Let's Go Native

Paramount, 1930

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Jack Oakie, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, and James Hall

Directed by Leo McCarey

Music by Richard A. Whiting; Lyrics by George Marion Jr.

Let's take a summer vacation to a remote tropical island in this hilarious early romp. Director McCarey had been directing short comedies featuring Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase since the early 20's. This was only his third sound film and his fourth feature, but he already knew his way around a slapstick gag. It wound up being a surprise hit in 1930 and garnered so many positive comparisons to the Marx Brothers vehicle Animal Crackers, McCarey would go on to direct the Brothers' Duck Soup in 1934. How does this nutty Depression-era tale look nowadays? Let's begin with two dapper Argentinians as they look on at the home of costume designer and singer Joan Wood (MacDonald) and find out...

The Story: Joan got hit hard by the start of the Depression and is heavily in debt. She's done the costumes for a Broadway show that's on its way to Argentina, but she won't get paid until they're in Buenos Aires. Her boyfriend Wally Wendall (Hall) wants to marry her, but she won't marry him until he gets a job. His wealthy grandfather (Charles Sellon) doesn't approve of Joan and has disinherited him. He wants him to marry Constance Cook (Kay Francis), the daughter of the owner of a cruise ship line. Also onboard is Voltaire McGinnis (Oakie), a cab driver who wants to get his money from Wally and his friend Basil Pistol (William Austin) after a freak accident.

While onboard, Voltaire falls for Constance, while Wally continues to pursue Joan. They all end up stranded on a remote island when the ship goes down. The natives are all beautiful women, to the  delight of most of the men. They sound and behave like Brooklyn chorus girls because the "king" of the island is Jerry (Gallagher), a New York native who was shipwrecked on the island and was dubbed its king. Voltaire woos Constance and plots with Basil to sell Jerry's pearl-crusted crown once they get back. Wally's grandfather finally turns up to rescue them, but Joan knows how to deal with him - and Voltaire's scheming - now. She leverages the island and its riches in exchange for marrying his son, but the island is volcanic, and it may not be around for much longer...

The Song and Dance: This may be one of the funniest original musicals from the early talkie era. Everyone is having a ball with the unique and wild shipwreck story. Even MacDonald, who apparently wasn't happy about ending up in this, seems to enjoy swaying in her grass skirt. Oakie, Austin, and Gallagher have a lot more fun as the two guys who get caught up in Joan's money woes and the one who managed to "civilize" paradise. There's some great gags here, from the opening with the furniture being carried out of Joan's house even as she awakens for breakfast to the men on board watching as they all knock off each other's hats (and how that ties into the fate of Jerry's pearl crown in the finale). There's no attempt to tie the songs in. They blatantly come up with the silliest, spoofiest cues for songs that, more often than not, are there just to be catchy. 

The Numbers: We open with Wally and Joan singing one last song on Joan's piano, the ballad "My Mad Moment," before it's repossessed. Joan does a whirling Apache dance before we go into a montage of musical numbers from the big show, ending with Joan and one of the dancers performing an Argentinian-style tango. "It Seems to Be Spring" is a rehearsal on the boat, as Joan and Wally sing on a stage where snow is falling, even as they strip down to warm-weather clothes. The snow stops briefly, enough for bears to do their own wooing...and them to get covered in snow. Voltaire gets the ladies on-board going with his lively chorus number "Joe Jazz." This turns into a full-on tap routine, with the dancers in top hats and hot-pants dance costumes. 

The title song chorus number on the island starts with Voltaire and the native girls doing their idea of a hula. Basil joins in for the stuffy British version before the girls go into Busby Berkeley-style overhead formations. Voltaire's idea of a romantic song is "I've Got a Yen for You." Constance even joins in at one point. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, Universal needs to do some serious restoration on this one. The copies currently on YouTube are horrible, blurry, jumpy, and with fuzzy sound. Second, this is obviously not for those looking for a darker story or one that makes sense. This is pure goofiness all the way. McCarey's skill makes this a little livelier than most early musicals, but it's still an early talkie and can occasionally get a bit static (mostly in the first half). And I kind of wish they'd gotten to the island earlier. They spend more than half of a 75-minute movie setting up the finale. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of any of the stars, are looking for something light and funny to watch on a summer's day, and can deal with the shape the copies online are in, you'll have a "vine" time going native with some of the wackiest goofballs of the pre-Code era.

Home Media: As mentioned, this is currently on YouTube in blurry copies with fuzzy sound. 

YouTube

Cult Flops - Bitter Sweet (1933)

United Artists, 1933

Starring Anna Neagle, Fernand Gravey, Miles Mander, and Ivy St. Helier

Directed by Herbert Wilcox

Music and Lyrics by Noel Coward

Let's begin this month with another rediscovered operetta treasure, this time from England. Noel Coward's melancholy operetta made it's debut on the West End in 1929. It was such a massive hit, its producer C.B Cochran brought it to Broadway a few months later. It didn't do as well there, in the original cast with Evelyn Laye or a 1934 revival with Evelyn Herbert. Back in England, its success was enough for Wilcox to adapt this for up-and-coming English stars Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey. Did they do better than the glossy but dull MGM remake with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in 1940? Let's begin in 1929 London with a party in full swing and find out...

The Story: The party is for Dolly Chamberlain (Pat Paterson) on the eve of her marriage to a wealthy nobleman, but she really loves poor musician Vincent (Hugh Williams). They're caught in an embrace by elderly Sarah Millick (Neagle). Sarah doesn't mind at all. It turns out that in 1875, she ran out on her own pompous and dull suitor (Esme Percy) to marry the handsome and dashing Viennese songwriter Carl Linden (Gravey). 

They lived in Vienna, happy but poor, working at a cafe frequented by soldiers and ladies of the evening. He's the bandleader. She dances with the soldiers, including Captain Auguste Lutte (Mander). They're hoping to earn enough money to start their own cafe, with her singing Carl's music. She does manage to befriend Carl's former lover Manon Le Crevette (Helier), a singer at the club, and he impresses the club's owner Herr Schlick (Clifford Heatherly). Lutte, however, is interested in more than Sarah's singing. Carl's attempt to defend his wife's honor after Lutte makes improper advances ends in tragedy. Sarah, however, has never forgotten Carl and his music...and encourages Dolly to follow her heart her heart and marry the man she truly loves.

The Song and Dance: At the very least, I do give them credit for including some songs that didn't make it into the 1940 version, including the other hit from this, Manon's rueful "If Love Were All." Neagle is simply radiant as Sarah, especially during the first half when she's a young woman truly in love for the first time. She just glows, to the point where I can see why director Wilcox married her a decade later. Gravey is equally charming as the Austrian musician who adores her. (And at least they're both closer to the appropriate ages for their roles.) Heilier repeats her West End role as the worldly Frenchwoman. This is slower than the Hollywood version, but Wilcox's British sensibilities have a theatricality to them that's appealing and works with the melodramatic material. 

The Numbers: We open with an instrumental chorus number as we see dancing legs in ruffly gowns. When Sarah overhears Dolly and Vincent talking, she sings "The Call of Life" to explain her own story...and that dissolves nicely into the young Sarah in 1875, all ruffles and bustles and golden ringlets, finishing the number. Carl wistfully performs "If You Could Only Come With Me" at his last music lesson for Sarah. Sarah's shocked, but she cheers up when they perform the longing ballad "I'll See You Again." The chorus performs the instrumental "The Last Dance" waltz as Sarah realizes she can't go through with marrying stuffy Hugh. 

Our first number at the cafe is Manon's "Bonne Nuit, Merci" as she entertains the soldiers and their female companions. They perform "Ladies of the Town" to explain their own positions in Viennese society. Manon gives her own rueful observations on life in "If Love Were All." At home, Sarah and Carl sing about how they want their "Dear Little Cafe" to show off Sarah's singing and Carl's songs. "Tokay" is the big drinking number for the Captain, the soldiers, and the patrons of the cafe. Manon performs "Kiss Me" while the Captain glares and Sarah flees. The Captain and Sarah are dancing to "Kiss Me" when the Captain gropes Sarah and Carl steps in, prompting their duel. Back in 1929, Vincent reprises "I'll See You Again" as a jazzier instrumental number after Sarah fades in, singing it to the dying Carl. Sarah ends the movie singing it one more time for the camera.

What I Don't Like: Despite being the version Coward approved of, it still doesn't use all of the original show. The 1940 version did get in most of the third act, where Sarah becomes a star in Viennese operetta and marries a nobleman who also loved her. Several songs are missing, including Sarah's "What Is Love," the duet "Forevermore and a Day," and Sarah's big operetta number "Zigeuner." On the other hand, this does use the opening and closing with Sarah as an elderly woman that the 1940 version dropped. Not to mention United Artists/MGM could give this some restoration. The copy on Tubi is intact but a bit fuzzy.

The Big Finale: Charming and well worth checking out for fans of Coward, Neagle, or vintage operetta. 

Home Media: It can currently be found for free with commercials on Tubi. (And don't let the posters used to advertise this discourage you - for some reason, they use the poster for the MacDonald-Eddy version as the thumbnail.)

