Happy Father's Day! - Here Comes the Groom (1951)

Paramount, 1951

Starring Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Robert Keith, and James Barton

Directed by Frank Capra

Music and Lyrics by various

Frank Tashlin was not the only major director who took a crack at musicals in the 1950's. We saw the first Crosby-Capra collaboration, Riding High, last month for Kentucky Derby weekend. This one might be even more likely for the duo. First of all, this time, we have original material, rather than a remake of an earlier Capra film. There's also a better cast, including Wyman and Alexis Smith as two of the stronger female characters in a Crosby film, and a genuinely effecting story that related to the realities of the post-war era. How does the story of a correspondent who adopts two children, then tries to convince his ex-fiancee to be their mother come off now? Let's begin with switchboard operators putting journalist Pete Garvey (Crosby) through to his boss George Degan (Keith) and find out...

The Story: Pete, who has been helping to find homes for children in a Paris orphanage, is especially enamored by little Bobby (Jacques Gencel) and his sister Suzi (Beverly Washington). He wants to adopt them, but first red tape holds up him getting the kids' birth certificates, then he finds out he has to marry within five days, or the adoption will be void. He thinks his fiancee Emmadel Jones (Wyman) will leap back into his arms, but she's tired of waiting for him and has agreed to marry wealthy Wilbur Stanley (Franchot Tone). After she bonds with the kids, Pete and George work with Wilbur's fourth cousin twice removed Winifred Stanley (Alexis Smith) and Emmadel's alcoholic seaman father William (Barton) to make Emmadel understand that she doesn't belong with the aristocratic Stanleys and that she gets married to the man who loves her for what she is. 

The Song and Dance: Good music and charming performances highlight this exploration into what one man will do to keep his children. Though Crosby comes off well as the newspaper man scheming to marry Emmy, it's the ladies who walk off with this one. No-nonsense Wyman plays off Crosby beautifully as the woman who is tired of waiting for Pete to get away from his work and notice her, and Smtih is such a riot later in the film as Wilbur's hopeful cousin, especially when she and Wyman wrestle each other, you wish she was in more of the movie. Barton and Connie Gilchrist as Emmadel's blousy parents are the other stand-outs, with their salty humor making a wonderful contrast to exasperated Keith and smooth Tone.

The Numbers: We open at the orphanage, with Pete convincing a man from the Boston Symphony Orchestra to adopt budding opera singer Teresa (Anna Maria Alberghetti) rather than Bobby. Her "Caro Nome" is so lovely, especially for someone who may barely be in double-digits, no wonder they took her on the spot. Pete cheers up the kids by telling them about "Your Own Little House." "Misto Cristofo Columbus" gives us an all-star jam session on the plane to the US singing the comic jazz ditty on Christopher Columbus, including Dorothy Lamour, Louis Armstrong, Cass Daiey, and Phil Harris. "Bonne Nuit - Good Night" is Pete's song at the wedding rehearsal.

The standard here is "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." It won an Oscar in 1951, and you can understand from the three times it's heard. The most prominent is the big number with Emmadel and Pete in Wilbur's office. Pete is trying to get her back...and she is almost ready to buy it, after they perform this charming, upbeat ballad together, dancing all around the office furniture.

What I Don't Like: This movie is way too long for what amounts to a romantic farce. They spend too much time with dress rehearsals and in the orphanage and not on the story. Though Pete's genuine fondness for the kids does show through, the way he tries to force Emmadel to marry him after she already had someone else is ridiculous and a bit dated nowadays. Frankly, she and Smith come off better than obnoxious Crosby and blandly manipulative Tone. Also, this is not one of Capra's better efforts. It has even fewer of his touches than Riding High.

The Big Finale: Not Bing's best vehicle, but still recommended for fans of him or the ladies if you love lower-key 50's musicals. 

Home Media: Streaming or a two-movie set with the other Crosby-Wyman musical Just for You may be your best bet for this nowadays.

