The Great Movie Musicals : A Viewer's Guide to 168 Films That Really Sing [1 ed.] 9780786456314, 9780786443840

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The Great Movie Musicals

ALSO BY DON TYLER AND FROM MCFARLAND Hit Songs, 1900 –1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era (2007)

THE GREAT MOVIE MUSICALS A Viewer’s Guide to 168 Films That Really Sing

Don Tyler

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London

LIBRARY

OF

CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Tyler, Don. The great movie musicals : a viewer’s guide to 168 films that really sing / Don Tyler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-4384-0 softcover : 50# alkaline paper ¡. Musical films — Catalogs. I. Title. PN1995.9.M86T95 2010 791.43' 657 — dc22 2010006304 British Library cataloguing data are available ©2010 Don Tyler. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. On the cover: Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner in The King and I, 1956 (Photofest) Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com

Table of Contents Introduction 1

THE MOVIE MUSICALS 5 Appendix 1: Greatest Movie Musicals by Decade 341 Appendix 2: Greatest Movie Musicals by Year 342 Appendix 3: AFI’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals 344 Appendix 4: Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time 344 Notes 345 Bibliography, Filmography and Videography 377 Index 385

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Introduction Since 1927 millions of film fans all over the world have flocked to theaters to view movie musicals and sing, whistle or hum the most famous songs from those films. They witnessed Al Jolson performing in the first part-talkie; were mesmerized by Parisian Maurice Chevalier; were transformed by the dancing feet of 42nd Street; loved Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together; witnessed the Show Boat floating down the Mississippi; viewed Judy Garland skipping down the yellow brick road; thrilled at James Cagney’s portrayal of George M. Cohan; celebrated the opening of the World’s Fair in St. Louis with the Smith family; romped around New York City with three sailors on leave; loved Gene Kelly’s singing and dancing in the rain; were transported by film versions of blockbuster Broadway musicals; loved Julie Andrews in her roles as Mary Poppins and Maria von Trapp; were awed by Barbra Streisand’s portrayal of Fanny Brice; rock ’n’ rolled with Grease; were transported to fantasyland by Walt Disney and, in more recent years, have marveled at the vocal abilities of well-known actors and actresses like Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger in Chicago and Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd. Various dictionaries define a musical as a play or movie that contains musical numbers; a play or film that has dialogue interspersed with songs and dances; or a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement. Those are extremely broad definitions. In his book The Hollywood Musical, Clive Hirschhorn took great pains to “establish workable guidelines as to what constitutes a ‘musical.’” He found the task to be difficult and admitted any definition was strictly subjective. He spent more time talking about why he didn’t include certain films than defining the term. To me a movie musical should be relatively equivalent to a Broadway musical, but defining a stage musical isn’t easy either. Musical theater combines music, songs, dialogue and dance to varying degrees. In its most ideal incarnation, the songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-constructed plot. Most musicals use spoken dialogue between musical numbers to further the plot, but in some instances the dialogue is sung throughout, which borders on opera. American musical theater may consist of operetta, musical comedy, extravaganza, burlesque and revues. However, there doesn’t seem to be any specific number of musical numbers required, although most Broadway musicals have at least ten songs, some of which are reprised, and perhaps an instrumental number or two. Therefore, if a movie musical and a Broadway musical are relatively equivalent, we should expect a musical film to contain several songs, but how many is several? Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films typically contain five or six songs and they are definitely considered movie musicals. However, six songs is only about half the number one might expect in a Broadway musical. I decided to set five as the minimum of songs; if there are fewer, the film tends to be a comedy or drama with music. A movie musical can be the film version of a Broadway musical; it can be an original musical film, it can be a revue, and it can be an animated feature film. The musical numbers

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Introduction

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should be sung or danced by the film’s characters (in the animated films someone dubs the cartoon characters’ voices, but dubbing also often happens in non-animated films). Not included in this volume are documentaries, operas, singing cowboy westerns, foreignlanguage musicals, short subjects and, although some of them are very musical, cartoons. The American Film Institute (AFI) in 2006 chose the 25 greatest movie musicals of alltime from 180 nominees. The ballot was distributed in 2005 to more than 500 leaders from the creative community, including composers, musicians, directors, screenwriters, actors, editors and cinematographers, critics and historians. The selected voters were also allowed to write in their choices. The announcement of the winners was at the Hollywood Bowl on September 3, 2006. Although there was no explanation of the nominations’ process, I used their nominee list as the starting point to determine the musical films that should be included in this book. Their list ended in 2002 and some significant film musicals have been released since. Four movie musicals from their nominees came from the late Twenties, 37 from the Thirties, 45 from the Forties, 47 from the Fifties, 19 from the Sixties, 11 from the Seventies, 7 from the Eighties, 7 from the Nineties and three from the first few years of the new century. Of the 25 that were selected for the Greatest Movie Musicals, 4 came from the Thirties, 3 from the Forties, 7 from the Fifties, 5 from the Sixties, 3 from the Seventies, none from the Eighties, one from the Nineties and two from the early 2000s. The most productive years for excellent movie musicals were 1937, 1956 and 1957, each with seven films listed among AFI’s greatest movie musicals nominees. The decade with the most nominees was the Fifties, followed very closely by the Forties. Of the 180 movie musicals nominated for AFI’s list of the greatest, the huge majority are from M-G-M, followed by 20th Century–Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. tied, Paramount, Columbia, RKO, Samuel Goldwyn, and Universal. The rest are scattered among nearly twenty other film production companies. When AFI selected 400 songs from films as nominations for its CBS-TV three-hour special in June 2004, 100 Years ... 100 Songs, it set forth its rules for inclusion. However, if their greatest movie musicals voting had any such rules, they were not made public. It would seem to be an excellent idea to channel the voters’ attentions to focus on specific criteria. For example: Was the music an integral part of the film? Did the movie musical capture the nation’s heart? Has it stood the test of time; i.e., is it captivating to audiences today? The length of the book dictated cutting several of the less significant AFI nominees.1 Several other AFI nominees were deleted because they did not meet the criteria for the minimum number of songs.2 There were also a few that were eliminated for other reasons: A Night at the Opera (1935) and The Court Jester (1956) were not included because they are comedy classics rather than famous movie musicals; The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1970) was cut because, without its midnight audience’s participation, it really isn’t very good; Victor/Victoria (1982) is more of a farce with music and all of the six songs are performed as part of a show, which indicates that they are not plot sensitive; South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) was eliminated because potty-mouthed cartoon kids are repulsive and the songs are only mediocre; Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) was cut because of its unremarkable glam rock score and no feeling of empathy for the characters. Of course, the cuts were simply value judgments and are debatable.

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Introduction

AFI’s nominations ignored several worthy films, in my opinion, and I really wanted to rectify their snubs by adding approximately forty other movie musicals, but book length defeated my desire. I added seven musical films from the first decade of the 21st century because the AFI nominations ended in 2002 and there was quite a resurgence of quality movie musicals. Otherwise, I only added Fantasia (1940), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and Annie (1982). I hope the reader finds their favorite movie musicals among those that made the book, but I’m confident that many have been left out that connoisseurs of the genre would have preferred to be included. I would love to list all the movie musicals that I considered for inclusion and my reasons for not including them, but that would make the Introduction, like the original manuscript, too long, and it probably wouldn’t satisfy anyone who feels their particular favorite movie musical was slighted. The book, as large as it is, could easily have been more than twice as large if I had included all the movie musicals that were considered. I tried to limit the amount of peripheral information about the movie musicals. In my opinion, what is most important is the film and its music, not the life of the stars or who was considered for the lead role. What is most important is the film as a whole. Was it entertaining? Does it deserve recognition as one of the most important movie musicals in history? Did the songs complement the plot or were they merely entertaining performances? That’s what I hope the reader will be able to ascertain from the film synopses presented here. Warning: The film summaries include plot spoilers. I hope the synopses do not spoil the ending for potential viewers, but I felt that it was important to write about the finale which is usually a musical number. I was conscientious about viewing or re-viewing every movie musical in the book. I wanted to make certain that I wrote from firsthand knowledge and did not rely on my memory or on what someone else wrote. I am a retired music professor and a big fan of musicals but I readily admit to a very limited knowledge of dance; so those of you who are dancers will have to excuse my layman’s approach to your field of expertise. The reader can find many of the individual song performances from the films included in this book at websites like youtube.com. I did not include the references in the book because those postings can be pulled from the websites. Many of the older films are also available for rent at Netflix and Blockbuster, particularly on their online rental sites. I’d like to particularly thank Paige Carter, Belmont University interlibrary loan specialist, for her help in securing some of the videos of movie musicals from libraries all across the country. My wife, Doris, as always, viewed almost all these films with me as well as helped in the research process and in editing the manuscript. Sharing these musical films with her has truly been fun. Thanks, my love.

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THE MOVIE MUSICALS That person is Aladdin, a street urchin. Aladdin’s introductory song is “One Jump Ahead.”4 He is desperately trying to avoid apprehension by the grand vizier’s men. The lad’s constant companion is Abu, his faithful monkey friend. The Sultan wants his daughter, Jasmine, to marry Prince Achmed, but she escapes from the palace to avoid this arranged marriage. In the marketplace, she meets Aladdin and they are immediately attracted to each other. When Jafar discovers that Aladdin is the “diamond in the rough” that the voice of the Cave will allow to enter, he orders his henchmen to capture him. Princess Jasmine orders Jafar to release Aladdin, but the grand vizier lies and tells her that he is dead. Jafar disguises himself as an elderly man and helps Aladdin escape from prison. Then he leads the boy to the Cave of Wonders, where the voice warns them to touch nothing but the oil lamp. When Aladdin enters the cave, he meets a magic carpet. Abu attempts to steal a ruby which causes the cave to begin to collapse, but the magic carpet rescues them. Once they safely return to the Cave’s entrance, Jafar grabs the lamp and tries to kill Aladdin, but Abu bites Jafar and takes the lamp. Aladdin, Abu the carpet and the lamp fall back into the cave just as it collapses. At the bottom of the cave, Aladdin awakes and rubs the lamp, which unleashes a Genie who will grant three wishes. The Genie is extremely grateful to be out of that cramped space. Before Aladdin can make any wishes, the Genie launches into a “Friend Like Me,”5 about all the different things he can grant as wishes. Without wasting a wish, Aladdin dupes the Genie into having the magic carpet fly them safely out of the cave. While Aladdin is comtemplating his wishes, the Genie confesses that he would wish for freedom, so Aladdin promises that one of his wishes will be to set him free. Aladdin’s first wish is to become a prince so he can marry Princess Jasmine. Jafar tries to trick the Sultan into allowing him to marry Jasmine ( Jafar would then kill both of them and become the Sultan), but his evil scheme is interrupted by Aladdin, who dressed in royal clothes to impress Jasmine, parades into the Sultan’s palace as Prince Ali Ababwa (“Prince Ali”6). Princess Jasmine isn’t impressed with this buffoon

Aladdin Walt Disney Pictures, November 25, 1992, 90 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Scott Weinger (Aladdin/ Prince Ali Ababwa), Brad Kane (singing voice of Aladdin), Robin Williams (the Genie), Linda Larkin (Princess Jasmine), Lea Salonga (singing voice of Princess Jasmine), Johnathan Freeman ( Jafar), Gilbert Gottfried (Iago) Producers/Directors: John Musker and Ron Clements Screenwriter: Don Paul Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Tim Rice and Howard Ashman Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“A Whole New World”) ❍ *Best Music, Original Score ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Friend Like Me”) ❍ Best Effects ❍ Sound Effects Editing ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

Starting with The Little Mermaid in 1989, Disney produced several movie musical animations that dominated the next decade with films like Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). All of these films compare very favorably to the great Disney animated features of the Forties and initiated a feature animation renaissance. Aladdin, based on “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp” from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights,1 is the Disney studio’s thirty-first animated feature film. As is usual with Disney adaptations of literary classics, many aspects of the original story were changed. When lyricist Howard Ashman died during the songwriting process, Tim Rice became Alan Menken’s lyricist. “Arabian Nights,”2 which opens the film, is sung by a peddler3 who welcomes the viewer to the mysterious and enchanted Arabian city of Agrabah, where Jafar, the evil grand vizier, is attempting to retrieve a magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Jafar and his talking parrot, Iago, scheme to find the person that the voice of the Cave will allow to enter.

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Alexander’s Ragtime Band of a prince, so she rejects him as a potential husband. Later, Prince Ali returns to the palace to beg Jasmine for another chance. He invites her to take a magic carpet ride, which leads into the song, “A Whole New World.”7 As the carpet zooms from the palace, Aladdin promises to show her the wonderful world outside her realm. Jasmine joins in the song as they fly away from the city to far away sights. During their ride, she realizes that the prince and the boy from the marketplace are the same person. When they return to the palace, they embrace. Jafar captures Aladdin and orders his guards to chain him and throw him in the ocean. Desperately, Aladdin summons the Genie and uses his second wish to be rescued. Aladdin returns to the palace to warn the Sultan and Jasmine of Jafar’s plot, but the vizier escapes capture. Impressed by Aladdin’s bravery, Jasmine’s father decides that Aladdin should become his successor. Iago steals the lamp and delivers it to Jafar, who uses his first wish to become Sultan. His second wish is to become a powerul sorcerer. Once that wish is fulfilled, Jafar sends Aladdin to a far-off place. Aladdin, however, uses the magic carpet to return to Agrabah to challenge Jafar. During the ensuing fight, Jafar claims that he is “the most powerful being on earth,” but Aladdin counters that the Genie has more power. Jafar then uses his last wish to become an all powerul genie. Just as Aladdin had planned, Jafar is sucked into the lamp and everything returns to normal. Genie takes the lamp and throws it into the desert saying, “Ten thousand years in a Cave of Wonders ought to chill him out.” Aladdin apologizes to Jasmine for his lies about being a prince. Instead of using his last wish to become a true prince so he can marry the Princess, Aladdin, much to the Genie’s surprise and delight, uses his last wish to free him. Realizing that his daughter loves Aladdin, the Sultan changes the law to allow the princess to marry whomever she wants. Jasmine immediately chooses Aladdin. The film ends with Genie leaving to explore the world while Aladdin and Jasmine fly off into the moonlight on the magic carpet. During the film’s closing credits, “A Whole New World” is reprised by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle.8 Aladdin’s musical highlights are “Friend Like Me” and “A Whole New World.” Alan Menken’s music and Howard Ashman’s and Tim Rice’s lyrics are particularly appropriate for this Arabian Night tale.

6 Disney released a couple of sequels directly to video: The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1995).

Alexander’s Ragtime Band 20th Century–Fox, August 16, 1938, 106 minutes Principal Cast: Tyrone Power (Roger Grant), Alice Faye (Stella Kirby), Don Ameche (Charlie Dwyer), Ethel Merman (Gerry Allen), Jack Haley (Davey Lane) Director: Henry King Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck Screenwriters: Kathryn Scola and Lamar Trotti; adapted by Richard Sherman Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Seymour Felix Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Art Direction ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Now It Can Be Told”) ❍ Best Writing, Original Story Availability: DVD

After producer Darryl Zanuck attended a testimonial dinner for Irving Berlin, he proposed a biographical movie of Berlin’s life. Zanuck even invited Berlin to write the film’s scenario, but the composer’s plot outline wasn’t autobiographical. The film did, however, include thirty Berlin songs. Zanuck was disappointed that Berlin’s own love story — his two marriages, his first wife’s death shortly after their honeymoon, and his eventual marriage to a socialite whose father disinherited her — were not a part of Berlin’s scenario. Despite Zanuck’s disappointment, the movie blossomed into a solid commercial success. Alexander’s Ragtime Band opens in San Francisco in 1915 with a string quartet playing; one of the players is Roger Grant, who is, according to his Aunt Sophie1 and his teacher, Professor Heinrich,2 destined to become a famous classical violinist. Roger rushes from this Nob Hill society recital to Dirty Eddie’s, a Barbary Coast saloon, where he and his band have a job audition. Stella Kirby is also there looking for a job. When Grant discovers that their music is missing, the bartender hands him a piece of sheet music that Stella had left behind. At first, Grant has his band play the tune slowly, but once they increased the tempo, Stella returns to add her vocals to “Alexander’s Ragtime

7 Band.” The bar’s proprietor hires both Stella and Roger’s band, but only if they perform together. Although Stella isn’t thrilled with the idea, Charlie, the band’s pianist, who is romantically interested in her, convinces her to sing with the band. Roger’s aunt and his music teacher are disappointed that he is leading a ragtime band, but Roger, now known as Alexander, is excited to be fulfilling his desire to have his own band. As the band plays in increasingly classier places, Roger, who is very ambitious, often quarrels with Stella, who doesn’t share his lofty expectations. Caught in the middle, Charlie tries to mend feelings after their frequent clashes. Before the band opens at the exclusive Cliff House, Charlie plays a romantic song that he had written for Stella, “Now It Can Be Told.”3 Later when Stella sings the song during the performance, Charlie painfully realizes that she and Roger are falling in love. A famous producer, Charles Dillingham,4 comes to see the show and, when Stella sings “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’,” is impressed and invites her — not the band — to New York to appear in one of his musical productions. Angrily, Roger fires Stella. As a result, Charlie quits and Stella accepts Dillingham’s offer. Roger enlists in the Army for World War I, where he meets another soldier, Irving Berlin. They decide to put on a camp revue. One of the revue’s most famous numbers is “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.”5 At intermission, Stella, who is in the audience, goes backstage to see Roger, but he refuses to see her. The cast receives orders to ship out to France, so they march down the center aisle to trucks that transported them to a ship that carries them abroad. When Roger returns from the war, he stops by a rehearsal of the Dillingham show in which Stella is starring to ask her forgiveness, only to learn that she and Charlie have been married for a year. The news causes Roger to try to drown his depression with alcohol. Another year passes, and Charlie and Davey Lane have formed a new band with Gerry Allen as their lead singer. Gerry sings “Say It With Music” and “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody.” After another year, an old friend tells Stella and Charlie that Roger’s band is playing in Greenwich Village. Charlie suspects that Stella still loves Roger, so he proposes a divorce. Stella goes to the Village Club to see Roger, but when she learns that he and his new band are sailing for Europe, she postpones their reconciliation. At a speakeasy, Gerry belts out “Blue Skies” backed by an African-American band. When she sees Stella, who has left the Dillingham show, in

Alice in Wonderland the audience, she introduces her. Stella joins Gerry on stage to sing more of “Blue Skies.” Later, a down-and-out Stella — who’s changed her name to Lilly Lamont — sings “All Alone” in a tiny club. When Roger returns to the U.S., he prepares to perform a swing concert at Carnegie Hall.6 When Charlie comes to audition some of his songs, Roger’s old piano player friend reveals that he and Stella are divorced and that Stella still loves him, so Roger goes looking for her. An old friend tells Stella that Roger is looking for her. Stella takes a cab where she hears the Carnegie Hall concert on the radio. Since the concert is sold out, she can’t get a ticket, so she continues to listen on the taxi’s radio. At the concert, Roger conducts a huge orchestra in “Marie”; Charlie sings “Easter Parade,” surrounded by a chorus of girl singers in Easter frocks; and Gerry performs “Heat Wave.” To conclude the concert, Roger dedicates “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” to Stella, who somehow gets backstage. Roger notices her in the wings and brings her onstage to sing as the film ends. There’s a long list of other Berlin songs that appear in excerpts in the film.7 Maybe it’s the antiquity of Berlin’s songs, perhaps it’s the unrealistic plot, or the unbelievable portrayal of the characters by the actors, but Alexander’s Ragtime Band is just a run-of-the-mill film musical. Most of the musical numbers are presented as performances, i.e., they are not necessarily plot related. The most interesting sequences are those that are, at least, semi-historical, like the World War I all-soldier revue.

Alice in Wonderland Walt Disney Pictures, July 28, 1951, 75 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Kathryn Beaumont (Alice), Verna Felton (Queen of Hearts), Bill Thompson (White Rabbit), Ed Wynn (Mad Hatter), Jerry Colonna (March Hare), Sterling Holloway (Cheshire Cat) Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, William Cottrell, Dick Kelsey, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Del Connell, Tom Oreb, John Walbridge Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland is a Disney full-length animinated feature film based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the LookingGlass. Disney had toyed with the idea of a feature based on Carroll’s fables for twenty years or more. After World War II, Disney instructed his staff to work on an all-cartoon feature that would be drawn in the style of the original book illustrations by Sir John Tenniel, but that idea became impractical. A full-length live-action film was shot for the animators to consult that featured many of the actors whose voices appear in the film. After five years and a $3 million price tag, Alice in Wonderland was released. The title song, “Alice in Wonderland,”1 is performed by an unseen chorus2 over the titles and opening credits and again as the film ends. Alice in Wonderland opens in a park setting where Alice is sitting in a tree making a flower tiara. Her sister is reading aloud from a history book, but Alice is bored by any book that doesn’t have pictures. In “In a World of My Own,”3 Alice sings to her kitten about a world where nonsense reigns. Suddenly, Alice spies a bespectacled White Rabbit carrying a large pocket watch who is frantically declaring “I’m Late.”4 His behavior sparks Alice’s curiosity, so she follows him. When the rabbit disappears down a hole, she crawls in after him and falls into a very deep well inside a tree. When she reaches the bottom, she follows the hurrying rabbit and finds a series of doors, each one smaller than the previous one. The next portion of the film is not musical. During this segment Alice shrinks, enlarges and cries giant tears that flood the room. She finally floats out of the room in a bottle that drifts through the doorknob’s keyhole mouth. As she continues to float on the sea of her tears, she meets a Dodo and some other animals who are trying to get dry by running around in circles singing “The Caucus Race.”5 Once Alice is washed up on a beach, she spots and pursues the White Rabbit again. Soon she meets Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, two plump brothers, who sing “How Do You Do and Shake Hands.”6 Presently, they tell her the story of “The Walrus and the Carpenter.”7 Before she can continue her journey, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum also sing a bit of “Old Father William.”8 When Alice sneaks away from the two brothers, she discovers the White Rabbit’s house. This segment is also not musical. It has to do with Alice growing so large that she practically destroys the house and the Dodo, who thinks she’s a monster, trying to extract her. Finally, the Dodo decides to

8 smoke her out by burning the house down (“We’ll Smoke the Blighter Out”9). Before she is roasted alive, Alice escapes by eating a carrot from the rabbit’s garden and shrinks to minute size. Next, Alice follows the White Rabbit into a flower garden. Because of Alice’s tiny size, the flowers seem as tall as trees. Initially the flowers are eager to entertain her as they sing “All in a Golden Afternoon.”10 Alice also joins the flowers in singing, but once they decide that she must be a weed, they run her off. Alice next meets a opium-smoking caterpillar who puffs letters as he speaks (“Who-R-U?”). He sings “A E I O U.”11 Eventually, the caterpillar disappers in a pillar of smoke and turns into a butterfly.12 He advises her to break off a couple of pieces of the mushroom on which she is sitting. When she takes a bite from the first piece, she grows taller than the trees. When she takes a bite from the second piece, she shrinks down to minute size. With a lick of the first piece, she grows back to her normal size. She puts both pieces of the mushroom into her pockets for later use.13 As she wanders through the woods, Alice meets the Cheshire Cat, a feline that can disappear and reappear at will. He sings a bit of “’Twas Brillig.”14 She asks the cat for directions, but he answers her in riddles. Finally, he suggests she ask the Mad Hatter and the March Hare and, before disappearing, points her in the direction of the Mad Hatter’s house. Alice finds the Mad Hatter and the March Hare having an un-birthday tea party (“A Very Merry Un-birthday”15). They explain that everybody has only one birthday per year, but there are 364 unbirthdays. They try to involve Alice in the celebration but they are having too much fun themselves. When the White Rabbit dashes in, still exclaiming “I’m Late,” the Mad Hatter and March Hare destroy his watch. Alice pursues the White Rabbit, but loses him again. Alice finally tires of all this nonsense and wants to go home. However, she finds herself lost in the Tulgey Wood,16 a forest that is filled with bizarre creatures. Finally, she sits on a log and sings “Very Good Advice.”17 When she begins to cry, the Cheshire Cat reappears. This time he recommends that Alice see the Queen of Hearts and he opens a door in a tree that leads into a hedge maze. She meets some playing cards who are painting the roses red because the Queen likes red and they certainly don’t want to incur her wrath (“Painting the Roses Red”18). Alice volunteers to help them. When the Queen arrives, she orders the rose

9 painters decapitated and then challenges Alice to a game of croquet. Using flamingos as mallets, hedgehogs as balls, and card soldiers as wickets, the Queen dishonestly wins the game, but no one dares accuse her of cheating. The Cheshire Cat plays a prank on the Queen, but she thinks Alice is the prankster. The diminutive King convinces the Queen to put Alice on trial. At the nonsensical trial, several of the characters Alice had previously met testify against her. Eventually, Alice eats some of the mushroom she had stuffed in her pocket and grows to a gigantic size. Alice scolds the Queen for her rude behavior, but when she suddenly shrinks to her normal size, Alice must run for her life. When Alice arrives at the door, the Doorknob tells her that she’s already on the other side of the door. Peering through the keyhole, Alice sees herself sleeping in the park. She shouts at herself to wake up (it is actually her exasperated sister who is calling for her to wake up). As the two sisters walk from the park, the film ends. Some critics complained that the film did “violence to the nostalgic imagery of the piece that remains in the mind’s eye of those who grew up on Tenniel’s illustrations in the books”19 and “the leering loony faces he has concocted will be a shock to oldsters brought up on the famous John Tenniel illustrations.”20 The children of the Thirties and Forties may have read the books and might have been familiar with Tenniel’s illustrations, but by the Fifties, and certainly for later generations, it seems doubtful that children are that familiar with either Carroll’s books or Tenniel’s illustrations. Most modern children know Alice in Wonderland through this Disney film. I’m not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland and most of the songs leave me cold. Disney commissioned several songwriters to write a total of thirty songs based on Carroll’s verses and poems. The ones finally chosen are often heard only briefly in the film. For example, “I’m Late” is one of the most famous ones and yet it occupies less than a minute of screen time, and is spoken, not sung. Other than that, the title song is memorable and “The Un-birthday Song” is a hoot. Otherwise, the songs are not particularly noteable—could you sing any of them unless you just recently watched the film? An amazing group of extremely successful and extraordinary movie musicals was released during the Fifties, but Alice in Wonderland is far from one of the decade’s best. Even though it would not be near the top, it may deserve an AFI nomination, but it couldn’t seriously be considered one of the greatest of all-time.

All That Jazz

All That Jazz Columbia Pictures, December 20, 1979, 123 minutes Principal Cast: Roy Scheider (Joe Gideon), Jessica Lange (Angelique), Ann Reinking (Kate Jagger), Leland Palmer (Audrey Paris), Erzebet Foldi (Michelle) Director/Choreographer: Bob Fosse Producer: David Melnick Screenwriters: Robert Alan Aurthur and Bob Fosse Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 14 Greatest Movie Musical ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role ❍ Best Director ❍ *Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ *Best Costume Design ❍ *Best Film Editing ❍ Best Original Screenplay ❍ Best Cinematography ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2001 Availability: DVD

Bob Fosse was a famous American award winning choreographer and musical theater and film director. His choreography earned him eight Tony Awards; he also won a Tony for his direction and the Academy Award for Best Director for Cabaret (1972). When he headed to Hollywood in the early Fifties, he intended to become the next Fred Astaire. After appearing in a few films, including Kiss Me Kate, he became a theater choreographer and directed five feature films. All That Jazz is a semi-autobiographical movie musical about Bob Fosse — his addictions, women, work and manic life style. The film’s main character is named Joe Gideon, but it is Fosse — exposed with all his warts. All That Jazz is difficult to write a synposis about because the scenes are short and jump around a lot. In his review of the film, Nathaniel R agrees: “On first viewing All That Jazz can play a bit disjointed and random ... it’s hard to wrap your head around the telling.... The film may appear to have A.D.D.”1 Joe Gideon is a workaholic. He is choreographing and casting dancers for his next show, while he is also editing his grossly over-budget and behindschedule film about a standup comic. Gideon is addicted to cigarettes, Vivaldi, Visine, Alka-Seltzer, Dexedrine and sex with his attractive female dancers. His life, however, is hanging by a thread. His ex-wife, Audrey Paris, his daughter, Michelle, and his current girlfriend, Katie Jagger, do their

An American in Paris best to salvage him, but his exhausted body and stress-ravaged heart are beyond help. Throughout the film, Joe flirts with Angelique, the angel of death. Gideon’s condition worsens after a particularly stressful script rehearsal. He is rushed to a hospital, but Joe refuses to heed the warning signs. The doctors order him to stay in the hospital for several weeks to rest his heart and recover from his exhaustion, but Gideon continues his manic lifestyle from his hospital bed. There is no improvement in his next cardiogram. When his film is released without his permission and receives paltry reviews from critics, Gideon suffers a massive heart attack and is rushed into heart bypass surgery. Joe’s financial backers must decide whether to cancel the show or to replace him as the director. They discover that the best way to recoup their money, even make a sizeable profit, is for Gideon to die. While he is on life support, Gideon, from his hospital bed, directs a dazzling sequence of glittery musical numbers in which Joe examines the five phases of grief. As death becomes imminent, the fantasy episodes become even more extravagant. The finale is a monumental variety show featuring people from his past. Early in the film during a flash-back to Joe’s youth, he is waiting in the wings of a burlesque club to perform his tap routine, when three strippers fondle him, sexually arouse him and rub his face in their boobs. When he goes on stage to dance to “Sweet Sue, Just You,”2 the strippers, and eventually the audience, laugh at him. Joe is thoroughly embarrassed when he discovers that his ejaculation is showing through his white pants. Paul Dann,3 the songwriter for Joe’s show, demonstrates “Take Off With Us”4 for Joe, his wife, Audrey, and the show’s financial backers. Much later in the film, several singer-dancers perform the number again. Instead of a song that the backers hoped would sell to a major airline as an advertising slogan, Joe has transformed the song into “AirErotica.” During the number, there are simulations of heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian and group sex, including some nudity in the darkly lit number. The song that accompanies Joe’s hospital parties of smoking, drinking, and sex is “Hospital Hop,”5 which is also performed by Paul Dann. The musical numbers in the hospital hallucinations section are supposedly about the five phases of grief—anger, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance — but don’t fit the various phases very well. The first four songs are performed by Audrey, Kate and Michelle: “After You’ve Gone”6 doesn’t fit anger, instead, the lyrics lament Joe’s passing al-

10 though he isn’t dead when the number is performed; in “You Better Change Your Ways,”7 the three females beg Joe to lay off the booze and amphetamines, but the song’s lyrics don’t fit denial; and the lyrics of “Who’s Sorry Now?”8 ask if Joe is sorry for breaking all his vows to be faithful, but don’t fit bargaining. Michelle takes the lead in “Some of These Days”9 dressed as Sophie Tucker, who originally made the song famous; the lyrics don’t fit depression. Then, as death becomes inevitable, Joe stages “Bye Bye Love,”10 as “Bye Bye Life,” which could fit acceptance. O’Connor Flood11 introduces Joe as “a so-so entertainer, not much of a humanitarian, and ... nobody’s friend.” When the song develops into a big production number, a couple of girl dancers are dressed in outfits that represent a person’s circulatory system. Towards the end of the number, Joe goes out into the audience to bid goodbye to several people from his life, primarily Audrey, Kate and Michelle. The film’s title comes from the song “And All That Jazz” from John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical Chicago, which was directed, choreographed and co-written by Bob Fosse. Critics applauded the film’s choreography, but called the film “egomaniacal” and full of “maudlin confessions” and “inside jokes.” It’s difficult to justify AFI’s ranking of All That Jazz as the No. 14 greatest movie musical because most of the film isn’t musical and the characters don’t perform several of the songs. There’s George Benson’s recording of “On Broadway,”12 which is heard during a dance audition; Harry Nilsson’s recording of “A Perfect Day,”13 which is heard during a scene when Joe is being unfaithful to his wife; Peter Allen’s recording of “Everything Old Is New Again,”14 which is danced by Joe’s daughter, Michelle, and his girlfriend, Kate, during a rare evening at home (at least, this recording is danced by two of the film’s characters); the recurring Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in G “Alla Rustica,” which is only heard as a tape recording; plus Ethel Merman’s recording of “There’s No Business Like Show Business”15 as Joe is zipped into a body bag.

An American in Paris M-G-M, October 4, 1951, 114 minutes Principal Cast : Gene Kelly ( Jerry Mulligan), Leslie Caron (Lise Bouvier), Oscar Levant (Adam Cook), George Guetary (Henri Baurel), Nina Foch (Milo Roberts) Director: Vincente Minnelli

11 Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: Alan Jay Lerner Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographer: Gene Kelly Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 9 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 11 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “I Got Rhythm” No. 32 Greatest Song from 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Love is Here to Stay”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Writing, Story and Screenplay ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ *Best Cinematography, Color ❍ *Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Film Editing ● Added to the National Film Registry, 1993 Availability: DVD

An American in Paris is a very celebrated movie musical: six Oscars from eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, but no nominations for its actors (see Awards and Honors above). The idea for the film came to producer Arthur Freed when he attended a concert that featured George Gershwin’s symphonic tone poem, An American in Paris. Freed thought the composition’s title would make a good film title, so he asked George’s brother, Ira, for permission to develop the idea.1 Gene Kelly had seen Leslie Caron dance with the Ballet des Champs Elysees in Paris as an eighteen-year-old. He wanted her for the film, which was her screen debut, and M-G-M accepted his choice. In addition to Kelly being the film’s primary star, he was its choreographer and directed some sequences. After the opening credits and a brief travelogue of Paris landmarks, a voice introduces Paris and the film’s main character: an American ex–GI named Jerry Mulligan. When the war ended in 1945, Jerry stayed in Paris to study painting and he loves his life as a struggling artist. He lives in a tiny garret in the Montmartre district two stories above a bistro. He is popular with the neighborhood children because he gives them bubble-gum. Jerry’s close friend, Adam Cook, is a fellow American who is studying to be a concert pianist. Adam lives off of fellowships, but hasn’t made much progress towards his career. When Henri Baurel, a famous French entertainer, visits the downstairs café, he shows Adam a picture of his young fiancée, Lise Bouvier, who

An American in Paris works in a French perfume shop. Henri rescued the girl from the Nazis when her father, a French Resistance leader, was killed. As Henri describes Lise to Adam, the film audience sees five different aspects of her personality through a montage of various dance styles: exciting, sweet and shy, vivacious, studious, and athletic.2 Jerry meets Milo Roberts, an American heiress, when she purchases a couple of his paintings. She doesn’t have the necessary cash, so he accompanies her to her hotel. Before he departs, Milo invites him to a party that evening. Jerry rides home in Milo’s chauffeured convertible, which causes quite a stir among his neighbors, especially the children. When the children insist Jerry continue their English lessons, he turns the lesson into a song and dance based on “I Got Rhythm.”3 He sings some of the lyrics in French and, as he tap dances, he also teaches them the names of the various dance steps he performs. When Jerry returns for the party, the provocatively dressed Milo reveals that Jerry is the only guest. Feeling like a gigolo, Jerry attempts to return the money for his paintings. However, Milo convinces him that she is a patron of the arts and is not interested in him romantically. Jerry decides to trust her and asks her to dinner at a place he can afford. At the restaurant, Milo offers to be Jerry’s sponsor and introduces him to one of her art friends. While they are talking, Jerry notices a young girl and is immediately captivated by her. After overhearing that her name is Lise, Jerry, pretending to know her, asks her to dance. Although she dances with him rather than cause a scene, she reprimands his behavior. Milo is very upset that he ignored her all evening. Jerry had managed to learn Lise’s telephone number, so the next morning, he telephones her at the perfumerie where she works, but she rejects him again. Milo, who apologizes for her tirade the previous evening, joins Jerry at his café table and tells him that she has already been working on his behalf with art dealers and galleries. As soon as Jerry escapes from Milo, he rushes to the perfumerie to ask Lise for a date. After he helps her make a sale to an elderly American lady, she agrees to a date with him that evening at a café near the bridge by the Seine. When he returns to his garret, Jerry is so thrilled about his impending date with Lise that he sings and dances to “Tra-La-La (This Time It’s Really Love)”4 to Adam’s piano accompaniment. Adam joins Jerry in some of the singing and Jerry tapdances on top of the piano and all around Adam’s room.

An American in Paris Later that evening, Jerry and Lise meet at the café and walk together along the banks of the Seine. In one of the film’s most romantic song-and-dance numbers, Jerry sings “Love is Here to Stay.”5 When he finally persuades her to dance with him, they tenderly express their mutual attraction. Their dance might be more aptly described as movement, because much of it is walking and swaying, but it is touchingly romantic and ends with an embrace. Afterwards, they stroll hand-in-hand into the mist. Suddenly Lise remembers she has forgotten Henri’s performance at the theater. As she rushes away, they agree to meet again. While Lise rushes to the theater, Henri performs “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise”6 in a ZiegfeldFollies–type production number. In a top hat, white tie and tails, he ascends a huge staircase, the stairs light as his feet touch them. As he descends, women dressed in Follies-type costumes parade down both sides of the stairway. Lise arrives too late for Henri’s performance. He is thrilled that a producer wants him to tour America and talks about Lise accompanying him on the tour after they are married. Back at his garret, Adam daydreams about playing George Gershwin’s Concerto in F 7 in concert. Not only is he the piano soloist, but the orchestra conductor, and he also plays several other orchestral instruments. He even applauds himself as a member of the audience. The following day Milo takes Jerry to the studio she has rented and equipped for him. At first, he declines; he doesn’t want to be obligated to her, but he hesitantly agrees when she informs him that she has arranged an art exhibition for him in three months. Jerry isn’t at all sure he can produce enough quality paintings that quickly. In a montage, Jerry busily paints various Parisian scenes. Although they are in love, Jerry and Lise haven’t been truthful with each other. He is hiding his association with his patron and she can’t bring herself to tell Jerry about her relationship with Henri. Adam is flabbergasted when he discovers that Jerry’s girlfriend and Henri’s fiancée is the same girl. Shortly afterward, Henri arrives at the café and tells Adam and Jerry about his forthcoming marriage and honeymoon plans. When Jerry describes his feelings for his girlfriend, Henri encourages him to express his love and propose. Henri and Jerry are both so much in love that they sing “’S Wonderful.”8 During the dance portion of the number, the two guys romp down the street, with Jerry doing most of the dancing. Neither of them realizes they are in love with the same girl. Later that evening Jerry meets Lise by the Seine and follows Henri’s advice. She finally is forced to

12 reveal that, even though she loves Jerry, she feels obligated to marry Henri. Jerry then feels obligated to tell her about his patron. Depressed that Lise will no longer be part of his life, Jerry invites Milo to accompany him to the gala black and white Beaux Arts Ball. Lise, Henri and Adam are also in attendance. During the evening, Jerry finally confesses his love for Lise to Milo, which affectively ends their relationship. Later in the evening, while Jerry is sketching the Place de l’Etoile from a balcony that overlooks the city, Lise comes to say goodbye. She confesses her love for him and they embrace.9 Henri overhears their conversation from behind a nearby column. When Jerry tears his black and white charcoal sketch in half, the pieces fall to the floor. Suddenly the wind blows the halves together and the film’s seventeen minute “An American in Paris” ballet begins.10 It is an elaborate fantasy about Jerry’s romance with Lise told through his associations with the city, its landmarks, and its painters. Earlier in the film, when Jerry had painted Lise, she was holding a red rose. In the ballet, that rose represents her and provides a connecting symbol between the six sequences. • The first sequence opens in front of Jerry’s black and white sketch, now projected as a full-size backdrop. A red rose provides the only color. When Jerry, who is dressed in black, picks up the rose, everything becomes colorful. He dances around the Dufy-styled Place de la Concorde fountain. • Sequence two opens in a Manet- or Renoirstyle flower market. In a street scene, Jerry is joined by four GIs. Some gendarmes march to the Jardins des Plantes. There, we see a Punch and Judy show and some animals, acrobats, and schoolgirls all in a Rousseau-like setting. • In sequence three, the GIs and Jerry, dressed in straw hats and colorful coats, pursue some schoolgirls. • Sequence four features Jerry and Lise dancing around the fountain in the Place de la Concorde and the Van Gogh–styled Place de l’Opera. • Sequence five is in a Montmartre café setting with Jerry dressed as the famous Toulouse-Lautrec character “Chocolat.” Lise leads some Moulin-Rouge–type cancan girls. • The final sequence returns to the Place de la Concorde fountain. After a final burst of color and dancing, Jerry is left alone as everything else suddenly vanishes.

13 Jerry finds himself back where the ballet began, in front of the black and white backdrop of his sketch. The camera zooms in for a close-up of the red rose. The scene dissolves back to reality with Jerry still sitting on the balcony. Just as he is about to leave, he hears a car horn and looks down into the street where he sees Lise exit a car and give Henri a grateful hug (Henri gallantly decided to step aside). Lise runs up a long flight of stairs into Jerry’s arms. Other Gershwin songs that are heard as background music include “By Strauss” (1936), “Nice Work if You Can Get It” (1937), “Strike Up the Band” (1930). According to Roger Ebert, “The real reasons to see An American in Paris are for the Kelly dance sequences, the closing ballet, the Gershwin songs, the bright locations, and a few moments of the ineffable, always curiously sad charm of Oscar Levant.”11 There’s no need to justify this film’s inclusion in a list of the greatest movie musicals of all-time. It is definitely one of the best ever.

Anchors Aweigh After many months at sea, American sailors Clarence Doolittle and Joseph Brady are granted a four-day shore leave in Hollywood. They rub it in to their shipmates by singing the comical song, “We Hate to Leave.”4 Joe, “the best wolf in the Navy,” plans to see one of his former girlfriends. Since the shy Clarence had saved Joe’s life, he insists that his well-known philanderer buddy help him find a girl. Just as they set out on their shore leave, a policeman drafts them to help get some information out of a young boy named Donald Martin. The policeman explains that the boy has run away from home to join the Navy and refuses to reveal where he lives. Joe and Clarence easily win the kid’s trust and learn that he lives with his Aunt Susan. They escort the boy home and convince him that he needs a letter of permission from his aunt and must be able to read and write to join the Navy. Since his guardian isn’t at home, they wait until she returns from her job. Donald’s aunt is Susan Abbott, who works as a movie extra. She is an audience member while Jose Iturbi conducts tenor Carlos Rameriez’s performance of the “Figaro” aria5 from The Barber of Seville. Joe is eager to get on with their prowling for babes, but once Clarence meets Susan, he is smit-

Anchors Aweigh M-G-M, July 14, 1945, 140 minutes Principal Cast: Gene Kelly ( Joseph Brady), Frank Sinatra (Clarence Doolittle), Kathryn Grayson (Susan Abbott), Jose Iturbi (himself ), Dean Stockwell (Donald Martin), Pamela Britton (Girl from Brooklyn) Director: George Sidney Producer: Joe Pasternak Screenwriter: Isobel Lennart; based on a story by Natalie Marcin Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographers: Gene Kelly and Jack Donohue Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“I Fall in Love Too Easily”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“I Fall in Love Too Easily”) ❍ Best Cinematography, Color Availability: DVD

Anchors Aweigh was in production before the end of World War II and premiered between VE Day1 and VJ Day.2 The film opens with Jose Iturbi conducting a navy band in “Anchors Aweigh”3 on board an aircraft carrier.

Jerry the Mouse and Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh.

Anchors Aweigh ten. Before they depart, Clarence sings Susan’s nephew to sleep with “Brahms’ Lullaby”6 and promises to return the following day. When they locate sleeping quarters for the night in a service dormitory, the other sailors quiz them about their amorous adventures. Their bragging answer is “I Begged Her,”7 a song of fake conquest. They also perform a lively dance that includes bouncing from bed to bed. Joe and Clarence return the next day and sabotage what they assume is Susan’s date with prim and proper Bertram Kraler8 by inferring that she is “good friends” with the entire Navy. They sing a version of “If You Knew Susie”9 with new lyrics to fit the situation and use “S-U-S-I-E” to the tune of “M-OT-H-E-R.”10 When Bertram leaves, she is upset because he was going to introduce her to the classical music circle. To ease her pain at potentially losing her chance at an operatic career, Joe tells her José Iturbi, the famous pianist and conductor, is Clarence’s pal and he will arrange an audition for her. With the situation smoothed over, the trio goes to a Mexican restaurant where Susan sings “Jalousie ( Jealousy).”11 to pay for their drinks and meals. Joe is becoming more and more fascinated with her. Sitting alone at a table, Clarence sings a beautiful love ballad, “What Makes the Sunset?”12 because he is feeling left out while Joe and Susan dance together. Clarence, who is normally extremely shy around women, meets a waitress, immediately recognizes her Brooklyn accent and finds it surprisingly easy to talk to her. When Susan returns home from the restaurant, she sings “(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings”13 as she remembers her special evening and especially her dance with Joe. Realizing that he must honor the promise to Susan for an audition with Iturbi, Clarence tries unsuccessfully to meet with the maestro at the MG-M studios. Iturbi records Rudolph Friml’s “The Donkey Serenade,”14 as the pianist and orchestra conductor, apparently to demonstrate that he can play other music besides classical; this arrangement includes a boogie-woogie section. Meanwhile, Joe visits Donald’s school expecting to see Susan there. She had been called into work at the film studio, so Joe tells Donald and his classmates a fantasy tale about him being in the Pomeranian Navy. Joe tells the children about a strange storybook land where an animal king makes a law against music and dancing because he can’t sing or dance. Joe decides to confront the King, who is Jerry the Mouse from Hanna-Barbera’s Tom and Jerry cartoon fame, concerning these terrible laws. In “The Worry Song.”15 Joe teaches Jerry how to dance.

14 When Joe and Clarence fake their way into the M-G-M studios, Clarence finds a guy playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and tuning the piano. Clarence recognizes the melody as the popular song “Tonight We Love” and insists Freddy Martin, who popularized the song, wrote it, while the pianist/tuner, Jose Iturbi, assures him it was composed by Tchaikovsky.16 During another trip to the Mexican restaurant, Clarence sings “The Charm of You”17 about his growing feelings for the girl from Brooklyn. Soon Susie joins Clarence at his table. When Joe sees them together, he assumes they are in love. As he wanders around a Mexican marketplace, he dances with a little Mexican girl18 (“The Mexican Hat Dance”19 and “The Mexican Clap Hands Song”20). Joe and Clarence track Iturbi to the Hollywood Bowl. While they try to get into the bowl, Iturbi plays Hungarian Rhapsody No. 221 with a stage-full of other pianists. In “I Fall in Love Too Easily,”22 Clarence admits that he thought he was in love with Susan, but now he has a much deeper affection for the waitress from Brooklyn. One day, Susan happens to see Mr. Iturbi in a studio coffee shop. She introduces herself and talks to him about her audition, but she becomes embarrassed when she realizes Mr. Iturbi doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Miraculously, Iturbi feels sorry for her and arranges a screen test where she aptly displays her lyrical operatic soprano (“Waltz Serenade”23). When Joe finds Susan at the studio, he tries to explain his feelings for her, but he can’t seem to find the right words. He tells her if she was a Spanish Princess and he was a bandit from the nearby hills, he could tell her. What follows is a fantasy sequence performed on an M-G-M soundstage. Susan enters onto a balcony dressed in a beautiful white lace dress, while Joe is a swashbuckling bandit. To “La Cumparsita,”24 he performs a dashing tango in the moonlit courtyard of her castle. He runs up the trunk of a tree to scale the walls, leaps from one parapet to another, swings on a hanging drape to the roof, slides down a drain and onto her balcony via a pipe. There, they embrace — the camera pulls back and down to reveal the real Joe and Susan embracing. The film ends with Mr. Iturbi presenting a concert aboard Joe and Clarence’s ship with Susan, Donald, and Brooklyn in the audience (“Anchors Aweigh” again). Anchors Aweigh’s biggest problem is trying to please both popular and classical music fans. As one would expect, Frank Sinatra sings well, especially on “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” but he dances

15 much better than anticipated (he kept up with Kelly rather nicely in “I Begged Her”). Gene Kelly is great as usual, but especially as the swashbuckling hero and in his dance with Jerry the Mouse. The Jerry the Mouse sequence of live action and animation was quite an achievement for the pre– computer-generated animation department of MG-M. After devising a meticulous storyboard, Gene Kelly’s dance was filmed. The animation was added to Kelly’s dancing frame by frame. The resulting four-minutes is definitely a classic and one of the film’s highlights. Jose Iturbi and Kathryn Grayson are in charge of the classical repertoire and do a good job of their assignment. The film was a solid hit at the box office and it more firmly established Gene Kelly as a star. Director Joe Pasternak allowed Kelly to devise his own dance routines, which also increased Kelly’s reputation as a choreographer.

Annie Columbia Pictures, June 18, 1982, 127 minutes Principal Cast: Aileen Quinn (Annie), Albert Finney (Oliver Warbucks), Ann Reinking (Grace Farrell), Carol Burnett (Miss Hannigan), Tim Curry (Rooster Hannigan), Bernadette Peters (Lily St. Regis), Sandy (himself ) Director: John Huston Producer: Ray Stark Screenwriter: Carol Sobieski Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Martin Charnin Choreographer: Arlene Phillips Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration Availability: DVD

The musical Annie, which is based on Harold Gray’s popular comic strip Little Orphan Annie, opened on Broadway in 1977 and closed after 2,377 performances. The original cast featured Andrea McArdle (Annie), Reid Shelton (Daddy Warbucks), Dorothy Loudon (Miss Hannigan) and Sandy Faison (Grace Farrell). The production received eleven Tony Award nominations and won seven, including Best Musical and Best Actress in a Musical (Dorothy Loudon). Annie opens with “Tomorrow”1 sung by Annie and a chorus during the opening credits. Annie is an orphan at the Hudson St. Home for Girls during the worst of the Great Depression. In the pre-dawn, Annie sits in an upstairs window

Annie singing “Maybe.”2 She wonders where her parents might be, what they might be doing and when they will return to take her away from this hideous orphanage. The orphans never give up hope that they will be adopted and will find happiness with loving parents. Very early one morning, Miss Hannigan forces the girls to scrub the floors and strip the beds before a breakfast of cold mush. As they clean, the orphans sing “It’s a Hard Knock Life” and complain about their difficult existence in the orphanage. Annie temporarily escapes. When she removes some tin cans from a dog’s tail, it follows her. After she sings “Dumb Dog,”3 she decides to keep the dog and names it Sandy. Once Annie is returned to the orphanage, Grace Farrell, billionaire Oliver Warbuck’s personal secretary, chooses her to live in Warbucks’ palatial mansion for a week. When Annie arrives, she assumes that she will be expected to earn her keep, but once she discovers that isn’t true, she sings “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here.” During a large choreographed routine, Miss Farrell introduces Annie to the servants and Sandy is given a bath. When Warbucks discovers that his secretary has selected a girl orphan, he is, at first, upset, but he soon becomes impressed by Annie’s unselfishness and allows her to stay. The orphanage’s unhappy supervisor, Miss Hannigan, keeps her charges in line by bullying and threatening them. She expresses her disgust with her lot in life as the keeper of “Little Girls.” During the song, she guzzles her homemade bathtub gin. One evening, Warbucks buys out the 8 P.M. show at Radio City Music Hall so he, Miss Farrell and Annie can attend a private showing. As Grace and Annie sing and dance to “Let’s Go to the Movies,”4 they dress for their outing and join Warbucks in the limo. When they arrive, the ushers continue the song. Then inside the pre-show is a production number of the song performed by the Rockettes. When Grace convinces Warbucks to adopt Annie, she is so thrilled that she dances throughout the mansion and grounds proclaiming “We Got Annie.” The Asp and Punjab even join in the celebration dance. Miss Hannigan tries to impress Warbucks with her concern for the orphans when he arrives at the orphanage to have her sign the adoption papers. When that doesn’t work, she tries to seduce him. In “Sign,”5 Warbucks presents evidence of her many faults, including her bathtub gin addiction, dancing in her underwear, locking the orphans in the

Annie Get Your Gun closet, and hocking the children’s Christmas presents. She finally reluctantly signs the papers. Annie is confident her parents will return to claim her, so Warbucks offers a $50,000 reward for whoever proves they are her real parents. When they appear on the popular Bert Healy6 radio show, Warbucks announces a coast to coast search for Annie’s parents. During the radio broadcast, Healy and the Boylan Sisters7 sing “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” The orphans, who are listening to the radio show, sing and dance their own cute version of the song. Next, Warbucks takes Annie to Washington, D.C., to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt.8 As Roosevelt talks about his New Deal, he recruits Annie to rally the nation’s children and give them hope for a brighter future. Annie tells him about her special song and sings an a cappella chorus of “Tomorrow.” The President is very impressed by the song’s positive lyrics and orders his wife, Eleanor, and Warbucks to join Annie in the song. Miss Hannigan’s brother, Rooster, and his ditzy blonde girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, convince Miss Hannigan to help them pose as Annie’s parents, Ralph and Shirley Mudge. They agree to split the reward. Rooster and Lily, disguised as Annie’s parents, and Miss Hannigan sing and dance to “Easy Street,” as they imagine living in the lap of luxury with the reward. The orphanage girls overhear their plans and attempt to warn Oliver Warbucks and help foil Annie’s abduction. Rooster and Lily are captured and Annie is reunited with Grace and Warbucks. Warbucks throws a big party to welcome Annie back, where he and Annie sing “I Don’t Need Anything But You” as circus acts perform.9 Later that evening, Annie tells Daddy Warbucks, as she now calls him, she loves him, which is followed by a chorus singing “Tomorrow” as a fireworks display begins. Warbucks also finally notices his secretary and they become romantically involved. The film was successful at the box office becoming the tenth highest grossing film of 1982. Film critic Vincent Canby thought “everything about the film is an improvement over the original.”10 The Eighties are not a particularly noteworthy decade for producing superior movie musicals — there were no great movie musicals from this decade named to AFI’s top twenty-five. AFI’s voters deemed only seven musical films from the decade worthy of a nomination. Even though Annie wasn’t one of those seven, the film is, in my opinion, one of the best film musicals of the decade and better than several of the films that received nominations. The orphanage kids are mischievously

16 cute and perform “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” very well. Annie’s anthem, “Tomorrow,” has become a classic, even though it has been murdered by many well-intentioned little girl singers over the years. Ann Reinking, one of Bob Fosse’s protégés, is an excellent dancer and portrays the role of Daddy Warbuck’s executive secretary with style. Albert Finney, who was excellent in his portrayal of the title character in Scrooge (1970), is also quite good as Daddy Warbucks although he doesn’t get much opportunity to show his musicality. Carol Burnett is appropriately nasty and unlikeable as the little-girlhating, sex-starved, gin-guzzling orphanage supervisor. Whatever problems may exist may be attributable to the film being director John Huston’s first and only movie musical. Musically, four new songs were added, while six were cut.11

Annie Get Your Gun M-G-M, May 17, 1950, 107 minutes Principal Cast: Betty Hutton (Annie Oakley), Howard Keel (Frank Butler), Louis Calhern (Buffalo Bill), J. Carrol Naish (Sitting Bull), Edward Arnold (Pawnee Bill), Keenan Wynn (Charlie Davenport) Director: George Sidney Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: Sidney Sheldon Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“There’s No Business Like Show Business”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“Anything You Can Do”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Film Editing Availability: DVD

Ethel Merman was a smash hit on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, the musical loosely based on the life of legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley, which opened on Broadway in 1946. Lyricist Dorothy Fields, who instigated the idea, intended to write the lyrics for the musical with composer Jerome Kern, but Kern died before the project materialized. The show’s producers, Rodgers and Hammerstein (the only musical they produced that was not their own), signed Berlin to write both music and lyrics. The show became the

17 second book musical to exceed the magical 1,000performance figure on Broadway (Oklahoma! was the first). Berlin’s last Broadway project had been This Is the Army, the World War II all-soldier revue, in 1942. Most people thought he was past his prime, but he wrote an exceptional musical score for Annie Get Your Gun. The show contains two AFI song nominees (see Awards and Honors above), but “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly,” “You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun,” “They Say It’s Wonderful,” and “I Got the Sun in the Morning” seem just as worthy of a nomination. As the film begins, Charlie Davenport, the business manager for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, sings “Colonel Buffalo Bill,” which introduces the famous showman. Dolly Tate1 also joins in the song to excite the gathered crowd about the show coming to Cincinnati. Then, Frank Butler, the world’s champion sharp shooter, joins Charlie and Dolly and the show’s cast in a parade. In “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly,” Annie Oakley’s introductory song, she explains to Foster Wilson,2 the Cincinnati hotel owner, that neither she nor any of her siblings can read well or count above twenty. However, Annie, a bedraggled sharp shooting tomboy, claims that they do just fine without an education. Impressed with Annie’s shooting ability, Wilson arranges a match between Annie and Frank. Annie quickly falls for Frank, but in “The Girl That I Marry,”3 he explains the type of women that attract him must be dainty, sweet and demure — exactly what Annie is not. Annie realizes she lacks what it takes to interest a man like Frank. In “You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun,” she laments that she can’t get a man as easily as she shoots wildlife. At the shooting contest, Annie out shoots her opponent. With his manly pride dented by his loss to a girl, Frank, at first, refuses to accept Buffalo Bill’s and Charlie’s suggestion that Annie join the touring show as his assistant. Once they persuade Frank that a female partner would be good for business, in “There’s No Business Like Show Business,”4 they attempt to convince Annie how wonderful her life would be if she would join the wild-west show. She accepts primarily to be near Frank and joins them in a rousing rendition of the song. One evening at sunset while on tour, Annie and Frank walk out onto the platform between two railroad cars. Frank asks her if she ever loved anybody. She replies with a question: “Somebody who loved me back?” When he answers affirmatively, she says she hasn’t, but she has heard about it. That ex-

Annie Get Your Gun change leads into the song “They Say It’s Wonderful,” which Annie sings first. Then Frank assures her that she has come to the right person to find out if what she has heard is true. While their romance blossoms, Buffalo Bill’s show is losing money and appeal, so he decides to spice up the show by giving Annie top billing which goes well, but Frank refuses to share star status. Even though he is upset, in “My Defenses Are Down,” Frank confesses that he had begun to succumb to Annie’s charms. After the show, Annie is introduced to Chief Sitting Bull, who is so impressed with Annie that he decides to adopt her as his daughter and back the show financially. The ceremony to make Annie an Indian and Sitting Bull’s daughter is a big dance number. Once she is officially inducted into the Sioux tribe, she sings “I’m an Indian Too.” Annie soon learns that Frank is joining Pawnee Bill’s troupe. Buffalo Bill takes his cowboy and Indian show to Europe, where Annie and Chief Sitting Bull become international sensations. Despite the show’s critical success in Europe, they are almost bankrupt, so he negotiates a merger with Pawnee Bill. Annie agrees to sell all the medals she had received on the European tour to finance the combined shows. In “I Got the Sun in the Morning,” she explains she doesn’t need the medals because she has everything she needs. Annie and Frank reconcile, but when Frank offers her his three medals, and proudly tells her his medals are inscribed, “To Frank Butler, the champion sharpshooter of the world.” She snaps back, “What world?” Their competition is refueled as they sing “Anything You Can Do” claiming to be better than the other one at various skills. Chief Sitting Bull, hoping to forge a permanent reconciliation between the two sweethearts, persuades Annie to deliberately lose the match. The strategy works and Frank, with his manly pride restored, finally proposes marriage. Some of the scenes — those that portray American Indians in politically incorrect ways and those that show Annie as a woman who is willing to lose to a chauvinistic man in order to soothe his masculine ego so he will marry her—might not sit well with some modern socially-conscious audiences. Busby Berkeley was originally signed to direct Annie Get Your Gun and the original cast included Judy Garland as Annie and Frank Morgan as Buffalo Bill, but Miss Garland became ill and Morgan died. George Sidney took over as director, Betty Hutton assumed the role of Annie and Louis Calhern stepped in as Buffalo Bill.

Babes in Arms The film adaptation eliminated several musical numbers that appeared in the stage production.5 The film version of Annie Get Your Gun became M-G-M’s top money-making musical film of the year. The film was Howard Keel’s Hollywood debut and he was impressive vocally and as Betty Hutton’s co-star. Hutton also does a commendable job as Annie, but the real star of the film (and the musical) is Berlin’s exceptional musical score. The musical opened again on Broadway in 1966 with Ethel Merman reprising her role as Annie. Then, with a revised book and new orchestrations, it was revived again in 1999. This production starred Bernadette Peters as Annie and Tom Wopat as Frank. Miss Peters won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the production won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. Several other famous ladies starred as Annie during the show’s 1,046 performances, including Susan Lucci, Cheryl Ladd and country superstar Reba McEntire.

Babes in Arms M-G-M, October 31, 1939, 93 minutes Principal Cast: Mickey Rooney (Mickey Moran), Judy Garland (Patsy Barton), Charles Winninger (Joe Moran), Guy Kibbee ( Judge Black), June Preisser (Baby Rose), Betty Jaynes (Molly Moran), Douglas McPhail (Don Brice) Director/Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Jack McGowan and Kay Van Riper Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Good Mornin’” for Singin’ in the Rain, 1952) ● AFI Song Nominee (“The Lady Is a Tramp” for Words and Music, 1948) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role ❍ Best Music, Scoring Availability: DVD

Babes in Arms began as a Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical theater production in 1937. It is one of the best and most successful shows this distinguished team wrote during the Thirties. The original plot was about a group of teenagers whose parents are out of work vaudevillians. They stage a revue to avoid being sent to a work farm. Unfortunately, the kids’ show isn’t successful. Later, when a transatlantic French flyer lands nearby, they are able to attract enough publicity to put on a successful show and build a youth center.

18 Lyricist Arthur Freed approached Louis B. Mayer with the idea of a movie musical based on Babes in Arms. He thought it would be an ideal vehicle for Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.1 Mayer agreed, and Freed was assigned as producer, a major turning point in his career. Freed chose to retain only “Where or When” and the title song from the original score. How could he eliminate “Johnny One Note,” “The Lady Is a Tramp”2 and the show’s most famous song, “My Funny Valentine”?3 The all-powerful producers are infamous for having successful Broadway productions rewritten and songs added and deleted, and, in their view, improving them for the screen. In Hollywood Musicals, Ted Sennett offered the following rationale: “This was frequently done, not only because the original music was considered unsuitable for the screen, but because the studio wanted new revenue from songs written expressly for the movie.” Freed added four of his song collaborations. Nevertheless, this first of the four Mickey and Judy “backyard musicals” directed by Busby Berkeley became M-G-M’s biggest money grosser of 1939, even surpassing The Wizard of Oz. When vaudeville began to fade due to the popularity of motion pictures, vaudeville troupers like Joe and Florrie Moran have difficulty finding bookings ( Joe plays a rousing trombone rendition of “Ja-Da”). The Moran’s son, Mickey, who was born backstage, is an aspiring songwriter. He and his girlfriend, Patsy Barton, audition one of Mickey’s songs, “Good Mornin’,”4 for a potential music publisher. When the publisher offers him $100 for the song, he faints. The vaudevillians have decided to tour again, but can’t take their children with them. Mickey protests. He claims they are talented enough to perform on the tour. He has Patsy and his sister, Molly, demonstrate their talent by performing “Opera vs. Jazz.” Molly sings an operatic version of “You Are My Lucky Star,”5 Pat sings a swinging version of the “Figaro” aria from The Barber of Seville, and Pat and Molly sing a duet of “Broadway Rhythm.”6 During the medley, Mickey plays the piano, a cello like it was a bass, and sings occasionally. Mickey’s father doesn’t think their music would fit — they’re planning a comeback show. Later, Mickey rallies the children of the town’s vaudevillians and proclaims, “Our folks think we’re babes in arms, huh? ... I’m going to write a show for us and put it on right here in Seaport.” His proclamation leads directly into “Babes in Arms,”7 which features Don, a Nelson Eddy–type singer, but all the kids are involved. They march through the

19 neighborhood picking up more youngsters as they go. As the procession continues, several of the kids carry torches and the number begins to look more like a political rally with a huge bonfire. Towards the end of the number when Don mounts some boxes as if he was a candidate about to give a speech, he sings a small snippet from Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.”8 Mickey must overcome several roadblocks, including threats from Martha Steele,9 the head of the welfare board, who wants to send the vaudevillians’ offspring to a state work school; the temperamental ego of Baby Rosalie Essex, a former child star,10 who is financing the show provided she is the star; and his girlfriend, Patsy Barton, who perceives Baby Rosalie as a rival. At a rehearsal for the show, Don and Molly sing “Where or When,”11 a déjà vu song. Mickey is dressing to meet Baby Rose for dinner to discuss her participation in the show. As Patsy helps him with his collar and tie, she sings a few lines of the song. Mickey doesn’t think Don and Molly are singing with any feeling, so he orders them to do it again. They are being accompanied by a kids’ orchestra that is occasionally out of tune. Once Mickey gives Baby Rose the song he had written for Patsy, Patsy takes a sleeper bus to Schenectady. During the trip she sings “I Cried for You”12 to a photo of Mickey. On opening night, she returns and tells Mickey she isn’t a quitter. On opening night of Mickey’s show, a segment is titled “My Daddy Was a Minstrel Man,”13 which includes excerpts from many old minstrel songs.14 Mickey also performs “Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider,”15 and does a soft-shoe routine to “Moonlight Bay,”16 followed by a rousing rendition by Patsy, without blackface, of “I’m Just Wild About Harry.”17 Right in the middle of this number, a violent storm arrives, so the show ends prematurely. Just when things look their bleakest and Mrs. Steele is about to cart the children off to work school, Mickey receives word that Harry Maddox, a New York producer, has decided to stage the show on Broadway. The big finale is opening night on Broadway. Mickey, who is directing the orchestra, turns around to the audience and sings “God’s Country.”18 The cast joins him in the orchestra pit as they sing an a cappella chorus. Then they march out into the audience singing lyrics condemning Hitler and his aggressions in Europe. They march back up on stage as a marching band plays an excerpt from John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”19 Mickey and Patsy impersonate Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as Don and Molly sing “My Day.”20 Several of the cast perform a swing dance

Babes on Broadway to “Good Mornin’” before “God’s Country” is reprised by Patsy, Mickey, Don, Molly and the chorus. It’s very difficult to compare the films of the Thirties with those from subsequent decades. In most instances, everything about the movie business improves. There are some really excellent movie musicals from the Thirties that can be favorably compared to musical films from any era, but most of the movie musicals of the decade would not compare as well. That would be the case of Babes in Arms. In my opinion, it would have difficulty holding its own when compared to musical films from the Forties, much less those from later decades. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney are great! But the “let’s put on a show” Depression Era mentality of Babes in Arms is too passé and many 21st century film fans simply refuse to watch anything in black and white.

Babes on Broadway M-G-M, December 31, 1941, 118 minutes Principal Cast : Mickey Rooney (Tommy Williams), Judy Garland (Penny Morris), Fay Bainter (Miss Jones), Virginia Weidler (Barbara Jo Conway), Ray McDonald (Ray Lambert), Richard Quine (Hammy Hammond) Director/Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Fred Finklehoffe and Elaine Ryan; from an original story by Fred Finklehoffe Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“How About You”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“How About You”) Availability: DVD

Advertised as a sequel to Babes in Arms, Babes on Broadway reunited the previous film’s two stars, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. It was the third of the four “backyard musicals” starring them and directed by Busby Berkeley.1 This is one of those “let’s-put-on-a-show” films that seem to be the basis for most Mickey and Judy films. Babes on Broadway opens with The Town Crier radio program reporting on the multitude of talented youngsters who come to New York City trying to make it on Broadway. The scene quickly shifts to Nick’s2 Italian Restaurant where Tommy Williams, Ray Lambert, and Hammy Hammond perform a spirited songand-dance for tips (“Anything Can Happen in New York”3). After their performance, Nick informs the

Babes on Broadway boys that he doesn’t have enough customers to continue employing them. When the boys unload their tip box they find a $5 bill. Tommy is sure someone made a mistake, so he attempts to return it. Miss Jones had contributed the five bucks and it wasn’t a mistake. Tommy gives her the trio’s card — The Three Balls of Fire — for future reference. The next day when they congregate at the corner drug store, a message is waiting that they are to go to Thornton Reed Productions. When they arrive, they are ushered into an office where Miss Jones—“Jonesy,” Thornton Reed’s assistant—is sitting behind the desk. She has arranged an audition for them with her boss the following day, but she requests that they to keep it quiet. Back at the drugstore where numerous Broadway hopefuls hangout, Hammy and Ray encourage all their pals to attend the audition. Meanwhile, Tommy notices a girl, Penny, sitting in a booth pretending to read a newspaper to cover up her crying. After he cheers her up, Tommy escorts her home. On their walk, they dream of their future in show business. At her apartment, he asks for a demonstration of her singing, so she sings “How About You.”4 After she sings a verse and chorus, they both sing about things they like and dislike. They also perform a clever dance number that continues even as he leaves her apartment. The next day, every out-of-work actor shows up for the audition. Mr. Reed5 is so upset that he refuses to audition the boys.6 Disappointed, Ray and Hammy suggest that they become their own producers. Tommy thinks that is a great idea, except they don’t have any money. Without cash what they need is a cause. Tommy visits Penny at the Dorman Street Settlement House7 where she works. He finds Barbara Jo crying on the steps because the settlement house trustees don’t have enough money to send them to the country. Tommy has found his “cause.” Tommy and Penny approach the superintendent, Mr. Stone,8 about putting on a show to raise money for the kids’ trip to the country. Mr. Stone approves the idea, so they decide to rope off a city block, give people a sample of the show, and sell tickets. During a rehearsal sequence, “Hoe Down”9 is sung and danced by Penny, Tommy, and a chorus. Set in a barnyard, the number is an energetic combination of jitterbugging and square dancing. With Germany bombing major British cities, many children are sent to the country or to places like the Dorman Street Settlement House in New York for safety.10 An international shortwave hookup becomes a part of the block party so these displaced children can talk to their parents back home. And the entertainment is meant to boost

20 British morale. Penny, along with a chorus of refugee children,11 sings “Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On!”12 During one part of the song, a montage is shown in the background of British children and famous London landmarks. Miss Jones offers Tommy and several of his friends the opportunity to perform in Mr. Reed’s touring show. At first, Tommy is ecstatic until Penny reminds him about his promise to the settlement house kids. When Tommy turns down the offer, Jonesy is so impressed with his altruism that she allows him to use one of her bosses’ closed theaters for his show and promises to get him to attend. Reed, however, is in Philadelphia trying to fix his floundering show. The benefit show for the settlement house opens with a sequence titled “Ghost Theater,” which includes the following musical numbers: • Penny sings “Mary’s a Grand Old Name”13 • Tommy sings and dances to “She Is Ma Daisy”14 • Penny sings and dances to “I’ve Got Rings on My Fingers”15 • Penny and Tommy sing and dance to “Yankee Doodle Boy”16 Next, a South American sequence includes: • Penny, Hammy, Ray, and several of their friends sing “Bombshell from Brazil”17 • Tommy impersonates Carmen Miranda singing “Mama, Yo Quiero”18 The show is going well until the fire inspector closes the production because the theater violates fire codes. Tommy announces that the show has to be canceled and that the audience can get their money back at the box office. However, most of them do not ask for a refund. Mr. Stone presents the money to Barbara Jo as the representative of the settlement house kids, who offers it to Tommy so the show can continue elsewhere, but he refuses to take it. Mr. Reed, who has been summoned from Philadelphia by city officials, arrives and is mad at Jonesy for allowing these kids to use his theater. Penny, however, talks Reed into watching a segment of the show. Penny, Tommy, Ray, Barbara Jo, Hammy, and an uncredited girl19 are seated in chairs in front of the curtain discussing (in song) about what type of number they should perform— they decide on a minstrel. They proceed to black their faces with burnt cork as they sing “Blackout Over Broadway.”20 The scene shifts suddenly to a continuation of the minstrel show performance in Mr. Reed’s production of Babes on Broadway. This finale opens with a huge cast of minstrel performers, some seated in rows while others dance in, on and around their

21 chairs downstage. Following minstrel tradition, Mr. Interlocutor (Hammy) jokes with the sidemen, Mr. Tambo (Penny), and Mr. Bones (Tommy). Other segments of the finale include: • Ray, as Mr. Rufus Jefferson Davis Brown, performs a soft-shoe tap routine while a chorus sings “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.”21 • Penny performs a rousing rendition of “Franklin D.Roosevelt Jones.”22 • Tommy’s contribution is banjo renditions23 of “Old Folks at Home”24 and “Alabamy Bound.”25 • Barbara Jo and Annie join Tommy and Penny as they sing and dance to “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee.”26 “Babes on Broadway” quickly concludes the film as Penny, Tommy, Ray, Barbara Jo, Hammy, and Annie, all without their blackface makeup and dressed in evening clothes, sing as they walk up the glittering “great white way.” M-G-M does an especially nice job of the finale of Babes on Broadway, even though it is another blackface minstrel sequence and “Hoe Down” and “How About You” are delightful Judy and Mickey numbers, but those are the only really entertaining musical segments in an otherwise overly-long potpourri of comedy, drama, lame jokes and music.

