical, and his second-to-last film musical period. There's also Kaye's in and out attempt at a British accent. 

The Big Finale: Not Kaye's greatest film, but there's enough here to enjoy for it to deserve a second look. Recommended for fans of Kaye or the robust, brassy MGM musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Happy Labor Day! - The Big Store

MGM, 1941

Starring The Marx Brothers, Tony Martin, Margaret Dumont, and Douglass Dumbrille

Directed by Charles Reisner

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Labor Day by saluting those who work in retail and keep stores humming for the big end-of-summer sales. This would be the last movie the Marx Brothers did at MGM. They lost their support after the death of producer Irving Thalberg. Their previous two films increased the music and gave less scope to their antics. How well do they do as a private eye, his assistant, and a pianist trying to keep a singer safe from goons? Let's begin with Tommy Rogers (Martin) finding out he's inherited half of Phelps Department Store and find out...

The Story: Tommy wants to sell his half to his Aunt Martha (Dumont), who owns the other controlling interest, and build a music conservatory. Store manager Mr. Grover (Dumbrille) has been skimming money from the store and wants to kill Tommy before he can figure it out. Martha is worried about someone accusing her of foul play. She hires private eye Wolf J. Flywheel (Groucho) and his assistant Wacky (Harpo) to keep an eye on her nephew. Flywheel and Wacky, along with Tommy's pianist Ravelli (Chico), have to keep Tommy safe and expose Grover for the crook he is, before his goons get them all killed.

The Song and Dance: Groucho in particular gets some great moments here. Check him out in his office with Harpo, or flirting with Dumont after he's introduced to Grover for the first time. The wild finale with them running around the store and being chased on everything from roller skates to unicycles makes great use of slapstick and is probably the funniest part of the film. There's also the sequence when the Brothers all end up in beds that pull out of the wall. Groucho also gets some great asides; listen for his breaking the fourth wall moments at the fashion show during "Sing While You Sell" and Grover's office just before the chase scene. 

Favorite Number: Martin gets our first number, the ballad "If It's You," which he performs on piano to music department shopgirl Grey. The lady she's selling to is so impressed, she buys the record he made right there. "Sing While You Sell" is an epic ensemble number Groucho starts to encourage the sellers on the floor. It eventually encompasses everything from people in Middle Eastern costumes to deadpan Virginia O'Brian singing "Rock a Bye Baby" with a totally straight face. 

Harpo joins Chico on the piano for the only time in their films with "Mama E Quero." Harpo gets a lovely sequence where he imagines himself in a fancy 19th century costume, playing several classical pieces not only the harp, but the violin and piano as well as three of him play in mirror images. Harpo and Chico join Martin for "Tenement Symphony." The kids from the conservatory create their own orchestra, each playing what Tommy imagines the sounds of their tenement homes to be. The whole number is absurd to the point of being plain silly, with all the kids managing to play perfectly at once and the sappy lyrics.

Trivia: No, the Marx Brothers didn't retire after this. They went on to make A Night In Casablanca in 1946 and Love Happy in 1949. Groucho would continue on radio and TV for over a decade after that as the host of the game show You Bet Your Life. 

Margaret Dumont's last appearance in a Marx Brothers movie. 

What I Don't Like: I'm afraid this is not vintage Marx Brothers. It isn't on par with even their At the Circus from two years earlier. Martin is dull, Gray is barely in the movie, and other than his harp sequences, Harpo in particular has little to play. "Sing While You Sell" is a blast, but the ballad is a snore and even Groucho thought "Tenement Symphony" was annoying. The plot is overly complicated, impossible to follow, and ultimately besides the point. The movie just kind of ends abruptly; we never find out if they do anything about the conservatory. 

The Big Finale: Has enough fun moments for Marx Brothers fans, but casual viewers will want to go to one of their better-known classics like Duck Soup or Night at Casablanca first. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming; it's on DVD with the Marx Brothers movie before this, Go West, from the Warner Archives. 

DVD - Go West/The Big Store 

DVD - The Marx Brothers Collection 

Amazon Prime