DVD - Just for You/Here Comes the Groom

Amazon Prime

Happy Father's Day! - Rock-A-Bye Baby

Paramount, 1958

Starring Jerry Lewis, Connie Stevens, Marilyn Maxwell, and Salvatore Baccaloni

Directed by Frank Tashlin

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

Let's celebrate Father's Day with a dad who really knows about taking care of children. This would be Lewis' third solo movie after breaking up with Dean Martin, and his first with director Tashlin. Considering Tashlin used to direct cartoons and Lewis acted like a live-action cartoon at times, it wound up being a match made in film comedy heaven. How does the tale of a TV repairman who finds himself taking care of three abandoned babies look nowadays, as more fathers take care of children on their own? Let's begin, not with Lewis, but with movie star Carla Naples (Maxwell) as she admits to her agent Harold Hermann (Reginald Gardiner) that she has a big problem and find out...

The Story: Carla admits to Harold that she had a drunken night with a Mexican matador and ended up marrying him. They were going to have it annulled, but then he died in the ring. She returns to her hometown in Indiana to ask TV repairman Clayton Poole (Lewis) to take care of her child. Clayton has always been devoted to Carla and agrees to watch the baby. 

To his shock, it turns out to be not one, but three babies! Clayton runs himself ragged trying to care for and afford the three little girls, until her sister Sandy (Stevens) and strict barber father Gigi (Baccaloni) agree to help. Even with them pitching in, the Indiana child support services insist on placing them with a more typical two-parent family. Sandy finally claims she's married to him...just as Carla decides she wants her children and says she's married to Clayton! Clayton goes on the run, until he figures out which lady he really cares about.

The Song and Dance: I was expecting something annoying, like a few of Lewis' later vehicles, but this ended up being rather sweet. Makes me wish Lewis did more flat-out musicals without Dean Martin. He has the lion's share of the music, including the opening number over the credits and a hilarious rock spoof, and he handles them very well. Baccaloni starts out as a stereotypical strict Italian father, but he ends up a lot more interesting when he sees Clayton working hard to take care of the babies and realizes he may have been too hard on his girls. Their duet ends up being one of the film's highlights. Tashlin's own manic sensibilities always brought out the best in Lewis, and this is no exception. Some of Clayton's gags early-on when he's trying to stop a blasting hose and figure out how to take care of three babies are especially funny.

Favorite Number: We open with the show-business "Rock-a-Bye-Baby" over the credits, as Lewis and several show girls romp through a theater, explaining what we're going to see. The first song in the actual film is "The Land of La La La," as Clayton recalls his relationship with Carla as children in their favorite spot. He insists that "Love Is a Lonely Thing" when he worries about having to leave town because of Gigi's wrath. Clayton and Gigi have a genuinely charming lullaby, "Dormi, Dormi, Dormi" that finally makes the worried grandpapa understand how much Clayton loves his little girls. 

Sandy bemoans Clayton seeing her as a child, even as she helps to take care of his children, wondering "Why Can't He Care for Me?" We get to see the filming of the so-called Egyptian "epic" that caused Carla to abandon her daughters as chorus girls in loincloths sing about "The White Virgin of the Nile." Clayton is so desperate to make milk money, he joins a rock group playing for a local TV amateur hour in the early rock spoof "Rock My Baby, Rock." He's no guitar-player, but he does prove to have some pretty sweet - if rather odd and jerky - moves. 

Trivia: That's Lewis' son Gary playing him as a boy during the "Land of La La La" number. 

Based after the 1944 Preston Sturges comedy Miracle at Morgan's Creek. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, neither Stevens nor Maxwell come off especially well. Stevens is annoying and obnoxious, pushing herself at Clayton when it's obvious he wasn't interested. It feels more like they end up together because the script says so than any chemistry between Stevens and Lewis. Maxwell is a little cold, leaving her children for what turns out to be an empty-headed musical, and her sudden change of the heart in the end feels like too little, too late. Also, there is a lot of Lewis in this movie. He even has most of the songs. If you're not a fan of his, this isn't the place for you.

