Cult Flops - The Goldywn Follies

Samuel Goldwyn/United Artists, 1938

Starring Adolph Menjou, Andrea Leeds, Vora Zorina, and Kenny Baker

Directed by George Marshall and H.C Potter

Music by Vernon Duke and George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Despite the initial success of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the decent showing of Paramount On Parade, revues fell out of favor rather quickly in Hollywood. It seemed people did want some semblance of a plot along with their songs and sketches. Even when musicals came back into style with the phenomenal popularity of 42nd Street, revues were not, conspicuously, part of the line-up. Most of the studios tried to revive them, but they tended to turn into something else, as with the decidedly peculiar Hollywood Party. Samuel Goldwyn's musicals had always been known more for their largess than their stories. With Eddie Cantor having left by 1938, Goldwyn opted to throw his focus into this million-dollar semi-revue that showcases some of the top acts of the day. How well do those acts work in this story of a producer who hires a young woman to give his films "the common touch?" Let's start in a small town, where producer Oliver Merlin (Menjou) is about to film a scene with his top actress Olga Samara (Zorina) and find out...

The Story: Sensible small-town girl Hazel Dawes (Leeds) tells Martin point-blank while watching the shoot that she thinks the whole romance is a lot of hooey. Samara doesn't look or act like a normal person in love. Merlin is so enchanted by her honest opinion, he hires her to be "Miss Humanity" and evaluate his films from the point of view of the ordinary, everyday theater-goer. He wants to keep Hazel free of Hollywood affectations, but she falls for sweet singing soda jerk Danny Beecher (Baker). Danny's such a wonderful singer that she gets him a job on the radio, which leads him to a Hollywood contract. Now Hazel is torn between her feelings for Danny and her "common" opinions. Not to mention, Martin has fallen for her, too, and there's a whole bevy of crazy comedians, nutty animal trainers, and wacky ventriloquist acts who are dying to get into Martin's newest show.

The Song and Dance: And with a story that fluffy, song and dance is pretty much the only thing of interest here. As goofy as the story is, some of the numbers are genuinely good. Ira Gershwin turned out a wonderful score, with his brother George and with Vernon Duke after George died. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy get a few good wisecracks as the ventriloquist act that manages to charm the passionate Olga, while Broadway comedian Bobby Clark also has his moments as Martin's randy assistant. The color is exquisite on the copy I watched, almost candy-like in its softer pastel charms. Menjou is the stand-out along with the music as the producer who is so delighted with his new "common" lady and how she's helped his pictures, he can't see she's falling for someone else.

The Numbers: The two big chorus routines are ballets for Zorina and the American Ballet of the Metropolitan Opera. The "Romeo and Juliet Ballet" turns the famous Shakespearean tragedy into the tale of a war between popular tap dancers and jazz performers and ballet dancers and violinists in Paris. It ends up with a happy ending when Hazel complains that it's too dark and not much fun. "The Water Nymph Ballet," with has Zorina as a supernatural creature in love with a human, is better-received by Hazel. The Ritz Brothers play Russian dancers in "The Volga Boatmen" to impress Zorina. They make use of their animal act to bring in dozens of cats for "Here Pussy Pussy." Their "Serenade to a Fish" turns them into Romans, then mermen. 

Baker gets to introduce the film's three hit songs. He sings "Love Walked In" at the soda shop, and later on the radio. He also gets the standard "Our Love Is Here to Stay" and "Spring Again" in the finale at Hollywood. Scottish comedienne Ella Logan introduces "I Was Doing Alright." Poor Michael Day (Phil Baker), whose parts are perpetually cut or changed, finally gets his chance to play the accordion with "I Love to Rhyme." Opera star Helen Jepson sings numbers from "La Traviata" with baritone Charles Kulllmann and "La Serenada." 

Trivia: George Gershwin's last film project. He died during production. 

What I Don't Like: Despite having an actual story and some terrific Gershwin and Gershwin-Duke songs, this is even more of a mish-mash than the early talkie revues. Zorina is a block of ice with a strange accent, Baker and Leeds are bland as the "common people," and the comedians all seem to have walked in from other, better films entirely. The two ballet sequences are lovely, but seem out of place among the less lavish numbers. It's all just throne together with more budget than sense, despite its emphasis on finding humanity and making movies more "real." That simple story is also drawn out way beyond too long, and the ending drags like crazy. Some of the later numbers could have been trimmed with no one the wiser.

The Big Finale: In the end, this is probably of interest only to fans of ballet, the Gershwins, or the comedians in question. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.

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Cult Flops - When the Boys Meet the Girls

MGM, 1965

Starring Connie Francis, Harve Presnell, Sue Ann Langdon, and Frank Faylen

Directed by Alvin Ganzer 

Music by George Gershwin and others; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin and others

Let's head back to the US for our last vacation of the summer season. We're also honoring Connie Francis, who passed away last month. She - and her performance of its title song - was a big part of the reason Where the Boys Are was one of the biggest hits of 1960. Though her recording career continued to do well, MGM failed to find an appropriate follow-up film. Her next two movie vehicles were both flops. MGM banked on this one, a remake of their 1943 Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney vehicle Girl Crazy, to revive Francis' flagging career and give their newly-minted musical leading man Presnell a boost. How well did they do updating Girl Crazy to the Beach Party-addicted mid-60's? Let's begin at an all-male college, where Danny Churchill (Presnell) has just replaced the all-male chorus in drag with a very female one, and find out...

The Story: Danny is expelled and sent to another school in the Arizona desert, one with absolutely no girls in it. Actually, it does have one. Ginger Grey, who delivers the mail, almost literally runs into Danny and his friend Sam (Joby Baker) in Danny's sports car. He helps Ginger retrieve her father Phin (Faylen) from Reno, where he's gambled away every cent they have. They'll lose the ranch if they don't make the money to pay them off soon. Danny finally brings in other local kids to turn the ranch into a hotel for divorcees. It does help a lot of women going through a bad time, like Kate (Hortense Petra), but it also attracts Danny's gold-digging ex-girlfriend Tess Rawley (Langdon). Danny fled to avoid paying her hush money, and now it looks like she wants him to pay up, and now.

The Song and Dance: As weird as this is, there are some things that work. Like Summer Holiday, this is a full-on musical, with ballads, duets, and big chorus numbers. Some of the songs work, and there's a few performances that at least have the right goofy spirit. Faylen has a great time as Ginger's well-meaning, gambling-addicted father, Baker has some hilarious moments as Danny's best friend, and there's Petra as the frequently-married hotel resident Kate and Fred Clark as Phin's wealthy friend Bill Denning. There's gorgeous Technicolor here, too, and some really nice desert shooting. 

The Numbers: We get "Treat Me Rough" twice. The chorus girls hired for the boys' college stage show in the opening sing it before the dean (Bill Quinn) finds out and shuts the show down. Tess reprises it as a comic solo number later, when she's singing at the divorcee hotel. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs perform "Monkey See, Monkey Do" at a nightclub in full mystical and mustaches regalia. Presnell and Francis also each get a go at "Embraceable You." Louis Armstrong does "Throw It Out of Your Mind" at the casino in Reno. Connie Francis makes a "Mail Call" at the boys' college, handing out dreams of home along with letters. 

Herman's Hermits, who are exchange students at the school, perform their own "Listen People," along with "Bidin' My Time" with Ginger while they're building the ranch. Liberace gives an example of why he was so beloved among older people in his glittering gold suit as he plays his own "Aruba Liberace." Danny and Ginger lament "But Not for Me" after she thinks he's still in love with Tess and he thinks she's marrying someone else. The film ends with everyone paired off and Armstrong performing his own version of "I've Got Rhythm."

What I Don't Like: What does any of this have to do with Girl Crazy? In the original show, Danny was sent to manage his family's ranch, and he saves it by turning it into a dude ranch. That would have made a lot more sense than the whole "haven for divorcees" sub-plot. The new orchestrations do the Gershwin songs no favors, and the rock numbers are completely out of place with them. Presnell is dull, Francis shrill and annoying, Langdon whiny. None of them are as much fun to watch as the rock groups or their elders. It seems like MGM just tossed in whatever they could get their hands on to see if it would stick. Herman's Hermits do get to sing two numbers and take part in others, but they vanish after "Bidin' My Time" without explanation. 

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of Herman's Hermits or any of the acts involved. Everyone else will probably be fine with the Garland-Rooney Girl Crazy or Francis and the Hermits' solo albums. 

Home Media: At least this one is easier to find. It's currently on DVD in a beautifully remastered copy from the Warner Archives and can be found on streaming.

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My Tragic Valentine - Porgy and Bess (1959)

The Samuel Goldwyn Company/Columbia, 1959

Starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr., and Pearl Bailey

Directed by Otto Preminger

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Our next star-crossed couple weren't the only ones who had a hard time staying together. This film version of the 1935 Gershwin opera was plagued with production problems from the start. For one thing, Ira Gershwin wasn't crazy about there being a film based on his brother's life work to begin with. Second, Goldwyn made two popular musicals earlier in the decade, but Porgy and Bess was a lot darker than the fluffy comedian-driven extravaganzas he usually preferred. Rouben Mamoulien was originally going to direct as he did in 1935, but fought with Goldwyn and was replaced by Preminger. Arson destroyed the sets and costumes before shooting started, and Dandridge had just ended a relationship with Preminger and wasn't comfortable working with him. With all these problems, how did the film finally come out? Let's begin with the arrival of fishermen returning to Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in 1912 and find out...

The Story: Crown (Brock Peters), the town bully, gets a little too rowdy with Robbins (Joe Fluellen) after a craps game and ends up killing him. He flees, abandoning his drug-addicted girlfriend Bess (Dandridge). Porgy (Poitier), a crippled beggar who travels by a goat-drawn cart, takes her in. They fall in love with each other, but when Crown turns up at a town picnic, he does a lot more harm to Bess than stuffing her drugs bought from Sporting Life (Sammy Davis Jr). Bess turns up back at Catfish Row two days later ranting and near-unconscious. Porgy nurses her, with the help of pious Serena (Ruth Attaway) and sensible Maria (Bailey). 

During a massive hurricane, most of the residents of Catfish Row take shelter in the largest house. Not only does Crown return and vow he'll make Bess his again, but Clara (Diahann Carroll) is killed waiting for her fisherman husband who was lost in the storm. Bess and Porgy are happy to take in Clara's baby, but Crown is still determined that Bess should be his alone. Porgy finally stabs and strangles him, but when he's called by the police to identify the body, Sporting Life sees his chance to try to get Bess to come to New York with him one last time...

The Song and Dance: Terrific all-black cast knows how to handle the melodramatic story. At the least, Preminger is on more accustomed turf with a dark opera than he was with the lighter material in That Lady In Ermine ten years before. Poitier makes a wonderful Porgy, especially near the end when he realizes Bess has walked out, and Sammy Davis Jr. is relishing his turn as the deceptively charming drug peddler Sportin' Life. For all the trouble Dandridge had on the set (she ended a stormy relationship with Preminger not long before the movie began), she does well by flighty Bess. The scene with her and Crown on the island is nearly terrifying.

The Numbers: We open with the arrival of the fishermen and Clara and her baby during "Summertime." Sportin' Life and Robbins remind the crap players why "A Woman Is a Sometimes Thing." "Here Comes De Honey Man" introduces the kindly old peddler who sells honey to the locals. Porgy explains his lot with "They Pass By Singin." "The Crap Game" becomes a chorus number when Robbins and Crown end up in a choreographed fight. "Gone, Gone, Gone," Serena wails after her husband's death, because "My Man's Gone Now." The others wonder why Porgy doesn't try for something better. "I Got Plenty O' Nuthin," and that's fine by him.

The duo admit that "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" when she finally agrees to stay with him. "Oh, I Can't Sit Down" sings Maria excitedly with the chorus before the picnic. Serena may scold everyone for having fun, but the chorus points out "I Ain't Got No Shame." After all, Sportin' Life reminds them, "It Ain't Necessarily So." Bess wants to know "What You Want With Bess," but she really already has a good idea of what Crown's after. Porgy begs for Serena to pray to "Oh Doctor Jesus" when Bess is sick. Bess assures her boyfriend "I Loves You, Porgy," while Crown claims "God and Me" will get by when he finds his "Red-Headed Woman." 

"Clara, Clara" is the brief lament for the young mother lost in the storm waiting for her fisherman husband. Bess reprises "Summertime" in her memory. Sportin' Life reminds Bess "There's a Boat Dat's Leaving for New York," and this time, she might be willing to join him on it. After we hear the "Morning Sounds" of the street vendors, Porgy comes home...and wails "O Bess, Where's My Bess?" when he realizes she's gone. We end with him taking off in  his goat-drawn cart as he sings "O Lawd, I'm On My Way."

Trivia: Robert McFerrin (father of singer Bobby McFerrin) dubbed Poitier. Adele Addison dubbed Dandridge. Inez Matthews dubbed Ruth Attaway. 

The original Broadway show debuted in 1935, with Mamoulien directing. It wasn't a success, but the music was popular enough for it be revived in New York in 1942, 1953, 1976, and 2012. 

What I Don't Like: For all the success of its music, there's a reason so many black performers turned this down, and many theater critics and historians have problems with it to this day. First of all, many of the characters here can come off as stereotypical, especially some of the nastier men like Crown and Sportin' Life. Second, this is heavy going. We're not talking about one of the Gershwin's lighthearted romps from the 30's here. Four people die (admittedly two of them in the hurricane), a woman is insinuated to have been raped, and they all but shout what that "happy dust" Sportin' Life keeps giving Bess is. 

Truth be told, no matter how much Goldwyn admired the original Broadway production, he was in over his head with this one. Preminger had a point that the lavish sets and costumes are maybe a bit too lavish for a run-down fishing neighborhood in South Carolina. No wonder someone burned them. For all the size, they're also too cramped. This is more like the filmed opera it is than an actual movie. Except for the location shooting on the island, you may as well be watching this at the Met. 

The Big Finale: Problematic but fascinating, with terrific music and performances that make it worth checking out despite the dated and dark story and treatment of black culture. 

Home Media: The Gershwin estate was so disappointed with how this came out, they won't allow it to be released on legitimate home media. The only places you can find it are in washed-out, blurry copies on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

YouTube

Internet Archive

A Salute to TCM - Give a Girl a Break

MGM, 1953

Starring Marge & Gower Champion, Debbie Reynolds, and Bob Fosse

Directed by Stanley Donen

Music by Burton Lane; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Our second small-scale MGM musical didn't start out that way. Apparently, this was originally intended to be a big-budget showcase of some of the newer talent on the MGM lot, with names like Donen, Lane, Gershwin, and Reynolds attached. Somewhere along the line, it got pared down into a less elaborate story about three women who desperately hope to be chosen for the starring role in a big Broadway revue. Does this still wow 'em in the aisles nowadays, or should it be left behind? Let's begin at the Regal Theater in New York as hopeful go-fer Bob Dowdy (Fosse) brings the cast sandwiches and find out...

The Story: As it turns out, there may not be a show. Its demanding star, Janet Hallston (Donna Martell), has walked out. Director and choreographer Ted Sturgis (Gower Champion) puts out an ad for an open audition that draws thousands of hopeful dancers. Ted, Bob, and the revue's composer Leo Belney (Kurt Kaznar) finally whittle it down to three finalists. 

Ballerina Joanna Moss (Helen Wood) is excited for the opportunity, but her husband Burton Bradshaw (Richard Anderson) announces at the same time that he just got a professor job in Minnesota. Bob is enamored with bubbly tap dancer Suzy Doolittle (Reynolds), who has studied for years for a chance like this one. Ted's not happy when his ex-partner Madelyn Corlane (Marge Champion) returns to audition as well. She left him years ago for wealthy Anson Pritchett (William Ching). With each woman enormously talented and each man pushing a different lady, it's going to be hard to figure out which lady would work out best for the show...and in the men's lives.

The Song and Dance: "Dance" is the operative word here. There's some fabulous dance routines in this movie, many of them choreographed by Fosse. He and Reynolds have by far the most fun as the ebulent go-fer who falls hard for her and the vivacious girl who wants a life of her own and a chance to really shine. The gorgeous Technicolor, lovely songs, and nifty costumes bring far more life to this story than its bland Broadway setting does. I also like how most of the action unfolds in less than 24 hours. It really gives you a chance to know all three couples and why the guys fall for their ladies like they do.

Favorite Number: Our first number is the creative chorus routine to the title song. We see little vignettes of several of the ladies who hope to audition. Most of them are terrible dancers or strange singers...except the three who end up getting called back. Bob and Suzy sing how they're "In Our United State" during a charming dance routine in New York as he takes her home from dance practice. We see more of Fosse and Champion's embryonic talents as they remind Leo that "Nothing's Impossible," even reworking a Broadway revue in three weeks. Ted insists on seeing what Madelyn can do right before she's supposed to attend a masquerade party with Anson, resulting in the dynamic "Challenge Dance" on the apartment building roof.

The three men daydream about the kind of dances they want to do with their ladies in three elaborate sequences. Bob and Suzy do an amazing "Backwards Dance" through confetti that falls upwards and balloons that pop, then return to life. Bob tosses in a backwards flip here and in "In Our United State" that must be seen to be believed. "Puppet Master Dance" starts out as a classical ballet routine for Joanna and Leo with her in a pink tutu and him in sequins and tights...until she ends up in fringed trousers for a slinkier jazz version. The Champions get "It Happens Every Time" in a simpler world surrounded by bars to glide around. It ends in the theater, with Ted and the chosen lady singing their heart out to "Applause Applause" surrounded by a striking pink and black set.

Trivia: Wood eventually left MGM for stage work, including as a dancer at Radio City Music Hall. She later appeared in the infamous X-rated film Deep Throat under the name Dolly Sharp. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the derivative plot feels like MGM just re-wrote and heavily updated it's 1941 hit Ziegfeld Girl and threw in a happier ending for one of the characters. This isn't anything you haven't seen before, going back to the dawn of sound. Second, while most of these people are wonderful dancers, Kaznar and Reynolds are the only ones who are really up to some of the histrionics later in the film when the women learn who makes it and who doesn't. The Champions are charming but not much more than that. You can understand why the failure of this movie ended any ideas MGM had of making them huge stars ala Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. 

The Big Finale: Dance aficionados and fans of Donen or any of the stars involved will want to check this one out for the delightful routines alone.

Home Media: The remastered Warner Archives DVD is currently out of print, but it can be found pretty easily on streaming and through used venues. 

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Rhapsody In Blue

Warner Bros, 1945

Starring Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, and Charles Coburn

Directed by Irving Rapper

Music by George Gerswin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin and others

This week, we celebrate Warner Bros' hundredth anniversary with two of their biggest - in every sense of the word - musicals. Gershwin died in 1937, but his legacy burned brighter than ever, thanks to recordings, revivals of his most popular shows, and his film musicals. His story remained so popular and well-known that Warners made him the topic of their second big musical biopic after Yankee Doodle Dandy. They recruited stage actor Alda to play Gershwin and got several big names, including Al Jolson and Gerswin's real-life friend Oscar Levant, to appear as themselves. How does this idealized version of Gershwin's life and career look nowadays? Let's begin on the streets of New York, as the young George Gershwin watches a piano being delivered to his family's tenement home...one that would change his life...and find out...

The Story: The piano was originally meant for George's older brother Ira (Herbert Rudley), but George takes to it like a duck takes to water. Music becomes George's (Alda) obsession and reason for living as he grows older. He tries playing the piano in vaudeville and for a song plugging business, but walks out both times. He meets sweet Julie Adams (Leslie) at the song plugging business, and is encouraged when she sings his song "Swanee." They manage to get his song to producer Max Drefus (Coburn), who finally publishes it.

Many more songs follow. George convinces Ira to add his witty lyrics in the early 20's. They first add songs to revues like The George White Scandals. George is excited to get his one-act opera featuring black characters, Blue Monday, in the Scandals, but the producers quickly drop it when it proves too dark for audiences. He has more luck getting his symphonic jazz piece "Rhapsody In Blue" played in concert with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (themselves) and writing a concerto with cranky pianist Oscar Levant (himself). 

On a trip to Paris, George meets attractive painter and socialite Christine Gilbert (Smith). They hit it off, and she encourages him to try painting. He loves her, but his first love will always be music. Christine returns to Paris when she realizes she can't compete with his work, and Julie turns him away. He finally throws himself into turning Blue Monday into the jazz opera Porgy and Bess. He's been having blinding headaches and smelling strange things for a long time, though, but he never dreams those terrible headaches might be fatal...

The Song and Dance: Alda's decent performance anchors this drama of a man who may dally with the ladies, but whose true love is music. Rosemary DeCamp and Morris Carnovsky also do well as his parents, her worried about her boys, him a dreamer who tinkers with gadgets he'll never patent. Levant has some funny moments as well, notably a line taken from real-life about George falling in love with himself. The cameos from Al Jolson, Whiteman, and Levant help give the film more of an anchor to a time and place than the decidedly modern costumes and sets do.

Favorite Number: Leslie (dubbed by Sally Sweetland) gets the first full number as she performs "Swanee" for George. Al Jolson gives it a much better hearing onstage in his own bombastic style. Leslie also joins in for a charming "S'Wonderful" with the chorus in lovely gowns and hats and parasols trimmed with sunflowers. Real-life vaudeville dancer Tom Patricola leads Leslie through "Somebody Loves Me" with the two of them dancing in bold stripes and short frilly skirts while in the middle of a giant Valentine heart. We get a montage of chorus numbers from the Scandals, including "Drifting Along with the Tide" and "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise," along with the title number from "Lady Be Good." 

Blue Monday features dancers from the Ballet Russes performing two songs from the actual opera, "Has Anybody Here Seen Joe?" and "I'm Gonna See My Mother" in a crude if dramatic dance sequence. Gorgeous black singer and pianist Hazel Scott performs some of Gershwin's biggest hits in a Paris nightclub, including "I Got Rhythm," "Fascinating Rhythm," "Clap 'Yo Hands," and "The Yankee Doodle Blues." George (dubbed by Levant) plays "Bidin' My Time" on his return from Paris as his friends sing along. Alda and Levant have a hilarious duet to the domestic spoof "Mine" from the stage flop Let Them Eat Cake. Anne Brown, who originated the role of Bess in Porgy & Bess on Broadway, sings "Summertime" in the sequence representing that show. Leslie performs his early talkie hit "Delicious" at a nightclub later, when Gershwin seeks Julie out.

Three of George's biggest symphonic hits are played in their near-entirety. "Rhapsody In Blue" and "Cuban Overture" are just Gerswin playing with reactions from the audience and, in the case of "Cuban Overture," shots of the orchestra getting into the Latin rhythms. "An American In Paris" gives us a montage of daily life in Paris, from the Effel Tower to people enjoying lunch in sidewalk cafes. Levant, finally playing for himself, finishes things off with George's Piano Concerto In F before and after his death is announced.

Trivia: Yes, that was Levant dubbing Robert Alda's piano playing. It was stage actor Alda's film debut. Alda never really took to the movies and would return to the stage by 1949. In 1950, he originated the role of Sky Masterson in the first run of Guys & Dolls.

Rhapsody In Blue was actually filmed in 1943, but not released until 1945 so Warners could focus on putting out more patriotic musicals. 

The paintings Christine admired were from Gershwin's actual collection of artwork, loaned to Warners by his family. 

The Catfish Row set seen in the Porgy & Bess sequence is an exact duplicate of the one used in the original Broadway run of the show. 

On one hand, the black makeup on the dancers in Blue Monday is disconcerting, to say the least, especially for audiences nowadays. On the other hand, this is historically accurate - the performers in the original opera apparently were in blackface makeup - and the makeup at least isn't as caricatured as black makeup on white performers usually is in older films. It's just body makeup, no white lips or gloves. 

What I Don't Like: Considering George's eventful and colorful life, I really wish they had done a bit more original with it. While it was true that Gershwin never married, he certainly had many affairs and had no trouble with women. In fact, he was apparently a playboy and womanizer in real-life. Smith and Leslie play fictional love interests created for the film, and neither really have all that much to do. Smith is barely in the film. George's stern old music teacher who dies the night "Rhapsody In Blue" debuts was also fictional, though a composite of George's real teachers - and those real teachers actually encouraged him to write popular music first, then get into more elevated songs. "Swanee" originally debuted as a chorus number in another show before Jolson grabbed it and performed it in his own musical.

Unfortunately, like most of the musical biographies that came after it, you don't really get much of a sense of time passing. Once they get past the World War I era, it pretty much looks like 1943 for the entire film, without a drop of Roaring 20's or Depression-era flavor. You get far more history from the cameos than you do from the sets and costumes.

There's also this movie's length. It's over 2 1/2 hours, and it didn't need to be anywhere close to that. Some of the goofier musical numbers, especially early in the film, and more overt histrionics could have been trimmed with no one the wiser. 

The Big Finale: Overlong, but there's enough great Gershwin music and decent performances to recommend this to fans of classic jazz, Gershwin, or the stately musical biopics of the 1940's and 50's. 

Home Media: On streaming and DVD, the latter in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

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Delicious (1931)

Fox Film Corporation, 1931

Starring Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Raul Roulien, and Virginia Cherrill

Directed by David Butler

Music by George Gerswhin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Sunny Side Up was such a smash, Fox immediately put Gaynor and Farrell into more of the same. High Society Blues was also a hit, enough that despite musicals going out of style later that year, Fox had the  confidence for a third go-around. This time, they recruited no less than George and Ira Gershwin to write the songs and some background scoring for this romance about an immigrant coming to America and the polo player she falls for. How well does this story look now, with immigration once again in the news? Let's begin on the ship, as we witness people from many countries performing songs in their native language while the wealthier first-class passengers watch them, and find out...

The Story: Heather Gordon (Gaynor) is a Scottish lass who first encounters Larry Beaumont (Farrell) when she and Russian immigrant Sascha (Roulien) borrow his piano so Sascha can compose a song for her. Larry's instantly smitten and offers to help her, which doesn't amuse his frigid fiancee Diana Van Bergh (Cherrill) one bit. Meanwhile, Sascha's sister Olga (Manya Roberti) is being courted by Larry's Swedish valet Chris Jansen (El Brendel). 

Heather's horrified when it turns out the uncle she was supposed to live with can't afford to take her in and she'll be sent back to Scotland. She flees Detective O'Flynn (Laurence O'Sullivan) and hides in the stable that houses Larry's horse. It's taken to Larry's mansion, where Chris offers to watch over her. She runs into Larry there and takes off yet again, this time ending up back with Sascha and his family at their cafe. They let her into their act, which works until O'Flynn turns up looking for her. Larry's been  hurt, and she wants to see him, but the jealous Diana initially bars entry. She thinks she has nowhere to turn, but once Chris gets Larry moving, he finally realizes who really cares about him.

The Song and Dance: Some of the "song and dance" here are among the most memorable and creative of the early talkie era. Gaynor struggles to maintain her Scottish accent, but she's otherwise just as adorable here playing a winsome lass who will do anything to stay in America. Roulien is warm and likable as the gifted composer with a crush on Heather, and Roberti has some very funny quips when the girls are on the boat together. Director David Butler once again puts in some of his best work, notably in the big "Melting Pot" and "New York Rhapsody" sequences, with their elaborate effects and effective montages. 

Favorite Number: The movie opens with that series of traditional songs performed by the various ethnic groups on the ship, ending with Roberti's spirited "Oche Chornye." Roulien finally gets the title song on that piano, inspired by how Heather pronounces "Delicious" in her Scottish brogue. Gaynor sings to the camera about her dream lover again, this time hoping that "Somebody From Somewhere" will take her in. "Katinkshcka" is the number at the Russian cafe. Roberti and Mischa Auer want approval from their "dolly" Gaynor, who comes complete with exaggerated Russian costume and big circles on her cheeks. Brendel's "Blah Blah Blah" after Sascha and Heather announce their engagement is a dearly silly spoof of sappy lyrics in love songs.

The big ones here are two extended set pieces, both featuring Gaynor. Heather dreams of her entrance into America, "The Melting Pot." Reporters announce her arrival, the Mayor gives her the key to the city, Uncle Sams swirl around her, and even Mr. Ellis (of Island fame) greet her. "New York Rhapsody," later renamed "Second Rhapsody" in the concert halls, is heard in the finale when Heather flees into the city. This time, she's greeted by a nightmarish medley of images, as men accost her and the shadowy night threatens to swallow her tiny frame. The symphonic music finally reaches its crescendo as, believing she has no other choice, she turns herself in to the police.

What I Don't Like: I'm actually a bit grateful they didn't make Farrell sing this time, but he's otherwise even less interesting. Chemistry or no chemistry, there's really no reason for Larry and Heather to end up together, other than the two were one of Hollywood's most popular acting duos at the time. Frankly, Sascha was a far nicer guy who treated Heather well and was obviously a talented composer to boot. For all of Butler's innovative set pieces, there's just as many arid long shots of people standing around talking. While the Gershwins never wrote a bad score, the music here isn't their absolute best (although "Second Rhapsody" would later get some play in concert halls). 

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of the Gershwins' music or the stars in question. Everyone else will be fine looking up the amazing "Second Rhapsody" number separately.

Home Media: Only on YouTube, in a copy that, for some reason, substitutes weird upbeat instrumental music for "Second Rhapsody." The number can be found elsewhere with restored instrumentation. 

YouTube

Second Rhapsody Sequence

Girl Crazy (1943)

MGM, 1943

Starring Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Nancy Walker, and Rags Ragland

Directed by Norman Taurog and Busby Berkeley

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

We leave New York and head out west for Mickey and Judy's last full film together. By 1943, Garland and Rooney were among MGM's top stars. Garland was gunning for more adult roles, and Arthur Freed wanted to remake the classic Gershwin stage musical after MGM acquired the rights in the late 30's. It's a bit different than the other Judy/Mickey movies in several ways, starting with the western college setting replacing the barns, backyards, and Broadway. It's also the second Broadway adaptation they appeared in after Babes In Arms. How close to the original show is this? Let's start in New York, as college playboy Danny Churchill (Rooney) goes out on the town with two luscious ladies, and find out...

The Story: Danny's wealthy newspaper owner father Danny Sr. (Henry O'Neil) is incensed when his son's antics with nightclub chorus girls land on the front pages of his own publications. Hoping to avoid more of such shenanigans and get him to focus on his schoolwork, he sends him to the all-male Cody College in Arizona. Danny manages to meet and fall for the only girl in the area, postmistress Ginger Gray (Garland), on his way there, but she dismisses him as a useless Easterner. 

She's right at first. He can't ride a horse, won't get up early, and thinks the other students' cowboy abilities are silly. He starts to change his tune when Ginger finally starts to return his interest. Things are finally starting to look up for Danny when the Governor announces the college may close due to lack of interest. He and Ginger come up with the idea for a big western rodeo and a Queen of the Rodeo pageant...but that means there will be more girls at the college, and Ginger will have more competition for Danny...

The Song and Dance: The Broadway pedigree, terrific Gershwin music, and a unique modern western-meets-High School Musical plot makes all the difference here. Helps that, unlike with Babes In Arms, they kept almost the entire original Broadway score. Location shooting at a real dessert ranch in California adds a great deal of authenticity to the western setting. Garland may have been overworked and over-medicated during filming, but it doesn't show in her delightfully sarcastic performance. Here, we come full circle - Rooney is now officially chasing her and showing her what he can do, but she's not buying. He's having a great time, especially trying to ride a horse during a camping trip. Rags Ragland actually puts in one of his best performances as the kindly cowpuncher who befriends Ginger and Danny.

Favorite Number: June Allyson channels her inner Merman to demand Danny and various sugar daddies "Treat Me Rough" at the nightclub. It gets even funnier when Danny ends up onstage and the chorus girls shove him around. Garland and the cowboys are "Bidin' My Time" in a laid-back routine during the campout. Danny asks Ginger "Can You Use Me?" when they're driving back to the college, literally climbing all over her jalopy while she's trying to drive. The cleaned-up cowboys tell Ginger at her birthday that there's no one like "Embraceable You" as they all want to dance with her at once. Danny joins Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra for a wild piano solo to the only additional song, "Fascinating Rhythm."

The film's two best numbers are at the end. Garland puts in a gorgeous performance of "But Not For Me" after she loses Queen of the Rodeo and thinks Danny's abandoned her and the college. We end with that massive version of "I Got Rhythm" that Berkeley and Garland feuded over during filming. You'd never know how much trouble that number caused. It's a literal blast, with Garland and Rooney dancing with multitudes of cowboys and cowgirls and running under the girls' ribbons as the boys set off their guns. 

Trivia: Film debuts of June Allyson and Richard E. Strickland (as Danny's rival at the college). 

Berkeley was fired after pushing the dancers too hard and feuding with Garland during the "I Got Rhythm" number. He was replaced by Norman Taurog; Charles Walters did the remaining numbers and appeared as a dancer. 

The original Broadway show debuted in 1930, with Ginger Rodgers in Garland's role and Ethel Merman as a performer who also comes out west. The pit orchestra alone included such later notables as Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden, and ironically, Tommy Dorsey. It came back to Broadway in 1992 in a heavily revised version, Crazy for You, that was an equally big hit. Neither has been seen on Broadway since, though the original turned up as off-Broadway concerts in 2001 and 2009. 

Remake of the 1931 Wheeler and Woosley musical by the same title. Would be remade in 1965 as Where the Boys Meet the Girls.

What I Don't Like: While this is a little bit more mature than Garland and Rooney's previous romps in the big city and suburbs, the story can still come off as a little cliched, especially if you've seen other musical college stories like Good News. Wish Nancy Walker, as Garland's mouthy cousin, had more to do. MGM never did figure out what to do with her. And why did they change Danny from being sent to a dude ranch to a western college? Wanted to go for the Good News vibe, or just thought Rooney looked a little too young to be running ranches? 

The Big Finale: Terrific numbers, a great Gershwin score, and some nice performances make this the best of the four Garland-Rooney movies. Highly recommended for fans of them or the MGM musicals of the 1940's. 

Home Media: Easy to find in all major formats; the solo discs are from the Warner Archives. It's currently on HBO Max with a subscription.

DVD

DVD - The Mickey & Judy Collection

DVD - TCM Greatest Classic Legends: Rooney & Garland

Blu-Ray

HBO Max

A Star Is Born (1954)

Warner Bros, 1954

Starring Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, and Charles Bickford

Directed by George Cukor

Music and Lyrics by various

Garland hadn't done a movie since her aborted attempt at Royal Wedding in 1950. This was advertised as her comeback after she focused on a series of concert tours. Warners threw everything they had and more into this huge production, from authentic location shooting in LA to tons of costumes and three large-scale musical numbers for Garland as the singer who becomes a star, with British action favorite James Mason as the husband whose popularity eclipses as hers rises. How does this massive and troubled production look now, after two more remakes have come and gone on the big screen? Let's start at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, where movie star Norman Maine (Mason) is late for his appearance in a charity show, and find out...

The Story: Esther Blodgett (Garland) manages to bail Maine out of a jam when he drunkenly disrupts a number she's performing with the orchestra during the show and she makes it look like part of the act. He goes to see her sing at a club, and impressed by her talent, offers to get her a screen test. Unfortunately,  he can't remember where she lives, and she thinks he's joking with her. They reconnect after he hears her singing in a TV commercial and finally gets her that test. She lands a small role under the name Vicki Lester, then a bigger one in a major musical when studio head Oliver Niles (Bickford) finally hears her. 

She's a smash success, with the filmgoing public and with Norman. They get married, but Norman's life of drinking and carousing is starting to take its toll. His movies aren't making the money that they did, and studio publicity man Matt Libby (Carson) is tired of covering up his shenanigans. Norman is more devastated than he'll admit when the studio drops his contract. He disrupts his wife's acceptance of an Academy Award and winds up in jail after he goes on a binge when Matt says he's living on Esther's money. Esther thinks she can help him, but Norman doesn't want to be saved. He does want his wife to continue the work she loves, and making sure the public sees not only her incredible talent, but that she remembers how he felt about her.

The Song and Dance: Garland made a sensational comeback and earned her Oscar nomination as the singer who loves her career, but wishes she could get her husband to love himself more. Mason more than matches her as the washed-up star who can't handle that his career is in decline or that he's perceived to be riding on his wife's coattails. The supporting cast also rises to the occasion, with Carson the stand out as the caustic studio publicity manager who is tired of trying to get Norman to behave. Warners' unstinting production showed in those huge, detailed sets for Norman and Esther's home and the shooting at real locations in and around LA and Hollywood. 

Favorite Number: We open with the dance routine that Norman blunders into, "Gotta Have Me Go With You." Garland pours so much raw emotion into the big Ira Gershwin-Harold Arlen torch song "The Man That Got Away," you understand why Norman was impressed (and why it later become one of her most-performed standards). The long "Born In a Trunk" number, filmed by Roger Edens after the rest of the movie was finished, echoes the scrapbook of her life Esther showed Norman earlier and Garland's own rise to success, making use of the songs "Swanee," "I'll Get By," "The Black Bottom," "Melancholy Baby," and the Rogers and Hart standard "You Took Advantage of Me" as Garland goes from child in a vaudeville act to stage stardom. 

Two other long ensemble numbers anchor the second half. "Lose That Long Face" has newsgirl Garland dressed in a straw hat to dance with two kids and a group of pedestrians as she encourages them to dance away a rain storm. Garland is a one-woman tour guide in her own living room as she describes her big "Someone at Last" world tour number to an amused Mason, with her playing everything from can-can dancer to African game hunter. 

Trivia: The movie premiered at almost 3 hours. Warners, afraid they wouldn't sell as many tickets at that length, cut nearly 40 minutes. It was restored in 1983, but they still couldn't find a few minutes of footage. That's why there's two sequences in the first half, notably when Esther is a carhop and Norman is looking for her, where you see still photographs instead of actual film. 

Among the leading men considered were Humphry Bogart, Cary Grant (who turned it down), Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Richard Burton, and Lawrence Olivier. 

Garland and Mason were nominated for Oscars; neither won. 

What I Don't Like: Warners does have a point about the length. This movie is just too darn long, especially for a relatively intimate melodrama. This did not need to be three hours. Of the extended numbers, "Born In a Trunk" fits thematically and "Someone at Last" shows Esther and Norman happy at home, but "Lose That Long Face" isn't really necessary to the plot other than showing Esther at work. 

The Big Finale: Necessary for fans of Garland, Mason, or the big musicals of the 50's and 60's if they have time on their hands. 

Home Media: Easy to find in all formats; Blu-Ray is Warner Archives. HBO Max has it with a subscription. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

HBO Max

Election Day Special - Of Thee I Sing

CBS, 1972

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

Directed by Roger Beatty, Dave Powers, and Dick Hall

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

YouTube

Happy Columbus Day! - Where Do We Go from Here?

20th Century Fox, 1945

Starring Fred MacMurray, June Haver, Joan Leslie, and Gene Sheldon

Directed by Gregory Ratoff

Music by Kurt Weill; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be on hiatus for vacation from October 13th through October 18th. Regular reviews will resume the 19th...which is why you'll be getting an extra review this week to make up for it. 

German songwriter Kurt Weill didn't have much luck in Hollywood. His three major hits of the late 30's and early 40's - Lady In the Dark, One Touch of Venus, and Knickerbocker Holiday - came to the screen without most of his music. Still determined to go Hollywood, Weill joined Ira Gershwin (who worked with him on Lady In the Dark) and screenwriter Morrie Ryskind to create this one-of-a-kind wartime fantasy. Let's head to a USO canteen in the Bronx to find out just how unique this World War II fairy tale is...

The Story: Bill Morgan (MacMurray) wants to be a soldier to impress USO hostess Lucilla Powell (Haver), but he's been rejected by every branch. He find a genie (Sheldon) in a bottle left at a scrap drive who gives him three wishes. He wishes to be in the army...and lands in the American Army at Valley Forge. George Washington (Alan Mowbray) recruits him as a spy, but he's almost shot by the Germans as a traitor. His request to be in the Navy takes him to Columbus (Fortunio Bonanova), whose crew he convinces not to mutiny. He heads to New York, only to buy Manhattan from an enterprising Native chief (Anthony Quinn). The Dutch residents don't believe him and toss him in jail. If he can't stop the ancestor of his sweetheart Sally (Leslie) from getting married and do a prison break fast, he may never be born or join the Armed Forces! 

The Song and Dance: I give these folks credit for attempting something totally different. There's no other musical out there quite like this one. MacMurray does better than you might think as the poor guy whose desire to fight for his country and impress a pretty girl lands him in some sticky situations. Look for Herman Bing as the German officer who leads the "Rhineland" number and the local farmer Katrina is to marry in the Dutch sequence. The Technicolor costumes and settings still look pretty decent too, occasionally a bit saturated due to a different Technicolor stock, but not that bad. 

Favorite Number: Bill wonders how "All at Once" a guy like him could love a vivacious girl like Lucilla as he trips and tumbles amid piles of dirty dishes in the USO kitchen. Lucilla and the hostesses do a big chorus number at the USO to raise "Morale" for the soldiers. While Bill yammers on about all the wonderful things that will be discovered in the future, Sally's ancestor Prudence and the chorus at Valley Forge think the important thing is what happens "If Love Remains." Lucilla's ancestor Gretchen leads the German soldiers through the rousing "Song of the Rhineland" at the beer hall. 

The big one here is that operatic sequence. "The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria" has Columbus arguing with his crew over whether the world is round or not, and Bill convincing them that finding pretty girls at Cuba is more important than mutiny. 

Trivia: There was a fourth historical sequence set in the Wild West with Roy Rogers, but it was apparently cut, along with a musical number for the Native/Manhattan Island segment. 

MacMurray went on to marry June Haver in the early 50's. 

What I Don't Like: Yeah, this is one bizarre musical. A genie helps a guy out by making him a soldier throughout American history? Talk about strange. Like its hapless hero, it never seems to have found it's place or its audience. It's an ultra-patriotic wartime romp...released just a few weeks after the Germans surrendered and the war in Europe ended. Weill's music isn't nearly as memorable as his trio of 40's stage hits, and Haver and Leslie come off as bland and interchangeable in dull roles. 

The Big Finale: This is another one people seem to either think is a lost gem, or just don't quite understand. If you love MacMurray, Weill's other work, or wartime musicals, it's worth checking out at least once for the novelty factor alone. 

Home Media: Never available on video, it finally debuted via the 20th Century Cinema Archives made-on-demand DVD collection in 2012. 

DVD

The Barkleys of Broadway

MGM, 1949

Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, and Billie Burke

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Harry Warren and George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

MGM originally intended to reunite Astaire and Judy Garland in this movie after the success of Easter Parade, but Garland's ongoing problems caused her to drop out. Rogers came in at the last minute. That makes this the the last of the ten movies she and Astaire made together...and one that hit a little close to home, so to speak. How does the story of married dancers who split when the wife wants to do drama look today? The best way to answer that is to go right into our very first number over the credits and see the most famous dancing pair in Hollywood history in action...

The Story: Dinah (Rogers) and Josh (Astaire) Barkley are the toast of New York in their hit show Manhattan Down Beat, but Dinah's tired of Josh criticizing her acting and taking credit for both their successes. She's flattered and interested when French playwright Jacques Barrendout (Jacques Francois) suggests she could be a wonderful dramatic actress. Dinah tries to keep Josh from figuring out her new interest, but he finds the script for Jacques' play and jumps to conclusions. She finally leaves him and the show, but is too nervous to do well in rehearsals. After their grumpy friend Ezra (Levant) tries to help, Josh steps in, playing Jacques on the phone to give her acting tips. It works too well, and now Josh wonders if he's lost his wife and favorite partner for good.

The Song and Dance: Astaire and Rogers have as much fun here as they did the decade before at RKO, with the benefit of MGM's unstinting production. The color in the copy at TCM is glowing, and the costumes are gorgeous, especially Rogers' gowns. It's interesting that the story was originally intended for Garland and Astaire. Rogers gave up doing musicals briefly in the early 40's to focus on drama and get away from her Astaire films, and was a success at it...but she too ultimately returned to musicals.

Favorite Number: We start right off with Fred and Ginger doing what they do best as the credits roll over "The Swing Trot," a big chorus routine with them tapping in the thick of it. Josh tells Dinah "You'd Be Hard to Replace" at their home. They have fun "Bouncin' the Blues" and challenging each other to a delightful duet at rehearsals. "My One and Only Highland Fling" spoofs Scottish courtship as Astaire and Rogers attempt bad accents and swirl around in plaid kilts. They try to convince Ezra that a "Weekend In the Country" would be fun, but he's a creature of the city and is having none of it. Astaire dances a duel with shoes that tap on their own in the nifty special-effects-laden "Shoes With Wings On."

Astaire and Rogers reprise "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from Shall We Dance, this time doing a graceful and thoughtful pas de deux to it as Josh believes he's lost Dinah to drama and Jacques for good. Of all the numbers, it most recalls their beautiful duets from the films at RKO, with their elegant steps and fluid motion.

What I Don't Like: First of all, why not wait until after the credits for "The Swing Trot?" We can barely see it, and it's one of the best numbers in the film. (MGM finally rectified this by showing the number without the credits during That's Entertainment III.) Second, the supporting cast isn't nearly as much fun as their RKO films. Billie Burke is all right as the dithery arts supporter, but Levant can come off as pushy and annoying, and Francois is so dull, you wonder why Dinah's mesmerized by him. And that story can be pretty fluffy at times, despite its relation to the stars' careers.

The Big Finale: The musical numbers alone are enough to make this a must-see if you love the Astaire-Rogers movies or musicals of the 1940's. 

Home Media: Like all the Astaire-Rogers films, it's easily found on DVD and streaming; the DVD is currently released by the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Shall We Dance (1937)

RKO, 1937

Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, and Eric Blore

Directed by Mark Sandrich

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

With their last three movies having been among the biggest hits of the mid-30's, RKO went all-out for their next vehicle. They enlisted the Gershwins, who rarely worked in Hollywood, and went all out with enormous Art Deco sets and glittering costumes. Pitting jazz and pop against classical music was all the rage in 30's. The popularity of jazz, swing, and other forms of pop music began to supersede older musical forms, to the frustration and disappointment of those who championed those forms. How does this battle look in Fred and Ginger's breezy world? Let's begin with a ballet class accompanied by one of Gershwin's symphonic pieces and find out...

The Story: Petrov, aka Pete Peters (Astaire), has passed himself as a Russian ballet dancer. What he really wants to do is blend tap and ballet under his own name, but he's the star of a company owned by fuddy-duddy Jeffery Baird (Horton). He falls hard for a photo of jazz dancer Linda Keene (Rogers), but she's put off by his "Petrov" persona. He finally arranges to meet her onboard an ocean liner with his own name and personality. Linda's beginning to like him, until journalists on the boat get photos of them, jump to the wrong conclusions, and claim they're married. 

Linda's horrified, but her manager Arthur Miller (Jerome Cowan) thinks the idea is wonderful publicity. Linda's fiancée Jim Montgomery (William Brisbane) would disagree. Fed up with being hounded over the scandal, Pete and Linda decide to get married, and then divorced. They start to fall for each other and decide that calling the whole thing off isn't a good idea...until it turns out Pete has a fiancé (Ketti Gallan) of his own.

The Song and Dance: This wasn't a huge hit at the time, but nowadays, it has one of the most enduring scores from any Astaire-Rogers movie. Almost every song here is a standard, and two of Gershwin's background music and instrumental pieces turn up in concert halls occasionally, too. The Art Deco sets here are a marvel, especially the massive boiler room setting for "Slap That Bass" and the mirror finale with the many dancing Gingers. Blore and Cowan have the most fun of the supporting cast as the fussy butler who has a hard time keeping up with who's married and who isn't and the slick manager who wants to get the most publicity he can out of the marriage mix-up.

Favorite Number: Astaire sings "Slap That Bass" with Dudley Dickerson and the black workers in the oddly pristine Art Deco boiler room, his quick taps done in time to the rhythm of the boiler machinery. "They All Laughed" brings the two together in a nightclub, first with Fred spoofing his ballet reputation, then together as they swirl around the floor and end up on a piano. 

They insist "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" while doing a delightfully goofy tap dance on roller skates in the park. The Oscar-nominated ballad "They Can't Take That Away From Me" was a personal favorite of Rogers and Astaire, perfectly accompanying their departure from the boat when they think they're getting a divorce. The title number is the big mirrors routine, with Astaire pursuing Rogers imitators in masks...until the real thing decides to dance back into his life.

What I Don't Like: As with most of the Astaire-Rogers vehicles, the plot is pretty much piffle. Cecil isn't the only one who may get confused by who's engaged to whom and who's married to whom and who isn't after a while. It's also a bit more abrasive than some of their films; Arthur's lucky Linda and Pete didn't slap him silly for messing around with both their lives. 

The Big Finale: A must-see if you're a fan of the Gershwins or the stars for the musical numbers alone.

Home Media: As with all the Astaire-Rogers films, it's easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

A Damsel In Distress

RKO, 1937

Starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen

Directed by George Stevens

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

By the late 30's, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were popular enough for RKO to split them into separate vehicles. Fred's first movie without her is a loose adaptation of a P.G Wodehouse novel from 1919, about a veddy British noblewoman who accidentally ends up in a cab with an American performer, leading half her household and his press agent and secretary to believe she's in love with him. How does this English story work with its American music and sensibilities? Let's begin with the staff at Totney Castle deciding who will pick the eventual beau for Lady Alyce (Fontaine) and find out...

The Story: Jerry Halliday (Astaire) is an American performer traveling through England with his press agent (Burns) and secretary (Allen). He meets Alyce when she ducks into his taxicab while on her way to wait for her real American lover. Albert the young footman (Harry Watson) is convinced that Jerry's the man she loves and asks him to come to the castle. The butler Keggs (Reginald Gardiner) has his money on another suitor and is just as determined to keep Jerry out. Albert manages to sneak Jerry upstairs during a castle tour. Later, Jerry joins Alyce in the Tunnel of Love, but not only does he push too far with her, he doesn't realize her father (Montagu Love) is the head of the castle. It takes a ball at the castle to bring the lovers together and reveal the misunderstandings that separated them.

The Song and Dance: Astaire, Allen, and Burns have a wonderful time romping through some truly creative numbers. The songs may be one of the Gershwins' best film scores; it certainly produced some of their best-known hits, including "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "Things are Looking Up." Nice supporting cast, too, with Gardiner and Watson as the servants who stir things up with their wager, Love as Alyce's down-to-earth nobleman father, and Constance Collier as her stuffy Aunt Caroline. This is also one of the rare movies where George and Gracie get more to do in the script besides a few supporting bits, including Gracie getting an odd romance of her own with the castle orchestra leader (Ray Noble). 

Favorite Number: We kick off with "I Can't Be Bothered Now." Astaire takes over for a man dancing in the London streets in order to avoid being chased by a bobby, and has a wonderful time literally dancing on the pavement. George, Gracie, and Fred do a goofy dance with whisk brooms (one which Burns and Allen apparently taught Astaire) at the inn where they're staying in "Put Me to the Test." "Things are Looking Up" when Astaire leads Fontaine through a dance around and behind the trees and flora in her family's garden (to masks her limitations as a dancer). Astaire shows twice how it's "Nice Work If You Can Get It," first with the choir at the party, then later in a fast-stepping drum and tap solo.

The big one here is "Stiff Upper Lip." Astaire, Burns and Allen dance this one in a massive Art Deco funhouse, complete with them wiggling in front of wavy mirrors, tapping around moving floors and sidewalks, and slipping down steep slides. It's one of the more creative big chorus numbers I've seen in a 30's movie, and richly deserved its Oscar for Dance Direction in 1937.

What I Don't Like: Fontaine may be more authentically British than Ginger Rogers, but she can't sing or dance worth a darn. She was 19 at the time, and her inexperience shows, especially alongside the much older and more sophisticated Astaire. The story gets very annoying at times, especially with the servants pushing them and pulling them together over a silly bet. You start to wish that Astaire had kicked Alfred and Keggs in the rear long before the end of the movie. 

The Big Finale: Highly recommended for the numbers and music alone if you're a fan of Astaire, Burns & Allen, or the Gershwins and their work. 

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

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Cult Flops - The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

20th Century Fox, 1947
Starring Betty Grable, Dick Haymes, Anne Revere, and Gene Lockhart
Directed by George Seaton
Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

We end Women's History Month with this unusual story of a female typist determined to make it in the man's world of business just as typewriters debuted. The movie didn't do well at the time, but does it have something to say to us now, in a world where more women are taking over men's jobs and pushing for equal rights? Let's head to the Packard Business College in New York City to see their first graduating typist (typwriter) class and find out...

The Story: Cynthia Pilgrim (Grable) graduates at the top of her class and is delighted to take a job at a shipping firm in Boston. The head of the firm, John Prichard (Haymes), believes that the world of business is for men only and turns her away. His Aunt Alice (Revere), however, is an ardent supporter of women's suffrage and tells her nephew to hire Cynthia or else. The men, including office manager Mr. Saxon (Lockhart), make fun of her until she gives them a curt answer back, earning their respect.

Cynthia has less luck winning over the rest of Boston. No boarding house will accept a woman typewriter...except the one owned by Catherine Dennison (Elizabeth Patterson). Dennison specializes in lodgings for "outcasts," artists and musicians whose work gets them turned away by stuffy Bostonites. Cynthia quickly befriends artist Michel Michel (Arthur Shields), poet Leander (Allyn Joslyn), and music teacher Herbert (Charles Kemper), all of whom share her feelings about the stuffy citizens of Boston.

John Prichard, however, has become smitten with her after seeing her attractive legs. He tries to get her out on a date, but she refuses at first, until he agrees to go to a Women's Suffrage meeting. The women, including Alice Prichard, want her to speak for them as a representative of women in the workforce. John continues to press his point, but he can't deter Cynthia from her cause, not even when he takes her to a ball and introduces her to his equally independent mother (Elizabeth Risdon). They get engaged, but call it off when she won't give up her job. Now John has to find a new secretary...and has begun to realize just how much The Shocking Miss Pilgrim's efficiency and common sense has come to mean to him and his buisness.

The Song and Dance: I've never seen a Grable musical quite like this one. For all the comedy with Cynthia's artist buddies, it actually has some fairly serious discussions of what a women is capable of and whether or not they belong in jobs normally held by men. In fact, with women pushing for greater representation in the workplace once again in the news, it may be more relevant now than it was in the late 40's. Grable actually does quite well as the very determined Cynthia, and Elizabeth Patterson and the artist gentlemen are hilarious as her greatest supporters. The Technicolor production and gorgeous costumes add to the lush feel.

I also appreciate that this one ends with Grable running her own business. It doesn't take the obvious route of her giving everything up for him.

Favorite Number: Grable gets the best song from this one, the sprightly "Changing My Tune" after she gets her room and makes her first friends in Boston. The ladies of Boston prove that they're not the frustrated spinsters John thinks they are in the rousing "Stand Up and Fight." Grable and Haymes share three nice duets, "Waltzing Sitting Down" when John's pursuing Cynthia at the ball, "Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?" after the women's suffrage rally, and "For You, For Me, Forevermore" when he asks her to marry him.

Trivia: This started out as a far-more serious story about a suffragist secretary who kills her boss when she shoves him downstairs and goes on trial for murder. The original author was furious that they turned it into a boy-meets-girl musical and criticized the music and the results.

And yes, you read the songwriters correctly. George Gershwin died in 1939, but his brother Ira chose songs they'd written but never used and tailored them to the film.

What I Don't Like: First of all, Haymes is stiff, smarmy, has no chemistry with Grable, and is less believable as a tough sexist businessman than Grable is as a "typewriter." The costumes are lovely but historically inaccurate - bustles were a lot bigger than that in 1874. The movie occasionally waffles on it's premise and whether or not women actually should be in the workplace or not. The Gershwin songs are lovely - the Gershwins couldn't write a bad one - but not as memorable as some of their earlier ones.

Also, if you're looking for one of Grable's more typical legs-and-laughs tropical vehicles, you'll likely be as disappointed as many audiences were in 1947.

The Big Finale: Unique and interesting Grable vehicle is a nice find for fans of her, the Gershwins, or 40's musicals.

Home Media: Alas, this one is out of print on DVD. Streaming is your best bet.

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Cover Girl

Columbia Pictures, 1944
Starring Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Eve Arden, and Phil Silvers
Directed by Charles Vidor
Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

This was one of Rita Hayworth's most popular movies, and one of the biggest hit musicals of the war years. It was also her only chance to star with Gene Kelly, who was on loan from MGM. Columbia rarely went all-out, but they threw everything they had into this one, including Technicolor, lavish sets and costumes, Kern and Gershwin, and Kelly's first chance to choreograph his own dances. Did it pay off? Let's head to a nightclub stage in Brooklyn as the show is about to begin to find out...

The Story: Rusty Parker (Hayworth) is a chorus girl at a nightclub owned by her boyfriend Danny McGuire (Kelly). On a lark, Rusty joins fellow dancer Maurine (Leslie Brooks) in a contest to appear on the cover of Vanity Magazine. Maurine jealously tells her to act goofy around secretary Cornelia Jackson (Eve Arden), who dismisses her. Her boss John Coudair (Otto Kruger) has a different opinion when he sees Rusty dancing at the club. She's a dead ringer for Maribelle Hicks (Hayworth), the dancer he loved and lost 40 years before.

He's so delighted by her dancing, he brings producer Noel Wheaton (Lee Bowman) to see her act. He wants to put her on the cover, but she's reluctant to leave Danny. Not wanting to stand in her way, he starts an argument with her and finally gets her to leave. She does become a hit on Vanity, and later on Broadway. Wheaton's so enamored of her, he wants to marry her...but she can't forget Danny.

The Song and Dance: This one goes the unusual route of cutting between Rusty's attempt to become a star and Danny's desire for her happiness and her grandmother's romance with the young Coudair (Jess Barker). Either way, it's a feast for the eyes, with stunning costumes and some of the most glorious Technicolor cinematography of the era. Kelly finally gets the chance to develop some of the ideas he'd bring back to MGM, from taking out a wall and dancing up and down the street for "Make Way for Tomorrow" to his "Alter Ego Dance" with himself. The supporting cast is just as much fun, including sarcastic Arden as the woman in charge of choosing the new cover girl and Bowman as the dapper producer.

Favorite Number: There's some classics here, starting with "Who's Complaining." Phil Silvers is very glad that Hayworth and the chorus girls are taking over men's jobs in this cute dance routine at the club. "Make Way for Tomorrow" has Kelly, Silvers, and Hayworth romping all over the street, using various items they find around garbage cans to make music. Kelly and Stanley Donen's choreography is inventive and fun, and it's just a treat to watch. "Cover Girl (The Girl on the Cover)" turns from chorus girls (and one literal little girl) highlighting famous magazines to Hayworth coming out of the clouds and dancing down a long, winding ramp with boys in tuxes.

The gorgeous ballad "Long Ago and Far Away" was the hit here, and it gets a romantic number worthy of it too, with Barker and Hayworth (dubbed by Martha Mears) doing a brief but lovely duet. "Alter-Ego Dance" has Kelly literally performing with his "reflection" via special effects that still look pretty good today and foreshadows many ideas and motifs he'd work with in his more elaborate dances at MGM.

Trivia: Supposedly, Kelly's character here inspired his same-named character almost 40 years later in Xanadu. 

Cover Girl made Kelly and Hayworth major stars and encouraged MGM to give Kelly more control over his choreography in his next movie Anchors Aweigh.

What I Don't Like: Like most musicals from the 30's and 40's, this one is fairly lightweight. Silvers can be occasionally annoying, and Danny sometimes comes off as more obnoxious than self-sacrificing. It's not for folks looking for a heavier or more substantial story.

The Big Finale: A sheer delight, with glorious color, some of Kern's best film music, and fabulous numbers. If you're a fan of Kelly and Hayworth or the musicals of the 40's, you'll want to check this one out.

Home Media: DVD or streaming's your best bet here. The Twilight Time limited edition Blu-Ray is expensive.

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Oscar Winners - An American In Paris

MGM, 1951
Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, and Georges Guetary
Directed by Vincent Minnelli
Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Our first two Oscar-winners this week have a lot in common. Both are set in Paris, were made by MGM's famous "Freed unit" during the 50's, star French gamine Leslie Caron, were scored by popular composer-and-lyricist parings, and involve the romance between an older man and a younger woman. American In Paris is the modern-set one; along with taking home the Best Picture Oscar, it won Gene Kelly his only Oscar for his contributions to screen choreography. Does it soar like the dancers in its famous ballet in the finale? Let's head to Paris in the years following World War II and find out...

The Story: After World War II, American Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) stayed on in Paris to pursue his dream of painting. He's basically a starving artist in a tiny one-room apartment over a cafe, but he's happy having coffee and chatting with his buddy, the equally struggling pianist Adam Cook (Levant). Adam introduces him to his friend Henri (Guetary), who speaks eagerly of his new lover, Lise (Caron).

Jerry's career starts to take off when a rich American widow, Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), takes an interest in his work and offers to sponsor an art show for him. She brings him to a bar to meet her fashionable friends, but he's more interested in Lise. He tries dancing with her, with little success; he does better visiting her at the perfume shop where she works the next day. They go on dates and fall in love, but she keeps running off. Meanwhile, Milo rents an art studio for Jerry and says he'll be able to pay her back after his art exhibit. Jerry, however, is still in love with Lise...but he and Henri have no idea that the woman they love is one and the same.

The Song and Dance: As slight as the story is, it's relatively mature for a big Technicolor MGM extravaganza of the 1950's, with Jerry objecting to being kept for his looks rather than his work and Lise insisting that she stays with Henri because her protected her during World War II. Kelly, Caron, and Foch are all quite good as the central lovers, but they're overshadowed by the gorgeous costumes, production design, and cinematography, all inspired by real-life French artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Favorite Number: Gene Kelly has fun with French urchins, teaching them "I Got Rhythm" near a street flower shop. The kids have a great time watching Kelly's energetic tap dance. He also gets a rather sweet number with Levant, Guetary, and the old folks in the cafe in the opening, "By Strauss." In more traditional girls-and-stairs mode, Guetary scores with a flashy "I'll Build a Starway to Paradise." Caron and Kelly do a lovely pas de deux by the Seine to "Our Love Is Here To Stay." Levant's best moment is his dream sequence where he becomes a one-man orchestra - including conductor! - during a performance of the Concerto In F.

By far the most famous sequence from this film - and likely the reason it won Best Picture - is the famous American In Paris Ballet in the finale. Kelly, Caron, and the MGM chorus run through a riot of sound, color, and jazzy ballet, all done with stunning costumes and choreography evoking that Belle Epoque Paris of the early 20th century.

Trivia: That's Noel Neill, Lois Lane in the original TV Adventures of Superman, as the snooty art student who wants to discuss Jerry's paintings with him when he first displays them at Montmatre.

Two stage versions of this show debuted in the late 2000's-early 2010's. The first seems to have been limited to a regional theater at Houston. The second came to Broadway via France in 2015 and was a hit, running over a year.

What I Don't Like: The fine performances and gorgeous production help to mask the fact that the story is slight, and at times, a bit of a bore. Jerry and Lise aren't terribly exciting characters, and Jerry and Milo can both come off as a tad creepy with how they chase younger members of the opposite sex. By the end of the movie, you stop caring who's going to end up with whom and wonder when they're going to make it to that ballet.

The Big Finale: The ballet alone makes this worth checking out at least once if  you're a fan of dance, Kelly, the Gershwins, or Minnelli's work.

Home Media: Look out for the beautifully restored two-disc Special Edition DVD and Blu-Ray; it's also on several streaming platforms.

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