The Band Wagon M-G-M, August 7, 1953, 111 minutes Principal Cast : Fred Astaire (Tony Hunter), Cyd Charisse (Gaby), Oscar Levant (Lester Marton), Nanette Fabray (Lily Marton), Jack Buchanan ( Jeffrey Cordova) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music: Arthur Schwartz Lyrics: Howard Dietz Choreographer: Michael Kidd Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 17 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 6 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “That’s Entertainment” the No. 45 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Writing, Story and Screenplay ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1995 Availability: DVD

The Band Wagon was a 1931 Broadway revue that starred Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele. Since a

The Band Wagon revue is plotless, Betty Comden and Adolph Green devised a plot for the film version. Five of the revue’s seventeen songs were retained while other Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz songs were added from some of their other Broadway endeavors, and a new song, “That’s Entertainment,” and the “Girl Hunt” ballet were added. As the film opens, screen star Tony Hunter’s movie career is going so badly that his memorabilia is being auctioned. The auctioneer, however, is having difficulty getting any bids. Tony heads to New York. When his train arrives at Grand Central Station, he remains in the train for a while to avoid the public and press. When he emerges, reporters are there to interview Ava Gardner, not him. Feeling forgotten, Tony sings “By Myself ” as he walks1 down the train platform. Tony isn’t forgotten, however; his pals, Lily and Lester Marton, meet him in the terminal. They have written a show as a comeback vehicle for him and it will be directed by the hottest new director on Broadway, Jeffrey Cordova. Walking along Forty-Second Street, Tony decides to have his shoes shined. The bootblack2 enjoys his work so much that he shines shoes with rhythmic vitality and tap dances to the rhythm he supplies with his rag and brushes. His obvious joy and exuberance lifts Tony’s spirits and inspires him to sing-and-dance to “A Shine on Your Shoes.” The song’s lyrics claim that an excellent way to start each day is to look sharp and have a melody in our hearts. Tony accompanies the Martons to the theater where Cordova is starring in his own adaptation of Oedipus Rex. After observing the ridiculous dramatics onstage, Tony is extremely skeptical of Cordova’s directorial skills for a musical comedy. Cordova hasn’t even read Lily and Lester’s script, so they give him a brief synopsis of their fun-filled production about an illustrator of children’s books who also writes lurid murder mysteries. They are flabbergasted when Cordova announces that he sees the show as a modern version of Faust and casts himself in the role of the devil. Tony is now even more worried, so the Martons and Cordova attempt to relieve his skepticism by singing “That’s Entertainment.”3 Finally, Tony catches their enthusiasm and joins in. Cordova next suggests casting the beautiful ballet dancer, Gabrielle Gerard, as Tony’s co-star. Cordova offers Paul Byrd,4 Gabrielle’s possessive boyfriend, the choreographer position providing he gets her to perform in the show. The Martons and Tony attend Gabrielle’s performance of Giselle.5 Tony worries that she’s too tall and that her classical ballet training won’t mesh

The Band Wagon with his dance style. Later that evening, Tony meets Gabrielle at Cordova’s home and compliments her dancing. When she mentions that she saw all his movies when she was a little girl, Tony feels ancient. After one particularly rough rehearsal, Tony quits the show. Later that evening, Gabrielle visits him to apologize. During her visit, she asks, “Can we really dance together?” Tony answers, “Let’s find out.” They take a moonlight horse-drawn carriage ride into Central Park. After a stroll through the park, they try a few simple dance steps that lead into “Dancing in the Dark” and discover that they can dance beautifully together. After their elegant dance, they gracefully step into a horse-drawn carriage and hold hands as the carriage takes them back to reality. Tony decides to stay in the show just to be near Gabrielle, but the show is a disaster. During the dress rehearsal of the dance to “You and the Night and the Music,” some explosive effects get out of control and ruin the number. Then the New Haven pre–Broadway performance is even worse. Soon after the curtain rises, the audience, which had entered the theater with joyful anticipation, exits as if they had been attending a wake. Even though the cast realizes the show is destined to close, they still hold the traditional opening-night cast party. In an attempt to cheer up the lethargic group, Tony, Lily, and Lester perform an old Tony Hunter number, “I Love Louisa.”6 Once the song is over, everyone is morose again. Trying to humorously copy Mickey Rooney, Lester suggests they put on a show themselves. Tony thinks they have stumbled on the solution. He takes charge and informs Cordova that the show will not close, but will return to the light-hearted entertainment it was originally intended to be. Since the backers have bowed out, Tony volunteers to sell his considerable art collection to finance the revised show. With Tony now in charge, Paul jealously orders Gaby to leave the show, but she refuses. They part ways. For the next six weeks the show is improved on the road. In Philadelphia, Gaby sings “New Sun in the Sky.”7 In Boston, Tony and Jeffrey, dressed in top hat, white tie and tails, perform a classy rendition of “I Guess I’ll have to Change My Plan.” In Washington, D.C., Lily and the chorus recommend the joys of a “Louisiana Hayride.” And in Baltimore, dressed as babies, Lily, Jeff and Tony sing about the pitfalls of being “Triplets.” On opening night on Broadway, the “Girl Hunt” ballet, which is sub-titled “A Murder Mystery in Jazz,” is performed. The ballet is a takeoff on the detective Mickey Spillane murder mysteries.

22 Tony is the offstage narrator and portrays the private eye, Rod Reilly. As the ballet begins, Rod walks the deserted streets late one night. Suddenly, a frightened blonde, played by Gaby, appears. She is obviously trying to escape from someone. After a guy gets blown up by nitro, Rod is beaten up by a gang of thugs. On a hunch, Rod goes into a shop where a fashion show is underway. There, he sees a slinky, sequined brunette, also portrayed by Gaby. After another fight, Rod fearlessly continues to pursue the killer. On a subway platform, the blonde reappears; there is a gunfight going on all around them. Entering a smoky jazz club, Rod sees the brunette at the bar. They sensuously dance together until Rod is attacked by some more thugs. He shoots the killer, which turns out to be the blonde. Rod is back on a deserted street. As he pulls out a cigarette, the brunette lights it for him. Even though he realizes she is dangerous, she is his kind of woman. The Broadway opening is a big hit, but Tony is confused when no one comes to his dressing room to congratulate him. As he finishes dressing, he sings a reprise of “By Myself.” When he leaves his dressing room, the cast is waiting to pay him a heartfelt tribute. Gaby walks forward to thank Tony for resurrecting the show. She tells him they have all learned to love him — especially her. Lily, Jeffrey, and Lester interrupt their romantic moment with a reprise of “That’s Entertainment.” Gaby, Tony and the entire cast join in for a grand finale. On the positive side, Fred Astaire’s dancing to “A Shine on Your Shoes” is spontaneously happy and LeRoy Daniels’ infectious shoe shining is delightful. Another special highlight is Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan and Fred Astaire’s performance of “Triplets” and the camera trickery also adds a great deal. Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse’s dance to “Dancing in the Dark” is the epitome of elegance. “That’s Entertainment” has become one of the most well-known and most performed songs about the entertainment industry. The song is a showstopper! On the negative side, the “Girl Hunt” ballet is overly long. “Louisiana Hayride” is corny and insulting to anyone who lives in the state and the lyrics are filled with dialect. The Band Wagon is very entertaining, but I can’t agree with Entertainment Weekly’s or AFI’s rankings. Since the Fifties produced some really exceptional movie musicals, it would be difficult to place The Band Wagon in the top five of the decade, much less among the top ten or twenty of all time. According to playbill.com,8 Scott Bakula, star of TV’s Quantum Leap and Broadway’s Romance/ Romance, played Tony Hunter in a new stage mu-

23 sical based on the movie titled Dancing in the Dark that premiered in San Diego in March 2008. The show was expected to transfer to Broadway, but nothing has materialized.

The Barkleys of Broadway M-G-M, May 4, 1949, 109 minutes Principal Cast : Fred Astaire ( Josh Barkley), Ginger Rogers (Dinah Barkley), Oscar Levant (Ezra Millar), Jacques Francois ( Jacques Pierre Barredout) Director: Charles Walters Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Producer Arthur Freed intended The Barkleys of Broadway to be the follow-up for Fred Astaire and Judy Garland after their success in Easter Parade. However, Judy, who was under psychiatric care at the time, refused to work again so quickly. One of the studio execs finally suggested teaming Fred with Ginger Rogers again; they hadn’t appeared together on the screen for almost a decade. The idea became a reality, but it became their last screen appearance together. Even though The Barkleys of Broadway was supposed to costar Astaire and Garland, the film’s plot seems eerily similar to the real life dilemma Ginger faced during her and Fred’s RKO years. She was determined to be recognized as a dramatic actress and refused to be type-cast in musical or comedy roles. In 1940 she earned the Academy Award as Best Actress for her role in the dramatic film Kitty Foyle. The Barkleys of Broadway opens most unusually. Fred and Ginger’s dancing feet are shown as the orchestra plays “Swing Trot,” which immediately establishes the couple as a professional song-anddance team. They continue the dance during the opening credits. Once the credits conclude, they finish the dance and share bows with their friend and composer, Ezra Millar. During their curtain speeches Josh and Dinah Barkley attempt to outdo each other with effusive praise. As soon as they are away from the audience, Josh and Dinah bicker incessantly. Josh takes all the credit for their success and claims Dinah couldn’t walk across the stage without his help. At an elegant after-opening-night party, Dinah meets the French

The Barkleys of Broadway playwright, Jacques Pierre Barredout. He offers her the lead in his new play, which is based on the life of the young French stage actress, Sarah Bernhardt. After sitting outside in the cold waiting for Dinah, Josh returns to find Barredout monopolizing his wife’s attention. They leave the party after politely listening to a lively piano performance by Ezra of Aram Khatchaturian’s “Sabre Dance.”1 Back at their Manhattan townhouse the bickering really heats up. When Dinah tells Josh that Jacques praised her dramatic talents, he merely scoffs. After their quarrel, they kiss and makeup as Josh sings “You’d Be Hard to Replace.” After his vocal, they perform a little dance dressed in their bathrobes. At the next day’s rehearsal, they perform an impressive dance number, “Bouncin’ the Blues.”2 This dance is a joyous tap routine that shows two professionals thoroughly enjoying their work. The scene shifts to the next evening’s show where Josh and Dinah perform “My One and Only Highland Fling,” complete with kilts, tams and Scottish brogues. The song is about courting in the Scottish highlands. They also perform a cute softshoe duet to the song. Josh and Dinah decide they need a weekend away from the theater, so they take the train to the Danbridge estate of Mrs. Livingston Belney.3 Along with Ezra, they stroll along a dirt road from the train station singing “A Weekend in the Country.”4 While Josh plays a round of golf, Barredout attempts again to entice Dinah to play the Sarah Bernhardt role in his new play. She is noncommittal, but agrees to read the script, which she hides from Josh. When, a few days later, he catches her with the script, things get dicey. They fight and break up during a Look Magazine photo shoot. Josh continues performing alone which is illustrated with the very inventive routine entitled “Shoes with Wings On.”5 Josh is a cobbler who specializes in repairing dance shoes. When one of his customers leaves a pair of shoes on the counter, Josh tries them on.6 Suddenly, the shoes begin to tap by themselves and Josh doesn’t know how to control them. Once he feels comfortable, he begins to dance (and sing in a voice-over). Soon, several pairs of shoes jump off the shelves and start tapping. They form a circle around Josh and are joined by a pair of ballet slippers. He tries to control the shoes by taking swipes at them with a broom,7 by mowing them down machine-gun–style using his broom as the gun, and finally by shooting them with pistols. In the end, the shoes all fall on his head. Meanwhile, things aren’t going well for Dinah and her play rehearsals. Barredout doesn’t seem to

Bathing Beauty know how to direct her, so she gets frustrated. After Josh sneaks into one of the rehearsals, he telephones her pretending to be Jacques, and offers some constructive ideas. When she adopts the ideas, Barredout is impressed by her progress. Josh continues to offer suggestions over the telephone so she won’t know who he is. Ezra tries to reunite Josh and Dinah by tricking them into performing together at a benefit. At the concert, Ezra plays the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B-flat Minor.8 Josh sings “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”9 as he and Dinah dance a beautifully elegant ballroomstyle routine. Dinah’s opening night in Barredout’s play goes very well; she proves to everyone, but especially to herself, that she can be a successful dramatic actress. After the play, Josh telephones Dinah in her dressing room again posing as Jacques, but Jacques comes into the room, so she realizes it is Josh. And, that it was him who was giving her suggestions over the telephone to make her performance in the play a success. Later, Dinah goes to their apartment looking for Josh. Nostalgically, she plays a recording of him singing “You’d Be Hard to Replace.” Once he arrives, she tells him she recognized his voice on the phone. Now that both are happy and reconciled, they sing and dance to “Manhattan Downbeat” in their apartment. Suddenly, the scene shifts to a stage production where they are performing the same number, which became both the film’s finale and Fred and Ginger’s swan song together. Most of the songs are pretty ordinary and the dancing, as impressive as it is, is not especially great except for Fred’s “Shoes with Wings On” sequence, Fred and Ginger’s “Bouncin’ the Blues” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” which is elegance personified. “Swing Trot” is a clever opening. Oscar Levant’s rendition of Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance” and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B-flat Minor are nicely done, but neither has anything to do with the plot; they were inserted simply to allow Levant to exhibit his considerable pianistic skills.

Bathing Beauty M-G-M, June 27, 1944, 101 minutes Principal Cast : Red Skelton (Steve Elliott), Esther Williams (Caroline Brooks), Basil Rathbone (George Adams) Director: George Sidney Producer: Jack Cummings

24 Screenwriters: Dorothy Kingsley, Allen Boretz and Frank Waldman; adaptation by Joseph Schrank; based on an original story by Kenneth Earl. M. M. Musselman and Curtis Kenyon Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographers: Robert Alton and Jack Donohue Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Bathing Beauty features the comic shenanigans of Red Skelton, the swimming of Esther Williams, the bands of Xavier Cugat and Harry James and throngs of beautiful bathing beauties. L.A. songwriter, Steve Elliott, plans to quit his successful career once he marries Caroline Brooks, a swimming instructor at Victoria College in New Jersey. She has also pledged to quit her job once they wed. George Adams, a New York producer, is worried that Steve will retire before he completes the songs for a water ballet show he has hired him to write, so he sabotages the marriage by hiring an aspiring actress to pose as Steve’s wife. Caroline calls off the wedding and returns to her college job. Steve follows her, but is denied entrance to the all-female school. Later, Steve meets a drunken lawyer who informs him that the college was never officially designated as all-female, so Steve returns to the college and insists on being admitted. The Dean recommends that Steve be admitted for a probationary period during which the faculty would give him enough demerits for expulsion. Once Steve enrolls, Caroline refuses to listen to his explanations and tells him she plans to get an annulment. George Adams shows up at the college and threatens to expose Steve in the press unless he finishes his songs. When Steve swears revenge on the person who hired the actress to pose as his wife, George backs down and offers to help Steve do his homework. The Dean asks Caroline to go out with Steve and ensure that he breaks curfew so he can be expelled, but during the evening, Steve convinces her of his innocence. During a sequence when the Dean and one of the co-ed’s parents inspect Steve’s room, he is forced to hide several women in his closets, but the actress who George had hired shows up and Caroline leaves again in a fury. To resolve everything, Steve promises to write songs for George’s water ballet show if Caroline is the star. George agrees, the actress tells Caroline the truth, and Steve and Caroline happily reunite. The film was Esther Williams’ fourth,1 but her first swimming vehicle (there are two swimming sequences). She does a creditable job of acting; it couldn’t be easy to travel the rocky road of love with Red Skelton. Miss Williams’ two swimming sequences were:

25 • When Steve asks Carlos Ramirez to sing a song he has written for Caroline, he sings “Te quiero juste”2 in Spanish to the girls around the pool. When Caroline appears, he sings to her and follows her around the pool until she climbs up the diving board. As Ramirez’ vocal concludes, she poses, dives, and then swims in rhythm to the music in a mini-water ballet. • The finale aqua ballet3 begins with Harry James and his Music Makers playing “Boogie Woogie”4 and many girls dancing poolside. Then Xavier Cugat and his orchestra play “The Thrill of a New Romance.”5 Some of the girls dive into the pool where they perform a syncronized swimming routine. Caroline enters as a sea goddess and swims to “The Blue Danube.”6 The ballet ends with Caroline gliding through the water with fountains gushing skyward and torches bursting into flame in the middle of the fountains. Red Skelton is his usual comic self. His comical music routines include: • In a eurythmics class, Skelton, wearing a fluffy pink tutu, and the co-eds perform “The Sticky Paper Ballet,”7 where he gets a candy wrapper stuck to his foot, and then to his hand. It is eventually passed from girl to girl. • In a music class, Skelton complains that “Loch Lomond” is boring, so the Professor challenges him to write a better version of the famous Scottish ballad. Skelton transforms the song into “I’ll Take the High Note,”8 which is performed by Skelton, a couple of the students,9 Carlos Rameriz, Harry James and his band with vocalist Helen Forrest, and Ethel Smith on her organ. The ideal for songs in movie musical is that they be integral to the plot. If they are not, they at least should not completely stop the action. Unfortunately, most of the musical numbers in this film, while they may be entertaining, don’t contribute in any way to the story. The plot action stops, a musical number is performed, and then whatever plot there is picks up again. For example, shortly after the film begins, Xavier Cugat is shown drawing Latin instruments as his orchestra plays and his female vocalist, Lina Romay, sings “Bim, Bam, Bum”10 in Spanish. Before the number concludes, Cugat is shown finishing an excellent caricature of himself.11 In another instance, Red calls Cugat on the telephone, but he and his band are performing, so he listens to their performance of “Alma

Beauty and the Beast llanera”12 on the phone. In another scene a sign outside a theater proclaims: “George Adams presents Harry James and his Music Makers”; and then Harry and his band play “Trumpet Blues and Cantabile.”13 In another scene when Caroline and Steve go to dinner at an elegant club, James performs a trumpet solo version of the famous virtuoso violin showpiece, “Hora Staccato.”14 Then, Harry and his Music Makers play “I Cried for You,”15 which was sung by his vocalist, Helen Forrest. In another instance, several of the coeds flock to music professor Ethel Smith’s office where they persuade her to play her Hammond organ. She first plays “By the Waters of Minnetonka”16 and, while the girls play Latin percussion instruments, she plays “Tico Tico.”17 In other words, Bathing Beauty is a colorful summer shower of music, comedy and dance, but it is only a mediocre movie musical. It was, however, a smash at the box office. It became M-G-M’s third highest grossing film to date — only bettered by Gone with the Wind (1939) and Ben-Hur (1925).

Beauty and the Beast Walt Disney Pictures, November 22, 1991, 84 minutes Principal Cast : the voices of Paige O’Hara (Belle), Robby Benson (Beast), Richard White (Gaston), Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts), Jerry Orbach (Lumiere), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth and the Narrator), Bradley Michael Pierce (Chip), Rex Everhart (Maurice) Director: Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale Producer: Don Hahn Screenwriter: Linda Woolverton Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman1 Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 22 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 21 Greatest Movie Musical of Al Time ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Music, Original Score ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Beauty and the Beast”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Be Our Guest”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Belle”) ❍ Best Sound ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2002 Availability: DVD

Beauty and the Beast was first published as a meandering fairy tale by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740, but the best-known version was an abridgement by Madame Jeanne-

Beauty and the Beast Marie Leprince de Beaumont that was publishd in 1756. One of the most famous versions of the fairy tale is the Walt Disney Studio’s 1991 musical animation. Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film ever to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. It garnered six nominations and won two awards (see Awards and Honors above). A prologue narration, illustrated with a series of stained glass windows, opens the film. The narrator sets the stage by telling about a young, spoiled prince who once lived in a splendid castle in a far off land. One cold winter’s evening an elderly beggar woman comes to the castle and offers the prince a rose in exchange for refuge. Finding her repulsive, he scoffs at her and turns her away. When the old woman warns him not to be deceived by appearances, he sneers at her again. Suddenly, the hag is transformed into a beautiful enchantress. As punishment for the prince’s cold heartedness, she transforms him into a frightful beast, and places a spell on his castle and all who live in it. Ashamed of his appearance, the beast hides inside his castle. His only contact with the outside world is a magic mirror. The rose the sorceress had offered him is enchanted; if he learns to love and be loved in return before the last petal falls, the spell will be broken. If not, he will remain a beast forever. As the years go by, the prince begins to lose hope; he can not imagine anyone ever loving such a beast. Living in a nearby village with her father, Maurice, who is an eccentric inventor, is a beautiful young peasant woman named Belle. During the song “Belle,” she greets, and is greeted by, several of the villagers. The townspeople consider Belle peculiar because she dreams of a life beyond their village. As the song continues various townsfolk simultaneously greet each other and shop, Belle sings about her dreams of escaping her provincial life, while Gaston, a lantern-jawed he-man, sings about making Belle his wife. When the song ends, Gaston tosses Belle’s book into the mud. The chauvinistic Gaston tells her, “It’s not right for a woman to read—soon she starts getting ideas and thinking.” When Belle calls him “positively primeval,” Gaston thinks it’s a compliment. The community considers Belle’s father a “crazy old loon.” When his wood-chopping machine experiment fails, Maurice is ready to quit, but Belle encourages him to perfect the contraption so he can win first prize at the fair. After a few more tweaks, it chops wood, just as it should. Maurice heads for the fair, but gets lost and his horse runs away when they are attacked by wolves. Cold and tired, Maurice stumbles upon a nearby castle and enters. Maurice explains his plight to no

26 one in particular while Lumiere, a French candlestick, and Cogsworth, a clock, watch from a nearby table. One by one, the enchanted household items, including Mrs. Potts and her son, Chip, welcome Maurice. The Beast, however, is outraged when he discovers the intruder, so he locks Maurice in a dungeon. The following day, Gaston has arranged a wedding ceremony right outside Belle’s cottage and has invited the entire town. When he proposes in his oafish fashion, Belle politely declines. When she tries to get away, she opens the door so that Gaston tumbles into a mud puddle. Undaunted, Gaston assures LeFou,2 his little friend, that he still intends to make Belle his wife. Once Gaston departs, Belle comes out of her cottage and, while she’s feeding the animals, sings more of “Belle.” Her song is interrupted by Maurice’s horse returning without her father. She unhitches the cart so the horse can take her to find him. That scene segues into Belle arriving at the Beast’s castle. She dismounts and finds her father’s hat inside the gate. When she cautiously enters the castle, Lumiere is confident that this is the girl who can break the spell, so he and Cogsworth open the door that leads to the dungeon. Once she finds Maurice behind bars, he begs her to leave immediately. Suddenly the Beast grabs her. When the stubborn Beast refuses to release her father, Belle offers to take his place. He accepts her offer and sends Maurice away in an enchanted spider-like carriage. Belle wasn’t even allowed to tell her father goodbye. The Beast offers to show Belle to her room and gives her permission to go anywhere in the castle except the forbidden West Wing. When they arrive at her room, the Beast orders her to join him for dinner. Belle falls on her bed and sobs. The next scene is a tavern where Gaston is still smarting from Belle’s rejection. LeFou tries to cheer him by singing “Gaston,” a song about how admired and awesome he is in the eyes of the villagers. The tavern’s patrons and barmaids join in the song as eventually so does Gaston. Maurice frantically bursts into the tavern to rally help to rescue Belle from a monstrous beast, but no one believes him. Gaston sings more of “Gaston” as he hatches a plan to marry Belle, which he explains to LeFou. Back at the Beast’s castle, Belle meets Mrs. Potts, Chip and a Wardrobe.3 They compliment Belle for her courage. Mrs. Potts assures Belle everything will eventually turn out all right and the Wardrobe offers her a dress to wear for dinner. Belle, however, stubbornly refuses to dine with the Beast. Upon hearing this, the Beast orders that she must eat with him or not at all.

27 The Beast stalks into his forbidden lair and views Belle via his magic mirror. When he hears Belle cry that she will never have anything to do with him, he watches another petal fall from the enchanted rose. Later, Belle hesitantly emerges from her room and enters the kitchen where Cogsworth welcomes her and introduces himself and Lumiere. When she admits she’s a little hungry, Mrs. Potts rallies the kitchen staff for a meal. Lumiere takes charge and musically invites her to “Be Our Guest.” The dining room objects perform a Busby Berkeley–type production number that is one of the film’s highpoints. After dinner during a tour of the castle, Belle sneaks away and wanders towards the forbidden West Wing. She discovers a room in shambles, including a shredded portrait and a rose under a bell jar. The Beast discovers and frightens her with a horrible display of temper. Belle runs from the castle, mounts her father’s horse and rides through the forest, where they are soon attacked by wolves. The Beast comes to Belle’s rescue and fights off the wolves. Afterwards, the Beast collapses from the wounds he incurred. Belle overcomes her fears, hoists the Beast onto her horse’s back, and transports him back to the castle. She cleans his wounds and thanks him for saving her life. Over time, the Beast and Belle become friendly. When the Beast wants to do something special for Belle, Lumiere suggests that he give her his gigantic library. She is thrilled! While Belle and the Beast feed the birds in the courtyard, Belle’s mind sings “Something There,” about the change the Beast has made from a coarse and unrefined monster to someone who is dear and almost kind. The Beast’s thoughts continue the song; he’s amazed Belle isn’t repelled by his appearance. Several of the servants who have gathered to watch join in the song. They are optimistic that the spell may soon be broken.4 Later, with the introduction to “Beauty and the Beast” playing, Belle descends the grand staircase in a glittering gold gown. The Beast appears in his dress clothes and descends opposite stairs. They meet and continue down the stairs arm in arm as Mrs. Potts sings the film’s title song about the love that is developing between these apparent opposites. During the song, Belle and the Beast enter the ballroom and dance. After the romantic evening, Belle admits she’d love to see her father again if only for a moment. So, the Beast takes her to his lair and hands her the magic mirror. The mirror reveals that Maurice is sick and lost in the woods. Seeing Belle’s concern, the Beast urges her to rescue her father and gives her

Beauty and the Beast the mirror so she’ll always be able to look back and remember him. Belle rides away as the Beast roars his sorrow. She finds her papa face down in the snow and takes him back to their cottage. Soon a mob comes to take Maurice to the asylum. Gaston offers to spare her father if Belle agrees to marry him, but she refuses. Belle retrieves the magic mirror to prove to the villagers that the Beast isn’t dangerous, but the mirror shows the howling Beast which frightens the crowd. Gaston incites the crowd to kill the Beast (“The Mob Song”) and orders that Belle and Maurice be locked in their basement so they can’t warn him. As the song continues, Gaston leads the mob towards the castle. Chip, who had stowed away in Belle’s satchel, helps Belle and Maurice escape by using her father’s wood-chopping invention. The Beast is so despondent he refuses to fight the mob, but his assorted household items attack the human invaders. Gaston finds the Beast in the West Wing and attacks, but the Beast refuses to fight back. Just as Gaston is about to smash the Beast’s head, Belle screams, “No!” Once the Beast hears Belle’s voice, he revives and fights Gaston. Finally, the Beast grabs him by the neck and threatens to throw him off the roof. Gaston begs for mercy and the Beast’s anger turns to compassion. He puts Gaston down and orders him to leave. From an upper balcony Belle calls to the Beast. He climbs up to her, but Gaston sneaks up from behind and stabs the Beast in the back. Gaston loses his footing and plunges to the ground. Belle tries to reassure the badly wounded Beast and whispers a fervent, “Please don’t leave me! I love you.” Just as the last rose petal falls, the spell is broken. Suddenly, the Beast’s body rises into the air and magically transforms into a young prince. Belle recognizes the same blue eyes as the Beast’s in this handsome prince. As they kiss, fireworks explode and the castle is transformed to its former beauty and all the enchanted objects become human again. When the Prince picks Belle up and swings her around, their garments become elegant ballroom clothes. While the couple waltzes, Chip asks his mother if Belle and the Prince are going to live happily ever after. Mrs. Potts replies, “Of course, my dear. Of course.” As they dance around the ballroom an off-screen chorus sings a short reprise of “Beauty and the Beast.” The final shot is of a stained glass window of Belle and the Prince dancing with the enchanted rose above their heads. During the closing credits, “Beauty and the Beast” is performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.5

Bells Are Ringing How many superlatives can one heap on an animated movie musical? With Beauty and the Beast Disney combined a children’s fable, plenty of wit, and a wonderful musical score to produce a seamless masterpiece. It is so near Broadway quality that it is no surprise that it became a musical on the Great White Way that ran for over 5,000 performances. Beauty and the Beast cost $35 million to produce, but earned $377 million worldwide. The Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast opened in 1994 with an original cast that included Susan Egan as Belle and Terrence Mann as the Beast. The production was nominated for nine Tony Awards but surprisingly only won the award for Best Costume Design.

Bells Are Ringing M-G-M, June 23, 1960, 126 minutes Principal Cast : Judy Holliday (Ella Peterson), Dean Martin ( Jeffrey Moss), Jean Stapleton (Sue Summers), Eddie Foy, Jr. ( J. Otto Prantz), Frank Gorshin (Blake Barton), Bernie West (Dr. Joe Kitchell), Fred Clark (Larry Hastings), Dort Clark (Inspector Barnes) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters/Lyricists: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music: Jule Styne Choreographer: Charles O’Curran Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Bells Are Ringing opened on Broadway in 1956 and ran for a total of 924 performances. At the 1957 Tony Awards, Judy Holliday won the award for Best Actress in a Musical, Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin’s son, won the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and the production was nominated for Best Musical and Best Choreography. The film version turned out to be director Vincente Minnelli’s last musical collaboration with producer Arthur Freed and the last film produced by the famous Freed Unit, which had been responsible for many of the studio’s greatest musical films. Judy Holliday, Jean Stapleton, Dort Clark, and Bernie West reprised their stage roles. Bells Are Ringing was also Judy Holliday’s last film. During filming, she was already suffering from cancer. The cancer progressed until, at age 43, she died in 1965. As the action begins, an unseen chorus sings

28 “Bells Are Ringing” as if it were a commercial for a telephone answering service called Susanswerphone. In the answering service’s office, Ella Peterson answers each subscriber’s call in a distinctive voice that fits the type of person or business for which she is receiving the call. The character she plays when she talks to Jeffrey Moss is an elderly lady he calls “Mom.” In “It’s a Perfect Relationship,” Ella sings about being in love with a man, or more accurately his voice, that she knows only by his telephone number. Jeff wants Mom to wake him at 7 A.M. for a meeting with his producer, Larry Hastings, to present a script tomorrow or else. She gives him quite a pep talk. When he hangs up the phone, he sings “Do It Yourself,” as he prepares to write, but he realizes he can’t write alone. Inspector Barnes intends to prove that Susanswerphone is not merely an answering service, but is really a lonely heart’s club, dating service or prostitution operation. Barnes warns Ella that any personal or friendly talk with clients or meeting any male subscribers on the outside will result in her arrest. The businesses’ owner, Sue, is Ella’s cousin, who scolds Ella for getting too involved with the subscribers and their personal lives. She has been seeing a man named J. Otto Prantz, who supposedly owns a classical record business. She offers her answering service to receive his telephone orders. It turns out that he’s a bookie. At a meeting with his bookies, in “It’s a Simple Little System,” Otto explains the order codes for betting on horse races. An order placed for 500 albums, long playing, of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, Opus 3 would translate as a bet of $500 on the nose at Belmont on the number six horse in the third race. Since it’s her day off, Ella goes to Jeff ’s apartment to wake him for his meeting with Hastings. She finds him asleep on his couch; he hasn’t written anything all night. Giving him a false name, Melisande Scott, she accuses him of drinking to avoid working. She finally coaxes him to go to his typewriter to write, but he is so unsure of himself, he claims he can’t do it unless she stays. As he begins to type, she sings “Better Than a Dream” about finally learning what he looks like. Jeff sings a verse about her knowing everything about him including the predicament he’s in with Hastings, his thought process, and his addiction to booze. The song becomes contrapuntal with each of them singing their thoughts simultaneously. The next night, Melisande is waiting in Times Square for Jeff to return from his meeting. When he arrives, he excitedly announces that Hastings liked his play outline for “The Midas Touch.” He

29 wants to call Mom to share his good news. At the mention of Mom, Ella attempts to run away. Jeff has promised Hastings to go away for two weeks to work on the script, so he and Melisande agree to meet at his place when he returns. When she leaves, he is so excited he sings “I Met a Girl.” He completely ignores the crowd of people that pass by as he sings about this wonderful girl that he met and fell in love with all in one day. When Ella gets a call from a music publishing firm that they are looking for a song, she goes to her singing dentist subscriber, Dr. Kitchell., who writes songs by using the air hose on his dentist chair. While in his dentist chair, she suggests he write a song called “The Midas Touch” and take it to the publisher. He is so excited about writing this song that he completely forgets about Ella. Inspector Barnes’ assistant takes a photo of her visiting Dr. Kitchell and shows it to the Inspector. Next, Ella tries to help an unemployed method actor, Blake Barton. When she gets a call complaining about the way he dressed at a recent audition, she finds Blake at a beatnik-type coffeehouse and discretely advises him to purchase a suit and tie for his next audition. One day Ella takes an order for Beethoven’s 10th Symphony. A delivery boy, Carl,1 overhears the order and tells her Beethoven only wrote nine symphonies. So, she calls the “shipping department” and changes all the orders to the 9th. Of course, this drastically alters multiple bets. When Jeff returns, he calls Mom to thank her for her faith in him. In the background, Ella hears a girl begging Jeff to take her to the races that day instead of working. Ella runs out of the office and heads for Jeff ’s. When she arrives, she pretends to be his secretary. Once they get rid of the girl, Jeff claims he’s a changed man because he’s found the right girl. When he says that, she leaves — but immediately returns to his apartment and kisses him. Inspector Barnes’ assistant photographs the kiss and shares the photo with his boss. For a date with Jeff, Gwynne,2 another operator at Susanswerphone, and Carl teach Ella to cha-cha (“Mu-Cha-Cha”). When she meets Jeff in a park, he tells her that Hastings liked the new material he had written and is throwing a party at which he should make an appearance. When she complains that she thought they were going dancing, he says, “Okay, let’s dance.” As they dance, he sings that she came along “Just in Time” to change his life. Some people who have been watching applaud and compliment them for performing like professionals. Jeff suggests to Melisande that they show them the act they used to do as if they were vaudeville performers. He sings more of the song with her in-

Bells Are Ringing terpolating some comments. Then the crowd becomes the chorus as Jeff and Melisande dance together and leave for the party arm in arm. At the party, Hastings and others occupy Jeff, so Melisande feels terribly alone and out of place. She tries to enter into the conversation, but most of the guests are name droppers. Finally, they teach her how to play the game by singing “Drop That Name.” After the song, she wanders out onto the terrace where she receives a note from Jeff asking her to marry him. She turns the note over and writes, “Goodbye.” Realizing that he is in love with Melisande, someone who doesn’t exist, and that their beautiful romance is over, Ella sings the beautiful tear-jerker “The Party’s Over.” At a nightclub bar, Jeff meets Blake Barton, who tells him about a miracle woman who helped revive his acting career. While they are talking, the club’s announcer introduces a new song, “The Midas Touch.” Jeff is shocked! While a singer3 and a line of chorus girls perform the song, Dr. Kitchell stands near the bar mouthing the words. After he discovers that Kitchell wrote the song, Jeff, Blake and the dentist begin to compare their experiences with the same miracle woman. Jeff leaves the nightclub to find Melisande and after no results, he calls Dr. Kitchell. Susanswerphone answers. Then, he calls Blake Barton. Susanswerphone answers. Suddenly, it dawns on him — Mel and Mom is the same person. Ella prepares to leave, but Sue begs her to stay. Ella sings “I’m Going Back” to her former job where she can be herself. As she walks out the door, two thugs drag Otto, Sue and Ella back into the office. They claim Otto owes $6,000. He checks the books to determine what happened with the bets. When he asks who switched the order from Beethoven’s 10th, Ella confesses. To escape the crooks, she tells them the cops know all about what is going on. Inspector Barnes shows up to arrest Ella, but she convinces him to arrest the two thugs instead. Jeff calls Susanswerphone and asks to talk to Mel. Sue doesn’t know who he is talking about, but she tells Ella that he said he is coming down. Ella tries to disguise herself with an old shawl and a mop wig, but Jeff can’t be fooled. She finally admits her name is not Melisande, and that she loves him. Suddenly, the office is flooded with subscribers who thank Ella for meddling in their lives because she helped them. Like the film’s opening, a narrator’s voice is heard as if this was a commercial for the answering service. Like so many other screen versions of Broadway musicals, five songs from the original Broadway score were omitted.4

Billy Rose’s Jumbo When the film premiered in New York City, it grossed over a million dollars during its seven-week run, but it didn’t fare as well in the rest of the country. Reviews of the film were mostly tepid. Judy Holliday is excellent as the genially ditsy answering service switchboard operator and Dean Martin is very believable as a self-doubting, drunken playwright. The film is pleasing entertainment, but nothing especially great.

Billy Rose’s Jumbo M-G-M, December 6, 1962, 125 minutes Principal Cast : Doris Day (Kitty Wonder), Stephen Boyd (Sam Rawlins), Jimmy Durante (Pop Wonder), Martha Raye (Lulu) Director: Charles Walters Producers: Joe Pasternak and Martin Melcher Screenwriter: Sidney Sheldon Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Oscar nomination: ❍ Best Scoring of Music—Adaptation or Treatment Availability: DVD

In the mid–Thirties, when the Hippodrome1 had been deserted for several years, super showman, producer and songwriter, Billy Rose, Fanny Brice’s second husband, decided it would be the perfect venue to stage a big, splashy circus musical. Rose had the inside of theater rebuilt to resemble a circus big top, with the audience in banked seats looking down on the circus ring. The story, the songand-dance numbers, a dozen circus acts from all over the world, more than 1,000 animals, and Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra all performed in the ring or above it. The resultant musical was Jumbo about two rival circus owners who are distressed to learn that their offspring have fallen in love. By the end of the production, the two owners’ children bring about reconciliation between their fathers. Jimmy Durante plays Claudius B. Bowers, the press agent of the floundering Considine Circus. Billy Rose wouldn’t allow any of the songs from Jumbo to be played over the radio; he reasoned that people wouldn’t go to the theater if they could hear the songs for free. His decision seriously damaged the popularity potential of three outstanding Rodgers and Hart songs: “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” “My Romance,” and “Little Girl Blue.”

30 Twenty-seven years later, the screen version of the musical, now titled Billy Rose’s Jumbo, was released. Although Durante was in both productions, in the film he’s the owner of the nearly bankrupt Wonder Circus. Several songs from Rodgers and Hart’s original Broadway score were omitted from the screen version.2 Songs added to the film were “Why Can’t I?” from Rodgers and Hart’s 1929 musical Spring Is Here, “This Can’t Be Love,” from their 1938 musical The Boys from Syracuse, and “Sawdust, Spangles and Dreams,” which M-G-M’s resident composer and the film’s associate producer, Roger Edens, concocted from other Rodgers and Hart material. After the opening credits, the roustabouts sing (“Song of the Routabouts”) about their job as they raise the huge tent. Pop Wonder owns a circus whose prize elephant, Jumbo, is the circus’ major asset; its major liability is Pop, who continually loses the circus’ receipts in crap games. Pop’s daughter, Kitty, encourages a young female trapeze artist by singing “Over and Over Again,” telling the girl that she must practice to improve her skills. During the number, many different circus performers practice their acts. Kitty has to face several creditors who are demanding their money. She finally convinces them to return after the show that evening when she promises they’ll be paid. Sam Rawlins asks Kitty for a job, but she says they aren’t hiring. As the circus parades through the town, Pop sings a chorus of “The Circus on Parade” as he rides a horse; Lulu, Pop’s fiancée of fourteen years, sings a chorus from a lion’s cage dressed in a lion costume; and Kitty sings from the top of a wagon pulled by several “winged” horses. The masked high wire act is a no-show, but appears just in time. After his tense act is over, he unmasks to reveal it was Sam. Since Sam saved the show, Pop hires him. Sam soon proves his worth as an excellent performer and a worker. He has been planted in the Wonder Circus by his devious father, John Noble,3 owner of a rival circus, who intends to seize control of Pop’s circus, and particularly Jumbo, by paying Pop’s gambling debts and having the receipts made out in his name. When Kitty goes to get the day’s receipts to pay the workers, her father has taken the $800 to win back what he had lost earlier. When she finds Pop, he has lost all but $50. She sends him home and eventually wins the entire $800 back. Back at the circus, Kitty pays the entire cast their wages, which means there is nothing left for the creditors.

31 On the road to the next town, Lulu and Kitty sing “Why Can’t I?” They both want to get married, but they lament that nothing romantic is happening for either of them. After closing each night, Sam pays all of the Wonder creditors. They sign a receipt to his father but Sam is ashamed of what he is doing. Kitty plays up to Sam, but he ignores her. Later that evening at the show, Kitty sings “This Can’t Be Love”4 while she is riding bareback. Kitty’s face is covered with dirt and grease from trying unsuccessfully to fix the calliope. While Sam works on the machine, he mockingly whistles “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.” Once Kitty discovers her dirty face, she runs off to clean up. When the calliope is fixed, it accompanies Sam5 as he sings “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.” Kitty returns dressed in a lovely pink dress and hat, but is still ignored. She coaxes him into dancing with her. After their dance, she asks him to accompany her to town. He walks her to her buckboard, helps her up, and then slaps the horse to send her on her way. Soon, there is a crash—the wagon has wrecked and Kitty has fallen into a mud puddle. Sam sings “the most beautiful girl in the world” and laughs. That evening a violent storm rips the tent and strands Kitty and Lulu high up in the big top. Lulu bursts the safety net when she jumps, so using the trapeze apparatus, Sam rescues Kitty. Pop is pinned beneath a large support beams that has fallen during the storm. Thinking he must be mortally wounded, he promises to marry Lulu the following day. When Jumbo raises the beam and Pop emerges unscathed, he must live up to his promise. Later outside the big top, Sam and Kitty embrace. They had both been frightened that they were going to lose each other. He tells her that he is leaving that evening to clear up some business. She proposes, but he insists on the male doing the proposing. In “My Romance,” she tells Sam that her romance doesn’t need any special trappings, only him. Once Sam arrives at the Noble Circus, his father has gone to takeover the Wonder Circus. Back at the Wonder Circus, preparations are underway for Pop and Lulu’s wedding. When Lulu enters, Pop sings his version of “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.” They are interrupted by Noble presenting Pop with $30,000 in paid receipts and the Sheriff serving a foreclosure notice. Everyone, but particularly Kitty, is devastated to learn that Sam is the son of the man who has stolen their circus. While a crew is trying to load Jumbo into his wagon, Pop hears the elephant’s cries and breaks down. Once Kitty helps load Jumbo, she walks into

Blue Skies the dark circus tent and sadly sings “Little Girl Blue” fighting back her tears. All the Wonders have left is their traveling wagon. Pop, Lulu and Kitty travel around performing wherever they can. When Sam finally finds them, they aren’t terribly glad to see him. He explains that he left his father and needs Kitty and is certain she needs him. As they dream of rebuilding the Wonder Circus they sing “Sawdust, Spangles and Dreams.” Sam sings from the back of a buckboard and presents Jumbo (but there is no explanation as to how Sam got him back from his father). The four of them sing more of the song performing various circus acts. As the finale begins, they march forward and sing an excerpt from “This Can’t Be Love” from the back of a horse. Then they jump off and perform a rather lengthy clown routine.6 Jumbo appears painted white and the quartet of clowns is transformed into all white formal wear as a chorus sings “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.” As a new Wonder Circus sign appears, the film ends. Despite the presence of some lovely Rodgers and Hart songs, there isn’t much to Billy Rose’s Jumbo. The songs from the original stage production may have fit into the original plot, but in this new story, the set-up for the songs is contrived. Unfortunately, the film opened during a New York City newspaper strike, so it wasn’t reviewed by the all-important critics. That didn’t help, but movie fans just didn’t seem to be impressed. Perhaps after twentyseven years, Jumbo was just a little too quaint for the early Sixties. The film, which was co-produced by Doris Day’s husband, Martin Melcher, was her only box office failure between 1959 and 1966. It turned out to be her last and least memorable movie musical. Busby Berkeley, the film’s choreographer, came out of retirement for what would be his last film, but there is nothing outstanding choreographically.

Blue Skies Paramount Pictures, October 16, 1946, 104 minutes Principal Cast: Bing Crosby ( Johnny Adams), Fred Astaire ( Jed Potter), Joan Caulfield (Mary O’Dare Adams), Billy DeWolfe (Tony), Olga San Juan (Nita Nova) Director: Stuart Heisler Producer: Sol C. Siegel Screenwriter: Arthur Sheekman; adapted by Allan Scott Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Hermes Pan

Blue Skies Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“You Keep Coming Back Like a Song”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ● AFI Song Nominee (“Puttin’ on the Ritz,” nominated for Young Frankenstein, 1974) Availability: DVD

Irving Berlin was not only a great songwriter, he was a shrewd businessman. Several times it was Berlin who came up with the story idea for films that featured his songs. Such is the case for Blue Skies. Berlin wrote a few new songs and used twenty-one of his older songs — to hopefully give them new life and increase his already hefty profits. The film was built around songs that fit a variety of night clubs owned by Bing Crosby’s character. Blue Skies also reunites Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, who had starred together in Holiday Inn (1942). Most of Blue Skies is presented in flashback-style. Jed Potter, one of the nation’s leading dancers for many years, is relating the story of his show business career to a radio audience. His story begins about 1919 when he and his former vaudeville partner, Johnny Adams, both fell in love with a beautiful chorus girl named Mary O’Hara. The scene shifts from the radio studio to a theater where lovely young women parade a-laZiegfeld to “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody.” It is Jed’s last night with the show, which is going on tour. As he dances around the pretty girls, he pays particular attention to Mary. He wants her to leave this show and join him in a Dillingham show, but she isn’t interested. After the show, Jed and Mary stop into The Flap-Jack, a club owned by his former vaudeville partner, Johnny. Mary is immediately fascinated with Johnny, who performs the World War I classic “I’ve Got My Captain Working for Me Now,” the wish fulfillment of every former soldier, with his sidekick Tony as his Captain. Reenergized by her newfound interest in this crooner/club owner, Mary, Jed, Johnny and Tony attend a Dillingham party where Nita Nova performs the saucy “You’d Be Surprised.” Jed continually tries to get rid of Johnny, but when Johnny and Mary dance together they are both obviously falling fast. After the dance, Johnny tells her he has sold The Flap-Jack and she tells him he should sing songs that aren’t comic. She asks if he knows “All By Myself,” which he sings as they dance together (towards the end she joins in and harmonizes1). She tells Jed she’s changed her mind about going on tour, she’ll stay and join him in the Dillingham show.

32 After a short broadcast sequence where Jed relates more of his story, Mary performs “Serenade to an Old-Fashioned Girl” during opening night of the new show. Jed’s number in the show is one of the film’s most outstanding dance numbers, “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”2 Jed sings a chorus and then dances a flashy dance that features his cane. Near the end of the dance, he goes toward the back of the stage and parts some curtains to reveal a troupe of Jed’s, dressed exactly like him and all tapping in unison and hitting their cane on the floor exactly like him. After the show, Mary goes to see Johnny at The Hole in the Wall; he apologizes for not making it to her show that evening, but he was selling the club. Before they can talk about this turn of events, he must go on to perform “I’ll See You in C-U-BA”3 with Nita. When they finally have the chance to be alone, Johnny and Mary confess their love for each other, but he says he isn’t the marrying kind so she should forget him. Mary tries to forget Johnny, and Jed proposes five times. After a year, Johnny and Tony drop by a rehearsal for a new show. The rehearsal pianist reminds Jed and Johnny of the routine they used to perform together in vaudeville—“A Couple of Song and Dance Men.” These two hams really enjoy recreating their old act which is as much horseplay and bad vaudeville jokes as dance. Jed takes Mary to Johnny’s new club, The Song Book, hoping that seeing Johnny again will get him out of her system. As they enter the club, Johnny sings “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song.” When he sees Mary, he stops singing, runs to her and they embrace.4 Jed realizes he’s lost Mary. Mary and Johnny get married and send Jed postcards from several honeymoon locations. During a horse and buggy ride and picnic, Johnny tells Mary he’s sold The Song Book, and starts whistling, then, humming “Blue Skies.”5 As he starts to sing, a rainstorm forces them to wrap up in a blanket. When the sun reappears, they climb a hill, gaze at the blue skies, and dream of their future together as husband and wife. The film then presents a medley of selections that match the various clubs that Johnny buys and sells: “The Little Things in Life” at The Little Spot, “Not for All the Rice in China” at The Chop Suey, “Russian Lullaby” at The Balalaika, and “Everybody Step” at The Top Hat. Mary considers Johnny’s inability to settle down and his buying and selling nightclubs at the drop of a hat irresponsible, particularly after the arrival of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth. When he informs her he is selling The Top Hat, she demands

33 that he not sell. He resents her demand and sells the club anyway. They part and divorce. At Johnny’s new club, The Cracker Barrel in Chicago, Nita tells him that Jed and Mary, who are engaged, are opening in a new show, Heat Wave. Johnny sings the haunting “How Deep Is the Ocean?” in a very reflective, half-singing style. He goes to Mary’s apartment and meets his daughter. During his visit Mary Elizabeth asks him to tell her a bedtime story. He sings “(Running Around In Circles) Getting Nowhere,” a cute song with a good moral. Dejected, Johnny leaves town. Mary realizes she’s still in love with Johnny and breaks her engagement to Jed. Jed turns to heavy drinking and that leads to a tragic accident. During a performance of the song “Heat Wave,”6 During Jed and Nita’s frenzied dance, his drunkenness causes him to fall off a very high bridge. As Jed put it in his radio broadcast, “That cured Jed Potter of drinking.... He never danced again.” Jed also says that Mary vanished shortly after his accident and that neither he nor Johnny had heard from her again. When World War II arrives, Johnny sings “Any Bonds Today” during a war bond rally, “This Is the Army, Mr. Jones” at an Army training camp, and “White Christmas” for the troops in the Pacific. Back at the radio studio, Jed turns the program over to Johnny, who sings “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song,” when Mary suddenly appears and sings “Blue Skies.” The final scene shows Johnny, Mary, and Jed walking out of the studio together. Blue Skies is a very entertaining film musical. With several vocals — both serious and comical — by Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire’s nimble dancing feet and a sack full of Irving Berlin songs, who could ask for more? The plot device of various restaurant/ nightclubs was a clever way to present many of the film’s songs. My personal favorites are Astaire’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” dance, which is much classier than the silly rendition of the song in Young Frankenstein (1974), for which the song earned an AFI nomination as one of the greatest songs in film history, and Bing’s and Fred’s “A Couple of Song and Dance Men” routine. Both “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song” and the title song, “Blue Skies,” are also quite nice. During the shooting of Blue Skies, which collected the highest gross of any movie Fred Astaire ever made, Fred announced he was going to retire. He was forty-seven years old and had been dancing professionally for forty years. He wanted more time to oversee the chain of dance studios he had recently started, more time to play golf and to breed racehorses. His retirement lasted a couple of years, after which he returned to movie-making and made fifteen more screen appearances.

Brigadoon

Brigadoon M-G-M, September 8, 1954, 108 minutes Principal Cast : Gene Kelly (Tommy Albright), Van Johnson ( Jeff Douglas), Cyd Charisse (Fiona Campbell), Virginia Bosier ( Jean Campbell), Jimmy Thompson (Charlie Dalrymple), Barry Jones (Mr. Lundie) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter and Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner Music: Frederick Loewe Choreographer: Gene Kelly Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“It’s Almost Like Being in Love”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Sound, Recording Availability: DVD

Brigadoon is Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s 1947 Broadway musical, their third Broadway production but their first hit musical. The musical, starring David Brooks and Marion Bell, ran for 581 performances. By the time the film version was released in 1954, the public had begun to lose interest in movie musicals, so the studio cut back on the film’s budget, which particularly meant it could not be shot on location in Scotland (the Scottish weather was also problematic). So, it was shot on the studio soundstage and, although the sets are beautiful, they are obviously scenic backdrops. Ironically, Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot was also filmed in the backlot rather on location. As the film opens, an unseen chorus sings “Once in the Highlands,” which explains that two American hunters got lost in the Highlands of Scotland and some strange things happened to them. Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas wander in a Scottish forest early on a foggy morning. Suddenly, some distant voices sing about the village of “Brigadoon,” as an eighteenth century Scottish village comes into view as the sun parts the mist. In “Down on MacConnachy Square,” the merchants are called to the square and set up their booths for the day’s market. Tommy and Jeff didn’t see the village at first, but once they spot it, they head for the town square to get some food. On the way, they pass the Campbell’s place and notice Fiona, Jean, and her bridesmaids. Today is Jean Campbell and Charlie Dalrymple’s wedding day. Jean’s older sister, Fiona, is quizzed about her apparent disinterest in marriage.

Brigadoon In “Waitin’ for My Dearie,”1 Fiona explains that she only wants to marry if it’s the right lad. One of the girls poses as her suitor and a dance ensues that eventually involves all the girls. Tommy and Jeff are viewed with considerable curiosity when they arrive in the village square. Charlie, the bridegroom, offers them some food and drink. One of the villagers teases Charlie that he will not be seen as frequently at the pub. Charlie responds by singing “I’ll Go Home with Bonnie Jean.”2 He isn’t at all sorry that his roving days are over. All the male villagers and Tommy and Jeff join in the singing and dancing. Tommy learns that Charlie is marrying a girl whose last name is Campbell. He assumes it is Fiona, but is delighted to learn it is Jean. When Fiona arrives in the square, Tommy accompanies her to collect heather for the wedding. In “The Heather on the Hill,” Tommy and Fiona pick heather, joyfully dance and begin to fall in love. During the heather gathering, Tommy starts to cross the village bridge to pick some heather, but Fiona stops him. When he asks why, she runs away. He chases after her, but falls down a hill. Jeff finds him unhurt and smiling. In “Almost Like Being in Love,” Tommy tries to explain his feelings to his friend. Then giddily, he dances all over the countryside. He decides to stay around for the wedding. Harry Beaton,3 who is hopelessly in love with Jean Campbell, is so depressed by her impending marriage, that he considers the village a prison. He brings a waistcoat to Andrew Campbell,4 who tries to be friendly, but Harry is too bitter. After Harry leaves, Charlie comes to sign the family Bible.5 When Tommy discovers the Bible that Charlie had signed, he is baffled by the dates. He shows Jeff the entry for the wedding of Andrew Campbell on July 2, 1719 and the birth dates of children named Fiona and Jean. The last entry reads, “Married: Jean Campbell to Charles Dalrymple, May 24th, 1754.” When Tommy asks Fiona the meaning of these mysterious entries, she tells him only Mr. Lundie, the schoolmaster, can explain. Mr. Lundie explains that two hundred years ago the Highlands were plagued with witches, who were leading the folk away from God. Brigadoon’s elderly minister feared for his flock’s fate after his death, so he asked God to make the village and its people vanish, to reappear for only one day every one hundred years, not long enough to be affected by the outside world. That was two days ago to the villagers, but two centuries to the rest of the world. If any resident of Brigadoon should leave, the enchantment would be broken and the village would vanish forever. A stranger may come to live there if that person truly loves someone in Brigadoon.

34 At the wedding, the clans enter one by one to the sound of drums and pipes. Jeff wanders away before the exchanging of vows. The newlyweds dance to “I’ll Go Home with Bonnie Jean.” The rest of the villagers join the joyous dance.6 Harry suddenly appears and tries to kiss Jean. When they stop him, he pulls a knife, but walks away from the confrontation. When he gets to the top of the hill, he runs. Everyone knows he intends to leave Brigadoon. After a frantic chase, Jeff, who is wandering half drunk in the woods, shoots at a grouse, but hits Harry, who is hiding in a tree. The villagers are sad for Harry’s family, but relieved that the village won’t disappear forever. Fiona is glad that Tommy has not left and professes her love for him. He tells her that after one short day, he feels he cannot live without her.7 To the music of “Heather on the Hill,” Tommy and Fiona perform an elegant seduction-type modern dance. Tommy decides to stay in Brigadoon. When Tommy tells Jeff about his plans, his friend confesses that he accidentally shot Harry. He also tries to convince Tommy that he has been hypnotized by the Highland mist. Fiona arrives with Mr. Lundie to arrange for Tommy to stay, but Tommy tells her that he must leave. As Tommy walks away, Fiona vows her love as Brigadoon vanishes for another hundred years. Months later in a New York City bar, Tommy’s fiancée chatters about various topics. Key words cause Tommy to reminisce about Brigadoon and Fiona. Suddenly, he runs to the nearest telephone and calls Jeff. He’s returning to Scotland; Jeff accompanies him. In the Scottish Highlands again, Tommy cannot believe the village was just a dream and cries out, “Why do people have to lose things to find out what they really mean?” As he and Jeff turn to leave, they hear the strains of “Brigadoon” in the distance and the village materializes. A sleepy Mr. Lundie appears in the mist saying, “Ye mus’ really love her! Ye woke me up! Come, lad.” He adds that when you love someone deeply, anything is possible, even miracles. Tommy runs toward the village as Fiona leaves her house and heads for the village square, where they meet and embrace. Unlike most of Arthur Freed’s productions, no new songs were added to the musical score, but several from the original Broadway version were dropped.8 In the 2005 DVD release, outtakes of “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” “From This Day On” and “Sword Dance” are available for viewing. An audio of “There But for You Go I” is also among the outtakes. Brigadoon is a very entertaining film with great dancing by Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. Lerner

35 and Loewe’s tuneful score is great, but could have been even better had “Come to Me, Bend to Me” and “There But for You Go I” not been cut. It’s fairly unusual to find four or more really memorable songs in one movie musical score. The weakest part of the film is that it was not filmed on location, which could have been one its strengths.

The Broadway Melody M-G-M, June 5, 1929, 104 minutes Principal Cast: Charles King (Eddie Kearns), Anita Page (Queenie Mahoney), Bessie Love (Harriet “Hank” Mahoney), Jed Prouty (Uncle Jed), Kenneth Thomson ( Jacques “Jock” Warriner) Director: Harry Beaumont Producer: Irving Thalberg Screenwriters: Norman Houston and James Gleason; based on a story by Edmund Goulding Music: Nacio Herb Brown Lyrics: Arthur Freed Choreographer: George Cunningham Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ Best Actress (Bessie Love) ❍ Best Director Availability: DVD

With the sound process improving in 1928, M-GM filmed the first genuine musical, The Broadway Melody in 1929. The film was so popular it earned a sizeable profit. It was the first musical film—and the first sound film—to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film inspired three more Broadway Melody films—in 1935, 1937, and 1940. The film’s action begins at the Gleason Music Publishing Company where chaos reigns as a woman sings operatically, a small jazz ensemble plays, a girls’ duo rehearses, and Eddie Kearns and a pianist work on a new song. When the owner comes by, Eddie demonstrates his new song, “The Broadway Melody.”1 As he sings, the small jazz ensemble joins in. The scene changes2 to a theatrical hotel on 46th Street in New York City where the Mahoney Sisters, Harriet, “Hank,” and Queenie, have just arrived from the Midwest to make it big on Broadway. Uncle Jed, the girls’ manager, arrives to discuss some potential bookings in other locations, but Hank refuses to consider any engagements outside the city. Hank’s song-and-dance-man boyfriend, Eddie, arrives to welcome the girls. Eddie hasn’t seen Queenie since she was much younger, but is so im-

The Broadway Melody pressed with her beauty that he makes amorous advances towards her. He has promised to get the sisters into Francis Zanfield’s3 new Broadway revue. Eddie demonstrates his ideas for them with a reprise of “The Broadway Melody.” The next scene is at Zanfield’s Theatre during a rehearsal. A dance line of chorines is tapping as the pianist plays another reprise of “The Broadway Melody.” Eddie convinces Mr. Zanfield to take a look at the Mahoney Sisters’ act. As Hank and Queenie perform “Harmony Babies,” one of the chorus girls tried to sabotage their audition by putting her purse on the strings of the piano. Zanfield is impressed with Queenie, but not Hank. Queenie begs Zanfield to use Hank too, so he finally agrees. Eddie overhears their conversation and kisses Queenie for her loyalty to her sister. Queenie feels awkward kissing her sister’s boyfriend—and liking it. The scene switches to the final dress rehearsal of the revue. The first number is “The Broadway Melody,” which Eddie begins by speaking the song’s verse. During the chorus, which he sings, Queenie and Hank dance behind him. Zanfield stops the number to cut the Mahoney Sisters and the verse. When they resume, Eddie sings in front of a chorus line of girls. Then a girl tap dances in toe shoes. Eddie returns to the stage to sing the song’s conclusion. When a girl falls from the bow of a ship on the set, Zanfield picks Queenie to take her place. While a Roman soldier4 sings “Love Boat,” most of the men in the audience are focused on Queenie in her skimpy costume. Hank is happy for her sister’s success but jealous that they aren’t sharing it. After the performance, Jacques “Jock” Warriner5 asks Queenie to have dinner with him. At first she refuses, but after Hank and Eddie try to talk her out of getting mixed up with such a shady character, she reconsiders. However, when Hank gets home, Queenie is there; she didn’t go out with Warriner after all. A few weeks later when Warriner presents Queenie with flowers for her birthday, Eddie is very jealous. Left alone with her, Eddie tells her that he can’t sleep for thinking about her. He sings “You Were Meant for Me,”6 a song he had written for and about her. She is attracted to Eddie too, but is determined not to steal her sister’s boyfriend. Just as Eddie is about to kiss her, Hank enters. Feeling guilty, Queenie tells them to stop interfering with her relationship with Jock. At Jock’s party for Queenie’s birthday, the band plays “You Were Meant for Me.” A quartet comprised of a vocal soloist, a ukulele player, and two guitarists, sing and play “Truthful Parson Brown”7 to entertain the guests. Later, Jock and Queenie dance to “You Were Meant for Me,” but as Jock be-

Broadway Melody of 1940 gins to sing, Queenie asks him to have the band play something else. They play (the fifth reprise) “The Broadway Melody,” which just reminds Queenie of Eddie. Later, Jock gives her an expensive diamond bracelet and offers to give her an apartment of her own, a Rolls Royce, and many other things. During the Zanfield revue, the first number is “The Wedding of the Painted Doll,”8 which was sung by James Burrows and danced by the Zanfield Dolly Girls. There is a doll bride, groom and minister, but otherwise, the production number is a spectacle and has very little relevance to the song’s lyrics. The second number of the revue is “The Boy Friend,” which is performed by the Mahoney Sisters with the Zanfield Dancing Girls. Queenie and Hank, who strums a uke, sing the song followed by Hank and the chorus girls dancing. When Queenie gets more expensive presents from Jock, Hank tries to convince her that Jock is no good. Queenie storms out of the room as Eddie enters. Suddenly, Hank realizes that Eddie loves Queenie and she tells him he shouldn’t let Jock steal the woman he loves. When Eddie runs after Queenie, Hank breaks down. She telephones Uncle Jed and agrees to take the out-of-town bookings he had offered earlier. When Eddie and Queenie return from their honeymoon, she announces that she is retiring from show business. Hank, ever the trouper, demonstrates her new act with Flo9 before Uncle Jed hurries them off to catch the train to their next engagement. On the cab ride to the station, Hank assures Flo they’ll be back on Broadway in six months or less. Claiming to be the first “All talking! All singing! All dancing!” film, The Broadway Melody is more melodrama with music than movie musical. The songs are decent, especially the title song, “You Were Meant for Me,” and “The Wedding of the Painted Doll,” but they don’t help define the characters or advance the plot. Speaking of the plot, it was original in 1929, but it has been copied in so many movie musicals since that it seems very hackneyed now. With unattractive costumes and mediocre dancing, The Broadway Melody may have been the first true movie musical, but it is most interesting today as a historical milestone.

Broadway Melody of 1940 M-G-M, February 9, 1940, 102 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire ( Johnny Brett), Eleanor Powell (Clare Bennett), George Murphy (King Shaw)

36 Director: Norman Taurog Producer: Jack Cummings Screenwriters: Leon Gordon and George Oppenheimer; based on a story by Jack McGowan and Dore Schary Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Choreographer: Bobby Connolly Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Begin the Beguine”) Availability: DVD

The fourth, and final, of M-G-M’s series of Broadway Melody films was Broadway Melody of 1940. It is most famous for Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell’s extraordinary tap dancing exhibitions, but there are a few other noteworthy song and dance sequences. Johnny Brett and King Shaw work at a fivecents-a-dance joint, where they also perform a specialty act for no pay. They perform “Please Don’t Monkey with Broadway,”1 a lighthearted, backhanded tribute to the Great White Way. Following their presentation of the lyrics, the guys present a dance routine that is full of clowning. Bob Casey, a Broadway producer,2 witnesses their performance and asks to meet them. Johnny thinks the man is a bill collector, so he tells Casey that his name is King Shaw. Johnny goes to a nearby theater to see the show, Gangway Please. Clare Bennett and a sailor chorus perform “I Am the Captain.”3 For her entrance, Clare slides down the ship’s mast from the crow’s nest. After a lively tap dance, the number ends with Clare being tossed around by the sailors. The next day, Casey tells his partner, Bert Matthews,4 that he has found the perfect partner for Clare Bennett — King Shaw (he thought he was recommending Johnny). While Johnny makes the rounds of various theatrical agents, King gets a call that Matthews and Casey want him to star in their new show. When he goes to their office, they inform him that they are only interested in him, not his partner. Later back at their room, King breaks the news to Johnny, who takes it rather well. To seal the deal, King must audition for Matthews and Casey. He sings “Between You and Me,” then he and Clare perform an elegant balletballroom-style dance. Casey realizes his mistake but, when Matthews seems pleased with King, he allows the mix up to pass. When Casey meets Johnny on the street, Johnny explains that at their first meeting he had thought Casey was a bill collector so he gave him his partner’s name. Casey tells him this name game cost him a chance to dance with Clare Bennett. Later at the theater, Clare overhears Johnny

37 demonstrating dance steps in King’s dressing room. When Johnny leaves the dressing room, he tries out some more steps on the deserted stage. Then, seeing some sheet music with Clare’s photograph on the cover, he accompanies himself on the piano as he sings “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” to her photo. For the dance portion, he dances with the sheet music as if he were actually holding Clare in his arms. Clare, who has been watching from the wings, bursts into applause. Johnny and Clare go to lunch together and talk about their craft. In a seemingly spontaneous routine, they exchange dance ideas (“Jukebox Dance”5). Their dance gets more and more intricate as they “improvise” a thoroughly delightful tap routine. Both of them are overcome with mutual admiration for the others terpsichorean skills.6 At the opening of Clare’s new production, Swing Song, Johnny goes backstage to wish King good luck, but finds him drunk and can’t sober him up. While a masked male vocalist7 sings “I Concentrate on You,” Clare and a group of ballerinas dance en pointe. After the vocal rendition, Johnny substitutes for King. Clare informs King that Johnny saved him by taking his place in the opening number. At the next performance, King is drunk again (actually he’s faking). Clare finds Johnny and brings him back to the theater to once again substitute for King. What follows is one of the climatic highlights of the entire film — Clare and Johnny’s extraordinary dance to “Begin the Beguine.”8 The sequence is actually made up of two segments: the first one opens with a sultry vocal of the song sung by Carmen D’Antonio.9 A chorus of girls, clad in silver haremlike costumes, dance on an all-black set. Clare, also wearing a middle eastern outfit, and Johnny, wearing a sequined Spanish outfit, perform a bolerostyle dance. At the end of this segment, Johnny and Clare exit as four girls in Scottish plaid, The Music Maids,10 sing the lyrics in swing style. As they exit, the orchestra features a clarinet lead, à la Artie Shaw. Johnny and Clare reappear in all-white, which looks marvelous against the all-black set, to perform the most celebrated duo tap routine ever filmed. Dancing on a floor that is polished to a mirror shine, these two (Astaire and Powell) demonstrate why they are considered male and female tap dancers extraordinaire. After this jubilant number, they exit to find a sober King waiting in the wings. They pull him on stage to join them in a dance to a reprise of “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” sung by a girls’ chorus. The Broadway Melody series of movie musicals ends, but the memory certainly lingers on.

Bye Bye Birdie Who cares about a plot when Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell tap dance? Most authorities champion Ginger Rogers as Astaire’s ideal partner, but he couldn’t ask for better than Miss Powell for “Jukebox Dance” and “Begin the Beguine.” She is undoubtedly one of the greatest female tap dancers of all-time, but when she attempts ballet, as she does on “I Concentrate on You,” she is obviously not in her element. In addition to his dancing skills, Fred is an excellent barrelhouse piano player. As he did for “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” in Follow the Fleet, Fred plays a chorus of “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” in barrelhouse style.

Bye Bye Birdie Columbia Pictures, April 4, 1963, 112 minutes Principal Cast: Dick Van Dyke (Albert Peterson), Janet Leigh (Rosie DeLeon), Ann-Margaret (Kim McAfee), Bobby Rydell (Hugo Peabody), Jesse Pearson (Conrad Birdie), Ed Sullivan (himself ), Paul Lynde (Henry McAfee), Maureen Stapleton (Momma Peterson) Director: George Sidney Producer: Fred Kohlmar Screenwriter: Irving Brecher Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Lee Adams Choreographer: Onna White Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Put On a Happy Face”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

The musical Bye Bye Birdie premiered on Broadway in 1960. The original cast included Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson and Chita Rivera as Rosie Alvarez. At the 1961 Tony Awards, the production won for Best Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Van Dyke), Best Choreography, Best Direction of a Musical and was nominated for four other awards. Originally titled Let’s Go Steady, the musical is a satire on mid-fifties American society. Rock ’n’ roll reached a fever pitch in 1956 when Elvis Presley first came to the nation’s teenager’s consciousness. In Bye Bye Birdie, the teenagers’ obsession with a rock ’n’ roll singer named Conrad Birdie1 is one of the primary plotlines. By the time the musical was being written, Elvis had been drafted into the Army,2 so Michael Stewart made the drafting of Conrad Birdie an important plot element.

