Rhythm on the range

We’re going back to the beginning of the movie musical by looking at the Bing Crosby film Rhythm on the range. This film stars Bing Crosby who’ll you’ve probably heard at some point in your life unless you’ve decided to never leave your house during the whole month of December.  This film happened fairly early on his career but he was still quite established at this point as a singer and an actor in musicals. Back in the 30’s if you could sing then you could star in any musical you wanted. We have since learned this is not always the case but does it hold up here. Let’s find out.

Well firstly let’s talk about the stars of the film, Bing Crosby and Frances Farmer. Bing Crosby plays the cowboy Jeff Larabee who’s quite a strange hero. He’s not particularly charming, he’s not particularly intelligent and he’s certainly not particularly polite or courteous. Yet he is the romantic lead for some reason well he is straight forward, determined and he sure can sing. He lives an uncomplicated life and he’s happy living the life he leads. Bing Crosby gives this character a great singing voice but he also does portray a genuine sense of being a down to earth guy. Sometimes though his performance can be a little distancing and you never really find yourself rooting for the guy. You didn’t hate him though which I suppose is something. Frances Farmer plays Doris Ryland who starts of self assured of herself and in her role in life but is very dissatisfied with it. Her aunt unknowingly breaks her out of her apathy and before she knows it, she’s standing up for herself, figuring out how to be self sufficient and falling in love all while being a complete idiot. Frances Farmer is admittedly stunning and her close ups look pretty damn good but her performance is a bit low key especially considering what her character goes through, her confession of love sounds almost bored. The chemistry between Crosby and Farmer isn’t god awful but it isn’t exactly mind-blowing,

The supporting cast in this movie are all quite good in particular the beta couple Buck played by Bob Burns and Emma played by Martha Ray. They are actually a lot more interesting than the alpha couple. They have a lot of funny lines and Buck’s dead pan style mixes beautifully with Martha Ray’s gloriously over the top comedic response. These two are also funny on their own, Buck’s attempts to earn 28 dollars for the hotel bill and Emma’s drunken antics at her wedding are all great fun moments. There are three villains in this film who while offering some funny lines are pretty forgettable in their typical ineptness to do anything. My favourite character is the Russian cowboy, it’s probably pretty racist but I don’t care. He is as funny as hell with his little drinking song and his home made vodka. The aunt is quite a lot of fun but is quite a typical guardian figure.

The story is quite simple and it focuses on the progression of Doris that’s not to say that Jeff isn’t important but his character stays the same throughout the film and he’s never really confronted with anything that would make him change his way of life or question it. Anyway Doris is about to get married to John Dobie the third but considering he can’t even be bothered to turn up to his own wedding rehearsal. Her aunt thinks she can do better so takes her to a rodeo where she shows her up for not being a proper woman or something like that. This convinces her that she must run away and go out west without even bothering to tell her dad. Meanwhile Jeff and his fellow cowboy Buck need to raise enough money to buy Cuddles, a bull. I honestly have no idea why this bull is so important and why it’s worth the effort but apparently Jeff can’t live without it. He tries to win as many contests possible but comes short of the money he needs. Buck decides to chip in but unfortunately doesn’t have enough money to pay the hotel bill now so is almost literally forced to sing fir his supper. So Jeff boards the train with Cuddles where he finds an unconscious Doris. He assumes she’s bumming a ride and for no other reason than the plot says so. She lies to him about who she is despite the fact that he wants to turf her out and if she told him, he’d probably let her stay. Anyway she doesn’t and she aggravates Cuddles which ends up with all three of them missing the train. Unfortunately the three villains have figured out Doris is a rich heiress so plan to kidnap her. Luckily she managed to acquire a car, how? I don’t know but she has a car. She gives Jeff and Cuddles a lift. He tells her about his lost love. She tells him ...nothing. Anyway they’re clearly in love but they get stopped by rain and he takes her to his grandparents place to rest up. However Buck and Emma have met up, kissed and fallen in love and are also stopped by the rain so he takes her to Jeff’s place. Emma not aware that this place doesn’t belong to Buck ends up trying to kick out Doris and Jeff but the truth is revealed. After that’s sorted Doris admits she’s in love with Jeff but is too scared to admit she’s lied to him. So Jeff tells her to forget about that and marry him anyway. I’ve seen worse foundations for marriage. Anyway Buck proposes to Emma and proposes to Doris for Jeff. He for some reason accepts this. But he finds out, she’s been lying to him so he runs of. She chases after him getting the bad guys to help but as long as they’re getting paid. She finds him apologises and he forgives her for some reason.