Tubi

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland

Disney, 2026

Starring Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, and Leonardo Nam

Directed by Kimmy Gatewood

Music and Lyrics by various

We're going to stay with Disney, but head to the Disney Channel for another fantasy revolving around teen protagonists. Descendants: Rise of Red was a massive hit on the Disney Channel and Disney Plus in 2024, one of the biggest hit made-for-TV films they'd had in years. Them putting out a sequel was probably inevitable, though it apparently wasn't announced until February 2025. After changing their lives via time travel in the previous film, how do Red (Cantrall) and Chloe (Baker) react to their new worlds? Let's begin, not with the girls, but with our narrator, Chessy, the daughter of the Cheshire Cat (Awkwafina), as she explains that all is not what it seems to be in Wonderland, and find out...

The Story: After everything that happened in the previous movie, Chloe and Red come to the conclusion that time travel is too dangerous and hide the magical pocket watch in the Wonderland Vault. Red has the most changes to deal with. Not only is her mother Bridget, the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora), a lot kinder than she used to be, but Red now has a little sister, the ever-positive Pink (Segura). Chloe is frustrated that her mother Cinderella (Brandy) is now even stricter and seems to have forgotten her scrappy adolescence. 

Red's less happy that her former tutor Maddox Hatter (Nam) has really gone mad searching for the pocket watch after he witnessed them use it in the past. He and his son Max (Brendon Tremblay) were forced to leave Wonderland, but returned after the ban on villains ended. He gets his revenge on Bridget by stealing her magic cards and taking over Wonderland. Red and Chloe are joined by Max, Pink, Red's awkward and sweet crush Luis Madrigal (Alexandro Byrd), and their friends from Aurodon Prep as they make their way to Hearts Castle to rescue Bridget and Cinderella. Chloe, however, is getting fed up with Red doing things her way and ignoring her, and Red wishes Chloe were a little bolder, leading to a rift in their relationship...one Chessy and Maddox manage to manipulate as they move closer to the castle.

The Song and Dance: I definitely think this one improves on the previous film. For one thing, no confusing time travel cliches here. Wonderland is seen in all of its glowing, neon and fluff glory, and it's a delight. The costumes and sets remain incredible, especially for a TV movie. As good as Cantrall and Baker are, Ora and Brandy steal the movie as their mothers, who manage to reconcile and bond when their daughters are unable to. They even get one of the movie's best songs. The music and choreography are also excellent, with "Dancing With the Enemy" and the "True to My Heart" finale as the stand-outs.

The Numbers: We open with the chorus number "Perfect Princess," as both girls are shocked to see all of the rules that are now expected of them and how different their lives are. "Mad" is Maddox's villain number as he accuses Bridget of not giving him a chance and steals her cards. "Did You Hear About Them?" ask Luis, Hazel Hook (Kiara Romero), and the kids of Auradon Prep, many of whom are not impressed with "perfect" Chloe and Red. Chloe, Red, Luis, and the kids find themselves "Dancing With the Enemy" as they mirror the moves of chess pieces on a massive chess board. One wrong move, and the kids disappear. Luis and Red wish that "For Once In My Life" they could do what they want and be who they want to be.

 Bridget and Cinderella reminisce about school and "The Girl I Used To Be" when they're Maddox's captives in Heart Castle. Max gives the hurt and confused Chloe a bracelet that makes her "Heartless"...and willing to betray Red. Trapped in the moving maze without her friends, Red wonders "Who I Am," until Pink finds her and reminds her. Reunited with their mothers, the girls and their friends encourage each other to "Go Live It" and enjoy life to the fullest, no matter what the past or future brings. The movie ends with a big chorus number to "True to Your Heart" from the animated version of Mulan. 

What I Don't Like: This movie did not need 8,000 characters all over the place. It mainly focuses on Red, Chloe, Luis, Max, and the two mothers. Anyone else, including Pink, Hazel, Robbie Hood (Joel Oulette), and Felix Facillier (Zavien Garrett), are window dressing and barely get any development or screen time. They could have used Maddox a bit more to do too and let us see his actual plans. Speaking of underdeveloped, while we don't get time travel cliches, we do get every other teen cliche in the book, including one girl going bad briefly. It's not hard to tell where this one is going once it gets into Wonderland.

The Big Finale: The terrific numbers, costumes, and some decent performances make this worth checking out for major Disney fans like me or girls in the appropriate 8 to 14 age range who love fantasy.

Home Media: This is exclusive to Disney Plus at the moment. 

Disney Plus

Moana (2026)

Disney, 2026

Starring Catherine Laga'aia, Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, and John Tui

Directed by Thomas Kail

Music and Lyrics by Opetaia Foa'i, Mark Mancina, and Lin-Manuel Miranda

Unlike Snow White, there was no hostility or controversy when Disney announced they were remaking this in April 2023. It was based on one of Disney's most beloved animated films of the last decade, one that continued to be popular on Disney Plus and in the theme parks and had a sequel that debuted just two years ago. After the relatively recent Lilo & Stitch was a smash hit last summer, Disney must have thought they had another blockbuster on their hands. Considering it currently stands to be one of the biggest flops of the year so far...what happened? To figure that out, we begin in much the same way as the original, as young Moana's (Amasa Masoli) grandmother Tala (Owen) tells the story of how Maui (Johnson) stole the stone heart of the goddess island Te Fiti and how that began to destroy the life on every island...

The Story: Moana (Laga'aia) has heard the call of the sea all her life. Her parents, especially her father Chief Tui (Tui), want her to stay on the island and focus on becoming Chief. No one's ventured past the island for three thousand years. Only her eccentric grandmother Tala (House) encourages her love of the ocean and desire to explore. It's her grandmother who reveals ancient boats hidden in a cave. Her people were once explorers, searching for new islands across the Pacific. 

When the villagers discover that the foliage of the island is dying and fish are disappearing, Moana finally takes off in one of the camacaus from the cave. She's determined to find Maui and restore the goddess island, but it's not easy. Not only does Maui refuse to help at first, but she has to deal with rough seas, wild little coconut-like scavengers, treasure-loving giant crabs, and her own lack of sailing abilities. Nothing, however, will stop Moana from saving her people and proving that being a leader sometimes means going outside the box and what others deem "safe."

The Song and Dance: For all the problems, some things do work. The songs have always been a delight, and the end credits number "Along the Way" is a lovely addition. Johnson is still having a lot of fun as Maui, and his hand-animated tattoos retelling his adventures are still hilarious. Laga'aia makes a lovely, determined, and very funny Moana, especially when dealing with Maui and his ego that dwarfs the entire Pacific Ocean, and Owen is a wonderfully wise and eccentric grandmother. (And I still appreciate that Moana and Maui are more pupil and mentor than romantic.) 

The Numbers: Our first flat-out number is the chorus routine "Where You Are." Chief Tui introduces us to the culture and people of Motunui as Moana grows up...and still hears the call of the sea. Moana's first attempt to leave the island is underscored by her big "I want" song and the hit from the original film, "How Far I'll Go." "We Know the Way" is the second chorus number as we see Moana's ancestors charting the Pacific. Moana reprises "How Far" when she finally makes it out to the ocean on one of the ancestors' boats. "You're Welcome" says Maui when Moana washes up on an island where he too is stranded. After all, he created (or claims her created) everything. 

Moana has to dodge the enormous coconut crab Tamatoa (Jermaine Clement), who loves all things "Shiny," and grab the stone heart and Maui's magical fish hook. Moana performs the brief "I am Moana" with her grandmother when she thinks she'll never be able to restore Te Fiti. The chorus reminds her to "Know Who You Are." We end back at Motunni with a reprise of "We Know the Way" as Moana, Maui, and everyone on the island are now wayfarers searching the seas. Lin-Manuel Miranda is joined by Laga'aia and original Moana Auli'i Cravaho for the end credits song "Along the Way." 

What I Don't Like: This has the opposite problem from Snow White. They tried to change and update too much there, but this...has no reason to exist. They changed and updated almost nothing. It's pretty much exactly the same as the animated film people can buy on disc or watch on Disney Plus except for a few additional gags and the one new end credits song. Not to mention, this movie was overlong when it was fully animated, and it's not any less in live-action. Some of Moana and Maui's antics in the middle of the film could still be trimmed. There's also the complaints of all the CGI and AI used. There's so much animation used, it practically still is an animated film, and it looks horrendously fake compared to the big action and horror films in theaters right now. 

The Big Finale: If your kids are huge Moana fans who can't get enough of the character, they'll probably want to see it. Everyone else is fine looking up "Along the Way" and taking their money elsewhere.

Home Media: It's home release date hasn't been announced yet, but the vinyl soundtrack is available at Target and elsewhere

Vinyl Soundtrack (Target)

Safety In Numbers

Paramount, 1930

Starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Carole Lombard, Katheryn Crawford, and Josephine Dunn

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Music by Richard A. Whiting; Lyrics by George Marion Jr.

Schertzinger went way further back with musicals than The Fleet's In. He started his directing career doing rural comedies in 1917. His first sound musical was segments of the revue Paramount On Parade; this was his first full-length musical film. It was made to showcase Paramount's then-biggest matinee idol, Buddy Rogers. Rogers was an early form of Pat Boone, "America's Boyfriend," the cute, cuddly guy girls can bring home to their parents with no trouble. This was intended to be a big star vehicle for him, allowing him to show just how sweet he could be and promote some of the up-and-coming ingenues on the Paramount lot...including one who would go on to have a major career a few years later. How does this romantic comedy about a young playboy who gets an education in love from three chorus girls look nowadays? Let's begin with that playboy, William Butler Reynolds (Rogers), as he judges a "high kicking contest" among the secretaries in his uncle F. Carstair Reynolds' (Richard Tucker) business and find out...

