Back to School Again - So This Is College

MGM, 1929

Starring Robert Montgomery, Sally Starr, Elliot Nugent, and Cliff Edwards

Directed by Sam Wood

Music and Lyrics by various

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be on hiatus from September 27th through October 5th for vacation. I'll be doing an extra review every week this month to make up for the ones I'll miss then. 

That said, we're going back to school this week with our first three reviews. School-set musicals go much further back than most people realize. College students were cheering football heroes and tossing water balloons on their friends in the silent era. Sound gave dimension to the pep rallies and school dances, and indeed the late 20's and early 30's saw a wave of college-set musicals. Prompted by the success of Good News on Broadway, the studios capitalized on their popularity with movies like this one, featuring two of the most unlikely collegiates in the history of film. How does college life in 1929 look almost a hundred years later? Let's begin with the arrival of Eddie (Nugent) joining the high-spirited pranks at real-life college USC, and find out...

The Story: Football heroes Eddie and Biff (Montgomery) swear that nothing will ever break up their life-long friendship, including women. This changes very quickly when co-ed Babs (Starr) dances into their lives. Their pranks as they attempt to keep the other from seeing her start out as harmless, but eventually come close to rupturing their friendship and their football prowess. Eddie initially steps aside when he discovers that Biff wants to marry Babs, but then they learn the truth about her at the big game...and finally come to the conclusion that being pals and good sports is more important than any girl. 

The Song and Dance: Nice to know some things haven't changed on college campuses in almost 100 years. The wild dances, the water in the bags gag in the beginning, the football obsession...yeah, that's stuff you can still see kids doing. Cliff Edwards handles the majority of the musical chores as the campus musician Windy. Starr is so adorable as Sally, you can understand why the two nearly give up their football careers for her. MGM spared no expense on this one. We have glittering low-slung 20's flapper outfits for the ladies, letter sweaters and tuxes for the guys, and shooting on the real-life USC campus (including real footage of an actual college game in the end). 

The Numbers: We open with the guys singing their school song "Cardinal and Gold" as Eddie arrives. Cliff Edwards sings about those "College Days" with the students later, and the students say they'll stay together "Until the End." Starr joins Edwards to sing about those "Campus Capers." Biff initially admits to Babs that "I Don't Want Your Kisses If I Can't Have Your Love." Eddie picks it up later, then we hear it at the prom. Speaking of the prom, Windy sings a whole number about how important it is to the students, "Sophomore Prom." The students claim they'll "Fight On!" at the pep rally. We get a medley of traditional songs performed by the students at the rally as well, including "How Dry I Am," "There's No Place Like Home," "Ring Around the Rosie," and "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here."

What I Don't Like: First of all, this really isn't all that different from dozens of school musicals that came after it, from College Humor to High School Musical. All the attendant school cliches run just as hot and heavy here, though it is kind of refreshing that neither Biff nor Eddie end up with Babs in the end. It's their relationship that really matters. Second, Starr is probably the only actor who is even remotely close to the right age for college. Montgomery, though not a horrible singer, is really uncomfortable in a musical, too, and Edwards is basically there for the songs and has little to do otherwise. Not to mention, this is an early talkie. There are stretches where people are just standing and talking.

The Big Finale: Cute if you're a fan of early talkie or pre-code musicals, nothing you really need to go out of your way to see otherwise. 

Home Media: DVD only via the Warner Archives.

DVD

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

Riding High (1950)

Paramount, 1950

Starring Bing Crosby, Coleen Gray, Clarence Muse, and Raymond Walburn

Directed by Frank Capra

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen and others; Lyrics by Johnny Burke and others

Bing Crosby's other release of 1950 also had him playing a guy who preferred a "lesser" career or no career to working in an office and was a remake of an earlier non-musical comedy, but is otherwise a different animal...literally, given this one has Bing as the caretaker to a beloved race horse. It was a subject near and dear to Bing's heart. He was a huge horse racing fan and owned many horses in real-life. Capra originally filmed this in 1934 Broadway Bill with Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy, but he was never happy with that version. How well does he do with this retelling? Let's begin after seeing horses racing in the credits with a secretary calling all of the sons-in-law of J.L Higgins (Charles Bickford) for a family meeting...including one who isn't on the job...and find out...

The Story: Dan Brooks (Crosby) gives up managing Higgins' box company and marrying his daughter Margaret (Frances Gifford) so he can devote himself to racing his newest horse Broadway Bill. He and his partner Whitey (Muse) want to race Bill in the Imperial Derby, but they need money. They try to get it from Professor Pettigrew (Walburn), but he's a con-man who doesn't have much more than they do. Even when they do get the money, Bill ends up throwing his rider and running from the track.

Dan is determined to try again, but they're even more broke now. Whitey tries gambling, but he's beaten instead. Alice does manage to get the money, but it's no use. Bill is carted away and Dan winds up in jail...until a sick but wealthy man (Gene Lockhart) thinks Bill is a sure shot and bets on him. Now gangster Eddie Howard (Douglas Dumbrille) would rather his own horses win. Dan still insists that his jockey Ted Williams (Frankie Darro) get Bill across the finish line...but pushing the horse to do so ends up having tragic consequences.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a pleasant surprise. Bing fits in far better here as a race track fan who loves his horse than he did as a songwriter in Mr. Music. He's more than matches by a terrific cast of character actors, many of them reprising their roles from the original film. Walburn is a delightfully twinkly and befuddled Professor, Muse manages to be dignified even when he's been ripped to shreds for gambling, and William Demarest gets some very funny lines as one of Dan's race track buddies. I even like that the ending gets a little bit dark. It does ultimately end on a happy note, but most of the final twenty minutes are more bitter than sweet. 

The Numbers: Our first song isn't until almost ten minutes in, but it's the lovely ballad "It's a Sure Thing," which Dan sings as he dresses for the family meeting. Whitey starts off "Someplace On Anywhere Road" while he and Dan drive Broadway Bill to the races. Dan eventually joins in. He and the Professor sing Yale's "Whiffenpoof Song" to get out of paying their restaurant receipt. Alice, Whitey, and Dan cheerfully sing and dance as they make a "Sunshine Cake" in the guys' ramshackle shack...before it starts raining. "The Horse Told Me" is a chorus number for Dan and everyone at the track the night before the big race. Dan, Alice, and Whitey are joined by a group of kids for "Camptown Races" as they walk Bill to the track.

Trivia: Look for Oliver Hardy in a rare solo cameo as a gambler at the first race.

Final film for venerable character actor Harry Davenport, who died three months after filming ended, radio comedian Ish Kabibble (M.A Bogue), and Frances Gifford.

What I Don't Like: Capra's not quite firing on all cylinders here. Apparently, a lot of footage is reused from the original Broadway Bill, including scenes at the track and sequences with Dumbrille and Walburn. It was due to budget concerns, but many people online complain that it looks cheaper. Gray is cute and does "Sunshine Cake" well with the guys, but she's certainly no Myrna Loy, who originated the role. Gifford has even less to do. Muse's dignity and Dan treating him like an equal partner does make his slightly stereotypical role a lot easier to take. 

The Big Finale: Not Capra's greatest achievement, but this is one of Bing's better musicals from later in his career. Check it out this Kentucky Derby weekend if you're a fan of Capra, Crosby, or the original Broadway Bill. 

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - Pigskin Parade

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, Stuart Irwin, and Judy Garland

Directed by David Butler

Music by Lew Pollack; Lyrics by Sidney D. Mitchell

We move west to Texas for our next college football musical. There's a lot more history in this one than you might think. This was Judy Garland's first major role, on loan to Fox from MGM, and one of Betty Grable's bigger roles at the time. Irwin had been specializing in big goofy guys since the time of Sweetie; this wound up being one of his rare starting roles. Patsy Kelly was coming from shorts, Jack Haley from his success in the Shirley Temple vehicle Poor Little Rich Girl. How do they fare as married coaches who recruit a talented hillbilly to play against Yale? Let's start at Yale as the professors there try to decide who should play their football team in a big charity game and find out...

The Story: One of their younger assistants accidentally invites Texas State University to play them. They haven't won a game in years, but the students believe their luck is changing when former high school coach Slug Winters (Haley) and his wife Bessie (Patsy Kelly). Bessie is really the one who knows something about football, and it's her suggestions that really begin to whip the team into shape.

Just as it looks like the team might have a chance against Yale, their quarterback Biff Bentley (Fred Kohler Jr.) breaks his leg. Desperate for a replacement, Bessie and Slug discover a shy hillbilly named Amos (Erwin) who can throw a watermelon farther than the pros. They bring him and his sister Sairy (Garland) to Texas State U under assumed names. Amos falls hard for co-ed Sally Saxon (Arline Judge), to the frustration of her wealthy boyfriend Mortimer (Grady Sutton). Amos almost leaves when he thinks Sally isn't interested in him, but the Winters convince him to stay for the Yale game. Inclement conditions could prevent Texas State from winning, until Bessie remembers how Amos likes to feel the earth between his toes...

The Song and Dance: Adorable football musical makes the most of its goofy premise with a terrific cast and some lively numbers. Irwin made such a delightfully sweet hillbilly, he got a nod for Best Supporting Actor in 1937. Garland already shines in her first movie, especially in her three big numbers. She's such an enthusiastic kid, you can't liking her. The movie really belongs to Kelly and Haley, and they, pardon the football pun, run with the ball. Kelly in particular is a blast as one of the few female coaches in filmdom. 

Favorite Number: We don't get our first number until almost 15 minutes in, but it's the students singing Texas State's rousing alma mater. Tony Martin, in one of his earliest roles, joins Dixie Dunbar for "You're Slightly Terrific" at the school pep rally, with Dixie leading the students in an energetic dance routine. The Yacht Boys get their first of many numbers at the rally with the adorably silly "Woo Woo!" Three lovely ladies join them at the homecoming dance for "We'd Rather Be In College," much to their surprise! They also lead campus radical Elisha Cook Jr. through "Down With Everything" as they try to get him arrested so Amos can use his name.

Judy finally gets to show what she can do with the dance number "The Balboa" to earn enough for the trip to Yale. Dixie Dunbar and Betty Grable lead the wild arms-and-legs two-step. Slug tries to seduce Sally back into Amos' arms with "You Do the Darnedest Things, Baby." Judy really makes the crowds at the train station to see the team off go crazy with her vivacious "The Texas Tornado." She also gets "It's Love I'm After" with a chorus of cowboys before the game. The Yacht Boys return near the end of the game...but they're embarrassed to perform "We Brought the Texas Sunshine Here With Us" during halftime in a major blizzard. The film ends with Texas State's band and the entire cast joyfully reprising "The Texas Tornado."

Trivia: Filming was reportedly a nightmare. A misfired gun in the crowd sequence towards the end sent one student extra to the hospital and injured three others, students sprained their ankles and hurt their necks during the fast-paced marching scene, and there was a fire on the train station set that the cast had to help put out. 

"It's Love I'm After" was originally intended for Betty Grable and Johnny Downs, but their version was cut. Judy also had a number dropped from the film, "Hold That Bulldog," though it is mentioned in the credits. The audio for "Love I'm After" survives, but "Hold That Bulldog" is completely gone. 

What I Don't Like: This is riddled with cliches of the highest order. They're better-presented than in Sweetie, but it still isn't anything you haven't seen before. It's Sweetie crossed with the slobs vs snobs comedies of the 1980's and the hillbilly B musicals of the 60's. It also doesn't treat campus protests and radicals any better than C'mon, Let's Live a Little did almost 30 years later. Though Cook Jr.'s character isn't a villain, he's blown off and treated as a joke by the other students. And if you're looking for more from Grable, you're going to be disappointed. She's limited to a barely-there love interest role and her part in "The Balboa."

The Big Finale: This wound up being a pleasant surprise. Judy Garland's first musical doesn't reinvent the game, but it is a lovely way to spend an hour and a half if you're a fan of her or any of the stars or want to see a good school-set movie. 

Home Media: The Fox Marquee Musicals DVD is hard to find, but it may turn up used. You're better off streaming this one. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - Horse Feathers

Paramount, 1932

Starring The Marx Brothers, Thelma Todd, and David Landau

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Music by Harry Ruby; Lyrics by Bert Kalmar

We skip ahead a few years for our second college football tale featuring three of the least-likely players in film history. The Marx Brothers were at the top of the movie heap when this debuted. Their first three films were critical and financial successes, and this one would continue that streak. Having parodied land speculation, the art world, and cruise ships and their wealthy clientele in their first three films, they took on no less than higher education in the fourth. How well do they do spoofing college sports cliches that continue to turn up to this day? Let's begin as the new dean Professor Wagstaff (Groucho) arrives at Huxley College and find out...

The Story: Wagstaff's son Frank (Zeppo) convinces his father to hire two professional football players to bump up the roster on Huxley's losing team. He actually ends up hiring ice seller Bavarelli (Chico) and dog catcher Pinky (Harpo) at a speakeasy to help Huxley defeat their rival Darwin University. College widow Connie Bailey (Todd) has been seeing Frank, but she ends up attempting to seduce all the other three as well. After Wagstaff realizes he's hired the wrong guys, he sends Bavarelli and Pinky to kidnap the players. The players end up stealing their clothes and locking them in, but they manage to escape in time for the wildest "big game" on record.

Oh, and you CAN burn a candle at both ends. And the password is always "swordfish." 

The Song and Dance: The Marx Brothers' fourth big-screen outing is more than equal to their earlier adventures. The sequences with Harpo, Chico, and Groucho trying to give the password at the speakeasy and them courting Todd are worth the price of admission. Kalmar and Ruby came up with a pretty decent score, too, including the standard "Everyone Says 'I Love You.'" 

This is also one of the few Marx Brothers movies with no young lovers taking away from the main story. Todd's no dewy-eyed ingenue, but a comedy scene-stealer in her own right. Check out her reactions to the Marxes when they each perform "Everyone Says." The wacky football finale is one of the best ending action sequences from any of their movies, including the truly insane "chariot race" in Chico's ice seller cart.

Favorite Number: We open with Groucho explaining his philosophy of life in pretty much everything he did, "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It,"  to the shocked staff and amused students of Huxtley. "I Always Get My Man" is his number with Zeppo and the students as his attempts teach a biology class degenerate into chaos. (Making this spoof one of the few vintage college movies to actually spend time in a classroom.) Chico plays "Collegiate" and his own "I'm Daffy Over You" on the piano, while Harpo gets a lovely harp solo.

"Everyone Says I Love You" starts off fairly normal, with Zeppo singing the sweet number to Todd to explain how much he likes her. Things get a lot weirder when each of his brothers try to serenade Todd with it in their own way. It becomes Harpo's harp solo and a comic dialect number for Chico. Groucho gives her the sarcastic version in a rowboat on a lake (while she's rowing).

Trivia: Like Animal Crackers, this was edited to bring it up to the standards of the Production Code in 1935. Among the missing bits are more of the sequence in Connie's apartment and a Harpo gag with a grapefruit in the speakeasy scene. A far more savage ending that featured the Marxes playing cards while Huxtley burned to the ground was filmed but not used. 

Chico Marx got into a car accident during filming, which is why he can be seen limping in several sequences and is frequently shown sitting down. 

The term "college widow" showed up a lot in these early school-set musicals. They were young women who hung around colleges trying to pick up young men, as Connie does with Frank here.

What I Don't Like: As with most of the Marx Brothers films, some of the gags have dated better than others. Many viewers nowadays may not even be aware of what a speakeasy or a college widow were. The supporting cast is barely there. It's the Brothers and Todd all the way, with a little interference from villainous Landau. If you're not into the Brothers and their brand of comedy, this is probably not the place for you. 

The Big Finale: Marx Brothers fans will find a great deal to enjoy in this farcical take on football and higher education. 

Home Media: Not currently streaming, but fairly easy to find on disc, solo and as part of a collection with the other Paramount Marx Brothers movies. 

DVD

DVD - The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection

Blu-Ray - The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection

Back to School Again - Sweetie (1929)

Paramount, 1929

Starring Nancy Carroll, Stanley Smith, Helen Kane, and Jack Oakie

Directed by Frank Tuttle

Music by Richard Whiting; Lyrics by George Marion Jr.

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews is going on vacation hiatus from September 22nd through the 30th. Reviews will resume October 1st. To make up for that, you'll be getting an extra review on Wednesday every week for the rest of the month.

Second, we kick off Back to School week with one of the oldest college-related film musicals. Movies with college settings go back to the silent era, complete with football games, homecoming dances, strict deans, and flappers chasing only slightly reluctant class presidents. College musicals had become especially popular in the late 20's, thanks to the success of the Broadway show Good News. This is Paramount's answer to that rush. How does the story of a chorus girl who inherits a university look nowadays? Let's enter the campuses of The Pellham School and Miss Twill's School for Girls in North Carolina and find out...

The Story: Barbara Pell (Carroll) is shocked when she inherits Pellham from a deceased uncle. Her former boyfriend Biff Bentley (Smith) was going to marry her, but he opted to stay at Pellham and finish out the football season instead. He's one of the reasons they're having their best season ever. Barbara's furious with him. She quit her Broadway job to be with him and was dumped back in the chorus when he left her. 

She first gives him tests on football days, then claims she'll sell the college to their rival school and let him knock it down. Even her Broadway buddy Tap-Tap Thompson (Oakie) knows that's pushing things too far. While Biff tries to prove to Barbara that she means as much to him as football does, Miss Twill's student Helen Fry (Kane) is up trees shooting boys in the rear, especially Biff's fellow football player Axel Bronstrup (Stuart Erwin). 

The Song and Dance: Carroll and the supporting cast are the standouts here. Kane shows the feisty cooing that made her the inspiration for Betty Boop, and Oakie has a fine time hamming it up as the dancer who ends up deciding he might actually like higher education. Carroll also has some good moments, especially early-on when she drops Biff after he claims he wants to finish the season. Paramount really jumped into this one, with lovely gowns and suits for the homecoming dance and a genuine field for the guys to play that all-important game on in the end. It honesty moves pretty fast for an early talkie film, with more vitality than most of them.

Favorite Number: Our first song is "Bear Down, Pellham." This sentimental fight song is what convinces Biff to stay at school and on the football team, after he hears his fellow team members singing it, looks into a mirror, and remembers what it feels like to be a football hero. Jack Oakie and the chorus girls have an instrumental tap routine at a Broadway theater after Barbara returns to the chorus that she's having a hard time keeping up with. 

Biff and Barbara perform the ballad "My Sweeter Than Sweet" on a simple piano as the school decorates for the homecoming dance. Helen boop-oop-a-doops through the only standard from this score, "He's So Unusual," looking every inch like a live-action Betty Boop. She and Oakie teach the kids decorating the lively routine "The Prep Step" for the dance. Oakie sings the goofy Al Jolson parody "Alma Mammy" at the school dance. All of the kids eventually join in for the closest thing this gets to a big dance routine. Helen tries to explain to Erwin when he climbs a ladder to her window that "I Think You'll Like It." The students briefly reprise "Alma Mammy" at the big game in very strange blackface masks that are probably supposed to represent Jolson. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, Smith is so dull, especially compared to hams like Kane and Oakie, that you wonder why Barbara wanted revenge on him to begin with. Though she does eventually rescind on her plans when she realizes how important football is to the school, Barbara's scheme to shut down an entire college just because her boyfriend dumped her for 8 months seems annoyingly petty. 

And yeah, this is an early talkie school musical. The story is cliched other than the angle of Barbara inheriting the school, only "He's So Unusual" stands out among the songs, and though the copy currently on YouTube is in surprisingly decent shape for the era, it still occasionally slows down and shows scenes of people sitting and talking.

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of Carroll, Kane, Oakie, or the movies of the pre-Code late 20's and early 30's. 

Home Media: To my knowledge, this can only be found at YouTube at the moment, but the copy is in surprisingly decent shape.

YouTube

Musicals On TV - Damn Yankees (1967)

NBC, 1967

Starring Jerry Lanning, Phil Silvers, Lee Remick, and Jim Backus

Directed by Kirk Browning

Music by Richard Adler; Lyrics by Jerry Ross

Our next sports musical revolves around the players and those who watch them from home. Even after the original Washington Senators moved to St. Paul in 1958, DC residents still wanted a baseball team in their town. The Senators were revived as an expansion team...and proceeded to play even worse than before. They were still perennial bottom-dwellers when this adaptation of the hit Broadway show first appeared on a revived General Electric Theater. How does this handle the story of a man who would do anything to make the Senators into a winning team...even sell his soul? Let's begin at the home of that obsessive fan, Joe Boyd (Ray Middleton), and his patient wife Meg (Fran Allison) as the Senators lose another game and find out...

The Story: Joe's claim that he'd sell his soul to win the pennant brings in Mr. Applegate (Silvers). Applegate says he can make Joe into a fit young slugger who'll rejuvenate the Senators if he really is willing to sell his soul. Joe's a real estate salesman by trade who has enough sense to add an escape clause that will allow him to return to Meg at the end of the season. 

Joe's an instant success who does revitalize the Senators, but he also misses Meg badly. He even takes a room in her home to be near her. Applegate sends his best seductress Lola (Remick) to tempt Joe into straying. When that fails and Lola falls for him instead, Applegate plants a phony story that Joe is really a criminal. The Senators and Meg are willing to help prove he's no con man, but all Joe really wants is to be at home with his wife again. 

The Song and Dance: This scores with the excellent cast and the creative staging that makes the most of the low-budget sets and effects. Silvers is a very funny Applegate, especially in the trial, and ultra-sexy Remick is certainly believable as Applegate's most successful temptress. She's so enjoyable here, I wish she did more musicals. Square-jawed Lanning looks like a sports hero and sings his numbers beautifully, especially the two ballads, and the Senators are a hoot. The very 60's animation and graphics bring Monty Python's Flying Circus to mind, with their wacky use of silent movie footage, cut-outs, and stop-motion. 

Favorite Number: This time, we open with wives lamenting they lose their husbands to baseball on TV for "Six Months Out of Every Year" over the main credits. Joe says "Goodbye, Old Girl" in his letter to Meg before he leaves with Applegate. "Heart" makes heavy use of those psychedelic graphics stop-motion animation as Coach Buddy (Backus) encourages his team to do their best on the field. The graphics pop up again with "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo" as sportswriter Gloria (Linda Lavin) and the Senators extort Joe as the next big thing. 

Joe has two lovely ballads as he tells Applegate and Meg why he misses his wife, "A Man Doesn't Know" and "Near You." Remick makes the most of her big numbers "A Little Brains, a Little Talent" and "Whatever Lola Wants," despite those weird graphics interrupting the former. Three members of the Senators harmonize about how "The Game" is great for their bodies, but not so much for their love lives. Silvers slides right into his take on all the notable figures he's corrupted, "Those Were the Good Old Days." "Two Lost Souls" starts out as Remick and Lanning singing, but ends oddly with the two doing a dance number amid a swirling, melting Chroma-Key background that is too distracting to let us see the decent choreography.

Trivia: TV debut of Linda Lavin.

The Senators remained bottom-dwellers until they finally moved to Dallas in 1972 and were renamed the Texas Rangers. Washington DC wouldn't get another baseball team until the Montreal Expos moved to DC in 2005 and became the current Nationals.

Broadcast as part of a brief revival of General Electric Theater. 

What I Don't Like: The production is cheap as heck, even for TV. The fans in the stands and most of the baseball team are cardboard cut outs! The graphics can be nifty, but they're more often distracting, especially when replacing what would have been a dance number in any other show. They're also extremely late 60's. Many people nowadays would call them downright ugly.  "Who's Got the Pain?" is really extraneous, but it's a fun song I wish they'd kept.

The Big Finale: This one tends to get strike-outs from many fans online who are expecting a more straightforward adaptation, but I think it's at least a straight line to first. If you love the cast or 50's and 60's musicals and are willing to give those weird psychedelic graphics a chance, this is worth checking out.

Home Media: This disappeared for decades until it turned up on YouTube, which to date remains the only place you can find it. 

YouTube

Cult Flops - Athena

MGM, 1954

Starring Jane Powell, Edward Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, and Vic Damone

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music by Hugh Martin; Lyrics by Ralph Blaine

We celebrate the upcoming Olympics this week with two musicals revolving around sports, starting with this unique celebration of good health and bodybuilding from the mid-50's. This was originally intended to be a vehicle for Esther Williams, but when she went on maternity leave, the title daughter of a vegetarian bodybuilding coach became a singer for Powell. Damone was another popular singer at the time, and Purdom was being hyped as the next big star at MGM after the success of The Student Prince. How do they all work with the story of a conservative senator who falls for lovely Athena and her fresh-air lifestyle? Let's begin with girls mobbing the studio to see singing idol Johnny Nyle (Damone) and find out...

The Story: While Johnny worries about being sued by his former agent, his lawyer friend Adam Calhorn Shaw (Purdom) worries about the peach trees he just bought. He meets perky Athena Mulvain (Powell) at the nursery, where she gives him advice on how to deal with the trees. She even turns up in his yard to do the mulching herself. Her grandparents and seven sisters are major advocates of healthy lifestyles, including vegetarianism, anti-smoking and drinking, and exercise. They're also proponents of numerology and astrology, which is why Athena immediately claims that the stars have lead her to Adam, and they also direct her sister Minerva (Reynolds) to Johnny.

Adam thinks this is absurd at first. He's already engaged to wealthy and sophisticated Beth Hallston (Linda Christian). He eventually finds himself falling for Athena, even though her grandfather Ulysses (Louis Calhoun) disapproves of the relationship. He wants Athena to marry Ed Perkins (Steve Reeves), the bodybuilder he's preparing for Mr. Universe. Adam invites Athena to a formal dinner, but Beth angers her when she serves vegetables stuffed with meat, while Adam is equally angry when Grandpa complains about him at the Mr. Universe contest and Adam easily knocks Ed out. It would seem that Grandma's right about there being rocky times ahead, but it's Adam who ultimately gives up his career so that "love can change the stars."

The Song and Dance: This is one of the most unusual musicals MGM ever did. For one thing, it's interesting that it advocates health-conscious lifestyles more than two decades before they started to become more common. The only thing strange about how the Mulvains live today would be some of Grandpa's more out-there breeding theories. While she seems a bit out of place, Powell's doing her best as the most determined of the seven sisters, and Calhoun is hilarious as her body-obsessed grandfather. 

Favorite Number: We open at Johnny's TV show, with him singing "The Boy Next Door" on a neighborhood set to an audience of rapt female fans. Athena's "Vocalize" when she's mulching the peach trees later becomes "Harmonize" at the Mulvain family dinner. Johnny first encourages Minvera to "Imagine" a relationship with him at the family's health food store. He reprises it later near the end of the movie. 

Athena insists to her grandmother and sisters that "Love Can Change the Stars," which Johnny also sings later. "Never Felt Better" is the chorus number for Athena, Minerva, the sisters, and the bodybuilders when they make over Adam's home to be more open and plant-friendly. "Venezia" is Johnny's big Italian chorus routine at the night club. Athena sings the aria "Chancun le sait" from the opera The Daughter of the Regiment at the disastrous dinner party. 

Trivia: Purdom had an affair with Christian during filming and later married her, though the union was short-lived.

"The Boy Next Door" is "The Girl Next Door" from Meet Me In St. Louis with the gender changed. 

What I Don't Like: Sometimes, this movie is too weird for its own good. Healthy lifestyles seem like a strange thing to base a major musical around. Real-life health advocate Williams would have made a lot more sense in the title role than the miscast Powell, and her swimming numbers might have given the film a much-needed lift. Purdom isn't any more interesting here without Mario Lanza's vocals than he was in The Student Prince. Richard Thorpe's disinterest in the whole affair is obvious from his pedestrian direction. Damone and Reynolds really don't have much to do beyond their numbers. The plot point with Johnny being sued by his agent is barely mentioned again after the first twenty minutes. Speaking of the numbers, most of them really don't have much to do with the story, and other than "The Girl Next Door," are dull and unmemorable. 

The Big Finale: I do give them credit for trying something different, but this is too weird to be one of the better MGM musicals. For major fans of Powell, Reynolds, Damone, or the big MGM shows of the 40's and 50's only. 

Home Media: The remastered Warner Archives DVD is currently out of print, but the Blu-Ray is available, and it's easily found on streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

It Ain't Hay

Universal, 1943

Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patsy O'Connor, and Grace McDonald

Directed by Erie C. Kenton

Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

We celebrate the Kentucky Derby and Cinco Del Mayo this week with two lesser-known Abbott and Costello comedies. They were at the height of their popularity during and after the war years when they made these films. It Ain't Hay is pretty typical of their wartime output, which usually featured comedians and singers from Universal's B roster getting up in wacky homefront shenanigans. This one also has a slightly darker story than usual as the duo try to buy a horse for a girl and her father, aided and abetted by the colorful characters straight from Damon Runyon. How well do they handle the racetrack? Let's head to the streets of New York City, where 12-year-old Peggy "Princess" O'Hara (O'Connor) is driving her father King's (Cecil Kellaway) carriage, and find out...

The Story: Cab driver Wilbur Hoolihan (Costello) is friends with Princess and is especially fond of her father's horse Finnigan. He wouldn't hurt Finnegan for the world, but first he gives him candy without considering the animal's age. When Princess runs to Wilbur in tears, he gives him a medicine that seems to make the horse better, but actually kills him. With half of New York City calling Wilbur a murderer, he and his friend George (Abbott) set out to buy Princess a new horse. 

They do manage to raise the money, only for Wilbur to lose it to a con man (Richard Lane). Three racing touts claim an older horse can be found for free, so the duo set out to claim it...only to find they've somehow stolen champion race horse Tea Biscuit. The duo, their friends Kitty McGloin (McDonald) and Private Joe Collins (Leighton Noble) set out to Saratoga to stop King from driving there. They're followed by the touts who want the reward and Tea Biscuit's owner (Eugene Pallette) who had an earlier run-in with Wilbur, Wilbur ends up riding what he believes is Tea Biscuit in order to make the money, but the horse isn't what he - or anyone - thinks...

The Song and Dance: The colorful New York milieu gives this one an edge that many of Abbott and Costello's vehicles lack, especially given the two New Jersey natives were fairly familiar with it. It also gets into relatively dark territory for them. Even a horse dying is heavy stuff for their rough-and-tumble world, and it makes this a little more unique. We do get some really fun gags in the beginning when the guys are trying to get out of paying their restaurant bill and enlist Princess to help and in the wild horse race finale. Would love to find more movies with O'Connor - she has a lovely voice for a 12-year-old and can more than match Abbott and Costello in the laughs department. 

Favorite Number: We open with Princess driving Kitty and Joe through the park, singing about that "Sunbeam Serenade." She sadly performs "Old Timer" for Finnegan when he's sick in the stable. "Glory Be" is the enormous chorus number for almost everyone in the cast as the entire city of New York celebrates Finnegan's miraculous recovery. Even a group of grocery packers (The Four Step-Brothers) get in on the action with some truly amazing acrobatic tap dancing on and around the boxes and a truck. The Vagabonds get "Saratoga Cafe" after they drive up there. The movie ends with the military show Joe had been trying to bring together for the entire film as the Step-Brothers bring down the house with their flying feet to "Hang Your Troubles On a Rainbow."

Trivia: For years, this was the hardest-to-find Abbott and Costello movie, due to a legal battle with the Damon Runyon estate. The legal matters were settled in time for this to be released as part of Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection.

What I Don't Like: I understand that Universal wanted to get this out for eager Abbott and Costello fans, but maybe they should have restored it first. The copy at Tubi looks terrible, scratchy and washed out, especially compared with their movies that have been restored. Those who aren't fans of Abbott and Costello probably won't find much here unless they're also into Shemp Howard, who plays one of the race track touts. It gets awfully maudlin in spots, with the kid and her father needing a horse and all, and the middle that focuses on that does sag a bit. And frankly, not only is Noble a snore, but his big show is barely of consequence until the big finale. Even McDonald has (slightly) more to do than him. 

The Big Finale: Not Abbott and Costello's best movie, but it has enough funny moments to be worth a look if you love them, Howard, or 40's comedy or musicals. 

Home Media: Ironically, It Ain't Hay is now one of Abbott and Costello's easier movies to find. In addition to the Complete Collection, it was also released as part of the Universal Vault collection and can currently be found for free on Tubi. 

DVD - Universal Vault

DVD - Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection

Blu-Ray - Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection

Tubi

Spring Short Subject Special - Peter and the Magic Egg & The Berenstain Bears Play Ball

Let's celebrate Easter and the start of baseball season with these two lesser-known specials from 1983. While there have been holiday programming made for Easter just as long as there have been for Christmas, most of them tend to get the short end of the stick compared to their cold-weather counterparts. Are these springtime shorts deserving of a place at your Easter weekend celebration, or should they be left off the team? Let's begin with a story told by an egg (Ray Bolger) and find out...

Peter and the Magic Egg

Murikami-Wolf-Swenson, 1983

Voices of Ray Bolger, Al Eisemann, Joan Gerber, and Robert Ridgely 

Directed by Fred Wolf

Music by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volan; Lyrics by Romeo Muller

The Story: Mother Nature (Gerber) gives the Dopplers, poor Pennsylvania Dutch farmers, a child they name Peter Paas (Eisemann). Peter grows far faster than ordinary children, and within a year, he's able to work on the farm. He arranges a contract with the Easter Bunny to provide eggs with the help of the farm animals he's taught to dress and speak like humans.

The farm is owned by Tobias Tinwhiskers (Ridgley), a wealthy farmer who is so obsessed with his machines, he had himself made over as one. He's furious when Peter brings him the money for the mortgage from that contract and challenges him to a ploughing contest. Turns out he's rigged it so Peter falls in a well. Peter's found in a deep sleep that leaves his parents and animal friends in a deep depression. Mother Nature gives the animals an egg that will supposedly awaken Peter, but Tinwhiskers isn't about to let them hatch it!

The Animation: This is the same sketchy style as their previous Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz special, with slightly brighter colors as per the Easter theme. The animals look cute enough and closely resemble the characters on the Paas boxes until recently, and they move pretty well. 

The Song and Dance: For something intended as a half-hour commercial for Paas Egg Dye, this is actually pretty interesting. It has the feel of a folk tale, with its quaint Pennsylvania Dutch setting and man vs. machine theme. The animals are fairly funny, especially when they're called on to hatch that egg, and Tobias Tinwhiskers is a nasty and even scary-looking villain. 

Favorite Number: The special opens and closes with narrator Uncle Amos Egg (Bolger) claiming the story is "A Wonderment." Peter and the animals sings "An Animal Can Be Folks" twice, first when he gives the animals their trademark clothes, then during the show they hold to raise money for the farm. He also sings to implore "Mother Nature" to give him answers. The animals all wonder what "Our Egg" will be like when it hatches. 

What I Don't Like: Peter himself is a bit of a nonentity. Other than his sudden growth spurt, there isn't much to him, and he's missing for most of the special's second half. Honestly, they build up the egg and what's in it so much, when it does hatch, it's a bit of an anti-climax. I see the point they were making, but it doesn't make it less weird.

The Big Finale: Charming spring-time fairy tale is worth checking out if you're looking for something different to watch while dying eggs or waiting for the Easter egg hunt with the kids.

Home Media: Currently out of print on DVD, both solo and packaged with Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz. Your best bet might be checking YouTube. 

DVD

DVD - Peter and the Magic Egg/Dorothy In the Land of Oz

YouTube

The Berenstain Bears Play Ball

NBC, 1983

Voices of Ron McLarty, Pat Lysinger, Knowl Johnson, and Gabriela Glatzer

Directed by Al Kouzel

Music by Elliot Lawrence; Lyrics by Stan Berenstain

The Story: Papa Bear (McLarty) is thrilled when he sees Brother Bear (Johnson) randomly hit a rock with a stick. He thinks he has a future big league star on his hands. He pushes Brother into the Bear Country Little League team, ignoring Sister (Glatzer), who is genuinely talented. It's Brother and his friends who finally show him the error of his ways when he follows them through the bog and is reminded that baseball is only a game, after all. It's not until he's coaching the team that he needs a second base-bear and finally starts seeing his daughter and her abilities in a new light.

The Animation: Once again, it's nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. It does look like the books of the time, which is likely all this special needs. It looks especially good during Brother's game with his buddies in the bog and Sister's "I Want It All" number.

The Song and Dance: This may be the most stripped-down of the five Berenstain Bears specials, and the only one to not revolve around a holiday. It's just the family here. In fact, it's mostly Papa and the cubs. Brother's bog buddies from Easter Surprise are seen, but have no lines. Papa does have some hilarious moments early on, when he sees Brother hit that rock and thinks he has a star on his hands, and mid-way through when he attempts to teach Brother a game he's well aware of how to play.

Favorite Number: We open and close with a chorus number describing why baseball is so popular with many people, "Baseball Is the National Pastime." "You're Safe, You're Out" is what Papa tries to teach Brother. Sister picks it up more readily than her older sibling. She admits that she wants a career and a family, teddy bears and baseball. "I Want It All," says Sister. Brother and his friends sing about how they don't care that their infield is a bumpy bog or their MVP is a many-limbed tree, they say "Come to Our Pick-Up Baseball Game" anyway. 

What I Don't Like: The side story with Sister not being able to play because of her gender hasn't dated well at all nowadays. Even Mama eventually calls Papa on it. It makes Papa look less well-meaning and even more like a jerk than his pressuring Brother does. 

The Big Finale: The last of the five Berenstain Bears specials isn't my favorite, but it's still worth seeing once if you have any Berenstain Bears fans or very young Little Leaguers or Little League hopefuls around. 

Home Media: Once again, the DVD is currently out of print, but it can be found on YouTube.

DVD - The Berenstain Bears: Springtime Surprises

YouTube

Cult Flops - Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire

ITC Entertainment, 1987

Starring Phil Daniels, Bruce Payne, Alun Armstrong, and Louise Gold

Directed by Alan Clarke

Music and Lyrics by various

This week's Halloween Horror-Fest gets seriously weird with two bizarre cult flicks that couldn't precisely be called horror, but can't really be called anything else, either. Our first entry comes to us from across the Atlantic. Clarke was best known for directing several BBC plays, most of them dramas or horror. After directing the theatrical version of one of them, Scum, he went ahead and made what would be his first original theatrical release...and "original" is the right word for it. Just how weird is this musical about a young man who plays a vampire to win the "snooker" (a type of billiards) championship? Let's start with that young man, Billy Kid (Daniels) playing snooker to win and find out...

The Story: T.O (Payne), Billy's manager, is also a compulsive gambler who owes piles of money to loan shark The Wednesday Man (Don Henderson). He'll cancel T.O's debt if he can arrange a 17-round grudge snooker match with reigning snooker champion Maxwell Randall, an actual blood sucker known as the Green Baize Vampire. 

T.O hires journalist Miss Sullivan (Gold) to interview Maxwell and Billy separately and ask questions designed to stir trouble between them. It works, especially with Maxwell, who is close to retirement, but has no desire to share the limelight with some upstart Cockney. The Wednesday Man, however, has his own motives for the match, and he has no intentions of playing fair. Billy has to rely on his own talent and cunning when it turns out there's a lot more riding on this match than just a world championship.

The Song and Dance: Well, I think we just found one of the most unique musicals ever created. I've never heard of another musical, or film, for that matter, revolving around vampires and a grudge snooker game. For all the weirdness, the cast is obviously having a great time with the strange premise. Payne and Armstrong are the stand-outs as the smarmy manager desperate to cover his gambling debts and the aging vampire pool shark with a fondness for the elegant "old days" who despises the grittier new guards. The booming music has the feel of the big Andrew Lloyd Webber rock operas that were wildly popular in London at the time, driving, bombastic, and campy. 

Favorite Number: We open with Billy's "Green Stamps" over his first game as we see what he does, why he does it, and meet his entourage. T.O gets "Poker Song" when he's gambling and "I'm the One" as he reminds Billy how he promoted him into the big shot he is now. Maxwell reminds his wife (Eve Ferret) after hearing Billy's interview that he's a vampire and "I Bite Back." Billy and the patrons of "Supersonic Sam's Cosmic Cafe" sing about their world there and how much different it is from upper-class citizens like Randall. 

Big Jack Jay (Neil McCaul), the announcer at the grudge match, reminds the crowds that it's "Snooker (More Than Just a Game)."  "Quack Quack" is the big ensemble number, as the lower-class citizens rooting for Billy and the wealthy upper class who want Randall to win insult each other. "Kid to Break" is how Billy kept losing the first half of the match. It takes the reminder that "It's the Fame Game" to finally give Billy the impetus to win. T.O sends the audience out with the eerie "White Lines, Black Cadillac" over blackness as the credits roll.

What I Don't Like: This is about as cult as you can get. If you're looking for something a little less weird or campy, you are definitely in the wrong place. The filming is extraordinarily cheap, with some of the skimpiest lighting I've ever seen in a musical. Everyone always looks like they're hanging out in a permanent dark corner, even when it's supposed to be daytime. This is campy, cheap, and is so much of everything, it's not really much of anything besides a musical. It's not scary enough to be horror or thriller, not funny enough for a comedy, and not really much of a drama, either. 

Not to mention, this is also very, very British. The accents are occasionally hard to decipher on this side of the Atlantic, and I don't think snooker has ever been anywhere near as big over here. 

The Big Finale: If you're looking for the next great bizarre cult film to show your Halloween party guests, they don't come much weirder or more original than this. Worth checking out at least once if you love English movies, camp, or just want to try something truly different. 

Home Media: Easily found anywhere; it's currently streaming on Tubi for free with commercials.

DVD

Tubi

Thunder Alley (1967)

American International Pictures, 1967

Starring Fabian, Annette Funicello, Diane McBain, and Jan Murray

Directed by Richard Rush

Music and Lyrics by various

American International made one last stab at a car racing teen musical in 1967 before moving on to biker movies and psychedelic freak-outs for the hippies. This time, they dropped Avalon, but retained Funicello and Fabian and added TV favorites Jan Murray and Maureen Arthur. Instead of a melodrama involving moonshiners, we have a stock car racer turned stunt driver who trains another man to become a racer...and falls for his girlfriend in the process. How does all this look today? Let's begin on the track with up-and-coming racer Tommy Callahan (Fabian) and find out...

The Story: Tommy has been having mysterious blackouts...and one caused the death of another driver in an accident during a race. After being suspended, Tommy turns to Pete Madsen (Murray) and his "Thrill Circus" stunt show for employment. He's impressed with the Masden's tough daughter Francie (Funicello), but not with his job. He finally teaches Francie's driver boyfriend Eddie (Warren Berlinger) to be a professional driver. Francie's impressed. So is Tommy's older girlfriend Annie (McBain), who decides Eddie's now the guy for her. Even when Tommy does manage to get back on track, he's still worried about his blackouts...but it's Francie who helps him realize where those blackouts are coming from...

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a bit of a surprise. Not only does Funicello have more to do here, but she puts in what may be her best performance as the tough female racer who knows her way around a car and a man. McBain also does well as the older woman for whom security comes first and love a distant second, Fabian's not bad as the troubled racer, and Murray has some funny moments as Francie's smooth-talking impresario father. Director Richard Rush knows his way around stunts and cars - he would go on to do the classic action comedy The Stunt Man in 1980 - and has some very excitingly composed racing sequences, especially in the big race towards the end.

Favorite Number: Funicello performs "When You Get What You Want" at the big party mid-way through the film. We also get some wilder-than-usual dancing to "Riot In Thunder Alley" performed by Eddie Beram. The Band Without a Name sings the title song over the credits and does "Time After Time (I Keep Lovin' You)."  Among the background instrumentals for the dancers performed by The Sidewalk Sounds (actually Davie Allan and the Arrows) are "Pete's Orgy" and "Calahan's March." 

Trivia: Fabian's car is a 1967 Dodge Thunder Charger built by custom car creator George Harris.

Annette Funicello's last movie for American International.

What I Don't Like: While the script is a bit better than the one in Fireball 500, it's still a standard racing melodrama. It's so cliched, it almost plays as a spoof. No wonder Funicello wanted out. It's also obvious that the washed-out stock car footage was filmed well before the rest of the movie. Despite Rush's skill, it's still pretty badly integrated. Warren Berlinger is stiff as a board and just as dull. I have no clue why either woman would go for him, or why Tommy thought he'd be a great racer. 

The Big Finale: I can actually understand why this went on to inspire a generation of car-crazy drive-in movie fans, including Quentin Tarantino. While no masterpiece, it's still a lot of fun, with a career-best performance by its leading lady and some decent stunts. Recommended for fans of the leads or vintage racing.

Home Media: Alas, same deal as with Fireball 500.  Disc only at press time, and they're expensive. You're better off checking eBay or other used venues. 

DVD - Midnite Movies Double Feature: Fireball 500 & Thunder Alley

DVD - Frankie & Annette MGM Movie Legends Collection

Fireball 500

American International Pictures, 1966

Starring Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Annette Funicello, and Harvey Lembeck

Directed by William Asher

Music by Guy Hemric; Lyrics by Jerry Styner

When the Beach Party movies started to fall out of favor around 1966, American International scrambled to find other teen fads to showcase Avalon and Funicello. We saw them shoehorn drag racing into Bikini Beach about a year ago, but here, stock car racing takes front and center. That's not the only thing that's different here, as AIP tried switching things around and making this more of a drama with songs. Does it work, or should this be left on the track? Let's begin with a comic claymation prologue discussing the history of the wheel and our main characters and find out...

The Story: Dave Owens (Avalon) competes in a major race in South Carolina against local favorite Sonny Leander Fox (Fabian) and wins. He impresses many of the fans, including wealthy local girl Martha Brian (Julie Parrish) and Leander's sweetheart Jane Harris (Funicello). Martha convinces Dave to take part in a "cross country race." 

To Dave's shock, it's actually running moonshine. Even Leander, who has his own moonshine business, despite challenging him to another race. Everyone's impressed with how well Dave does, until he catches wise when the IRS tells him to help break up the ring or land in jail. After one of the runners dies during a delivery, Leander and Dave team up to find out who is behind the moonshine ring and wants both of them off the track for good. 

The Song and Dance: This gets points for a story that's slightly more involved and a lot more dramatic than the Beach Party films. Avalon even gets a decent bare-knuckled fight with Lembeck as Charlie Briggs, Martha's partner in crime. In fact, it's kind of nice to see Lembeck stretch himself a little playing someone a lot meaner than even Harry Von Zipper. It almost comes off as a dramatic, teen-oriented version of Smokey and the Bandit from a decade later. In fact, the stock car footage is exceptionally well-edited, and this actually looks pretty good for low-budget drive-in fodder from the mid-60's. It even had location shooting in South Carolina and real stock car tracks in South Carolina and California. 

Favorite Number: We open and close with the catchy, optimistic title song that eagerly describes Dave's pride and joy. "Step Right Up" is Jane helping her dad Big Jaw Harris (Chill Willis) round up customers for their girlie show. We even get a routine from the girls in skimpy harem-type costumes. Dave sings "My Way" at the carnival dance as he more-or-less tells everyone how he does things. "Country Carnival" is the instrumental number for The Don Randi Trio Plus One at the carnival. Dave also sings "A Chance Like That," and Parrish joins him for "Turn Around" as they drive off into the sunset in the finale.

Trivia: The Fireball 500 was a heavily customized 1966 Plymouth Barracuda.

Art Clokey of Gumby fame did the Claymation opening sequence.

What I Don't Like: Almost everyone is totally at sea here. Heavy dramatics were never Funicello or Avalon's forte. Fabian actually comes off a bit better as the slightly smarmy local champ, and Willis is a hoot as Jane's carnival barker father. Parrish is bland and stiff as the only older woman who actually manages to get Avalon in the end. I have no idea why they even end up together. Avalon has more chemistry with Funicello and even Fabian than with her. This isn't much of a musical, either, and the songs are mostly unmemorable. The opening Claymation history prologue is cute and well-animated, but comes off as too goofy and whimsical for the dramatic film that follows. 

The Big Finale: Mainly for major fans of vintage stock car racing or the three leads. Everyone else is probably fine back in California with the Beach Party films. 

Home Media: Only available as part of a flipper-disc set with the later Thunder Alley and a collection of all the Frankie/Annette movies, and they're both out of print and ridiculously expensive. Don't try YouTube, either. Most of the copies online have out-of-sync sound during the second half. You're better off looking around for these used. 

DVD - Midnite Movies Double Feature: Fireball 500 & Thunder Alley

DVD - Frankie and Annette MGM Movie Legends Collection

The Caddy

Paramount, 1953

Starring Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Donna Reed, and Barbara Bates

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Jack Brooks

We're joining up with Hollywood's favorite comic duo of the 1950's this week. Martin and Lewis started out in nightclubs after World War II, usually doing a routine with Martin singing and Lewis heckling him, ending with the two of them chasing each other. They had their own radio show, and were two of the headliners on the first episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. By 1953, they were two of the top stars in the world, and among Paramount's biggest money-makers. 

This wound up being not only one of their most popular films, but it produced one of the standards Martin is most associated with as well. How does the story of a golf teacher and the man he's determined to make into a champion look today? Let's begin on the golf course with Harvey Miller, Jr (Lewis) and his fiancee Lisa (Barbara Bates) and find out....

The Story: Harvey is the son of one of the most famous champion golfers in the world. He did inherit his talent, but he's terrified of playing in front of crowds. After he loses his job in a department store, Lisa suggests he become a golf instructor instead. She encourages her layabout brother Joe (Martin) to become his first client. 

With Harvey's help, Joe starts winning tournament after tournament. He even attracts the attention of lovely socialite Kathy Taylor (Reed). All the attention gives Joe a big head, and he starts to push Harvey away and ignore his orders to go to bed early and meet him for practice. Harvey even follows him to Kathy's house and passes himself off as rich, but ends up being a waiter. Joe's reluctant to get into the last tournament, but it turns out his father bet his Italian restaurant on it. It takes a riot at the tournament to show the guys where their talents truly lay...

The Song and Dance: Martin and Lewis are really the thing here, whether they're chasing each other around a nightclub or a golf course. Their nightclub routine comes up in the sequence where Joe tries to sing "You're the Right One" and Harvey keeps disrupting him, trying to get him back home and to bed. Lewis has some nice solo bits, too, including the opening sequence when he stumbles around the department store, breaking every conceivable breakable object within a mile's distance and infuriating his boss (Fred Clark). The Anthony parents can be pretty funny too, especially Joseph Calleia as excitable Papa. Look for cameos by real champion golfers of the time, including Sam Snead and Julius Boros. 

Favorite Number: We open and close with the boys' nightclub act to "What Wouldcha Do Without Me?" They also get "(It Takes a Lot of Little Likes to Make) One Big Love)" together. The crowd at the nightclub eats up the ballad Joe tries to sing that Harvey disrupts, "You're the Right One," thinking Harvey's attempts to get him off the stage are part of the act. Joe thinks "It's a Whistlin' Kind of Mornin'" when he's on the course. Harvey's big solos is "The Gay Continental," as he sports a smoking jacket while spoofing wealthy dilettantes around the pool. 

"That's Amore" became one of Martin's biggest hits, and by far the biggest hit song to come from any of the Martin-Lewis movies. Not only does it have a number worthy of it, it's the sole chorus number. Joe starts the number as they serve dinner at the family restaurant, Everyone else eventually joins in, including Harvey, to sing a tribute to romance and pizza. 

What I Don't Like: No wonder Martin in particular had started to become a wee bit disinterested by this point. The story is of so little consequence, the boys don't even finish that big tournament or stay with golf in the end. Sports angle aside, it's not that much different from either their other movies or the films of their comic duo predecessors Abbot and Costello. None of the other songs get close to "That's Amore" in the charm or ear worm department, either. Reed and Bates are there as love interests and have little to do other than Lisa being the one who suggests Harvey become a golf instructor to begin with. 

The Big Finale: If you love Martin and/or Lewis, this is recommended as one of their better films. Not a bad place to start for newcomers to their nutty, ballad-filled world, too.

Home Media: Can be found solo on streaming. Paramount Plus currently has it with a subscription. In the US, it's only on disc bundled with other Martin-Lewis films.

DVD - Martin & Lewis 8 Movie Collection

Paramount Plus

A Day at the Races

MGM, 1937

Starring The Marx Brothers, Alan Jones, Margret Dumont, and Maureen O'Sullivan

Directed by Sam Wood

Music by Broislau Kaper and Walter Jurmann; Lyrics by Gus Kahn

We join the Marx Brothers to celebrate the other major event this weekend, the Kentucky Derby. This is the second movie the Brothers made at MGM after their big comeback hit A Night at the Opera. While the Brothers went on a vaudeville tour to hone their gags for this film, MGM went through eighteen different scripts before they hit on the right combination of music and madness. Was it worth it, or should this be put out to pasture? Let's begin as Tony (Chico Marx) tries to pick up customers for the Standish Sanitarium and find out...

The Story: The Standish Sanitarium is in danger of going under. Local banker and owner of a race track, hotel, and nightclub J.D Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille) wants to foreclose on it and tear it down to build a casino. Its current owner Judy Standish (O'Sullivan) owes way more money on it than she can ever repay. When Tony hears that their best client, the hypochondriac Mrs. Upjohn (Dumont), will only stay if she's given treatment by Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx), he writes Hackenbush in Florida. Hackenbush comes for the money, but he's really a horse doctor. Judy's manager Mr. Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) is suspicious, but Hackenbush is able to evade his attempts to figure out his medical background at first.

Meanwhile, Judy's boyfriend Gil (Jones) just bought a race horse, Hi-Hat. Judy's angry at him for throwing away his money, especially when Hi-Hat doesn't seem to be much of a racer. He does, however, rear up and run faster whenever he sees Morgan or hears his voice. Between Mrs. Upjohn nearly catching Hackenbush with a blonde floozy (Esther Muir) after the local Water Carnival and her disastrous examination, Gil and the Brothers finally decide to enter jockey Stuffy (Harpo Marx) and Hi-Hat in the race and make sure that Morgan doesn't interfere.

The Song and Dance: Whatever the Marxes did on that vaudeville tour worked. Some of their funniest gags can be found in this film. Most people mention Groucho and Chico's word play in the "Tootsie Fruitsi Ice Cream" skit, which has Chico selling Groucho more and more and more books in order to figure out which horse to bet on at the track, but Dumont's examination and the sequence with Chico and Harpo trying to hide Muir in Groucho's hotel room are hysterical, too. Jones has a bit less to play than in Night at the Opera with one of his songs deleted, but he still works well with the Marxes and even gets a line or two of his own. Then there's the entire last twenty minutes of the film. Everything from them sneaking Hi-Hat onto the field to the surprise finale is surreal lunacy at its absolute finest.

Favorite Number: Our first song isn't until nearly 20 minutes in, but it's the enormous "On Blue Venetian Waters" at the Sepia-toned Water Carnival. In fact, I suspect this number is the only reason this sequence was set at a Water Carnival to begin with. Gil sings the number with splashing fountains behind him before we fade in on ballerinas in long dark skirts. swirling around the lavish watery set dripping with waving trees. Vivan Fay takes over as the soloist after them, pirouetting daintily in the blue-tinted number. Fay and the dancers do well enough, but the number goes on for way too long and stops the movie cold. Even Chico's piano solo and Harpo turning Chico's piano into a harp doesn't pick things up again.

The other big chorus routine works far better with the movie and the Marxes. After Mrs. Upjohn's examination goes haywire, the Marxes end up in the stables with Hi-Hat and a group of poor working black kids. Gil starts by singing the ballad "Tomorrow Is Another Day" to cheer up Judy about possibly losing the Sanitarium. Harpo and singer Ivie Anderson go even further, turning "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" into a wild melee of some of the craziest, most energetic jitterbugging ever captured on film. Like "Blue Venetian Waters," it also goes on for too long, but the dancing is so much fun, you almost don't mind.

Trivia: There were originally two more songs. Groucho tried out "I'm Dr. Hackenbush" on the vaudeville tour, but it never made it into the film. Jones' other ballad, "A Message From the Man In the Moon," was cut at the last minute. The film portion is lost, but the audio survives and can be heard as an extra on the DVD. Groucho sings a little bit of it for Dumont in the finale. 

Originally, Groucho's character was to be Quackenbush, but it turns out there were at least three doctors with that name. Groucho ended up liking Hackenbush so much, he'd answer to that name later in life.

What I Don't Like: First of all, let's discuss that "All God's Chillun" number. On one hand, the dancing really is amazing, and it does fit the film and the Marxes better than the endless stuffy "Blue Venetian Waters." It also perpetuates more than a few stereotypes, including the Marxes briefly ending up in blackface to avoid the sheriff near the end. Both numbers stop the film cold and are really there more to show off the music than the Marxes. O'Sullivan doesn't fit in terribly well, either, and seems a bit at sea with the Marxes' shenanigans. 

The Big Finale: One of the Marx Brothers' best films. Grab your sibling and your big hat and check it out this Derby Weekend.

Home Media: On DVD and streaming in the US; the most recent DVD is from the Warner Archives.

DVD

DVD - TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Marx Brothers

Amazon Prime

Sing You Sinners

Paramount, 1938

Starring Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Donald O'Connor, and Elizabeth Patterson

Directed by Wesley Ruggles

Music and Lyrics by various

We're honoring mid-spring holidays and events this week, starting for this horse racing yarn in honor of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. 1938 seems to have been a big year for musicals revolving around horse racing. We've already seen Going Places from Warner Bros and MGM's The Broadway Melody of 1938 at this blog, and there was A Day at the Races with the Marx Brothers. How does Paramount's entry differ from those? Well, for starters, we begin as the Beebe brothers escort their mother (Elizabeth Patterson) and oldest brother David's (MacMurray) girlfriend Martha Randall (Ellen Drew) to church...

The Story: David wants to marry Martha, but he's the only one in the family with a job. Joe (Crosby) can't hold steady work. He's always gambling or coming up with get-rich-quick schemes to swap something for something else. They occasionally play together with their younger brother Mike (O'Connor) as a trio, but David would prefer steadier and more lucrative work. 

After he's fired from the local gas station and Martha rejects him when he tries to put the moves on her, Joe decides his ideas are too big for small town life. Los Angeles doesn't prove to be any more receptive to his ideas, until he hits on horse betting. He makes enough money to open a swap shop, then swaps it for a race horse, Uncle Joe. He sent for his mother and Mike, but while Mike is delighted to be a jockey, his mother is worried they'll be thrown out. 

David's arrival throws things in a tailspin. Martha decides he loves his family more than her and leaves, but David does manage to get them secure employment singing for a local nightclub. Joe still has racing Uncle Joe on the brain. Mike's delighted when they do get the horse into a race...but when he agrees to lose to a thug and a competitor, it'll take a concentrated effort by all four Beebes to show just how important family and working together are.

The Song and Dance: This is one of Bing's more interesting vehicles. It may be the only movie of his I've seen where he didn't get the girl in the end, or any girl. Joe does make a play for Martha, but thankfully, they don't linger on this subplot for too long. The real focus is on the four Beebes, making this almost feel like an early sitcom or TV family drama at times. The small-town setting early-on and the relationship between the four brothers makes this fairly unique not only among Bing's musicals, but among musicals of the 30's period. Few 30's musicals get into the small-town setting and focuses on one family like this, and it's refreshing. 

We also get a rare chance to see MacMurray show off his singing chops. He actually started as a musician and singer, and he's almost as good as Crosby. His chemistry with Crosby and the hilarious O'Connor is just about pitch-perfect, too. 

Favorite Number: We start off at church with the brothers performing a real hymn, "Shall We Gather at the River?," for the townspeople at church. Joe's called on to sing "Don't Let That Moon Get Away" several times when he takes Martha out to a local nightspot. "I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams" is the brothers' first number together when Joe drags them into working at a local spaghetti house for cash. 

The big one here was the hit "Small Fry," and it gets a number worthy of it, too. Pa Crosby with his wooly fake beard and ever-knitting Ma MacMurray in drag scold little tough guy O'Connor in a number at the nightclub with a goofy fake cardboard shack behind them. Not only is it a really cute number, but it expresses both the affection between the brothers and how they feel about O'Connor....and how the youngest brother feels about his elders.

Trivia: Mickey Rooney and Don Ameche were originally supposed to star with Crosby, but they dropped out. 

Filmed on location at the Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, California, which Bing owned stock in at the time. 

This was Ellen Drew's first movie under her stage name. She originally had bit parts under the name Terry Fry.

What I Didn't Like: And that brings us to our first problem. Drew is likable enough, but she doesn't have much to do beyond getting drunk when Joe makes a play for her. In fact, she disappears for the entire final third of the movie. The family is really what's important here; as Martha discovers the hard way, love interests take a backseat to the brothers and their attempts at independence. 

Bing actually plays a fairly scuzzy character in this one. As someone said in a comment at the Internet Movie Database, Joe is really a bit of a screw-up. He gambles, makes an obvious play for his brother's fiancée, and constantly makes a mess of every idea he has in the name of easy money. By the end of the movie, when he's made his big gamble on Uncle Joe, you start to wish he'd get over himself already and just stick to something. There's also this being relatively small scale, especially for the era. Once again, the focus is on the family. No big chorus routines or dance numbers, or anything bigger than "Small Fry."

The Big Finale: This may be my favorite Bing Crosby vehicle. Some people complain about the relatively light plot or Bing's bad-boy character, but I like how unique it is and how well the ensemble cast works together. Highly recommended for fans of MacMurray, O'Connor, or those wanting to see Bing in a different light.

Home Media: DVD-only, as a solo Universal Vault release and as part of at least two collections.

DVD - Universal Vault

DVD - Bing Crosby Silver Screen Collection: The 30's

DVD - The Bing Crosby Collection

Damn Yankees

Warner Bros, 1958

Starring Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, and Russ Brown

Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen

Music by Richard Adler; Lyrics by Jerry Ross

Our second baseball musical this week throws the focus not only back on the game, but those who love it and cheer it on from home. Damn Yankees started as a 1954 novel, The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant. It became an even more successful Broadway musical in 1955. Warners brought in the entire original cast, replacing the leading man with up-and-coming star Hunter, along with director George Abbott. Since Abbott knew more about stage directing than film directing, they hired Donen to help make it look more cinematic. How does this Faustian baseball fantasy look today? Let's begin at the home of middle-aged couple Joe (Robert Schafer) and Meg (Shannon Bolin) Boyd, just in time to see Joe screaming as his beloved Washington Senators lose yet again, and find out...

The Story: Joe is such a die-hard Senators fan, he claims he'd sell his soul for them to win the pennant. No sooner did he make this rash claim than a man named Mr. Applegate (Walston) appears. He tells Joe he can give him the power to win the pennant for the Senators, if he sells him  his soul and leaves his wife for the season. Joe agrees to it, letting Applegate turn him into the much younger Joe Hardy (Hunter), but adds an escape clause that will allow him to return to his wife after the season's over.

Joe is an instant success with the ailing Senators and their fans, but he misses his wife badly and even takes a room in his home so he can be near her. Applegate sends his seductress Lola (Verdon) to tempt Joe into straying. When that doesn't work, Applegate plants a phony news story that Joe is corrupt. It'll take help from all of Joe's fans and the team that relies on him to keep him out of jail and show him that, no matter how much he loves baseball, he'd really rather be hitting a home run with his wife.

The Song and Dance: Other than cutting a few songs and revising some lyrics, this is one of the few Broadway shows of the 50's and 60's to make it to the screen almost as it was in the theater. Verdon's vamp routine may be a bit much, but she has more fun reminiscing about old times and naughty doings with Walston and in quieter moments with Hunter. Bolin is touching as Joe's neglected wife, who first wishes he'd pay attention to her and not the ball game, then wonders where he went to. Jean Stapleton had one of her earliest roles as a neighbor of the Boyds who becomes one of Joe Hardy's biggest supporters. Extra points for the outdoor shooting that included footage from several real vintage stadiums, including the Los Angeles version of Wrigley Field and Washington's Griffith Stadium. 

Also, I do appreciate that they made the tenacious sportswriter a woman at a time when female journalists were frequently still consigned to the society or lifestyle pages. 

Favorite Number: We kick off with Meg and other wives in a unique diamond split screen lamenting how they lose their husbands to baseball "Six Months Out of Every Year." Manager Benny Van Buren (Russ Brown) gives his discouraged team a pep talk by insisting they gotta have "Heart" to play better. Sportswriter Gloria Thorpe (Rae Allen) declares Joe Hardy to be "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo" and baseball's newest sensation. 

Applegate brings Lola in, and she assures him she'll have no trouble seducing this rube. All it takes is "A Little Brains, A Little Talent," and a lot of hip-wiggling. She tries everything she can, including a stripping routine and ending up in his lap, to get Joe to stray. She may think that "Whatever Lola Wants," she gets...but Joe remains faithful to his wife. Verdon does better performing a terrific mambo with choreographer Bob Fosse (whom she later married) to "Who Got the Pain?" at the tribute show for Joe. Disgusted with all the love going around, Applegate reminisces about how "Those Were the Good Old Days" when people were wicked and souls were far easier to gather. Lola and Joe get drunk in a nightclub together after the trial, claiming they're "Two Lost Souls," then getting other lost souls at the bar to join them in a raucous routine.

Trivia: Damn Yankees was one of the biggest Broadway musicals of the mid-50's, lasting three years in its original run. It proved nearly as successful as a TV musical in 1967 with Lee Remick as Lola and Phil Silvers as Applegate and in a 1996 revival with Bebe Neuwirth as Lola and first Victor Garber, then Jerry Lewis as Applegate. Neither the original nor the revival did well in London, barely making it a few months. 

Fans of vintage Washington DC baseball know this is based after real-life. There was a team called the Washington Senators, and they really were terrible for most of their existence, including in 1958. Indeed, they finally gave up in Washington two years later and moved to Minnesota, where they're now known as the Minnesota Twins.

There's currently talks for a remake with Jim Carrey as Applegate and Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe Hardy.

What I Don't Like: First of all, let's discuss Hunter. While I disagree with Abbott about him not looking like an athlete, I do think he was stiff and a little dull for most of the movie. He was also only a fair singer and not a dancer, prompting the elimination of Joe's two major ballads ("Near You" and "A Man Doesn't Know") and keeping him on the fringes of most of the numbers. 

It's easy to tell which director was in charge of which numbers. Most of the film is shot like a play and can be pretty static, especially in scenes where people are just talking. There are some numbers, though, notably "Two Lost Souls" and "Shoeless Joe," that try to do more with the camera. Those were likely Donen's doing. Donen was said to have worked better with the actors, too, which may be why people seem to perk up during those scenes.

The Big Finale: If not a home run, this is still a solid hit to the outfield for fans of the stage show, Verdon, Fosse, or baseball. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc from the Warner Archives and streaming It's currently free at Tubi and Amazon Prime.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Tubi