Saluting Our Veterans - Idol On Parade

Columbia, 1959

Starring Anthony Newley, William Bendix, Anne Aubrey, and Lionel Jeffries

Directed by John Gilling

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Veteran's Day overseas and honor those who fought and died in Europe with this British comedy. Elvis Presley being drafted into the Army in 1958 made so many headlines, it became fodder for everything from Broadway musicals to TV show episodes. Anthony Newley was an up-and-coming star songwriter and performer in England around the same time. He'd started out as a child actor in the late 40's, but by 1959, was one of the most popular singers in the country. This low-budget black and white comedy was the movie that made him a star, but does it still entertain 60 years after Elvis came back from the Army? Let's begin with Newley's character, rock star Jeep Jackson, at one of his concerts and find out...

The Story: Jeep is shocked when he's mistaken for another J. Jackson and called into military service. He's not popular at first. He's used to the rock star life and keeps trying to sneak out the camp or return to his recording career. He's popular with his fellow recruits, who enjoy hearing him sing spoofs of the officers, but not with said officers. Irish Drill Sargent Lush (Bendix) is particularly fed up with his antics. The ladies are more pleased, especially Caroline (Aubrey), the friend of wealthy Bertie Barnett (Jeffries). It's not until he records a best-selling ballad that the rest of the camp comes to appreciate him...and he begins to realize that there's a lot more to serving your country than playing jokey songs about your superior officers.

The Song and Dance: Bendix and Newley are almost the whole show in this cute spoof of Royal Army life in 1959. Newley is charming enough that I can understand why he was so popular in 1959. Although his singing style is closer to crooning than Elvis, he still has a way with his own songs and other people's. Bendix is hilarious as the lug of a drill sergeant who spends most of his time screaming at Jeep, and even manages a semi-credible Irish accent.

The Numbers: We open with "Idle On Parade" as we see why girls are so crazy about Jeep at one of his concerts. "Won't Get No Promotion" is his spoof of the officers, including Lush, for the men in the barracks. "I've Waited So Long" is performed several times, including Jeep's attempt to sing it after having done drill sergeant work with Lush and the silkier version heard on that hit record. "Idle Rock-a-Boogie" and "Saturday Night Rock-a-Boogie" are his songs performed near the end, before he leaves.

Trivia: The movie the soldiers go see, The Cockleshell Heroes, was one of Anthony Newley's earliest film appearances. 

Known in England as Idle On Parade.

What I Don't Like: This is pretty obviously a British B comedy from the late 50's. Jefferies isn't bad as the snobbish Bertie, but Aubrey's character isn't much more than a love interest. Despite "I've Been Waiting So Long" being a #3 hit in England, the songs aren't all that memorable, and the plot is even less-so. The second half in particular, with Jeep managing to continue his singing career, gets a little too fluffy for its own good. 

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of Newley, Bendix, or the British or rock musicals of the 50's and early 60's.

Home Media: Only on DVD in the US as part of the Sony Pictures Screen Classics By Request made-to-order DVD line.

DVD

Family Fun Saturday - Peter Pan (1976)

ITV/NBC, 1976

Starring Danny Kaye, Mia Farrow, Briony McRoberts, and Virginia McKenna

Directed by Dwight Hemion

Music by Anthony Newley; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

This month, we'll be exploring vintage TV musicals for families on Saturdays, starting with this rarity. This was actually Kaye's second go-around that year in a made-for-TV family musical where he starred alongside a young woman playing a boy's role. I did Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan two years ago. Does this more delicate, slightly darker confection with Mia Farrow as the Boy Who Never Grows Up and Kaye as his most famous rival reach the same heights, or should it stay in Neverland? Let's begin with an unseen Julie Andrews singing the lullaby "Once Upon a Bedtime Story" over the credits as we see children at play in London of the 1900's and find out...

The Story: Peter flies in one night after a frustrated Mr. Darling (Kaye) has banished the Darlings' dog Nana outside. He's hoping to regain his shadow and hear more stories to tell the Lost Boys. Wendy stitches his shadow on and insists they all to to Neverland with him and his fairy friend Tinkerbell. The jealous Tinkerbell tells the Lost Boys to shoot Wendy down. They regret it when Peter tells them she's to be a mother for them. 

Peter is perpetually at odds with mincing Captain Hook (Kaye), who lost his hand to a ticking crocodile and has been avoiding the creature ever since. Hook first captures Princess Tiger Lily (Paula Kelly) of the Native tribe to bring Peter out of hiding, then tries to poison him and captures Wendy and the children. Tinkerbell takes the poison instead, with Peter calling the viewing audience to help save her before they take off to rescue Wendy and Peter's Lost Boys. Even after Peter frees them, Wendy and the boys do insist on going home...but Peter stays behind, preferring childhood to an uncertain real world.

The Song and Dance: There's a lot that's good here. The Native group looks a bit more realistic (and slightly less offensive) than usual for this story, including their decent ballet with an excellent Kelly as the regal princess. The Lost Boys are hilarious, and McRoberts is an adorable and sweet Wendy. Kaye works equally well as the flustered father in the opening and the elegant, flamboyant, villainous pirate. 

The Numbers: We open with that lovely "Once Upon a Bedtime Story" performed by Julie Andrews over the credits. "Sleep, My Sleepy Heads" is Mrs. Darling's (McKenna) lullaby to her children before she and Mr. Darling leave for the night. "We Should Be Together" Peter insists as he encourages Wendy to join him in Neverland. "When You Can Fly" is Peter's song as he teaches the children how to join him in the air. We get some (rather bad and obvious) special effects as they soar across London. The Lost Boys admit reluctantly that they miss their "Mothers, Mothers." 

Hook's first patter number is "They Don't Make Them Like Me Anymore," Hook's bragging about his adventures with the pirates. "Neverland" is the Tiger Lily's song as she and her tribe sing of their need to protect their home from pirates and perform a relatively intricate ballet. The Boys build a house for Wendy with "Windows of Hope." Peter wishes he understood his feelings for Wendy as he admits "I Wish I Had a Dream." Captain Hook's "By Hook or By Crook" is his kidnapping Tiger Lily. Wendy teaches the Lost Boys how to create their own fantasies as they "Just Pretend" they're a family. Peter's not ready for things like families. He'd rather never experience "Growing Up." 

Hook's last big number has him bragging about his villainy putting him in the "Hall of Fame." The pirates reprise "Mothers, Mothers" as they admit they miss their own parents as well, even Hook. The children sing the title song as Peter and Hook have their big duel in the end. Peter tosses in his own version of "They Don't Make Them Like Me Anymore" after he gets Hook in the water. 

What I Don't Like: Mia Farrow is completely miscast as Peter. She's too dainty, delicate, and feminine to be believable as a boy, and her singing isn't any better than it would be almost seven years later in The Last Unicorn. Tinkerbell is portrayed as a tiny light, which gets annoying after a while. The sound she makes is worse, more like a broken bell than a tinkle. Nana being played by an actor in a dog suit comes off far better onstage than it does on screen, where it just looks awkward and silly. While the Natives are treated slightly better here than in most versions of this story, they're still played by actors in bad red makeup (and their costumes are rather brief for a children's fantasy, too). Newley and Bricusse's songs are good but not great, with only "Once Upon a Bedtime Story" making any impression.

The Big Finale: Worth checking out mainly for fans of Kaye or Peter Pan in general. Everyone else will probably be fine with the Mary Martin or Cathy Rigby versions. 

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that the only place this can currently be found is on YouTube.

YouTube 

Musicals On TV - Polly: Comin' Home!

Disney/NBC, 1990

Starring Keisha Knight-Pullman, Phylicia Rashad, Dorian Heywood, and Anthony Newley

Directed by Debbie Allen

Music and Lyrics by various

Polly was one of the biggest hits to run under the banner of The Magical World of Disney. It proved to be so successful, a sequel with almost the entire original cast turned up a year later. Is it just as much fun, or should it be left behind? Let's begin on the road, as Jimmy Bean (Brandon Quintin Adams) waits for his best friend Polly Whittier to return from the hospital in Atlanta, and find out...

The Story: Polly's not the only one arriving in Harrington that day. The new British head of the orphanage Dabney Mayhew (Newley) also arrives that day, and gets quite a shock when the majority of the children in his charge turn out to be black. Polly's Aunt Polly (Rashad), who hired him, sets him straight quickly. Other problems aren't as easily dealt with. Mayhew wants to turn the orphans into "gentlemen," which basically means getting them uniforms and drilling them in manners. Jimmy convinces Polly to run away with him to Atlanta to get Elvis Presley's autograph. Polly's more interested in convincing Dr. Shannon (Heywood) to come home and start seeing Aunt Polly again. Aunt Polly, Mayhew, and Reverend Gillis (Larry Reilly) go after them...and arrive just in time for tragedy to strike Jimmy.

Even when they do get Jimmy home, the town is a hotbed of intrigue. Harrington is having its first open election to find out which of their two mayors should remain in office. Meanwhile, Polly is thrilled when Dr. Shannon comes back with them...but Mayhew's not as happy when he learns Shannon's to observe him, and the orphanage may be shut down and turned into a subdivision.

The Song and Dance: Once again, the charming cast mostly carries the day. Newley is the best of the new additions as the school teacher who is at first offended by his pupils, then becomes one of their biggest advocates after he gets to know them and the town. Pullman may be even more adorable here, especially when she's by Jimmy's side hoping he'll talk to her again. 

Favorite Number: The opening "Comin' Home" winds in almost the entire cast as they celebrate Polly's return from the hospital in Atlanta. The now-pregnant Nancy (Vanessa Bell Calloway) reminds Polly that "You've Got a Family" that loves her no matter what. Newley leads the orphans through a stuffy dance routine to remind them that "What a Gentleman Does" is behave like a "real man." (It ends prematurely with Aunt Polly and Polly almost literally falling into it after they were listening in!) Polly dreams about "Hot 'Lanta, GA," complete with fog and dark lighting and dynamic dancers in slinky bare costumes, right before she runs away with Jimmy. 

Mayor Warren (Ken Page), Nancy's husband George (T.K Carter), and barber Mr. Tarbell (George Anthony join the townspeople in claiming it's "A Distinct Possibility" that the mayor may be ousted. "I Can't Hear My Heart" is the big romantic duet for Dr. Shannon and Aunt Polly as they realize how much they mean to each other; "Show Me the Way" is the chorus number for the townspeople after everyone realizes that races can live in harmony, and people weren't meant to rule alone.

What I Don't Like: First of all, what happened to Mr. Pendergast? He's not even mentioned. Brock Peters is one of the only major actors from the first film who doesn't appear here. Second, the story is even more maudlin here than in the first film. The entire sequence with Jimmy and Polly running off to Atlanta in particular is contrived and ridiculously melodramatic. Polly's dark dream sequence, nifty dance routine aside, seems to have come from a different movie entirely, or maybe a music video of the early 90's. With Menken working on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, the songs were written by several different songwriters and lost both their distinctive edge and their doo wop pastiche sound and are now annoyingly generic, especially the modern-sounding "I Can't Hear My Heart."

The Big Finale: If you enjoyed the first film. you'll find just as much to love in this one. 

Home Media: Same deal as the first film - only released on DVD as part of the Disney Movie Club in 2008 and now out of print and expensive. You're better off looking for this one used. 

DVD

Cult Flops - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Paramount/Warner Bros, 1971
Starring Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, and Julie Dawn Cole
Directed by Mel Stuart
Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

It'll probably be a surprise to many people to find this review under the "Cult Flops" banner. It wasn't a big hit with critics or audiences when it came out, who dismissed it as a bland children's film. It took constant showings on TV and cable and being a hit on video to turn it into one of the most beloved family musicals of all time. Does it deserve its popularity, or should it be sent down the garbage chute? Let's take a trip to Willy Wonka's famous factory to find out...

The Story: Charlie Bucket (Ostrum) is a poor boy who often passes by the massive chocolate factory owned by the mysterious Willy Wonka (Wilder) on his paper route. A tinker (Peter Capell) tells him ominously that "no one ever goes in, and no one ever goes out." His beloved old Grandpa Joe (Albertson) explains that Wonka closed the factory to visitors after spies stole his secrets. No one knows who is making the candy. The mystery creates an absolute riot when it's announced that five people who find a golden ticket in a Wonka bar will have a tour of the factory and win a lifetime supply of chocolate. Four of the tickets go to spoiled, selfish children who care more about the chocolate than the wonders in the factory. Charlie's shocked when he finally finds the fifth.

Not only does the trip turn out to be as wild as the factory's unpredictable owner, but one of Wonka's rivals, Slugworth (Gunter Meisner) goes to the kids with a scheme of his own. Charlie has to resist the temptations of both Slugworth and the factory...and in doing so, learns that the most important thing isn't having a sweet tooth, but a sweet and honest heart.

The Song and Dance: Gene Wilder gave one of his best and most iconic performances as the oddball title character. He's mostly pretty subdued, even when the kids are going down garbage chutes and falling into his chocolate river...at least until he gets angry at Charlie in the finale over his messing around with one of his concoctions in the factory. Albertson is equally good as cantankerous and energetic Grandpa Joe, who is quite thoroughly enjoying his first time out of bed in twenty years. Ostrum and the other children are all excellent as the main five who get involved with all the lunacy in the factory. I always thought Roy Kinnear and Leonard Stone were hilarious as Veruca and Violet's very different businessman fathers, and David Battely has fun with the small role of Charlie's goofy teacher.

Along with the performances and wonderful music, the movie has some of the most intricate sets and cinematography of the early 70's. No wonder everyone is amazed when they enter the Chocolate Room. The details there and in the Inventing Room later, as well as during the infamous "freak out" boat ride, are a delight to behold.

Favorite Number: Wilder's "Pure Imagination," performed in the Chocolate Room as the rest of the tour goers are enjoying the candy, is probably the most famous number from this movie today. (It's so associated with the film and the story, both stage musical versions pretty much had to include it.) The opening number "The Candy Man" had a hit cover by Sammy Davis Jr, who was a big fan of the song. My personal favorite number is "I've Got a Golden Ticket." Albertson and Ostrum are just having so much fun with their rollicking routine for that song, you can't help but sing along.

Trivia: One of the reasons for the film's initial failure was it was originally conceived partially by Quaker Oats to kick off a line of real-life Wonka bars. The candy didn't go over any better than the movie did. Rumor has it they actually melted on shelves. (Nestle would do far better with the Wonka brand over a decade later. It was a Christmas tradition in my family in the 90's and early 2000's to get a Wonka bar in our stockings in the hope of finding the golden ticket. We never found one, but at least the candy was pretty good.)

Road Dahl wrote an early draft of the film, but it was ultimately deemed to be too dark and reworked by others. He eventually disowned the movie, complaining about the additional songs, bumping up Wonka's role, and several of the scenes that hadn't been in the book.

If Violet and Veruca seem to be a bit nasty to each other, even for bratty kids, there was a reason for that. Julie Dawn Cole and Denise Nickerson, who played Violet, had major crushes on Peter Ostrum and spent most of the shoot trying to show off for him.

What I Don't Like: Dahl has a point about some of those additional scenes. The out-of-nowhere ending kind of ruins the interesting mystery they had going with Slugworth. The random scenes of people trying desperately by any means necessary to get those golden tickets are funny, but they also do nothing to advance the plot and are really kind of bizarre. (Especially the soap opera spoof with the woman whose husband was kidnapped and exchanged for Wonka bars.) There's a few sequences from the book that are missing, notably the entire segment about the Indian prince who wanted a chocolate factory.

As nifty as the sets are, some of the effects do show their age nowadays. Violet's face in the factory is really just a blue spotlight, everyone in the Chocolate Room is obviously eating candy out of plastic props, not mushrooms and giant fruit, and the parents are right that the Chocolate River looks more like the dirty water it was than anything edible. Not to mention, some of the kids come off as so likable, it's hard to hate them the way you should when they're finally taken out.

The Big Finale: While I do like the non-musical Tim Burton remake as well, this one still has plenty of it's own charms. Delightful performances (especially from Wilder and Albertson), a great script, amazing sets, and one of Bricusse and Newley's best scores makes this one confection that remains very sweet indeed.

Home Media: Alas, both the 40th and 45th anniversary editions seem to be out of print  on DVD and Blu-Ray at press time. Your best bet may be streaming services like Amazon Prime or if you're really into this movie, the Blu-Ray/DVD Collector's Edition combo.

40th Anniversary Blu-Ray/DVD Collector's Edition
Amazon Prime