A Salute to Stephen Sondheim - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

United Artists, 1966

Starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Michael Crawford, and Phil Silvers

Directed by Richard Lester

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim, one of the greatest songwriters and champions of musical theater, died on Friday. I honor his legacy and life this week with my first two reviews. Funny Thing was Sondheim's first show as a solo composer to debut on Broadway. The 1962 production wound up being a smash, thanks to a first-rate cast of Catskills comedians and a hilarious script based after the farcical comedies of Roman playwright Plautus. How does this ribald tale of a slave who'll do anything to secure his freedom...and almost gets half his neighborhood killed trying to do it...looks now? Let's begin in Rome, as Pseudolus (Mostel) introduces the major characters and the homes in question, and find out...

The Story: Pseudolus lives in a house in Rome with his master Senex (Michael Hordern), his domineering wife Domina (Patricia Jessel), their son Hero (Crawford), and the more loyal slave Hysterium (Gilford). The houses on either side of them belong to Marcus Lycus (Silvers), a seller of gorgeous female slaves, and Erronius (Buster Keaton), who is eternally searching for his children who were lost at sea. 

Hero catches sight of Philla (Annette Ardre) in the window at the house of Marcus Lycus and begs Pseudolus to bring him the girl. In return, he'll give Pseudolous the freedom he so craves. Trouble is, Lycus has already sold Philla to the loud and demanding soldier Captain Milos Gloriosus (Leon Greene). Psedulous convinces Hysterium to pose as Philla and convince Miles she's dead. Miles, however, is too convinced...and then Senex shows up, and Domina decides to come home early from visiting her mother...

The Song and Dance: Fast and funny farce is in the capable hands of a pack of professional hams, former Catskills, silent, and music hall comedians who definitely know how to handle the material. Mostel and Gilford delightfully repeat their acclaimed roles as the least and most loyal slaves in Rome, Crawford is an awkwardly adorable Hero, and Hordern and Jessel have a blast as the randy old man and his tough but (mostly) loving wife. Silvers has some nice moments as Lycus, too, especially when he's posing as a leper in order to sneak into the house and figure out what Pseudolous is doing. 

The production plays along with the rowdy antics by giving us a far earthier and more realistic Rome than usually seen in American films. It's one of the few musical movies that matches The Sound of Music for how well the characters inhabit their world. The characters dance and chase each others around outdoor locations in Spain that ably stand in for their Italian counterparts. 

Favorite Number: Pseudolous starts off with "Comedy Tonight" as he explains each of the principals, their relationship to each other, and why he wants his freedom so badly. Hero sings to Philla that she needn't be anything but "Lovely" in a spoof of romantic duets in musicals. It's even funnier later on,  when Pseudulous and Hysterium sing a reprise while dressing the latter in drag to fool Milos. "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" gets especially nutty, with Pseudulous, Hysterium, Senex, and Marcus singing about why everyone should have a cute little servant around in and around the house and all over Rome, even on a crumbling viaduct. Milos demands that Marcus "Bring Me My Bride" as he and his men parade into town, to the annoyance of the Romans who throw vegetables at them. 

Trivia: Buster Keaton's last film. He was 70 and had terminal cancer at the time and was still able to do many of his own stunts, including running into the tree and rolling back up again. 

The Broadway show was a huge success that ran two years. It's seen two major revivals in New York, with Silvers as Psedulous in 1972 and Nathan Lane in the role in 1996. It went over well in London too in 1963 and was popular enough to also be revived twice there, in 1986 and 2004. 

"Comedy Tonight" wasn't originally part of the show. The opening number out of town was a ballad...but it was too slow to start a wacky comedy. Sondheim wrote "Comedy" at the last minute, and it finally put the show over. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the movie is way too long at almost two hours. The continual farce and everyone running all over the place gets a bit wearying after a while, especially once Milos and his booming voice and sex-crazed men enter the picture. It can be hard to keep track of all the characters and whom is in love with whom. For all the very real cinematography, the material frequently has more of the feel of a play, with the cast ducking in and out of doors and playing to the audience. 

A lot of songs were cut from the stage version. In the show, everyone sings, including Domina and Senex. Lycus, Philla, Hero, and Hysterium all lost solos that went a long way towards fleshing out their characters, and in the case of Lycus, that of his ladies. 

The Big Finale: Highly recommended for fans of classic comedy and Sondheim lovers with time on their hands. 

Home Media: Easily found in all major formats. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Musicals On TV - Aladdin (1958)

CBS, 1958

Starring Sal Mineo, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Cyril Ritchard, and Una Merkel

Directed by Ralph Nelson

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

Cole Porter was one of the most beloved songwriters on two sides of the Atlantic from the late 1920's through the mid-1950's. He saw a career revival with the success of Kiss Me Kate, but the late 50's saw the one-two punch of the amputation of his legs after years of pain from a riding accident and the death of his wife and companion Linda. These two incidents took their toll and sent him into seclusion for what little remained of his life...but he did pull out of his depression long enough to pen the score for this early TV musical. How does this Arabian Nights tale come off today? Let's head to old Peking as Sui-Janel the Sorcerer (Ritchard) tells how he tried to take over China and find out...

The Story: Aladdin (Mineo) lives with his widowed mother (Merkel) in the marketplace of old Peking. One day, an old gentleman comes to their home and claims to be his long-lost uncle. He convinces his mother and Wu Fang (Howard Morris), a pickpocket, to let the boy retrieve a priceless object from a cave. 

Aladdin does find the lamp, but he ends up trapped in the cave. Rubbing the lamp reveals a Genie (Geoffrey Holder), who grants his wish to be free. His mother and Wu Fang don't believe him and think he's ill, but he knows what he saw. He next asks to see the Princess Ming Chou (Alberghetti), whom he met in the marketplace when he helped with her carriage. They fall for each other, but her father the Emperor (Basil Rathbone) demands Aladdin perform a feat of magic before they can be wed. Trouble is, he can't unless he has the Genie, and his mother and Wu Fang sold the lamp to the Sorcerer in disguise. Now, unless Aladdin can get that lamp back, the Sorcerer will overthrow the Emperor and take over all of China!

The Song and Dance: One thing I like about this one is the fidelity to the original Arabian Nights story. Aladdin was actually set in China, not in the Middle Eastern countries like in most versions of the story. Some of the performances are pretty decent, too. Dennis King does well enough as an astrologer who is in cahoots with the Sorcerer to send Aladdin to him, Rathbone brings gravity to his role as the tempermental Emperor, and Holder certainly looks the part of the Genie when he is seen. Speaking of seen, what little can be seen of the sets and costumes in the blurry black-and-white print on YouTube indicate that this was an attractive production, redolent of a fairy-tale, plum blossom-strewn Asia. 