Bye Bye Birdie Dick Van Dyke returned to recreate his Broadway role and Paul Lynde returned as Mr. McAfee for the film version. Several songs from the original Broadway score were omitted,3 and there were considerable changes in the film’s storyline. As the film begins, the newspaper headline reads “Conrad Birdie Drafted!” Kim McAfee sings “Bye Bye Birdie” as part of the overture. As the credits pass by, teenaged girls from different locales react to the news. As they march in protest on Washington, D.C., the girls sing “We Love You, Conrad.” Albert Peterson has been trying to get Almaelou Music going for six years, but hasn’t sold one song. He has a degree in bio-chemistry, but his overbearing mother, a former vaudeville performer, insists he become a songwriter and publisher. Albert’s secretary, Rosie DeLeon, has been trying to talk Peterson into becoming a chemistry professor. When Rosie heard about Birdie being drafted, she pitches an idea to Ed Sullivan for his gigantically popular television variety show. She proposes that before Birdie leaves for the Army he kiss a girl from his fan club and then sing a song that Rosie wants her future husband to write. Sullivan agrees. Rosie pulls one card from Birdie’s Ohio fan club — Kim McAfee of Sweet Apple. She telephones the girl, but the line is busy because Kim is talking to her friend, Ursula, about becoming pinned to her boyfriend, Hugo Peabody. Ursula then begins to spread the word as the teenagers tie up all the phone lines in “The Telephone Hour.” When Rosie tries to call Kim again, she is on the telephone with Hugo. After they hang up, Kim sings “How Lovely to Be a Woman” as she changes into sloppy clothes and fuzzy slippers. She sings about maturing from a skinny kid with braces into a woman who wears mascara, lipstick and whose figure causes men to whistle. When Kim comes downstairs, she acts sophisticated by calling her parents by their first names, Doris and Henry, but when she receives the telephone call from Rosie that she has been chosen to be kissed by Conrad Birdie on The Ed Sullivan Show, she reverts to the unsophisticated child by calling for her Mommy. In the following scene, the town’s girls sing “We Love You, Conrad,” while the boys sing “We Hate You, Conrad.” Conrad, dressed in a gold lame jumpsuit, arrives in Sweet Apple on his motorcycle. The girls of the town recite the Conrad Birdie pledge and Kim welcomes him. Then, Birdie sings “Honestly Sincere” while he strums his electric guitar. The number includes a huge dance section by the town’s girls. Every time he wiggles, girls faint, while the guys

38 remain unimpressed. At the end of the song, Birdie surveys all the females who have fainted. When Mr. McAfee complains about losing business at his feed store, Albert tells him about a formula he has concocted that makes hens lay more eggs. They try out the formula on the McAfee’s son’s (Randolph) turtle. The turtle suddenly speeds out of the house. Kim’s father threatens to cancel her appearance on the TV show until Rosie mentions that the whole family will appear on the telecast. Suddenly star struck, McAfee fantasizes about appearing on his favorite television show. Dressed in white choir robes, the McAfee family sings “Hymn for a Sunday Evening.” In “One Boy,” Kim tries to reason with Hugo and reassure him that her heart belongs to him. After a short talking interlude, Hugo joins the song. Later, when Hugo leaves to do his homework, Rosie, who has been watching from the back porch balcony, sings about her frustration with her “one boy.” The song ends in a duet between Kim and Rosie. When Albert sees the despondent Rosie in the backyard, he joins her and tries to cheer her up by singing “Put on a Happy Face.” During the number, he draws happy and sad faces on the screen. He also draws an alter ego image of the pouting Rosie to dance with, but, after Rosie begins to laugh, she becomes her alter ego and dances with Albert. Everything seems rosy until Mrs. Peterson shows up. When Albert tells her he is considering quitting the music business, she stalks into the kitchen and sticks her head into the oven (it’s electric, not gas). About that time, Kim comes downstairs with dyed hair. Henry sings “Kids” complaining about today’s youngsters. He wishes they were like he was when he was a child, which was, in his opinion, perfect. Mrs. Peterson, Albert and Randolph also join the song. At the end of the song, Rosie hears Albert tell his mother that he’ll never leave her. Hearing that, Rosie telephones Mr. Paisley, the high school English teacher, and agrees to go on a date. At a rehearsal, Birdie sings “One Last Kiss.” Hugo is sitting alone in the stands jealously watching Kim rehearse her speech. A wire from Ed Sullivan announces that the Birdie segment must be cut to less than thirty seconds, which means Albert’s song is out. Later that evening at the teenager’s favorite hangout, Birdie sings “A Lot of Livin’ to Do.” To make Hugo jealous, Kim sings a chorus of the song as she flirts with all the other guys. Hugo sings as he attracts attention from the girls. Soon a competition dance develops between Kim and Hugo. Eventually, all the teenagers join the frenzied dance. The tempo

39 slows again as Birdie sings and prances around the room with the girls following him like he was the pied piper. After a Latin rhythm section, Kim and Hugo continue to compete, but finally dance together. Before the dance concludes, their competition resumes. After her pitiful date with Mr. Paisley, Rosie heads for Maude’s Madcap Café, the wildest place in town. The McAfees also drop Albert off at Maude’s. Albert finds his Momma playing Canasta with the owner. Rosie orders drinks and sings eight bars of “Rosie,” a song Albert had attempted to write for her but never finished. Then she heads for the backroom where a a group of Shriners are meeting. Albert goes after her, but trips and knocks himself out. Rosie dances “The Shriner’s Ballet” as she flirts with the men. Rosie gets frightened when they chase her around the tables, but Albert regains consciousness just in time to rescue her. Albert wants to marry Rosie immediately, but if Birdie doesn’t sing his song on TV, he is worried about money. He complains to Rosie that the ballet moved as slowly as turtles. That triggers an idea! Rosie screams for Randolph. At The Ed Sullivan Show, Rosie gets the orchestra conductor to drink a glass of milk with Albert’s “speed-up” formula in it. When the formula finally kicks in, the conductor increases the tempo and the ballet becomes a comic performance with the audience howling with laughter. Ed thanks them for an “unexpected burlesque.” The Birdie spot is put back in the show. While Birdie sings “One Last Kiss” to Kim, Hugo sneaks onto the stage and socks Conrad. Watching from the wings, Albert and Rosie faint. Hesitantly, Albert tells his mother that he and Rosie are going to get married. Expecting her to faint, she instead says, “Well ... it’s about time.” Then when Maude4 asks Albert’s permission to marry his mother, he, of course, gives his blessing. It’s a good thing, Momma says, because they are already married. Finally left alone, Albert sits at the piano and sings “Rosie,” which he has finally finished. The song develops into an extended song-and-dance routine. Hugo and Kim, who are pinned again, sing a chorus with appropriate lyrics for them. Then Albert and Rosie sing a duet. The film ends with a scene very much like the beginning with Kim singing “Bye Bye Birdie,” only this time the lyrics are about Birdie being in the Army for a year. Even though the Broadway musical version was the first to acknowledge the rock phenomenon, Charles Strouse’s music doesn’t evidence much rock influence. There are several very clever numbers

Cabaret that are still very well known: “The Telephone Hour” is a wonderfully creative number and very inventively staged; “How Lovely to Be a Woman” is one of the film’s most famous numbers and is interestingly performed by Ann-Margaret; “Put On a Happy Face” is also one of the film’s most well known songs and is cleverly choreographed with some trick photography allowing Dick Van Dyke to draw on the screen; “Kids” is a very clever song lyrically and is comically performed by Paul Lynde and Maureen Stapleton; “Hymn for a Sunday Evening” is hilarious; “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” is a cute song and is choreographed well into a competition dance between Ann-Margaret and Bobby Rydell. A 1995 television version of Bye Bye Birdie starred Jason Alexander as Albert, Vanessa Williams as Rosie, Tyne Daley as Mrs. Peterson, Marc Kudisch as Birdie, Chynna Phillips as Kim and George Wendt as Mr. McAfee. This version was more similar to the original Broadway show, except that several songs were added.5

Cabaret ABC Pictures, February 13, 1972, 124 minutes Principal Cast: Liza Minnelli (Sally Bowles), Joel Grey (Master of Ceremonies), Michael York (Brian Roberts), Helmut Greim (Maximilian von Heune), Fritz Wepper (Fritz Wendel), Marisa Berenson (Natalia Landauer) Director/Choreographer: Bob Fosse Producer: Cy Feuer Screenwriters: Jay Presson Allen and Hugh Wheeler Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 5 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 4 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “Cabaret” the No. 18 Greatest Song from AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Director ❍ *Best Actress (Liza Minnelli) ❍ *Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( Joel Grey) ❍ Best Adapted Screenplay ❍ *Cinematography ❍ *Editing ❍ *Music ❍ *Art Direction ❍ *Sound ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1995 Availability: DVD

Cabaret opened on Broadway in November 1966 and ran for 1,165 performances. Originally titled

Cabaret Welcome to Berlin, Joe Masteroff ’s libretto was based on John Van Druten’s 1951 play I Am a Camera, which had been adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s Sally Bowles (1937), Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin (1945). The musical is set in the period just prior to Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany intertwining entertainment with social commentary on the decadence that allowed Nazism to flourish. Jill Haworth starred as the hedonistic British entertainer Sally Bowles, Joel Grey was the effeminate-looking Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub, and Clifford Bradshaw was the American writer Bert Convy. The production was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won eight including Best Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Grey), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Peg Murray), Best Choreography, and Best Direction of a Musical. The film version retained Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies, but had a decidedly different story line. Since only a few songs from the original Broadway score were retained, Kander and Ebb wrote new ones to replace those that were scrapped.1 The “book songs,” those that advanced the plot in the original score, were cut, leaving only the ones that were sung as entertainment at the Kit Kat Klub, and “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” which was sung in a beer garden.2 Another of the original songs, “Married,” is played on a phonogaph record during a picnic. Rather than have Liza Minnelli attempt a British accent, Sally Bowles became American. The American writer became British, was renamed Brian Roberts and became bisexual. The character Maximilian was not in the stage musical. The entire film is deliberately dark and dingy, especially during the cabaret sequences. The movie musical was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning eight (see Awards and Honors above). The film’s opening credits begin in complete silence. Soon, a band warms up and the credits conclude by setting the time and place (Berlin, 1931). The Kit Kat Klub’s androgynous Master of Ceremonies, eerily reflected in a distorted mirror, welcomes the audience to the seedy cabaret (“Willkommen”). As he introduces himself in several different languages, Brian Roberts, a British writer, arrives at the Berlin train terminal. The scene returns to the cabaret, where the curtain opens to reveal the girl band playing a chorus of “Willkommen.” Meantime, Roberts is exiting the train station. Next, the scantily clad Cabaret Girls are introduced. The MC describes them as virgins, which draws considerable laughter from the club’s patrons. The girls dance as the scene rejoins Roberts as he exits a bus. When we return to the

40 cabaret, the MC introduces the rest of the club’s entertainers, including the American singer, Sally Bowles. The MC and the chorus girls sing a sotto voce chorus of “Willkommen,” before the cast joins in the number’s finale. When Brian Roberts arrives at Fraulein Schneider’s boarding house looking for a cheap room, Sally Bowles answers the door. She tells him that the landlady is out and invites him in. Roberts plans to give English lessons and since his dark and dingy accomodations aren’t conducive to learning, Sally offers her brighter room for his lessons. Back at the cabaret the MC introduces Sally, who performs “Mein Herr,”3 in which she is bidding a man with whom she has had an affair goodbye. After a couple of choruses, the chorus girls join in a song-and-dance with clever chair choreography. After a blackout to suggest passage of time, the girl band plays “Willkommen.” As the camera pans the audience, Brian is in attendance. Sally invites him to join her table and introduces him to Fritz Wendel, a self-confessed gigolo who wants to improve his English. Brian agrees to teach Fritz. At the Kit Kat Klub, the MC and cast are dressed in lederhosen to perform a slapping choreography like the Alpine folk dances. While they perform, Nazi soldiers beat up the middle-aged club owner for earlier kicking a Nazi soldier out of the club. Later, Sally puts on a seductive outfit and prances into Brian’s room. She claims there wasn’t any hot water, so she asks for a hug to warm her up. When she kisses him, she gets no response. She retreats to her room to retrieve her Victrola, plays a recording, gyrates to the music and falls seductively on Brian’s bed, but he still doesn’t register any interest. Finally, he explains that he had tried sex with three girls and it was disastrous. They agree not to allow sex to screw up their friendship. However later when Brian tries to cheer up Sally, they kiss and Sally notes his arousal (evidence that Brian is bisexual). During Sally’s performance of “Maybe This Time”4 the audience sees short glimpses of Sally and Brian together. The lyrics are hopeful — unlike all her former romances, she hopes her involvement with Brian will last. When Fritz learns that Brian’s new pupil is Natalia Landauer, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish man, he determines to marry her to escape poverty. Later when Sally visits Natalia at her elegant home for tea, Natalia asks Sally’s advice about Fritz — is it love or is it merely infatuation? She’s worried about telling her father that she wants to marry a Christian gold-digger. The next song, “Money, Money,”5 which is performed by Sally and the MC, is prompted by Na-

41 talia’s affluence and Sally meeting the wealthy Maximilian von Heune. The lyrics are about how money appears to solve all problems. One part of the song is done in canon-style, that is, like a round. Choreographic pelvic thrusts suggest that money can best be obtained sexually. A love triangle develops between Brian, Sally and Maximilian. In one scene, Brian is at a restaurant, but is soon joined by Sally and Max who have been on a shopping spree. While everything seems happy-go-lucky, the stark reality is illustrated by their passing by a dead body as they leave the restaurant. While Sally and her two men friends head for a weekend in the country, the MC and two of the sexy cabaret girls perform “Two Ladies,” a song about a ménage a trois. When Brian, Sally and Max arrive at Maximilian’s country chateau, Brian learns that Max is married and that he and his wife have “an understanding.” Later that evening, when all three dance together, Max evidences as much interest in Brian as in Sally. The next day they visit a beer garden, where Max and Brian share a glass of wine and also “a moment.” A Nazi youth6 sings “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” a cappella, but a band soon provides accompaniment, and the crowd, who obviously finds his performance moving, joins the very pro–Nazi song. Back in Berlin, Fritz begs Natalia to marry him, but she refuses, primarily because she is a Jew and he isn’t. Later during one of Fritz’s English lessons, he confesses that he is really a Jew and laments that his love for Natalia has turned him into an honest man. Even later in the film, Fritz timidly approaches Natalia’s home late one evening and repeatedly bangs on the door. When the door opens, all he says is, “I’m a Jew.” The scene immediately switches to their wedding. When Max drops Brian off at the boarding house, he finds Sally is packing for an African trip with Max. She babbles on about becoming a Baroness. When Brian explodes, she accuses him of being jealous. Brian yells, “Screw Maximilian!,” Sally replies, “I do” and Brain counters with, “So do I.” Later, Sally administers to Brian’s wounds from a beating by a Nazi soldier. She tells Brian that Max sent a note that family affairs required him to leave for Argentina immediately. He also enclosed some money, which Sally shares with Brian. Back at the Kit Kat Klub, the cabaret girls and the MC, dressed as one of the girls, perform a dance to “Tiller Girls.”7 During the number, some Nazi thugs kill Natalia’s dog and paint “Juden”8 on their entry way. When the scene returns to the club, the

Cabaret girls’ hats become helmets and they march goosestep-style like the Nazi army. The club crowd finds their performance very amusing. Sally informs Brian that she is going to have a baby, but doesn’t know who the father is. She wants an abortion, but it is too expensive. Even though he will never know the child’s true parentage, Brian offers to marry her. Next, the MC sings “If You Could See Her” to a female gorilla, who is wearing a little skirt and carrying a handbag. They also dance a soft-shoe routine. The song seems to be a love song, but the lyrics at the end of the song are very anti–Semitic, which was becoming more common as the Nazis gained power. When Sally sneaks into her apartment early in the morning, Brian notices she doesn’t have the fur coat that Max had given her, so he accuses her of having the abortion. When he asks why, she admits that a baby would hinder her ambition to be an actress and she can’t imagine herself as a mother living in a dinky little cottage in Cambridge. Brian decides to return to England, so Sally walks him to the train station where they say a quick goodbye because she has an interview for a part in a film. Their goodbye scene swtiches to the MC introducing Freulein Sally Bowles at the Kit Kat Klub. She sings, “(Life Is a) Cabaret,” which may be a show-stopper, but the lyrics are really disheartening. She sings about her girl friend, Elsie, who was a prostitute. When Elsie died from excess drugs and liquor, Sally considered her the happiest corpse she had ever seen. Therefore, Sally wants to go exactly like Elsie. Lots of people agree with Sally’s sentiment, but isn’t that a hopeless outlook on life? Cabaret is one of the most depressing movie musicals (and musicals) I’ve ever seen (on a par with Rent). However, critics consider it one of the greatest film musicals of all-time. They hail its bawdy sensuality and its thought-provoking plot that comments on the decadence in German society that allowed Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. The movie musical doesn’t persuade the audience to avoid decadence, it recommends it! Musically, Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli sing all the songs but one, and all their songs are presented on stage (i.e., they are not woven into the plot). I tend to agree with Jay Cocks from Time magazine who wasn’t impressed with the musical numbers; he called them “diluted Kurt Weill and far too numerous.”9 The most interesting and well known of the retained songs from the original musical are two classic performances: Joel Grey’s “Willkommen,” and Liza Minnelli’s “Cabaret.” The two most interesting additions are “Money, Money” and the very emotional “Maybe This Time.”

Cabin in the Sky Obviously, Cabaret is open to interpretation. The viewer must ask himself several questions, including: Who is the MC and what does he represent? What does the Kit Kat Klub represent? Who is the protagonist? None of these questions is answered in the film, in my opinion, but Bob Fosse may have intended its meaning to remain ambiguous. Cabaret may well be great aesthetically, but I don’t enjoy films that depress me.

Cabin in the Sky M-G-M, April 9, 1943, 99 minutes Principal Cast: Ethel Waters (Petunia Jackson), Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (Little Joe), Lena Horne (Georgia Brown), Rex Ingram (Lucius/Lucifer, Jr.), Kenneth Spencer (the Reverend Green/The General), John “Bubbles” Sublett (Domino), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (themselves) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: Joseph Schrank Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Happiness is a Thing Called Joe”) Availability: DVD

Vernon Duke, Lynn Root and John Latouche’s Cabin in the Sky became a Broadway musical in 1940. According to Stanley Green, it “was a parable of Southern Negro life with echoes of Ferenc Molnar’s Liliom, which would be turned into the musical Carousel, and Marc Connelly’s The Green Pastures.”1 Ethel Waters starred as Petunia, Little Joe’s wife, while Dooley Wilson, who sang “As Time Goes By” in Casablanca, starred as Little Joe. Todd Duncan was the Lawd’s General and Rex Ingram was Lucifer Jr. These two characters fought over Little Joe’s soul. Cabin in the Sky, director Vincente Minnelli’s first feature film, was the first all–African-American movie musical since Hallelujah! in 1929.2 In the Forties, movie theaters in many cities, particularly in the south, refused to show films with black performers, so M-G-M took a considerable financial risk releasing this movie musical. Ethel Waters reprised her role as Petunia for the film version, while Eddie “Rochester” Anderson

42 was chosen to play the good hearted, but gambling prone Little Joe. Rex Ingram was the only other hold-over from the original Broadway cast. The title song, “Taking a Chance on Love,” and “Honey in the Honeycomb” are the only songs retained from the original score. A traditional spiritual, several songs by E. Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen and one by Cecil Mack and Ford Dabney plus several Duke Ellington numbers were added. As the action begins, church bells are calling a black congregation to worship. The Rev. Green and one of his church members talk about expecting Little Joe to come to confess his transgressions. Joe, however, is still at home, struggling with the devil and his gambling ways. Petunia prays to God to make Joe lose at gambling so he’ll reform. During the church service, the congregation sings “Li’l Black Sheep,”3 a traditional sounding song about a sheep that goes astray. At the end of the service, they sing “Old Ship of Zion,”4 a traditional spiritual, as the hymn of invitation. While several people go to the altar to repent, Joe sneaks out of the church to talk to some gambling buddies, who convince him to gamble one more time. By the time Petunia realizes Joe is not beside her, she hears a gun shot. She finds her husband at Jim Henry’s Paradise, shot in the stomach. In the middle of the night, Joe dies and Petunia prays for her husband’s eternal soul. The battle for Joe’s soul begins between Lucifer Jr.5 and the General.6 Due primarily to Petunia’s terrific praying, Joe is given a six months reprieve in which he must redeem himself or he will end up in Hell. When Little Joe is reprieved, Petunia is so thrilled that she sings the beautiful “Happiness is a Thing Called Joe.”7 When Petunia and Little Joe go on a picnic, Joe says he’d rather hear her sing than a choir of angels. She sings “Cabin in the Sky,”8 about her hope that they’ll go to heaven and live together in a little cabin in the sky. Joe sings a chorus, which is far more skeptical than Petunia’s. By the third chorus, they are joined in the pastoral scene by other singers.9 During the time that Joe is trying to reform, he purchases Petunia a washing machine for her birthday, even though they don’t have any electricity. She is so thankful and happy, she sings “Taking a Chance on Love.”10 As part of this number, a visitor11 tap dances, Joe does a funny little soft shoe, and Petunia almost gets carried away with a dance of her own. When Lucifer Jr. and his cronies try to think up some way to make certain Joe doesn’t redeem himself, they decide that wealth will lead him to womanly temptation. One day Joe receives a cable, but

43 he can’t read so he throws it away. Lucifer Jr. sends Georgia Brown, the devil’s temptress, to visit Joe. When she sits on his lap, Little Joe sings the comical song, “Life is Full of Consequence.” Then, Georgia shows him the cable that is offering him $50,000 for his sweepstakes ticket. When Petunia catches them together, she sends him away and sings a sad reprise of “Happiness is a Thing Called Joe.” At Jim Henry’s Paradise, Duke Ellington and his orchestra play several selections including “Things Ain’t The Way They Used To Be,” “Going Up,” and “Down At John Henry’s,” while couples dance wildly. When Domino Johnson comes in the club looking for Georgia, he sings “Shine.”12 The 1910 song paints a portrait of the stereotypical black male with lyrics that are socially unacceptable by modern standards. During the time when Joe and Georgia are together, they make a big entrance at Jim Henry’s in a fancy car and elegant clothes, Georgia seductively sings “Honey in the Honeycomb.”13 Soon, Petunia comes into the club all dressed up and sings a reprise of “Honey in the Honeycomb” and dances with Domino. When Domino gets too familiar with Petunia, Joe socks him. When Petunia prays to the Lord asking him to destroy this wicked place, a tornado does just that. During the rowdy fighting that ensues, Domino shoots Petunia and Joe. After the storm, Petunia is headed to heaven, but Joe’s destination has not been resolved. Petunia refuses to leave Joe, so she and Joe are allowed to walk up the stairway to heaven together. Suddenly, the scene reverts back to after Joe had been shot and he is in bed recuperating. The doctor pronounces him okay. As a sign of his repentance, he tells Petunia to burn his sweepstakes ticket. She is so happy to have him back, she sings a reprise of “Taking a Chance on Love” as the film ends. One musical number, Lena Horne singing “Ain’t It the Truth” while taking a bubble bath, was cut from the film. Miss Horne said in That’s Entertainment III, in which the excised performance is shown, the studio decided it would be beyond the bounds of moral decency (for this time period) to show a black woman singing in a bubble bath. Another performance of the song by Louis Armstrong was also excised, so the famous trumpeter had no musical number in the film. It’s too bad that Cabin in the Sky is a bastardized version of the successful Broadway musical. M-GM, or more specifically Arthur Freed, couldn’t resist inserting new songs that might pad the studio’s

Calamity Jane profits. He added an authentic spiritual and a newly written one, and several Duke Ellington tunes to lure his fans to the box office. The film version of Cabin in the Sky may deserve its AFI nomination, but it isn’t one of the best of the decade—and that’s a shame. The musical deserved a better fate.

Calamity Jane Warner Bros., November 4, 1953, 101 minutes Principal Cast: Doris Day (Calamity Jane), Howard Keel (Wild Bill Hickok), Allyn Ann McLerie (Katie Brown), Philip Carey (Lt. Danny Gilmartin), Dick Wesson (Francis Fryer), Paul Harvey (Henry Miller) Director: David Butler Producer: William Jacobs Screenwriter: James O’Hanlon Music: Sammy Fain Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Secret Love”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Secret Love) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Sound, Recording Availability: DVD

Calamity Jane was an actual frontierswoman, muleskinner and Army scout in the Dakota Territory during the late 1800s. Her real name was Martha Jane Cannary-Burke. She was, according to her reputation, a hard-drinking, tobacco-chewing woman who was also an excellent shot and a fine horsewoman. She performed in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show and at the Pan American Exposition. The movie musical about her is, of course, fiction, but there are some similarities: she generally dressed in men’s clothing and buckskins and was reportedly in love with Wild Bill Hickok, although Bill may not have felt the same way about her. Calamity Jane opens with the studio orchestra and a male chorus performing “The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away)” under the opening credits. The chorus whistles the tune and also sings the lyrics. After the credits, the song continues as Calamity joyfully sings as she rides shotgun on the Deadwood stagecoach. The tune is so contagious that even the passengers join in. The stage stops in front of Henry Miller’s Golden Garter Theater and Hotel. The townspeople inquire what the stage brought and, continuing the song, Calamity itemizes the cargo. Inside the hotel theater-bar, Wild Bill is at a poker table. The

Calamity Jane proprietor, Milly, as they call him, announces that drinks are on the house. Calamity orders “sas ’prilly.” The saloon customers fight over $1 packs of cigareets (cigarettes) more for the photo card of a scantily-clad woman inside than for the smokes. Calamity can’t understand the attraction, so Bill shows her a photo card of Adelaid Adams, a famous actress. He also teases Calamity about her attraction to Lt. Danny Gilmartin. Meanwhile, a male stage coach passenger, Francis Fryer introduces himself to Milly as the performer he had hired. Miller thought he had booked Miss Frances Fryer. Milly panics — he insists that Fryer present himself that evening as a woman to prevent the crowd of miners and prospectors from rioting. Two prospectors come into the bar claiming they escaped an Indian ambush. They also report that Lt. Gilmartin, who was riding with them, was presumed dead. Calamity refuses to believe that Danny is dead, so she leaves immediately to rescue him. After finding him captive, she frightens the Indians away and successfully rescues the Lieutenant. Back in Deadwood, Calamity stretches the truth about her rescue. Miller introduces Frances Fryer, who, dressed as a rather ugly female, sings “Hive Full of Honey.” While he is standing near the band, the trombone lifts his wig, revealing he is a male. The audience gets rowdy, but Calamity stops them. She tells them it was an innocent mistake. Then boastfully, Calam promises that Adelaid Adams herself will soon perform there. When Bill questions her ability to keep her promise, they sing the duet “I Can Do Without You.” He promises if Adelaid Adams ever appears at the Golden Garter, he’ll come dressed as a Sioux squaw. As Calamity leaves on the stage for Chicago to retrieve Adelaid, Bill encourages her to buy some women’s clothing while she’s there. If she dressed more feminine, he says, she might be passably attractive. Once she arrives, she gawks at everything and everyone gawks at her. When she finds Adelaid Adams,1 she is performing “’Tis Harry I’m Planning to Marry” with a chorus line of other lovelies. It is the final night of her engagement, so she gives her costumes to her maid, Katie, who dreams of being a performer. Katie tries on one of the costumes and is singing “’Tis Harry I’m Planning to Marry,” when Calamity comes backstage. She assumes Katie is Adelaid and informs her that she has come to hire her to perform at the Golden Garter in Deadwood. After some consideration, Katie decides this may be her only chance to perform, so she accepts.

44 After a harrowing trip for Katie, they arrive in Deadwood to quite a celebration. Wild Bill and Lt. Gilmartin both fawn over Adelaid/Katie, which causes Calamity to question if she did the right thing. In the hotel bar, the guys question Calam about Chicago. She tells them about the city in the song “Just Blew in From the Windy City.” She claims Chicago may have many great things, but it doesn’t measure up to Deadwood. Francis Fryer realizes that Katie isn’t the real Adelaid, but he keeps her secret. Katie sings “Keep It Under Your Hat” so sheepishly that the audience begins to shout insults. She stops her performance and confesses she is not Adelaid. She also says that Calamity isn’t to blame. When Calamity convinces the rowdy crowd to give Katie a chance to perform as herself, she performs the song her way, and is a hit. Hickok, who kept his promise and dressed as a Sioux squaw for Adelaid’s performance, lassoes Calamity at the waist and swings her from the rafters. The next day, Katie moves in with Calamity. When Katie invites Bill to come by anytime for a visit, he wanders into the hotel feeling wonderful and sings “Higher Than a Hawk.” When the girls arrive at Calam’s cabin, which she had won in a poker game, it is exceedingly rustic. Katie suggests they fix it up and give it “A Woman’s Touch.” During this duet, they clean and spruce up the cabin and Calamity, too. When Lt. Gilmartin and Wild Bill both come calling to invite Katie to a ball at the fort, they can’t believe how much the cabin has been transformed. Katie accepts their invitation to the ball only if they make it a four-some, including Calamity. When the guys draw straws, Gilmartin wins Katie, while Bill is stuck with Calam. Katie assures them they’ll be pleasantly surprised at Calamity’s transformation. On the way to the ball at Ft. Scully on a beautiful Dakota evening, Calamity and Bill sing “The Black Hills of Dakota” to the accompaniment of a harmonica. Soon the Lieutenant and Katie join the singing as do all the others who are headed to the ball. At the ball, the band continues playing the tune for dancing. When Calamity removes her overcoat (one Chief Sitting Bull had given her), everyone can’t believe it is Calamity and all the soldiers want to dance with her—everyone except Lt. Gilmartin, who is only interested in Katie. Danny and Katie walk out into the garden, where they kiss. When Calamity sees them embracing, she is furious. As she is leaving the ball, she shoots a glass from Katie’s hand. Bill moves Katie’s things out of Calam’s cabin. At the Golden Garter, Katie and Francis are performing “’Tis Harry I’m Planning to Marry,” when

45 Calamity interrupts their performance and orders Katie to catch the noon stage. Katie borrows a gun and attempts to shoot a glass from Calamity’s hand (Wild Bill actually shoots it). Calamity, devastated and embarrassed, charges out of the hotel bar, but Bill stops her and scolds her for trying to break up Katie and Danny. They continue their talk as they ride out of town in a buggy on a moonlit night. She claims she’ll never be able to get over Gilmartin and Bill says he’ll have a difficult time forgetting Katie. As they sit on a log, they are drawn to each other and kiss. Suddenly, each of them can’t imagine why they could have cared for anyone else. The next day, Calamity is bubbling with joy. Near a stream close to her cabin, she leans against a tree as she sings “Secret Love,”2 a song that reveals her feelings for Bill. They had been a secret, even to her, until they kissed the previous evening. Now, she wants the whole world to know about her “secret love.” She climbs on her horse and continues to sing as she heads for Deadwood. When she arrives in Deadwood to apologize to Katie, no one will talk to her. Calamity learns that Katie has left for Chicago, so she jumps on her horse and strikes out to bring Katie back. Once she catches the stage, she informs Katie she’s getting married— to Bill. Katie is thrilled! Calamity asks, “Chicage (Chicago) or Deadwood?” No answer is needed. The finale is a double wedding. Calamity reprises “Secret Love,” Katie reprises “Just Blew in From the Windy City,” and Bill reprises “Higher Than a Hawk.” Then they board the stagecoach with Calam driving and Hickok at her side (Danny and Katie are inside the coach) for their honeymoon. Several of the film’s songs are particularly catchy, especially “The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack Away)” and “The Black Hills of Dakota.” “Just Blew in From the Windy City” is reminiscent of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Kansas City” from Oklahoma! “Secret Love” is a very lovely song that has stood the test of time. Calamity Jane is not one of the decade’s worst or one of its best musical films, but it is entertaining. Calamity Jane was adapted for television in 1963 with Carol Burnett in the title role.

Call Me Madam 20th Century–Fox, March 25, 1953, 114 minutes Principal Cast: Ethel Merman (Sally Adams), Donald O’Connor (Kenneth Gibson), Vera-Ellen (Princess Maria), George Sanders (General Cosmo Constantine)

Call Me Madam Director: Walter Lang Producer: Sol. C. Siegel Screenwriter: Arthur Sheekman Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Costume Design, Color Availability: DVD

Irving Berlin’s musical, Call Me Madam, opened on Broadway in 1950. The musical’s plot was inspired by the appointment of famous Washington, D.C., hostess and Democratic Party fundraiser, Perle Mesta, as Ambassador to Luxembourg. The musical’s librettists, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, concocted a satire on politics and foreign affairs that pokes fun at the United States’ habit of lending large sums of money to needy countries — and most often never expects to be paid back. Ethel Merman starred as Madame Ambassador Sally Adams in both the Broadway and film versions of the musical. Miss Merman was a charismatic Broadway performer from the Thirties into the Fifties, but she was not quite as successful in films, although she appeared in over a half dozen movie musicals. She is famous, or infamous, for her loud, belting singing style. “They Like Ike” was cut from the original score for the film and “Washington Square Dance” was replaced with “That International Rag.” When Sally Adams, a wealthy widow who was Washington, D.C.’s hostess supreme, became the U.S. Ambassador to Lichtenburg, news reporters interview her to determine how she obtained the appointment. To explain, Sally sings “The Hostess With the Mostess,” which basically says she bought it. Sally is excited by her appointment and throws a lavish farewell party for herself. During the party, Kenneth Gibson asks her to hire him as her press attaché. At first she declines, but when he supplies her with some appropriate comments for a television appearance, she reconsiders, hires him, and sends him ahead to Lichtenburg. At the U.S. embassy in this quaint principality, Kenneth meets Pemberton Maxwell,1 the embassy’s pretentious charge d’affaires, who expects to run things as he had previously. Ken, however, is confident that Maxwell will not intimidate Mrs. Adams. The Lichtenburg council meets with Prince Hugo2 to negotiate his marriage with Lichtenburg’s Princess Maria. The primary sticking point is whether Lichtenburg can raise the necessary dowry. Mrs. Adams’ first meeting with Maxwell doesn’t go well. He is outraged that she insists on being

Call Me Madam called “Madam” and doesn’t approve of her American ways. She despises his insistence on diplomatic protocol. Lichtenburg’s Prime Minister Sebastian3 and Minister of Finance, August Tantinnin,4 are confident that the new Ambassador will agree to a sizeable loan for the duchy, but when they approach her, Sally, who has already been apprised of the situation, turns them down. Sally’s attitude changes, however, when she meets the Foreign Minister, General Cosmo Constantine. Sally is so impressed with this handsome, distinguished gentleman that she asks, “How much do you want?” which leads into the song “Can You Use Any Money Today?” Constantine, however, insists that his country must solve its problems without foreign aid. Cosmo contends that some things can’t be bought. To illustrate, he sings “Marrying for Love,” a song about old fashioned ideas, especially old fashioned love. Before they are presented at court, Ken goes shopping for a top hat. When he hears music coming from the music department of the store, he walks over to listen more closely. Princess Maria, thinking he is a salesman, asks about the song. He demonstrates by singing the lyrics to “It’s a Lovely Day Today.”5 Later, she sings6 a chorus, and then Ken collects his hat box and sings and dances out of the store. They are immediately attracted to each other, but, according to proper protocol, she can’t talk to him because they haven’t been formally introduced. During the ball later that evening, Sally formally introduces Kenneth and Maria. After they dance together, Ken is perplexed when Maria runs away after an embrace. During the Palace reception, Maxwell is embarrassed when Sally falls while curtseying and calls the people of Lichtenburg Dutch because their country is a duchy. Sally decides to spice things up a little, so she asks the orchestra leader to play something more modern. All he has to offer is “That International Rag” from 1913, which she sings. Ken is so depressed about his relationship with Maria that he feels ill, so Sally tries to cheer him up with the song, “You’re Just in Love,”7 which begins with Ken singing about losing sleep and his appetite. She answers with a brighter melody that reassures him he isn’t sick, he’s in love. Then the two melodies are sung simultaneously. Later when Ken and Sally are both depressed, they sing a reprise of the song with Sally singing Ken’s former part and Ken singing hers. At the Lichtenburg Fair, Princess Maria and a dance chorus perform “Ocarina,” a song about a flute-like instrument that is sometimes called a

46 “Sweet Potato” or a potato ocarina. The entire number, including the costumes and dancing, is very folk-like. Kenneth finds Maria and confesses his deep feelings for her, but she ignores him to save him from a fight with Prince Hugo. After this incident, Ken gets drunk at a beer garden and sings “What Chance Have I With Love?” The song’s lyrics catalog several failed love affairs. Later, he tapdances to prove he is happy and plays the song’s melody on a xylophone with his feet. When he breaks the xylophone and begins bursting ballons by kicking them with his feet, the restaurant owner calls the police. Ken is arrested for disorderly conduct, so Maxwell insists that Mrs. Adams send him back to Washington. She simply destroys Maxwell’s report and warns Kenneth to be more discreet. Later, Sally helps Maria arrange a meeting with Ken in the underground passageway linking the embassy and the palace. There, Maria confesses her love for him and assures him that without the loan there will be no dowry, so she will not be forced to marry Hugo. During another clandestine meeting in the wine cellar, Ken and Maria perform a songand-dance routine to “Something to Dance About.”8 Afterwards, Ken suggests that Maria give up the throne, but she refuses to abdicate. As Sally and Cosmo’s romance intensifies, he plays the piano while she sings “The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me).” He sings the second chorus. A group of U.S. Senators arrive to investigate the potential loan. Sally throws another lavish party and introduces the senators to Cosmo, who has been promoted to Prime Minister by the Lichtenburg cabinet after they discovered that the U.S. contingent will only deal with him. Cosmo emphatically declines the loan, which so impresses the senators that they offer him an even larger loan. Cosmo is so exasperated, he resigns! As he departs, he pauses long enough to tell Sally that Lichtenburg is not for sale. When Sebastian complains to President Truman that Sally is interfering with Maria’s engagement, Sally is recalled. At her homecoming party, Sally learns that Cosmo is now Lichtenburg’s Ambassador to the United States, but Ken informs her that he sailed with a female companion. Cosmo enters and warmly greets Sally, but she is rather cool until she discovers that his companion is Princess Maria. When Maria finds Ken, she informs him that she renounced the throne so they could be married. Cosmo confers the Order of Philip on Sally, which entitles her to be called a “Dame,” which she claims is “quite a promotion.” Sally and Cosmo embrace as the film ends.

47 A couple of other musical sequences were: • The first time the film audience sees the tiny duchy of Lichtenburg, an off-screen chorus sings “Lichtenburg.” • Several telephone operators sing “Mrs. Sally Adams” as they invite people to Sally’s homecoming party. Call Me Madam is not one of Irving Berlin’s best musicals, although it was fairly topical politically. In Berlin’s biography, Laurence Bergreen describes the show as “robust, cynical, and romantic” and “a bittersweet tale of sex as a tool of diplomacy and the corrosive influence of money on politics.”9 However, the film’s plot was not as important for filmgoers as was Ethel Merman, who was one of Broadway’s most illustrious stars of the era and one of Irving Berlin’s personal favorite performers. As excellent as she must have been as Sally Adams on Broadway, the same almost over-the-top acting and generally boisterous vocals that help boost her to stardom, just doesn’t work on film.

Carmen Jones 20th Century–Fox, October 28, 1954, 105 minutes Principal Cast: Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen), Harry Belafonte ( Joe), Olga James (Cindy Lou), Pearl Bailey (Frankie), Diahann Carroll (Myrt), Joe Adams (Husky) Producer/Director: Otto Preminger Screenwriter: Harry Kleiner Music: Georges Bizet Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Choreographer: Herbert Ross Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Oscar nominations: ❍ Best Actress in a Leading Role (Dorothy Dandridge) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1992 Availability: DVD

French composer Georges Bizet is particularly famous for his 1875 opera Carmen. He composed other works and undoubtedly would have composed other masterpieces had he not died at age thirty-six, but Carmen, which premiered three months before his death, became one of the most popular operas ever written. Oscar Hammerstein II transformed Carmen by altering its Seville location to the American South,1 changing the time to World War II, rewriting the libretto into colloquial English and replacing Bizet’s Spanish characters with an all African-American

Carmen Jones cast. Carmen, a cigarette-maker originally, is a parachute factory worker and the Spanish cavalry soldier, Don José, is now an American G.I named Joe, who wants to go to flight school. The Spanish toreador, Escamillo, is transformed into Husky Miller, a boxing champ. The musical premiered on Broadway in early December 1943. Most of the actors performing the songs in the film were dubbed. Even Harry Belafonte, the famous calypso singer, was dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson,2 and Diahann Carroll, also a well known singer, was dubbed by Bernice Peterson. Olga James and Pearl Bailey were allowed to sing for themselves. Cindy Lou travels by bus to a wartime parachute manufacturing plant to say goodbye to her sweetheart, Joe, who is scheduled to depart for military flight school the next day. A chorus of workers sings “Send Them Along.” Some soldiers march inside the factory gates and some children march outside the gates pretending to be soldiers (“Lift ’em Up and Put ’em Down”).3 Joe is overjoyed to see Cindy Lou. In the factory mess hall, Carmen Jones,4 a beautiful factory worker who is desired by practically every man at the plant, enters and sings “Dat’s Love,”5 while she makes a play for Joe. Cindy Lou is worried about what happens between Joe and Carmen when she’s not around. To reassure her, Joe sings “You Talk Jus’ Like My Maw,”6 which develops into a duet. After the song, Joe asks Cindy Lou to marry him immediately so they can honeymoon on his twenty-four hour pass. She’s worried about what their folks will say about their not getting married in the church, but she agrees. When Carmen gets into a fight with another woman factory worker, the Military Police arrest her. Joe’s liberty is cancelled when he is ordered to drive her to Masonville to turn her over to the authorities. As Joe reluctantly leaves with Carmen in tow, the factory workers chant “Carmen Jones Is Goin’ to Jail.” Riding in the jeep, Carmen tries to charm Joe. She can’t believe he would actually take her to jail. She promises him more fun than he’s ever had if he’ll take her to a little place on the edge of town that she describes in “Dere’s a Café on de Corner.”7 Joe resists her, which only intensifies her attraction to him. Anxious to return to Cindy Lou, Joe opts to take a shorter but more treacherous road to Masonville. When the jeep ends up in the river, Carmen suggests that they catch the train when it passes through her home town that evening. It is several hours until the train arrives, so she volunteers to cook supper for him. After collecting the ingredients from some local famers, they

Carousel go to her grandmother’s house. There, Carmen seduces Joe. The next morning, Carmen is gone but Joe finds a note that explains that she refuses to be couped up in jail. Joe is thrown in the stockade for allowing his prisoner to escape. Cindy Lou visits Joe just as a package arrives from Carmen. When she sees one of Carmen’s signature rose buds inside, she leaves without a word. While Joe slaves on a work crew in the blistering sun, he carries Carmen’s rose to remind him of her (“Dis Flower”8). Meanwhile, Carmen gets a lift to Billy Pastor’s Café, where Frankie sings “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum.”9 The lyrics are the same basic premise as “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” Rhythm is the important ingredient in any song. A frantic dance follows. All of the café customers except Carmen run outside to greet the arrival of boxing champion, Husky Miller,10 who has come to the café to wait for the train to Chicago. To thrill the crowd, he sings “Stan’ Up an’ Fight.”11 The crowd joins him on the chorus. Husky is immediately attracted to Carmen and invites her to accompany him to Chicago. She is initially uninterested, but Husky’s manager invites Frankie and Myrt to come along and promises them lots of jewelry and furs if they get Carmen to come also. They try to convince Carmen by singing “Whizzin’ Away Along de Track.”12 Carmen is tempted, but in “There’s a Man I’m Crazy For,” explains that as much as she’d like to see the big city, she’s going to wait for Joe. Just then Joe arrives. Carmen is overjoyed until Joe announces that he must depart immediately for flight school. Then, Carmen becomes indignant. Sgt. Brown appears, insults Joe, and starts to leave with Carmen. After Joe beats him up, he realizes he would go to prison for striking an officer, so he and Carmen head for Chicago. Because the military police are after him for desertion, Joe remains hidden in a shabby, rented room, while Carmen secretly visits Husky’s gym in the hope of obtaining a loan from Frankie. Frankie claims she has no money of her own, but her efforts to persuade Carmen to leave Joe are fruitless. When she returns to their flat, Joe questions why she was gone so long and where she got the money for groceries. Carmen doesn’t like Joe’s insinuations, so she goes to telephone Frankie to accept her offer to join Husky’s entourage. At the Champ’s place, in “De Cards Don’t Lie,”13 Frankie turns up a nine of spades, the card of death, for Carmen. Feeling that her days are numbered, she gives in to Husky’s advances and the expensive life style he can give her.

48 Cindy Lou, who is still in love with Joe, arrives in Chicago and sings “My Joe”14 as she searches for him. She goes to Husky’s gym looking for Carmen because she’ll know where to find Joe. While Cindy Lou talks to Carmen, Joe sneaks into the gym. When he opens the door to the dressing room, he sees Husky and Carmen kissing. Infuriated, Joe pulls a knife and attacks Husky. The Champ easily knocks him down. Just before the MPs arrive, Carmen helps Joe escape. Cindy Lou leaves, and even though Joe has spurned her, sings about still caring for him in “He Got His Self Another Woman.” Husky wins his big fight by a knock out. The crowd sings a reprise of “Stan’ Up ’an Fight” in his honor. As they are leaving the ring area, Joe grabs Carmen and drags her into a storage room. In “Final Duet,”15 he tries to convince her to go away with him and begin again, but she tells him their affair is over. Joe is determined that if he can’t have Carmen no one else will, so he chokes her, thus making the prophecy of the cards a reality. Afterwards, he sings “String Me High on a Tree.”16 The MPs take him away as the tragedy ends. I agree with Bosley Crowther, who called Carmen Jones “a sex melodrama with longhair music.” Furthermore, Crowther wrote, “there is nothing wrong with the music — except that it does not fit the people or the words,” which results in “a crazy mixed-up film.”17 Hammerstein’s colloquial lyrics are well done and fit the characters, but don’t fit the operatic nature of Bizet’s music. The result might have been considerably better had a composer attuned to African-American musical styles set Hammerstein’s lyrics.

Carousel 20th Century–Fox, February 16, 1956, 128 minutes Principal Cast: Gordon MacRae (Billy Bigelow), Shirley Jones ( Julie Jordan), Barbara Ruick (Carrie Pipperidge), Claramae Turner (Nettie Fowler), Robert Rounseville (Enoch Snow), Cameron Mitchell (Jigger Craigin), Susan Luckey (Louise), Gene Lockhart (the Starkeeper/Dr. Seldon) Director: Henry King Producer: Henry Ephron Screenwriters: Phoebe and Henry Ephron Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Choreographers: Rod Alexander and Agnes de Mille Awards and Honors:

49 AFI Film Nominee AFI Song Nominee (“If I Loved You”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“You’ll Never Walk Alone”) Availability: DVD ● ●

Carousel is based on Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnar’s play Liliom. The play was filmed twice prior to this movie musical version: in 1930 and 1934. It wasn’t until 1945, when Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II adapted the play into a Broadway musical, that the setting was changed from Budapest to a picturesque New England fishing village around 1873. The Broadway musical starred John Raitt as Billy Bigelow and Jan Clayton as Julie Jordan. Rodgers and Hammerstein had first collaborated on the smash hit Oklahoma! in 1943. Their muchanticipated second Broadway production, Carousel, opened in mid–April 1945, and ran for two years. Many years later, Rodgers wrote in his autobiography that his answer to the question “What is your favorite of all your musicals?” is Carousel. He said, “Oscar never wrote more meaningful or more moving lyrics and, to me, my score is more satisfying than any I’ve ever written.”1 In 1956, Carousel became a motion picture with the same co-stars as the screen version of Oklahoma!— Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae. Billy Bigelow, an unrepentant braggart who is currently in some lower region of heaven,2 learns that his family back on earth is in trouble, he visits the Starkeeper’s office to ask for permission to return for one day. The Starkeeper asks him to justify his request. Billy’s story consumes most of the rest of the film. As the “Carousel Waltz” begins, the camera zooms in on Mullin’s Carousel. Among the crowd on the carnival midway are two young women, Julie Jordan and Carrie Pipperidge. When Bigelow flirts with Julie, his jealous employer, Mrs. Mullin, bans her from the carousel. When Billy takes up for Julie, Mrs. Mullin fires him. Billy invites Julie to meet him at a bench by the road after he retrieves his belongings. While Julie and Carrie wait for Billy, Carrie confides that she is engaged to marry Enoch Snow, a local herring fisherman (“Mister Snow”). At first, the smell of fish was almost unbearable, she sings, but now that she loves him, fish is her favorite perfume. When Billy arrives, he makes it clear that Carrie isn’t welcome. Mr. Bascombe,3 the owner of the mill where Julie works, comes by and chastises her for staying out past curfew. A policeman also warns her that Billy has taken advantage of women in other towns, but Julie decides to stay with Billy. When Billy questions her rashness, Julie sings “If I Loved You” about how it would feel to fall in

Carousel love. After her chorus, their musical conversation turns to more mundane subjects, but later, Billy tries to imagine what it would be like to be married to Julie. At first, he claims it would be awful, but later sings his rendition of “If I Loved You.” At the end of his chorus, Billy gently kisses her and they walk off together holding hands. Julie and Billy marry and Julie works as a waitress for her cousin, Nettie Fowler. When summer finally arrives, almost everybody in this New England fishing village prepares for the year’s first clambake. While several guys sing “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” they deliver the clams. Several boats arrive with fish for the party and the fisherman join in the song. Carrie, Nettie and some other womenfolk also join the singing. A lengthy dance follows involving the girls and some of the town’s fishermen. When some sailors arrive and divert the girls’ attentions, a rowdy competition dance develops between the sailors and the fishermen. Unable to find work, Billy is propositioned by Jigger Craigin to rob Mr. Bascombe while the rest of the village attends the clambake. When Billy learns that Jigger intends to kill Bascombe, he doesn’t want any part of it. Meanwhile, Julie defends her husband against the gossip that he repeatedly hits her. Carrie informs Julie that she and Enoch are to going to get married. When Enoch arrives, Carrie introduces Julie to her supercilious fiance. Carrie had convinced Enoch to offer Billy a job, but he wouldn’t even consider it. Mrs. Mullin arrives and tries to lure Billy back to the carousel. Billy seriously considers her proposition until Julie informs him that she is pregnant. Overwhelmed by the news, Billy wanders down to the seashore where he sings “Soliloquy.”4 In this lengthy sung monologue, Billy reflects on his impending fatherhood. At first, he imagines his child will be a son and is full of pride. Suddenly, however, he realizes that the child might be a girl, which is quite a shock. Later, he imagines bragging about a daughter who looks like her mother. Abruptly, he realizes he can’t continue his shiftlessness, so he vows to do whatever it takes to provide for their child. He returns home and informs Julie that they will celebrate at the clambake. While many boats sail to the island, “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” is played instrumentally. Julie and Billy ride to the party in Mr. Snow’s boat. During the crossing, Carrie and Enoch sing the duet “When the Children Are Asleep,” as they imagine their life together as parents. On the island, the cooked clams and lobsters are uncovered and the party-goers sing “A Real Nice

Carousel Clambake,” which is accompanied by Jigger on his squeezebox.5 After the feast, Enoch hides the treasure for the treasure hunt while everybody else cleans up the island. The lecherous Jigger tricks Carrie into hugging him. When Enoch sees them in an embrace, he declares he will not marry such a loose woman. Jigger and some sailors sing “Stonecutters Cut It On Stone,” which basically claims there’s nothing worse for a woman than a man who thinks he’s good. When Julie notices Billy and Jigger head for the mainland, she sings “What’s the Use of Wondrin’” to Carrie and the other girls. The song’s lyrics claim we are incapable of viewing love rationally. Back at the docks, Billy and Jigger play cards while they wait and Billy loses his entire share of the anticipated proceeds of the robbery. When Mr. Bascombe finally appears, they demand his money at knife point, but Bascombe pulls a gun and shoots. Jigger escapes, but Billy isn’t so lucky. Fearing a prison sentence, Billy tries to get away by climbing a pile of boxes, but falls and is stabbed with his own knife. Just then the crowd returns from the clambake. When Julie discovers that Billy is injured, she runs to him, but he dies in her arms. Nettie arrives and does her best to comfort Julie by reminding her of the inscription on a sampler6 Julie had given her. Julie tries to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” but breaks down, so Nettie continues this inspirational song. Back at the Starkeeper’s office, Billy is chastised for leaving his pregnant wife with nothing to support her and of being afraid to love. When Billy starts to leave, the Starkeeper informs the still stubbornly unrepentent Billy that his unhappy fifteenyear-old daughter needs help. The Starkeeper allows Billy to see his daughter, Louise, being snubbed by the other children, who claim that her father was a thief. Billy’s Heavenly Friend7 arrives to escort him back to earth. As they depart, Billy steals a star when the Starkeeper turns his back. In “Louise’s Ballet,”8 Louise is introduced. She plays with three ragged urchins and is chided by the now pompous and wealthy Mr. Snow and his children. When Enoch Jr. tries to talk to Louise, his father won’t allow it. As the Snow brood continues their journey, the eldest daughter lags behind to taunt Louise. When she calls Louise’s father a thief, she chases her and steals her fancy hat. Louise follows the girl home and climbs over a fence to a party where she tries to steal the girl’s dancing partner. Thrown out of the party, she encounters a carnival wagon and some performers. The dancers form a very clever carousel with a young man as

50 the barker9 in the middle. Later, Louise dances with the barker and they embrace. The children from the party shame her for associating with carnival people. Louise cries, “I hate all of you!” and runs from the beach crying. Enoch and his children stop by Julie’s house to pick up Carrie and two more children on the way to their eldest son’s graduation. Enoch Jr.10 waits behind to talk to Louise. She tells him she plans to join the carnival troupe. He tries to stop her by asking her to marry him, but infuriates her when he mentions his father would think he was marrying beneath his station. Billy, who has been observing all this, reveals himself to Louise and offers her the star he had stolen. Frightened, she pulls away and he slaps her. Louise runs to tell her mother, and although Billy is invisible to Julie, she senses his presence. When Louise tells her that the slap felt like a kiss, Julie assures her that such a thing is possible. Billy sings a reprise of “If I Loved You.”11 These lyrics about letting his chance at love pass him by seem especially poignant. During his singing, Julie smiles as she holds the star. At the graduation ceremony, Dr. Seldon, who looks exactly like the Starkeeper, is introduced as the commencement speaker. He tells the graduates not to rely on their parents’ success or be held back by their failures. During these remarks, Billy is whispering in Louise’s ear, “Listen to him; believe him.” Dr. Seldon reminds them of a song he used to sing every morning in school. He begins reciting the opening lines of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The graduating class, except for Louise, rises and sings. Soon, Louise smiles and joins her fellow graduates. Then, Billy kneels beside Julie and whispers “I loved you Julie, know that I loved you.” Smiling, Julie joins the others. As the song nears its climax, Billy and his Heavenly Friend walk up a hill near the sea at sunset. Billy’s mission is accomplished. Many modern viewers may find Billy Bigelow’s chauvinism disturbing, but we must remember that the musical is set in the 1870s, Molnar’s play was written in the first decade of the 20th century, and the musical premiered on Broadway the year World War II ended. All of those eras were vastly different in terms of male dominance than our present one. The plot also seems to condone spousal and child abuse and claims, if we love someone enough, the slaps and beatings don’t hurt. Poppycock! It hurts physically and psychologically. The abusive behavior is doled out by the musical’s main male character, who is too macho to express his love openly, and the abused individuals are his wife and daughter. True, he finally tries to help his daughter and he whispers from beyond the grave his love

51 for his wife. Even though she seems to understand and forgive him, is that enough? The ending of the musical is very emotional and leaves us with the feeling that maybe Billy finally understood true love. Musically, the entire score is wonderful.12 A few of the most outstanding songs are “If I Loved You,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” “Soliloquy,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Several songs from the original score were omitted for the film.13

Chicago Miramax, December 10, 2002, 113 minutes Principal Cast: Renee Zellweger (Roxie Hart), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Velma Kelly), Richard Gere (Billy Flynn), John C. Reilly (Amos Hart), Queen Latifah (Mama Morton), Christine Baranski (Mary Sunshine) Director/Choreographer: Rob Marshall Producer: Martin Richards Screenwriter: Bill Condon Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 12 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 17 among its “25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time” ● “All That Jazz” AFI’s No. 98 song in 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ Best Actress in a Leading Role (Renee Zellweger) ❍ *Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Catherine Zeta-Jones) ❍ Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( John C. Reilly) ❍ Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Queen Latifah) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“I Move On”) ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ *Best Costume Design ❍ *Best Editing ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Availability: DVD

Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville opened on Broadway in 1975 and ran for 936 performances. Bob Fosse1 was the show’s director, choreographer, and co-librettist with Fred Ebb. The original cast included Chita Rivera as Velma, Gwen Verdon as Roxie and Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. This production received mostly tepid reviews, but was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. A new production, retitled Chicago: The Musi-

Chicago cal, opened on Broadway in late 1996 and ran for 4,996 performances. This revival won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, Best Actor in a Musical ( James Naughton as Flynn), Best Actress in a Musical (Bebe Neuwirth as Velma), and Best Choreography (Ann Reinking, who choreographed the production in Fosse’s style). The musical’s plot, a satire on a corrupted ciminal justice system and the nation’s fascination with celebrity criminals, is based on a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins about the 1924 trials of murderesses Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. Watkins’ Chicago Tribune columns about the trials were so popular she wrote a play based on them. The resulting drama played on Broadway in 1926 and was made into a silent film by Cecil B. DeMille in 1927. A 1942 film, Roxie Hart, starred Ginger Rogers as the title character. It wasn’t until 1969, when Watkins died, that Bob Fosse and his wife, Gwen Verdon, secured the rights to transform the play into a musical. The film adaptation of the musical won six Academy Awards (see Awards and Honors above), becoming the first movie musical to win the Best Picture Oscar since Oliver! thirty-five years earlier. A 1920s-style African-American jazz band plays “Raisin’ the Roof ”2 in a Chicago night spot. Backstage, the stage manager is looking for the Kelly sisters. Velma, who has murdered her husband and sister, Veronica, after discovering them in bed together, arrives and tells the stage manager that Veronica is “not herself tonight,” In her dressing room, she disposes of the pistol and washes her bloodstained hands. When the club’s bandleader3 announces “Chicago’s hottest dancing duo ... the Kelly Sisters,” Velma rises from beneath the stage to perform “And All That Jazz.”4 In between verses, the camera shows Roxie Hart in the audience. For a split second, Roxie imagines herself performing the song. Roxie’s date, Fred Casely,5 a furniture salesman who promised to introduce her to the club’s manager, is anxious to leave. As the song continues, Roxie and Fred go to her place. During the climactic last chorus, the film flashes back and forth from Velma’s performance to Roxie’s and Fred’s sexual encounter. Afterwards when Roxie chatters about the act she plans to perform, Fred angrily tells her that she’s a “two-bit talent with skinny legs.” When he confesses that he said he knew the club manager just to get her in bed, Roxie shoots him. By the time the police arrive, Roxie has convinced her simple-minded husband, Amos, to confess to the murder. He claims he came home from work, saw a man climbing through the window and shot him to protect his sleeping wife. The club’s bandleader

Chicago introduces Roxie Hart singing “Funny Honey,” which she dedicates to Amos. The film flashes back and forth from her performance to her gullible husband’s confession. However, when Amos realizes that his wife has been unfaithful, he implicates her. The police arrest Roxie and take her to jail, where the Assistant D.A. tells reporters that she has committed a hanging offense. Extremely frightened, Roxie is taken to the women’s prison to await trial. The prison matron, Mama Morton, is introduced as if she were performing in a night club as “the mistress of murders’ row.” Her wardens’ outfit is transformed into a sparkly dress for her performance of “When You’re Good to Mama.” The film switches back and forth from her flashy performance to the stark realities of women’s prison. As Roxie is escorted to her cell, her spirits are temporarily revived when she recognizes Velma Kelly. However, she soon learns that Velma is only interested in herself and that life in jail will be miserable unless she has money to bribe the corrupt Mama Morton. Roxie flops on her bunk and weeps. Almost immediately a rhythm starts that transforms into a song. The bandleader announces a performance by “the six merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail,”6 of “Cell Block Tango,” which easily could have been titled “He Had It Coming.” The girls individually tell the audience about their crimes and claim that we would have done the same thing. Roxie overhears a conversation about the lawyer Billy Flynn getting Velma acquitted and back on the vaudeville circuit where she can demand $2,500 a week. Roxie asks Velma her advice concerning her case, but she treats her like a nobody. Mama overhears their conversation and, because “murder’s a form of entertainment” in Chicago, recommends Billy Flynn, the best criminal lawyer in Illinois, to represent her. Mama offers to phone Flynn for $100. The bandleader introduces Billy, who, in “All I Care About,” claims he doesn’t have expensive things, because all he cares about is love. His song segues into a press conference for Velma with Flynn standing nearby. During his visit to the prison, he meets Roxie, who asks him to represent her, but he won’t until she comes up with $5,000. Then Flynn’s musical production number concludes with a big finale. Amos could only raise $2,000 of the fee, but Flynn decides to take the case anyway. They’ll stage an auction of Roxie’s personal belongings to raise the rest. He promises an intense publicity campaign, calling her the “Sweetest little jazz killer ever to hit Chicago.” Flynn tells Roxie that the one thing the press can’t resist is a reformed sinner. He fabri-

52 cates a story of her life and her fall from grace. Mama and Flynn coach her on her new identity. Velma is furious when she discovers that Billy is also Roxie’s lawyer and advises her to remember that Flynn’s number-one client is himself and she shouldn’t let him steal her spotlight. After Roxie enters a non-guilty plea, she and Flynn meet the press. When Flynn tries to steal her thunder, Roxie takes over and says, “I bet you want to know why I shot the bastard.” Then Roxie sits on Flynn’s knee like a ventriloquist and his dummy as they perform “We Both Reached for the Gun” (aka “The Press Conference Rag”). Not only does Flynn manipulate Roxie like a puppet, but also the press, including Mary Sunshine, who sings and dances with Flynn (with puppet strings attached). Much to Velma’s disgust and Mama’s delight, the newspapers and newsreels make Roxie Chicago’s newest infamous celebrity. Roxie talks to Mama about wanting to have a stage career after she’s acquitted, which transforms into her vaudeville act that includes a comedy routine and develops into the musical number “Roxie.” Velma is desperate for attention, so she suggests she and Roxie perform together when they get out. The bandleader introduces, “Miss Velma Kelly, in an act of desperation,” which leads into “I Can’t Do It Alone.” As Velma performs both parts of her former sister act, Roxie looks bored. Roxie tells Velma she’s washed up because people are clammering for her now. Billy hears about a new killer, a wealthy Hawaiian pineapple heiress named Kitty Baxter7 who killed her husband and both of his mistresses. When she is brought to jail, the press and Flynn fawn over this new sensation, so Roxie faints to recapture their attention. Roxie slyly says she hopes the fall didn’t hurt the baby. She seduces a doctor into confirming her pregnancy. Amos arrives outside the hospital but can’t get Roxie’s attention. It’s as if he doesn’t exist. In clown makeup and a hobo costume, he performs “Mister Cellophane.”8 When a woman prisoner is executed even though she was innocent, Roxie becomes frightened. She had recently fired Billy, but rehires him and promises to do and say whatever he wants. Billy reassures her that she has nothing to worry about because the trial is nothing but show business and he’s the star. To illustrate his point, he performs “Razzle Dazzle” in a court room setting. During the number, the film switches back and forth between Flynn’s performance and Roxie’s trial. Flynn dazzles the jurors and the judge and even gets Amos to believe he is the father of the child. Roxie says exactly what Flynn had coached her to say claiming that she and Casely both reached for

53 the gun, but she got it first and fired to save not only her own life but that of her husband’s innocent, unborn child. Meanwhile back at the prison, Velma and Mama seethe as they listen to Mary Sunshine’s radio broadcast of the trial. Velma is tired of Roxie getting all the attention and the prison matron complains that Roxie has abandoned her friends. Both their attitudes change when Mama produces Roxie’s diary. In court the following day, Velma is called as a surprise rebuttal witness. She reads an incriminating entry from the diary. When Flynn crossexamines her, the bandleader introduces “A Tap Dance.”9 Once again, the film switches back and forth from Flynn’s tap dance on stage to his court room “tap dance” as he fast talks his client out of a jam. First, he gets Velma to admit that she was promised all charges against her would be dropped in exchange for her testimony. Second, he suggests Roxie’s diary has been tampered with and that Velma is committing perjury if she knew it was a fake. Velma admits that Mama gave her the diary that someone sent to her. Billy manages to cast suspicion on the Asst. D.A. because he had a copy of Roxie’s handwriting. Immediately after the jury finds Roxie not guilty, shots ring out. A woman has shot her lawyer on the courthouse steps. The press rushes to the crime scene leaving Roxie perplexed that they didn’t even take her picture. Left alone in the courtroom, Billy confesses that he wrote the false entries into her diary and sent it to Mama. After Billy leaves, Amos asks Roxie about reconciling for the sake of the baby. She confesses she faked the pregnancy, so Amos finally gives up and walks away. Standing in the courtroom window looking down at the new murderess being taken to jail, Roxie sings “Nowadays” and continues the number as she unsuccessfully auditions at a nightclub. Velma steps out of the shadows and begrudgingly compliments Roxie’s talent. Once again she suggests they team up because two jazz killers could be a sensation. At first, Roxie turns down the idea because she hates Velma, but Velma assures her show business is the only business in the world where that’s not a problem. At the Chicago Theater, the bandleader introduces Roxie and Velma as “Chicago’s own killerdillers.” The act begins with a slow reprise of “Nowadays,” and then the pace quickens as they dance to “Hot Honey Rag.”10 They poke fun at themselves when they dance with tommy-guns. Billy, sitting in the audience, is pleased by their success. Mama is also in the audience cheering.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Roxie and Velma have the success they always wanted. During the end credits, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger sing “I Move On,”11 followed by Zeta-Jones’ version of “And All That Jazz.” Several songs from the original score were eliminated from the film version.12 “Hot Honey Rag” was added for the 1996 Broadway revival and was also included in the film. “Tap Dance” and “I Move On” were written specifically for the film. In general, film critics raved about Chicago. Stephen Hunter from the Washington Post wrote, “This ‘Chicago’ doesn’t toddle, it swings, it Lindy Hops, it Charlestons the night away, and probably all your woes along with it.”13 What negative comments there were from critics were mostly aimed at the casting of the three main characters with dramatic actors who had limited musical and choreographic skills (although Zeta-Jones was a professional dancer in London before her acting career). However, most critics agreed that the leads did a commendable job of acting and performing up to, and even perhaps beyond, expectations. And, evidently Academy Award voters agreed (see Awards and Honors above).

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang United Artists, December 18, 1968, 156 minutes Principal Cast : Dick Van Dyke (Caractacus Potts), Adrian Hall ( Jeremy), Heather Ripley ( Jemima), Sally Ann Howes (Truly Scrumptious), Lionel Jeffries (Grandpa Potts), James R. Justice (Lord Scrumptious), Robert Helpmann (Child-Catcher), Gert Frobe (Baron Bomburst), Anna Quayle (Baroness Bomburst) Director: Ken Hughes Producer: Albert R. Broccoli Screenwriters: Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes Music and Lyrics: Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman Choreographers: Marc Breaux and DeeDee Wood Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”) Availability: DVD

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car is a children’s novel written for his son, Caspar, by Ian Fleming, the same author who wrote fourteen James Bond novels. The novel was first published in 1964. Four years later, Fleming’s fantasy became a movie musical. Caractacus Potts, an absent-minded inventor of

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang complex devices that perform simple tasks in convoluted ways, lives in a mill house with his two small children, Jemima and Jeremy, and Caractacus’ eccentric father. Jeremy and Jemima often play in a wrecked race car, a Paragon Panther, which had won the Grand Prix three times. The junk dealer agrees to sell them the wreck for thirty bob (shillings). When Truly Scrumptious almost runs over the Potts’ children on the road, she drives them home. They arrive just in time to witness another failed Caractacus experiment and Grandpa Potts marching to his outhouse for one of his eccentric “trips.” Miss Scrumptious follows Caractacus into his lab where he shows her several of his inventions including some candy with holes. When she recommends that he cook it at a lower temperature, Potts considers her suggestion meddling. That evening, Potts sings “You Two,” about he and his children’s happy life together. Jeremy and Jemina also join him in the song. After the song, they tell their father about the car in the junkyard and beg him to buy it. After he tucks the children into bed, Potts makes a sweet discovery. One of his failed candies whistles when their big shaggy dog eats it. The following day, Caractacus takes the whistling candy to the Scrumptious Sweet Co., where he learns that the owner is Truly’s father. Lord Scrumptious doesn’t want to see Potts, but Truly, who happens to be at the factory, insists. During a factory tasting tour, Potts sings “Toot Sweets” and passes out his whistling candy to the workers who play them and dance around the factory. Truly persuades her father to purchase Potts’ savory fifes, but when all the dogs in the village, who have been attracted by the whistling, invade the factory, Lord Scrumptious refuses to buy Potts’ idea. That evening as he tucks his two children into bed, Caractacus sings them a lullaby, “Hushabye Mountain.”1 After they are asleep, he walks outside and sees a carnival wagon on the horizon. He packs up his automatic haircutting machine and heads for the local fair to make enough money to purchase the car for the children. When his machine almost scalps a big burly chap, Caractacus joins a dance troupe to avoid the furious brute. He and the troupe perform “Me Ol’ Bam-Boo,” a song-and-dance number using bamboo sticks as props. At the end of their performance, his fellow performers give Potts all the money they collected from the audience, which is enough to buy the car. When Caractacus returns home with the wreck, his children are thrilled. Potts immediately begins converting the old race car and emerges from his workshop several days later with a beautiful mo-

54 torcar. During a test drive and picnic, the children affectionately name the car “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and make up a song about of the funny noises the car makes. They meet Truly on the road and invite her to the picnic. The children sing a reprise of the song to illustrate to Truly how the car’s name fits the sounds it makes. During their seaside2 picnic, the children sing “Truly Scrumptious,” about their fondness for their new friend. Truly sings a reciprocal chorus to them about how she has grown fond of them as well. Also during the picnic, Caractacus makes up a story about the car and its magical powers, which becomes most of the rest of the film. After Caractacus and the children return Truly to her palatial home, she reveals her affection for Potts in the song “Lovely Lonely Man.” She is confident that she needs him as much as he needs her. When Baron Bomburst of Vulgaria learns that the car can be navigated on water and flown through the sky, he determines to force Potts to create a duplicate model for him. Bomburst sends two Keystone Cops–type spies to Potts’ residence when Grandpa is just leaving for another of his “trips.” When he enters his privy, thinking that Grandpa is the inventor, a zeppelin lifts his hut into the skies. Caractacus, Truly, Jeremy and Jemima observe the kidnapping and chase after him in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. During the trip to Vulgaria, Grandpa opens the door of his hut and sings “Posh,” which commends his method of travel. He loves to travel, which he often does in his imaginary “trips” to exotic locales. On arrival at the Vulgarian palace, Grandpa is escorted to a workshop, where the Baron expects him to build a duplicate of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in twenty-four hours. In “The Roses of Success,” six elderly inventors and Grandpa Potts sing about success blossoming from abysmal failure. The verses are more or less spoken, but the repetitive chorus is sung. The lyrics mention several famous inventors who experienced failure before success. Once Caractacus, Truly and the children arrive in Vulgaria, they learn that Bomburst’s wife despises children, so she has forced her husband to outlaw children in the kingdom. Because of this edict, Jemima and Jeremy are captured by the royal Child Catcher and are imprisoned. The Baron and Baroness sing “Chu-Chi Face,” a silly little romantic duet. The Baroness sings her part with affection, but the Baron’s declarations of affection are obviously insincere (he attempts to kill his wife three times during the song). The village toymaker,3 and all the children who have escaped capture by hiding in an underground

55 cave, help Caractacus and Truly masquerade as lifesized puppets to gain entry to the Baron’s birthday party. Truly sings “Doll on a Music Box” as she turns and moves in jerky doll-like movements. Caractacus is a puppet doll (his movements are reminiscent of the scarecrow’s in The Wizard of Oz). He winds up the music box and sings “Truly Scrumptious” in counterpoint to her singing of “Doll on a Music Box.” The Baron is suspicious, so he personally examines the dolls. Once his doubts are satisfied, he dances with Caractacus to an instrumental version of “Truly Scrumptious.” While they are dancing, the Vulgarian children invade the palace and lead a successful revolution that frees Vulgaria from Bomburst’s rule. With Grandpa, Jemima, and Jeremy rescued, they all fly home in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Back to reality, Lord Scrumptious offers Potts a contract for manufacturing the whistling sweets as dog candy and Truly and Caractacus are married. As Chitty Chitty Bang Bang slowly rises into the sky, the Potts family flies over the hills and sings a final reprise of the title song. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a fun movie musical for the whole family. The Sherman brothers’ score is cute and cleverly conceived, but not especially memorable, except, of course, for the title song. The Sherman Brothers, Robert B. and Richard M., are Academy Award–winning songwriters who specialized in writing Disney film scores. This film is their only non–Disney movie musical score. The film story is different from the original Fleming book. The screenwriter for the film was author Roald Dahl, who is known for his children’s books James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In 2002, a stage version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opened to rave revues in London and opened in New York City in 2005. Six additional songs were written by the Sherman brothers for the stage production. The Broadway musical version was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Erin Dilly as Truly Scrumptious), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Marc Kudisch as Baron Bomburst), and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical ( Jan Maxwell as Baroness Bomburst).

Cinderella The Walt Disney Company, February 15, 1950, 74 minutes

Cinderella Principal Cast: the voices of Ilene Woods Shaughnessy (Cinderella), Helen Stanley (Cinderella’s singing voice), Verna Felton (Fairy Godmother), William Phipps (Prince Charming), Mike Douglas (Prince Charming’s singing voice), James MacDonald (Gus, Jacques and Bruno) Directors: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: William Peet, Ted Sears, Erdman Penner, Winston Hibler and Harry Reeves Music and Lyrics: Mack David, Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”) ● Oscar nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Bibbidi-BobbidiBoo”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Sound, Recording Availability: DVD

Walt Disney’s animated feature film, Cinderella, was adapted from Stories or Tales of Past Times, with Morals. This French fairy tale collection also contained “Sleeping Beauty,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Little Tom Thumb,” and “Puss and Boots,” among others. The fairy tale collection was published in 1697 under the name of P. Darmancour, the pen name of Pierre Perrault, but it is also often attributed to his father, Charles Perrault. Cinderella was chosen as the studio’s first feature length animated production of the post-war era because of its similarity to their previously successful Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. For the songs, Disney hired Tin Pan Alley songwriters, Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston. The songs from Cinderella were the first to be copyrighted and published by the newly created Walt Disney Music Company. During the film’s opening credits, an unseen chorus sings “Cinderella.” The action opens as almost all of Disney’s fairy tale features do, with the opening of a storybook. In a mythical kingdom, Cinderella’s kindhearted, widowed father remarries so his beloved daughter will have a mother, but after Lord Tremaine’s untimely death, his second wife’s true nature emerges and she becomes a cold, cruel and jealous stepmother. Lady Tremaine1 and her two daughters, Drizella2 and Anastasia,3 take over the estate, which falls into disrepair, and squander Lord Tremaine’s fortune. Cinderella is banished to the attic and is forced to become their servant. Despite her hardships, the kind-hearted Cinderella blossoms into a beautiful young woman who has faith that someday her wishes will come true. The mice

Cinderella and birds who live in and around the chateau become her friends. One morning as the birds wake her from a wonderful dream, Cinderella sings “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” The mice awake and listen to the girl’s beautiful song about making her dreams come true. They help her shower and dress as she continues to sing. Jaq, one of the mice, tells Cinderella that a new mouse in the house has been caught in a trap. She releases the creature, gives him some clothes, and names him Gus. Jaq distracts Lucifer, the house cat, while the other mice sneak outside where Cinderella is feeding the chickens. The mice collect some kernels of corn and sneak back into the house and their hole. When Gus gets greedy and tries to bring back too much, he drops his load, and is cornered by Lucifer. Jaq helps Gus escape and hide under a tea cup. Unfortunately, Cinderella delivers the tea cup, along with Gus, to one of her stepsisters’ room for breakfast. Once the mouse is discovered, Lady Tremaine unjustly blames Cinderella and assigns her even more chores. At the Palace, the King4 is perplexed that his son, Prince Charming, has not chosen a bride. The Prince is coming home after an extended absence, so the King orders a ball in his honor that evening and commands every elgible maid in the Kingdom be present. While Lady Tremaine gives her daughters their music lesson, one attempts to sing “Oh Sing, Sweet Nightingale,” while the other toots her flute. Downstairs, Cinderella sings the song beautifully as she scrubs the floors. When the royal invitation arrives, Lady Tremaine, realizing that Cinderella will outshine her daughters, deceptively promises Cinderella that she can attend the ball if she finishes all her work and finds something suitable to wear. Cinderella intends to re-fashion a gown that belonged to her mother, but never gets a chance due to her stepsisters’ demands that she help them prepare for the ball. Cinderella’s animal kingdom friends determine to help her. This enchanting musical sequence, called “The Work Song,” begins with Jaq and the birds singing “Cinderelly.” The female mice are certain they can accomplish the task and urge everyone to help in the reclamation project. Jaq and Gus gather some remnants for a sash and some beads for a necklace from the stepsisters’ rooms, while the birds and the other mice begin alterations on the dress. While they work, they sing “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” That evening when a carriage arrives to transport Lady Tremaine and her pampered daughters to

56 the ball, Cinderella comes running down the stairs in the beautiful dress. Drizella and Anastasia recognize the material and jewelry and jealously tear Cinderella’s gown to shreds. Horrified, Cinderella runs into the garden crying as her stepmother and stepsisters drive away. As an unseen chorus hums “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother appears. While she sings “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” with a wave of her wand, the Fairy Godmother turns a pumpkin into a coach, the mice into noble horses, a horse into a coachman; and Bruno, the dog, into a footman. She also concocts a beautiful new gown and glass slippers for Cinderella. Before she leaves for the ball, her Fairy Godmother warns her that at the stroke of midnight the spell will be broken. At the Palace, the maidens are introduced to the Prince, but he is exceedingly bored until he sees Cinderella. He asks her to dance, and dances her out into the courtyard, as she sings “So This Is Love.” The King is thrilled that his son has seemingly found a woman to marry and give him grandchildren. Everything is going extremely well, but just as the prince is about to kiss Cinderella, the clock strikes twelve and Cinderella flees. The Prince runs after her, followed by the Grand Duke, who scoops up the glass slipper that Cinderella leaves on the palace staircase. When the magic spell is broken and everything turns back into its original state, Cinderella utters a “thank you” to her Fairy Godmother for a wonderful night. Back at the castle, the King is happily dreaming about his future grandchildren, when the Grand Duke wakens him with good news and bad news. The bad news is that the girl has disappeared into thin air. The good news is that the Duke has the girl’s glass slipper and the Prince has agreed to marry the girl who fits the slipper. The King orders the Grand Duke to visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fits the glass slipper. When this news reaches the Tremaine’s, Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters begin preparing for the Grand Duke’s arrival. Overhearing, Cinderella begins dreamily humming the song from the palace ball the previous night. Lady Tremaine surmises that Cinderella must be the girl who danced with the Prince, so when she goes to retreive the other glass slipper, she locks Cinderella in her attic room. The Grand Duke arrives and tries the slipper on Drizella and Anastasia. With Lady Tremaine preoccupied with her precious daughters attempting to force their big feet into the tiny glass slipper, Jaq and Gus steal the key to Cinderella’s room out of her

57 pocket, push the key up many flights of stairs and finally get to Cinderella’s bedroom door. The cat blocks their way, but the other mice and the birds attack and get Bruno to chase Lucifer. Once the cat is gone, the mice free Cinderella. Just as the Duke is about to leave, Cinderella asks, “May I try it on?” The Duke happily obliges, but as he walks toward Cinderella, Lady Tremaine trips him and the slipper smashes on the floor. The Grand Duke is distraught until Cinderella calmly produces the matching slipper. Church bells chime as Cinderella and the Prince run down the staircase after their wedding. As their carriage pulls away, a chorus sings “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and the happy couple kisses. “And they lived happily ever after,” as the storybook says. Leonard Maltin gave the music from the film a supreme compliment when he wrote, “Every song in the score makes a definite contribution to the film — none seems arbitrarily inserted into the narrative.”5 I agree wholeheartedly, all of the songs, except for perhaps “Oh Sing, Sweet Nightingale,” have retained their appeal for over half a century.

Cover Girl Columbia Pictures, March 30, 1944, 107 minutes Principal Cast: Rita Hayworth (Rusty Parker/Maribelle Hicks), Gene Kelly (Danny McGuire), Lee Bowman (Noel Wheaton), Phil Silvers (Genius), Eve Arden (Cornelia “Stonewall” Jackson), Otto Kruger (John Coudair), Leslie Brooks (Maurine Martin) Director: Charles Vidor Producer: Arthur Schwartz Screenwriters: Virginia Van Upp; adaptation by Marion Parsonnet and Paul Gangelin of a story by Erwin Gelsey Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographers: Val Raset, Seymour Felix Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Long Ago and Far Away” No. 92 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Long Ago and Far Away”) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Art Direction — Interior Decoration, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Sound, Recording Availability: DVD

Cover Girl is exactly the type of escapist entertainment the country desired during World War

Cover Girl II. In films of this type the audience could forget their troubles and the war for a couple of hours. Cover Girl may have a rather thin plot, but that plot was presented in musical sequences that became part of the story rather than a string of songs that have very little to do with the story. As the film opens, the show girls at Danny McGuire’s nightclub in Brooklyn perform a burlesque-style song-and-dance to “The Show Must Go On.” When they finish the number, Danny is critical of their performance. Later backstage, Maurine mentions Vanity magazine’s Golden Wedding Girl Contest. She and Rusty Parker go for an interview. The magazine’s editor, John Coudair’s assistant, Cornelia “Stonewall” Jackson, conducts the interviews. Maurine knows the magazine is looking for a quiet, demure type, so, to increase her own chances, she recommends that Rusty act just the opposite. The usually reserved Rusty tries to impress Miss Jackson with a flamboyant personality. With Rusty’s interview a bust, Maurine is the top choice, so Mr. Coudair and Miss Jackson go to Danny’s nightclub to watch her perform. During “Who’s Complaining,” a ditty about rationing and wartime shortages by the club’s comic, who is known as Genius, Mr. Coudair notices Rusty and tells Miss Jackson he wants to see the redhead. Back at Coudair’s office, he pulls out a forty-yearold program and remembers an old flame, Maribelle Hicks, the star attraction at Tony Pastor’s music hall. In a flashback, she performs “Sure Thing”1 in front of a racetrack backdrop. The song’s lyrics equate betting on horses and being lucky in love. John2 is determined to meet and marry Maribelle. After Danny’s club closes, Danny, Rusty, and Genius often visit a neighborhood oyster bar looking for a lucky pearl. After another fruitless pearl search, these three buddies frolic down a Brooklyn street singing the optimistic song, “Make Way for Tomorrow,”3 as they leap over various objects, run up and down stairs, and give cheerful greetings to passersby. Rusty receives a telegram asking her to come to Coudair’s office. Genius tries to talk her out of going; he even tears up the telegram, but later Rusty reconstructs it. When she arrives at Coudair’s office, he tells Rusty that he knew her grandmother. Since Rusty looks exactly like her grandmother, he chooses her to appear on his magazine’s 50th anniversary edition. In the following sequence, Rusty is transformed for the cover photograph. When the magazine comes out, the girls at Danny’s club post the cover backstage. Once Danny sees it he has conflicted feelings — he feels like he’s lost Rusty which makes

Daddy Long Legs him very sad, but he’s glad she apparently got what she wanted. As Rusty becomes an overnight sensation, Danny’s becomes Brooklyn’s most popular night spot. During one of the club’s shows, Danny performs “Put Me to the Test.” The song opens in a dress shop where Danny first sings the lyrics to a mannequin. Suddenly, the mannequin becomes Rusty and they perform together. Backstage after the show, Noel Wheaton, a famous producer, offers Rusty a job, but since she’s in love with Danny, she declines his offer. One evening after Danny’s nightclub closes, Rusty walks into the room where Danny is cleaning up and sings the poignant “Long Ago and Far Away,”4 about an impossible dream that has now become a reality. While she sings, she helps Danny put the chairs on the tables. After a chorus, she begins to leave, but Danny begins to hum the melody. As his humming becomes singing, Rusty returns to join him in a duet. The song then becomes the basis of an elegant dance. At its conclusion, they leave arm in arm. After several failed attempts to get Rusty in Wheaton’s show, Coudair comes up with a new plan. He invites Rusty to a party for his magazine’s anniversary, but when she arrives, she discovers there is no party. Instead, Wheaton takes her to his elegant theater to entice her to work for him, but she still declines. Later the same evening, Danny goes to Coudair’s and learns that Rusty is out with Noel Wheaton. When he notices a picture that looks exactly like Rusty, Coudair tells him it is her grandmother. During a flashback sequence, Maribelle, in a cockney-button-dress, performs “Poor John.”5 After her performance, John Coudair is waiting in her dressing room. Although she is delighted with his attentions, she realizes she doesn’t fit into his social strata. After this flashback, Danny leaves Coudair’s and is certain that Rusty will meet him at Joe’s Oyster Bar as usual, but she doesn’t show up. Danny is terribly conflicted about what to do. He is afraid of losing Rusty, but also wants the best for the person he loves. As he walks down a street, he spots his own reflection in a shop window. Suddenly his reflection jumps into the street and dances the “Alter Ego” number with the real Danny. In this masculine dance, these different manifestations of Danny vent their conflicting feelings. The next day when Rusty returns to Danny’s for a rehearsal, Maurine is singing “Long Ago and Far Away.” Danny has decided that Rusty will be better off in Wheaton’s show, so he abruptly fires her. Crushed by Danny’s dismissal, she accepts Wheaton’s offer. On opening night of Wheaton’s show, “Cover

58 Girl”6 is performed. In this sequence, the girls appear in appropriate costumes on the covers of several famous fashion magazines.7 Rusty enters down a huge spiral runway. As a male chorus sings, she runs into their arms and performs a lovely dance. After the show, with Rusty now a star, Wheaton proposes to her, but she delays her answer until the next day. She borrows Wheaton’s car for a trip back to Brooklyn. She finds that Danny has closed his nightclub and is entertaining in Army camps. Wheaton and Coudair find her at the oyster bar, drowning her sorrows with drink. Rusty finally accepts Wheaton’s marriage proposal. Danny and Genius go to the oyster bar where Danny finally finds a pearl. Genius asks Coudair to give the pearl to Rusty. On her wedding day, realizing Rusty is miserable, Coudair shows her the pearl and tells her that history is repeating itself. Forty years ago, her grandmother was in the same situation. In another flashback Maribelle had agreed to marry Coudair because of the things he could offer her. On their wedding day, however, she left him at the altar to be with the man she really loved. After hearing this story, Rusty remembers how happy her grandmother was and realizes she must return to Danny. At Joe’s, Danny is singing “Long Ago and Far Away” as she enters and joins in the song. The film ends with a reprise of “Make Way for Tomorrow.” Love triumphs! Cover Girl is Rita Hayworth’s most famous movie musical and perhaps her most famous film except for Gilda. She was a great dancing partner for Gene Kelly just as she had been for Fred Astaire in You’ll Never Get Rich (1941) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942). Gene Kelly proved several things in Cover Girl: he was a very capable and imaginative cinematic choreographer, he was a very athletic, but also very sensative, dancer, and he was also an accomplished dramatic actor. Kelly and Hayworth’s dance sequences were top notch. The film’s weakest link is Phil Silvers and his corny gags. Cover Girl is pop song composer Arthur Schwartz’s first film as producer. It was also Columbia Pictures’ first Technicolor production.

Daddy Long Legs 20th Century–Fox, May 4, 1955, 126 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire ( Jervis Pendleton), Leslie Caron ( Julie Andre), Thelma Ritter (Melissa Pritchard),

59 Fred Clark (Griggs), Terry Moore (Linda Pendleton), Larry Keating (Ambassador Alexander Williamson) Director: Jean Negulesco Producer: Samuel G. Engel Screenwriters: Phoebe and Henry Ephron Music and Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Choreographers: David Robel and Roland Petit Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Something’s Gotta Give”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color Availability: DVD

The author of Daddy Long Legs, Jean Webster, dramatized his 1912 novel in 1914, film versions were released in 1919 and in 1931, and the story became a London West End musical titled Love from Judy in 1952. Webster’s original story was about a wealthy New Orleans businessman, who becomes the anonymous sponsor of a young orphan and pays for her education. Eventually, the two meet, fall in love and marry. For the movie musical version, the story is basically the same, but the wealthy businessman is from New York City and the American waif became a French orphan. That change was primarily due to producer Darryl Zanuck’s insistence that Leslie Caron, who had recently starred in An American in Paris and Lili, star in the film and it would be difficult for Miss Caron to be anything but French. The film opens at the Pendleton House in New York City where Jervis Pendleton III plays the drums along with a recording of a band playing a jazz tune. After Pendleton approves a few business matters, he asks Griggs, his office manager, to flip the record over. During “The History of the Beat”1 Pendleton sings, dances, and uses his drumsticks to play the floor and walls, and performs tricks with them by throwing them off objects and catching them. During a State Department mission to France, the department’s car runs off the road to miss a wagon full of hay and can’t be extricated. Pendleton volunteers to find help or a telephone. What he discovers is an orphanage with no telephone. While he is waiting for the person in charge, he watches a young woman painting a wooden doll. Then, the girl rings a bell calling the orphans to a meal. Later, in “C-A-T Spells Cat,” she sings an English lesson to the children. After observing all of this, Pendleton borrows a World War I–era automobile from the orphanage and drives to the American Embassy in Paris, where he informs the ambassador he wants to adopt a French orphan and send her to America to be educated. When he ex-

Daddy Long Legs plains that the orphan is an eighteen-year-old named Julie Andre, the ambassador questions Pendleton’s motives. To avoid any hint of scandal, Pendleton agrees to remain anonymous. Since he has given a great deal of money to Walston College in Massachusetts, Pendleton instructs Griggs to arrange for Julie to enroll there. One stipulation is that Julie is to write a letter to “John Smith” addressed to a post office box once a month reporting her scholastic progress and collegiate activities. The orphanage children try to describe to Julie a person they had seen outside the orphanage. They depict her sponsor as a spidery shadow; therefore, she calls him Daddy Long Legs. Later as Julie is extinguishing the candles in the orphanage, an unseen chorus sings “Daddy Long Legs.” When Julie arrives at Walston College, her fellow female dormitory mates sing “Welcome Egghead.” Her roommates are Sally McBride2 and Linda Pendleton (Pendleton’s niece, although, of course, Julie doesn’t know that). Soon, some huge trunks and a special delivery letter containing the keys to the trunks arrive from Julie’s guardian. The trunks are filled with fashionable clothes. Julie writes letter after letter to Daddy Long Legs, but never receives a reply. Pendleton’s secretary, Melissa Pritchard, reads the letters and increasingly feels sorry for this lonely girl. As instructed by Mr. Pendleton, Miss Prichard files the letters away. Finally after reading one of the letters, Griggs complains to Pendleton and convinces him to read the letters. As he reads, Julie voices her letters. She tries to imagine what he must be like. When she imagines him as a Texas oil tycoon, Pendleton dances in boots and cowboy hat (“Texas Millionaire”); next, she thinks he might be an international playboy (“International Playboy”); and finally, pictures him as her guardian angel (“Guardian Angel”). After reading all her letters, Jervis telephones his sister-in-law, Gertrude,3 inquiring about his niece, Linda, which is strange since he has never shown any prior interest. He arranges to accompany Gertrude to the Spring Dance at the college the following Saturday and promises Griggs he only wants to see Julie and will not reveal his identity. Ray Anthony and His Orchestra are playing for the dance. Jervis’ cute niece has entered his name on several of her classmates dance cards.4 After several dances, he is Julie’s next partner. When she offers to talk rather than dance, they stroll out into the garden. She tells him he looks very familiar; then, she remembers — she has seen his grandfather’s statue on campus. From inside, they hear “Dream”5 and decide to dance. As they dance she explains she has a guardian and that after college she intends to live with him and take care of him.

Dames Julie’s next dance card partner comes looking for her. Once inside, Jervis gets pushed into the dance (“Sluefoot”6) and ends up with Julie. They become the center of attention as the other couples stand back and watch. Back in the city, Griggs finds Jervis singing “Dream” as he sits at his drum set listening to a recording of the song. A new letter from Julie tells about meeting Linda’s Uncle Jervis. She also mentions Jimmy McBride, her college beau who is studying mining engineering. Jimmy had planned to work abroad, but the project fell through, so, to keep the fellow away from Julie, Jervis arranges a job for him in a Pendleton tin mine in Bolivia. When Julie and Linda are supposed to come to the city for a visit, only Julie shows up. She suggests that she and Pendleton dine that evening on the terrace of the expensive hotel suite that he had arranged. During dinner, she quizzes him about why he never married. He doesn’t think he will get married, but he certainly is attracted to Julie as he explains in “Something’s Gotta Give.” After he sings, they dance ballroom-style, and, in a montage as the song continues to play, they spend the rest of the evening visiting various nightclubs. The next morning, Jervis picks out a suitable diamond from an array presented by a prestigious jeweler and joins Julie for breakfast on the balcony of her suite. As fate would have it, the American ambassador from France has moved in next door and overhears their conversation, which he misinterprets as scandalous. When the ambassador accuses Jervis of being deceitful, Pendleton assures him that he loves Julie and that she only knows him as his niece’s uncle. However, once he reveals that he sent her college boyfriend to Bolivia, the ambassador calls him King David.7 Jervis finally admits his behavior has been shameful, so he telephones Julie to tell her he must go out of the country on business. Near commencement, all the girls are packing, except for Julie. She is in her room listening to a recording of “Dream” and looking over newspaper clippings of Jervis’ world travels. As she starts to write another letter to her Daddy Long Legs, she drifts into a dream state. In this ballet sequence, “Dancing Through Life,” she is first a ballet dancer in the Paris Opera, then a slinky barroom dancer, and finally, a clown in a Rio de Janeiro street carnival, with three men on stilts as Daddy Long Legs. Wherever she dances, Jervis is there, but she can’t reach him. When Miss Pritchard reads Julie’s letter, she insists they cable Pendleton to return. The cable claims that Griggs is critically ill. During graduation, Julie futilely searches the au-

60 dience for Jervis. After the ceremony, Miss Pritchard promises to take Julie to meet her Daddy Long Legs and Griggs informs Jervis that Miss Pritchard is bringing Julie. When Linda comes by to beg him to talk her mother into allowing her to marry Jimmy McBride, Pendleton is so happy to hear that she wants to marry Julie’s college beau, he offers to pay for the wedding and promises her that he will convince her mother. When Miss Pritchard and Julie arrive, the tour guide is ushering a group through the Pendleton art collection. Julie notices that the paintings of Jervis’ male ancestors look like him. Then she hears “Dream” and sees Jervis on the stairs smiling at her. Jervis joins her and says her guardian wants to ask her to marry him. She replies, “Well, ask.” As the film ends, they dance together and kiss. An older male marrying a much younger female is nothing new, but I’m a bit surprised that Astaire wasn’t accused of robbing the cradle in Daddy Long Legs. When Daddy Long Legs was released, Fred Astaire was fifty-six while Leslie Caron was thirty-plus years younger. The script writers and Johnny Mercer did an excellent job of solving the age difference problem with the song “Something’s Gotta Give.” Musically in addition to “Something’s Gotta Give,” the dance numbers, “Sluefoot” and “History of the Beat,” are very good. Mercer’s “Dream” is resurrected from 1945 and used effectively in the film. “Dancing Through Life” is also a clever dance sequence for Miss Caron. Considering the abundance of excellent film musicals that were released during the Fifties, Daddy Long Legs certainly deserves its AFI nomination, but it isn’t among the best-of-the-best of all-time. By Astaire standards, it is rather mediocre, but by normal standards the film is far better than average.

Dames Warner Bros., September 1, 1934, 91 minutes Principal Cast: Dick Powell ( Jimmy Higgins), Ruby Keeler (Barbara Hemingway), Joan Blondell (Mabel Anderson), Zasu Pitts (Mathilda Hemingway), Guy Kibbee (Horace P. Hemingway), Hugh Herbert (Ezra Ounce) Directors: Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck Screenwriters: Robert Lord and Delmar Daves Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Al Dubin Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI film nominee Availability: DVD

61 Basically the same cast that made 42nd Street, Gold Diggers and Footlight Parade such monstrous successes are also present in Dames. The film’s romance is furnished by Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell, the comedy is handled by Guy Kibbee, Zasu Pitts and Hugh Herbert, the musical numbers are choreographed by Busby Berkeley and the film’s most interesting songs were written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. Ezra Ounce is an eccentric, multi-millionaire from Buffalo, who detests smoking, drinking, the theater, and many other perceived evils. He wants to be certain his fortune will be inherited by similarly minded relatives, so he sends for Horace P. Hemingway, the husband of his cousin, Mathilda, to determine if the Hemingway family meets his standards. They will inherit $10 million if their lives can pass Ezra’s moral scrutiny. Back in New York City on a picnic in Central Park, Jimmy Higgins, who Uncle Ezra considers a black sheep member of the Ounce family because he is in show business, and Barbara Hemingway, are in love even though they are thirteenth cousins. During their picnic, Jimmy sings “When You Were a Smile on Your Mother’s Lips (and a Twinkle in Your Daddy’s Eye),”1 in which he claims he has loved Barbara since before she was conceived. On the train from Buffalo to New York City, Horace’s chances of meeting Ezra’s requirements are jeopardized by Mabel Anderson, a burlesque showgirl whose troupe folded in Troy. With no other way to return to the city, she confiscates Horace’s sleeping compartment. When he threatens to throw her out, she threatens to tell the authorities that he enticed her onto the train, but got cold feet. Flustered by her threat, Horace allows her to remain. The next morning, he leaves some money for the girl and writes a note on the back of his business card that pleads with her not to mention this night to anyone. Soon after Horace and Ezra arrive at the Hemingway home, Jimmy attempts to convince his uncle to finance his show, Sweet and Hot. When Ezra orders his bodyguard to throw Jimmy out of the house, the excitement causes him to start hiccupping, so Ezra sends Barbara to the corner drug store for the only remedy that will stop his hiccups, Dr. Silver’s Golden Elixir. When Barbara meets Jimmy at the drug store, he talks her into taking a ferry ride to Staten Island. During the crossing, he gives her a sample of the songs he has written for his show. Accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble, he sings “I Only Have Eyes for You”2 as he cradles her in his arms. When Barbara finally returns home with the

Dames elixir, which is primarily alcohol, Ezra gulps down the entire bottle, but it doesn’t cure his hiccups. Later, Barbara joins Jimmy in a potential producer’s office, where a pianist plays a little of “Dames.” The man says it’s just the type of music the theater needs, writes Jimmy a check for $5,000 advance royalties and promises him fifteen percent of the gross. Before Jimmy and Barbara leave, Mabel arrives to collect the back salary she is owed. The shyster producer sneaks away while Mabel talks to Jimmy. Jimmy sings “Try to See It My Way”3 as a demonstration of his songwriting skills for Mabel and promises her a part in the show if she can help get it produced. She is confident she can get the necessary money. To seal the deal, Mabel kisses him—of course, Barbara, who has been in the next room, walks in on the kiss and is crushed. One night when Horace retires to his room at bedtime, Mabel is in his bed again. She threatens to call Cousin Ezra unless Horace gives her $20,000. Afraid of losing $10 million, Horace writes her a check. The next day at lunch, Ezra announces that his foundation will crush Jimmy’s musical, which is being backed by a businessman who is interested in furthering Mabel Anderson’s career. Ezra proposes they attend the opening of this disgraceful production and denounce it to the world. Horace excuses himself and heads for the theater where the musical is in rehearsals. At the theater, Barbara uses a false name to audition for Jimmy’s show. When Horace enters, the chorus girls are rehearsing the tap dance to “Dames.” He stops the rehearsal and announces that the show is off, but Jimmy tells them that they already have Horace’s money, so the cast ignores him. When Horace threatens to call the police, Jimmy tells him that he would welcome the publicity. He also warns Horace that if the police become involved, the press will find out that he is the show’s backer. Horace becomes even more flustered when he discovers that his daughter is going to appear in the show. On opening night, Ezra arranges for his bodyguard and a cadre of thugs to disrupt the production on his signal. In their box, Ezra, Mathilda and Horace each drink a bottle of the new triple strength Dr. Silver’s Golden Elixir, which is 79 percent alcohol. The first scene in the show is a 1890s number titled “The Girl at the Ironing Board.” Mabel and a troupe of laundresses perform this comic song to a pile of pajamas and men’s union suits which suddenly come to life and join in the routine. There are several snatches of other well-known songs that invade the number: the chorus of “My Bonnie Lies

Damn Yankees! Over the Ocean”4 becomes “Bring back your laundry to me”; the melody of Warren and Dubin’s “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” from 42nd Street can be heard to slightly different lyrics; a snippet of the famous “Spring Song,”5 which was used so often during the silent movie days, is recognizable, as is “The Swan”6 from Carnival of the Animals, which is heard as the girls pretend to be swans as they pick up clothes pins from a basket held by Mabel. At the end of the number, one of the union suits escorts Mabel off the stage. The next number in the show, “I Only Have Eyes for You,” begins at a theater where Barbara is meeting Jimmy, who begins to whistle and sing the song from the ticket booth. As soon as the show is sold out, he emerges from the booth and the two lovers walk down a busy street. The next part of the routine is an almost literal visualization of the lyrics: as Jimmy, in his beautiful tenor voice, sings about people passing by the streets are filled with people, but when he sings that they disappear, they do exactly that. As the people re-appear, Jimmy and Barbara continue walking as a mailman and a flower woman sing phrases of the song. When the two lovers enter a subway car full of people, those people also disappear on the appropriate line of the song. As he continues to sing, she puts her head on his shoulder, and all the women in the advertisements on the subway turn into Barbara. After the last close-up of her face, the instruments of the orchestra take up the tune as Busby Berkeley’s kaleidoscopic routine takes over. First, Barbara’s face is multiplied many times. Everything is black except her face, which becomes all sorts of intricate patterns. Then, the stage is filled with girls in white dresses who all look like Barbara. A female chorus sings as the girls hold their full skirts out with their arms and sway to the music. The next chorus of the song is played by the orchestra as the girls parade up and down staircases and turn in a large wheel (every close-up is Barbara, as if all of the women are her). Next, the girls are seen seated with their skirts in circles on the floor. When they rise, they pull the back of their skirts over their heads to make a giant jig-saw puzzle-like picture of Barbara’s face. Towards the end of the number, Jimmy and Barbara are shown sleeping in the subway car. They wake to discover they’re at the end of the line. As they leave the car, it’s raining, so Jimmy covers Barbara with his coat, picks her up and carries her over multiple tracks as he sings the song’s chorus one more time. “Dames,” a paean to feminine pulchritude, opens in an office with Jimmy presiding over a meeting with potential investors. The men argue about what brings people into the theater. Jimmy interrupts them and tells them, if they tell the truth,

62 they go to a show to see the beautiful girls. Several girls enter to apply for jobs in Jimmy’s show. As he continues to sing, they are shown in close-ups in fashionable hats. Jimmy hires them all and tells them to be at rehearsal the next morning. Then as the orchestra plays the tune, in a stage full of beds, the girls are shown waking, exercising, bathing, putting on make-up, fixing their hair, etc. Then they walk to work and enter the stage door of the theater. As the stage door disappears, the girls, clad in black tights with frilly white blouses and headgear to match, are configured into mind-boggling geometric or kaleidoscopic patterns, with Berkeley’s trick photography adding even more wonderment and spectacle. At the end, one of the intricate formations is frozen into a picture that Jimmy bursts through to sing the last line of the song. The next number, “Try to See It My Way,” is performed by Mabel and a group of skimpily clad chorus girls. During the number, Mabel waves her handkerchief towards Ezra’s box. Ezra, drunk from several bottles of the elixir, pulls out his handkerchief and waves back, which was the signal for his thugs to disrupt the show. As the film ends, Horace and Ezra are shown partying in a jail cell with Mabel and the chorus girls. Jimmy is confident the show will reap a million dollars worth of publicity and will run for a year thanks to what happened. Viewing Dames from the perspective of the early twenty-first century, the film is pretty lame except for Busby Berkeley’s choreographed musical sequences. The first two-thirds of the film is more or less endured to get to its raison d’etre: “The Girl at the Ironing Board,” “I Only Have Eyes for You” and “Dames.” Those three numbers, which consume twenty-nine and a half minutes of the film’s ninety-one minute running time, not counting the times a couple of them are heard earlier in the film, are mind-bogglingly choreographed by Busby Berkeley. None of Berkeley’s routines would ever fit on a conventional Broadway stage, but they are a marvel to behold. Of the “Dames” choreography, the New York Times reviewer wrote, “It is almost unforgivable to say that the audience gasped. However, ‘the audience gasped.’”7

Damn Yankees! Warner Bros., September 26, 1958, 111 minutes Principal Cast: Tab Hunter1 ( Joe Hardy), Gwen Verdon (Lola), Ray Walston (Applegate), Robert Shafer ( Joe

63 Boyd), Shannon Bolin (Meg Boyd), Russ Brown (Bennie Van Buren), Rae Allen (Gloria Thorpe) Co-Director/Producer/Screenwriter: George Abbott Co-Director: Stanley Donen Music and Lyrics: Jerry Ross2 and Richard Adler Choreographer: Bob Fosse Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Whatever Lola Wants”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Damn Yankees! is the only successful Broadway musical built around the subject of baseball. The musical, which is based on Douglas Wallop’s novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, opened on Broadway in 1955. George Abbott and Wallop’s libretto is a revision of the Faust legend that is set during the Fifties in Washington, D.C., in an era when the New York Yankees were the most dominant and most hated franchise in major league baseball. The musical ran for 1,019 performances and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Gwen Verdon as Lola), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Russ Brown as Bennie Van Buren) and Best Choreography (Bob Fosse). The production also was nominated for two other Tonys. Like Adler and Ross’ The Pajama Game, the film version of Damn Yankees is a faithful reproduction, except, of course, for scenes in actual baseball stadiums and actual games. Repeating their roles from the original Broadway version were Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Robert Shafer, Shannon Bolin, Russ Brown, Jimmy Komack, Rae Allen, Nathaniel Frey, Albert Linville, and Jean Stapleton. Musically, only three songs were omitted.3 As the film opens, a baseball game is in progress. Almost immediately, the scene switches to the same game on a black and white television set. Joe is watching a game between his beloved Washington Senators4 and the hated New York Yankees. Joe is the type of fan who lives and dies with every play. Meg, Joe’s wife, asks if Washington is winning. Joe answers, no, those damn Yankees.... (He doesn’t finish his sentence, but he has just named the musical.) Meg talks about the weather, but Joe is so obsessed with the game he doesn’t hear her. She sings “Six Months Out of Every Year,” about losing her husband to the Washington Senators for six months every year beginning in April.5 During her song, Joe interjects comments about the game. During a split screen segment, many wives lament the little attention they receive from their husbands, who

Damn Yankees! are either at the game or watching it on TV. The guys sing their comments about the game they’re watching, especially yelling at the umpire. Once the game ends with another Senator’s loss, Joe walks out onto the front porch. Taking imaginary swings at an imaginary ball, he says he’d sell his soul for one long-ball hitter for the Senators. Suddenly, a mysterious stranger materializes on the front steps and agrees with Joe’s assessment — the team certainly does need a long-ball hitter. After introducing himself as Applegate, Joe invites the man to sit and talk. Applegate, the personification of the devil, informs Joe that he can become a twenty-two-yearold named Joe Hardy, who will lead the Senators into the championship. Being a shrewd real-estate agent, Joe insists on an escape clause. Applegate hesitantly agrees to let him have one chance to escape at midnight on the 24th of September. Joe agrees to the deal. Joe retrieves his old glove and baseball spikes from his bedroom and kisses his wife on the forehead. He also writes a note, the song “Goodbye, Old Girl,” which is what he called his wife, before he departs with Applegate. Although he doesn’t explain where he is going, he says he’ll come back to her. As he finishes the note, Applegate transforms Joe Boyd into the young Joe Hardy. At the Washington Senators’ club house, the team’s manager, Bennie Van Buren, gives some of his players a pep talk. He explains to Smokey, Rocky and Vernon6 that the game of baseball is only half skill. In addition to talent, they also need “Heart.” After Bennie sings, the three players join in this comical motivational song. By the end of the song, the players are convinced they have what it takes to win. As they join the rest of the team on the field, Applegate and Joe and a newspaper woman, Gloria Thorpe, arrive at about the same time. Applegate convinces Van Buren to give Joe a try out. When Joe attempts to put on his baseball shoes, they don’t fit, which Miss Thorpe notices. While Applegate and Gloria watch from the stands, Joe clobbers several pitches over the fence. Next, Joe passes a fielding test with flying colors. Van Buren still can’t believe Joe is that good, so he has Joe bat again. After another monster home run that carries over 600 feet, Bennie signs him. Applegate tells Gloria that he found Joe in Hannibal, Missouri playing sandlot ball. Gloria’s first newspaper article about Joe concerns his shoes not fitting. The next day, she is interviewing some of the other players trying to get a follow-up story. She tells them she’s decided to call him “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.” Gloria and the team mem-

Damn Yankees! bers perform a rousing song-and-dance number to the song. The clever choreography includes the players executing several simulated baseball moves. When two of Meg’s friends, Doris and Sister Miller,7 attempt to convince her that Joe has left her for good, she is confident that he will return. While Meg’s two friends are helping her clean the house for a bridge party, she sings “There’s Something About an Empty Chair” as she dusts the one he sits in when he’s watching the Senators on TV. During the song, Joe walks down the sidewalk and hears her singing. He knocks on the door and asks about renting a room. Meg had never considered the idea before. When she introduces Joe to Doris and Sister, they recognize him as the new slugger for the Senators. Concerned that Joe is sneaking around his old house, Applegate sends for a real sexy babe, his sultry accomplice, Lola, to make Joe forget about his wife. Back at Applegate’s apartment, Lola sings “A Little Brains, A Little Talent,” which describes the assets a woman must have to seduce a man and, with appropriate dance gestures, she assures her boss she is the perfect woman for this mission. In the team’s locker room, Applegate introduces Joe to Senorita Lolita Hernando, Miss West Indies (Lola has acquired a fake Spanish accent). When Applegate leaves, Lola begins her seduction. In “Whatever Lola Wants,” she performs a tango as she strips to a bodice and some lacy capri pants. The dance that accompanies the song is a rather silly, comic dance. Still resisting, Joe apologizes, and tells Lola that he is married and had promised to come home after the game. Disgusted, Applegate accuses Lola of using old-fashioned methods. Applegate sings a very clever song titled “Those Were the Good Old Days,” in which he pines for the past when evil was in fashion. As illustrations, he mentions Napoleon Bonaparte, Nero fiddling while Rome burned, Antoinette and her guillotine, Indians scalping settlers, Jack the Ripper, cannibals eating missionaries, and the suicides caused by the stock market crash. During a team road trip, Applegate spreads malicious rumors in Meg’s neighborhood, so when Joe returns, Meg tells him that he must move out. When Gloria returns from a trip to Hannibal where she found no evidence of a Joe Hardy, Applegate tries to lead her astray by mentioning a player named Shifty McCoy. When she quizzes Bennie about McCoy, he says Shifty took a bribe in the Mexican League and disappeared. She leaves to investigate this new scoop. Lola tells Joe that she has become a fan, wants to be his friend and is dancing in his honor tonight. She reminds him that the next day is the last day he

64 can reclaim his soul. Lola and a guy perform “Who’s Got the Pain”8 as part of the entertainment for Joe Hardy Night. Sister and a group of four children also perform their rendition of “Heart.” At a hearing at the Commissioner’s office on September 24th, Gloria claims she has a witness coming from Hannibal that will testify that Joe was never a resident of that city. In a delaying tactic to insure it is too late for Joe to change his mind, Applegate asks for a delay until later that evening when he will produce a witness from Mexico who knew Shifty. Later Joe arrives at Applegate’s apartment to exercise the escape clause. He has found that there is something more important than being a baseball hero. To stall, Applegate tells him the escape clause can only be invoked at five minutes to midnight. At the resumed hearing, Meg, Sister and Doris convince Gloria’s witness, the Hannibal postmaster, that he remembers Joe. During all the confusion, the clock chimes midnight and Applegate greedily laughs. Joe’s soul is forfeited. Later that evening, Lola finds Joe sitting on a park bench. She has given Applegate four pills to knock him out so he won’t wake up until after the game. She tells Joe that he is going to win after all. When Joe asks who she was originally, Lola explains that she was the ugliest woman in Providence, Rhode Island. They decide to spend the evening together drinking and dancing. At a dingy nightclub, they sing “Two Lost Souls,” to console each other. The dance portion of the song is arranged in a cool, jazz style and is one of the film’s most interesting dance sequences. Lola is watching the last game of the season against the Cleveland Indians on TV in Applegate’s apartment. When Applegate awakens and realizes he has missed most of the game, he is furious with Lola. She confesses that she doped him because she loves Joe. When Applegate and Lola arrive at the stadium, it is the ninth inning. Applegate turns her into her former self and they go to their seats. Washington is ahead 1–0 when one of the Indians hits a long fly ball. As Joe Hardy runs to catch it, Applegate turns him back into Joe Boyd. The old Joe falls down, but manages to catch the ball, ending the game. The Senators win! As the crowd celebrates, Joe disappears. When Boyd returns home, he finds Meg crying. She joyfully accepts him back. As they embrace, Joe asks Meg to talk about their life together. She sings a reprise of “There’s Something About an Empty Chair,” while Applegate, who has materialized, pleads with Joe. Joe joins Meg in the song to drown out Applegate’s voice. As the film ends,

65 Applegate is furiously jumping up and down and screaming “you robbed me.” In my opinion, this is the way Broadway musicals should be filmed — basically a recreation of the stage production except for more realistic surroundings. I also appreciate that most of the original cast is also present, but that is not a critical ingredient for me. Too often Hollywood completely bastardizes the original Broadway production, usually to its detriment. Ray Walston is excellent as Applegate and his “Those Were the Good Old Days” is hilarious. Gwen Verdon’s portrayal of Lola isn’t great, in my opinion, but she’s an excellent dancer. “Heart” is a cute song and is cleverly performed by Russ Brown and the baseball players (I’m not so crazy about Sister and the kids’ reprise). The whole production is very entertaining whether you’re a baseball fan or not. According to several websites, New Line Cinema is remaking Damn Yankees starring Jim Carrey as Applegate and Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe Boyd. No information is available about the rest of the cast or a release date as of fall 2009.

A Damsel in Distress RKO Radio Pictures, November 20, 1937, 100 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire ( Jerry Halliday), George Burns (himself ), Gracie Allen (herself ), Joan Fontaine (Lady Alyce Marshmorton), Reginald Gardiner (Keggs), Montagu Love (Lord John Marshmorton), Harry Watson (Albert) Director: George Stevens Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: P. G. Wodehouse, Ernest Pagano and S. K. Lauren Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Dance Direction ❍ Best Art Direction Availability: DVD not currently available

A Damsel in Distress, based on a 1919 novel by P. G. Wodehouse and a play by Wodehouse and Ian Hay, was Fred Astaire’s first movie without Ginger Rogers since appearing in Flying Down to Rio together in 1933. Fred was skeptical of getting into any lasting partnership and Ginger wanted to flex her dramatic acting skills, so they went their separate ways.

A Damsel in Distress RKO signed nineteen-year-old Joan Fontaine as Astaire’s new partner. Unfortunately once the film opened, the critics were not kind in their assessments about Miss Fontaine’s vocal and dancing skills. She was sophisticated enough to portray Lady Alyce Marshmorton, however. At Totleigh Castle, the staff wagers on Lady Alyce’s potential mate by drawing names. The butler, Keggs, makes certain he draws the most likely contender. Albert, the page, who was left out of the drawing, protests, so he gets “Mr. X,” or anyone other than those currently considered. When Lady Alyce heads for London to meet a beau, Keggs follows to protect his investment. George Burns and Gracie Allen are Jerry Halliday’s publicity man and his secretary respectively. Thanks to George’s publicity, Jerry is mobbed by adoring women when he arrives in England. Uncomfortable with this feminine adulation, Jerry doesn’t like being portrayed in the press as the same character he plays on the screen. When Jerry leaves George’s office, he and Lady Alyce, who is trying to dodge Keggs, get into the same cab. Before they can get acquainted, Keggs and a policeman accuse Jerry of hiding someone in his taxi. As they argue, Lady Alyce sneaks out the opposite door. Unconvinced, Keggs and the policeman follow Jerry as he walks down the street. Soon people begin to recognize Jerry and, accompanied by some street musicians, he performs a song-and-dance routine amid the traffic (“I Can’t Be Bothered Now”). He escapes by dancing onto a double-decker bus. Once Albert learns about this American dancer, he forges a letter from Lady Alyce asking Jerry to come to the castle to rescue her. The castle is open for tours each Thursday, so Jerry, George and Gracie arrive for the tour. Afraid of losing the wager, Keggs will not allow Jerry to enter. To aid his Mr. X, Albert sneaks Jerry in as one of the madrigal singers who are entertaining the touring guests. Jerry joins the singers in “The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid,” a very authentic-sounding madrigal. The singers also performed another Gershwin faux madrigal, “Sing of Spring,” a contrapuntal exercise originally titled “Back to Bach.” After the performance, Albert arranges for Jerry to meet Alyce in her sitting room. She tells him that she is in distress, is being held against her will, and is in love. Since Jerry received the fake letter, he assumes Alyce is in love with him. When her fussbudget Aunt, Lady Caroline,1 knocks on the door, Alyce helps Jerry escape to the balcony. Albert helps him up onto the roof, but Alyce thinks he successfully jumped from the balcony (there is an old castle legend about a lover who jumped

The Dolly Sisters without being killed). As he leaves, Jerry gives a note for Alyce to a man he assumes is the gardener. When Jerry inquires about a place to stay, the man suggests a cottage down the road. The presumed gardener is Lady Alyce’s father, Lord John Marshmorton. Jerry, George and Gracie rent the cottage. Lord Marshmorton had heard his daughter say that she is in love with an American, so he assumes she means Jerry. The following day, Lord Marshmorton comes to the cottage to encourage Jerry to fight for his woman. He also informs Jerry that Lady Alyce will be at the county fair that afternoon. When Marshmorton departs, Jerry, George and Gracie dance using whisk brooms and suits of armor as props to “Put Me to the Test.” Alyce is escorted to the fair by Reggie,2 the pompous musician who almost everyone in the castle staff considers the front-runner as her mate. During a trip through the Tunnel of Love in swanboats, Reggie and Alyce are separated and she and Jerry conveniently end up together. When he tries to kiss her, she slaps him, which confuses Jerry. After the Tunnel of Love debacle, George, and Gracie attempt to cheer Jerry up with a trip through the funhouse. Gracie sings “Stiff Upper Lip,”3 which is followed by an innovative, extended, witty dance through the funhouse. After talking the misunderstanding over with her father, which is overheard by Keggs and Albert, Alyce goes to apologize to Jerry for slapping him. She has experienced a change of heart and now loves Jerry, not the American she had met the previous year while skiing. Thrilled with this turn of events, Jerry sings “Things Are Looking Up.” After his vocal, they perform a romantic dance through the woods.4 Before she departs, Alyce asks Jerry to come to the castle that evening to a ball. When Keggs overheard Alyce confessing her attraction to Jerry to her father, he weedled the Mr. X choice from Albert and gave Albert Reggie’s name instead. To help his chances of winning the wager, Albert turns Lady Alyce against Jerry by showing her a newspaper article that claims she is the latest in a long line of female conquests for him. On the way to the ball, Jerry, dressed in white tie and tails, wanders through a fog-heavy glade near the castle and sings the atmospheric “A Foggy Day.”5 Once again when he arrives at the castle, Jerry is forbidden entrance, this time on Lady Alyce’s orders. However, since Jerry is Keggs’ chance to win the wager, he sneaks him into the castle with the madrigal singers again. A female trio performs “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”6 During the song, Jerry dances a short dance among some drums.

66 Once Jerry sees Alyce, she is strangely distant and wants nothing to do with him, which causes Keggs to swindle Albert into changing names once again. Lord Marshmorton challenges Jerry to not give up, so he goes to her sitting room again. When Alyce tells Jerry about the newspaper article, he explains that it was his publicity agent’s fault. He and Alyce reconcile and agree to wed. Happy once more, Jerry performs a stupendous tap routine to “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”7 During his solo, he plays a drum set, sometimes with his feet and sometimes with drum sticks. Another musical moment was when Keggs, an opera aficionado, performed “Ah! Che a Voi Perdoni Iddio” from Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha.8 For most film critics and movie musical audiences, A Damsel in Distress was an Astaire–Rogers film musical with one half of the partnership missing. Astaire’s dance routines are splendid; especially the “Nice Work If You Can Get It” finale and George and Ira Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It” are some of their best. George Burns and Gracie Allen’s brand of dimwitted humor seems out of place in this film, but they did pretty well in the “Stiff Upper Lip” number.

The Dolly Sisters 20th Century–Fox, November 14, 1945, 114 minutes Principal Cast : Betty Grable ( Jenny), June Haver (Rosie), John Payne (Harry Fox), S. Z. Sakall (Uncle Latsie) Director: Irving Cummings Producer: George Jessell Screenwriters: John Larkin and Marian Spitzer Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Seymour Felix Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“I Can’t Begin to Tell You”) Availability: DVD

The Hungarian-born twin sisters, Rozsicka and Jansci Deutsch, emigrated to the United States in 1905 and became famous as The Dolly Sisters. These dancing sisters played beer halls in New York City, toured the Orpheum and Keith vaudeville circuits, appeared in two Ziegfeld Follies, and became the toast of American and European showbusiness. In addition to their performing careers,

67 they were famous gamblers. In 1941, Jenny committed suicide, while Rosie lived to see their biopic premier in 1945. In 1962, Rosie also attempted suicide, but failed and she lived until 1970. Harry Fox was a vaudeville dancer and comedian who is most famous for inventing the Fox Trot dance in 1914. In the Twenties, he was married briefly to Jenny. He was still alive in 1945 when this film premiered. The Dolly Sisters opens in 1904 with a caliope playing “The Sidewalks of New York.”1 Uncle Latsie and his two young nieces2 have just arrived from Budapest. At the Little Hungary restaurant, which is owned by Uncle Latsie’s old friend, Sig Ruman,3 a band plays Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5.4 While Latsie and Ruman play a hand of cards, the sisters wander over to the band area where they dance as the band continues to play the Brahms’ composition. Next, the film jumps ahead eight years, but the sisters are still dancing to the same song at the Little Hungary Café. Ruman helps the girls get a booking in Elmira, New York. On the train to Elmira, the sisters are dressed as children so they can pay half fare. The man in the seat in front of them is reading an issue of Variety. The following headline catches their attention: “If It’s European ... Hammerstein Buys It.” They strike up a conversation with the fellow — he is Harry Fox, also an entertainer headed for Elmira. During a rehearsal in Elmira, the sisters perform “The Vamp,”5 followed by Harry’s performance of a song he had written, “I Can’t Begin to Tell You.”6 During the second chorus, he doesn’t like the way the band plays his song; he wants it to be in a schottische style, which he demonstrates. That evening, Jenny receives a bouquet of roses from Harry with a note asking her to have coffee with him. Later that evening, they rehearse “Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl (And Leave the Rest to Me)”7 on the porch of their boarding house to the accompaniment of a Victrola recording of the song. Harry wants them to perform as a duo, but Jenny refuses to break up the sister act. Back in the city, Jenny and Rosie bump into Harry. Over coffee, he advises them on how to get noticed by producers like Oscar Hammerstein.8 Harry advises them to rent a suite in the Knickerbocker Hotel and dress in elegant dressing gowns to impress Mr. Hammerstein with their “success.” When Harry brings Hammerstein to the hotel, the sisters fake heavy accents because Hammerstein will buy anything European and audition for him by singing “We Have Been Around”9 and “Carolina in the Morning.”10 Hammerstein is suitably impressed. The Dolly Sisters open in the Ziegfeld Midnight

The Dolly Sisters Frolics performing “Don’t Be Too Old Fashioned (Old Fashion Girl),”11 which segues into “Powder, Lipstick and Rouge,”12 a big production number. Just as the sisters are about to leave for Paris to star in a show there, Harry reappears. At first, he is jealous that Jenny achieved success before he did. As Jenny walks home, she slips on an icy sidewalk and falls. After Harry helps her up, they go for coffee. During their conversation, Jenny asks about the songs he has written. He demonstrates his latest creation, “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,”13 a song that reappears numerous times during the film. She sings a second chorus and they end with a duet. Music publisher Sam Harris, who happened to be sitting at the bar, likes the song and wants to publish it. Jenny turns down the Paris engagement so she can marry Harry. Later, while they are living on Long Island, Rosie and Uncle Latsie visit and try to talk Jenny into accepting the Paris engagement, which is still available. Since Harry has enlisted in the Army, he encourages her not to turn it down. So, off to Paris they go. At the Follies Bergère they perform “Darktown Strutters’ Ball”14 in a combination of French and English along with several chorus girls in African-American makeup wearing watermelon hats, dice, and money. During one part of the number, Jenny and Rosie are “pickaninnies.”15 At the end of the number, the sisters appear in futuristic outfits, while a huge trombone player setpiece moves his leg in time with the beat and moves his arm to play his instrument. Jenny and Rosie are in London performing in Fun at the Fair when World War I ends. During a fancy ball in their honor, while the band plays “Smiles,”16 Rosie meets Irving Netcher,17 an American businessman from Chicago. Jenny dances with the Duke of Breck18 as the band plays “I Can’t Begin to Tell You.” Uncle Latsie brings Jenny a letter from Harry, which she is thrilled to receive. While Harry reads a letter from Jenny, the soldiers in the background sing “Arrah Go On, I’m Gonna Go Back to Oregon”19 and “Smiles.” Later when Jenny discovers Harry in her bedroom fast asleep, she wakes him with a kiss. He is still in the Army and must leave soon. But before he goes, he demands that Jenny choose between him and her performing career. She shows up at the train station where the soldiers are boarding20 to tell Harry her decision — she can’t leave her sister. Harry refuses to understand. After a montage of several Dolly Sister performances in various locales across Europe and of their gambling on the Riviera, Harry performs a medley of his song hits in New York City. During this engagement, divorce papers arrive from France. When Jenny overhears Rosie and Irving’s conver-

Down Argentine Way sation about their impending marriage, she accepts the Duke of Breck’s proposal and insists on getting married immediately. As she and the Duke drive a crooked mountain road, they are involved in a horrible automobile accident. Harry proposes to wealthy socialite Lenora Baldwin21 at a speakeasy. While there, he overhears some men talking about Jenny’s wreck and cables her to see if there is anything he can do to help. Jenny is alive, but very badly mangled. Over the next several months, she has plastic surgery to repair much of the damage to her looks. Jenny advises Rosie to marry Irving — she tells her “it isn’t good to keep love waiting”— and, because she was marrying him for the wrong reasons, decides to call off her engagement to the Duke, When Jenny finally returns to the U.S., Rosie has arranged for her to live at the Knickerbocker. While Rosie is helping her unpack, she learns that Jenny sold most of her jewelry to pay for hospital and doctor bills. Rosie talks Jenny into a reunion performance at an All-Star Benefit. In feathered tights and tall feathered hats, they perform a song-and-dance routine to “The Sidewalks of New York.”22 The song had become closely associated with New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, who was in the audience. Backstage, Jenny meets Harry and Lenora. A little later from her dressing room, she hears Harry, the star of The Prince of Broadway, singing “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.” Rosie asks Lenora when she and Harry are getting married. After having seen the way Harry reacted to meeting Jenny again, she answers, “we’re not.” As Harry begins singing “I Can’t Begin to Tell You,” Jenny joins him. Then, they are joined by Rosie as the film ends. The Dolly Sisters is just a medoicre movie musical. The film wasn’t nearly as flamboyant as the sister act reportedly was during their heyday. Perhaps it’s the basically World War I vintage songs, but the film seems stale. One contemporary song, “I Can’t Begin to Tell You,” became tremendously popular as a result of its inclusion in the biopic. One of the most lavish routines is “The Darktown Strutters’ Ball” sequence, but it is unfortunately too politically incorrect for modern audiences.

Down Argentine Way 20th Century–Fox, October 11, 1940, 88 minutes Principal Cast: Don Ameche (Ricardo Quintano), Betty Grable (Glenda Crawford), Carmen Miranda (herself ),

68 Charlotte Greenwood (Binnie Crawford), J. Carrol Naish (Casiano), Henry Stephenson (Don Diego Quintano), Leonid Kinskey (Tito Acuna) Director: Irving Cummings Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck Screenwriters: Darrell Ware, Karl Tunberg; based on a story by Rian James and Ralph Spence Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Mack Gordon Choreographer: Nicholas Castle Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Down Argentine Way”) ❍ Best Art Direction, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color Availability: DVD

In the early Forties, Hollywood’s European market was drying up due to Hitler’s aggressive behavior, so the film studio’s turned their attention towards South America. They devised films with South American settings and introduced U.S. audiences to some of its most famous performers and music. One of the stars who benefited most was the Brazilian bombshell, Carmen Miranda. In 1940, 20th Century–Fox approached her about appearing in Down Argentine Way. Carmen Miranda opens the film singing “South American Way”1 primarily in Portuguese. After a quick travelogue of Buenos Aires, several horses owned by Don Diego Quintano are being loaded onto a ship bound for New York City. When Senor Quintano receives a telegram from Binnie Crawford about buying his horses, he orders his workers to unload them. He refuses to even consider selling any of them to anyone named Crawford.2 Don Diego’s son, Ricardo, convinces his father to ship the horses, but promises he won’t sell any of them to anyone named Crawford. The scene shifts to the Tuxedo Horse Show, where Willis and Binnie Crawford and their niece, Glenda, are impressed by the Quintano’s horse, Carmelita. When Glenda offers Ricardo Quintano much less than the horse is worth, he is so impressed with her beauty that he agrees to her offer. At a party, Ricardo sings “Down Argentina Way”3 in Spanish as he accompanies himself on the piano. Glenda performs the English version, after which, the song’s tempo increases as she dances. Ricardo and Glenda are obviously attracted to each other, but once Ricardo discovers she is a Crawford, he backs out of his agreement to sell her Carmelita. While a vocal group4 sings “Two Dreams Met (Dos Sueños)” another society horselover, Helen Carson, buys Carmelita for the same

69 price Glenda had offered. Glenda is understandably upset. Later, Glenda and her Aunt Binnie fly to Argentina to purchase some horses. Once in Buenos Aires, they go out to dinner where the superbly talented Nicholas Brothers sing-and-dance a reprise of “Down Argentina Way.” Next, a trio of singers and a band5 perform “Nenita.” Tito, Binnie Crawford’s comic tour guide, joins in the song. When the music suddenly changes to a cha-cha, all the dancing couples leave the floor except for an American couple who put on a dancing exhibition.6 Later Glenda and Aunt Binnie go to the El Tigre where Carmen Miranda performs “Mamãe Eu Quero”7 and “Bambu Bambu.”8 Glenda sees Ricardo and they seemingly makeup, but she slaps him and leaves. Tito, Binnie and Glenda go to the Quintano’s estancia to buy some horses. When Don Diego discovers that Binnie’s last name is Crawford, he throws her and Tito off his property. However, Ricardo and Glenda reconcile. At a local fiesta, Binnie sings “Sing to Your Señorita” and performs her long-legged, high kicking specialty dance.9 During the fiesta, unknown to the Quintano’s, one of their ranch hands, Casiano, brings their champion jumper, Furioso, to compete in a race. After Furioso wins, Ricardo confronts Casiano, who convinces him that the horse is a natural racer. They decide to secretly train the horse for the Argentine Handicap. On the day of the big race, everyone has gone to the track except Don Diego. When he finds out what is happening, he is furious, but once he hears about Furioso’s fast time, he hurries to the track. Even though the track officials force a change of jockeys and the rider does his best to restrain Furioso, he wins the race. At the celebration, Glenda dances, Tito and Binnie perform a dance, the Nicholas Brothers dance again, Binnie reprises her big leg kicks in “Sing to Your Señorita,” and Ricardo and Glenda sing a duet of “Two Dreams Met.” Down Argentine Way was a big success at the box office in the U.S., but was heavily criticized in South America. The best musical sequence is the Nicholas Brothers’ dance to “Down Argentina Way.” Their patented splits are simply amazing. Charlotte Greenwood’s “Sing to Your Señorita” is comical, which was its intent. I’m not a big Carman Miranda fan, so it probably isn’t fair to judge her performance, but her songs certainly don’t serve any plot function. The film was perhaps entertaining to 1940 audiences, but isn’t one of the best movie musicals of the decade, much less one of the greatest ever.

Dreamgirls

Dreamgirls DreamWorks Pictures and Parmount Pictures, December 15, 2006, 130 minutes Principal Cast: Jennifer Hudson (Effie White), Jamie Foxx (Curtis Taylor, Jr.), Eddie Murphy ( James “Thunder” Early), Beyoncé Knowles (Deena Jones), Anika Noni Rose (Lorrell Robinson), Keith Robinson (C.C. White), Sharon Leal (Michelle Morris) Director/Screenwriter: Bill Condon Producer: Laurence Mark Music: Henry Krieger Lyrics: Tom Eyen Choreographer: Fatima Robinson Awards and Honors: ● Academy Awards nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role ( Jennifer Hudson) ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“Listen”) ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“Love You I Do”) ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“Patience”) ❍ Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Eddie Murphy) ❍ *Best Achievement in Sound Mixing ❍ Best Achievement in Art Direction ❍ Best Achievement in Costume Design Availability: DVD

The musical, Dreamgirls, premiered on Broadway in 1981 and closed after 1,521 performances in 1985. The original cast included Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones, Jennifer Holliday as Effie White, Loretta Devine as Lorrell Robinson, and Ben Harney as Curtis Taylor, Jr. The production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It collected six Tony Awards, including Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Harney) and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Holliday). The original cast album won the Grammy award for Best Musical Album. Miss Holliday’s portrayal of Effie and her soulful rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”1 were the show’s highpoints. There are quite a few semi-historical events and characters in Dreamgirls. Although the producers and writers could not admit it to avoid litigation, the basic plot of Dreamgirls is based on the rise of The Supremes, one of Motown’s most successful female groups. The character Effie is based on Florence Ballard, one of the original members of the group. When Berry Gordy, Jr., the founder of Motown Records, began to feature Diana Ross as the lead singer, Florence headed towards depression, alcoholism, and eventually poverty. In 1967, Gordy dismissed her from the group, replacing her with

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Dreamgirls

The Dreamgirls: Anika Noni Rose, Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson.

Cindy Birdsong. Tragically, Ballard died in 1976 at age thirty-two. The character Deena is modeled after Diana Ross, Lorrell is modeled after Mary Wilson, Curtis Taylor, Jr., represents Berry Gordy, Jr., and Michelle Morris is equivalent to Cindy Birdsong. Other characters in the musical are amalgamations of various soul singers and songwriters. The film version of the musical won two Academy Awards and six other nominations. Jennifer Hudson, who was cast as the full-figured Effie, first gained national attention as a finalist on the third season of the television reality series American Idol. Her performance as Effie earned her an Oscar (see Awards and Honors above). The film version, like the musical, is made up of two parts: the first part takes place between 1962 and 1966, while the second takes place between 1973 and 1975. The film opens at an amateur talent contest in Detroit, where the first contestants, the Stepp Sisters,2 sing “I’m Looking for Something.” During this group’s performance, Marty,3 Jimmy Early’s manager, tries to convince Jimmy’s two backup singers from walking out. One of the girls, who has

been Jimmy’s mistress, has just discovered that Jimmy is married. The next contestant is Little Albert and the Tru-Tones4 who sing “Goin’ Downtown.” Deena Jones, Lorrell Robinson, and Effie White, an African-American girls’ trio known as the Dreamettes, arrive late for the contest. Curtis Taylor, Jr., an ambitious car salesman who plans to enter the music business, convinces the guy in charge to give the girls a break and allow them to go on last. Tiny Joe Dixon,5 a blues singer modeled after Muddy Waters or B.B. King, sings “Takin’ the Long Way Home.” Next, the announcer introduces “the courageous, the curvaceous, Creamettes.” The girls run on the stage hollering “Dreamettes!” With Effie singing lead, they perform a stirring rendition of “Move,” but the contest was fixed — Tiny Joe wins. The girls are very disappointed, but backstage Curtis6 offers them $30 each to sing backup for Jimmy that evening and $400 per week to sing backup vocals for a ten week tour. Effie balks at singing backup, but she finally consents. Jimmy7 quickly teaches the trio the song they are going to sing with him: “Fake Your Way to the Top.” The

71 song continues as the girls bid their families goodbye and at various concert venues. Curtis, who has set up a recording studio in the garage of his automobile dealership, tries to convince Jimmy to record for him. He tells Jimmy that the white man has made money off of the black man’s music long enough. Now it’s time to take black music to a broader audience using black artists backed by money from black entrepreneurs. Over in a corner, C.C., Effie’s brother, is tinkering with a new song idea. The girls gather around and join in. Intrigued, Jimmy wanders over to investigate. The scene changes to a recording session where Jimmy and the Dreamettes cut “Cadillac Car.” During the song, Curtis’ crude delivery system distributes the 45s to radio DJs. “Cadillac Car” hits the R&B and pop charts, but the song is quickly covered by a white, clean-cut alternative, Dave and the Sweethearts.8 They sing an un-soulful, lily-white, boring rendition of the song on a TV dance show (like American Bandstand; Dick Clark is the show’s announcer). While Jimmy, C.C. and Wayne9 perform “Steppin’ to the Bad Side,” Curtis increases his bankroll with money from his car sales and from gambling to grease the pockets of the right people.10 Soon, white DJs begin introducing the single on their radio shows. C.C. rehearses a male dance chorus in choreography for the song. And finally, Jimmy, the Dreamettes, and the male dance chorus perform the song at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. Back at “Rainbow Records, The Sound of Tomorrow,” C.C. accompanies Effie as she sings “Love You I Do,”11 about finding the perfect man to love. Effie clearly considers Curtis her perfect man, but during this song sequence, Curtis hires Michelle Morris as a secretary and lustfully eyes Deena as she models a dress. Towards the end of the song, Effie sings directly to Curtis and they kiss. Curtis is not impressed enough, however, to allow Effie to record the song. She bristles at having to continue singing background vocals. When Jimmy’s manager returns from an out of town trip, he discovers that Curtis has canceled some of Jimmy’s tour dates. Questioned about the cancellations, Curtis explains that Jimmy is too big now for the Chitlin Circuit.12 Marty quickly grows weary of Curtis’ plans to remake Jimmy’s image and transform his singing into a more pop-friendly sound, so he quits as Jimmy’s manager. Jimmy debuts as the first African-American headliner to play Miami Beach, singing “I Want You, Baby.” During the song, Jimmy begins an adulterous affair with Lorrell, who becomes as lovesick towards Jimmy as Effie is towards Curtis.

Dreamgirls Several patrons walk out on Jimmy’s performance, but Curtis notices several of the white males eyeing Deena. Curtis announces that he is establishing the girls as their own act, “The Dreams.” They’ll get new costumes, new expensive wigs and ... Deena will sing lead. Effie, of course, is floored by this development. When Curtis argues that the slimmer Deena has the look needed for TV and for crossing over into the pop field, Effie counters that Deena may be the beautiful one, but she doesn’t have the voice. This argument leads Effie and C.C. to sing “Family.” Effie is primarily worried about herself— what about me, what I need, how I feel? C.C. tries to convince her that whatever dreams they have should be collective, because they are all family. Soon the new act premiers at the Crystal Room, where they sing “We’re Your Dreamgirls.” Their recording of the song tops the charts, they appear on Ed Sullivan’s TV show, appear on the cover of several magazines and have their photo taken with the Beatles. Effie continues in the group but feels betrayed. During a recording session for “Heavy,” Curtis reprimands her for singing too loudly. During the next take, she sings even louder and accuses Curtis and Deena of sleeping together as she leaves. During another rehearsal of “Heavy” for a TV program, the girls are wearing disco-style outfits. Effie explodes, accuses Deena of stealing her dream and her man, and walks out. Next, Deena and Lorrell rehearse for their New Year’s Eve performance at Caesar’s Palace. Curtis replaces Effie with Michelle Morris and bills the act as “Deena Jones and the Dreams.”13 When Effie, who has been at a clinic for a pregnancy test, finally arrives at the venue and sees Michelle in a Dreams’ costume, she demands an explanation. In “It’s All Over,” Curtis tells her that he has been warning her to clean up her act for months, but she has been consistently late and mean and is getting fatter all the time. Curtis offers to buy her out and C.C. begs her to take the money and leave. This confrontation leads directly into Effie singing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” She defiantly refuses to end her romantic and professional relationship with Curtis. Before the song ends, Curtis storms out. Next, Deena and the Dreams sing a short rendition of “I’m Somebody” for their New Year’s Eve performance. As the song continues, a video montage shows what transpires over the next several years. Deena and Curtis marry and Curtis’ business becomes the most successful Afro-American enterprise in the U.S. Deena isn’t thrilled when Curtis wants to expand his entertainment empire

Dreamgirls into movies by starring her in a musical version of Cleopatra. She insists she can’t play the part and complains that Curtis doesn’t see her for who she really is. In “When I First Saw You,” Curtis sings about her being the most beautiful dream any man has ever had. During the song, Deena poses for several photo shoots dressed in beautiful outfits and in almost nothing. The scene changes to Effie and her daughter, Magic,14 in an unemployment office. Effie explains that all she knows how to do is sing and nobody will let her do that any more. With Michelle sitting at his side, C.C. demonstrates his latest song, “Patience,”15 to Jimmy and Lorrell. During the song, Effie’s father tries to get her to take some money that C.C. had sent, but she refuses. While Jimmy and Lorrell record a duet version of the song, Effie visits Marty, Jimmy’s old manager. When they play a tape of “Patience” for Curtis, he contends that message songs won’t sell. Jimmy is so despondent at Curtis’ rejection that he turns to drugs even more than before. Marty arranges an audition for Effie at Max Washington’s Club. Max isn’t very keen on hiring her until he hears her sing “I Am Changing.” The song’s lyrics are about a woman who wants to put her mistakes behind her and change her life, but she needs someone to take a chance on her. Her audition segues into a successful live performance at the club. In 1974, Rainbow Records hosts a tenth anniversary TV special in Los Angeles. While the Campbell Connection, Jackson 5 look-a-likes, performs “Perfect World,”16 Jimmy is getting high on drugs backstage. When Lorrell learns that Jimmy’s wife is in the audience, she gives him eight kisses, one for every year they’ve been together in unmarried life and walks out. Jimmy performs a mellow tune called “I Meant You No Harm,” but suddenly stops the music and tells the audience he can’t sing any more sad songs. Then he launches into a funky number called “Jimmy’s Rap.” The audience loves his performance until he drops his pants. Curtis terminates Jimmy’s contract. Lorrell sings “Lorrell Loves Jimmy,” in which she reluctantly ends their affair, then goes on stage to sing a reprise of “Family” with Deena and Michelle. Back at the recording studio, C.C. listens to Curtis’ disco-style recording of his song, “Step on Over.” He accuses Curtis of squeezing all the soul out of his music and complains that the heavy beat destroys the feeling and obscures the lyrics. Curtis contends that people will soon be boogying to this new sound (disco). Suddenly, Lorrell screams! A TV news report has just announced that Jimmy

72 died from a heroin overdose. A female singer17 sings a tribute to Jimmy titled “I Miss You Old Friend” at Max Washington’s Club. C.C. leaves Rainbow Records, apologizes to Effie for his past mistakes, and promises to write her a hit song. Her comeback single is “One Night Only.” Just as the record is beginning to gain some local airplay, Curtis hears the recording and orders Deena and the Dreams to record it. Then he uses payola to entice DJs to play their disco version instead of Effie’s. Earlier, Deena met secretly with a film producer and screenwriter18 about a film project. Later, Curtis confronts Deena about the meeting and explains that according to her contract she can’t do anything without his approval. Deena sings “Listen”19 about it being time for her wants, wishes and dreams to be heard. During the song, she sneaks into Curtis’ office where she discovers evidence of his payola activities and finds a copy of Effie’s original version of “One Night Only.” She telephones Effie to apologize for stealing her song. Effie, C.C., Marty and an attorney show up at Rainbow Records. The lawyer informs Curtis that they have evidence of falsified sales records to cheat investors out of profits, of quality merchandise listed as cut-outs, of mob-backed loans, and of his payola activities over the past eleven years. As Deena and Effie reconcile, Curtis agrees to release Effie’s “One Night Only” nationwide on her and her brother’s own label. Effie’s victory inspires Deena to leave Curtis. The farewell performance of Deena and the Dreams is back at the Detroit Theater. Curtis is present with a new protégée. When the Dreams are introduced, they sing “Hard to Say Goodbye.” Then, Deena announces that there really are four Dreams and they’re all there to sing. Effie joins the other three to perform “We’re Your Dreamgirls,” with Effie singing lead. As the concert ends, Curtis sees Magic in the audience and realizes that she is his daughter. During the closing credits, “Patience,” and “One Night Only” are reprised and a duet of “When I First Saw You” by Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles is heard. The film was praised by the critics and special recognition was justifiably heaped on Jennifer Hudson. Dreamgirls is really Effie’s story, so Jennifer Hudson performs the film’s two best songs: “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” and “I Am Changing.” Otherwise, the film’s most memorable songs are “We’re Your Dreamgirls” and “When I First Saw You.” Beyoncé is not used to her best advantage; her only featured solo is “Listen,” and it isn’t particularly memorable.

73 Omitted from the original score for the film were “Love, Love Me Baby,” and “Effie Wins.” New songs added for the film were “Love You I Do,” “Perfect World,” “Patience,” and “Listen.”

Du Barry Was a Lady M-G-M, August 13, 1943, 101 minutes Principal Cast: Red Skelton (Louis Blore/King Louis), Lucille Ball (May Daly/Mme. Du Barry), Gene Kelly (Alec Howe/Black Arrow), Virginia O’Brien (Ginny), Rags Ragland (Charlie/Dauphin), Zero Mostel (Rami, the Swami/Taliostra) Director: Roy Del Ruth Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: Irving Brecher, adaptation by Nancy Hamilton, additional dialogue by Wilkie C. Mahoney Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Charles Walters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Cole Porter’s Du Barry Was a Lady, which opened on Broadway in December 1939, became the fifth longest-running musical of the Thirties. Librettists Herbert Fields and Buddy DeSylva merged two ideas for the story line: one concerned a swanky New York City nightclub washroom attendant who thought he was in love with a debutante; the second involved acquiring Mae West to play Madame Du Barry, the mistress of King Louis XV of France. The stars of the Broadway production, which was a smash hit, were Ethel Merman and Bert Lahr. As with almost every stage musical, M-G-M completely rewrote Du Barry, in this case because the original script was considered too ribald. Only three songs survived from Porter’s original score: “Do I Love You?,” “Katie Went to Haiti” and “Friendship.” Lucille Ball and Red Skelton were the film’s stars, because the studio considered the Broadway stars too unknown to the movie-going public. The washroom attendant was also changed to a hat check man. The film opens at a nightclub where the chorus girls introduce Madame Du Barry in poetry, followed by May Daley’s performance of the title song.1 Rami, the comic swami, and Alec Howe, a struggling songwriter, watch her performance from the audience while Louis Blore drools over May from the hat check room. Ginny, the cigarette girl, cares for Louis, but he doesn’t pay her any more attention than May pays to him. The club’s resident band is Tommy Dorsey and

Du Barry Was a Lady His Orchestra, who perform a swinging version of “Well, Git It.”2 Backstage, Alec rolls a piano into May’s dressing room to demonstrate a new song he’s written that he is going to pitch to Dorsey. He sings “Do I Love You?” May loves the song and, although she doesn’t want to admit it, is obviously attracted to Alec. She tells him that she can’t afford to marry for love. Alec leaves May’s dressing room to perform his next number, “Do I Love You?” accompanied by Dorsey and his band (Dorsey must have accepted Alec’s song quickly). Rami trips a waiter on purpose so May’s wealthy date will get covered in salad. Louis escorts May home that evening. On the subway, she admits she cares for Alec, even if he is poor. Back at the club, Ginny, the club’s cigarette girl, performs “Salome”3 accompanied by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.4 A telegram arrives notifying Louis that he has won $75,000 in the Irish Sweepstake. He is thrilled, because now he can marry May (she’ll only marry for money). Louis arranges a private celebration at the club. There, accompanied by Dorsey’s band and the Pied Pipers,5 Louis sings “I Love an Esquire Girl.”6 The number features several Vargas cover-girls,7 including a cameo appearance by Lana Turner. To help Louis, his pal, Charlie, agrees to slip Alec a “rooney.”8 Charlie gets the drink glasses mixed up and Louis drinks the “rooney.” When he passes out, the film flashes back to 1743 Versailles. Louis is now King Louis XV, May is Madame Du Barry, Alec is the dashing revolutionary leader, the Black Arrow, and Charlie is Louis’ son, the Dauphin. At a Royal Banquet, Dorsey and his band, dressed in frilly 18th century outfits, play “Katie Went to Haiti,” followed by a vocal performance of the song by the Pied Pipers. As Louie prepares to visit Madame Du Barry, he is helped by several ladies-in-waiting (“Ladies of the Bath”9). As he arrives at Du Barry’s castle, she is berating some soldiers for their inability to apprehend the Black Arrow. Later, as Louie chases Du Barry around her boudoir, he sings the comical “Madame, I Love Your Crepes Suzettes.”10 After Louie departs, the Black Arrow comes through Du Barry’s window and they are immediately attracted to each other. When she hears soldiers approaching, she hides him in her closet. After the soldiers leave, he comes out of the closet and asks her to come to the tavern that evening — the pass word is “Down with Du Barry.”

Dumbo Disguised, Madame Du Barry goes to the tavern where she hears complaints about the nation’s problem being caused by her influence on the King. The Black Arrow sings “Song of the Rebellion”11 that encourages the throng to march against the King and to fight for their rights. During the ensuing march, King Louie gets caught up with the throng that intends to storm his palace and kill him. When the Black Arrow is captured and Louie sentences him to the guillotine, Du Barry pleads for the life of the handsome rebel and promises Louie she will do anything if he stops the execution. Even though Louie attempts to stay the execution, his voice is drowned out by the mob. As the Black Arrow kneels under the guillotine, Louis’ dream suddenly fades and he wakes up lying on the nightclub floor, attended by his friends. His dream has taught him some valuable lessons. He calls off his engagement to May and promotes her marriage to Alec, the man she really loves. Louis teams up with Ginny, who has loved him all along. May and Louis agree that they will always remain friends (“Friendship”). Everyone joins in the fun, including Alec, Ginny, and Tommy Dorsey. “Friendship” doesn’t fit Cole Porter’s ordinarily urbane, erudite, and often suave writing style. The lyrics aren’t typical Porter lyricism and they are set to a mock-hillbilly tune. It is perplexing to fathom how such a silly song could have been the hit of the show when the musical premiered on Broadway. The film version is a smorgasbord of all-star entertainment. There’s Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra and the Pied Pipers for the swing set; there’s a big production number featuring the splendidly costumed Esquire cover girls; there’s more than enough comedy by Red Skelton, Rags Ragland, Zero Mostel; there’s the dead-pan humor and singing of Virginia O’Brien; there’s Lucille Ball in her first color film; and there’s Gene Kelly’s incomparable dancing—all in glorious Technicolor. With all that talent, the film should have been much better. Du Barry Was a Lady is also another example of a Broadway musical that I would like to have seen in its original state (surely it wasn’t as lame as the movie version), but producer Arthur Freed had the original plot rewritten, only used three songs from Porter’s original musical score and added six new songs written by his stable of studio songwriters (Porter did not stipulate in the contract with the studio that only his music could be used). A couple of other songs are heard briefly during the film.12 The Oxford Boys’ medley13 early in the film in which they imitate famous radio bands like Kay Kyser, Fred Waring, Harry James, Guy Lombardo and Tommy Dorsey is entertaining, but was

74 completely unnecessary filler that had no plot function.

Dumbo Walt Disney Productions, October 23, 1941, 64 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of John McLeish (Narrator), Ed Brophy (Timothy Q. Mouse), Sterling Holloway (Mr. Stork), Herman Bing (Ringmaster) Director: Ben Sharpsteen Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: Joe Grant and Dick Huemer Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Baby Mine”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Baby Mine”) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

The fourth Disney animated feature film, Dumbo, is based on a children’s book of the same name by Helen Aberson. At only sixty-four minutes, Dumbo is Disney’s shortest animated feature film. Dumbo never speaks during the entire film, and his mother never speaks directly to him, except in the song “Baby Mine.” On a stormy night, the narrator quotes a poem about storks’ devotion to duty (similar to the one about postmen who deliver the mail in any weather), then, an unseen vocal group sings “Look Out for Mr. Stork”1 as the new-borns are delivered to various animal parents. Mrs. Jumbo sadly watches all the bundles of joy parachuting down to the other animals, but not to her. The following morning, all the animals are loaded onto the circus train. As Mrs. Jumbo is being loaded she looks skyward still expecting to see a stork coming her way. As Casey Jones, Jr., the circus engine, pulls the circus train down the tracks towards its new destination, an unseen vocal group sings “Casey Junior.”2 The scene shifts to a lost stork. When he stops to rest on a cloud, he spies the circus train. When Mr. Stork delivers Mrs. Jumbo’s baby to the circus train, he sings “Happy Birthday” to the baby elephant. The other female elephants come to admire the youngster, but when he sneezes and his enormous ears flop out, the indignant elephants express their disdain and dub him Dumbo instead of Jumbo Jr. During the trip, Casey Junior must pull the cars up a steep hill. On the way up, the little locomo-

75 tive repeats, “I think I can” over and over and once he reaches the top and starts down the other side, he chugs, “I thought I could” several times. When the circus arrives at its destination, the train is unloaded and the roustabouts, with the help of the elephants, set up the circus tent in a rain storm (“Song of the Roustabouts”3). The next morning, the circus’ arrival in town is announced by a circus parade. As the lions and tigers are pulled along the parade route in their cages, they are so bored they yawn, but most of the other animals are performing like true show business veterans. Dumbo trips over his ears and falls into a mud puddle, which causes everyone to laugh at him. Back at their circus quarters, Mrs. Jumbo gives Dumbo a bath and they play peek-a-boo. Mother and son are very happy. When some thoughtless children make fun of Dumbo and his ears, his mother tries to protect him. She becomes even more frantic when the ringmaster and the roustabouts chain her up and take Dumbo away. The scene shifts to a small circus wagon on which the signs, “DANGER” and “MAD ELEPHANT,” are posted. Dumbo’s mother is terribly sad in solitary confinement. Meanwhile, the other female elephants are gossiping about her and call Dumbo, who is also alone and frightened without his mother, a “f-r-e-a-k.” After these prudish pachyderms exclude Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse, dressed in a ringmaster outfit, scares them and befriends Dumbo. They become inseparable pals. The ringmaster decides a pyramid of pachyderms would be a great act, but he can’t think of a proper climax. While the ringmaster sleeps, Timothy plants the idea of having Dumbo at the top of the pyramid waving a flag. Balanced on a ball, the elephants build the pyramid. In an attempt to avoid the young elephant tripping over his ears, Timothy ties them on top of Dumbo’s head. However, they come loose; Dumbo trips and causes the pyramid to tumble, the audience runs to safety and the circus tent collapses. As a result of Dumbo’s debacle, he is made part of the clown act (“Clown Song”4), a great humiliation for the other elephants, who take a vow that Dumbo is no longer one of them. Even though he is successful in the clown act, Timothy can’t cheer him up until he mentions he has made an appointment for them to visit his mother. Mrs. Jumbo sings the lullaby, “Baby Mine,”5 to Dumbo as she reaches from her cage with her trunk to reassure her frightened child. During her singing, the other circus animal mothers cuddle their offspring. During the clowns’ celebration of their success,

Dumbo someone accidentally knocks a bottle of champagne into a bucket of water. To cure Dumbo’s hiccoughs, Timothy suggests he drink from the bucket. He takes a trunkful of the liquid, gulps it down, and immediately begins to feel its effects. Timothy tests the spiked water and finds it quite enjoyable. Dumbo hiccups champagne bubbles, one of which turns into a pink elephant. That elephant blows another elephant out of his trunk, and soon there are four elephants. Those elephants use their trunks as trumpets to announce the start of a march, “Pink Elephants on Parade.”6 This surreal hallucination should frighten any child away from alcohol or drugs. The nightmarish sequence ends with the pink elephants melting into clouds in the morning sky. As the camera pans up to a tree, some crows can’t believe their eyes—there, sleeping on a tiny limb are Dumbo and Timothy. When Timothy tries to figure it out how they ended up in a tree, he discovers that Dumbo flew up into the tree. The crows sing “When I See an Elephant Fly,”7 which contains several delightful puns in the lyrics. Leonard Maltin says, “There has been considerable controversy over the Black Crow sequence in recent years, most of it unjustified. The crows are undeniably black, but they are black characters, not black stereotypes. There is no denigrating dialogue, or Uncle Tomism in the scene, and if offense is to be taken in hearing blacks call each other ‘brother,’ then the viewer is merely being sensitive to accuracy.”8 With the help of the crows, Timothy gets Dumbo to fly again by using a fake magic feather. That night at the Big Top, during the clown act, Dumbo surprises everyone by exhibiting his newfound talent (even though he loses the magic feather). The last segment in the film begins with a montage of newspaper headlines illustrating Dumbo’s success. His new manager, Timothy Q. Mouse, signs a Hollywood contract for the now famous elephant. As the film approaches its end, the circus train travels again with Mrs. Jumbo in her own streamlined car and Dumbo flying alongside. Bosley Crowther, playing ringmaster himself, said, “Ladeez and gentlemen, step right this way ... and see the most genial, the most endearing, the most completely precious cartoon feature film ever to emerge from the magical brushes of Walt Disney’s wonder-working artists!”9 As charming as Dumbo is, and it is still charming after almost seventy years, it really isn’t a great movie musical. The most memorable songs are “Baby Mine” and “When I See an Elephant Fly,” while “Pink Elephants on Parade” is nauseating. However, according to rottentomatoes.com, the

Easter Parade film has a 97 percent approval rating among critics.

Easter Parade M-G-M, June 1, 1948, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Don Hewes), Judy Garland (Hannah Brown), Peter Lawford ( Jonathan “Johnny” Harrow, III), Ann Miller (Nadine Hale) Director: Charles Walters Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Sidney Seldon, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Steppin’ Out With My Baby”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“Easter Parade” for its inclusion in Holiday Inn, 1942) ● Academy Award winner: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

New York City’s Easter parade dates from the 1850s. The socially elite would attend services at

76 one of the fashionable Fifth Avenue churches and then would parade to show off their Easter finery. The less well-to-do became the spectators who ooh-ed and ah-ed at the elegant ladies in their Easter dresses, which would most likely have come from Paris. Songwriter extraordinaire, Irving Berlin, was a marketing genius when it came to his songs. Again and again, because it kept his songs in the public’s consciousness and increased his royalties, Berlin proposed film ideas that included an anthology of his songs. Berlin agreed to write several new ones for this film. Gene Kelly was signed to star opposite Judy Garland again1 in this film but after rehearsals began, Kelly broke his ankle in a touch football game. At his suggestion, Fred Astaire was signed as Kelly’s replacement. The film opens with Don Hewes practically dancing down Fifth Avenue wishing everyone he meets a “Happy Easter.” He is purchasing gifts for his dancing partner, Nadine Hale. At a toy store, to distract a little boy’s attention away from the last remaining stuffed bunny, Don performs a spectacular song-and-dance to “Drum Crazy.” Fred Astaire has a phenomenal knack for using props. In this number, he plays various percussion instru-

Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in the “A Couple of Swells” number from Easter Parade.

77 ments with the usual sticks, but also with his feet and head. Don presents Nadine with the gifts, but she doesn’t seem appreciative. Informing him she has been offered another job, she attempts to convince him that he can dance with anyone. Don romances her by singing “It Only Happens When I Dance with You” and entices the reluctant Nadine to dance a graceful ballroom-style dance with him. She begins to give in to his romancing, but is determined to pursue bigger and better things. Even one of their best friends, Johnny Harrow, who Don calls “Professor” although he’s a rich playboy, can’t talk Nadine out of leaving. Depressed, Don goes to Luigi’s for a drink. Johnny follows and tries to talk him into reuniting with Nadine, so she will leave him alone. Don scoffs at the idea and claims he can teach any girl to take Nadine’s place. He goes backstage and stops one of the chorus girls, Hannah Brown. He explains that he’s looking for a new dancing partner and gives her his card and tells her to meet him at a rehearsal hall the next morning. She tears up his card and throws it on the floor, until one of the stagehands tells her she was talking to Don Hewes, the famous dancer. She picks up the pieces of Don’s card and stuffs them into her costume as she goes on stage to sing “I Want to Go Back to Michigan (Down on the Farm).” Even though it is Easter Sunday, Don has secured a rehearsal hall and pianist. Because of all the parade traffic, Hannah shows up late. Don quickly questions if he acted hastily (the only way Hannah knows her right from her left is to put a garter or rubber band on her left leg). However, he is determined to make it work as much for himself as for her. After a trying rehearsal, they encounter Nadine parading down Fifth Avenue in the Easter parade. Hannah doesn’t know that she is Don’s former partner, but he boasts, “One year from today no one is going to notice her when they look at you.” As Don transforms Hannah into his partner, he tries to reshape her into another Nadine. He picks out clothes and teaches her dances that are alien to her personality. He even renames her Juanita. Their first performance together is a tragically comic debacle. At a lunch meeting arranged by Johnny to try to get them back together, Nadine accuses Don of having Hannah imitate her. Suddenly, Don realizes that’s exactly what he has been doing. He leaves Nadine alone in the restaurant and heads for a meeting with Hannah. On her way to meet Don, a sudden downpour forces Hannah to seek shelter in a doorway. Johnny happens to duck into the same doorway and strikes up a conversation. Of course, she has no idea that

Easter Parade Johnny is Don’s friend nor does he realize she is Don’s new dancing partner. Since she is determined to keep her appointment, Johnny buys a huge umbrella from a fruit seller and provides her shelter from the rain. As they walk together, Johnny sings “A Fella With an Umbrella,” to introduce himself After he sings a chorus, Hannah, who appears to be impressed with this stranger, sings a chorus. While Johnny tries to find something to write down her address and telephone number, she disappears into a door (they had arrived at Don’s apartment building). Don explains that the problem with their act was she was trying to be someone else. He decrees no more fancy dresses, no more Juanita, she’ll just be Hannah Brown. Hannah is flabbergasted that he blamed her, but is thrilled with the news. Don asks her to sing “I Love a Piano,”2 while he pumps a player piano. As Hannah belts out the song, Don shouts encouragement. Then, he joins her in an exuberant dance. The scene suddenly becomes their performance of the same number in vaudeville. A couple of quick scene changes show them performing “Snooky Ookums” and “The Ragtime Violin” on different vaudeville stages. Next, they audition for the Ziegfeld Follies, where they perform “When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam’.” Ziegfeld offers them a contract. To their surprise, Nadine is the star of the show. Hannah thinks Don is still in love with his former partner and rushes from the theater in tears. Don turns down the show and, back at Hannah’s apartment, tells her Nadine can’t compare with her. Hannah had already accepted a dinner date with Johnny, but all she talks about is Don. On opening night of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912, Nadine sings and dances an electrifying tap routine to “Shakin’ the Blues Away.”3 She is, of course, an unqualified success. After disappearing for a couple of days, Don announces to Hannah that producer Charles Dillingham wants to build a show around them. When they check the calendar, they realize their opening date will be the day before Easter. Don invites Hannah to dinner and asks her to pick him up at his apartment, but when she arrives, he has decided to have the meal at home so they can begin rehearsing. Hannah is completely exasperated and accuses Don of thinking of nothing but work. Closing her eyes, she asks him the color of her eyes. He kisses her and answers correctly. Hannah sees a copy of “It Only Happens When I Dance with You” on the piano with a picture of Don and Nadine on the cover. Even though the song was their theme song, Hannah sings it to Don. At the end, he says, “Why didn’t you tell me I was in love with you?”

78

Enchanted On opening night of the Dillingham show, Don and the ensemble perform “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” and then he dances with three girls, followed by some cinema special effects where he dances in slow-motion while the dancing chorus behind him dances at normal speed. The show’s next number is a tramp duet, “A Couple of Swells.” Dressed as a pair of bums in battered top hats and tattered tails, Don and Hannah pretend to be elegant as they poke fun at upper crust society. They are a huge hit! After their show, Don has made reservations at the Ziegfeld show on the roof of New Amsterdam Theater where Nadine is performing. In a big production number which looks very much like the “Cover Girl” sequence in the 1944 movie musical Cover Girl, a baritone4 sings “The Girl on the Magazine Cover”5 to eleven girls who represent some of the major magazines of the era. After the number concludes, Nadine is so jealous of Don’s success with Hannah that she cattily invites him to dance with her to their old theme song. A boiling mad Hannah heads for the nearest exit and, still convinced that Don cares for Nadine, goes to Luigi’s, sits at the bar and pours her heart out as she sings “Better Luck Next Time.” The next morning, Easter Sunday, Johnny quickly convinces Hannah that she must let Don know she loves him. The scene shifts to Don’s apartment where several gifts are delivered. When Hannah arrives, she reminds him they have a date for the Easter parade and sings the title song.6 As they stroll down Fifth Avenue and photographers take their picture for the rotogravure, Don sings a chorus of the song as the film ends. Another Irving Berlin song, “Everybody’s Doin’ It,” is sung very briefly by the chorus. With seventeen Irving Berlin songs, Fred Astaire’s and Ann Miller’s dancing and Judy Garland’s vocals, Easter Parade is quite enjoyable. Particularly noteworthy musical numbers are “I Love a Piano,” “A Couple of Swells,” “Shakin’ the Blues Away,” and “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” with its trick photography. Call me chauvinistic, but “Easter Parade” should be sung by a male.

Enchanted Touchstone Pictures, November 23, 2007, 107 minutes Principal Cast: Amy Adams (Giselle), Patrick Dempsey (Robert Philip), James Marsden (Prince Edward), Timothy Spall (Nathaniel), Idina Menzel (Nancy Tremaine),

Rachel Covey (Morgan Philip), Susan Sarandon (Queen Narissa) Director: Kevin Lima Producers: Barry Josephson and Barry Sonnenfeld Screenwriter: Bill Kelly Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Choreographer: John O’Connell Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“Happy Working Song”) ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“So Close”) ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“That’s How You Know”) Availability: DVD

Enchanted was well-received critically and the film earned a total over $340 million worldwide, making it one of the highest grossing film releases of 2007. Disney’s Touchstone Pictures and Sonnefeld/Josephson Productions purchased Bill Kelly’s original script in 1977, but Disney executives thought it was too racy, so various screenwriters rewrote it and a succession of potential directors were considered. Finally, Kevin Lima was hired to direct and Bill Kelly was hired to write a revised script. According to the film’s director, there are numerous references to past Disney works and characters in Enchanted. It became the first featurelength Disney live-action/traditional animation (not computer animation) since Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in 1988. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz1 who had worked together previously on the songs for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, were teamed again for Enchanted. The result was three Academy Award nominations for songs from the score (see Awards and Honors above). Enchanted opens like many Disney features with a storybook opening. This particular storybook is a pop-up book that shows a castle in a magical kingdom known as Andalasia, which is inhabited by wicked Queen Narissa. If her stepson, Prince Edward, marries, she would lose her throne, therefore she is determined to prevent him from meeting the maiden with whom he would share true love’s kiss. At this point, the film leaves the story book and continues as an animation. The camera zooms into a tree house where Giselle2 lives. Her furry and feathered woodland friends watch as Giselle builds a scare-crow-type representation of the Prince she has envisioned in her dreams, except she forgets the lips. When one of her animal friends asks about the lips, Giselle explains how necessary they are in the song “True Love’s Kiss.”3 She needs help to find

79 the perfect set of lips, so she calls her forest friends in song to come to her aid, which, of course, they do — in droves. As the animals take over the song, they bring several different objects for her to try as potential lips, but she can’t seem to find the perfect thing. Prince Edward, an egotistical, handsome dunderhead, rides through the forest after he captured his tenth troll this month. Edward doesn’t mind troll hunting, but what he really longs for is his heart to be joined in song. As he sings “True Love’s Kiss,” he hears a maiden singing the same song, so he quickly mounts his horse, Destiny, and charges off to find the girl of the voice. Nathaniel, who the Queen has assigned to occupy the Prince with troll hunting to keep him away from potential mates, is distraught. He releases the troll hoping it will eat the maiden before Edward finds her. The Prince arrives just in time to save Giselle. They immediately become engaged to be married the next day and sing a duet to finish the song as they ride off into an idyllic sunset. Back at the castle, Queen Narissa is watching the proceeding in her crystal ball. She is determined to foil Edward’s plan to marry Giselle. The next day when Giselle arrives for the wedding ceremony, she encounters the villainous Queen disguised as an old hag. The hag entices Giselle over to a wishing well where she pushes her into a magic portal that sends the girl “to a place where there are no ‘happily ever afters.’” After her frightening journey, Giselle lands in a real world sewer. When she emerges through the manhole cover, she discovers she’s in the middle of the street in Times Square in New York City and she almost gets hit by several vehicles. She can’t get the disinterested city inhabitants to direct her to the castle. She is forced into the subway by the crowd and emerges in the Bowery — not exactly the best part of the city. Giselle sits to rest with an old man of the streets who steals her tiara. To make matters even worse, she gets caught in a thunder storm. The scene shifts to a meeting between the lawyers and plaintiffs in a divorce case. Robert Philip, the wife’s lawyer, leaves the proceedings to get engaged to Nancy Tremaine,4 although he hasn’t found the courage to tell his six-year-old daughter, Morgan, about his plans. When his secretary5 suggests that he buy his daughter a special gift to ease the news, Robert purchases a book titled Important Women of Our Time. Morgan isn’t impressed; she wanted a fairy tale book. During a cab ride, Robert abruptly breaks the news to Morgan that he is going to propose to Nancy. Giselle is walking the streets in her wedding dress getting soaking wet when she sees a sign for the

Enchanted Palace Casino. She climbs up onto the billboard and knocks on the false door begging to be admitted. At that moment, Robert and his daughter’s cab happens by and Morgan asks her father why a princess is on the billboard. Morgan jumps out of the cab and runs toward the billboard with her dad close behind. When Robert yells up to Giselle, she looses her balance and falls. To Morgan’s delight, Robert catches her. Even though Robert is convinced this girl is crazy, he and Morgan take her to their apartment, where Morgan begs her father to allow the princess to spend the night. When Giselle falls asleep on Robert’s couch, he allows her to stay. In the next scene, Prince Edward and Pip, Giselle’s chipmunk pal, fall through the magic portal on a mission to save Giselle. Edward emerges from the manhole, draws his sword and asks a group of utility workers if they are pawns of the wicked hag who sent his beloved to this horrible place. The workers are practically speechless. When Pip emerges from the sewer, the chipmunk discovers that he can no longer talk. When Giselle wakes the next morning, she notices what a mess the apartment is in, so she opens the window and summons her animal friends. Rats, pigeons, and bees respond to her singing call. She sings “Happy Working Song”6 as these new friends tidy up the filthy apartment. The noise of a breaking dish wakes Morgan, who is amazed to see the princess singing and the vermin cleaning. She wakes her dad, who is disgusted to discover his living room infested with varmints. Once they herd the animals out of the apartment, they hear the princess humming. When Robert investigates, Giselle is emerging from the shower with two pigeons holding her towel. While he is explaining to Giselle where the water comes from, his soon-tobe-fiancée knocks on the door for a scheduled bonding session with Morgan. At the same time Nancy enters, the pigeons fly into Robert’s face, he falls out the bathroom door with Giselle, wrapped in a bath towel, falling on top of him. Incensed, Nancy leaves. Robert offers to help Giselle get transportation, but tells her that she must leave. She is dressed in a new outfit that she made from his living room curtains. Back in Andalasia, Narissa charms Nathaniel into diving into the magic portal to stop Edward from rescuing Giselle. When Nathaniel crawls out of the manhole, he spies Edward stabbing a city bus as if it were some enchanted beast. Edward is happy to see Nathaniel, who appears to want to help him find his bride-to-be. Robert takes Giselle to his office, where she tries

Enchanted to reconcile the two parties that are seeking a divorce. Her attempt gets Robert in trouble with his client, the opposing lawyer and his client, and his boss. Robert takes Giselle across the street into Central Park to explain. Later in the film Robert’s client and her husband reconcile their marriage because of what Giselle had said. Meanwhile, the vicious Queen Narissa’s image gives Nathaniel three poison apples to use to kill Giselle. Pip witnesses Nathaniel’s conversation with Narissa, but since he’s lost his ability to speak, he acts out what he overheard to Edward in charades. The dimwitted Prince doesn’t understand. When Nathaniel and Pip see Giselle walking with Robert in Central Park, Nathaniel sends the Prince on a wild goose chase after the wrong girl. When Robert gives Giselle some money to telephone her prince to come get her, she gives the money to an old woman. The woman had seen Edward stabbing the bus earlier that morning. Of course, Robert doesn’t believe the old lady. As they continue their walk through Central Park, Robert discovers that Giselle is anxious to marry Edward after knowing him for only one day. He tries to describe the dating process in American culture, but Giselle doesn’t seem to grasp it. When he reveals that he has known Nancy for five years, Giselle isn’t surprised that Nancy is angry; Robert should have proposed long ago. When Nathaniel appears as a caramel apple salesman, he gives Giselle one of the poison apples, but she accidentally tosses it away. As Giselle talks to Robert about how to let Nancy know that he loves her, she transitions into the song, “That’s How You Know.”7 After a few bars of the song, Giselle joins a reggae singer and his instrumental players in a rhythmic version of the song. Then it develops into a huge production number involving numerous people in the park. When Edward hears Giselle singing, he tries to follow the sound of her voice, but is run over by some bicyclists. Giselle vocalizes her summoning call to her animal friends and two doves respond. She sends a wreath of flowers in the shape of a heart and tickets to the King’s and Queen’s Ball by the doves to Nancy on Robert’s behalf. When Nancy receives the gift, she telephones to make up with Robert. Nathaniel and Edward stop at a flop house named The Grand Duke Hotel. When Edward accidentally turns on the TV, Nathaniel gets sucked into a soap opera that causes him to question his loyalty to Narissa and his own self-esteem, but he still sneaks away to get Giselle to eat one of the poison apples. Pip follows Narissa’s minion. In an Italian restaurant,8 the Bella Notte, Giselle asks Robert if this is a date. He tells her they’re just

80 friends, so it isn’t a real date. Later, he tells her about his ex-wife, and Morgan’s mother, leaving. As a result of being hurt, he is determined to protect his daughter from the “dreams come true” nonsense. While they are talking, Nathaniel appears as a waiter and offers Giselle a free apple martini. Just as she starts to take a sip, Pip knocks it out of her hand. The chipmunk manages to get Giselle to understand that Edward is in the city. Back at his hotel, Edward is talking to the TV as if it were a magic mirror. Suddenly he sees Giselle in a news report9 about her being attacked by a chipmunk in a restaurant, so he rushes to the restaurant to rescue his beloved. Robert allows Giselle to stay another night in his apartment and compliments her on how she handled the chipmunk incident with Morgan. Although he doesn’t believe her Prince will ever come to rescue her, he offers to help. At first, she is incensed, but becomes giddy when she realizes that she is experiencing anger for the first time. During this sequence Robert and Giselle almost kiss, but Robert turns away at the last second. The next morning Giselle has made a dress from the curtains in Morgan’s room. Just as they are sitting down to breakfast, someone knocks on the door. It is Prince Edward, who accuses Robert of holding his beloved captive. When Giselle introduces Edward to her new friends, he bursts into an a cappella reprise of “True Love’s Kiss.” Giselle asks Edward to take her on a date to the King’s and Queen’s Ball that evening. Edward agrees only if she promises to return to Andalasia after the ball. Giselle asks Morgan to help her find something to wear to the ball. Morgan takes one of her father’s credit cards and they go on a shopping spree and to the beauty parlor. Robert and Nancy are already at the costume ball when Giselle and Edward enter. Robert is visibly stunned by Giselle’s beauty. When the announcer asks each man to select a dance partner that did not accompany him to the ball, Edward and Nancy dance together, which leaves Robert and Giselle as partners for the song “So Close.”10 During the dance, when Robert softly sings to her, Giselle begins to realize that he is her true love. When Nancy cuts in, Giselle and Edward prepare to return to Andalasia. Suddenly, Narissa appears as the old hag and offers Giselle an apple that will make her forget that she will never be with the one she loves. Giselle takes a bite and collapses to the floor. As the hag attempts to take Giselle away in the elevator, Edward comes to her rescue. Transformed into Narissa, she tells Edward that Giselle only fainted. As Robert runs to Giselle’s side, a remorseful Nathaniel con-

81 fesses that Narissa poisoned the girl. Nathaniel also stops Narissa from putting a spell on Edward. He claims if the spell on Giselle isn’t broken by the last stroke of midnight, it will be permanent, but Robert remembers Giselle saying that true love’s kiss is the most powerful thing in the world. Edward tries several kisses, but it doesn’t work. As the clock chimes the midnight hour, Edward and Nancy persuade Robert to kiss Giselle. Just before the last stroke, Robert plants a tender kiss on her lips. When nothing happens, Narissa smugly smiles in triumph, but Giselle awakes, says, “I knew it was you,” and kisses Robert. Narissa transforms into a dragon and declares that she will kill them all. When Robert tries to intervene, she seizes him and climbs to the top of the Woolworth Building. Giselle grabs Edward’s sword and hurries to rescue Robert. Meanwhile, Edward releases Pip from the cage Nathaniel had put him in so he can help Giselle. When Pip arrives at the top of the building, he causes the dragon to fall from the roof to her death, and Giselle saves Robert from plunging to his death. As “Ever, Ever After”11 is heard, a perplexed Nancy picks up Giselle’s glass slipper. Edward places the slipper on her foot — a perfect fit. Nancy and the Prince run to Times Square and disappear into the manhole that transports them back to Andalasia. Shortly after they arrive, they get married. After Robert and Giselle marry, she opens the Andalasia Fashions boutique, where she is assisted by some of her animal friends. As the pop-up story book returns, we learn that Nathaniel becomes the successful author of My Royal Pain, Vanquishing the Evil Queen Within in the real world, while Pip becomes the successful author of Silence Isn’t Golden in Andalasia. The final scene shows Giselle, Robert, and Morgan living happily ever after as a family. And the story book closes. During the closing credits the orchestral plays versions of most of the film’s principal songs along with animated images from several Disney features including The Little Mermaid, The Sword in the Stone, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. Several songs from Disney films are heard as incidental background music.12 Film critic Manohla Dargis wrote that Enchanted is “an unexpectedly delightful revisionist fairy tale from, of all places, Walt Disney Pictures ... the film works its magic largely by sending up, at times with a wink, at times with a hard nudge, some of the very stereotypes that have long been this company’s profitable stock in trade.”13 According to rottentomatoes.com, Enchanted has a 93 percent approval rating among critics, which is as high as or higher than any other movie

Evita musical from the 21st century so far. Amy Adams is superb as Giselle and Susan Sarandon is an excellent villainess. As usual, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s songs fit perfectly. And it’s fun to try to figure out all the Disney inside jokes.

Evita Cinergi Pictures, December 14, 1996, 135 minutes Principal Cast: Madonna (Eva Duarte Perón) Antonio Banderas (Ché Guevara/Narrator), Jonathan Pryce (Col. Juan Perón), Jimmy Nail (Agustin Magaldi) Director/Co-Producer/Co-Screenwriter: Alan Parker1 Producers: Robert Stigwood, Andrew G. Vajna Screenwriter: Oliver Stone Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Tim Rice Choreographer: Vincent Paterson Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“You Must Love Me”) ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

Twenty-one years after Eva Perón’s death, lyricist and librettist, Tim Rice, got the idea for a musical of her life when he heard a documentary about her on his car radio. Like Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita began as a concept album, which was released in 1976. The album achieved success mainly in Great Britain, other United Kingdom countries, South America, and various European countries, but was not particularly successful in the United States. Lloyd Webber and Rice reworked the music before it opened on London’s West End as a stage musical in 1978. Evita, which was based on Mary Main’s biography of Eva Perón, The Woman with the Whip, came to Broadway in 1979 and closed, after 1,567 performances, in 1983. Patti LuPone starred as Eva, while Mandy Patinkin played Ché and Bob Gunton was Perón. The Harold Prince directed production received eleven Tony Award nominations, winning seven, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book (Musical), Best Director (Musical), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Patinkin), and Best Actress in a Musical (LuPone). Like other Lloyd Webber musical scores, Evita is operatic in the sense that it is basically sung throughout. For the film version, two songs were cut2 and “You Must Love Me” was added.

Evita Evita opens in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the summer of 1952 (“A Cinema in Buenos Aires, 26th July 1952”). One of Eva’s black and white films is showing. When the film is suddenly interrupted, the cinema crowd protests noisely. The theater manager announces that Eva Perón died. The heartbroken audience sings “Requiem for Evita.”3 The following scene is a funeral procession in Chivilcoy in 1926. A bus arrives and a woman and her children get off. They attempt to attend the funeral, but are turned away by the deceased man’s wife, who yells that this woman is not the man’s wife and her children are bastards. Eva, one of the youngest children, breaks away and runs into the church. She places some wild flowers on the casket and kisses her “Papa.” The scene shifts to Eva Perón’s funeral procession where the crowd sings “Salve regina.” Listening on the radio to the funeral from a bar, Ché sings “Oh, What a Circus,”4 as he cynically comments about the massive grief that gripped Argentina when Eva died. He accuses the populace of irrational hysteria and Eva of not living up to her promises. While Eva’s body is lying in state and crowds are filing by to show their respect, Eva’s voice sings a few lines of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” The film then flashes back to Eva’s hometown, Junin, in 1936. A knock on the door wakes Senor Augustin Magaldi, a famous tango singer, who is in bed with the fifteen-year-old Eva. Magaldi quickly dresses to perform at a nearby cabaret, while Ché sings “Eva and Magaldi.” In the cabaret, Magaldi performs “On This Night of a Thousand Stars” as his final song for the evening. After the performance, Eva begs him to take her to Buenos Aires. Magaldi tries tactfully to get out of taking her, but her family threatens to tell the newspapers about his sexual encounters during his tour if he doesn’t help her realize her show business amibitions. In “Eva, Beware of the City,” Magaldi warns her of the city’s pitfalls. On the train and as they arrive in the city, Eva reveals her hopes and plans in “Buenos Aires.” She promises to give the city a glimpse of her star quality. When Magaldi arrives at his home, he kisses his young daughter as Eva looks on from the street. She walks away singing “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” and wonders what will happen to her. Soon, she finds work as a taxi dancer and auditions for acting jobs. In “Goodnight and Thank You,” which could easily have been titled “It’s Sad When a Love Affair Dies,” Ché and Eva relate how she slept her way to success as a model, a singer of commercials, and a radio star.

82 In “The Lady’s Got Potential,” Ché calls her a great social climber, the best since Cinderella, because, even though she wasn’t much of an actress, she knew how to use the right men to guarantee success. Ché also sings about the rise of Colonel Juan Perón. When an earthquake hit San Juan, the tragedy became Perón’s golden opportuniy; he organized a charity concert for the earthquake victims and it was there that he met Eva. At the “Charity Concert,” Magaldi reprises his “On This Night of a Thousand Stars.” As he leaves the stage, Eva, who is by now a successful actress, and he exchange snide pleasantries. The charismatic Perón takes the stage to address the crowd and promises that he is a servant of the people. While the crowd chants “Perón” over and over, Ché sings “The Art of the Possible,” about Perón’s politics. Eva introduces herself to Perón, even though he already knew who she was. On their drive to his city apartment, Eva assures him “I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You” and for much more than just one night. Perón is enthralled. When they arrive at Perón’s estate, Eva promptly dismisses his young mistress (“Hello and Goodbye”). As she prepares to leave, his former mistress reprises “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.” At a polo match attended by Perón and Eva, Ché and some aristocrats, the Oligarchs, sing “Perón’s Latest Flame.” The Oligarchs detest that someone from the lower class is not only accepted, but admired. The Army reveals their chauvinism when they sing about a mistress being allowed, but she is not welcome in certain circles. As a newspaper reporter, Ché interviews Eva, who complains that acting is limiting and insists that she really wants to do something to help Argentina. During the presidental campaign (“A New Argentina”), Eva assures Perón that the country will hand over the power he desires if he is patient. The populace sings about a new era while Eva continues to speak for Perón; she announces that Perón has resigned from the army and will fight for the “descamisados,” literally “shirtless ones,” the poor laborers and factory workers. Eva and Ché march with hordes of Perón’s followers promising a new Argentina. In an attempt to silence Perón and his questionable campaign practices, the Army arrests him. The authorities reluctantly release Perón. As the masses shout his name, Perón sheds his coat before the descamisados as a symbol of being one of them. Then, the scene shifts to Eva’s and Juan’s wedding and later to more campaigning. Perón wins the election and the cheering crowd proclaims “A New Argentina.” In the song, “On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada,” Perón once again removes his jacket to address his ardent support-

83 ers. He promises to fight against poverty, social injustice and foreign domination of Argentine industries. When he mentions his wife, the crowd begins to chant her name. When Eva joins her husband on the balcony, she calms the adoring crowd and sings “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.” In the song, Eva explains her love for her country and its people and hopes they return her love. When Eva breaks down with emotion, the crowd hums the melody. Once she regains her composure, Eva swears that everything she has said is true, which causes the crowd to grow even more enthusiastic. She exits the balcony, but returns to promise she will serve Perón’s crusade to rescue his people. At Perón’s Inaugural Ball, Ché sings “High Flying, Adored” about the price of fame and about a backstreet girl becoming a rich and beautiful instant queen. Eva insists her story is not unusual; she’s just a local girl who made good and married a famous man. Soon after the Inauguration, Eva sings “Rainbow High.” During the song, she is transformed into someone the people will adore. From her hair to her hands, from jewelry to her image, she dazzles. Once the tranformation is complete, she heads for a tour of Europe. Ché shows Perón and his officers a newsreel of Eva in Spain. In Rome, the Italians called her a whore. In France, she made a good first impression, but the success of the tour declined. So, her famous 1946 European tour achieved mixed results. Upon her return, the women of the aristocracy sing “The Actress Hasn’t Learned (The Lines You’d Like to Hear),” while the police round up protestors. At an elegant garden party, Eva sings a verse of the song as she shakes hands with society matrons and their husbands. From outside the gates of the estate, Ché is among a crowd singing about how nothing has changed for the peasants. He accuses her of furthering her own cause at the expense of those she promised to help, but she promises to start helping those in need. In “And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out),” Ché describes the controversial charitable causes and potential money-laundering practices of Eva’s foundation. However, the commoners love her and campaign for her to become Vice-President (“Partido Feminista”). When Perón’s officers oppose her political ambitions, Juan explains that “She Is a Diamond” to the peasants. However, he does admit Eva’s health is failing. The generals contend that Eva is the reason that Juan is still President. While “Santa Evita”5 is being sung by some children, a montage shows scenes of Juan and Eva’s family life and public appearances, but others are

Fame more violent. Ché accuses Eva of turning a blind eye to what is really happening. While Eva celebrates the eucharist, we see more protestors clashing with police. Then Eva faints at the church alter and is rushed to the hospital and into surgery. While she is under anesthesia, Eva and Ché dance together to “Waltz for Eva and Ché” and debate her recent actions. He asks how she can claim to be the people’s savior when her opposition is squashed or simply disappears. She contends that she can’t solve the world’s problems, but is simply trying to give the descamisados a magical moment or two. Back in her hospital bed (“Your Little Body’s Slowly Breaking Down”), Perón tells Eva she is dying. As she leaves the hospital (“You Must Love Me”), Eva finally realizes that Perón must truly love her, not just for what she can do for him and his political career, but she’s frightened that he will discard her. As a huge crowd chants her name, in “Eva’s Final Broadcast,” she announces her decision not to pursue political office and, as she reprises part of “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina,” she swears her love for the people. The throng becomes eerily quiet. “Latin Chant” is sung by a choir as a huge crowd keeps vigil outside the palace. On her deathbed, Eva sings “Lament,” in which she contemplates her choice of fame over long life. She seems content that her short life was full of fire, but is sad that the flame is going out. When the light in her room is extinguished signaling her death, the scene quickly reverts to the long lines viewing her body as she lies in state. As a finale, Ché places a tender kiss on the glass part of Eva’s casket, and some embalmers sing about preserving her body forever. Antonio Banderas is great as the film’s conspiratorial singing narrator and has a much better singing voice than one might expect. Madonna is a surprisingly good Eva Perón and, although she is a pop diva, sings this semi-operatic material very well. The best singing, however, is in the choruses. Negatively, the film is frantic in its pace. Andrew Lloyd Webber is sometimes criticized for his endless repetitions and in Evita, the key melodies are reprised often to different lyrics.

Fame M-G-M, May 16, 1980, 134 minutes Principal Cast: Irene Cara (Coco Hernandez), Lee Curreri (Bruno Martelli), Laura Dean (Lisa Monroe), Antonia Franceschi (Hilary Van Doren), Paul McCrane

Fame (Montgomery MacNeil), Barry Miller (Raul Garcia/ Ralph Garcy), Maureen Teefy (Doris Finsecker), Anne Meara (Mrs. Sherwood), Joann Merlin (Miss Berg), Jim Moody (Mr. Farrell), Albert Hague (Mr. Shorofsky) Director: Alan Parker1 Producer: David De Silva and Alan Marshall Screenwriter: Christopher Gore Words and Music: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Louis Falco Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Fame”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Song (“Fame”) ❍ *Best Score ❍ Best Song (“Out Here on My Own”) ❍ Best Sound ❍ Best Original Screenplay ❍ Best Film Editing Availability: DVD

Fame, which was conceived by the film’s co-producer David De Silva, follows a group of students through their studies at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts, which was later merged with the High School of Music and Art into what is currently known as the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts. Auditions: Montgomery MacNeil presents a touching monologue and various instrumentalists audition. While a singer auditions, a violinist is heard. That is followed by excerpts of several dancers as soloists and in groups auditioning. During her drama audition, shy Doris Finsecker, on orders from her mother, sings “The Way We Were”2 to a poorly played recorded piano accompaniment by her brother. When Raul Garcia plays the harmonica for his music audition, he is referred to the dance department; when he dances a humorous routine to “Swanee River (Old Folks at Home),”3 he is referred to the drama department. Outside in rush hour traffic, Bruno Martelli, his cab-driver father and uncle unload multiple keyboards and transport them into the building. After setting up his equipment, Martelli plays a symphonic piece, but the teachers object to his playing like an entire orchestra. Shirley Mullholland’s dance audition doesn’t go well (“Red Light”4), but the teachers think her partner, Leroy Johnson, has raw talent. When Leroy is accepted and she isn’t, Shirley curses him for stealing her audition. Freshman: As their year begins, “Dogs in the Yard”5 is heard. As Mrs. Sherwood calls the role for her Freshman English class, Raul Garcia changes his name to Ralph Garcy to disguise his Hispanic heritage. Mrs. Sherwood stresses that academics are weighted equally with performance. Miss Berg attempts to

84 frighten her students with the myriad of dance classes they must take. Mr. Farrell warns the drama students how few jobs there are and how many outof-work thespians are doing menial jobs. Mr. Shorofsky rattles off the daunting course of study for the music students. Doris is so overwhelmed that she tries to find some solitude, but stumbles into the lunchroom instead. Some percussionists begin a rhythm that is picked up by Bruno on the piano and by various other instrumentalists and danced by dancers of all persuasions. It develops into “Hot Lunch Jam,”6 which is sung by Coco. Doris flees the wild lunchroom jam session and meets Montgomery, who is having his lunch on the stairs. Doris admits to Montgomery that she feels too ordinary compared to all the colorful personalities at the school. She’s also confesses to an infatuation for Michael,7 an upperclassman who wins a prestigious scholarship. Instead of using the award, he auditions for a television pilot. Later, Ralph hints to Doris that Montgomery isn’t interested in women. The cock-sure Leroy and his ghetto lingo clashes with Mrs. Sherwood’s demand for standard English. He is actually illiterate, but is ashamed to admit it. When Mrs. Sherwood demands that he prove he can read, he explodes and takes his frustrations out on objects around the school. During this segment, the school choir sings the “Amen” section of a difficult-sounding choral piece.8 Later, Leroy wanders into a garbage dump, picks up a sheet of paper and tries to read. As he agonizes, the school choir sings the same choral piece. Bruno’s father is worried because his son doesn’t date girls and refuses to allow people to hear his music. Bruno complains to Coco that Shorofsky doesn’t like any music since Mozart. Later, Bruno tells Shorofsky if Mozart were alive today he would write and perform his music by overdubbing and mixing. Sophomore : When the year begins, a new, wealthy dance student, Hillary van Doren, joins the school. Leroy clashes with Miss Berg over his refusal to wear tights in dance class. One day when Leroy finds Hillary practicing alone in a rehearsal room, she picks up her bag and motions for him to follow.9 Bruno’s father pulls up in front of the school with speakers mounted to the top of his cab and proudly plays some of his son’s music, the film’s title song, “Fame,”10 with Coco singing the lyrics. The student body pours out of the building, dances in the streets and on top of the cars that are stuck in traffic. Bruno’s father brags to anyone who will listen: “My son’s music! ... Today 46th Street, tomorrow Madison Square Garden!”

85 Montgomery asks Doris to go to a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ralph teases Montgomery about his homosexuality by wearing Frank N. Furter’s drag outfit. He also calls Doris an “Irishy, Jewishy, paranoid” who would be perfect for a movie titled I Was a Teenage Fag Hag. Doris’ mother forces her to sing “Happy Birthday” at a child’s birthday party. Back in drama class, she tells about the humiliation she felt and her desire to assert herself more. In the same class, Ralph relates the despair he felt when his idol, Freddie Prinze,11 died. Mrs. Sherwood assigns Shakespeare’s Othello to Leroy for a thousand word book report, because she thought he might empathize with the black title character. She also threatens that he’ll be kicked out of school if he doesn’t do the report well. Miss Berg drops Lisa from the dance program. At the Times Square subway station, while Coco sings and dances to “Singin’ in the Rain,”12 Lisa considers suicide. She walks to the edge of the track and drops her dance clothes on the tracks and declares if she can’t dance, she’ll change to drama. Junior: This year begins with Ralph and Doris rehearsing a scene in Montgomery’s unfurnished apartment. When they discover their mutual attraction, Montgomery feels very uncomfortable. Hoping to shock her father and stepmother, Hillary takes Leroy home, but they don’t react negatively. Coco accompanies herself on the piano and sings “Out Here on My Own”13 in the school’s empty auditorium while Bruno listens. He is visably moved. When Raul’s youngest sister is attacked by a junkie, her mother takes her to see the Catholic Priest. Raul lashes out at his mother for not taking her to a doctor. He blames himself for not being there to protect his little sister. To comfort his anguish, Doris passionately kisses him, which makes Montgomery so uncomfortable that he leaves his own apartment. Doris seriously rebels against her Jewish heritage. She considers her name too middle-aged; she wants to be “Dominique DuPont.” When she and Ralph attend a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, he shares his weed with her. Doris gets high enough that during the “Time Warp” sequence she sheds her blouse and joins the stage show. The next day at lunch, she tells Montgomery what she did and claims that as an actress she can assume any personality. Her exultant mood is slightly tempered when Michael, the former student who auditioned for a TV pilot, is their waiter. Alone in his apartment, Montgomery strums his guitar and sings “Is It Okay If I Call You Mine?”14

Fame Senior: As their final year begins, Ralph performs as a stand-up comic at Catch a Rising Star, the same club where Freddie Prinze got his break. All his friends are in the audience to support him. He’s a hit and is booked for a prime spot at the club. Ralph’s initial success as a comic causes problems in his relationship with Doris. During another engagement at the comedy club, he bombs horribly. Hillary, who is pregnant, can’t fulfill her dream of becoming a ballerina with a baby, so she has an abortion. A sleazy guy who claims to be a film director asks Coco to do a screen test. When she goes to his apartment for the “screen test,” he asks her to undress. When she removes her top, she cries for being so gullibile. When Leroy learns that Mrs. Sherwood is at the hospital with her sick husband, he finds her sitting alone outside her husband’s room. He tells her that famous choreographer Alvin Ailey has offered him a spot in his dance company, but in order to get the job, she must pass him so he can graduate. He lashes out at her for “coming down hard” on him for the last four years, but she lashes right back. Feeling guilty, he comforts her. At graduation, the school’s orchestra and a rock band accompany several students singing “I Sing the Body Electric.”15 The school’s ballet class and chorus also perform the song. The primary recurring idea is that soon they will all be stars. There are only seven movie musicals from the Eighties that received AFI nominations and there are no representatives from the decade in AFI’s or Entertainment Weekly’s top twenty-five greatest movie musicals. In my opinion, it’s a close call between Fame and The Little Mermaid as the best musical film of the decade. The film is especially moving and entertaining for those who were teenagers in the early Eighties because it portrays teenage angst sensitively. Several of the songs, like “Red Light,” and “Dogs in the Yard,” and the audition songs are not plot related (any song could have been used). Lesley Gore, who was a very successful recording artist in the early Sixties (“It’s My Party”) and her younger brother, Michael, wrote “Out Here on My Own” and collaborated with Robert R. Colesberry on “Hot Lunch Jam.” Both songs are quite enjoyable. Michael teamed with lyricist Dean Pitchford on “Red Light,” “Fame,” and “I Sing the Body Electric” (the last two are the most plot sensitive songs in the film). Paul McCrane, who played Montgomery, wrote and performed “Is It Okay If I Call You Mine?” I admit to being puzzled by this song: where, when and why it appeared in the film. Mc-

86

Fantasia Crane also performed “Dogs in the Yard,” which was used as a recording in the film, as is “Red Light,” which was performed by Linda Clifford. Fame, the TV series ran from 1982 to 1987 on NBC and later in syndication. Fame — the Musical was first produced in Miami in 1988, but also played Off-Broadway. It enjoyed more success in London. Lakeshore Entertainment and M-G-M released a new film version of Fame in September 2009. The students, like the original movie, are relative unknowns, but the teachers are portrayed by Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally and Bebe Neuwirth.

Fantasia Walt Disney Pictures, November 13, 1940, 125 minutes Directors: see each individual section Producer: Walt Disney Awards and Honors: ● Honorary Academy Award Certificate to Walt Disney, William E. Garity, J.N.A. Hawkins for their outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through Fantasia, and Leopold Stokowski (and his associates) for unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form. ● Added to the National Film Registry, 1990 Availability: DVD

Fantasia grew out of plans to make a Mickey Mouse short of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in 1938. Famous symphonic conductor Leopold Stokowski agreed to conduct the score for the short, but convinced Disney to expand his idea to other “serious” compositions. Originally conceptualized as a feature that would include extra-wide screens, 3-D, and smells, those ideas were eventually abandoned. The film was recorded in Fantasound, an elaborate and expensive sound system, but the government claimed that national defense demands were more important, so the sound technology was scrapped after the premier. The general release used a standard sound track. Fantasia was not particularly successful on its initial release. Musical purists were horrified that classical music was being presented as a cartoon and that some of the pieces were abridged. Those who were not classical music fans weren’t willing to purchase tickets for a film that featured that type

of music. Over the years, however, Disney’s faith in the project was vindicated. Stokowski had recorded the music for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice earlier with studio musicians in Hollywood, but the rest of the soundtrack was prerecorded by the Philadelphia Orchestra. As the film’s title fades, silhouetted musicians walk onto an orchestral platform. After they tune their instruments, the film’s narrator, Deems Taylor, welcomes the audience and explains that the designs, pictures and stories in the film came from the Disney artists’ imaginations. He also gives the audience a short music appreciation lesson: music that tells a story or paints a picture, is called program music, and music with no story or picture associated with it, is called absolute music. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor ( Johann Sebastian Bach, c. 1717). Director: Samuel Armstrong. The eight animated sequences begin with an example of absolute music: Stokowski’s orchestral transcription of Bach’s original organ composition that has, unfortunately, become associated with mad scientists who pound out the piece on powerful pipe organs. The very dramatic Toccata section is played in live-action, featuring the conductor and the various instrumental sections of the orchestra in silhouette. The fugue section turns more abstract. Violin bows become silver streaks darting through a cloud covered sky. Abstract forms and shapes are synchronized to the music. As the music builds, light and color explode like fireworks. Towards the end of the piece, the screen focuses on the conductor again as the toccata-like music returns. Nutcracker Suite (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1892). Director: Samuel Armstrong. Deems Taylor continues his narration by suggesting that Tchaikovsky was not pleased with his Nutcracker Suite,1 but it has become the most well known of his compositions. He also warns that there is nothing in Disney’s animation from the original ballet story. 1. “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” opens with fireflies transforming into radiant ballerinas. The dew drops spread by these Tinker-Bell–like creatures causes flower buds to open. Some of these sprites collide, producing an explosion of dewdrops that fall on some mushrooms. 2. “The Chinese Dance” features six redtopped mushrooms that resemble cooliehatted Orientals. They shake off the dewdrops and perform their dance. The smallest mushroom has difficulty keeping up. 3. “The Dance of the Reed Flutes” features multi-colored flower blossoms drifting

87 down into a stream. The blossoms’ petals transform into skirted dancers, who spin across the water’s surface, dance in and out of tree roots, and are eventually swept over a water fall and disappear. 4. “The Arabian Dance” segues from the previous number into an underwater setting, featuring koi with big flowing tails in an aqua ballet with some Busby Berkeley– inspired images. Bubbles rise to the surface to end the sequence 5. “The Russian Dance/Trepak” opens with the largest bubble revealing a thistle with six blossoms, which become Cossack-like high-kicking dancers. Soon, several multicolored orchids appear as slim-waisted, full-skirted peasant girls. The pace quickens until it suddenly freezes on a final image of the thistles. 6. “Waltz of the Flowers” begins with fall and ends with winter. It starts with some sprites flying from plant to plant turning the green leaves into fall colors. The leaves drop and drift in the wind. Then the sprite creatures touch milkweed pods that release their seeds; they resemble dancers with parachute-like skirts that enable them to drift with the wind. The frost fairies spread ice crystals on the leaves and skim across a pond changing it into ice. Then, snowflakes complete the change from fall to winter as they cover the landscape. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Paul Dukas, 1897). Director: James Algar. Deems Taylor returns to introduce The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,2 which tells a story that is almost 2,000 years old. When the Sorcerer decides to retire for the evening, he assigns his lazy apprentice, Mickey Mouse, the task of filling a large water vat. Dreading carrying buckets of water, the apprentice notices that the wizard has left behind his magical hat. He dons the hat, points at a broom leaning against the wall and instructs it to fill the vat. As the broom follows his command, the smug apprentice reclines in the Sorcerer’s chair. Presently, his laziness overtakes him; he falls asleep and dreams of his newly acquired powers. He controls the clouds, stars, planets, and comets in the sky; lightening bolts and the waves of the ocean follow his commands. Suddenly, he awakes and realizes that his chair is floating on water that is spilling out of the overfilled vat. He frantically tries to stop the broom by splitting it into many pieces with an ax. All is quiet for a moment, but then each piece fetches water. He frantically tries to bail water from the room, but the enchanted brooms continue their task even when

Fantasia they become submerged. As the apprentice floats on the sorcerer’s magic book, he is caught in a whirlpool. Suddenly, the Sorcerer appears and, with a majestic sweep with his hands, calms the water and returns things to normal. As the apprentice walks away to resume his duties in the proper way, the Sorcerer whacks him in the rear with the broom. As the piece ends, Mickey Mouse, dressed in tails, runs into the scene, tugs on Stokowski’s coat to get his attention and congratulates him; he, in turn, congratulates Mickey. The Rite of Spring (Igor Stravinsky, 1913). Directors: Bill Roberts and Paul Satterfield. Stravinsky’s once revolutionary composition, The Rite of Spring, simplified and rearranged for the film, was originally about the pagan sacrifice of a young maiden to appease the gods. Disney’s imagineers visualized it as a depiction of the evolutionary development of life on earth. This ambitious sequence opens with spiraling nebulae, comets, and meteors. An emission of gas from the sun shoots into space and solidifies into a ball of fire that becomes a molten mass. Volcanic eruptions form mountain ranges and the planet cools. Microscopic, one-celled organisms split and gradually develop into undersea life. After the first fish appears, the Polypterus’ fins become legs that enable them to walk onto dry land and adapt to new conditions. When a Pterodactyl flies too close to the water, it is captured by a sea creature. The survival of the fittest is dramatized by a bloody fight between a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Stegosaurus. The extinction of the dinosaurs is pictured as the effects of a blistering drought that turns the land mass into a desert. An eclipse of the sun signals the dawn of a new era. The planet trembles with earthquakes, mountains spring up, caverns and valleys are created and rains cause floods that form the oceans. Finally, earth as we know it has been created. Intermission/Meet the Soundtrack. Directors: Ben Sharpsteen and David D. Hand. After the intermission, a few musicians engage in an informal jam session. Mr. Taylor reappears and introduces the soundtrack. Timid at first, the soundtrack, illustrated as vertical shafts of light, show how sound is rendered as soundwaves. Various sounds from orchestral instruments, dialogue, and sound effects are illustrated. Symphony No. 6 in F Major, “Pastorale” or The Pastoral Symphony (Ludwig van Beethoven, 1808). Directors: Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, and Ford Beebe. Next on the program is Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony,”3 one of the few compositions that the famous composer wrote that is programmatic. Disney’s creative staff freely interpreted the

Fantasia music as a mythological allegory. Set on the slopes of Mount Olympus, this segment begins with baby unicorns and baby fauns frolicking in Elysian Fields. Pegasus, the black winged stallion, flies with his family of four colorful babies. Joined by his white mate, they glide over a lake and settle on its surface. Female centaurs bathe in the stream4 and are dressed by baby cupids. After the females flirt with male centaurs, they go off together for an idyllic afternoon. When one female and one male are left unmatched, the cupids work their magic to get them together. After wine is pressed for a feast, Bacchus is soon happily drunk and rides about on his donkey enjoying the party. When the party ends, a storm is brewing. As Vulcan creates the lightning bolts on his anvil in the clouds, he hands them to Zeus, who hurls them to earth. One of the bolts strikes the wine vat and the wine flows like a river. Soon Zeus tires of his game and goes to sleep, pulling the clouds over him like a blanket. As the clouds roll away, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, signals that all is calm again. The earthly creatures come out to admire the sun, symbolized by Apollo riding a fiery chariot in the sky. As sunset approaches, Morpheus covers the land with darkness. Night falls and Diana, goddess of the moon, appears in the sky and shoots her fiery arrow-comet into the air. The comet creates sparkling stars that fall into their proper places in the night sky. All is peaceful. “Dance of the Hours” from La Gioconda (Amilcare Ponchielli, 1876). Directors: T. Hee and Norm Ferguson. The Disney imagineers transformed Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours into a comical animal ballet that takes place in a Great Hall and its gardens. • In part one, dawn, the camera moves from the Great Hall’s iron gates through columns to white curtains that open on a large, sleeping ostrich. After wakening and stretching, the ostrich rises and gracefully pirouettes over to other sleeping ostriches. The prima ballerina ostrich throws fruit to her fellow ostriches, which they swallow, creating funny shapes in their slim necks. The lead ostrich flees to an outdoor pool when the others attempt to take a bunch of grapes away from her. • At midday, part two, a prima ballerina hippopotamus awakes and emerges from a lily pond in the garden. After she primps in front of a mirror, two other hippos help her out of the pond. Dressed in a tutu, she pirouettes daintily during a solo dance. Soon tired, she falls into the arms of the other hippos, who transport her to her couch.

88 • During the afternoon segment, a group of elephants, dressed in evening wear, blow large pink bubbles with their trunks in a bubble dance. The sleeping hippo is borne upward on a stack of bubbles, soon joined by other hippos and elephants. Everything comes back to earth, and the hippo is left sleeping, as night falls. • In part four, night, several yellow-eyed, black-caped alligators swoop down on the entire company. In the frantic finale the alligators chase after the hippos and play hide-and-seek behind marble columns; the alligators ride the ostriches; an elephant rides an alligator; the alligators spin elephants over their heads; and the hippos twirl alligators around by their tails. Near the end, the principal alligator throws the hippo down triumphantly. On the final note, the camera pulls back through the columns of the Great Hall to the iron doors at its entrance. As the gates slam shut, they crumble off their hinges. Night on Bald Mountain (Modest Mussorgsky, 1877) & “Ave Maria” (Franz Schubert, 1825). Director: Wilfred Jackson. Mr. Taylor explains that the final sequence is a combination of two completely different types of compositions — one profane, the other sacred. Night on Bald Mountain is one of Disney’s most visually terrifying animations. It is a dramatic celebration of evil during a Witches’ Sabbath night. As night falls, the Black God, Chernobog,5 the lord of evil and death, awakens and spreads his cloak that has been a jagged peak. Skeletal ghosts and specters riding demonic horses rise from their graves to worship him and he revels in their adoration. Some of the spirits dance furiously in his gigantic hand; then he transforms them into naked women, demonic animals, and miniature black gods. When he becomes bored with their gyrations, he drops them into a molten, fiery pit. As morning approaches, Chernobog cringes and recoils with each chime of church bells. Finally, as the spirits return to their graves, Chernobog withdraws into his cape and transforms again into the jagged peak. As the camera pulls back, church bells call people to a different type of worship. In the morning mist, hooded monks process toward a beautiful pasture just before dawn. As a choir sings the last chords of Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” daylight brightens the sky and the land. The powers of good have triumphed over the powers of evil and death once again. Fantasia may not be a typical movie musical, but it deserves inclusion as one of the greatest movie

89 musicals. It is most likely one of the top ten musical films of the Forties. According to rottentomatoes.com, Fantasia has a 98 percent approval rating. The problem with the above synopsis is my inability to adequately describe the animated action apart from the music. If the reader hasn’t seen the film, they may not understand the descriptions. A sequel titled Fantasia 2000 6 was released in 1999. It was the first feature-length animated film to be released for IMAX theaters.

Fiddler on the Roof United Artists, November 3, 1971, 181 minutes Principal Cast: Topol (Tevye), Norma Crane (Golde), Rosalind Harris (Tzeitel), Michele Marsh (Hodel), Neva Small (Chava), Leonard Frey (Motel), Paul Michael Glaser (Perchik), Paul Mann (Lazar Wolf ) Producer/Director: Norman Jewison Screenwriter: Joseph Stein Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Choreographer: Tom Abbott Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role (Topol) ❍ Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Leonard Frey) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score ❍ *Best Cinematography ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration Availability: DVD

The musical Fiddler on the Roof opened on Broadway in 1964 and became the first musical to surpass the 3,000 performance mark. The highly acclaimed production held the longest-running Broadway musical honor for almost ten years. It earned ten Tony Award nominations, winning nine, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Direction and Best Choreography. Originally titled Tevye, the musical was based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, which were published in the late nineteenth century. The original cast included Zero Mostel (Tevye), Maria Karnilova (Golde), Beatrice Arthur (Yente), Austin Pendleton (Motel), Bert Convy (Perchik), Julia Migenes (Hodel), Joanna Merlin (Tzeitel) and Adrienne Barbeau (Hodel). The 1971 film version won three Academy Awards and was nominated for several others (see Awards and Honors above). Except for the omis-

Fiddler on the Roof sions of a couple of songs,1 the film is a rather faithful version of the original. The film, which is set in the Jewish shtetl2 of Anatevka in 1905 Tsarist Russia, opens at sunrise as a fiddler plays his tune from the roof of a house. As Tevye, the village milkman, loads his wagon, he explains that each person in the village is like a fiddler on the roof.3 They stay in Anatevka simply because it is their home. In “Tradition,” Tevye explains that their many traditions help them maintain their balance. Yente,4 the village matchmaker, arrives to tell Golde, Tevye’s wife, that Lazar Wolf, a wealthy widower and elderly butcher, wants to marry their eldest daughter, Tzeitel. Tzeitel, who has been in love with Motel, a tailor, since they were children, doesn’t want Yente to find her a husband. Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava sing “Matchmaker,” in which they dream of the ideal match. They eventually decide they’d rather not be matched unless he’s the perfect match. As Tevye takes care of his live stock, he sings “If I Were a Rich Man.” He would have a large house with dozens of rooms, but the best thing would be to spend time in the synagogue discussing the Holy Books. Several village men approach Tevye about the pogroms.5 Perchik, a student from Kiev who has just arrived in Anatevka, overhears their conversation and reprimands them for not doing anything about them. The men condemn Perchik as a radical, but Tevye invites him home for the Sabbath meal and offers him room and board for tutoring his daughters. Golde tells Tevye that Lazar Wolfe wants to see him, but she doesn’t tell him why. After Yente’s visit, Tzeitel wants Motel to ask her father for her hand in marriage immediately. Although Motel is afraid of Tevye, he finally agrees to talk with him after the Sabbath. The family gathers around for the “Sabbath Prayer,” in which Golde and Tevye pray that the Lord will protect their family and that their daughters will be good mothers and wives to good husbands. Tevye goes to Lazar’s, where, after some small talk and a few drinks, Tevye agrees to allow him to marry Tzeitel primarily because his daughter will never go hungry with a butcher for a husband. They go to the village inn to celebrate; there they sing “To Life (Le’Chaim).” During the song, some Russian youths join in the celebration and show off their dancing skills. Eventually, Tevye joins their dance. As Tevye staggers out of the inn, the Russian Constable tells him there is going to be a “demonstration” sometime soon and he can’t prevent it.

Fiddler on the Roof When Tevye announces that he has agreed for Tzeitel to marry Lazar Wolf, Golde is overjoyed, but Tzeitel is horrified. With renewed courage, Motel tells Tevye that he and Tzeitel pledged to marry over a year ago. He argues that even a poor tailor deserves some happiness. Impressed that the timid tailor is standing up for himself and moved by his daughter’s love, Tevye changes his mind and gives his permission. Now, he must break the news to Golde. The overjoyed Motel celebrates by singing “Miracle of Miracles.” As he and Tzeitel giddily romp in the woods, he compares Tevye’s change of heart to several Hebrew scripture miracles. But, he claims the biggest miracle of all is that God gave him Tzeitel to love. While Chava is returning from town one day, Fyedka, a young Russian, stands up for her when she is intimidated by some other Russian men. He also loans her a book and their secret relationship begins. Tevye tells Golde that he had a nightmare (“Tevye’s Dream”), in which her Grandmother Tzeitel returned from the grave to bless the marriage of her namesake to Motel. Lazar Wolf ’s late wife, Fruma Sarah, also rises from her grave to warn of retribution if Tzeitel marries Lazar. Frightened by Tevye’s dream, Golde is certain it is a sign that their daughter must marry Motel. Tevye is smugly pleased with himself. The entire Jewish community attends Tzeitel and Motel’s wedding ceremony. Tevye and Golde sing “Sunrise, Sunset” as they reflect on the passage of time. Tzeitel’s younger sisters wonder if a wedding will be in their near future. After the ceremony, the village men celebrate by performing a frantic “Bottle Dance” and various people present the couple with gifts. When Lazar and Tevye get into an argument about the broken agreement, Perchik intervenes and says Tzeitel should have the right to choose who she wants to marry. And to horrify the traditionalists6 even more Perchik dances with Hodel. To show their support, Tevye and Golde and Motel and Tzeitel also dance together. When they trick the Rabbi into dancing with Hodel, others follow his example. The celebration ends abruptly when the Constable’s troops ride into the village to perform the “demonstration.” They damage the wedding gifts, wound Perchik, and wreck the village. The ever practical Tevye advises the villagers to simply clean up the mess. Tevye looks heavenward and silently questions “Why God?” Several months later, Perchik informs Hodel that he is returning to Kiev. In a strange political way, he proposes and promises he will send for her.

90 When they tell Tevye about their engagement, he is appalled that they are ignoring tradition. When he forbids their marriage, they inform him that they are not seeking his permission, only his blessing. After some deep soul searching, Tevye decides they must have the same matchmaker as Adam and Eve, so he gives them both his blessing and his permission. Tevye explains to an astonished Golde that he has given Hodel and Perchik permission to become engaged. He tries to explain the changing world and this new concept of love. In “Do You Love Me?,” Tevye asks Golde if she thinks their arranged marriage has developed into love. Both awkwardly search for ways to express their affection for each other. Golde finally admits that after twenty-five years together and raising five daughters, she does love him. Teyve agrees. Hodel receives a letter from Perchik that tells of his arrest and exile to Siberia. She is determined to join him. At the railway stop, Hodel compares Perchik’s plight to that of ancient Jewish heroes. In “Far From the Home I Love,” she tries to explain why she must leave her family to be with the man she loves. As she boards the train, she promises Tevye that she will have a proper Jewish wedding. When Chava courageously approaches her father about marrying Fyedka, Tevye refuses to allow her to marry a gentile and even forbids her to ever speak to him again. So, they secretly marry in the Russain Orthodox Church. When Tevye learns of their marriage, he tells Golde that their daughter is dead to them. Then, in “Chaveleh (Little Bird),” he ponders where he went wrong. Chava returns and tries to reason with her father, but he can’t accept her marrying outside the faith. The Constable informs the Jewish residents of Anatevka that they have three days to pack up and leave. In shock, the villagers reluctantly pack their meager belongings. In “Anatevka,” they reminisce about their dear tumbledown little town and how hard it will be to leave. As they are departing, Chava and Fyedka tell her family that they are leaving too.7 Although Tevye does not speak directly to Chava, he mutters, “God be with you.” Motel, Tzeitel and their baby are not accompanying the family to New York, but they are encouraged to join them soon. Tevye removes the mezuzah8 from the doorframe of their ramshackled house. As the last of the Jewish residents leave, they hum “Anatevka,” and board a ferry. Tevye hears the fiddler and motions for him to come along. The fiddler reprises “Tradition” as he joins the others. Essentially, Fiddler on the Roof is about how far Tevye is willing to go in forsaking traditions in the

91 midst of a changing world. In addition, the script explores the universal themes of poverty, dignity in the face of adversity and, of course, racism. Even after more than forty years, its message has a timeless quality. One of the musical’s best qualities is how many characters get to sing significant songs. For most fans of the musical, the film is touching and the songs are glorious. A universal complaint is the film’s length. For some, it is sacrilege that the director Norman Jewison9 is not Jewish and thus they perhaps unjustly question his vision of the film. One of the film’s best traits is its combination of humor with the agonies of anti–Semitism. The lightheartedness of some scenes and the daughters’ romances enable viewers to accept the characters as people who were unjustly persecuted regardless of ethnicity.

Follow the Fleet RKO Radio Pictures, February 20, 1936, 110 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Bake Baker), Ginger Rogers (Sherry Martin), Randolph Scott (Bilge Smith), Harriet Hilliard (Connie Martin) Director: Mark Sandrich Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Reworked from a 1922 play, Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne,1 Follow the Fleet casts Fred Astaire as a gum-chewing sailor and Ginger Rogers as his former dance partner, who is presently a dance-hall singer. Like Flying Down to Rio (1933), Astaire and Rogers are relegated to secondary star status by Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. The film opens with “We Saw the Sea,” a cute song about the dubious benefits of joining the U.S. Navy. Bake Baker sings it on board a battleship and it is reprised several times later by the sailor chorus as they are coming or going from shore leave. Bake joined the Navy when his vaudeville dancing partner, Sherry Martin, turned down his marriage proposal. When he gets shore leave in San Francisco, he sets out to find Sherry and hopefully change her mind. He accidentally finds her at the Paradise Ballroom where she performs and is a dime-a-dance girl. Bake recognizes her when she and a trio sing “Let Yourself Go.” The song seems

Follow the Fleet to be just an entertaining moment, however, just prior to the performance, Sherry’s sister, Connie, comes to see her. Connie meets and seems attracted to Bake’s Navy buddy, Bilge Smith, but he completely ignores her in her mousy music teacher clothes. Backstage, Sherry talks her sister into a make-over. Connie puts on one of Sherry’s glittery dresses and some of the other girls work on her hair and makeup while Sherry goes on stage to sing. Therefore the song is aimed directly at Connie, who’s far too uptight, dresses primly, and looks far too old for her age. After their reunion, Sherry and Bake dance together. When they realize that a dance contest is in progress, their dance begins with a friendly rivalry between the former partners, but once they are challenged by two other couples, the number progresses into a full-fledged dance war.2 Bake and Sherry win, but since an employee isn’t supposed to enter the dance contest, Sherry loses her job. Bake promises to fix her up with a better job, but the fleet sails before he can keep his promise. During Sherry’s audition for another job, she performs a brilliant tap solo to “Let Yourself Go.” After her dance, the theatrical producer wants to hear her sing. While she catches her breath from the dance, she asks for some water. Bake has returned to port and has come to the same office to keep his promise to get her a job. He hears the office help commenting about the likelihood that the girl auditioning at the moment is going to be hired, so, to sabotage the girl’s chances, he puts bicarbonate of soda in the water. When Sherry drinks the water and attempts to sing, the results are disastrous. Bake unknowingly cost Sherry another job. The next big musical number of the film is “I’d Rather Lead a Band.” The fleet has sailed again and some dignitaries have come aboard. Bake’s band is rehearsing and doesn’t hear the orders to gather for inspection, nor do they hear the ship’s military band playing a march. The ship’s captain is extremely upset at Bake’s breach of conduct. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, the ship’s visitors request hearing Bake’s group. They just love American music, so the band gladly obliges. They strike up a Dixieland tune, which Bake sings. After the vocal, he performs a tap solo as the band continues to play. Presently, he is joined by more sailors. At this point, the music stops, while he drills them by tapping out commands. Then, after “reviewing the troops,” he dances to the men’s marching beat (no music, just the base rhythm of marching feet, first slowly and then in double time). Once the band kicks in again, the sailors exit while Bake finalizes the number to the delight of the visitors. Meanwhile, Connie is so sure Bilge is her future

Footlight Parade husband that she arranges to have her father’s former schooner refurbished for him to captain when he completes his Navy duty. She spends all of her money and more on this project. When Bilge shies away from any hint of marriage, Connie returns to her music teacher life. Sherry and Bake decide to put on a show on the schooner to raise enough money to pay off Connie’s debt. “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” is first presented by Bake playing the song in barrelhouse piano style. Then at a rehearsal, he sings the lyrics to Sherry. The song lyrics claim he’s giving up all his philanderings and concentrating only on her. She responds affirmatively with her rendition of the song. Then they launch into a cute, but goofy dance routine. They use several old vaudeville tricks and slapstick in this one number. Before the film can end properly, Bake must rescue Bilge from Iris3 so he and Connie can be together and the show has to be staged. The number performed as part of the benefit is “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.”4 This little melodramatic playlet opens with Bake at a gambling casino losing all his money. The curtains close and reopen on the casino’s roof-top terrace. With no money, he is shunned by every woman who walks by. He takes a small pistol out of his pocket to commit suicide, but his attention switches to Sherry who enters from the far side of the stage. She walks near the roof ’s edge and then steps up on its ledge intending to jump, but Bake rushes to prevent her from leaping. He shows her the gun and his empty wallet. When she tries to snatch the gun away, he throws it and his wallet away and sings that they may both face future troubles and they may shed many tears, but if they “face the music and dance” they can conquer anything. The film ends with both couples together and the guys rejoining their fleet. Follow the Fleet may not be one of the best Astaire–Rogers film musicals, but it certainly has some delightful musical moments, including Astaire’s outstanding tap routine to “I’d Rather Lead a Band,” Astaire and Rogers’ dance-war routine to “Let Yourself Go,” their comical dance routine to “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” (and Fred’s barrelhouse piano playing) and their much more elegant dance to “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.” The opening “We Saw the Sea” sequence is also cute. Harriet Hilliard was at the time Ozzie Nelson’s band vocalist. Later, they married and become much more famous for their radio, and later television, program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In this film she sings two somber Berlin ballads: “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” and “But Where

92 Are You?” Both song sequences are so inconsequential that they are often cut from televised showings of the film Future star Betty Grable sang in the trio behind Ginger’s performance of “Let Yourself Go”; another future star, Lucille Ball, was one of the Paradise performers who transform Connie from music teacher to glamour queen; and future pop vocalist and actor, Tony Martin, the husband of Cyd Charisse, was one of the sailors.

Footlight Parade Warner Bros., October 21, 1933, 103 minutes Principal Cast : James Cagney (Chester Kent), Joan Blondell (Nan Prescott), Ruby Keeler (Bea Thorn), Dick Powell (Scotty Blair), Frank McHugh (Francis), Guy Kibbee (Silas Gould) Director: Lloyd Bacon Producer: Hal B. Wallis Screenwriters: Manuel Seff and James Seymour Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1992 Availability: DVD

Footlight Parade begins by exposing the darker side of film production, but later glitters when it presents three cinematic musical masterpieces. The film is also of historical interest because it is about the production of “prologues,” which were performed prior to the feature film during the early days of the talkies. The first two-thirds of the film concerns former Broadway musical producer Chester Kent’s struggles with his new career as prologue producer. As the film opens Kent’s money-grubbing wife walks out. He is also under considerable stress to produce three prologues per week. It doesn’t help that his chief competitor, Gladstone, has planted a spy to steal his ideas and that his business partners, Gould and Frazer, are embezzling. Vivian Rich arrives from California and wows Kent with her looks and with the idea of a prologue based on a book titled “Slaves of Old Africa.” He hires her as the head of his style and idea department. In an audition sequence to find a duet partner for Scotty Blair, the male dance director, Francis, acts as Scotty’s partner to demonstrate what they have in mind for the song “Ah, the Moon is Here.”1 Bea Thorn is attracted to Scotty, but he doesn’t really pay much attention until she gets all spruced up and demon-

93 strates her dancing skills. Bea and a male dressed as a cat2 become the leads of a prologue titled “Sittin’ on the Back Yard Fence.”3 Later in the film, Kent must produce three prologues in three days in order to secure a fortytheater contract. To keep his rival from stealing his ideas, he decides to lockdown his studio. Feverish rehearsals, songwriting, eating, and sleeping at the studio, consume the following days. To complicate matters, Kent’s wife returns. She hasn’t yet filed for divorce and wants $25,000 to disappear. Kent’s secretary, Nan, confronts Gould and Frazer concerning their embezzling and they give her a $25,000 check to keep quite. Meanwhile, thinking Kent is broke and soon jobless, Vivian, the gold digger, has turned her attentions to Bowers, the in-house censor. The latter third of the movie is devoted to unveiling Kent’s three productions. The cast loads onto buses as they race from theater to theater to perform each of the mini-musicals. 1. “Honeymoon Hotel”4 is somewhat similar to “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” from 42nd Street. Clive Hirschhorn describes it as “a rather risqué little item showing newlyweds Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler cosily (sic) ensconced in a hotel full of other newlyweds.”5 2. “By a Waterfall”6 received a standing ovation from the audience at the film’s premiere. This prologue is fifteen minutes of sheer Busby Berkeley spectacle. Berkeley envisioned the segment as a big waterfall coming down through the rocks with a bevy of beauties7 sliding down the rapids into a huge pool. The studio’s technicians built an innovative glass section into the pool that enabled underwater shots. Berkeley also designed a special bathing costume for the girls with rubber head pieces that look like hair. The hair effect ran down across the girls’ bodices to give a Lady Godiva effect. This aquacade number is filled with amazing synchronized swimming that predates Esther Williams’ films by a decade. The motion picture code was passed in 1930, but was not enforced until 1934; otherwise this segment would most likely have been censored. 3. “Shanghai Lil”8 In the film’s plot, the juvenile lead for this segment gets stage fright and drinks too much to perform, so Kent is forced to assume the lead and, of course, steals the show. Kent’s character is a sailor who, before sailing for America is searching all over Shanghai for his lost love, Shanghai

For Me and My Gal Lil (played by Ruby Keeler). He finally finds her in a waterfront bar, where they do an energetic tap dance on the top of the bar. Before he returns to his ship, other sailors and civilians join in some Berkeley geometric dance formations, including an American flag with an imbedded image of President Roosevelt’s face. As the film ends Kent asks his faithful secretary, Nan, to marry him. If the viewer can endure the first two-thirds of the film, the last third is very entertaining. As good and entertaining as the three prologues are, the rest of the film drags the other part down.

For Me and My Gal M-G-M, October 21, 1942, 104 minutes Principal Cast : Judy Garland ( Jo Hayden), George Murphy ( Jimmy K. Metcalfe), Gene Kelly (Harry Palmer), Marta Eggerth (Eve Minard), Ben Blue (Sid Sims), Horace McHally (Bert Waring), Richard Quine (Danny Hayden), Lucille Norman (Lily Duncan) Director: Busby Berkeley Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Richard Sherman, Fred Finklehoofe, Sid Silvers; based on a story by Harry Emmett Rogers Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Bobby Connolly Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“For Me and My Gal”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. was thrust into World War II. The war was on everyone’s minds. Hollywood pitched in to try to bolster the morale of the American public by alleviating the pressures of the war with comedies and movie musicals. One of the most surprising Hollywood outputs during the war was the nostalgia film. These films had no direct relation to the war itself, but they reminded Americans why the war was being fought and that they must continue to make personal sacrifices for the war effort, in order to preserve the innocent and ideological American way of life portrayed on the screen. For Me and My Gal is a good example of the nostalgia trend, a very old-fashioned type of entertainment with a World War I setting. This was Gene Kelly’s first major movie role as well as the first American film for Marta Eggerth. In 1916, a troupe of entertainers arrives at a the-

For Me and My Gal ater in a small Ohio town. The troupe includes Jo Hayden, Jimmy Metcalfe, Lily Duncan and Sid Sims, a quartet of singer-dancers who travel the vaudeville circuit, and the brash, conceited Harry Palmer, whose only aim in life is to play the Palace. During their performance, Harry performs his clown-in-baggy-pants song-and-dance (tap) routine to “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny Oh!”1 Next on the docket are Lily, Jo, and Jimmy in The Doll Shop routine, where they perform “Oh, You Beautiful Doll”2 and “Don’t Leave Me Daddy.”3 They are followed by Sid in a sailor outfit singing and clumsily dancing a Hornpipe. He is joined by several girls for “By the Beautiful Sea.”4 Jimmy and Jo join the others to conclude the number. Opportunistic Harry proposes a partnership with Jo and tricks her into singing an arrangement he bought (“For Me and My Gal”5). They perform it so well together, she gets excited about how good they could be as a duo, but, remembering her present partners, backs out. Back at her rooming house, Jimmy is waiting for her in her room. He had seen them sing and dance together and, being noble, tells her he was going to break up their act, so she is free to join Harry. Palmer and Hayden hit the vaudeville circuit. During a montage of train shots and endless vaudeville stops, they sing “When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose.”6 Jo is gradually falling in love with Harry, but he doesn’t realize it or share her feelings. Harry is frustrated with the progress of their act. On a train to Chicago, he wanders into the private car of Eve Minard, an operatic soprano, who has already made the “big time.” During their visit, he demonstrates his dancing with “They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me,”7 while she demonstrates her considerable vocal abilities with “Do I Love You?”8 Harry quickly falls under Eve’s spell. Shortly after World War I begins, Jo receives a telegram that Danny has enlisted. At that evening’s performance, she sings a moody rendition of “After You’ve Gone.”9 Jo, realizing how much Harry wants to make the “big time,” goes to Eve and asks her to help him. Eve reassures Jo that she doesn’t love Harry, but she also tells her Harry is bad for her. To prove that Harry would leave Jo, Eve offers him a job, which, at first, Harry takes. However, when he tells Jo about it, he has a change of heart, realizes he loves her and decides to remain her partner. Jo and Harry receive a booking at the Palace, but when they get there, there has been an error — the booking is for the Palace ... in Newark. At a celebratory dinner with their friends, Lily and the Sportsmen perform “Tell Me (Why Nights

94 Are Lonely).”10 When Danny comes to tell Jo he is headed for the war front, Lily leads the entire audience in singing “Till We Meet Again.”11 In Newark, a performer12 sings “We Don’t Want the Bacon (What We Want is a Piece of the Rhine!),”13 followed by Jo and Harry’s rendition of “Ballin’ the Jack.”14 They are a sensation! Backstage, a booking agent offers them a contract at the Palace in New York City. They are, of course, on top of the world, but their celebration is short-lived — Harry receives his draft notice. He determines that nothing is going to stand in the way of playing the Palace, so he smashes his hand in a trunk and gets a six week temporary disability deferment. His timing could not have been worse. While visiting with Jimmy, who has enlisted, Jo learns that her brother was killed in France. When she learns of Harry’s cowardly act, she walks out on him. Harry tries to make amends by enlisting but his hand injury keeps him from being accepted. Finally, he joins a YMCA entertainment unit and sails for France. In Paris, Jimmy brings several soldiers to a YMCA show that features Jo, where she sings “How Ya Gonna Keep ’Em Down on the Farm? (After They’ve Seen Paree).”15 Jimmy goes backstage to ask Jo to dinner. While he waits for Jo, Harry arrives. Jimmy tries to cheer him up, and, noble as always, leaves so Jo and Harry will meet. Harry says all he wants is to hear her say she doesn’t think he’s a coward and she doesn’t hate him. Before they can continue their reunion, she must go on to perform again. What follows is a big medley of World War I favorites.16 Sid and Harry travel to an Emergency Field Hospital to perform. When they discover that some ambulances are about to be ambushed, Harry jumps in his vehicle and drives through explosives to warn the convoy. Heroically, he grabs a rifle, kills one of the enemy soldiers and tosses a grenade into their machine gun nest to save the ambulances from ambush. Back in the U.S. after the war, Jo sings “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”17 at the Palace, while Jimmy, Sid, and Harry, wearing his Purple Heart medal, watch from the audience. When Jo sees Harry, she rushes to his side. As Sid conducts the pit orchestra in “For Me and My Gal,” Harry and Jo return to the stage to sing the song. One of the reasons For Me and My Gal was so successful was its war setting — even though it was about the previous world war, the U.S. had recently become heavily engaged in another worldwide war, so it stirred the audience’s patriotic fervor. The film was also nostalgic for the adults of the early Forties.

95 Most of them had grown up hearing their parents’ stories about World War I and most likely had heard most of the twenty songs that were performed either in whole or in part. And, they also may have felt a twinge of nostalgia for vaudeville. Miss Garland sings beautifully and dances well; the film seems to be more of a vehicle to display her talents. Kelly persuasively plays the anti-hero song-and-dance man (not unlike the character he played in Pal Joey on Broadway).

42nd Street Warner Bros., March 9, 1933, 89 minutes Principal Cast : Warner Baxter ( Julian Marsh), Bebe Daniels (Dorothy Brock), George Brent (Pat Denning), Ruby Keeler (Peggy Sawyer), Guy Kibbee (Abner Dillon), Una Merkel (Lorraine Fleming), Ginger Rogers (Ann), Dick Powell (Billy Lawlor) Director: Lloyd Bacon Producers: Darryl F. Zanuck & Hal B. Wallis Screenwriters: James Seymour, Rian James; based on a novel by Bradford Ropes Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Al Dubin Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● No. 13 AFI Greatest Movie Musical ● “42nd Street” is the No. 97 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Sound Recording ● Added to the National Film Registry, 1998 Availability: DVD

42nd Street revitalized the movie musical genre and saved Warner Bros. from bankruptcy. The film gives its audience an un-glamorized look at the sometimes cruel realities of life behind the footlights. 42nd Street featured virtual new-comers, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and Ginger Rogers, along with more veteran stars such as George Brent, Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels and an abundance of chorus girls. The movie was the first major film work of the tremendously talented choreographer, Busby Berkeley, whose production numbers became famous for his use of kaleidoscopic effects. He became particularly well known for his overhead shots, and for freeing the previously immovable camera. Soon after the film begins, auditions are held for a new Broadway production. Fading star Dorothy Brock’s “sugar daddy,” Abner Dillon, who made his fortune in the kiddie-car business, has agreed to

42nd Street finance the show provided, of course, that Dorothy is cast as the female star. Dillon isn’t aware that Dorothy is secretly seeing her former vaudeville partner, Pat Denning. The audition stage is crowded with singers and dancers who, due to the Depression, desperately need a job. Lorraine Fleming has been having an affair with the dance director, Andy Lee.1 Ann Lowell is carrying a Pekingese, sports a monocle and a fake British accent. Andy calls her “Anytime Annie,” the girl who can’t say “No.”2 Lorraine recognizes Ann and blows her disguise. The production’s director, Julian Marsh, auditions the hopefuls, one of whom is naïve Peggy Sawyer. Lorraine and Ann take this newcomer under their wings. The show’s juvenile lead, Billy Lawler, also takes a liking to Peggy and recommends her to the director. During the next five weeks, the tyrantical director pushes the exhausted cast through intense rehearsals. During one rehearsal, Dorothy, sitting on top of the piano, sings “You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me” while the lecherous Abner Dillon drools from the audience. The show’s producers are afraid that Dillon will withdraw his financial backing if he finds out that Dorothy and Denning are lovers. Peggy tries to warn Dorothy that her romance with Denning is about to be exposed, but the staggering drunk Dorothy accuses her of wanting her starring role. As Dorothy attacks Peggy, she falls and hurts her ankle. The next morning, Marsh announces to the cast that he is canceling the evening’s performance because the female lead is injured. Dillon arrives with Annie and proposes her as the new leading lady. Annie realizes someone else could do the part better, so she altruistically recommends Peggy. Marsh agrees to give her a try. He only has five hours to get her ready to go on. Marsh puts Peggy through a crash course learning her lines and practicing “42nd Street.” Finally, with only an hour until curtain, Marsh announces that the show is on. Billy brings Peggy some coffee and assures her that she is going to be terrific. He also admits that he’s been interested in her since the day he met her at the audition. Dorothy shows up on crutches and gives Peggy her blessing. She also tells her that she is marrying Pat Denning the following day. Before she leaves the dressing room, Dorothy tells Peggy, “Now go out there and be so swell that you’ll make me hate you.” It’s show time! Marsh gives Peggy a final pep talk which contains an immortal, show business cliché

Funny Face line: “Sawyer, you’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star.” The rest of the film is devoted to three Busby Berkeley production numbers: “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” “Young and Healthy,” and “42nd Street.” A train conductor announces the “All Aboard” for the Niagara Limited, which is bound for the popular honeymoon destination. Newly-weds Peggy and her groom3 perform a song-and-dance routine to “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.” Ann and Lorraine, who are in an upper berth, sing a chorus about the dangers of marriage. By this time, the newlyweds have changed into their sleeping clothes and dance a shuffle step on the way to their compartment. Towards the end of the number, the porter collects several pairs of shoes to shine. When Peggy starts to put her shoes outside their berth, she symbolically loses her innocence as she squeals with delight. The next number is “Young and Healthy,” which is sung by Billy to a pretty young blonde.4 After Billy serenades the girl, the bench they are sitting on joins a circular revolving platform. A ring of chorus boys, who are lying on their stomachs, join them. Soon, they all rise, Billy kisses the girl and the song turns into a large Busby Berkeley production number with formations filmed from various camera angles including overhead (as if the audience in the theater could see from overhead) and finally through the legs of the chorus girls (which seems rather risqué for 1933) to end on the smiling faces of Billy and the blonde. Peggy begins “42nd Street”5 from in front of the curtain which parts to reveal New York’s 42nd Street. She strips off her long skirt and tap dances. When the camera pulls back, we realize she has been dancing on the top of a taxi. She climbs down and hangs on as the cab transports her off-stage. When the camera moves to the corner of 42nd Street and Broadway, the street is bustling with life. The following segment introduces several typical Broadway characters, including a policeman, an apple vendor, and two black boys demonstrating their dancing ability. There is also a murder scene in which a jealous man stabs his girlfriend. That is followed by Billy singing about this street from an upstairs window as he drinks bootleg liquor. Suddenly, the camera pans down to a group of girl dancers who are all dressed exactly like Peggy. After they are joined by some male dancers, they turn their backs to the camera and walk up some steps towards the back of the stage. When they turn around, they hold up large cut-outs that form the New York skyline. Then, the skyline separates to reveal a flattened version of the Empire State Building with Billy and Peggy perched on top. They em-

96 brace and pull down a curtain to conceal their final kiss. The show is a success! As the crowd leaves the theater, Marsh listens to their comments. Seemingly exhausted, he walks over to the fire-escape steps and sits. The musical score to 42nd Street introduced three very famous songs: “42nd Street,” “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” and “You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me,” but looking back at the film from the perceptive of the 21st century, the film’s plot is extremely predictable and the dancing isn’t really very good. For instance, Ruby Keeler’s heavy-footed dancing seems elementary compared to later female tap dancers like Ginger Rogers, Ann Miller and especially Eleanor Powell. There’s no denying that tremendous strides were made between 1927’s The Jazz Singer and 42nd Street just six years later. Historically, 42nd Street is extremely important, but it doesn’t compare very favorably with the great musical films from subsequent decades. In 1980, 42nd Street was adapted into a Broadway musical that became the second longest running American musical in Broadway history behind A Chorus Line. The spectacular, landmark musical, with direction and choreography by Gower Champion, starred Tammy Grimes as Dorothy Brock, Jerry Orbach as Julian Marsh and Wanda Richert as Peggy Sawyer. That production won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Choreography and was nominated for eight other Tonys. The score for the Broadway musical was augmented with several tunes from other Warren and Dubin movie musicals.

Funny Face Paramount Pictures, February 13, 1957, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Dick Avery), Audrey Hepburn ( Jo Stockton), Kay Thompson (Maggie Prescott), Michel Auclair (Prof. Emile Flaustre) Director: Stanley Donen Producer: Roger Edens Screenwriter: Leonard Gershe Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographer: Eugene Loring Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“’S Wonderful”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Writing, Story and Screenplay — Written Directly for the Screen ❍ Best Costume Design

97 Best Cinematography Best Art Direction — Set Decoration Availability: DVD ❍ ❍

The film Funny Face is a hybrid. It is a combination of the title and songs from the 1927 George and Ira Gershwin Broadway musical, which had starred Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele, and the plot from a story Leonard Gershe wrote for a never produced Broadway musical. Only four of Gershwin’s songs from the original score were retained. George and Ira Gershwins’ “How Long Has This Been Going On?,” which had been cut before the New York opening of Funny Face, and was later added to Rosalie, was also included, as was “Clap Yo’ Hands” from Oh, Kay! Augmenting the Gershwin songs were three new ones by the screenwriter, Leonard Gershe, and the film’s producer, Roger Edens. The film begins as the editor of Quality magazine, Maggie Prescott, haughtily marches into her office. She is not pleased with the magazine’s latest edition and intends to rectify the situation. Her remedy is the song “Think Pink!”1 Everyone follows her decree including painters who sing and dance as they paint the office doors pink, and her office staff who is dressed in pink as they join in the singing and dancing. Maggie also declares that the next issue will be: “Clothes for the woman who isn’t interested in clothes.” She has assigned her chief photographer, Dick Avery, to begin work on the idea. Dick decides he needs a new location for inspiration — a bookstore. Maggie and her staff of “yes women” accompany Dick and a model to a little bookstore in Greenwich Village. The shop is run by a dowdy, slightly beatnik-looking woman named Jo Stockton. During the shoot, Dick uses Jo for one of the photos as she hands a load of books to the model. When the shoot is over, the bookstore is in shambles, so Dick stays behind to help clean up. Jo berates him for photographing “silly dresses on silly women,” but Dick tells her he likes his job, particularly his annual trip to Paris. The mention of Paris peaks Jo’s interest. She wants to go to Paris to attend the lectures of Professor Flaustre on Empatheticalism, a philosophy based on feeling what one thinks another person feels. Dick completely surprises Jo by demonstrating his own brand of empathy by kissing her. Once Dick leaves, she dreamily sings and dances (“How Long Has This Been Going On?”2). Maggie decides to select a “Quality Woman” to coincide with the new slogan. She wants someone with “bazazz,” who will be photographed in Paris wearing fashions designed by France’s leading couturier, Paul Duval.3 Dick surprises everyone when

Funny Face he proposes Jo for the job. Maggie isn’t convinced, so she orders some books from the bookstore to get a closer look at Jo. When Maggie and her staff begin talking about a make-over, Jo becomes frightened and hides in Dick’s darkroom. Once she tells Dick, who is developing enlargements of her, what happened he takes the blame. He thinks she would make a great model, but Jo has always thought she had a funny face. He tells her it isn’t funny, it’s interesting. When he mentions that the photo shoot will be in Paris, she agrees to do it. Dick reassures her that when he’s through with her, she will be beautiful. Dick sings “Funny Face”4 and he and Jo dance around his rather large darkroom. After the song, he presents an enlargement of Jo’s face to Maggie, who is delighted and he tells her that Jo has agreed to model. When they land in Paris, Dick, Maggie, and Jo each take individual tours and sing “Bonjour, Paris!”5 in various locales around the city. All three finally end up at the Eiffel Tower and claim they are simply tourists. The next morning when Jo fails to show up for the photo shoot, Dick thinks he knows where she is, so he heads for the bistro hangout of Flaustre. Sure enough, he finds her happily drinking with and talking to some Frenchmen who don’t understand a word she is saying. After Dick scolds her for not showing up, she dances to some avant garde music.6 Dick walks Jo to her hotel and, feeling guilty for reprimanding her, climbs up to her balcony to serenade her (“Let’s Kiss and Make Up”7), which is followed by a dance on the street below in which he pretends to be a matador. After the dance, he blows her a goodbye kiss. The next morning, Dick and Maggie can hardly wait to see Jo after Duval and his staff have transformed her. As she walks down the runway in an elegant Duval dress, “’S Wonderful” plays in the background. Jo is exquisite. When they ask how she feels, she says she feels wonderful, but she doesn’t feel like herself. Dick photographs Jo in a variety of locales, outfits and moods. At a rural church, when the Priest thinks they are a couple to be married, Jo gets teary-eyed and runs around to the rear of the building. Once Dick finds her, he tenderly kisses her. “I love Paris,” she exclaims, “and I love these clothes and this little church and I love you.” After Dick sings “He Loves and She Loves,”8 they dance together in a smooth, elegant dance by a stream. At the end of the dance, they float on a raft to the other side, where they walk arm and arm into the mist. Maggie teaches Jo the finer points of receiving the

Funny Girl press by singing “On How to Be Lovely.”9 Jo repeats each line of Maggie’s lesson. Just before the press conference, Jo learns that Flaustre is lecturing at the café, so she slips away to hear him. When she enters the café, the Professor takes Jo aside for a private session. Dick finds her and practically drags her back to the press conference. While Maggie is introducing Jo as the “Quality Woman,” Dick and Jo can be heard behind the curtain arguing. Just as the curtain is pulled, she pushes Dick into the set, which collapses. Jo storms out leaving the press in shock. Flaustre invites Jo to his home for a beatnik-type party that includes poetry reading and some local entertainers. Dick and Maggie crash the party as a couple of entertainers from Tallahassee, Florida. Just as they spy Jo and Flaustre heading upstairs, it is time for Maggie and Dick to perform. With Maggie at the piano and Dick on guitar, and with thick southern accents, they perform a rousing rendition of “Clap Yo’ Hands.”10 At the end of their number, they head upstairs. When they find her, Jo is embarrassed and demands that they leave. Later, Jo discovers that Flaustre’s interest in her is more carnal than cerebral, so she hits him over the head with a glass statue and runs to the fashion show. Once she arrives, Maggie tells her that Dick is flying back to America. Jo models Duval’s fashions to the tune “Funny Face,” while Maggie tries to contact Dick before his plane departs. While Jo models a wedding gown to “He Loves and She Loves,” tears run down her cheeks and she abruptly leaves the runway and runs away. At the airport, Dick accidentally bumps into Flaustre, whose head is bandaged from Jo’s blow. Relieved that Jo had stood up for herself and that she had seen through Flaustre’s façade, Dick returns to Duval’s salon, but Jo isn’t there. He immediately knows where she is, so he rushes to the church where they had kissed. He finds her on the lawn behind the church looking towards the little stream. From behind her, he sings a little excerpt of “Funny Face.” As they embrace, Dick and Jo sing “’S Wonderful,”11 dance together and float on a raft down the stream. Take a handful of George and Ira Gershwin standards, add the superb cast of Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson and you get a stylish, elegant, delightful movie musical. Negatively, the “Clap Yo’ Hands” number is silly and adds nothing to the plot. It may not be one of the best of the best of the Fifties, but it certainly deserves its AFI nomination. According to TV Guide’s review of the film, it is “a satire of both the fashion world and the fashionable pretensions of beatnik life and existentialism.”12

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Funny Girl Columbia Pictures, September 19, 1968, 145 minutes Principal Cast: Barbra Streisand (Fanny Brice), Omar Sharif (Nick Arnstein), Kay Medford (Rose Brice), Walter Pidgeon (Florenz Ziegfeld) Director: William Wyler Producer: Ray Stark Screenwriter: Isobel Lennart Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Bob Merrill Choreographer: Herbert Ross Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 16 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 20 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “People” No. 13 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Don’t Rain on My Parade” No. 46 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“My Man”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Actress in a Leading Role (Barbra Streisand tied with Katharine Hepburn) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kay Medford) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Funny Girl”) ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture, Original or Adaptation ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

The real Fanny Brice, originally Fania Borach, was born in New York City’s Lower East Side in 1891. The third of four children of immigrant saloon-owners, Fania dropped out of school to work as a chorus girl in a burlesque revue. She also Americanized her name to Fanny Brice. Her fame increased considerably when she became a regular in the Ziegfeld Follies. In 1918, after having lived together for six years, she and gambler, con man Jules “Nicky” Arnstein married. After a rocky relationship that included Arnstein’s Federal penitentiary stay, Fanny reluctantly divorced him. Miss Brice’s most popular recordings were of “My Man”1 and “Second Hand Rose,”2 both in 1921 (both songs were interpolated into the film version of the musical). Funny Girl, the semi-biographical musical that chronicles the life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice, which opened on Broadway in 1964, starred Barbra Streisand as Miss Brice, a role she seemed born to play. When she was signed for the part, she said, “We’re very much alike.” She continued, the script “is like me talking. Like Miss Brice I find it hard to take advice from anyone. Fanny Brice was

99 a woman who refused to heed her mother, or Florenz Ziegfeld.”3 The musical ran for 1,348 performances and was nominated for eight Tony Awards, but failed to win any. Miss Streisand reprised her starring role in the film version as did Kay Medford as her mother. Ray Stark, who was Miss Brice’s son-in-law, produced both the Broadway and Hollywood versions. Barbra had already earned the reputation of being presumptuous, demanding, crude, and arrogant, and her behavior on the set of Funny Girl, didn’t improve that assessment. Even though she alienated many of the Academy Award voters, she shared the Oscar for Best Actress in a tie vote with Katharine Hepburn for her role in The Lion in Winter. The film’s action opens with a shot of Fanny Brice’s back as she looks at a theater marquee of the Ziegfeld Follies in which she is starring. She enters the theater, pauses in front of a mirror, and utters, “Hello, gorgeous.” Her maid, Emma,4 asks Miss Brice if this is the day and if she is nervous. Fanny admits to being nervous, but also happy, scared, and excited. Emma also tells her that Mr. Ziegfeld would like to see her whenever she feels like it. Fanny finds it humorous that Ziegfeld is waiting for her and starts reminiscing about her past. Her mother, Rose, and some friends are playing cards as a young Fanny dresses for work. Her mother’s friends warn Fanny that she isn’t the kind of woman men want to look at on stage. Fanny, her mother and Mrs. Strakasho5 sing “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty.” When Fanny arrives at the theater, she has difficulty convincing the watchman that she is one of the eight beautiful girls. Inside during a rehearsal, Fanny is often out of sync with the other dancers. The theater’s owner, Keeney,6 fires her, but, in “I’m the Greatest Star,” she tries to talk him out of it. The problem is nobody knows she’s a star but her. During the song she is ushered out of the theater. Later, she returns to the empty theater and continues to pour her heart into the song. From the theater wings, Eddie,7 the choreographer/director, applauds; he is impressed with her voice and comedic ability. If she can roller skate, he will use her in a novelty number. The scene shifts to the performance of “Rollerskate Rag” with Fanny causing havoc during the number, but the audience finds it hilarious. At the end of the number, Eddie pushes her back on stage to sing “I’d Rather Be Blue Over You.”8 Once again performed on roller skates, the crowd loves it. Later backstage, the elegantly dressed Nick Arnstein knocks on the girls’ dressing room door and compliments Fanny’s performance. During his visit, Arnstein helps her get a sizeable raise.

Funny Girl A telegram from famous Broadway producer, Florenz Ziegfeld, causes quite a stir in her neighborhood. When she meets Mr. Ziegfeld, she sings “Second Hand Rose.”9 Mr. Ziegfeld hires her and tells her she will sing “Second Hand Rose” in the first act of his show. He also gives her a new song to learn for the show’s bride number finale. Once Fanny reads the lyrics, she tells Ziegfeld she can’t sing the lyrics because it would be embarrassing to sing lyrics about being beautiful when she is skinny, flat-chested, and awkward. Mr. Ziegfeld, however, makes it plain that she must sing the song or not be in the show, so she follows orders — to a degree. During the performance of “His Love Makes Me Beautiful,” several chorus girls dressed in skimpy bridal outfits extol the virtues of beautiful brides before Fanny turns the number into a wildly humorous parody. Dressed in a beautiful bridal gown, Fanny has stuffed a pillow under her dress so she appears to be pregnant. The song’s lyrics take on a decidedly different meaning. Afterwards, Fanny explains to Mr. Ziegfeld that the audience laughed with her not at her. Although he is angered by her actions, Ziegfeld loves talent and decides not to fire her. Later backstage, Nick congratulates Fanny and invites her to go out with him that evening. She is obligated to attend a party at her mother’s saloon, so she invites Nick to come along, which he does. During the party when she asks what he does, Nick answers, “Live ... and on the side, I gamble.” Later, Fanny and Nick walk out into the alley where Nick talks about all the people in Fanny’s neighborhood and all the theater-goers who care about her. Their conversation leads into the song, “People.” Nick, who is leaving to check on his race horse, kisses her goodbye. After he leaves, she reprises a portion of the song. During a Follies tour stop in Baltimore, Fanny encounters Nick at the train station; it’s been over a year since they last met. He invites her to dinner. In a private dining room later that evening, they sing “You Are Woman, I Am Man” (their vocals are sung as thoughts). They have a wonderful time together until Nick’s horse loses. He not only loses money but also the horse, so he is sailing to Europe to recoup his losses. Nick assures her they will get together again soon and he tells her that he loves her. Before the Follies tour train departs for Chicago, Fanny telephones Ziegfeld that she is leaving the show. As she sings “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” Fanny travels from the train station by cab to a train to New York, where she catches a taxi to the boat dock. Nick’s ship has sailed, so she hires a tugboat

The Gang’s All Here to intercept the cruise ship. When Fanny finally arrives at Nick’s stateroom, she tries to get him to propose, but he refuses until he recoups his losses. That evening, he wins a considerable amount at a poker game, so they get married on the ship. Thrilled with being a married lady, Fanny sings “Sadie, Sadie”10 while she lounges in bed and admires her huge wedding ring. As the song continues, the happy couple enters a huge country estate house. Soon Fanny is pregnant11 and gives birth to a daughter. Everything seems to be going well. Nick leaves to drill for oil in Oklahoma, while Fanny rehearses for a new show. When Nick’s oil well venture fails, he loses the country estate, so they move to an apartment in the city. Nick’s luck continues to go from bad to worse. He plays poker and loses rather than attend the opening night of Fanny’s new show, in which she performs a comical parody of Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Swan Lake.” Things continue to spiral downward for Nick. When a guy he owes money wants him to front a bond deal, he initially refuses. Another old friend asks him to run a new gambling club as a partner, but when he learns that Fanny has put up his share, he turns down the offer. He eventually agrees to the bond deal, which turns out to be illegal. Soon Nick is arrested, pleads guilty and is sentenced to two years in prison. He also asks Fanny to divorce him, but she convinces him to wait until he gets out of prison. If he still feels the same then, she won’t fight the divorce. When Nick leaves for prison, Fanny sadly sings “Funny Girl,” which segues to her sitting in the theater from the beginning of the film. This is the day that Nick gets out of prison. When she goes to Mr. Ziegfeld’s office, she tells him if Nick wants to continue their marriage, she will quit show business. Backstage before the evening’s show, Nick comes into her dressing room. When she senses his feelings, she lies and tells him that they are not good for each other. After Nick departs, she goes on stage and tearfully sings “My Man.”12 As the song progresses, she gets stronger and stronger and sings the song to a powerful finale. Several songs were eliminated from the original Broadway score for the film.13 “Funny Girl” and “Roller Skate Rag” were added. Most of the film critics were impressed with Miss Streisand’s film debut, but weren’t particularly enamored with the film. As great as I think Barbra Streisand was in Funny Girl, I think there are several other outstanding movie musicals of the Sixties that out shine Funny Girl, so I cannot agree with AFI’s ranking the film

100 at No. 16 or Entertainment Weekly’s ranking at No. 20. I do think there are several outstanding songs, particularly “I’m the Greatest Star,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “People” and the interpolated “My Man.” In 1975, the film Funny Lady, which began where Funny Girl ended, was released, again starring Barbra Streisand.

The Gang’s All Here 20th Century–Fox, December 24, 1943, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Alice Faye (Eadie Allen), Carmen Miranda (Dorita), Charlotte Greenwood (Mrs. Peyton Potter), Edward Everett Horton (Peyton Potter), James Ellison (Sergeant Andrew Mason, Jr.), Sheila Ryan (Vivian Potter), Tony De Marco (himself ) Director/Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Producer: William Le Baron Screenwriters: Walter Bullock; based on a story by Nancy Wintner, George Root, Jr., and Tom Bridges Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Leo Robin Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Art Direction — Interior Decoration, Color Availability: DVD

The Gang’s All Here is war-time entertainment with a rather dull mistaken-identity plot. The cast, an example of what was termed “victory casting,” is filled with the only males who were available because the major talent was involved with the war effort. The film’s raison d’être is the musical numbers choreographed by Busby Berkeley and their entertainment value. There are also personal appearances by famous big band celebrity Benny Goodman, along with his band, and by Phil Baker, who was the host of a popular radio quiz program, Take It or Leave It, which later became The $64 Question. During the opening credits “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here”1 is sung by a chorus. The first scene is a musical production at the Club New Yorker, which takes place on the docks where passengers of the S.S. Brazil are disembarking. “Brazil”2 is sung by Aloysio De Oliveira, a singer in Carmen Miranda’s Bando da Lua. When Carmen Miranda takes over the song, she is accompanied by her band. Immediately after the dock scene, the mayor of the city, played by Phil Baker, welcomes Carmen.

101 She and some chorus girls sing “You Discover You’re in New York.” A soldier, Andrew Mason, Jr., enters the club and finds his father and Peyton Potter drinking — they claim they’re drinking lemonade. Andy telephones his fiancée, Vivian Potter, Peyton’s daughter, while Andrew, Sr. dances with Eadie Allen and Mr. Potter dances with Carmen. Later that evening at the Broadway Canteen, a socializing place for servicemen, Benny Goodman’s band plays a brief except of their theme song, “Let’s Dance.”3 Then they perform “Minnie’s in the Money,” with a rare vocal performance by Benny himself. The lyrics sing about an assembly line welder, who is helping Uncle Sam keep the country free. While the band plays an instrumental chorus, a couple puts on a jitterbug dance exhibition. Later, Goodman’s band plays while Eadie dances with some soldiers including Andy. For some reason, Andy tells her his name is Casey. When she leaves the Canteen, he follows her to the club where she works and watches her show from backstage. The number he views is “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat.” This famous number opens with an organ grinder and his monkey coming through the club’s audience. Presently, several girls lounge on a banana tree island. As Carmen Miranda enters on a banana cart, the girls run from the island, through fake water, to greet her. Surrounded by her band and the chorus girls, Carmen sings a chorus of the song. Following her vocal, the girls form a circle around her with trays of bananas, which she plays as if they were a xylophone. Next, Busby Berkeley begins his trademark shots with the girls in various formations and poses. Particularly noteworthy are the precision routines with gigantic bananas and also a few of Berkeley’s overhead kaleidoscopic shots. Just before Carmen departs on the cart, she sings again. The girls wave goodbye and retreat to their lounging positions on the island and the organ grinder collects his monkey from a banana tree to join multiple organ grinders and their monkeys in the audience. Miss Miranda sings again as the camera zooms out from a close-up to reveal her in what appears to be a gigantic hat of bananas (she is standing in front of painted bananas that appear to form her hat). Later that evening, Casey/Andy escorts Eadie home via a ferry. When he asks for a sample of her singing, she sings “A Journey to a Star.” After a taxi ride to her place, he asks her to meet his train as he leaves for camp the following day. The next scene is a posh goodbye party for Andy at the Potter’s palatial estate. During the party, Mrs. Potter dances4 with one of the young guests while Benny Goodman and His Orchestra play “The Jit-

The Gang’s All Here ters.”5 Eadie is also at the party and, in one of the film’s goofs, calls him Andy when she tells him goodbye (at this point in the film, she still thinks Andy’s name is Casey). After several war headlines flash across the screen, Mr. Potter shows Andy’s father the San Francisco newspaper which has a photo of Sergeant Andrew Mason, Jr., receiving a citation. His father is thrilled that his son is a war hero and wants to throw him a huge coming home party. Instead of renting the Club New Yorker, Mr. Mason talks Phil Baker into bringing the show to Westchester and staging it at the Potter’s home as a fund raiser for War Bonds. Mr. Mason and Mr. Potter stay for a rehearsal where Eadie sings “No Love, No Nothin’.” The song has a war-time lyric about the singer’s lack of love because her lover is overseas. She had promised to wait for him and, even though she’s terribly lonesome, she’s determined to keep her promise. The scene shifts to the Potter’s lawn in Westchester where the show is being rehearsed. Tony DeMarco’s dancing partner has contracted rose fever, so Vivian Potter becomes his dance partner for “No Love, No Nothin’.” One day Vivian shows Carmen Miranda a photo of her fiancé, Andy, which Carmen immediately recognizes as Eadie’s Casey. Carmen steals the picture and hides it in her bed. When Eadie finds it, Carmen tells her he sent it as a surprise gift for her birthday. Vivian sees the photo in Eadie’s room and takes it back to her room. The picture continues to go back and forth from room to room until Carmen finally tells Eadie that Andy and Casey are the same person. When Andy and a soldier pal, the real Casey, arrive at Andy’s home they are surprised to find the house full of show people. Andy tells his father he’s in love with Eadie. However, Eadie sees Andy hugging Vivian and tells him she’s stepping aside. As the show begins, Goodman and his band perform “Paducah,” once again featuring a vocal by Mr. Goodman. When the rhythm changes to a cha-cha, Carmen Miranda performs. The show’s next number is Eadie reprising “A Journey to a Star,” which also features a ballroomtype dance by Tony DeMarco and Vivian. Their dancing goes so well Vivian agrees to become his permanent partner, which, of course, means she is no longer interested in marrying Andy. The show’s final number is “Polka Dot Polka,” which was sung by Eadie and danced by a troupe of children. The number dissolves into another Busby Berkeley routine that features neon polka dots and girls dressed in neon-colored outfits. Towards the end of the number, Eadie and her dress

The Gay Divorcee literally become a kaleidoscope. The finale includes each of the stars singing a line from “A Journey to a Star.” Except for Carmen Miranda’s performance of, and Busby Berkeley’s choreography for, “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat,” The Gang’s All Here is not particularly noteworthy. Another Berkeley flight of fancy, “Polka Dot Polka,” isn’t as spectacular as the “Tutti-Frutti Hat” number. Alice Faye, in her last movie musical before retiring into motherhood, sang two songs, “A Journey to a Star” and “No Love, No Nothin’.” She sings them well, but neither is especially impressive. The film may deserve its AFI nomination, but it is just another war-time entertainment that doesn’t compare with the best of the best.

The Gay Divorcee RKO Radio Pictures, October 12, 1934, 107 minutes Principal Cast : Fred Astaire (Guy Holden), Ginger Rogers (Mimi Glossop), Alice Brady (Aunt Hortense), Edward Everett Horton (Egbert “Pinky” Fitzgerald), Erik Rhodes (Rodolfo Tonetti) Director: Mark Sandrich Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: George Marion, Jr., Edward Kaufman and Dorothy Yost Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Dave Gould, Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“The Continental”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Song (“The Continental”)1 ❍ Best Art Direction ❍ Best Musical Score ❍ Best Sound Recording Availability: DVD

The Gay Divorcee was the first movie musical that starred 2 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In addition to its historic significance as the first in the “Fred and Ginger” series of films it presents an interesting perspective on divorce proceedings of the era, particularly concerning the co-respondent. Evidently, this was a hot news item in 1934: the New York Mirror reported about a legal secretary who had been the co-respondent in over a hundred divorce cases. In this film, Ginger Rogers’ character, Mimi, wants a divorce but must hire a co-respondent to feign an illicit affair with her so her marriage can be dissolved on grounds of adultery. Confusion is likely to occur if the viewer does not under-

102 stand this rather antiquated divorce procedure. Most of the film takes place at an English seaside hotel, so one might presume the co-respondent to have been a peculiarity of British divorce law, but not according to the New York Mirror expose. However, the subject matter was rather suspect for a motion picture in the early Thirties, dealing as it did with a woman and a paid co-respondent being caught together in a compromising situation. The screenplay managed to treat the subject very innocently, however. The film is based on a J. Hartley Manners’ unproduced play and on the 1932 Broadway musical, in which Astaire had starred. The film version retained only “Night and Day” from Porter’s original score. The Broadway version was titled Gay Divorce, but the Hays Office, the industry’s moral code administrator, decreed that a divorce could not be gay, but a divorcee could. Their logic seems rather hazy at best. Note, the word “gay” did not contain any homosexual connotations in the early Thirties. Guy Holden, an American dancer, is headed for an English vacation. At a stop-over in Paris, he goes to a nightclub with his friend and attorney, Egbert “Pinky” Fitzgerald. Some chorus girls perform a song and finger-doll dance to “Don’t Let It Bother You.”3 Guy and Pinky try the same routine at their table. When neither can find their wallets to pay the check, Guy is forced to demonstrate his dancing skills to prove his identity.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Gay Divorcee.

103 Mimi Glossop and her Aunt Hortense meet at British Customs. Customs officials are completely frustrated with Hortense’s nonsensical replies to their questions, so they take her aside to try to clear up the misunderstandings. She accidentally closes and locks Mimi’s dress in her trunk. Guy ambles by and, seizing the opportunity to get to know this pretty woman, offers to help. He “helps” by tearing her dress, which exposes her slip. So he offers her his coat so she won’t be embarrassed, but he even gets the coat hung in a gate. Their first meeting is disastrous. When his coat is returned without the woman’s name or address, he vows to find her. As he prepares to begin his search among the three million women in London, he sings “A Needle in a Haystack.”4 He spends the next several days and nights futilely combing the streets. Then they literally run into each other in their automobiles. He, at least, manages to learn her first name. Mimi has been married to her former geology professor for a couple of years, but she now wants a divorce, which he is unwilling to grant. Fed up with the whole procedure, she leaves the details of the divorce to her aunt and lawyer, Egbert Fitzgerald. Their plan is to hire a professional co-respondent to spend the night with her at the Brightbourne Hotel, a seaside resort. When Egbert brags that he has a new case at the seashore, Guy accompanies him there. At the beach at the Brightbourne Hotel, a hotel guest5 sings “Let’s K-nock K-neez”6 to Egbert, who is dressed in an old fashioned bathing suit. After Egbert sings a chorus, several girls and guys dance to the tune (one of the girls puts on hockey pads to protect her knees). When Mimi arrives at the hotel, Egbert explains the procedure to be followed with the co-respondent and tells her she will know the man when he says, “Chance is the fool’s name for fate” (Egbert had heard Guy use the phrase earlier). Once the co-respondent, the Italian Rodolfo Tonetti, arrives, Egbert explains the arrangement to him and gives him the identification phrase. At dinner that evening, Mimi and Guy notice each other, but, not wanting anything to do with him, she runs into a pavilion where the first strains of “Night and Day”7 are heard. Guy follows her and when she starts to leave, he pleads with her to stay, which leads into his singing “Night and Day.” She still seems very cool towards him — after all, she is a married woman and is there to get a divorce. After Guy sings, she starts to leave again, but he blocks her exit, takes her hand and leads her into a classic ballroom-type dance. At the end of the number, Guy offers Mimi a cigarette.8 When Guy utters the identification phrase of the co-respon-

The Gay Divorcee dent, she’s stunned! When she tells him she’ll be waiting for him in her room at midnight, he’s stunned! Mimi is mad at Guy for being the co-respondent and vows to make his night miserable. Meanwhile, Tonetti, the real co-respondent, is having difficulty getting the identification phrase correct. He repeats it, or something similar, to every woman he meets. Aunt Hortense returns to Mimi’s room to warn her that she may be with the wrong man, which alters Mimi’s mood dramatically. When Egbert finally steers Tonetti to Mimi’s room, Guy assumes he is Mimi’s husband. She finally explains that she’s married to a geologist, but they are getting a divorce. As Mimi and Guy wander onto the balcony of her suite, they peer down into a courtyard filled with dancers. She tells him about the song, “The Continental”9 and sings a chorus. They dance into her room, but want to join the other dancers below. Guy devises some “paper doll” cutouts on a phonograph turntable to project a shadow of dancers on the wall to fool Tonetti. When Guy and Mimi arrive downstairs, the dancers separate to watch this talented couple. There are numerous variations, new camera angles, several different groups of dancers, vocalizations by Tonetti accompanying himself on a concertina, and by Lillian Miles, as she catalogs the European spots where “The Continental” is the rage. The next morning Egbert brings Mimi’s husband to witness the “adultery,” but thanks to the waiter’s memory, her husband is revealed as Mr. Brown, who has a French wife. Mimi has her grounds for divorce! Before they all head back to London for a celebration, Guy and Mimi dance a reprise of “The Continental” in her hotel suite. Musically, The Gay Divorcee has several sparkling musical numbers. “Night and Day” is an elegant song and ballroom-style seduction dance, “A Needle in a Haystack” is a nifty Astaire tap solo, and “Let’s K-nock K-neez” is so silly, it’s cute. Astaire’s and Rogers’ “The Continental” dance is enjoyable, but in my view, if ten minutes or more was cut, the sequence would be even better (i.e., twentytwo minutes is too long). It seems like the studio was determined to make the number even grander and more elaborate than “The Carioca” from Flying Down to Rio. As an early example of film musicals (it was released only seven years after The Jazz Singer), The Gay Divorcee is very enjoyable and also quite an improvement over Flying Down to Rio, but it is not as classy as Fred and Ginger’s Top Hat, Swing Time and Shall We Dance from later in the decade.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 20th Century–Fox, July 18, 1953, 91 minutes Principal Cast: Jane Russell (Dorothy), Marilyn Monroe (Lorelei), Elliott Reid (Malone), Tommy Noonan (Gus Esmond), Charles Coburn (Sir Francis “Piggy” Beekman), Nonna Varden (Lady Beekman), George Winslow (Henry Spofford III), Taylor Holmes (Esmond Sr.) Director: Howard Hawks Producer: Sol C. Siegel Screenwriters: Charles Lederer; based on the musical comedy libretto by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Jack Cole Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” No. 12 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs Availability: DVD

Anita Loos wrote the novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady, in 1925. Her novel was adapted into a play in 1926, and was filmed as a silent movie, which no longer exists, in 1928. In 1949, the Broadway musical starred Carol Channing as Lorelei Lee. The musical closed in 1951 after 740 performances. For the movie musical, two songs by Harold Adamson and Hoagy Carmichael were added, while most of the songs from the original Broadway musical were scrapped.1 Only “Bye Bye Baby” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” were retained, while “A Little Girl from Little Rock” became “Two Little Girls from Little Rock.” Dorothy and Lorelei perform “Two Little Girls from Little Rock”2 before the main title and opening credits appear. Dressed in glittery red sequined dresses and feathered hats, the girls sing about leaving home after someone broke their heart, about coming to New York where men wined, dined and ermined them, and they’re determined to go back home and punch the guy in the nose. After the main title and credits, the girls return to conclude the song as Lorelei’s intended, Gus Esmond, watches from the audience. Lorelei and Gus are supposed to sail on the Isle de France where they intend to marry. Gus’ father, however, does not approve of Lorelei. Lorelei tells Dorothy she plans to sail with or without Gus and will stay in Europe until he comes to get her. When Mr. Esmond, Sr. intervenes, Dorothy accompanies Lorelei on the cruise. At the dock, Dorothy is thrilled that the U.S. olympic team will also be on board. Gus tells Dorothy that he expects her to be Lorelei’s chaperone. The senior Mr. Esmond hires a private detective, Ernie Malone, to spy on Lorelei.

104 Before the ship sails, Dorothy entertains the olympic athletes and other passengers in their stateroom. As the first announcement of shore call is heard, she sings “Bye Bye Baby.”3 Lorelei slowly and sexily sings her goodbye to Gus. When “all ashore” is announced, the entire party runs up on deck and continues singing as they wave goodbye. Lorelei searches the passenger list for men with money. Dorothy had been looking forward to fun and games with the athletes, but they have a curfew. During one of the athletes’ workouts, she sings “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?”4 as she wanders in and around the exercising men. Malone pays the maitre d’ $50 to be seated at the girls’ dining table. Lorelei demands the maitre d’ seat Henry Spofford III, who is the richest male passenger, at her table. Dorothy meets the elderly Sir Francis “Piggy” Beekman, who is the owner of a diamond mine. When Lorelei hears the word “diamond,” she turns on the charm. While Piggy dances with Lorelei, Malone offers Dorothy a drink. At first she thinks he’s just another playboy, but slowly warms to him. Later when the diamondclad Lady Beekman joins the group, Lorelei is tremendously impressed with her jewelry. To impress her even more, Lady Beekman allows Lorelei to try on her tiara. Lorelei has found her true love! When Dorothy and Lorelei enter the ship’s dining room, all the men stare. Henry Spofford III arrives late; Dorothy is tremendously disappointed that he is a child. After dinner, Piggy dances with Lorelei while Malone and Dorothy stroll on deck. The next day, Dorothy sees Malone taking pictures through their stateroom port hole. He was photographing Piggy and Lorelei while Beekman was demonstrating how a python could squeeze the life out of a victim. Dorothy and Lorelei must retrieve the incriminating photographs before Malone shows them to Mr. Esmond, Sr. They get Malone into their cabin, turn up the heat, and ply him with stout drinks fortified with sleeping pills. They strip off his clothes to look for the film and find it in his pants pocket. When Lorelei shares the developed photos with Piggy, he wants to give her a gift to show his gratitude for keeping the incriminating pictures from his wife. Lorelei suggests his wife’s tiara as an appropriate gift. Later while Malone retrieves the tape recorder and tape he had planted, Dorothy catches him and objects to his spying. Malone tells her he doesn’t want her to get mixed up in Lorelei’s mischief. Once the ship lands in France, they spend all the money they have on a shopping spree (Lorelei has a letter of credit from Gus, so they aren’t worried about money). At their hotel, they are ushered into the manager’s office where Lady Beekman, her

105 lawyer and Malone are waiting. Lady Beekman won’t press charges if Lorelei returns the tiara. Even though Lord Beekman has denied giving it to Lorelei, she adamantly refuses to return it. Malone informs the girls that Gus has canceled their reservations and Lorelei’s letter of credit. Without any money or a place to stay, the girls wander into a street café. There, accompanied by an accordion player, they sing “When Love Goes Wrong, Nothing Goes Right”5 and dance while the Parisian crowd continues to sing. Lorelei and Dorothy land jobs as nightclub singers. When Gus arrives in Paris, he is appalled that his fiancée is performing in a nightclub. Dorothy suggests Gus watch Lorelei’s performance before he judges her too harshly. The number begins with several couples dancing around Lorelei, who is sitting with her back turned to the audience. When she begins performing, she sings multiple “no’s” in a mock operatic style. Then she performs “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,”6 the ultimate gold-digger’s song. She suggests women should make certain they get diamonds before the men return to their spouses. Backstage after her performance, Lorelei admits she really loves Gus. When the stage manager warns Lorelei that the police have come for her, Dorothy persuades her to return the tiara. But when they look for it, it is missing (somehow Lord Beekman had stolen it). While Lorelei attempts to get enough money from Gus to pay for the tiara, Dorothy, wearing a blonde wig, pretends to be Lorelei and is taken to court. Lady Beekman’s lawyer isn’t convinced that she is Lorelei. To prove it, Dorothy performs “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the courtroom. While Malone is at the airport to pick up Esmond, Sr., he sees Beekman, who requests that Malone tell Lorelei he is sorry, but he had to do what he did. He promises to make it up to her someday. Once Malone and Mr. Esmond arrive at court, Dorothy, who is on the witness stand, tells Malone she is in love with him, but will not forgive him if he does anything to hurt Lorelei. Malone quits his job as Esmond’s detective and refuses to testify against Lorelei. Suddenly, Malone knows exactly where to find the tiara. He rushes back to the airport and finds it in Beekman’s valise. He returns to the court room, where Lady Beekman dismisses the charges. Lorelei tells the senior Esmond, “I don’t want to marry your son for his money; I want to marry him for your money.” She asks him if he had a daughter if he wouldn’t want her to marry a rich man. Liking her logic, Mr. Esmond gives her permission to marry his son. The film ends with a double wedding. As they

Gigi process down the aisle, Lorelei and Dorothy sing an excerpt from “Two Little Girls from Little Rock.” As eye-catching as Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell are in this film, from a musical perspective the film is pretty weak. The three Styne/Robin tunes from the original Broadway score are the highlights, while the two Carmichael/Adamson songs are merely passable. “A Little Girl from Little Rock” works better as a solo than as a duet. With only five musical numbers, and some of those not especially memorable, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a questionable nominee as one of the greatest movie musicals. Anita Loos wrote a sequel titled But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, which continued the story of Lorelei and Dorothy. The 1955 film, Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, starred Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain, who played Dorothy’s daughter. In 1974 a revised version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, titled Lorelei, starring Carol Channing, ran for 320 performances on Broadway. A 1995 revival of the original Broadway production only ran for eight performances.

Gigi M-G-M, May 15, 1958, 115 minutes Principal Cast: Leslie Caron (Gilberte “Gigi” Alvarez), Maurice Chevalier (Honoré Lachaille), Louis Jourdan (Gaston Lachaille), Hermione Gingold (Mme. Alvarez), Eva Gabor (Liane d’Exelmans), Isabel Jeans (Aunt Alicia) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter/Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner Music: Frederick Loewe Awards and Honors: ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 22 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Thank Heavens for Little Girls” is the No. 56 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Gigi”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“I Remember It Well”) ● Academy Award winners: ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Gigi”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Costume Design ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1991 Availability: DVD

Gigi In at least two exceptional cases, Hollywood produced original musicals during the Fifties that rival those on Broadway: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Gigi. The French author, Colette, had written the novel, Gigi, in 1945; it was adapted into a French screen version in 1948, and Anita Loos adapted it as a Broadway play in 1951 that starred Audrey Hepburn in her first major stage role. Several years later, producer Arthur Freed, mentioned the idea of a movie musical version to Alan Jay Lerner during the pre–Broadway tryouts of My Fair Lady.1 Lerner read Colette’s book and agreed to adapt the novel for the screen. He and his collaborator, Frederick Loewe, who had vowed never to write for movies, were also signed to write the musical score. Many Americans may not be familiar with the French tradition of the courtesan. Most often these young women were born poor and had very little education or upper-class manners, so they were taught the necessary skills. The courtesan-intraining learned to speak properly, dress appropriately, walk and dance gracefully, and, often, learned to play an instrument. Basically, she learned how to please the wealthy bon vivants of Paris who would be her patrons. Gigi is set in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris. Honoré Lachaille, who disdains marriage, introduces himself as “a lover and a collector of beautiful things — not antiques, mind you, younger things.” As this elderly gentleman strolls through the Bois de Bologne, one of Paris’ famous parks,

Leslie Caron as the title character in Gigi.

106 his discerning eye for feminine beauty becomes quite apparent. He even fondly imagines the potential of some young school girls, one of whom is Gigi. In his charming French accent, Lachaille sings “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.” He anticipates these young girls growing into delightful creatures. When Gigi arrives home, her Grandmama reminds her that this is the day for Aunt Alicia, so off she goes to her weekly etiquette lessons with her great-aunt. Honoré visits his nephew, Gaston, the wealthy heir to a sugar empire, who is bored with Paris society. The only place that Honoré can find relaxation is when he visits his uncle’s former paramour, Mme. Alvarez, Gigi’s grandmother and guardian. In a carriage on the way to a luncheon, Gaston explains his disinterest in society in the song, “It’s a Bore.” During Gigi’s etiquette lessons, Aunt Alicia is constantly frustrated with the girl’s uncouth behavior. Today Alicia is trying to teach Gigi some of the intricacies of dining and about expensive jewelry and how to recognize fakes, followed by a lesson on fine cigars. Aunt Alicia reminds Gigi that everything she is teaching her has a purpose and that love is an art. Confused, Gigi sings “The Parisians.”2 She does not understand Parisians and their obsession with love. As she heads home she continues to sing. When she meets Gaston, who is passing by in a carriage, she accompanies him to the ice skating rink for a glasé. Gaston is meeting his current lover, Liane d’Exelmans, at the rink. Gaston is surprised when Gigi describes Liane as common. That evening at Maxim’s,3 the crowd gossips about each couple as they enter (“Gossip”). Gaston appears to be bored as usual, while Liane gushes as she greets the other restaurant patrons. Gaston sings the waltz, “She Is Not Thinking of Me.” As Liane dances with Honoré, Gaston continues the song. The following morning Gaston informs his uncle that he learned from a private detective that Liane is having an affair with her skating instructor. When Gaston hints he will end their relationship quietly, Honoré insists it must be ended with honor — to which, Gaston reprises “It’s a Bore.” Honoré and his nephew drive to a restaurant in Gaston’s new horseless carriage, where Gaston pays the skating instructor a thousand francs to leave Liane. When Gaston tells Liane their affair is over, she acts distraught and feebly attempts suicide. Honoré congratulates Gaston on his first formerlover–suicide. Gaston contemplates leaving the city for awhile, but his uncle insists he must appear to be carefree and devil-may-care. He must be seen

107 with a different girl every night. A montage of various parties, balls, parades, and the opera follows. Gaston is still bored. One evening Gaston visits Gigi and her grandmother and brings chocolates and champagne as gifts. He is so enamored with Mme. Alvarez’s cooking that he agrees to forsake a party at the Eiffel Tower for a good meal and a game of cards with Gigi. Gaston agrees to take Gigi and her grandmother to Trouville-by-the-Sea if he loses the card game. During the game, he allows Gigi to taste champagne. After Gigi wins and Gaston agrees to honor his wager, they all sing “The Night They Invented Champagne.” At Trouville, Gaston and Gigi have a wonderful time together. Honoré, who has also come to the seashore, hasn’t seen Gaston so chipper in years. Honoré is surprised that Mme. Alvarez is there and confesses to her that he was very much in love with her and was even thinking of marriage before a little indiscretion on his part ended their relationship. They reminisce about their romantic past in the song, “I Remember It Well.” Everything he remembers, she corrects. But when Mme. Alvarez compliments him for being a prince of love his chest swells with pride. Back in Paris, Alicia reprimands Mme. Alvarez for accepting Gaston’s invitation to Trouville when Gigi has not finished her training. While Gaston is away in Monte Carlo, Gigi visits Alicia’s daily, but she grows extremely exasperated with Gigi’s lack of progress. When Gaston visits upon his return, Gigi models one of the dresses Aunt Alicia has picked out for her. Gaston doesn’t like the dress because it makes her look like a woman. He is so outraged that he storms out of their flat in a huff. Moments later he returns to ask Gigi to tea at a swank club. Her grandmother explains to Gaston that Gigi cannot be seen with him in public without a formal understanding. Infuriated by the idea, Gaston leaves again and angrily walks the streets. In “Gaston’s Soliloquy,” he berates Gigi as being a mere child, followed by onthe-other-hand thoughts; these thought patterns alternate back and forth. When his soliloquy segues into “Gigi,” he realizes he has either been a fool or blind not to see Gigi’s transformation from a little girl to a lovely, desirable woman. Gaston returns to the Alvarez flat to discuss a business arrangement to “take care” of Gigi. Later, when Gaston comes to take Gigi to dinner, he asks if she understands their arrangement. Gigi understands that she is to be his lover, but Gaston becomes embarrassed when she questions what will become of her when he tires of her. She

Gigi points out that he was not embarrassed to talk to her grandmother about her becoming his mistress. She would prefer that they continue their present relationship, but Gaston declares they can’t because he loves her. She accuses him of being a wicked man; if he loved her, he would not drag her into a life where she will suffer. Gaston scolds Mme. Alvarez for explaining too much about their “arrangement” and departs. Gaston tells Honoré about what happened with Gigi. After Gaston leaves, Honoré sings “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore.” When Gigi’s grandmother telephones Aunt Alicia with the news, she hurries over to her sister’s flat. As the women discuss the situation, Gaston, having received a note from Gigi, arrives. Gigi tells Gaston that she would rather be miserable with him than without him. Before Gigi dresses to accompany Gaston to Maxim’s that evening, she sings “Say a Prayer for Me Tonight” to her cat. At Maxim’s everyone stops when Gigi enters in her beautiful gown. Using everything she learned from Aunt Alicia, Gigi pours Gaston’s coffee, selects his cigar and lights it. When Honoré congratulates Gaston for finding a companion who will keep him happy for many months, Gaston abruptly takes Gigi home. Once he has deposited the crying girl in her flat, Gaston walks the streets of Paris in a state of confusion until he suddenly realizes what he must do. Returning to her grandmother’s flat, he asks for Gigi’s hand in marriage. Mme. Alvarez replies, “Thank heaven...”— which leads into the finale. Once again Honoré sings “Thank Heavens for Little Girls” in the Bois de Bologne as Gaston and Gigi step into their carriage. As the film ends, Honoré salutes them as they pass. Bosley Crowther thought Gigi bore “such a basic resemblance to ‘My Fair Lady’ that the authors may want to sue themselves.” He didn’t mean that statement as a criticism, because he thought the film was “not only a charming comprehension of the spicy confection of Colette, but it is also a lovely and lyrical enlargement upon that story’s flavored mood and atmosphere.”4 Gigi is merely an AFI nominee for its greatest movie musicals list, but it is Entertainment Weekly’s No. 22 greatest movie musical of all-time. With nine Academy Award wins (it won all the awards for which it was nominated), Gigi is certainly worthy of being considered one of the top movie musicals ever. Lerner and Loewe’s creation is very nearly as stupendous as their My Fair Lady. Musically, “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” “I Remember It Well,” and the title song are gems. Maurice Cheva-

108

Girl Crazy lier was a wonderfully appropriate choice for the role of Honoré and Leslie Caron’s portrayal of Gigi was delightful. Gigi is a very entertaining film musical. All three That’s Entertainment films identified Gigi as the film that marked the end of M-G-M’s production of classic musicals. M-G-M’s production of popular musical films, not necessarily classics, continued into the Sixties, but Arthur Freed only produced one more hit musical for the studio, the1960 film version of Bells Are Ringing. Gigi became a Broadway musical in 1973; an example of a Hollywood musical opening on Broadway rather than the other way around. That production won the Tony Award for Best Original Score and was nominated for three other Tonys: Best Actor in a Musical (Alfred Drake as Honoré), Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design.

Girl Crazy M-G-M, December 2, 1943, 99 minutes Principal Cast: Mickey Rooney (Danny Churchill, Jr.), Judy Garland (Ginger Gray), Rags Ragland (Rags), Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (themselves) Director: Norman Taurog Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: Fred F. Finklehoffe Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographers: Charles Walters and Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“I Got Rhythm” nominated for its inclusion in An American in Paris, 1951) Availability: DVD

Girl Crazy began as a 1930 Broadway musical with music and lyrics by the Gershwin brothers and libretto by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan. The musical starred Allen Kearns as Danny Churchill, a playboy whose wealthy father sends him to Custerville, Arizona to manage a ranch to keep him away from bootleggers and gold digging women. Danny soon turns the place into a dude ranch where Kate Fothergill, played by Ethel Merman, entertains the guests. Danny’s romantic interest is Molly Gray, played by Ginger Rogers. The film version was supposed to be the last of the four Busby Berkeley directed Mickey Rooney/ Judy Garland film musicals. Berkeley was replaced, however, by Norman Taurog after he got in trouble for running over budget and behind schedule in shooting the film’s finale, which was the first sequence shot. Some reports claim Judy Garland in-

sisted Berkeley be fired because he was pushing her too hard. M-G-M scriptwriters cleaned up some of the double entendre dialogue and changed the locale from a ranch to a western college. As usual, several songs from the original score were omitted for the film version.1 “Fascinating Rhythm,” from the 1924 Gershwin musical, Lady, Be Good!, was added to the film score. The film opens at a New York City nightclub, where June Allyson,2 sings “Treat Me Rough” accompanied by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.3 Playboy Danny Churchill is in the audience. Some of the performing girls pull him on stage where he joins the performance. The girls also perform a rough dance with him and he loves every minute of it. The next morning, with his nightclub escapade featured in several newspapers, Danny’s publisher father informs his son that he is sending him out west to an all-male school, Cody College. When Danny arrives in Codyville, he begins the trek from the train station to the college on foot (every sign he passes claims the college is eight miles ahead). Finally, he is thrilled to see a broken down car. A pretty young girl, Ginger Gray, the town’s postmistress, emerges from underneath the vehicle where she has been repairing it. Danny is amused that his father sent him west to get him away from girls, but he immediately finds another attractive one. Once he finally arrives at the school, which looks like an old cavalry base, his roommate informs Danny about the school’s rigorous schedule. The next morning his fellow students take Danny on an all-day horseback ride and give him the most spirited horse as his mount. After Danny falls off his horse, Rags gives him a ride in a buckboard to their camp site. When they finally arrive at the camping place at dusk, Ginger, who has come to the camp site to cook, and some of the guys sing “Bidin’ My Time,”4 a song about procrastinating. They also perform a modified square dance routine to the song. The next day Danny talks to Dean Phineas Armour,5 Ginger’s grandfather, about returning home. While Ginger drives Danny to the train station, she accuses him of being spoiled. Instead of being offended, he kisses her and sings “Could You Use Me?” Her reply is a verse and chorus in which she states she couldn’t. Ginger leaves Danny at the train station and returns to the college for her birthday party. When the college students present Ginger with a piano as a birthday present, she plays and sings “Embraceable You,”6 with help from several male students and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.

109 Henry Lathrop,7 Ginger’s boyfriend, proposes to her very unromantically during a moonlight stroll into the desert. Danny, who is on his way back to the school, overhears the proposal and, once Henry leaves, tells Ginger his attraction to her caused him to reconsider returning home. The state’s legislature decides to close the college because it doesn’t have enough students. Danny and Ginger propose a solution to her grandfather — a “let’s put on a show” idea. They propose staging a rodeo, complete with a Queen of the Rodeo contest, to create publicity. Then, at the state capitol, they convince Governor Tait8 to give them thirty days to recruit more students before he closes the college. The Governor invites them to his daughter’s birthday party, but Ginger must return to her job as postmistress of Codyville. At Ginger’s insistence Danny attends the party. There, Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra, with Danny at the piano, plays a rendition of “Fascinating Rhythm”9 that has snatches of “Rhapsody in Blue” intermingled into the arrangement. When Marjorie Tait,10 the Governor’s daughter, is crowned Queen, Ginger is heartbroken and runs out into the desert. Rags follows her and tries to cheer her up by asking her to sing a song for him. She sings “But Not for Me,”11 which is so sad that Rags cries. The solution to the college’s enrollment problems is solved by making it co-educational. The film’s finale, which evidences plenty of Busby Berkeley influence, features Ginger and the male and female students of the college performing a huge production number to “I Got Rhythm”12 as part of the rodeo celebration. Girl Crazy deserves its AFI nomination even though it didn’t receive any Academy Award nominations. With Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland as its stars and Gershwin songs like “Bidin’ My Time,” “Embraceable You,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “But Not for Me,” and “I Got Rhythm,” the film is very entertaining, even with Busby Berkeley’s over-produced “I Got Rhythm” finale. Mickey Rooney’s insistence on bowling over his audience with his whirling dervish antics can be a little tiring, but he is also quite an entertainer. Judy Garland, who sings like an angel, is the perfect foil for Rooney’s brashness. However, several questions beg answers: Why a college instead of a dude ranch? Why, except to capitalize on the swing craze, involve Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra? Why leave out “Sam and Delilah” (among others), but add “Fascinating Rhythm”? Why tamper with a proven Broadway musical? In 1992, Girl Crazy was revived in a completely revised Broadway production with added songs from other Gershwin musicals under the title Crazy for You. That production won three Tony Awards:

The Glenn Miller Story Best Musical, Best Costume Design, and Best Choreography, and was nominated for six others.

Les Girls see under L The Glenn Miller Story Universal Pictures, February 10, 1954, 113 minutes Principal Cast : James Stewart (Glenn Miller), June Allyson (Helen Burger Miller), Harry Morgan (Chummy MacGregor), Charles Drake (Don Haynes), George Tobias (Si Schribman) Director: Anthony Mann Producer: Aaron Rosenberg Screenwriters: Valentine Davies and Oscar Brodney Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Kenny Williams Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Sound Recording ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Availability: DVD

Glenn Miller was one of the most successful band leaders of the swing era. His forte was arranging and his unique clarinet-lead sound became one of the signature sounds of the big band era. Miller’s most productive period for hit recordings was from 1939 through 1943. He was one of the first inductees into the Big Band/Jazz Hall of Fame in 1978 and was inducted into the Popular Music Hall of Fame in 2001. To ensure authenticity, the band’s pianist and Miller’s close friend, Chummy MacGregor, was a technical advisor on the film. In East Los Angeles in the Twenties, Alton Glenn Miller pawned his trombone when money got scarce at Mr. Kranz’s pawnshop, but as soon as he earned a little money at various jobs, he got his instrument out of hock. On one particular visit, Glenn notices a string of pearls that he’d like to purchase for his college sweetheart, a girl he hasn’t communicated with for two years. Chummy MacGregor gives Glenn a ride to their musician-for-hire job at a society establishment where Mark Minton and his Mellow Music specialize in sweet-style arrangements. Glenn slips his swinging arrangement of “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem”1 into the players’ folders. When Minton’s orchestra attempts to play the arrangement, they quickly stop and revert to their wheezy saxdominated sweet-style sound. One day, Mr. Kranz informs Glenn and Chummy

The Glenn Miller Story that Ben Pollack2 is holding tryouts for a new band. Instead of getting his trombone out of hock, Glenn works on arrangements. Pollack is very impressed with Chummy’s pianistic skills and hires him, but doesn’t look at Miller’s arrangements. When a clarinetist auditions, Pollack instructs Chummy to pull out something for him to sight read, so he grabs Glenn’s arrangement of “Everybody Loves My Baby.”3 As a result, Pollack hires Glenn to play in the band and write arrangements. While getting his trombone out of hock, Glenn buys the string of pearls for his girlfriend, Helen Burger. A few weeks later when the tour arrives in Denver, he telephones Helen, and, even though she seems to barely remember him, insists on coming to her house after work. When he hasn’t appeared by midnight, Helen retires for the night. Three hours later, Glenn wakes her and gives her a late birthday present — the string of faux pearls. Even though Helen is engaged, he charms her into driving to Ft. Morgan to meet his parents. Glenn’s whole family expects them to get married. After their visit, they drive to Boulder to visit their alma mater, the University of Colorado, where they hear the college male glee club rehearsing “Little Brown Jug.”4 Helen loves the song, but Glenn considers it “a tin ear tune.” She explains that she gets a funny sensation on the back of her neck when she hears something that is extra special. During their walk around the campus, Glenn talks passionately about his dream of having his own band with its own sound and its own personality. Just as Helen is beginning to believe in Glenn’s dream, he must rejoin Pollack’s band as they head toward the East coast. In a New York City club, Pollack and His Californians perform “Good Night, Ladies”5 to end their engagement. After two years with Pollack, Glenn decides to remain in New York to work on his arrangements. Don Haynes has promised to help place his arrangements with various bands. After two more years of struggles in which Glenn pawns his trombone regularly, Don tells Glenn about Red Nichols hiring musicians for the pit band for the new Gershwin musical Girl Crazy.6 As Glenn walks down the street, he hears a recording of “Little Brown Jug” by a hillbilly group coming from a record store. He goes inside, telephones Helen, and asks her to come to New York right away so they can get married. Glenn urges her to catch the train the next evening, and call him at Pennsylvania 6-5000 when she arrives. Helen gets that funny sensation on the back of her neck and senses that marrying Glenn is the right thing to do. When Glenn meets Helen at Grand Central Sta-

110 tion, he rushes her into an impromptu wedding before he has to be at the theater at 8:00 P.M. Glenn gives her a box seat ticket to Girl Crazy where she hears a cowboy quartet sing “Bidin’ My Time.”7 After the performance, his band buddies have arranged a party for them at Connie’s Inn in Harlem. At Connie’s Inn, Louis Armstrong’s band plays “Basin Street Blues”8 and Louis sings a chorus in his distinctive growl. Armstrong invites Glenn and drummer Gene Krupa up for a jam session. Krupa beats out a mean drum solo and Glenn displays his improvisational skills in a jazzy trombone solo. Early the next morning the newly weds finally arrive at their honeymoon suite at the Pennsylvania Hotel. Even though Glenn works regularly as a pit musician, Helen reminds him of his dream of leading his own distinctive sounding band. So, Glenn studies composition and they move out of the hotel into a small apartment to conserve money. At the piano in their apartment, Glenn writes what will eventually become his theme song, “Moonlight Serenade.”9 When they observe “Moonlight Serenade” performed by a nightclub singer and a chorus line of dancers in a hoochie-coochie production number, Helen convinces Glenn that he must form his own band. Glenn, Chummy and Don put together a sample budget that seems unattainable, but Helen presents Glenn with a saving account book for the Glenn Miller Band. For years she’s been taking money out of his pocket and depositing it — there’s enough to meet the budget. During an early band engagement in New England, Chummy’s car gets stuck in the mud. Glenn goes ahead and plays “Over the Rainbow”10 with a few of the band members. The others trickle in as they arrive. Later in their hotel room, they discuss their lack of success. According to Glenn, they don’t deserve success yet because he hasn’t found that special sound. To cheer them up, Don announces that he has booked them at Boston’s State Ballroom, which means six half-hour radio spots. On the snowy drive to Boston, the band’s instrument truck breaks down, so Glenn stays behind until it is fixed. When he finally arrives in Boston, he discovers their engagement has been cancelled and that Helen had a miscarriage due to exhaustion. As a result, Helen can’t bear children, but Glenn promises her they’ll have a boy and a girl. During Helen’s hospital stay, Si Schribman, the State Ballroom manager, visits her. He feels guilty about canceling Glenn’s band, so he puts up the money for Glenn to put together a new, larger band, and allows him to try out new arrangements.

111 While the band rehearses “I Know Why (and So Do You),”11 the lead trumpet player splits his lip. Glenn stays up all night rewriting his arrangements to feature the clarinet with four saxes (during this writing process, “Moonlight Serenade”12 is heard with the rhythm section and a few instruments, but not the finished product). The next day Glenn’s distinctive sound is heard for the first time. As Helen listens she gets that tingly feeling on the back of her neck and the ballroom dancers stop dancing to applaud. A musical medley of “Stairway to the Stars,”13 “I Know Why (and So Do You)” and “Elmer’s Tune”14 plays during a montage of various newspaper accounts of the band’s success, and their recordings selling and being played on juke boxes. The band plays “String of Pearls”15 as Glenn presents Helen with a string of real pearls to replace her fake ones. During another montage of more newspaper and magazine articles, one of which proclaims that Miller and his band were “Tops for the 3rd Year in a Row,” the band plays “Adios.”16 On their tenth anniversary, Helen surprises Glenn with a new adopted daughter, Jonnie Dee.17 Later that evening, Glenn presents his surprise — a new song, “Pennsylvania 6-5000.”18 He also presents her with a little brown jug. Since he doesn’t care for the song, he claims it’s the only little brown jug she’ll get from him. Glenn and his band record “Tuxedo Junction”19 for a Hollywood film.20 When Helen arrives at the recording session with the mail, Glenn asks Chummy to rehearse the band on “At Last.”21 He takes Helen into the booth upstairs and explains that all the kids who loved his music are in military service, so he applied for a commission in the Army. The letter from the War Department confirms his appointment as a Captain. At first, Captain Miller is required to lead the Army band in dull marching tunes like “National Emblem March,”22 the same ones the Army had marched to for a hundred years, but when Glenn spices it up with a swinging arrangement of “St. Louis Blues,” (“St. Louis Blues March”23), the troops march with much more spirit. Gen. Arnold24 is very impressed with the effect the music had on the troops’ morale, so Miller asks, and is given, permission to form his own band to go overseas and bring a touch of home to the soldiers stationed abroad. Miller and his Band of the AEF are stationed in London25 and broadcast over the BBC to American and British troops. As they play “In the Mood,”26 at a military hospital, an air raid siren goes off as a buzz bomb flies overhead. When the bomb lands nearby, the crowd ducks, but the band plays on and are rewarded with a huge ovation. At an Air

The Glenn Miller Story Force base, the Modernaires, his state-side band’s vocal group, and film star Frances Langford entertain the soldiers with another of Glenn’s most famous hits, “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”27 During another montage of newspaper headlines about the war and actual newsreel footage, the military band plays Glenn’s swinging arrangement of the old march, “American Patrol.”28 Glenn writes to Helen about his postwar plans which include resurrecting his state-side band and urges her to listen to his Christmas broadcast from Paris. He promises a special surprise that she’ll definitely recognize. On a foggy December morning in 1944, Glenn boards a military transport plane for the flight to Paris, but the plane and its passengers disappear somewhere over the English Channel. Gen. Arnold telephones the news to Helen just before Christmas. Still grieving, she and the children, along with Chummy and Si, listen to the band’s Paris broadcast. When she hears Glenn’s theme song, she almost loses her composure, but she certainly recognizes the surprise Glenn had promised; it was his swing arrangement of “Little Brown Jug.”29 As she listens, Helen gets that funny sensation on the back of her neck again and realizes that her husband’s music and legacy will remain strong many years after his death. A few other songs were heard as incidental music30 and “Moonlight Serenade” and “Little Brown Jug” are heard as recurring themes throughout the film. Several musical stars appear in the film as themselves: Frances Langford, the Modernaires, Gene Krupa, Louis Armstrong, and Ben Pollack. Is The Glenn Miller Story a movie musical? Maybe not in the same sense as screen versions of Broadway musicals, but it is definitely a musical film and it won the Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. Anyone who likes big band music should love this film biography of one of the swing eras most beloved and most successful bandleaders. The biggest draw, of course, is Miller’s music. I consider this biopic the most appealing and melodic musical biography since Yankee Doodle Dandy. And, James Stewart’s genial portrayal of Glenn Miller is the most likable and respectable portrait of a show business personality since Jimmy Cagney’s spirited portrayal of George M. Cohan. June Allyson’s performance as Miller’s wife is also wonderful. If my assessment of the film is accurate, then it deserves similar honors. According to AFI, Yankee Doodle Dandy is the No. 18 greatest movie musical of all-time, but The Glenn Miller Story wasn’t even nominated. What an oversight!

Gold Diggers of 1933

Gold Diggers of 1933 Warner Bros., May 27, 1933, 96 minutes Principal Cast: Ruby Keeler (Polly Parker), Dick Powell (Brad Roberts/Robert Trent Bradford), Warren William ( J. Lawrence Bradford), Joan Blondell (Carol King), Aline MacMahon (Trixie Lorraine), Guy Kibbee (Faneul H. Peabody), Ginger Rogers (Fay Fortune), Ned Sparks (Barney Hopkins) Director: Mervyn LeRoy Producer: Hal B. Wallis Screenwriters: Erwin S. Gelsey and James Seymour Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Al Dubin Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“We’re in the Money”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Sound, Recording ● Added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2003 Availability: DVD

Gold Diggers had been a hit stage play by Avery Hopwood in 1919. A silent screen version was filmed in 1923 and a talking version in 1929 called Gold Diggers of Broadway. Warner Bros. revived the idea with Gold Diggers of 1933.1 After Warner Bros.’ tremendous success with 42nd Street, they were eager for an equally successful follow-up. To insure its success, they hired some of the same team: Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell as the stars, Busby Berkeley to stage the dance numbers, and Harry Warren and Al Dubin to furnish the music. Gold Diggers of 1933 opens with “We’re in the Money (The Gold Diggers Song),”2 which is performed during a rehearsal by Fay Fortune. She is dressed in an outfit made of silver dollars and performs with fifty-four scantily-clad showgirls dancing with giant coin props. The song’s lyrics bid goodbye to breadlines and money problems because the worst days of the depression are over. Everyone will now be able to pay the rent! The rehearsal is interrupted when the sheriff arrives to shut down the show because the producer, Barney Hopkins, can’t pay for the sets and costumes. Without jobs, Trixie Lorraine, Carol King, and Polly Parker are sleeping late. Fay arrives at the apartment in dark glasses so the landlady won’t recognize her and ask for the rent. When they hear that Barney is putting on a new show, Carol is selected to check out the rumor. They can’t all afford to go, so Carol wears Fay’s dress and they pool their money for her cab fare. In another nearby apartment, Brad Roberts plays

112 the piano and sings “Shadow Waltz.” Polly leans out the window to listen. After the song, they blow kisses to each other. Brad is really Robert Trent Bradford, but since his wealthy family disapproves of his show business inclinations, he is masquerading as a struggling songwriter. Carol telephones and instructs Trixie to notify all the girls to meet at their apartment to hear about Barney’s new show, which he claims will be the best he has ever produced. Suddenly, Barney hears Brad playing a song and wants to hear more, so Brad is invited over to demonstrate the song in person (“I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song”). Barney wants a marching song, so Brad tells him about his idea for a marching song about forgotten men, but he doesn’t have the lyrics yet. Barney has heard enough, he wants Brad to write the songs for his show. Brad agrees only if Polly will have a featured role. Barney readily agrees and wants Brad to sing in the show too, but he declines. When one girl asks when rehearsals begin, Barney answers, “When I get the money.” Barney needs $15,000, so Brad offers to advance the money and bring it to Barney’s office the next morning. Nobody believes a struggling songwriter could possibly come up with that much money. By noon the following day, Brad hasn’t arrived at Barney’s, so everyone is sure he was bluffing, but Brad does show up with the promised money. An ecstatic Barney declares rehearsals will begin the next day. At a rehearsal, Polly and Don Gordon3 sing “Pettin’ in the Park.” Brad doesn’t like the way Gordon is singing his part, so he demonstrates how it should be sung. Barney once again tries to talk Brad into singing in the show, but he declines again. Trixie ponders how Brad could live on only $25 a week, but put up $15,000 for the show. Polly is afraid that he is mixed up in something illegal. When Barney’s all-star revue, Forgotten Melody, opens, Don has a bad case of lumbago, so everyone convinces Brad that he must perform to save everyone’s job and the show. On stage, Brad reads an advice to the lovelorn book as he sits on a park bench next to Polly. Then he sings “Pettin’ in the Park” to her. After a chorus, Polly tap-dances as animal wafers come to life as a couple of romancing chimps. A trio of policemen sings the tune as several couples sit on park benches and a mischievous midget4 is disguised as a baby in a perambulator. Next, lots of girls and policemen roller skate in the park. When the season suddenly changes to winter, it starts snowing. Several girls play with large white rubber balls that look like snowballs and form geometric patterns with them. When the season changes to spring, the midget

113 lecherously eyes some girls that are lounging on the grass on their backs next to their boyfriends. Their legs are crossed in such a way that their skirts expose their stocking garters and barely hide their derrieres.5 In the next segment, numerous couples are sitting on park benches, but, when it begins raining, the girls run for cover. In another slightly risque scene, the girls change their wet clothing behind a shadow screen that disguises very little. The midget raises the screen, but the girls have changed into tin-can bathing suit–type outfits by the time it is lifted. As the number ends, Brad sings to Polly again and the midget hands Brad a can opener, which he uses to begin opening Polly’s tin-can outfit. The next morning’s newspaper headline reads: “Robert Trent Bradford, Boston Blue Blood, Found Incognito in Broadway Musical Show.” The accompanying article says that Brad is rumored to have helped finance the production. According to the article, his Back Bay Boston friends thought he was studying at Stevens Institute. At the all-male University Club, Brad’s brother, J. Lawrence Bradford, and the family’s lawyer, Faneul H. Peabody, attempt to talk Brad out of his theatrical dalliance and forbid his relationship with a showgirl. They consider showgirls cheap, vulgar gold diggers. Brad refuses to listen to their demands, so J. Lawrence decides to rescue his brother from this wicked woman by paying her off. He and Peabody head for Polly’s apartment, where J. Lawrence doesn’t give Carol the chance to explain that she isn’t Polly. Carol is insulted when he tells her it would be a family disgrace if his brother married a showgirl. Then when he asks, “How much?,” Carol is dumbfounded! When Trixie enters, she immediately dotes over Peabody and talks the two men into taking them to a speakeasy. When Fay seemingly makes a play for Peabody at the speakeasy, Trixie kicks her under the table. The following morning, still thinking that Carol is Polly, J. Lawrence tells Peabody he thinks he can transfer her affection from Brad to himself. Even though he finds her fascinating, he pledges not to give in to her charms. Trixie has kept Peabody’s expensive cigarette lighter and intends to get much more. When Brad and Polly drop by, Carol concocts a plan that will soon have J. Lawrence begging Brad to marry Polly. Brad and the real Polly tag along to a club where the band plays “We’re in the Money.” J. Lawrence dances with Carol, while Brad pretends to be jealous. To further the charade, Brad also dances with her. J. Lawrence, who is drunk, questions why a girl

Gold Diggers of 1933 of obvious breeding is a cheap, vulgar show girl, so Carol explains her humble upbringing. When he takes her home, he tells her he loves her and they kiss before he passes out. Even though Carol is falling for J. Lawrence, she and Trixie undress him and put him in Carol’s bed. When Brad and Polly stop by, Brad tells his fast asleep brother that he will wake a kinder and wiser man. The next morning, J. Lawrence tries to sneak out, but Trixie stops him and insists that he write a check for $10,000 for Polly. After he leaves, Trixie shows Carol the check, but she doesn’t want anything to do with it. When Trixie accuses Carol of carrying a torch for that “Back Bay stuff-shirt,” Carol admits she loves him. Back at their hotel room, Peabody shows J. Lawrence the newspaper headline: “Heir to Bradford Millions Weds Broadway Musical Comedy Beauty.” J. Lawrence quickly realizes that the girl pictured in the newspaper is the girl Brad intended to marry all along. When J. Lawrence confronts Carol about the charade, she shows him that his check is framed and hanging on the wall. When he threatens to have Brad’s marriage annulled, she tells him she won’t marry him if he does. Carol is running late for the evening’s show, so she leaves with things unresolved. At the evening’s show, Brad sings “Shadow Waltz”6 to Polly. When a girls’ chorus takes over the melody, Brad plays a violin while Polly dances. Soon, the number develops into a gigantic production featuring sixty swirling chorus girls playing neon violins on a couple of huge staircases. Then they are arranged in constantly changing geometric patterns until at the climax they form an enormous violin. The number ends with Brad and Polly again. Before the next number, Peabody and Trixie announce that they are married. J. Lawrence arrives with a detective to arrest Brad unless he agrees to an annulment. When Barney recognizes the detective as a ham actor, J. Lawrence finally relents, gives the framed check to Polly as a wedding present, and embraces Carol. The show’s climatic finale, “Remember My Forgotten Man,” is greatly influenced by the plight of World War I veterans and the Great Depression. The curtain rises on Carol, who laments the country’s indifference toward its servicemen who returned from the front lines to face neglect, hunger and unemployment.7 Later African-American singer, Etta Moten, sings the lyrics. Towards the end of the number, soldiers march off to war and march in pouring rain, while several wounded soldiers hobble in the opposite direction. Next, many

The Goldwyn Follies men stand in a breadline, a common sight during the early Thirties. As a chorus sings, soldiers march on three levels as the breadline men march forward towards the audience. Carol returns to sing the ending in front of a stage full of soldiers and Depression-weary veterans and their families. The Production Code, or what was more commonly referred to as the Hays Code, set censorship guidelines that were adopted by the Motion Picture Association of America in 1930, but for some reason were not enforced until 1934 (it was replaced in 1968 by the MPAA film rating system). The Production Code spelled out what was morally acceptable (and unacceptable) in motion pictures that were produced in the U.S. Had the code been enforced in 1933, the “Pettin’ in the Park” number would have been severely edited or perhaps deleted. The “Remember My Forgotten Man” finale was inspired by the World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to ask for their veterans’ bonuses. When Congress voted down their request, President Hoover ordered troops to disperse the angry vets. “The Gold Diggers Song (We’re in the Money)” and “Shadow Waltz” are the film’s most famous songs and are both imaginatively staged by Busby Berkeley (Berkeley’s style is also amply evident in “Pettin’ in the Park” and “Remember My Forgotten Man”).

The Goldwyn Follies Samuel Goldwyn Company, February 4, 1938, 120 minutes Principal Cast: Adolph Menjou (Oliver Merlin), Andrea Leeds (Hazel Dawes), Kenny Baker (Danny Beecher), Ella Logan (Glory Wood), Vera Zorina (Olga Samara), Edgar Bergen (himself ) Director: George Marshall Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriters: Ben Hecht, Ray Golden, Dorothy Parker, Anita Loos Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: George Balanchine Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Love Is Here to Stay” for inclusion in An American in Paris, 1951) ● Academy Award nominations: ● Best Art Direction ❍ Best Music, Scoring Availability: DVD

Producer extraordinaire, Florenz Ziegfeld, became famous for his spectacular revues called Follies that ran yearly on Broadway from 1907 through

114 the Twenties. Ziegfeld’s productions offered a wonderful combination of spectacular visuals, topical comedy, wonderful songs and gorgeous girls — basically glorified vaudeville. Many of the most popular performers of the era were featured in the casts and many of the best songwriters wrote material for them. Hollywood producer, Samuel Goldwyn, who was an ardent admirer of Ziegfeld, wanted to become the “Ziegfeld of Hollywood” by producing an annual movie-musical revue,1 but The Goldwyn Follies was his only effort in this direction. Revues are plotless, just a succession of acts, so The Goldwyn Follies is not strictly a revue; it does have a plot, even if it is merely an excuse to get from one song or production number to the next. George Gershwin and his brother, Ira, were hired to write the songs for the film. Tragically, George died at age thirty-nine during exploratory brain surgery while they were in Hollywood writing for this film. He had only completed twenty bars of “Love Is Here to Stay” before he collapsed from a brain tumor. Fortunately, George had played the song for friends enough that it could be pieced together. Vernon Duke completed “Love Is Here to Stay” from George’s incomplete lead sheet and with help from those who had heard George play it. Duke also composed the music for “Spring Again” and for two ballet sequences. The film begins at the premier of producer Oliver Merlin’s The Happy Tango, which stars Olga Samara. Merlin becomes distraught when the audience laughs at a scene that wasn’t supposed to be humorous. During the filming of Merlin Productions’ next movie starring the temperamental Olga, a local girl, Hazel Dawes, and her friend, watch the shooting. Merlin overhears the girls make some disparaging comments about his film, so he follows them to a local soda shop and interrogates Hazel about his film’s faults. She explains that his movies suffer from unbelievable plots, clichéd dialogue and stilted acting — basically, they lack humanity. Impressed by her evaluations and her truthfulness, he hires her to help make his film more believable and more human. He called her his “Miss Humanity.” Back in Hollywood, Merlin instructs his assistant, Basil, to find a nice house and a chaperone/ roommate for Hazel. Basil selects Glory, the girl who is sitting on Basil’s lap every time Merlin telephones, for the roommate. Late one evening, Hazel and Glory go to the Owl Diner for something to eat. When they enter, the cook, Danny, who has a marvelous tenor voice, is singing “Love Walked In.”2 After work, Danny walks Hazel home and asks to see her again. In a later scene, Danny and Hazel lounge on the

115 beach as he reprises “Love Walked In.” Danny is singing on a radio program, so Hazel and Glory agree that Merlin needs to hear the program so he can “discover” Danny. After Merlin and Hazel dine together, they listen to the radio program where Danny sings “Love Is Here to Stay.”3 Merlin, who always takes Hazel’s suggestions for plot changes and for actors, is very willing to hire Danny when Hazel recommends him for his next film. Mr. Merlin tells Hazel that he has something to confess when the film is completed. He plans to ask her to marry him. When she tells him she has something to confess also, he thinks she’s in love with him too, but she intends to tell him about her romantic relationship with Danny. Danny, who doesn’t know that Hazel works for Merlin, invites her to watch one of the last scenes to be filmed and to meet Mr. Merlin. She and Glory sneak into the soundstage to watch Danny sing “Spring Again.”4 Merlin plans to announce his engagement to Hazel at a party that evening, but he overhears Danny and Hazel talking about their mutual love through a microphone on the soundstage. Later in his office, Merlin threatens to replace Danny in the film, but she saves Danny’s job by agreeing to marry Merlin. At the announcement party, Danny dares Merlin to replace him; he’ll just go back to cooking hamburgers at the diner. As Danny starts to leave with Hazel, Merlin offers him a five year contract. As the film draws to its conclusion, Danny sings a reprise of “Love Walked In” with an obbligato by opera diva, Miss Jerome. Before the film ends, Hazel5 joins in the song and they kiss. The film tries to please everyone’s taste: it has lovely Gershwin songs, comedy, ballet, and opera. For ballet enthusiasts, George Balachine, Vera Zorina’s soon-to-be husband, choreographed two of the film’s showpiece dance numbers. The first thing Mr. Merlin had Hazel critique was a rehearsal of a “Romeo and Juliet Ballet.”6 In this update of Shakespeare’s famous play, the feuding families are represented by ballerinas and tap dancers fighting in the streets of Verona. Hazel wants the starcrossed lovers to live and the families to celebrate, so Merlin re-writes Shakespeare. In the second piece, a modern ballet titled “Water Nymph Ballet,”7 Zorina emerges from a pool as a golden water nymph. As if Zeus disapproved of his nymph’s playmates, a violent wind blows away all the mortals and Zorina sadly returns to her pond. In both ballets, Miss Zorina was assisted by the American Ballet of the Metropolitan Opera. For opera buffs, the film presents a couple of operatic excerpts. Mr. Merlin presents Hazel with a beautiful gown and cape for their trip to the opera.

Good News On her way to meet Mr. Merlin, she stops by the diner where Danny illustrates what she will hear by singing an excerpt from the aria “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici”8 from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata. The scene suddenly switches to the opera performance where the tenor, Alfredo,9 continues the aria. Then soprano Leona Jerome10 performs Violetta’s famous “Sempre libera”11 aria. Hazel is impressed, so Merlin hires Miss Jerome for his film. Later in the film, another musical moment was Leona Jerome’s performance of “La Serenata.”12 There also is plenty of comedy, although most of it was pretty lame. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen13 and his wisecracking dummy, Charlie McCarthy, were famous radio personalities from late 1937 through the mid–Fifties. They made several appearances in this film, their feature film debut, performing some of their comedy routines. Also in the cast was the over-the-top comedy trio, the Ritz Brothers, who also appeared often — too often. In addition to their corny comedy routines, they also performed two songs: “Here Pussy Pussy” and “Serenade to a Fish.”14 A running gag in the film concerned the character, Michael, played by Phil Baker, who was cast and re-cast as various characters. He finally gets to perform “I Love to Rhyme,”15 accompanying himself on the accordion, but Charlie McCarthy, with Edgar Bergen’s help, of course, frequently interrupts his performance. Mr. Merlin is desperate to find the appropriate tenor to play a gondolier. He auditions numerous tenors, including the obnoxious Ritz Brothers. During those auditions, the first contestant was a young Alan Ladd. The film’s basic plot isn’t bad and Gershwin’s “Love Is Here to Stay” and “Love Walked In” are beautiful, but the Ritz Brothers are tacky and far too manic. Although I remember loving Edgar Bergen’s ventriloquism as a child, he and Charlie McCarthy slow the plot rather than compliment it. The excerpts from La Traviata are performed beautifully and I’m sure Vera Zorina’s ballets were beautifully choreographed and performed with skill, but my knowledge is too limited to properly judge. The Goldwyn Follies is far from being one of the best movie musicals of the Thirties.

Good News M-G-M, December 26, 1947, 83 minutes Principal Cast: June Allyson (Connie Lane), Peter Lawford (Tommy Marlowe), Patricia Marshall (Pat McClel-

Good News lan), Joan McCracken (Babe Doolittle), Ray McDonald (Bobby Turner), Mel Torme (Danny), Robert Strickland (Peter Van Dyne III), Loren Tindall (Beef ) Director: Charles Walters Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music: Ray Henderson Lyrics: B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown Choreographer: Robert Alton and Charles Walters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Varsity Drag”) ● Academy Award nomination: ● Best Music, Original Song (“Pass That Peace Pipe”) Availability: DVD

The musical Good News premiered on Broadway in 1927. Written by librettist Laurence Schwab and B. G. DeSylva, the show became lyricists B. G. DeSylva and Lew Brown and composer Ray Henderson’s biggest hit musical. M-G-M released two film versions of the musical, one in 1930 and this version, in 1947. When producer Arthur Freed hired Betty Comden and Adolph Green to write the screenplay, he instructed them to write a completely new story, retaining only the barest plot line from the original. They did, however, retain six songs from the original score and omitted seven.1 In the original Broadway version, the football player hero fails astronomy, but in the film, he fails French on purpose. His taking French prompted Comden, Green and Roger Edens to pen the song “The French Lesson” for the film. Another addition, the Academy Award nominated song, “Pass That Peace Pipe,” had been written by Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin and Roger Edens for Ziegfeld Follies, but since it was not used, it was inserted into the score of Good News. An unseen chorus sings the title song, “Good News” as the opening credits roll. As the scene is set at Tait College in 1927, the year they were dancing the Charleston, the year of “flaming youth,” when a girl was a flapper and a boy was a sheik, the cast sings “Tait Song.”2 As the action begins, the Dean welcomes the students, including a new student, Pat McClellan, whose primary purpose for attending college is to marry money. The scene shifts to the football locker room where Coach Johnson3 and his assistant, Pooch,4 are giving the players a pep talk. When Bobby, one of the least physically gifted players on the team, asks Tommy Marlowe, the team’s egotistical star, for some advice about girls, Tommy sings “Be a Ladies’ Man.”5 Tommy and Bobby are joined in the singing by their college buddies including Danny. At the girls’ dormitory, Connie Lane is dressed in

116 overalls and is working on the pipes under the kitchen sink. The new student, Pat, expects one of the other girls to sew beads on her flapper dress. When Pat hears that Peter Van Dyne III is worth $25 million, she sets her sights on him. At a school dance, one of the school’s toughest football players, Beef, threatens any guy who attempts to dance with Babe Doolittle. When Babe tries to get Bobby to dance with her, he is too afraid of Beef to do it. Pat slinks into the scene in her flapper dress and meets Peter Van Dyne III. Tommy tries to divert Pat’s attention, but her eyes are too filled with dollar signs. She sings “Lucky in Love”6 to Peter. Later, Babe sings the song to Bobby as she pretends to sing to Beef; Danny accompanies himself on the ukulele for his chorus; Connie claims she isn’t lucky in love in her chorus, which she sings while she washes the dishes; Tommy sings about always having been lucky in love until now; and Danny and his uke return to end the musical number. Connie is working in the school library when Tommy comes in looking for the translation of a French phrase that Pat had used. When he decides to take a French class, Connie warns him that the professor hates football players. Tommy doesn’t think French could be that difficult, but he asks Connie for a demonstration. The musical number that follows, “The French Lesson,”7 is a clever bit of English to French repartee. Tommy is impressed with Connie’s knowledge and feels sorry that she has to work her way through college and miss the best things about college life. She responds by singing “The Best Things in Life Are Free.” At the end of the song, Tommy kisses her and then proudly boasts about how impressed Pat will be with his new French vocabulary. After a few French classes, Tommy rehearses a speech in French that he intends to deliver to Pat that afternoon at the soda shop (Tommy calls Pat his “Sheba,” the female equivalent to the male “Sheik”). After his French exhibition, he asks Pat to the prom, but she says she’s going with Peter. Later at the soda shop, to confirm that Pat is only after money, Babe tells her that Tommy is “the Pickle King,” and is worth $30 million. During the soda shop scene, Babe sings “Pass That Peace Pipe”8 and is joined by all of the students in the soda shop. Tommy asks Connie to the prom, but she turns him down because she doesn’t want to be his second choice. Eventually however, she reconsiders and accepts. At the next football game, gold digger Pat sets her sights on Tommy and, after the game, gets him to ask her to the prom. So, Tommy breaks his date with Connie. Dejected, depressed, and all

117 alone in the dorm after the other girls leave for the prom, Connie sings “Just Imagine.” When final grades are posted, Tommy passed everything but French. Coach Johnson gets the Dean to allow Tommy to retake the French exam before the big game and talks Connie into tutoring him. Several of Tommy’s friends mill around in another room while Connie tutors Tommy in the kitchen. While they wait, Danny sings a short reprise of “The Best Things in Life Are Free.” Then Tommy sings a French version of the song to Connie. A very jealous Pat is eavesdropping and interrupts just in time to foil their kiss. When the French professor, Prof. Kennyon,9 grades Tommy’s new exam, he had answered every question wrong — on purpose. Connie is certain this is a sign that Tommy loves her. The professor decides to pass Tommy in spite of his test grade (after all, what’s more important, academics or winning the football game?). When Connie announces that he passed, Tommy is shocked! His friends, who have been anxiously waiting, sing a reprise of “Be a Ladies’ Man.”10 Tommy and Pat are supposed to announce their engagement after the big game. During the game, Tommy’s mind is not on football, which results in many mistakes, so at half time the Coach benches him. Beef has gotten hurt during the first half, so he dresses in street clothes. When the rest of the team heads back on the field for the second half, Tommy tells Beef he’s in love with Connie. Beef finds Connie in the stands and tells her what Tommy said. Beef and Connie leave the game and go to the dorm. Connie and the dormitory maid make up a story about Tommy loosing all his money and that Beef is really the richest guy in the school. Then they present their tale very loudly so Pat will hear. She takes the bait and rushes to Beef, who is waiting in his fancy car and sends Tommy a note breaking up with him. Now, he’s ready to play! He convinces the coach to put him in and scores the winning touchdown. After the game, “The Best Things in Life Are Free” is played at the dance. Babe and Bobby, who had scored a touchdown in the game, kiss and Beef and Pat are together. Tommy sees Connie with Peter and thinks she is his date, so he starts to leave. Prof. Kennyon stops him and gives him a pep talk about fighting for what he wants. Tommy finds Connie alone on the terrace. At first, they argue, but finally admit their feelings for each other. Tommy tells Connie he’ll do anything she says, so she tells him to get down on his heels and up on his toes, which leads into the Charleston-type number, “Varsity Drag.” The song develops into a

Grease big production number involving all the students at the dance. Musically, “Pass That Peace Pipe” may be a cute song, but there is no rationale for its inclusion in the film. “Varisty Drag,” which is a wonderful number, is set up horribly script-wise. In the original production’s first act, Flo tells the other students, “Let the professors worry about their dusty old books, we’ll make Tait famous for the Varsity Drag!” She then proceeds to give them a lesson in learning the dance. That makes so much more sense. Also in the Broadway version, “The Best Things in Life Are Free” is sung by the rich hero, Tom, as he tries to convince the poor heroine, Connie, that money isn’t everything, but in the film Connie sings the song. Originally, “Lucky in Love” was sung by Connie and Tommy, while in the film it is performed by several including Pat, Babe, Danny, Connie and Tommy. Of the new songs, the clever “The French Lesson” is best suited to the plot. Even though June Allyson isn’t a great singer, she is well suited for the role of Connie, but Peter Lawford is a poor choice for any musical film. As much as I would have preferred to have seen Good News as it was originally conceived, it’s a colorful campus comedy and is very entertaining.

Grease Paramount, June 16, 1978, 110 minutes Principal Cast: John Travolta (Danny Zuko), Olivia Newton-John (Sandy Olsson), Stockard Channing (Betty Rizzo), Jeff Conaway (Kenickie), Didi Conn (Frenchy) Director: Randal Kleiser Producers: Robert Stigwood and Allan Carr Screenwriter: Bronte Woodward; adapted by Allan Carr from the Broadway musical Music and Lyrics: Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs Choreographer: Patricia Birch Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 20 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 14 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Hopelessly Devoted to You”) Availability: DVD

Grease began as a play with incidental music in Chicago in the early Seventies. After reworking it into a full-scale musical, it opened off Broadway in 1972. When the show received decent reviews and brisk ticket sales, the producers moved it to Broadway. Included in the original Broadway cast were Barry Bostwick (Danny Zuko) and Carole

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Demas (Sandy Dumbrowski). That production received seven Tony Award nominations, but did not win any awards. In December 1979, Grease broke Broadway’s long-run record and finally closed in 1980, after a total run of 3,388 performances. The original production paid back its investors four thousand percent. The original production was a much more raunchy, aggressive, vulgar show than its subsequent sanitized and tamed down stage productions and the film version. The show’s title comes from the term “greasers,” the working-class youngsters who slicked their ducktails, à la Elvis Presley, with greasy hair cream. The hairstyle was also a symbol of rebellion and of young Americans declaring their cultural independence. The film version of Grease opens with an instrumental version of “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”1 and scenes of Sandy Olsson2 and Danny Zuko’s idyllic summer together. With summer vacation almost over, Sandy hates the idea of returning to Australia3 and never seeing Danny again. He tries to reassure her that this isn’t the end. During the animated opening credits, the title song, “Grease,”4 is heard. The animations include Danny greasing his hair, Sandy as Snow White,5 Rizzo, the school’s tramp who has a dirty mind, but a heart of gold, Kenickie, the tough and rude second-in-command of the T-Birds and several Fifties cultural icons.

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in Grease.

As the action returns, it is the first day of the school year at Rydell High.6 Kenickie and his greaser pals, the T-Birds,7 are constantly in trouble with the school authorities for their obnoxious behavior. Danny, the leader of the gang, admits to meeting one cool chick during his summer vacation. Just as all the students head inside, Frenchy, one of the Pink Ladies,8 and Sandy arrive. Sandy and her parents did not return to Australia as planned, so she will attend Rydell High. Principal McGee9 welcomes the students and announces over the school’s PA system that the National Bandstand TV show will broadcast live from their gym. Rydell’s “Alma Mater” is heard quietly behind Mrs. McGee’s announcements. At lunch Sandy and Frenchy join Rizzo, Jan and Marty, the other Pink Ladies. Danny and his fellow T-Birds spend the lunch break in the football field bleachers. The guys want to hear all the horny details about Danny’s summer at the beach. When the girls ask Sandy about her summer, she tells them she met a special boy at the beach. These dual conversations meld into the song “Summer Nights” where Sandy and Danny describe their time together. Danny greatly exaggerates his sexual exploits to please his buddies. At the end of the song, Sandy describes her summer romance as a gentleman and then shocks her new friends when she says his name was Danny Zuko. They tell her if she believes in miracles maybe her Prince Charming will show up again — of course, they know he will. Encouraged by Patty Simcox10 Sandy joins the school’s cheerleaders. At the year’s first Pep Rally, the Pink Ladies make fun of Sandy and the other cheerleaders. Kenickie arrives in a beat-up old car that he plans to race at Thunder Road. His fellow T-Birds can’t imagine that this hunk of junk will ever be a racer. Meanwhile, Rizzo decides to reunite Danny and Sandy, so she takes Sandy to surprise Zuko. At first he is happy to see her, but, to protect his tough-guy image, his behavior changes completely. Sandy can’t believe this is the same person she met at the beach. To cheer Sandy up, Frenchy invites her to a slumber party. Rizzo quickly becomes fed up with Sandy, who she calls “Miss Goody-Two-Shoes.” When Frenchy, who announces that she’s dropping out of high school to enroll in beauty school, insists on piercing Sandy’s ears, Sandy gets sick at the first sight of blood. While Sandy is in the bathroom recovering, Rizzo sings “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee.” The song’s lyrics accuse Sandy of being similar to wholesome film stars like Sandra Dee, Annette Funicello and Doris Day, but Rizzo considers them false role models. When Sandy comes out of the bathroom, she accuses Rizz of making fun of her.

119 Marty decides to write to one of her numerous male pen pals to which she is hopelessly devoted. Sandy goes outside and sings “Hopelessly Devoted to You,”11 a beautiful love song about her inability to get over Danny. When Kenickie and the T-Birds come to Frenchy’s house, Rizzo climbs out the bedroom window and goes for a ride with Kenickie. Later, while they are making out in his car, Kenickie’s condom breaks. Rizzo decides to go all the way anyway. Their lovemaking is interrupted by Leo,12 the leader of The Scorpions, who backs into Kenickie’s car. While the T-Birds repair Kenickie’s car, Danny sings “Greased Lightnin’” to convince his buddies that this rickety piece of junk could be transformed. The rest of the gang fantasizes about what it will look like when it is restored. During the choregraphed number, the car is transformed and the T-Birds don matching work oufits in a spickand-span garage. “Greased Lightning” combines two cultural forces: America’s love affair with cars and teenagers’ love for speed. At the Frosty Palace,13 Danny sees Sandy with one of Rydell’s best looking and most athletic students, Tom Chisum.14 He determines that if she prefers athletes, he’ll become a jock. Danny tries various sports with disastrous results. He finally tries track and is doing alright until the sight of Sandy talking to Tom in the stands distracts him and he falls. Sandy runs to see if he is okay and they reconcile. He also asks her to the upcoming dance. When Danny takes Sandy to the Frosty Palace, he is worried about ruining his image. When the TBirds and Pink Ladies discover Danny and Sandy are there, they join them and ruin Danny’s plan to be alone with Sandy. Left alone in the malt shop, Frenchy removes her scarf to reveal pink hair. She explains to the waitress that she had trouble in tinting class. Actually, she is having trouble with all her beauty school subjects, so she needs a guardian angel to tell her what to do. Suddenly, one appears and sings “Beauty School Dropout.”15 He advises her to go back to high school. During the song Rizzo and the Pink Ladies appear as the backup chorus with silver curlers piled on their heads and dressed in beauty shop attire. Later, Danny takes Sandy to the school dance,16 where the National Bandstand TV show will broadcast live. Rizzo, who is mad at Kenickie, goes to the dance with the Scorpion leader, Leo, while Kenickie takes Leo’s girlfriend, Cha Cha DiGregorio,17 who is Danny’s former girlfriend. Rizzo leaves when she sees Kenickie dancing with Cha Cha.

Grease Danny and Sandy are still in the competition when one of the T-Birds pulls Sandy away, so Cha Cha can dance with Danny. When Sandy realizes that Cha Cha is Danny’s former girlfriend and a better dancer, she leaves. Danny and Cha Cha win the contest and share a spotlight dance, while three of the T-Birds moon the television camera. Later, Danny takes Sandy to a drive-in movie and apologizes for his behavior at the dance. Sandy, however, remains standoffish. After Danny gives her his class ring, she kisses him on the cheek and says, “I know now that you respect me.” During a bathroom break, Rizzo tells Marty she missed her period. Sonny,18 who overhears Marty telling some people to make way for the lady with a baby, asks what she meant. She whispers the secret to him, which soon spreads over the entire drive-in. When Kenickie asks why she didn’t tell him, Rizzo tells him it was somebody else’s mistake. Back in Danny’s car, he tries to seduce Sandy, but she screams, gets out of the car, throws his ring and leaves the drive-in. Danny wanders around the drive-in as he sings “Sandy,”19 lamenting losing her again. In “There Are Worse Things I Could Do,” Rizzo sings about everybody thinking she’s trashy and no-good, but she insists there are a lot of things she could do that are worse than shacking up with a boy or two. The drag race between Leo and Kenickie is in the concrete channel of Los Angeles River. Leo announces that they’re racing for pinks. Marty finds a penny and attempts to give it to Kenickie for luck, but she drops it. When Kenickie bends down to pick it up, someone opens his car door and knocks him out, so Danny becomes his substitute. Sandy sits far away on the steep concrete wall watching the race, which Danny barely wins. Sandy decides she must change in order to get what she now realizes she desperately wants. She sings a reprise of “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” in which she bids goodbye to her wholesome image. At the Rydell Graduation Carnival, Rizzo announces that her pregnancy was a false alarm, so she and Kenickie get back together. Having become a member of the track team, Danny arrives in a letter sweater. He falls at Sandy’s feet when she arrives wearing a black leather jacket, skintight black pants and an off-the-shoulder top; her hair is curled and she is smoking a cigarette. They sing “You’re the One That I Want”20 as they cavort around the carnival. As a finale, the whole cast sings “We Go Together” and Danny and Sandy ride off into the sky in a car. Several songs were heard only as background

The Great Caruso music21 and a couple of songs were dropped from the original score.22 Musically, the film’s score is one of the best things about the production, even though it is liberally supplemented with songs that were not part of the original stage production. Danny represents the individualism and sexuality of the Sixties, while Sandy is representative of the social mores and sexual attitudes of mainstream America during the Fifties. Sandy’s decision to assimilate into the greaser community, rejecting her parents’ vision of sexuality, may not be the message most parents of girls would prefer their daughters to see and hear. The message is: it’s okay to shed your wholesomeness, purity, kindness and innocence and give in to peer pressure. Negatively, the actors are obviously not high school age. Olivia Newton-John, however, is superb as the demure and virginal “goody-two-shoes” and her “Hopelessly Devoted to You” is as dramatic as it is beautiful. John Travolta was at his best as Danny (although he was also quite good as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever in 1977 and as Edna Turnblad in the film version of Hairspray in 2007). The 1982 sequel, Grease 2, was not nearly as successful as the original film.

The Great Caruso M-G-M, May 10, 1951, 109 minutes Principal Cast: Mario Lanza (Enrico Caruso), Ann Blyth (Dorothy Benjamin Caruso), Dorothy Kirsten (Louise Heggar) Director: Richard Thorpe Producer: Joe Pasternak Screenwriters: Sonya Levien and William Ludwig; based on Dorothy Caruso’s biography of her husband Music and Lyrics: Various Composers and Lyricists Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Costume Design, Color Availability: DVD

Enrico Caruso (1873–1921) is considered by many people to be the greatest Italian tenor of all time. In addition to his operatic career, Caruso was also an important pioneer in the field of recorded music. Caruso made millions of dollars from the sale of his 260-plus recordings. M-G-M released a fictionalized biographical film, The Great Caruso, starring Mario Lanza as

120 Caruso and Ann Blyth as his wife, Dorothy. It was Lanza’s third film and became a winner at the box office. Mario Lanza, who became one of the most phenomenal vocal talents of the early Fifties, signed a record contract with RCA Victor in the late Forties. His two most popular recordings were “Be My Love”1 from Toast of New Orleans and “The Loveliest Night of the Year” from The Great Caruso. Lanza became the first male operatic voice to break into the popular field since Caruso, who was most active during the early years of the 20th century. Lanza sang primarily operatic arias or popular songs in an operatic style. During his short but productive movie career, Lanza made seven films. Later, he succumbed to weight problems and died of a heart attack in 1959. The huge majority of The Great Caruso is one opera excerpt after another with tidbits of Caruso’s life thrown in now and then. The famous “sobbing aria” from Pagliacci, “Vesti la giubba,” is played instrumentally during the film’s opening credits. The story begins with Enrico Caruso’s birth in Naples, Italy in 1873. Soon, he is shown singing in a boy’s choir in church; he even sang in the choir on the day his mother died. When he grows into manhood, Caruso falls in love with his childhood sweetheart, Musetta, the daughter of a Naples businessman who refuses to allow his daughter to marry a person who sings for pennies in the local cafes. Enrico finally agrees to work in Musetta’s father’s business to secure his permission, but that doesn’t last. One day when he delivers flour to a local pizzeria a friend entices him to sing. Two restaurant guests from the opera are very impressed with his voice. During the time he spent at the restaurant, it rained and ruined all the flour he was supposed to deliver. Muzetta’s father is furious and again refuses to allow his daughter to marry such a person. Caruso is hired by the opera to sing in the chorus of Aida, then to sing a small role in Tosca. Soon he progresses to a slightly larger part in Cavalleria Rusticana. His La Scala debut was in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda. Now that he is a success, he returns home to visit his father. During the visit he is devastated when he learns that Muzetta is married. He travels to England to sing at London’s Covent Garden and then to America for his Metropolitan Opera debut. The prima donna soprano, Louise Heggar, is kind and accommodating. Caruso, however, insults one of the Met’s most influential patrons, Park Benjamin,2 by calling him Louise’s father. The following day when he goes to Miss Heggar’s home to apologize, he meets Dorothy, a

121 young girl who immediately catches his eye. He discovers that Dorothy is the daughter of the influential opera patron he insulted. After his American debut in Aida, the newspaper critics pan his performance. To New York opera audiences and the press, Caruso is short, barrelchested, loud, overly emotional, and unrefined. He threatens to give up on America until Dorothy talks him out of it. The crowd is much more appreciative during his next performance in Rigoletto. Caruso goes on a world tour which is illustrated with excerpts from Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, Tosca, and Cavalleria Rusticana, prior to his return to the Met to perform in a World War I Liberty Bond Drive. Now that Dorothy is grown, Caruso proposes to her in his favorite Italian restaurant. Although she is very agreeable, her father will not even discuss the matter (Enrico’s first love’s father would not allow his daughter, Muzetta, to marry Caruso because he was a singer; now his second love’s father refuses his permission because he is an Italian peasant). Dorothy, however, marries Caruso without her father’s permission. According to the film, her father, one of New York’s 400, never approves of her marriage and never sees her again. Dorothy arranges a surprise birthday party for Enrico. As they dance, she sings “The Loveliest Night of the Year.”3 Caruso is surprised that she can sing. She has been practicing, she says, because every mother should be able to sing a lullaby. During a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor, Enrico learns his wife has given birth to a baby girl. Caruso tries to contact Mr. Benjamin to tell him about his granddaughter, but Dorothy’s father refuses any contact. Later, Caruso has severe coughing fits. He uses ether to relax his throat and ease the coughing, but refuses to see a doctor. During a performance of Martha, he experiences a particularly bad coughing attack. Dorothy begs him not to return for the next act, but he won’t listen. During the finale, he looks faint, coughs violently, and collapses as the curtain closes. The film ends with a wreath being placed at the base of Caruso’s statue. The film’s numerous musical excerpts include: • “Magnificat,”4 a Gregorian chant-type melody sung by the boy’s choir in rehearsal and during a procession; • “’A Vucchella (Arietta di Posilippo),”5 sung in a café as Caruso sings for pennies; • “La Danza or Tarantella Napolitana (Gia la luna è in mezzo al mare),”6 sung in the pizzeria during his flour delivery; • “The Consecration Scene” from Aida7; sung when Enrico is in the chorus;

The Great Caruso • “Voglio avvertirio stessa” from Tosca8; sung in one of Caruso’s early operatic endeavors; • “The Vilification Scene” from Cavalleria Rusticana9; another small role for Caruso; • “Cielo e Mar” from La Gioconda10; Caruso’s debut at La Scala; • “La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto11; performance at Covent Garden in London; • “Numi Pietà” from Aida; performed by Dorothy Kirsten during a rehearsal; • “Celeste Aida” from Aida; performed by Caruso during a rehearsal; • “Torna a Surriento (Come Back to Sorrento),”12 sung the first time he meets Dorothy; • “Trio Finale (O terra, addio)” from Aida; sung by Caruso, Louise and another vocalist (Blanche Thebom) during his Metropolitan debut; • “Che gelida manina!” from La Bohème13; sung by Caruso in his next more successful Met performance; • “Mattinata”14 is sung to his admirers outside the Met after his successful La Bohème performance; • “Miserere” from Il Trovatore15; excerpt sung during his world tour; • “Chi mi frena in tal momento” from Rigoletto; excerpt sung by Caruso, Louise, and others (Blanche Thebom, Gilbert Russell, Giuseppe Valdengo, Nicola Moscona) during his world tour; • “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca; excerpt sung during his world tour; • “Brindisi” from Cavalleria Rusticana; excerpt sung during his world tour; • “Recitativo/Vesti la giubba” from Pagliacci16; man pays $500,000 during Liberty Bond Drive to hear Caruso sing this famous “sobbing aria”; • “Ave Maria”17; sung at a Cathedral; also sung by a wonderful, unnamed boy soprano; • “Sesteto” from Lucia di Lammermoor18; sung by Caruso, Louise and others (Blanche Thebom, Giuseppe Valdengo and Nicola Moscona) during the performance where Enrico learns Dorothy has given birth to a baby girl; • “Because,”19 sung during a recording session; also heard instrumentally during the closing credits; • “M’appari” from Martha20; sung during one his last performances in the film; • “Finale” from Martha; sung by Caruso,

The Great Ziegfeld Louise and others (Blanche Thebom and Nicola Moscona) as Enrico collapses. The Fifties is resplendent with great movie musicals. The Great Caruso may deserve its AFI nomination, but it is far from being one of the best musical films of the Fifties. Maria Lanza’s vocal ability is impressive, but the plot is, according to Bosley Crowther, filled with “the silliest, sappiest clichés of musical biography.”21 A few of the two dozen or so operatic excepts could have been eliminated to allow more time for factual biography. Ann Blyth should have been allowed to sing more than one song. If one accepts the fictionalization and is an opera fan, they should enjoy The Great Caruso.

The Great Ziegfeld M-G-M, April 8, 1936, 185 minutes Principal Cast: William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.), Myrna Loy (Billie Burke), Luise Rainer (Anna Held), Frank Morgan (Jack Billings), Fanny Brice (herself ), Virginia Bruce (Audrey Dane), Nat Pendleton (Sandow) Director: Robert Z. Leonard Producer: Hunt Stromberg Screenwriter: William Anthony McGuire Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Seymour Felix Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Awards nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ *Best Actress in a Leading Role (Luise Rainer) ❍ *Best Dance Direction ❍ Best Art Direction ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Writing Original Story Availability: DVD

M-G-M’s cinematic biography of Broadway’s legendary producer Florenz Ziegfeld came four years after the impresario’s death at the age of 65. With a budget of over $1,500,000 and a talented cast, The Great Ziegfeld became one of the classiest screen biographies Hollywood ever filmed, and faithfully recreated the period of his heyday from the early years of the 20th century until the Great Depression of the early Thirties. The film studio followed Ziegfeld’s money-is-no-object approach in their filming of his life and career, although, reportedly due to legal ramifications, they presented a fictionalized version of his private and professional life. The film begins at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where Ziegfeld is a sideshow barker for the

122 world’s strongest man, Sandow. He is losing business to a neighboring show that features Little Egypt and hoochie-koochie dancers, but with his flair for showmanship, he soon makes Sandow a national sensation. When Ziegfeld travels to Europe seeking new talent, his rival Jack Billings was about to sign Polish-born revue sensation Anna Held, but Ziegfeld signed her instead, a pattern that was repeated often throughout the film. Ziegfeld’s publicity talents soon made her a star. Also, according to the film, she became his first wife, but according to other sources, she was his common law wife. The film pictured Miss Held as a vivacious and animated personality, but very tempramental and excessively emotional. Ziegfeld was never satisfied with his successes; he always wanted more of everything. After making Anna Held a star of the New York stage, he began producing his Follies, lavish revues that featured many of the most famous stars of the era and beautiful women in elaborate, but scanty, sometimes outrageous, costumes. Ziegfeld’s attraction to other women and Miss Held’s increasing jealousy become evident. At a dress rehearsal of Sally, Miss Held catches one of the girls, the drunken Audrey, kissing Florenz. Even though she loves Ziegfeld immensely, she leaves him. Ziegfeld then meets Billie Burke, who becomes his wife and the mother of his daughter. Ziegfeld begins to have financial problems and appears to be washed up. However, he bounces back with four hit shows on Broadway in one season: Rio Rito, Whoopee, The Three Musketeers and Show Boat. With the profits from these shows, Ziegfeld invests heavily in the stock market, which soon crashes. As the film ends, Ziegfeld is a sick, broken man, but he still wants to stage other productions. The film’s musical sequences are: • The film’s most spectacular number takes place during one of the Follies. On a stage of gigantic dimensions, Dennis Morgan1 sings “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody.”2 After a chorus of the song, several vastly different musical styles are presented: as the set turns, the audience experiences an 18th century ensemble of dancers, a snippet of “Un bel dì”3 from Madama Butterfly, a blues song, a Chopin piano composition, a snippet of “Vesti la Giubba”4 from Pagliacci, and an excerpt from George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue,5 with dancers in glittering black costumes and several men “playing” multiple pianos simultaneously. Morgan reappears and sings as a

123 huge curtain exposes seemingly hundreds of beautiful girls seated on the stairs of what Clive Hirschhorn called a “weddingcake setting.”6 The camera works its way up the almost endless stairs until it reaches Virginia Bruce seated on the top. • “Look for the Silver Lining”7 from Sally appears several times during the film: Jerome Kern demonstrates it for Ziegfeld and little snippets are occasionally heard as background music. • “You Gotta Pull Strings,”8 in which several girls sprawl on beds and coyly uncover themselves; they then proceed to open and drink from bottles of champagne, and dance on top of the rhythmically moving beds; • “She’s a Follies Girl”9 featured famous dancer Ray Bolger; • “You”10 was performed by several couples lounging in rooms that are on moving platforms; • “You Never Looked So Beautiful”11 is an outlandish fashion show; • “A Circus Must Be Different in a Ziegfeld Show”12 is a ballet devised by Harriet Hoctor; • Fanny Brice sings “Yiddle on Your Fiddle,”13 “Queen of the Jungle,”14 and an excerpt from one of her most famous hits, “My Man”15; • Luise Rainer performed a couple of Anna Held numbers, including “It’s Delightful to Be Married”16 and “I Wish You’d Come and Play with Me”17; • Buddy Doyle imitated Eddie Cantor singing “If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)”18; • A.A. Trimble imitated the famous cowboy philosopher Will Rogers; • “March of the Musketeers”19 is heard from The Three Musketeers; • “Ol’ Man River”20 from Show Boat is sung by Frank Sinatra. Even though The Great Ziegfeld won the Academy Award for Best Picture, there are, in my estimation, quite a few movie musicals from the Thirties that are better. However, along with Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Glenn Miller Story, I do think The Great Ziegfeld is one of the best musical screen biographies. The film certainly possesses the opulence and lavishness for which Ziegfeld is famous. Historically, it is interesting to see and hear the real Fanny Brice. By far the most spectacular number is the “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody” extravaganza that includes bits from Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci, and Rhapsody in Blue.

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls The Samuel Goldwyn Company, November 3, 1955, 149 minutes Principal Cast: Marlon Brando (Sky Masterson), Jean Simmons (Sarah Brown), Frank Sinatra (Nathan Detroit), Vivian Blaine (Miss Adelaide), Stubby Kaye (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), Johnny Silver (Benny Southstreet), Danny Dayton (Rusty Charlie), Regis Toomey (Arvide Abernathy) Director/Screenwriter: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser Choreographer: Michael Kidd Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 23 Greatest Movie Musical ● “Luck Be a Lady” No. 42 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Art Direction ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Costume Design ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Guys and Dolls, which was based on Damon Runyon’s short story The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown, opened on Broadway November 24, 1950 and closed after 1,200 performances. The production won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Robert Alda as Sky Masterson) and Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Musical (Isabel Bigley as Sister Sarah Brown). Vivian Blaine, Stubby Kaye, B.S. Pulley, and Johnny Silver reprised their roles in the screen version. Frank Loesser wrote the songs “Pet Me Poppa” and “Adelaide” for the screen version. Several songs from the original score were missing from the screen edition,1 including one of the musical’s most well known songs, “A Bushel and a Peck.” The film opens with a lengthy dance sequence that features various Times Square characters like tour guides, sightseers, street vendors, pickpockets and policemen. Three gamblers, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Benny Southstreet, and Rusty Charlie, peruse the daily horse-race scratch sheet. During “Fugue for Tinhorns,” each of the gamblers claims to have the inside scoop about which horse is the best bet. After Sergeant Sarah Brown and the Save-a-Soul Mission Band play and sing “Follow the Fold,” she delivers a street-corner sermon on the evils of gambling. Nathan Detroit needs $1,000 to secure a location for his crap game. In “The Oldest Established (Permanent Floating Crap Game),” Nathan, Benny,

Guys and Dolls Nicely-Nicely, and others sing about their frustration should the crap game not continue. Detroit bets Sky Masterson a $1,000 that he can pick a “doll” that will not go to Havana with him. When Sky accepts the bet, Nathan picks the Salvation Army “doll,” Sarah Brown. When Sky discovers the Mission will close if it doesn’t attract more sinners, he makes Sister Brown a wager: he will give his IOU guaranteeing at least a dozen sinners will attend their next meeting if she will have dinner with him in his favorite restaurant. She indignantly refuses! Sky asks her to describe the man of her dreams. In “I’ll Know,” she claims she’ll know when the right man comes into her life. Sky sings that he, too, will know when the right woman comes along. After the song, when Sky kisses Sarah, she slaps him. At the Hot Box Club, Nathan Detroit’s fiancée, Adelaide, and the Alley Kittens perform “Pet Me, Poppa.”

124 When Adelaide finds out Nathan is still running his crap game, she has one of her chronic sneezing attacks. She has been reading a book that has convinced her that her sneezing and wheezing are psychosomatic, caused by her frustration at being engaged to Nathan for fourteen years. She reads from the medical book and, in her Brooklyn accent,2 sings “Adelaide’s Lament.” Nathan, Benny and Nicely-Nicely hope Sky fails to take the Salvation Army doll to Havana so Nathan will have the cash for his floating crap game. In “Guys and Dolls,”3 they observe that men often do crazy things when it comes to women. General Cartwright4 informs the Save-a-Soul Mission personnel that national headquarters is closing the mission. Sky, who happens to be present at the time, protests and assures General Cartwright that the mission’s next meeting will be a resounding success. When Sky once again offers Sarah his marker, she accepts it and guarantees the

Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine in Guys and Dolls.

125 General that at least twelve sinners will attend the mission’s midnight service the following evening. While all the gamblers are gathering for the anticipated crap game, Lt. Brannigan5 shows up. Benny tells him they are there for Nathan’s bachelor party. When Adelaide hears this, she suggests that she and Nathan elope after her new show opens the next evening. Feeling trapped, Nathan agrees and sings “Adelaide,” about her taking a long shot chance on him. When the Salvation Army band passes by without Sister Sarah, Nathan faints. Meanwhile, Sarah and Sky have flown to Havana. After a bit of sightseeing, they visit several street cafés where the song “A Woman in Love” is being played instrumentally or sung in Spanish. Sarah orders milk, which Sky translates to the waiter as “Dulce de Leche.” When she asks if that isn’t an alcoholic drink, Sky assures her that there’s just enough alcohol in it to keep the milk from turning sour. After several drinks, Sarah is convinced this would be a great way to get children to drink their milk. At one of the clubs, several couples dance. Sarah, rather tipsy by now, dances in her chair. When a female dancer flirts with Sky, Sarah starts what develops into a barroom brawl. After Sky drags her away, they sit at a fountain in front of a church. When he asks her how she feels, in “If I Were a Bell,” she sings about her wonderful feelings. Realizing he is falling in love with her, Sky refuses to take advantage of her inebriated condition, so they return to New York. When they return to the city early the next morning, as they walk to the mission, Sarah begins humming the melody of “A Woman in Love,” the song they had heard so often in Havana. Sky sings the English translation. Just as the mission band returns from an all-night crusade, police sirens scream and the gamblers come running out of the mission. Sarah is convinced the Havana trip was simply a ploy to allow the crap game to be held in the mission. At the Hot Box, Adelaide and her Debutantes perform “Take Back Your Mink,” a mock strip tease number where the girls offer to return their mink coats and their dresses due to indecent proposals from the givers. After a dance by a trio and the entire ensemble, the girls take back their discarded clothing. Nicely-Nicely doesn’t want to tell Adelaide that she and Nathan won’t be eloping later that evening, so Sky volunteers to deliver the news, if he agrees to take him to Nathan’s crap game. While delivering the news, Sky tries to convince Adelaide that she must accept Nathan as he is. By the time Sky and Nicely-Nicely head for the crap game, the game is already in progress in the

Guys and Dolls sewer. To an instrumental version of “Luck Be a Lady,” a lengthy dance version of the crap game transpires. Once Sky arrives, he tries to talk to the gamblers about the mission, but no one will listen. So, he proposes a bet on one throw of the dice: if he loses, he will pay each gambler $1,000; if he wins, all the gamblers must show up at the mission at midnight. They all accept the bet. As Sky prepares to throw the dice, he pleads with Lady Luck to be on his side in this crucial dice game (“Luck Be a Lady”). The film leaves the conclusion of the roll of the dice temporarily unresolved. When Adelaide and Nathan meet later that evening, he promises her a house with a white picket fence, but, for the moment, he must go to a prayer meeting. She, of course, doesn’t believe him. In the duet, “Sue Me,” Adelaide accuses Nathan of making all sorts of promises, but in the end, he always reverts back to his former bad habits. Nathan assures Adelaide that he loves her. As he heads for the mission with Nicely-Nicely, Adelaide sneezes again. To Sarah’s surprise, at a few minutes past midnight, many gamblers pour into the mission. Sky hands Nathan all the gamblers’ markers, puts him in charge, and leaves. When General Cartwright asks for a volunteer to testify, Nathan forces several of the gamblers to confess their sins. Suddenly, Nicely-Nicely stands and sings his testimony. In “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” he recounts a dream he had about being on a boat to heaven. During the trip, he tries to gamble and share drinks with his fellow passengers, but they urge him not to allow the devil to drag him under. When a wave washes him overboard, he cries out to be saved, which woke him up. Nathan tells Sarah that he’s sorry for betting a certain “guy” that he could not take a certain “doll” to Havana even though he, Nathan, won the bet. Sarah is puzzled by Nathan’s statement, but she is deeply touched by Sky’s gesture. So, as the General leads the gamblers in a reprise of “Follow the Fold,” Sarah runs to find Sky. The scene changes to two wedding cakes traveling down the street towards Times Square. All the same types of characters that appeared in the opening follow the cakes. When they arrive, NicelyNicely is dressed in a Salvation Army uniform. Some doors open and out come the gamblers, followed by the Hot Box girls. Next Nathan and Sky arrive in a food delivery van; Lt. Brannigan escorts Adelaide and Arvide Abernathy escorts Sarah. Arvide presides over a very quick double wedding. When Nathan is supposed to respond, “I do,” he sneezes. As the police car drives the couples away, the ensemble sings “Guys and Dolls.”

126

Gypsy Musically, Frank Loesser’s score is great; especially memorable are “Fugue for Tinhorns,” “The Oldest Established,” “Adelaide’s Lament,” “If I Were a Bell,” “Luck Be a Lady,” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” “Pet Me, Poppa” and “Take Back Your Mink,” however, are both silly time fillers and should have been eliminated. The cast is also excellent, particularly the holdovers from the Broadway cast and especially Vivian Blaine. Marlon Brando is a much better singer than one might have expected; Jean Simmons is well cast as a Salvation Army Sergeant and their off beat romance between a gambler and a mission “doll” is believable. Nathan Detroit was a plum role for Frank Sinatra and he sang very well, as usual. In 1976, a Broadway revival of the musical featured Robert Guillaume and an all-black cast, which was nominated for three Tony Awards. In 1992, a very successful revival starring Peter Gallagher and Nathan Lane opened on Broadway, which was nominated for eight Tony Awards and won four.

Gypsy Warner Bros., November 1, 1962, 143 minutes Principal Cast: Rosalind Russell (Rose Hovick), Natalie Wood (Louise Hovick/Gypsy Rose Lee), Karl Malden (Herbie Sommers) Producer/Director: Mervyn LeRoy Screenwriters: Leonard Spigelgass; based on the musical with a libretto by Arthur Laurents Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Choreographer: Robert Tucker Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Everything’s Coming Up Roses”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color Availability: DVD

The musical Gypsy, which is loosely based on the memoirs of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, opened on Broadway in 1959. The musical focuses on her mother, Rose, the ultimate overly ambitious stage mother. As a matter of fact, the musical’s title should have been Rose since the plot deals with the hopes and dreams of this mother who vicariously lives the performer’s life she wanted for herself through her daughters. The title might also have

been I Had a Dream, a phrase that Rose speaks or sings several times during the production. Louise is the ugly duckling who blossoms into Gypsy Rose Lee, while her sister, June, is based on Gypsy’s sister, Hollywood actress June Havoc. In the original Broadway cast, Ethel Merman played Rose, while Sandra Church portrayed Louise and Jack Klugman was Herbie, the girls’ manager and Rose’s love interest. The film version starred Rosalind Russell as Rose.1 Natalie Wood was Louise, but unlike West Side Story when her vocals were dubbed, she performed her own vocals. “Together, Wherever We Go” was omitted from the film version. The film opens with Herbie Sommers, as Uncle Jocko, conducting auditions for Kiddie Kapers. The Hovick sisters, June,2 dressed in a Dutch hat, and Louise, in a male Dutchman’s costume, perform a rather sweet version of “Let Me Entertain You.”3 Rose, the girls’ excessively zealous mother, stops the audition and gives instructions to the orchestra conductor, the lighting crew and others. She further irritates everyone by suggesting that the audition is fixed. Uncle Jocko quits! Rose pawns her three wedding rings for enough money to head for Seattle where her father lives. On the way, their car breaks down. Since it is insured against fire, they burn it. When they look for work in the nearest theater, they meet Herbie again. Herbie, who is now a candy salesman, negotiates a better deal for them with the theater manager. He is impressed with Rose’s tenacity, so he invites her to dinner. Herbie likes Rose, but he is tired of show business. She likes him, but, after three husbands, has no interest in marriage. In “Small World,”4 however, Rose suggests the potential of a romance between them. She also tries to interest him in joining forces. Herbie drives Rose and the girls to Seattle. Shortly after he gets back to Chicago, he gets the girls a booking. He sends Rose a telegram: “Act opens Weber Theatre, Chicago, split week beginning April 20, $300, agreement calls for four boys5 and two girls, confirm and rush photos.” Rose tries to squeeze some money to get to Chicago out of her father. In “Some People,” she sings about people who are satisfied with their hum-drum lives, but she has a dream for her daughter, June; she plans for her to perform on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. Her father is too wary and won’t give her any money, so, without his knowledge, she pawns his gold retirement plaque. At Weber’s vaudeville theater in Chicago, Baby June and her Newsboys are booked behind an unknown stand-up comic, Jack Benny. Baby June sings and dances to “Let Me Entertain You” at a

127 faster tempo than previously, while Louise, as one of the Newsboys, is back in the shadows. With Louise as Uncle Sam and the boys dressed in sailor suits, June twirls a baton to a John Philip Sousa march.6 Rose’s dream of June headlining on the Orpheum Circuit seems to be coming true, but during the Great Depression bookings become scarce. In the act’s dingy hotel room in Newark, Rose gives Louise a surprise birthday party, but all the talk is about the act. Rose has had another dream— she includes a dancing cow in the act. The act will be renamed Dainty June7 and her Farmboys. Even Herbie’s birthday gift to Louise is a lamb that will be one of the animals in the act. During the birthday party, Herbie brings a producer to meet Rose. She sings “Mr. Goldstone, I Love You” in which she butters up this man who could help her dream come true. Later, the forgotten one, Louise, sings “Little Lamb” to her birthday present as she wonders how old she is. Herbie begs Rose to give up the act and marry him, but she is too driven. When he threatens to walk out, she sings “You’ll Never Get Away From Me.” During the number, they dance and, at the end, kiss. She promises she’ll marry him when June’s name is up in lights as a star. And, she promises to keep her promise. In New York City, the act auditions for Mr. Grantzinger. Dainty June and her Farmboys perform the same song and same routine as before except they are dressed in different costumes. After the opening number, Mr. Grantzinger has seen enough, but Rose insists that he see their finale. As they perform, Rose picks up a dropped hat, tells the boys and Louise to keep their line straight, moves set pieces, and mimics everything that June does. When Herbie and Rose object to Grantzinger’s offer of a lesser booking, they are informed that he liked June and thinks she could become a musical comedy actress. He will sign her to a contract on one condition—Rose must stay away! Even though June begs her mother to let her sign the contract, Rose refuses. While Rose goes to “fix things” with Grantzinger, June and Louise sing “If Momma Was Married.” They would like to get Momma out of their hair and if she was married Louise wouldn’t have to hear her Momma yelling for her to sing louder and June wouldn’t have to hear Rose’s reminder to smile. Louise finds Tulsa,8 one of the boys, practicing his dancing in the alley behind the theater. He plans to leave the troupe as soon as he finds the right partner. Louise asks what his partner would have to be like. In “All I Need Is the Girl,” he explains that he has his act completely planned. As

Gypsy he demonstrates, Louise imagines herself as his partner. When he gets towards the end, she joins him for an exuberant finale. Louise’s fantasy ends when they are called on stage. On a railroad platform, several of the boys tell Herbie they are quitting the act. Louise delivers a note from June to Rose. In it, June wrote about a nightmare in which she was still performing as Dainty June, doing the same old act, when she was a very old lady. She had married Jerry, one of the boys in the act, and intended to become a real actress. Once again, Herbie begs Rose to marry him and give up show business and Louise begs her to accept Herbie’s proposal. Instead, to Louise’s horror, the indomitable Rose announces she will make Louise a star. As she sings “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” Momma Rose is so sure of herself she can barely contain her excitement. This time Rose’s “dream” is aimed at Louise. Herbie and Louise just look at Rose in disbelief. On the train that night, Rose dreams about a new act, Madam Rose’s Toreadorables. Herbie finds six not-very-talented girls to complete the act. At a rehearsal in the desert where they are living in tents, the act is simply a transparent reworking of the Baby June act with Senorita Louise assuming June’s role. Rose even has Louise wear a blonde wig. Finally, Louise rebels, but Rose refuses to surrender. Now, she proposes making all the girls blondes except Louise because she’s the star. If she’s the star, Louise says, the act should be called “Louise and her Hollywood Blondes.” Rose negotiates a compromise: “Rose Louise and her Hollywood Blondes.” Herbie gets the new act a two-week booking at the Wichita Opera House. To everyone’s surprise, the booking turns out to be in a house of burlesque. Rose is mortified, but Louise reminds her that they have no place to go and they desperately need the money. Louise shares a dressing room with one of the strippers, Tessie Tura.9 In explaining their itinerant wanderings, Louise says, “Grandpa says we’ve covered the country like gypsies.” Tessie Tura thinks Gypsy Rose would be a good name if Louise ever decided to become a stripper. In “You Gotta Have a Gimmick,” three of the strippers, Mazeppa,10 Electra,11 and Tessie Tura, explain some of their trade secrets to Louise. Mazeppa, dressed like a Roman soldier, uses a bugle as her gimmick, while Electra does her bump and grind with Christmas tree lights. Tessie Tura claims her strip tease is done with finesse. Towards the end of the number, all three are singing their advice simultaneously. They all agree that a gimmick is necessary to become a star.

