Somebody Loves Me

Paramount, 1952

Starring Betty Hutton, Ralph Meeker, Billie Bird, and Robert Keith

Directed by Irving Brecher

Music and Lyrics by various

We return to Woman's History Month with our second Betty Hutton biographical film. Hutton was still one of Paramount's biggest stars when she appeared in this film on one of the pioneering ladies of jazz. She's paired here with Ralph Meeker, then an up-and-coming leading man who was just coming off the original run of Mister Roberts. How well do they do as one of the most popular couples in vaudeville during the 1920's and 30's? Let's begin with Blossom Seely (Hutton) singing in a San Francisco nightclub in 1906...right before the San Francisco earthquake hits...and find out...

The Story: The first theater to reopen after the quake recovery is Grauman's Vaudeville. The manager said he'd put Blossom and her friend Essie (Bird) on the bill, but Blossom is last. Not only that, he gives her best song to the more refined headliner Nola Beach (Adele Jergens). Essie makes use of a banana and a hungry monkey to make sure Blossom gets that song. Not only does she get the spot, she's a sensation who becomes one of the top vaudeville headliners. 

While traveling in Paris, Blossom sees handsome Benny Fields (Meeker) and his buddies Forrest (Henry Slate) and Henry (Sid Tomack) performing at a club. She invites the guys to perform with her, but she really wants Benny. The other two go on without him after their number, which infuriates Blossom and Benny and causes Benny to break up the act. Blossom and Benny become a team, but he's consistently late for rehearsals and is always out with some girl...before he reveals that he wants to marry her. She's thrilled at first, but when she goes on vacation without him, he claims he married her for her fame. They break up, but he can't get bookings without her. She arranges for him to get a solo act...but he doesn't appreciate it until her friend Sam Doyle (Keith) points out how much she cares about him and wants him to be happy.

The Song and Dance: For all the Technicolor and lavish gowns for Hutton and Bird, I like how intimate this is compared to most biographies of this ilk. The focus is where it should be, on the two leads and Blossom's two best friends. Hutton herself is surprisingly subdued for her, though she does get to have fun tearing through two of Seely's signature numbers, "Toddlin' the Toledo" and "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans." Meeker matches her well as the tough guy who thinks he's marrying her for her fame, but ends up falling for her anyway. Oh, and look for Jack Benny introducing the two of them with a brief but hilarious routine with his violin. 

The Numbers: We open in that saloon in San Francisco with Blossom attempting the "Teasin' Rag" and "I Can't Tell You Why I Love You but I Do" before the earthquake hits. The more elegant Nola Beach sings "Honey, Oh My Honey" and starts "Toddlin' the Toledo" before a hungry monkey sits on her dress train. Blossom finishes the song in a far more energetic style. We then get a medley of "Dixie June," "San Francisco Bay," and "Smiles" for the doughboys in the trenches during World War I, ending with a major celebration after the end of the war. 

Meeker gets his first number on the ship to America, "I Cried for You." Their big number leads, with a stereotypical black maid dressing Blossom, leads into the more romantic "Rose Room." Blossom has way more fun with the black and yellow "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans." Forrest and Henry get into big trouble doing a number on their own afterwards, which leads to Benny breaking up the act. "Jealous" is a far simpler act, just the two of them at the piano...but it's a pretty accurate assessment of her feelings about his carousing. After they marry, she declares she'll "Love Him."

The one major chorus number is also the film's most problematic today. Hutton sings "Wang-Wang Blues," "Mister Banjo Man," and "Dixie Dreams" in blackface. Her rendition of "Dixie Dreams" is lovely, but it's also hard to separate it from the racial connotations. Benny's "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" is drowned out by a noisy and indifferent audience and two comics who tear off his clothes. They sing "On Your Own Little Feet" together in her room, then he reprises "Dixie June." He reprises the number with chorus girls at the theater, along with "Thanks to You." They finish with "Somebody Loves Me."

Trivia: Unlike many film biographies, this one had a happy ending in real-life and on-screen. Seeley did go into retirement after the death of vaudeville in the mid-30's. The relative success of this film pushed her and Fields back out into the limelight. They performed together on stage, record, and television until his death in 1959. She would continue into the 60's as a solo act, becoming one of the great female jazz singers of the 20th century until her death in 1974. 

Hutton was pretty much the only person who wasn't dubbed. Meeker was dubbed by Pat Morgan, Adele Jergens by Barbara Ames, Sid Tomack by Le Clark, and Henry Slate by Jack Baker. 

Film debut of character actor Nick Adams.

Hutton's last movie for Paramount.

What I Don't Like: First of all, see all that dubbing above. Couldn't they have found someone whose singing voice actually sounded like it belonged to Meeker? Morgan's voice is way too deep to be Meeker's. Second, this is about as typical of a biography as you can get. Meeker usually did film noir or drama and is not the first person you think as a leading man in a musical, and Hutton is oddly subdued for her. (She'd just come from surgery to remove growths on her throat, which explains a lot about her performance.) It has some bright spots and good songs, but is largely pretty ho-hum. 

The Big Finale: This is mainly for major fans of Hutton or the big 50's biographical musicals. 

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that the only place you can currently find it is YouTube.

YouTube

Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Song O' My Heart

Fox Film Corporation, 1930

Starring John McCormack, Maureen O'Sullivan, Alice Joyce, and John Garrick

Directed by Victor Borzage

Music and Lyrics by various

Top O' the evenin' lads an' lasses! This year, we go way far back and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with one of the great Irish tenors of the early 20th century. John McCormack was known for being the quintessential Irish singer, with his beefy appearance, ringing tones, and frequently sentimental choice of material. His popularity had dropped off somewhat by 1930, but he was still well-known enough for Fox to offer him his choice of material and pay him the princely sum of $200,000 to star in the film. Is this operetta drama worthy of McCormack's artistry, or should it be left at home? Let's start with two frequent gossips at the Irish village where Sean O'Conlon (McCormack), lives, Peter (J.M Kerrigan) and Rafferty (J. Farrell MacDonald) and find out...

The Story: Sean has retired to the village despite his promising career to be near his beloved Mary (Joyce), and her two children, teenager Eileen (O'Sullivan) and young son Tad (Tommy Clifford). He had once loved Mary, but her sour Aunt Elizabeth (Emily Fitzroy) convinced her to marry for money. Her husband abandoned them and left them high and dry, forcing them to move back in with strict Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth doesn't approve of Fergus (Garrick), the handsome young man whom Eileen is in love with. Fergus is poor, and leaves the US to make money to support her. To help Mary and her children, producer Fullerton (Edward Martindel) convinces Sean to go on a concert tour in America. The tour is a great success, until tragedy forces Sean to return to the country and people he's always loved the most.

The Song and Dance: I do give this some credit for being one of the better-shot and more unique films of its era. McCormack's presence assures that there are no huge, out-of-place chorus numbers or goofy backstage drama. It was partially filmed in the real Ireland for Fox's experimental widescreen "Grandeur" format, and that shows in the decent cinematography for the early talkies era. The cast is pretty accurate, too. O'Sullivan kicked off a six-decade career with her winsome performance here. Kerrigan and MacDonald have a high time as two village men whose comments bookend the action. It almost feels like an early preview of The Quiet Man in black and white, with a lot of the same attention to detail that marked John Ford's later magnum opus.

The Numbers: Our first number is "Then You'll Remember Me," which Sean performs at his home with his usual accompanist Vincent (his real-life long-time pianist Edwin Schinder). The children of the village beg him for a fairy tale about a princess or a leprechaun, which turns into "A Fairy Story By the Fire." Sean performs "Just for Today" accompanied by the organ at the village church as Mary wistfully listens outside its walls. He delights his friends in the town with the traditional comic number "Kitty My Love, Will You Marry Me?" at his home and sings "The Rose of Tralee" for Mary after the party. She hears him sing it again in her mind after he leaves just before her death.

Sean's first number in the big concert sequence is "Plasir d'Amour." "Little Boy Blue" is accompanied by heartbreaking images of stuffed animals and toy soldiers covered in cobwebs waiting for their young owner to play with them again. This is followed by "Ireland, Mother Ireland." After Fullerton gets the word of Mary's death, he keeps it from Sean until he's sung "I Hear You Calling Me." The film ends with Sean singing "I Feel You Near Me" for his new family, Tad and kindly neighbor Mona (Effie Ellsler). 

Trivia: As mentioned, this was filmed in regular 35 millimeter film and Fox's experimental 70 millimeter "Grandeur" film. Most movie theaters at the time weren't set up for widescreen film, and the Grandeur version was never seen and is currently lost. 

First film for Maureen O'Sullivan and last film for Alice Joyce.

What I Don't Like: First of all, there's McCormack himself. He's a genial presence, but he's no actor and is in over his head with some of the more melodramatic sequences. There's also the fact that the Irish stereotypes are even more thick on the ground here than they are in Quiet Man, without that film's stunning color or often hilarious script. There's also the simple fact that this is straight melodrama only a step above some of the weepy Al Jolson sob stories from the late 20's and early 30's. It's not for people looking for something more upbeat, or those who aren't opera or McCormack fans. This is pretty much a concert with an Irish soap opera surrounding it.

