Animation Celebration Saturday - Journey Back to Oz

Filmation, 1972

Directed by Hal Sutherland

Voices of Liza Minnelli, Paul Lynde, Ethel Merman, and Herschel Bernardi

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

Adaptations of the Wizard of Oz books go as far back as 1908. The MGM version from 1939 is probably the most famous, but it's far from the only one. After the 1939 film was a hit on TV, there was a notoriously low-budget production in 1969, and then this animated one in 1972. Neither is well-regarded today, but this has a slightly more impressive pedigree. Filmation began this around 1962, but they ran out of funds until over a decade later. 

By the time it came out, Disney-esque fantasies were out of style, and it wasn't a success...on the big screen. It did far better on TV starting in 1976, when live-action sequences featuring Bill Cosby (and later, Milton Berle) were added for syndicated showings. The original would turn up on video later, and that's what this review is based on. Does it reach the same heights of the original film, or should it stay in Kansas? Let's begin in Kansas, as Uncle Henry (Paul Ford) scolds Dorothy (Minnelli) for not helping get ready for a storm, and find out...

The Story: This time, Dorothy and Toto are themselves caught up in the cyclone, no house needed. After landing in Oz, they first encounter a talking signpost (Jack E. Leonard) whose signs all point to the Emerald City...going different ways. Fearful Jack Pumpkinhead (Lynde) only wants to go one way - away from his creator, the evil witch Mombi (Merman). She conjures up green elephants to stampede through the Emerald City, where she kidnaps Toto and the Scarecrow (Mickey Rooney). 

Dorothy goes to her old friends for help, but the Cowardly Lion (Berle) and Tin Woodsman (Danny Thomas) are too afraid of Mombi to help. Glinda (Rise Stevens) does better, giving her a box to use "in dire need." Dorothy will need all the magic she can get if she, Jack, and Charlesworth the Wooden merry-go-round horse (Bernardi) are to defeat Mombi and save the Scarecrow and Toto!

The Animation: Not bad for Filmation at this time. The colors are, appropriately for an Oz movie, the real selling point. They pop off the screen, brilliant greens and velvet purple when Dorothy first arrives, sparkling silver in the land of tin, deeper green in the Emerald City. The stylized designs move well enough; the Tin Woodsman especially is rather cute here. 

The Song and Dance: Impressive cast for a relatively low-budget undertaking. Liza does just as well as her mother playing the budding young woman who only wants to help her friends. Lynde's hilarious as the fearful but loyal Jack, and Bernardi gets some of the best lines as the sarcastic wooden carousel horse. Rise Stevens lends her Metropolitain Opera soprano to a gentle Glinda. Merman's a rather scary witch, too, and it is amusing to hear Margaret Hamilton play Aunt Em in the beginning, the total opposite of her Wicked Witch from the 1939 film! 

Favorite Number: Minnelli's "Over the Rainbow" song to Toto in Kansas is "A Faraway Land" as she longs to return to Oz and see its lovely greenery and unique citizens again. She also gets the upbeat "Keep a Happy Thought" after Jack laments about never finding the Emerald City. This time, the witch gets to sing, too. Mombi creates her green elephants in "An Elephant Never Forgets" and explains her mother's dying wish to her, "If You're Going to Be a Witch, Be a Witch." 

Stevens' glorious soprano makes the most of her song explaining to Dorothy why she doesn't need magic...because "You Have Only You." Minnelli finishes with the "Return to the Land of Oz March" and her telling the others why she wants to go back to Kansas, "That Feeling for Home." Herschel's number is "That Horse On the Carousel" as Charlesworth tells the others how he ended up where he was.

Trivia: Danny Thomas' voice recording was of such poor quality, he was largely re-recorded by Larry Storch. 

The 1976 ABC showing had live-action wrap-around segments featuring Bill Cosby as The Wizard, searching for two munchkins. Milton Berle would appear as The Wizard for syndicated airings. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, there's a lot of padding in this movie. The signpost and his song have no function in the story. He's neither seen, nor mentioned again after Dorothy leaves him. The numbers for the Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodsman, and Scarecrow exist more to show off the actors than move the story along, and contradict their character development from the original book and 1939 film, too. Speaking of the songs, they're not bad, but they certainly aren't as memorable as the ones from 1939. 

It also appears to be a mash-up of characters and events from many later Oz books, mainly the second, The Marvelous Land of Oz. Dorothy largely replaces the boy Tip who created Jack Pumpkinhead in the book, though. Mombi wasn't the one who originally created the elephants, either. And Charlesworth may be based after the title character of the final book in the series, The Merry-Go-Round Horse of Oz. 

The Big Finale: Worth seeing at least once for fans of Oz or Filmation for the cast and some decent numbers. 

Home Media: The DVD is in print, but very expensive and hard to find. You're better off streaming this one. 

 

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Musicals on TV - The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

ABC, 1965

Starring Liza Minnelli, Cyril Ritchard, Vic Damone, and The Animals (Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler, Dave Rowberry, John Steele, and Hilton Valentine)

Directed by Sid Smith

Music by Jules Styne; Lyrics by Bob Merrill

Stephen Sondheim wasn't the only major songwriter in the 60's who lent his talents to a TV musical. This was actually Styne and Merrill's second shot at a holiday musical extravaganza, their first being the animated Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol in 1962. Does this wacky fairy tale spoof reach the heights of the Magoo special, or should it be tossed into the Big Bad Wolf's (Ritchard) stew pot? Let's begin at the zoo, where the Big Bad Wolf tells what he considers to be a tragic tale, and find out...

The Story: Lillian (Minnelli) is a naïve teen living in the forest with her mother. She's disappointed when her mother gives her a blue cloak, until she turns it inside out and wears the red lining. She loves it so much, she calls herself Little Red Riding Hood. On a day when her mother sends her to Granny's house to bring goodies, she encounters the Wolf on the road. He's already been made fun of by the younger wolves in his pack (The Animals) for not being aggressive enough and tries hard to snare her, but she's terrified of wolves. She does no better with a handsome woodsman who believes he's an enchanted prince (Damone). It isn't until she encounters the Wolf in drag at Granny's house that she realizes what he's really after...and he proves he's not so "refined" after all.

The Song and Dance: Charming satire has a lot of fun goofing on familiar fairy tale tropes, from the horny wolf to the clueless enchanted prince to the heroine who is too impossibly sweet to get by on anything but sheer luck. Richard does the best playing the role of the erudite canine who thinks he's too smart for the woods, especially when he throws on Granny's dress and camps it up with Minnelli towards the end. Some of the score isn't bad, especially "We Wish the World a Happy Yule" in the finale. Liza has a great time going to town with Ritchard on "Ding-a-Ling" at Granny's, too. 

Favorite Number: Lillian sings happily to her mother about why she loves "My Red Riding Hood" - it allows her to stand out. The Big Bad Wolf laments with his pack The Animals about how he's "Snubbed" by the other wolves for not being scarier. The woodsman tries to sing to Lillian why she should have someone help her "Along the Way," even as he continues to split a log. Lillian tells the wolf how "I'm Naïve" and will believe whatever she hears. The Wolf in drag joins Lillian for an energetic "Ring a Ding" while he's trying to get her in the stew pot. The show ends with the entire cast back in the woods, singing "We Wish the World a Happy Yule."

Trivia: Like Evening Primrose, this was original broadcast in color, but the masters have since been lost. 

The Animals were a popular British rock group in the mid-60's. Their biggest and best-known hit is probably "House of the Rising Sun."

What I Don't Like: The presence of the Animals alone dates this badly. Their solo "We're Going to Howl Tonight" is the least-interesting number in the show, and other than tease Ritchard a bit, they don't have that much to do. There's a lot of references that those who don't know their mid-20th century history may not get, including Ritchard's line about "people needing people" from the Styne-Merrill hit Funny Girl. This is a flat-out wacky comedy, more like an American version of the pantomimes that are popular in the United Kingdom during the holidays. It's probably a little too goofy and weird for those expecting a darker fairy-tale ala Into the Woods, especially the silly and cheap animal costumes.

And...other than the opening and closing at the zoo and Lillian bringing her granny Christmas goodies, what does any of this have to do with the holidays? It could have been set at any time of the year without missing a beat. Not to mention, the prints currently available are dim black and white, watchable, but not even as good as the ones for Evening Primrose. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out once for really big fans of the stars, Styne and Merrill, 60's rock, or families looking for the closest we'll likely get to an English pantomime in the US.

Home Media: Only on DVD from Jef Films

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Cult Flops - New York, New York

United Artists, 1977
Starring Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, Lionel Stander, and Barry Primus
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Music by John Kander and others; Lyrics by Fred Ebb and others

This notorious flop has a lot in common with our previous review, Funny Lady. Both were vehicles for divas of the time set in the mid-20th century, had new music by Kander and Ebb mixed in with older songs, paired the diva with a largely non-singing tough guy, had unhappy endings, and were huge productions with major problems at a time when musicals were going out of style. The difference is, this one came out during the summer when Star Wars was on everyone's lips and couldn't find an audience. How does the tale of a singer and a jazz musician whose act works better than their relationship look now? Let's head to a nightclub in New York just as World War II ended and find out...

The Story: Francine Evans (Minnelli) meets Jimmy Doyle (De Niro) in a nightclub on V-J Day. She's not really interested, but he still gives her his phone number. They end up in the same taxi the next day, and Jimmy drags her along to an audition. Jimmy fights with the club manager, but Francine saves the session by joining in. The owner assumes they're an act and offers them a job. One job leads to many jobs at increasingly better clubs and to Jimmy backing his own orchestra. He and Francine eventually fall in love and marry.

Jimmy, however, is an aggressive and abrasive man who tends to fight with everyone around him, including Francine. Francine's thrilled when she gets pregnant, but Jimmy's not sure...and her going into labor early and the birth of their son leads to the end of their marriage. They eventually go separate paths and have separate successes, but they never forget what they had when they were making music together.

The Song and Dance: If you're a fan of Kander & Ebb, Minnelli, or big band music, this will be a real treat for you. The first half does a wonderful job of recreating the world of the traveling small-time orchestra during the tail end of the big band era - grimy hotels, bumpy roads traveled in rickety buses, sour-faced managers, cigarette smoke wreathing around a dingy nightclub. Minnelli is magnetic as Francine, the tough singer who falls for Jimmy almost in spite of himself, then realizes she's moved beyond him. The period-accurate costumes and terrific music add more layers to the realism.

Favorite Number: The title song is by far the most famous number from this one, and the only aspect of this movie to make it big at the time. Minnelli gets to belt the heck out of it several times, notably in the sequence towards the end. She also gets "The Man I Love" on a piano and another Kander and Ebb hit, "But the World Goes 'Round" near the end. De Niro is a better singer than you might think when he joins Mary Kay Place for an unusually upbeat "Blue Moon" with the orchestra. Some of the instrumental orchestra numbers are a blast too, especially "Opus Number One" early on and "Bobby's Dream."

The big number here is "Happy Endings," a spoof of elaborate dance routines in the film musicals of the 40's and 50's and of show business-based melodramas like A Star Is Born. In this spoof-within-a-musical, Francine is an usher who falls for a producer and becomes a star. It hits all the beats, from them meeting cute when he needs her help in the theater to his suddenly departure when she becomes a hit and the sudden return. It's big, bright, and bold...and really kind of funny if you've seen the types of numbers and films Scorsese's making fun of.

Trivia: Like Funny Lady, the movie ran into major production problems, going over budget and deepening Scorsese's decent into drugs and alcohol. He originally released it at 155, but United Artists reedited it to a little over two hours, including dropping the "Happy Endings" number. "Happy Endings" and several other scenes were restored for a 1981 re-release.

What I Don't Like: I know Scorsese was going for a darker version of a musical drama of the 1940's and 50's, but the stylized, obviously fake sets and overwrought romance clash badly with the more realistic on the road sequences and De Niro's explosive performance. Jimmy is such an obnoxious and disagreeable jerk, I frankly wonder why Francine even bothered with him. She was smart to finally ditch him. As cute as "Happy Endings" is, maybe they should have left the movie at two hours. It's way too long, with a thin story drawn out so long, you pretty much stop caring whether or not these two loud, abrasive people are going to stay together in the end or not.

The Big Finale: For all the problems, this is necessary for fans of Minnelli and Scorsese; worth a look for lovers of big band and swing as well.

Home Media: Not on streaming, but the two-disc DVD and Blu-Ray aren't hard to find.

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Cabaret

ABC Pictures/Allied Artists, 1972
Starring Liza Minnelli, Joel Gray, Michael York, and Helmut Griem
Directed by Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Released at a low point for musicals in general, Cabaret became one of the most successful musical films in history, winning eight Oscars and making stars out of Minnelli and Gray. Does this decadent look at a changing Berlin in the early 30's earn it's "Money, Money?" Let's head to the infamous Kit Kat Klub in the heart of Berlin to find out...

The Story: Sally Bowles (Minnelli) is a singer in Berlin in 1931 who performs at the Kit Kat Klub, a sleazy nightspot. She meets a man from her boarding house, author and English teacher Brian Roberts (York), at the club one night. Despite his seeming disinterest, they eventually become friends, and then lovers. Sally and Brian eventually befriend Max (Griem), a rich German nobleman. He takes them to his country house and proceeds to have affairs with both. He eventually grows bored with them and heads to Argentina, leaving them money, to Sally's general lack of amusement. She's even less happy when she discovers that she's pregnant. Brian wants to take her back to England, but she has no interest in being a dull housewife and gets an abortion.

Two friends of theirs, Fritz, a German Jew who claims he's Christian (Fritz Wepper) and Natalia, a snooty German Jewish heiress (Marisa Berenson), don't do much better. He has to reveal his true religion to her parents...which turns out to not be the smartest thing he could do. The Nazis are rising to power, and they don't like anyone who is different from them, especially Jews. Meanwhile, the Master of Ceremonies (Gray) joins Sally and the dancers at the Kit Kat Klub in musical numbers that comment on the action, showing how the Nazis went in the space of two years from barely being tolerated in the Klub to having prime seats and influencing the numbers.

The Song and Dance: Gray's creepy performance and Minnelli's electric one won them both deserved Oscars. York and Griem are also excellent as the men in Sally's life who are more willing to get out of Germany before things get ugly. Fosse's dynamic direction turns the numbers into a riot of color and motion, showing off his famous knock-kneed, tight-limbed dancing style. The brilliant colors on the stage make a wonderful contrast to the darker tones in the non-musical segments and nearly shimmer in the spooky anthem "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." Love the art direction and costumes that ably capture all the glamour and hell-for-broke sexuality of Berlin in the early 30's, before the rise of the Nazis forced things to be toned down.

It's interesting how the movie portrays sexuality, especially homosexuality. At a time when the subject was just starting to come up more often in the US, it's pretty open about what Brian and Max were. Considering that the Nazis were even less fond of homosexuals than they were of Jews, it's probably just as well that both men left.

Favorite Number: Almost every song in this film has become iconic today, from Gray and Minnelli's classic bump-and-grind to "Money, Money" to Minnelli belting "Maybe This Time." The opening number "Willkomen" and title-song finale perfectly encapsulate the movie's themes as Gray introduces his "beautiful" girls in barely-there stripper costumes and black mascara, and then Sally pretty much demands that everyone join her in enjoying life, no matter what. "Mein Herr," with Sally dancing around the high-backed chair, is probably the one everybody thinks of when this movie comes to mind, along with the chilling Nazi ballad "Tomorrow Belongs to Me."

Trivia: Bob Fosse became the first director in history to win a Tony (for the show Pippin), Emmy (for the special Liza With a Z) and Oscar in one year.

This won eight Oscars in 1972, the most any movie has ever won without winning Best Picture.

The original stage version of Cabaret debuted in 1966. On stage, more time was spent away from the Kit Kat Klub, Brian was named Cliff and his sexuality was far less open, and the second couple were Sally and Cliff's German landlady and the kindly Jewish shopkeeper she was going to marry - until the Nazis come in. Gray had been the Master of Ceremonies in the original cast and would be the MC again in a 1987 Broadway revival. The show would turn up on Broadway again, with heavy revisions, in 1998 and 2014.

What I Don't Like: Definitely not for children, those who prefer their musicals on the lighter side, or aren't into Fosse's style. The book sequences between songs explore sexual, religious, and political themes in a way that's pretty darn grim. After all, this is a musical about the rise to power of one of the nastiest political groups in history. While the numbers do lighten things a bit, especially early-on, most of this is as dark as you can go. There's quite a bit of sex and adult themes, and we see the results of Brian getting a beating from Nazis (though not the actual beating).

Yet another musical I wish had kept more songs from its stage version. I understand that Fosse wanted to focus on the contrast between the escapism at the Kit Kat Klub and the difficulties of everyday life, but some of the cut songs are really good, including "Don't Tell Mama," "It Couldn't Please Me More," and "The Money Song."

The Big Finale: Adults who are fans of Fosse, Minnelli, or want to check out a more thoughtful and darker musical than usual will have a lot to chew on in this decadent, slightly sleazy tale.

Home Media: A restored Blu Ray edition was just released from the Warner Archives this past November.

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