MGM, 1938
Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Buddy Ebsen, and Walter Pidgeon
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Music by Sigmund Romberg and others; Lyrics by Gus Kahn and others
MacDonald and Eddy were two of MGM's biggest stars after the success of their 1937 vehicle Maytime, but a musical western based after an opera is probably the last thing anyone expected them to do as their next big film. How does the tale of a bandit who falls in love with a saloon-owning tomboy come off nowadays? Let's head to Cloudy, a rough-and-ready California boom town, and find out...
The Story: Mary, better known as "the Girl" (MacDonald), is the owner of the Polka Saloon in Cloudy. She keeps the gold the men bring in from the mountains at her place and turns it over to the stagecoaches when they arrive. All of the men in town adore her and think of her as one of their own, and she has two suitors in Sheriff Jack Rance (Pidgeon) and shy blacksmith Alabama (Ebsen). On a trip to Monterrey, Mary's stagecoach is robbed by Ramerez (Eddy), a notorious local bandit. He's so enamored by her spunk and beauty, he follows her to town, where he poses as a lieutenant at a big festival in town just to get to know her better.
He eventually turns up in Cloudy, intending to rob the gold at the Polka...but can't go through with it when he discovers Mary's the owner. His men aren't terribly happy about that, and his half-breed girlfriend Nina (Priscilla Lawson) is even less thrilled. She tells the Sheriff the truth, and he tells Mary when she just invited Ramerez to her cabin. The bandit is hurt while trying to escape and winds up back at her place. Determined to keep him from the sheriff's grasp, she ends up playing a hand of poker with Rance, with the bandit and her hand in marriage on the line.
The Song and Dance: Unusually action-packed for the MacDonald/Eddy movies, with shootouts, bandits, and a genuinely tense confrontation between MacDonald and Pidgeon during that poker game. Ebsen as sweet Alabama and H.B Warner as Mary's padre friend in Monterrey add much-needed authenticity to this romantic adventure melodrama.
Favorite Number: MacDonald gets to sing a lovely version of "Lieberstraum" with town drunk The Professor (Brandon Tynan) on the newly-purchased piano at the saloon that's one of her better solo numbers. Eddy joins her for two big chorus numbers in the fiesta segment, "Senorita" and "Mariachi." The latter turns into the film's sole large-scale dance routine, with swirling dancers and some huge sets. Ebsen comments on how "civilization" has changed California in the brief but funny "The West Ain't Wild Anymore."
Trivia: This started out as a hit play by David Belasco in 1905. The play became an opera, La fanciulla del west, in 1910. It was filmed three times before, twice as a silent.
What I Don't Like: Philadelphia natives MacDonald and Eddy are too urban to be believable in a western setting. Eddy did better in his later solo western Let Freedom Ring; his idea of a Mexican accent is ridiculous. Womanly MacDonald is no tomboy, either. I have no idea why they couldn't have retained at least a little of the original opera score, as most of Romberg and Kahn's music is rather dull.
The Big Finale: Ok if you're a fan of MacDonald, Eddy, or the opera; otherwise, nothing you need to go out of your way to see.
Home Media: Easy to find on streaming and on DVD from the Warner Archives.
DVD
Amazon Prime
Reviews of musical films, from 1930s black and white to widescreen 21st century extravaganzas.
Showing posts with label Gus Kahn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gus Kahn. Show all posts
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Lillian Russell
20th Century Fox, 1940
Starring Alice Faye, Henry Fonda, Don Ameche, and Edward Arnold
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Bronslaw Kaper and others; Lyrics by Gus Kahn and others
Our remaining three weekday reviews for March will be biographies of pioneering female performers in honor of Women's History Month. Lillian Russell was one of the most popular singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She sang on the phone when it was a new invention and championed women's rights, raised her daughter, and had a career at a time when most women were still encouraged to stay in the kitchen. Does this movie do her glamorous life justice? Let's head to New York City in the mid-19th century to find out...
The Story: Helen Leonard (Faye) is born to Charles (Ernest Truex) and Cynthia (Dorothy Peterson) Leonard in the 1860's. She takes singing lessons; her teacher says her voice is pleasant, but not good enough for grand opera. Cynthia is involved in politics and women's rights, but her attempt at becoming mayor of New York garners less than 100 votes. Indeed, the lovely Helen has to calm a mob who has come to taunt her mother over her loss. Among the men who help clear out the rabble is Alexander Moore (Fonda), an earnest young fellow who had saved Helen and her crotchety grandmother (Helen Westley) from a runaway carriage a few days before. He's trying to become a newspaper reporter and promises to take Helen out if he can get a job before her.
One night while singing, Helen is overheard by theatrical producer Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo). He's so impressed by her voice and stunning beauty, he hires her for his vaudeville theater. He also creates a new name for her to keep her mother from figuring out what she's doing. (Her mother finds out anyway.)
The newly-christened Lillian Russell becomes the toast of New York and has a long line of suitors, including financiers "Diamond" Jim Brady (Arnold) and Jesse Lewisohn (Warren William), but she ultimately marries penniless composer Edward Solomon (Ameche). Solomon takes her to London to star in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, but he clashes with the composers and she bows out. It ends up being just as well when they discover that she's pregnant. Unfortunately, her husband dies just as he's composing a new song for her and Alexander, now a rising reporter, is about to interview her. She cancels the interview, but Diamond Jim, who has remained a good friend of hers, encourages her to move on...and she does, to success in the hit variety shows featuring comics Weber and Fields (themselves). Meanwhile, Alexander is still interested in that interview...and her...
The Song and Dance: Faye gives one of her best performances as Russell, one of the most beloved stars of the late 19th and early 20th century. She's warm and elegant, and looks amazing in the glittering period costumes. Helen Westley is a lot of fun as her outspoken grandmother. Arnold has a wonderful time as Brady, who keeps hoping she'll see him as more than a friend. He and urbane William have a very funny sequence in the rain where they bet which one of them will get Lillian first. The detailed and period-accurate sets were nominated for an Oscar. The real Weber and Fields demonstrates the type of ethnic humor that would have been in their shows and add authenticity to the second half.
It's interesting how this movie handles feminism and women's rights, especially given many women still didn't work outside the home in 1940. Cynthia tries hard to push herself into something that was still seen then as a "man's job," but it's Lillian who winds up being more successful. Several of the men, including her father, praise her for keeping her "femininity," but her mother is worried that people will see her for her beauty, rather than the whole package.
Favorite Number: "Blue Lovebird," the song Solomon was (supposedly) writing when he died, is given a nifty star routine, with Faye performing it in black against a black background; only her white jewels stand out. "Ma' Blushin' Rosie," her first number at Tony Pastor's, becomes a cute beach-inspired routine for her and the chorus.
Trivia: This is the second time Arnold played Diamond Jim Brady. He also portrayed the famous financier in the 1935 film Diamond Jim.
What I Don't Like: Like The Greatest Showman, this movie is wildly fictionalized, to the point where the plot can be a little bland. Russell's mother did run for mayor of New York, but her parents eventually divorced. She married four times, not twice; she left Solomon not because he died, but because he was a bigamist and already had another wife. She'd also had another child, but it died as an infant. A composer did die after writing her most famous hit song, "Come Down Ma Evening Star," but he committed suicide, and he wasn't married to her. Her marriage to Moore, at least, was successful and lasted the rest of her life, but she didn't marry him until she retired in 1912.
Fonda is totally out-of-place here. He was never comfortable in musicals, and he just seems awkward. Ameche does slightly better as Russell's hot-tempered first husband, but neither of them are really around long enough to make much of an impression. The supporting cast is far more enjoyable, including Arnold, William, the wonderfully cranky Westley, and Una O'Connor as Russsell's supportive maid.
The Big Finale: The plot can be dull, but the music, some excellent performances, and a couple of interesting discussions of feminism and "femininity" make this worth checking out for fans of Faye or 40's musicals.
Home Media: Available on DVD as part of 20th Century Fox's Marquee Musicals series; it can also be found on a few streaming platforms.
DVD
Google Play
Starring Alice Faye, Henry Fonda, Don Ameche, and Edward Arnold
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Bronslaw Kaper and others; Lyrics by Gus Kahn and others
Our remaining three weekday reviews for March will be biographies of pioneering female performers in honor of Women's History Month. Lillian Russell was one of the most popular singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She sang on the phone when it was a new invention and championed women's rights, raised her daughter, and had a career at a time when most women were still encouraged to stay in the kitchen. Does this movie do her glamorous life justice? Let's head to New York City in the mid-19th century to find out...
The Story: Helen Leonard (Faye) is born to Charles (Ernest Truex) and Cynthia (Dorothy Peterson) Leonard in the 1860's. She takes singing lessons; her teacher says her voice is pleasant, but not good enough for grand opera. Cynthia is involved in politics and women's rights, but her attempt at becoming mayor of New York garners less than 100 votes. Indeed, the lovely Helen has to calm a mob who has come to taunt her mother over her loss. Among the men who help clear out the rabble is Alexander Moore (Fonda), an earnest young fellow who had saved Helen and her crotchety grandmother (Helen Westley) from a runaway carriage a few days before. He's trying to become a newspaper reporter and promises to take Helen out if he can get a job before her.
One night while singing, Helen is overheard by theatrical producer Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo). He's so impressed by her voice and stunning beauty, he hires her for his vaudeville theater. He also creates a new name for her to keep her mother from figuring out what she's doing. (Her mother finds out anyway.)
The newly-christened Lillian Russell becomes the toast of New York and has a long line of suitors, including financiers "Diamond" Jim Brady (Arnold) and Jesse Lewisohn (Warren William), but she ultimately marries penniless composer Edward Solomon (Ameche). Solomon takes her to London to star in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, but he clashes with the composers and she bows out. It ends up being just as well when they discover that she's pregnant. Unfortunately, her husband dies just as he's composing a new song for her and Alexander, now a rising reporter, is about to interview her. She cancels the interview, but Diamond Jim, who has remained a good friend of hers, encourages her to move on...and she does, to success in the hit variety shows featuring comics Weber and Fields (themselves). Meanwhile, Alexander is still interested in that interview...and her...
The Song and Dance: Faye gives one of her best performances as Russell, one of the most beloved stars of the late 19th and early 20th century. She's warm and elegant, and looks amazing in the glittering period costumes. Helen Westley is a lot of fun as her outspoken grandmother. Arnold has a wonderful time as Brady, who keeps hoping she'll see him as more than a friend. He and urbane William have a very funny sequence in the rain where they bet which one of them will get Lillian first. The detailed and period-accurate sets were nominated for an Oscar. The real Weber and Fields demonstrates the type of ethnic humor that would have been in their shows and add authenticity to the second half.
It's interesting how this movie handles feminism and women's rights, especially given many women still didn't work outside the home in 1940. Cynthia tries hard to push herself into something that was still seen then as a "man's job," but it's Lillian who winds up being more successful. Several of the men, including her father, praise her for keeping her "femininity," but her mother is worried that people will see her for her beauty, rather than the whole package.
Favorite Number: "Blue Lovebird," the song Solomon was (supposedly) writing when he died, is given a nifty star routine, with Faye performing it in black against a black background; only her white jewels stand out. "Ma' Blushin' Rosie," her first number at Tony Pastor's, becomes a cute beach-inspired routine for her and the chorus.
Trivia: This is the second time Arnold played Diamond Jim Brady. He also portrayed the famous financier in the 1935 film Diamond Jim.
What I Don't Like: Like The Greatest Showman, this movie is wildly fictionalized, to the point where the plot can be a little bland. Russell's mother did run for mayor of New York, but her parents eventually divorced. She married four times, not twice; she left Solomon not because he died, but because he was a bigamist and already had another wife. She'd also had another child, but it died as an infant. A composer did die after writing her most famous hit song, "Come Down Ma Evening Star," but he committed suicide, and he wasn't married to her. Her marriage to Moore, at least, was successful and lasted the rest of her life, but she didn't marry him until she retired in 1912.
Fonda is totally out-of-place here. He was never comfortable in musicals, and he just seems awkward. Ameche does slightly better as Russell's hot-tempered first husband, but neither of them are really around long enough to make much of an impression. The supporting cast is far more enjoyable, including Arnold, William, the wonderfully cranky Westley, and Una O'Connor as Russsell's supportive maid.
The Big Finale: The plot can be dull, but the music, some excellent performances, and a couple of interesting discussions of feminism and "femininity" make this worth checking out for fans of Faye or 40's musicals.
Home Media: Available on DVD as part of 20th Century Fox's Marquee Musicals series; it can also be found on a few streaming platforms.
DVD
Google Play
Thursday, December 6, 2018
I'll See You In My Dreams
Warner Bros, 1951
Starring Doris Day, Danny Thomas, Frank Lovejoy, and James Gleason
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Music by Walter Donaldson and others; Lyrics by Gus Kahn
If you've never heard of Gus Kahn, you're in good company. His name may not be as recognizable today as that of Jerome Kern, but you've probably at least hummed one of his songs once in your life. "It Had to Be You," "Carolina In the Morning," "Makin' Whoopie," and "Ain't We Got Fun" are among the famous songs he wrote the lyrics for. Let's see if this biography soars like so many of his most popular lyrics...
The Story: In the early 1910's, warehouse worker Gus Kahn (Thomas) brings his pile of songs and patriotic musicals to a song company to have considered for publication. He shoves them into the arms of one Grace LeBoy (Day), who promptly tells him to write less patriotism and more romance. He's angry at the criticism at first, but then goes over to her house in a tie and tells her and her parents that he's reconsidered. They create a partnership for a few years, but their publisher (Gleason) tells them that Grace isn't a good enough songwriter. He joins with composer Egbert Van Alstyne, writing the hits "Pretty Baby" and "Memories."
Grace keeps pushing the reluctant Gus into bigger and better things, even after they finally get married in 1916. She's plugging his latest hit when she's pregnant with their first child, a son. By the time she's having their second child, a daughter, she's pushed him into a big Ziegfeld show in New York and a partnership with perpetually drunk bachelor Walter Donaldson (Lovejoy). Grace is worried that he may be making a play for the show's star Gloria Knight (Patrice Wymore), but to Gloria's annoyance, he's only interested in his family.
The Depression wipes out the Kahn's savings and the style of upbeat tunes that Gus specialized in. Grace eventually convinces him to go to Hollywood, but while he does write music there, he's too temperamental to stick with one studio for very long. It takes a heart attack and the revival of film musicals in 1933 for Kahn to finally settle down and appreciate his wife and just how much his music has touched others.
The Song and Dance: Kahn died of a final heart attack in 1941, but Grace and his children were still alive, and their input makes this biography more honest than most. This is refreshingly domestic and small-scale compared to most musical film biographies, with it's emphasis on Grace and Gus' relationship and their home life with their children and their maid Anna (Mary Wickes). Anna's long and contemptuous relationship with Gus is the film's funniest running gag. Even the Chicago setting and the simple black and white cinematography marks this as something a little different.
Favorite Number: Day and Thomas are at their most charming in their duet of "Makin' Whoopee." Grace and Gus perform it on a train going back to Chicago. No backstage fuss, no melodrama, just two wonderful performers having fun together. Wymore gets the film's sole production number, "Love Me or Leave Me." Day also does a really touching version of the title song towards the end of the movie, when Grace is starting to worry about Gus and his health.
Trivia: Kahn's son Donald grew up to become a songwriter and musician in his own right. His most famous composition was the pop hit "A Beautiful Friendship."
What I Don't Like: This is absolutely not for people who like their musicals big, colorful, and bold. It's a small-scale story with songs mostly performed by the two leads and one major chorus number. The story itself is fairly cliche, hitting all the usual beats of a musician's rise and fall; while the family angle is an interesting twist, the plot itself is nothing you really haven't seen before, particularly in the angst-ridden second half.
Like most musical biographies of this time, once we get out of the early part of the 20th century, the costumes and sets stop reflecting the actual setting and start looking too modern. No one looks like they're dressed for the 20's and 30's during the segments set during those time periods. Once Gus' songs get popular, it looks like 1951 for the rest of the movie.
The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Day or Thomas or like your musicals on the smaller side, this charming tale of one of the most beloved lyracists of the early 20th century and his strong-willed wife is definitely worth a watch.
Home Media: This was one of Day's biggest hits (and was Warners' second-biggest hit of 1951) and can easily be found for streaming and on DVD via the Warner Archives.
DVD
Amazon Prime
Starring Doris Day, Danny Thomas, Frank Lovejoy, and James Gleason
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Music by Walter Donaldson and others; Lyrics by Gus Kahn
If you've never heard of Gus Kahn, you're in good company. His name may not be as recognizable today as that of Jerome Kern, but you've probably at least hummed one of his songs once in your life. "It Had to Be You," "Carolina In the Morning," "Makin' Whoopie," and "Ain't We Got Fun" are among the famous songs he wrote the lyrics for. Let's see if this biography soars like so many of his most popular lyrics...
The Story: In the early 1910's, warehouse worker Gus Kahn (Thomas) brings his pile of songs and patriotic musicals to a song company to have considered for publication. He shoves them into the arms of one Grace LeBoy (Day), who promptly tells him to write less patriotism and more romance. He's angry at the criticism at first, but then goes over to her house in a tie and tells her and her parents that he's reconsidered. They create a partnership for a few years, but their publisher (Gleason) tells them that Grace isn't a good enough songwriter. He joins with composer Egbert Van Alstyne, writing the hits "Pretty Baby" and "Memories."
Grace keeps pushing the reluctant Gus into bigger and better things, even after they finally get married in 1916. She's plugging his latest hit when she's pregnant with their first child, a son. By the time she's having their second child, a daughter, she's pushed him into a big Ziegfeld show in New York and a partnership with perpetually drunk bachelor Walter Donaldson (Lovejoy). Grace is worried that he may be making a play for the show's star Gloria Knight (Patrice Wymore), but to Gloria's annoyance, he's only interested in his family.
The Depression wipes out the Kahn's savings and the style of upbeat tunes that Gus specialized in. Grace eventually convinces him to go to Hollywood, but while he does write music there, he's too temperamental to stick with one studio for very long. It takes a heart attack and the revival of film musicals in 1933 for Kahn to finally settle down and appreciate his wife and just how much his music has touched others.
The Song and Dance: Kahn died of a final heart attack in 1941, but Grace and his children were still alive, and their input makes this biography more honest than most. This is refreshingly domestic and small-scale compared to most musical film biographies, with it's emphasis on Grace and Gus' relationship and their home life with their children and their maid Anna (Mary Wickes). Anna's long and contemptuous relationship with Gus is the film's funniest running gag. Even the Chicago setting and the simple black and white cinematography marks this as something a little different.
Favorite Number: Day and Thomas are at their most charming in their duet of "Makin' Whoopee." Grace and Gus perform it on a train going back to Chicago. No backstage fuss, no melodrama, just two wonderful performers having fun together. Wymore gets the film's sole production number, "Love Me or Leave Me." Day also does a really touching version of the title song towards the end of the movie, when Grace is starting to worry about Gus and his health.
Trivia: Kahn's son Donald grew up to become a songwriter and musician in his own right. His most famous composition was the pop hit "A Beautiful Friendship."
What I Don't Like: This is absolutely not for people who like their musicals big, colorful, and bold. It's a small-scale story with songs mostly performed by the two leads and one major chorus number. The story itself is fairly cliche, hitting all the usual beats of a musician's rise and fall; while the family angle is an interesting twist, the plot itself is nothing you really haven't seen before, particularly in the angst-ridden second half.
Like most musical biographies of this time, once we get out of the early part of the 20th century, the costumes and sets stop reflecting the actual setting and start looking too modern. No one looks like they're dressed for the 20's and 30's during the segments set during those time periods. Once Gus' songs get popular, it looks like 1951 for the rest of the movie.
The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Day or Thomas or like your musicals on the smaller side, this charming tale of one of the most beloved lyracists of the early 20th century and his strong-willed wife is definitely worth a watch.
Home Media: This was one of Day's biggest hits (and was Warners' second-biggest hit of 1951) and can easily be found for streaming and on DVD via the Warner Archives.
DVD
Amazon Prime
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