The Story: Carstair tells his nephew he stands to inherit $350 million dollars on his twenty-first birthday, but only if he goes to New York and learns "the ways of the world." He hires three Follies girls, Maxine (Dunn), Pauline (Lombard), and Jacqueline (Crawford), to show his nephew around New York and keep an eye on him. They get help from a chatty cab driver, Bertram Shapiro (Roscoe Karns), who befriends William and the girls, and several other chorus cuties who volunteer. After things get out of hand at a party, all three ladies admit they're besotted by their charge...but there's only one of them whom William loves so much, he's willing to give up that money for.

The Song and Dance: Not the most exciting story in the world, but there are a few items worthy of note. The music isn't bad, especially the lovely ballad "My Future Just Passed." Nice costumes, too, with some really gorgeous early 30's gowns for the ladies and tuxes for the guys. Rogers may have the lion's share of moments, but it's the ladies who run off with the film. They're hilarious and heartfelt as they try to show their charge how to really live life, especially sweet Crawford as the one who falls for him. Karns has a few good moments too as the boastful cab driver.

The Numbers: We open with our first chorus number, as those secretaries show off their high kicking stuff and Rogers shows off his prowess on the drums to "Business Girl." William switches on the radio so Jacqueline can hear (and be impressed by) his own song, "Do You Play, Madam?" He gets her up for a short dance. He woos Maxine with "I'd Like to Be a Bee In Your Boudoir." Pauline tries to woo him with "Young Man, You Appeal to Me" without actually singing it. The other two are not amused. The ladies' maid (Louise Beavers" joins in for the dance number "The Pick-Up," while the chorus gets "Pepola," in a very strange number that turns into silhouettes of beautiful women dancing against a city projection background at one point.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention up there that this is not the most exciting story? It's basically Rogers chasing women, the ladies chasing him, and Karns popping up here and there. While it's a little more kinetic than usual for the early talkie era, we do get the occasional shots of people standing and talking. Also, if you're expecting something like Lombard's brittle screwball comedy persona from the later 30's, you're going to be disappointed. Other than her "You Appeal to Me" number (where she doesn't even really sing), she doesn't really have that much to do.

The Big Finale: This is cute and has some decent music, but in the end, it's mainly for early talkie enthusiasts or major fans of Lombard or Rogers. 

Home Media: Thanks to it entering the public domain this year, it can now be found all over streaming, including at Tubi. 

Tubi

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Paramount, 1962

Starring Elvis Presley, Laurel Goodwin, Stella Stevens, and Jeremy Slate

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate the summer season with one of Elvis' bigger hits. Elvis and his wiggling hips seemed to work well with the laid-back vibes of the Hawaiian Islands. This would be the second of three films he made with a Hawaiian setting. It also produced one of the bigger singles to come from one of his movies and helped promote Tiki culture at a time when interest in Polynesia was at an all-time high. How does the movie that produced "Return to Sender" look nowadays? Let's begin with Ross Carpenter (Presley) taking a tourist couple out on his fishing boat the Westwind and find out...

The Story: Ross wants to buy his boat from the new owner, arrogant and egotistical Wesley Johnson (Slate), but he doesn't have the money. His current girl, singer Robin (Stevens), wants him to give up fishing and join her singing at a local nightclub, but Ross is married to his boat. He and his late father built the Westwind. 

He first meets sweet and funny Laurel Dodge (Goodwin) at the club. Unlike Robin, she enjoys sailing with him and understands how he feels about the Westwind. He even introduces her to his friends at Paradise Island, Kin Yung (Benson Fong), his wife (Beluah Quo), and the two little girls they look after. Laurel, however, is not what she seems. Ross doesn't appreciate her attempt to help him by buying the Westwind himself...until Johnson gets his hands on her, and he realizes that Laurel means more to him than any boat.

The Song and Dance: To my surprise, this may be one of Elvis' more charming vehicles. Hawaii does seem to agree with him. He seems a lot more at ease here than with some of his more by-the-numbers later vehicles. He's abetted by two relatively strong leading ladies. Goodwin is adorably sarcastic, Stevens nicely tough when we see her. Some of the music is really fun too, including "Return to Sender," the hilarious "Earth Boy" with the little girls on the island, and the rousing title song.

The Numbers: We hear the title song twice, in the opening as Ross drives the fishing couple and admires all the beautiful young ladies they pass, and dancing with ladies in Hawaiian, Asian, and Latin costumes in the finale. Ross takes us to the club, where we hear Robin perform "Never Let Me Go." She and her boss Sam talk Ross into his credo, "I Don't Want To Be Tied." The Four Amigos perform "Mama" for the wife of the original owner of the Westwind on their anniversary. Ross adorably sings "We'll Be Together" for a grateful Mama. 

He performs "Earth Boy" with the little girls Mai (Elizabeth Tiu) and Tai (Ginny Tiu) on Paradise Island. Back at the club, Robin gets the standard "The Nearness of You." Speaking of standards, Ross also introduces the big hit from this film. "Return to Sender," at the club. He's singing "Because of Love" when Laurel comes in looking for him. Ross and the fishermen get one of the major chorus numbers, "Thanks to the Rolling Sea," on their boat. They perform "The Song of the Shrimp" to lift their morale after they catch nothing. He and Laurel do their idea of a flamenco as they insist "Walls Have Ears" and listen in on the neighbors.

"We're Coming In Loaded" says Ross proudly as his crew finally nets a good catch. Robin gets another smoky number at the club, "Baby Baby Baby," just before Laurel confronts her about Ross. The finale gives us a delicate Japanese dance to "Dainty Little Moonbeams," which Ross sings with the little girls. 

What I Don't Like: Definitely one of Elvis' fluffier vehicles. If you're looking for something darker or sharper, you'd better go to his 50's films. Frankly, it goes on for about 20 minutes too long, too. The girls arguing over Ross gets a little annoying despite Elvis' charisma. Stevens doesn't really have that much to do besides her numbers and insult Elvis. Though they're generally respectful of Japanese and Hawaiian culture, some of the treatment of the residents of Paradise Island occasionally borders on stereotype.

The Big Finale: The film that introduced "Return to Sender" is surprisingly charming and fun if you're a big fan of Elvis or bright and bold 60's musicals. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Happy 4th of July! - The Fleet's In

Paramount, 1942

Starring William Holden, Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, and Betty Hutton

Directed by Victor Scherzinger

Music by Victor Scherzinger; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Let's celebrate America's 250th anniversary honoring the US Navy with this rare classic from early in the World War II years. Holden was a true golden boy in the early 40's, having become a star in the 1939 film version of Golden Boy and earned an Oscar nomination in 1940 for Our Town. What he wasn't was a musical star - in fact, this would be his only musical - which is likely why he's surrounded by some of Paramount's most popular musical performers of the war years. Lamour had been popular since the mid-30's, but Bracken and Hutton were up-and-coming comedians and would have their biggest hits during and directly after the war years. How do they all come together in this wacky romantic comedy where a sailor tries to kiss a standoffish nightclub singer to win a bet? Let's begin with another singer, movie star Diana Golden (Betty Jane Rhodes), performing the title song in a nightclub populated by sailors, and find out...

The Story: Diana kisses shy sailor Casey Kirby (Holden) as a publicity stunt. His shipmates, including his best friend Barney Waters (Bracken) are now convinced he's a ladies' man. They make a bet that he can't kiss frigid singer the Countess (Lamour) while on leave. Waters has his own problems. He's being pursued by the Countess' noisy roommate Bessie (Hutton), and he made the bet against his friend Spike's (Gil Lamb) watch. If he doesn't win that bet, Spike will thrash him within an inch of his life. Casey does everything he can to woo the Countess...but to his surprise, finds himself falling in love with her for real. She does, too, until Bessie and her friend Cissie (Cass Daley) spill the beans about the bet. Now Casey has three days to convince the Countess his love is on the level, before they get thrown out...or worse, land in jail.

The Song and Dance: Sweetly sincere Holden does tend to come off better than most leading men who appear opposite musical ladies. He's certainly enjoying himself more than most of the non-singing guys at 20th Century Fox did as the gob who finds himself falling for this lovely lady in spite of himself. Lamour has even more fun playing opposite him as the standoffish Countess. Mercer and Schertzinger came up with a terrific score, too. Three of the songs - "I Remember You," "Tangerine," and "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In a Hurry" - are now standards. 

The Song and Dance: We open with the title song over the credits before revealing that Diana Golden is singing it at a nightclub. Eddie Bracken reprises it with the sailors on their way back to their ship. Their first trip to the Swingland dance club provides our next numbers. Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell introduce "Tangerine" with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra. The Countess steps up next for "When You Hear the Time Signal." Bessie next tears into several sailors while performing "If You Build a Better Mousetrap." (Eberly and O'Connell reprise this later in a version that's less damaging to the sailors.) Barney joins the Countess and Bob Eberly for "Not Mine" in the nightclub. 

The Countess gets the honor of introducing "I Remember You" accompanied by Eberly, O'Connell, and Jimmy Dorsey at the sailors' weenie roast. Dancers Lorraine and Rognan do a spoof ballroom number to an instrumental version later at the club. Bessie blasts "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In a Hurry" in her idea of a tap costume, while Cissie finishes with "Tomorrow You Belong to Uncle Sammy" and Spike does his own acrobatic instrumental dance. 

