Happy Labor Day! - Thanks for the Memory

Paramount, 1938

Starring Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, Charles Butterworth, and Otto Kruger

Directed by George Archainbaud

Music and Lyrics by various

We honor writers and their creative process this Labor Day with this lesser-known Bob Hope comedy. Ross, Hope, and their performance of the song "Thanks for the Memory" had been the major stand-out number amid the chaos of the semi-revue The Big Broadcast of 1938. After the song won an Oscar, Paramount rushed the two into this low-budget comedy, based on the stage play Up Pops the Devil. How does the story of a newlywed couple who start to question their relationship when she goes back to work so he can focus on his novel look nowadays, with far more women in the workplace? Let's begin with that couple, Steve (Hope) and Anne (Ross) Merrick, at their cozy apartment in New York and find out...

The Story: Steve loves schmoozing with his mooching friends, including Biney (Butterworth) and his wife Polly (Hedda Hopper) and George Kent (Roscoe Karns), who is married to a wealthy woman. Anne, though she enjoys their parties, is less enamored by their cost. Steve has taken a second job while working on his novel, which he isn't close to finishing. Anne insists on him quitting his job while she works for her ex-finacee, publisher Gill Morrell (Kruger). 

Steve's ultimately frustrated by staying at home. He's not a great cook and can't concentrate. Likewise, Anne doesn't appreciate Gill's advances, though she does like the money she brings home. Anne finally makes a major discovery, only to see Steve out with their clingy southern Belle neighbor Lulella (Patricia Wilder) and jumps to the wrong conclusion. For his part, Steve is tired of feeling "kept." They're about to sell their apartment when a couple comes to see it and they realize how much they still want it...and are willing to give each other a second chance.

The Song and Dance: For something Paramount tossed off in response to another movie, this is honestly pretty cute. Hopper and Butterworth are a riot as Steve's well-dressed pals who show up whenever there's food or gin to be had, and Karns has some funny moments as Steve's hangdog pal who isn't sure he loves his wife, but knows he loves her money. The story - and how it treats writers and gender reversal - is pretty interesting too. Steve has a harder time writing when there's no distractions than when there's friends all over the place, while Anne is bored by her modeling job. 

The Numbers: The title song opens and closes the film, first as we meet Anne and Steve and see their life together in the apartment, and then right before the end when they recall their relationship and realize they don't really want to leave each other. In between, we get another charming duet that became a standard. Anne and Steve are "Two Sleepy People" who are enjoying each other's company way too much to hit the sack by dawn.

What I Don't Like: First of all, "Two Sleepy People" aside, this isn't really a musical. It's more of a B-comedy with an A-list cast. Second, though the story is relatively original for a romantic comedy, it hasn't dated that well. Nowadays, many people, men and women, work from home, and men are just as likely as women to take on domestic chores. 

The Big Finale: Not really of much interest unless you're a huge fan of Hope and his theme song or 30's screwball comedies. 

Home Media: On DVD from the Universal Vault and Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Cult Flops - When the Boys Meet the Girls

MGM, 1965

Starring Connie Francis, Harve Presnell, Sue Ann Langdon, and Frank Faylen

Directed by Alvin Ganzer 

Music by George Gershwin and others; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin and others

Let's head back to the US for our last vacation of the summer season. We're also honoring Connie Francis, who passed away last month. She - and her performance of its title song - was a big part of the reason Where the Boys Are was one of the biggest hits of 1960. Though her recording career continued to do well, MGM failed to find an appropriate follow-up film. Her next two movie vehicles were both flops. MGM banked on this one, a remake of their 1943 Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney vehicle Girl Crazy, to revive Francis' flagging career and give their newly-minted musical leading man Presnell a boost. How well did they do updating Girl Crazy to the Beach Party-addicted mid-60's? Let's begin at an all-male college, where Danny Churchill (Presnell) has just replaced the all-male chorus in drag with a very female one, and find out...

The Story: Danny is expelled and sent to another school in the Arizona desert, one with absolutely no girls in it. Actually, it does have one. Ginger Grey, who delivers the mail, almost literally runs into Danny and his friend Sam (Joby Baker) in Danny's sports car. He helps Ginger retrieve her father Phin (Faylen) from Reno, where he's gambled away every cent they have. They'll lose the ranch if they don't make the money to pay them off soon. Danny finally brings in other local kids to turn the ranch into a hotel for divorcees. It does help a lot of women going through a bad time, like Kate (Hortense Petra), but it also attracts Danny's gold-digging ex-girlfriend Tess Rawley (Langdon). Danny fled to avoid paying her hush money, and now it looks like she wants him to pay up, and now.

The Song and Dance: As weird as this is, there are some things that work. Like Summer Holiday, this is a full-on musical, with ballads, duets, and big chorus numbers. Some of the songs work, and there's a few performances that at least have the right goofy spirit. Faylen has a great time as Ginger's well-meaning, gambling-addicted father, Baker has some hilarious moments as Danny's best friend, and there's Petra as the frequently-married hotel resident Kate and Fred Clark as Phin's wealthy friend Bill Denning. There's gorgeous Technicolor here, too, and some really nice desert shooting. 

The Numbers: We get "Treat Me Rough" twice. The chorus girls hired for the boys' college stage show in the opening sing it before the dean (Bill Quinn) finds out and shuts the show down. Tess reprises it as a comic solo number later, when she's singing at the divorcee hotel. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs perform "Monkey See, Monkey Do" at a nightclub in full mystical and mustaches regalia. Presnell and Francis also each get a go at "Embraceable You." Louis Armstrong does "Throw It Out of Your Mind" at the casino in Reno. Connie Francis makes a "Mail Call" at the boys' college, handing out dreams of home along with letters. 

Herman's Hermits, who are exchange students at the school, perform their own "Listen People," along with "Bidin' My Time" with Ginger while they're building the ranch. Liberace gives an example of why he was so beloved among older people in his glittering gold suit as he plays his own "Aruba Liberace." Danny and Ginger lament "But Not for Me" after she thinks he's still in love with Tess and he thinks she's marrying someone else. The film ends with everyone paired off and Armstrong performing his own version of "I've Got Rhythm."

What I Don't Like: What does any of this have to do with Girl Crazy? In the original show, Danny was sent to manage his family's ranch, and he saves it by turning it into a dude ranch. That would have made a lot more sense than the whole "haven for divorcees" sub-plot. The new orchestrations do the Gershwin songs no favors, and the rock numbers are completely out of place with them. Presnell is dull, Francis shrill and annoying, Langdon whiny. None of them are as much fun to watch as the rock groups or their elders. It seems like MGM just tossed in whatever they could get their hands on to see if it would stick. Herman's Hermits do get to sing two numbers and take part in others, but they vanish after "Bidin' My Time" without explanation. 