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of McCormack or the more melodramatic films of the early talkie era.

Home Media: Thanks to it now being in the public domain, it can be easily found on streaming for free with commercials.

Tubi

The Roku Channel

Incendiary Blonde

Paramount, 1945

Starring Betty Hutton, Arturo de Cordova, Bill Goodwin, and Barry Fitzgerald

Directed by George Marshall

Music and Lyrics by various

Our first of three Women's History Month movies is also the first of two vehicles we'll be seeing featuring energetic comedienne Betty Hutton. Of the four biographies she appeared in, this one might suit her the most. Texas Guinin lived a colorful life from the late 1900's through the early 1930's, working everything from rodeos to Broadway to films, ending up as "queen of the nightclubs" in the 20's, singing and talking to the customers in her own lavish speakeasies. How well does the film do with depicting her wild Roaring Twenties world? Let's begin with the rodeo coming to Waco, Texas, and find out...

The Story: Texas Gunian (Hutton) may be a goofy tomboy, but she's no fool. The new owner of the rodeo, Bill Romero Kilgallon (de Cordova), is so impressed when she manages to stay on a bucking bronco, he hires her on the spot...and she holds out for more money. Press agent Tim Callahan (Goodwin) is even more so after he sees her act "rescuing" a child. She's in love with Kilgallon, but he's married to an invalid. She ends up going off to become a Broadway star with Callahan, but then follows her old friend Cherokee Jim (Charlie Ruggles) to Hollywood to become a movie star. 

She does well, getting back together with Bill to make their own features, but Bill runs afoul of gangsters and ends up convincing Texas to sell out and get the money. Back in New York, Texas has few prospects until she inadvertently discovers how well she can handle a nightclub crowd. Her songs and talking directly to them jazzes up speakeasy-goers and brings in the crowds. Unfortunately, they also attract gangster Joe Cadden (Albert Dekker), who takes over the club and Texas' contract. Texas is still a smash, and with Bill's wife having passed on, she's hoping to marry him...but his getting caught between warring gangsters and her realizing she has a terminal illness makes them realize how impossible that is.

The Song and Dance: When she's allowed to do the rip-roaring comedy that she does best, Hutton has way too much fun here. This may be the biographical role that suited her best. Guinan was a tough-talking tomboy who lived one of the most colorful lives of the early 20th century, not too far from Hutton herself. She really throws herself into Guinan's trademark nightclub patter and that bucking bronco in the opening. Great production, too, with gorgeous Edith Head costumes and some nice Technicolor cinematography, especially in the first half.

The Numbers: We open with Texas singing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" with her siblings as they watch the rodeo parade. We get  montage of Texas moving up from chorus line cutie to featured dancer to a star with shows based around her, including the (rather stereotypical) African spoof "Oh By Jingo" with her shaking her hips in feathers among "natives." "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a more romantic roundelay, with Hutton in a massive lavender gown and picture hat singing to a handsome leading man. 

Texas joins three acrobats throwing each other around to ad-lib and get herself kicked out of the show...but them throwing her around turns out to be so hilarious, she ends up staying in the show. She gets the energetic "Row Row Row," turning a fur coat and a table into a boat and sweetheart, while black pianist Maurice Rocco earns the contract Texas gives him with his incredible instrumental "Darktown Strutters Ball." Texas sings "It Had to Be You" on New Year's Eve, right before she and Bill are supposed to get married.

What I Don't Like: It's true that Texas Guinan did start out in wild west shows, she did make silent movies at her own production company (and two sound features, one of which is currently lost), and she was "the queen of the nightclubs" who resurrected her career singing and mingling with the crowds in the speakeasies she owned. Her life was even more colorful than that, with her clubs frequently getting raided, her telling truth-skirting interviews to the press, and her living with two men for years without marrying either. Her only known legal husband bore no resemblance to either de Cordova or Goodwin, both of whom are dull in thankless love interest roles. Only Fitzgerald as her Irish father who is even more inclined to embroider the truth comes anywhere near Hutton.

The Big Finale: Despite the heavy cliches, this is colorful enough to rate a look if you're a fan of Hutton or the big bright Technicolor musicals of the mid-late 40's.

Home Media: To my knowledge, this is currently only available on YouTube in a blurry copy taped from a TCM showing. 

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - Muppet Musicians of Bremen

Robert Laurence Productions/The Jim Henson Company, 1972

Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Phyllis Marshall

Directed by Jim Henson

Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

Our final Family Fun Saturday review returns to the Muppet well one more time. This is the last of the three Tales from Muppetland specials that Jim Henson developed before he started working on The Muppet Show. This one is slightly more realistic and less romantic, despite the talking animals. It almost seems like a comic preview for Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas five years later, which also had more realistic-looking animal puppets. How does the German folk tale of three unwanted animals who form a band, then accidentally scare off robbers look now? Let's begin with Kermit as he introduces us to our music-playing quartet, and that they weren't always as happy as they are now, and find out...

The Story: After years of faithful service, the old donkey Leroy (Nick Nichols) runs away from his owner, the grouchy thief Mordecai (Francois Klanfer), when Mordecai tries to kill him. The instruments Mordecai stole that he accidentally runs off with inspires him to become a traveling musician. Three other older animals, TR the Rooster (Nelson), Rover Joe the hound dog (Klanfer), and Catgut the cat (Marshall), also join him after their robber owners throw them out. When they come upon a little house in the Lousiana bayou, they think it's the home of a charming family...but it's really their former masters divvying up their spoils. The animals think they're saving a family, but they really end up scaring the thieves off and discovering they make a nice musical family on their own.

The Song and Dance: I give this one credit for going with a more unique and slightly more realistic story than the fantasy specials. The Grimm's fairy tale "The Musicians of Bremen" isn't often adapted for the screen in North America, even in animated or puppet form. Klanfer, Nichols, and Marshall are hilarious whether they're playing music, singing the blues, or dodging their obnoxious or less-than-brilliant owners, and Rasposo's music is almost a catchy as his songs for The Frog Prince. 

The Numbers: We open with the animals briefly playing an instrumental Dixieland number under Kermit's narration before we meet Leroy. He sings the first version of "I'm a Traveling Musician," which is reprised and added to as he's joined by more animals. TD laments "The Cock-a-Doodle-Doodle Blues" to the chickens in the farm before he leaves. Catgut has similar complaints to the rats on the farm as she claims "You've Got to Know Your Friends." Leroy claims that the people living in the old shack are "A Family Together." The others think they see "A Family Together," too...but it's really the robbers fighting over their stolen goods.

Trivia: The animals would be used in other Henson projects, including the special Muppet Show: Sex and Violence and The Muppet Show. 

What I Don't Like: This is a bit simpler than Frog Prince or The Muppet Show. It lacks the heartwarming sequences of Emmett Otter or the romance of Frog Prince. It also lacks the humans - this is an all-puppet project. Kermit is the only familiar face - no later Muppets appear - and unlike Frog Prince, he's only on in the beginning. 

The Big Finale: If your kids love animal projects and/or the Muppets, they'll have a wonderful time with the four best animal musicians in the bayou.

Home Media: Alas, this is YouTube-only at the moment. 

YouTube

Musicals On Streaming - On the Come Up

Paramount Plus, 2022

Starring Jamila C. Gray, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Cooper Jr., and Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Directed by Sanaa Lathan

Music and Lyrics by various

First of all, I've changed my mind about ending Musical Dreams. I am going to continue doing it, but I'll only be posting one review on Thursday night starting next week. I still have some musicals I'd like to cover in a full review, but I don't have the time anymore to do three a week. You might get an old movie, a new movie, a TV movie, an animated film, a streaming special. You never know what you'll get from week to week, so keep an eye out! 

Now that the announcements are out of the way, on with the review. Whitney Houston was hardly the only black woman to deal with sudden fame. In this adaptation of the 2019 novel of the same name, a teen who is popular on the underground rap battle circuits also finds herself dealing with smarmy producers who ask her to be something she isn't and the aftermath of fame...but unlike Whitney, she's able to do something about it and change things for the better. We've already met real-life teen rap battle queen Roxanne Roxanne in 2024. How does this story of a fictional teen rap warrior compare? Let's begin with Brianna "Bri" Jackson (Gray) remembering the day her heroin-addicted mother Jayda (Lathan) gave her and her brother Trey (Titus Malkin Jr.) up and find out...

The Story: Bri's father Lawless Jackson had been a rapper in her neighborhood Garden Heights before his untimely death. She's determined to take up his legacy in the underground rap battle ring and make it where he couldn't. Her Aunt Pooh (Randolph) is her manager who keeps pushing her into the ring, even when she backs down. Her two best guy friends Sonny (Miles Guiteirrez-Riley) and Malik (Cooper Jr.) support her, including when she's suspended for selling candy in school. Bri's mother tries to point out that the security guards were way too aggressive with her daughter, but the principal insists this isn't the first time she's been in trouble.

Bri finally enters the rap ring as a way to earn money for her out-of-work mother. When she defeats a fellow female rapper outside of the arena, Supreme (Method Man), a smarmy producer who had once worked with her father, takes notice. He tries to change her image and insists she record a song, "On the Come Up," in Atlanta. Her mother and her guy friends think the song is way too violent for her. Supreme has convinced her it's good for her career...but then she sees the furor the lyrics, or how people have interpreted the lyrics, caused at school and in the ring. The King's Crown gang thinks she's at war with them. The school thinks she's anti-cops. After Aunt Pooh has a run-in with the King's Crown gang that leaves her in the hospital and they steal Bri's most precious treasure from her, she knows she has to get back into the ring and show everyone that she can handle some of the strongest insults and lyrics thrown at her and still be herself.

The Song and Dance: You'd never know this was Gray's first role. She handles the drama and the fast-paced rap "battles" with equal ferocity. Latham is a warm mother who is trying hard to do better for her daughter and manages a few decent directorial touches as well, especially in the ring and when Bri's being attacked at school. The grays and blues and neutral colors beautifully show off Bri's tough, battle-scarred world where words have more power than any gun. And unlike Roxanne Roxanne, we do get to see some rap battles in full and get an idea of what they're like and why they're such a big deal for the characters. 

The Numbers: The "musical" numbers here aren't numbers in the typical sense. Our first "rap battle" isn't until nearly 20 minutes into the movie. Bri first takes on Supreme's up-and-coming son Milez (Justin Martin), and wins it handily. "Miss Tique vs. Bri" is the battle outside the arena with a blonde who calls herself Miss Tique (Lady London) and...well, Bri's right that she couldn't be more fake-looking if she tried. Bri wins that one handily, too. The title song is the rough and ready rap number that caused all the trouble. I'm going to agree with Bri and say the lyrics don't sound like anything against cops or gangs to me, but I guess everyone has their own interpretations of songs. Bri also gets "Bri-LLIANT." We end with the two rap battles between Bri and the head of the King's Crown gang, and Supreme's best rapper, Infamous Milz (Lil' Yachty). 

What I Don't Like: As with the Roxanne, Roxanne bio, this is fairly rough going. It's from a teen novel, so it's not quite as rough as Roxanne's story, but there's still violence (including against a teen girl in her own school), swearing, and gun play. This is for older teen rap fans who can handle the violence. It's also pretty predictable. You can guess where it's going to go and that Bri will end up defeating all comers in the ring, especially the ones who killed her father. There's also the simple fact that the rap battles, which are strictly words without musical accompaniment, don't make this your average musical. Those looking for a typical musical romp will definitely want to go elsewhere.

The Big Finale: Touching story of a girl who finds herself and her community through her music and her father's legacy is worth checking out for older teen and adult rap fans and those who read the book of the same title.

Home Media: Surprisingly not on Paramount Plus anymore, but it can be found on DVD and on other streaming services, including Pluto TV for free with commercials.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Pluto TV On Demand

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Sony/Tri-Star, 2022

Starring Naomie Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, and Tamara Tunie

Directed by Kasi Lemmons

Music and Lyrics by various

After Houston's untimely death in 2012, ideas for a film biography were tossed around. A TV film debuted on Lifetime in 2015, but while it was well-received, it mostly focused on her relationship with Bobby Brown. The movie they finally came up with in 2020 focused on her entire life, from her first major performance in 1983 to her last hours. How does her difficult life look now? Let's start just as pop superstar Whitney Houston (Ackie) is gearing up for the 1994 American Music Awards...and remembering how she began...and find out...

The Story: In 1983, Houston sings in her church choir and lives with her girlfriend Robyn Crawford (Nafessa Williams). Her mother Cissy (Tunie) groomed her for the choir, but she has bigger plans. She "suddenly" gets laryngitis the day major music producer Clive Davis (Tucci) happens to be in the audience at the nightclub where she sings. Whitney goes on for her, and Davis is so impressed, he gives her a contract to Arista Records.

Whitney's first filmed performance is of "Home" from The Wiz on The Merv Griffith Show later in '83. Her first album debuts in 1985, and it's a sensation. She wants Robyn to be her personal assistant, but her father and manager John (Clarke Peters) encourages her to start dating men. Whitney really takes that to heart and first goes out with Jermaine Jackson (Jaison Hunter), to Robyn's consternation. Though her second album in 1987 is even bigger, it's not enough to dodge criticism that her music isn't "black enough." She quells this by becoming engaged to early rapper Bobby Brown (Sanders) in 1989 after they meet at the 1988 Soul Train Awards. 

Whitney's at her peak of popularity in the early and mid-90's, singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl and appearing in the smash hit 1993 film The Bodyguard. Her home life isn't going nearly as well. She and Bobby finally marry in 1992, and she has their daughter Bobbi Kristina in March 1993, but Bobby is frequently missing and her father is withholding her assets. 

Two attempts at a comeback, in 1998 and 2009, are massive hits...but the subsequent tours after their releases wear out her body and her vocal chords. They're not the only things wrecking havoc on her body, either. She's begun to deal with the pain of her bad marriage and heart by drinking heavily and taking cocaine. John has mismanaged most of her money, too, forcing her into a 100 million dollar contract with Arista. She's so furious with him, she won't go to his funeral. Divorcing Bobby in 2007 does help, but by 2012, she's spiraling into addiction again...this time with fatal consequences...

The Song and Dance: The heavy story is alleviated somewhat by powerhouse performances. Ackie and Sanders are fabulous as Houston and Brown, showing how they fell for each other when they were both stars, only for Brown's ego and both their addictions to come between them. They really did their homework, too. Most of the concerts and music videos look like the real thing. You can almost believe that's Whitney in the candy-splashed "How Will I Know?" music video. 

The Numbers: We open with Whitney singing "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah" as her mother gives her a singing lesson for the church choir. We get a brief glimpse of her mother singing "I'll Be There" at a nightclub...before her parents' fight indicate that she's most definitely not around much. Robyn and Whitney dance together - and fall for each other - to the tune of Chakah Khan's "Hot Butterfly." Whitney gets her big break singing "The Greatest Love of All" in place of her mother. She's an even bigger sensation singing "Home" on The Merv Griffith Show.  

We next get a montage of Whitney choosing songs for her next album. Among those that make the cut are the ballads "Saving All My Love for You" (which we see Houston recording) and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" She really loves the bouncy "How Will I Know?" Later on, she's even more into "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and has a ball singing it in concert. Bobby sings his hit "My Prerogative" at the Soul Train Awards. Whitney's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl in 1991 is so impassioned, it becomes an instant legend. After starring in The Bodyguard and singing it at the 1994 Concert for a Free South Africa, she's even more associated with "I Will Always Love You." It even plays under her wedding to Bobby. She has a harder time with "I Have Nothing," even refusing to sing it at one point.

Her recording of "Why Does It Hurt So Bad?" turns into a commentary on her tumultuous relationship with the possessive and egotistical Bobby. "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" launches her 1998 comeback. The single isn't released, but the album is a hit. She does a fabulous "I'm Every Woman" and "I'm Your Baby Tonight" in a montage on tour, which finishes with "One Moment In Time." Her surprise rendition of "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" on The Oprah Winfrey Show launched her second comeback in 2009. We end on a positive note with her sensational medley of "I Loves You Porgy," "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and "I Have Nothing" at the 1994 American Music Awards. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, not all of this is historically accurate. For one thing, she recorded "The Greatest Love of All" for her 1985 debut album and never sang it at a club. She also had a career as a model before she started singing that isn't really discussed here. (She was one of the first black models to appear on the cover of Seventeen Magazine in 1981.) But then again, this movie is long and slow enough as it is. Some of the depressing ending could have been trimmed with no one the wiser. It's also dripping with typical biographical film cliches, up to and including that upbeat ending at the American Music Awards. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out if you're a fan of Houston and have time on your hands. 

Home Media: Easily found in all formats.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Hulu

Animation Celebration Saturday - Frosty Returns

CBS, 1992

Voices of John Goodman, Jonathan Winters, Brian Doyle Murphy, and Elizabeth Moss

Directed by Evert Brown and Bill Melendez

Music and Lyrics by Mark Mothersbaugh and others

This one has some complicated origins. Frosty's Winter Wonderland was among the specials purchased by Warner Brothers when they picked up the rights to the post-1974 Rankin-Bass catalog, which meant that by the 1980's, CBS couldn't run it anymore. They commissioned the director of the Peanuts specials Melendez and Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels to create their own follow-up to Frosty the Snowman in the early 90's. Is it as much fun as the Rankin-Bass productions, or should it be canned? Let's start as our tiny narrator (Jonathan Winters) floats into Beansborough on a snowflake for their annual Winter Carnival and find out...

The Story: The kids of Beansborough are excited about the huge snow storm that just fell in town. Their parents aren't nearly as amused by all the shoveling and defrosting they have to do. Holly DiCarlo (Moss) and her best friend Charles (Michael Patrick Carter) are more interested in working on Holly's magic act for the carnival. The storm's wind blows Holly's magic hat right onto a snowman, turning him into the wisecracking Frosty. 

The kids are delighted with their new frozen friend (when Holly can convince Charles that Frosty's really moving), but Frosty's nervous. Local businessman Mr. Twitchell (Murphy) is heavily pushing his new product Summer Wheeze in a bid to become king of the Winter Carnival. Summer Wheeze instantly removes snow from any surface, including snowmen. It's up to Frosty and the two kids to remind everyone in Beansborough about how fun winter - and snow friends - can truly be.

The Animation: This definitely screams "early 90's Peanuts special." The zig-zaggy thick lines, large head, and sketchy style all look like the work of Bill Melendez. It could fit right in with the later Peanuts specials if the adults sounded like trumpets. It's a lot more like a Peanuts special than a more playful and anime-esque Rankin-Bass special. 

The Song and Dance: The cast and the catchy songs stand out in this attempt at a more "modern" Frosty story. The two kids are hilarious and get some great lines, especially in the opening. Murphy and Andrea Martin also have a few good moments as the villainous executive determined to become carnival king at all costs (including environmental costs) and the kids' fussy teacher Miss Carbunkle. (Also, as with Frosty's Winter Wonderland, I appreciate that there's no reference to any holidays besides the Winter Carnival. This is another one that can be watched at any time during the colder months.) 

The Numbers: We open with an announcer declaring that there's over two feet of snow on the ground and the kids are out of school. "We Love the Snow," say the kids who are delighted to be out of school. Their parents are more frustrated about dealing with shoveling it and complain "We Can Live Without Snow." This becomes "Let There Be Snow" for Frosty and Holly as they sing about the delights of winter weather. The duo reprise it with the townspeople at the carnival. (They're joined here by Charles, who is such a bad singer, even the animated characters wince.) The cast sings the title song over the end credits.

Trivia: This turned up on CBS occasionally during the Christmas season from 1992 through 2023. 

What I Don't Like: What is this a sequel to again? Despite the title, this is really its own stand-alone story, with nothing whatsoever to do with the two Rankin-Bass Frosty specials. Honestly, it feels like Melendez was trying too hard to be early 90's cynical and "hip." Goodman does make a warm Frosty, but his dialogue is less witty and more annoying. The story is a cross between "Rankin-Bass obnoxious and silly villain does weird mean things to kids" and a typical Peanuts special, without the charming weirdness that made both franchises stand out. 

The Big Finale: The catchy music and nice cast makes this worth seeing at least once this winter with elementary school-age kids who will enjoy Holly and Frosty's antics and ignore the so-so animation and plot holes. 

Home Media: That long run on CBS means it's not currently on streaming, but it can be found paired with Frosty the Snowman on many DVDs and Blu-Rays. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

DVD - The Original Christmas Classics 

Lost In Alaska

Universal, 1952

Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Tom Ewell, and Mitzi Green

Directed by Jean Yarbourgh 

Music and Lyrics by Henry Mancini

Let's take a winter trip to Alaska and celebrate the last weeks of the season in this Abbott and Costello Yukon comedy. This was, in fact, Bud and Lou's second winter-themed musical after the comic thriller Hit the Ice. By this point, Bud and Lou had tangled with almost every monster in Universal's roster, gone to war, and had dealt with fairy-tale giants in pastel Cinecolor. This time, they go back in history to San Francisco in the 1890's, when a well-meaning fireman helps a seemingly down-on-his-luck man jumping off a pier...and get into a load of trouble for doing so...

The Story: Genial George Bell (Costello) and his best friend Tom Watson (Abbott) take the man home after they save him from drowning. Turns out the man is "Nugget" Joe McDermott (Ewell), the former sheriff of Skagway, Alaska. He was just turned down by his girl Rosette (Green) and thinks he has nothing to live for. Tom and George are quick to point out that the 2 million in gold he's hauling around is certainly something to live for. After getting a telegram claiming Rosette wants to marry him after all, Joe is so grateful to Tom and George for saving him, he gives them a gold nugget. Turn's out to be some very foolish gold when the duo discover at the bank next day that the local police think they killed Joe instead of helping him. They hit the boat to get him to clear their names, but end up going to Alaska with him instead.

Turns out Rosette isn't really that interested in him, but everyone else in Skagway sure is. Tom, George, and Joe are shot at almost the minute they arrive. Joe left money to his "old timer" friends in his will, and now they're more interested in gold than in their friendship. They're not the only ones. Rosette's boss Jake Stillman (Bruce Cabot) wants her to marry him, so he can kill Joe and get the gold. She warns the trio instead, joining them as they flee into Alaska and Eskimo territory, all the while pursued by Jake and his men and Joe's so-called, gold-crazed "friends."

The Song and Dance: Surprisingly long on plot for one of Bud and Lou's films. There are some very funny moments, especially when they actually do make it to Alaska. I love them having to track across the frozen wastes and get literally frozen. There's also a few good jokes with them dealing with the Eskimo tribe, one of the few Alaskan/Yukon cliches Bing Crosby and Bob Hope missed in the similar Road to Utopia. Mitzi Green has a few good moments of her own, and Ewell's casual acceptance of everyone in town being after him is good for a few chuckles. 

The Numbers: Rosette claims "I'm Just a Country Gal" when we first meet her at the saloon in Skagway. She even imitates another famous barroom song from a warmer western, Marlene Dietrich performing "See What the Boys In the Back Room Will Have" from Destry Rides Again. She claims it's "A Hot Time in the Igloo Tonight" when she dances with the Eskimos. 

Trivia: First movie for Henry Mancini. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, this is far from Mancini's best work. His two numbers are hardly distinguished in any way. Second, yes, northern Native stereotypes abound, including the Natives being called "Eskimo" instead of "Inuit." Third, this isn't Abbot and Costello's best work, either. It's basically an imitation Road to Utopia with more of an accent on comedy and few of the routines they're famous for. Rosette jumps back and forth so much in her interest in Tom, it seems like almost an afterthought when they do end up together in the end. Fourth, what happened to Tom and George being on the lam? Did they ever clear their names in San Francisco?

The Big Finale: Mainly of interest to major fans of Abbott and Costello. 

Home Media: Can be found on solo on streaming and on disc as part of two Abbott and Costello collections.

DVD - The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello: Vol 3

Blu Ray - Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Collection

Amazon Prime

Honoring Chinese New Year - Step Up: Year of the Dance (Step Up China)

Yuehua Entertainment/Lionsgate Films, 2019

Starring SuperDino, Meiqui Meng, Bobo, and Kim Sung-joo

Directed by Ron Yuan

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's head to modern-day China to celebrate the Year of the Horse and one of the most internationally popular musical franchises. The original Step Up debuted in 2006. It wasn't popular with critics who found its class war story to be too formulaic, but the incredible dancing made it a hit with teens and young adults who loved the moves and the rebellious characters. It was such a success, it led to four more unrelated Step Up movies that were all hits in their own right and a TV show that lasted for three seasons. 

One of the reasons it continued to do well was its enormous popularity in international markets, especially Asia. Even when the fifth film, Step Up: All In, didn't do well in North America, it still made money elsewhere. China took notice and made a Step Up film exclusively for their country in 2019. It came over here as a streaming exclusive in 2020. Is it as good as the other titles in this franchise, or should it be left on the streets? Let's begin with a young Chinese man (SuperDino) right before a big dance battle and find out...

The Story: Tie Hou (SuperDino) landed in prison after a bar brawl two years before, right as he was about to tell his crush Xiao Fe (Meng) he loved her. He's able to reunite with his old dance group the Iron Crew, but she hasn't forgiven him. Wealthy young He Chaun (Bobo) is trying to audition for a major international dance competition with the Black Tigers, but fellow dancer Dai (Sun-joo) kicks Chaun off the stage and injures him. They both get the trophies, but Dai isn't happy when it turns out the judges were paid off. 

Meanwhile, Tie Hou has tried to get a job working with everyone from strippers to kids, but his tougher style of street dance doesn't work with poles or children's classes. He even dances when he works at a construction site. Chaun sees him and tries to get him to join his new dance crew. Hou refuses at first, until he sees Chaun's elegant dance battle with the Black Tigers that even works the cane in. Fe is impressed and flirts with him. She's out of place at Chaun's birthday party, until she shows up the snobs there with a few great dance moves of her own.

Chaun has started a dance team of his own, Sky Crew. Even with Chaun pushing them hard to practice everywhere, they still lose in their first dance battle with the Black Tigers. They come up with the idea of filming their combination dance and Kung Fu moves. That gets them the dance battle invitation, but it also gets them recognized. Hou loses his best friend Tie She when the gang he fought in the bar tries to get him back. Now they really have a reason to beat the Black Tigers, and then take on the American team the Phantoms.

The Song and Dance: And the dance, along with some decent cinematography that makes the best of this film's low-budget origins, is the lone saving grace here. It really is exceptional. Director Yuan was normally a stunt man and martial artist, so he at least had the right instinct about how to shoot the choreography, both for the fight scenes and the dance scenes. Some of the dance scenes, especially the dance battles, are excitingly choreographed and not badly edited for something this cheap. I also appreciate that there's no hard feelings at the end. None of the dance teams indulge in bad sportsmanship or put down the others. Even the Phantoms, who were built up as the villains, bow for their fellow competitors. 

The Numbers: We open with Tie Hou, Tie She, and Xiao Fe doing their own robot moves at the bar before the gang war breaks out. Tie Hou has his solo number as he interprets the fight through dance. There's a chorus routine at a club when he gets out that includes some pretty sweet breakdancing. Hou tries to explain his feelings to Fe during their robot dance duet to "Honey Honey." They even dance with metal poles that he uses to play drums on trash cans at one point. The Black Tiger's slick number in white suits is going great, until Dai gives Chaun that fatal kick.

Next up is our first montage, as Tie Hou first tries to teach dance to strippers, then fan dancers, then children. None of them are there to learn the street dancing he favors. He even dances briefly at a construction site. Tie Hou starts dancing at an outdoor ring, until the same toughs who attacked him at the bar make nasty prison jokes. Chaun out-dances them even with a cane. Fe gets her big solo at the party when some of the snottier girls call her a "street bum," and she dances to show what a street bum can do. Chaun joins her, to the consternation of Tie Hou. Chaun and Hou have a stiff-kneeded dance off to rap music later that night at the party. 

The Sky Crew start off briefly "dance battling" each other before Chaun reminds them that they have their own unique style. The next montage shows the Sky Crew training everywhere - even over a grill and while bench-pressing a fire extinguisher. They're still arguing during rehearsals, until they realize that they do better when they come together as a team. The next montage shows different dance groups - even a black group and an all-kid team - competing at a club. When the Black Tigers are the winners, the Sky Crew film their moves - dance and Kung-Fu - and post them online. The Phantoms rise to the occasion at the competition with their genuinely excellent hip-hop dance. The Black Tigers are more athletic, often dancing on their knees. The Sky Crew start out with traditional Chinese music before getting into their own rap dance.

What I Don't Like: First of all, the dubbing on the copy of this at Tubi is lousy. Lips don't match, voices often don't sound like they belong to the characters. Second, whether this franchise takes place in Baltimore or Beijing, the cliches are the same. There's a reason the Step Up films (this one included) were never popular with critics. No amount of terrific dancing can cover the fact that the story is the same overcoming the odds parable we've seen hundreds of times. Admittedly, Tie Hou having been in prison and his difficulty finding jobs does give it a slightly more realistic edge, but Tie She's death is played for melodrama, and the class war drama isn't nearly as exciting as the movie wants to think it is. There's also this being a low-budget film. It does show at times, especially in the dull sets.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the other Step Up films or of Asian musical cinema, this is worth checking out once for the dance routines alone.

Home Media: Streaming only in North America. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials. 

Tubi

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Valentine's Short Subject Special - The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't

Showtime, 1982

Voices of Lisa Buckley, Richard J. Schellbach, Paul Fusco, and Bob Fappiano

Directed by Paul Fusco

Music and Lyrics by Ed Bruder and Jeff Cannata

From 1981 through 1983 Paul Fusco, the creator of ALF, made a series of six holiday specials for cable featuring his unique comic puppets. We've already seen his Easter and Thanksgiving stories over the past year. For Valentine's Day, we get a mystery and action spoof that turns cupids into Bogart-style investigators and gives us a little more action than in the more character-based early specials. In fact, we begin with our first real villain from these specials, Rubella Slime (Buckley) and her brothers, as they create a brew to spread hate in the world and end Valentine's Day as we know it.

The Story: Rubella hates Valentine's Day so much, she and her brothers Bugsy (Fusco) and Weasel (Fappiano) create a hate potion to put into the Cupids' Pot of Love. They first spray it on innocent Cosmo Cupid (Schellbach) when he's giving away puppies at the pound to create a distraction. While Sam Cupid (Fusco) and his boys are dealing with Cosmo, Bugsy and Weasell are able to sneak in and put the potion in the pot. When the cupids shoot their arrows, they turn everyone mean instead of loving. Sam has to find the antidote and stops Rubella, before she and her brothers ruin Valentine's Day for everyone.

The Song and Dance: Well, you can't say this one isn't unique. You don't often see a holiday special, especially for Valentine's Day, framed as a film noir spoof. The city and above the clouds setting gives this one a different vibe from the other specials, and it's a bit more action-packed, as per the mystery thriller vibe. Buckley pretty much steals the show as the hilariously evil Rubella, who wants everyone to hate Valentine's Day because she's never gotten a real Valentine in her life.

The Numbers: "Poison Brew" is Rubella's big song and dance with her brothers early-on. We get their explanation as to why they're doing this, how they plan on doing it, and what it will do to the people on earth.

What I Don't Like: This might be the strangest thing Fusco ever did. Humphrey Bogart-imitating Cupids? Villains who act like a cross between Maleficent and Morticia Addams? A Valentine's Day story framed as a mystery? Yeah, this is pretty weird, and more action than musical. Like Fusco's other work for Showtime, it's also incredibly cheap. Some of the sets are a little bit more interesting than the ones for Easter and Thanksgiving, especially when Cosmo and Sam are in their hot air balloon, using a laser (that is obviously a spotlight) to spread love, but it still looks like something made for cable in the early 80's.

The Big Finale: If you're looking for something different (and maybe a little less romantic) this Valentine's Day, take a trip to the big city with Sam and help him stop Rubella from destroying the holiday forever.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, including free on Tubi with commercials.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Tubi

Miles Ahead

Sony Pictures Classics (Columbia), 2015

Starring Don Cheadle, Ewan MacGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Michael Stuhlbarg

Directed by Don Cheadle

Music by Miles Davis and others

We jump ahead from the 1910's to the 1970's, and from ragtime to a very modern form of jazz. Miles Davis was one of the major jazz greats of the mid-20th century, a tempestuous giant whose experiments in cool jazz and be-bop from the late 50's through the early 80's revolutionized jazz and music in general, pushing the boundaries of what jazz could be and do. He was also said to have been notoriously difficult, his life plagued with drug and alcohol addiction and physical illnesses. His addictions led him to drop out of music entirely between 1975 and 1980. In fact, let's begin in 1979, as he was preparing to make a comeback, and find out just how hard that was for him to start over again...

The Story: Davis (Cheadle) is living alone, painting and dealing with debilitating hip pain, when a young Scottish reporter named Dave Braden (MacGregor) forces his way into his home to get an interview. Instead, he ends up following Davis as he pursues tapes of his most recent compositions stolen by local thugs. As he and Braden pursue the thieves, Davis recalls the creations of his most famous compositions, and his troubled relationship with his first wife, dancer Frances Taylor (Corinealdi). She was his muse and his inspiration in the late 50's and 60's, but their marriage ended with her fleeing for her own safety in 1968. 

The Song and Dance: Cheadle directed and wrote this project along with starring in it, claiming no one else could do it better. Maybe he was right. He's an electric Davis, capturing the musician's early spirit and drive, even as he dove head-first into his own addictions. MacGregor almost matches him as the Rolling Stones reporter who is determined to get a story at all cost, even breaking the law or pushing his way into Davis' house. The music is so fabulous, the soundtrack won Grammy. We get Davis' compositions in all their raw, eclectic glory, from the title song to "So What?" to "Prelude Pt. 2."

The Numbers: In fact, we open with "Prelude No. 2" from the live album Agartha, the last album Davis made before his self-imposed exile. Among those we see him working on are "Duran," "So What," "Frelon Brun," the title song, "Back Seat Betty," "Seven Steps to Heaven," "Gone," "Blue In Green," "Black Satin," "Sanctuary," "Teo, "He Loved Him Madly," "East of Rockford," and "Solea."

What I Don't Like: First of all, this is all fictional. While Davis really did take time off between 1975 and 1980 and really did make a comeback in 1981, Dave Braden was created as someone Davis could argue with and drag around to find the tapes - and the story with the tapes going missing was created to add drama. Second, this is for adult jazz fans only. This is rated R for a reason. There's tons of heavy swearing, fisticuffs, abuse, and drug and alcohol use. Start the kids on Davis' best-known albums first. It's also pretty obviously a low-budget indie movie, with cheap sets and costumes. No one besides MacGregor and Cheadle remotely register, especially Corinealdi in a thankless love interest role. There's also all the jumping around. The editing is confusing, and the movie isn't always clear where we're going or what time period or part of Davis' life we're in.

The Big Finale: If you're an adult fan of Davis or jazz like me, you'll want to check out this exploration of something that might have happened during one of the most difficult periods of his life. 

Home Media: Easily found on all major formats. Can currently be found for free on Pluto TV with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Pluto TV On Demand

Cult Flops - Scott Joplin

Universal, 1977

Starring Billy Dee Williams, Clifton Davies, Art Carney, and Margaret Avery

Directed by Jeremy Kagan

Music and Lyrics by Scott Joplin and others

This week, we dive into Black History Month with biographies of two popular composers, one who would be unjustly forgotten for sixty years, the other who vanished to avoid the spotlight. We're going to start with the long-forgotten one. "King of Ragtime" Scott Joplin was brought back into the spotlight when his music was featured on the soundtrack to the hit 1973 comedy The Sting, and his "The Entertainer" leaped to the top of the charts. This biography was originally intended to be a TV movie, but Universal was so impressed with the results, they rushed it into theaters. Were they right to do this, or should this have been left on the piano roll? Let's begin with Joplin's (Williams) departure in the late 19th century over "The Entertainer" and find out...

The Story: Joplin's father wanted him to work on the railroads, but he had his heart set on music. He ran away from Texarkana, Texas to become a piano teacher in Missouri. It's here that he befriended Louis Chauvelin (Davies), a fellow pianist who worked in a brothel. They join a piano-cutting contest on a lark. Chauvelin wins, but it's Joplin's playing and original music that impresses music publisher John Stark (Carney). He publishes Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" in St. Louis, allowing Joplin to share the profits. 

Joplin's music is wildly popular, and he becomes a wealthy man. He even marries lovely widow Belle (Avery), and they buy a lavish home and plan a family. His hands, however, are starting to disobey him. They'll frequently shake when he wants them to play. It turns out to be more than nerves. Joplin has contracted syphilis. So has Chauvelin, and it kills him. Belle too passes shortly after her marriage to Joplin. He throws himself into his magnum opus, a folk opera on African-American themes, with more accessible American music. He's never able to fully stage it in his lifetime, but his music eventually outlives him.

The Song and Dance: The performances are what makes this worth watching. Williams is excellent as the mercurial musician who was determined to make something he could be proud of, before he couldn't do anything at all. Davies nearly matches him as his equally talented but less ambitious best friend, and Carney also does well as the older man who is determined to prove to the world that "ragtime" is more than music for one race. Some of the costumes aren't bad, either, at least well representing the late 19th-early 20th century setting. 

The Numbers: In fact, we open over the credits with "The Entertainer." We first get "Hangover Blues" at the brothel. There's some pretty wild pianists at the piano cutting contest, including a Civil War vet who plays one-armed. Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" is what puts him and Chauvelin over, topping even a wild guy who plays while jumping around. We get "Solace" and the duo writes "Heliotrope Bouquet" together. "Courtship," as Scott dates and weds Belle, is based on "Elite Syncopation." We get "Peacharine Rag" and "Pleasant Moments" as well. "Weeping Willow" from Joplin's opera Treemonisha is performed by a very serious choir...but Joplin is so frustrated with their performance, he ends up singing everything himself for the backers. He switches to "The Entertainer" when they aren't interested, giving him a montage of memories and segments from the movie as his hands fail him.

Trivia: This was originally made for TV, but Universal was so impressed with the results, they released it theatrically. 

Look for another famous early Black composer, Eubie Blake, as one of the judges at the piano cutting contest, and R&B group the Commodores (including Lionel Richie) as The Minstrel Singers. 

Treemonisha finally had first complete performance in 1972. It was so well-received, Joplin got a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1976. 

What I Don't Like: I'm afraid this looks and sounds like a TV movie from 1977. Nice costumes aside, the sets are cramped, and there's those stills montages. Normally, most Hollywood musical biopics go on for much too long...but this one is too short to really include all of the facts about Joplin's short but eventful life. He had two wives, one of which did die young, but not from heartbreak after a baby's death. He not only played in brothels early-on and taught piano, guitar, and mandolin, but also sang with boys' groups. He wrote an earlier opera, A Guest of Honor, that was so badly received, it's now lost.  I wish they'd expanded it when they moved it to theaters! As it is, what's here is standard biopic cliches with a very dark ending (something a lot of critics complained about in 1977).

The Big Finale: Worth seeing at least once if you're a fan of Williams, Davies, or Joplin and ragtime. 

Home Media: Available in all formats; DVD is from the made-to-order Universal Vault.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - Frosty's Winter Wonderland

Rankin-Bass/ABC, 1976

Voices of Jackie Vernon, Shelley Winters, Andy Griffith, and Dennis Day

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music and Lyrics by various

For the next three Saturdays, we'll be looking at vintage winter and Valentine's Day specials from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, starting with this lesser-known sequel from Rankin-Bass. The original Frosty the Snowman was one of their bigger hits in the late 60's, so it was likely inevitable that they would want to follow that up. They got the folksy Griffith to replace original narrator Jimmy Durante, who had a stroke a few years before and had retired, and concocted a story that gave Frosty a wife and a slightly more likely villain than an annoying and rather silly magician. How does all of this look today? Let's begin with Griffith and the kids as they try to build a snowman who'll come to life like Frosty and find out...

The Story: Frosty (Vernon) is glad to be back with the kids, but he's lonely when they're not playing with him. Since he can't go inside with them, they make him a wife to be his friend and partner. Trouble is, they can't figure out what will make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous that the kids associate Frosty with winter more than they do him. He tries to blow Frosty's magic hat away, but gets a substitute. Frosty is the one who finally figures out what will bring Crystal (Winters) to life...and she saves him in turn after Frost returns and does get his hat. Frosty and Crystal want to be married, but they end up needing a snow priest (Day) to do the job. 

The Animation: As a later Rankin-Bass special, this absolutely shows the hand of Paul Coker Jr. It's much more rounded and anime-like than the original special (as per its Japanese origins), and definitely looks like it was designed by the man who would later do artwork for MAD Magazine. 

The Song and Dance: Vernon and Winters make an adorable couple in one of the better Rankin-Bass specials of the 70's. This is one of the few times the weirdness that marks their later efforts really works. Winters' crusty demeanor compliments Vernon's innocent cheerfulness well, and Frees makes a perfect impish Jack. I also like that this may be the only Rankin-Bass special that doesn't needlessly attempt to tie a holiday in. It doesn't mention Christmas, Valentine's Day, or even Groundhog's Day. It's just about the wonders of winter, making it perfect to watch during the colder months when other Rankin-Bass specials are sitting on the shelf. 

The Numbers: Griffith performs "Frosty the Snowman" in the opening as the kids build their new wintry friend and wish for Frosty's return. They sing it again when they're out skating and sledding with Frosty and realize that Frosty really isn't very good at counting. Day and Griffith share "Winter Wonderland" later on, during Frosty and Crystal's wedding. It really is very sweet, with the animals carrying Crystal's train and the snowman that no one has to pretend is Parson Brown.

What I Don't Like: Er, what is this a sequel to again? There's no mention of Karen, the little girl from the first special, though they do continue the running gag with the kid wrapped in that huge scarf and his weird snow people names and the cop who swallows his whistle at the sight of the snow people. While this does make more sense than such late 70's and 80's Rankin-Bass specials as The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold or Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas In July, it's still a little strange. The kids make Frosty a wife, and Jack Frost is jealous because they aren't paying attention? Sometimes I wonder what the writers at Rankin-Bass were on in the 70's and early 80's. 

The Big Finale: One of the better Rankin-Bass specials from the mid-late 70's deserves a look during the winter months for its unique story and charming performances.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

DVD - Frosty the Snowman/Frosty's Winter Wonderland

Amazon Prime

Jivin' In Be-Bop

Alexander Distributing Company, 1946

Starring Dizzy Gillespie, Freddy Carter, James Moody, and Helen Humes

Directed by Leonard Anderson and Spencer Williams

Music and Lyrics by various

Some race films bypassed flimsy plots entirely to document the popular black singers and orchestras of the time. Gillespie's career began in the mid-30's. He played on several big band orchestras and did arrangements for others before he struck out on his own in a small combo in 1944. He was riding the rise of both small combos and be-bop, then considered to be a jazz sub-genre, when he and his combo appeared in this film. How well do these numbers come off today? Let's let our master of ceremonies, Mr. Freddy Carter, tell us what we're about to see and find out...

The Story: There isn't one. Carter introduces Gillespie and his orchestra and a variety of dancers, from a modern dancer swinging scarves barefoot (Sahji) to a laid-back tapper (Ralph Brown). He does gags trades quips with the musicians between numbers.

The Song and Dance: And obviously, with no plot to discuss, song and dance are the only things of interest here. If you love Gillespie, you're going to have a great time here. We get some of his biggest early hits, including "Salt Peanuts," "Things to Come," and "I Waited for You." Some of the dancing is pretty incredible, too. Sahji can do some amazing moves barefoot, on the floor, and in a skimpy costume, while the jiggerbugging chorus mid-way through has to be seen to be believed. 

The Numbers: And we open with Carter introducing "Salt Peanuts," as played by Gillespie and his orchestra. Singer Helen Humes wrote, performs, and helps to introduce the rollicking "E-Baba-Le-Ba." Gillespie and his boys perform "Oop-Bop She-Bam" and an original instrumental, the latter of which provides the backdrop for comic soft-shoe duo Johnny and Henny. Johnny comes out later for an even more dynamic solo routine. "Shaw 'Nuff" is Sahji's modern dance routine, with her spending more time dancing on the floor than on her bare feet. 

"I Waited for You" gets into more romantic turf, as a handsome young gentleman performs the longing ballad to his sweetheart. Pianists Dan Burley and Johnny Taylor, aka the Burley-Taylor Duo, play their own "Hubba Hubba Blues" for a group of appreciative young ladies. We get a taste of African dance as a leggy duo in a low-budget idea of scanty native costume dance "A Night In Tunsia." Humes returns for another one of her compositions, the slower and sadder "Crazy About a Man." Gillespie's next number with the orchestra is the more jivin' "One Bass Hit." 

Burley and Taylor come back for "Boogie In C," wigged to by a lovely, slender dancer in a scanty white fringed costume with some amazingly high kicks. "Dynamo A" is accurately titled as the chorus takes the floor for some outstanding jitterbugging. "Ornithology" is the first of two tap numbers from Ralph Brown, this one done in top hat, tie, and tails. Gillespie himself performs "He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped" with his orchestra. The slinky "Boogie In C" returns for a faster-pasted number in a slightly more lavish black dress to "Droppin' a Square." 

"You ain't heard nothin' yet!" Gillespie tells Carter as we move on to "Things to Come" with Gillespie's orchestra. A less well-dressed Brown returns with a more laid-back tap routine to "Ray's Idea." The "dance creation" turns out to be "Bag's Boogie," as the "Tunsia" male dancer gives us a more polished and airy performance on a literal pedestal. We end back with Burley, Taylor, and the slinky female dancer, this time in scanty black and silver for "Hubba Hubba Boogie."

Trivia: There's a version of the film on DVD called Things to Come that cuts Carter's prattle with the musicians between the numbers. 

What I Don't Like: Obviously, this isn't for you if you're looking for an actual plot with your musical numbers. It's also not for those who don't love Gillespie or the jazz, be-bop, or dance styles of the mid-late 40's. This is another one that could use some restoration, too, especially given how much it relies on audio. The film is scratchy here too, the audio distorted in places.

The Big Finale: Mainly for huge fans of Gillespie or the be-bop, jazz, and dance from this era.

Home Media: This is another one in the public domain, making it easily found everywhere and in all formats.

DVD

Tubi

Beware! (1946)

Astor Pictures, 1946

Starring Louis Jordan, Frank H. Wilson, Emory Richardson, and Valerie Black

Directed by Bud Pollard

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we dive into Black History Month with two "race movies" from the late 40's. From the 1910's through the early 50's, black filmmakers made movies directly for African-American audiences. They were usually low-budget efforts released through small independent companies, but some of them, especially in the silent era, could get quite elaborate. Later films featured singers, performers, and orchestras who were often neglected or could only manage cameos in mainstream movies of the time. Most of these films were largely forgotten or lost until they started to show up on cable in the 90's, and later streaming. Now that many of them are more visible, are they worth checking out, or should they be left at school? Let's start at Ware College in Ohio with Professor  (Frank H. Wilson) and find out...

The Story: Lucius "Louis" Jordan (Jordan) attended Ware in his younger years, but is now a famous bandleader. He and his band are passing through and only end up there because their train is being held over. Ware is in the midst of major enrollment and financial problems. The son of the founder Benjamin Ware III (Milton Woods) wants to close the school and marry pretty teacher Annabelle Brown (Black). Annabelle only has eyes for Louis, whom she's had a crush on for years. She and the head of the school Dean Hargreaves (Emory Richardson) convince Louis and his band to put on a show that will save the school. Louis is more interested in figuring out what's going on with Benjamin Ware, who seems a little too interested in having his family's namesake college shut down.

The Song and Dance: Jordan's no actor, but he is a charmer in this surprisingly fun low-budget effort. It's no worse than other school-based musicals of the period. In fact, just this being set at an all-black college in Ohio makes it a little bit more unique than most college shows. There's some really nice music, too, including Jordan's not-bad rendition of the Billie Holliday standard "Good Morning Heartbreak." 

The Numbers: Our introduction to Jordan and His Orchestra is the rollicking "How Long Must I Wait For You?" in a montage on a train that shows us Jordan's success. He sings a lovely "Good Morning Heartbreak" the day after encountering Annabelle again for the first time in years. He and his orchestra perform "In the Land of the Buffalo Nickel" for a tiny class of a few students...that gets bigger and bigger the more they play. He sings and plays "Hold On" on his saxophone for Annabelle, Professor Leary, and the dean...but Ware is only slightly impressed.

Annabelle walks into an instrumental dance routine for the students in her own classroom that doesn't amuse her or Professor Leary. This turns into "You Gotta Have a Beat" when Jordan takes over the class. Their mule mascot inspires Jordan's "Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule." We get another brief instrumental chorus jitterbug routine at the dance before Ware starts admiring Annabelle a little too much. "Long Legged Lizzie" is one heck of a dancer at the school prom after Ware announces that the school isn't closing down. Jordan slows things down with the bluesy "Salt Pork, West Virginia." "Beware, Brother, Beware" is Jordan and the orchestra's warning against the lady who says one thing and does another. We end with "Old Fashioned Passion" as Jordan woos the slightly reluctant Annabelle.

What I Don't Like: First of all, I wish someone would take a crack at restoring more race films. Beware is in only slightly better shape than the 1941 Sunny, all scratches and raspy sound. Second, while the story is slightly stronger than usual for either a race or college movie, it's still full of all the attendant school musical cliches. About the only thing we don't get is a big football game, and they probably didn't have time for that in an hour movie. Note what I said up there about Jordan not being an actor. He's not the only one. Black's there as window dressing, and Woods is so smarmy, I'm surprised Jordan wasn't the only one who figured out what he was up to ages before this. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of either Jordan or the black musical films of the 40's, this is worth checking out for the good songs alone.

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it's easily found anywhere and on most formats. 

DVD - Harlem Double Feature - Jivin' In Be-Bop/Beware

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - The Frog Prince (1971)

Robert Laurence Productions/The Jim Henson Company, 1971

Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and Richard Hunt

Directed by Jim Henson

Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

We end the month as we began it, with the Muppets. This time, we jump way far back, to when Jim Henson was trying to prove that his felt characters could be more than commercial announcers or filler between variety show numbers. This is the second of three fairy tale-based specials Henson did featuring Kermit, and probably the best-received of the three. It was so popular, four of the Muppets used in this special would go on to appear on The Muppet Show three years later. Does it still cast a spell today? Let's begin with our narrator Kermit the Frog (Henson) by the well and find out...

The Story: Sir Robin the Brave (Gordon Thomson) is turned into a frog by the wicked witch Taminella (Jerry Juhl). Kermit and his friends by the well in the castle garden don't believe him, even when he tells them he can't swim. He has to befriend a princess and get her to kiss him, and the lovely Melora (Trudy Young) would seem to be the perfect candidate. Trouble is, she too is under a spell. Her words are twisted backwards by the evil woman who claims to be her father King Rupert (Henson)'s sister. Robin recognizes her as Taminella, who wants to take Melora's throne on her birthday and become queen. Robin and Kermit try to translate Melora's backwards warnings and dodge Taminella's big, dumb ogre Sweetums (Carl Banas).

The Song and Dance: This is by far my favorite, not only of the Muppet fairy tale specials, but of the specials Henson did before he developed The Muppet Show. Robin and Sweetums were so adorable and hilarious respectively, they've been used in Muppet shows and films ever since. Raposo's songs are a delight, too, especially Young singing with Robin the Frog (Nelson) and Sweetums' noisy number. Nice costumes too, on Muppet and human alike. I like that Kermit's a little more involved with this than he would be with The Muppet Musicians of Bremen and the later Christmas specials, too. 

The Numbers: We open with the "Frog Chant" from the frogs at the well and the chorus. Robin explains what happened to him to turn him from "Sir Robin the Brave" into a little frog. Kermit and his friends insist that it's great to be "Frogs." Robin interprets Melora's turned around "N'I'm Ineteen" ("I'm Nineteen") in a charming duet. After he gets into the castle, Robin is almost stomped on by Sweetums, until he manages to insist "Sleep, Sweetums." "Sweetums," for his part, isn't happy with having been manipulated and just wants his frog dinner. "Anthems of Joy" is the happy ending, as Melora and Robin embrace, the people of the country are glad to have the right queen, King Rupert is happy for his daughter, and Kermit misses his froggy friend.

Trivia: Robin and Sweetums aren't the only Muppets from this special who would turn up on The Muppet Show. Featherstone and King Rupert made occasional appearances in royalty-themed skits during the first season. 

What I Don't Like: While we do get Robin and Sweetums here along with Kermit, don't expect the rest of the Muppet gang like Piggy or Fozzie. This came out three years before that show debuted. Young's adorable as the Princess, but what little we see of Thomson is a bit stiff for a dashing prince. Frankly, Taminella is more annoying than she is threatening. How the king fell for her, I will never know. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the Muppets or of fairy tales like me, this is worth swimming a well for if you can find it.

Home Media: Alas, at press time, it can only be found on out-of-print videos and a blurry copy on Dailymotion. 

Dailymotion

Sunny (1941)

RKO, 1941

Starring Anna Neagle, Ray Bolger, John Carroll, and Edward Everett Horton

Directed by Herbert Wilcox

Music and Lyrics by various 

Anna Neagle was one of the biggest stars in British cinema from the early 30's through the early 50's. She and her director husband Herbert Wilcox went effortlessly from epic historical drama to elegant comedies to frothy musicals without batting an eyelash. RKO was impressed with their two biographies of Queen Victoria and offered them a four-picture contract in 1940. This is the third of the four, and the second of the three musicals they did. Is it as charming as the original Marilyn Miller film and the Neagle/Wilcox version of Irene, or should it be left at the altar? Let's begin at the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans and find out...

The Story: Sunny O'Sullivan (Neagle) literally runs into millionaire Larry Warren (Carroll) at the Mardi Gras parade. The Queen of Hearts (Martha Tilton) and her entourage encourages Larry to give her a hug and kiss. He does, but she disappears shortly after. He wanders into a circus near where he met the lady. Not only are his sister Elizabeth (Frieda Inescourt), the family lawyer Harry Bates (Horton), and wealthy Juliet Runnymede (Grace Hartman) there, but so is Sunny. She's the premiere dancer and bareback rider and one of the circus' star attractions. He tries to get through to her, but she goes out with her old friend Bunny Billings (Bolger) instead.

They run across each other in the restaurant later that night. Larry convinces her to join him for a ride. They fall in love, and he proposes. She's ready to leave the circus, but his snobbish old-money family isn't ready to accept a bareback rider as a daughter-in-law. She does manage to win over tough Aunt Barbara (Helen Wesley), but Elizabeth still considers her to be beneath them. The circus people turn up on the day of Sunny's wedding to see her off. Elizabeth encourages them to perform, shocking and upsetting Larry. Sunny, furious with his behavior, takes off with the circus. With the help of Aunt Barbara, Larry now has to prove to Sunny that he loves her no matter who she is or what she does.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a far better showcase for Neagle's talents than Irene. You get two major dance sequences, one with the truly great Bolger, costumes that are just as lovely (at least, what you can see of them in the terrible copies currently in circulation), and some great songs by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, and others. (Including the trio that were cut from the 1930 Sunny.) Wesley, Horton, and Bolger all have fun with their limited roles, especially Wesley as the tough-as-nails aunt who unexpectedly softens for Sunny. 

The Numbers: After a montage of Mardi Gras parade sights and sounds, our first number is Queen of Hearts Martha Tilton and her entourage insisting that "The Lady Must Be Kissed." Bunny's first dance number lets him incredible splits and spins while executing slapstick falls. Bolger then sing-recites "Who" before we see Sunny with an enormous feather fan in a feather-bedecked gown and they do an elegant dance together. The title song is our first big chorus number as Sunny comes out on horseback to do her bareback tricks and dance with the horse while Carroll tries to flirt with her from the audience. 

"Who" turns up again as Larry takes Sunny on a riverboat ride, sung first by the chorus, then sung by Larry and danced by Sunny. Bunny and Sunny are "Jack Tar and Sam Gob," doing a comic dance dressed as horny sailors. She sings the old folk song "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms" at her engagement party, thinking she's impressing Aunt Barbara. She asks Larry "Do 'Ye Love Me?" after she explains things to Aunt Barbara. Dance team Grace and Paul Hartman (in their first of two appearances together onscreen) perform the comic "The Mohache" to the tune of Ravel's "Bolero" at Sunny's wedding. Bunny dances as the "Ringmaster" at the sold-out circus show. Sunny starts singing "Sunshine"when she comes out...before Larry joins in and she realizes he's her only audience. Larry sings "Forever and a Day" as he drives Sunny's trailer to the riverboat in the finale. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, someone really needs to throw money at restoring this, too. This one is in even worse shape than the 1930 Sunny, with wonky sound and horribly scratched picture. Second, the wafer-thin story isn't really improved by the re-writing. Wesley's crotchety Aunt Barbara is a little bit more interesting than Sunny's father, but neither Bolger nor Horton have much to do other than Bolger's numbers. They do nothing with the New Orleans setting besides the opening at Mardi Gras, and only a little bit more with the circus folks than the first film. Dashing Carroll is also a bit of an improvement over the dull Lawrence Gray in the original, but he's still nowhere near Neagle's wattage.

The Big Finale: I did like this one a bit more than the 1930 Sunny or Neagle's first American picture Irene, but it's still mainly for her fans or fans of big 40's musicals. 

Home Media: This is in the public domain, so it's easily found anywhere. It's currently on Tubi for free with commercials.

DVD

Tubi

Sunny (1930)

First National Pictures, 1930

Starring Marilyn Miller, Lawrence Gray, Joe Donahue, and O.P Heggie

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music and Lyrics by various

Operetta, of course, isn't the only musical genre to see remakes. Nor are remakes a recent phenomenon. This week, we're going to look at a musical comedy that got two very different versions a decade apart from each other. Sunny was producer Charles Dillingham's follow-up vehicle for Broadway superstar Marilyn Miller after the phenomenal success of her hit Sally. Is this circus-set romantic comedy worthy of the $150,000 she earned for it, or should it be left in the center ring? Let's start at the circus, as men ogle the posters for bareback rider Sunny Peters (Miller) and find out...

The Story: Sunny's dad (Heggie) wants her to marry Harold Harcourt Wendell-Wendell (Mackenzie Ward), who is wealthy but deadly dull. She becomes smitten with Tom Warren (Gray), an old friend who stops by to see her before he takes a boat back to the US. Stealing boy's clothes, she runs away and follows him onboard. Not only is she caught, but she has no idea he's already engaged to socialite Margaret Manners (Barbara Bedford). 

The only way she can get off the boat is to marry her American friend Jim Denning (Donahue). They plan on getting a divorce the moment they can, especially since Jim is already in love with Weenie (Inez Courtney) from the circus. Sunny, still head over heels in love with Tom, tries to fool him into saying he's in love with her by appearing to be hurt at a fox hunt. When that doesn't work, she plans on returning to England and marrying Harold, at least until Tom sees the light.

The Song and Dance: And with a story that flimsy, song and dance...or really, Miller's dances...are the main points of interest. Miller's wattage, at least when she's singing and dancing, hasn't dimmed between films. She still loves what she's doing and is magnetic while doing it. Donahue and Heggie are the only ones who get anywhere near her as the good-natured guy buddy who helps her out and her stubborn father. Some of Jerome Kern's best songs can be found here, too - Gray and Miller singing "Who" is totally charming.

The Numbers: In fact, the movie puts its best foot forward and starts with its biggest hit song. Gray wonders "Who" stole his heart as he pours his heart out to a delighted Miller. They're both so adorable, it's by far the best sequence in the film. Sunny briefly sings "I Was Alone" after she boards the boat dressed as a boy as she wistfully watches Tom on board. She does a totally joyous instrumental tap dance after she's caught and allowed to stay onboard. After a massive wedding, she and Jim have their own hilarious dance as they wonder "When We Get Our Divorce." Tom and the men sing the old chestnut "Oh, He Didn't Ramble." Sunny finishes with her own interpretation of a fox hunt, complete with crop and top hat.

Trivia: This was supposed to have had three more numbers from the original show, "Sunny," "Do 'Ye Love Me," and "Two Little Love Birds," but they were cut from US prints when musicals fell out of fashion late in 1930. "Sunny" can be heard over the credits and as an instrumental number in the opening. 

The original Sunny debuted in September 1925. It ran a year, a pretty big hit for the time. It also did well in London, where ran nine months and toured for three years. 

What I Don't Like: There's a reason this hasn't turned up since that UK tour. The story is a soggy cream puff that collapses entirely in the second half. Cutting the music doesn't help. Miller's wonderful when she dances, but she's still not much of a singer and even less of an actress. Gray's deadly dull other than that charming "Who?" sequence. They really don't make much of that circus setting. I wonder if the cut numbers were set at the circus or did more with it. They're barely there at all before Sunny runs off to the boat. Oh, and Warners needs to throw some money at restoring this. The copy at Tubi and on DVD is scratchy and has wonky sound

The Big Finale: If you enjoyed Sally, you'll want to give Miller's second starring role a look as well.

Home Media: On DVD via the Warner Archives and on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi