Mr. Music

Paramount, 1950

Starring Bing Crosby, Nancy Olsen, Charles Coburn, and Ruth Hussey

Directed by Richard Haydn 

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

We move from the early spring holidays to the busier late spring and early summer season with our reviews this week, kicking off with two of Bing Crosby's lesser-known vehicles from 1950. Our first is based on the 1935 Broadway comedy Accent On Youth, where an older playwright fell for his younger secretary. It wasn't much of a stretch to turn the playwright into a songwriter and tailor it to Crosby's laid-back persona. How well does he work in this all-star comedy that also includes several big cameos at the end? Let's begin with the announcement that producer Alex Conway (Coburn) is going to produce Paul Merrick's (Crosby) first musical in three years and find out...

The Story: Alex and Paul visit Paul's old alma mater Lawford College, where they're putting on one of his older shows. The school's no-nonsense valedictorian Katherine Holbrook (Olsen) demands that he adds a phrase about her boyfriend and champion athlete Jeff Blake (Robert Stack) in one of his songs. Paul's more comfortable joining in on the production. 

Worried that Paul will spend more time on the golf course than working, Alex hires Kate as his secretary to keep him on track. Paul would rather lavish money on his girlfriend Lorna Mavis (Hussey). Lorna finally decides she prefers someone who actually has the money to spend and leaves Paul for millionaire Tippy Carpenter (Donald Woods), the show's backer. After Jeff arrives, Paul tries to get Kate interested in Jeff, but she prefers more worldly Paul. 

Paul tries to push her towards Jeff again when Lorna returns, but then Kate learns that Tippy pulls his money from the show. Kate's Aunt Amy (Ida Moore) tries to interest her wealthy and eccentric friend Jerome Thisbee (Haydn) in being the back, while the Friar's Club and an all-star array of Hollywood luminaries stage it for a benefit. Kate is still ready to run, but "Mr. Music" may still have some surprises up his sleeve, especially when Lorna realizes she really does love money more than him.

The Song and Dance: With a story that pedestrian, the song and some decent performances are the only saving graces here. Half the reason to see this is for those cameos at the end, including Dorothy Kirsten and some very funny lines from Groucho Marx. The other is the supporting cast. Moore is fun as the dotty old dear who knows her niece's heart better than the girl does, while Tom Ewell has some good moments as Paul's valet and chauffeur who doesn't appreciate his boss calling him "Cupcake." Olsen makes for a nice strong-willed college student, too.

The Numbers: Our first big routine is "Once More the Blue and White." Paul joins in Lawford's school song, before he realizes that the kids are actually cheering on Jeff. The students (including a young Norma Zimmer) perform "Milady" in Paul's ancient Viennese-style operetta. Paul comes onstage for "And You'll Be Home." He tells Lorna that she's "High On the List" at a swank nightclub, then reprises it out of pure anger when Kate tells him to sit down and start writing or else. She finally gets a song out of him, "Wouldn't It Be Funny," which he performs to Lorna after she visits his apartment. 

"Accidents Will Happen" turns up twice. Paul sings it to himself on a tape recording as he and Kate work on the instrumentation. He and Dorothy Kirsten reprise it in a big number near the end of the movie, complete with lavish sets. We get a tiny bit of "Wasn't I There?" from Paul before he and Peggy Lee sing the charming "Life Is So Peculiar." Marge and Gower Champion get a nifty routine to it in the apartment afterwards. Paul and Groucho Marx reprise it hilariously near the end of the film, following an equally delightful run-through by the Merry Macs. The chorus gets the title song. 

What I Don't Like: Some cute numbers aside, most of this movie is a crashing bore. I'm not sure what Kate saw in Paul or Jeff. Jeff was obsessed with his track titles and nothing else, while Paul was a jerk who really was too old for her. Stack did make a surprisingly energetic track star, but Crosby didn't seem terribly interested in the whole affair and had no chemistry with Olsen or Hussey. Hussey was even more bored in a thankless and underused other woman role. 

The Big Finale: Honestly, some terrific numbers and the charming "Life Is So Peculiar" aren't enough to offset a dull plot and Crosby's uninterested performance. Skip the movie and see if you can find the "Life Is So Peculiar" sequence and the finale around instead. 

Home Media: And this will be made easier by the fact that currently, the only way you can see this is on a wildly out-of-print video or on YouTube in a washed-out copy with Portuguese subtitles.

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - Donkey Skin (Peu D'Ane)

Cinema International Corporation, 1970

Starring Catherine Denveuve, Jean Maris, Jacques Perrin, and Delphine Seyrig

Directed by Jacques Demy

Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy

Jacques Demy's first two musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort were huge international hits, but for his third musical, he went with something a little less prosaic. Having done a bleak drama in Hollywood that didn't go over well, he returned to France for a full-on fantasy. This adaptation of a Charles Perrault fairy tale went over far better in France, where it was one of the bigger hits of 1970. Does it retain the same magic today? Let's begin with the introduction of the Blue King (Maris), his lovely wife (Denveuve), and their beautiful and gentle daughter (Denveuve) and find out...

The Story: After his wife dies, the King is encouraged to find a new wife and produce an heir. The queen insisted that he marry someone even lovelier than her...and the only person he can find is his daughter. On the advice of her godmother the Lilac Fairy (Seyrig), she holds her father off by asking for dresses the color of a good weather day, the moon, and the sun. She then demands that he kill and skin the magical donkey who has been excreting jewels and coins for him. The Fairy gives the princess her wand and a trunk with the three gowns, then covers her in dirt and wraps her in the donkey skin.

Fleeing her father's kingdom in this disguise, she manages to find a job as a pig keeper and a little hut in the woods. The prince of the kingdom (Perrin) sees her in the hut and falls so much in love with her, he becomes literally lovesick. He begs that Donkey Skin be told to bake a cake that will restore his health. She bakes her ring into it, proving her love for him. All the women in the kingdom are called to see if the ring fits their finger. No one thinks it could fit Donkey Skin, but the prince has his suspicions...

The Song and Dance: Like Demy, I've always been fascinated by fairy tales. The original version of this story comes off as rather dour. After all, it does involve incest and death. Demy manages to make all this sweet, whimsical, and even playful. Perrin and Denveuve are a charming royal couple, and Seyrig is hilarious as the Lilac Fairy who has her own reasons for keeping the princess from marrying her father. 

The production is nothing less than stunning, with the two kingdoms dressed in all cobalt blue and scarlet red. Even the faces of the couriers are blue and red. The costumes are acres of puffs, ruffles, and bows, with puffed sleeves that dwarfs the actors' heads. Gorgeous cinematography too. Real French castles and the actual French countryside glow like those incredible sun and moon gowns. 

The Numbers: We open with "Amour, Amour" performed on the piano by the princess as we're introduced to her family, the blue kingdom, and the magical donkey. The Lilac Fairy explains why it's a bad idea for a princess to marry her father in "Conselis de la Fee des Lilas." Our first chorus number has the peasants throwing "Les Insultes" at Donkey Skin for being so dirty and different. 

