ABC/Disney, 1997
Starring Brandy, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, and Paolo Montalban
Directed by Robert Iscove
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and others
Whitney Houston had been wanting to remake Cinderella for years, but by the time Disney was interested, she thought herself too old for the role and suggested Brandy instead. This movie was important in several respects. Not only did it re-launch the beloved anthology The Wonderful World of Disney, but it was the first version of Cinderella to use color-blind casting, with a black Cinderella and an Asian prince. Did the gamble pay off? Let's head back to the square, where Cinderella and her stepmother and stepsisters are shopping, to find out...
The Story: While helping her stepmother (Peters) and stepsisters with their shopping, Cinderella (Brandy) encounters a handsome young man (Montalban) in the town square. She's smitten with him, but her stepmother thinks the idea of marrying for love is foolish. Queen Constatina (Whoopi Goldberg) would agree. She insists that her son holds a ball to find a bride, though her husband thinks their son should marry for love. Cinderella's stepmother is quite jealous of her pretty stepdaughter, who is so much sweeter than her own spoiled daughters, and has no intention of letting her go to the ball. Cinderella finally gets help from the glittering Fairy Godmother (Houston), who shows her that love and trust are the most important things in any relationship, and that real love comes from a kind and gentle heart.
The Song and Dance: Disney really went all out with this one. From the colorful fairy-tale costumes to the stunning sets, this is by far the best Cinderella to look at. The cast is mostly pretty decent, too. Bernadette Peters has a lot of fun as the scheming stepmother, who will do anything possible to push and shove her daughters into high society. Goldberg and Garber are equally amusing as the king and queen. The handsome and charming Montalban is a revelation as the Prince; easy on the eyes, sings like a dream, handles the dramatic and comedic moments equally well.
Favorite Number: We have a nice opening with "The Sweetest Songs" as Prince Christopher helps Cinderella out in the square, and they win each other's hearts. Jason Alexander, as the Prince's long-suffering steward Lionel, leads the chorus through an excitingly-choreographed "The Prince Is Giving A Ball." The stepmother was previously played by non-singing actresses. They beefed up Peters and the stepsisters' roles with the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart ballad "Falling In Love With Love." Montalban really ladles his instrument into "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" Houston finishes with the rare Rodgers and Hammerstein ballad "There's Music In You."
Trivia: "There's Music In You" is from the little-known film Main Street to Broadway. "The Sweetest Sounds" was written by Richard Rodgers alone and was taken from the 1961 stage musical No Strings. "Falling In Love With Love" comes from the 1930's Rodgers and Hart show The Boys From Syracuse.
What I Don't Like: I know this was Houston's project, but she and Brandy stick out like sore thumbs. Like Carrie Underwood, their pop sensibilities don't work with the music or the material (although, as mentioned, Houston does manage a nice "There's Music In You"). Brandy's voice is too small for the music, and she can come off as a little stiff. This being television, the CGI effects on Houston look fairly cheap and obvious.
While "Falling In Love" sounds great on Peters, the darker Rodgers and Hart tune is a bit out of place among the more romantic songs Rodgers did with his later partner.
The Big Finale: I saw this when it first debuted in 1997, and I still enjoy it today. Slightly older princesses and those who have equally fond memories will really enjoy this one.
Home Media: Only on DVD at the moment, but it can be found for under 5 dollars in most places.
DVD
Reviews of musical films, from 1930s black and white to widescreen 21st century extravaganzas.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Musicals On TV - Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965)
CBS, 1965
Starring Leslie Ann Warren, Stuart Damon, Celeste Holm, and Jo Van Fleet
Directed by Charles S. Dubin
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
The 1957 Cinderella had been a major success, one that CBS was eager to repeat. After a stage version also went over well in London, they decided to do a remake that took advantage of new color and videotaping technologies. How does this more traditional version stack up against the previous one? This time, we're going to start on the road to the castle to find out...
The Story: The Prince (Damon) has returned from a year of rescuing beauties and slaying dragons. His parents the King (Walter Pidgeon) and Queen (Ginger Rogers) are holding a ball in honor of his arrival home and hope that he'll choose a bride. Sweet servant Cinderella (Warren) doesn't think she'll be among those chosen. Her obnoxious stepmother (Fleet) and stepsisters Prunella (Pat Carroll) and Esmerelda (Barbara Ruick) won't allow her to go, as they wish to capture the Prince's eye themselves. It'll take a little bit of magic from Cinderella's glamorous fairy godmother (Holm) to get Cinderella to the ball...and the equally potent magic of her own kind nature to win his heart.
The Song and Dance: This is the version of Cinderella I grew up with. It ran a lot on cable when I was little, and my sisters and I always enjoyed it when it was on. Warren is a wonderfully sweet Cinderella, and Damon is suitably dashing as her Prince Charming. Ruick and especially sarcastic Carroll have some nice moments as the jealous stepsisters. Holm makes a far warmer and more motherly fairy godmother. Once again, the sets and especially the costumes are lavish and gorgeous. That vaunted color glows like a child's fairy-tale picture book from the 1960's.
Favorite Number: Damon kicks things off in romantic style with "Loneliness of Evening," a gorgeous ballad originally cut from South Pacific. Holm and Warren discuss the importance of wishing in "Impossible/It's Possible," just as Cinderella's come true. Damon and Warren do a lovely "Ten Minutes Ago." Ruick and Carroll's "Stepsisters' Lament" is tied slightly better into the story and is very funny.
What I Don't Like: I wish both of the earlier Cinderellas did more with the Prince. In fact, "Loneliness of Evening" was added because Cypher's Prince in the original was a bit of a nonentity. Damon's so charming and witty when he does turn up, I kind of wish we could see more of him. Ironically, we don't see enough of the King and Queen. Despite being played by movie stars Pidgeon and Rogers, their role is greatly reduced from the other two films. They're mostly just seen at the ball and consoling their son after his dream girl runs off.
The Big Finale: Still a favorite of mine, this simple and sweet Cinderella might be especially nice for the youngest fairy-tale lovers and those who grew up with it like I did.
Home Media: Out of print and fairly expensive on DVD. Your best bet here is streaming. It can currently be found for free on several streaming services, including YouTube.
DVD
YouTube
Starring Leslie Ann Warren, Stuart Damon, Celeste Holm, and Jo Van Fleet
Directed by Charles S. Dubin
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
The 1957 Cinderella had been a major success, one that CBS was eager to repeat. After a stage version also went over well in London, they decided to do a remake that took advantage of new color and videotaping technologies. How does this more traditional version stack up against the previous one? This time, we're going to start on the road to the castle to find out...
The Story: The Prince (Damon) has returned from a year of rescuing beauties and slaying dragons. His parents the King (Walter Pidgeon) and Queen (Ginger Rogers) are holding a ball in honor of his arrival home and hope that he'll choose a bride. Sweet servant Cinderella (Warren) doesn't think she'll be among those chosen. Her obnoxious stepmother (Fleet) and stepsisters Prunella (Pat Carroll) and Esmerelda (Barbara Ruick) won't allow her to go, as they wish to capture the Prince's eye themselves. It'll take a little bit of magic from Cinderella's glamorous fairy godmother (Holm) to get Cinderella to the ball...and the equally potent magic of her own kind nature to win his heart.
The Song and Dance: This is the version of Cinderella I grew up with. It ran a lot on cable when I was little, and my sisters and I always enjoyed it when it was on. Warren is a wonderfully sweet Cinderella, and Damon is suitably dashing as her Prince Charming. Ruick and especially sarcastic Carroll have some nice moments as the jealous stepsisters. Holm makes a far warmer and more motherly fairy godmother. Once again, the sets and especially the costumes are lavish and gorgeous. That vaunted color glows like a child's fairy-tale picture book from the 1960's.
Favorite Number: Damon kicks things off in romantic style with "Loneliness of Evening," a gorgeous ballad originally cut from South Pacific. Holm and Warren discuss the importance of wishing in "Impossible/It's Possible," just as Cinderella's come true. Damon and Warren do a lovely "Ten Minutes Ago." Ruick and Carroll's "Stepsisters' Lament" is tied slightly better into the story and is very funny.
What I Don't Like: I wish both of the earlier Cinderellas did more with the Prince. In fact, "Loneliness of Evening" was added because Cypher's Prince in the original was a bit of a nonentity. Damon's so charming and witty when he does turn up, I kind of wish we could see more of him. Ironically, we don't see enough of the King and Queen. Despite being played by movie stars Pidgeon and Rogers, their role is greatly reduced from the other two films. They're mostly just seen at the ball and consoling their son after his dream girl runs off.
The Big Finale: Still a favorite of mine, this simple and sweet Cinderella might be especially nice for the youngest fairy-tale lovers and those who grew up with it like I did.
Home Media: Out of print and fairly expensive on DVD. Your best bet here is streaming. It can currently be found for free on several streaming services, including YouTube.
DVD
YouTube
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Musicals On TV - Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957)
CBS, 1957
Starring Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Edie Adams, and Ilka Chase
Directed by Ralph Nelson
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Live television musicals have existed for as long as the medium has, but they were usually adaptations of Broadway shows. Rodgers and Hammerstein were originally approached by NBC to write the first major original TV musical, but switched the project to CBS when they heard that they'd signed Julie Andrews. The duo were eager to work with her after she became a star in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady and filled the cast with mainly Broadway and TV stars. How does the first of three TV versions of this beloved fairy tales look over 60 years later? Let's head to the town square, just as the town crier is about to make a major announcement, and find out...
The Story: Cinderella (Andrews) is a little drudge who lives with her bossy stepmother (Chase) and her two stepsisters, silly Portia (Kaye Ballard) and gloomy Joy (Alice Ghostley). She'd love to go to the ball, but her family would rather she stayed at home and did her many chores. Meanwhile, Queen Maisie (Dorothy Stuckney) wishes her son the Prince (Cypher) would settle down, but he hasn't found a woman who interests him. Cinderella gets her chance to attend the ball from her fairy godmother (Adams), who turns animals and a pumpkin into a coach and her rags into a ball gown. When she arrives, the prince instantly falls in love with her, and they're together the rest of the evening...but she can only stay until midnight. After she leaves behind a glass slipper, the Prince becomes determined to find the foot that fits that shoe.
The Song and Dance: I can understand why Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted Andrews so badly for this role. Even in the fuzzy black-and-white prints currently available, she glows as the servant who gets the chance to show she's more than a mere cinder girl. Chase, Ghostley, and especially the giggling, snorting Ballard are hilarious as her abusive family, and Adams makes an unusually young and friendly fairy godmother. The costumes and sets are quite lovely and lavish for TV in this time period, especially at the ball.
Favorite Number: Andrews has fun singing "In My Own Little Corner" and acting out the lyrics to the song, from her African safari to being glad to be home. She and Adams turn "Impossible/It's Possible" into an adorable woman-to-woman chat before Adams reveals why she's really there. "Ten Minutes Ago" and the waltz at the ball are lovely, with Cypher and Andrews lovely and romantic in their duet. She, Ghostly, and Ballard are very cute as they recall the splendors of the ball in "A Lovely Night."
What I Don't Like: I suspect the only reason for the expanded role of the King and Queen here is because Stickney and Lindsay were major stage stars at the time, having just come off the long-running Life With Father. Their number "Your Majesties (The Royal Dressing Room Scene)," is cute but unnecessary, and has never been used in any other version.
The biggest problem here has less to do with the cast or music and more with the ravages of time. The prints currently available are of the black-and-white kinescopes (early recordings) of the technical dress rehearsal. They're watchable, but definitely not the best prints in the world or what many people nowadays are used to seeing in their widescreen, 4K specials.
The Big Finale: No matter how bad the print is, this is still a piece of TV history. It was a massive hit at the time, the biggest in US television history, with over 24 million houses watching, and it's still fun to watch today, especially for fans of Andrews.
Home Media: Currently only on DVD via Image Entertainment.
DVD
Starring Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Edie Adams, and Ilka Chase
Directed by Ralph Nelson
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Live television musicals have existed for as long as the medium has, but they were usually adaptations of Broadway shows. Rodgers and Hammerstein were originally approached by NBC to write the first major original TV musical, but switched the project to CBS when they heard that they'd signed Julie Andrews. The duo were eager to work with her after she became a star in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady and filled the cast with mainly Broadway and TV stars. How does the first of three TV versions of this beloved fairy tales look over 60 years later? Let's head to the town square, just as the town crier is about to make a major announcement, and find out...
The Story: Cinderella (Andrews) is a little drudge who lives with her bossy stepmother (Chase) and her two stepsisters, silly Portia (Kaye Ballard) and gloomy Joy (Alice Ghostley). She'd love to go to the ball, but her family would rather she stayed at home and did her many chores. Meanwhile, Queen Maisie (Dorothy Stuckney) wishes her son the Prince (Cypher) would settle down, but he hasn't found a woman who interests him. Cinderella gets her chance to attend the ball from her fairy godmother (Adams), who turns animals and a pumpkin into a coach and her rags into a ball gown. When she arrives, the prince instantly falls in love with her, and they're together the rest of the evening...but she can only stay until midnight. After she leaves behind a glass slipper, the Prince becomes determined to find the foot that fits that shoe.
The Song and Dance: I can understand why Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted Andrews so badly for this role. Even in the fuzzy black-and-white prints currently available, she glows as the servant who gets the chance to show she's more than a mere cinder girl. Chase, Ghostley, and especially the giggling, snorting Ballard are hilarious as her abusive family, and Adams makes an unusually young and friendly fairy godmother. The costumes and sets are quite lovely and lavish for TV in this time period, especially at the ball.
Favorite Number: Andrews has fun singing "In My Own Little Corner" and acting out the lyrics to the song, from her African safari to being glad to be home. She and Adams turn "Impossible/It's Possible" into an adorable woman-to-woman chat before Adams reveals why she's really there. "Ten Minutes Ago" and the waltz at the ball are lovely, with Cypher and Andrews lovely and romantic in their duet. She, Ghostly, and Ballard are very cute as they recall the splendors of the ball in "A Lovely Night."
What I Don't Like: I suspect the only reason for the expanded role of the King and Queen here is because Stickney and Lindsay were major stage stars at the time, having just come off the long-running Life With Father. Their number "Your Majesties (The Royal Dressing Room Scene)," is cute but unnecessary, and has never been used in any other version.
The biggest problem here has less to do with the cast or music and more with the ravages of time. The prints currently available are of the black-and-white kinescopes (early recordings) of the technical dress rehearsal. They're watchable, but definitely not the best prints in the world or what many people nowadays are used to seeing in their widescreen, 4K specials.
The Big Finale: No matter how bad the print is, this is still a piece of TV history. It was a massive hit at the time, the biggest in US television history, with over 24 million houses watching, and it's still fun to watch today, especially for fans of Andrews.
Home Media: Currently only on DVD via Image Entertainment.
DVD
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Musicals On TV - The Sound of Music Live
NBC/Universal, 2013
Starring Carrie Underwood, Stephan Moyer, Christine Bennati, and Audra McDonald
Directed by Rob Ashford and Beth McCarthy-Miller
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Hoping to promote more live events, NBC made The Sound of Music their big holiday special for 2013. At the time, it was a big gamble. A live musical hadn't been seen on television since the 1960's. Not only that, but their staging was based on the original Broadway show, using only one of the songs from the film. How well did they do? Let's return to those famous Austrian hills...or a stage approximation...to find out...
The Story: Maria Rainer (Underwood) is a novice nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Austria, but she's too spirited for the order. The Mother Superior (McDonald) sends her to be a governess to the stern Captain Von Trapp (Moyer) and his seven children. The Captain uses a whistle to call them and expects Maria to do the same, but she gives them respect and plays music with them instead, gaining their trust. The Captain comes home to discover his children and Maria are running around in clothes she made from her discarded curtains. He dismisses her after she points out that he barely knows his children...but changes his mind when he hears the children singing for his good friend Max Detweiller (Christian Borle) and fiancee Countess Elsa Schrader (Benatti).
He holds a party for them and dances a lander, an Austrian national dance, with Maria. Realizing she's in love with him. Maria runs off, but the Mother Abbess realizes she's hiding and sends her back. Meanwhile, the kids are upset and no longer feel like singing, and the Captain is disgusted by Max and Elsa constantly insisting that he should go along with the Nazis and their taking over Europe. Maria says she'll stay until they can find another governess, but the Captain has realizes that he loves her.
The Nazis invade Austria while they're on their honeymoon. When they return, they discover that Max has entered the family into the Kaltzenburg Festival and the Captain has been commissioned into the German Navy. Maria convinces the Nazis to let them sing at the festival...but it'll take all their know-how, and some help from the nuns at the Abbey, to allow them to escape over the mountains to freedom.
The Song and Dance: The supporting cast really shines here, with Broadway stars McDonald, Borle, and Benatti the stand-outs as the warm and wise Mother Abbess, sarcastic Max, and self-centered Countess. Ariene Rinehart and Michael Campayno are lovely as Von Trapp's eldest daughter Lisel and her sweetheart, too. I actually like that the story returns to its original contours. "The Lonely Goatheard" makes more sense as a way for Maria to cheer up the children than as a random number for them and puppets.
Favorite Number: Underwood and the kids have a great time marching in place as she teaches the kids "Do-Re-Mi" and still follows their father's orders. Rinehart and Campayno are adorable rolling down the hill in "Sixteen Going On Seventeen." "The Lonely Goatherd," with the kids hiding under the bed as Underwood sings the story, is just too funny. We get to hear more from Elsa and Max, who point out the inevitability of invasion in "No Way to Stop It" and "How Can Love Survive?"
What I Don't Like: While it is nice to hear two songs that didn't make it into the film, they also put more emphasis than needed on Max and Elsa and less than you'd like on Maria's relationship with the kids. Despite mostly sticking to the show, they actually did sneak a movie song in, "Something Good." The scenery, while lovely, can't match the very real Austria in the film and lacks the intimacy and warmth it displayed.
The biggest problem is the leads. Underwood is a wonderful country singer, but she's not much of an actress, and her instrument is totally inappropriate for Broadway showtunes. Moyer's stiff and dull opposite her.
The Big Finale: Underwood is no Julie Andrews, but the supporting cast is good, and it gets far closer to the original Broadway show. If you're a fan of Broadway or the cast or are willing to check out a different "Sound of Music," this is worth at least a look.
Home Media: Cheap and easily found on DVD and a few streaming services.
DVD
Amazon Prime (buy only)
Starring Carrie Underwood, Stephan Moyer, Christine Bennati, and Audra McDonald
Directed by Rob Ashford and Beth McCarthy-Miller
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Hoping to promote more live events, NBC made The Sound of Music their big holiday special for 2013. At the time, it was a big gamble. A live musical hadn't been seen on television since the 1960's. Not only that, but their staging was based on the original Broadway show, using only one of the songs from the film. How well did they do? Let's return to those famous Austrian hills...or a stage approximation...to find out...
The Story: Maria Rainer (Underwood) is a novice nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Austria, but she's too spirited for the order. The Mother Superior (McDonald) sends her to be a governess to the stern Captain Von Trapp (Moyer) and his seven children. The Captain uses a whistle to call them and expects Maria to do the same, but she gives them respect and plays music with them instead, gaining their trust. The Captain comes home to discover his children and Maria are running around in clothes she made from her discarded curtains. He dismisses her after she points out that he barely knows his children...but changes his mind when he hears the children singing for his good friend Max Detweiller (Christian Borle) and fiancee Countess Elsa Schrader (Benatti).
He holds a party for them and dances a lander, an Austrian national dance, with Maria. Realizing she's in love with him. Maria runs off, but the Mother Abbess realizes she's hiding and sends her back. Meanwhile, the kids are upset and no longer feel like singing, and the Captain is disgusted by Max and Elsa constantly insisting that he should go along with the Nazis and their taking over Europe. Maria says she'll stay until they can find another governess, but the Captain has realizes that he loves her.
The Nazis invade Austria while they're on their honeymoon. When they return, they discover that Max has entered the family into the Kaltzenburg Festival and the Captain has been commissioned into the German Navy. Maria convinces the Nazis to let them sing at the festival...but it'll take all their know-how, and some help from the nuns at the Abbey, to allow them to escape over the mountains to freedom.
The Song and Dance: The supporting cast really shines here, with Broadway stars McDonald, Borle, and Benatti the stand-outs as the warm and wise Mother Abbess, sarcastic Max, and self-centered Countess. Ariene Rinehart and Michael Campayno are lovely as Von Trapp's eldest daughter Lisel and her sweetheart, too. I actually like that the story returns to its original contours. "The Lonely Goatheard" makes more sense as a way for Maria to cheer up the children than as a random number for them and puppets.
Favorite Number: Underwood and the kids have a great time marching in place as she teaches the kids "Do-Re-Mi" and still follows their father's orders. Rinehart and Campayno are adorable rolling down the hill in "Sixteen Going On Seventeen." "The Lonely Goatherd," with the kids hiding under the bed as Underwood sings the story, is just too funny. We get to hear more from Elsa and Max, who point out the inevitability of invasion in "No Way to Stop It" and "How Can Love Survive?"
What I Don't Like: While it is nice to hear two songs that didn't make it into the film, they also put more emphasis than needed on Max and Elsa and less than you'd like on Maria's relationship with the kids. Despite mostly sticking to the show, they actually did sneak a movie song in, "Something Good." The scenery, while lovely, can't match the very real Austria in the film and lacks the intimacy and warmth it displayed.
The biggest problem is the leads. Underwood is a wonderful country singer, but she's not much of an actress, and her instrument is totally inappropriate for Broadway showtunes. Moyer's stiff and dull opposite her.
The Big Finale: Underwood is no Julie Andrews, but the supporting cast is good, and it gets far closer to the original Broadway show. If you're a fan of Broadway or the cast or are willing to check out a different "Sound of Music," this is worth at least a look.
Home Media: Cheap and easily found on DVD and a few streaming services.
DVD
Amazon Prime (buy only)
Thursday, August 22, 2019
The Desert Song (1953)
Warner Bros, 1953
Starring Kathryn Grayson, Gordon MacRae, Dick Wesson, and Raymond Massey
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and others
With operettas popular on early TV, several of them saw big-screen remakes in the 1950's. As MGM did with Show Boat, Warners upgraded the swashbuckling sand saga with Technicolor, a glossy production, and Kathryn Grayson. Does it come off better than the Show Boat remake did, or should it be thrown down a sand dune? Let's go back to the Sahara, where the Riffs are once again at war, and find out...
The Story: This time, El Khobar (MacRae) and the Riffs are waging war with the French military and another tribe lead by the wealthy and corrupt Sheikh Youssef (Massey). When Khobar isn't living among the people of the desert tribes, he's Paul Bonnard, a nerdy young anthropologist who shares an apartment with reporter Benji Kidd (Wesson). The daughter of General Birabeau (Ray Collins), Margot (Grayson), arrives from school in Paris. She immediately flirts with every man at the garrison, to the dismay of her father and the handsome Captain Fontaine (Steve Cochran). Her father hires Paul to teach her history and keep her busy. He not only keeps her busy, he tells her about the Riffs and their poor treatment at the hands of Youssef. Youssef is an ally of the French...but he has his own plans for the garrison. El Khobar is determined to expose him and reveal the truth, even if he has to bring Margot and her father along for the ride.
The Song and Dance: If nothing else, the movie returns the story to more-or-less the original plot. I actually like Margot being the General's feisty daughter and Paul being an anthropologist. It gives her more reason for being in Morocco and him more of an excuse to wander the desert. Grayson's having a marvelous time as the feisty Margot, Wesson's mostly funny as Paul's clueless buddy, and Massey makes a very menacing dessert ruler. The color here is gorgeous, glowing and jewel-like with its sandy vistas.
Favorite Number: "Gay Parisianne" is the only song retained from the 1943 film, and it's used as a chorus number here with Margot flirting with all the men at the garrison. Grayson also gets to sing a lovely "Romance," my favorite song from this score, as she reveals why she left Paris. MacRae leads the male chorus through a rousing "Riff Song" in the opening, and he gets a gorgeous "One Alone" when he serenades Grayson in the gardens.
What I Don't Like: MacRae is stiff as a board as El Khobar and lacks the charisma Dennis Morgan showed in this role in 1943. He's slightly more believable as the shy scholar than the swashbuckler chieftain. In the original show, every character, including the stage versions of Benjy and Youssef, had a song. Here, only Paul, Margot, and the chorus sings. Dancer Allyn Ann McLerie is Arabic dancer Azuri, and she's even less believable than MacRae as a passionate woman of the desert (and is stuck in dark skin makeup to boot).
The Big Finale: As much as I like the 1943 film, this one has its own charms, including one of Grayson's best performances and a story that gets at least a little closer to the original show. Either way, both movies are a lot of fun for fans of swashbuckling desert adventures or operettas.
Home Media: Like the 1943 film, this is currently only available through the Warner Archives.
DVD
Starring Kathryn Grayson, Gordon MacRae, Dick Wesson, and Raymond Massey
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and others
With operettas popular on early TV, several of them saw big-screen remakes in the 1950's. As MGM did with Show Boat, Warners upgraded the swashbuckling sand saga with Technicolor, a glossy production, and Kathryn Grayson. Does it come off better than the Show Boat remake did, or should it be thrown down a sand dune? Let's go back to the Sahara, where the Riffs are once again at war, and find out...
The Story: This time, El Khobar (MacRae) and the Riffs are waging war with the French military and another tribe lead by the wealthy and corrupt Sheikh Youssef (Massey). When Khobar isn't living among the people of the desert tribes, he's Paul Bonnard, a nerdy young anthropologist who shares an apartment with reporter Benji Kidd (Wesson). The daughter of General Birabeau (Ray Collins), Margot (Grayson), arrives from school in Paris. She immediately flirts with every man at the garrison, to the dismay of her father and the handsome Captain Fontaine (Steve Cochran). Her father hires Paul to teach her history and keep her busy. He not only keeps her busy, he tells her about the Riffs and their poor treatment at the hands of Youssef. Youssef is an ally of the French...but he has his own plans for the garrison. El Khobar is determined to expose him and reveal the truth, even if he has to bring Margot and her father along for the ride.
The Song and Dance: If nothing else, the movie returns the story to more-or-less the original plot. I actually like Margot being the General's feisty daughter and Paul being an anthropologist. It gives her more reason for being in Morocco and him more of an excuse to wander the desert. Grayson's having a marvelous time as the feisty Margot, Wesson's mostly funny as Paul's clueless buddy, and Massey makes a very menacing dessert ruler. The color here is gorgeous, glowing and jewel-like with its sandy vistas.
Favorite Number: "Gay Parisianne" is the only song retained from the 1943 film, and it's used as a chorus number here with Margot flirting with all the men at the garrison. Grayson also gets to sing a lovely "Romance," my favorite song from this score, as she reveals why she left Paris. MacRae leads the male chorus through a rousing "Riff Song" in the opening, and he gets a gorgeous "One Alone" when he serenades Grayson in the gardens.
What I Don't Like: MacRae is stiff as a board as El Khobar and lacks the charisma Dennis Morgan showed in this role in 1943. He's slightly more believable as the shy scholar than the swashbuckler chieftain. In the original show, every character, including the stage versions of Benjy and Youssef, had a song. Here, only Paul, Margot, and the chorus sings. Dancer Allyn Ann McLerie is Arabic dancer Azuri, and she's even less believable than MacRae as a passionate woman of the desert (and is stuck in dark skin makeup to boot).
The Big Finale: As much as I like the 1943 film, this one has its own charms, including one of Grayson's best performances and a story that gets at least a little closer to the original show. Either way, both movies are a lot of fun for fans of swashbuckling desert adventures or operettas.
Home Media: Like the 1943 film, this is currently only available through the Warner Archives.
DVD
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The Desert Song (1943)
Warner Bros, 1943
Starring Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning, Bruce Cabot, and Gene Lockhart
Directed by Robert Florey
Music by Sigmund Rombert; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto A. Haurbach, and Jack Scholl
Like Show Boat, The Desert Song was first filmed in the early talkie era. It was, in fact, Warners first flat-out musical in 1929, a huge epic featuring John Boles as the mystery man of the desert, the Red Shadow. While that version does exist, it's very hard to find today. The 1943 version was also hard to find until very recently, thanks to a load of legal red tape. Now that it's back in the public eye, how does the wartime version of this romantic operetta look now? Let's head to Geneva, Switzerland in 1939 to find out...
The Story: The Nazis have invaded North Africa. They've captured the Riff tribes, using them to build a railroad that'll bring supplies to their garrisons. The Riffs fight back by blowing up tracks and trains. They're lead by the enigmatic El Khobar...who is actually Paul Hudson (Morgan), a pianist and reporter who respects the Riffs and their way of life. He works in an Arabic cabaret owned by Peter FanFan (Lockhart) and lives with perpetually drunk fellow writer Johnny Walsh (Lynne Overman). Paul falls for beautiful singer Margot (Manning), but she's in love with Colonel Fontaine (Cabot) of the French Army. Paul has to dodge the Nazis and bring Fontaine and Margot on the same page, before the Nazis build that train and destroy the Riffs' way of life.
The Song and Dance: Morgan makes an especially charming freedom fighter in this swashbuckling World War II adventure. He's surrounded by a nice cast of character actors, including Lockhart as the head of the cabaret where the Riffs hang out and have their headquarters, Cabot as Paul's stoic rival for Margot's affection, and Overman as Paul's cynical roommate who just wants to know who this El Khobar guy is, anyway. Some of the changes to the story are fascinating, especially how the Riffs are treated by the Nazis and how they finally rebel. There's some lovely Technicolor camera work, especially in the beginning on the desert.
Favorite Number: Most of the big numbers are performed as part of the cabaret show. Margot's "French Military Marching Song" is especially fun and colorful. Morgan and Manning do a lovely, simple duet to "One Alone" when they're covering the Riffs escaping the cafe before the Nazis arrive. "The Riff Song" gets a nice run-through in the opening by Morgan and the chorus just after they attack the Nazis.
What I Don't Like: Manning lacks her male co-stars' charisma and looks stiff and bored as the singer turned spy. I didn't mind the topical story changes, but I really wish they let the songs tell the story as they originally did, rather than relegating them to nightclub numbers. This feels more like an action movie with songs.
The Big Finale: If you don't mind the story changes and love the cast or World War II adventure films, you'll want to ride out into the desert and give this tale of "Romance" a look.
Home Media: Currently only available on DVD from the Warner Archives.
DVD
Starring Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning, Bruce Cabot, and Gene Lockhart
Directed by Robert Florey
Music by Sigmund Rombert; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto A. Haurbach, and Jack Scholl
Like Show Boat, The Desert Song was first filmed in the early talkie era. It was, in fact, Warners first flat-out musical in 1929, a huge epic featuring John Boles as the mystery man of the desert, the Red Shadow. While that version does exist, it's very hard to find today. The 1943 version was also hard to find until very recently, thanks to a load of legal red tape. Now that it's back in the public eye, how does the wartime version of this romantic operetta look now? Let's head to Geneva, Switzerland in 1939 to find out...
The Story: The Nazis have invaded North Africa. They've captured the Riff tribes, using them to build a railroad that'll bring supplies to their garrisons. The Riffs fight back by blowing up tracks and trains. They're lead by the enigmatic El Khobar...who is actually Paul Hudson (Morgan), a pianist and reporter who respects the Riffs and their way of life. He works in an Arabic cabaret owned by Peter FanFan (Lockhart) and lives with perpetually drunk fellow writer Johnny Walsh (Lynne Overman). Paul falls for beautiful singer Margot (Manning), but she's in love with Colonel Fontaine (Cabot) of the French Army. Paul has to dodge the Nazis and bring Fontaine and Margot on the same page, before the Nazis build that train and destroy the Riffs' way of life.
The Song and Dance: Morgan makes an especially charming freedom fighter in this swashbuckling World War II adventure. He's surrounded by a nice cast of character actors, including Lockhart as the head of the cabaret where the Riffs hang out and have their headquarters, Cabot as Paul's stoic rival for Margot's affection, and Overman as Paul's cynical roommate who just wants to know who this El Khobar guy is, anyway. Some of the changes to the story are fascinating, especially how the Riffs are treated by the Nazis and how they finally rebel. There's some lovely Technicolor camera work, especially in the beginning on the desert.
Favorite Number: Most of the big numbers are performed as part of the cabaret show. Margot's "French Military Marching Song" is especially fun and colorful. Morgan and Manning do a lovely, simple duet to "One Alone" when they're covering the Riffs escaping the cafe before the Nazis arrive. "The Riff Song" gets a nice run-through in the opening by Morgan and the chorus just after they attack the Nazis.
What I Don't Like: Manning lacks her male co-stars' charisma and looks stiff and bored as the singer turned spy. I didn't mind the topical story changes, but I really wish they let the songs tell the story as they originally did, rather than relegating them to nightclub numbers. This feels more like an action movie with songs.
The Big Finale: If you don't mind the story changes and love the cast or World War II adventure films, you'll want to ride out into the desert and give this tale of "Romance" a look.
Home Media: Currently only available on DVD from the Warner Archives.
DVD
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Family Fun Saturday - Annie (2014)
Columbia, 2014
Starring Quevenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, and Rose Byrne
Directed by Will Gluck
Music by Charles Strouse and others; Lyrics by Martin Charmin and others
The success of a hip-hop "Hard Knock Life" prompted Columbia to remake this story in a modern-day setting, with a very sassy 21st century Annie. Will Smith's daughter Willow was originally to appear, but by the time they finally got it off the ground, she was too old and Wallis was in. How does the story of the little orphan girl who warms the heart of a crusty rich businessman work in current times? Let's head to Harlem in New York City to find out...
The Story: Annie Bennett (Wallis) lives in Harlem with several other girls who are foster children to Colleen Hannigan (Diaz), a former rock singer who is generally too drunk to really take care of them. Annie holds out hopes that her parents will come for her someday, waiting outside an Italian restaurant every Friday in the hopes that they'll be there. Her luck starts to change when she's almost run over chasing a dog, but is saved by electronics mogul William Stacks (Foxx). Stacks is running for Mayor of New York City. His campaign manager Guy Danilly (Bobby Cannavale) points out that saving Annie boosts his popularity and insists he take her out to dinner, then unofficially adopt her for a week.
Annie's thrilled to live in Stacks' fancy penthouse apartment and befriend his pretty British assistant Grace Farrell (Byrne). She finally bonds with Stacks when she discovers that he too started out poor in New York, even letting her adopt the dog she was chasing and convincing him to take her and her foster friends to a big movie premiere. Things start to unravel when Annie reveals that she can't read, and Guy decides that she's more of a hindrance than a help to Will's campaign. He and Miss Hannigan orchestrate an elaborate scheme to hire people to play Annie's parents and get rid of her. "Get rid" turns out to be "kidnap." When Stacks realizes what's going on, he sends half the city to stop them...and realizes just how important this little girl has become to him and Grace.
The Song and Dance: The cast is the thing in this colorful rags-to-riches tale. Byrne and Foxx work well together as the germaphobe, workaholic businessman and his devoted secretary, both of whom soften with Annie. Cannavale is appropriately smarmy as the obnoxious manager who only cares about popularity, not people's feelings. The little girls are funny, and Wallis is a ball of energy as Annie, the little girl who will never give up believing, whether it's in her parents' return or Stacks being a good person inside.
Favorite Number: "Opportunity" is the best of the new songs, and it's performed twice. I prefer the energetic finale that has everyone together to celebrate the opening of Stacks' newest endeavor. "Hard Knock Life" has some nice choreography as the girls whirl around Miss Hannigan's apartment building. Annie, Grace, and the secretary Miss Kovacevic (Stephanie Kurtzuba) get to enjoy the delights of Stacks' elaborate condo in "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here."
What I Don't Like: A lot of the plot is contrived, overly sentimental, and simply does not make sense. First of all, Annie did go to school. How is it she's never learned to read? Everything with Annie and Stacks, especially how he literally runs into her, happens way too fast. One minute, Annie's chasing the dog, and the next, she's an internet sensation and almost everyone adores her. The first performance of "Opportunity," where she's clearly trying to play matchmaker to Will and Grace, is more annoying than cute. The movie is just trying too hard to be both adorably sweet and hip enough for the rap crowd...and doesn't really succeed at either. (And they still didn't need the tacked-on action sequence in the end.)
And then, there's Diaz. She's supposed to be a drunk former rock star, but she's really way out of her league in a musical. Her "Little Girls" has the girls join in to complain about how they want parents, and it's neither funny nor cute. Her sudden about-face works even less well than it did in the original. Like Stacks changing his mind about Annie, it's just too sudden and has no real explanation.
The Big Finale: In the end, despite them frequently drawing parallels between the Great Depression and the recession of the early 2010's, they just try too hard to make everything modern. If you have a little girl who does enjoy rap, she might want to see this; everyone else will probably be fine with the 1982 version.
Home Media: As one of the more recent movies I've reviewed, this is easily found in all formats, including many streaming companies.
DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime
Starring Quevenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, and Rose Byrne
Directed by Will Gluck
Music by Charles Strouse and others; Lyrics by Martin Charmin and others
The success of a hip-hop "Hard Knock Life" prompted Columbia to remake this story in a modern-day setting, with a very sassy 21st century Annie. Will Smith's daughter Willow was originally to appear, but by the time they finally got it off the ground, she was too old and Wallis was in. How does the story of the little orphan girl who warms the heart of a crusty rich businessman work in current times? Let's head to Harlem in New York City to find out...
The Story: Annie Bennett (Wallis) lives in Harlem with several other girls who are foster children to Colleen Hannigan (Diaz), a former rock singer who is generally too drunk to really take care of them. Annie holds out hopes that her parents will come for her someday, waiting outside an Italian restaurant every Friday in the hopes that they'll be there. Her luck starts to change when she's almost run over chasing a dog, but is saved by electronics mogul William Stacks (Foxx). Stacks is running for Mayor of New York City. His campaign manager Guy Danilly (Bobby Cannavale) points out that saving Annie boosts his popularity and insists he take her out to dinner, then unofficially adopt her for a week.
Annie's thrilled to live in Stacks' fancy penthouse apartment and befriend his pretty British assistant Grace Farrell (Byrne). She finally bonds with Stacks when she discovers that he too started out poor in New York, even letting her adopt the dog she was chasing and convincing him to take her and her foster friends to a big movie premiere. Things start to unravel when Annie reveals that she can't read, and Guy decides that she's more of a hindrance than a help to Will's campaign. He and Miss Hannigan orchestrate an elaborate scheme to hire people to play Annie's parents and get rid of her. "Get rid" turns out to be "kidnap." When Stacks realizes what's going on, he sends half the city to stop them...and realizes just how important this little girl has become to him and Grace.
The Song and Dance: The cast is the thing in this colorful rags-to-riches tale. Byrne and Foxx work well together as the germaphobe, workaholic businessman and his devoted secretary, both of whom soften with Annie. Cannavale is appropriately smarmy as the obnoxious manager who only cares about popularity, not people's feelings. The little girls are funny, and Wallis is a ball of energy as Annie, the little girl who will never give up believing, whether it's in her parents' return or Stacks being a good person inside.
Favorite Number: "Opportunity" is the best of the new songs, and it's performed twice. I prefer the energetic finale that has everyone together to celebrate the opening of Stacks' newest endeavor. "Hard Knock Life" has some nice choreography as the girls whirl around Miss Hannigan's apartment building. Annie, Grace, and the secretary Miss Kovacevic (Stephanie Kurtzuba) get to enjoy the delights of Stacks' elaborate condo in "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here."
What I Don't Like: A lot of the plot is contrived, overly sentimental, and simply does not make sense. First of all, Annie did go to school. How is it she's never learned to read? Everything with Annie and Stacks, especially how he literally runs into her, happens way too fast. One minute, Annie's chasing the dog, and the next, she's an internet sensation and almost everyone adores her. The first performance of "Opportunity," where she's clearly trying to play matchmaker to Will and Grace, is more annoying than cute. The movie is just trying too hard to be both adorably sweet and hip enough for the rap crowd...and doesn't really succeed at either. (And they still didn't need the tacked-on action sequence in the end.)
And then, there's Diaz. She's supposed to be a drunk former rock star, but she's really way out of her league in a musical. Her "Little Girls" has the girls join in to complain about how they want parents, and it's neither funny nor cute. Her sudden about-face works even less well than it did in the original. Like Stacks changing his mind about Annie, it's just too sudden and has no real explanation.
The Big Finale: In the end, despite them frequently drawing parallels between the Great Depression and the recession of the early 2010's, they just try too hard to make everything modern. If you have a little girl who does enjoy rap, she might want to see this; everyone else will probably be fine with the 1982 version.
Home Media: As one of the more recent movies I've reviewed, this is easily found in all formats, including many streaming companies.
DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime
Thursday, August 15, 2019
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.
DVD
Amazon Prime
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.
DVD
Amazon Prime
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Show Boat (1936)
Universal, 1936
Starring Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, and Paul Robeson
Directed by James Whale
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Last week, we looked at two musicals that were remakes of non-musical comedies. For the next two weeks, we'll be checking out musicals that were remade as musicals...but in both cases, the remake wound up being subtly different from the original. And in both cases, they in themselves were remakes. Universal released their first version of Show Boat in 1928, a year after its first run on Broadway...but it only a part-sound film, with the songs in a prologue in the beginning. Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. and director James Whale wanted to try again and make it as authentic to the original show as possible at the time. Did they succeed? Let's head to the docks on the Mississippi River, just as the titular show boat is arriving, and find out...
The Story: Captain Andy (Winninger) is the head of the Cotton Blossom, a traveling show boat plying the Mississippi in the 1880's. His teenage daughter Magnolia (Dunne) would give anything to be on the stage, but her mother Parthy (Helen Westley) disapproves. She falls in love with a wandering gambler named Gaylord Ravenal (Jones) and marries him despite Parthy's protests. Despite her lack of experience, Magnolia eventually takes over from the leading lady Julie (Helen Morgan) when it's discovered that her husband is white and she's partly black. Their marriage is illegal in the Deep South, forcing them off the boat.
Gaylord and Magnolia have a daughter, Kim, and then become rich off his winnings...until his luck runs out. By 1899, he's abandoned Magnolia in Chicago, since he's unable to support her any longer. She takes a job at a local club, where Julie and fellow former Cotton Blossom players Frank (Sammy White) and Ellie May (Queenie Smith) are working. Magnolia takes over from Julie on New Year's Eve and becomes a sensation. She eventually goes on to become one of the most beloved stars in the world, with her daughter Kim following in her footsteps...but Gaylord has never forgotten them.
The Song and Dance: Universal didn't usually throw themselves into musicals, but they really went all out for this one. The costumes and sets are lavish and gorgeous, beautifully reflecting their late 19th-early 20th century Deep South setting. Winninger and Westley are hilarious as the head of the show boat troupe and his sensible and rather prissy wife. Check out the scene where Winninger re-enacts the plot of an entire melodrama by himself!
Definately my favorite thing about this one are the hilariously laid-back Robeson and tough Hattie MacDaniel as Joe the dock worker and his wife Queenie the cook. They get some of the best lines, and my favorite of the new songs, "Ah Still Suit Me." They play off each other perfectly and really elevate the first half of the film.
Favorite Number: "I Have the Room Above Her," a charming ballad performed by Gaylord when he's trying to get Magnolia's attention, is so adorable it's been used in several subsequent stage versions. Morgan, MacDaniel, and Dunne have a blast with the black workers with "Can't Help Lovin' That Man." Dunne and Jones have a gorgeous "Make Believe" and also do fairly well with "You are Love." "Ah Still Suits Me" gives us some hilarious banter between MacDaniel and Robeson, as she complains of being fed up with his shiftless ways.
Two performances here have never been equaled. Morgan gives the definitive poignant version of "Bill" on the piano just prior to Julie's audition. Robeson sang "Old Man River" live, directly for the cameras...and he's nothing short of magnificent, his voice aching with the bittersweet life of the black river-dweller.
What I Don't Like: The other newly added song is "Gallavantin' Around" for Dunne and the chorus on the show boat. While it is fairly true to the place and time period, the blackface and banjo stereotypes are more wince-inducing than rousing today.
I wish they'd used some of the other songs from the show. Frank and Ellie May's roles are greatly reduced from other versions, as two of their three big songs, "I Might Fall Back On You" and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage," were dropped. Queenie also loses her only solo, "Queenie's Ballyhoo." "Why Do I Love You" was apparently filmed, but not used. There was also supposed to be a lot more to Kim's big dance number in the finale, including a modern routine to contrast with the Old South dance.
MacDaniel and Robeson are such stand-outs, once they disappear during the second half of the film, things become considerably less interesting. Dunne is more believable as the adult Magnolia dealing with her husband's abandonment in Chicago than as a hopefully teenager, and Jones isn't up to the heavier dramatics. Their final moments come off as overly sentimental and rather cliched.
The Big Finale: Even with all the problems, this is still a legendary Show Boat, and the closest you'll get to the original 1927 Broadway show at this point. If you love Show Boat, darker shows, or the cast, this is one ballyhoo you'll definitely want to get behind.
Home Media: Currently only available on DVD via the Warner Archives (which is how I have it).
DVD
Starring Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, and Paul Robeson
Directed by James Whale
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Last week, we looked at two musicals that were remakes of non-musical comedies. For the next two weeks, we'll be checking out musicals that were remade as musicals...but in both cases, the remake wound up being subtly different from the original. And in both cases, they in themselves were remakes. Universal released their first version of Show Boat in 1928, a year after its first run on Broadway...but it only a part-sound film, with the songs in a prologue in the beginning. Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. and director James Whale wanted to try again and make it as authentic to the original show as possible at the time. Did they succeed? Let's head to the docks on the Mississippi River, just as the titular show boat is arriving, and find out...
The Story: Captain Andy (Winninger) is the head of the Cotton Blossom, a traveling show boat plying the Mississippi in the 1880's. His teenage daughter Magnolia (Dunne) would give anything to be on the stage, but her mother Parthy (Helen Westley) disapproves. She falls in love with a wandering gambler named Gaylord Ravenal (Jones) and marries him despite Parthy's protests. Despite her lack of experience, Magnolia eventually takes over from the leading lady Julie (Helen Morgan) when it's discovered that her husband is white and she's partly black. Their marriage is illegal in the Deep South, forcing them off the boat.
Gaylord and Magnolia have a daughter, Kim, and then become rich off his winnings...until his luck runs out. By 1899, he's abandoned Magnolia in Chicago, since he's unable to support her any longer. She takes a job at a local club, where Julie and fellow former Cotton Blossom players Frank (Sammy White) and Ellie May (Queenie Smith) are working. Magnolia takes over from Julie on New Year's Eve and becomes a sensation. She eventually goes on to become one of the most beloved stars in the world, with her daughter Kim following in her footsteps...but Gaylord has never forgotten them.
The Song and Dance: Universal didn't usually throw themselves into musicals, but they really went all out for this one. The costumes and sets are lavish and gorgeous, beautifully reflecting their late 19th-early 20th century Deep South setting. Winninger and Westley are hilarious as the head of the show boat troupe and his sensible and rather prissy wife. Check out the scene where Winninger re-enacts the plot of an entire melodrama by himself!
Definately my favorite thing about this one are the hilariously laid-back Robeson and tough Hattie MacDaniel as Joe the dock worker and his wife Queenie the cook. They get some of the best lines, and my favorite of the new songs, "Ah Still Suit Me." They play off each other perfectly and really elevate the first half of the film.
Favorite Number: "I Have the Room Above Her," a charming ballad performed by Gaylord when he's trying to get Magnolia's attention, is so adorable it's been used in several subsequent stage versions. Morgan, MacDaniel, and Dunne have a blast with the black workers with "Can't Help Lovin' That Man." Dunne and Jones have a gorgeous "Make Believe" and also do fairly well with "You are Love." "Ah Still Suits Me" gives us some hilarious banter between MacDaniel and Robeson, as she complains of being fed up with his shiftless ways.
Two performances here have never been equaled. Morgan gives the definitive poignant version of "Bill" on the piano just prior to Julie's audition. Robeson sang "Old Man River" live, directly for the cameras...and he's nothing short of magnificent, his voice aching with the bittersweet life of the black river-dweller.
What I Don't Like: The other newly added song is "Gallavantin' Around" for Dunne and the chorus on the show boat. While it is fairly true to the place and time period, the blackface and banjo stereotypes are more wince-inducing than rousing today.
I wish they'd used some of the other songs from the show. Frank and Ellie May's roles are greatly reduced from other versions, as two of their three big songs, "I Might Fall Back On You" and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage," were dropped. Queenie also loses her only solo, "Queenie's Ballyhoo." "Why Do I Love You" was apparently filmed, but not used. There was also supposed to be a lot more to Kim's big dance number in the finale, including a modern routine to contrast with the Old South dance.
MacDaniel and Robeson are such stand-outs, once they disappear during the second half of the film, things become considerably less interesting. Dunne is more believable as the adult Magnolia dealing with her husband's abandonment in Chicago than as a hopefully teenager, and Jones isn't up to the heavier dramatics. Their final moments come off as overly sentimental and rather cliched.
The Big Finale: Even with all the problems, this is still a legendary Show Boat, and the closest you'll get to the original 1927 Broadway show at this point. If you love Show Boat, darker shows, or the cast, this is one ballyhoo you'll definitely want to get behind.
Home Media: Currently only available on DVD via the Warner Archives (which is how I have it).
DVD
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Animation Celebration Saturday - Rock-A-Doodle
The Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1992
Voices of Glen Campbell, Phil Harris, Toby Scott Ganger, and Christopher Plummer
Directed by Don Bluth
Music and Lyrics by TJ Kuenster
After the failure of All Dogs Go to Heaven in 1989, Don Bluth decided to try something entirely different. He'd been enamored of the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and wanted to make his own live action-animated hybrid. He'd been trying to get the tale of Chanticleer the Rooster off the ground since 1982, and Disney had tried as far back as the 1930's, but nothing had ever come of it. Production finally began in 1990, but trouble with the live-action portion and MGM's financial difficulties pushed the release to 1991, then to spring of 1992 when they didn't want to compete with Beauty and the Beast. After all that, how does the story of a rooster whose crow brings up the sun look now? Let's head down on the farm with Chanticleer himself and find out...
The Story: Chanticleer (Campbell) is beloved by all of the animals on the farm. He's handsome, he's strong, and his crow seems to help bring up the sun every day. The only creatures on the farm who don't adore Chanticleer are the Grand Duke (Plummer) and his owls, who would prefer permanent night. The Duke sends another rooster to attack Chanticleer and distract him from his duties. The sun comes up on its own, prompting the others to make fun of him. Chanticleer goes off, dejected...and that brings about torrential rain and darkness.
Which brings us to the live-action segments. Edmund (Ganger) is a small boy who lives on the farm and is hearing the story from his mother. Believing what the book says, he tries to call Chanticleer back, only to attract the Duke. The Duke turns him into an animated kitten, to his horror. Joined by Patou (Harris), a dog who can't tie his shoes, know-it-all mouse Peepers (Sandy Duncan), and neurotic magpie Snipes (Eddie Deezen), he heads to the big city to find Chanticleer and bring him back to the farm. Not only does the Duke not want the sun back, but Chanticleer has become a big star, and his manager Pinky (Sorrell Booke) wants to keep making money off him. Edmund will have to enlist the help of pretty pheasant Goldie (Ellen Greene) and find the courage inside his furry body if he wants to save the farm and stop the flood.
The Animation: There's some decent work here, especially as the group travels to the city and once they arrive. The animals move pretty well, and the backdrops are colorful and fun, especially in the city. Wish Bluth had figured out how to integrate the live-action as seamlessly. It's pretty obvious the very few times that the live Edmund and the animated characters interact that it's all done with blue screen and effects, and it never really feels like they're seamlessly part of each other's worlds.
I wish they hadn't played with the aspect ratio. The live-action segments are in widescreen, and the animation is in full-screen, and the two make for some awkward transitions, especially when the Duke shows up in Edmund's bedroom.
The Song and Dance: At the very least, Bluth learned his lesson from All Dogs and made this a tad lighter and more family-friendly. In fact, he did some judicious editing to keep it from getting a PG. If nothing else, it's bright and colorful, with some decent numbers and a cast who (mostly) know how to handle them. There's also the use of several real-life backing groups who once sang backup vocals for Elvis Prestley in Campbell's numbers to lend the music at least a little authenticity.
Favorite Number: Campbell kicks things off in robust style with "Sun Do Shine," showing just how popular Chanticleer is on the farm and how the farm operates. He gets two mildly enjoyable production numbers when he's a star in the city, the title song and the beach-themed "Treasure Hunting Fever." He and Greene have a cute duet when they litterally "Kiss and Coo."
What I Don't Like: The live-action sequences shouldn't be there. They're unnecessary and really bog things down. The whole idea of Edmund being human and it all being just a story makes the plot way too complicated. For all that Patou explains, there's a just as much that is never really adequately discussed...including how the sun came up without Chanticleer crowing. Patou and his narration are annoying and get in the way more often than not.
The other characters aren't much better. For the rooster who the sun literally revolves around, not only do we not really see that much of Chanticleer, but he barely has a personality when we do see him. Goldie switches sides way too quickly once she gets past the "bad kitty" thing. Edmund is too cutesy (as a kid and a kitten), and his lisp makes a lot of his dialogue hard to understand. Snipes and especially Peepers are slightly more useful than Patou, but they're also obnoxious and are generally only there to be the funny sidekicks. The villains are all cardboard stock characters, and Plummer and Charles Nelson Reilly are wasted as the light-hating Grand Duke and his sniveling nephew.
The Big Picture: Despite some decent animation and cute touches, the movie just plain doesn't work. Unless you're a really huge fan of the cast or Bluth, I'd rock on by this one.
Home Media: At the moment, I'm going to say streaming is your best bet here. Several streaming companies currently have it for free, including Vudu and YouTube. (I caught it on the latter.) It was re-released for its 25th anniversary on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2017 by made-to-order company Olive Films, but apparently the pitch on their print is higher than it should be.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
You Can't Run Away From It
Columbia, 1956
Starring June Allyson, Jack Lemmon, Charles Bickford and Jim Backus
Directed by Dick Powell
Music by Gene De Paul; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
The Awful Truth was not the last classic screwball comedy Columbia remade in the 1950's. Three years later, they added music to the Best Picture Oscar-winner It Happened One Night. Is it as charming and hilarious as the original? Let's head over to to a yacht on the ocean and find out...
The Story: Ellie Andrews (Allyson) is mad as a hornet when her father, Texas cattleman AA Andrews (Bickford), kidnaps her and holds her on his yacht. He disapproves of her engagement to a notorious playboy. She dives out the window and flees for the nearest bus station. Meanwhile, unemployed reporter Peter Warne (Lemmon) thinks he's hit on the biggest story of his career. He keeps an eye on her on the bus and poses as her husband when they stop at a hotel. As they travel cross-country, the two begin to realize that they've fallen in love...but Ellie goes home when she realizes what Peter's doing. Trouble is, she's not so eager to be reunited with her husband anymore, and Peter's having second thoughts about that story.
The Song and Dance: This wound up being a bit of a surprise. It's too cute. Lemmon and Allyson may not be the first people you'd think to replace Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, but they actually have a lot of fun as the runaway heiress and the reporter who comes to think of her as a lot more than a headline. As per the original story, it's pretty small-scale for a musical of this time, and the intimacy is charming and rather refreshing.
Favorite Number: Popular musical group of the time The Four Aces harmonize beautifully on the title song over the credits. Stubby Kaye as a chummy sailor joins Lemmon, Allyson and the chorus on the bus for "Howdy Friends and Neighbors." "Temporarily" is Lemmon and Allyson singing about their sheet "Wall of Jericho" and their current relationship in the hotel. Trying to prove that she can have as much fun as the next person, Allyson enjoys cavorting with scarecrows and piles of hay in the Scarecrow Ballet.
Trivia: Apparently, there were at least two more numbers for other characters and a segment of the song "Hitchin' a Ride" that didn't make it into the film. The entire audio for "Hitchin' a Ride" survives on the soundtrack album.
This isn't the first time Columbia remade It Happened One Night. They'd done an earlier version in 1945 with Ann Miller, Eve Knew Her Apples.
What I Don't Like: Not for those looking for a bigger, brassier show. Like Let's Do It Again, this is pretty small-scale, with one major chorus number and fairly quiet songs for the leads. And while it is adorable in it's own right, it's not nearly the triumph that It Happened One Night was - or really Oscar material.
The Big Finale: While not the best adaptation, it does do a better job of adding music to One Night than the more staid Do It Again did with Awful Truth. Worth checking out if you're a fan of the stars or you run into it online or on cable.
Home Media: Until two years ago, the only way you could find this one was in rare showings on TCM. You can currently pick it up as part of that Mill Creek musicals collection (though not in its original widescreen) and on several streaming companies.
DVD - Musicals 20 Movies Collection
Amazon Prime
Starring June Allyson, Jack Lemmon, Charles Bickford and Jim Backus
Directed by Dick Powell
Music by Gene De Paul; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
The Awful Truth was not the last classic screwball comedy Columbia remade in the 1950's. Three years later, they added music to the Best Picture Oscar-winner It Happened One Night. Is it as charming and hilarious as the original? Let's head over to to a yacht on the ocean and find out...
The Story: Ellie Andrews (Allyson) is mad as a hornet when her father, Texas cattleman AA Andrews (Bickford), kidnaps her and holds her on his yacht. He disapproves of her engagement to a notorious playboy. She dives out the window and flees for the nearest bus station. Meanwhile, unemployed reporter Peter Warne (Lemmon) thinks he's hit on the biggest story of his career. He keeps an eye on her on the bus and poses as her husband when they stop at a hotel. As they travel cross-country, the two begin to realize that they've fallen in love...but Ellie goes home when she realizes what Peter's doing. Trouble is, she's not so eager to be reunited with her husband anymore, and Peter's having second thoughts about that story.
The Song and Dance: This wound up being a bit of a surprise. It's too cute. Lemmon and Allyson may not be the first people you'd think to replace Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, but they actually have a lot of fun as the runaway heiress and the reporter who comes to think of her as a lot more than a headline. As per the original story, it's pretty small-scale for a musical of this time, and the intimacy is charming and rather refreshing.
Favorite Number: Popular musical group of the time The Four Aces harmonize beautifully on the title song over the credits. Stubby Kaye as a chummy sailor joins Lemmon, Allyson and the chorus on the bus for "Howdy Friends and Neighbors." "Temporarily" is Lemmon and Allyson singing about their sheet "Wall of Jericho" and their current relationship in the hotel. Trying to prove that she can have as much fun as the next person, Allyson enjoys cavorting with scarecrows and piles of hay in the Scarecrow Ballet.
Trivia: Apparently, there were at least two more numbers for other characters and a segment of the song "Hitchin' a Ride" that didn't make it into the film. The entire audio for "Hitchin' a Ride" survives on the soundtrack album.
This isn't the first time Columbia remade It Happened One Night. They'd done an earlier version in 1945 with Ann Miller, Eve Knew Her Apples.
What I Don't Like: Not for those looking for a bigger, brassier show. Like Let's Do It Again, this is pretty small-scale, with one major chorus number and fairly quiet songs for the leads. And while it is adorable in it's own right, it's not nearly the triumph that It Happened One Night was - or really Oscar material.
The Big Finale: While not the best adaptation, it does do a better job of adding music to One Night than the more staid Do It Again did with Awful Truth. Worth checking out if you're a fan of the stars or you run into it online or on cable.
Home Media: Until two years ago, the only way you could find this one was in rare showings on TCM. You can currently pick it up as part of that Mill Creek musicals collection (though not in its original widescreen) and on several streaming companies.
DVD - Musicals 20 Movies Collection
Amazon Prime
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Let's Do It Again (1953)
Columbia, 1953
Starring Jane Wyman, Ray Milland, Leon Ames, and Aldo Ray
Directed by HC Potter
Music by Lester Lee; Lyrics by Ned Washington
Many people think the remake mania Hollywood is going through right now is a recent thing, but it's nothing new. Remakes go back as far as the silent era. For the next three weeks, we'll be further exploring just a few musical remakes, both musical versions of non-musical stories, and remakes of musicals.
Today and Thursday's reviews fall under "remakes of non-musical comedies" category. Milland and Wyman probably aren't the first people you'd think of to headline a musical retelling of the screwball comedy The Awful Truth. However, as we saw back at We're Not Dressing, Milland had done musicals since the 1930's. Wyman had started out in the genre, playing off Bing Crosby, among others. How do they do in this farcical romantic comedy? Let's head to the lobby of a Broadway theater in New York to find out...
The Story: Composer Gary Stuart (Milland) has the habit of staying out late with his fellow musicians and chasing after dancer Lily Adair (Valerie Bettis). His wife, actress and dancer Constance (Wyman), is fed up with his being out at all hours and comes home late from a night at a country inn with rival composer Courtney Craig (Tom Sizemore). They finally agree to a divorce...but the truth was, Connie was using Courtney to make Gary jealous. Even when she starts a relationship with young millionaire Frank McGraw (Aldo Ray), and he's going out with socialite Deborah Randolph (Karin Booth), they keep trying to get back into each other's lives and shows.
The Song and Dance: Wyman's having the most fun as the wife who shows her husband just what he's missing by staying away for so long. Ames is also fun as Gary's exasperated brother Chet, who wishes he'd actually focus on his work for once. The Technicolor production looks pretty darn good, with some gorgeous gowns and robes for Wyman (including the yellow robe Milland ends up in at one point).
Favorite Number: "These are the Things I Remember," performed first by Milland, then by Wyman, shows us just how the two feel about their failing marriage. Wyman also has a nice "It Was Great While It Lasted" in the shower and gets to join a combo for "Call of the Wild" in the end after she's realized how much she wants her husband back.
Trivia: This is the fourth remake of The Awful Truth. Along with the famous screwball version with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne from 1937, Columbia also did it as a silent in 1923 and an early talkie in 1929 (this version has since been lost; the silent still exists).
Milland and Wyman also appeared together in the Oscar-winning Best Picture drama The Lost Weekend.
What I Don't Like: Milland is charming enough, but he seems to be trying way too hard to channel Grant at times. The music is mostly nice but unmemorable, and they numbers are shoved into the script with a crowbar. The only major chorus routine, Bettis' rendering of "Call of the Wild" earlier in the film, is marred by a dated jungle setting with people in awful "natives" costumes.
The Big Finale: A pleasant enough way to pass an hour and a half if you're a fan of Wyman or Milland.
Home Media: Available on as part of the Sony Choice made-to-order collection as a solo DVD, on the Mill Creek Musicals 20 Movies collection (which is how I have it), or on several streaming services.
DVD
DVD - Musicals 20 Movie Collection
Amazon Prime
Starring Jane Wyman, Ray Milland, Leon Ames, and Aldo Ray
Directed by HC Potter
Music by Lester Lee; Lyrics by Ned Washington
Many people think the remake mania Hollywood is going through right now is a recent thing, but it's nothing new. Remakes go back as far as the silent era. For the next three weeks, we'll be further exploring just a few musical remakes, both musical versions of non-musical stories, and remakes of musicals.
Today and Thursday's reviews fall under "remakes of non-musical comedies" category. Milland and Wyman probably aren't the first people you'd think of to headline a musical retelling of the screwball comedy The Awful Truth. However, as we saw back at We're Not Dressing, Milland had done musicals since the 1930's. Wyman had started out in the genre, playing off Bing Crosby, among others. How do they do in this farcical romantic comedy? Let's head to the lobby of a Broadway theater in New York to find out...
The Story: Composer Gary Stuart (Milland) has the habit of staying out late with his fellow musicians and chasing after dancer Lily Adair (Valerie Bettis). His wife, actress and dancer Constance (Wyman), is fed up with his being out at all hours and comes home late from a night at a country inn with rival composer Courtney Craig (Tom Sizemore). They finally agree to a divorce...but the truth was, Connie was using Courtney to make Gary jealous. Even when she starts a relationship with young millionaire Frank McGraw (Aldo Ray), and he's going out with socialite Deborah Randolph (Karin Booth), they keep trying to get back into each other's lives and shows.
The Song and Dance: Wyman's having the most fun as the wife who shows her husband just what he's missing by staying away for so long. Ames is also fun as Gary's exasperated brother Chet, who wishes he'd actually focus on his work for once. The Technicolor production looks pretty darn good, with some gorgeous gowns and robes for Wyman (including the yellow robe Milland ends up in at one point).
Favorite Number: "These are the Things I Remember," performed first by Milland, then by Wyman, shows us just how the two feel about their failing marriage. Wyman also has a nice "It Was Great While It Lasted" in the shower and gets to join a combo for "Call of the Wild" in the end after she's realized how much she wants her husband back.
Trivia: This is the fourth remake of The Awful Truth. Along with the famous screwball version with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne from 1937, Columbia also did it as a silent in 1923 and an early talkie in 1929 (this version has since been lost; the silent still exists).
Milland and Wyman also appeared together in the Oscar-winning Best Picture drama The Lost Weekend.
What I Don't Like: Milland is charming enough, but he seems to be trying way too hard to channel Grant at times. The music is mostly nice but unmemorable, and they numbers are shoved into the script with a crowbar. The only major chorus routine, Bettis' rendering of "Call of the Wild" earlier in the film, is marred by a dated jungle setting with people in awful "natives" costumes.
The Big Finale: A pleasant enough way to pass an hour and a half if you're a fan of Wyman or Milland.
Home Media: Available on as part of the Sony Choice made-to-order collection as a solo DVD, on the Mill Creek Musicals 20 Movies collection (which is how I have it), or on several streaming services.
DVD
DVD - Musicals 20 Movie Collection
Amazon Prime
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Animation Celebration Saturday - Quest for Camelot
Warner Bros, 1998
Voices of Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, and Jane Seymour
Directed by Frederik Du Chau
Music by Carole Bayer Sager; Lyrics by David Foster
By the late 90's, Disney was king of animation. Their movies were major hits, the songs that came from them won awards and sold soundtrack albums into the millions, and they were even being successfully adapted for Broadway. After their success with the live-action/animated hybrid Looney Tunes film Space Jam, Warners threw their hat into the Disney musical ring with this medieval fantasy. Let's head to just outside of Camelot to see if it soars like the hawk seen throughout the film, or if it should be sent into exile...
The Story: Kailey (Gilsig) is proud that her father Sir Lionel (Gabriel Byrne) was once a Knight of the Round Table who gave his life for King Arthur's (Pierce Brosonan). Arthur was about to be killed by the power-mad Sir Ruber (Gary Oldman), but he sent Ruber into exile instead. All of Camelot is devastated when a griffin (Bronson Pinchot) attacks and steals the sword Excalibur. Merlin (Sir John Gielgud) sends his own hawk Ayden (Frank Welker) to retrieve it. Ayden does get it away, but it's lost in the Forbidden Forest. Ruber attacks Kailey and her mother, hoping to use them to get into Camelot, but the young woman is able to flee to the Forbidden Forest. Blind hermit Garrett (Elwes) lives in the forest, as do the two-headed dragon Devon (Eric Idle) and Cornwall (Don Rickles), who want nothing more than to be split apart. Kailey convinces them to help her find Excalibur and restore Camelot to its former glory...if they can avoid Ruber and his army of metal warriors, including the axe-chicken Buckbeak (Jaleel White).
The Animation: Along with the music, the colorful animation is the standout here. They did some really nice work here for the time, especially in the lush backgrounds at the Forbidden Forest and Camelot and the effects animation in some of the songs. The colors, especially in the Forest, are glorious, glowing with jewel-like greens, purples, dark reds, and deep blues. Wish the few attempts at CGI had dated as well. The rock ogre looks especially obvious nowadays.
The Song and Dance: Some decent performances liven up this odd fantasy. Elwes is both touching and bitter as the youth who thinks his disability has lost him the chance at knighthood, while Gilsig isn't bad as the determined Kailey. The mostly mismatched Idle and Rickles do have a few funny moments as one of the more unusual dragons in movie history, and Seymour is lovely in her few scenes as Kailey's loving mother.
Favorite Number: "United We Stand" kicks off the film in stirring fashion as the Knights of the Round Table announce their loyalty to their king and one another. "I Stand Alone" introduces Garrett with a strong "I Am" song, similar to "United We Stand," has Garrett equally explain why he prefers his own company. Idle and Rickles' sniping at each other in "If I Didn't Have You" is mildly amusing.
What I Don't Like: This is another 90's animated musical that took several wrong turns on its way to the big screen. It started out as a more serious non-musical animated adventure based after the book The King's Damosel...but then Warners executives butted in and started making changes, hoping to come up with a blockbuster on a par with Disney's hits of the time. What they came up with was a cliched mess. The story makes no sense and isn't anything you haven't seen seen in dozens of other medieval action tales. Kailey, for all her spunk, comes off as bland, and the barely-registering King Arthur and his knights are worse. Gary Oldman's over-the-top Ruber seems to have come from another movie entirely, in design and performance. Jaleel White's useless Buckbeak is just annoying (him doing his voice in Urkel mode doesn't help).
The movie doesn't really know what it wants to be. Gilsig and Elwes are playing Beauty and the Beast, Devon and Cornwall fall somewhere between Timon and Pumbaa and the gargoyles from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Gary Oldman thinks he's in Air Force One. While the music includes the top-10 hit "Looking Through Your Eyes" and the Oscar-nominated "The Prayer," both songs are undercut by poorly placed and directed numbers. "The Prayer" is totally inappropriate for Kailey's escaping Ruber at her mother's farm, and ill-timed gags and effects make a hash out of "Through Your Eyes."
The Big Finale: I actually went to see this when it was released in May 1998...and walked out of the theater greatly disappointed. It was one of the few films I saw in the late 90's and early 2000's in the theater that I flat-out didn't like. My opinion remains largely the same today. The movie does have its fans, mainly young women who grew up in the late 90's and admired Kailey and the music, but I'm afraid I'm not one of them. For adventure-loving girls who are young enough to overlook the script problems or major fans of the cast or animation of this time only. Everyone else is better off looking up the soundtrack and skipping the rest.
Home Media: Not on Blu-Ray at press time, but can pretty easily be found on DVD solo or as part of at least two collections, as well as on several streaming companies.
DVD
DVD - 4 Film Favorites: Family Movie Night
Amazon Prime
Voices of Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, and Jane Seymour
Directed by Frederik Du Chau
Music by Carole Bayer Sager; Lyrics by David Foster
By the late 90's, Disney was king of animation. Their movies were major hits, the songs that came from them won awards and sold soundtrack albums into the millions, and they were even being successfully adapted for Broadway. After their success with the live-action/animated hybrid Looney Tunes film Space Jam, Warners threw their hat into the Disney musical ring with this medieval fantasy. Let's head to just outside of Camelot to see if it soars like the hawk seen throughout the film, or if it should be sent into exile...
The Story: Kailey (Gilsig) is proud that her father Sir Lionel (Gabriel Byrne) was once a Knight of the Round Table who gave his life for King Arthur's (Pierce Brosonan). Arthur was about to be killed by the power-mad Sir Ruber (Gary Oldman), but he sent Ruber into exile instead. All of Camelot is devastated when a griffin (Bronson Pinchot) attacks and steals the sword Excalibur. Merlin (Sir John Gielgud) sends his own hawk Ayden (Frank Welker) to retrieve it. Ayden does get it away, but it's lost in the Forbidden Forest. Ruber attacks Kailey and her mother, hoping to use them to get into Camelot, but the young woman is able to flee to the Forbidden Forest. Blind hermit Garrett (Elwes) lives in the forest, as do the two-headed dragon Devon (Eric Idle) and Cornwall (Don Rickles), who want nothing more than to be split apart. Kailey convinces them to help her find Excalibur and restore Camelot to its former glory...if they can avoid Ruber and his army of metal warriors, including the axe-chicken Buckbeak (Jaleel White).
The Animation: Along with the music, the colorful animation is the standout here. They did some really nice work here for the time, especially in the lush backgrounds at the Forbidden Forest and Camelot and the effects animation in some of the songs. The colors, especially in the Forest, are glorious, glowing with jewel-like greens, purples, dark reds, and deep blues. Wish the few attempts at CGI had dated as well. The rock ogre looks especially obvious nowadays.
The Song and Dance: Some decent performances liven up this odd fantasy. Elwes is both touching and bitter as the youth who thinks his disability has lost him the chance at knighthood, while Gilsig isn't bad as the determined Kailey. The mostly mismatched Idle and Rickles do have a few funny moments as one of the more unusual dragons in movie history, and Seymour is lovely in her few scenes as Kailey's loving mother.
Favorite Number: "United We Stand" kicks off the film in stirring fashion as the Knights of the Round Table announce their loyalty to their king and one another. "I Stand Alone" introduces Garrett with a strong "I Am" song, similar to "United We Stand," has Garrett equally explain why he prefers his own company. Idle and Rickles' sniping at each other in "If I Didn't Have You" is mildly amusing.
What I Don't Like: This is another 90's animated musical that took several wrong turns on its way to the big screen. It started out as a more serious non-musical animated adventure based after the book The King's Damosel...but then Warners executives butted in and started making changes, hoping to come up with a blockbuster on a par with Disney's hits of the time. What they came up with was a cliched mess. The story makes no sense and isn't anything you haven't seen seen in dozens of other medieval action tales. Kailey, for all her spunk, comes off as bland, and the barely-registering King Arthur and his knights are worse. Gary Oldman's over-the-top Ruber seems to have come from another movie entirely, in design and performance. Jaleel White's useless Buckbeak is just annoying (him doing his voice in Urkel mode doesn't help).
The movie doesn't really know what it wants to be. Gilsig and Elwes are playing Beauty and the Beast, Devon and Cornwall fall somewhere between Timon and Pumbaa and the gargoyles from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Gary Oldman thinks he's in Air Force One. While the music includes the top-10 hit "Looking Through Your Eyes" and the Oscar-nominated "The Prayer," both songs are undercut by poorly placed and directed numbers. "The Prayer" is totally inappropriate for Kailey's escaping Ruber at her mother's farm, and ill-timed gags and effects make a hash out of "Through Your Eyes."
The Big Finale: I actually went to see this when it was released in May 1998...and walked out of the theater greatly disappointed. It was one of the few films I saw in the late 90's and early 2000's in the theater that I flat-out didn't like. My opinion remains largely the same today. The movie does have its fans, mainly young women who grew up in the late 90's and admired Kailey and the music, but I'm afraid I'm not one of them. For adventure-loving girls who are young enough to overlook the script problems or major fans of the cast or animation of this time only. Everyone else is better off looking up the soundtrack and skipping the rest.
Home Media: Not on Blu-Ray at press time, but can pretty easily be found on DVD solo or as part of at least two collections, as well as on several streaming companies.
DVD
DVD - 4 Film Favorites: Family Movie Night
Amazon Prime
Thursday, August 1, 2019
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
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
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