This film is paced quite well and it gets a lot of story out there considering its short running time. Most of the jokes still work although some of them are a bit dated. There are a whole bunch of plot holes though firstly how did Doris get that car? Why did she trust someone who was about to rape her to deliver a telegram? Why does Jeff forgive her in the end despite not having any reason to do? None of these questions are ever answered and it feels like lazy writing. Doris will just do stuff whenever the plot necessitates that she needs to do something insane to put another obstacle in her path. he worst part of this movie is the ending, it's just so abrubt. She's chased after Jeff and is willinbg to do anything to forgive him but remebr he has no funds to support her and she lied to him. No matter what he feels for her. The whole film has been building up to this and he kisses her and that's the end of the film apparently there was a song cut from the end of this film. It was a duet between Bing and Frances which might have given their love story a satisfying conclusion. We'll never know now. However most of the jokes work and the B story between Emma and Buck work really well. It’s a shame it’s not the main plot of the movie because it is a lot more interesting than the main couple.

The most famous song is I’m an old cow hand from the Rio Grande and it’s quite a fun and upbeat song. It gives the whole cast to sing, not just Bing and the combination of voices is quite fun and Martha Ray’s unconventional singing voice works quite well. The musical accompaniment is lively and fun which is a nice contrast to rest of the songs. I can’t escape from you is probably the song that establishes Jeff’s character. It’s quite a nice song and Bing sings it with genuine longing and regret that you really start to feel for him and you understand why he is the way he is. The only problem is the song is interrupted by a sudden exposition dump half way through which slightly ruins the mood but it’s a well performed scene and it doesn’t take too much away. Empty saddles is sung for the singing contest and in fairness he probably deserved to win. The song is a bit subdued and I don’t get why it elicits such an emotional response from his audience. It’s sung well but it’s a bit meh. Round up lullaby might as well be empty saddles, Bing sings it well but the song is just meh. If you can’t sing it and you’ll have to swing it which after three low key Bong Crosby songs. Is a blessing. The song is fun and upbeat and is helped by Martha Ray’s incredibly comedic performance and Bob Burns amazingly appropriate Bazooka playing. Its fun and quite funny, what more could you want. Drink it down is quite a fun little drinking song which anyone who’s ever been out a little too much with their friends can appreciate.

 

To conclude this movie is ok. It’s probably not a film, I’ll ever see again but for what it is. It’s fun and it still has some good laugh out loud moments. The songs are a bit samey with only a few exceptions. The standout performance is Martha Ray who is a comedic goddess in this part and considering this was her first feature, it’s pretty impressive. As I’ve said before I would have preferred if the focus had been on the relationship between Buck and Emma but saying that the main relationship isn’t bad. It’s just a bit too cliché and predictable. The villains don’t convey any threat and they’re not even that funny and the script probably could have worked just as well without them but they’re only there for a few scenes and they don’t ruin anything. Rhythm on the range is a good film and if you want to watch Bing Crosby sing some western songs with a few funny moments then this is the film for you.

Nine

Last time we looked at the beginning of musical history now let’s look at the modern musical; it’s fair to say that the musical has fallen on hard times in recent years. For various reasons, they’re expensive, they’re not guaranteed money earners and you need people who can sing, act and dance. There are still musicals however, Bollywood is still making musicals, Disney is still making musicals and various other studios have dabbled in making musicals. But this film comes into a movement that was created by Moulin Rouge which bought a lot of vitality back to the musical genre. Now Nine was based on the theatre production of the same name which is popular for film makers to do because it already has an audience, so  it’s not a complete risk so with that said let’s look at the film.

With a cast this amazing I don’t see any point in starting anywhere else, there are so many big names in this cast that it seems a disservice not to start with them. First we have Daniel Day-Lewis who is just so charming throughout this role, he just inhabits the role and it is a testament to his skill as an actor that he gives such a big character, little subtleties which make him seem more realistic. Then we have Marion Coitllard who portrays her character Luisa with such innocence and it’s truly heart breaking as she learns that her marriage is over and what she’s sacrificed as she asks herself, was it worth it? Ultimately it wasn’t Guido can’t give her what she needs. Then we have Penelope Cruz who again puts in a good performance managing to be feisty but again quite innocent in her feistiness sometimes she acts more like Guido’s daughter than her lover but she still manages to be quite sexy and it’s quite tragic. Then we have Judi Dench who’s quite frankly wasted in this part, it’s not that she’s bad but she really deserves a meatier part, she’s just his confidante and while she delivers her funny lines in a funny way, she deserved better lines. Then we have Fergie who seems to be the odd one out in this cast considering she’s known more for her singing than acting but considering she has one song, it works, she certainly does bring a primal force to her performance but she also has a hint of playfulness, she knows she’s in control and despite being surrounded by many talented actors in this film, she holds her own. Then we have Kate Hudson and I don’t want to criticise her but her character just doesn’t fit, this film is meant to be about the women that shaped Guido’s life but she didn’t and she just seems shallow and style obsessed for the sake of it. Then we have Nicole Kidman who plays Carmen who almost seems like a ghost throughout this film which is the point she’s meant to be this otherworldly being to him but she just comes across as too perfect, she doesn’t act like a human being and like Dench you wish she could have been given a meatier part. Lastly we have Sophia Loren, now I’d never heard of Sophia Loren before this film but she’d meant to be one of the great Italian actresses so again, it’s a shame she doesn’t do much, she doesn’t act like a mother, she represents the ideal of motherhood. This is a problem with most of the performances, the actresses don’t act like people, they act like stereotyped ideals of womanhood and there was a real lost chance there to tell a grittier and more human story.

 

I think that last point should lead me into the writing. The plot is simple Guido Contini is about to start making a film, the problem being that he hasn’t wrote a script yet. So he struggles, has sex and breaks up with his wife. So there’s not so much a plot but a character study of this man who has fallen from greatness and is watching his life fall apart. But does it work? The simple answer is yes and no. There are some quite funny lines throughout this movie and you do feel for the character but you’re not really invested him and the women around him with the exception of his wife just don’t seem real. They seem like representations of certain facets of womanhood and none of them judge him or make him feel guilty about the way he lives his life which is a bad thing. This film is meant to be about the importance of these women but they are defined almost entirely by their relationship to Guido and they are not allowed to speak against him. I’ve read that the original ending was a lot darker but this film ends with him making a movie and implies he can get his wife back and it shouldn’t be that easy, the whole point of this movie is that he’s gone too far, he’s pushed himself and those around him to the brink so that’s why he breaks down. But the fact that he just starts again while being happy lacks the drama of a more tragic ending.

So let’s get onto the songs first up we have cinema Italiano which just seems like the odd one out, the song is different from all the other songs in the movie and it sticks out. It’s a good song but it’s not exactly catchy but Kate Hudson looks stunning throughout it and she sings it well. Next we have take it all which is definitely the most emotionally charged song, it’s probably the only time where we get to really feel anything from the female characters. It’s also metaphorically charged as we see someone who’s been depicted as innocent and sweet being a whore and you see the pain and anger she has towards her husband and it’s the only time in the film where he’s held accountable for what he does. Then we have Guido’s song which is quite a fun little song and it’s our first real look at the character, he wants everything because he doesn’t know what he wants. Guido’s personal quest for something is really the driving force behind this movie and the song introduces it quite well. Also Daniel Day-Lewis sings it really well and the editing works well here because this song is intercut with the press conference and again it shows the character’s desire to escape his life. Next we have a call from the Vatican, the song itself is quite unremarkable but the dance sequence is anything but, it’s a really sexy number and the choreography is amazing how it verges on pornographic but never goes that far, it’s just unbelievably enticing. 

Then we have folie begeres which is so incredibly forgettable, the song is bland, the visuals are just ok specially after a call from the Vatican they seem especially bland. Judi Dench sings the song quite well but that’s the only thing you’re going to remember about this song Judi Dench sung it. The next song is a lot better, my husband makes movie whilst not being the best song in the world, Marion Coitllard gives it such an emotional depth, at first she sings it with a tone of resignation but throughout the song she just gets angrier and angrier when she realises what she’s given up over her marriage. Also this song has the simplest visuals; it just lets the emotional power of the song carry it and it works brilliantly. Next we have unusual way which is better than folie Begere because it allows Kidman to portray pain but it pretty much suffers from all the problems that song does. Then we have be Italian which is the best song in the movie, it has a grandness to it and Fergie sings it really well with a lot of raw ferocity and Fergie’s performance during this song is really good, she just encapsulates whores really well, there’s a sense of wildness but also playfulness and also the way this dance uses sand is really good. Then we have I can’t make this movie which isn’t as good as Guido’s song but it gives Daniel Day-Lewis to sing with pure desperation and the use of the projection gives a truly haunting image. Lastly we have Garda la Luna which is Sophia Loren’s song and through it I get a faint glimpse of why she’s so well regarded as an actress, it’s only a faint glimpse, she comes across as angelic, a perfect mother and the imagery of the candles and the church reinforces that image but she doesn’t come across as real. The song is just ok and does come across as a lullaby and metaphorically I suppose it works Guido’s in a tough situation so he retreats to his childhood where his mum can look after him. All the songs suffer from not being that memorable with the possible exception of be Italian but these songs just blur into each other and it’s a shame a lot of effort was put into the visuals for the song numbers and Rob Marshall’s direction comes across quite well, it just seems that the songs don’t justify the amount of time that was put into the visuals.

 

Next the special features which there are a ton so first of all there’s a ton of featurettes which don’t really say much we have one about Daniel Dae Lewis which talks about how amazing he is and them we have one about all the female stars which say how amazing they are and then we have one on the director about how amazing he is. There are some featurettes which have a little more content, one that tells you about the look, the dancers and the choreography of be Italian and cinema italiano. Then we have a making of cinema italiano which covered a lot of points that the one on the choreography talked about. Then we have three music videos, cinema italiano, take it all and unusual way which are all ok but again suffer from what the original songs suffered from weirdly though unusual way isn’t sung by Nicole Kidman, it’s sung by some random guy who’s a good singer, but it was Nicole’s song in the movie, I don’t know why this is but it’s still an ok song. So while there are lots of special features, they tend to blur into each other and don’t really reveal a lot about the film.

To conclude, this film tanked at the box office and had a mixed critical reception to say the least but I have to admit I enjoyed this film but it has an edge of disappointment, it’s kind of like when you receive a crap birthday present, you’re happy that they got you something but disappointed you didn’t get what you wanted and this film could have been a musical classic, it had the star power, a talented director, a big budget but it just misses all the opportunities to be truly great, the story lacks drama because we never get to know any of the female characters that have shaped his life and the songs for the most part lack any real drive because they’re just not memorable. I’ve never seen 8 ½ the film the musical was based on or the Broadway musical maybe they do a better job of honouring Italian cinema and musicals in general but sadly this movie falls short.

42nd street

So here we are at near the beginning of movie musical history with the musical that saved the genre. 4 years after the first musical!! I find it quite amazing how an entire genre needed to be saved four years after its creation. Anyway the reason for the musical needed to be saved was that Al Jolson was so popular that studios started churning out 100’s of musicals and over saturated the market so people were sick of them. Until this movie came along and rekindled the people’s love of musicals. So how did this musical do that? How did it distinguish itself from all the other musicals? Does it still hold up? I don’t know but here’s my opinion.

Let’s start with the plot, Jones and Barry two theatre producers are putting on a show and they get famed musical director Julian Marsh to direct it despite the fact that he’s close to a nervous breakdown. They got the money from Abner Dillon who’s only request is that his girlfriend Dorothy Brock is the star which they do. Then it’s time for auditions where we meet Anytime Annie and Loraine Fleming who are musical veterans and in contrast we have Peggy Sawyer who’s trying to make it big in the city. The latter is made fun of by everybody but Annie and Lorraine take pity on her and get her into the show. She also manages to attract the juvenile lead Billy Lawler. So rehearsals start and it’s a little crap and to make matters worse Dorothy is cheating on Abner with Pat Denning which means if he finds out then everyone is fired. Dorothy breaks up with him anyway but for different reasons. But it’s too late, Marsh sends someone to take care of it but he’s on a sort of date with Peggy and he gets beaten up so Peggy tries to fix him up but ends up getting kicked out of her apartment so Pat lets him stay at her place. He then goes and gets a job in Philadelphia which coincidentally is where the musical opens. So everyone goes to Philadelphia and Dorothy is depressed because she thinks Peggy has stolen Pat. This leads her to break up with Abner and screw the whole show but he changes his mind and then she breaks her ankle after a fight with Peggy so they now have a show with no star. Abner tries to put forward her new girlfriend Annie but she insists that Peggy should be the star. Having little choice Marsh agrees to this and manages to coach Peggy in to being a star. She also admits her love for Billy and she’s a big hit and the film ends with Marsh quietly relishing his success with a cigarette. The script has a few minor potholes like why does Annie insist Dorothy should be the star when she could be the star?  Also about half the jokes fail miserably like Annie’s oh so witty comeback “It must have been hard for your mother never having any children” but half the jokes do work like while Peggy’s landlady is chewing her out for supposedly sleeping with Pat, you see a guy leaving a girl’s apartment behind her. So the comedy is a bit hit and miss but the musical does take good advantage of a show within a show angle where you see the musical come to life over the film but the whole process seems a bit rushed and a longer running time would have given us a lot more insight into the characters and the world of show business. So on the whole, the script kinda works but it could have been better from what I’ve read the stage musical based on this movie irons out a lot of the problems I have with the script so I’ll try and watch it and tell you what I think.

Now it’s time for the songs and before I get down into them individually, it’s quite annoying how 3 of the 5 songs we only get to hear in the last 10 minutes of the movie. Sure we get to see them rehearse bits of them throughout the movie but for a musical it just seems devoid of music. Let’s start with the title song 42^nd street; it’s quite a merry catchy little tune although Ruby Keeler murders the first couple verses but her dancing kinda makes up for it. It’s a very strange sequence, there’s a scene of domestic violence where someone dies and then it goes back to cheery dancing. I suppose it’s meant to be a metaphor that no matter what life throws at you, you’ve got to carry on and have fun and I suppose at the height of the depression that message would have had extra relevance. But I don’t know, it doesn’t really matter, it’s still a great song. Then we have you’re getting to be a habit with me which seems to have been covered by everyone and there’s a good reason for that it’s a great song but it’s also really adaptable. It can be a happy song, a sad song whatever it needs to be which reflects the paradoxical nature of love. But this version in particular is sung really well by Bebe Daniels who has quite an operatic quality to it and the dance sequence is a nice simple but comedic moment and all the dancers do a good job. Then we have it must be June which is deliberately bad, the choreography is terrible everyone’s singing of key and Annie are Lorraine are talking all the way through it. This song works because it basically shows how far they’ve come when you see the better songs and amazingly intricate dance sequences that come later.Then we have shuffle of to Buffalo which is quite a catchy tune but it requires some explanation when the guy says he needs to fetch his panties. It doesn’t mean that he has a fetish because apparently back then panties refereed to male underpants to but I don’t know Peggy gives him a pretty weird look when he says panties. Secondly when Loraine says they’ll soon be in Reno. She’s referring to the fact that Nevada had pretty lax divorce laws when compared to New York where if you wanted to get divorced, you’d need a picture of adultery or eyewitness testimony. In Nevada however you only had to live there 6 weeks and you could get divorced for any reason. But there are a couple of unexplained things about this song like why does Annie sat belly then change to tummy. It’s either a joke or she flubbed her line. Both is possible but I really don’t get the joke, I think it’s more likely she flubbed the line and because film was so expensive, it was probably thought best to keep the mistake in. Also I have no idea why they want to go to Buffalo. It’s still a good song and it’s probably the catchiest and the dance number is quite comedic and good. Ruby Keeler again can’t sing but Clarence Nordstrom has quite a sweet voice and it balances out on the side of good but it is helped by quite an amusing performance by Rodgers and Urkel. The last song is young and healthy which again is quite catchy but I think it’s quite clear where they went to Busby Berkley, ok you can do whatever you want with this song. The result is that it’s quite a trip to watch and some of it looks cg. I’m not sure whether I’m a fan of this sequence or if it’s a bit much but it’s certainly unforgettable.

 

Now let’s talk about the stars of this film which according to the cover of my box are Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler despite being billed 5^th and 8^th respectively. I have no idea why it’s laid out this way but I’m going to start with them because they are the stars of the show within a show and outside the show I don’t think anyone really stars. So let’s start with Ruby Keeler, first of all, she can’t sing, it’s pretty close to Hannah Montana bad. She just cannot get the right tone to save her life and it does bring down the rest of the movie a little bit. She is an excellent dancer and her quick feet make up for her voice coupled with the fact that they never let her sing a while song. Acting wise, she plays it a bit too wide eyed and it’s hard to believe anyone is this naive but she does manage to make you feel for her and you do end up liking her. Dick Powell is consistently good, his singing voice is excellent, he seems to avoid dancing and his acting is ok but it is a little flat, he just seems to have a limit to how much emotion he puts on his lines, in fairness these lines aren’t exactly Shakespeare but when you’re declaring you’re love for someone, I expect a little more than mild amusement. The romance is also problematic but their romance doesn’t feel organic, they barely have any scenes together and the ones they do have, their chemistry is ok but you don’t really feel a drive to see them together at end. This problem probably would have been fixed by a longer running time and allow them to actually establish a connection but alas.

Now we have the rest of the cast first we have Warner Baxter as the best musical director Julian Marsh and his desperation for one last hit is really quite moving and he plays all his scenes so well. At the end where he hears all those people criticise him, and he just lights his cigarette and smiles sadly and tries to figure out what the heck he should do now. It’s a powerful image to end the film on and in a lot of ways his journey is more engaging than Peggy’s. Then we have Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock who plays the part well, her voice is excellent and her drunken scenes are hilarious and when she gives her advice to Peggy at the end, it really gives a sense of passing the baton and there’s a real drama to it. Then we have George Brent as Pat Denning who kinda creeped me out which is a shame because he had the best lives but his emotional range was slightly sad to slightly happy and he just seemed robotic but I have to admit there are a couple of times where he comes across as charming but still creepy. Guy Kibnee as Abner Killon really does everything you expect him to, he’s a dirty, stupid but fortunately for him rich old man. Una Merkel and Ginger Rogers as Loraine and Anytime Annie do have a good chemistry and they have a few good lines, it’s just a shame you don’t get to see more of this friendship. Finally we have George E Stone as the dancing director Andy Lee who does a good job; he’s funny when he needs to be funny and serious when he needs to be serious. I don’t know what his deal is with Lorraine. She’s either his girlfriend or she’s blackmailing him, I honestly have no idea again it’s something I would have liked to have seen explored more.

 

Finally we have the special features we have 3 short films, one focuses on Harry Warren, the composer of this film. It has him playing some of his songs with his presumed guests singing them and they’re all ok. Next we have the Hollywood news reel which is a news reel about the various star of Hollywood but the fact that everything that happens is clearly staged means there’s no actual news but hey if you want to see a football team get praised and Dick Powell looking for gold then this is the special feature for you. The best special feature is a trip through Hollywood while it’s as staged as the news reel, it’s really good and it tells you a lot of interesting facts about how they made movies back then and how a scene went from script to screen. There’s also a very amusing bit when they’re in the casting office and this little girl says “I haven’t got any work for three days” well it’s the depression kid. Lastly we have a trailer not for this film but for the James Dean collection which I guess could inspire you to buy it if you liked James Dean, it seemed to have loads of special features on it so I guess it’s worth it. So on the whole if you like this movie and want a bit of an insight into 30’s cinema then I’d buy the DVD.

To conclude, I do like this film, it’s flawed but it manages to tell a good story in its 89 minutes and the songs are good. The idea of a show looking at the backstage of a show is a genius concept; it allows people to see the work and effort that go into creating what they love. The feeling of profound optimism despite being surrounded by despair is a very pertinent theme especially back then. It’s clear that the depression exists outside of this show but while this show is going it doesn’t matter, it offers hope and escape for the fictional and the real audience. I can understand why people loved this film but the jokes certainly haven't aged well and the acting could be better. But this is an enjoyable movie and it’s worth watching for its historical value if nothing else.

Royal Wedding or Wedding Bells

Do you remember that cheap made to DVD film that exploited the fanfare around Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding? Sure you do, it was in every supermarket throughout the country and it was atrociously bad but that wasn’t the first time the film industry has taken advantage of the royal family. Yes today we’re reviewing Royal Wedding which thankfully only uses the royal wedding between Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip as a backdrop but I have to admit, it would have been funny to see that story in the form of a musical. Plus unlike the Will and Kate DVD, this was made by MGM who have more than a passing familiarity with actual talent which the former lacked. Even though the tagline’s a bit unfortunate “MGM’s Gayest Technicolor Musical.” Now I know that Gay meant something completely different back in 1951 but it’s another indicator that this film hasn’t aged well.

 

So let’s start with the plot because it’s relatively simplistic. Tom and Ellen Bowen played by Fred Astaire and Jane Powell are a successful brother and sister dancing act on Broadway and then they get called to move their show to the west end for the royal wedding. They’re both delighted by this and go right away with Ellen quickly disposing of two disposable love interests before she gets on the boat. Luckily her love interest Lord John Brindale has also disposed of his two disposable love interests so they’re both free to fall in love, aahh.  They arrive in London and Tom Bowen finds his love interest Anne Ashmond played by Sarah Churchill and conveniently she’s dancing in the show but darn it she still has her disposable love interest but luckily he’s in Chicago which means they can still go out. He can also hang out with her dad and get him back together with her mum. Meanwhile Ellen and John are falling in love.  They have their show and it’s a success despite Tom skipping out on a few rehearsals because of Anne. Tom also decides if Anne’s not going to get rid of her disposable love interest then darn it, he’s going to do it so he asks his British agent to deal with it who’s played by Keenan Wynn who calls the American agent also played by Keenan Wynn, they’re twins you see, to make some inquiries. It turns out that Anne’s disposable love interest got married which means he is disposed. So Tom tells her this and she takes it quite well and tells him that they’re in love. The same thing happens with Ellen and John so Tom and Ellen meet up and decide that they should stick to their careers. So they go to the royal wedding and the sight of it makes them spontaneously decide to get married there and then so they do and everyone lives happily ever after. If you haven’t got it from the sarcasm the plot is terrible, it’s vacuous and there are very few genuinely funny lines and even when the script delivers, it’s a very small laugh. There’s also the pothole of why Anne needs Tom to get rid of her disposable interest, he hasn’t talked to her in two months now I live in the Skype generation but seriously, she never once called him or if that didn’t work call at his work. It makes her look either lazy or stupid depending on your point of view but neither of the couples are given much of a chance to make it believable that they’re falling in love, they just do and you’re meant to accept it.

Now the songs and dances, now I don’t know if this was down to Astaire or if the filmmakers but the songs don’t really seem that developed, they seem to exist solely to justify the dance sequences which are all quite good. When I looked Astaire up on Wikipedia, it said he didn’t believe, he could sing well, so maybe that’s the reason but regardless, the songs are a bit superfluous and it’s meant to be a musical. Too Late now is easily the best song in the movie, it was nominated for an Oscar and you can see why, it’s a genuinely sweet song and Jane Powell puts a lot of punch into it with her quite high pitched voice.. The melody is sweet and it’s the only time on the movie that I bought the Ellen and John romance. Next we have the opening song Every Night at seven which is just ok. The music is ok but forgettable and the dance/comedy sequence is quite good but the song itself just isn’t that interesting, it just doesn’t have the punch and excitement that an opening number is meant to have and Fred Astaire doesn’t really sing it with that much conviction. Sunday jumps isn’t a song so much as a dance sequence and it’s one of the sequences which this film is famous for and that is Fred Astaire dancing with a coat stand, It really does show of Fred Astaire’s amazing dancing talent and that’s about it. The we have Open your eyes and while Jane Powell does sing, it’s just another dance sequence, it’s quite an impressive waltz but it doesn’t have the energy of the Sunday jumps dance sequence, to inject some comedy into this dance sequence the ship’s rocking them about unfortunately it isn’t funny but it’s still a nice waltz. Then we have the happiest day of my life which isn’t a dance sequence and it’s quite a nice song. Powell’s voice as I’ve mentioned is quite high pitched but once you get used to it’s an ok song. Next we have the second sequence called You’re all the world to me which is the only unoriginal song in the movie but it makes up for that by having a quite spectacular dance sequence. The verse of the song he sings is sung with real emotion and it really does capture the giddiness of falling in love and of course Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling. It’s a really clever sequence and I don’t think it could be done that much better today, it looks amazing and it links with the theme of the song about the giddiness of falling in love. Next we have I left my hat in Haiti and the whole song is long, pointless and repetitive. 

The dancing is good but it just feels like more of the same and in regards to the dancing it reminded me of Nina for the pirate and that dance sequence was a lot better. Then we have what a lovely day for a wedding which I would have used for the opening, it’s a short but cheery song and it really captures the festive mood and would have been a better mood setter. Then we have the longest song title ever How could you believe me when I said I loved you when you know I’ve been a liar all my life. This is the only song that manages to be funny and I think that’s largely to Astaire’s scenery chewing  but it also shows both character’s cynicism towards love and illustrates where they are at this point. On the whole most of the songs are forgettable and serve only as a justification for the dances with a couple of exceptions.

Now let’s talk about the actors in this film. Firstly we have Fred Astaire who plays Tom Bowen who is a dedicated dancer and that’s about it, there are times where he comes across as slightly charming but most of the time he just comes across as normal. Then we have Jane Powell playing Ellen Bowen now that casting decision has an interesting history apparently the first actress got pregnant, the second was Judy Garland who got fired and then Ellen Powell and she does an ok job throughout this film, she has some comedic talent but she’s fighting the writing on that score and while her voice does take a while to get used to when you do, it’s quite a sweet voice and she manages to keep up with Fred Astaire. Apparently Astaire was 30 years older than Powell which puts a strain on believability that their siblings but they counteract this with some great chemistry, their sibling reactions seem real, the way they tease each other, moan at each other and it seems very real. Sarah Churchill plays Anne Ashmond and she does an ok job even though she seems really bland, the only thing you’re going to remember about her is the accent. Which is better than Peter Lawford’s Lord John because you will not remember this character apart from maybe his whistling of too late now, he’s just there. The agents both played by Keenan Wynn annoy me,  both of them have these atrocious over the top accents which I’m pretty sure is meant to be a joke but I just found it annoying. Then finally we have Albert Sharpe who plays James Ashmond and give him credit, his role is small but he manages to be consistently funny which in this film says a lot.

Now finally the special features, there are none if you buy this DVD all you’re getting is the menu, this is quite annoying because this film is in public domain so there’s no point in buying the DVD, there’s even a link to the movie on IMDB. But there is one thing I’d like to address, the DVD quality is terrible, the credits won’t stop shaking, there are flickers, scratch and the whole film seems washed out now I know this film is old. But I didn’t have this problem with the pirate or even older than that three smart girls. This film clearly hasn’t been given the tender loving care it needs but apparently there’s a remastered version of this film so it might be worth buying that but when I looked at a review of it they experienced the same problems I had with my copy so it might be a waste of money. All I know is you don’t need a HD TV to enjoy this movie. Although not technically a special feature this film has actual colour footage of Prince Phillip’s and Queen Elizabeth’s wedding so if you’re into that kind of thing.

To conclude, this is probably, the worst film, I’ve reviewed so far and that’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just boring and so many things about it annoy me like why is Lord John different from all of Ellen’s other boyfriends? Why does Anne never bother trying to contact her fiancée or at least discover what’s happened to him? Why do the two agents have completely different accents if they’re brothers? This film could have been great, the premise is ok but the writing has let it down and the fact that the brilliant dancing sequences are sometimes hard to make out really highlight that. I don’t recommend buying this film but if you like dance sequences and can put up with the picture quality then you should definitely download it.