Happy Mother's Day! - Three Daring Daughters

MGM, 1948

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Jose Iturbi, Jane Powell, and Edward Arnold

Directed by Fred M. Wilcox

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate a day devoted to mothers with a movie about a mother and her very devoted offspring. Jeanette MacDonald's last starring role had been in the spy comedy Cairo in 1942. She was last seen in a cameo in Universal's big wartime revue Follow the Boys in 1944. This was intended to be a bit of a comeback for her after she spent time focusing on opera. For Jane Powell, this was her third movie, and her second of five times she'd try to play matchmaker to a single parent. How does the story of a harried mother who marries a concert pianist on a trip, only to discover her daughters want to get her together with her ex-husband, look in a time when divorce and blended families are far more common? Let's begin at the graduation ceremony of older teen Tess Morgan (Powell), who is disappointed when she sees an empty chair in the audience that should be filled by her mother Louise (MacDonald), and find out...

The Story: Louise is late because she fainted at her job as an editor for Modern Design Magazine. Dr. Cannon (Harry Davenport) insists that she takes a vacation alone to help her nerves. She takes a month-long cruise to Cuba. On board, she meets concert pianist Jose Iturbi (Himself), who is playing with the ship's orchestra. They end up falling in love and marrying. Trouble is, Louise told the girls their father was a wonderful man, when he was really a bad father who abandoned his wife and daughters. She didn't want them to feel bad about their father, but her trying to protect them backfires when they go to their father's boss Robert Nelson (Arnold) and ask him to bring their father back so he can re-marry her. They're shocked when she finally admits she married Iturbi and try to drive him away, until they realize just how much in love Louise and her new husband are.

The Song and Dance: This is charmingly low-key for a big MGM musical in the late 40's. It's mostly just MacDonald, the three young ladies, and Iturbi, with Arnold occasionally tossing in blustery reactions as the girls beg him to get their father home or keep him from coming and interrupt his meals. MacDonald is warm and affectionate with the girls, and you can understand why they adore her so much, they try to interfere with her love life. I especially love the sweet scene when the girls call their mother shipboard to serenade her on her birthday. There's some lovely costumes too, with lavish gowns for MacDonald in Cuba and attractive teen and kids' clothing for the girls. 

The Numbers: We open with the young ladies of Miss Drake's School for Girls singing their "Alma Mater" as Tess tries to ask her youngest sister Alix (Elinor Donahue) where their mother is. She finally arrives in time to see Tess perform "Passipied." "The Dickey Bird" is heard three times. The first time has the three girls playing it for their mother, who joins in. The second is in the finale; Iturbi joins in here as well. Tess sings "Flurette" to get Morgan's attention from his meal when the girls first descend on his mansion. 

Iturbi's first solo is "Lieberstraum," which he plays on the ship with an orchestra. He plays "Where There's Love" for Louise the next night. She also briefly performs "You Made Me Love You." His real-life wife Amparo joins him for the "Rumanian Rhapsody In A, Opus 11 No.1" at the big Cuban concert. The girls adorably sing "Happy Birthday" and part of "Dickey Bird" over the phone for their touched and impressed mother. The only chorus number is the brief "Ritual Fire Dance" at the show in Cuba. The dancers sing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish for Louise here, too. 

After Louise and Iturbi return from the cruise, they think he's there to audition Tess. She sings "Juliet's Waltz" from Romeo et Juliet for him. Iturbi conducts the "Allegro Appasinato, Opus 10" with a huge classical orchestra at a concert hall. Louise's second song with Iturbi as she rehearses with him at the concert hall is "Sweethearts."  The girls play "Route 66" at home, claiming Iturbi knows nothing about modern music. Iturbi repeats it and plays it quite well, swing and all. Tess sings "Springtide" with her mother to apologize for driving Iturbi away and calling their father without permission. 

What I Don't Like: The story occasionally edges into something more annoying than cute, especially in the second half. On one hand, what the girls did stepped out of bounds, and the older ones in particular were modern levels of bratty about it. On the other hand, Louise should not have lied about their father, whether she was trying to protect them or not. The complicated story is basically sitcom fluff that would turn up in every other family comedy of the 80's and 90's. Iturbi is no more interesting wooing a woman closer to his own age than he was as the object of Jane Powell's affection in Holiday In Mexico two years before. 

The Big Finale: Just sweet enough to be charming Mother's Day viewing with your own Mom this Sunday.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

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Amazon Prime

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

20th Century Fox, 1955

Starring Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Fred Clark, and Thelma Ritter

Directed by Jean Negulesco

Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

This week, we jump ahead to the 1950's for one of my favorite underrated musicals. Leslie Caron was one of the most popular stars of the decade, in and out of musicals. She started the decade in the Oscar-winning An American In Paris with Gene Kelly, and while Lili wasn't a huge hit, her personal notices were glowing. Astaire personally asked her to star alongside him in this updated musical version of the 1912 novel of the same name. We've already seen it done once at this blog, as the adorable Shirley Temple vehicle Curly Top in 1935. How different is this version from that previous one? Let's begin at the home of millionaire Jervis Pendleton III (Astaire) as we see people touring his home and find out...

The Story: Jervis is on assignment in France when he stops at an orphanage to use their telephone. While there, he sees 18-year-old Julie Andre (Caron) working with the younger children and is enchanted with her vivacity, her creativity, and her intelligence. Over the protests of his fussy aide Griggs (Clark), he arranges for her to attend college in the United States with his niece Linda (Terry Moore). To avoid a scandal, he says he'll keep a hands-off approach, and she can write to him about her progress once a month. 

Jervis doesn't even look at Julie's letters at first, until his secretary Alice Pritchard (Thelma Ritter) brings them to his attention. Julie calls him her benefactor "Daddy Long Legs," after the long shadow the orphans saw when he was first in France, but she's getting tired of never hearing from him. He finally connects with her at a school dance while visiting Linda with her mother Gertrude (Kathryn Giveny) and falls for her, taking her out on the town and sending the boy who is interested in her to work in Bolivia. Griggs points out their rather large age difference, which makes Jarvis flee for several long business trips. Julie, however, is almost finished with college. She thinks she still hasn't met her "Daddy Long Legs" and wonders if he or Jervis really love her. It's Alice who finally convinces the men that age matters less than love, companionship, and compatibility. 

The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making this - Fred Astaire's wife died right before filming began and they almost replaced him, the studio originally wanted Mitzi Gaynor for Julie - it actually came out quite well. Astaire and Caron work better than you might think. Like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face two years later, Caron's warm, airy persona helps to transcend their age differences. The Technicolor glows here, especially in Caron's two witty dream ballets and the gorgeous 50's gowns, tutus, and suits for Astaire and Clark. Mercer's songs are lovely too. "Something's Gotta Give" was nominated for an Oscar and has since become a jazz standard.

The Numbers: We open with Jervis showing off his drumming skills to an annoyed Griggs in the instrumental drum-and-dance routine "History of the Beat." Julie teaches the orphans that "C-A-T Spells Cat" as Jervis watches them in delight at the orphanage. She wanders around the outdoor classroom in shock and delight as an offscreen chorus sings about her "Daddy Long Legs" after she's told she'll be going to college in the US. "Welcome Egghead" the other college girls tease when Julie arrives. "Julie's Dream Ballet" is the first of two instrumental ballets. Julie imagines what her "Daddy Long Legs" looks like. Jervis dances as a Texas millionaire doing a square dance, a sensual playboy after all the ladies, or Julie's guardian angel. 

"The Sluefoot" is the big chorus number at the dance, with Ray Anthony and His Orchestra and the Pied Pipers. Jervis and Julie turn the intimate dance into a delightful moment. Jervis brings her to New York, where he sings "Something's Gotta Give" at the penthouse he sets her up in, and they dance together. This is followed by the instrumental "Dancing Through Life" ballet as the two kick up their heels in all of the fashionable Manhattan clubs. Julie's dream of meeting her benefactor becomes a "Nightmare Ballet" as she dreams of dancing for Jervis in a Paris ballet, encountering him in a smoky cafe in Hong Kong, and chasing him through carnival in Rio. The movie ends with the brief "Dream" as Julie finally realizes who her benefactor is. 

Trivia: This would be the only movie Caron or Astaire made for 20th Century Fox.

If Astaire looks a little red-eyed and upset at a few junctures...well, see the death of his beloved wife mentioned above. They pushed back filming to give him more room to process his grief.

This is the third version of Daddy Long Legs 20th Century Fox made, and the fourth time the 1912 children's novel made it to the big screen. In addition to Curly Top, Mary Pickford did a silent version in 1919, while Janet Gaynor would appear in a non-musical sound remake in 1931. It would become a London stage musical, Love From Judy, in 1952. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, while the age difference doesn't bother me, some people may find 50-something Astaire dancing with 20-something Caron (and kissing her in the end, a rarity for Astaire's films) to be a tad creepy. Second, this movie, for all the lovely art direction and costumes, didn't really need the lavish Cinemascope. It's really an intimate four-person story at its core. We have the one chorus number in "Sluefoot." Most of the songs are duets, solos, or ballets. Clark and Ritter are the only ones besides Astaire and Caron who even remotely register. We barely see Caron's roommates, which is a shame because they're pretty funny when we do meet them, and Kelly Brown as Jimmy McBride barely registers as window dressing.

The Big Finale: The age difference aside, this is a must-see if you're a fan of Astaire, Caron, or the big lavish ballet-filled musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: The DVD and Blu-Ray are hard-to-find and often pricey at this writing. Your best bet would be streaming. 

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Incendiary Blonde

Paramount, 1945

Starring Betty Hutton, Arturo de Cordova, Bill Goodwin, and Barry Fitzgerald

Directed by George Marshall

Music and Lyrics by various

Our first of three Women's History Month movies is also the first of two vehicles we'll be seeing featuring energetic comedienne Betty Hutton. Of the four biographies she appeared in, this one might suit her the most. Texas Guinin lived a colorful life from the late 1900's through the early 1930's, working everything from rodeos to Broadway to films, ending up as "queen of the nightclubs" in the 20's, singing and talking to the customers in her own lavish speakeasies. How well does the film do with depicting her wild Roaring Twenties world? Let's begin with the rodeo coming to Waco, Texas, and find out...

The Story: Texas Gunian (Hutton) may be a goofy tomboy, but she's no fool. The new owner of the rodeo, Bill Romero Kilgallon (de Cordova), is so impressed when she manages to stay on a bucking bronco, he hires her on the spot...and she holds out for more money. Press agent Tim Callahan (Goodwin) is even more so after he sees her act "rescuing" a child. She's in love with Kilgallon, but he's married to an invalid. She ends up going off to become a Broadway star with Callahan, but then follows her old friend Cherokee Jim (Charlie Ruggles) to Hollywood to become a movie star. 

She does well, getting back together with Bill to make their own features, but Bill runs afoul of gangsters and ends up convincing Texas to sell out and get the money. Back in New York, Texas has few prospects until she inadvertently discovers how well she can handle a nightclub crowd. Her songs and talking directly to them jazzes up speakeasy-goers and brings in the crowds. Unfortunately, they also attract gangster Joe Cadden (Albert Dekker), who takes over the club and Texas' contract. Texas is still a smash, and with Bill's wife having passed on, she's hoping to marry him...but his getting caught between warring gangsters and her realizing she has a terminal illness makes them realize how impossible that is.

The Song and Dance: When she's allowed to do the rip-roaring comedy that she does best, Hutton has way too much fun here. This may be the biographical role that suited her best. Guinan was a tough-talking tomboy who lived one of the most colorful lives of the early 20th century, not too far from Hutton herself. She really throws herself into Guinan's trademark nightclub patter and that bucking bronco in the opening. Great production, too, with gorgeous Edith Head costumes and some nice Technicolor cinematography, especially in the first half.

The Numbers: We open with Texas singing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" with her siblings as they watch the rodeo parade. We get  montage of Texas moving up from chorus line cutie to featured dancer to a star with shows based around her, including the (rather stereotypical) African spoof "Oh By Jingo" with her shaking her hips in feathers among "natives." "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a more romantic roundelay, with Hutton in a massive lavender gown and picture hat singing to a handsome leading man. 

Texas joins three acrobats throwing each other around to ad-lib and get herself kicked out of the show...but them throwing her around turns out to be so hilarious, she ends up staying in the show. She gets the energetic "Row Row Row," turning a fur coat and a table into a boat and sweetheart, while black pianist Maurice Rocco earns the contract Texas gives him with his incredible instrumental "Darktown Strutters Ball." Texas sings "It Had to Be You" on New Year's Eve, right before she and Bill are supposed to get married.

What I Don't Like: It's true that Texas Guinan did start out in wild west shows, she did make silent movies at her own production company (and two sound features, one of which is currently lost), and she was "the queen of the nightclubs" who resurrected her career singing and mingling with the crowds in the speakeasies she owned. Her life was even more colorful than that, with her clubs frequently getting raided, her telling truth-skirting interviews to the press, and her living with two men for years without marrying either. Her only known legal husband bore no resemblance to either de Cordova or Goodwin, both of whom are dull in thankless love interest roles. Only Fitzgerald as her Irish father who is even more inclined to embroider the truth comes anywhere near Hutton.

The Big Finale: Despite the heavy cliches, this is colorful enough to rate a look if you're a fan of Hutton or the big bright Technicolor musicals of the mid-late 40's.

Home Media: To my knowledge, this is currently only available on YouTube in a blurry copy taped from a TCM showing. 

YouTube

Cult Flops - The Vagabond King (1930)

Paramount, 1930

Starring Dennis King, Jeanette MacDonald, O.P Heggie, and Lillian Roth

Directed by Ludwig Berger

Music and Lyrcis by various

For the next two weeks, our weekday reviews will look at musical remakes, either of older films, or a remake and the original. This version of the 1926 stage hit of the same name was intended to be Paramount's stately answer to major film operettas like Warner Bros' The Desert Song or MGM's (now-lost) Rogue Song. It proved to be too stately for 1930 audiences who were looking for war movies and gangster films, but how does it look now? Let's begin in fifteenth-century Paris, where only a lawless poet stands between the King of France (O.P Heggie) and the Duke of Burgundy's attempt to take over his throne...

The Story: Francois Villon (King) is arrested by Louis the XI and his men while drunk and brought to the castle. Louis anoints him king for a day, hoping to enlist him and his fellow peasants, poets, and drinks in battling the Duke and his army. Earlier in the day, Francois had rescued the beautiful Princess Katherine (MacDonald) and had fallen hopelessly in love with her, despite already having a girlfriend in the tavern wench Hugette (Roth). It's the ladies who are willing to lay down the line - and in Hugette's case, her own life - to make sure Louis stays on the throne and Francois is hung for a king's amusement the next day.

The Song and Dance: Oh, how I wish the full color copy was available online! What little color is seen during the "Only a Rose" number is blurry but exquisite, with MacDonald looking every inch the princess she's supposed to be in exquisite peach, standing out against the lavish green garden. In fact, even in the blurry mostly black and white copy currently on YouTube, it's that much-vaunted pageantry where this stands out. MacDonald is a radiant princess in glittering gowns amid enormous, craggy castles and the fetid alleys of a shadow-strewn Paris, while Heggie makes a wonderful opportunistic King Louis. European director Ludvig Berger had made several similar sumptuous fantasies in France and Germany during the silent era, and he knew something about spectacle and how to make it work.

The Numbers: We open over the credits and at the tavern Francois frequents with "Song of the Vagabonds." "King Louis" is Francois' mocking rhyme and assessment of Louis' ability to rule his people. "Mary, Queen of Heaven" is a number for the choir when Katherine is praying in Notre Dame. The ballad "Some Day" is Katherine's first solo as she changes for bed and contemplates Francois and their first meeting in Paris. Francois declares to his followers what he would do "If I Were King." He tells the disguised Louis "What France Needs." 

"Only a Rose" is the only Technicolor sequence existing in current online prints. The gorgeous singing from King and MacDonald and exquisite color somewhat make up for MacDonald being right about King's ego and his continued attempts to push his nose or hands into her shot. Roth's solo is "Hugette's Waltz," as she explains to the vagabonds that she is how she is, take her or leave her. Francois and Katherine get a second duet, "Love Me Tonight," shortly before he is to fight the Burgundians. The people of Paris reprise "Song of the Vagabonds" during the actual siege. "Nocturne" is the executioner's number as he's about to hang Francois.

Trivia: The color prints do exist and were restored by UCLA in 1990, but alas, to date have only seen there other than the "Only a Rose" sequence taken from the PBS documentary Broadway: The American Musical. 

This is based on the fanciful book and non-musical play If I Were King. If I Were King was filmed as a non-musical three times, in 1920 and 1938 under its original title and in 1927 as The Beloved Rogue. 

The Vagabond King opened on Broadway in 1925 with King as Villon and was a huge hit for the time, running over 500 performances. It had a brief revival on Broadway in 1943. It hasn't been seen there since, but remains popular with light opera companies in New York and elsewhere. The film would be remade in 1956 with Kathryn Grayson as Katherine (which we'll be looking at on Thursday). 

What I Don't Like: Jeanette MacDonald had a point about Dennis King and his ego. He's a little too into the role, proclaiming everything to the rafters when film calls for a somewhat subtler approach. He's too hammy even for a swashbuckler. This is likely why he very rarely made movies after this. Lillian Roth has the opposite problem. She's too much of a cute comedienne to be playing a sensual streetwalker and really can't pull off her "Hugette's Waltz." And oh, how I wish UCLA would release the rest of that color copy to the general public! I have the feeling it would help this tremendously, and certainly be nicer to look at than the dim, blurry copy currently on YouTube.

The Big Finale: In the end, as lovely as it is, it's really only for fans of MacDonald, operetta, or early film musicals. 

Home Media: Which perhaps makes it just as well that the only place you can see this is in that blurry copy I mentioned that's currently on YouTube. 

YouTube

Cult Flops - Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938

United Artists, 1937

Starring Warner Baxter, Joan Bennett, Helen Vinson, and Mischa Auer

Directed by Irving Cummings and Charles Kerr

Music and Lyrics by various

We jump back to the US this week for two more 30's musicals, both of them later versions of the lavish Busby Berkeley style. By 1937, Berkeley's scores of showgirls dancing in unique "story" numbers with overhead shots had become commonplace in musicals not only in the US, but around the world. Producer Water Wanger had been bouncing around the studios since the 1920's. He had tried to set himself up as an independent producer earlier in the 30's, but it hadn't worked out. After producing two hits at MGM, he once again struck out on his own...and this time, did much better. Though this wasn't one of his bigger hits, it did produce an Oscar-nominated standard, the ballad "That Old Feeling." How does the story of an heiress who joins a major fashion house and falls for its owner look today? Let's begin at the House of Curon as a show is starting and find out...

The Story: George Curson (Baxter) is having a really rough time. His wife Mary (Vinson) is desperate to go back on the stage and begs him to fund her big starring show, Vogues of 1938. His vice-president Sophie Miller (Alma Kruger) is having anxiety attacks and heart problems. Right after said show, one of his best customers, Wendy Van Klettering (Bennett), turns up claiming she doesn't want to marry her dull fiancee Henry Morgan (Alan Mowbray) and would rather work for him as a model. She basically pesters him into it, even though the last thing he wants is to have her in his home or his fashion house. He even gets Sophie to teach her how to model.

Her fiancee is furious when he finds out she's doing something so common and demands she be taken out of his fashion show. He finds a way for her to appear anyhow. She helps him get his customers back and prove that one of his competitors (Auer) is stealing his ideas. He still insists on staying with his wife, even after Wendy helps him win a big fashion contest...until his wife's show fails, and she dumps him. He put all of the money from the House of Curon into that show. Now, his beloved fashion house may go under, unless he can put on one more spectacular show and prove that the House of Curon still has what it takes to compete with the big Parisian houses.

The Song and Dance: And song and dance, along with some truly spectacular costumes and sets, are the major selling point here. Elegant Baxter and Bennett are dwarfed by some gorgeous Art Deco sets and the amazing dresses, especially at the big contest mid-way through where older ladies show off the creations of the Houses they buy clothes from. The music is actually quite good; "That Old Feeling" was nominated for an Oscar and is now considered to be a standard ballad. Auer and Kruger come off the best as the supercilious Russian who tells his elderly customers his designs are inspired by classical music and the perpetually anxious older vice-president.

The Numbers: After the fashion show opening, we don't have another number until more than 20 minutes in. An all-black cast energetically performs "Turn On that Red Hot Heat." The Cotton Club Singers really burn up the stage with their wild routine before four men in white tuxes get even more into the dancing. Maurice Rocco has even more fun with it on the piano. The dancers reprise it in the dark, writhing wildly to the music. Singer Virginia Vaill introduces "That Old Feeling" directly after. We then get an excellent tap dancer whom Curson claims is his wife's favorite. 

The next fashion show gets around Henry and his lawyer Richard Steward (Gonzolo Merono) by claiming Wendy is there "only as a spectator," then letting her "watch" the show onstage and model dresses while doing it. The third fashion show is "The Rayon Ball," with each lady showing off an outfit that's more outrageous than the next. Only Henry appreciates Prince Muratov's outlandish gold gown with the enormous feathered shoulders...and Henry's the only one who doesn't appreciate Wendy modeling a far more simple and elegant white gown. 

Mary and her director Mr. Brockton (Jerome Cowan) watch a truly amazing roller skating couple perform a death-defying couples dance in her living room. The big finale begins with Lawrence performing the sweet ballad "Lovely One" to Virginia Vaill, while the chorus models add their own commentary. A trio of dancing violinists pick up the song next, giving us a comic soft shoe. Lawrence picks up with "Lady of the Evening" (along with bits of the Hawaiian "Aloha Ole" and the Navy theme "Anchors Aweigh") as he describes all of those fabulous fashions.

Trivia: Was nominated for Art Direction along with "That Old Feeling." 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the movie is almost two hours. That's way too long for a story this fluffy. I do appreciate that the discussions of Curon's unhappy marriage gives it a slight edge over your usual 30's backstage spectaculars. Thing is, Bennett's character is more of an annoying pest than a sweet girl who just wants out of a bad marriage, and she never was comfortable in musicals. A lot of the non-musical dramatic scenes towards the middle probably could have been trimmed with no one the wiser. Second, Warners or whomever owns this now really needs to take a crack at restoring it. The color on the copy at YouTube is soft and scratchy. 

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for the musical numbers alone if you're a fan of Baxter, Bennett, or the big spectacular Art Deco musicals of the 1930's. 

Home Media: It can be easily found on YouTube and on some shady DVD releases.

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Happy Go Lovely

RKO/Associated British-Pathe, 1951

Starring Vera-Ellen, David Niven, Cesar Romero, and Diane Hart

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Music by Mischa Spoliansky; Lyrics by Barbara Gordon and Mischa Spoliansky

William Bendix wasn't the only American film star to work in England during the 1950's. Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, and director H. Bruce Humberstone joined British star David Niven to make this veddy English take on the backstage extravaganza. How does the story of a chorus girl who mistaken for the sweetheart of a millionaire look nowadays? Let's begin in a theater at Edinburgh, Scotland, during the first preview of the show Frolics for You and find out...

The Story: Right now, it's looking like there might not be a show. Director-producer John Frost (Romero) can't afford to pay his cast, let alone his creditors. Chorus girl Janet Jones (Vera-Ellen), desperately late for rehearsal one day, gets a ride from Bates (Hugh Dempster), the genial chauffeur for millionaire B.G Bruno (Niven). The moment she's seen stepping out of a millionaire's limo, everyone at the theater thinks she and Bruno are an item. Frost decides to use this to his advantage, giving Janet the star role after the original star quits and telling his creditors he now has a millionaire backing his show. Janet even gets a visit from the dressmaker (Barbara Couper) who had been hounding her to pay her before to make new clothes.

The clothes bill finally gets back to the real B.G Bruno. Bruno is an unassuming young greeting card tycoon who is more interested in his business than romance. He goes to Janet, only for her to mistake him for the reporter who is supposed to interview her, Paul Tracy (Gordon Jackson). B.G is so charmed by her, he lets her think he's Tracy. She and her friend Mae (Hart) even convince him to "play" B.G Bruno when Frost demands to see him. Bruno does give him money for the show...but now Janet thinks he's in trouble for forging a check and tries to get him out of that theater, and fast!

The Song and Dance: Debonair Niven and sassy, charming Vera-Ellen aren't the first people I'd pair off, but they're surprisingly cute together in this really fun backstager. His wiry charm and her brittle warmth play off each other well, and they have so much chemistry, I wish they'd worked together again. They're backed by a lovely production at England's Elstree Studios, with a gorgeous soft Technicolor palate, lovely gowns for the ladies, and fine suits for Niven.

The Numbers: The movie opens with the lavish "Macintosh's Wedding," the original big number before the star quits. A young Scotsman isn't thrilled to marry his sweetheart, until a bump on the head convinces him otherwise! The lovely "One, Two, Three" is a charming ballet with Janet and the chorus dancing in frilly white dresses over rainbow petticoats. "London Town" is the other big chorus routine, a ballet with Janet as a tourist who falls for a British guard. "Would You, Could You?" ends the film with Janet's big solo ballet, pirouetting in a gorgeous white and gold dress as she dances for the audience, but only has eyes for B.G.

Trivia: This is a loose remake of two earlier European movies, the German And Who Is Kissing Me? from 1933 and English Paradise for Two from 1937. 

What I Don't Like: Cute though it is, story is not this movie's strong suit. The backstage aspect is nothing you haven't seen in put-on-a-show films on both sides of the pond, while the romantic aspect is so tangled, B.G isn't the only one questioning his identity by the end! Romero is less charming and more annoying as the other transplanted American (though interestingly, he doesn't end up paired off with Mae or one of the other chorus girls, which I thought they might end up doing). 

The Big Finale: If you love Niven, Vera-Ellen, or 50's musicals, you might want to travel over to Scotland and give this highland fling a shot.

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it can pretty much be found anywhere on DVD and streaming.

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Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - It's a Great Life

MGM, 1929

Starring Vivian and Rosetta Duncan, Laurence Gray, and Jed Prouty

Directed by Sam Wood

Music by Dave Dryer; Lyrics by Ballard MacDonald

We're going backstage this week at the dawn of the early sound era. After the wild success of The Broadway Melody, MGM pretty much used that as a template for all of its theater-set musicals from 1929 through 1932. Vivian and Rosetta Duncan were the inspirations and original casting choices for the sister act in Broadway Melody. Their close-harmony comedy act had been captivating audiences in vaudeville, the stage, and on silent film since 1911. MGM figured it made sense to star the sisters in their own Broadway Melody variant about a small-time sister act who breaks up when one gets married. How does it look now, over 90 years later? Let's begin at a department store, where the head manager (George Periolat) is getting ready to lead the clerks in song, and find out...

The Story: Diminutive Casey Hogan (Rosetta Duncan) and her slightly ditsy younger sister Babe (Vivian Duncan) get into trouble when Casey does comedy when she's just supposed to be dancing in the store's annual talent show. That doesn't put her over with Jimmy Dean (Gray), the piano player in the sheet music department who is in love with Babe and is directing the show. Jimmy tries an act with Babe, but it doesn't really work until Casey joins in, too. That puts it over better...until Babe and Jimmy claim they want to get married. Casey is devastated, and they break up the act. Casey is ready to marry David Parker (Prouty), the department store manager who has been in love with her for years...until Jimmy tells her that her sister has collapsed. She's delirious...and will respond to no one but her sister.

The Song and Dance: The first half of this one, when they're at the department store and doing vaudeville together, is actually kind of fun. Vivian's bland and a bit annoying, but Rosetta can be a riot, especially playing off the combative Gray. The movie is surprisingly fast-paced for the era. Wood gives a real sense of bustle to the early scenes, especially at the botched talent show and when the trio are on their vaudeville tour. It's rare for a film of this vintage to still have its color scenes. Apparently, those were rediscovered in the 90's. That fashion show in particular doesn't look too bad today. 

The Numbers: We open with the store song, "Smile, Smile, Smile," during a meeting. Casey finds it to be more than a little maudlin and goofs off and makes wisecracks throughout the entire number. Our first Technicolor sequence is "Fashion Through the Day," the fashion show sequence that goes awry when the girls get in the wrong order and come down when the singer isn't talking about their costumes. The movie returns to black and white for a rather dreadful tenor murdering "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella." He sounds whiny and can't even remember the lyrics. Babe attempts a solo, "The Sweetheart's Song," but she has an attack of stage fright, and Casey saves the number by turning it into a comedy. Casey and Babe do better by their simple, sweet close harmony number, "I'm Following You." 

The Hogans reprise this in their vaudeville act, climbing out of Jimmy's piano. This is actually rather charming, showing us what vaudeville acts like the Duncans meant to their audiences. The two of them dressing in goofy Spanish costumes and singing "It's an Old Spanish Custom" and "If I Love You"as an exaggerated Victorian lass and gentleman is a little stranger. The movie ends with Babe's Technicolor fever dream...and considering the wild Art Deco sets, it's almost literally one. The Hogans start out by singing "Hoosier Hop" with bad back-up dancers in gingham bonnets. They end things by having the chorus girls slide down silvery "sunbeams" in "Sailing On Sunbeams."

What I Don't Like: Yeah, I can see why this was such a flop, the Duncans never made another feature-length film. It starts out pretty cute, but the bottom drops out pretty quickly once Jimmy and Babe get married. The melodrama is dull, silly, and annoying. Some of Casey and Jimmy's bickering gets obnoxious to the point of being plain nasty. No wonder Babe got so sick. Jed Prouty is supposed to be Casey's love interest, but he's such a nonentity, you understand why Casey ran back to her sister. (Oh, and Warner, the color on the copy currently at YouTube could stand for some restoration, particularly in "Sailing On Sunbeams.")

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of the Duncans, vaudeville, or the early talkie era. Everyone else would be better off looking for the Technicolor numbers solo online.

Home Media: It's on DVD from the Warner Archives, but like most 1929 titles now in the public domain, you're better off streaming this one.

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Summer Holiday (1963)

Associated British Picture Corporation/American International Pictures, 1963

Starring Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Melvyn Hayes, and Teddy Green

Directed by Peter Yates

Music and Lyrics by various

We finish the summer season with one more dive into the Beach Party well. Here, however, we have a romantic shindig from across the Atlantic that actually predated Beach Party in the United Kingdom by seven months. Unlike the AIP films, with their barely-relevant music and wacky casts, this is a full-on musical, more like what Elvis was appearing in around this time. Cliff Richard was one of the biggest movie and recording stars in England during the early 60's. His previous musical, The Young Ones, was a huge hit, and ABPC wanted to keep his streak going. How does the story of four bus repairmen from London who run into everything from a mime troupe to a starlet on the way to the French Riviera compare to Elvis' movies and the other teen musicals on the other side of the pond? Let's begin with everyday England in black and white, before switching to glorious Technicolor, and find out...

The Story: Don and his friends Cyril (Hayes), Steve (Green), and Edwin (Jeremy Bulloch) make over a two-decker bus into an RV, complete with shower and kitchen. They want to flee the wet English summer and enjoy warmth at the French Rivera, but pretty much everything possible interrupts their holiday. They first pick up a girl singing group trio after they accidentally run them off the road, then a mime troupe led by The Great Orlando (Ron Moody). 

In Paris, a boy named Bobby stows away in the bus. He turns out to be a she, American star Barbara Winters (Peters). Barbara's overbearing mother (Madge Ryan) and her driver Jerry (Lionel Murton) chase them from rugged Switzerland to hot, sunny Athens, each time finding a way to stop or detail them. There's the Yugoslavian farmers who think the boys want to marry their women, too. The Great Orlando helps them out in France, while they're lucky that Barbara is able to claim the locket the Austrian authorities claim they stole. Their luck runs out in Athens, when Mrs. Winters claims they've kidnapped her daughter. It's there that they relate their journey, and not only admit they've had a heck of a summer, but Don realizes how much he's come to care for Barbara, too.

The Song and Dance: I'm impressed. For a movie with a plot that fluffy, this wound up being a real treat. Richard falls somewhere between Elvis and Pat Boone, not quite so dangerous as the former in his early films, but more swaggering than the latter. The Technicolor blazes with the real and gorgeous scenery of a Europe on the move, dominated by that cherry-red bus that becomes increasingly scraped and battered the more wild encounters the boys have. American choreographer and later director Herbert Ross did the dances, assuring that they fit in well and radiate sheer joy. 

The Numbers: We open with the boys building their mobile bus home as they sing "Seven Days to a Holiday" and dream of getting away from dreary England. They say "Let Us Take You for a Ride" after they run the girls' lavender roadster off the highway. We get two numbers from Richard's group the Shadows, the hit "Foot Tapper" and "Round and Round." Our second big dance number is an instrumental routine in a smoky French cafe, "Les Girls," where the girls and boys dance with grotesque African masks. Don sings about being "A Stranger In Town" to a bevy of well-dressed French beauties in his imagination...who turn out to be angry older women in reality. 

"Orlando's Mime" is an elaborate series of skits revolving around Orlando as a hair cutter, in love with a girl who prefers a young artist. It ends with a bang...literally...that gets them out of the courtroom. "Bachelor Boy" is Don, the boys, and the Shadows declaring their desire to remain single during a rest stop. Don would rather have "A Swinging Affair," but so would Barbara, who eagerly dances with a group of young men. Everyone is "Really Waltzing" during a huge chorus number in an Austrian nightclub. In Austria, Don declares he's fallen in love with Barbara "All at Once." 

Don and the Shadows put on their "Dancing Shoes" for a crying shepherdess. They want to get bread from her, but she thinks they say "bride." That gets the boys get caught up in that muddy "Yugoslav Wedding,' which comes off more like the European version of a hillbilly wedding here in the US. Don laments after Barbara returns to her mother that he'll be more careful "The Next Time" he falls in love. The boys finally end up at their trial, claiming their crazy holiday is "Big News."

Trivia: This was the second-biggest hit of 1963 in England, but flopped in the US, due to being released there two days after the assassination of John Kennedy.

In fact, Richard had only sporadic success in the US. He did manage to have some big singles over here, notably "Devil Woman" and "We Don't Talk Anymore" later in the 70's, but it never matched his enormous following in his native lands. 

Jeremy Bulloch is best-known in the US for playing Boba Fett in the original Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Novice director Peter Yates went on to specialize in action movies like Bullitt and dramas like Breaking Away. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention that "fluffy" thing up there? While the story is of more consequence than it usually is in the average Beach Party frolic, it's still pretty goofy. If you're looking for a darker or more meaningful 60's musical, this isn't it. It also may not appeal to those who don't understand some of the more overtly European stereotypes, from that smoky French coffee shop, with its bongos and African gew-gaws, to them being held up at the Yugoslav borders by guards (Yugoslavia was a communist and Soviet satellite country at the time.) 

The Big Finale: This wound up being a lot more fun than I figured from the simple premise. If you love Richard, early 60's rock, or big widescreen extravaganzas of the 50's and 60's, you'll want to head across the pond and take a wild summer holiday with Don and his friends too.

Home Media: Which makes it disappointing that the only place to find this currently in the US is on the Internet Archive (albeit in a pristine, glowing Cinemascope copy). 

Internet Archive

Romance On the High Seas

Warner Bros, 1948

Starring Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day, and Jack Carson

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Music by Jules Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

This week, we go on vacation with Doris Day in her first movie, and one of her lesser-known ones. Day started off as a singer with several big bands during the mid-40's. She was called in by Curtiz to replace a pregnant Betty Hutton. Curtiz was so impressed with her emotional performance of "Embraceable You," he gave her a contract on the spot. Janis Paige was another last-minute addition and was technically the star, but it was Day who got the spotlight and the great songs. How well does she do with her first film, a complicated romantic comedy involving misunderstanding and fear of infidelity? Let's begin with the wedding of Elvira (Paige) and Michael (DeFore) Kent, which they spend suspecting each other of looking more at the wedding party than them, and find out...

The Story: Three years later, Elvira is setting up a cruise to Rio de Janeiro for their third anniversary. Michael canceled vacations for their previous anniversaries, supposedly to handle various deals. Elvira believes he's really having affairs at his office. She gives her tickets to singer Georgia Garrett (Day), who hangs around the travel agency dreaming of the vacations she can't afford, as long as she goes under her name. 

Georgia is delighted to do so at first, but then she falls for charming Peter Virgil (Carson). He's a private detective Michael hired to make sure Elvira wasn't having her own affairs on vacation. Not only does he really think Georgia is Elvira and he's having an affair with his client's wife, but Georgia's would-be boyfriend Oscar Farrar (Oscar Levant) turns up on-board looking for her. When Georgia gets a singing job onboard in Elvira's name, that finally brings Elvira and Michael to Rio to see this for themselves, too.

The Song and Dance: You can easily see why Day made such a big impression with both Curtiz and audiences. You'd never guess this was her first movie. She's just as ease in front of the camera as she is with a ballad and an uptempo dance number. Carson and Levant both play off her well as the private eye and nightclub owner who get caught up in the deception in spite of themselves. The gorgeous ballad "It's Magic" was a massive hit and remains associated with Day. Gorgeous production, too, including some really lovely gowns and hats for the ladies and attractive Technicolor cinematography in a romantically recreated Rio.

The Numbers: The Samba Kings get the title song over the credits. "It's You or No One" is Georgia's first number in the club. She sings the more uptempo ballad "I'm In Love" with the musicians on the ship. Avon Long sings about "The Tourist Trade" after the ship docks in Brazil. Georgia first sings  the standard "It's Magic" with Peter, and later reprises it on her own. Oscar shows off his piano skills with "Brazilian Rhapsody." Peter admonishes the Samba Kings to "Run, Run, Run" from women. Georgia's opinion on men is "Put 'Em In a Box, Tie 'Em With a Ribbon, an' Throw 'Em In the Deep Blue Sea," the other hit from this film. Georgia sings about how "She's a Latin from Manhattan" in the club near the end.

What I Don't Like: Paige and DeFore are the big problem here. Not only do they actually have less to play than the supporting cast, but their distrustful and obnoxious characters are so unlikable, you wonder how they ever got married in the first place. DeFore in particular comes off as more of an idiot than anything. In fact, the story can get both too silly and too convoluted at turns. By the end, you stop wondering what's going to happen and wish Georgia and Peter would give that spoiled, silly couple a good shaking.

The Big Finale: Even with the annoying story, there's enough good music here for Doris Day's first movie to be recommended to her fans and fans of smaller-scale 40's musicals.

Home Media: Easily found on all major formats. The Blu-Ray is from the Warner Archives.

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Million Dollar Mermaid

MGM, 1952

Starring Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, and Jesse White

Directed by Richard Thorpe and Busby Berkeley

Music and Lyrics by various

Williams had wanted to play Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman for years. Kellerman was more-or-less the blueprint for Williams' later success, a champion amateur swimmer of the early 20th century who later became a star on Broadway and in the movies. Williams brought Kellerman herself in to convince MGM that it would be perfect for her next extravaganza. They went all out with this one, bringing in Victor Mature from Fox as her leading man and letting Busby Berkeley go wild with water pageantry. How well does a beloved swimming star of one era represent another? Let's begin at the Kellerman Conservatory in a suburb of Sydney, Australia as little Annette (Donna Corocan), who was stricken with polio and walks in braces, watches girls her own age dancing and find out...

The Story: Annette's musician father Frederick (Pidgeon) finds her swimming in a near-by bay. He's against it at first, until she insists it's made her legs stronger. Indeed, Annette (Williams) swims so often, she's eventually able to walk normally and join the ballet class. By her teens, she's winning amateur swimming championships. 

After a downturn in the Australian economy causes Fredrick to lose most of his students, he sells the conservatory and takes a job in London. When the job falls through, Annette tells promoter Jimmy Sullivan (Mature), whom she met on the boat going there, that she'll swim to Greenwich as an ad for his boxing kangaroo. Annette's feat is a far bigger success than any kangaroo, prompting Sullivan to take her and her father to New York to star in the enormous Hippodrome theater. Manager Alfred Harper (David Brian) tells her she needs to be better-known in New York before they'll take her on.

Annette attempts another long swim in Boston, but gets in hot water with the local authorities for wearing a then-daring one-piece bathing suit. She gains so much notoriety from the indecency trial, Jimmy showcases her in carnival diving shows. He's more threatened when a lecturer wants to do something classier and finally walks out on Annette. She doesn't have long to be upset. The Hippodrome finally calls, asking her to be a specialty number. She and her lavish shows are huge successes, enough for Hollywood to call. Tragedy strikes as she's making one of her movies, finally bringing Jimmy back to her side and making Alfred realize who she really loves.

The Song and Dance: This is more like it. For once, Williams' big numbers aren't shoehorned into a barely-there plot, but are the reason the plot exists. Despite a lot of the story being fabricated, it's still five times more interesting than something like Thrill of a Romance. No wonder Williams so badly wanted to play Kellerman. She's equally good showing off those one-piece bathing suits in Berkeley's aquatic fantasias and putting Jimmy in his place. Mature never did fit well in musicals, but he's not bad as the slightly smarmy promoter who falls for this Broadway mermaid. Pidgeon and White do equally well as Annette's doting father and the poor assistant promoter who keeps getting stuck with the worst parts of Jimmy's schemes. The costumes are gorgeous and for once, mostly historically accurate, including the infamous one-piece bathing suit that caused such a scandal, and the Technicolor is some of the best from any MGM movies of the 50's. 

The Numbers: The film starts with the students at Kellerman's music school playing various classical pieces, including the miniature ballerinas Annette so envies. She does so well with swimming, she's eventually able to join them. Ballet makes a brief return later in the film at the Hippodrome. Annette admires ballerina Anna Pavlova (danced by another famous ballet diva, Maria Tallchief), who swirls to a stunning version of her famous The Dying Swan in a massive white tutu. 

Of course, the real reason this movie exists is for those three famous Berkeley extravaganzas. The first one has Williams, clad from the crown on her head to her glittering toes in gold sequins, doing huge dives among spurting fountains. Annette begins the second to The Nutcracker gliding around poles in a flowing tutu. She ends up swimming into an enormous clam. The third brings in the chorus and tons of red and yellow smoke as girls in yellow swimsuits and boys in red briefs do Berkeley formations around Williams in a glistening ruby bathing suit. This one ends with a lot of scarily high dives off swings and the chorus surrounding Williams on an enormous sparkling platform.

Trivia: In real life, Kellerman's parents encouraged her swimming to help with her weak legs and were the ones who enrolled her in classes. She had already been involved with show business long before she met Jimmy Sullivan, having done mermaid shows and diving exhibitions as a teenager in Melbourne. She did attempt to swim the English Channel several times, but never made it across. The truth of her Boston publicity stunt seems to be in doubt as well. Kellerman also protested that Jimmy Sullivan was a quiet, unassuming man and not a loud-mouthed huckster. She did get hurt when a tank cracked and broke during the filming of A Daughter of the Gods, but only had cuts and bruises, not a damaging spine injury. (And Sullivan was never in charge of Rin Tin Tin!)

Kellerman's not the only one who got injured during the filming of one of her movies. Williams wound up in a body cast after one of the high dives during the first number with the fountains, thanks to that huge crown being too heavy for the stunt. 

Of Kellerman's movies, only Venus of the South Seas and part of Neptune's Daughter exist today. 

What I Don't Like: Though the story is more interesting than most of Williams' films, it's still a mess of biographical cliches. Those three numbers are so incredible, I wish they could have gotten another one in there somewhere, maybe in the beginning in Australia or in the end before the tank cracked. Then again, this is already pretty long for a biography, especially in the second half when the water ballets end and the romance picks up. Also, there's the simple fact that Kellerman isn't even all that well-remembered in her native Australia anymore, let alone in the US. 

The Big Finale: Who am I to argue with a Million Dollar Mermaid? Williams thought this was her best film, and I have to agree with her. Highly recommended for her fans, ballet lovers, or fans of the big musicals of the 1950's and 60's. 

Home Media: Warners seems to agree with Williams as well. This may be her easiest movie to find, on streaming and on disc via the Warner Archives. 

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DVD - TCM Greatest Classic Films - Esther Williams Vol. 2

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Thrill of a Romance

MGM, 1945

Starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Carleton G. Young, and Frances Gifford

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

We're staying with Esther Williams, but head north of the border for two of her more likely vehicles. This was her second movie with her name over the title after Bathing Beauty, and her second of five with charming, boyish Van Johnson. Johnson was even bigger than Williams at MGM during the 40's and early 50's, possibly one of their biggest male stars of the time. How well do they work together in this story of a married swimming instructor who falls for a war hero? Let's begin with an introduction to the Los Angeles area that's the setting for our story and find out...

The Story: Swimming teacher Cynthia Glenn (Williams) marries wealthy Bob Delbar (Young) after a whirlwind courtship. She's disappointed when Bob is called to Washington DC to complete a deal during their honeymoon. While staying at a hotel in LA, she falls for sweet, handsome Major Thomas "Tommy" Milvaine (Johnson), who wants her to teach him how to swim. She's initially upset when her husband can't get back for another week, then tells Tommy she wants to give their marriage a chance. Getting caught in the desert with Tommy gives her a whole new perspective on the situation. Maybe Bob isn't the right man for her after all...and maybe she wants Tommy more than she thinks.

The Song and Dance: This sweet and low-key romance is certainly better than the similar Williams vehicle This Time for Keeps from 1947...and the key is Johnson. Anyone else would have made Tommy as bland as Jimmie Johnson would be in the later film, or as smarmy as Young's stoic Bob. His charming Army officer is so energetic and hopeful, you can understand why Cynthia fell so hard for him. No wonder he was one of the biggest heartthrobs in Hollywood around this time. Williams always did do well playing off him. Melichor has a far more interesting role here as the impish opera star who does everything he can to bring Cynthia and Tommy together, and Spring Byington and Henry Travers are adorable as Cynthia's doting uncle and aunt. We also get some of MGM's best Technicolor from this era and stunning gowns for Williams.

The Numbers: Most of the songs heard in the film are performed by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra at the hotel's nightclub. Among the songs heard from him are "I Should Care," "Battle of the Balcony Jive," "Opus One," and "Song of India." Dorsey's fictional daughter Susan (actually piano protege Helene Stanley) plays "Hungarian Rhapsody," which becomes "The Guy With the Slide Trombone."  Melichor gets "Vesti la glubbia" in an actual opera sequence. He does "Ich Liebe Dich" with Dorsey, along with the new "Vive la compagnie" and a hilarious "I Want What I Want When I Want It." Diminutive Jerry Scott, a bell boy with a sweet, high, almost female voice, performs "Because" and "Please Don't Say No, Say Maybe."

What I Don't Like: The plot is the problem here. Frankly, it's deadly boring when no one is singing or swimming.  Even Williams' swimming and Johnson's charm can't paper over the frothy, been-there plot or Young being a block of wood. Melichor's role is completely extraneous. He's mainly there to sing opera and look twinkly. This is another MGM musical of the 40's and early 50's that felt like they grabbed whomever was laying around the lot and threw them into a romantic comedy. (The fact that it was originally intended for Kathryn Grayson does explain why Williams being a swimming instructor seems a bit shoehorned in, too.) 

The Big Finale: Not Williams' best film, but it's still a pleasant way to spend two hours if you're a fan of her, Johnson, or romantic comedies.

Home Media: DVD only, with the solo disc released by the Warner Archives. 

DVD

DVD - TCM Greatest Legends: Esther Williams Vol. 2

Celebrating Cinco Del Mayo - Fiesta (1947)

MGM, 1947

Starring Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, and Fortunia Bonanova

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

The other major event this weekend takes us south of the border to celebrate Mexico's victory over the French Army in 1862. Cinco Del Mayo is really more of a celebration of Mexican culture here in the US, which brings us to this movie. South and Latin American settings and culture were also popular in American films of the 30's and 40's after the market for US movies in Europe closed due to World War II. Studios responded with movies like this one that celebrated Latin American culture and heritage...including bullfighting, a major sport in Spanish-speaking countries. How well does MGM do in representing that culture? Let's begin with the birth of the twin son and daughter of famed bullfighter Antonio Morales (Bonanova) and find out...

The Story: Morales hopes for his son Mario (Montalban) to follow in his footsteps, but his real interest is music. Mario's twin Maria (Williams) is the real bullfighting protege, but her father largely ignores her. Maria is more understanding about her brother's love of music. She sends a copy of his symphony to famous conductor Maximino Contreras (Hugo Haas). Contreras is impressed and visits the family right before Mario's first bullfight. Morales doesn't want to distract his son and dismisses the musician. 

Mario is so furious when he finds out, he walks out of the bullfighting ring after his second fight and vanishes. Hoping to save face and her family's name, Maria takes his place. Contreras has his composition played on the radio to draw him out. It does the trick...but his return to see his sister play in his place nearly ends in disaster.

The Song and Dance: This may be Williams' most unique vehicle. MGM took many pains to make this as authentic to Mexican culture as possible, including location shooting in the real Mexico. The Mexican landscapes glow in brilliant Technicolor. This was Montalban's debut as a leading man and Williams' with her name over the credits, and he in particular isn't bad as a driven musician. Actual Mexican Bononova adds authenticity and lots of bluster to his role as the father who is so determined that his son follow in his footsteps, he ignores his real talents...and that his daughter is even more talented in the ring. Mary Astor is lovely as the concerned mother, too. (I also appreciate that Maria and Mario already have committed relationships when the story begins. The real focus is on their family and ambitions, not romance.)

The Numbers: Mario's big composition that we hear throughout the film is called "Fantasia Mexicana," but it's actually based on the Aaron Copeland piece "El Salon Mexico." If "La Bamba" sounds familiar, it's today best known for the 1958 version performed by Richie Valens and the later 1987 remake. Charisse and Montalban have a fiery dance routine with her swirling in a white gown with a stunning contrasting coral red petticoat. We also get "The Mexican Hat Dance" and "La Raspa."

What I Don't Like: MGM's drive for authenticity didn't extend to the actors. Only Bononova and Montalban are actual Mexicans. Despite being a vehicle for her, Williams is about as Mexican as a hamburger and seems a bit out of place. She only gets a very brief swimming sequence, making this one of her few vehicles where she doesn't spend a ton of time in the water. John Carroll as Williams' love interest has far less to do than Cyd Charisse as Montalban's sweetheart and comes off as so bland, you can understand why Maria is reluctant to go off with him. 

The Big Finale: This wound up being far better than I thought it would from the fairly absurd premise. Fans of Montalban or Williams who want to see her in a different light will want to give this one a look. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives. 

DVD

DVD - TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Vol. 2

Cult Flops - Les Girls

MGM, 1957

Starring Gene Kelly, Taina Elg, Kay Kendall, and Mitzi Gaynor

Directed by George Cukor

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

Our second lesser-known MGM musical this week would also be one of their last original titles, among other lasts. It was Gene Kelly's final musical for MGM, and Cole Porter's final film score and the next-to-last score he wrote. In other ways, this was as up-to-date for the late 50's as one could get, including a unique plot inspired by the 1950 Japanese epic Rashomon, wide-screen cinematography, Technicolor, and bizarre Jack Cole choreography. How does all this mix with the story of how a guy-and-girl dance act ended up in court? Let's begin with two of those girls, Lady Sybil Wren (Kendall) and Angele Ducros (Elg), as they arrive at the courtroom in London and find out...

The Story: Lady Sybil just released a tell-all memoir about her days with the act. Angele is suing her for libel, claiming she was falsely portrayed. Sybil paints Angele as a lying, manipulative wench who chased after the head of their act Barry Nichols (Kelly) while engaged to wealthy Pierre Ducros (Jacques Bergerac). She broke down during one of their performances and never showed up to the one she was supposed to do with Barry. 

Angele denies ever having a relationship with Barry. According to her, Sybil was a frothing drunk and was the one who really fell for him. At the time, she was already promised to Sir Gerald Wren (Leslie Phillips), who got into a fist fight with Barry at a nightclub. Sybil supposedly attempted suicide in their apartment later that night, and would have died if her friends hadn't rescued her.

Barry finally gives the truth as he saw it. He never had any interest in Angele or Sybil. He'd been after their roommate and the third girl in the act Joy Henderson (Gaynor) from the start. The fiancees of the other two came to him to fire their sweethearts so they can get married. He claims this would make things worse and comes up with a phony heart condition instead. This does break up the act, but it also ends with Angele and Sybil in that fateful apartment, this time with Joy and Barry coming to the rescue. Joy wonders, however, if Barry really did have feelings for her partners after all...

The Song and Dance: This is an elegant treat, and possibly one of the most unusual musicals MGM ever did. You don't see too many musicals told in flashback or even partially set in a courtroom. Orry-kelly's incredible gowns for the ladies and the awesome sets won an Oscar. The Technicolor nearly pops off the screen, with all of the bold, stylized blacks, reds, and whites, cool blues of Paris, and those bizarre Jack Cole dances. 

Kelly has his own fun as the man they're all after, but it's the ladies in question who wiggle away with the film. Kendall is so hilarious as a proper British drunk, you understand why she won a Golden Globe (and seriously regret that her career was tragically cut short two years later by leukemia). And if anyone knew how to direct women on screen, it was George Cukor, who lends the film a strange, warm feeling all its own.

The Numbers: We open with Angele's dance and sing that introduces her to the act, and shows off the deceitful personality Sybil assumes her to have. Elg and Kelly perform a truly bizarre ballet in a cage-like set constructed of colored wire as they dance and wrap golden ribbon around each other. The first big number is the huge "Les Girls" act, with women of all nationalities in black and white strutting across the stage as Barry sings about how much he loves his ladies...and then the three in question show up to strut down the runway in stunning black and red frocks. 

Angele claims during a boat ride it's "Ca, C'est L'Amour" for her and Barry. We see the powdered wig-and-gown royalty spoof "Ladies In Waiting" twice. In Sybil's version, Angele is so upset by Pierre and his parents being in the audience, she spoils the number and doesn't show up for the golden ribbon ballet. Angele insists it's Sybil who spoiled the number by being too drunk to perform it. Sybil and Barry have a blast spoofing the upper crust while packing his clothes, claiming that "You're Just Too Too." 

The other big ballet is "Why am I So Gone About That Gal." Kelly's spoof of Marlon Brando and biker films has him as the leader of a biker gang who falls for waitress Joy. It would be totally absurd if their dancing wasn't so good and the stylized red and white diner wasn't so cool.

What I Don't Like: First of all, those three points of view means that this runs almost two hours, which is a tad long for a frothy musical. It sometimes feels disorganized and slow-moving, especially in the second half during Barry's rather pedestrian flashback. Second, while the Porter songs are amusing, even he admitted that they aren't among his best or most memorable work. Phillips does get to be involved in that very funny fight sequence, but the handsome Bergerac is basically there as window dressing and has nothing to do. 

The Big Finale: One of the most underrated musicals made during MGM's golden era, this is highly recommended for fans of Kelly, the leading ladies, Porter, or 50's musicals if you have time on your hands.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats; the discs are currently from the Warner Archives.

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Cult Flops - Mr. Imperium

MGM, 1951

Starring Lana Turner, Enzio Pinza, Marjorie Main, and Cedric Hardwicke

Directed by Don Hartman

Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

This week, we dig into the MGM vaults to check out two of their lesser-known films from the 1950's. This was the first of two attempts to turn stage and opera star Enzio Pinza into a movie idol, though it was the second released. The previews for this one went over so badly, they rushed his second movie, Strictly Dishonorable, out first. Despite that not doing well, they still released this one, pushing it into the lower half of double bills. Did it deserve that fate, or should it be rediscovered? Let's begin in 1939 Italy, as "Mr. Imperium" (Pinza) waits to see singer Fredrica "Fredda" Brown (Turner) do her act, and find out...

The Story: Mr. Imperium manages to get into Fredda's dressing room. She's not impressed, but he manages to charm her anyway when she sees him in the balcony adjourning hers. He shows her the Italian countryside and tells her about his little five-year-old son. He also admits that his real name is Prince Alexis, and will inherit the throne on his father's death. That comes all too soon when his father becomes sick and he has to join him. He gives a note to the family butler Bernand (Hardwicke) intended for Fredda. Bertrand merely claims that the prince has seduced and abandoned her.

Twelve years later, Fredda is a major movie star. Alexis, however, is no longer king, thanks to a revolution in his country after World War II. He arrives at a Palm Springs resort where Fredda is considering a proposal from her producer Paul Hunter (Barry Sullivan) and to decide who should play a king in her next movie. They reconnect when he takes the room next to hers. She thinks he could be the king in her film, and he thinks she could be the queen in his life. Trouble is, his country has decided it needs a king after all. His son is being groomed for the role, but he could end up being the target for assassins if his father doesn't step in.

The Song and Dance: The song and the MGM largess are really all this one has going for it. Pinza was a Metropolitan Opera star who made a splash on Broadway in the original cast of South Pacific. He was such a hit, MGM snapped him up to be their next leading man in musicals. Turner also ended up in a few musicals in the early 50's, despite not being a singer or dancer by any stretch of the imagination. At least they're surrounded by a gorgeous production, with fabulous full-skirted gowns for Turner, elegant suits for Pinza, and glowing cinematography in Italy and Palm Springs. Marjorie Main and Debbie Reynolds make the most of their scenes as the owner of the California hotel and her nosy niece who suspects something is going on between the movie star and the mysterious "Mr. Imperium."

The Numbers: We kick off with the rather absurd nightclub number "My Man and My Mule," which Fredda performs while perched on the back of a cardboard mule cut-out. Alexis implores Fredda to "Let Me Look at You" when he realizes she has the balcony next to him. "Adiamo (Let's Go)" is the appropriately bouncy ballad Fredda and Alexis sing during a donkey cart ride in the countryside. Real-life guitarists The Guadalajara Trio accompany Alexis and Fredda as they duet on the Spanish-language standard "You Belong to My Heart."

Trivia: Turner was dubbed by Trudi Erwin. 

What I Don't Like: Apparently, the movie went through a difficult production, and it shows on the lackluster performances from Pinza and Turner. He's trying too hard to be charming and witty; she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else. They have no chemistry whatsoever. You'd never believe that these two would seek each other out at all, let alone after twelve years. In fact, he apparently tried to hit on her and she was having none of it, which explains the frosty tone between the two.

There's also the fact that he's too old for her, and frankly for the role he's playing. Main, Reynolds, Hardwicke, and Sullivan are all capable of doing far more than their small and rather thankless roles allow. And as lovely as the costumes are, you'd never know it was 1939 in the first half if they didn't tell you. It looks like 1951 for the entire film.

The Big Finale: For die-hard opera nuts or Turner fans only. 

Home Media: Thanks to this being in the public domain, it's pretty easy to find anywhere. It's currenly streaming for free with commercials on Tubi.

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Cult Flops - That Lady In Ermine

20th Century Fox, 1948

Starring Betty Grable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Caesar Romero, and Walter Abel

Directed by Ernst Lubisch and Otto Preminger

Music by Friedrich Hollaender; Lyrics by Leo Robin

That Lady In Ermine had an even more troubled production than The Emperor Waltz. The original director was frothy comedy specialist Ernst Lubisch, but he had a fatal heart attack eight days into filming. His replacement couldn't have been more different. Otto Preminger was known for his mysteries and dark dramas. He'd done one previous musical, the nostalgic Centennial Summer. That the film was a huge flop in 1946 didn't stop them from recruiting Preminger to handle an even fluffier story. How does the change in director affect the tale of a countess who is encouraged by her notorious ancestor to stop a Hungarian count from harming her husband? Let's begin at the wedding of Countess Angelina (Grable) and Baron Mario (Romero) in Northern Italy in 1861 and find out...

The Story: The two were barely married for a few hours when the castle was attacked by the Hungarian Army, led by dashing Colonel Teglash (Fairbanks Jr). Mario flees, leaving his wife to deal with the invaders. Her ancestors in their paintings call on Francesca (Grable), depicted as wearing nothing but an ermine cloak, to save them as she did 300 years before. Angelica does think he's handsome, but she's also devoted to her new husband. Even the story of how Francesca supposedly killed the Duke (Fairbanks Jr.) who lead another invading army against the castle doesn't scare him away. 

Mario returns to the castle disguised as a gypsy. Teglash is ready to hire him when he hears his excellent violin playing, until he realizes he's Angelica's husband. He asks for her to dine with him if he spares Mario's life, but she doesn't show. It's up to Francesca to send a dream that's romantic enough for Teglash to retreat...and Angelica to understand whom she truly cares about.

The Song and Dance: This has an even worse reputation than Emperor Waltz...but honestly, it's not that bad. Fairbanks Jr. and Romero have a wonderful time chewing every bit of the lavish scenery, with Fairbanks especially good as the officer who falls for both Angelica and her mysterious ancestress. The Technicolor is exquisite, a Dresden candy box showing off a wide range of glowing pastels. Grable flounces around in amazing hoop-skirted gowns and sleek fur coats trimmed with acres of ruffles, sequins, bows, and tulle, while the men show off their gold braided Italian and Hungarian uniforms and colorful gypsy rags. 

The Numbers: We open with "The Jester's Song" as Major Horvath's (Abel) ancestor Benvenuto (Abel) reports the invasion to the other ancestors in the paintings. They all join Francesca as she sings "Ooh, What I'll Do (To That Wild Hungarian)" and reveals her plans for repelling Teglash and his army. One member of a chamber orchestra plays a short, sad instrumental violin song for Teglash after they've taken the castle, but his mind is on the woman in the painting. Francesca reminds her ancestress in a dream that it doesn't matter who a man is or what he looks like if "The Melody Is Right." 

The orchestra reprises "Ooh, What I'll Do" during Tegash's lengthy dream sequence near the end of the movie. Francesca tells him he can do anything he wants, including do a vigorous waltz with her and boom "This Is the Moment" in a very dubbed baritone. Francesca's rendition is a little less bombastic and easier to take. Tegash's second dream is shorter and a lot less pleasant. He and Francesca dance again, only for her to literally stab him in the back. The two of them and the ancestors end the movie with another wild dance to "Ooh, What I'll Do."

Trivia: This began life as a German operetta in 1919, which later inspired an American stage show, Lady In Ermine. It was filmed twice before, as a silent under the original title in 1927 and as the racy musical Bride of the Regiment in 1930. Both films are now mostly lost other than a very short fragment of Bride. 

"This Is the Moment" was nominated for Best Song in 1948, but lost to "Buttons and Bows." 

What I Don't Like: Preminger's heavy-handed bombast is all wrong for a frothy romantic comedy. Everyone is always shouting and stomping when they should be laughing and waltzing. All the screaming makes a hash out of the big "This Is the Moment" dream sequence. It takes the spice out of what should be a racy romp. Grable is especially stiff and noisy, and not really believable as the reluctant countess or her matchmaking ancestress. No wonder she later called this her least-favorite vehicle. Oscar nomination aside, the music isn't really all that memorable, either. Preminger would do far better with two dark operas in the 50's, Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess. 

The Big Finale: While not nearly as bad as most people claim, it has its fair share of problems. It's probably best for major fans of Grable or the two leading men, or those who love historical costume flicks and might be interested in the gorgeous production.

Home Media: The 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives DVD is hard to find, but it is available on streaming.

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Cult Flops - It's a Pleasure

RKO, 1945

Starring Sonja Henie, Michael O'Shea, Marie McDonald, and Bill Johnson

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music and Lyrics by various

By 1945, Henie was making more off her live ice skating shows than her movies. After her last 20th Century Fox film, Wintertime, was a flop, they let her go. She was picked up by the newly-created International Pictures in 1944. Former Fox head off production William Goetz wanted to make movies with the same high budgets and stars as the studio he left. It's a Pleasure got the royal treatment, including Technicolor, an elaborate production, and two popular stage leading men to play off Henie. How well did he do with this story of a figure skater who marries a down-and-out hockey player? Let's begin at the hockey area, where figure skater Chris Linden (Henie) eagerly watches the star she has a crush on, Don Martin (O'Shea), and find out...

The Story: Don is kicked off the team after he punches a referee during a game. Chris introduces Don to Buzz Fletcher (Johnson), who runs an ice skating revue. He'll take Chris and her troupe, who were skating between hockey rounds, and him too. Don's athletic moves prove to be a big draw for audiences and for Chris, whom he marries. 

Chris adores Don, but she doesn't love his heavy drinking. Buzz's bored wife Gail (McDonald) also has a crush on Don and is furious when he doesn't return her interest. She gets him drunk right before his big solo. Angry and disappointed, Chris goes on a long tour with Buzz's show after he fires Don. It's Gail, however, who finally brings the two together in the end when she locates Don and gets him to the theater for Chris' latest show.

The Song and Dance: One of the reasons Henie left Fox was they wouldn't let her do a movie in color. I'm glad she got her wish here. This movie looks gorgeous, with its glittering, glamorous skating show costumes and dazzling backdrops for the show. Even the copy currently on Amazon is in surprisingly good shape for such a minor title. It almost literally glows. I also give RKO credit for giving Henie a slightly darker plot than the silly romantic comedies Fox dumped Henie in. This snow cone has a little spice in it, with Gail practically throwing herself at Don and Chris' skater friend Wilma (Iris Adrian) snarking about Don's behavior every step of the way. 

Favorite Number: We start out at the hockey game with the chorus, the instrumental "Nobody's Sweetheart." Ladies in green skate for the audience before Sonja arrives in gleaming white to show off her trademark dizzying spins. There isn't another number until midway through the film, when Chris has to go on for her drunk husband. Sonja comes out in brilliant magenta, her hair up in feathers, for a fully solo routine. 

"Summer Dance" at the show in the finale is one of her very rare off-ice numbers. She does a lovely duet with a male dancer, this time with her pink gown nearly floating against a backdrop of emerald trees and a silvery pond. The last number is "Romance," which switches the pond to winter. Henie now glides like a snow queen against a backdrop of white and silver, with the chorus floating around her in scarlet.

What I Don't Like: Other than those big numbers in the finale, this frappe isn't much fun. Neither O'Shea nor Johnson make much of an impression. They're so bland, you have no idea why Chris or Gail would cause so much trouble over them. Henie never was much of an actress; many of the heavier dramatics are way over her head and O'Shea's, rendering their relationship totally unbelievable. There's also the sequence at the skating pond with Chris and Don joking about how spousal abuse is good for a relationship that comes off as far more disturbing today. (Even in the movie, Buzz called them on it.) 

The movie also features a surprising lack of ice skating for one of Henie's films. No one else has a number besides her or the chorus, and the only song with lyrics is heard briefly in the end. Don supposedly became a big skater in Buzz's shows, but we only hear his death-defying routines described. He's never shown doing them. The only time we see him on ice is during the hockey sequence in the opening. 

The Big Finale: It's a Pleasure is no pleasure. It's too bad this slushy nonsense was Henie's only shot at a color movie. It's strictly for her most ardent fans, or fans of 40's and 50's Technicolor musicals.

Home Media: On DVD and streaming, the latter currently free on Amazon Prime with a subscription. 

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Tales of Hoffman (1951)

British Lion Films, 1951

Starring Robert Rousenville, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, and Pamela Brown

Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Music by Jaques Offenbach; English translation by Dennis Arundell, from the original libretto by Jules Barbier

For years, Powell had wanted to combine moving images and operatic music. The Red Shoes and its ballet sequence was one step to that goal. This is the culmination, a movie set to almost the entire soundtrack of the original opera. This is unique movie in many respects. It's a true opera film. Everything is danced and sung; there's no dialogue. We also have dubbed dancers or singers who can act, with a deliberately unreal stage set and stylized acting. Does Powell's gamble work, or should it be abandoned? Let's begin backstage, where ballerina Stella (Shearer) is being courted by student E.A Hoffman (Rousenville), and find out...

The Story: This is an opera anthology, so there's actually four stories: 

The first begins with Stella onstage, dancing in "The Ballet of the Enchanted Dragonfly." Wealthy Councillor Lindorf (Helpmann) intercepts Stella's message for Hoffman. He goes downstairs to a tavern with his friends, including boyish Nicklas (Brown), and proceeds to get drunk while telling stories of his past romances...

In the second story, we learn how Hoffman fell for Olympia (Shearer), a lifelike mechanical doll created by scientist Spalanzani (Leonide Massine) and inventor Coppelius (Helpmann). Thanks to a pair of magic spectacles that Coppelius puts on him, he truly believes she's real...until the two men tear her apart in a dispute, and he realizes what he's really in love with. 

The third story has Hoffman in love with the courtesan Giulietta (Ludmilla Tcherina), but her only interest in him is to steal his reflection for the evil magician Dapertutto (Helpmann).

The final story veers into tragedy as Hoffman travels to Greece, where he visits his beloved Antonia (Ann Ayers). Antonia has a fatal disease that doesn't allow her to sing. She's tormented by Dr. Miracle (Helpmann), who encourages her to perform the aria that could kill her...

The Song and Dance: And it's all about the song and dance here. As mentioned, this is a full-blown opera, without a bit of dialogue. And it's just gorgeous, as much as the previous Red Shoes. The Technicolor is absolutely radiant, cool and clear. The art direction is sumptuous, the costumes lavish and historically accurate to the 1820's. Helpmann and Rousenville dance off with the movie as they smarmy count who portrays the many variations on evil and the writer who can never seem to keep his lovers around for long. Shearer's even lovelier as the fickle dancer and the darling doll who is so real, she has a living man helplessly in love with her, and Ayers is in ravishing voice as the doomed Antonia.

Oh, and I appreciate that Powell had each person who dubbed a dancer appear alongside them in the end credits. That was an honest and classy touch. 

Favorite Number: Shearer dances "Ballet of the Enchanted Butterfly" with Edmund Audran. Their costumes are realistic, but rather grotesque, making them look almost skeletal as they flit around. She also has some enchanting dances as Olympia, both solo, and with a chorus in hoop skirts, painted white and red "masques," and suits with enormous ruffled shirts. Helpmann does his best work here, too, paired with effeminate Massine. Helpmann is also effective playing off slinky Tcherina. Ayers gets one of the best arias in the film towards the end of the Antonia sequence when she performs a trio with herself, her deceased mother (Joan Alexander), and Miracle.  

Trivia: This also got Oscar nominations for the color art direction and costumes; lost both to An American In Paris. 

What I Don't Like: Unlike the passionate Red Shoes, the opera sort of puts this one at a remove. It comes off as a bit colder compared to the warm and vital Shoes. Also, as mentioned, this is a through-sung opera. This isn't a typical girls-and-gags musical with spoken sequences between the dance routines. It's not even a rock opera. It's as typical of a grand opera as you're going to get on the big screen. If you're not an opera fan or aren't interested in opera, you probably won't be into this.

The Big Finale: This and The Red Shoes are required viewing for fans of opera and ballet, or even those who just want to see what can be done with Technicolor in imaginative hands. 

Home Media: This is also a part of the  Criterion Collection on DVD and Blu-Ray. It can currently be found streaming for free on Flex.

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