Favorite Number: Ritchard gets off to a strong start with the show's most memorable song, the patter number "Come to the Supermarket" describing everything sold in Peking's market stalls. The Astrologer performs the soaring "Trust Your Destiny" twice, once in order to convince Aladdin to join the Sorcerer at the cave, and later when he's wishing he could marry the Princess. Richard, Morris, and Merkel remind Aladdin that "Opportunity Knocks but Once," and that he should take a chance if he wants more of out life. Alberghetti and Mineo duet on "I Adore You" when the Genie allows Aladdin to enter the palace and admit his love to Ming Chou. 

Trivia: Originally part of the DuPont Show of the Month series; the copy on YouTube comes complete with the original commercials advertising DuPont's chemical products.

The soundtrack album includes a song for the Chamberlain (George Hall), "Wouldn't It Be Fun," that was cut from the film. It features the last lyrics Cole Porter ever wrote. 

What I Don't Like: No matter how good the performances or songs are, it still comes down to this being a cast of white actors in unconvincing Asian makeup playing Chinese stereotypes. Other than the funny opening "Supermarket" number, Cole Porter's last score is far from his best as well. The ravages of time have been especially hard on this, too. It was only seen once, on it's original release, and other than the YouTube copy, can only be found in museums. The Paley Center really needs to throw some money towards restoring the fuzzy black-and-white kinetoscope currently available for viewing. 

The Big Finale: Only if you really love the cast, 50's musicals, or Porter. All others would be fine looking up Porter's earlier scores. 

Home Media: At press time, this rare bit of TV history can only be found on YouTube. 

YouTube

Happy Thanksgiving! - Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

Disney, 1999

Voices of Jim Cummings, Paul Winchell, John Fielder, and Ken Sansom

Directed by Harry Arends, Jun Falkenstein, and Kari Geurs

Music and Lyrics by The Sherman Brothers and Michael and Patty Silversher

This is the first of three direct-to-video "movies" made up of episodes from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, new material, and the Pooh holiday specials of the mid-90's. It's also one of the last projects the Sherman Brothers were involved in to date. How does Pooh's first holiday collection look nowadays? Let's start with Tigger as he's hoping for skiing weather and find out...

The Story: This is an anthology, so we have three stories.

Groundpiglet's Day: The pages of Rabbit's calendar have blown away, making Rabbit believe it's now Groundhog's Day. He and the others recruit Piglet to find out if they'll be having six more weeks of winter, or if spring is here. Piglet accidentally doesn't see his shadow, making the others believe spring is coming. Rabbit blows up at Piglet when he finds out otherwise, but eventually goes after him to make amends.

A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving: The citizens of the Hundred Acre Woods is ready to gather for their own Thanksgiving feast, with lots of honey and haycorns...until Rabbit butts in. No no, says the yellow bunny, that's not how a traditional Thanksgiving's done. With Piglet and Pooh recruited to catch the turkey and Eeyore and Tigger to find cranberries, this dinner's on a course for disaster, until Pooh remembers the real reason for the holiday.

Find Her, Keep Her: Rabbit explains how he rescued Kessie, a baby bird whom he found lost in a snowstorm, and raised her as his own child. It's hard for him to let go when she wants to fly south for the winter, but he comes to realize how important it is for her.

The Animation: Par for the course for the Pooh franchise and Disney TV and direct-to-home media animation of the 80's and 90's...and that's really how it should be. This is one franchise that doesn't really need fancy animation, just characters that look and move well enough and at least somewhat resemble the ones in the books. 

The Song and Dance: The last two segments alone make this worth seeing for Pooh fans. "Thanksgiving" is the third of four times in the Pooh franchise someone calls off a holiday to avoid hurting feelings or a lot of trouble...and cause even more problems anyway. Piglet and Pooh's attempt to find the turkey is funny and Tigger and Eeyore have a great number while looking for "cranberries," but I think Gopher's explosive attempt at pumpkin pie is by far the funniest bit in that short. 

"Find Her, Keep Her" is one of the best New Adventures episodes. It's hilarious and adorable to see how Rabbit goes from finding Kessie a nuisance to bringing her up as his own daughter...and utterly heartbreaking when he realizes that her learning to fly means she no longer needs his protection. It's so good, it almost makes up for the story having no real connection to the Christmas season. 

Favorite Number: The gentle Sherman Brothers title tune plays between shorts, connecting them with its sweet lyrics representing each season depicted in the segment. The remaining songs are all from the Thanksgiving special. Pooh announces "Hooray, Hooray" as he brings his honey pot to the big Thanksgiving feast and he sings of how happy he is for good friends and good food. Tigger says "Berrily We Roll Along" as he and Eeyore attempt to gather cranberries, only keep finding blueberries instead. The entire Hundred Acre Woods manage to get together for their own type of holiday meal in "Our Thanksgiving Day."

What I Don't Like: What the heck is "Groundspiglet's Day" doing here? First of all, other than a few good gags towards the end when Rabbit mistakes a pile of snow for Piglet, it's the least-interesting short in the batch. The jokey tone doesn't match the sentimental Thanksgiving special or the dramatic "Find Her" and doesn't work with the holiday theme, either. Not to mention, Rabbit comes off as even more of a jerk than in the other two segments, especially to Piglet. 

And yes, there's the fact that the holiday theme of this film is tenuous at best. It's also obvious that different actors were used for the new Christmas sequences bookending "Find Her" - most of them sound totally different than the original cast. 

The Big Finale: Charming Thanksgiving viewing for families with young kids or major Pooh fans who don't mind the twice-told origins and so-so opening short. 

Home Media:  Very out of print on DVD. Your best bet is streaming or looking for the DVD used.

DVD

Vudu

Cult Flops - Invitation to the Dance

MGM, 1956

Starring Gene Kelly, Igor Youskevich, Claire Sombert, and Tamara Tourmova

Directed by Gene Kelly

Music by Jaques Ibert, Andre Previn, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Kelly wanted to make a movie that was nothing but dance for a long time. Filming began in 1952, but wasn't completed until 1954, due to the complicated animation/live-action sequence. MGM further held up the release for two years while they tried to figure out what to do with a dialogue-free, all-dance anthology film with one major star. They eventually sent it out to art houses and upscale theaters in an attempt to cater to more sophisticated tastes. It didn't work, and the film was a flop...but did it deserve that fate? Let's begin at a Circus in a fantasy land, where the show is about to begin, and find out...

The Story: This being an anthology, there's actually three stories. 

The Circus: A clown in Pierrot makeup (Kelly) falls for a beautiful dancer (Sombert), but she loves the daring Aerialist (Youskevich). 

Ring Around the Rosy: When a jealous wife (Daphne Dale) gives the bracelet her husband (David Paltenghi) gave her to an artist (Yousekvich) to make her husband jealous, it sets off a round robin as the bracelet goes all over the city.

Sinbad the Sailor: The sailor (Kelly) is drawn into an animated Arabian Knights storybook by a kid Genie (David Kasday), where he falls for a harem girl and tries to evade a pair of sword-wielding guards. 

The Animation: Done in the sketchy style then in vogue, the sherbet watercolors are likely intended to invoke a storybook come to life. The backgrounds are lovely but fairly static watercolors. The characters move better and are slightly more detailed, and yes, they do move in time with Kelly very well, even now. 

The Song and Dance: Obviously, this one's all about the dance. Kelly gathered an array of ballet stars (Youskevich), stage dance luminaries (Carol Haney), and familiar film dancers (Tommy Rall) to bring these three romantic tales to life. The final segment is the most fun, with its flirtatious dragon, dancing guards, and child Genie who turns into a mini sailor sidekick. The second probably has the best actual performances, especially from star ballerina Claude Bessy as the playful model, Tamara Tourmanova as the streetwalker whom the husband buys the bracelet off of in the end, and Rall as the model's hustler boyfriend. 

Favorite Number: Kelly and the clowns kick things off with a lively and slapstick-filled number in the Circus opening as they show off for the townspeople. The peasants are transported by the circus and the Dancer by the Aeralist...but the Clown wanders through town, dancing of his loneliness after everyone's left. 

"Ring" features two great duets - the playful romance of the Artist and the Model as she steals a sandwich from him and the darker exchange of the Lady of the Streets (Tourmanova) and the drunk Marine (Kelly) who is angry at his girlfriend (Diana Adams) after she gets the bracelet. 

Kelly has another gorgeous romantic duet in "Sinbad," this time with the harem girl as they glide through an imaginary field of rainbow flowers against a misty blue backdrop. (Kelly would do a similar routine in another Hanna-Barbara musical hybrid he did in the 60's on TV, Jack and the Beanstalk.) Kelly's in trouble with the dragon...until Kasday charms it, and it turns out to have more than a sailor meal on its mind! He does even better with the guards, dancing them into jars and shoving them into their hats in a desperate attempt to avoid them.

What I Don't Like: If you're not a fan of dance or Kelly, forget it. This is isn't for those looking for a more traditional musical with a few big chorus routines and spoken dialogue between numbers. You have to love dance as much as Kelly to really get into this. There's the mood whiplash too, from tragic romance to round-robin dark comedy-drama to fluffy animated fantasy. 

The Big Finale: As much as I enjoy dance, I'm not sure what to think of this unique passion project. The dancing is first-rate, but if you're not a huge fan of Kelly, ballet, or modern dance, you'll probably be bored. 

Home Media: Alas, the Warner Archives DVD is currently out of print and not on streaming. Your best bet is looking for the DVD used or catching it occasionally on TCM.

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Scarecrow (2000)

Warner Bros, 2000

Voices of Shawn Hoffman, Belinda Montgomery, Ray Porter, and Christie Albers

Directed by Brian Nissen and Richard Rich

Music and Lyrics by various

Warner Bros still wanted to compete with Disney in the late 90's, even after Quest for Camelot was a box-office disappointment. Animation director Richard Rich joined the studio at this point, looking to come back from the failure of his independent The Swan Princess. He couldn't have come at a worse time. Animated fantasies, even from Disney, were starting to go out of fashion, hastened by the spectacular thuds of ill-conceived projects like Rich's first Warners movie The King and I. In fact, that movie went over so badly, Warners tossed this one straight on video. Did it deserve that fate, or should this scarecrow get a second chance to dance? Let's begin with our narrator Miss Bee Bee (Albers) as she explains the rather complicated situation, and find out...

The Story: Miss Bee Bee is a witch who is driven out of Grisham Heights by it's nasty owner and namesake Grisham (Porter) after he confiscates her book of spells. She moves up into the mountains with her living broom and creates a tiny house and garden. Polly (Montgomery), an orphan in Grisham's working mill, finds the garden and buries the money she's earned to set her and three children free under Miss Bee Bee's scarecrow (Hoffman). Miss Bee is quite lonely herself and brings the scarecrow to life in order to keep her company, even teaching him to dance. 

She takes off before Grisham figures out where she is, but leaves the Scarecrow a magical feather. When he wears it in his hat, it gives him a true human form he names Feathertop. Now he can ask Polly to dance with him...but Grisham wants her, too. Feathertop has to sacrifice himself to save another, and learn a little bit about real love in the process, if he wants to remain human forever.

The Animation: I'm not sure why they thought this was theater-worthy. It's not horrible, but it's not up to even the quality of Rich's previous films The King and I and The Swan Princess. Admittedly, the characters move well, particularly when they're dancing, but they lack detail. The cartoony animal characters, including Feathertop's friend Max the Rat (Corey Feldman), look more like they came out of a later Looney Tunes short than colonial literature. 

The Song and Dance: Based after the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story Feathertop, the core story is actually a charming little fantasy. The Beauty and the Beast-esque story of the scarecrow who wants to be human in order to reveal his love to a young girl has its heart in the right place. Some of the dancing sequences aren't badly done and certainly have energy to spare. 

Favorite Number: Our first actual number isn't until ten minutes in, but it's a sour chorus routine for the unhappy workers at Grisham's mill who make costumes "So the Count Can Dance" while Polly hopes she and the younger orphans will soon be "On Our Way." The human Feathertop encourages the people to "Come One, Come All" to see him dance with Max in drag on a stage in town. He and Polly have a romantic duet as he teaches her to dance "In Your Arms." "We Gotta Do Better Than That" turns into a  huge dance showcase for Polly and Feathertop as they show off moves ranging from 30's jitterbug to 70's disco to 90's pop star. 

What I Don't Like: You get an idea of what to expect the moment Miss Bee Bee opens her mouth and sounds more like someone's annoyed aunt in 2000 than a colonial woman put out of her home. It's too bad they didn't actually try to adapt Feathertop, instead of tossing together a mess of clichés from animated films of the time. As I mentioned, there's the kernel of a good idea here, but it's buried in a morass of silly dialogue, inane and dull characters, and topical references completely unsuited to either the story or the Colonial New England setting (like Miss Bee Bee turning up in a computer hologram, complete with buttons to push). 

The Big Finale: Yeah, I can see why this was Rich's second and last movie for the studio. Reviews online indicate that this seems to have picked up a small cult following that rented it on video in the early 2000's and have fond memories. I'm afraid it's too dated and silly for me. Only if you really remember seeing that video or have kids who may enjoy the romantic storyline. 

Home Media: Not currently on disc, but it can be found streaming at several sites. 

Amazon Prime

April Showers

Warner Bros, 1948

Starring Jack Carson, Ann Sothern, Robert Ellis, and Robert Alda

Directed by James V. Kern

Music and Lyrics by various

Shine On Harvest Moon was far from the last time Jack Carson appeared in an early 20th-century-set vaudeville tale in the 40's.  While this wasn't technically a biography, it had a lot in common with the early years of comedian Buster Keaton, who did start out in vaudeville with his parents and helped put their act over and make it a success. How does this translate into the story of a performing family who want to stay together at all costs? Let's start at the theater, as Joe (Carson) and June (Sothern) Tyne are about to receive a surprise guest, and find out...

The Story: That guest is their son Buster (Ellis), who ran away from boarding school to be with them. Turns out he's incredibly talented. When they go from the Two to the Three Tynes, the act becomes a smash success in California and on the West Coast. They're all thrilled when they're asked to join a Broadway vaudeville bill, but it turns out that laws for child actors are far stricter on the East Coast than out west. Joe and June try to pass Buster off as a midget, but it doesn't wash and they go back west humiliated. 

Joe takes to drink after they flop, so much that the act becomes unemployable. He sends June and Buster off with smooth singer Billy Shay (Alda) to replace him. The act is a hit, but June and Buster miss him. Billy tries to get June to marry him, and Joe claims he wants a divorce...but their agent Mr. Curley (SZ Sakall) knows that all they want is to be together and performing again.

The Song and Dance: Carson was one of the most versatile actors at Warners in the 30's and 40's. He could do straight comedy, musicals, and even melodrama, as we see with his intense performance here. Southern matches him well as the strong-willed lady who loves show business almost as much as her husband. Ellis also has some fine comic moments, does fairly well with the drama, and really does dance better than his screen parents. The intimate black-and-white production gives us a glimpse of the gritty life of vaudevillians in the early 20th century - traveling from town to town, never knowing where your next meal or gig will be, the joy of moving to a better theater, the agony of flopping and being sent back down several rungs. 

Favorite Number: We first meet Shay doing an act surrounded by beautiful girls in skimpy costumes as he sings a medley of "Pretty Baby" and "Every Little Moment." The Tynes kick off with doing "April Showers" as a duo...and they end it as a trio in a big West Coast show, with all three of them in their baggy-pants clown costumes surrounded by the chorus in more fanciful ruffles and tulle. Joe and Buster sing together about how their wife and mother is "The World's Most Beautiful Girl." Later, when Joe's leaving, Buster asks him for a song he used to sing him to sleep to, "The Little Trouper."

What I Don't Like: Oh boy, does this one ladle on the melodrama in the second half. Once they leave New York and their careers go downhill, so does the movie. Joe's descent into alcoholism is too sudden and really pretty ridiculous and kind of annoying. Alda's oily Shay is such an obvious villain, even his family thinks it's amazing he wants to send them off with him. They keep throwing in cliché after cliché, and they're handled with all the subtlety of a clown slapstick to the rear. 

It's also pretty obvious this is a lower-budget production than Shine On Harvest Moon or other big musicals of the time. There's no really big numbers until the end. Other than Shay and his girls and the big finale, it's mainly the Tynans or an act singing. It's also very surprising this is filmed in black and white. The vaudeville era cries out for rainbow colors. 

The Big Finale: Pleasant enough time-waster if  you run into it on TCM and love the leads or 40's musicals, but nothing you really need to seek out. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Shine On Harvest Moon

Warner Bros, 1944

Starring Dennis Morgan, Ann Sheridan, Jack Carson, and S.Z Sakall

Directed by David Butler

Music and Lyrics by Jack Norworth and others

Nora Bayes was one of the most popular vaudeville stars of the early 20th century. She introduced the title number during the very first Ziegfeld Follies in 1908 and was one of the earliest media celebrities. Her feminist views and mercurial temperament commanded headlines around the world. She married Norworth, the song's writer and a vaudevillian in his own right, shortly after. Bayes died of cancer in 1928, but she was well-remembered enough to command a nostalgic biography at the height of World War II. How well does it do bringing Bayes' life and her world of honky-tonks, vaudeville theaters, and buggy rides under harvest moons to the big screen? Let's start at one of those vaudeville theaters as magician The Great Georgetti (Carson) does his act and find out...

The Story: Up-and-coming songwriter and singer Jack Norworth (Morgan) first sees Nora Bayes (Sheridan) perform at a seedy nightclub when he's out on the town with Georgetti. She's the girlfriend of club owner Dan Costello (Robert Shayne), who keeps asking her to entertain big shots in order to wheedle more money for his theaters out of them. After she talks to Norworth and he gets jealous, she realizes she's had enough...especially after Norworth starts a bar brawl and she throws a brick through Dan's window and gets them arrested. They manage to sing their way out of it after the cops recognize them. A smitten Jack takes Nora home. 

Nora's badly shaken when her solo debut is hooted down by Costello's men, but Jack is undaunted. He convinces singer Blanche Mallory (Irene Manning) to perform as a duo with Nora in vaudeville. The act works for one night before Blanche gets angry over the blockbuster reaction to Nora's solo and quits. The producers still want Nora with a partner, so Jack convinces her marry him. They become wildly popular...but then find themselves blackballed out of show business when a still-jealous Costello buys up as many theaters as he can. Nora insists that Jack become Blanche's partner, but Blanche knows there's only one singer in Jack's life.

The Song and Dance: Where this one scores is in depicting the world of vaudeville in all its early 20th century glory - seal acts, sister acts, husband-wife teams, dancers, acrobats, magicians and their pretty assistants. The slightly seedy ambiance is more accurate and interesting than any of its melodramatic plot turns. Sheridan and Morgan do very well as the hot-tempered singer and the idealistic songwriter who knows they're at their best when they're together. Sakall is a flat-out delight as the older vaudeville scout who brings them back together, and ice-cold Manning does well as Nora's jealous rival. The costumes and sets are absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the time period, especially during the Technicolor Ziegfeld Follies finale. 

Favorite Number: We're introduced to Nora with the rest of the nightclub cast performing the lavish patriotic number "My Own United States," complete with Capitol backdrop and dancers in stars and stripes. Nora, Georgetti, and Norworth manage to avoid being tossed in the hoosegow by getting the cops at the precinct to join in on the catchy "It Looks Like a Big Night Tonight." Nora's touching "Time Waits for No One" is drowned out by Costello's men hooting it down in retaliation for her leaving him. Sheridan and Manning share the adorable medley "We're Doing Our Best" and "Don't Let the Rainy Days Get You," but Sheridan eclipses that with her robust performance Bayes first real-life hit, "How Can They Tell I'm Irish." 

She and Jack write "Shine On Harvest Moon" during a clip-clopping moonlit buggy ride. It's a preposterous depiction of songwriting that still manages to be fairly charming. We get another montage of Norworth hits, including the one he's probably best-remembered for today, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," as the now-married couple climb the vaudeville catwalk ladder to success. Carson declares that his assistant Margie is "So Dumb but So Beautiful" when she drives him crazy during their act. 

The movie ends with a spotlight taking us into Technicolor and a reprise of the film's major songs, including the title number. As the Norworths drive along in a more elaborate buggy, Carson shows off Ziegfeld beauties dressed as harvest vegetables and we get a lively dance routine from a pack of slightly creepy scarecrows.

What I Don't Like: This is another "biography" with very little to do with reality. Nora Bayes apparently was married to Jack Norworth and may have written "Harvest Moon" with him, but they married after she had her huge success in the Follies, not before. She married five times, with two of them coming after she and Jack broke it off. Costello's silly and childish plot of buying theaters just to spite Nora is also a complete fabrication. In fact, Nora, Jack, and Ziegfeld are pretty much the only real people in the entire film. 

Oh, and TCM needs to throw money towards restoring this one. There were a lot of scratches and the copy seemed a bit blurry. The Technicolor looked much better, but those scarecrow costumes really were creepy. Speaking of the finale, that number and the movie in general goes on for way too long. Some of the duller melodrama in the second half with Costello buying theaters and blackballing them could have been trimmed with no one the wiser.

The Big Finale: That said, this is still an underrated charmer with some genuinely delightful numbers and performances. Highly recommended for fans of Sheridan, Morgan, or the musicals of the 1940's. 

Home Media: Sadly, this one can't be found anywhere but occasional TCM showings at the moment. 

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Family Fun Saturday - Popeye (1980)

Paramount/Disney, 1980

Starring Robin Williams, Shelly Duvall, Paul L. Smith, and Paul Dooley

Directed by Robert Altman

Music and Lyrics by Harry Nilsson

The success of Annie in 1977 sent stage and film producers looking for other comic book properties that could be turned into musicals. After losing a bidding war on the rights, Paramount looked at characters they already owned. Though Kings Syndicate owned the Popeye comics, Paramount had the film rights to the character, having released a series of animated shorts from 1933 to 1957. Disney came on in 1979 to distribute the film internationally and foot part of the bill. Director Robert Altman, known for his dark comedies like MASH and Nashville, took over the production, and proved to be more of a headache as he clashed with Williams and others and insisted the songs be recorded live. Does the movie deserve a punch in the nose from Bluto, or a kiss from Olive Oyl? Let's begin as Popeye arrives in the harbor town of Sweet Haven and find out...

The Story: Popeye the Sailor (Williams) arrives in Sweet Haven searching for his lost father, Poopdeck Pappy (Ray Walston). He rents a room in a boarding house owned by the Oyl family. Their daughter Olive (Duvall) is engaged to wealthy local bully Bluto (Smith), whose boss The Commodore owns most of the town. Popeye first encounters Olive when she's running out on the engagement party, having found nothing especially pleasant about Bluto besides his size. 

As they argue over Olive running away, the two discover an abandoned baby in a basket. They name him Swee'pea, and Popeye in particular adores him. The town warms up to him too after he first helps the Oyls out by taking out a gigantic boxer and winning a huge prize, then tossing the Tax Man (Donald Moffat) in the harbor. Wimpy (Dooley), the local hamburger fan and moocher, discovers that little Swee'pea also has a talent for winning money when he whistles before the right answer to a question. After the child falls into Bluto's hands, Popeye, Wimpy, and the Oyl family go after him...but Popeye's in for a major surprise when they learn whom "The Commodore" actually is. 

The Song and Dance: My sisters and I used to love this movie when it ran frequently on cable during the mid-80's. It was like the Popeye cartoons we watched on TV come to life. Williams is a perfect Popeye; all the work he did to get his squint and muttering mannerisms down was worth it. Duvall is an even better Olive Oyl, feisty and priggish one minute, wailing to Popeye to save her the next, and she sure as heck looks the part. Smith is hilariously mean as Bluto, Dooley a hysterical and dignified Wimpy, and Walston makes the most of his limited screen time as Popeye's gruff father who is more like his son than he'll admit. 

The cinematography, sets, and Altman's laid-back direction goes a long way towards adding to the feel of this being a living cartoon. Sweet Haven bursts with life, with something wacky or weird going on in every frame. And no wonder her time in Malta and a book of fairy tales inspired Duvall to produce the Showtime series Fairy Tale Theatre. It's absolutely gorgeous, with radiant blue skies and clear turquoise waters for the finale with the octopus. 

Favorite Number: The movie opens with "Sweet Haven - An Anthem," as the sour townspeople explain who they are and how they hope God - or someone - will help get them through the Depression and the high taxes. Olive explains to the ladies who prepare her for Bluto's arrival that her only interest in him is "He's Large." Bluto's response when she doesn't show is to destroy her family's home while singing that "I'm Mean." The chorus of men at the diner join Wimpy in singing about how "Everything Is Food." Popeye and Olive sing "Swee'Pea's Lullaby" as they fall hard for their new charge. "I Yam What I Yam" is Popeye's declaration to the people of Sweet Haven that he's just himself, no hero. Olive, meanwhile, realizes that she loves Popeye because "He Needed Me." Pappy and Bluto claim "It's Not Easy Bein' Me" as they admit it's tough to be a villain in a comic book story.

Trivia: The set for Sweet Haven was so remarkably detailed, the country of Malta purchased it and runs it to this day as a popular tourist destination, Popeye Village. 

Contrary to popular belief, the movie wasn't a huge flop and did make it's money back, but it wasn't the blockbuster hit Paramount and especially Disney were hoping for, either. 

What I Don't Like: Those who aren't familiar with Altman's crowded style or the Popeye comic strip may be just as baffled as many critics in the early 80's. It's more like the episodic comics than the cartoons, where Bluto and Popeye were friends/rivals and even most of the World War II shorts didn't get that dire. The story meanders and wanders and occasionally goes nowhere, particularly in the first half before they find Swee'Pea and the plot kicks in. That live recording makes some folks, especially Duvall and her sweet little singing voice, hard to hear at times.

The movie works better when it's going all-in for cartoon craziness, as in Popeye taking out a diner full of local goons single-handed and the boxing match, than with the darker moments showing Popeye's depression over his abandonment and Olive's real feelings for her forced fiancée. And as funny as the finale is, the fight between Bluto and Popeye when he finally does get spinach in him is mainly Popeye throwing a few punches and is nearly as effective as I'd like it to be. 

The Big Finale: This is another movie that people will either really love, or really not get. If you're a fan of the Popeye comics, Nilsson, or Altman and his work, or have equally fond memories of those cable showings from your childhood, you'll want to jump on the next boat to Sweet Haven and join the search for Pappy's treasure. 

Home Media: This movie's cult following assures it can be found everywhere and on every format. It remains a cable perennial to this day, especially on HBO, whose parent company Warner Bros is now part-owner of the animated shorts. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Saluting Our Troops - Best Foot Forward

MGM, 1943

Starring Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, and Tommy Dix

Directed by Edward Buzzell

Music and Lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane

This Veteran's Day, we salute our troops-in-training with the second military school comedy I've reviewed in a little over a month. It also has a lot in common with Meet the People. Once again, Ball plays a glamorous star courted by an average guy in an adaptation of a stage success. We trade the "common man" and steel workers for military cadets in awe of Lucy's sass and her legs...and their dates who wish they'd get their minds off stars and onto them. How well does all this come off on the big screen? Let's start at Winsocki Military School in Philadelphia with the arrival of the dates for their big prom and find out..

The Story: Bud Hooper (Dix) wrote movie star Lucille Ball (herself) a letter inviting her to the prom. Encouraged by her agent Jack O'Reilly (Gaxton), she accepts as a publicity stunt. Her arrival was the last thing Bud expected, or anyone else at the school. He cancels his date with his actual girlfriend Helen Schlesinger (Weidler), who is furious when she finds out, and tells the teachers and chaperones that Ball is Helen. 

The prom, with Harry James and His Music Makers (themselves) playing the tunes, goes over smashingly...until Helen and her jealous friends reveal to everyone who Ball really is. Bud may be the one who pays for the ensuing mayhem, unless Ball goes to bat for him and reminds the school board that he's just a normal kid in love. 

The Song and Dance: There's energy to spare in this cross between a teen musical and a military show. The kids have a great time with the wild farce; Nancy Walker, Gloria DeHaven, and June Allyson make the most of their limited screen time as Helen's jilted friends. At the very least, Ball seems a little bit more awake fending off the love-besotted cadets and sparring with Gaxton than she did in among the welders in Meet the People. I also appreciate that, unlike our previous military academy comedy About Face, the cast appears to be the right age for military school and their roles. And unlike most Broadway adaptations from this time, almost all of the songs from the original show were retained, with only two additions. 

Favorite Number: The girls open things with "Wish I May Wish I Might" with the eager boys as they arrive at the school to an energetic chorus. Disgusted by the performance of the classical piece "The Flight of the Bumblebee" at the prom, Walker, Allyson, and DeHaven explain why "The Three Bs" - the barrelhouse, the blues, and the boogie woogie - are where it's at. The dates make "My First Promise" to the boys as they waltz through arbors so the guys can give them rings. Ball (dubbed by Gloria Grafton) gently admits to Bud "You're Lucky" to still be a kid with few responsibilities. The movie begins and ends with it's major hit and most famous number, the rousing march "Buckle Down, Winsocki," sung by the boys over the credits and as a drill formation at their graduation. 

Trivia: Allyson, Walker, and Dix were all in the original cast of the 1941 Broadway version, which ran for almost a year. Another movie star, Rosemary Lane, played the glamor girl who accepted Bud's invitation. It hasn't been on Broadway since, but it was adapted for TV in 1954 and successfully revived off-Broadway in 1963, in a cast that included Liza Minnelli and Christopher Walken. 

This was Virginia Weidler's last movie. 

What I Don't Like: And no wonder. All she does in this film is pout and whine over her boyfriend abandoning her. Granted, he should have been more honest about Ball and his request, but she acted like a baby. Considering how much fun Allyson, DeHaven, and especially Walker are having, I really wish all three of them had more to do. Walker at least gets to fire off a few good wisecracks about her status as the world's most undesirable blind date. Wish the boys weren't so interchangeable, too. Other than a few wearing glasses, they all look alike. I'm not sure how the girls can tell them apart, let alone complain about them chasing Ball. 

Oh, and despite James' presence, other than "Buckle Down" and "Three Bs," the songs just aren't that memorable. Many of them are riddled with dull choreography or go on for way too long. 

The Big Finale: Enjoyable enough fluff for fans of the four leading ladies, big band music, or 40's musicals. 

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

DVD

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Meet the People

MGM, 1944

Starring Lucille Ball, Dick Powell, Virginia O'Brien, and Bert Lahr

Directed by Charles Reisner

Music and Lyrics by various

Meet the People began life as Los Angeles revue in 1940. It moved to Broadway on Christmas Day, where it lasted five months, not bad for the time. MGM hit it with the This Is the Army Syndrome three years later, adding a thin wartime-related plot to stuff between songs. Ball was MGM's glamor girl of the moment; Powell stopped there on his way to RKO by way of Warners. Toss in Bert Lahr and original cast members Virginia O'Brien, Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra, and Spike Jones and His City Slickers, and you have a formula for an extremely of its time musical comedy. Let's begin with stage star Julie Hampton (Ball) talking before a crowd of eager shipyard workers and find out just how much of it's time this show is...

The Story: Welder William "Swanee" Swanson (Powell) lies that he sold the most bonds so he can meet Julie. He's so thrilled, he tells the workers she'll kiss everyone who makes additional pledges to him, allowing him to win. After he does win, he takes her out on a date and shows her the musical he's written, Meet the People. She's impressed and shows it to big-shot Broadway producer Monte Rowland (Morris Ankrum), but he's angry when the showy costumes don't reflect the working man depicted in his show and takes off. 

To prove she has the common touch, Julie goes to work at the same shipyard he's at. Julie's surprised as anyone when she finds the work enjoyable and the people fun to be around, and manages to convince Swanee to sign with Monte again. Bringing in photographers to show her working with the people and her speech to the workers goes over less well, leading him to accuse her of hypocrisy. Things get even worse when his cousin John (John Craven) comes home and learns there's no show. Swanee runs off to secure the funds for the show...but Julie and the workers have more than a few surprises in store for him.

The Song and Dance: Once place where I do give this one credit - at the very least, the plot about everyone banding together to create something that truly shows the voice of the people is a lot less dull than the romantic melodrama Warners shoehorned into This Is the Army. The real interest is the cast and the music. Monroe even gets in on a few numbers, and Spike Jones and the City Slickers have an obvious ball with their routine. (Their performances here and in Thank Your Lucky Stars makes me wish they turned up more often in the movies.) 

Favorite Number: We hear the romantic ballad "In Times Like These" twice, first when Powell and Ball duet on it while he sells her on his musical, and later as a number for Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra. The title song also appears twice, in a stirring version for Powell during a daydream when Swanee imagines his show reaching all the workers of America, and later in a more glamorous rendition during rehearsals for Ball and the chorus, bedecked in feathers and glitter. June Allyson joins O'Brien and Monroe at the worker's dance insisting "I'd Like to Recognize the Tune."

The real emphasis here is on the supporting cast. One young female dancer gives us an amazing acrobatic dance routine during a show at the shipyard, featuring lots of incredible bends and spins. The City Slickers get into swashbucklers spoofs in French Revolution dress for the wacky "Shicklegruber." Bert Lahr gets on the gags as well while making fun of nautical shanties with "Heave Ho, Let the Wind Blow." Virginia O'Brien gets in on the dark and rather disturbing comedy number "Say We'll Be Sweethearts Again," about a young woman who wants to stay with her boyfriend despite him being obviously done with her, at the show. 

Trivia: Bert Lahr's mannerisms in this film and his catchphrase "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" would later inspire the Hanna-Barbara pink lion character Snagglepuss. 

Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart wrote "I'd Like to Recognize the Tune." 

"Say We'll Be Sweethearts Again" found a somewhat more appropriate showcase as a number for Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series. 

What I Don't Like: Powell and Ball are clearly bored. Powell left Warners to get away from this type of malarky. No wonder he never did another musical. While the emphasis on shipyard work and the importance of war workers makes this slightly more interesting story-wise than other semi-revues of the time, it's still too fluffy for its own good and, like This Is the Army, was probably better off as an unrelated collection of songs and sketches. In fact, all that talk about how important war work is and how easy Julie's life is by comparison comes off sounding preachy and annoying nowadays. (Even Julie calls Swanee on it.) Other than "Recognize the Tune" and the rather disturbing "Say We'll Be Sweethearts," the songs aren't all that memorable, either. 

The Big Finale: For fans of 40's musicals or the stars in question only. 

Home Media: Currently DVD-only; in fact, it was one of the earliest Warner Archive titles. 

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Chipmunk Adventure

The Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1987

Voices of Ross Bagdasarian Jr, Janice Karman, Dodie Goodman, and Susan Tyrell

Directed by Janice Karman

Music and Lyrics by various

Bagadararian's father created the Chipmunks and their human handler David Seville in 1958, on the single "Please Christmas Don't Be Late." It was a smash that season, leading to records and a prime-time cartoon three years later. The franchise stalled after Bagadararian died, but the cartoon continued to be popular in re-runs, enough for his son to revive the characters on record and in new Christmas special and cartoon show. The new Saturday morning show was even more successful, leading to more albums and this movie. How do those three squeaky-voiced juvenile rock stars and their female counterparts the Chipettes come off in a feature-length movie? Let's begin at David's (Bagdasarian) house, just as he's preparing for a trip to Europe, and find out...

The Story: Alvin (Bagdasarian) is bitterly disappointed when the Chipmunks can't join their guardian in Europe. Worse yet, their babysitter is kind but eccentric Mrs. Miller (Goodman). Alvin, his brothers Simon (Bagdasarian) and Theodore (Karman) join their girlfriends Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor (all Karman) at a local diner to play an around-the-world themed game. They're spied by wealthy Claudia Furstein (Tyrell) and her brother Klaus (Anthony De Longis), who offers to subsidize a race around the world to drop off sets of dolls representing the opposing team. Alvin and Theodore trick Mrs. Miller into thinking David wanted them to join him and convince a suspicious Simon to come along. 

At first, the trip goes splendidly for all involved...but then, after incidents for the girls in Cairo and Antarctica and the boys in the jungles of Fiji, it becomes clear that the Furnsteins sent them on a lot more than a world trip and doll exchange. In addition to the Furnsteins' people, there's another even shadier group trying to steal the dolls and keep them from their travels. It'll take a lot of teamwork for the kids to bring these characters down and reveal the Furnsteins' plot for once and all.

The Animation: Bagasarian said this was farmed out to more countries than the Chipmunks and Chipettes visited, and I'm afraid it looks it. The designs of the characters, especially the Chipmunks, fluctuate wildly from scene to scene, and even from minute to minute. There's several continuity errors too, with objects and characters vanishing from backgrounds or appearing where they shouldn't. At least the colors are gorgeous, with each country visited well represented by glowing jewel tones.

The Song and Dance: My sisters and I loved this movie when our parents recorded it off cable in the late 80's, and it's still fun to watch today. Kamen and Bagdasarian manage to bring range to the kids and their squeaky voices, and the Furnsteins are a hoot, especially Klous' ongoing feud with Claudia's nasty little dog Sophie. The music is incredibly catchy too, with some of these songs having lodged in my mind for over 30 years. 

Favorite Number: We don't get our first song until almost 20 minutes in and the kids have started our journey, but it's the delightful medley of the old Carmen Miranda numbers "I Yi Yi Yi Like You Very Much" and "Cuanto le Gusto." Alvin romps under a sombrero with all the pretty girls in Mexico, while Theodore desperately tries to get lunch and Simon ends up in the fountain. "Off to See the World" shows the kids at the different locations they visit throughout their trip, from the boys in Peru marketplaces and African waterfalls to the girls skiing in Switzerland and marching with the guards at Buckingham Palace in England. 

They're "The Girls (and Boys) of Rock and Roll" when they meet in Athens, and their bet to see "who can out rock-and-roll each other" turns into a show stopping dance routine. Eleanor sings the heart-wrenching ballad "My Mother" to an ailing baby penguin to remind him of his own parent as she and the other Chipettes return him to Antarctica. 

Trivia: Mrs. Miller can be heard singing "Witch Doctor" while talking to David on the phone after the boys leave and "Come On' a My House" as she drives to the airport.  Bagdasarian's father wrote those major late 50's hits; the latter was associated with Rosemary Clooney for most of her life. 

The TV show was such a success, the Bagdasarians used the money from it to fund this film. Working with those overseas studios ended up causing delays and pushing the film from December 1986 to May 1987. Several sequences and a song were ultimately cut for time and money, including a third Chipmunks/Chipettes routine "Flying With the Eagles" and a trip for the Chipmunks to Russia. 

What I Don't Like: As funny as the film is, a lot of it hasn't dated well. The sequences in Mexico, Cairo, and with the native tribe in Fiji are awash in obvious and ridiculous stereotypes. The "Wooly Bully" sacrificial number in Fiji in particular plays with this, with the natives partying with torches even as they want to throw the boys to the crocodiles. There's also all the animation bobbles in the second half, some of them quite distracting. 

Jeanette and Brittany sing "Gettin' Lucky" to charm a pack of snakes guarding the dolls during the Arabic sequence. The sight of the girls slinking around in relatively skimpy harem costumes while singing about making out may rub more than one audience the wrong way nowadays. There's also an awful lot of violence here for a lighthearted kid's film; the Fursteins and their jewel smuggling plot sounds more like something from a TV show of this time than anything on the Chipmunks' cartoon. 

The Big Finale: Even with those complaints, I still recommend this for older elementary school-age kids who'll enjoy the Chipmunks' antics and can handle the rougher stuff and adults who grew up watching the movie on cable and video. 

Home Media: Out of print and expensive on DVD and Blu-Ray and, as far as I can tell, not on streaming. Your best bet is likely to check eBay and other used sources as I did. 

DVD

I Dream Too Much

RKO, 1935

Starring Lily Pons, Henry Fonda, Eric Blore, and Osgood Perkins

Directed by John Cromwell

Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

The success of MGM's Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy operettas and Columbia's vehicles for opera star Grace Moore prompted other studios to try out opera singers in the mid-30's. Pons was a French diva whose career spanned over 30 years of concert and stage successes. She and her amazing coloratura soprano were credited with saving the Metropolitan Opera from bankruptcy when she debuted there in 1931. She was also excellent at marketing her face and brand and keeping herself in the public eye...which, along with that stunning soprano, is likely why RKO wanted to turn her into a star. How well did they succeed? Let's start in France, as singing hopeful Annette Monard (Pons) is tiring of her constant lessons, and find out...

The Story: Annette meets carefree American songwriter Johnny Street (Fonda) at a near-by carnival. They have so much fun and get so drunk, they end up married by the end of the night. Johnny's not happy about this at first, but Annette convinces Johnny to let her travel with him and make it work. 

She can't keep her talent hidden for long, though. When Johnny learns she's a talented coloratura soprano, he insists on making money to fund her career. She wants to help by singing in a dive bar, but he won't hear of it. He even punches out producer Paul Darcy (Perkins) when he thinks he's getting fresh with her. 

Annette finally turns to Perkins to make amends and sell Johnny's opera. She's not able to push his music, but Paul's enchanted with her voice. He makes her into a major opera star, the toast of Europe. Johnny's jealous and upset that he has to live on his wife's money and leaves. After Annette collapses from overwork and loneliness, she has to figure out how to get Johnny back...by turning his stodgy opera into an up-to-date musical comedy.

The Song and Dance: If you love opera or vintage opera stars, you'll really enjoy this one. Pons trills through Jerome Kern songs and opera arias alike. We even get to hear her repeat her success playing the title role of Lakme and singing it's difficult "Bell Song" aria. While RKO didn't go quite as all-out on this one as they often did on their Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films of the time, it's still an attractive production, with some lovely costumes for Pons and sets representing both the charming lower-class French flats and festivals, and the society world of grand opera. Eric Blore has a fine time as the Streets' fussy neighbor whose closest friend is a female sea lion he named Goddess.

Favorite Number: Pons sings "The Jockey On the Carousel" to a sobbing boy while they're riding together. Not only does the lilting lullaby cheer him up, but almost everyone in the carnival who can hear her joins in. "I'm the Echo" is the song she finally performs for Darcy to show him what a wonderful composer her husband is...only to reveal what a wonderful singer she is. The movie ends with the title song, as she trills into her high Cs and Es and dancers whirl around her on a staircase backdrop.

Trivia: Look for Lucille Ball in a small but funny role as the teenage daughter of one of the tourists whom Johnny leads around Paris. 

Despite them constantly referring to Goddess as a seal, she's actually a sea lion. 

What I Don't Like: There's a major leading man problem. Fonda never was comfortable in musicals. Though young and adorably awkward, he also has nothing about him to suggest a driven musician, nor any chemistry with Pons. His hissy fit when Annette starts making more money than him comes off more as a spoiled child than an adult worried about his marriage. (Even Annette calls him on it.)

Pons has her own troubles. She's a decent actress, but her high, thin voice doesn't record terribly well, and coupled with her singing, can come off as screechy or shrill to some non-opera fans. (There's a reason some waggish folks called this "I Scream Too Much.") The story starts off as goofy romantic comedy fluff that takes a left turn into overwrought melodrama after Annette becomes a star. It's really very dated, particularly how Annette finally pacifies her husband and his desire to provide for them. 

The Big Finale: Only for really major fans of vintage opera, Fonda, or 30's musicals. 

Home Media: Not available in on disc or streaming on this side of the pond. Look for it occasionally on TCM.

Watch TCM

Election Day Special - Of Thee I Sing

CBS, 1972

Starring Carroll O'Connor, Cloris Leachman, Jack Gilford, and Michelle Lee

Directed by Roger Beatty, Dave Powers, and Dick Hall

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

While we wait for the election results to come in, here's a rare bit of TV history. George and Ira Gershwin collaborated with playwrights Morrie Ryskind and George S. Kaufman on the original Broadway show in 1931, casting a jaundiced eye on the American political scene of the time, throwing musical darts at everything from vague political promises to the uselessness of the vice-presidency. Do those darts still hit the mark in the even darker climate of the early 70's, or should this candidate be sent packing? Let's start with a soundstage Washington DC with a campaign parade in honor of candidate John P. Wintergreen (O'Connor) and find out...

The Story: Wintergreen's handlers need to give him a platform, a hook that the country can care about that will propel him into the White House. When they ask a maid what she cares about, she first says "money," but then admits that it's "love." They agree to run on a platform of "love" and hold a beauty pageant to find a bride for Wintergreen. He's perfectly capable of finding his own bride in his secretary Mary Turner (Leachman). 

The winner, southern belle Diana Deveraux (Lee) is so crushed, she sues Wintergreen for breach of promise. Her daddy, one of Wintergreen's lackeys (Jim Backus) insists that the south will secede if Wintergreen remains in the White House. Meanwhile, no one can remember the name of vice-presidential candidate Alexander Throttlebottom (Gilford), or even really want him around...until he needs to preside over the Senate in the impeachment trials. 

The Song and Dance: Now this is musical satire done right. It's what It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman tried and failed to do three years later. In fact, the productions are very similar - cartoony sets, updated script, cast largely culled from sitcom stars of the time. Here, though, the Gershwin songs are pretty much left alone, and another from the stage sequel Let Them Eat Cake, "Mine," is added.  Leachman in particular is a revelation as sensible Mary, Lee's a riot as the jilted southern belle who tries to lie her way into Wintergreen's arms (and the White House), and Gilford's adorable as the political candidate who is so colorless, he can't even get into the White House without taking the tour.

Favorite Number: We kick off with that campaign parade as the chorus and their picket signs introduce us to "Wintergreen for President." "Who Is the Lucky Girl to Be?" takes us to the pageant in Atlantic City, as photographers are more interested in "The Dimple On My Knee" than anything political. Wintergreen's secretary Sam Jenkins (Garrett Lewis) and Mary's secretary Miss Benson (Shirley Kirkes) dance with the chorus in front of Madison Square Garden as they announce that "Love is Sweeping the Country" along with Wintergreen's feelings for Mary. 

Wintergreen proposes to Mary at the Garden (for the 47th time) with his campaign song, "Of Thee I Sing, Baby." They're so in love that their response to Diana's breach of promise suit is "Who Cares?" Gilford gets to have fun with the rhyming names of "The Senatorial Roll Call," while Diana wails she was "Jilted" (while capering in a skimpy polka-dot bathing suit) at the impeachment trial.

Trivia: The original production was a huge success, running two years at the height of the Great Depression and becoming the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. It would be the Gershwins' longest-running stage success in George's lifetime. It was revived briefly on Broadway in 1933, just before Let Them Eat Cake debuted. That was a surprise flop, maybe because it involved the US being invaded and turned into a dictatorship. Of Thee I Sing saw a brief and unsuccessful revival in 1952. Neither show's been on Broadway since, but Of Thee has turned up on regional stages and as an Encores! concert in 2006. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the cardboard sets and stagey production makes it more than obvious that this was made for 70's TV. Second, O'Connor does look like a political candidate and sings decently, but he otherwise seems out of place in a romantic leading man role or as a rube mayor thrown into big-time politics. I also wish the script hadn't cut out some of the cuter gags, like Mary winning John over with her corn muffins or the French ambassador throwing a fit because Diana is a very, very, very distant relative of Napoleon.

The Big Finale: This was so cute, I have no idea why this is the only filmed production of this show to date. Highly recommended viewing on Election Day evening if you're a fan of the Gershwins or any of the comedians involved, or are just looking for a different political satire to check out. 

Home Media: At press time, this rarity can only be found on YouTube.

YouTube