"Chanson du Prince" is the Prince's song when he sees her at the hut. The princess explains about her plan to put the ring in the cake in "Recette Pour un Cake D'Amour." The Prince and Princess dream of rebelling against their parents and being together in "Reves Secrets d'un Prince et d'une Princesse." The last number is also the second chorus routine. Every woman in town tries to make her finger slender enough to fit that ring in "Les Massage des Doights."

What I Don't Like: First of all, same deal as Demy's other movies. There's no dubbed version of this. If you don't speak French and aren't willing to use subtitles, you may have a hard time understanding a lot of what's going on. Second, while the incest subtext isn't pushed too hard, it is there. The original version of this story was a lot darker. In some versions (including the short "Sapsorrow" from Jim Henson's The Storyteller), the father dies in the end. Some details border on goofy for silliness' sake, like the Lilac Fairy and Blue King turning up in a very anachronistic helicopter in the end.

The Big Finale: Highly recommended for families with pre-teen princess lovers who are willing to read a few subtitles or those who love French cinema or who are big fairy tale fans like me. 

Home Media: Only on disc in the US as part of a pricey Jacques Demy blu-ray set from the Criterion Collection. You may be better off streaming this one.

Blu-Ray - The Essential Jacques Demy

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Les Girls

MGM, 1957

Starring Gene Kelly, Taina Elg, Kay Kendall, and Mitzi Gaynor

Directed by George Cukor

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

Our second lesser-known MGM musical this week would also be one of their last original titles, among other lasts. It was Gene Kelly's final musical for MGM, and Cole Porter's final film score and the next-to-last score he wrote. In other ways, this was as up-to-date for the late 50's as one could get, including a unique plot inspired by the 1950 Japanese epic Rashomon, wide-screen cinematography, Technicolor, and bizarre Jack Cole choreography. How does all this mix with the story of how a guy-and-girl dance act ended up in court? Let's begin with two of those girls, Lady Sybil Wren (Kendall) and Angele Ducros (Elg), as they arrive at the courtroom in London and find out...

The Story: Lady Sybil just released a tell-all memoir about her days with the act. Angele is suing her for libel, claiming she was falsely portrayed. Sybil paints Angele as a lying, manipulative wench who chased after the head of their act Barry Nichols (Kelly) while engaged to wealthy Pierre Ducros (Jacques Bergerac). She broke down during one of their performances and never showed up to the one she was supposed to do with Barry. 

Angele denies ever having a relationship with Barry. According to her, Sybil was a frothing drunk and was the one who really fell for him. At the time, she was already promised to Sir Gerald Wren (Leslie Phillips), who got into a fist fight with Barry at a nightclub. Sybil supposedly attempted suicide in their apartment later that night, and would have died if her friends hadn't rescued her.

Barry finally gives the truth as he saw it. He never had any interest in Angele or Sybil. He'd been after their roommate and the third girl in the act Joy Henderson (Gaynor) from the start. The fiancees of the other two came to him to fire their sweethearts so they can get married. He claims this would make things worse and comes up with a phony heart condition instead. This does break up the act, but it also ends with Angele and Sybil in that fateful apartment, this time with Joy and Barry coming to the rescue. Joy wonders, however, if Barry really did have feelings for her partners after all...

The Song and Dance: This is an elegant treat, and possibly one of the most unusual musicals MGM ever did. You don't see too many musicals told in flashback or even partially set in a courtroom. Orry-kelly's incredible gowns for the ladies and the awesome sets won an Oscar. The Technicolor nearly pops off the screen, with all of the bold, stylized blacks, reds, and whites, cool blues of Paris, and those bizarre Jack Cole dances. 

Kelly has his own fun as the man they're all after, but it's the ladies in question who wiggle away with the film. Kendall is so hilarious as a proper British drunk, you understand why she won a Golden Globe (and seriously regret that her career was tragically cut short two years later by leukemia). And if anyone knew how to direct women on screen, it was George Cukor, who lends the film a strange, warm feeling all its own.

The Numbers: We open with Angele's dance and sing that introduces her to the act, and shows off the deceitful personality Sybil assumes her to have. Elg and Kelly perform a truly bizarre ballet in a cage-like set constructed of colored wire as they dance and wrap golden ribbon around each other. The first big number is the huge "Les Girls" act, with women of all nationalities in black and white strutting across the stage as Barry sings about how much he loves his ladies...and then the three in question show up to strut down the runway in stunning black and red frocks. 

Angele claims during a boat ride it's "Ca, C'est L'Amour" for her and Barry. We see the powdered wig-and-gown royalty spoof "Ladies In Waiting" twice. In Sybil's version, Angele is so upset by Pierre and his parents being in the audience, she spoils the number and doesn't show up for the golden ribbon ballet. Angele insists it's Sybil who spoiled the number by being too drunk to perform it. Sybil and Barry have a blast spoofing the upper crust while packing his clothes, claiming that "You're Just Too Too." 

The other big ballet is "Why am I So Gone About That Gal." Kelly's spoof of Marlon Brando and biker films has him as the leader of a biker gang who falls for waitress Joy. It would be totally absurd if their dancing wasn't so good and the stylized red and white diner wasn't so cool.

What I Don't Like: First of all, those three points of view means that this runs almost two hours, which is a tad long for a frothy musical. It sometimes feels disorganized and slow-moving, especially in the second half during Barry's rather pedestrian flashback. Second, while the Porter songs are amusing, even he admitted that they aren't among his best or most memorable work. Phillips does get to be involved in that very funny fight sequence, but the handsome Bergerac is basically there as window dressing and has nothing to do. 

The Big Finale: One of the most underrated musicals made during MGM's golden era, this is highly recommended for fans of Kelly, the leading ladies, Porter, or 50's musicals if you have time on your hands.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats; the discs are currently from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Mr. Imperium

MGM, 1951

Starring Lana Turner, Enzio Pinza, Marjorie Main, and Cedric Hardwicke

Directed by Don Hartman

Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

This week, we dig into the MGM vaults to check out two of their lesser-known films from the 1950's. This was the first of two attempts to turn stage and opera star Enzio Pinza into a movie idol, though it was the second released. The previews for this one went over so badly, they rushed his second movie, Strictly Dishonorable, out first. Despite that not doing well, they still released this one, pushing it into the lower half of double bills. Did it deserve that fate, or should it be rediscovered? Let's begin in 1939 Italy, as "Mr. Imperium" (Pinza) waits to see singer Fredrica "Fredda" Brown (Turner) do her act, and find out...

The Story: Mr. Imperium manages to get into Fredda's dressing room. She's not impressed, but he manages to charm her anyway when she sees him in the balcony adjourning hers. He shows her the Italian countryside and tells her about his little five-year-old son. He also admits that his real name is Prince Alexis, and will inherit the throne on his father's death. That comes all too soon when his father becomes sick and he has to join him. He gives a note to the family butler Bernand (Hardwicke) intended for Fredda. Bertrand merely claims that the prince has seduced and abandoned her.

Twelve years later, Fredda is a major movie star. Alexis, however, is no longer king, thanks to a revolution in his country after World War II. He arrives at a Palm Springs resort where Fredda is considering a proposal from her producer Paul Hunter (Barry Sullivan) and to decide who should play a king in her next movie. They reconnect when he takes the room next to hers. She thinks he could be the king in her film, and he thinks she could be the queen in his life. Trouble is, his country has decided it needs a king after all. His son is being groomed for the role, but he could end up being the target for assassins if his father doesn't step in.

The Song and Dance: The song and the MGM largess are really all this one has going for it. Pinza was a Metropolitan Opera star who made a splash on Broadway in the original cast of South Pacific. He was such a hit, MGM snapped him up to be their next leading man in musicals. Turner also ended up in a few musicals in the early 50's, despite not being a singer or dancer by any stretch of the imagination. At least they're surrounded by a gorgeous production, with fabulous full-skirted gowns for Turner, elegant suits for Pinza, and glowing cinematography in Italy and Palm Springs. Marjorie Main and Debbie Reynolds make the most of their scenes as the owner of the California hotel and her nosy niece who suspects something is going on between the movie star and the mysterious "Mr. Imperium."

The Numbers: We kick off with the rather absurd nightclub number "My Man and My Mule," which Fredda performs while perched on the back of a cardboard mule cut-out. Alexis implores Fredda to "Let Me Look at You" when he realizes she has the balcony next to him. "Adiamo (Let's Go)" is the appropriately bouncy ballad Fredda and Alexis sing during a donkey cart ride in the countryside. Real-life guitarists The Guadalajara Trio accompany Alexis and Fredda as they duet on the Spanish-language standard "You Belong to My Heart."

Trivia: Turner was dubbed by Trudi Erwin. 

What I Don't Like: Apparently, the movie went through a difficult production, and it shows on the lackluster performances from Pinza and Turner. He's trying too hard to be charming and witty; she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else. They have no chemistry whatsoever. You'd never believe that these two would seek each other out at all, let alone after twelve years. In fact, he apparently tried to hit on her and she was having none of it, which explains the frosty tone between the two.

There's also the fact that he's too old for her, and frankly for the role he's playing. Main, Reynolds, Hardwicke, and Sullivan are all capable of doing far more than their small and rather thankless roles allow. And as lovely as the costumes are, you'd never know it was 1939 in the first half if they didn't tell you. It looks like 1951 for the entire film.

The Big Finale: For die-hard opera nuts or Turner fans only. 

Home Media: Thanks to this being in the public domain, it's pretty easy to find anywhere. It's currenly streaming for free with commercials on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Easter Short Subject Special - An Easter Story

Showtime, 1983

Voices of Paul Fusco, Lisa Buckley, Rich Schellbach, and Robert Fappiano

Directed by Terry Kyne

Music and Lyrics by Ed Bruter, Michael Solden, and Jeff Cannata

Let's celebrate Easter with a unique blast from my childhood. Fusco is best-known today as the creator and long-time voice of the furry alien ALF. From 1981 to 1983, Fusco made a series of holiday specials for Showtime featuring cuter and more cartoon-like puppets. The Easter special debuted in 1983 as his second-to-last holiday show. It would turn up on Nickelodeon and elsewhere on cable for a few years before disappearing for three decades. Now that Fusco's early work has re-emerged online, how does this one stack up to that better-known visitor from Melmac? Let's begin with the Easter Bunnies at their factory in a cave as they prepare for Easter and find out...

The Story: O'Hare, the Easter Bunny's right-hand rabbit, recalls the year the factory almost had to stop production. The factory was running out of paint, and Miss Fifi and her chickens couldn't produce enough eggs, even when the head Easter Bunny gave them a color TV to watch soaps. His magic-obsessed son tries to help, but his spells keep producing jelly beans instead of eggs. E.B is worried he won't be able to live up to his father's legacy...but when all seems dark, he gets a spark of inspiration from two boys who waited to see the Easter Bunny and suggest that they might be able to color their own eggs to help out. 

The Song and Dance: Charmingly goofy story features some nifty puppet work from Fusco, especially down below with all of those rabbits working on the production line. The subplot with E.B's son and his constantly producing jelly beans is actually pretty funny and may be my favorite part of this. That opening and closing "Work, Work, Work" number is kind of catchy, too, despite the synthesizer arrangements. 

The Numbers: We open and close with "Work, Work, Work" as the bunnies explain what they do and how they're getting ready for Easter Day. E.B gets a number directly to the camera mid-way through, which is sort of a song/recitation on how E.B wishes he could live up to his father's legacy and what he'll do if the factory closes, "Pressures." 

What I Don't Like: First of all, nitpicking, but...Fusco is so recognizable as ALF by now, it's hard to hear him as an Easter Bunny who's concerned about his workers. You keep expecting him to try to eat a cat or something. O'Hare sounds kind of annoying, too. It's also obvious that there was only one female puppeteer, as the two female characters have the same breathy voice. Second, it's pretty obvious all of these specials were low-budget. The rabbits barely move, and until E.B goes above-ground and catches the kids waiting for him, we're mostly in the rather dull-looking factory.

The Big Finale: That said, this is still a fun watch before the Easter egg hunt, especially for fans of ALF, the Muppets, or other similar puppet shows. 

Home Media: Easily found on streaming for free, including on Amazon Prime and Tubi.

Tubi

Amazon Prime

Sunday School Musical

The Asylum/Faith Films, 2008

Starring Chris Chatman, Candise Lakota, Krystle Connor, and Robert Acinapura

Directed by Rachel Lee Goldberg

Music and Lyrics by various

Even TV movies got direct-to-home-media versions in the 90's and 2000's. The High School Musical films were such a phenomenon in the mid-late 2000's, imitations were probably inevitable. The Asylum usually specialized in Z-grade horror mockbusters (including the infamous Sharknado film franchise), but they branched out into Christian musicals with the creation of their Faith Films imprint. Does this teen religious musical come off better than their campy horror films, or should it be dropped from the roster? Let's begin at a regional church choir competition as two very different teen choirs compete and see...

The Story: Zachary (Chatman) is devastated when his mother (Millena Gay) insists on moving in with her sister Janet (Rae Silva) after she loses her job. She's already transferred him to a new school and new church, to his horror. Both his choir and the one he moved to are going to the church choir finals, but the one he moved to is terrible. Savannah (Lakota) and Miles (Acinapura) lead a group that sings traditional numbers without a hint of harmony or passion. Savannah has her own problems. She's a pastor's daughter who is getting over her mother's death a few months before. She and Zachary become friends after they're paired in cooking class. 

Zachary keeps insisting he doesn't want anything to do with the choir at first, until he finally encourages them to sing in harmony and find more up-to-date material. Not only is his old friend Aundrea (Connor) now jealous, she accuses him of going against his old church. Even worse, his old church is closing down and doesn't have the funds to send them to the finals. Even as his old church snubs him, Zachary still finds a way for everyone to get to the finals...by bringing the two groups together.

The Song and Dance: Some not-bad numbers are pretty much all there are to recommend this. There's a few songs where the kids are clearly enjoying themselves. And at the least, the story isn't as disjointed as the last independent teen Christian musical I reviewed, It's Christmas Again.

The Numbers: Zachary starts things off with his brief rap solo "Beginnings" as he heads to the Hawthorn Community Choir. Hawthorn's fairly dynamic version of "This Light of Mine" couldn't be a greater contrast to Crossroads Christian Choir's dull and badly sung "Come Thou Font." Zach, Audrea, and their friend from the choir do a short rap imitation of Crossroads after the regional competition. Zach has a very, very brief dance routine on the roof where he expresses his anger over the move. He and Aundrea argue over the move to the R&B ballad "In My Shoes." Zachary laments his being caught between two words in "Cross That Bridge." 

Crossroads' boring "All Over Me" in rehearsal doesn't exactly make Zachary feel better about being forced to erase their boards as a punishment. Zachary reminds the choir that the best way of improving is just to do a "Vocal Thing" and enjoy themselves. Miles and Savannah claim "You're Not the Boss" when Miles protests Zachary joining the choir and changing their sound. Crossroads performs a far more impressive "Vision" for church on Sunday. The two groups finally come together as Audrea and Zachary realize they're much "Better With You." At the contest, the Church of the Gospel Youth Club (which has won for three years in a row) does a charming performance of "Praise." Crossroads and Hawthorn can't compete, but they still perform a dynamic "His Eye On the Sparrow" 

What I Don't Like: First of all, none of the kids are remotely likable. Aundrea jumps on Zachary over the move and acts like it was his idea and he's going to be a million miles away. Considering they see each other pretty frequently, he's barely across town. As Savannah points out, Miles is a whiny brat who tries to boss everyone around when he isn't nearly as talented of a pianist or singer as he thinks. Miles accuses Savannah of being the perfect pastor's daughter, but she's not much better than him, blowing up at her father for no reason at all. Zachary is no prize either, given he constantly blows off his studies for choir and rags his mother for a move that doesn't turn out to be that far.

Other than the "Eye On the Sparrow" finale and the kids really getting into that odd "Vocal Thing," nothing here works. The story is a cliche we've seen a billion times before, including in the real High School Musical movies. The new songs were so-so, the sets and cinematography obviously cheap and z-grade. It didn't feel all that religious, either, beyond a few references to God and Savannah's father being a pastor. It could have been set in any two high schools and done any kind of competition without missing a beat. When the kids aren't acting badly to each other, they're just acting the flat script badly period. Not to mention, the finale with who wins is an unrealistic and ridiculous cop-out. 

The Big Finale: Unless you're really, really desperate for a religious musical to show your teens this Holy Week, you can easily skip this.

Home Media: Like most Asylum films, it's easily found on DVD and streaming. It can currently be found for free with commercials at several streaming sites, including The Roku Channel.

DVD

The Roku Channel

Cult Flops - The Fighting Temptations

Paramount, 2003

Starring Cuba Gooding Jr, Beyonce Knowles, Mike Epps, and LaTanya Richardson

Directed by Johnathan Lynn

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Holy Week with two movies about unlikely church choirs taking part in major competitions. We'll start with the one that has the bigger-name cast. Beyonce Knowles was an up-and-coming singer who had just left her group Destiny's Child the year before. Gooding Jr had been a popular character actor and comedian in movies like Jerry Maguire (which he won an Oscar for) since the early 90's. How well do they work in this tale of a young man who returns to his Georgia hometown and takes over the church choir? Let's begin with two kids sitting on the church steps in 1980, just as the choir's number begins, and find out...

The Story: Ad executive Darrin Hill (Gooding) never planned on returning to his hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia. He and his mother Mary Ann (Faith Evans) were run out of town by Paulina Lewis-Pritchett (Richardson), a self-righteous and obnoxious biddy who disapproved of Mary Ann singing R&B on the side. Darrin's Aunt Sally (Ann Nesby), who never stopped believing in him, left him the church choir, with the stipulation that he gets them into the Gospel Explosion contest. If he wins, he will inherit Aunt Sally's stock in the company. 

Trouble is, Darrin is an unrelenting and unrepentant liar. He lied his way into the ad job, which he lost due to his lies right before a detective served him the invitation to Aunt Sally's funeral. After he learns that the once-powerful choir has been reduced to a few members, he fibs that anyone who joins will get half the prize money. It takes him longer to convince his childhood friend Lilly (Knowles), who had a child out of wedlock and is now a singer at a local bar. He convinces her to sing lead.

Paulina quits after Lilly joins, but she's not done making trouble. After she claims the deadline to audition for the Gospel Explosion has passed, Darrin convinces the audition judge and town's prison Warden to let them perform for his prisoners. They go over so well, not only do they get in, but three prisoners join the group. A frustrated Paulina reveals his past, which leads the others to turn against him. He returns to New York...but realizes when he gets his job back that it's meaningless, and he's nothing without his new friends, Lilly, and the choir that has come to mean so much to him.

The Song and Dance: Frankly, the song and dance are the only reasons to see this. Digging through the soppy plot reveals some terrific numbers, including Beyonce's nicely intimate "Fever" at the club. This was likely intentional, given MTV had a hand in making this one. Beyonce shines as the talented singer who is reluctant to return to the church after she was pushed away. Nice location shooting in the real small-town Georgia is the only other thing of interest here. 

The Numbers: We open with Aunt Sally leading the choir through a literally foot-stomping "I'm Getting Ready" and "The Stone" in 1980. Mary Ann performs "Heaven Knows" in a flashback as Darrin recalls his life with his mother on the road. Real-life gospel singer Shirley Caesar really gets into a dynamic "The Church Is In Mourning" with her own choir at Aunt Sally's funeral. Lilly does even better by a sexy, intimate "Fever" at a smoky local club that is by far the best thing in the film. 

The choir's first attempt at "Amazing Grace" is...less than stellar, especially due to a leaky roof. It couldn't be a greater contrast to Lilly's slinky "Everything I Do" with Bilal. The montage of locals auditioning for the choir ranges from a not-great "Amazing Grace" to two teens doing "God's Turning the World Upside Down"and someone doing a really horrible "Isn't She Lovely." He's impressed enough with the O'Jays' barbershop quartet rendition of "Loves Me Like a Rock" to convince the head barber to join. He starts them in on "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" before he realizes they need a lead singer. "Swing Low" gets a far more effective reprise at the prison after Lilly joins the choir. 

The newly-hired prisoner singers show what they can do with "Down By the Riverside." T-Bone does his own rap version, "To Da River." The church really shows what they can do for their church audience with "Rain Down." The first number at the Choral Explosion is Mary Mary's "Brighter Days." The Blind Boys of Alabama really get into "I'm a Soldier In the Army of Love." The Baptist Choir's big finale is "Turn My Life Around." We end with everyone - even Paulina - back at the church with "Come Back Home."

What I Don't Like: This is cliched to the max. We've seen basically the same story on this blog in the first Sister Act film and the later Joyful Noise. Gooding Jr's perpetual liar is more annoying than cute or funny. He and Beyonce have no chemistry, making her suddenly falling for him in the second half a lot less believable. Frankly, you begin to wish his constant fibbing had gotten him into trouble long before this. The movie just goes on and on and takes what should have been a light-hearted romp much too seriously. Paulina's attempts to discredit Darrin in the second half borders on comic-book camp at times and probably could have been trimmed with no one the wiser. 

The Big Finale: In the end, this is too shallow and disjointed to be recommended to anyone besides major fans of Beyonce, the other singers in the cast, or gospel and R&B. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Magic Pudding

20th Century Fox, 2000

Voices of John Cleese, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, and Sam Neill

Directed by Karl Zwicky

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's head down under this weekend and learn about a movie I only just heard of this week. Apparently, this is based on a beloved Australian children's book from 1918. The author's family resisted international adaptions, holding out for an Australian company. They finally sold it to Energee Entertainment, which was then a leading independent Australian animation studio. How does this uniquely Aussie story look on this side of the pond? Let's begin with ship captain Bill Barnacle (Weaving) and his crew as they navigate a storm in the Arctic and find out...

The Story: Barnacle and his crew mates Sam Sawnoff the penguin (Neill) and Buncle the wombat (Jack Thompson) are stranded in the Arctic after their shop breaks up there. Buncle's desperate cry for food makes the Magic Pudding (Cleese) appear from the sky. His name is Albert, and despite being rather rude, he can also last forever. Buncle tries to steal it, but he falls off the ice and is believed to be lost. Sam and Bill decide to become Albert's protectors. 

Ten years later, Bunyip Bluegum the koala (Rush) sets off in search of his missing parents. He runs across Bill and Sam after stopping two thieves from stealing Albert. Bunyip encounters a frightened bandicoot who says that a frog on a log is the only creature who isn't too frightened to tell him where his parents are. He and his new friends follow Albert to figure out the frog's clues. 

As it turns out, Barnacle is alive...and he's not only still hungry, he's forcing other animals to bring him food. His nephew Watkin (Greg Carroll) and Patrick O'Possum (Dave Gibson) have been sent to steal the pudding, but Albert keeps eluding them. They get so desperate, they open a dam over the very town where Bunyip, Albert, and the other two are heading. It takes saving the town for the residents to finally bring Albert and the pudding protectors to Barnacle's lair and rescue not only Bunyip's parents, but a whole host of slaves as well.

The Animation: Much better than I expected from an independent Australian animated feature. Some of the backdrops are downright gorgeous, particularly where the frog on a log is and in the town. Everything moves really well, and as far as I can tell, they look like the characters in the book, especially Bunyip and Sam.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for a great voice cast, too. Rush is an adorable Bunyip, while Cleese is hilarious as the occasionally nasty pudding and Weaving and Neill are hilarious as the remaining pudding protectors. That animation really is lovely - see the number where Bunyip imagines his mother (Toni Collette) singing to him. Thompson makes a terrific villain, too, and even the thieves get some occasionally funny gags. 

The Numbers: Our first number isn't until 10 minutes in, but it comes from Rush. Bunyip begins his journey by proclaiming "It's a Wonderful Day." Weaving, Cleese, and Neill introduce him to "Albert, the Magic Pudding" after he runs across them. "The Puddin' Owners' Song" is their number after they bring Bunyip in on their fellowship. "My Heart Beats" is the ballad Bunyip imagines his mother Meg singing at the frog pond. "It's Worse Than Weevils," say the pudding owners to the thieves. They all band together to "Save the Town" and use the pudding to fill bags and keep the waters from rising. "In the Underground Tonight" is the other big chorus number as Thompson and his mooks celebrate capturing Albert.

What I Don't Like: First of all, research online indicates that this doesn't have a whole lot to do with the book. It wasn't indicated how Bill and Sam came across the Magic Pudding. They just have it when Bunyip first encounters them. Bunyip did leave his uncle, but it wasn't to find his parents. The book ends with a basset hound helping them defend Albert in court against the thieves. There was no Buncle, mooks, or flooded town. 

Second, this is a pretty strange story. It feels like they threw the original book in with bits and pieces of other animated films of the late 90's-early 2000's. Colette's ballad is too modern and out of place with the songs that have lyrics taken directly from the book. 

The Big Finale: The lovely animation and great voice cast alone makes this worth checking out at least once for elementary school-age kids and their parents.

Home Media: Not on disc in North America, but it can be found for free with commercials on streaming.

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The Buddy Holly Story

Columbia Pictures, 1978

Starring Gary Busey, Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, and Maria Richwine

Directed by Steve Rash

Music and Lyrics by Buddy Holly and others

Jim Morrison was hardly the first or last rock star to die young. Buddy Holly was one of the seminal rock pioneers. His songs were international hits in the late 50's, including classics like "Peggy Sue," "Rave On," and "That'll Be the Day." He pushed for more control over his music, including writing and producing his own songs. He might have done more, if it wasn't for his death during that fateful and poorly-organized Winter Party Tour. I reviewed a later version of that fateful night, La Bamba, last September. How does this slightly more upbeat take on Holly's side of the story look now? Let's begin with teens roller skating at a rink in Lubbock, Texas and find out...

The Story: Buddy Holly (Busey) and his friends drummer Jesse Charles (Stroud) and bassist Ray Bob Simmons (Smith) play at the skating rink and for a local radio station as the Crickets. Buddy's been experimenting with that brash, jangly new sound known as rock. The teens at the rink love it, and Riley, the manager at the station (William Jordan), is interested enough to recommend them to Coral Records. 

The Crickets don't last long with Coral after they learn they're expected to play country music, not rock. Fortunately, Riley also sent a tape of their skating rink performance to producer Ross Hunter (Conrad Janis) in New York. He's so impressed, he releases the tape without knowing the Crickets aren't under contract. After it's a hit, Holly convinces Hunter to sign them up and let him produce their output. 

That gets them up and running. They're so popular, they even become the first white act to play the Apollo Theater in Harlem after someone mistakes them for a black band. Buddy's more interested in Turner's secretary Maria Elena Santiago (Richwine). He convinces her aunt to let them go out, then marries her after their first date. 

Buddy's now writing hit after hit, but Jesse is feeling in his shadow and resents the time he spends with Maria. After an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, he and Ray Bob quit the band and return to Texas. Buddy wonders how he can make music without them. Maria encourages him to go on the Winter Party Tour to bring his confidence level back up again. She and the Crickets even plan on seeing him in the next stop after Clear Lake...or would, if he hadn't chartered a plane to get them there in a snowstorm...

The Song and Dance: This has some things in common with La Bamba and The Doors. They're all anchored by terrific performances from actors who threw themselves into the lead roles, beautifully recreating the performing styles of the singer in question. Gary Busey was so perfect as Buddy Holly, he landed a Best Actor nomination. He looks as gangly as he did in real life and does his own singing and playing so well, you'd think that was Buddy Holly there. Smith and Stroud also do well as his band mates who eventually feel overshadowed by his success. The low budget and decision to film all musical numbers right on the soundtrack actually works to the film's advantage, giving it a slightly gritty, raw warts-and-all feel that's very welcome in a biopic.

The Numbers: We open with Buddy and the Crickets performing the country ballad "Mockin' Bird Hill" at the skating rink before switching to the far more upbeat "Rock Around With Ollie Vee" and "That'll Be the Day." He's not as happy when their attempt to record "Day" for Coral Records comes out sounding a lot more country than he wants. Paul Mooney makes a not-bad Sam Cooke singing "You Send Me" at the Apollo before Buddy and the Crickets come out and tear up the place with "Everyday," "Oh Boy!" and "It's So Easy." The audience has so much fun, they end up dancing in the orchestra pit.

"Words of Love" and "I'm Gonna Love You Too" show us the Crickets in the studio. "Love You Too" almost ends with fisticuffs between Buddy and Jesse when the latter makes a racial comment about Maria. "Rave On" and "Listen To Me" go better, until Buddy gets so into his duet with Eddie Cochran (Jerry Zaremba) on "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," he makes the other two Crickets feel unappreciated. "Well...All Right" and "Maybe Baby" are their numbers at The Ed Sullivan Show, but the damage has been done. After the Big Bopper (Gailord Sartain) performs "Chantilly Lace" at Clear Lake, Buddy proves he still has it, even on his own, with a final medley of That'll Be the Day," "True Love's Ways," and "Not Fade Away."

Trivia: This wasn't the first attempt at a Buddy Holly movie. Gary Busey actually played the drummer for the Crickets in another biography made for 20th Century Fox, Three-Sided Coin, that was ultimately canceled. 

What I Don't Like: While more accurate than The Doors, this is still full of cliches. The original Crickets had already sold the rights to their names for another biopic, which is why fictional names are used and the band is reduced from three to two. "Peggy Sue" was named for the girlfriend of original Cricket Jerry Allison, not Buddy's girlfriend. Buddy's time recording country songs in Nashville went far smoother than what we see here and didn't end with him punching anyone. 

I'm also not a fan of the film's too-pat ending. They allude to the fatal crash in a quick paragraph after the Clear Lake Finale medley, but we don't see it. It wasn't until La Bamba debuted almost a decade later that someone finally detailed the events leading up to that tragedy on the big screen.

The Big Finale: Though not as dynamic as The Doors, it's still worth checking out for Busey's terrific performance as the title musician and the sensational numbers, especially if you're a fan of early rock. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming in the US.

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A Salute to Val Kilmer - The Doors

Tri-Star Pictures, 1991

Starring Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, and Kathleen Quinlan

Directed by Oliver Stone

Music and Lyrics by various

We honor Val Kilmer, who passed away last week, with our first weekday review. The idea of a biopic of the mercurial Doors front man Jim Morrison had been kicked around in Hollywood since at least the mid-80's. Stone was initially supposed to only write it, but the surviving Doors were impressed with his war epic Platoon and wanted him to direct it as well. 

The movie was problematic from the start. The Doors and the parents of Morrison and his late wife Pamela Courson objected to how the duo were portrayed in the film, and the Doors weren't thrilled with the historical inaccuracies in the script. Were they right, or like Morrison himself, is there more to this movie than meets the eye? Let's begin in 1949, as a young Jim Morrison (Sean Stone) and his family pass by a dying Native American who will shape much of his later feelings on death, and find out...

The Story: By 1965, Jim (Kilmer) is going to college at UCLA. Among the few students who get his provocative and often political poetry are co-ed Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan) and pianist and songwriter Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan). Jim is so impressed with Ray's songs, he, guitarist Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley), and drummer John Densmore (Dillon) form the Doors to show them off.

After trying psychedelic drugs in Death Valley, they return to LA ready for their first gig. They're a sensation at the wildly popular Whiskey a Go-Go nightclub and pick up a huge fan base. Jim's lewd behavior onstage loses them the gig, but gains them a contract with Elektra Records. They're suddenly one of the biggest bands on the planet, enough to gain a spot on The Ed Sullivan Show. It proves to be their only time on the show, due to Jim refusing to change the lyrics to "Light My Fire" to fit then-broadcast standards.

Both Jim's marriage to Pamela and his relationship with the other Doors are increasingly strained by his wild and erratic behavior. Jim begins an affair with journalist Patricia Kenneally (Quinlan) and even gets involved with her wiccan ceremonies. He's arrested in Miami after exposing himself during a concert. Jim knows his life is out of control, but he continues to fantasize about death, even after he and Pamela finally move to Paris. Jim thinks he's escaping the rock lifestyle, but he can't avoid it when his many excesses and abuses finally catch up with him while he's in the tub one night...

The Song and Dance: For all the problems and inaccuracies, they got the casting right. Kilmer pretty much begged for the role of Morrison, and he totally nails it. He looks like him, sings like him (when his actual voice is used), and throws himself into Morrison's wild lifestyle with total abandon. Ryan, still best known for romantic comedies, is nearly his equal as his abused girlfriend, and later wife. Others who rise to the occasion include MacLachlan as the Doors' quieter pianist, Quinlan as the mystical journalist who also fell for Morrison, Mimi Rogers as sassy photographer Gloria Stavers, and Crispin Glover in his brief role as a pitch-perfect Andy Warhol. Gorgeous cinematography in the real LA, New York, Paris, and Mojave Desert add to the dream-like ambiance. 

The Numbers: The first actual number is "California Sun" by the Rivieras, which gives us Jim's arrival in LA and his view of its beach scene. "Love Street" introduces Jim to Pamela when he follows her to her parents' home. We get to see the newly-formed Doors rehearsing two of their most iconic songs, "Break On Thorough to the Other Side" and "Light My Fire," at Pamela' house. "Break On Through" gets a reprise at the Whiskey A Go-Go that gives us our first glimpse of Jim's heavily sexual singing style...and how the women in the audience react to it. 

"My Wild Love" is the Doors' song performed during their acid trip in Death Valley, accompanied by nothing but bongo drums. "The End" starts during Jim's Native American vision in Death Valley, but eventually carries to the Whiskey A Go-Go..and ends. "Light My Fire" is reprised for Pam and Jim's wedding as LA flower children celebrate the Summer of Love. "Alabama Song" takes the doors to their first performances on the east coast in New York City. "Light My Fire" comes up again on The Ed Sullivan Show, but the producers do not like it when Jim sings the original sexually charged lyrics. 

Jim realizes how "People are Strange" during his photography session with Gloria Stavers. "Heroin" by another pioneering hard rock group The Velvet Underground introduces Jim to an admiring Andy Warhol. "Strange Days" shows his increasingly weird drug trips and obvious affairs. The New Haven concert gives us "Back Door Man" before Jim rants about a cop who sprayed him with mace before the show. "The Movie" accompanies their discussion of starring in a film before they're kicked out of the bar. "You're Lost, Little Girl" provides the accompaniment for the disastrous Thanksgiving that ends with Pam and Jim literally at each other's throats.

"To Touch the Earth" gives us Jim at his wild best in concert...before he comes home and realizes he's not the only one having affairs. We see him increasingly erratic, onstage, with Pamela, and with the other Doors. This leads into a Wiccan marriage ceremony and a genuine Native American ritual dance. Unfortunately, it's effecting his performances. His attempts at "Moonlight Drive" and "The Soft Parade" are slurred and under his usual standards. He's late to the Miami concert, but his electric performance of "Five to One," "Dead Cats, Dead Rats," and "Break On Through" ends with him stripping his shirt and being dragged along by the crowd. 

What I Don't Like: The real Doors heavily objected to how Stone played fast and loose with facts and claimed that only the worst sides of Jim and Pamela were portrayed on-screen. Apparently, the problems between the group members weren't quite as bad as portrayed here, either. Jim's student movie was much lighter than the heavy sexual romp seen during his class at UCLA, and he took the Wiccan wedding to Patricia far more seriously than he seems to in the film. Morrison didn't blatantly disregard the request to change the lyrics on The Ed Sullivan Show, either. He simply sang the song as written. (Jim later claimed he meant to change the lyric but was nervous about singing on TV and forgot.) Pamela and Patricia also got along far better than they're seen to here. 

I've been a fan of the Doors for a long time, and while I can understand why their music would inspire Stone to get melodramatic, a lot of this comes off as overly pretentious. The lavish sequences with them dropping acid in the desert and Morrison's visions of the elderly Native can just seem like a little too much, even for a rock star known for his insane lifestyle. Stone gets so into the flash, he never really gets under Morrison's skin and shows how or why he fell so hard, so fast.

The Big Finale: Kilmer's sterling performance and some great music makes this worth seeing for fans of Stone or Kilmer's other work, the real Doors, or classic hard rock.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats. The DVD often turns up for under $10. The 4K is "The Final Cut" with some scenes removed and changed. It's currently on Pluto TV for free with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

4K - The Doors: The Final Cut

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Animation Celebration Saturday - Princess Castle

Golden Films, 1996

Directed by Diane Paloma Eskenazi

Music and Lyrics by Jewel, Leslie Spiro, and Kelly Sachs

Unlike their rivals UAV, Golden Films did occasionally do original movies that weren't based on whatever was popular at the time. We've already seen one, The Legend of Su-Ling. In fact, the very generically titled Princess Castle has more in common with the movies from this era like Jumanji that had kids on a wild adventure than anything Disney. How well do they pull off the story of a 7-year-old who rescues her sister and a young prince from an evil queen? Let's begin with that young girl Claire as her mother insists she babysits her toddler sister Katilin and find out...

The Story: Claire follows Katilin into a storage area under the stairs. She finds a beautiful locket with a sapphire inside and an invitation from a queen, which somehow transports them to a fantasy world. Claire encounters a boy named Anthony, who is trying to rescue his mother Queen Emma from the castle tower. She was imprisoned there by her wicked sister Queen Carlotta, who is searching for the sapphire that will give her the ultimate power over the kingdom. After Katilin wanders off and is also captured by Carlotta, the two kids have to figure out how to get her back, release the queen, and get the sapphire to the right place, before Carlotta gets her hands on them.

The Animation: Same as their other productions. Colors are bright and the costumes are detailed, but no one has any expression. They have the same neutral look regardless of whether they're happy or angry or frightened. It makes the movie a bit dull to watch. 

The Song and Dance: At least they tried for something totally different. To date, Disney has only once gone the Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe route in their animated films and have normal kids end up in a fantasy world, and that was way back in Peter Pan. Claire does occasionally have her moments, and Katilin's random wandering can be pretty cute. The plot with the two sisters and how Carlotta seized control of the kingdom is actually pretty elaborate for a 40-minute special. 

The Numbers: We start with Claire fantasizing about dancing at a ball to "The Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker...at least until she realizes that Katilin is missing. Claire and Anthony perform "Wherever You Go" to get Katilin to sleep when she's at Queen Carlotta's castle. The song is lovely, but the clouds and stars are a little too cartoony and goofy for a sweet and romantic song. Claire finally gets her wish for a ball as "Waltz of the Flowers" reprises, then becomes "Wish Upon a Dream" as Claire waltzes with Anthony. The film finishes with a reprise of the "Wherever You Go" number, including the goofy clouds and stars.

What I Don't Like: First of all, what age are the kids supposed to be? Claire looks and acts more like she's somewhere between 10 and 12, not 7. Kaitlin acts like a toddler, but is too big and mature-looking to be one. And why on earth did their mother leave a 7-year-old to take care of a toddler? No wonder Claire was angry. Anthony doesn't have a lot of personality beyond being the info dump for his mother's situation, and Queen Emma has even less. Queen Carlotta is more screechy than anything. 

The Big Finale: Passable entertainment for younger elementary-school girls who are cooped up on a chilly early spring day. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and pretty much anywhere online, including Tubi for free with commercials.

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The Three Musketeers (1939)

20th Century Fox, 1939

Starring Don Ameche, The Ritz Brothers, Binnie Barnes, and Pauline Moore

Directed by Allan Dwan

Music by Samuel Pokrass; Lyrics by Walter Bullock

The Marx Brothers were far from the only comic brother group who were popular in the 30's and early 40's. The Ritz Brothers started out on the stage in 1925. By 1934, they were Broadway headliners who did short subjects for Educational Pictures. 20th Century Fox was so impressed, they hired them as the comic relief in big musicals like On the Avenue. The Three Musketeers would prove to be their biggest hit with their names above the title. How does this wacky spoof of swashbucklers look now? Let's begin with D'Aragnan (Ameche) as he arrives in Paris and find out...

The Story: D'Arangan is looking for the fabled three Musketeers. Alas, they got drunk, and what he finds is three cooks (Ritz Brothers) in their outfits. He needs all the help he can get. Queen Anne (Gloria Stuart) and her lady-in-waiting Constance (Moore) find him dueling with the Duke of Buckingham (Lester Matthews) at the inn where he and the cooks conned their way into rooms. The Queen is having an affair with the Duke and has given him a jeweled broach to remember her by. 

Cardinal Richelieu (Miles Mander) orders Lady De Winter (Barnes) and his head man De Rochefort (Lionel Atwill) to steal the broach and bring it to King Louis (Joseph Schildkraut). DeWinter does manage to waylay D'Arganan...but she doesn't account for his loyal, if none-too-bright, friends. It's all for one, and one for lunacy as the four non-Musketeers prove themselves worthy of the name to make sure the broach gets to the Queen before the King figures out what's going on!

The Song and Dance: Darn good cast for a spoof. Ameche made such a wonderful D'Arangan, I wish he'd done more swashbucklers. Moore was a lovely Constance, Barnes was a charming Milady the few times we see her, and Atwill and Mander didn't do badly as the scheming villains. The Ritz Brothers' broad slapstick may be an acquired taste, but I thought their gags came off a lot better here than in the bigger-budget musicals On the Avenue and One In a Million. I'm also impressed with how relatively well they stuck to the first half of the book for a spoof, despite the complicated story being greatly condensed. 

The Numbers: We open with D'Aragnan on his horse, riding to Paris and singing "Warla Warla (Say Paree)" as he greets other travelers on the road. He reprises the number while preparing to meet Constance again about mid-way through the film. The cooks show how they make their "Chicken Soup" in the tavern kitchen right before the real Musketeers turn up drunk. D'Arganan and the cooks sing "Voila" after they've taken on the Cardinal's guards at the tavern. The young Musketeer hopeful woos Constance with "My Lady" in the boarding house courtyard. 

What I Don't Like: As I mentioned, the Ritz Brothers are an acquired taste at best for most audiences nowadays. Though they were popular onstage through the 50's, they never did gel with movies the way the Marxes did. The trio don't have enough personality to offset their broad and often juvenile slapstick shenanigans. They admittedly come off better here than they did playing second fiddle to Fox blondes, but their brand of goofiness doesn't work well with the otherwise straight action story. In fact, there's so much focus on them, we don't see enough of characters like Lady DeWinter who are a lot more important to the action. The songs are no great shakes, either, and in fact often slow down the pace. 

The Big Finale: I got a kick out of this, but your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for the Ritzes and/or their brand of slapstick lunacy. 

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Classics Collection.

DVD

Happy April Fool's Day! - A Night at the Opera

MGM, 1935

Starring The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, and Chico), Margaret Dumont, Allan Jones, and Kitty Carlisle

Directed by Sam Wood

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate a day devoted to merriment with three of the craziest pranksters in classic film. Paramount dropped the Marxes after their previous film, Duck Soup, wasn't a hit. Head of MGM Irving Thalburg recognized their genius and snapped them up, encouraging them to hone their craft on a vaudeville tour before they made this movie. How well does the MGM largess and their big musical numbers fit with the Marxes' brand of madness? Let's begin at an expensive restaurant in Milan, Italy, where Otis P. Driftwood (Groucho) is supposed to be meeting his boss Mrs. Claypool (Dumont), and find out...

The Story: After she finally gets his attention, Driftwood introduces Mrs. Claypool to Herman Gottleib (Sig Rumann), the director of the New York Opera. Driftwood has arranged for Mrs. Claypool to invest $200,000 in the opera company, which will allow Gottlieb to hire star tenor Rodolfo Laspari (Walter Woolf King). After hearing how much Laspari will make a year, Driftwood tries to get him under contract instead. He ends up getting Ricardo Baroni (Jones), a chorus performer at the opera, thanks to Baroni's self-styled manager Fiorello (Chico) and Laspari's dresser Tomasso (Harpo). Baroni is in love with leading lady Rosa Castaldi (Carlisle), but Laspari is also interested in her. 

During the voyage from Italy to New York, Driftwood discovers that Baroni and his two friends stowed away in his trunk. He tries to hide them in his already-small stateroom at first, but they get caught. He manages to get them into New York anyway when they pose as three heroic European pilots. Driftwood's continued attempts to keep his friends from the police and Baroni returning to Rosa's side ends with Driftwood and Rosa losing their jobs and everyone thrown out on the sidewalk. Driftwood may not be able to sit on the grass, but he and his friends are never down for long. They come up with an idea that'll bring Rosa and Ricardo together onstage and keep Gottlieb and police officer Sergeant Henderson (Robert Emmet O'Connor) from stopping their own show for good.

The Song and Dance: One of the Marxes' best films. My favorite sequence has always been the Stateroom Scene, where fifteen people, a giant trunk, and 30 hard-boiled eggs are stuffed into a stateroom barely bigger than a closet. There's also Harpo and Chico wrecking havoc in the orchestra pit and onstage in the finale while Groucho makes sarcastic comments in the audience, and Groucho and Chico tearing apart Ricardo's contract before they can even agree to make it. Great performances across the boards, from the Marxes having an absolute blast to Jones and Carlisle being funnier than the lovers in most of their movies to the wonderfully hissable King. 

The Numbers: We open in Milan with a chorus number from the opera I Pagliacci, "Stridonu Lassu," which gives us a glimpse of what Rosa and Rodolfo do and why they're so popular. Our first number outside of the opera house is the ballad "Alone." Rosa sings it to Ricardo as the boat is leaving Milan. He picks it up on the docks, and the chorus joins in while Driftwood ducks out of paying his hotel bill and Tomasso hugs everyone on-deck. Driftwood belts "Sing Ho for the Open Highway" briefly while being hauled around on his trunk. 

The Italian peasants are singing the traditional Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia" when Ricardo, Tomasso, and Fiorello head on-deck for dinner. Ricardo is so delighted with their hospitality, he goes into the Brown-Freed dance number "Cosi-Cosa," which turns into an enormous chorus routine all around the deck. After the dance, Fiorello dips into the MGM vault for an instrumental "All I Do Is Dream of You" on the piano, while Tomasso reprises "Alone" and "Dream of You" on the harp. (His rendition of "Alone" is especially pretty.)

Tomasso and Fiorello get Il Trovodore off to a wacky start when they replace the overture with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." It even includes them hitting a ball around and Driftwood selling peanuts in the audience. Gottlieb and Henderson try to catch Fiorello and Tomasso during "The Anvil Chorus," but they evade them. Driftwood has more fun tossing quips about the ancient old hag singing "Stride La Vampa." Laspari is performing "Di Quella Pira" when he's dragged backstage. Rosa and Ricardo replace him for the tragic "Miserere," which has her singing to him in prison. 

Trivia: According to Wikipedia, the movie originally began with a long number depicting the sights and sounds of everyday Milan workers before cutting to Mrs. Claypool at the restaurant. It was either cut in 1938 or during World War II to remove references to Italy and has since been lost.

What I Don't Like: It's been pointed out that the Marxes tend to work better with looser storylines that give them more room for anarchy. Their last two films had also de-emphasized the roles of the lovers. This one builds them back up again and adds musical numbers. The opera sequences in the beginning and end show what Rosa and Rodolfo do and give the Marxes a chance for gags. "Alone," on the other hand, is lovely but goes on for too long, and "Cosi Cosa" is fun but largely extraneous. 

The Big Finale: I'm going to agree with Groucho Marx himself and say this has long been my favorite Marx Brothers movie. It's probably the best place for newcomers to the Marxes' nutty world to start along with Duck Soup. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats. The Blu-Ray is a Warner Archives release. 

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Blu-Ray

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