The Big Finale: If you ever wondered if Jerry Lewis could handle a musical on his own, the answer is...yes, mostly. Recommended for fans of his or Tashlin's who love slapstick or early rock satire. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming.  DVD and Blue Ray are via Olive Films.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Happy Father's Day! - Rich, Young, and Pretty

MGM, 1951

Starring Jane Powell, Wendell Corey, Danielle Darrieux, and Vic Damone

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate a day for dads with this story of a dad, a daughter, and their eventful trip to Paris. Powell specialized in these little-miss-fix-it vehicles at MGM in the mid-late 40's like Luxury Liner and Holiday In Mexico that had her trying to help her father find love while often finding it herself. This would be the last of those movies...but this time, she's grown up enough that the focus is really on her romance with a handsome Frenchman. How does her dad, who has already had a bad marriage with a Frenchwoman, react? Let's begin at the Texas ranch home of Jim Staunton Rogers (Corey) and his daughter Elizabeth (Powell) as they prepare for their Paris trip and find out...

The Story: Jim is in Paris on a business trip, and is taking Elizabeth with him. He's hoping she won't run into the mother she's never met. He told her she's dead, but she's really singer Marie Devarone (Darrieux). They fell for each other in 1927, but Marie decided she was homesick for France and walked out. Marie has moved on and is now dating her co-star, Paul Sarnac (Fernado Lamas). Elizabeth falls for the handsome Frenchman Andre Milan (Damone), and the two claim they'll marry. Marie and Paul encourage their romance, but Jim had been burned by one French lover and doesn't want his daughter to go through the same. 

The Song and Dance: Powell and Darrieux anchor this sweet small-scale musical romance as the young woman who experiences her first real romance in the City of Light. Darrieux had been a star in French films of the 30's and 40's, and she brings that real-life experience to her role as the glamorous singer who just couldn't give up Paris to be a simple Texas farm wife. Look for Hans Conried as a fussy waiter and Una Merkel as Jim's loyal secretary who is supposed to be keeping an eye on Elizabeth.

Favorite Number: We open with father and daughter singing about their trip to "Paris"; Lamas reprises it later in the nightclub. Jim requests that the strolling gypsy band sings "Deep In the Heart of Texas"...which they attempt to do quite charmingly. His daughter joins in to help them out. The ensemble dance routine "Tonight for Sure" has Darrieux waltzing with French partners...before overly enthusiastic American military men try to join in with their too-fast two steps. Darrieux gets the slower ballad "Dark Is the Night" later, when Elizabeth comes to see her sing one last time. She performs the old standard "There's Danger In Your Eyes, Cherie" for Jim in 1927 after he's admitted he's smitten with her.

Powell and Damone get to ladle their instruments into three extensive duets. The sweet "Wonder Why" was nominated for an Oscar. "I Can See You" also wound up being a hit at the time. Darrieux and Lamas initially sing "We Never Talk Much," about the joys of just being together, but it's picked up by Damone and Powell later as they admit their love, to her father's chagrin. They get the lively "The Old Piano Roll Blues" at her father's home. "How'd Ya Like Your Eggs In the Morning" has Damone joining four singing chefs at the club - the vocal group The Four Kingsmen - for a cute novelty number.

Trivia: Darrieux's first American movie since the 1938 film The Rage of Paris. 

What I Don't Like: Everything else is as bland as the film's paint-by-the-numbers title and forgettable songs. First of all, the plot is a little too convoluted. It's very hard to believe that Elizabeth wouldn't have run into some evidence of her mother's existence at some point, like a birth certificate, especially since Marie never changed her name. Second, Corey is abrasive and annoying as Elizabeth's suspicious father, and Damone (who never did become much of an actor) is dull in his first role. While the cast feels quite French, the obvious studio backdrops and sets haven't a drop of French flavor in them. 

The Big Finale: Not Powell's best movie, but worth seeing at least once for some decent numbers if you're a fan of her or Darrieux. 

Home Media: On streaming and DVD, the latter as one of the earliest Warner Archives titles. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Happy Father's Day! - Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Shirley Temple, Michael Whalen, Jack Haley, and Alice Faye

Directed by Irving Cummings

Music by Mack Gordon; Lyrics by Harry Revel

Shirley Temple was the biggest star in the world when she made this movie. Most of her movies has her as a poor girl who suddenly comes into money. This is one of three that goes the opposite route of having her be a wealthy child who is suddenly poor and shows how she deals with it. It's also another one that plays on the economic realities of the time. Many real-life companies bought each other out or merged during the Depression years. Radio became one of the most popular forms of advertising. Companies did everything they could to have celebrities appear on their program and advertise their products. For performers looking for work, appearances on radio brought them to a wider audience and could be make or break for their careers. How does this play into Temple as the lonely daughter of a soap company magnate? Let's begin at the home of Richard Barry (Whalen), owner of Barry's Soap, as his daughter Barbara (Temple) eats lunch and find out...

The Story: Barbara loves her daddy, but not all the time he spends taking care of his company. She wishes he'd pay more attention to her, but he's too busy. He sends her to boarding school so she can be with other girls her age. She's separated from her fussy nanny Collins (Sara Haden) at the train station when she's hit by a car while searching for her purse. Barbara declares herself to be on vacation and follows Tony (Henry Armetta), an organ grinder who resembles a similar character in a book Barry's housekeeper Woodward (Jane Darwell) always read to her. She claims she's an orphan, convincing Tony, his wife (Mathilde Comont), and their many children to take her in.

Jimmy (Haley) and Jerrie (Faye) Dolan, a pair of vaudeville performers hoping to find a spot in radio, overhear her dancing. Jimmy's so impressed, he convinces her to join the act as their little girl. She charms the crotchety owner of Peck's Soap (Claude Gillingwater) to take them. They become a sensation on his show. Needless to say, Barry's not happy when he hears his daughter singing jingles for the competition and will do anything to get her back. Meanwhile, he's also pursing the pretty head of Peck's advertising department Margaret Allen (Gloria Stuart), and there's a far less friendly man who is also after Barbara (John Wray).

The Song and Dance: Faye and Haley make this a little more interesting than most of Temple's melodramatic vehicles. They play well off each other and show some terrific chemistry as the optimistic dancer and his pessimistic singer wife. We even get some action at the end when they save Barbara from the man who really wants to kidnap her. Temple is charming and funny as ever, especially following Tony and playing with his children as Barbara enjoys the first real companions her own age she's ever had. 

Favorite Number: Barbara laments that her dolls are the only ones she has around to take care of, even if she doesn't regard them as the best-behaved, in "Oh My Goodness." Temple amusingly reprises it in an accent representing each of her toys' nationalities - German, Russian, Japanese, and African-American. We even get some nice special effects as the dolls seemingly come to life and dance for Barbara, thanks to forced perspective. The ballad "When I'm With You" is heard three times, most effectively when Faye sings it during the radio show towards the end. 

"You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach" is Faye and Haley admonishing Temple that she's a kid, and she has to take her lumps whether she likes it or not. It's a hilarious callback to Barbara trying to avoid the spinach she had for lunch in the beginning, and is just plain adorable. It may have been hard for Faye, Haley, and Temple to get into step for the big "Military Man" precision tap dancing finale, but it was worth it. The song is funny as heck, and they all look terrific as they imitate soldiers marching in perfect unison.

What I Don't Like: First of all, let's discuss Temple's rendition of "When I'm With You." She sings it to her father after hearing Tony Martin perform it on the Barry's radio show. Unfortunately, it also retains the romantic lyrics, making her sound more creepy than cute or sweet nowadays. There's also the stereotypical accents in "Oh My Goodness." Barbara also manages to run away from her father and nearly get three people arrested without anyone scolding her. I'm hoping her father at least punished her a little later on for causing so much trouble. Speaking of her father, his romance with Margaret Allen is almost an afterthought, providing little more than a love interest and someone who puts the Barry's-Peck's rivalry into context.

The Big Finale: One of Temple's better movies is fun for her fans or for fathers to share with younger kids who will enjoy her antics. 

Home Media: For some reason, this is currently one of two Temple movies not on DVD in the US. You're better off streaming this one. 

Amazon Prime (Colorized)

Happy Father's Day! - Three Smart Girls

Universal, 1936

Starring Deanna Durbin, Charles Winninger, Nan Grey, and Barbara Reed

Directed by Henry Koster

Music by Bronslau Kaper and Walter Jurman; Lyrics by Gus Kahn

Deanna Durbin came to Universal earlier in 1936 being dropped by MGM, who had plenty of operatic stars. Universal was in dire straits at that point. Their monster movies weren't the draws they'd been in the early 30's, and Show Boat aside, they largely gave up on musicals after the early talkie era. This was her first appearance in a feature...and it was such a smash, it and her next few films literally saved the company from bankrupsy. Let's start on the lakes in Switzerland with the three young woman of the title to find out what made this such a hit...

The Story: Joan (Grey), Kay (Reed), and Penny (Durbin) are shocked when they learn that their father, millionaire Judson Craig (Winninger), is going to be married to a gold digger half his age (Binnie Barnes).  They run away to New York to keep him from going through with the ceremony. He's happy to see them and even puts them up in his apartment, under the watchful eye of his butler Binns (Ernest Cossart). His fiancee Donna isn't happy to see them and enlists the aid of her fussy mother (Alice Brady) to keep the girls out of their hair.

Frustrated, Kay and Joan hire what they think is a drunk impersonating a Count (Ray Milland) to seduce Donna. Not only is he not what he claims he is, but to Kay's horror, he falls for her instead. Meanwhile, Joan has her sights set on her father's assistant Bill Evans (John "Dusty" King). It's up to Penny to finally bring everyone together and remind her father of just how much he loves his three smart and funny girls.

The Song and Dance: Film musicals don't often fall into family comedy territory...and when they do, they're usually about performing families. Three Smart Girls comes off more like an early Parent Trap or a black-and-white version of a 90's family comedy where kids easily outwit clueless adults. This may be a rich family, but Durbin is the only performer...and she's played pretty much as a normal 14-year-old who just wants her dad back in her life. 

You can see why Durbin became a major star after this movie. She's naturally charming on-screen and has real chemistry with blustery Winninger. They have a very funny sequence where they literally fall over laughing after they trip over her bed. Durbin's such a charmer, she manages to almost convince an entire station of New York cops that she's run away to become an opera singer. 

Favorite Number: Durbin performs "My Heart Is Singing" in the opening as she and her sisters go boating in Lake Geneva, dressed in identical sailor outfits. "Someone to Care for Me" is initially performed by Barnes at the piano, but Durbin later sings it to Winninger before her bedtime to explain why she and the girls are trying to get rid of Donna. "Il Bacio" is the operatic aria Durbin sings to the cops when she's trying to convince them that she ran away to become an opera star...and from the semi-impressed looks on their faces, they almost sort-of believe it.

Trivia: Nominated for Best Picture in 1937. 

What I Don't Like: This is pretty much a sitcom with a few songs shoehorned in, and as such, it's fairly small-scale. As much fun as Durbin is in her scenes, I actually wish she had even more to do. She disappears for a long stretch when her sisters are hiring the Count (Milland) and trying to get Barnes to fall for him. It's all cute but very predictable - you know where this is going well before the girls and their suitors do. It's also a tad dated. Divorce, remarriage, and blended families are considered to be a lot more acceptable nowadays. 

The Big Finale: Adorable bit of family fluff that might be fun to watch with your own dad after the barbecue this Father's Day. 

Home Media: The Oscar nomination is likely the reason this is one of Durbin's few films easily available on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Happy Father's Day! - The Girl Next Door

20th Century Fox, 1953
Starring June Haver, Dan Dailey, Dennis Day, and Billy Gray
Directed by Richard Sale
Music by Josef Myrow; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

We celebrate a day for dads with this unusual comedy about a devoted dad, his adored son, and the Broadway star who moves in next to them. First, though, we're going to begin with chorus girls traveling around the country, and find out how Jeannie Laird (Haver) ends up moving to Scarsdale, New York...

The Story: Tired of living out of trunks, Jeannie is delighted to take a home in the country. On the night of her first party, birds attack the guests, then smoke pours over the wall and chokes them. She goes next door to discover her neighbors are cartoonist Bill Carter (Daily) and his son Joe (Gray). Bill's comic strip revolves around his life with Joe, and he and his son are the best of friends. Joe's upset when his father starts to spend more and more time with Jeannie and less with him, especially when his father blows off a trip to Canada. Bill's torn between his new love and his dear child, but it takes Joe befriending a little girl (Mary Jane Saunders) to understand why his father is in love with Jeannie.

The Song and Dance: Simple and charming, this one has more in common with sitcoms about single fathers from a decade later like Family Affair and The Courtship of Eddie's Father than a typical musical from this time. It's rare to see such a close father-son relationship in a musical, and Joe and Bill have a genuine and sweet relationship. Haver and Daily get to show off their dancing abilities in two extended ballets and several duets, while Saunders and Gray are very funny as the boy who is afraid he'll lose his father and the girl who wishes Joe would let her into his world. Even the limited-animation sequences with Bill's cartoons and Joe's in the finale are pretty cute.

Favorite Number: We learn how Jeannie went from chorus girl to Broadway star in two numbers seen over the credits, "We Girls of the Chorus" and "The Great White Way." The credits end with Jeannie describing her perfect, peaceful new home in "A Quiet Little Place In the Countryside." After Jeannie storms off, Bill and Joe claim that "I'd Rather Have a Pal Than a Gal Anytime."

Two extended fantasy ballets stand out in an otherwise low-key film. "Nowhere Boy" is Jeannie's plea to her prowling lover in a dark film-noir style dance in a night club that has Dailey dreaming himself onto the stage with her. Bill is torn between his fishing buddy Joe and his love for dancing and Jeannie in another fantasy dance sequence towards the end of the movie.

Trivia: Last film roles for Dennis Day and June Haver. Haver joined a convent for six months before dropping out to marry Fred MacMurray.

This was originally supposed to have been Dailey's fifth pairing with Betty Grable, but she dropped out early-on.

What I Don't Like: Not only are Jeannie and Bill from two different worlds, but it sometimes feels like the movie is, too. "Nowhere Boy" and "The Girl Next Door Ballet" stick out like sore thumbs in the otherwise relatively realistic plot and low-key songs. "Nowhere Boy" in particular has no relation to anything and seems to have been dropped in from some darker story. Day and Cara Williams are basically around to be the best friend second couple and for Day to pour his Irish tenor into a few ballads and don't add a whole lot to the movie.

The Big Finale: Unique comedy-musical isn't the most necessary movie in the world, but it is a charming enough way to pass and hour and a half with your own dad on Father's Day if you love 50's musicals or sitcoms.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD
Amazon Prime

Happy Father's Day! - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

United Artists, 1968
Starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe
Directed by Ken Hughes
Music and Lyrics by Richard M and Robert B Sherman

We salute all fathers with this elaborate family musical from the late 60's. The success of Mary Poppins made both epic, super-long musicals and family-oriented musicals all the rage in the mid-late 60's. This may be the closest anyone came to replicating that film's success...and a close father-child relationship is at the heart of the story of an inventor who spins a crazy yarn about his newly-repaired car. Let's head to the races in the early 1900's to find out how well this story works nowadays...