Trivia: This is based on the 1933 non-musical play Sailor Beware. Paramount would remake it under that title as a vehicle for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in 1952. 

Victor Schertzinger's last film. He died in October 1941, four months before the movie was released. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the plot is annoying. If the Countess would stop and listen (and if Bessie would close her mouth for five seconds and listen), they'd know that Casey doesn't really want to go through with it, either. They both pretty much say it's distasteful, and it is. A little of Bracken and Hutton can go a long way, especially when Hutton is in bombastic mode. Bracken spends most of the movie whining, and Hutton spends most of it yelling at him and throwing him around. 

The Big Finale: In the end, this is worth checking out as you dodge the heat this 4th of July for the good cast and music alone. 

Home Media: Alas, the only place you can find this online at present is YouTube, but at least the TCM copy there is pretty decent.

YouTube

The Naughty Nineties

Universal, 1945

Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Henry Travers, and Rita Johnson

Directed by Jean Yarborough

Music and Lyrics by various

We celebrate the start of summer with some unique baseball history. Abbott and Costello had been performing their famous "Who's On First" bit, with Abbott as a baseball player trying to correct befuddled fan Lou, for years. It was so well-known, even then, Universal finally got it into one of their vehicles. This would also be the first of nine times the duo appeared, separately and together, in a historical or fantasy film. How does the movie that introduced their most famous routine look today? Let's start with the arrival of The River Queen, a show boat promoting wholesome entertainment in 1890, and find out...

The Story: Dexter Broadhurst (Abbott) is the leading man for the floating show boat troupe. His best friend Sebastian Dimwiddle (Costello) is the show's sound effects master and barker. They're both shocked when kindly Captain Sam (Travers) loses the River Queen to nefarious gambler Bonita Farrow (Johnson). She and her fellow gamblers Crawford (Alan Curtis) and Bailey (Joe Sawyer) got him drunk and pulled him into playing a rigged roulette table. They take over the River Queen and turn it into a rigged gambling den, pushing out Sam and his daughter Caroline (Lois Collier). Worried about their jobs and their friends, Sebastian and Dexter do a little gambling themselves to help the Captain regain control of his ship. Meanwhile, Crawford is also having second thoughts after he falls for Caroline.

The Song and Dance: The first appearance of "Who's On First" on film is unquestionably this movie's highlight, but it does have a few other virtues. Bud and Lou have a couple of other funny routines, including Costello trying to make his voice go higher or lower in response to Abbott moving scenery, Costello mistaking a real bear for his buddy in a bear suit, and Costello mirroring Bailey's movements to keep him from figuring out he's loose. Rita Johnson makes a terrific villainous gambling queen, too, all slinky and side-eyes, and Travers is a sweet steamship captain. 

The Numbers: Our first performance is "On a Sunday Afternoon." Caroline sings this until the local saloon-keeper says the river boat troupe is blocking his business. Crawford makes use of a gun to convince him otherwise, but Sebastian thinks he did it. That saloon is the Gilded Cage, where we hear "I'd Leave My Happy Home for You." Sebastian attempts "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" during the scene where Dexter's telling the men how to lower or raise the scenery. His voice and body go up and down as the scenery does, until he ends up on the floor. Rather appropriately, Dexter opens the "Who's On First" segment with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Caroline sings "I Can't Get You Out of My Mind," one of three songs written directly for the film, in the casino. The entire cast appears for a version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the finale, including Sebastian on a flying cable as one of the most unlikely Little Evas in film history. 

Trivia: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are the only non-baseball players to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for their "Who's on First" routine. The segment from this film featuring the routine can be seen at the Hall of Fame building in Cooperstown, New York. 

If the "Who's on First" scene seems to come out of left field (so to speak), it was added into the film after the rest of it had been shot. The faint laughter you might hear in the background (if you're not too busy laughing yourself) is director Yarborough and his crew. After attempting numerous takes, Yarborough finally gave up and just left the laughter in. 

The show boat itself was originally built for the 1936 version of Show Boat. 

What I Don't Like: There's a reason "Who's On First" was shoved in at the last minute. This is not one of Lou and Bud's better comedies. Collier and Curtis are blocks of wood compared to the hams around them as the lovers. The new songs aren't terribly memorable...and the old ones were almost entirely written in the early 1900's, rather than the 1890's. Most of their routines in this film were done better elsewhere, including by the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. There's also some brief blackface to contend with, notably in the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" finale. 

The Big Finale: This one is really for big fans of Bud and Lou. Everyone else would be advised to find some version of "Who's On First?" online. 

Home Media: The popularity of "Who's On First" is very likely the reason this is one of their only movies currently available individually on disc. 

DVD

DVD - The Best of Abbott and Costello Vol. 2

DVD - Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection 

Blu-Ray - Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection

Amazon Prime

Celebrating Juneteenth - Killer Diller

All-American, 1948

Starring Dusty Fletcher, George Wiltshire, Butterfly McQueen, and Nellie Hill

Directed by Josh Binney

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Juneteeth, the day the slaves were freed in Texas, with a collection of black talent you won't see anywhere else. Race movies, B-films made for segregated black theaters, go back to the silent movie era. By the post-war era, they were wildly popular, and though there were dramas, mysteries, and non-musical comedies, the biggest of all were the all-black musicals. We saw two other race films from this era back in February. How does this one compare to those? Let's begin with theater manager Baltimore Dumdore (Wiltshire), as he tells his secretary Butterfly (McQueen) to find him a magician, and find out...

The Story: The magician Butterfly digs up is Dusty (Fletcher), and...well, he's not very good. He accidentally makes his girlfriend Lola (Hill) disappear after she walks into two disappearing cabinets. Trouble is, Dumdore just gave Lola a thousand-dollar pearl necklace that vanished with her. The police chase Dusty in and out of his cabinets...and all around the acts in the big variety show Dumdore wanted him for in the first place.

The Song and Dance: With a story that flimsy, the real attraction here is the variety show itself. Nat "King" Cole and his trio make some of their first movie appearances here, and we get a rare glimpse of a slightly watered-down version of Jackie "Moms" Mabley's infamously ribald stage act. Some of the dancing is pretty darn amazing too, especially from the quartet known as The Four Congaroos. 

The Numbers: Our first song isn't until we start the variety show, 15 minutes into a 75-minute movie, but it's the lively "Gator Serenade" by Andy Kirk and His Orchestra. Next, sassy Beverly White has too much fun admitting she loves being single in "I Don't Want to Be Married" and "It Ain't Nobody's Bizness What I Do." Rotund singing comics Patterson and Jackson are next with "I Believe" from It Happened In Brooklyn, a delightful tap routine by Patterson to "Ain't Misbehavin," and their imitation of the Ink Spots, "If I Didn't Care." Moms performs "Don't Sit On My Bed" twice, first after Patterson and Jackson. Later in the night, she's disrupted by Dusty and the cops and gets so fed up, she walks off. We next get another nifty tap routine, this one from the Lark Brothers. 

After that, it's our first Nat "King" Cole Trio number of the night. Cole's having a great time with the adorably charming upbeat ballad "Ooh Kickaroonie." Cole slows things down with the comic blues number "Now He Tells Me," then finishes with "Breezy and the Beat." The Four Congaroos really pick up the pace with their wild Lindy Hop to Andy Kirk and His Orchestra playing "Basie's Boogie." Kirk and His Orchestra stay for two more solo numbers. The variety show's finale features Kirk and his group performing "Apollo Groove" for the "Varietettes Dancing Girls," aka members of the Katherine Durham School of Dancing. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention the flimsy plot? There's a few mildly funny moments with Dusty being chased by the cops and flirting with Butterfly, but they're mostly annoying and unnecessary. (And we never do get to see Dusty do his actual magic act in the show.) I really, really wish BET or someone else would throw money at restoring these, too. The copy on Tubi is awful, scratchy and blurry.

The Big Finale: Worth checking out for the acts alone if you're a fan of Cole or Mabley or the black orchestras and performers of the 40's and 50's. 

Home Media: Like most of the race movies, it's in the public domain and can be found on most formats. It's currently streaming for free with commercials at Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Happy Father's Day! - Hearts Beat Loud

Gunpowder & Sky, 2018

Starring Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemmons, Toni Collette, and Sasha Lane

Directed by Brett Haley

Music and Lyrics by Keegan DeWitt

We're digging into the indie scene to honor Pride Month and Father's Day with this charming tale of a father and daughter who form an unlikely songwriting duo just as their lives pull them apart. Independent musicals go back to the start of the early talkie era, when even smaller production companies were bit by the musical bug. They started up again with their own lower-budget versions of Busby Berkeley in the 1930's. By the 1940's, Poverty Row studios like Monogram were making dozens of musicals mainly catering to the brand-new youth market or to soldiers overseas. Once the war ended, they tapered off...until the 60's, when the Beach Party movies made for drive-in double features suddenly made low-budget antics big again. Even today, low-budget independent musicals like Once continue to prove that you don't need big studio largess to make great music. How does this sweet, simple story fare? Let's begin at Red Hook Records in Brooklyn, where owner Frank Fisher (Offerman) is offending a customer by smoking inside, and find out...

The Story: Frank looks forward to playing music and writing songs with his daughter Samantha (Clemmons) every evening. It's one of the few things in his life that isn't changing for the worse. His landlady Leslie (Collette) just raised the rent on his record store, and he won't be able to keep it open for much longer. Sam insists that she's going away to medical college in California at the end of the summer, and that she's not starting a band with her father. He downloads a song they wrote on Spotify, calling themselves "We're Not a Band." While Frank rejects Leslie's ideas to expand the store with a cafe, Sam writes a song about her relationship with her girlfriend Rose (Lane). It isn't until the day Red Hook Records closes for good that father and daughter agree to play together again. Even though they'll be on separate coasts, they now understand that when they play each other's music, they're never far from each other's heart.

The Song and Dance: This is such a sweet movie. Though Collette as the landlady with an interest in Frank and Ted Danson as Frank's bar-owning best friend have good moments, it almost entirely belongs to Offerman and Clemmons as the fractious father and daughter. He in particular puts in a terrific performance as the doting dad who fears change and hopes that posting their music and getting her to play in a band with keep her from leaving. Some nice cinematography in the real Brooklyn, too, especially as Sam and Rose go on dates throughout the borough. Their relationship is also genuinely charming, even if it doesn't get the screen time that Sam and her father do.

The Numbers: We open with Frank watching "Summer Noon" on his laptop and ignoring a fussy customer who insists that he not smoke inside. We first hear the embryonic form of "Hearts Beat Loud" during a father-daughter jam session. Sam adds lyrics to it later, which her father then uploads to Spotify without telling her. She writes "Blink (One Million Miles)" about her relationship with Rose. He writes "Shut Your Eyes" and "Everything Must Go," the latter on closing the store. They play "Hearts," "Blink," and "Everything" on the final day of the store's operation. She reprises "Hearts" at an open mic night in California alone.

Trivia: The songs were performed live on-set, much as they would have been in real life.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention this is a small-scale, low-budget musical? It's not for someone who wants huge Busby Berkeley spectacles and big stars, or a more complicated story. It's just a father, a daughter, and how they deal with the changes in their lives. Those looking for something more lavish or typical will have to go elsewhere. I also kind of wish we could have seen a little bit more of the girls' relationship and how Rose handled their separation. 

The Big Finale: Small-scale charmer has a lot to love for those who just want to watch something sweet and small with their own dads this Father's Day.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including for free on streaming with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Cult Flops - Viennese Nights

Warner Bros, 1930

Starring Vivienne Segal, Alexander Gray, Bert Roach, and Walter Pigeon

Directed by Alan Crosland

Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein III

Warners hadn't had much luck with film operetta before this came out. Though The Desert Song was a hit, it didn't go over that well with the critics. Song of the West went over even worse, and then there was the infamously offensive Golden Dawn. No amount of fancy songs or jungle capers could put that one over with anyone, even then. By 1930, they were getting more creative. They hired Oscar Hammerstein III and Sigmund Romberg to create music for four original operettas, three of which made it out just as musicals fell out of favor. This is the only one of those three still existing today. It didn't go over well in the US in 1930, which was still reeling from the start of the Great Depression, but is this brittle confection worth checking out over 90 years later? Let's begin in the 1870's in old Vienna at the time of the Austrian Empire, as three close friends and students sing of good times to come, and find out...

The Story: Those three friends are Otto Stiemer (Gray), wealthy Franz von Renner (Pigeon), and plump, jolly Gus Sascher (Roach). The three join the Austrian army, but only Franz proves suited to it. Otto's heart is forever with his beloved symphony. Otto falls for the lovely cobbler's daughter Elsa Hofner (Segal), but her father (Jean Hersholt) wants her to marry a man with money and discourages their romance. She eventually agrees to marry Franz after Otto gets drunk when her father tells him Elsa is more in love with money than him.

Otto and Gus move to New York with Gus' girlfriend Gretl (Louise Fazenda). Otto gets small jobs with Broadway pit orchestras, but it's not enough to put food on the table. His shrill wife Emma (Virginia Sale) demands that he get a job in Gus' pickle factory and give up music. One night at the show, he sees the now-wealthy Elsa with the Hungarian ambassador (Bela Lugosi). They go for a ride after the show, and though she admits she still loves him, she doesn't run away with him after she discovers he has a son (Freddie Burke Fredrick) he adores. 

Forty years later, it's now 1930. The elderly Elsa is preparing her granddaughter Barbara (Alice Day) to marry a wealthy man, but Barbara truly loves a poor composer (Gray). Despite her grandmother's protests, she finally gets her to hear her sweetheart's music...which sounds a lot like that symphony his grandfather never completed. Elsa is forced to confront her feelings for Otto and just how much he meant to her, even after all these years.

The Song and Dance: It's too bad this one isn't better-known today. What a truly lovely film! I'm so glad the color is intact here. The frothy pastels of two-strip Technicolor add enormous charm and sparkle to the proceedings. Segal and Gray overcome some slightly stiff dialogue with gorgeous performances of some of Romberg and Hammerstein's best film music. "You Will Remember Vienna" was the hit and the promise. Fazenda and Roach have their own fun as Elsa's chatty best friend and Otto's rotund business-minded pal. Hammerstein and Romberg had control over not only the music, but every set and costume, which explains the gorgeous production and why the music bonds so well with the romantic story. 

The Numbers: In fact, we open with Otto, his two friends, and Franz's father Baron von Renner (Phillpp Lothar Mayring) singing "You Will Remember Vienna" in the young men's cheap apartment. "Goodbye My Love" is our first chorus number at the Dritte Cafe. The second is "Oli Oli Oli" as the students enjoy their time with the ladies and the soldiers join them. Gus convinces Elsa to reprise "Vienna" at the Cafe. It turns into another chorus number as the other soldiers join in, including an enchanted Franz. Franz joins in with his own song to woo her, "If I Were a Gypsy." "Here We Are" is performed by Elsa, Otto, and the students and their girls at the cafe. We also hear "The Regimental March" twice, both times as a lively chorus number in and outside of the cafe.

Gretl reminds the besotted Elsa what happens "When You Have No Man to Love" while they're discussing her suitors. Otto reprises an instrumental "Vienna" on his violin at the conservatory, to Elsa's delight. He tells her "I Bring a Love Song" in the other hit from this score. "Here We Are" is heard again after the announcement of Franz and Elsa's engagement, but Otto is heartbroken as he reprises "Vienna." 

Years later, we cut to New York, where Otto plays "I Bring You Bad News" for a Broadway operetta of the time. He hears Elsa singing "Vienna" again in his mind, drowning out his obnoxious and unappreciative wife. "I'm Lonely" laments the singer (June Percell) in the show Otto plays for, before he encounters Elsa again. We get a jazzier reprise of "Here Are We" for Barbara, her sweetheart, and the Biltmore Trio in 1930. "Poem Symphony" is the concert number in the finale, the variation on "Vienna" that Otto had worked on for so long. We end with another reprise of "Vienna" as Elsa's spirit walks off with the now-late Otto.

Trivia: If your neck starts to itch when you see Elsa in the box at the Broadway operetta, yes, that is Bela Lugosi playing the Hungarian Ambassador next to her, almost a year before he became a star in Dracula. 

What I Don't Like: Not only is the story standard operetta melodrama, it sounds like Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet (which debuted in London the year before) and the 1937 MacDonald-Eddy version of Maytime, and can occasionally be heavy going. Roach and Fazenda are so cute when we see them, I almost wish she in particular had more to do than a few catty comments and her one comic number. 

The Big Finale: If any movie could benefit from being in the public domain, it's this one. I hope this exquisite candy box of an operetta finally gains the far wider audience it so richly deserves.

Home Media: Legal problems kept it off legitimate disc and streaming...but thanks to it entering the public domain this year, it's now all over YouTube.

YouTube 

The Inspector General (1949)

Warner Bros, 1949

Starring Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Gene Lockhart, and Elsa Lanchester

Directed by Henry Kostner

Music and Lyrics by Sylvia Fine

Danny Kaye was at the height of his popularity as one of the most beloved comedians in the world when he did his one and only vehicle for Warners. Based on the 1832 Czech play The Government Inspector, and with music entirely by his wife Sylvia Fine, this also wound up being one of the biggest hits of Kaye's career. Is it still worth running for today? We'll begin in the small French town of Brodny, where the Mayor (Lockhart) and his corrupt cronies just got a most unwanted message, and find out...

The Story: The Mayor and his cronies are terrified when they get a message telling them that the Inspector General is coming to their town. The Inspector is known for demanding justice and honesty, and the Mayor and his family members whom he's assigned to office care about nothing but furnishing their own lavish lifestyle with tax money. They think a man who wandered into town and was arrested is the Inspector General. His real name is Georgi (Kaye), a kind but illiterate peasant who wandered into town after his gypsy boss Yakov (Slezak) fired him. The Mayor and his men dress him well and give him everything he asks for. The Mayor's wife (Lanchester) thinks he's her ticket out of town and flirts with him.

Even as Georgi enjoys their hospitality, Yakov makes his way to town and convinces Georgi to let him stay. Georgi is more interested in the pretty maid Leza (Barbara Bates). She tells him that the Mayor bought an organ for the church with taxpayers' money, then sold it to a nearby town. Yakov tries to convince Georgi to take bribes from the Mayor and his relatives to pay for the organ, then conspires with the Mayor to increase his sum. Georgi's horrified, even more so when the Mayor and his men plot to kill him. Yakov's quick thinking saves him, but Georgi manages to stop him from making off with the money. Fortunately for Georgi, the real Inspector General is on his way, and he's far more appreciative of honest men with no education than educated men with no honesty.

The Song and Dance: One thing I like about Danny Kaye is he's one of the few golden-age comedians who can pull off historical roles and manage to be dashing and funny at the same time. This would be his first of three historical movies (The Court Jester and Hans Christian Andersen would be the other two), and he runs with it, commanding when playing the Inspector, adorable and timid with Yakov, delightful showing off to the town in his patter numbers. Slezak and Lancaster take the other honors as his crafty boss who is more greedy than evil and the Mayor's love-starved wife. Gorgeous costumes and stunning Technicolor, even in the slightly blurry public domain prints generally available, ably bring the world of eastern Europe in the 1830's to life. 

The Numbers: We open with "The Medicine Show" as Kaye shows off his tongue-twisting dexterity Georgi's patter number intended to sell the phony elixir to the townspeople. "Brodny" is the chorus number that introduces Georgi to the townspeople as they all gather to greet the Inspector. It's heard again in the ending, as they salute their new Mayor. (He struggles to pull out his sword both times.) Georgi, nervous about being discovered, sings the title song after Yakov convinces him to stay. This goes into "Soliloquy for Three Heads" as three different versions of Georgi act as consciences and try to convince Georgi to stay or go. He does an instrumental acrobatic number with soldiers in training as he tries to hide from a general who saw him selling phony medicine with Yakov. 

Hoping to cheer up Leza and make her see that she can be more than a kitchen maid, he sings about "Happy Times" when they're downstairs together. One of the cronies (Walter Catlett) sings "Onward, Onward" when he's trying to explain his reasons for being corrupt to Georgi. Georgi launches into the "Gypsy Drinking Song" to distract the Mayor from his plan to retrieve the church organ, while the Mayor just hopes he drinks a poisoned glass of wine.

What I Don't Like: If you're not a fan of Kaye, you probably won't be into this. He has the lion's share of the songs except for the "Brodsky" chorus number and most of the best set pieces. This also doesn't have a lot in common with the book. In the original book, it was a Russian worker, not a French peasant, who accidentally fooled everyone. There was no church organ, no love interest, no gypsy boss or elixir. Fine's music, while not bad, isn't the best she's done for her husband, with "Happy Times" as the only standout.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Kaye or loved The Court Jester, you'll have just as much fun with his earlier venture into comedy in another time and place.

Home Media: Best place to find this public domain title would be on streaming. Almost every streaming service, especially the free ones, has it in one form or another.

Tubi

Pluto TV On Demand

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Happy Memorial Day! - Let's Face It

Paramount, 1943

Starring Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Eve Arden, and ZaSu Pitts

Directed by Sidney Lanfield

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter and others

Let's celebrate the upcoming Memorial Day weekend with the last of the four comedies Bob Hope did set in the military. On Broadway in 1941, Let's Face It was a farce with Cole Porter songs that made stars out of Danny Kaye as one of three soldiers who are hired by bored wealthy women to escort them and Eve Arden as the most prominent of those women. It was a surprise hit despite less-than-stellar reviews that didn't consider it to be one of Porter's better scores. How does it look nowadays? Let's begin, not at the barracks, but at a dairy farm that is also a health spa for overweight women and find out...

The Story: Winnie Porter (Hutton) is getting tired of her fiancee, Private Jerry Walker (Hope) ducking out of getting married. On the day they're supposed to finally tie the knot, Winnie catches Jerry selling junk food to her clients, and the Army catches him when he accidentally drives a Jeep through a wall. Desperate to pay off the Jeep, he convinces his friends Barney (Dave Willock) and Frankie (Cully Richards) to join him in arranging dates for wealthy Maggie Watson (Arden) and her friends Cornelia Figeston (Pitts) and Nancy Collister (Phyllis Povah). The ladies are tired of their husbands going off on "fishing trips" and leaving them alone. Furious when they catch them with the women, Winnie and Frankie and Barney's girlfriends Muriel (Dona Drake) and Jean (Marjorie Weaver) take the ladies' husbands out on dates at the same nightclub. Unfortunately, the boys' superior officer Sergeant Wiggins (Joe Sawyer) is also out on the town. When he catches them, it sends the boys fleeing again.

The Song and Dance: Though Hope and Hutton both have some good moments, Arden and the older ladies are the ones who really steal the show. They get all the best lines and have some of the best moments, including when their husbands catch them with the soldiers! Hope does get a few moments of his own to shine, notably in the beginning when he's trying to hustle the ladies with the sweets and the end when the guys are fleeing the entire mess. 

The Numbers: We open with "The Milk Song" as Winnie leads ladies of all shapes and sizes in an exercise class. Winnie and Jerry say "Who Did? I Did? Yes I Did!" as they sing along to an album Winnie made and Jerry tries to show off on Winnie's exercise equipment. "Let's Face It" is the sole chorus number as the Army soldiers sing about the presents their girlfriends sent them. "Who Did?" is heard later as an instrumental dance number for the trio of soldiers as they literally stick together to keep the overly amorous older ladies at bay and as they finally do dance with the women. When we get to the nightclub, two dancers do an instrumental routine that seemed to mainly involve variations on the woman smacking the man. Winnie gives her own option on romance as she insists "Let's Not Talk About Love."

Trivia: Jules Styne and Sammy Cahn wrote "Who Did? I Did! Yes I Did!"

Let's Face It debuted on Broadway in 1941 with Kaye in Hope's role singing two patter numbers written by his wife Sylvia Fine in addition to Porter's songs. As mentioned, it was a surprise hit, running two years in New York and a year in London in 1943. It pretty much disappeared after the London run, other than a TV version in 1954 with Bert Lahr and Gene Nelson as the soldiers and Vivian Vance in Eve Arden's role.

What I Don't Like: No matter who wrote the music, this isn't really much of a musical. I really wish they'd kept more of the Cole Porter score, even if it wasn't one of his best. It might have fleshed out more of the characters. We barely see Winnie other than her numbers, and Jerry's buddies and their girls are fairly interchangeable. 

The Big Finale: Mainly for really big fans of Hope, Arden, Porter, or small-scale 40's musicals. 

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that the only places you can currently find this are on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

YouTube

Internet Archive

Li'l Abner (1959)

Paramount, 1959

Starring Peter Palmer, Stubby Kaye, Leslie Parrish, and Billie Hayes

Directed by Melvin Frank

Music by Gene dePaul; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Lil' Abner was one of the most popular comic strips of the mid-20th century. From 1934 to 1977, millions of Americans followed the hilarious shenanigans going on in the Kentucky hillbilly town Dogpatch, where characters had names like Earthquake McGoon and Evil-Eye Fleagle and the spoof was broad, hilarious, and firing everywhere. The main characters were the title character, a handsome but hulking young man who was forever being pursued by the sweet Daisy Mae. When Daisy Mae finally caught him in 1952, it was a national event. The strip was popular enough to inspire a hit Broadway musical in 1956. The film version did well enough when it debuted in 1959, but is it still as funny almost 70 years later? Let's begin on "A Typical Day" in Dogpatch and find out...

The Story: Things are moving along in Dogpatch pretty much the way they usually do, with formidable Mammy Yokum (Hayes) giving her strapping son Abner (Palmer) his Yokumberry Tonic, and Abner being chased by lovely Daisy Mae Scragg (Parrish). The ladies are more excited about Sadie Hawkins Day, when the women of the town chase the men they hope to marry. They're shocked to find out Sadie Hawkins Day may not go on this year when Dogpatch is declared the most useless town in the US and is marked for nuclear bomb testing. 

The residents toss out everything they can think of to keep their town from being destroyed, until Mammy tells the government about that Yokumberry tonic. Not only does the government want the tonic, but so does General Bullmoose (Howard St. John). He enters his mistress Appassionata Von Climax (Stella Stevens) in the Sadie Hawkins Day Race and has her catch Abner. She'll marry him and get the tonic recipe, then kill him. 

Daisy Mae and Abner's parents are so horrified when they discover Bullmoose' plot, Daisy Mae agrees to marry Earthquake McGoon (Bern Hoffman), "the dirtiest wrassler in the world," to get him to help. Daisy thinks she'll be stuck being McGoon's wife, but it's the government who figure out what the tonic really does when they use it on the men of Dogpatch...and Abner's Pappy (Joe E. Marks) who finds a way to give his strapping son the gumption to go after the lady he truly loves.

The Song and Dance: You can't fault the cast on this one. Most of them were in the stage version as well, including Palmer as a perfect Abner, Stubby Kaye as the matchmaker Marryin' Sam (who leads most of the chorus numbers), and Julie Newmar, who doesn't need to speak a word for the audience to understand why she's called Stupefyin' Jones. My favorite by far is Billie Hayes, who replaced Charlotte Rae as Mammy on Broadway. I hope she was as much fun as she is here. "Formidable" doesn't begin to describe this tough-minded witch of a hillbilly. You can certainly see why she'd go on to play a more obvious witch in the even stranger world of Sid Kroft over a decade later. The Technicolor is gorgeous, a riot of rainbow colors mixed in every way that shouldn't work and amazingly does. Some really fun songs too, including the hit "I'm Past My Prime" for Kaye and Leslie Parrish.

The Numbers: We open over the credits with "A Typical Day," as the residents of Dogpatch introduce themselves and their unique home. Abner and the younger men of the town sing about what they'd do "If I Had My Druthers." Marryin' Sam leads the towns folk in a rousing salute to local hero "Jubilation T. Cornpone," which is heard briefly again in the finale after Dogpatch is saved. "Don't That Take the Rag Offen the Bush" and "Room Enough for Us" are numbers for the townspeople before and after learning they have to evacuate their home. 

Abner finally admits that yes, he does kinda have feelings for "Namely You," Daisy Mae. "What's Good for General Bullmoose" is performed by his lackeys several times, usually whenever he's come up with another nefarious idea. Every woman in town chases after the closest thing to eligible males during the wild Sadie Hawkins Day Ballet, including Appasionata and Daisy Mae. Daisy laments that "I'm Past My Prime," ignoring the fact that Marryin' Sam is more interested in taking her to the altar. "I Wish It Could Be Otherwise" is Abner and Daisy's big ballad right before she's supposed to marry Earthquake McGoon. The ladies of Dogpatch demand "Put Em' Back" twice, in the lab after they find out their men are now stronger but also less romantic, and in the finale, leading to "The Matrimonial Stomp" with Marryin' Sam.

Trivia: Look for Jerry Lewis in a cameo as Dogpatch resident Itchy McRabbit, and Donna Douglas (later Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies), Valerie Harper, and Beth Howland as three of the Dogpatch ladies who later catch themselves husbands. 

Lil' Abner debuted on Broadway in 1956 and was a hit, running over a year. As mentioned, Charlotte Rae was the original Mammy but left early in the show's run, Tina Louise was Appasionata Von Climax, and Edie Adams was Daisy Mae. It's only returned to New York in an Encores concert since then, but is fairly popular with regional and high school theaters. 

The film cut a couple of numbers from the original show, including a really nice ballad for Abner and Daisy, "Love In a Home," a number for the scientists "Oh Happy Day," and one for General Bullmoose, "Progress Is the Root of All Evil." 

What I Don't Like: The stage origins of this one show all too plainly. Everything is filmed flat and looks like the stage play it's based on. The sets are about as fake as you can get, which admittedly does go with the comic book vibe. As in many musicals of the 1950's, the chorus numbers really have nothing to do with anything - "Rag Offen the Bush" and "Room Enough for Us" come out of nowhere and contribute nothing to the story. Also, if you don't go in for broad comedy or hillbilly comedy, or you don't know much about the mid-late 50's, you'll probably want to hurry elsewhere quickly. 

The Big Finale: This is funny and tuneful enough to get a recommendation if you love wacky hillbilly comedies or the big, bold, bright musicals of the 50's and 60's. 

Home Media: Don't be fooled - this one is currently DVD-only. Plex is listed as having it online, but they really show the non-musical, black and white 1940 film version. (Which admittedly has a few virtues of its own, including Buster Keaton as Native Lonesome Polecat.)

DVD

Happy Mother's Day! - Three Daring Daughters

MGM, 1948

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Jose Iturbi, Jane Powell, and Edward Arnold

Directed by Fred M. Wilcox

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate a day devoted to mothers with a movie about a mother and her very devoted offspring. Jeanette MacDonald's last starring role had been in the spy comedy Cairo in 1942. She was last seen in a cameo in Universal's big wartime revue Follow the Boys in 1944. This was intended to be a bit of a comeback for her after she spent time focusing on opera. For Jane Powell, this was her third movie, and her second of five times she'd try to play matchmaker to a single parent. How does the story of a harried mother who marries a concert pianist on a trip, only to discover her daughters want to get her together with her ex-husband, look in a time when divorce and blended families are far more common? Let's begin at the graduation ceremony of older teen Tess Morgan (Powell), who is disappointed when she sees an empty chair in the audience that should be filled by her mother Louise (MacDonald), and find out...

The Story: Louise is late because she fainted at her job as an editor for Modern Design Magazine. Dr. Cannon (Harry Davenport) insists that she takes a vacation alone to help her nerves. She takes a month-long cruise to Cuba. On board, she meets concert pianist Jose Iturbi (Himself), who is playing with the ship's orchestra. They end up falling in love and marrying. Trouble is, Louise told the girls their father was a wonderful man, when he was really a bad father who abandoned his wife and daughters. She didn't want them to feel bad about their father, but her trying to protect them backfires when they go to their father's boss Robert Nelson (Arnold) and ask him to bring their father back so he can re-marry her. They're shocked when she finally admits she married Iturbi and try to drive him away, until they realize just how much in love Louise and her new husband are.

The Song and Dance: This is charmingly low-key for a big MGM musical in the late 40's. It's mostly just MacDonald, the three young ladies, and Iturbi, with Arnold occasionally tossing in blustery reactions as the girls beg him to get their father home or keep him from coming and interrupt his meals. MacDonald is warm and affectionate with the girls, and you can understand why they adore her so much, they try to interfere with her love life. I especially love the sweet scene when the girls call their mother shipboard to serenade her on her birthday. There's some lovely costumes too, with lavish gowns for MacDonald in Cuba and attractive teen and kids' clothing for the girls. 

The Numbers: We open with the young ladies of Miss Drake's School for Girls singing their "Alma Mater" as Tess tries to ask her youngest sister Alix (Elinor Donahue) where their mother is. She finally arrives in time to see Tess perform "Passipied." "The Dickey Bird" is heard three times. The first time has the three girls playing it for their mother, who joins in. The second is in the finale; Iturbi joins in here as well. Tess sings "Flurette" to get Morgan's attention from his meal when the girls first descend on his mansion. 

Iturbi's first solo is "Lieberstraum," which he plays on the ship with an orchestra. He plays "Where There's Love" for Louise the next night. She also briefly performs "You Made Me Love You." His real-life wife Amparo joins him for the "Rumanian Rhapsody In A, Opus 11 No.1" at the big Cuban concert. The girls adorably sing "Happy Birthday" and part of "Dickey Bird" over the phone for their touched and impressed mother. The only chorus number is the brief "Ritual Fire Dance" at the show in Cuba. The dancers sing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish for Louise here, too. 

After Louise and Iturbi return from the cruise, they think he's there to audition Tess. She sings "Juliet's Waltz" from Romeo et Juliet for him. Iturbi conducts the "Allegro Appasinato, Opus 10" with a huge classical orchestra at a concert hall. Louise's second song with Iturbi as she rehearses with him at the concert hall is "Sweethearts."  The girls play "Route 66" at home, claiming Iturbi knows nothing about modern music. Iturbi repeats it and plays it quite well, swing and all. Tess sings "Springtide" with her mother to apologize for driving Iturbi away and calling their father without permission. 

What I Don't Like: The story occasionally edges into something more annoying than cute, especially in the second half. On one hand, what the girls did stepped out of bounds, and the older ones in particular were modern levels of bratty about it. On the other hand, Louise should not have lied about their father, whether she was trying to protect them or not. The complicated story is basically sitcom fluff that would turn up in every other family comedy of the 80's and 90's. Iturbi is no more interesting wooing a woman closer to his own age than he was as the object of Jane Powell's affection in Holiday In Mexico two years before. 

The Big Finale: Just sweet enough to be charming Mother's Day viewing with your own Mom this Sunday.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Michael (2026)

Lionsgate/Universal, 2026

Starring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, and Miles Teller

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Music and Lyrics by Michael Jackson and others

I have a more personal connection here than I do to most musical biographies. I grew up alongside Michael Jackson's solo career. Off the Wall debuted four months after I was born. Thriller was one of the first albums I remember my family buying. We had Bad on cassette and Dangerous on CD in later years. I heard the stories about Jackson, about his bizarre behavior, how he was isolated, how he was a genius, about the infamous Pepsi accident...but as an 9-year-old when this movie ends in 1988, I cared nothing about all of that. I only knew I loved his songs, just like millions of other kids then. Does this movie fill in the gaps? We begin at a major concert and a man coming out for a number before fading into the past. Let's head to Gary, Indiana, as one small boy looks longingly out at the children playing in the snow, and find out...

The Story: That little boy is Michael Jackson (Juliano Krue Valdi), the youngest of the 8 Jackson children. Their father Joe Jackson (Domingo) is grooming them to go on the stage as a rock act, determined that they should have more than his grueling job in the steel mills. He pushes Michael and his sons hard and treats them rough, including using the strap when they speak against not having normal childhoods. The rehearsals pay off. They get bigger and bigger gigs, eventually landing a deal with Motown Records as The Jackson 5. Michael is delighted to learn all aspects of the record business from Motown's owner Berry Gordy (Laurenz Tate), but his father doesn't like sharing his son with other father figures.

The Jackson 5 rise to the top as one of the biggest artists on the Motown label, but despite them now having a far more lavish home, Michael is becoming more and more isolated. He loves the many pets his parents buy him, including a giraffe and a llama, but has no friends his own age. Gordy encourages Michael to go out on his own, but Joseph is afraid of what that would mean for the family and keeps him touring with the Jackson 5.

By 1979, Michael (Jackson) is a boy in a grown man's body who still loves toys and collects unique pets, including a chimp named Bubbles (Lily Colucci) he saved from a testing facility. He's even more eager to go solo after leaving Motown for Columbia's Epic Records label. Despite the tremendous success of his Off the Wall and Thriller albums and Michael having his new lawyer John Branca (Teller) fire his father via fax, Joseph is still convinced Michael is a little boy who will never leave the family. When the Pepsi commercial he talks Michael into doing with his brothers goes wrong and Michael ends up in the hospital, Michael has the time to reconsider his life, where it's headed, and just how loyal he should be to his abusive father. 

The Song and Dance: For all the cliches, there's some terrific performances here. Yes, Jaafar is Jackson's nephew, but he's wonderful as his uncle, ably capturing his slightly dorky little-boy mannerisms, his vanity over his nose and his skin disorder, and even giving us a hint of the bizarre paranoia and obsession with children that eventually took over his life in the 90's. Long and Domingo may be even better as Michael's soft-spoken mother who protests how he's treated and his dominating father who sees his sons as his ticket out of Gary and poverty...as long as they stay together. Jackson's real-life family had input on this, assuring that the costumes and sets are perfect reflections of what Jackson wore and where he lived.

The Numbers: We open with Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" in 1988 at a sold-out concert in London. After we fade in on 1964, we get the Jackson 5 rehearsing "Big Boy," and seeing what a taskmaster Joseph was. "Oh How Happy" is their first montage number as we see Joseph getting them bigger and better gigs. "I'll Be There" is the song that gets them into Motown. They try to get Michael to record "You've Changed," but he can't stop dancing, even in place. "Stand" gives us their act through the years, as we move from polished home-made brocade vests to late 60's Paisley-and-fringe. Michael's thrilled to see Gladys Knight (Liv Symone) and the Pips perform their huge hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," but their "Never Can Say Goodbye" is an even bigger success. 

The Jackson 5 has a string of hits in the early-mid 70's, including "ABC," "Who's Lovin' You," and "I Want You Back." By 1979, Michael is a grown man, and it's becoming obvious that he's by far the most popular of the group. He gets his father to let him make Off the Wall for Epic Records after his solo ode to his pet rat "Ben" is a surprise success. "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" and "I Can't Help It" are a smash, but Joseph would rather his son continue to record songs like "Rockin' Robin," "The Love You Save," and "We've Got a Good Thing Going" with his brothers.

Michael finally breaks from his family, hiring gang members from LA to dance in his "Beat It" video and turning "Thriller" into a dynamic horror tribute. His incredible performance of "Billie Jean" on the Motown at 25 TV special cements his popularity. He's heard humming "Smile," a song written by his idol Charlie Chaplin, before his father turns up again with his proposals. "Billie Jean" is briefly reprised during the Pepsi commercial before the pyrotechnics set fire to Michael's hair. The movie ends with Michael singing with his brothers before we return to "Human Nature" and "Bad" in London for Michael's first solo tour.

Trivia: This movie was originally supposed to come out in 2024, but it was delayed to 2025 due to the screen writer's strike in 2023. Heavy re-writes when the ending had to be reshot forced it to be moved to April 2026.

The movie was originally supposed to end with the allegations of child abuse Michael had to deal with in 1993, but the family protested, and due to a legal clause, it had to be re-written. Janet Jackson, Michael's younger sister, respectfully asked to be left out as well, and Diana Ross had to be written out due to legal clauses.

This is far from the only musical dealing with Michael Jackson's career. There's a stage jukebox biography running on Broadway at press time, MJ - The Musical, that starts in 1992 during the Dangerous World Tour and discusses some of the same topics as the film. We also have three TV projects, The Jacksons: An American Dream miniseries from 1992, Man In the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story from 2004, and the Lifetime drama Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland from 2017. 

What I Don't Like: See the family involvement above. On one hand, I'm kind of glad this ends on a relatively positive note, especially after the real-life burn accident. On the other hand, they leave out a good chunk of Michael's history by stopping at 1988. Yes, those child abuse accusations were real, but so was Michael's continuing success. He had some of his biggest hits from 1988 onwards, including "Black and White," "Heal the World," "Will You Be There," and "You Rock My World." There's also the fact that, good performances aside, a lot of this comes off as bland, ridiculously cliched (even for a movie musical biopic), and way too campy, especially for something that lasts two hours. 

The Big Finale: Yes, it's cliched to high heck and a little on the bland side, but it's still worth checking out for the great music and performances if you're a huge Michael Jackson fan or are like me and remember when he was the King of Pop, the biggest performer on Earth.

Home Media: No word on when the movie will be on physical media, but the soundtrack is currently available. 

Vinyl Soundtrack

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

20th Century Fox, 1955

Starring Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Fred Clark, and Thelma Ritter

Directed by Jean Negulesco

Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

This week, we jump ahead to the 1950's for one of my favorite underrated musicals. Leslie Caron was one of the most popular stars of the decade, in and out of musicals. She started the decade in the Oscar-winning An American In Paris with Gene Kelly, and while Lili wasn't a huge hit, her personal notices were glowing. Astaire personally asked her to star alongside him in this updated musical version of the 1912 novel of the same name. We've already seen it done once at this blog, as the adorable Shirley Temple vehicle Curly Top in 1935. How different is this version from that previous one? Let's begin at the home of millionaire Jervis Pendleton III (Astaire) as we see people touring his home and find out...

The Story: Jervis is on assignment in France when he stops at an orphanage to use their telephone. While there, he sees 18-year-old Julie Andre (Caron) working with the younger children and is enchanted with her vivacity, her creativity, and her intelligence. Over the protests of his fussy aide Griggs (Clark), he arranges for her to attend college in the United States with his niece Linda (Terry Moore). To avoid a scandal, he says he'll keep a hands-off approach, and she can write to him about her progress once a month. 

Jervis doesn't even look at Julie's letters at first, until his secretary Alice Pritchard (Thelma Ritter) brings them to his attention. Julie calls him her benefactor "Daddy Long Legs," after the long shadow the orphans saw when he was first in France, but she's getting tired of never hearing from him. He finally connects with her at a school dance while visiting Linda with her mother Gertrude (Kathryn Giveny) and falls for her, taking her out on the town and sending the boy who is interested in her to work in Bolivia. Griggs points out their rather large age difference, which makes Jarvis flee for several long business trips. Julie, however, is almost finished with college. She thinks she still hasn't met her "Daddy Long Legs" and wonders if he or Jervis really love her. It's Alice who finally convinces the men that age matters less than love, companionship, and compatibility. 

The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making this - Fred Astaire's wife died right before filming began and they almost replaced him, the studio originally wanted Mitzi Gaynor for Julie - it actually came out quite well. Astaire and Caron work better than you might think. Like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face two years later, Caron's warm, airy persona helps to transcend their age differences. The Technicolor glows here, especially in Caron's two witty dream ballets and the gorgeous 50's gowns, tutus, and suits for Astaire and Clark. Mercer's songs are lovely too. "Something's Gotta Give" was nominated for an Oscar and has since become a jazz standard.

The Numbers: We open with Jervis showing off his drumming skills to an annoyed Griggs in the instrumental drum-and-dance routine "History of the Beat." Julie teaches the orphans that "C-A-T Spells Cat" as Jervis watches them in delight at the orphanage. She wanders around the outdoor classroom in shock and delight as an offscreen chorus sings about her "Daddy Long Legs" after she's told she'll be going to college in the US. "Welcome Egghead" the other college girls tease when Julie arrives. "Julie's Dream Ballet" is the first of two instrumental ballets. Julie imagines what her "Daddy Long Legs" looks like. Jervis dances as a Texas millionaire doing a square dance, a sensual playboy after all the ladies, or Julie's guardian angel. 

"The Sluefoot" is the big chorus number at the dance, with Ray Anthony and His Orchestra and the Pied Pipers. Jervis and Julie turn the intimate dance into a delightful moment. Jervis brings her to New York, where he sings "Something's Gotta Give" at the penthouse he sets her up in, and they dance together. This is followed by the instrumental "Dancing Through Life" ballet as the two kick up their heels in all of the fashionable Manhattan clubs. Julie's dream of meeting her benefactor becomes a "Nightmare Ballet" as she dreams of dancing for Jervis in a Paris ballet, encountering him in a smoky cafe in Hong Kong, and chasing him through carnival in Rio. The movie ends with the brief "Dream" as Julie finally realizes who her benefactor is. 

Trivia: This would be the only movie Caron or Astaire made for 20th Century Fox.

If Astaire looks a little red-eyed and upset at a few junctures...well, see the death of his beloved wife mentioned above. They pushed back filming to give him more room to process his grief.

This is the third version of Daddy Long Legs 20th Century Fox made, and the fourth time the 1912 children's novel made it to the big screen. In addition to Curly Top, Mary Pickford did a silent version in 1919, while Janet Gaynor would appear in a non-musical sound remake in 1931. It would become a London stage musical, Love From Judy, in 1952. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, while the age difference doesn't bother me, some people may find 50-something Astaire dancing with 20-something Caron (and kissing her in the end, a rarity for Astaire's films) to be a tad creepy. Second, this movie, for all the lovely art direction and costumes, didn't really need the lavish Cinemascope. It's really an intimate four-person story at its core. We have the one chorus number in "Sluefoot." Most of the songs are duets, solos, or ballets. Clark and Ritter are the only ones besides Astaire and Caron who even remotely register. We barely see Caron's roommates, which is a shame because they're pretty funny when we do meet them, and Kelly Brown as Jimmy McBride barely registers as window dressing.

The Big Finale: The age difference aside, this is a must-see if you're a fan of Astaire, Caron, or the big lavish ballet-filled musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: The DVD and Blu-Ray are hard-to-find and often pricey at this writing. Your best bet would be streaming. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime