Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

MGM, 1950

Starring Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn, and Louis Calhern

Directed by George Sidney

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Let's start the week of the 4th of July by celebrating some real-life American legends. Annie Oakley was a real person who toured the world with her rival, and then husband, Frank Butler doing trick shots in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. MGM bought the rights to the hit Broadway musical as soon as it's run ended.

The filming was anything but smooth. The original Annie, Judy Garland, was suffering from exhaustion an dealing with her drug problems and was eventually replaced by brash Hutton. They went through three directors and two Buffalo Bills after the first actor in the role, Frank Morgan, died shortly after filming began. For all that, how did the story of Annie, Frank, and their contemptuous relationship come off today? Let's begin with the arrival of Buffalo Bill's (Calhoun) Wild West Show to a small town in Ohio and find out...

The Story: Annie Oakley (Hutton) is the best shot in all of Ohio. She's so good, she accidentally shoots the bird off the hat belonging to Dolly Tate (Benay Venuta), one of the female performers in the Wild West Show. Manager Charlie Davenport (Wynn) offers her $5 to beat the show's major star Frank Butler (Keel) at a marksmanship competition. 

When Annie beats him hands down, Davenport and Butler convince her to audition for the Wild West Show. She's an unqualified success, and Frank is smitten...at least until Annie's star eclipses his own. He ends up joining Pawnee Bill's (Edward Arnold) show when he sees Annie's increasing popularity. 

Buffalo Bill's show tours Europe, and Annie is a smash with all the heads of state. She's even adopted into Chief Sitting Bull's (J. Carrol Naish) tribe. Frank's not as impressed and challenges her to another shooting competition. Annie's ready to beat him again, until Sitting Bull reminds her that "you can't get a man with a gun," or a relationship without sacrifice. 

The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making this movie, it didn't turn out too badly. I actually think charming Calhoun works out better as Buffalo Bill than blustery Morgan would have anyway. You believe Calhoun would go out and shoot buffalo and tame the west. Keel makes a smashing debut as Butler, equally believable singing and as the tough marksman who finds himself falling for the backwoods gal. 

The costumes in particular are gorgeous, from the ruffly dresses and ribbon-trimmed hats for the ladies who crowd around Frank in the opening to Annie's scarlet gown worn at the reception in England. Sidney does pretty well for someone who was brought in at the last moment to replace Busby Berkeley, especially with more intimate numbers like "They Say It's Wonderful" and the hilarious "Anything You Can Do." 

Favorite Number: We open with Dolly, Frank, and Charlie explaining how "Colonel Buffalo Bill" tamed the west and got their show together. Annie and her siblings explain how she's such a good shot in "Doin' What Comes Naturally." Frank tells Annie that "The Girl That I Marry" will be a dainty lady who will be pretty in his arms. Annie realizes after he leaves that "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun." 

Charlie, Buffalo Bill, and Frank tell Annie that "There's No Business Like Show Business" when she hesitates on joining the Wild West Show. We hear this famous anthem twice more, when Annie sees herself solo on the posters for the first time, and in the big finale as the two shows come together. She and Frank admit "They Say It's Wonderful" to fall in love, while Frank tells the men at the show that "My Defences are Down." "I'm an Indian Too" is the exhausting ritual that brings Annie into the Native tribe...or would, if she didn't try to hide from them! She exuberantly performs "I've Got the Sun In the Morning" for the heads of state in England. After challenging her to another marksmanship competition, Annie claims "Anything You Can Do," she can do, too, though Frank doesn't buy it.

Trivia: Judy Garland filmed "Doin' What Comes Naturally" and "I'm an Indian Too" before she was dropped from the production. They still exist and can be found on the DVD and Blu-Ray, along with a cut Hutton number, "Let's Go West Again." 

The original Broadway cast of Annie Get Your Gun in 1946 featured Ethel Merman in the title role and Ray Middleton as Frank. It was a smash hit, running over four years. There would be two short-lived revivals in 1958 and 1966, the latter featuring Merman. The heavily revised 1999 Broadway revival with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat also ran for four years, nearly as long as the original. It's been seen in London at least three times. The 1947 production with Dolores Gray outran the Broadway show, but three revivals were short-lived.

Annie made it to TV twice, in 1957 with Mary Martin, and in 1967 with Merman. Alas, the Merman version seems to be lost except for one clip and its audio. The Martin version does exist, and I'll likely cover it sometime later this year. 

Annie Oakley was a sharp-shooter in the 1880's and 1890's who did travel and perform with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She did marry rival Frank Butler...but unlike what you see here, Frank knew his wife was the better shot and stepped down to manage her career. 

What I Don't Like: There's a reason the book for the 1999 revival was so heavily re-written. This show is neither good to its female characters, nor the Natives. In fact, one thing they got right in the 1999 revival was having Annie and Frank tie in that final match. It's more interesting and historically accurate. Hutton tries way too hard. Her belting and clowning works for comic numbers like "Indian Too" and "I've Got the Sun In the Morning," but her "Doin' What Comes Naturally" lacks intimacy, and she has no chemistry whatsoever with Keel except for when they're sparring in "Anything You Can Do." 

In the original show and 1999 revival, Dolly's sister Winnie and her boyfriend Tommy had a pair of major numbers that covered scene changes. They and their songs were deemed extraneous in 1950 and 1966 were deleted. Other songs that didn't make it into the film version include the ballad "I Got Lost In His Arms" for Annie, Frank's introductory number "I'm a Bad, Bad Man," and Annie's "Moonshine Lullaby" that she sings to her siblings on the train. Surprised they didn't retain at least the lovely "Lost In His Arms," which would have been gorgeous on Hutton and Garland. 

The Big Finale: Even with the multitude of problems and dated script, this is still worth checking out for fans of Berlin, Hutton, Keel, or the big MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's. 

Home Media: Legal troubles kept this off home media until the 1999 revival's overwhelming success prompted Warner Bros to finally release it in 2000. It's currently disc-only from the Warner Archives.

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DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Broadway Musicals

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Texas Carnival

MGM, 1951

Starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, and Ann Miller

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

In the 1950's and 60's, Americans became fascinated with Texas and other southwestern and mid-western states as oil production boomed and drillers became millionaires. How does the story of one such Texas oil man and the two carnival performers who become entangled with him look today? Let's begin on the midway of that carnival, as Cornelius "Corny" Quinell (Skelton) throws a pitch for the dunk booth featuring his beautiful partner Debbie Telford (Williams) and find out...

The Story: Corny and Debbie haven't had much luck at the carnival. Debbie's desperately hungry when Corny helps a drunk man with a cheating carny at another booth. The man turns out to be Texas rancher and oil man Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn). Sabinas calls him brother and even lets him return his car to the hotel he and his sister Marilla (Paula Raymond) are staying at. 

Turns out Marilla is out of town, and Sabinas drunkenly ends up in Mexico. When Corny and Debbie pull up in Sabinas' huge car, everyone thinks they're the millionaires. Corny decides he enjoys the luxury, and Debbie just likes being fed. Corny falls for Sunshine Jackson (Miller), the brassy daughter of the town sheriff. Debbie's interested in Sabinas' head foreman Slim Shelby (Keel). 

After Corny accidentally loses $17,000 in a poker game, the others enter him in a chuck wagon race to earn the money. Dan turns up mad as a hornet because someone's in his room. Corny tries to get him drunk again, but has to ride the race drunk with Debbie and Slim's help. 

The Song and Dance: Williams and Skelton come together for the third and final time in this noisy bit of fluff. Skelton's having a great time with his brand of wild slapstick and goofy facial expressions. Check out him getting drunk with Sabinas, or attempting to drive the chuck wagon as more and more of it ends up on the ground. The colorful western costumes, with their fringes and buckskins and gingham and elaborate embroidery, and brilliant Technicolor wide open spaces make the movie feel a lot more lavish than the small story would indicate. 

Favorite Number: We open with "The Carny's Pitch," as Corny encourages cowboys to throw a ball at Williams in a glitzy pink bathing suit and see if they can dunk her. "It's Dynamite" is Miller's big solo tap routine in the hotel ballroom as Sunshine shows what she thinks is a rich oil man what she can do as she taps on a piano. "Whoa, Emma" is the folksy ballad about a beloved mare for Slim and the cowboy chorus as they gather around the fire. Debbie's attempt at a speech during a party in the ballroom somehow turns into the film's sole large-scale production number, a wild version of "Deep In the Heart of Texas" with Miller and the chorus.

The film's best "number" and Williams' only swimming ballet doesn't actually take place in the water. Slim rescued the famished Debbie from drowning after she arrived at the hotel still hungry. His mind equates her with the water...which is why, in a nifty bit of special effects, she's seen as a swimming vision swishing around his hotel room in white gauze and silver glitter. She's his "underwater dream" as Williams put it in That's Entertainment III. 

What I Don't Like: This is awfully short for a major MGM musical. I wonder if they planned more numbers that either weren't filmed, or ended up on the cutting room floor. Williams surprisingly has no swimming routines besides the dream sequence and Slim rescuing Debbie from the pool. Other than her two big numbers, Miller is barely used. Keel doesn't really do much besides rescue Debbie, either. The title's a cheat, too. While the movie is set in Texas, it's only at the carnival in the first ten minutes or so and the last five minutes. It's mostly set at and around the hotel. The music is dull and the script even moreso. This is a bizarre bit of fluff that could have done with a little sharpening. 

The Big Finale: Probably best for fans of Skelton or those looking for a fun way to pass an hour on TCM.

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

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Cult Flops - Kismet (1955)

MGM, 1955

Starring Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone, and Dolores Gray

Directed by Vincent Minelli

Music by Aleksander Borodin; Lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forest 

Wright and Forest's romantic adaptation of the 1911 play was a huge hit on Broadway in 1953. Having had luck turning Scandinavian composter Grieg's music into the operetta Song of Norway, they turned to the more exotic music of Borodin for this Arabian Nights-style fable. MGM already owned the play and almost as soon as the show ended its run, set out to film its musical version as well. How does this tale of lovers and poets who find their fortunes in the course of one fateful day look now? Let's begin in ancient Baghdad, where a poor Poet (Keel) is going about his day, and find out..

The Story: The Poet goes on to have one of the longest days in the history of the universe. First, he's kidnapped by a man named Jawan (Jay C. Flippen) who insists he put a curse on him that caused his son to be stolen. The Poet's given gold coins for removing the curse, but is arrested by the Wazir's (Sebastian Cabot) men. The Wazir is about to sentence the Poet, but then Jawan reveals whom he really is. He ends up making the Poet one of his men instead. The Poet schemes with the Wazir's bored wife Lalume (Gray) to make up an elaborate curse-reversal scheme...and meanwhile discover they're attracted to each other. 

Elsewhere, the Poet's daughter Marsinah (Blyth) falls for the handsome Calliph (Damone), believing him to be the gardener's son. The Calliph declares that he plans to marry a bride that night...to the dismay of the Wazir, who needs him to marry the princess of a neighboring country in order to secure a loan. The Poet tries to get Marsinah out of town, but Lalume hides her in the palace instead. Now the Poet has to figure out how to save them all, before the Wazir figures out he's no more a magician than he is an honest man.

The Song and Dance: If you love Arabian Knights spectacles, you'll really get a kick out of this one. Keel puts in one of his best performances as the hammy, cunning beggar who seizes the opportunity to get him and his daughter out of the gutter, and Gray and her belting more than match him. Cabot's having a good time as the scheming Wazir too. Cole's unusual stylized choreography fits far better in this colorful setting than it did in the biography The I Don't Care Girl, with him redoing several of his ballets from the Broadway show. 

Favorite Number:  We open with the Poet singing in the crowds what "Fate" has in store for him and for all of them if they buy his rhymes. One of the ballets is staged to "Not Since Ninevah" as six slaves perform a lively dance in the market with Lalume. "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" was one of the big hits; Blyth gets it here as the market sellers press Marsinah with beautiful jewels and fabrics. "Stranger In Paradise" is the soaring hit duet for the Calliph and Marsinah as they declare their love for each other in the garden. We get another ballet with the princesses and slaves, this time to "Night of My Nights" as the Calliph declares he's to wed. "And This Is My Beloved" has Marsinah trying to explain her newfound love to her father, while the Calliph dreams of his beautiful missing bride. 

Trivia: Yes, that was Jamie Farr, better known as Corporal Klinger from the TV sitcom MASH, selling oranges in the marketplace and whom the Poet holds down and calls "the father of none and the son of many." Future TV producer Aaron Spelling also turns up as a beggar.  

The original Kismet was a surprise hit in 1953, running for over a year and going over equally well in London. It was revived with an all-black cast as Timbuktu in 1978, with Eartha Kitt in the Lalume role. It hasn't been seen on Broadway outside of Encores concerts since, but it did turn up as recently as 2007 in England. 

What I Don't Like: Wish they hadn't lost several songs from the original show. The Wazir's comic number "Was I Wazir?" may have been a bit too dark for the movie, with its gristly descriptions of the Wazir's conquests and tortures...but why cut Lalume's part of "And This Is My Beloved?" It's not quite as charming done with three singers. Blyth's all right as gentle Marsinah, but Damone is completely out of his element as the Calliph. He doesn't sound like a ruler. He sounds like the crooner he is. 

It's also obvious Vincent Minelli wasn't interested in Arabian Knights fantasies. The crowd shots in particular look much skimpier than they should, while others come off as less "Arabian fable" than "high school production of Aladdin in Technicolor." 

The Big Finale: Fans of operetta, Keel, or Aladdin-style Arabian swashbucklers will want to throw themselves to fate and give this one a look.

Home Media: On streaming and disc, the latter from the Warner Archives.

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Cult Flops - Rose Marie (1954)

MGM, 1954

Starring Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Fernando Lamas, and Bert Lahr

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Music by Rudolf Friml; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto A. Haurbach, and Paul Francis Webster

Operetta, with its romantic stories and soaring light opera songs, made a comeback in the 1950's. Many operettas were performed on early television and in concert halls. Opera singers made recordings of old favorites from the 1910's and 20's like Rose Marie. The studios began to dust off some of those operettas for revival around the middle of the decade. MGM already filmed Rose Marie in as a (now lost) silent in 1928 and a vehicle for singers Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in 1936. How does the show look, now that it's back to more-or-less its original plot? Let's start in the wilds of Canada, as Mountie Mike Malone (Keel) looks for his man...er, woman...and find out...

The Story: Rose Marie Lemaitre (Blyth) becomes Malone's ward after the death of her father. She hates the idea of being dragged back to his barracks, but eventually becomes something of a mascot. Malone sees her as a cute kid, but the Inspector (Ray Collins) reminds her that she's a growing woman, and she needs formal training. Malone eventually sends her to Lady Jane Dunstock (Marjorie Main) in a small town nearby. Rose Marie is taught how to dance and wear gowns, but what she really wants is to see the handsome trapper James Severn Duvall (Lamas) again. Even after Duvall steals money from a town dance, she can't help falling in love with him.

She's devastated when Duvall is accused of murdering a Native chief. She's sure he didn't do it, but Mike's determined to get his man...until he finds evidence that Duvall's cast-aside Native lover Wanda (Joan Taylor) may be involved in the chief's demise.

The Song and Dance: Now this is probably a lot more like what people think of when they hear the words "operetta." Rose Marie is back to being a spirited young woman, and she now has two lovers, the kindly but firm Mountie bound by duty and the bad boy trapper she falls for, even though she knows he's a thief and a local troublemaker. Bert Lahr and Marjorie Main have some great moments as the clumsy Mountie who never gets his man or promotion and the tough noblewoman tasked with turning Rose Marie into a real lady...and who wouldn't mind getting her hands on that goofy Mountie. Keel too does very well as the Mountie who gets his man, but loses his lady. 

Real Canadian scenery is another selling point. This is the first musical done in Cinemascope, and it looks gorgeous, with many long shots of majestic pines and towering cliffs. 

Favorite Number: Mike tries to explain to tough-minded little Rose Marie "The Right Place for a Girl," but she's having none of it. She wants to be "Free to Be Free" and to live the way she chooses. We get a montage of how Rose Marie grows to love Malone and "The Mounties" and is eventually considered to be one of them. Barney McCorkle tells rousing stories explaining why he's "The Mountie Who Never Got His Man" in Lady Jane's saloon. Jim Duvall tells Rose Marie the story of the "Indian Love Call" when she goes to see him in the mountains, leading to this show's most famous standard. "Totem Tom Tom" is the big totem dance routine for the Indians, complete with waving feather sticks and a maiden shoved against the tote.

Trivia: Main and Lahr originally had a duet, "Love and Kisses." It was cut, but exists and is included on the Warner Archives DVD. 

"Totem Tom Tom" was Busby Berkeley's last screen assignment. 

The original Broadway show was a huge success in 1924. It hasn't been seen in New York since then, but it remains popular with light opera companies. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, while I'm glad we're seeing the original story, it hasn't dated well. Today, I suspect Rose Marie would do just fine out in the wilderness, though I do give Malone credit for realizing she's just not dainty lady material. I almost wish she'd ended up with Malone, who at least treated her well. Jim was a bit of a jerk who carelessly tossed aside one woman for her and stole from the dance. And why didn't they keep most of the original songs along with most of the original story? They only use three songs from the Broadway show.

There's also the entire Indian subplot. While Chief Black Eagle was played by a real Native (and a real Chief, at that), Wanda is obviously a white woman in bad red makeup. We also have the Indians being more-or-less the villains; in the original play, they were working with a wealthy white man who was after Rose Marie. The whole thing might come off as more than a little distasteful for some members of the audience today.

The Big Finale: This is actually not a bad starting point if you're interested in learning more about operetta on the big screen and can handle the Indian subplot, or are a big fan of Keel and the musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: On streaming and DVD in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives. 

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Deep In My Heart (1954)

MGM, 1954
Starring Jose Ferrer, Merele Oberon, Helen Traubel, and Doe Avedon
Directed by Stanley Donen
Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by various

This was the last of the MGM "semi-revues" revolving around a famous composer of earlier in the 20th century. Sigmund Romberg did do pop or jazz-oriented music, but then and now, he's mainly known for the series of lush operettas he wrote from the late 10's through the 1930's. With operettas frequently turning up on early TV, MGM producer Joe Pasternak opted to air his "life story," with many MGM stars who specialized in operetta. How does the story of Romberg and how he went from ragtime to the concert halls look now? We join Romberg (Ferrer) as he looks for a job in a New York cafe and find out...

The Story: "Romy" really wants to write romantic operettas, but his lush music doesn't fly in newly ragtime-crazed America. With the help of Anna Mueller (Traubel), the owner of the restaurant, he composes "The Leg 'O Mutton Rag" and creates a dance sensation. He's hired by the Shuberts, who use his jazzier compositions in a series of nonsensical revues, but what he really wants is to have an operetta on Broadway. Lyricist and playwright Dorothy Donnelly (Merle Oberon) helps him whip his Maytime into shape and convinces Ziegfeld (Paul Henried) to give it a chance.

The show is a smash, but its follow-up fails. Romberg and his songwriting partners end up back writing girlie shows for the Shuberts. It's not until he meets the lovely and intelligent Lillian Harris (Doe Avedon) at a mountain resort  and falls for her that he's able to gather the inspiration to write some of the most beloved operettas of the 1920's, including New Moon and The Desert Song.

The Song and Dance: And "song and dance" are the operative words. Once again, the story is really more of a framework to hang elaborate routines based around songs done by the composer. That said, Ferrer does make a charming and energetic Romberg, and Avedon isn't bad as his love interest and eventual wife. Oberon also goes over well as Donnelly, one of the few female songwriters of the early 20th century. The lavish Technicolor production and costumes provide some truly fine eye candy, especially in the first half.

Favorite Number: Traubel and Ferrer lay into the catchy "Leg 'O Mutton Rag" at the cafe shortly after he comes looking for a job. He also gets to join his then-wife Rosemary Clooney for, appropriately, "Mr. and Mrs" in the revue medley. Gene Kelly performs with his brother Fred for the only time on film in the vaudeville beach spoof "I Love to Go Swimmin' With Wimmin'." Vic Damone and Jane Powell share two gorgeous duets from Maytime, "Road to Paradise" and "Sweetheart, Will You Remember?" Cyd Charisse and James Mitchell perform a pas de deux to "One Alone" that's sexier than anything in the 1953 Desert Song.

The movie does boast some genuinely rare tunes. Ann Miller gets to perform a comedy number from The Desert Song, "It," with a Roaring 20's-clad chorus. Howard Keel leads the male chorus through the rousing "Your Land and My Land" from the Civil War operetta My Maryland.

But the number for the record books is a truly amazing solo for Ferrer. He shows off for Lillian and her mother (Isobel Elsom) by performing all the roles in the Al Jolson vehicle he and his partners are currently working on. He sings three songs, "Goodbye Girls," "Fat, Fat Fatima," and "Jazz-a-Doo" and is such a ball of energy, he really must be seen to be believed.

What I Don't Like: Another biography with absolutely nothing to do with the composer in question. Romberg did come from Hungary, he did write pop songs for the Shuberts' Al Jolson vehicles and fluffy revues, he did hit it big with Maytime, only to return to the Shuberts, and it really was The Student Prince that finally broke him free of the grind and allowed him to stick entirely from operetta. He really did have bad luck on Broadway in the 30's, with a string of flop shows. He did better in Hollywood, writing several standards for film operettas, before making a comeback in New York in the 40's with Up In Central Park.

Almost every character besides Romberg, Donnelly, Lillian, and the big producers are fictional. His writing partners at the resort and Anna are composites of the many people he worked with throughout his career. Romberg married at least once before Lillian, and he was Hungarian, not Viennese. The songs are all out of order and often listed to be from shows other than what's claimed. Frankly, the whole movie is just one big cliche. And as with most MGM musicals of this era, once they get to the 20's, historical accuracy goes out the door. Once we get past the first half-hour or so, it looks like the 50's for the rest of the movie.

The Big Finale: Critics were rough on this one when it came out, but it's actually worn pretty well. Worth seeing for the musical numbers alone if you're a fan of operetta, the stars, or Romberg's work.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats; the Blu Ray and DVD are currently available from the Warner Archives.

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Show Boat (1951)

MGM, 1951
Starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, and Joe E. Brown
Directed by George Sidney
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

MGM bought the rights to Show Boat in the 1940's, hoping to make it into a vehicle for their then-stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. It took so long for them to get it off the ground, it was switched to featuring Grayson and Keel, along with the wildly popular Gardner. How does this glossy Technicolor retelling compare to other versions, including the one I reviewed on Tuesday? Let's return to the docks along the Mississippi as the Cotton Blossom is arriving and find out...

The Story: We kick things off with the boat's leading man Steve (Robert Sterling) and engineer Pete (Leif Erickson) fighting over leading lady Julie (Gardner), and Pete running off to tell the sheriff about them. Having gambled his ship ticket away, Gaylord Ravenal (Keel) tries to get passage on the ship as an actor. The head of the troupe Cap'n Andy (Brown) turns him down, but he still falls in love with Andy's stage-struck daughter Magnolia (Grayson). When Julie is discovered to be part-black, she and Steve are forced to leave the Show Boat, leaving an opening for Magnolia and Gaylord to become the new leads.

Magnolia and Gaylord are huge hits on the river. Over the objections of Magnolia's mother Parthy (Agnes Moorehead), they marry and move to Chicago, living the high life on Gaylord's winnings. Their "high life" ends abruptly when Gaylord's luck ends and he runs out, leaving a pregnant Magnolia destitute. She takes over Julie's job in a Chicago nightclub, making a big hit (with encouragement from Cap'n Andy) on New Year's Eve. She goes back to the show boat to bear her child, Kim. Gaylord is still gambling, but he never forgot his wife...and Julie's not about to let him abandon his woman like she was abandoned.

The Song and Dance: The movie mostly benefits from the bright and glossy Technicolor production. The jewel tones of the dancers and performers pop off the screen and make for a nice contrast with the less bold colors of the river workers, Magnolia and Parthy, and the river itself. Keel and Gardner have the best performances here. Keel is a far stronger Ravenal than Jones and handles the dramatic scenes a little bit better. Gardner, despite being dubbed, puts in one of her best performances as the tortured Julie.

Favorite Number: "Ol' Man River" is almost as strong here, with William Warfield's stirring performance matched by Roger Edens' simple and touching direction. (Sidney was sick and Edens took over the sequence.) Dancers Gower and Marge Champion have a blast with their adorable routines to two of my favorite songs from this score, "I Might Fall Back On You" and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage." Grayson and Keel's "Make Believe" and "Why Do I Love You?" are gorgeous and moving.

What I Don't Like: No amount of gorgeous scenery or cute dance numbers can mask the fact that this movie isn't as authentic or as interesting as the 1936 version. We'll start with Gardner being dubbed. Her real vocals were used on the soundtrack album, and they're not that bad. The entire premise of racism is pushed aside. The scene with Steve and Julie after Julie is accused of being black is rushed and mostly brushed aside.  Joe is seen only for "Ol' Man River," and Queenie is barely seen at all. While I am glad they brought Julie back in for the ending and it does come off as a little less sentimental than in 1936, it also loses the point of how love - and the river - endures for generations.

The Big Finale: While not as good as the previous version, it does have some things of interest for fans of MGM musicals or Gardner and Keel, including songs that didn't make the cut in '36.

Home Media: As one of the most popular MGM musicals of the 1950's, this is fairly easy to find on DVD and streaming.

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Kiss Me Kate (1953)

MGM, 1953
Starring Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, and Tommy Rall
Directed by George Sidney
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

Here's another film version of a show that was recently revived on Broadway. Word on Broadway was that Cole Porter had lost his touch when he wrote the songs for this musical version of The Taming of the Shrew in 1948. They couldn't have been more wrong. The show was a huge hit, and the cast album became a best-seller. MGM threw everything they had into the movie, including the then-new fad of 3-D and a very brief bit by Bob Fosse in one of his earliest film appearances. Let's head to a chic apartment in New York to see how well they did...

The Story: Stage star and director Fred Graham (Keel) is hoping to win back his ex-wife Lilli Vannessi (Grayson) by giving her the plum role of Katherine in his new musical version of Taming of the Shrew. For all her fond memories of their relationship, Lilli's not that eager to get back together with him. For one thing, he has a girlfriend on the side, energetic dancer Lois Lane (Miller). For another, Lilli is set to marry a wealthy Texan (Willard Parker). Lois has her own boyfriend, fellow dancer Bill Calhoun (Rall), who owes two thousand dollars to a gangster and signed Fred's name to the IOU. When the gangster's goons Lippy (Keenan Wynn) and Slug (James Whitmore) show up, Fred recruits them as actors to keep Lilli from walking out. Even Fred can't keep this shrew tamed for very long...but love will find a way, even among battling lovers.

The Song and Dance: As good as Keel and especially Grayson are as the battling lovers, it's the dance routines that really shine here. Miller's having a blast in one of her best roles at MGM, and Rall is almost as good as her gambler sweetheart. Bob Fosse got one of his first choreography jobs with a segment of the big "From This Moment On" chorus number. Whitmore and Wynn are hilarious as the goons who find themselves enjoying their encounter with show biz folks.

Favorite Number: Miller kicks things off with her awesome "Too Darn Hot," Lois' audition for Fred. No wonder she got the role of Bianca - she's sizzling in this one, one of her best solo routines. Keel and Grayson get to romp through the delightful operetta spoof "Wunderbar" backstage in Lilli's dressing room. Miller and Rall have two fun duets, "Why Can't You Behave?" and "Always True to You In My Fashion" later after Bill has caught Lois flirting with the Texan. "We Open In Venice," with its traveling scenery and Fred throwing smoke, doesn't really have much to do with the story (a problem in the stage version as well), but is at least lively.

I like how they tied "Brush Up Your Shakespere" into the story. On the stage, it's just something the comic gangsters come out to sing as a random vaudeville turn when the scenery is being changed. The film has Lippy and Slug performing to to cheer up Fred after Lilli left, complete with a charming soft-shoe and a breaking the fourth wall moment directly to the camera.

"From This Moment On" is a glorious routine for Rall, Miller, and the chorus after Biana and Lucencio's wedding. Though the rest of the number was choreographed by long-time Hollywood fixture Hermes Pan, Fosse did the slower, sexier sequence with him and Haney, and it's a brief, finger-snapping stand-out.

Trivia: "From This Moment On" was brought in from a failed Porter Broadway show, Out of This World. It didn't go over there, but became a hit, and later a standard, after showing up in the movie. Most modern stage versions will usually include it.

This was originally filmed and shown in 3-D, which is why the cast keeps throwing objects at the screen.

The film was made for TV four times - with original Broadway cast members Alfred Drake and Patricia Morrison in 1958, with Keel and Morrison in England in 1964, with Robert Goulet and Carol Laurence back in the US in 1968, and with Brent Barrett and Rachel York in a PBS Great Performances recording of the London revival in 2003.

What I Don't Like: First of all, while Ron Randell does resemble Cole Porter somewhat, that's definitely not him. By 1953, Porter had both legs amputated after years of pain from a riding accident. He would have been in a wheelchair.

Second, the opening scene is completely unnecessary. They could have started at the theater, as in the stage version, and it would have worked fine. They could have even worked "Too Darn Hot" and Porter in, calling it early rehearsals. Of the songs that they cut to fit this in, "Another Openin', Another Show" would likely be the biggest loss. It's considered to be one of the greatest opening numbers in stage history. (Other songs that didn't make it in include the ballad "Bianca" for Bill/Lucencio and the music for Lilli/Kate's "I am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple" - it's spoken in the film.)

And then there's the questions about the treatment of Lilli/Kate that comes with any version of Taming of the Shrew. The looks on Grayson's face during "Simple" indicate that she'll probably love, but not obey...but it's really open to interpretation.

The Big Finale: This is an old family favorite. The terrific numbers and energetic cast more than make up for a script that hasn't always dated well in spots. If you're a fan of Porter, the cast, Fosse, or dance in film, you'll want to check this one out.

Home Media: Alas, both the DVD and Blu-Ray (the latter in the original 3D) are out of print. Your best bet to find the "flat" version that I reviewed would be streaming or as part of several DVD collections.

DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Broadway Musicals
Blu-Ray - Musicals 4-Movie Collection
Amazon Prime

A Salute to Doris Day - Calamity Jane

Warner Bros, 1953
Starring Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, and Phillip Carey
Directed by David Butler
Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

In honor of Doris Day, who passed away today at age 97, my last reviews before my vacation hiatus will be devoted to two of her most popular musical vehicles. She appeared in movie musicals for Warners years before she starred in her famous series of romantic comedies in the late 50's and 60's. Today, this movie is probably best known for the Oscar-winning ballad "Secret Love," but there's a lot more to this girl-power western than a sweet tune. How much more? Let's take a stagecoach to Deadwood City in Dakota Territory to find out...

The Story: Calamity Jane (Day) is the toughest-talking, hardest-drinking "shotgun" messenger (stagecoach guard) in the Dakota Territory. She's got a ton of tall tales to tell about  her exploits fighting outlaws and Indians off the coach, and she's always as good as her word. When she tells the boys she'll go to Chicago to get a famous actress to play at the Golden Garter Saloon, she does it. Turns out that the actress is on her way to Europe. What Calamity finds is Katie Brown (McLerie), her maid, who wants to be a performer. Calamity can't tell one bustle-wearin' female from another and brings Katie back to Deadwood.

The boys aren't happy about the switch at first, but Katie wins them over with her girlish charm and sweet voice. She even gains two suitors in the handsome cavalry officer Lieutenant Daniel Gilmartin (Carey) and Calamity's guy friend Wild Bill Hickock (Keel). She and Calamity move in together; she helps her fix up her tumbledown cabin and gives her a dress to wear. They attend a ball with the menfolk to show off Calamity's new, daintier style. That lasts for barely ten minutes before she catches Gilmartin and Katie kissing. Calamity has had her eye on Gilmartin, and she's angry enough to threaten Katie there and at the Saloon. After Bill tells her that he defended Katie during her act, she realizes that he's really her "secret love," and she has to keep Katie from leaving town.

The Song and Dance: It's rare to see a strong female hero in a western even nowadays, never mind in the 50's. Day's Calamity may be willing to submit to Katie's "Woman's Touch," but in a refreshing turn, she never quite loses her tomboyish spirit. Indeed, she wears simple western trousers and a lacy blouse during her "Secret Love" number, showing that while she have embraced her feminine side, she's going to do it her way. She and Keel make a nifty couple; she's even better with the tougher-than-she-looks McLerie. Dick Wesson has some funny moments as a tenderfoot actor whom the owner of the Golden Garter mistakes for an actress due to his feminine name, Francis.

Favorite Number: The opening "Whip-Crack Away/Very Good Friend of Mine" smoothly takes us from Calamity on the stagecoach to Deadwood City to the discovery of the mistake with Francis in an extended musical sequence that's a smooth and robust way to kick things off. Calamity and Bill express their antagonistic friendship in "I Can Do Without You." Wesson's drag number, "A Hive Full of Honey," when he's trying to convince the audience in the saloon that he's a woman, is hilarious.

The standard here is "Secret Love," the simple and lovely ballad Day sings towards the end of the movie, after she's realized that she really cares about Bill. The number that goes along with it is equally simple and sweet, just Day beautifully performing the song in a glowing Technicolor valley.

Trivia: The real Calamity Jane did have many adventures, and she was inclined to tell tall tales...but it's not really known what her actual relationship with Wild Bill Hickcock was. Historians say they were likely just acquaintances and Calamity exaggerated their relationship, the way she did many of her stories.

There's a stage version of this one around. It hasn't made Broadway at press time, but it did turn up on TV in 1963 with Carol Burnett as Calamity and in London's West End.

What I Don't Like: At times, this feels like it was cobbled together from other, better-known musical westerns. "I Can Do Without You" sounds like "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun, which also provides the general idea of a musical about a famous female sharpshooter. "Just Blew from the Windy City" bears more than a passing resemblance to "Everything's Up to Date In Kansas City" from Oklahoma. Carey's Gilmartin is so dull, he barely registers, making you wonder exactly what the ladies see in him.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Day or musical westerns, this is a whip-cracking good tale that Calamity herself might have approved of.

Home Media: As one of Day's most popular musical vehicles, this is easy to find in all formats, including Blu-Ray and on several streaming services.

DVD 
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Lovely to Look At

MGM, 1952
Starring Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, and Red Skelton
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy (with Vincent Minnelli)
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Otto Haurbach, Dorothy Fields, and others

MGM had been trying to get their remake of Roberta off the ground ever since they bought the property in 1945. After almost a decade of false starts, they finally brought it together in 1952, under the name of the Oscar-nominated song Lovely to Look At. How does this trip to Roberta's compare with our previous one? Let's start in New York this time, as three young men try to convince a group of backers to produce their show, and find out...

The Story: That audition does not go well. Performers Al Marsh (Skelton), Tony Naylor (Keel), and Jerry Ralby (Gower Champion) just can't get anyone to back their new revue. They convince Tony's dancer girlfriend Bubbles (Miller) to give them the money to go to Paris after Al learns he's inherited a dress salon. Turns out he's only part-owner. His adopted cousins Stephanie (Grayson) and Clarisse (Marge Champion) own the other half. Hoping to get them to sell, Jerry and Tony romance the ladies and take them out on the town. Bubbles turns up too, hoping to get in on their new show. Tony convinces the bankers who are about to foreclose on Roberta's to let them put on an innovative new fashion show.

Meanwhile, Stephanie, besotted with how Tony has taken over the fashion show, is falling for Tony, and Jerry and Clarisse are now crazy about each other. Al has a crush on Stephanie, but he eventually starts looking Bubbles' way. It looks like Roberta's may be saved, until it turns out that their model Zsa Zsa (Zsa Zsa Gabor) has a boyfriend who is a renowned Broadway producer. He may be willing to give Tony his chance...if he leaves Roberta's right away...

The Song and Dance: The cast is the thing here, along with some great dancing and fabulous 50's fashion. If you love the clothes from this era, you'll really enjoy this one. At the very least, three performers inheriting a dress shop makes slightly more sense than a football player inheriting a dress shop, and they use more of the original score than the previous version (though not the original plot). Skelton in particular has fun as the sweet comedian who's gotten too used to letting his faster-talking buddy make all the decisions; his "Go and Tell Aunt Rhodie" routine is hilarious.

Favorite Number: Ann Miller gets a good one in the beginning with the chorus boys, the racy "I'll Be Hard to Handle." Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson get in a good "You're Devastating," while Grayson has "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" here. The Champions have two fun duets, the comic "I Won't Dance" as Jerry tries to get Clarisse out of the dress shop, and a lovely instrumental "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" with a starry background.

The big one here is the finale, a riot of color, movement, and gowns by none other than ace costumer Adrian (who came out of retirement for this movie). Vincent Minnelli directed the fashion show sequence, and it does evince his touch, especially in its stunning use of color. The Champions have an odd cat burglar dance that looks good but doesn't have much to do with anything. Keel and Grayson's "The Touch of Your Hand" and Miller's striptease in a tight lounging outfit come off better.

Trivia: This was originally supposed to have reunited Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly in 1948, but that fell through.

What I Don't Like: Bubbles was right towards the end. Tony was a jerk through most of the movie, full-stop. He took credit for pretty much everything, used the ladies and Roberta's to get what he wanted, and then almost ran out. He's such a pain, it's hard to figure out why Bubbles and Stephanie are after him.

I wish they'd been able to film in Paris. Other than Zsa Zsa, this has no French flavor whatsoever. Stephanie and Clarisse don't look or sound French (or Russian, for that matter). And I do wish they'd retained more of the original plot to go with most of the original score.

The Big Finale: This was a flop on first release, and while it's not the best MGM musical ever, I think it deserved a lot better. If you love vintage mid-20th century fashion, the cast, or classic dances, you'll find a lot to enjoy here.

Home Media: Currently only on DVD via the Warner Archives. (I actually dubbed my copy off TCM.)

DVD

A Salute to Stanley Donen - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

MGM, 1954
Starring Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tambyn, and Julie Newmar
Directed by Stanley Donen
Music by Saul Chaplin and Gene dePaul; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

We head into more robust territory for the first musical western to appear on this blog. This was not expected to be a hit in 1954. MGM threw all their hopes and finances into their adaptation of the Broadway show Brigadoon, but this is the one that audiences and critics took to, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. It was one of the few musicals my younger brother and very macho stepfather would watch without complaint. Let's head to a small backwoods town in Oregon in 1850 to see just how well this dance-heavy tale works today...

The Story: Adam Pontipee (Keel) rides into town, hoping to marry a good, strong woman who will help him take care of his farm and his six wild younger brothers. He eventually convinces Millie (Powell), a cook at a local tavern, to marry him. She thinks she's creating a new life and isn't thrilled to be saddled with caring for such an uncouth family at first. Millie won't put up with their rudeness and lack of social graces. She finally gets them all cleaned up - even Adam - and teaches them to dance for a big barn raising party in town. The men in town aren't happy with seeing six handsome bachelors who are interested in the only women around and first compete with them, then pick on them. After one attacks Adam, Gideon, the youngest brother (Tambyn), starts a brawl that ends with the girls angry, the townspeople angrier, and no barn.

The boys, however, can't get their ladies out of their heads and threaten to leave. Inspired by a book Millie brought with her about the kidnapped Sabine Women, Adam suggests they abduct the girls and bring them up to the farm to be married. They do just that, causing an avalanche in the pass leading to their farm to keep them from escaping. Millie's horrified. She banishes the boys to the barn. Stung by Millie telling him off, Adam's the one who leaves. He eventually returns in the spring to find that the boys are now in love with the girls, and Millie is pregnant. They now understand why kidnapping the ladies wasn't the best idea...but it's the ladies who have other plans.

The Song and Dance: With Donen and choreographer Michael Kidd in charge, the emphasis here is firmly on the "dance" side of things. Four of the seven brothers and all of the brides but Powell were trained dancers; Russ Tamblyn was an acrobat, hence some of his more death-defying feats on the boards in the Barn Raising Ballet. Powell gets top honors as Millie. She may be a dreamer, but she's also a spitfire who has no qualms about turning the dinner table over on the boys when they eat like pigs or telling Adam off after they kidnap the girls. No wonder she managed to whip the guys into shape so quickly. Also look for Tommy Rall as Frank, the most hot-headed of the brothers, and Julie Newmar as Dorcas, the oldest and boldest of the brides.

If nothing else, I give them credit for the unusual setting. I don't know many westerns that are actually north-westerns (or many musicals that are set in Oregon). Oregon's cold winters even come into play as part of the plot.

Favorite Number: The brothers get at least three awesome ensemble numbers, the most famous of which is "The Barn Raising Ballet." Their face-off against the men in town is one of, if not the most famous, chorus routines in film history, with the guys performing increasingly difficult stunts to show off for their prospective women.

I'm even fonder of "Lonesome Polecat," with the boys doing some wonderful dancing as they chop wood and do other chores. Their spirited "Goin' Courtin'" with Millie, as she teaches them how to dance like gentlemen, is also a lot of fun to watch. Powell also gets the lovely "Wonderful, Wonderful Day" as Adam brings Millie home for the first time. The brides also have a nice ensemble number of their own, "June Bride," and brides and brothers come together for "Spring, Spring, Spring."

Trivia: Special kudos to the costuming department for taking inspiration from the pioneer characters in the film and making the best of their limited budget. The women's dresses in the film were made from antique quilts head costumer Walter Plunkett apparently found at a Salvation Army. Not only are they unique and colorful, but their being made from old quilts is historically-accurate to that time and place, too.

The limited budget is also why most of the movie was filmed on an obvious soundstage. Much of their budget went to the bigger and more heavily publicized Brigadoon. Apparently, the only scene shot in the real outdoors was the escape through the pass with the girls, which was filmed in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Some folks may have noticed that Benjamin, the second-oldest brother in orange, doesn't take part in (or has limited roles in) most of the dances. He was played by Jeff Richards, who was actually a former baseball player. Julie Newmar could dance, but as his partner, ended up off to the side a lot of the time as well.

There was a stage version that debuted in 1978 and eventually made it to Broadway in 1982, where it played only five performances. It did a little bit better in London, and has since become popular with regional theaters. A modernized TV show from 1982 lasted only a season and is best-known for introducing River Phoenix as the youngest brother.

What I Don't Like: Millie is definitely not the only person who has problems with the kidnapping plot nowadays. That the boys are shown to be awkward and not terribly social is only a mild excuse. They're lucky they weren't strung up and probably deserved far worse than Millie's tongue-lashing and the snowballs with rocks in them that the girls pelted them with. A few sexist lyrics here and there don't help. At the very least, it's the girls who, much like Millie, eventually take matters into their own hands.

The Big Finale: Terrific performances, fun songs, and some of the best and most energetic chorus routines ever committed to film more than overcome the occasionally awkward and dated plot. If you're a fan of dance, or have a man in your life who thinks he's too macho for musicals, try this one on him.

Home Media: Alas, the two-disc DVD set is currently out of print, but there is a Warner Archives Blu-Ray, and it can be found on several streaming platforms and in at least two DVD musical collections.

DVD
DVD - 5 Film Collection: Musicals
Blu-Ray
Google Play