The Story: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was once the most decorated race car in Europe, until its career ended in a fiery crash. Two children, Jeremy (Adrian Hall) and Jemima (Heather Ripley), regard Chitty as their own playground at the local junkyard and are horrified when the owner intends to sell it for scrap. They run into the lovely Truly Scrumptious (Howes) on the road, who takes them home to their doting father, Cartaculous Potts (Van Dyke). Potts is an inventor whose creations tend towards the fantastic side, like the candies he'd been working on with holes in them. He tries to market them to Truly's father Lord Scrumptious (James Robinson Justice) as a candy you can play, but the whistling sound brings dozens of dogs into the factory. He does manage to raise the money dancing with a folk group at a fair after his hair-cutting machine doesn't work out.

A day out with Chitty, Cartaculous, the kids, and Truly turns into an opportunity for the rousing tale of how the family dodged the child-like Baron Bombhurst of Vugaria (Frobe) and his spoiled and silly wife (Anna Quale) and rescued Cartaculous' father (Jeffries) from his dungeons and the children from the tower and the terrifying Child Catcher (Robert Helpmann).

The Song and Dance: Van Dyke and Howes make a charming couple in this fantastical tale. I think I like Van Dyke's performance even better here. He's warm with the kids and hilarious with Jefferies, the imagined explorer who wishes his son would do something concrete with his life besides tinker. Quale and Frobe are also very funny as the royal couple who care more about playing with toys than with each other. The lavish production includes widescreen cinematography with filming locations England, France, and Germany and lovely, colorful costumes ably depicting the early Edwardian period in Europe.

Favorite Number: "Toot Sweets," with its dancers whirling around a stark Victorian candy factory, plays almost like a warm up for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory three years later. The Oscar-nominated title song is performed several times, including as they're going to the beach for the picnic after Chitty was finished. The children sing the sweet and charming "Truly Scrumptious" to Truly at the beach to tell her how much they appreciate her joining them. "Me Old Bamboo" is the folk dance Dick Van Dyke joined in on at the fair. His sheer energy level there is amazing; he keeps up well with the other dancers. He sings the lovely lullaby "Hushabye Mountain" twice, the second time as a duet with Howes when they're trying to comfort the hidden children of Vulgaria. Grandpa has two great solos, "Posh" when he's been kidnapped, and "The Roses of Success" with a group of scientists trying to invent a flying car.

Frobe and Quale's "Chu-Chi Face" sounds like something a loving couple would perform, but it's really the darkest song in the movie as the Baron continues to attempt to kill his wife.

Trivia: This was based the book of the same name by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame, but didn't really use much besides a few character names and the idea of a flying car.

It was a big hit in 1969, the tenth-most-popular film of that year.

What I Don't Like: First and foremost, it's way too long at over two hours, especially for a musical intended for families. The sequence with the goofy spies and the entire second half of the film in Vulgaria feel like obvious padding. The special effects, which were much-touted at the time, haven't really dated that well. Chitty going over the cliff is some of the most obvious green-screen I've ever seen in a movie. Howes' solo ballad "Lovely, Lonely Man" is notoriously dull and only serves as a buffer between the first and the second half. It's not hard to tell Road Dahl worked on the screenplay; there's a dark undercurrent to the film's antics, especially in the Vulgaria sequence, with the creepy Child Catcher, child-hating royalty, and the Baron gleefully attempting to kill his wife.

Did this really need to be set in the Edwardian era? The costumes are appropriate, but the story just doesn't feel that historical.

The Big Finale: If you can get your kids to sit for it and they can handle some of the darker elements, this is a fun ride with some great songs and catchy musical numbers.

Home Media: As one of the most beloved family musicals ever created, this is easily found in all major formats, including streaming.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime