Cult Flops - Darling Lili

Paramount, 1970

Starring Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Jeremy Kemp, and Gloria Paul

Directed by Blake Edwards

Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Our second epic musical this week had an even more troubled production. Andrews was desperate to prove she was ready to be more than a magical nanny or a frivolous flapper. Edwards envisioned her in a small-scale World War I action romance with music, but Paramount had loftier plans. They wanted everything big - big musical numbers for Andrews, big budget, widescreen, elaborate costumes, location shooting in Europe, major leading man Rock Hudson as Andrews' co-star. 

Unfortunately, what they wanted and what Edwards wanted frequently clashed, and shooting the mid-air dogfights in rainy Ireland proved to be expensive and frustrating. Even after all the trouble and expense, Paramount didn't give the movie much publicity when it debuted, and it wound up being one of the biggest flops of the year. Did it deserve that fate, or should it have a second chance at redemption? Let's begin with Lili Smith (Andrews) against a black backdrop as she sings for an audience of London theatergoers and officers and find out...

The Story: Despite her singing sweetheart image, Lili is really a German spy who uses her popularity with the British and American fliers to gain information on their squadrons from them. She's especially interested in handsome pilot Major Bill Larrabee (Hudson) and asks him questions about his squadron, which she passes to her Uncle Kurt Von Ruger (Kemp). As Larrabee continues to court her, Lili finds herself genuinely falling for him. 

Lili's shocked when it turns out "Operation Crepe Suzette," which she believed to be a military plan, is actually a stripper (Paul). She's even more upset when the French send two officers of their own to spy on her and Larrabee, thinking he's the one doing the spying. She frames them and gets them arrested for treason and herself a Medal of Honor. Suzette, however, tells all, forcing Lili and Kurt to flee. Larrabee, however, can't forget his darling Lili, no matter who she is or what she did in the past...and he's not about to let her go down without a fight!

The Song and Dance: At least Paramount spared no expense on the production. The costumes are absolutely stunning, from Andrews' array of period-accurate gowns to the officers' uniforms and the leather jackets and caps on the pilots. That location shooting may have been a headache to film, but it looks lovely on-screen, especially the emerald greens of Ireland. I do give them credit for trying something original, given most musicals in the late 60's and early 70's were stage adaptations. Andrews gives it her all as Lili, even when the script is at its messiest, and Kemp is having his own fun as her slightly smarmy German "uncle."

Mancini and Mercer did come up with a genuinely good score. The haunting "Whistling Away the Dark" deserved its Oscar nomination. I also like "I'll Give You Three Guesses" and Paul's hilarious striptease number "Your Goodwill Ambassador." 

Favorite Number: We open and close with one of the simplest and most striking musical numbers in film history. "Whistling Away the Dark" begins with Lili, luminous in a black gown and diamond jewelry, singing the gorgeous ballad against a black background. Neither version has much to do with the story, but it's still a great way to start. After the theater is bombed, Lili does a medley of the World War I hits "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," "Pack Up Your Troubles," and "Keep the Home Fires Burning." 

Lili sings the cheer-up ditty "Smile Away Each Rainy Day" and the touching ballad "The Girl In No Man's Land" to a crowd of wounded veterans and pilots on leave, including Larrabee. Can-can girls do a lively and racy skirt-raising routine to an instrumental number while Lili is in the cafe with the officers, just before she encounters the very drunk pilot TC. TC insists on her reprising "Tipperary," which turns into a very drunk"Mademoiselle From Armentieres" with flyers hanging off her car on the way home. 

We see two very different versions of "I'll Give You Three Guesses." The first one is traditional and romantic, with Lili in white ruffles swirling around with young men in uniform. After she sees Crepe Suzette (Paul) sing "Your Goodwill Ambassador" in little more than a beaded bikini, she turns the second "Three Guesses" into a far hotter striptease. She and Larrabee join a group of little girls singing on the way home from school at one point. 

Trivia: There's at least two versions of this kicking around. I based my review on the original theatrical roadshow release that's currently at Amazon, but there's a much shorter Director's Cut currently on DVD.

Last full musical with songs by Johnny Mercer.

Andrews and Edwards married during filming. They would remain together until his death in 2010.

Edwards would later use his difficulties making this movie as the inspiration for his 1981 comedy S.O.B (which also featured Andrews). 

The movie went way over-budget, mainly because of those big plane fight sequences that took two years to film in Ireland. 

Oscar-nominated for Best Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Song. 

What I Don't Like: This is another musical with an identity problem. All the tinkering and trouble shows in a movie that has no idea whether it wants to be a war film, a romantic comedy, a mystery, or a sex farce. Hudson can sing well, but he's otherwise at sea in a musical and has no chemistry with Andrews. In fact, he doesn't really have that much to do other than be the love interest for Lili. The comic relief French spies in the second half are totally out of place with the war drama. Their shenanigans really bog the last hour or so down and are unnecessary. 

And yeah, so are the musical numbers. "Whistling Away the Dark" aside, most of them have nothing whatsoever to do with the movie and stop it cold. Edwards originally just wanted a few glimpses of Lili singing, but once again, the studio wanted big...and in this case, big probably wasn't needed. 

The Big Finale: There's some great music and scenery in this movie, and Andrews does her best...but it's mostly a mess. See it for the numbers if you're a fan of Andrews or the big musicals of the late 60's and early 70's. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. The Warner Archives DVD is the director's cut; most streaming sites have the original theatrical roadshow version, including Amazon. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Musicals On TV - High Tor

CBS, 1956
Starring Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews, Nancy Olsen, and Hans Conried
Directed by James Neilson
Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Maxwell Anderson

Musicals were hot on Broadway in the 1950's, and they were equally popular on early television...but most early musicals were usually an hour. Anderson had been interested in turning his 1937 play into a TV musical as early as 1949. In 1955, CBS started the Ford Star Jubilee, an hour-and-a-half anthology of plays and variety shows. High Tor marked their first attempt at an original, made-for-TV musical. Crosby was still a very popular star, on TV, movies, and recordings; Andrews was a fresh-faced British beauty just days away from opening in My Fair Lady. How does this fantasy about a man obsessed with a mountain who falls in love with a ghost look now? Let's head to the mountain High Tor on New York's Palisades and find out...

The Story: Van Van Dorn (Crosby) is a laid-back fellow who would rather enjoy the quiet life on High Tor than hold down a job. His girlfriend Judith (Olsen) is fed up with his refusal to sell the mountain to a company that would strip mine the mountain and leaves him. The real estate agent's partner Skimmerhorn (Lloyd Corrigan) and his son Biggs Jr (Conried) try to scam him to sell for less than the mountain is worth and keep the money for themselves.

Van isn't the only one who doesn't want to sell the mountain. High Tor is home to a group of Dutch ghosts who's ship vanished on the Palisades 300 years before and are still waiting for it to come every night. Lisa (Andrews) is instructed by her husband DeWitt (Everett Sloane) to romance Van and try to get him off the mountain, while he goes after Judith. Lisa does as she told, but doesn't expect to fall for Van instead, and he with her. Meanwhile, a rock slide has stranded not only the real estate agents on the mountain, but a group of bank robbers who turn their money over to them for safekeeping.

The Song and Dance: I was surprised at how charming this is. It didn't have the best reputation then or now, but there's a few gems here. Andrews' youthful beauty and fresh sweetness glows even in the black-and-white copy on YouTube, and she and Crosby work fairly well together. Olsen makes the most of a thankless role as the other woman in Van's life who just wants security, and Corrigan and Conried have a few funny moments when the Dutch sailors get them stuck in a piece of mining equipment and no one will give them food.

Favorite Number: The show kicks off with Bing's salute to the simple life as he explains his feelings about the mountain to Olsen, "Living One Day at a Time." "John Barleycorn" turns up a few times, twice as a rousing drinking number for the Dutch sailors, and later in the film for Crosby as he teases Corrigan and Conried about being stuck. "Once Upon a Long Time Ago" is the big romantic number in the end, first for Andrews as she and Crosby part, then for Crosby after she leaves.

Trivia: Crosby insisted filming this, rather than broadcasting it live - he was supposedly uncomfortable with live television.

This was Julie Andrews' first film appearance.

What I Don't Like: Obviously, this is early TV. Despite it costing 300,000 dollars at the time, the sets and special effects are pretty cheap-looking and dated. That is a set, not a mountain. Bing's not doing anything terribly different from the movies he'd made since the mid-30's, and both women are frankly a little on the stiff side compared to him; Andrews would learn far more about acting doing My Fair Lady.

The Big Finale: Not really a lost gem of early TV, but worth a look once as a curiosity if you love Andrews or Crosby.

Home Media: This is a true rarity, never on DVD or video. As of this entry, it's only found at YouTube.

YouTube

Musicals On TV - Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957)

CBS, 1957
Starring Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Edie Adams, and Ilka Chase
Directed by Ralph Nelson
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

Live television musicals have existed for as long as the medium has, but they were usually adaptations of Broadway shows. Rodgers and Hammerstein were originally approached by NBC to write the first major original TV musical, but switched the project to CBS when they heard that they'd signed Julie Andrews. The duo were eager to work with her after she became a star in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady and filled the cast with mainly Broadway and TV stars. How does the first of three TV versions of this beloved fairy tales look over 60 years later? Let's head to the town square, just as the town crier is about to make a major announcement, and find out...

The Story: Cinderella (Andrews) is a little drudge who lives with her bossy stepmother (Chase) and her two stepsisters, silly Portia (Kaye Ballard) and gloomy Joy (Alice Ghostley). She'd love to go to the ball, but her family would rather she stayed at home and did her many chores. Meanwhile, Queen Maisie (Dorothy Stuckney) wishes her son the Prince (Cypher) would settle down, but he hasn't found a woman who interests him. Cinderella gets her chance to attend the ball from her fairy godmother (Adams), who turns animals and a pumpkin into a coach and her rags into a ball gown. When she arrives, the prince instantly falls in love with her, and they're together the rest of the evening...but she can only stay until midnight. After she leaves behind a glass slipper, the Prince becomes determined to find the foot that fits that shoe.

The Song and Dance: I can understand why Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted Andrews so badly for this role. Even in the fuzzy black-and-white prints currently available, she glows as the servant who gets the chance to show she's more than a mere cinder girl. Chase, Ghostley, and especially the giggling, snorting Ballard are hilarious as her abusive family, and Adams makes an unusually young and friendly fairy godmother. The costumes and sets are quite lovely and lavish for TV in this time period, especially at the ball.

Favorite Number: Andrews has fun singing "In My Own Little Corner" and acting out the lyrics to the song, from her African safari to being glad to be home. She and Adams turn "Impossible/It's Possible" into an adorable woman-to-woman chat before Adams reveals why she's really there. "Ten Minutes Ago" and the waltz at the ball are lovely, with Cypher and Andrews lovely and romantic in their duet. She, Ghostly, and Ballard are very cute as they recall the splendors of the ball in "A Lovely Night."

What I Don't Like: I suspect the only reason for the expanded role of the King and Queen here is because Stickney and Lindsay were major stage stars at the time, having just come off the long-running Life With Father. Their number "Your Majesties (The Royal Dressing Room Scene)," is cute but unnecessary, and has never been used in any other version.

The biggest problem here has less to do with the cast or music and more with the ravages of time. The prints currently available are of the black-and-white kinescopes (early recordings) of  the technical dress rehearsal. They're watchable, but definitely not the best prints in the world or what many people nowadays are used to seeing in their widescreen, 4K specials.

The Big Finale: No matter how bad the print is, this is still a piece of TV history. It was a massive hit at the time, the biggest in US television history, with over 24 million houses watching, and it's still fun to watch today, especially for fans of Andrews.

Home Media: Currently only on DVD via Image Entertainment.

DVD

Cult Flops - Star!

20th Century Fox, 1968
Starring Julie Andrews, Daniel Massey, Richard Crenna, and Michael Craig
Directed by Robert Wise
Music by Noel Coward and others

Our last biography came out at a time when musicals were starting to rapidly fall out of favor with American audiences. Thoroughly Modern Millie managed to get by this the year before with a good cast and a goofy plot, but most Americans barely remembered British stage star Gertrude Lawrence by 1968, let alone cared to see a three-hour film about her. The film was a huge flop in the late 60's, almost on a par with Head...but did it deserve that fate? Let's join Lawrence in a theater to check out a movie about her life and find out...

The Story: We hear both the real and slightly less-real version of the story of Gertrude Lawrence (Andrews), from a newsreel being made about her life in 1940 and from Lawrence herself as she watches it. Lawrence started out in the theater as early as childhood, but by the age of 15, she'd run away to join her father and his wife in an act, touring rough music halls in England and South Africa. She gets into the chorus of famous French producer Andre Charlot's (Alan Oppenheimer) revues, but keeps trying to stand out, which doesn't make her popular with Charlot or the other chorus girls. It does attract Jack Roper (John Collin), the stage manager. He convinces Charlot to make her an understudy and eventually marries her. After she goes on for a star while pregnant and is a success, she and Roper call it quits. She's tired of his drinking; he wants her to stay at home.

She eventually takes up with wealthy Sir Anthony Spencer (Craig), but her romance gets her fired from Charlot's revue and blackballed from the stage when she's caught at a nightclub when she's supposed to be at home sick. Spencer turns her into a lady, but she wants back in with Charlot. Her good friend Noel Coward (Massey) finally convinces his boss to feature her in his new show. She's a smash, and is even bigger in the US. She's so popular, she eventually acquires not one, but three rich suitors.

Gertie, however, is spending her money like water on parties and Roaring 20's frivolity. It all comes crashing down when the onset of the Depression and her own reckless habits leave her totally bankrupt. She works like a horse, appearing in shows during the day and performing in nightclubs at night. She does manage to make her money back, but all the working destroys her already-shaky relationship with her growing daughter Pamela (Jenny Agutter). She gets especially drunk at a party after Pamela won't go on vacation with her and is escorted home by humorless producer Richard Aldrych (Crenna). He and Coward finally convince her to appear in one of her greatest triumphs, the unusual 1941 musical Lady In the Dark; he marries her shortly afterwards, and they remain together until her (unseen) death in 1954.

The Song and Dance: The late 60's were probably a bad time to be releasing any musical film, let alone a three-hour epic about a British stage star of the 1920's. It's generally better-regarded today. Andrews gives a dazzling performance as Lawrence, who spent so much of her life performing, she never quite found the real her under the personas. Massey made such a perfect Coward, he picked up a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. The period-perfect costumes and art direction and nicely done widescreen cinematography also received nods.

By the late 60's, people were ready to see warts-and-all biographies of their favorite stars. Other than changing a few names and combining a few people, this seems to be a fairly accurate reflection of Lawrence's life. It's definitely not as whitewashed as our previous two biographies, with its detailed discussions of her first troubled marriage and her bankruptcy proceedings.

Favorite Number: Andrews has a field day with recreations of some of Lawrence's most famous routines, from the music hall favorite "Berlington Bertie from Bow" to the Gershwins' "Someone to Watch Over Me" from the 1926 show Oh, Kay! "The Saga of Jenny" and "Limehouse Blues" are enjoyable, lavish chorus numbers with choreography by Michael Kid.

My two favorite routines highlight the friendship between Gertie and Noel Coward. It's rare that a musical film cribs a scene from a non-musical play, but the sequence from Private Lives and Andrews' song "Someday I'll Find You" is beautifully elegant and understated. Andrews and Massey come back on later as sailors to have fun with one of Coward's most popular comic songs, "Has Anybody Seen Our Ship?"

Trivia: This movie had even worse problems on release than Head. Once it became apparent that it wasn't going over with audiences in its original form, 20th Century Fox cut it to two hours and changed the title to Those Were the Happy Days. That went over even less well. Thankfully, the original camera negative was spared, and they were able to restore and release the full, uncut version in the early 90's.

What I Don't Like: Maybe they should have left it at two hours. While the shortened version is said to have some gaping plot holes, the movie is just too long and too big. A lot of scenes could have been eliminated, including several of the numbers, with no one the wiser. The last third of the movie drags like crazy between songs, despite some amusing sniping between Andrews and Crenna.

The Big Finale: While it's too bloated to be a masterpiece, it still didn't deserve anything resembling what it got at the box office in 1968. If you're a fan of Andrews, Lawrence, or the epic musicals of the 60's and have time on your hands, this is absolutely worth a look.

Home Media: People complain about the DVD eliminating the intermission and adding a sepia tint to the black-and-white newsreel sequences, along with some improper framing. I have the DVD, and quite frankly, it's not that much of an issue, at least not that the movie is unwatchable. The DVD is currently out of print (I found it at a library book sale), but it's not that expensive online.

DVD

Oscar Winners - The Sound of Music

20th Century Fox, 1965
Starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, and Richard Hayden
Directed by Robert Wise
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

Yes, I know the next musical to win an Oscar was actually My Fair Lady, but I covered that one back in October before I decided on this theme. We're going to skip ahead a year to our next winner. This was one of the biggest musicals of the 60's, in every way possible. It solidified Julie Andrews' status as a major star after the success of Mary Poppins and proved that musicals could still do big business in a changing Hollywood. How does the real-life tale of the Von Trapp Family, singers who fled Austria during World War II, look now? Let's make swooping tracking shot on a certain hill overlooking Salzburg, Austria and find out...

The Story: Maria (Andrews) is supposed to be a novice nun at an Abbey outside of Saltzburg in Austria, but she just can't seem to conform to the church's strict rules. At a loss with what to do with her, the Mother Superior (Peggy Wood) sends her to former naval officer Captain Georg Von Trapp (Plummer), who needs a governess for his seven children. They've driven off other governesses in an attempt to get their frequently-absent father to notice them, but Maria wins them over with her honesty and imagination. She especially becomes friendly with the oldest Von Trapp child, sixteen-year-old Lisel (Charmian Carr), after she helps the girl cover up her outdoor rendevous with a young messanger boy, Rolf (Daniel Truhitte).

The Captain has forbidden both play and music after the death of his wife. When he goes away for a month, Maria introduces the children to both, teaching them how to sing and have fun all over Saltzburg. The Captain is angry that Maria disobeyed him, but his new fiancee Baroness Elsa von Schraeder (Parker) and friend Max Liberman (Hayden) are so enchanted by the children's singing, he ends up encouraging Maria to stay. Maria, however, is quite smitten with the Captain, to the consternation of the Baroness. She tells her that his feelings are mutual. Confused, Maria returns to the Abbey, only to be sent back by the Mother Abbess when she realizes that the young woman is trying to hide her feelings.

Even as they confess their love, the Nazis are marching on Austria, annexing it into Germany. The Captain is against the Nazis and being conscripted into their navy. It'll take a little help from their friends in Saltzburg...including Max and the nuns at the Abbey...to help the Von Trapp Family Singers escape to Switzerland and freedom.

The Song and Dance: What I like about this film (and our previous Oscar winner West Side Story) is the dynamic cinematography. These films inhabit the slums of New York and the majestic Austrian alps in a way seldom seen in musicals. The stunning color and camerawork, including those famous tracking shots in the opening, give this movie a feeling of intimacy. The Von Trapps are a part of their world in a way characters in films, let alone musicals, almost never allow for. Maria takes the kids swimming and boating; we see them dancing and singing in various real-life locations, many of which still exist today.

The script is much better than I remember it (and than most critics give it credit for), especially in the first half, where the emphasis is more on the kids and the triangle between the Baroness, Maria, and the Captain. (I also appreciate how the Baroness bowed out gracefully, instead of prolonging things or fighting.) Andrews, Plummer, and Parker were all excellent, Carr was lovely in "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," and the other kids were adorable.

Favorite Number: The movie almost literally soars whenever it's outside. Andrews' opening rendition of the title song, shot as she twirls around the hills, is iconic today, as is Maria teaching the kids how to sing "Do-Re-Mi" as they frolic across a glowing Saltzburg. Maria and the Captain's "Something Good" in the gazebo in the second half is warm and touching, while Rolf and Lisel's "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" earlier in the same place is too cute. Andrews also has fun performing the holiday standard "My Favorite Things" with the kids during a thunderstorm.

But my favorite song from this show is the gentle ballad "Edelweiss," originally performed by the Captain solo after the kids and Maria do "The Lonely Goatherd." It's such a sweet number, one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best ballads, and Plummer's dubber Bill Lee gives it the right soft sell.

Triva: "Edelweiss" isn't just sentimental for the Captain and the citizens of Austria. It was the last song Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote together. Hammerstein had been diagnosed with stomach cancer;  he died nine months after the opening of the stage show.

Rodgers wrote the movie songs "Something Good" and "I Have Confidence" solo. Some current stage versions of the show will occasionally add them in.

The original Broadway show debuted in 1959, with Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as the Captain. It ran for four years and shared a Best Musical Tony with Fiorello! It was an even bigger hit in London, running for nearly a decade. A Broadway revival in 1998 with Rebecca Luker as Maria and Michael Siberry as the Captain also did fairly well, running a year and a half. There was a live TV version in 2013 and another one in England in 2015.

The movie was the blockbuster film of 1965, running in theaters for over four years. It was the biggest hit film of all time until The Godfather surpassed it in 1972 and remains on the list of all-time top-selling movies today.

There's a lot of historical fudging here. The Captain did hate the Nazis and was supposed to join the German navy, but the family escaped by train to Italy, not by foot to Switzerland, and he and Maria had been married for almost a decade by that point. The real Von Trapp villa was closer to the border to Germany than Switzerland. Max is fictional as well.

What I Don't Like: With Maria and her children still alive then (Georg died in 1946), there's no way this was going to be anything like accurate. A lot of critics in the 60s, and even to this day, deride the film as overly sentimental...and while it's not nearly as treacly as Going My Way, it can get a bit cutesy at times. "The Lonely Goatherd" marionette number is cute and funny, but it seems kind of shoehorned in for no reason other than to use the song and pad the already overlong running time. And yeah, the mood whiplash at the end, from romantic comedy-drama to tense thriller, is a bit much.

The Big Finale: Too sweet? Maybe a little, but it's also beautifully shot and acted, with wonderful songs and some of the most stunning camerawork of any musical film. If you're a musical lover or a fan of Andrews, you owe yourself to check this one out.

Home Media: As one of the most popular films of all time, you can pretty much find this one in any format of your choosing, including many streaming platforms.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime

Musical Documentaries - Broadway: The American Musical

PBS, 2004
Hosted by Julie Andrews
Directed by Michael Kandor
Music by Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, and others

Tonight, we're going to launch a new occasional series. Documentaries and musicals have exploded in popularity in the last decade. People have increasingly turned to non-fiction programming on YouTube and elsewhere for news and information, while the song and dance on shows like America's Got Talent and Dancing With the Stars have reintroduced many viewers to live musical performance. That revival was just beginning when this miniseries covering the history of the stage musical was a major event on PBS in 2004. Is it as entertaining as many of the shows it discusses? Let's join Julie Andrews onstage at the Shubert and New Amsterdam Theaters in New York to find out...

The Story: Julie Andrews hosts six hour-long documentaries covering the history of the American stage musical, featuring interviews with either historians, people who lived through the era (or who knew people who did), and current stage and musical stars. The episodes are peppered with archival footage, stills of shows, song recordings, Tony Awards performances, and in the first three episodes, current stage stars acting as the "voices" of the stars of the early part of the 20th century.

Give My Regards To Broadway: 1893-1927 - We learn about Times Square's humble beginnings as the tenderloin Longacre Square, archetypal Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld and his famous Follies reviews, nervy writer/director/dancer George M. Cohan bringing a truly American sound to the New York stage, Jewish comedienne Fanny Brice, African-American comedian Bert Williams and the early experiences of minorities on Broadway, the Actors Equity strike of 1919, how World War I effected Broadway, and the creation of the first truly integrated musical, Show Boat.

Syncopated City: 1919-1933 - Spread from coast to coast by radio, talking movies, and syndicated news columns, New York's fascinating rhythms captured the heart of America like never before or since with flappers like Marilyn Miller who could look sweet and dance hot, blacks pushing for more of a presence in Shuffle Along, the success of jazzy young songwriters like Rodgers and Hart and the Gershwin brothers, writers and journalists like Walter Winchell creating a new, slangy American vernacular, Cinderella tales of pretty young girls who meet the millionaire of their dreams, and flashy singers like blackface-wearing Al Jolson and comedian Eddie Cantor. It all came crashing down in the early 30's, thanks to the one-two-three punch of vaudeville winding down, talkies causing talent to head west to LA, and the onset of the Depression.

I Got Plenty O' Nuthin: 1929-1942 - The Depression effected millions around the globe, and it hit Broadway especially hard. The difficult times created shows and talents that could never have come out more flush eras, including brassy singer Ethel Merman, bluesy Ethel Waters, and dancers Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Hit shows included George Gershwin's ambitious folk opera Porgy & Bess, the the political satire Of Thee I Sing (which became the first musical to win a Pulitzer), and revues with a social conscious with songs like "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Supper Time," the glamorous comedies of wealthy songwriter Cole Porter, and "Cradle Will Rock," an opera developed by the Federal Theater that was so politically charged, director Orson Welles and producer John Houseman had to have the cast perform it in the seats and boxes of the theater, because the government wouldn't let them onstage. Irving Berlin returns with the all-soldier revue "This Is the Army" as the US enters World War II.

Oh What a Beautiful Mornin': 1942-1960 - Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were looking for new writing partners just as the US became involved in World War II. They turned the dramatic play Green Grow the Lilacs into the dramatic musical Oklahoma!, and turned Broadway on its ear. Oklahoma! was not only the biggest stage hit of the war years, but proved once and for all that the book of a musical could function as more than waits between songs. Their work inspired not only a new generation of songwriters like Frank Loesser, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Jules Styne, and Leonard Bernstein, but brought out some of Irving Berlin's best work in Annie Get Your Gun and encouraged Cole Porter to revive his career with Kiss Me Kate.

Tradition: 1957-1979 - Rodgers and Hammestein were hardly the only songwriters whose work enlivened the Golden Age of the American Musical. Starting with the darkly romantic smash West Side Story, Stephan Sondheim wrote shows like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd that pushed the boundaries of what the musical could do. Songwriters Kander and Ebb and director Harold Prince turned the decadent Caberet and cynical Chicago into brazen commentaries on American life in the mid-20th century. Even as Jerry Herman wrote music for effervescent and brash comedies like Mame and Hello Dolly!, the US was being rocked by cultural upheavals, including New Yorkers leaving a crumbling city for the suburbs, rock music replacing the Broadway sound in the hearts of many young people, and the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement causing a vast generation gap. Shows with up-to-date rock scores like Hair and Grease sought to recapture the imagination of the younger generation, while Jerome Robbins' Fiddler on the Roof and Bob Fosse's shows like Pippin introduced the musical to darker, more integrated dance routines.

Putting It Together: 1980-2004 - After years of decline, New York roared back to life as British producer Cameron Macintosh brought a series of massive London and Paris stage hits to the US. Miss Saigon, Cats, Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera delighted audiences with their spectacle, larger-than-life plots, and gorgeous music. Stephan Sondheim brought out his final shows in the 80's and early 90's, including Sunday In the Park With George, the fairy-tale fantasy Into the Woods, and the daring off-Broadway revue Assassins.

The AIDS crisis of the 1980's cut a large swath through the Broadway community, killing many promising talents, even as the first show about a gay couple, La Cage Aux Folles, debuted. The success of the Disney company with their animated musicals in the 90's inspired them to bring these shows to the stage, beginning with Beauty and the Beast. Their restoration of the New Amsterdam Theater encouraged Times Square to finally clean up its act. Even as Broadway sees a revival with hits like the historical drama Ragtime and the comedy The Producers, the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 suddenly makes all Americans understand just how important Broadway and its productions are to the country's mindset.

The Song and Dance: What I love about this is the sheer amount of archival footage and interviews. Many of these people, especially in the first three episodes, are no longer with us, making the interviews doubly important. Those first three episodes in particular cover parts of history that don't often turn up elsewhere, like the treatment of early minority performers like Bert Williams, the 1919 Actors' Equity strike, and discussions of performers like Brice and Miller who aren't as well-known today. Some of that footage was hard to find until the rise of YouTube and other internet video streaming sites.

What I Don't Like: As comprehensive as this is, I wish it had gone even further into its subject. I would have liked to have heard more about the American operettas of the 10's and 20's and how they helped shape the modern integrated musical, for instance, or about German songwriter Kurt Weill, whose groundbreaking work included the 40's hits Lady In the Dark and One Touch of Venus. I also wish they'd found better footage - some of it was grainy or washed out, or just not in good shape, even for later shows.

Wish PBS would consider updating this. I'd love to see another segment covering more recent musicals, discusing the rise of hits like Hamilton, Into the Heights, Memphis, Dear Evan Hansen, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Fun House, Next to Normal, Come From Away, and even Disney's Frozen and stage version of Newsies.

The Big Finale: Even with the above caveats, what they do include is absolutely fascinating. If you love musicals, especially stage musical, and want to learn more about their history, this is a great place to start.

Home Media: Wildly out-of-print and unavailable for streaming at present - the Blu-Ray is slightly cheaper than the insanely expensive DVD set. Your best bet may be to look for this one used, like I did.

Blu-Ray

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Universal, 1967
Starring Julie Andrews, James Fox, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Channing
Directed by George Roy Hill
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen and others; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn and others

I'm reviewing this movie tonight in honor of Carol Channing, one of the most beloved stars of the Broadway stage and a true original, who passed away on Tuesday. It's one of the very few movies she made. Is this wacky Roaring 20's-set vehicle for Andrews and Moore a thoroughly modern delight, or will it be as old-fashioned as some of it's more melodramatic plot points? We'll head to New York in 1922 and see if we can find out...

The Story: Millie Dilmont (Andrews) is a thoroughly modern flapper who is determined to become a secretary to a handsome and wealthy boss and marry him. She meets pretty and sweet Miss Dorothy (Moore) at her boarding house, under the watchful eye of Mrs. Meers (Beatrice Lille). Unlike Millie, Dorothy remains lacy and old-fashioned,  not to mention a bit ditzy. Millie takes her to a dance, where they meet charming Jimmy (Fox), who claims he's a paper-clip salesman. Millie likes him, but she still wants to go through with her gold-digging plans, especially after she lands a job with the stunningly masculine Trevor Grayden (John Gavin).

Millie's surprised and thrilled when Jimmy takes her and Dorothy to Long Island to a party held by glamorous and wacky Muzzy Van Hosmere (Channing). Muzzy's taking classes from every good-looking teacher in Long Island and throws huge shindigs to show off her new talents. Millie's falling for Jimmy, until she sees him with Dorothy in her bedroom. She does reconcile with Dorothy, but remains hostile to Jimmy and continues to chase an oblivious Trevor.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Meers is using the boarding house as a front for a white slavery ring, kidnapping girls with no families and selling them to her Chinese agents (Jack Soo and Pat Moriata), and she has her sights set on Dorothy. It'll take all of Millie's ingenuity to rally the guys to help her rescue her friend...and prove that there's more to being "thoroughly modern" than chasing your boss and dressing the part.

The Song and Dance: Andrews, Fox, and Moore are all having a grand time with the satire; Andrews in particular is good as the secretary who learns that being "man's equal" means more than just landing a rich husband. Channing is something to behold. She's so over-the-top, she's on the other side and still going. She and Lille add a great deal to the camp value, along with some of the stranger antics from Soo and Moriata. (I give Lille credit for doing as well as she did. She was in the first stages of Alzheimer's during filming and, according to Andrews, had to be frequently prompted on-set and seemed confused.)

Extra points for the spot-on sets and costumes. I love how someone did their homework on women's clothes in this era. Working-class Millie realistically wears the same three or four dresses with different cute accessories throughout the movie, while rich Miss Dorothy wears a different outfit in almost every scene.

Favorite Number: Channing really gets to show her range in "Jazz Baby," which she performs with the orchestra at her mansion, taking over each of their instruments and dancing on a xylophone. She also has a death-defying routine with an acrobatic troupe to the Gershwin standard "Do It Again." The opening title song is performed by Andrews to a montage of her discarding her old-fashioned hair and clothes, along with the first of the hilarious silent-movie cards seen occasionally during the movie that show what Millie's really thinking. "The Tapioca," the big chorus number at the Friendship Dance that Jimmy invents on the spot, is the best of the larger dance routines.

Trivia: A stage version debuted on Broadway in 2002. It was almost as big of a hit as the original film and made a star out of its Millie, Sutton Foster.

Producer Ross Hunter originally wanted to buy The Boy Friend, which Andrews had starred in on Broadway, as a vehicle for her. The rights proved to be too expensive, prompting him to create another Roaring 20's tale.

Elmer Berstein won his only Oscar for this movie's score. Carol Channing was nominated for Best Supporting Actress; the sets, costumes, sound, and title song also got nods.

What I Don't Like: Let's start with the white slavery subplot. This was pretty standard melodrama in the 20's, but the slightly condescending depictions of Asians and Chinatown would have been awkward in the race-conscious 60's and may be considered downright offensive by many today.

The movie is way, way too long. There's a lot of unnecessary padding in the middle of the film, including a random and completely extraneous Jewish wedding number that likely only existed to show off Andrews' voice and Jimmy climbing around outside Millie's office building in an attempt to see her. They might have put that time to better use by giving other characters numbers besides Millie and Muzzy. Other than "Ah Sweet Mystery of Life" heard over the soundtrack, neither Miss Dorothy nor Trevor get to sing, and Jimmy is only heard in "The Tapioca." Despite being one of England's most famous performers, Lille doesn't get a number, either.

The Big Finale: Dated subplot aside, Millie remains a sheer delight today, one of Andrews' best vehicles and my personal favorite original musical of the 1960's. If you're a fan of any of the leading ladies or love 20th century history like I do, this is a must-see. (I highly recommend the equally fun Broadway cast album as well.)

Home Media: Despite the film's popularity, this is currently DVD only, though the DVD is fairly easy to find for under 10 dollars.

DVD

Victor/Victoria

MGM, 1982
Starring Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, James Gardner, and Leslie Ann Warren
Directed by Blake Edwards
Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

Julie Andrews fell off the radar somewhat in the 70's, after her major successes in the 1960's. She made a comeback in her husband Blake Edwards' 1981 comedy S.O.B, which while not a huge success at the time, did garner praise for her performance as a star looking to change her image. She continued that streak in Edwards' next film, which did somewhat better at the box office. How does the story of a woman who dresses as a man who impersonates a woman look now? Let's head to the nightclubs of Paris in the 1930's to find out...

The Story: Victoria Grant (Andrews) is in Paris in 1934, trying to get a job as a soprano. She fails her audition and can't even afford food, much less her squalid apartment. Gay singer Toddy (Preston) sees her at the audition and, after starting a brawl when he sees his lover Richard (Malcom Jamieson) as part of a straight couple, joins her in trying to get a free meal out of a restaurant. He takes her to his house in the rain, but she ends up staying when it has shrunk her clothes. She manages to get rid of Richard...and when Toddy sees her in his clothes, he gets the idea of cutting her hair and passing her off as a female impersonator. He even gets her an audition with agent Andre Cassell (John Rhys-Davies).

Andre launches her in a big nightclub debut. Among the club owners who are invited to see her performance are King Marchand (Gardner), his bimbo girlfriend Norma (Warren), and his bodyguard Squash Bernstein (Alex Karras). King's sure that "Victor" is a man, but "he" insists otherwise. "Victor's" act is a huge hit and is the toast of Paris, but Victoria's beginning to have feelings for King, too. He seems to be understanding when she reveals the deception, but living in two worlds is beginning to wear her out, not to mention there's how homosexuals are treated in the macho gangster circles that King runs in. When a private investigator finally blows Victoria's cover, she has to figure out how to reveal herself as a woman and end the persona of "Victor" for good.

The Song and Dance: No wonders Andrews got an Oscar nod for Best Actress, and Preston and Warren landed supporting nominations. Everyone's having a great time with this sassy, wacky farce that explores gender by showing a woman getting away with a double impersonation, and how it wears her down in the end. The flashy costumes and set direction were also Oscar-nominated.

It's interesting to see how homosexuality is depicted here, at a time when it still wasn't widely accepted in the US. Toddy makes jokes about it, but Squash admits that he played football because he looked more like a football player than a homosexual, and there's quite a few people, especially in Chicago, who call Victoria and King derogatory names and likely do worse.

Favorite Number: I'm a bit surprised that at least one of the excellent Mancini/Bricusse songs didn't get an Oscar nod along with the score as a whole. Andrews' touching ballad "Crazy World," performed at a piano in the nightclub, has become a minor standard, and the big ensemble numbers "Le Jazz Hot!" and "Shady Lady From Seville" are fun romps. The movie's best number, however, is probably "You and Me." No chorus or spangled costumes, just two performers at the top of their game dancing and joking together.

Trivia: Edwards had originally intended the role of Toddy for Peter Sellars, but he passed away before filming began.

The costume worn during "The Shady Dame from Seville" number was made to fit Preston, but fitted with snaps and hooks so it could fit Andrews as well.

This was based after the 1933 German movie Viktor und Viktoria. It was remade in England for British musical star Jessie Matthews in 1935 as First a Girl, and then under it's original title in Germany in 1957.

What I Don't Like: I actually wish this was more of a flat-out musical, with numbers outside of the nightclub as well as onstage. I'm not the only one. It was later turned into a Broadway musical in 1995. The final third, when Victoria and King move in together, is slightly less interesting than the rest of the movie as they try to figure out how to make their unusual relationship work.

The Big Finale: Witty, hilarious, and thought-provoking. If you're a fan of Andrews, Preston, Edwards' other work, or sexy farces with unique premises, you'll have a lot of fun with this one.

Home Media: While it was released on regular DVD in the early 2000's, the current version is now part of the Warner Archives (including the Blu-Ray). It can be found on most streaming platforms as well.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime

Magical Christmas Double Feature - Mary Poppins & Mary Poppins Returns

Merry Christmas! Once again, my original plans fell through...but this time, there's no scrambling for reviews. I saw the currently-in-theaters sequel to Mary Poppins in theaters with my sister this afternoon and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to revisit the original film as well. After all, Christmas is a time to reconnect with old friends and family as well as new ones. Oh, and if you haven't seen Mary Poppins Returns yet, you might want to wait until you see it to read the second review, as there will be spoilers. Now that we've gotten the warning out of the way, let's return to London, this time to #17 Cherry Tree Lane in 1910, just in time to witness a bit of chaos in the Banks family...

Mary Poppins
Disney, 1964
Starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Music and Lyrics by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman

The Story: There's a bit of a row on Cherry Tree Lane. Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) Banks have run off, and their Katie Nana (Elsa Lanchester) is quite tired of their antics and quits. After a local constable (Arthur Treacher) retrieves them, their stuffy banker father George (Tomlinson) decides to find them a new nanny. The kids have their own ideas and write an ad. Their mother Winifred (Johns) thinks it's sweet, but her husband insists that it's nonsense and throws it away. It manages to reform and end up in the clouds anyway.

The last person Mr. Banks expects to see at the door is Mary Poppins (Andrews), a stern but attractive young woman who takes firm command of the family the moment she enters. It seems that, despite her protests, "practically perfect" Mary can do all kinds of magic, from pulling an entire household out of her carpet bag to taking the kids into an animated chalk drawing with her chimney sweep friend Bert (Van Dyke). She even takes them to visit Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who flies when he laughs too hard.

Their father is aghast at all this lunacy and insists that a trip to the bank where he works is just the thing to return them to earth. The trip turns into a disaster and ends with the kids running out again. It takes a dance on the rooftop and the loss of his job for Mr. Banks to finally understand what Mary and Bert are trying to tell him...that his family means more to him than any bank job.

The Animation: The effects that blend live-action and animation are downright amazing for 1964, and still look good to this day. I've always especially loved the sequence with Bert dancing with the penguin waiters in unison. The animation itself, with the sketchy style of Disney at the time, is just ok, but the interaction between the actors and the animated characters still mostly works very well.

The Song and Dance: While coming off as a bit softer than the books, Andrews is still a wonderful Mary, especially during the animated sequence. Accent aside, Van Dyke more than matches her as energetic and lovable Bert. Tomlinson and Johns also do well as the Banks parents, who eventually discover just how important their children are, and Dotrice and Garber as fine as the kids.

One of my favorite parts of this are the beloved character actors who pop up in small parts. Along with Treacher, there's Reginald Owen as the ship-shape Admiral Boom and Jane Darwell in a cameo as the bird woman. The costumes and sets are also excellent, ably recreating the slightly grimy London of 1910.

Favorite Number: "Chim Chim Cheree" won the Oscar and "Supercalafragilisticexpealidotious" and "Jolly Holiday" are fun dance routines in the animated sequence, but for my money, the best numbers in this movie are the two slow songs. "Feed the Birds" is absolutely gorgeous, possibly the Sherman Brothers' best ballad. The sweet counter-psychology lullaby "Stay Awake" is almost as lovely. There's also the big ensemble number "Step In Time," with Bert and his buddies kicking up their heels all over the roof...only to be outdone by Mary.

Trivia: It took 20 years for Walt Disney to convince author PL Travers to let him make this movie, and she did indeed get script approval. She was one of the only people who disliked the film when it came out, and in fact was so offended by it, she wouldn't let anyone - including Disney - touch her books again until after she died.

That was David Tomlinson as the voice of Mary's talking parrot umbrella. Julie Andrews was the whistling robin in "A Spoonful of Sugar" and the female pearly singer in the animated sequence.

A stage musical version debuted in London's West End in 2004. It was a hit there and later on Broadway in 2006, and it sounds like a revival is gearing up for the West End next fall.

What I Don't Like: A lot of people complain about Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent, but at least he tried for one. Ed Wynn just sounds like himself. While the animated sequence has dated pretty well, some of the other effects are a bit obvious today, including Mary Poppins coming and going. And yes, it is softened from the books. The stage musical and the sequel (see below) make more use of the darker edges in the book series.

The Big Finale: It may not be "practically perfect in every way," but it is still a lot of fun for families and fans of fantasy-oriented musicals or Andrews and Van Dyke

Home Media:  I have the 45th anniversary 2-disc DVD set from 2009, but it was upgraded in 2013 to the 50th anniversary on Blu-Ray, and it can be found for streaming as well.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime (buy only)

Mary Poppins Returns
Disney, 2018
Starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, and Emily Mortimer
Directed by Ken Marshall
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman

The Story: It's now 1935, and Cherry Tree Lane is once again in chaos. Michael Banks (Whishaw) still lives in the family home with his three children Annabelle (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanel Saleh), and George (Joel Dawson). He was an artist, but after his wife Kate died, he gave up painting and got a job at the bank where his father once worked. Kate apparently took care of most things for the family, including the finances. He took out a loan on the house, and now William "Weatherall" Wilikins (Colin Firth), the nephew of original bank owner Mr. Dawes (Dick Van Dyke),  wants to reposes it. His sister Jane, an activist and social worker, helps him take care of the children but has even less money. If they can't find stocks that Mr. Banks owned and sell them, they'll lose the house.

Mary Poppins (Blunt) literally blows in on the end of a kite. Jane and Michael have no problems welcoming her back. Jack (Miranda), a cheerful lamplighter and Bert's apprentice, is even happier to see her. The current Banks children are less pleased. They insist that they can take care of themselves and have no need of a nanny. Mary shows them otherwise when she takes them on an adventure during their baths, on a romp in a china bowl that turns into a nightmare, and into the bowels of London to visit her cousin Topsy (Meryl Streep), whose life is literally turned upside-down. She and Jack finally prove to the kids and their father and aunt that sometimes, all you need to do is look at life in a different way.

The Animation: Some of the biggest praise for the movie has been how they managed to match the animation up with the original, right down to it being 2D, rather than computer. I like how they managed to make it look like an actual porcelain bowl, including all the details on the humans' costumes being painted on, rather than real flounces and buttons and such.

The Song and Dance: Blunt makes a practically perfect Mary Poppins, maybe even better than Andrews. While she can still be kind, she's also vain and a bit of a snob, as per the original books. Miranda's having a ball as Jack, and Whishaw and Mortimer are adorable as the older Bankses. Look for some fun cameos from Van Dyke and Angela Landsbury in the finale. Firth makes an appropriately smarmy villain as well.

The scenery and costumes are just as gorgeous as the original. Everyone talks about the sequence in the china bowl, but my favorite sequence was their swimming adventure in the bathtub. The underwater effects in that sequence are incredible - and seem to be mostly done with the same 2D animation.

Favorite Number: Ironically, once again, the best song was a ballad, the touching "The Place Where Lost Things Go." (Having lost my own stepfather in October, I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried during the end of that song.) Miranda and his fellow lamplighters have a blast with the ensemble number "Trip a Little Light Fantastic." "Can You Imagine That?", the swimming sequence, and Mary and Jack's music-hall duet "A Cover Is Not a Book" are also a lot of fun.

What I Don't Like: Most critics have complained that it feels too much like a retread of the original. I thought it had enough twists and turns to avoid deja vu, but there was a lot of overlap - an animated sequence, Mary comes in after a kite flies, her buddy is a jack-of-all-trades menial worker with a bad Cockney accent, there's a big number with her and his friends and another one with a character actor known for their eccentric roles, an elderly banker ends up swooping in to save everything in the end.

The save the house plot did make for a bit more excitement than the original...but it also felt like it was trying a little too hard to be an action movie. As nifty as the finale on Big Ben was, it does feel like it loses the simplicity of the original.

The Big Finale: I'll have to see how I feel when it comes out on home media, but for now, I absolutely loved Mary Poppins Returns. The delightful performances, music, animation, and production design more than offset the complaints about the rehashed script. I highly recommend grabbing the kids or any friends who are musical fans and getting to the theater as soon as possible.

Home Media: The soundtrack can currently be found on CD and for streaming on Amazon and elsewhere.

CD
Amazon Music Unlimited