Warner Bros, 1953
Starring Lawrence Olivier, Dorothy Tutin, George Divine, and Stanley Holloway
Directed by Peter Brook
Music by John Gay; Lyrics by John Gay and Christopher Fry
The Beggar's Opera may be one of, if not the longest-lived musical (or "ballad opera") in the English language repertoire. It's original production debuted in 1728, an action-paced spoof of Italian opera with a roguish anti-hero highwayman who dodged the wealthy and romanced any woman he could find. Most people know it better today in the German version The Threepenny Opera, but the original still makes occasional appearances to this day. Brook was a British wunderkind, a stage musical director who made hits at a young age. This would be his first shot at a film, but he didn't see eye-to-eye with Olivier over how to play the leading man and ran over budget, and the film wound up being a flop. What happened? Let's head to Newgate Jail in London during the early 1700's and find out...
The Story: The Beggar (Hugh Griffith) is tossed into prison, his unfinished opera scattering around him. The opera revolves around the exploits of famous highwayman Macheath (Olivier), who just happens to be in the prison as well. He hands Macheath the notes, and discovering his voice isn't bad, insists he sing them his story...
Macheath was known for dashingly robbing the rich and romancing their wives. He was wed to pretty Polly Peacham (Tutin), who waits hopefully for his return. Her shocked parents insist on her setting a trap for him. He also has the heart of Lucy Lockit (Daphne Anderson), the daughter of the Newgate jailor Lockit (Holloway), who is still incensed he loved and left her without marrying her. Polly does help Macheath avoid her parents, but he has less luck with another former lover, prostitute Jenny Diver (Yvonne Furneaux), who with her friends turns him over to the police. He does manage to convince Lucy he loves her long enough to get her to help him escape, only to end up in prison again. This time, he may not have a happy ending...unless the Beggar and his friends can make it for him.
The Song and Dance: Dashing swashbuckler with Olivier in fine form as the roguish anti-hero Macheath. He's so charismatic and charming, you can almost overlook his shaky singing and dancing abilities. Love Anderson as the feisty jailer's daughter, too, and Holloway and Devine as the frustrated fathers who'd rather get the money than see their daughters married to a rogue. The Technicolor production ably recreates 1728 England, especially in the robust action sequences at the Peacham's farm and in the finale. Whatever else his faults were, Brook did do wonders with action and movement.
Favorite Number: "Let Us Take to the Road" is the opening number for England's many highwaymen as Macheath admits to his love of what he does. Jenny sings of "When Gold Is at Hand," while Lucy laments "How Cruel are the Traitors" after Macheath has left her a second time. Macheath wonders "How Happy I Could Be With Either" as he tries to decide between his favorite sweethearts towards the end.
What I Don't Like: Some of the effects, like the obvious green screen behind Macheath when he's riding off in the ending, don't look as good today as they probably did in 1953. Ironically, considering Olivier isn't the best singer in the world, most of the cast (besides Olivier and Stanley Holloway) were dubbed. (Although they did credit the singers in the end.) In fact, the theatrical artifice bumping against film realism doesn't always work well, especially in the stagy opening with the Beggar and his work. There's also the fact that this is an opera, and an older opera, at that. If you don't love opera or classical music, you may not be the right audience for this one (although it may help that it's a lot lighter in tone than Threepenny Opera).
The Big Finale: If you love Olivier, swashbucklers, or comic opera, you may want to track down this enjoyable, action-packed romp.
Home Media: On streaming, and on DVD from the Warner Archives.
DVD
Amazon Prime
Reviews of musical films, from 1930s black and white to widescreen 21st century extravaganzas.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Animation Celebration Saturday - Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
Filmation, 1987
Voices of Scott Grimes, Tom Bosley, James Earl Jones, and Don Knotts
Directed by Hal Sutherland
Music and Lyrics by various
Filmation is known today primary for their action cartoons in the 1970's and 80's, including the wildly popular He-Man and She-Ra. By the middle of the 1980's, they had larger ambitions. This was to have been the first in a series of animated musical follow-ups to Disney fairy tales...but Filmation was already in trouble, even as this bombed at the box office. This and the Snow White sequel Happily Ever After would be the only ones that made it out before the studio closed. What happened? Let's begin in the swamp, as a bumblebee named named Lieutenant Grumblebee (Johnathan Harris) is awakened from his sleep by the arrival of a carnival train, and find out...
The Story: The carnival train belongs to The Emperor of the Night (Jones) and the puppet master Puppetino (William Windom). Pinocchio (Grimes) is now a real boy, and the Blue Fairy (Ricki Lee Jones) reminds him that he must learn to make his own choices. She gives him a new concience, a wooden glow-worm he names Gee Willikers (Knotts), to keep him on the straight and narrow. He's still easily swayed by con-men, though. The rascally raccoon Scalawag (Ed Asner) and monkey Igor (Frank Welker) trade a fake ruby for the jewel box the boy is supposed to deliver to the mayor. Geppetto is so upset over its loss, Pinocchio runs away.
He looks for work at the carnival, where he falls for a beautiful marionette named Twinkle at the puppet show. Puppetino uses an organ grinder to force him to dance and turn him back into a puppet. The Good Fairy restores him, reminding him not to take his freedom and ability to make choices for granted. Determined to make good, the boy tells his glow worm friend he intends to find the jewel box and return it to his father. Scalawag and Igor...not to mention Puppetino...still want to take him off the straight and narrow path and into their land of false fantasy. It'll take all the help of Lieutenant Grumblebee and his bug friends and a pinch of Blue Fairy magic to stop the evil Emperor and get Pinocchio back on track.
The Animation: Pretty decent for a low-budget animated film. There's some great effects, especially at the rainbow "Neon Carnival" and in the finale when Pinocchio goes up against the Emperor. Filmation always did create awesome, imaginative villains for their productions, and this one is no exception. The Emperor himself is an incredible design, with his flowing, changeable carmine cloak, four hands, and devilish face. Puppetino is equally impressive, and even scarier; his thick lips and purplish face looks like the stuff of a child's worst nightmares.
The Song and Dance: This is a weird one, but then, the Disney Pinocchio and the Italian book both are based on aren't exactly sweetness and light either. At the very least, it's more interesting and better-made than Happily Ever After. The animation is better and less stiff and Puppetino and the Emperor of the Night are nifty and genuinely frightening villains, especially for a cartoon from this era.
Favorite Number: "Neon Caberet" is the big number when Pinocchio follows Puppetino into the Land Where Dreams Come True, and it's a wild riot of brilliant colors and Art Deco-inspired design. Pinocchio performs "You're a Star" onstage to a delighted crowd, dancing with his beloved Twinkle...but the fantasy isn't as real or as enjoyable as he thinks...
What I Don't Like: I'd love to know what audience Filmation intended this for. Pinocchio is regarded as a children's story, but there's some truly nightmarish images in this film, especially Puppetino and his puppet show and with what the "Land Where Dreams Come True" turns out to be. The story is both overly complicated, and something of a rehash of the Disney film. (To the point where Disney sued Filmation for copyright infringement.) Gee Willikers is silly, annoying, and fairly useless, and the bugs he recruits to rescue Pinocchio (including Grumblebee) aren't much better. The sequence with them trying to escape a huge frog comes out of left field and seems to be there more to give them something to do than for any importance to the story. The music is dull, and the score is the tinny synthesizer music common in low-budget films during the 80's and 90's. There's the odd action finale that also seems out-of-place, both in the movie and in a Pinocchio story.
The Big Finale: Too weird to be a huge favorite, but it's apparently picked up a cult following in the past few years. If you like your animated fantasy on the dark-ish side or are a fan of Filmation's TV projects, you may want to give this one a shot at least once.
Home Media: To my knowledge, this is not on disc in North America. Your best bet is streaming; several companies have it for free, including Amazon and Tubi.
Amazon Prime
Voices of Scott Grimes, Tom Bosley, James Earl Jones, and Don Knotts
Directed by Hal Sutherland
Music and Lyrics by various
Filmation is known today primary for their action cartoons in the 1970's and 80's, including the wildly popular He-Man and She-Ra. By the middle of the 1980's, they had larger ambitions. This was to have been the first in a series of animated musical follow-ups to Disney fairy tales...but Filmation was already in trouble, even as this bombed at the box office. This and the Snow White sequel Happily Ever After would be the only ones that made it out before the studio closed. What happened? Let's begin in the swamp, as a bumblebee named named Lieutenant Grumblebee (Johnathan Harris) is awakened from his sleep by the arrival of a carnival train, and find out...
The Story: The carnival train belongs to The Emperor of the Night (Jones) and the puppet master Puppetino (William Windom). Pinocchio (Grimes) is now a real boy, and the Blue Fairy (Ricki Lee Jones) reminds him that he must learn to make his own choices. She gives him a new concience, a wooden glow-worm he names Gee Willikers (Knotts), to keep him on the straight and narrow. He's still easily swayed by con-men, though. The rascally raccoon Scalawag (Ed Asner) and monkey Igor (Frank Welker) trade a fake ruby for the jewel box the boy is supposed to deliver to the mayor. Geppetto is so upset over its loss, Pinocchio runs away.
He looks for work at the carnival, where he falls for a beautiful marionette named Twinkle at the puppet show. Puppetino uses an organ grinder to force him to dance and turn him back into a puppet. The Good Fairy restores him, reminding him not to take his freedom and ability to make choices for granted. Determined to make good, the boy tells his glow worm friend he intends to find the jewel box and return it to his father. Scalawag and Igor...not to mention Puppetino...still want to take him off the straight and narrow path and into their land of false fantasy. It'll take all the help of Lieutenant Grumblebee and his bug friends and a pinch of Blue Fairy magic to stop the evil Emperor and get Pinocchio back on track.
The Animation: Pretty decent for a low-budget animated film. There's some great effects, especially at the rainbow "Neon Carnival" and in the finale when Pinocchio goes up against the Emperor. Filmation always did create awesome, imaginative villains for their productions, and this one is no exception. The Emperor himself is an incredible design, with his flowing, changeable carmine cloak, four hands, and devilish face. Puppetino is equally impressive, and even scarier; his thick lips and purplish face looks like the stuff of a child's worst nightmares.
The Song and Dance: This is a weird one, but then, the Disney Pinocchio and the Italian book both are based on aren't exactly sweetness and light either. At the very least, it's more interesting and better-made than Happily Ever After. The animation is better and less stiff and Puppetino and the Emperor of the Night are nifty and genuinely frightening villains, especially for a cartoon from this era.
Favorite Number: "Neon Caberet" is the big number when Pinocchio follows Puppetino into the Land Where Dreams Come True, and it's a wild riot of brilliant colors and Art Deco-inspired design. Pinocchio performs "You're a Star" onstage to a delighted crowd, dancing with his beloved Twinkle...but the fantasy isn't as real or as enjoyable as he thinks...
What I Don't Like: I'd love to know what audience Filmation intended this for. Pinocchio is regarded as a children's story, but there's some truly nightmarish images in this film, especially Puppetino and his puppet show and with what the "Land Where Dreams Come True" turns out to be. The story is both overly complicated, and something of a rehash of the Disney film. (To the point where Disney sued Filmation for copyright infringement.) Gee Willikers is silly, annoying, and fairly useless, and the bugs he recruits to rescue Pinocchio (including Grumblebee) aren't much better. The sequence with them trying to escape a huge frog comes out of left field and seems to be there more to give them something to do than for any importance to the story. The music is dull, and the score is the tinny synthesizer music common in low-budget films during the 80's and 90's. There's the odd action finale that also seems out-of-place, both in the movie and in a Pinocchio story.
The Big Finale: Too weird to be a huge favorite, but it's apparently picked up a cult following in the past few years. If you like your animated fantasy on the dark-ish side or are a fan of Filmation's TV projects, you may want to give this one a shot at least once.
Home Media: To my knowledge, this is not on disc in North America. Your best bet is streaming; several companies have it for free, including Amazon and Tubi.
Amazon Prime
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Back to School Again - She's Working Her Way Through College
Warner Bros, 1953
Starring Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, Gene Nelson, and Don DeFore
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Music and Lyrics by various
This wasn't what I planned on reviewing tonight, but that fell through. This one really fits better with Bathing Beauty anyway. Steve Elliot is hardly the only person involved in show business to want to bump up his education. This heavy reworking of James Thurber and Elliott Nugent's 1942 play The Male Animal turns it into a stripper's right to attend school and further her education. How does the story look now, as more people from all walks of life attend college despite the costs? Let's start in a burlesque theater, where star dancer Angela "Hot Garters Gertie" Gardner (Mayo), is giving her last performance, and find out...
The Story: Angela opts to start her semester at MidWest State because her former high school English teacher John Palmer (Reagan) is now an associate professor there. She turns a lot of heads at the school from the moment she arrives, including that of football player and dancer Don Weston (Nelson). His girlfriend "Poison" Ivy Williams (Patrice Wymore) was the queen of the school and the best performer in the drama department before Angela came on the scene, and she's badly jealous. Angela's not the only one dealing with jealousy, either. Palmer's wife Helen (Phyllis Thaxter) is gushing over Shep Slade (DeFore), a former college football star-turned-successful businessman who is visiting for the big homecoming game. Palmer is so jealous, he gets raging drunk after a homecoming game party.
Angela and Palmer convince the student body to put on a musical Angela wrote instead of their usual Shakespearean play. The show is threatened when Ivy prints an article on Angela's previous job in the school newspaper. Now the chairman of the board of trustees Fred Copeland (Roland Winters) is calling for her to be removed, lest she corrupt the noble youth of MidWest, and Ivy wants her role and for her to lay off Don. Palmer won't let her leave without a fight, and finally goes up against the school board with a speech of his own to convince them that anyone, no matter where they came from or what their past was, should be able to further their education.
The Song and Dance: Interesting story about the importance of education and college, no matter who you are or what walk of life you come from. Mayo would later go on to call this her favorite of her movies, and I don't blame her. She gets to play a very intelligent and hard-working woman who is determined to get through college no matter what, even if she has to work the lowest rung of show business to do it. Reagan is a little stiffer as the college professor who admires her spirit, but he appropriately (if you know anything about his later political career) wakes up in the finale, when he gives a very stirring and emotional speech to the school about giving everyone the chance to better themselves. Nelson also does well as the jock who fits in equally well among the theater kids and the athletes.
Favorite Number: We open the film with a glimpse of Angela's previous occupation, a glittering burlesque number set to the 30's Warners song "With Plenty of Money and You." Don and the kids reveal how much Angela charmed them when they drive her up to the Palmers' door singing "We're Working Our Way Through College." Mayo and Nelson get two cute duets together to show off numbers for the proposed musical, "I'll Be Loving You" danced spiritedly on a piano in class and "The Stuff That Dreams are Made Of" at the party. Gene Nelson has an incredible dance routine done all over a gymnasium as he swings on the rings, glides around the mats, and even lands a basketball throw in "Am I In Love?"
Trivia: This was Julie Newmayr's first movie.
What I Don't Like: I'm not a big fan of the subplot involving Palmer's wife and the annoying former jock Slade. Palmer was right. If she loved the guy so much, why didn't she marry him? Other than a very funny routine involving him recreating one of his famous football throws (before Palmer grabs the glass out of his hand), De Fore doesn't have much to do. While the dancing is good, the music is pretty forgettable, and the plot is more than a little dull at times.
The Big Finale: Enjoyable enough time-passer with decent numbers if you ever run into it on TCM.
Home Media: Currently DVD only via the Warner Archives.
DVD
Starring Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, Gene Nelson, and Don DeFore
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Music and Lyrics by various
This wasn't what I planned on reviewing tonight, but that fell through. This one really fits better with Bathing Beauty anyway. Steve Elliot is hardly the only person involved in show business to want to bump up his education. This heavy reworking of James Thurber and Elliott Nugent's 1942 play The Male Animal turns it into a stripper's right to attend school and further her education. How does the story look now, as more people from all walks of life attend college despite the costs? Let's start in a burlesque theater, where star dancer Angela "Hot Garters Gertie" Gardner (Mayo), is giving her last performance, and find out...
The Story: Angela opts to start her semester at MidWest State because her former high school English teacher John Palmer (Reagan) is now an associate professor there. She turns a lot of heads at the school from the moment she arrives, including that of football player and dancer Don Weston (Nelson). His girlfriend "Poison" Ivy Williams (Patrice Wymore) was the queen of the school and the best performer in the drama department before Angela came on the scene, and she's badly jealous. Angela's not the only one dealing with jealousy, either. Palmer's wife Helen (Phyllis Thaxter) is gushing over Shep Slade (DeFore), a former college football star-turned-successful businessman who is visiting for the big homecoming game. Palmer is so jealous, he gets raging drunk after a homecoming game party.
Angela and Palmer convince the student body to put on a musical Angela wrote instead of their usual Shakespearean play. The show is threatened when Ivy prints an article on Angela's previous job in the school newspaper. Now the chairman of the board of trustees Fred Copeland (Roland Winters) is calling for her to be removed, lest she corrupt the noble youth of MidWest, and Ivy wants her role and for her to lay off Don. Palmer won't let her leave without a fight, and finally goes up against the school board with a speech of his own to convince them that anyone, no matter where they came from or what their past was, should be able to further their education.
The Song and Dance: Interesting story about the importance of education and college, no matter who you are or what walk of life you come from. Mayo would later go on to call this her favorite of her movies, and I don't blame her. She gets to play a very intelligent and hard-working woman who is determined to get through college no matter what, even if she has to work the lowest rung of show business to do it. Reagan is a little stiffer as the college professor who admires her spirit, but he appropriately (if you know anything about his later political career) wakes up in the finale, when he gives a very stirring and emotional speech to the school about giving everyone the chance to better themselves. Nelson also does well as the jock who fits in equally well among the theater kids and the athletes.
Favorite Number: We open the film with a glimpse of Angela's previous occupation, a glittering burlesque number set to the 30's Warners song "With Plenty of Money and You." Don and the kids reveal how much Angela charmed them when they drive her up to the Palmers' door singing "We're Working Our Way Through College." Mayo and Nelson get two cute duets together to show off numbers for the proposed musical, "I'll Be Loving You" danced spiritedly on a piano in class and "The Stuff That Dreams are Made Of" at the party. Gene Nelson has an incredible dance routine done all over a gymnasium as he swings on the rings, glides around the mats, and even lands a basketball throw in "Am I In Love?"
Trivia: This was Julie Newmayr's first movie.
What I Don't Like: I'm not a big fan of the subplot involving Palmer's wife and the annoying former jock Slade. Palmer was right. If she loved the guy so much, why didn't she marry him? Other than a very funny routine involving him recreating one of his famous football throws (before Palmer grabs the glass out of his hand), De Fore doesn't have much to do. While the dancing is good, the music is pretty forgettable, and the plot is more than a little dull at times.
The Big Finale: Enjoyable enough time-passer with decent numbers if you ever run into it on TCM.
Home Media: Currently DVD only via the Warner Archives.
DVD
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Back to School Again - Bathing Beauty
MGM, 1944
Starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone, and Bill Goodwin
Directed by George Sidney
Music and Lyrics by various
We hit the books - in and out of school - with two very different takes on academics this week. This was Esther Williams' first starring role in a movie. It was originally Skelton's vehicle, but the MGM brass were so enchanted by her performance, they changed the billing and the title to focus on Williams. Were they right, or is this story of a man enrolling in a girl's school all wet? Let's begin at a pool in Los Angeles and find out...
The Story: Songwriter Steve Elliot (Skelton) is in love with swimming teacher Caroline Brooks (Williams) and badly wants to marry her, to the point where he intends to give up his writing career. New York producer George Adams (Rathbone) is horrified. Steve claimed he'd write songs for his big upcoming water pageant before he met Caroline. He hires actress Mario Dorango to storm into their wedding and claim she and Steve are married. Caroline believes it and flies off for her job at a girls' college in New Jersey.
Determined to be near her, Steve manages to use a loophole in the college's charter to be accepted as a student. The teachers do everything they can to get him expelled before Parents Day in early October, from challenging to re-write a Scottish ballad to having him wear a tutu and dance in the ballet class, but nothing works. He keeps trying to talk to Caroline, who refuses to listen to him. Dean Clinton (Nana Bryant) asks Caroline to take Steve out and keep him away so he can get caught sneaking in after hours. Caroline does...but she begins to wonder if maybe she hasn't made a mistake, at least until half the school ends up in Steve's room!
The Song and Dance: There's a lot of entertaining numbers to be found in this unusual academic tale. Skelton has a great time loose in the girl's school. His best moment is probably in the ballet class, where he tries to dance along with the girls in his ridiculous pink tutu, only to get a sticky paper stuck on his hand and be unable to get rid of it. Williams participates in two dynamic water ballets, including the gorgeous one at the end. Rathbone is appropriately smarmy as the Broadway producer who's thinking more of himself than his supposed friend.
Favorite Number: We open well with singer Carlos Ramerez performing "Magic is In the Moonlight" with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra in a romantic Spanish-tinged number. Organ virtuoso Ethel Smith performs wonderful renditions of "By the Waters of Minnetonka" on her instrument before being joined by the girls with South American instruments for the Latin-tinged "Tico-Tico no Fuba." Skelton's challenge in music class to re-write the ballad "Loch Lomond" results in "I'll Take the High Note," a swinging routine with Skelton, the girls, Ethel Smith, and Harry James and His Orchestra.
By far the most famous number from this one is the big water ballet finale. It's pretty obvious Busby Berkeley choreographed this one. There's splashes of color, girls in sizzling pink and green against blinding blue waters, making formations as Williams glides through the center. It's a harbinger of many such dazzling water spectacles her her movies to come, and it's still gorgeous to look at to this day.
What I Don't Like: The plot is annoying as heck. You have to wonder if Caroline really loved him, given she didn't even give him a chance to explain suddenly having a wife. Despite MGM building up Williams, she's a bit dull in a thankless role and really doesn't have that much to do beyond her water ballet. It's really still Skelton's show. This kind of seems like MGM tossed together whichever actors and orchestras were sitting around the studio and threw them into a thin school plot that's colored with a tinge of Latin from Cugat and his people.
The Big Finale: Great numbers make this mainly for fans of Skelton, Williams, or the big MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's.
Home Media: The two Esther Williams collections featuring this movie are currently out of print. Your best bet is streaming or looking for it occasionally on TCM.
DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Esther Williams Vol. 1
Amazon Prime
Starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone, and Bill Goodwin
Directed by George Sidney
Music and Lyrics by various
We hit the books - in and out of school - with two very different takes on academics this week. This was Esther Williams' first starring role in a movie. It was originally Skelton's vehicle, but the MGM brass were so enchanted by her performance, they changed the billing and the title to focus on Williams. Were they right, or is this story of a man enrolling in a girl's school all wet? Let's begin at a pool in Los Angeles and find out...
The Story: Songwriter Steve Elliot (Skelton) is in love with swimming teacher Caroline Brooks (Williams) and badly wants to marry her, to the point where he intends to give up his writing career. New York producer George Adams (Rathbone) is horrified. Steve claimed he'd write songs for his big upcoming water pageant before he met Caroline. He hires actress Mario Dorango to storm into their wedding and claim she and Steve are married. Caroline believes it and flies off for her job at a girls' college in New Jersey.
Determined to be near her, Steve manages to use a loophole in the college's charter to be accepted as a student. The teachers do everything they can to get him expelled before Parents Day in early October, from challenging to re-write a Scottish ballad to having him wear a tutu and dance in the ballet class, but nothing works. He keeps trying to talk to Caroline, who refuses to listen to him. Dean Clinton (Nana Bryant) asks Caroline to take Steve out and keep him away so he can get caught sneaking in after hours. Caroline does...but she begins to wonder if maybe she hasn't made a mistake, at least until half the school ends up in Steve's room!
The Song and Dance: There's a lot of entertaining numbers to be found in this unusual academic tale. Skelton has a great time loose in the girl's school. His best moment is probably in the ballet class, where he tries to dance along with the girls in his ridiculous pink tutu, only to get a sticky paper stuck on his hand and be unable to get rid of it. Williams participates in two dynamic water ballets, including the gorgeous one at the end. Rathbone is appropriately smarmy as the Broadway producer who's thinking more of himself than his supposed friend.
Favorite Number: We open well with singer Carlos Ramerez performing "Magic is In the Moonlight" with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra in a romantic Spanish-tinged number. Organ virtuoso Ethel Smith performs wonderful renditions of "By the Waters of Minnetonka" on her instrument before being joined by the girls with South American instruments for the Latin-tinged "Tico-Tico no Fuba." Skelton's challenge in music class to re-write the ballad "Loch Lomond" results in "I'll Take the High Note," a swinging routine with Skelton, the girls, Ethel Smith, and Harry James and His Orchestra.
By far the most famous number from this one is the big water ballet finale. It's pretty obvious Busby Berkeley choreographed this one. There's splashes of color, girls in sizzling pink and green against blinding blue waters, making formations as Williams glides through the center. It's a harbinger of many such dazzling water spectacles her her movies to come, and it's still gorgeous to look at to this day.
What I Don't Like: The plot is annoying as heck. You have to wonder if Caroline really loved him, given she didn't even give him a chance to explain suddenly having a wife. Despite MGM building up Williams, she's a bit dull in a thankless role and really doesn't have that much to do beyond her water ballet. It's really still Skelton's show. This kind of seems like MGM tossed together whichever actors and orchestras were sitting around the studio and threw them into a thin school plot that's colored with a tinge of Latin from Cugat and his people.
The Big Finale: Great numbers make this mainly for fans of Skelton, Williams, or the big MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's.
Home Media: The two Esther Williams collections featuring this movie are currently out of print. Your best bet is streaming or looking for it occasionally on TCM.
DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Esther Williams Vol. 1
Amazon Prime
Saturday, September 5, 2020
Happy Labor Day! - The Pajama Game
Warner Bros, 1957
Starring Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr.
Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen
Music by Richard Adler; Lyrics by Jerry Ross
We celebrate a holiday about working with the only musical I know of that revolves around a labor dispute. The Pajama Game debuted on Broadway in the mid-50's, when many Americans still worked blue-collar jobs in small factories in the north and Midwest like the Sleep-Tite Pajamas. How does the story of how Sleep-Tite's employees fought for a raise - and how one employee fell for a new manager - look today? Let's start at Sleep-Tite, just as it's new superintendent Sid (Raitt) is arriving, and find out...
The Story: On Sid's first day at Sleep-Tite, he insults a man who goes to the grievance committee. The head of the committee is Katherine "Babe" Williams (Day), who clashes with him at first before ultimately dropping the complaint. The other women in the factory think she's in love...and they eventually turn out to be right. She and Sid finally admit their feelings at the company picnic.
Babe, however, doesn't think it'll work out. She's an employee, and he's management. The garment union is pushing for a 7 1/2 cent raise, but the factory's manager ignores it. Fed up with his not listening, the factory workers slow down production. Babe jams the equipment, forcing Sid to fire her. Hoping to make amends, Sid turns to Gladys (Haney), the manager's secretary, to get her key and find out what he's hiding in his ledgers...and how he can help get the factory their raise and Babe back into his arms.
The Song and Dance: The unique story is the hook for some classic numbers, especially chorus routines. Day is absolutely dynamic as Babe, especially in the second half, when she thinks she has to give up Sid for the good of the union. Reta Shaw is hilarious as Sid's tough secretary Mabel, and Thelma Pelish is equally fun as Mae, the biggest member of the union (in all senses of the word). The color's gorgeous, especially during the "Once a Year a Day" chorus routine outside, with its brilliant swirling rainbow petticoats and gleaming gold light.
If the delightful choreography looks familiar, this was Bob Fosse's first full film assignment, having done the dances for the Broadway version as well. "Steam Heat" in particular shows off the dramatic, knock-kneed Fosse style that would become more familiar on Broadway and in Hollywood in the 60's and 70's.
Favorite Number: Babe claims "I'm Not at All In Love" after meeting Sid for the first time, but the ladies of Sleep-Tite know better. "Hey There" was the big hit ballad, and it gets an interesting number too, with Sid singing it into the Dictaphone, then playing it back and singing to scold his romantic notions. "Once a Year a Day" is that colorful, swirling number at the picnic that gets so wild, it ends with everyone collapsing! "Steam Heat" is extraneous, basically existing for Haney and the male dancers to do their bowler-and-knock-knees thing, but it still looks pretty darn good. "Hernando's Hideaway" has Haney bringing Raitt to Iowa's most infamous dive bar...so infamous, everyone needs to light matches to find their way around.
Trivia: Frank Sinatra was considered for the male lead that eventually went to original Broadway cast member Raitt.
Pajama Game debuted on Broadway in 1954 and was a huge hit, running just shy of three years. It made it to just under two on the West End. It was revived briefly on Broadway in 1978, and more successfully with Harry Connick Jr. as Sid in 2006. Three new songs were added to the 2006 version. It's said to be popular with community and high school theaters.
What I Don't Like: As unique as the story is, it really hasn't dated well in spots. Sid comes off as a bit of a jerk early-on and kind of forces himself on Babe, who kept saying 'no.' Gladys and Hines' subplot is even worse. Hines actually throws knives at Sid in the end when he's drunk and thinks Gladys has been with him - frankly, I'm amazed Gladys even considers returning to him after that. Speaking of Sid, Raitt is really kind of stiff in front of a camera when he's not singing. No wonder this would be his only film.
The Big Finale: Lively background music for your Labor Day barbecue if you're a fan of Day or 50's musicals.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD; most streaming services have it for purchase only.
DVD
Amazon Prime (Buy Only)
Starring Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr.
Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen
Music by Richard Adler; Lyrics by Jerry Ross
We celebrate a holiday about working with the only musical I know of that revolves around a labor dispute. The Pajama Game debuted on Broadway in the mid-50's, when many Americans still worked blue-collar jobs in small factories in the north and Midwest like the Sleep-Tite Pajamas. How does the story of how Sleep-Tite's employees fought for a raise - and how one employee fell for a new manager - look today? Let's start at Sleep-Tite, just as it's new superintendent Sid (Raitt) is arriving, and find out...
The Story: On Sid's first day at Sleep-Tite, he insults a man who goes to the grievance committee. The head of the committee is Katherine "Babe" Williams (Day), who clashes with him at first before ultimately dropping the complaint. The other women in the factory think she's in love...and they eventually turn out to be right. She and Sid finally admit their feelings at the company picnic.
Babe, however, doesn't think it'll work out. She's an employee, and he's management. The garment union is pushing for a 7 1/2 cent raise, but the factory's manager ignores it. Fed up with his not listening, the factory workers slow down production. Babe jams the equipment, forcing Sid to fire her. Hoping to make amends, Sid turns to Gladys (Haney), the manager's secretary, to get her key and find out what he's hiding in his ledgers...and how he can help get the factory their raise and Babe back into his arms.
The Song and Dance: The unique story is the hook for some classic numbers, especially chorus routines. Day is absolutely dynamic as Babe, especially in the second half, when she thinks she has to give up Sid for the good of the union. Reta Shaw is hilarious as Sid's tough secretary Mabel, and Thelma Pelish is equally fun as Mae, the biggest member of the union (in all senses of the word). The color's gorgeous, especially during the "Once a Year a Day" chorus routine outside, with its brilliant swirling rainbow petticoats and gleaming gold light.
If the delightful choreography looks familiar, this was Bob Fosse's first full film assignment, having done the dances for the Broadway version as well. "Steam Heat" in particular shows off the dramatic, knock-kneed Fosse style that would become more familiar on Broadway and in Hollywood in the 60's and 70's.
Favorite Number: Babe claims "I'm Not at All In Love" after meeting Sid for the first time, but the ladies of Sleep-Tite know better. "Hey There" was the big hit ballad, and it gets an interesting number too, with Sid singing it into the Dictaphone, then playing it back and singing to scold his romantic notions. "Once a Year a Day" is that colorful, swirling number at the picnic that gets so wild, it ends with everyone collapsing! "Steam Heat" is extraneous, basically existing for Haney and the male dancers to do their bowler-and-knock-knees thing, but it still looks pretty darn good. "Hernando's Hideaway" has Haney bringing Raitt to Iowa's most infamous dive bar...so infamous, everyone needs to light matches to find their way around.
Trivia: Frank Sinatra was considered for the male lead that eventually went to original Broadway cast member Raitt.
Pajama Game debuted on Broadway in 1954 and was a huge hit, running just shy of three years. It made it to just under two on the West End. It was revived briefly on Broadway in 1978, and more successfully with Harry Connick Jr. as Sid in 2006. Three new songs were added to the 2006 version. It's said to be popular with community and high school theaters.
What I Don't Like: As unique as the story is, it really hasn't dated well in spots. Sid comes off as a bit of a jerk early-on and kind of forces himself on Babe, who kept saying 'no.' Gladys and Hines' subplot is even worse. Hines actually throws knives at Sid in the end when he's drunk and thinks Gladys has been with him - frankly, I'm amazed Gladys even considers returning to him after that. Speaking of Sid, Raitt is really kind of stiff in front of a camera when he's not singing. No wonder this would be his only film.
The Big Finale: Lively background music for your Labor Day barbecue if you're a fan of Day or 50's musicals.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD; most streaming services have it for purchase only.
DVD
Amazon Prime (Buy Only)
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Lullaby of Broadway
Warner Bros, 1951
Starring Doris Day, Gene Nelson, SZ Sakall, and Billy DeWolfe
Directed by David Butler
Music by various
After the war, Broadway remained as important as ever, helped by new inventions like the long-playing LP that could preserve almost an entire show's worth of music and excerpts of shows performed on early TV. The movies tried to regain their previous dominance with audiences by showcasing new performers and technologies. One of those new performers was Doris Day, who rose to prominence in the late 40's and early 50's in frothy musicals after a stint as a big band singer. She and another newcomer, dancer Gene Nelson, joined old hams like Sakall and De Wolfe for this tale of an English performer who comes to America to find the mother she never knew. We begin on-board a cruise ship bound for the US, as Melinda Howard (Day) prepares for that long-desired meeting...
The Story: Melinda thinks her mother, Broadway singer Jessica Howard (Gladys George), is a major star who lives in a New York mansion. The mansion is really owned by kindly businessman Adolph Hubbell (Sakall). Jessica is an alcoholic who performs at a saloon in Grenwich Village. Adolph's butler Lefty (DeWolfe) lies and says Jessica is away on a tour. He offers Melinda a room and reveals that many Broadway performers will be at a party that night. Among them is dancer Tom Farnham, whom Melinda met - and brushed off - on her trip to the US.
Adolph isn't happy about Melinda being there at first, until Lefty tells him what's going on. After Jessica fails to arrive at the party (she was really in the hospital), Adolph offers to take her to dinner. He also brings her to the attention of the producer of the Broadway show Lullaby of Broadway, who takes her as his female star alongside Tom in order to get Adolph as his backer. Adolph buys Melinda a fur coat...but then his wife thinks it's for her. When she learns who it was really for, she names Melinda in a divorce suit. Not to mention, Tom thinks Melinda's relationship with Adolph may be more than it seems. It'll take Lefty and his fiancee Gloria (Anna Triola) to bring mother and daughter together and keep Melinda from leaving the country.
The Song and Dance: Better than you'd think from the fluffy story. Nelson and Day make a cute couple, and De Wolfe and Triola may be even cuter as the former vaudevillians who are determined to help at least one person make it to the big time. Nelson has a few amazing dance routines, especially near the end of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart." Gladys George is also excellent as Melinda's blowzy mother who thinks she's better off hiding her sordid past from her angelic daughter. Their eventual meeting in the last ten minutes is melodramatic but still heart-rendering.
Favorite Number: Day gets a perky rendition of the classic Cole Porter song "Just One of Those Things" in the opening seconds, wearing a tuxedo while singing onstage. De Wolfe and Triola have two hilarious duets, "You're Dependable" at the party, and "We'd Like to Go On a Trip" later on. Nelson shows off that amazing split while jumping off a piano at the party during "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart." He and Day join the chorus for the charming courtship number "I Love the Way You Say Goodnight" that includes some odd slow-motion special effects towards the end and the big title song finale, with Day in a flowing golden gown.
What I Don't Like: Did I mention that story? Alternatively fluffy and melodramatic, it's very predictable and can get kind annoying, especially towards the end. It also seems like kind of a mish-mash, almost a jukebox musical for previous Warners musical films. There's only three new songs - everything else is mostly from Warners musicals of the 1930's.
The Big Finale: Charming backstage tale with several decent numbers is worth checking out for fans of Day or Nelson.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD from the Warner Archives.
DVD
Amazon Prime
Starring Doris Day, Gene Nelson, SZ Sakall, and Billy DeWolfe
Directed by David Butler
Music by various
After the war, Broadway remained as important as ever, helped by new inventions like the long-playing LP that could preserve almost an entire show's worth of music and excerpts of shows performed on early TV. The movies tried to regain their previous dominance with audiences by showcasing new performers and technologies. One of those new performers was Doris Day, who rose to prominence in the late 40's and early 50's in frothy musicals after a stint as a big band singer. She and another newcomer, dancer Gene Nelson, joined old hams like Sakall and De Wolfe for this tale of an English performer who comes to America to find the mother she never knew. We begin on-board a cruise ship bound for the US, as Melinda Howard (Day) prepares for that long-desired meeting...
The Story: Melinda thinks her mother, Broadway singer Jessica Howard (Gladys George), is a major star who lives in a New York mansion. The mansion is really owned by kindly businessman Adolph Hubbell (Sakall). Jessica is an alcoholic who performs at a saloon in Grenwich Village. Adolph's butler Lefty (DeWolfe) lies and says Jessica is away on a tour. He offers Melinda a room and reveals that many Broadway performers will be at a party that night. Among them is dancer Tom Farnham, whom Melinda met - and brushed off - on her trip to the US.
Adolph isn't happy about Melinda being there at first, until Lefty tells him what's going on. After Jessica fails to arrive at the party (she was really in the hospital), Adolph offers to take her to dinner. He also brings her to the attention of the producer of the Broadway show Lullaby of Broadway, who takes her as his female star alongside Tom in order to get Adolph as his backer. Adolph buys Melinda a fur coat...but then his wife thinks it's for her. When she learns who it was really for, she names Melinda in a divorce suit. Not to mention, Tom thinks Melinda's relationship with Adolph may be more than it seems. It'll take Lefty and his fiancee Gloria (Anna Triola) to bring mother and daughter together and keep Melinda from leaving the country.
The Song and Dance: Better than you'd think from the fluffy story. Nelson and Day make a cute couple, and De Wolfe and Triola may be even cuter as the former vaudevillians who are determined to help at least one person make it to the big time. Nelson has a few amazing dance routines, especially near the end of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart." Gladys George is also excellent as Melinda's blowzy mother who thinks she's better off hiding her sordid past from her angelic daughter. Their eventual meeting in the last ten minutes is melodramatic but still heart-rendering.
Favorite Number: Day gets a perky rendition of the classic Cole Porter song "Just One of Those Things" in the opening seconds, wearing a tuxedo while singing onstage. De Wolfe and Triola have two hilarious duets, "You're Dependable" at the party, and "We'd Like to Go On a Trip" later on. Nelson shows off that amazing split while jumping off a piano at the party during "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart." He and Day join the chorus for the charming courtship number "I Love the Way You Say Goodnight" that includes some odd slow-motion special effects towards the end and the big title song finale, with Day in a flowing golden gown.
What I Don't Like: Did I mention that story? Alternatively fluffy and melodramatic, it's very predictable and can get kind annoying, especially towards the end. It also seems like kind of a mish-mash, almost a jukebox musical for previous Warners musical films. There's only three new songs - everything else is mostly from Warners musicals of the 1930's.
The Big Finale: Charming backstage tale with several decent numbers is worth checking out for fans of Day or Nelson.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD from the Warner Archives.
DVD
Amazon Prime
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Music in Manhattan
RKO, 1944
Starring Anne Shirley, Dennis Day, Phillip Terry, and Raymond Walburn
Directed by John H. Auer
Music by Herb Pollack; Lyrics by Herb Magidson
Many small-scale and "B" musicals were made during the World War II years to fill double-bills and let the folks on the home front get their minds off their troubles. They often reflected the reality of the time, with people having difficulty finding places to stay, travel restricted and gas rationed, and returning GIs considered heroes and sometimes even celebrities. Let's join Frankie Foster (Shirley) at the struggling off-Broadway revue she and her boyfriend Stanley (Day) are appearing in and find out just how hard it was...
The Story: Hoping to bump up her act with Stanley and keep the revue afloat, Frankie tries to get to Washington DC to borrow money from her rich father. Their manager Professor Carl Roberti (Walburn) gets her on the next plane by claiming she's the wife of returning soldier Johnny Pearson (Terry). She even gets the bridal suite in DC by claiming to be his wife. Pearson is less angry to find a "wife" sharing his bedroom than amused, despite him really being involved with Frankie's friend in the show Gladys (Patti Brill). Frankie isn't amused and ends up walking back to New York.
The show does become a hit...thanks to the Professor and the cast of the show publicizing her "marriage" to Pearson. Frankie laughs it off at first, until Pearson returns and insists on sharing a room with her. Worse yet, his mother (Jane Darwell) arrives, convinced that she now has a daughter-in-law. Stanley is livid and tries to tell everyone within a five mile radius about the situation, but Frankie's wondering if being "married" to Johnny is really that terrible...
The Song and Dance: Shirley and a decent supporting cast really anchor this goofy little wartime tale. Shirley manages to make some of the stranger twists of the plot believable, even when Terry's mother arrives and things really get out of hand. Darwell and Walburn have a field day as the kindly old lady who really thinks her son found happiness and the slick older agent who thinks he's finally found a way to make their small-time show a hit.
Favorite Number: The movie opens with a spicy Latin dance routine and Dennis Day singing about "One Night In Acapulco." The cutest musical number shows Day and Shirley's morning routine in separate rooms, then brings them together for "Did You Happen to Find a Heart?" They also take part in the big, glamorous finale with lots of chorus dancers and glittering gowns, "When Romance Comes Along."
What I Don't Like: Very typical of its time and of romantic comedy. You can more-or-less figure out who Frankie will end up with less than ten minutes after the movie begins. Day sings beautifully, but he comes off more like a whiny twit than someone who is trying to protect his fiancee. And there's this being just this much shy of B-movie fodder.
The Big Finale: Charming bit of 40's fluff if you're a fan of the era or romantic comedy and run into it on TCM.
Home Media: Once again, this can currently only be found in occasional showings on TCM.
Watch TCM
Starring Anne Shirley, Dennis Day, Phillip Terry, and Raymond Walburn
Directed by John H. Auer
Music by Herb Pollack; Lyrics by Herb Magidson
Many small-scale and "B" musicals were made during the World War II years to fill double-bills and let the folks on the home front get their minds off their troubles. They often reflected the reality of the time, with people having difficulty finding places to stay, travel restricted and gas rationed, and returning GIs considered heroes and sometimes even celebrities. Let's join Frankie Foster (Shirley) at the struggling off-Broadway revue she and her boyfriend Stanley (Day) are appearing in and find out just how hard it was...
The Story: Hoping to bump up her act with Stanley and keep the revue afloat, Frankie tries to get to Washington DC to borrow money from her rich father. Their manager Professor Carl Roberti (Walburn) gets her on the next plane by claiming she's the wife of returning soldier Johnny Pearson (Terry). She even gets the bridal suite in DC by claiming to be his wife. Pearson is less angry to find a "wife" sharing his bedroom than amused, despite him really being involved with Frankie's friend in the show Gladys (Patti Brill). Frankie isn't amused and ends up walking back to New York.
The show does become a hit...thanks to the Professor and the cast of the show publicizing her "marriage" to Pearson. Frankie laughs it off at first, until Pearson returns and insists on sharing a room with her. Worse yet, his mother (Jane Darwell) arrives, convinced that she now has a daughter-in-law. Stanley is livid and tries to tell everyone within a five mile radius about the situation, but Frankie's wondering if being "married" to Johnny is really that terrible...
The Song and Dance: Shirley and a decent supporting cast really anchor this goofy little wartime tale. Shirley manages to make some of the stranger twists of the plot believable, even when Terry's mother arrives and things really get out of hand. Darwell and Walburn have a field day as the kindly old lady who really thinks her son found happiness and the slick older agent who thinks he's finally found a way to make their small-time show a hit.
Favorite Number: The movie opens with a spicy Latin dance routine and Dennis Day singing about "One Night In Acapulco." The cutest musical number shows Day and Shirley's morning routine in separate rooms, then brings them together for "Did You Happen to Find a Heart?" They also take part in the big, glamorous finale with lots of chorus dancers and glittering gowns, "When Romance Comes Along."
What I Don't Like: Very typical of its time and of romantic comedy. You can more-or-less figure out who Frankie will end up with less than ten minutes after the movie begins. Day sings beautifully, but he comes off more like a whiny twit than someone who is trying to protect his fiancee. And there's this being just this much shy of B-movie fodder.
The Big Finale: Charming bit of 40's fluff if you're a fan of the era or romantic comedy and run into it on TCM.
Home Media: Once again, this can currently only be found in occasional showings on TCM.
Watch TCM
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