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