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of Herman's Hermits or any of the acts involved. Everyone else will probably be fine with the Garland-Rooney Girl Crazy or Francis and the Hermits' solo albums. 

Home Media: At least this one is easier to find. It's currently on DVD in a beautifully remastered copy from the Warner Archives and can be found on streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Summer Holiday (1963)

Associated British Picture Corporation/American International Pictures, 1963

Starring Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Melvyn Hayes, and Teddy Green

Directed by Peter Yates

Music and Lyrics by various

We finish the summer season with one more dive into the Beach Party well. Here, however, we have a romantic shindig from across the Atlantic that actually predated Beach Party in the United Kingdom by seven months. Unlike the AIP films, with their barely-relevant music and wacky casts, this is a full-on musical, more like what Elvis was appearing in around this time. Cliff Richard was one of the biggest movie and recording stars in England during the early 60's. His previous musical, The Young Ones, was a huge hit, and ABPC wanted to keep his streak going. How does the story of four bus repairmen from London who run into everything from a mime troupe to a starlet on the way to the French Riviera compare to Elvis' movies and the other teen musicals on the other side of the pond? Let's begin with everyday England in black and white, before switching to glorious Technicolor, and find out...

The Story: Don and his friends Cyril (Hayes), Steve (Green), and Edwin (Jeremy Bulloch) make over a two-decker bus into an RV, complete with shower and kitchen. They want to flee the wet English summer and enjoy warmth at the French Rivera, but pretty much everything possible interrupts their holiday. They first pick up a girl singing group trio after they accidentally run them off the road, then a mime troupe led by The Great Orlando (Ron Moody). 

In Paris, a boy named Bobby stows away in the bus. He turns out to be a she, American star Barbara Winters (Peters). Barbara's overbearing mother (Madge Ryan) and her driver Jerry (Lionel Murton) chase them from rugged Switzerland to hot, sunny Athens, each time finding a way to stop or detail them. There's the Yugoslavian farmers who think the boys want to marry their women, too. The Great Orlando helps them out in France, while they're lucky that Barbara is able to claim the locket the Austrian authorities claim they stole. Their luck runs out in Athens, when Mrs. Winters claims they've kidnapped her daughter. It's there that they relate their journey, and not only admit they've had a heck of a summer, but Don realizes how much he's come to care for Barbara, too.

The Song and Dance: I'm impressed. For a movie with a plot that fluffy, this wound up being a real treat. Richard falls somewhere between Elvis and Pat Boone, not quite so dangerous as the former in his early films, but more swaggering than the latter. The Technicolor blazes with the real and gorgeous scenery of a Europe on the move, dominated by that cherry-red bus that becomes increasingly scraped and battered the more wild encounters the boys have. American choreographer and later director Herbert Ross did the dances, assuring that they fit in well and radiate sheer joy. 

The Numbers: We open with the boys building their mobile bus home as they sing "Seven Days to a Holiday" and dream of getting away from dreary England. They say "Let Us Take You for a Ride" after they run the girls' lavender roadster off the highway. We get two numbers from Richard's group the Shadows, the hit "Foot Tapper" and "Round and Round." Our second big dance number is an instrumental routine in a smoky French cafe, "Les Girls," where the girls and boys dance with grotesque African masks. Don sings about being "A Stranger In Town" to a bevy of well-dressed French beauties in his imagination...who turn out to be angry older women in reality. 

"Orlando's Mime" is an elaborate series of skits revolving around Orlando as a hair cutter, in love with a girl who prefers a young artist. It ends with a bang...literally...that gets them out of the courtroom. "Bachelor Boy" is Don, the boys, and the Shadows declaring their desire to remain single during a rest stop. Don would rather have "A Swinging Affair," but so would Barbara, who eagerly dances with a group of young men. Everyone is "Really Waltzing" during a huge chorus number in an Austrian nightclub. In Austria, Don declares he's fallen in love with Barbara "All at Once." 

Don and the Shadows put on their "Dancing Shoes" for a crying shepherdess. They want to get bread from her, but she thinks they say "bride." That gets the boys get caught up in that muddy "Yugoslav Wedding,' which comes off more like the European version of a hillbilly wedding here in the US. Don laments after Barbara returns to her mother that he'll be more careful "The Next Time" he falls in love. The boys finally end up at their trial, claiming their crazy holiday is "Big News."

Trivia: This was the second-biggest hit of 1963 in England, but flopped in the US, due to being released there two days after the assassination of John Kennedy.

In fact, Richard had only sporadic success in the US. He did manage to have some big singles over here, notably "Devil Woman" and "We Don't Talk Anymore" later in the 70's, but it never matched his enormous following in his native lands. 

Jeremy Bulloch is best-known in the US for playing Boba Fett in the original Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Novice director Peter Yates went on to specialize in action movies like Bullitt and dramas like Breaking Away. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention that "fluffy" thing up there? While the story is of more consequence than it usually is in the average Beach Party frolic, it's still pretty goofy. If you're looking for a darker or more meaningful 60's musical, this isn't it. It also may not appeal to those who don't understand some of the more overtly European stereotypes, from that smoky French coffee shop, with its bongos and African gew-gaws, to them being held up at the Yugoslav borders by guards (Yugoslavia was a communist and Soviet satellite country at the time.) 

The Big Finale: This wound up being a lot more fun than I figured from the simple premise. If you love Richard, early 60's rock, or big widescreen extravaganzas of the 50's and 60's, you'll want to head across the pond and take a wild summer holiday with Don and his friends too.

Home Media: Which makes it disappointing that the only place to find this currently in the US is on the Internet Archive (albeit in a pristine, glowing Cinemascope copy). 

Internet Archive

Family Fun Saturday - The Emperor's New Clothes (1967)

CBS, 1967

Starring Fred Grades, Will B. Able, Marcie Stringer, and Robert Dagny

Directed by Nick Havinga

Music by Jim Eiler; Lyrics by Jeanne Bargy

We stay in television, but jump ahead a decade for another hilarious children's musical from the Prince Street Players. This time, we trade the fantasy for a slightly more realistic story from Hans Christian Anderson about two con-men who teach a clothes-obsessed ruler that there's more to life than looking the part. How does this one compared to the previous two specials from the troupe? We begin with Chester the Jester (Grades), who explains his place in the court and what we're about to see, and find out...

The Story: As Queen Carlotta the Least (Stringer) explains to her husband Emperor Maximilian the Most (Able), their kingdom is so broke, Carlotta took up trumpet to announce herself. Between Sinister the Prime Minster (Dagny) skimming money off their reserves and the Emperor's lavish spending, they barely have the money to pay anyone. The Emperor, however, must have new clothes. Carlotta claims she'll sell her jewels to hire new tailors to make him something spectacular. 

They end up with Mr. Stitch (Alan Klass) and Mr. Sew (Don Potter), swindlers who claim to be tailors. They've made an invisible cloth that can only be seen by someone intelligent. No one in the kingdom, including the Emperor, will admit to not having seen the cloth. Chester has fallen for the scullery maid Verity (Victoria Mallory), who owns a pair of glasses that can reveal the truth when one looks through them. Not only do they give away the swindlers' plot, but they reveal the truth about Sinister...and Chester too, who looks an awful lot like the prince who was stolen as an infant.

The Song and Dance: Oh boy, is this one fun. This time, the costumes and sets are a riot of color and a bit more lavish, as per the story of a free-spending ruler. Stanger by far steals the show as the hilarious Carlotta, who has no trouble doing things for herself and sees through deception a lot quicker than her doddering husband. Mallory and Grades make a charming couple as well in their sweet ballads, while Klass and Potter have their own fun as the Abbott and Costello-like con men. The big chorus numbers really stand out here, with Carlotta's "You Gotta Blow Your Own Trumpet" a show-stopper. 

The Numbers: We open with "I'm Chester the Jester" introducing himself and showing how he has to make everyone in the court laugh. Carlotta, who has taken over for the royal trumpeter, insists that "You've Gotta Blow Your Own Trumpet" and do what needs to be done yourself. Sinister and the chorus announce that "The Emperor Needs New Clothes" when he insists that the ones he has simply won't do for the royal procession the next day. The pages announce "The Royal Proclamation," which the con-men hear. They become "Stitch and Sew" to pull the wool over the eyes of the court. 

Verity wonders what would happen "If I Could Be a Princess" as she and Chester look through the glasses and see themselves as they really are. They reprise it after Stitch and Sew leave, and they suspect they're up to no good. The courtiers are excited the next morning about how "They're Making Invisible Clothes." Stich and Sew say "Behold the Clothes" for Carlotta, who thinks the whole thing is a load of hogwash. They reprise this with the court later that morning before the procession. Verity insists "Look Through the Glasses" and see people as they really are. The show ends with a spirited reprise of "Blow Your Own Trumpet."

What I Don't Like: Once again, this is a family TV special in the 1960's. While it looks better and is a bit more lavish than Jack and the Beanstalk, it's still not even the live spectacles many are accustomed to seeing on TV today. For all his clothes obsession, the Emperor doesn't really have as much to do as in other versions of this story. It's the supporting cast who really shine here.

The Big Finale: This is far and away my favorite of the three Prince Street Players musicals I've watched so far. In fact, this might be a nice starting point for introducing your kids to this series. Highly recommended and absolutely hilarious. 

Home Media: Alas, like the other Prince Street Players musicals, this is only available on YouTube at press time.

YouTube

Musicals On TV - The Desert Song (1955)

NBC, 1955

Starring Nelson Eddy, Gale Sherwood, Otto Kruger, and John Conte

Directed by Max Liebman

Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach

This was the other big operetta that debuted on NBC in 1955. In fact, it might be an even more likely prospect for an adaptation than The Chocolate Soldier. It was a bit newer, having originally debuted in 1926. It had already turned up three times on film, most recently in 1953 with Gordon MacRae as the heroic Red Shadow. Baritone Nelson Eddy was no stranger to the role, having sung it on records for years. How well does he do with the story of the French general's son who masquerades as the leader of the Riffs in North Africa in 1925? Let's begin with the Riffs and their masked leader The Red Shadow (Eddy) getting ready to fight against the French Legionnaires and find out...

The Story: The Red Shadow does indeed lead a double life. By night, he leads the Riffs on a rebellion against French rule. During the day, he's Pierre Birabeau, the son of General Birabeau (Kruger), who is the leader of the French garrison. Pierre passes himself off as a weakling to deflect suspicion, which becomes more of a problem with the arrival of spirited Margot Bonavalet (Sherwood). Her fiancee is the valiant Captain Paul Fontaine (Conte), a stoic fighter who is everything gentle Pierre isn't. 

Pierre falls hard for Margot, but she's looking for excitement, not someone who seems more like a good friend than a lover. He kidnaps her when he's the Red Shadow and takes her to the fortress of his friend Ali Ben Ali (Salvatore Baccaloni), the head of the Riff tribes. Margot does fall in love with him here, even as she wonders who he really is. When jealous dancing girl Azuri (Violet Essen) gives away his location, the general captures the Riffs and insists on a duel. The Red Shadow, however, can't fight his own father. Margot is horrified when the Riffs turn him out to the desert with a broken sword in shame...but then Pierre turns up back in Morocco with that same sword, and she realizes who she truly loves.

The Song and Dance: The supporting cast and interesting story are what shine here. Baccaloni is a jovial desert chieftain, Kruger a father alternately concerned about his weakling son and the rebellion, and tenor Earl Williams is lovely as the Red Shadow's second-in-command. This also probably comes the closest of any screen Desert Song to the actual show. It still drops all of the comic characters and their numbers, including Pierre's goofy friend Benjy, but it otherwise feels a lot more like what people saw on the stage in 1926 than the 1953 or 1943 versions do.

The Song and Dance: The movie opens with "Ho! Bold Men of Morocco" and "The Riff Song" as the Red Shadow and his men discuss their recent battles. After a short Arabian dance, we get the local women in the outpost wondering "Why Did We Marry Soldiers?" in a lively chorus number. The ladies join their men for the "French Military Marching Song." "O Pretty Maid of France" is Paul's introduction of Margot. Margot admits to Pierre that she longs for the heady thrill of "Romance." Hassi's more interested in the desert life that's "Soft as a Pigeon Lights Upon the Sand." We see what Azuri does for a living with her short solo dance number. Pierre tries to woo Margot, but she finds his idea of courtly love too slow. "Then You Will Know" I love you, Pierre tries to explain.

The Red Shadow appears at the outpost to sing the title song with Margot before we see Bambi Lynn and Rod Alexander more-or-less reprise what they were doing with "The Desert Song Ballet." Dancers in Spanish costumes represent the Spanish side of Africa with "My Little Castagnette." Ali Ben Ali insists that the Red Shadow "Let Love Go." Hassi talks about how "One Flower Grows In Your Garden," but Pierre and Ali care more that they're "One Alone." Margot admits her growing feelings about the Red Shadow in "The Sabre Song." The Red Shadow sings his "Farewell" in a reprise of "One Alone" after he refuses to fight his father. We get a brief reprise of "French Military Marching Song" when the soldiers return to the outpost, then more of Azuri's dance, ending with reprises of the title song and "One Alone."

Trivia: This, The Chocolate Soldier, and Satin and Spurs were part of the series Max Liebman Presents, which broadcast a series of lavish (for TV in the 50's) musicals on Saturdays from 1954 to 1956. 

A young Neil Simon was among those brought in to modernize and streamline the dialogue. 

The Desert Song originally opened on Broadway in 1926, where it was a major hit, one of the biggest hit operettas of the 20's. A short-lived revival in the 70's moved the setting to the 30's, for some reason. It hasn't been seen on Broadway since then, but remains popular with opera and light opera companies. 

This is the only surviving footage of Eddy appearing in a live television musical. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the constant ballets and dance numbers only fit in slightly better here than they do in Chocolate Solider. No matter how passionately they dance, Lynn and Alexander's big ballet numbers simply weren't necessary and really slow the pacing. Eddy is way too old to be playing the Red Shadow or Pierre and only comes off as slightly less stiff than in his movies with Jeanette MacDonald, and Sherwood's not a whole lot more animated as Margot. Essen's not a believable dancing girl, either. In fact, it's pretty obvious the Arabians are all opera singers in bad makeup, even in the poor black and white copies currently available.

The Big Finale: While far from bad, this is really only for fans of Eddy or 50's musicals. There's better versions of The Desert Song out there.  

Home Media: Same deal as The Chocolate Soldier. The VAI disc is expensive, but it can currently be found on YouTube.

DVD

YouTube

Musicals On TV - The Chocolate Soldier (1955)

NBC, 1955

Starring Rise Stevens, Eddie Albert, Akim Tarmiroff, and Earl Wrightson

Directed by Max Liebman

Music by Oscar Strauss; Lyrics by Stansilaus Stange and Carolyn Leigh

We're going to stay in the 50's this week, but move into a completely different medium and genre. Operetta, the most fanciful and rarefied of musical genres, made a comeback in the 50's, both on the big and small screens. Musicals were getting grander, wider, louder, and suddenly, operettas, with their lavish stories and huge voices singing of passionate romance, didn't look quite as out of place. Several operas and operettas were adapted for television in the 50's as the new medium sought classier material that would elevate the masses. The Chocolate Solder had originally been a big MGM musical with Stevens in 1941, but that version wasn't able to use the original plot. How does this operetta look when it comes closer to the original source material, George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man? Let's begin in "the public square, in any middle-sized country, in the middle of Europe" and find out...

The Story: Nadina (Stevens), the daughter of Mayor Ludvick (Tamrioff), is engaged to Alexis (Wrightson), a handsome soldier in the army. She dreams of his return, but gets quite a shock when a man claiming to be an enemy soldier (Albert) climbs in her window. He's really Bumeril, a Swiss mercenary who would rather be eating chocolate than fighting. She has to hide him from Alexis and her father when they come upstairs, then leads him into the wine cellar. He does manage to evade the drunk soldiers who come looking for him and escape. 

Shortly after, Mayor Ludvick holds a ball to announce Nadina and Alexis' wedding. Nadina is dismayed to discover Alexis is boastful and obnoxious, hardly the valiant solider she imagined. Meanwhile, Bumeril has returned in a more lavish uniform, impersonating a general whom Ludvick is trying to impress. After he's caught and accused of spying, Nadina comes to his defense at a trial. It looks like all may be lost, until the country really goes to war, and Bumeril's blundering inadvertently turns him into the hero of Nadina's dreams. 

The Song and Dance: This ended up being really adorable, especially for an operetta. Albert in particular is having a blast as the mercenary who'd rather make cocoa, not war. His strutting around during the ball with that enormous plumed helmet is hilarious. Tamirkoff has almost as much fun playing Nadina's blustering father, and Stevens is a funny and knowing Nadina. We have a relatively lavish production for TV too, with gorgeous bustled gowns and pretty European peasant dresses for the ladies and uniforms dripping with braid and brass for the men.

The Numbers: We open with the soldiers' arrival and the peasants in the square announcing "Here We Come." The soldiers give us our first of two large-scale chorus numbers as they show off their abilities for the ladies. Nadina sings of "Our Happy Wedding Day" and "My Hero" as she imagines her marriage to Alexis. Bumeril laments that Nadina refuses to give him any "Sympathy" after he turns up in her room. Alexis and the soldiers "Seek the Spy," but end up getting drunk while looking for him. 

The second half opens with the dancers in the ballroom, waltzing to a glittering instrumental number. Nadina sings "Melodrama" as she admits she's not quite so fond of Alexis as she had been. Wrightson, Tamirkoff, and the chorus boast about "Alexis the Hero" back at the ball. Bumeril sings about "A Quiet Voice" as he waltzes with Nadina, even as she tries to get him to leave. Her response is to remind him that he's little more than a coward and not her fiancee in the title song. This is directly followed by a ballet with Bambi Lynn as Nadina and Rod Alexander as Bumeril, replaying the first act as they dance Bumreril's escape from the soldiers. 

Alexis sings his own praises, to Nadina's amusement, as he claims "Never Was There Such a Lover." She performs "The Letter Song" as she composes a letter to Bumeril, turning him away. It and "My Hero" are heard again in the court room, when Nadina finally confesses her feelings about her not-so-valiant "Chocolate Soldier." Most of the country just declares "Thank the Lord the War Is Over." It ends with everyone reprising "My Hero" after Bumeril's blundering is revealed to have won the war.

What I Don't Like: This is very much TV in 1955. First of all, the original musical has been considerably simplified. There was a originally a subplot involving Bumeril taking the Mayor's coat filled with pictures from all the ladies of the town, including Nadina's, that isn't included here. Second, although the dancing is lovely, the waltz at the ball and the Lynn/Alexander ballet sequence are completely extraneous. Neither really move the plot along and are more there to show off the dancing and costumes and Lynn and Alexander than the story. There's also the dark, grainy copy on the VAI DVD, but as with other TV musicals of this vintage, we're lucky to have this at all. Most of these musical specials were filmed live, and many remain lost.

The Big Finale: This is a charming, frothy chocolate treat if you're a fan of Albert, Stevens, or vintage operetta and can get past the limitations of early television.

Home Media: It's on DVD, but like all of the VAI titles, it can be expensive. You're better off looking for this one used or on YouTube.

DVD

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - Jack and the Beanstalk (1966)

CBS, 1966

Starring Will B. Able, Hal Holden, Robert Dagny, and Joan Roberts

Directed by Nick Havinga

Music by Jim Eiler; Lyrics by Jeanne Bargy

Our second Prince Street Players special adapts a more traditional fairy tale. The tale of the boy who climbed the beanstalk and the giants he found in the clouds has turned up everywhere from the Sondheim pastiche Into the Woods to one of Abbott and Costello's least-likely vehicles. What do the Prince Street Players bring to the tale? Let's travel to a far more fanciful land than early 1900's Italy to meet Jack (Holden) and his mother (Roberts) and find out...

The Story: Jack is tricked into trading his cow Betsy for magic beans by the evil Black Baron (Dagny), who wants the Giant's (Able) golden hen. Jack plants the beans over his mother's protests...and indeed, they do grow into a massive beanstalk by the next day. He climbs them, only to discovered worried residents of the land in the clouds warning him about the Giant (Will B. Able). The Giant does capture him and tries to force Jack to tell the truth and remain in his domain. He even shows him his Golden Harp (John Joy) and Golden Goose (Marcie Stringer). Jack, however, is more worried about his mother and the Black Baron, who will take their home for taxes. He and the Giant's assistant (David Lile) finally return to the ground...but the Giant is right on their heels...

The Song and Dance: Unlike Pinocchio, this one gets a lot more creative with the source material. I've rarely seen the Giant played as a relative good guy, or at least, not entirely bad. Holden is a delightfully curious and charming Jack, especially protesting the Giant's attempt to keep him in the clouds, and Able is a riot as the Giant. Dagny is having a great time channeling his inner silent screen villain as the obviously evil Black Baron, too. We also get some really fun songs, notably some of the songs heard in the Giant's realm. The colorful sets look rather like children designed them, adding to the fanciful nature of the story.

The Numbers: We open with "It's a Magical, Musical Day" as we meet Jack, his mother, and their neighbors. Jack and his mother lament "Goodbye, Betsy" when they realize Jack has to sell the cow at market. The Black Baron, masquerading as an old peddler, sells Jack on the "Magic Beans." Jack's going to "Climb Up" the beanstalk and find out who lives there. 

The residents of the Land of the Giant encourages Jack to "Go Away, Away, Away," before the Giant captures him. The Giant wonders "Where oh Where Can He Be?" as he looks for Jack. Giant explains that he's not really a bad guy, but he will "Take a Giant Step" to his castle, where he creates fantastical inventions. The Giant even does a goofy tango with his housekeeper (Dorothy Greener). The Golden Harp plays "Plinka Plunk," while The Golden Goose (Marcie Stringer) sings about "Oh Dem Golden Eggs!" Jack and the Assistant finally flee after nightfall, claiming "It's Time." The Housekeeper thinks "It Must Have Been the Wind." We end with reprises of "Take a Giant Step" and "It's a Magical Musical Day" down below.

What I Don't Like: This is one of the strangest versions of Jack and the Beanstalk I've ever seen, and that includes the live-action Jack the Giant Killer from a decade ago. The Giant is a scientist who wants to pick Jack's brain? And, once again, this is not an elaborate production. Able looks more like the really tall guy in weird giant brain makeup he is than a Giant. The sets are even chintzier than the ones for Pinocchio, and even the costumes are simplified here. This is, once again, not for those expecting a massive modern Disney TV musical.

The Big Finale: I'll admit, I liked Pinocchio slightly better, but this one still has a lot of its own charms for families with younger kids who will likely enjoy the weirdness. 

Home Media: Currently, the Prince Street Players musicals can't be found anywhere but YouTube.

YouTube

Don't Knock the Rock

Columbia Pictures, 1956

Starring Alan Dale, Alan Freed, Fay Baker, and Patricia Hardy

Directed by Fred F. Sears

Music and Lyrics by various

The Poverty Row studios weren't the only ones who recognized rock as a popular genre among the young. By 1956, almost every studio in Hollywood wanted to cash in on this big new teen sound. Columbia jumped on the band wagon with Rock Around the Clock, the first musical to have a true rock score. That went over so well, they grabbed Bill Haley and the Comets for more of the same, here joined by Little Richard and the Treniers, among others. How well does the story of teens in a small town who show their parents that rock is hardly a corrupting influence come off today? Let's begin with those teens dancing up a storm over the credits and find out...

The Story: Rock star Arnie Haines (Dale) flees Freed's constant promotion to spend the rest of the summer in his hometown. He discovers on his arrival that, while the teens in the town adore him, their parents are far less welcoming. They believe rock to be a corrupting influence on the young, especially the stuffy Mayor Bagley (Pierre Watkin) and influential columnist Arline MacLaine (Baker). Arline's daughter Francine (Hardy) not only doesn't share her mother's opinion about rock, she falls for Artie. 

Francine and Artie set up a concert with big name acts like Bill Haley and the Comets and Little Richard, but it's disrupted by a fist fight set up by jealous Sunny Everett (Jana Lund), who also has a crush on Artie. Artie's ready to give up and leave, but Francine convinces him to do one last show. They claim it's a pageant of art and culture...but it really proves that art changes over time, and today's rebellious youth music is tomorrow's happy nostalgia.

The Song and Dance: This is at least a little closer to what most people probably think of when they hear "early rock musical." Hardy is an attractive and sensible Francine, and Baker is wonderfully witty as her skeptical journalist mother. We also have a far more interesting story, almost a precursor to Footloose thirty years later. Not only does this movie discuss many parents' real-life attitudes towards rock at the time, it reminds people that rock was hardly the first musical genre adults thought would "corrupt" young people. We also get some sensational dancing here to go with that music, including the wild dance routine at Artie's apartment after his show in the opening. 

The Numbers: We open with Haley's rendition of the title song over the credits. Dale sings "I Cry More" (one of the first published songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David) and "You're Just Right" at a nightclub. Haley's numbers include " "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy," the instrumental "Goofin' Around," and "Calling All Comets." Their version of "Rip It Up" is heard over the big jitterbug routine at their first concert, and we hear the audio for "Hook, Line, and Sinker." Dave Apple and the Applejacks get "Applejack" and "Country Dance." Little Richard tears things up with two of his classics, "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti-Fruitti." The Treniers "Come Out of the Bushes" and are "Rocking On a Saturday Night."

What I Don't Like: While the story is more interesting, the cast for the most part isn't any better than Rock Rock Rock! Dale is so blank and dull, you wonder what the girls see in him. Freed has more to do here, but he's no actor and comes off as stiff, not at all like someone who would be caught up in a payola scam by 1960. This is once again a vehicle for the music, and anything else takes a back seat.

The Big Finale: Pretty much the same deal here. For early rock enthusiasts and major fans of Haley or Little Richard only. Everyone else is better off looking for their records or watching Footloose again. 

Home Media: The DVD double feature with Rock Around the Clock is currently expensive on Amazon. It's on YouTube, though the copy is glitchy and keeps stopping every few minutes.

DVD - Rock Around the Clock/Don't Knock the Rock 

YouTube

Rock Rock Rock!

Distributor's Corporation of America, 1956

Starring Tuesday Weld, Fran Manfred, Teddy Randazzo, and Jacqueline Kerr

Directed by Will Price

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we dance into the end of summer with two 50's B-movies featuring sterling examples of early rock acts. Most "rock" movies from the early years of the genre were standard programmers with rock numbers from acts big and small tossed into a barely-there plot. This may be the major example of that genre. How does the story of a teen who learns a valuable lesson in money management while trying to buy a dress for a dance look today? Let's begin at the local malt shop, as sweet teen Dori Graham (Weld) talks to her friend Arabella (Manfred) about their school's upcoming prom and find out...

The Story: Dori's father (Jack Collins) is tired of his daughter spending all her allowance on frivolities and then begging for more, so he cuts off her charge accounts in order to teach her the value of a dollar. This becomes a problem when she wants to buy a strapless evening gown for prom, so she can be glamorous like new girl Gloria Barker (Kerr). Gloria has designs on her boyfriend Tommy Rogers (Randazzo), especially after he wins Alan Freed's (Himself) TV talent contest. Her father gives her 15 dollars and says she can earn the rest. After going to her local bank, she gets the idea she can just have Arabella loan her 15 dollars, then give it to Gloria to buy a dress and keep the dress as collateral. Trouble is, Dori not only doesn't know anything about how banks or money work, but Gloria has no intention of giving up either the dress or her claim on Tommy's heart.

The Song and Dance: And the song and dance, along with those nifty prom gowns the girls scrimped and saved for, are really the only saving graces here. If you're a fan of 50's rock, have I got a treat for you. You get not only legends like Chuck Barry, the Flamingos, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, but groups who are less well-known today like Johnny Burnette Trio and the Moonglows, too. The real Alan Reed even gives us an idea of what made his early shows such a smash. It's a real time capsule of when rock was just starting to make waves.

The Numbers: We hear the title number twice, over the credits during shots of bands and kids dancing, and later at the prom near the end, both times performed by Jimmy Cavello and His House Rockers.. Connie Francis dubs Weld for her ballad "I Haven't Got a Sweetheart" at the malt shop in the opening and the more heart-rendering "Little Blue Wren" after Dori thinks Tommy's dumped her. Tommy sings "The Things Your Heart Needs" at school, and later gets "Thanks to You" at the talent show and "Won't You Give Me a Chance?" at the dance.

Ivy Schulman is supposed to be someone's kid sister, but she ends up singing (rather creepily) about how she wants to "Rock, Pretty Baby." Alan Freed is heard twice, doing "Rock and Roll Boogie" on the talent show and in the finale, performing "Right Now, Right Now." The Flamningos get "Would I Be Crying?" at the TV show. The Three Chuckles get the big "We're Gonna Rock Tonight" with Randazzo in the finale. Frankie Lymon and his groups have two numbers at the prom, "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" and "Baby Baby." The Moonglows get "Over and Over Again." The Johnny Burdette Trio sing "Lonesome Train."

What I Don't Like: The plot and the actors are bland and really very silly. Dori is so impossibly naive and stupid, she believes every word Gloria tells her about Tommy and has no idea how to even figure out 1 percent of something. It's painfully obvious this was a B-film. The sets are minimalistic, and the only lavish costumes are at the prom. The only reason this one exists is for that music.

The Big Finale: And that's the only reason to see this one today. This is for huge fans of early rock only. Everyone else would be better off looking for the recordings made by these groups and ignoring this.

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it's easily found on DVD and online.

DVD

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Pinocchio (1965)

CBS, 1965

Starring Will B. Able, Jodi Williams, John Joy, and David Lile

Directed by Nick Havinga

Music by Jim Eiler; Lyrics by Jeanne Bargy

On Saturday for the rest of this month, we're going to dive into the series of family musicals put out by New York's Prince Street Players. They were a popular troupe of actors who specialized in children's shows in New York in the 60's and 70's. They were successful enough for some of their best-known shows to be broadcast on CBS as family specials. We're going to start with their version of the beloved Italian fantasy novel. How well do they pull off the story of the puppet who learns to become a real boy? Let's begin with woodcarver Antonio (Able) and find out...

The Story: Geppetto (Lile) is regarded as eccentric by the townspeople and his housekeeper (Marcie Stringer) for speaking to his puppets as if they were alive. He's especially enamored with his latest creation, a life-size puppet that resembles a real boy he names Pinocchio (Joy). The Blue Fairy (Williams) brings Pinocchio to life after Geppetto is kind to her. 

She promises that he can be a real boy if he's good and obeys his father, but there are far too many temptations in town. Two bad boys from town encourage him to join the Coachman (Eiler) and have fun at the Land of Toys, but the wicked Coachman turns him into a donkey. After the Blue Fairy frees Pinocchio from that and gives him five coins, he ends up letting a cat (Robert Lussier) and fox (Robert Dagny) talk him into burying the coins, which they proceed to steal. He flings himself into the water, where he finally finds Geppetto swallowed by a whale. It's Pinocchio who ends up rescuing them from the belly of the creature, proving once and for all that he loves his father...and are a truly good boy, wood or not.

The Song and Dance: If this is typical of the Prince Street Players shows, no wonder many of them still turn up in regional theaters to this day. The songs are tuneful, the Italian costumes colorful, and the actors quite charming. Joy makes an adorable Pinocchio with a beautiful voice, especially singing the all-Italian number during Geppetto's show. Williams is a sweet and sensible Blue Fairy, and Hal Holden and Fred Graves are a riot as the naughty boys who pull Pinocchio off the straight and narrow the first time. I'm also impressed with how relatively well this sticks to the original book. Geppetto's show with Pinocchio replaces Stromboli's show, but otherwise, this is pretty close to the original book.

The Numbers: We kick off with our narrator Antonio introducing us to the typical Italian small town where much of the story is set with the chorus number "Bonjourno!" Geppetto sings of his desire for a "Boy to Love" to love him more than any puppet could. The Blue Fairy shows Pinocchio how he's an "Almost Real Little Boy." The townspeople and Geppetto explain to Pinocchio "That's a Show!" and join Pinocchio at Geppetto's puppet show for the title number. 

Gino and Candlewick explain to Pinocchio why "I Don't Want to Go to School." The Coachman encourages them to join him at "The Land of the Toys." Geppetto sadly reprises the title song when he's searching for his missing son. The toys sing of all the wonders they'll see...until the boys realize that the other kids have gone missing. Senor Volpore and Senior Gatto introduce themselves with their own operatic spoof, "The Cat and Fox's Song." Pinocchio laments "Everything I Do Goes Wrong" after he loses the money the Blue Fairy gives him. The special ends with a joyful reprise of the title song after Pinocchio has been turned to a real boy.

What I Don't Like: Pretty typical TV production of the 50's and 60's. The costumes are colorful, but the sets are nothing special. and the effects that probably looked decent enough in 1965 come off as chintzy today. None of the actors are terribly well-remembered, either. This is not a huge extravaganza and isn't for those looking for widescreen spectacles or a big, loud show. There's also a few things cut from the original story, likely for time and because they didn't have the budget for it on TV (notably Jiminy Cricket isn't mentioned).

The Big Finale: If this is what all of the Prince Street Players musicals are like, no wonder they were so popular in the 60's. Recommended for families with elementary-school age kids looking for a fairly no-frills version of the famous story.

Home Media: Alas, the only place you can see any of the Prince Street Players musicals at the moment is YouTube. 

YouTube

For Those Who Think Young

United Artists, 1964

Starring Pamela Tiffin, James Darren, Paul Lynde, and Woody Woodbury

Directed by Leslie H. Martinson

Music and Lyrics by various

United Artists dove into the Beach Party waters for the first of two times with this vehicle for then-popular crooner James Darren. Starlet Pamela Tiffin was also being groomed as the next big thing in Hollywood in the early 60's, while Woody Woodbury had a series of popular (and risque for the time) comedy albums and Lynde and Bob Denver were on their way to starring in two of the biggest sitcoms of the mid-60's. How did they all come together for this story of a playboy whose pursuit of a teen girl almost ends with her guardians' night club being shut down? Let's begin with Darren singing the title song over actual footage of kids in the water (and some clever surfboard designs) and find out...

The Story: Gardener "Ding" Pruitt III (Darren) is in hot pursuit of pretty, smart teen Sandy Palmer (Tiffin). His grandfather B.S Cronin (Robert Middleton) doesn't approve and wants to not only keep her from his millions, but shut down the teen club where her guardians Sid Hoyt (Lynde) and Woody Woodbury (Himself) work. Cronin convinces the college administration that Woodbury is selling liquor to minors. They send prim Dr. Pauline Swenson (Ellen Burstyn) in to take notes and figure out what's going on. She ends up getting drunk and falling for Woodbury. Cronin's furious, but it's Sandy, his grandson, and their friends who end up reminding the older man that he had more truck with liquor in his dim, dark past than he'd like to admit.

The Song and Dance: I will say this is infinitely more interesting - and better to look at - than Wild On the Beach. For one thing, they actually get on the beach...and when they do, it's a riot of some truly stunning color. Those bikinis and the weird face man-crazy Karen Cross (Nancy Sinatra) keeps drawing on local goofy guy Kelp (Bob Denver) almost pop off the screen. As smarmy as he is, Darren is also a lot more interesting than most of the interchangeable love interests in these Beach Party imitations. Burstyn (then listed as Ellen MacRae) and Lynde have more fun than they should as the prim professor who learns to have fun and the whiny former vaudevillian who finds a second act in the clubs. Tiffin's also a lot better here than she was playing ingenue in the State Fair remake from two years before. 

The Numbers: The film opens with Darren singing "For Those Who Think Love" over shots of the kids on the beach between colorful stylized surfboards in the credits. The club's singer and dancer Topaz McQueen (Tina Louise) is seen performing several instrumental numbers, wiggling with reckless abandon to the crowd. "Oh Daddy" is sung twice, in a big number on the beach for Kelp (with that weird painted mouth) and in the finale. Jimmy Griffith (later one of the founders of the 70's group Bread) sings "I'm Gonna Walk Over This Land" at the club.

Trivia: There's product placement all over this film to nearly modern levels, starting with its title. "For Those Who Think Young" was a slogan of Pepsi at the time, and everyone can be seen slugging Pepsis throughout the movie. 

What I Don't Like: First, see the obvious product placement above, especially with Pepsi. If that kind of thing bothers you in modern movies, you won't like it in this one. Second, this movie feels like it was created by the United Artists board of directors to be something that adults assumed would appeal to teens. Woodbury's risque stand-up act may have been hilarious in 1964, but I doubt many college students would find his annoying and dated jokes funny now. Denver and Sinatra barely have anything to do, and Lynde comes off as more creepy than funny. Darren's so smarmy, you honestly enjoy seeing Tiffin attempt to beat him at his own controlling game.  The few songs are dull and totally forgettable.

The Big Finale: While infinitely better than the dull Wild On the Beach, this is still mainly recommended for fans of Darren, the Beach Party movies, or the comedians in question.

Home Media: It's also easier to find than Wild On the Beach. It's on DVD and Blu-Ray via Kino Lorber. MGM + currently has it on their site with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

MGM+

Wild On the Beach

20th Century Fox, 1965

Starring Frankie Randall, Sherry Jackson, Gayle Caldwell, and Jackie Miller

Directed by Maury Dexter

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we're gonna hit the beach with two lesser-known imitations of the wildly popular Beach Party films, starting with 20th Century Fox's third and last contribution to the genre. By 1965, the wave of Beach Party imitations was starting to crest, with small, silly imitations like this one flooding the market. How does the story of how two groups of college students spend their summer arguing over the last house left in their area look now? Lets begin with shots of waves and surfers and college students doing the Watusi at once certain beach house and find out...

The Story: Lee Sullivan (Jackson) inherited the beach house from her late uncle and intends to turn it into a boarding house for girls. She and her two friends Marsie (Caldwell) and Toby Carr (Jackie Miller) turn up at the house, only to find that party in progress. Turns out the house is already occupied by Adam Miller (Randall) and his buddies sound-obsessed Vern Thompkins (Jerry Grayson) and Jim Bench (Marc Seton). The boys apparently got permission to stay from Lee's uncle before his death. 

Adam puts in a permit on the house, but Dean Parker (Booth Coleman) is wary of all of they living together and has local housing inspector Mr. Terwilliger (Justin Smith) check them out. There's also music producer and former singer Shep Kirby (Russ Bender) who initially puts out the complaints against them, due to Vern's sound effects being turned up way too high and the partying. Now Lee and Adam have to figure out what's going on here and how to keep everyone from being found out, before they're all expelled and ended up expelled.

The Song and Dance: It's some unique details that make this even tolerable to watch. Vern's sound effects prove to be very useful, both in keeping the boys and girls from wandering over "The Iron Curtain" (a rope set out to keep the boys and girls from trying anything fresh. There's also Kirby and his own obsession with technology and finding the right group to showcase. And yes, Sonny and Cher are in this movie, singing one song. Their "I Got You Babe" was a huge hit when the movie was being filmed, and the producer must have thought they could bring the same kind of laid-back vibe to the film.

The Numbers: Adam sings "The House On the Beach" and "The God of Love," the latter while on a walk on the beach with Lee. The surf group The Astronauts get four numbers, "Rock This World" after the college students first arrive, and "Pyramid Stomp," "Snap It," and "Little Speedy Gonzalez" later on. Sonny and Cher have a cameo singing the sweet "It's Gonna Rain." Real-life pop singer Cindy Malone tries to test Shep's new recording equipment with "Run Away From Him," but Vern's sound effects keep intruding. Shep gets "Yellow Haired Woman" with the kids at a party at the house later. The girls record "Winter Nocturne" for Shep. Drummer Sandy Nelson has a dynamic "Drum Dance."

What I Don't Like: Pretty obvious low-budget B-tuner from this era. The Astronauts and Sonny and Cher are the only things that stand out in any way. The use of Vern's sound effects are mildly amusing, and I do give them credit for a slightly creative plot that deals with housing shortages during an era when college was becoming more important, but this is mostly as cheap as it looks. It's not even in color. The boys in particular other than Vern are interchangeable, and Randall comes off as more of a jerk for trying to throw the girls out than remotely romantic.

The Big Finale: Silly and dull, this is only for the most ardent Sonny and/or Cher enthusiasts.

Home Media: On DVD via the made-to-order 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives and on YouTube.

DVD

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - Peter Pan (1976)

ITV/NBC, 1976

Starring Danny Kaye, Mia Farrow, Briony McRoberts, and Virginia McKenna

Directed by Dwight Hemion

Music by Anthony Newley; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

This month, we'll be exploring vintage TV musicals for families on Saturdays, starting with this rarity. This was actually Kaye's second go-around that year in a made-for-TV family musical where he starred alongside a young woman playing a boy's role. I did Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan two years ago. Does this more delicate, slightly darker confection with Mia Farrow as the Boy Who Never Grows Up and Kaye as his most famous rival reach the same heights, or should it stay in Neverland? Let's begin with an unseen Julie Andrews singing the lullaby "Once Upon a Bedtime Story" over the credits as we see children at play in London of the 1900's and find out...

The Story: Peter flies in one night after a frustrated Mr. Darling (Kaye) has banished the Darlings' dog Nana outside. He's hoping to regain his shadow and hear more stories to tell the Lost Boys. Wendy stitches his shadow on and insists they all to to Neverland with him and his fairy friend Tinkerbell. The jealous Tinkerbell tells the Lost Boys to shoot Wendy down. They regret it when Peter tells them she's to be a mother for them. 

Peter is perpetually at odds with mincing Captain Hook (Kaye), who lost his hand to a ticking crocodile and has been avoiding the creature ever since. Hook first captures Princess Tiger Lily (Paula Kelly) of the Native tribe to bring Peter out of hiding, then tries to poison him and captures Wendy and the children. Tinkerbell takes the poison instead, with Peter calling the viewing audience to help save her before they take off to rescue Wendy and Peter's Lost Boys. Even after Peter frees them, Wendy and the boys do insist on going home...but Peter stays behind, preferring childhood to an uncertain real world.

The Song and Dance: There's a lot that's good here. The Native group looks a bit more realistic (and slightly less offensive) than usual for this story, including their decent ballet with an excellent Kelly as the regal princess. The Lost Boys are hilarious, and McRoberts is an adorable and sweet Wendy. Kaye works equally well as the flustered father in the opening and the elegant, flamboyant, villainous pirate. 

The Numbers: We open with that lovely "Once Upon a Bedtime Story" performed by Julie Andrews over the credits. "Sleep, My Sleepy Heads" is Mrs. Darling's (McKenna) lullaby to her children before she and Mr. Darling leave for the night. "We Should Be Together" Peter insists as he encourages Wendy to join him in Neverland. "When You Can Fly" is Peter's song as he teaches the children how to join him in the air. We get some (rather bad and obvious) special effects as they soar across London. The Lost Boys admit reluctantly that they miss their "Mothers, Mothers." 

Hook's first patter number is "They Don't Make Them Like Me Anymore," Hook's bragging about his adventures with the pirates. "Neverland" is the Tiger Lily's song as she and her tribe sing of their need to protect their home from pirates and perform a relatively intricate ballet. The Boys build a house for Wendy with "Windows of Hope." Peter wishes he understood his feelings for Wendy as he admits "I Wish I Had a Dream." Captain Hook's "By Hook or By Crook" is his kidnapping Tiger Lily. Wendy teaches the Lost Boys how to create their own fantasies as they "Just Pretend" they're a family. Peter's not ready for things like families. He'd rather never experience "Growing Up." 

Hook's last big number has him bragging about his villainy putting him in the "Hall of Fame." The pirates reprise "Mothers, Mothers" as they admit they miss their own parents as well, even Hook. The children sing the title song as Peter and Hook have their big duel in the end. Peter tosses in his own version of "They Don't Make Them Like Me Anymore" after he gets Hook in the water. 

What I Don't Like: Mia Farrow is completely miscast as Peter. She's too dainty, delicate, and feminine to be believable as a boy, and her singing isn't any better than it would be almost seven years later in The Last Unicorn. Tinkerbell is portrayed as a tiny light, which gets annoying after a while. The sound she makes is worse, more like a broken bell than a tinkle. Nana being played by an actor in a dog suit comes off far better onstage than it does on screen, where it just looks awkward and silly. While the Natives are treated slightly better here than in most versions of this story, they're still played by actors in bad red makeup (and their costumes are rather brief for a children's fantasy, too). Newley and Bricusse's songs are good but not great, with only "Once Upon a Bedtime Story" making any impression.

The Big Finale: Worth checking out mainly for fans of Kaye or Peter Pan in general. Everyone else will probably be fine with the Mary Martin or Cathy Rigby versions. 

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that the only place this can currently be found is on YouTube.

YouTube