Hair Rose promises to marry Herbie the day they close in burlesque, but when that day arrives, she is reluctant to give up. When the theater’s star attraction doesn’t show up, Rose immediately responds that her daughter can do it. Excited again, Rose advises Louise to be a classy lady; make them beg for more, but don’t give it to them. When a disgusted Herbie walks out, Rose asks, “Why does everybody leave?” and sings a reprise of “Small World.” Dressed in a beautiful blue tight-fitting dress and long white gloves, which were Rose’s wedding present from Tessie Tura, Louise stands before the mirror and says, “Momma, I’m pretty,” as if she’s completely amazed. When the announcer introduces her as Gypsy Rose Lee, she shyly sings “Let Me Entertain You.” As always, Rose yells for her to sing louder. As Louise gains confidence, her singing improves. After a chorus, she walks around the stage, and, at her mother’s advice, dips a couple of times. When the stage manager yells, “Take something off,” she takes off the long white gloves and throws them to the audience, and, as she is leaving the stage, drops her dress strap off one shoulder. During a multi-theater montage, Gypsy rises to stardom. By the time she performs at Minsky’s in New York City, she is introduced as the Queen of Burlesque. There she performs a sultry rendition of “Let Me Entertain You.” Even though Rose is not allowed backstage, she sneaks into her daughter’s dressing room. She brought the head of the cow they had used in the act for many years to remind her daughter where she came from. Gypsy informs Rose that she is now the highest paid stripper and doesn’t need help in running her career. When Rose ponders why she did all she did, Gypsy says, “I thought you did it for me, Momma.” Rose wanders onto the darkened, empty stage. She wishes she had been given the chance to be a star. In a mock striptease, she defiantly sings “Rose’s Turn.” She contemplates what she gained from all the years of trying to make her daughters stars. Now, she wants her turn, her dream. The song ends as she repeats over and over, “For me!” Gypsy appears from the shadows and applauds. She says, “You really would have been something, Momma.” Rose finally admits she did it for herself. When Gypsy asks why, Rose responds, “Just wanted to be noticed,” to which Gypsy sadly says, “Like I wanted you to notice me. I still do, Momma.” They embrace. Gypsy insists her mother accompany her to the party she is attending and gives her mink stole to her mother to wear. One more time Rose says, “I had a dream last night.” This dream was of an ad that featured Madam Rose ... and her daughter, Gypsy.

128 Musically, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim’s score has a few gems. “Let Me Entertain You” is the musical’s most recognizable song, but is heard so often in so many re-arrangements that it becomes tiring. “Rose’s Turn” is not the most memorable song, but it is a great tour-de-force number for Rose. Other noteworthy songs include “Small World,” “All I Need Is the Girl,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” and “You Gotta Have a Gimmick.” Natalie Wood was decent as Louise/Gypsy and Karl Malden was a good Herbie, but surely there were many Hollywood actresses who would have been a better choice to play Rose than Rosalind Russell. Bosley Crowther wasn’t impressed with the film. He wrote that it “doesn’t come up with roses. It comes up with a tomato plant loaded with ripe fruit.”12 According to rottentomatoes.com, the film has an 80 percent approval rating. Angela Lansbury starred as Rose in the 1973 London revival. That production transferred to Broadway in 1974. Tyne Daly played Rose in a 1989 Broadway revival. In 2003, Bernadette Peters starred in yet another Broadway revival. At the 2008 Tony Awards, a revival of Gypsy collected three Tonys. Bette Midler starred as Rose in a 1993 television production of Gypsy; Cynthia Gibb was Louise.

Hair United Artists, March 14, 1979, 121 minutes Principal Cast: John Savage (Claude Bukowski), Treat Williams (George Berger), Beverly D’Angelo (Sheila Franklin), Annie Golden ( Jeannie Ryan), Dorsey Wright (Lafayette “Hud” Johnson), Don Dacus (Woof Daschund) Director: Milos Forman Producer: Lester Persky and Michael Butler Screenwriter: Michael Weller Music: Galt MacDermot Lyrics: Gerome Ragni and James Rado Choreographer: Twyla Tharp Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

After Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical premiered off Broadway in 1967, it opened on Broadway in 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances. The production was nominated for two Tony Awards, Best Musical and Best Director, but won neither. Hair broke new ground: it was the first musical on a Broadway stage with a complete rock

129 ’n’ roll score, it had a racially-integrated cast and the entire cast stripped at the end of the first act. Because of its anti–Vietnam War rhetoric, it was accused of anti–Americanism and made no apologies for its depiction of the use of illegal drugs. The musical is very much a period piece — a product of the hippie counter-culture, the sexual revolution and the music styles of the Sixties. The original cast, or tribe as it was called, included the librettists and lyricists James Rado as Claude and Gerome Ragni as Berger. Unlike almost all other Broadway shows of the era, four songs from the score became Top 40 hits in 1969. Claude Bukowski leaves his Oklahoma home for induction into the army (strangely, he must travel to New York City to be inducted). Claude’s father drives him to the main road to catch the bus and gives him $50 for potential emergencies. A hippie tribe in Central Park illegally burns a draft card and scatters when some mounted police head their direction. A couple of them dance the introduction to “Aquarius,” which is sung by an African-American girl with flowers in her hair.1 The song’s lyrics are based on the astrological belief that the Age of Aquarius, which would begin at the end of the 20th century, would be an age of love, light and humanity. Claude wanders into the park and witnesses several hippies sensually dancing together and Sheila Franklin and a couple of her girlfriends riding horses. When the song ends, several of the tribe’s males beg Sheila and her friends for money, but they simply ride away. Then the guys turn their attention to Claude, who isn’t convinced they really need money or would use it wisely, but he finally throws them some. Woof, one of the tribe’s leaders, uses the money to rent a horse, rides back to the park, and catches up with the girls. In “Sodomy,” he catalogues several sexual acts that are condemned by the Catholic Church. The girls quickly ride away. When Woof ’s horse gets away and Claude stops it, Berger encourages him to catch up with the girls. As Claude rides away, Berger chases on foot singing “Donna.”2 When Claude catches them, he performs some horsemanship tricks to impress Sheila, but she ignores him and rides off. Claude returns the horse to Woof and tells him that he wants to see some of the sights before his army induction. In “Hashish,” the hippies suggest several illegal drugs and their sights. Later, Hud sings “Colored Spade,”3 in which he enumerates several derogatory titles for AfricanAmericans and some foods that are especially associated with their culture. Apparently, the song is trying to illustrate how offensive racial labels are.

Hair Berger sings “Manchester, England,” accusing Claude of hiding in an unreal existence. Claude finally joins the song while the rest of the tribe dances. That song segues into “I’m Black” in which Hud, Woof and Berger declare what color they are — Claude insists he’s invisible. That is immediately followed by “Ain’t Got No,”4 in which the tribe sings about all the things they lack. Claude wakes the next morning in a Central Park band shell where he, Woof, Berger and Jeannie had crashed. Just as Claude is leaving, Berger finds Sheila’s picture on a trashed piece of newspaper. The accompanying article is about a party, which Berger suggests they crash. At the society party, the guests are fashionably dressed and politely dancing. Woof, Berger, Hud, Jeannie, and Claude present quite a contrast as they mingle with the upper crust. They are asked to leave, but Berger refuses even when Sheila’s father threatens to call the police. He announces that Claude is in love with a girl who is sitting in the room and he wants to remember her while he is fighting in Vietnam. After Berger sings “I Got Life,” he pulls a lady5 up onto the table to dance with him. By the end of the song, the police have arrived. The judge sentences each of them to the workhouse for thirty days or a $50 fine. Claude starts to pay his fine with the money his father gave him, but is talked into paying Berger’s fine so he can raise the money to bail everyone out. Berger arrives at Sheila’s as she is being driven to school by a dorky friend named Steve.6 Berger commandeers Steve’s car and explains that he needs $250 to get his friends out of jail, but neither is willing to help. Woof refuses to allow the jail barber to cut his long, blonde hair, so a police psychiatrist7 talks to him about why he is adamant about having long hair. Their conversation leads into the title song, “Hair,” which is merely a rant for long hair that is sung by all the inmates. Berger, who is still trying to raise some cash, ends up at his parents’ house. His mother wants to feed him and wash his filthy clothes, while his father refuses to give him a cent unless he cuts his hair. Once she washes his pants, his mom asks, “How much you need?” With “Hair” blaring in the background, the bailed-out group heads for Central Park, which is crammed with hippies. Sheila wanders through the park looking very much out of place. A man gives an anti-draft speech, which leads into the song “Initials,” which uses many initials of the era: LBJ, the FBI, the CIA and LSD.8 During the song some hippies dance and a “priest” serves LSD for communion (or the Euchrist).

Hair When Berger chases after the LSD “priest,” he runs into Sheila, who says she came to apologize for Steve. Suddenly a singing group performs and a man in a white tuxedo sings “Old Fashioned Melody.”9 Jeannie asks Claude to marry her because the Army wouldn’t take him if he was married and his wife was pregnant. When the onstage band launches into “Electric Blues,”10 Claude experiences a trip from the communion LSD, in which he envisions dragging Sheila into a church for their wedding. An eerie priest, who stands on one leg, chants the wedding ceremony. At the conclusion, “Hare Krishna”11 is heard. When Sheila and Claude separate after their kiss, she’s pregnant. The rest of the song is surrealistic images associated with Claude’s LSD vision. Later, since it is Claude’s last night before his induction, Berger asks what he wants to do. He says he wants to take Sheila home; so, for no apparent reason, the guys disrobe and dive into one of the park’s ponds. When Sheila balks at Claude taking her home, he undresses and joins the others. She strips down to her underpants and also dives in. While Sheila apologizes for being so rude to Claude earlier, the guys sneak out of the pond and take their clothes. Sheila runs out of the park practically nude and hails a taxi. Disgusted with the clothes stealing stunt, Claude walks away. The next morning, the city comes alive with commuters on their way to work as Claude sings “Where Do I Go?” in which he questions why he lives or dies. At the Army induction center, the inductees are forced to strip. Three white girls12 and four Caucasian examiners sing about their preference for “Black Boys”; three black girls13 and four black examiners14 sing about their preference for “White Boys.” These two songs were definitely shocking. If women dreamed of sexual activity with men of a different color, they kept it to themselves. If military examiners made inductees strip so they could drool, the subject was repressed. Interracial romances and marriages existed, but were not as prevalent as they are today and homosexually was far more closeted than it is in the early 21st century. During the song “Walking in Space (My Body),” the recruits are put through various Army training exercises. Most of the song is sung by a chorus, but part of it is sung by a Vietnamese girl.15 During the song, the film shows brutality suffered by Army recruits during basic training and the brutality they commit when they kill innocents during the war. Sheila finds Berger and his clan in the park and shows them a letter she received from Claude. After

130 reading the letter, Berger invites her to come with them to Nevada to visit Claude. While they’re talking, an African-American woman with a small child calls to Lafayette (Hud’s real name). She is the mother of his child. Hud insists she go home, but she refuses. In one of the film’s most poignant musical moments, the girl sings “Easy to Be Hard.”16 Deeply hurt by Hud’s indifference towards her and their child, she questions how people, especially those who supposedly care about strangers, evil and social injustice, can be heartless and cruel. During the song, Berger and the others try to reason with Hud (the girl and child remain with them for the rest of the film). The scene shifts to Steve picking up Sheila for school again. Berger and the others commandeer Steve’s convertible for their trip to visit Claude. The basic training graduation is interrupted by some funky music played over the base PA system (“Three-Five-Zero-Zero”17). When they can’t shut it off, they order some soldiers to shoot the speakers to pieces. The scene shifts to Washington, D.C., where a peace rally watches a song-and-dance demonstration in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The song’s lyrics sing about the war where people get ripped open by metal explosives. The following scene shows the tribe barreling down the highway in a desert region in Steve’s convertible. After driving all night, Sheila leads the others in singing “Good Morning, Starshine.” After five days of constant driving, the group finally arrives at the Nevada Army base only to be denied entry. They go to a local bar where Sheila flirts with a sergeant and gets him to take her out into the desert. On the way, she strips in the car and puts on his uniform. When they stop, Sheila runs down the road where she is picked up by Berger and the gang (Hud also steals the guy’s car). After Jeannie cuts Berger’s hair, he dons the stolen uniform and heads for the base in the sergeant’s car. When he finds Claude, the base is on alert, so he refuses to leave. After a lot of arguing, Berger volunteers to take Claude’s place long enough for him to visit the others. Claude is especially happy to see Sheila. Unfortunately while he’s away, Claude’s outfit is ordered to be shipped overseas. By the time Claude returns, the base is eerily deserted. As the soldiers march into huge flying troop transports, a couple of African-American soldiers18 sing “Flesh Failures,” which suggests that we have succumbed to our creature comforts, instead of helping the homeless, the disenfranchised, and the countless starving of the world. Berger sings a reprise of “Manchester, England” as he disappears into the transport. George Berger was killed in battle on April 6,

131 1968. During “Let the Sunshine In,”19 a flood of peace protestors rally in front of the White House. Hair is a strange and confusing mish-mash of a few tunes that were popularized by recording personalities, a hippie culture that was practically unknown to Middle America, a view of sexuality and illegal drugs that was prevalent among a small minority of the young people across the entire country and anti-war rhetoric that was viewed by many as anti–American. Some people experimented with the hippie life-style, but most forsook it as “sowing their wild oats” and became contributing members of society. The musical was primarily shocking — and that is most likely one of its chief aims. Looking back, it is a photograph of a thankfully bygone era. The film version drastically altered the original plot, and shortened, rearranged, and reassigned several songs. The film also omitted several songs from the original score.20 “Don’t Put It Down” and “Somebody to Love” were heard as background music. Originally, Claude Bukowski was a hippie from Flushing in Queens who joins the army and is sent to Vietnam and Sheila Franklin is a hippie who falls in love with Berger, not Claude. Jeannie gets pregnant by a speed freak, not by either Woof or Hud and Claude dies in Vietnam, not Berger. Hair was not nominated for any Academy Awards. The film has its share of memorable tunes, but also has more than its share of forgettable ones. If the film deserves its AFI nomination, it is because it enables posterity to vicariously experience the hippie culture of the Sixties.

Hairspray New Line Cinema, July 20, 2007, 117 minutes Principal Cast: Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad), John Travolta (Edna Turnblad), Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma Von Tussle), Christopher Walken (Wilbur Turnblad), Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton), James Marsden (Corny Collins), Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle), Brittany Snow (Amber Von Tussle), Zac Efron (Link Larkin), Elijah Kelley (Seaweed), Taylor Parks (Little Inez) Director/Choreographer: Adam Shankman Producers: Craig Zadan and Neil Meron Screenwriter: Leslie Dixon Music/Co-Lyricist: Marc Shaiman Co-Lyricist: Scot Wittman Awards and Honors: ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 15 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time Availability: DVD

Hairspray Hairspray was a 1988 film starring Ricki Lake and Michael St. Gerard. The 2002 Broadway musical version was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning eight, including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad), and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tracy Turnblad). The show ran for over 2,500 performances before it closed in January 2009. The film opens in 1962 Baltimore, where Tracy Turnblad, an extroverted and pleasantly plump high school student, awakes and dresses for school. Tracy has no qualms about her weight or that it might hinder her future. As she heads for school, she sings “Good Morning Baltimore” about her love for her hometown, her passion for dancing and her desire to become famous. Tracy and her best friend, Penny Pingleton, rush home from school to watch The Corny Collins Show, an American Bandstand–type program, which originates in Baltimore. The girls copy every dance step that the teenaged dancers, which Corny calls “The Nicest Kids in Town,” perform. During the roll call of the dancers, Tracy screams when her heartthrob, Link Larkin, introduces himself. Tracy’s mother, Edna, who is also plus-sized, complains about the noise. When Penny’s mother, Prudy,1 drops by to pick up some ironing, Penny hides — her mother thinks she spends her afternoons at stamp club meetings. Her mother calls the music “race music.” When Mrs. Pingleton discovers her daughter is there, she bans her from the Turnblad house. The teenaged dancers, who attend the same school as Tracy and Penny, include the snobby Amber Von Tussle and her boyfriend Link. Amber’s mother, Velma, is the TV station’s manager and she makes certain her daughter is prominently featured and that The Corny Collins Show remains segregated. A local R&B disc jockey, Motormouth Maybelle, hosts the show on the last Tuesday of every month for Negro Day. Corny announces that Brenda will be taking a nine month leave of absence from the show, so auditions will be held for her replacement. Tracy begs to audition, but her mother is afraid that she will be laughed at because of her weight. Her father, Wilbur, a joke-shop proprietor, tells her if that’s her dream, she should go for it. Tracy and Penny skip school the next day to audition. As they enter, Velma is rehearsing the regular dancers. She desparages the motly crew that have come to audition and, in “(The Legend of ) Miss Baltimore Crabs,” sings about how the town has gone downhill since she won the title by screw-

Hairspray ing the judges. The song continues into the audition. During a dance break, Velma, suddenly a baton-twirling majorette, dances with the male dancers, who are magically dressed in different outfits. After the dance break, Velma asks Tracy if she would swim in an integrated pool. When Tracy answers, “I’m all for integration. It’s the new frontier,” Velma has two reasons to reject her — her size and her support of integration. When Tracy returns to school, she is sent to detention for being late. She is happy to discover that the black kids in detention dance. She makes friends with Seaweed, Motormouth Maybelle’s son, whom she recognizes from Negro Day on The Corny Collins Show. As Link walks down the hall, he hears music coming from the detention room. When he sees Tracy dancing, he tells her if Corny saw her dance like that, he’d put her on the show. Seeing Link up close and personal and his complimenting her dancing sends Tracy into a trance. As she imagines everything from dating Link to marrying him, she sings “I Can Hear the Bells.” The scene changes to The Corny Collins Show where Link sings “Ladies’ Choice.” During an instrumental break, Tracy takes the dance floor and uses the new dance steps she learned from Seaweed. Amber is horrified that Link seems to be singing to Tracy. Penny runs home to tell Tracy’s parents to watch the show. During a reprise of “The Nicest Kids in Town,” the last Council Member introduced is Tracy. Her parents are thrilled. The show’s sponsor, the owner of a hairspray company, wants “the chubby, Communist girl off the show” and Velma will be most happy to “toss the harpoon,” but the sponsor soon loves Tracy because her poofy hair style is being copied by other girls, which means his hairspray is selling even better than before. Meanwhile, Corny proposes doing away with Negro Day and mixing the two groups of teenagers together. At the TV show, Amber, Tammy and Shelly sing “The New Girl in Town.” Tracy is becoming more of a threat to Amber winning the show’s yearly “Miss Teenage Hairspray” contest as evidenced by the tote board displayed in the studio. At a Negro Day performance, the Dynamites, a trio of African-American girls, perform the same song. During their performance, Tracy introduces Penny to Seaweed in the detention room. They are immediately attracted to each other. Mr. Pinky,2 the owner of a plus size dress shop, is interested in Tracy being his store’s spokesperson. Even though Edna hasn’t left their house in years, Tracy begs her mother to act as her agent. Tracy sings “Welcome to the ’60s” to convince her

132 mother that people won’t judge her by her size. (The TV in the house is tuned to The Corny Collins Show and the Dynamites also sing some of the song.) Tracy coaxes her mother out of the house, which is a major accomplishment, and they head for Mr. Pinky’s where Edna carefully peruses the proposed contract. While a trio of Mr. Pinky’s helpers sing, Edna gets a makeover and emerges in a pink sequined dress. After Tracy’s makeover, she emerges in a similar pink sequined outfit. Mother and daughter leave Mr. Pinky’s and the singing and dancing spills out onto the street which includes the Dynamites singing from a billboard. One day when Amber deliberately gets Tracy sent to detention, Link gets himself sent there too. Seaweed invites Tracy, Penny, and Link to join him at a platter party at his mother’s recordshop. Link wants to go, but isn’t sure they’d be safe. Penny and Tracy feel so hip being invited “by colored people.” In “Run and Tell That,” Seaweed sings about people’s prejudice just because of the color of a person’s skin. When the singing and dancing continues in the school yard, Seaweed introduces them to his little sister, Inez, who tells Tracy she’s her favorite dancer on the TV show. Inez, who had also auditioned but was not accepted, sings about being proud of her vocal and dancing abilities. Then the group boards a school bus for the platter party as the number continues. At the end of this exciting song-and-dance, Seaweed takes Penny’s ever-present lollipop out of her mouth and plants a hand-kiss in its place — Penny faints. At the party, Motormouth Maybelle sings “Big, Blonde and Beautiful.” Amber calls Tracy’s mother and tells her that her daughter is at Motormouth’s. When Edna arrives to fetch her wayward child, she is enticed to partake in some soul food and thoroughly enjoys herself. Maybelle announces that Velma has canceled Negro Day, so Tracy proposes a protest march on the day before the “Miss Teenage Hairspray” pageant. Tracy’s mother tries to talk her out of participating and Link, who is afraid it will jeopardize his career, refuses to join the march. Meanwhile, Velma visits Mr. Turnblad’s HardyHar Hut, which is in the basement of the Turnblad house, and makes a pass at Wilbur, but he is too dense to understand or too in love with his wife to care. During her seduction, she reprises “Big, Blonde and Beautiful.” Meanwhile, upstairs, Edna is feeling sexy, so she changes into a seductive outfit and sings “Big, Blonde and Beautiful.” When she arrives downstairs, she finds Velma practically on top of poor Wilbur. Just as Velma had planned, Edna forbids Tracy from appearing on the TV show again and locks Wilbur out of the house.

133 Tracy, however, takes the key to her Dad. He goes upstairs and sings “(You’re) Timeless to Me” to his wife. Then Edna3 reminisces about their life together and how they are right for each other. At the protest march, Motormouth Maybelle warns Tracy that she’ll most likely never dance on TV again, but Tracy says if she can’t dance with Seaweed and Inez she doesn’t want to dance on TV. In response, Maybelle sings “I Know Where I’ve Been” as she reminisces about African-American’s long fight for equality. This gospel-tinged, emotionally charged number accompanies the march. Edna comes to the march to take Tracy home, but gets swept up into the march herself. When the police block the road on orders from Velma, Tracy hits the sergeant in charge with her protest sign. Tracy escapes being arrested and runs to hide at Penny’s house,4 who offers her refuge in their basement fallout shelter. Her mother calls the police and ties Penny to the bed to keep her from helping Tracy any further. Having been bailed out by Mr. Turnblad, Seaweed arrives and unties Penny. Meanwhile, Link is feeling guilty for not participating in the march and for not supporting Tracy. When he visits her house, he sings “Without Love” about his realization that he is in love with her. Seaweed and Penny join the song and acknowledge their love during their escape from her house. They also free Tracy from the fallout shelter. The next day is the “Miss Teenage Hairspray” pageant. Velma has police stationed in and around the station to prevent Tracy from entering. As the broadcast begins, Corny sings “(It’s) Hairspray.” As the dance-off portion of the pageant begins, Wilbur, dressed as his daughter, Seaweed and the other black kids help Tracy sneak into the studio. Just as Corny is about to announce Amber as the winner, Tracy is lowered from the catwalks and sings “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” To Amber’s consternation, Link joins Tracy. Then Link pulls Little Inez out of the audience and dances with her. Penny, dressed in a slinky dress, and Seaweed also join in. When Corny announces the winner, it is Inez, which makes her the new lead dancer on the show. Corny also announces that from now on his show will be integrated. As the set explodes into a celebration, a horrified Velma informs her daughter that she fixed the pageant. Edna and Wilbur had turned a camera on Velma so her confession is broadcast, which gets her fired. In celebration, Edna, joined by all the black and white dancers, struts her stuff in front of the camera performing a reprise of “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” Corny brings Maybelle on stage to wrap things up and Link and Tracy kiss.

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum During the lengthy closing credits, “Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)” is sung by Maybelle, Tracy, Link and Seaweed. Then three of the females who played Tracy — Ricki Lake from the 1988 film, Marissa Jaret Winokur from the musical and Nikki Blonsky from the 2007 movie — sing “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now.” Aimee Allen, an American rock singer-songwriter, performs “Cooties,” which was originally performed by Amber and the Council Members. Hairspray is about overcoming prejudice, specifically discrimination against African-Americans and those who are queen-sized, but also discrimination against anyone who is different. According to The New York Times (March 10, 2009), director Adam Shankman is planning a sequel to Hairspray that will hit theaters in 2010. The new film will begin where the first film ended. Surprisingly, Hairspray was not nominated for any Academy Awards, but Entertainment Weekly ranked it the No. 15 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time. That’s more like it! According to rottentomatoes.com, Hairspray has a 91 percent approval rating among critics.

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum Lewis Milestone Productions, February 3, 1933, 83 minutes Principal Cast: Al Jolson (Bumper), Harry Langdon (Egghead), Edgar Connor (Acorn), Frank Morgan (Mayor Hastings), Madge Evans ( June Marcher/Angel) Director: Lewis Milestone Producer: Joseph M. Schenck Screenwriters: S.N. Behrman and Ben Hecht Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Awards and Honors: ● AFI nominee film Availability: DVD

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum was the first, and probably the last, Hollywood movie musical ever made that concerned itself almost entirely with the problems of the Great Depression. Since the Stock Market Crash of 1929, many people had lost their money, their jobs, and homelessness was an urgent national problem. In Hallelujah, I’m a Bum, Rodgers and Hart expanded the innovative rhythmic or musical dialogue they had used in Love Me Tonight to great advantage. They used rhymed conversation, with musical accompaniment, similar to recitative in opera, to give the entire film a strong musical structure and to make the music and songs an authen-

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum tic part of the film’s action. Sometimes the characters converse in rhyme and on other occasions they sing their dialogue. Bumper, a happy-go-lucky Depression Era version of a beatnik, and his African-American friend and fellow hobo, Acorn, are in Florida. Bumper sings “I Got to Get Back to New York.” Once they get back to New York’s Central Park, his old pals sing “My Pal, Bumper” to welcome him and question him about his trip and what it was like down South. Soon Egghead, the street cleaner who is averse to tramps but dislikes rich people even more, comes down the sidewalk. He calls the hobos, “Scum.” Egghead thinks if a man doesn’t work he ought to be dead. To prove Egghead wrong, Bumper stages a trial where he is the judge and he also calls himself as a witness. In “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum,” Bumper sings about his hobo lifestyle and hardily recommends the pleasures of unemployment. Egghead proclaims that all of Bumper’s kind, which he calls “plutocrats,” will soon be wiped away. When some police, who Egghead calls “Hoover’s Cossacks,” ride their horses through the park, all the hoboes become scarce. Tiring of Egghead’s taunts, the hoboes want to teach him a lesson, but Bumper intervenes. As Egghead resumes his route, Bumper sings about their having been friends and that they should remain pals. While Egghead watches Bumper, the other hoboes take the papers out of Egghead’s cart and strew them all over the ground. When Bumper leaves to meet the Mayor, because the Mayor is in the habit of giving Bumper a dollar, Egghead has to pick up all the strewn papers again. The Mayor, who is always at least two hours late for appointments and who spends most of his time at the Park Casino, performs one of his official duties (“Laying the Corner Stone”). When he meets Bumper, they enter the Casino, where the Mayor gives his girlfriend, June, a thousand-dollar bill. Later, her purse gets picked up along with a newspaper by Egghead who puts it in his trash. June claims she lost the money, but the Mayor thinks she gave it to her old boyfriend. Later, Bumper and Acorn are walking through the park when they hear the insistent sound of a ticking clock. They soon discover the clock attached to a lady’s handbag in Egghead’s sanitation bin. When they examine the contents of the bag, Bumper finds a letter addressed to the owner and a thousand-dollar bill. Bumper, Egghead and Acorn argue about what to do with the money. This leads directly into the march-tempo song “Bumper Found a Grand,” in which the news spreads from one tramp to another as each wants his cut. Bumper ends the scene by addressing the

134 crowd and extolling the virtues of poverty in “What Do You Want with Money?” Bumper takes the purse to June’s apartment, but she isn’t there. Her maid lets him in, however. The Mayor hears something on the radio that makes him think June has a lover at her apartment, so he rushes over and finds Bumper there. Bumper gives the purse to the Mayor, who realizes that June had not given the money to an old boyfriend. As a reward, the Mayor gives Bumper the $1000. After Bumper gives away all the money, he sings “Hallelujah! I’m a Bum Again.” Meanwhile, June, still thinking she has lost the money, jumps off a bridge trying to commit suicide, but Bumper saves her. He doesn’t know who she is and she can’t remember why she jumped or her name, so Bumper calls her Angel. During this scene, there is a slightly suggestive silhouette scene when Angel sheds her wet clothing. The next morning, Angel and Bumper take a buggy ride in the park and ride on the merry-goround. Sunday,1 the buggy driver, invites them to his house and offers Angel a place to live for $9 a week. Having fallen in love with this mysterious girl, Bumper asks the Mayor for a job for himself and Acorn to make enough money to take care of her. The hoboes hold a “Kangaroo Court” in Central Park accusing Bumper of desertion for taking a job. Bumper explains that he took the job because he fell in love and “I’d Do It Again.” The jury of tramps finds Bumper not guilty due to insanity. The next scene shows Bumper dressed in a suit working at a bank. When Bumper gets his first paycheck, he feels a strange sort of satisfaction. Acorn, the bank’s janitor, agrees that having cash is all right, but he laments wasting so much time making it. When Bumper goes to Angel’s, they dance in her apartment as he sings “You Are Too Beautiful.” Later, Sunday shows up with the Mayor, who is drunk. When Bumper takes the Mayor home to avoid a scandal, from a picture, he discovers that Angel is June, so he gallantly offers to take the Mayor to his lost love. When they arrive, she regains her memory — and then, she doesn’t remember Bumper. Back with his friends, Bumper returns to his role as the Mayor of Central Park. Most of the shooting of the Central Park sequences took place at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. One of the unusual aspects of filming a musical, since no technique for dubbing had been perfected, was that a large orchestra, conducted by Alfred Newman, was set up on the golf course so that the songs could be performed as they were being filmed.

135 Jolson, the consummate entertainer, bridled his extroverted personality and over-the-top performing style and was genuinely the “mayor of the Central Park hoboes.” Mordaunt Hall agrees in his The New York Times review: “It is Mr. Jolson’s best film ... a combination of fun, melody and romance, with a dash of satire, all of which make for an ingratiating entertainment.”2 Clive Hirschhorn said that Hallelujah, I’m a Bum is “certainly the best, most adventurous film he ( Jolson) ever made.”3 Those of you who are unfamiliar with this film will be pleasantly surprised with Al Jolson’s performance and with Rodgers’ and Hart’s musical dialogue. In comparison to more modern movie musicals, Hallelujah, I’m a Bum is most interesting as a museum piece, but it was a pleasure to view and is definitely worthy of its AFI nomination.

Hans Christian Andersen Samuel Goldwyn Company, November 25, 1952, 112 minutes Principal Cast: Danny Kaye (Hans Christian Andersen), Joseph Walsh (Peter), Jeanmaire (Doro), Farley Granger (Niels) Director: Charles Vidor Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriters: Moss Hart, Ben Hecht; based on a story by Myles Connolly Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser Choreographer: Roland Petit Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Thumbelina”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Thumbelina”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color Availability: DVD

Hans Christian Andersen was a nineteenth century Danish author who is most famous for his fairy tales: “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “The Ugly Duckling.” In the forward to Hans Christian Andersen, the studio reminds the audience that the movie is not his biography, “but a fairy tale about this great spinner of fairy tales.” As the camera zooms in on a painting of a Danish village, it comes to life. The schoolmaster of Odense is ringing his bell calling his students to class, but none heed his call because they are with

Hans Christian Andersen Hans who is telling (singing) them the story of “The King’s New Clothes.”1 Peter, Hans’ young apprentice cobbler, comes to warn him that the schoolmaster, Burgomaster, and town council are upset and are looking for him. When they arrive, Hans proceeds to tell them stories — it is the best way Hans has found to get out of trouble. After the children leave with the schoolmaster, Peter and Hans hear the students studying arithmetic. In counterpoint to the children singing their mathematics, Hans sings about the “Inchworm” as he and Peter watch the first inchworm of the year measuring as a marigold stem. Later, the schoolmaster again rings his bell and no children appear. He presents an ultimatum: either Hans goes or he will. It is much easier, he tells the town leaders, to find another cobbler than to secure a new teacher. Peter, having heard the schoolmaster’s demands, packs Hans’ belongings and tries to convince his friend to go to Copenhagen, a place Hans has always wanted to visit. The prospect of being the first person from their village to go to the big city finally convinces Hans to make the journey. As Hans walks down the road he stops to rest and talks to a friendly dog about his journey. He tells the hound when he arrives in the city he will introduce himself (“I’m Hans Christian Andersen”). He sings about being a cobbler, but he also has many tales to tell. As he is about to resume his journey, Peter arrives with the entire cobbler shop. Soon, these two travelers board a boat, where some of their fellow passengers sing “Wonderful Copenhagen.” When Peter spies the city, he and Hans join the others in singing about this wonderful old town. Once they get into the city, they hear various hawkers singing about their merchandise. Soon, they wander into an open air market where more sales cries are heard. Peter suggests setting up their cobbler business in the market. Hans agrees and mounts the base of a statue to introduce himself to the people in a reprise of “I’m Hans Christian Andersen.” He is arrested for disrespecting the King’s statue. Peter gets away and hides in the prop shop of the Royal Ballet Theater. He overhears two men talking about problems with the prima ballerina’s shoes. He immediately tells them that he knows where they can get a cobbler very quickly — the man will just have to use a little of his political pull to get him out of jail. While Hans is in jail, he talks to a little girl through the window bars of his cell. The little girl is sad that the bigger kids won’t play with her, so, using his thumb as a puppet, Hans sings her the

Hans Christian Andersen story of “Thumbelina.” Thumbelina may be no bigger than a thumb, but her size doesn’t matter. What does matter is if a person’s heart is filled with love. If it is, you are a giant. The man gets Hans out of jail and takes him to the ballet theater where a rehearsal is in progress. Hans is mesmerized by the ballerina, Doro, as she and the ballet company perform the “Ice Skating Ballet.”2 The director, Niels, is not satisfied with the dancers’ performance and demands that they do it again. Doro refuses to dance again in the shoes that hurt her feet. When they summon the cobbler, Doro explains to Hans that she wants to rise as though she were standing on air. Hans assures her he will be able to fix her shoes to her satisfaction. Later, we learn that Doro and Niels are husband and wife. From the loft, Peter sees them demonstrate their love for each other during lunch. However, when she admits there wasn’t really anything wrong with her shoes, they fight, each slapping the other. Hans, delivering the shoes he has repaired, sees this exchange and can’t believe they are married. He fantasizes a dream ballet where he fights Niels. Doro is caught in the middle. That evening Hans writes a story for the ballerina: “The Little Mermaid.” In the early hours of the next morning, Peter reads what Hans has written. The paper blows out of his hands and through a window. The police catch Peter trying to retrieve the paper and, since it is addressed to Mme. Doro, take him to her apartment. Peter convinces them that Hans made up the story for Doro and he is released. Back at the cobbler shop, Peter explains what happened. When some men come in to move some of the furniture because the ballet is going on tour, Hans is sad to see them go. The Latin School master rings his bell, but his students are with Hans. When a Constable comes by, Hans reminds the children they should be in school. As they leave, one of them knocks the hat off of a young boy who has been standing away from the others because he has no hair — he had been sick and the doctors had shaved his head. Hans tells this young lad a special story just for him: “The Ugly Duckling.” He assures the boy that soon his hair will grow back and everything will be fine. Late one evening as Hans is making ballet slippers for Doro, he sings “Anywhere I Wander.” The primary idea of the lyrics says regardless of where Hans goes, until he is back in the arms of his loved one, his heart will not be at home. The proprietor of the city newspaper tracks down Hans and invites him to his print shop. The man is the father of the little boy with the shaved

136 head. He is printing the Ugly Duckling story and it will be in the following day’s newspaper. Hans’ only request is that the author be listed as Hans Christian Andersen, not Hans, the cobbler. The man also tells Hans if he will write down his stories exactly as he tells them to the children, he will print them and pay him for them. Proud that he is going to be a published author, Hans sings another reprise of “I’m Hans Christian Andersen.” Hans runs to the cobbler shop to tell Peter the good news. His mood increases even more when he learns that the ballet company has returned. He goes to the theater and imagines Doro dancing for him. In Hans’ imagination ballet, he joins Doro, buys her a wedding dress and himself an elegant suit (most of this ballet segment is danced to the music of “Anywhere I Wander”). Then Doro and Hans sing a duet of “No Two People,” about no other couple ever being more in love than they are. They are getting married when another suitor fights Hans for Doro. He is knocked to the floor as his dream ends. As he begins to come to, Doro is calling his name. She tells him they are performing his ballet, “The Little Mermaid.”3 As Hans is dressing for the ballet that evening, he and Peter have an argument about Doro, so Hans suggests his apprentice find another position. At the ballet, Hans has an armful of ballerina slippers he has made for Doro. He goes backstage, but Niels doesn’t want him disturbing Doro just before the curtain rises, so he locks Hans in a room. As the ballet begins, Hans can hear the music and imagines what must be transpiring on stage. The following morning at breakfast, Niels remembers that Hans is still locked in the room at the theater. Doro sends her maid to retrieve him. Once Hans arrives, she tells him how much she loves performing his story. He interprets her compliment as an expression of love. When Niels brings Doro an expensive gift, Hans realizes he is mistaken; he gives her the ballet slippers he had made for her and leaves. On his way back to Odense, he sees Peter up ahead and runs to catch him, but Peter won’t talk to him. Hans promises never to tell his stories again, but Peter, finally speaking to him, assures Hans he will — simply because he’s Hans Christian Andersen. Back home, Hans tells his stories to the children and townspeople. This segment contains short excerpts from the following songs: “The Ugly Ducking,” “Wonderful Copenhagen,” “The King’s New Clothes,” “Thumbelina” and “I’m Hans Christian Andersen.” Danny Kaye is delightful as Hans; he really seemed to relish telling stories to the children. His

137 normally outlandish clowning is absent from this film. Jeanmaire’s dancing is also an important ingredient. Musically, “Inch Worm,” “I’m Hans Christian Andersen,” “Wonderful Copenhagen,” “Thumbelina,” “Anywhere I Wander,” and “No Two People” are excellent Frank Loesser songs. And his music for the sales cries at the market is just as authentic as similar scenes in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and in Lionel Bart’s Oliver.

A Hard Day’s Night Proscenium Films, August 11, 1964, 87 minutes Principal Cast: The Beatles ( John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr), Wilfrid Brambell (Paul’s Grandfather), Norman Rossington (Norm) Director: Richard Lester Producer: Walter Shenson Screenwriter: Alun Owen Music and Lyrics: John Lennon and Paul McCartney Awards and Honors: ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 7 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ Best Writing, Story and Screenplay — Written Directly for the Screen Availability: DVD

The Beatles became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. EMI, their record company, estimated that by 1985 the group had sold over one billion records worldwide. According to RIAA, the Fab Four sold more albums in the United States than any other band. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine named The Beatles No. 1 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In addition to their music, they became trendsetters in clothing and hairstyles for young people. A Hard Day’s Night was shot in black and white over a period of six weeks for a comparatively small budget —$500,000 in U.S. currency. The opening shots, behind the credits, are of John, Ringo, and George running for a waiting train ahead of a mob of admirers. When they pass by a couple of men sitting on a bench reading newspapers, one of them is Paul disguised in a beard and moustache. They finally catch the train which pulls out of the station just as they board leaving their screaming fans behind. In a compartment on the train, they find Paul’s grandfather, who Paul claims is “a villain, a real

A Hard Day’s Night mixer” and has been in trouble in multiple breach of promise cases. When Norm, the group’s manager, and Shake,1 Norm’s assistant, join them, Norm tries to convince the boys to “behave like ordinary respectable citizens,” especially when they go to a television theater the following day. Later in the dining car, the boys spot some “talent” (two young females) and decide to “give them a pull.” Paul asks the girls if they might join them, but his Grandfather foils Paul’s plan by telling the girls the chaps are prisoners. A little later, the boys find Grandfather with a much younger woman in a different compartment. He claims that he and the girl are engaged, but Paul takes him to the baggage car and locks him in a cage. When the rest of the band joins them there, they play a game of cards and sing “I Should Have Known Better.” The girls they had met in the dining car and some of their friends join them. Suddenly, the Beatles have their instruments and perform for Grandfather and the girls. When the train arrives at the station, another group of screaming girls awaits, so they dash for a waiting car and, as they drive away, seem to be enjoying the adulation. At their hotel, Norm brings a load of fan mail and wants the boys to answer the letters right away, but they want to go out. Ringo gets an invitation to the Circle Club, a snooty gambling casino, but Norm won’t allow him to accept the invitation. Paul’s grandfather stuffs the invitation in his coat pocket. As soon as Norm leaves, the Fab Four head for a night on the town. At a club, “I Wanna Be Your Man” is heard while they dance with various girls. The scene shifts to Grandfather, who is mistaken for a filthy rich Irishman, losing at gambling at the Circle Club. The song changes to “All My Loving” while the boys dance and visit with girls. During this song, Norm and Shake track the guys down and order them back to the hotel. When they discover that Grandfather has gone to the Circle Club, they go after him and drag him back to the hotel. The following day, the Beatles head for the television studio where another large group of screaming girls awaits them. Inside, they field several dumb questions from the press and give equally absurd answers. They finally escape into the studio where Ringo objects to one of the stagehands banging on his cymbals. John sings “If I Fell” to Ringo while he rearranges his drums and cymbals. The rest of the group joins John. After the song, the temperamental TV director2 sends them to their dressing room until it is time for their rehearsal. The room, however, leads to a

The Harvey Girls fire escape which they immediately take. While they sing “Can’t Buy Me Love”3 they play around eccentrically in a patterned playground. At the rehearsal for their TV appearance, the Beatles sing “And I Love Her.” Next, it’s off to makeup where they play around with costumes and wigs and ogle at the chorus girls. When they return to the stage, a male and four girls are dancing. The boys pick up their instruments and accompany the end of their dance, and then perform “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You.” Grandfather tries to convince Ringo that “parading’s better”4 than reading a book. The old man also convinces him that the others don’t appreciate the steady support he gives the group with his drum beat. Eventually, Ringo is ready “to parade” before he gets too old. While “This Boy (Ringo’s Theme)” plays, Ringo leaves the theater on a photographing excursion. The other three try to track him down because the group is needed on stage. After Ringo is chased by a couple of girls, he goes into a second-hand clothing store and purchases some different clothes. Back on the street he is pleased to be unrecognized. Grandfather had forged the boys’ signatures on a stack of photographs and peddles them to a crowd of girls outside the TV studio. The police rescue him when the girls almost mob him, but Grandfather thinks they are arresting him. Ringo is finally picked up by a policeman who takes him back to the precinct and charges him with “wandering abroad, malicious intent, acting in a suspicious manner and conduct liable to cause a breach of the peace.” While Ringo is being questioned, the policemen bring in Grandfather. The old man “escapes” (the police only try to stop him to return his photographs), goes to the TV theater and tells them where to find Ringo. While more of “Can’t Buy Me Love” is heard, the chaps race to the police station. The song continues when the Fab Four leave the police station and the police chase them à la the Keystone Cops. Eventually, they return to the TV studio with the cops still in pursuit. For the TV show, the Beatles perform a medley of “Tell Me Why,” and reprises of “If I Fell” and “I Should Have Known Better” amid a cacophony of screams from the girls in the audience. Then they launch into “She Loves Me.”5 Beatlemania is extremely evident in the audience of hysterical teenaged girls. When the group leaves the stage, Norm informs them they are leaving immediately for Wolverhampton for a midnight show. As they board a helicopter, a reprise of “A Hard Day’s Night”6 is heard which segues into the closing credits.

138 Entertainment Weekly ranked A Hard Day’s Night as the No. 7 greatest movie musical of all-time. Two Elvis Presley films garnered AFI nominations, but the Beatles, the British super group of the Sixties, isn’t represented — most likely because AFI only allowed American films. As the top recording artists of the Sixties, surely at least one of their films deserves inclusion. A Hard Day’s Night best captures the essence of the Fab Four and Beatlemania. For one thing, the film does a creditable job of explaining their appeal to the teens of the era and also shows their exuberance, youthfulness, polite arrogance, and manic, absurd, and rebellious behavior. The Beatles’ first film is one of the top ten musical films of the Sixties, but I can’t agree with Entertainment Weekly’s high ranking.

The Harvey Girls M-G-M, January 18, 1946, 101 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Susan Bradley), Ray Bolger (Chris Maule), John Hodiak (Ned Trent), Angela Lansbury (Em), Preston Foster ( Judge Sam Purvis), Virginia O’Brien (Alma), Kenny Baker (Terry O’Halloran), Marjorie Main (Sonora Cassidy), Chill Wills (H. H. Hartsey), Selena Royle (Miss Bliss), Cyd Charisse (Deborah) Director: George Sidney Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Edmund Beloin, Nathaniel Curtis, Harry Crane, James O’Hanlon and Samson Raphaelson Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

The West was still very much a frontier in the 1880s. Trains shuttled passengers to and from the East, but food service was practically non-existent and what meals were available were poor in quality and high priced. An enterprising businessman, Fred Harvey, decided to change that by establishing a series of restaurants along the western railroad lines. When the trains stopped, the passengers could enjoy a good meal at a reasonable price in the Harvey House establishments. Mr. Harvey recruited women from all over the country to work as waitresses. To work in his restaurants, the women

139 must have good moral character, at least an eighth grade education, have good manners, and be neat and articulate. If they were hired, they were given a six month contract and a rail pass to get to their assigned restaurant, but they had to agree to not marry during that period and were required to abide by all the company rules for employment. Mr. Harvey’s hotels and restaurants became the epitome of elegance on the Western frontier and his girls brought respectability to the job of waitressing. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! had opened on Broadway in 1943. The songs from the musical were so integrally woven into the plot that a new type of musical was born. Roger Edens, a young associate producer in the Freed Unit at MG-M, wanted to film a movie musical with an integrated plot set in the West. Freed thought The Harvey Girls, based on Samuel Hopkins Adams’ book, would make a good musical, so he hired lyricist Johnny Mercer and composer Harry Warren to write the score. Edens told Mercer he wanted the music to tell a lot of the plot and even insisted that the love songs advance the story. As the film’s action commences, Susan Bradley is seen singing “In the Valley (Where the Evenin’ Sun Goes Down)” from the platform of a railroad car that is traversing the western frontier. She’s singing about her dreams of building a home and sitting in a rockin’ chair watching the sun go down every evening. In one of the train’s cars, the girls who have been hired to open a new Harvey restaurant are reading Mr. Harvey’s rules for his waitresses and being instructed on what they are expected to do. In the same car, Susan starts to eat her meager packed lunch while the Harvey girls enjoy fried chicken. The girls tell Susan they are headed for Sand Rock, New Mexico to open a Harvey House restaurant. Susan tells them she has come from Ohio to marry H. H. Hartsey, who, even though she has never met him, has been writing her eloquent letters. The scene shifts to the Alhambra saloon in Sand Rock where we are introduced to the saloon’s owner, Ned Trent, and his chief female entertainer, Em, who sings “Wait and See.”1 We soon learn that it is Ned who wrote the letters to Susan for the uneducated cowboy Hartsey. After a drink salute to Hartsey’s approaching marriage, a waiter2 sings about the train and its passengers (“On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe”3). As the townspeople rush to meet the train, they join in the song. Sonora Cassidy, one of the Harvey girls’ chaperones, Chris Maule, a tenderfoot who is coming to Sand Rock to take over the blacksmith business, and Alma, one of the Har-

The Harvey Girls vey girls, also join in this huge production number. Then several local cowboys join the song as the girls begin exiting the train. By ones, twos and threes, the girls identify their place of origin. Susan finally exits and sings about her expectations. As the train prepares to leave the station, all of the girls, cowboys, Chris and Susan give the huge locomotive a big send off. Once Susan meets her intended, they both agree that they are mismatched and call off the wedding (Hartsey is more attracted to the matronly Sonora). When Hartsey tells Susan that the letters were written by Ned Trent, she marches into the saloon and calls him a “yellow dog.” When he offers to pay her way back home, she refuses to take his money and promises to run him and his saloon out of town. Without a husband or a job, Susan volunteers to become a waitress at the Harvey House. During the number, “The Train Must Be Fed,” Miss Bliss and Sonora instruct the girls concerning their uniforms, setting the table and feeding the guests. When the scene shifts to the Alhambra, Em and the saloon’s showgirls perform “Oh, You Kid.” Em shows her jealousy when Ned goes to try out the food at the Harvey House. One evening Susan, Alma and Deborah4 sing about why they came out west (“It’s a Great Big World”); each of the girls performs a verse while all three sing the chorus together. As the girls start to retire for the evening, a lamp in the girls’ dormitory is shot out. Some of the girls are ready to quit, while others, like Susan, stubbornly refuse to be run off. Susan sets out to find the shooter. At the Alhambra, Em informs her that Ned had ordered no more trouble for the restaurant and its employees. Chris Maule, who is afraid of horses, takes over as the local blacksmith. When Alma visits the blacksmith shop, she describes shoeing a horse to Chris; he faints, so she takes over the shoeing and sings “Wild, Wild West,” about expecting to find a husband in the Wild West, but so far she’s not having any luck. Later, Susan finds Ned alone in a remote valley and their romance begins. After they kiss, they ride back to town together in a buckboard. When they arrive, they hear screams coming from the Harvey House dormitory. Someone had put a rattlesnake in one of the girls’ closets. Ned warns the nefarious Judge Sam Purvis to stop harassing the Harvey girls. While Deborah and Susan are hanging out the wash, Deborah is drawn to the music she hears coming from the Alhambra. It is Terry playing and singing a reprise of “Wait and See.” Deborah

Hello, Dolly! dances a ballerina-type dance as Terry hums and sings a second chorus and then they end the song as a duet. When Susan comes looking for Deborah, Em and her girls attack her. Soon the rest of the Harvey girls join the ruckus. During the brawl, Terry and Deborah, oblivious to the fighting, kiss. At a party at the Harvey House, Chris performs a loose-limbed tap dance to a reprise of “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.” Afterward, Sonora introduces a new dance that is all the rage in Kansas City — the waltz. To “Swing Your Partner Round and Round,” the Harvey girls demonstrate the dance. Then they choose partners while Sonora sings the instructions. Ned, the Judge, and the Alhambra girls attend the party and almost cause another fight. As they leave, they invite the fellows to join them at the saloon, but none accept their invitation, which is considered a significant occurrence in the civilizing of the town. Late that evening, Ned and Susan meet at their usual rendezvous spot. He informs her that he has decided to move the Alhambra to Flagstaff, Arizona. They talk romantically, but neither is willing to give in to the other. When Ned gets back to town, he finds Judge Purvis and one of his henchmen setting fire to the Harvey House. He tries to stop them, but is unable to save the building. Since he’s moving his saloon to Flagstaff, Ned offers his building to the restaurant. Ned joins his saloon employees as they board the train to leave Sand Rock, however, before it actually leaves, he decides to stay and start a new life with Susan. After the train pulls out, Em discovers Susan on board. Em pulls the emergency cord to stop the train and drags Susan to the rear of the train. There, Susan sees Ned trying to catch them on his horse. After their reunion, the film ends with their wedding. Three numbers were listed among the film’s musical numbers but were cut from the edition viewed.5 Harry Warren’s and Johnny Mercer’s “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” is a great song and it was staged really well in the film, but the rest of the songs in the score are much more pedestrian. Judy Garland is excellent as usual, Ray Bolger’s and Cyd Charisse’s dancing is noteworthy and Virginia O’Brien’s deadpan singing is entertaining. Is The Harvey Girls a great movie musical? As far as I’m concerned, it is one of the top film musicals of the Forties; it is a very good musical film, but it needs more than one outstanding song to be great.

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Hello, Dolly! 20th Century–Fox, December 16, 1969, 148 minutes Principal Cast: Barbra Streisand (Dolly Levi), Walter Matthau (Horace Vandergelder), Michael Crawford (Cornelius Hackl), Marianne McAndrew (Irene Molloy), E.J. Peaker (Minnie Fay), Danny Lockin (Barnaby Tucker), Tommy Tune (Ambrose Kemper), Joyce Ames (Ermengarde) Director: Gene Kelly Producer/Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman Music and Lyrics: Jerry Herman Choreographer: Michael Kidd Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ●

Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *)

Best Picture *Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Costume Design ❍ Best Cinematography Availability: DVD ❍ ❍

The musical Hello, Dolly! is based on Thornton Wilder’s 1938 farce, The Merchant of Yonkers and Wilder’s revised and retitled The Matchmaker. With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, Hello, Dolly! opened on Broadway in 1964. The David Merrick production won ten Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Actress in a Musical (Carol Channing). The show became the longest-running musical in Broadway’s history up to that time (2,844 performances). The film version, which cost Fox $24 million, making it by far the most expensive movie musical of all time, won three Academy Awards and was nominated for four others (see Awards and Honors above). Set in 1890, the film begins with Dolly Levi1 singing “Call on Dolly” about her primary profession — matchmaker. That segues into “Just Leave Everything to Me,” in which she claims she can arrange anything. As she sings, she heads for the train station for a trip to Yonkers to see Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy and unmarried man. In Yonkers, Ambrose Kemper, a young artist, tries to talk Vandergelder into allowing him to marry his niece, Ermengarde. Vandergelder doesn’t think an artist can support his niece. He has sent for Dolly to take Ermengarde to New York and keep her there until this nonsense about marriage blows over. Horace tells his two young clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, that he is going to the

141 city, so he promotes Cornelius to chief clerk and Barnaby from “idiot apprentice to incompetent clerk.” Horace also informs them that he plans to get married while he is away. When his clerks ask why he’s getting married after all these years, Vandergelder sings “It Takes a Woman” as his answer. He has decided he needs a wife to do all the household chores. Cornelius, Barnaby and several of the town’s men join him and perform a rather elementary choreographed dance outside the store. When Dolly arrives, Horace informs her that he has decided to ask Irene Malloy to be his wife. Although Dolly has her sights on Horace, she pretends this is wonderful news, but she implies that Miss Malloy will squander his wealth. Dolly also mentions that she had an heiress in mind for him. They agree to meet in front of Irene Malloy’s hat shop at two o’clock. After Horace leaves, Dolly sings a reprise of “It Takes a Woman” about a woman changing a man into the kind of man she wants. Dolly guarantees Ermengarde and Ambrose if they will follow her directions, Vandergelder will allow them to wed. She tells them to go to dinner at the Harmonia Gardens, tell the head waiter that she sent them, and to enter the polka contest; she’ll see to it that they win. She also tells them to inform Rudolph, the head waiter, that she is coming back to the restaurant. Cornelius proposes that he and Barnaby go to New York, but the only way they can go is to close the store (Cornelius decides to explode some cans of chicken mash that will cause a horrible stench). Dolly suggests they meet two charming young ladies at a millinery shop—Irene Malloy and her assistant, Minnie Fay. She also recommends they arrive at two o’clock in the afternoon. As the guys anticipate their trip, they sing “Put on Your Sunday Clothes.” Dolly, Ambrose, Ermengarde and some of the townspeople join in the song-and-dance as they head for the train station. They claim they won’t come home until they fall in love. As Irene Malloy and Minnie Fay walk towards the millinery shop, Irene admits that she doesn’t love Vandergelder, but she is considering marrying him because he can rescue her from the hat business. Later, Irene decides to keep a returned hat, one with ribbons, for herself. Minnie warns her that ribbons are too provocative, but, in “Ribbons Down My Back,” Irene sings about hopefully being noticed by someone special. Irene notices two men staring at her shop — it is Cornelius and Barnaby. The girls go in the back to primp before they meet these two young men. Cornelius and Barnaby enter the store and, pretending to be rich, claim they’re looking for hats for

Hello, Dolly! their lady friends. They’re soon completely entranced by Irene and Minnie and admit they really don’t have lady friends. When they offer to show the girls around their hometown, Irene tells them she has a friend from there, Horace Vandergelder, and he’s coming to her shop that afternoon. Just then, they spot Vandergelder and Dolly walking towards the shop, so Cornelius and Barnaby hide. When Dolly and Horace enter, Irene mentions that she knows Cornelius Hackl. Vandergelder can’t understand how Irene could possibly know his clerk. Dolly claims that Cornelius may be Horace’s clerk by day, but by night, he’s the most delightful man in the city. Once Vandergelder realizes Irene is hiding men in her shop, he storms out to march in the Fourteenth Street Association parade with the kind of people he can trust — men! To make up for their humiliation, Dolly demands that Cornelius and Barnaby escort the two young ladies to dinner at the Harmonia Gardens that evening. Irene closes the shop and takes the whole afternoon off. When the girls leave, Cornelius claims they can’t take the girls to Harmonia Gardens because they don’t know how to dance, so Dolly teaches them to polka (“Dancing”). When Irene and Minnie return, they join the dance, leave the shop and dance into a park where several other couples, including Ambrose and Ermengarde, join in a big song-and-dance routine. After the dance, the couples head for the parade and encourage Dolly to hurry along before she misses the parade. Dolly remains in the park and sings “Before the Parade Passes By” very slowly and plaintively. After a chorus, she talks to her deceased husband, Ephraim about rejoining the human race, but she’d like a sign that he approves. As she sings the song in a faster tempo, she heads for the parade with renewed confidence. When she finds Vandergelder, she convinces him to give her matchmaking another chance. As all the parade participants sing “Before the Parade Passes By,” Dolly pays Gussie Granger2 to meet Horace at the Harmonia Gardens that evening as the heiress, Ernestina Simple. Once Cornelius and Barnaby meet the girls for dinner, they tell them that all the really elegant people walk to the restaurant. As they head for the Harmonia Gardens, they perform a song-anddance routine to “Elegance,”3 and prance off to the restaurant. Dolly, alone in her apartment, sings “Love Is Only Love” about her potential marriage to Horace not being like her first marriage, but she’s confident it will be wonderful. Inside the restaurant, Rudolph, the head waiter, welcomes guests. Cornelius, Irene, Barnaby and

Hello, Dolly! Minnie arrive and mention the Rockefellers as if they know them, so they are seated in a private dining room. When Vandergelder enters, Gussie, posing as Ernestina Simple, latches onto him. Ambrose and Ermengarde are seated at a table and have told the waiter that Dolly is returning. When Rudolph announces this to his crew, they excitedly perform a lengthy, energetic dance routine to “The Waiters’ Gallop.” When Irene and Minnie order the most expensive items on the menu, Cornelius and Barnaby confess that they are penniless pretenders. Irene tells them that they knew all along. Cornelius asks permission to put his arm around Irene’s waist and kisses her. Irene thought she had brought enough money to pay for the meal, but she brought the wrong purse. Just as Dolly had instructed, Gussie tells Horace she’s bored and leaves. On the way out of the restaurant, Gussie knocks on a carriage door to cue Dolly. Dolly makes her triumphant return to the Harmonia Gardens and, in “Hello, Dolly!,” compliments the staff, tells them how nice it is to return and promises never to go away again. Then the waiters welcome her back and they all perform a dance routine. Louis Armstrong, the restaurant’s bandleader, joins the song.4 At the end of the song, Dolly joins Horace at his table and orders an expensive dinner. Luring Horace into her trap, Dolly tells him no matter what he says, she will not marry him. Rudolph announces that Dolly will be one of the judges for a dance contest. When they hear that the prize is $50, Cornelius, Barnaby and their dates enter the contest. While they dance, Horace recognizes Ambrose and Ermengarde and Cornelius and Barnaby. He stands up to pursue them and dumps food on the man seated next to him. During a free-for-all, Horace is knocked out. Later in the park, Irene offers to marry Vandergelder so Cornelius and Barnaby won’t lose their jobs. Cornelius declares that even if he has to dig ditches it would be worth it because he met and fell in love with Irene in just one day — not even a day (“It Only Takes A Moment”). Then Irene similarly declares her feelings for Cornelius. When Horace and Dolly leave the restaurant, she mentions marriage again, but Horace declares that he wouldn’t marry her if she were the last woman in the world. Dolly angrily bids him “So Long, Dearie,” in which she tells him when he discovers what a dreary life he has, he can snuggle up to his cash register. Back in Yonkers, Vandergelder yells for Cor-

142 nelius and Barnaby to come clean up the rotten chicken mash, but they aren’t there. Then he yells to Ermengarde what he wants for breakfast, but she isn’t there either. Suddenly, they all return. Cornelius informs him that Dolly has arranged for them to open a hay and feed store across the street. They have come for the money Horace has been keeping for them in his safe. Ermengarde also wants the money her mother left her. Just as they are going upstairs to retrieve the money, Dolly arrives. While they are gone, Dolly talks to Ephraim again. She tells him she’s going to get married again, but she would like a sign that she has his permission. When Horace returns, he finally admits that Dolly is the ideal choice for his wife. She talks him into a partnership with Cornelius and Barnaby so they won’t be competitors. Then Dolly gets her signs from Ephraim. Horace is having the shutters on the store painted forest green (she had mentioned early in the film that he should paint his shutters forest green) and he quotes the exact statement that Ephraim said about money: “Money is like manure. It’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow.” Then, Horace sings a mercifully short version of “Hello, Dolly!” and they dance together. The finale includes short reprises of “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “Dancing,” “It Only Takes a Moment,” “It Takes a Woman,” and “Hello, Dolly!” The last scene is of Dolly and Horace entering a church to get married. There is no screen chemistry between Barbra Streisand and Walter Mathau. According to Christopher Anderson’s Streisand biography,5 they fought constantly on the set and their animosity towards each other was difficult to conceal on the screen. Also according to Anderson, Gene Kelly, the film’s director, didn’t like Barbra any more than she liked him. Hello, Dolly! is a worthy AFI nominee, but it is not among the best for its decade. Streisand sings well, of course, but she is too young to play Dolly convincingly and there is absolutely nothing that would make an audience believe that she would be attracted to Walter Mathau. Michael Crawford’s portrayal of Cornelius is far too silly, but perhaps that is how he was directed to portray this Yonkers hick. And, there is absolutely no evidence that he could later sing the Phantom’s taxing songs in The Phantom of the Opera. Michael Kidd’s choreography often doesn’t fit the 1890s. Louis Armstrong’s appearance in the film is completely unnecessary. One would have expected a much better product from director Gene Kelly.

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High Society M-G-M, July 17, 1956, 111 minutes Principal Cast : Bing Crosby (Dexter Haven), Grace Kelly (Tracy Lord), Frank Sinatra (Mike Connor), Celeste Holm (Liz Imbrie), Louis Armstrong (Himself ), John Lund (George Kittredge), Sidney Blackmer (Seth Lord), Margalo Gillmore (Mrs. Seth Lord), Lydia Reed (Caroline Lord), Louis Calhern (Uncle Willie) Director/Choreographer: Charles Walters Producer: Sol C. Siegel Screenwriter: John Patrick Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“True Love”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“True Love”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

High Society is a musical version of Philip Barry’s play The Philadelphia Story. The play premiered on Broadway in 1939 and was transformed into a famous 1940 film that starred Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart.

High Society The film opens with Louis Armstrong singing “High Society Calypso” while a short aerial travelogue shows some coastal mansions near Newport, Rhode Island. The view then changes to Armstrong and his musicians on a bus. The band members join Louie in singing the chorus. They arrive at C.K. Dexter-Haven’s magnificent estate. Dexter, as he is called, is a successful songwriter and the ex-husband of Tracy Samantha Lord. He has returned to Newport for the annual jazz festival and has invited Armstrong and his band to appear there. Tracy’s little sister, Caroline, hears some music and excitedly proclaims that Dexter must be home. Armstrong and his band are playing a song that Dexter had written for Tracy, which she calls cheap and vulgar. Tracy storms out of her house, heads for Dexter’s and demands to know why he has returned on the day before her wedding. Dexter explains that he came for the festival. After a not-toocordial visit, Tracy huffily stalks back home. As she returns home, George Kittredge, her fiancé, arrives. She disgustedly informs him that Dexter is back. Caroline is very fond of Dexter and can’t under-

Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra in High Society.

High Society stand what her older sister sees in George. When she asks Dexter if he is ever going to marry again, he teases her that he is waiting for her to grow up. She asks him to write a song for her like he did for Tracy, so he improvises “Little One.” Soon Louie and his band join in. After a chorus, Caroline kisses Dexter on the cheek and runs home. At the song’s conclusion, Louis comments that the song was nice but it was sung to the wrong girl. Uncle Willie telephones Mrs. Lord that the editor of Spy Magazine wants to send a reporter and photographer to cover Tracy’s wedding. They will print an incriminating article about Mr. Lord and a dancer unless they are allowed to cover the wedding. Even though she considers it blackmail, Mrs. Lord agrees. When Tracy is informed, she thinks her father deserves being maligned. However, she promises to behave like a lady when the reporter and photographer arrive. When Mike Connor, the reporter, and photographer, Liz Imbrie, arrive at the Lord mansion, Caroline makes an appearance in a ballet costume, tries to impress them with her French and plays the piano and sings a dreadfully off-key version of “Little One.” Tracy rushes in to stop her and very effusively introduces herself. When George arrives, he is introduced to the Spy magazine employees. Then Dexter arrives, which Tracy considers an intrusion. Mike recognizes Dexter’s name as being a famous songwriter. Miss Imbrie wants to get some photographs of Tracy with her former and future husband. Just when Mike and Liz were beginning to doubt the existence of a Mr. Lord, Uncle Willie arrives and Tracy calls him Pa-Pa. The confusion continues when Tracy’s real father arrives, so she calls him Uncle Willie. While Mike and Liz examine Tracy’s many expensive wedding presents, they sing “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” in which they claim they’re satisfied with their monetary status and each other. Tracy is by the pool when Dexter arrives bearing a wedding gift. He accuses her of expecting all men to be philanderers like her father and reminisces about how wonderful their first few weeks were as husband and wife. Once he leaves, she opens the gift, which is a replica of their sailboat, the True Love. She puts it in the water and begins to reminisce. In the first part of her reverie, Dexter is at the helm of the sailboat while she is preparing lunch. Later that evening, Dexter plays a concertina and sings the song, “True Love,” as she reclines with her head on his lap. She joins in the song towards the end and they kiss. When George interrupts Tracy’s reverie, she explains that she and Dexter spent their honeymoon on the sailboat. George talks about her as if she

144 were a statue to be worshiped from afar, but she tells him she doesn’t want to be put on a pedestal; she wants to be loved. When her mother and father walk by together, her father claims that his philandering has nothing to do with his feelings for his family. He tells Tracy she has everything it takes to make a lovely woman except an understanding heart. And, without it, he says, she might as well be made of bronze. She is deeply offended by her father’s accusations. To vent, she gets in her sports car, picks up Mike and takes him to what she calls “the playground of the rich,” which consists of boarded up beach houses that haven’t been used for fifteen years. One of the palatial homes is Uncle Willie’s, which he gave away because he couldn’t pay the taxes. Inside the house’s library, the bar slides out of a wall of books. After a drink, Mike accuses Tracy of boarding up her heart like these old houses. He sings, “You’re Sensational,” as he describes what a wonderful woman he thinks she is. They almost kiss, but she realizes it is time for her to get ready for the evening’s party. Louie thinks Dexter needs some change of pace music to get back in the race for his former wife. As he and his band play, Dexter begins to hum, then sings “I Love You, Samantha,” in which he claims he’s a one gal guy. Tracy sits in a window of her house listening. At the party, Uncle Willie introduces Louis Armstrong and his band and Dexter to perform “Now You Has Jazz.” Dexter introduces each individual instrumentalist, who improvises a solo. Later, Louie joins Dexter on the lyrics. Tracy is virtually floating she is so inebriated. When Dexter dances with her, he guides her outside onto the patio. Since he won’t be at the wedding, he wants to give the bride a kiss. George catches them and insists she lie down to sober up. Remembering the bar in the bookcase from earlier in the day, Mike sneaks into the library where he finds Dexter. Mike tells him he must never have known the real Tracy or he would never have let her go. Dexter readily admits that he is still in love with Tracy and that he told her. Mike claims that’s not what he heard. That conversation (not very smoothly) leads into the song “Well, Did You Evah!,”1 a spoof of the haughty and blasé. When they leave the room, they reappear almost immediately for another drink and more of the song. George is standing guard at Tracy’s bedroom door, so she climbs out of her window. She and Mike go for a walk and as they dance poolside, he sings “Mind If I Make Love to You?,” a rather suggestive song title for the mid–Fifties. After they kiss a couple of times, Mike questions what they are

145 going to do about their romantic involvement. She says, “I don’t know about you, but I’m going in the water,” and she dives into the pool. Dexter escorts Liz home from the party and finds Tracy’s shoes and jewelry on a patio couch. When George arrives, Dexter tries to divert his attention, but they hear Tracy singing and see Mike carrying her across the lawn. Mike explains that when Tracy hit the pool, the wine hit her. While Mike takes Tracy upstairs, Dexter warns George not to jump to conclusions. When Mike returns to the patio, Dexter socks him to prevent George from doing so. After George leaves, Dexter picks Mike up and apologizes. Before he can extract much information, Mike passes out. The next morning, almost everyone is hung over from the previous evening’s party, but the wedding is still on. Caroline telephones Uncle Willie and Dexter to come over. Just after Dexter arrives, Tracy comes downstairs with a man’s wristwatch and she can’t find her jewelry. When Dexter returns her jewelry and mentions something about the pool, Tracy’s fogginess begins to clear. Tracy is mortified when Mike comes onto the patio looking for his watch. Dexter informs her that George knows all about last night. He also asks if she liked his wedding present, which, of course, she did. She is upset when he tells her he’s going to sell the sailboat. Mike and Liz announce that they are both resigning from Spy Magazine. George shows up and demands an explanation for her behavior the previous evening. Mike tells George that the whole affair consisted of two kisses and a late swim. He took her to her room and promptly returned to the patio. Tracy, who was almost certain they had slept together, is almost insulted, but Mike explains it is against the rules to take advantage of an inebriated woman. Rather reluctantly, George is ready to go through with the wedding, but Tracy doesn’t want him to marry her “in spite of the circumstances.” George stalks away, accusing Dexter of having something to do with what happened. Dexter is glad to accept the blame. When the wedding march begins, Tracy apologizes for keeping the guests waiting. Then she tells them she and her fiancé have decided not to marry. Dexter begins feeding her the words to say. Since she cheated them out of a wedding a couple of years ago by eloping, she would like to make it up to them now by going through with it “as originally and most beautifully planned.” Tracy reunites with her father and asks him to help her off her pedestal. Liz intends to grab Mike before somebody else does. As Dexter and Tracy start down the aisle, Louis Armstrong and his band jazz up the wedding march. Mike and Liz kiss, Mr.

Holiday Inn and Mrs. Lord embrace, and Louie says, “End of story.” Although the movie musical may not be quite up to par with its non-musical predecessor, it is one of the best musical films of the Fifties. Cole Porter’s “True Love,” “Now You Has Jazz” and “Well, Did You Evah!” are musical gems. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong furnish plenty of musical expertise and Grace Kelly doesn’t do badly either. Those who like big production numbers with lots of dancing will be disappointed, however.

Holiday Inn Paramount, August 4, 1942, 101 minutes Principal Cast: Bing Crosby ( Jim Hardy), Fred Astaire (Ted Hanover), Marjorie Reynolds (Linda Mason), Virginia Dale (Lila Dixon), Walter Abel (Danny Reid) Producer/Director: Mark Sandrich Screenwriter: Claude Binyon; adapted by Elmer Rice Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Danny Dare Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “White Christmas” AFI No. 5 song in 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Easter Parade”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“White Christmas”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring for a Motion Picture ❍ Best Writing, Original Story Availability: DVD

The Broadway musical As Thousands Cheer (1933) was a classy revue in which every sketch and every song was based either on headline news or sections of a newspaper. The revue’s first-act finale was the Rotogravure Section, an old-fashioned Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue. A few years later, the revue’s sketch writer, Moss Hart and composer Irving Berlin decided to attempt another musical revue inspired by American holidays. But the revue never materialized. Irving Berlin seemingly never forgot an idea; he stockpiled song and show ideas so he could revive them at the appropriate time. Sometime in 1941, Berlin proposed his American holidays musical idea for a movie to producer/director Mark Sandrich, who was very receptive to the idea. They came up with a rough outline of a story about a successful but lazy entertainer who quits his song-and-dance partnership to manage a country inn that was only open on holidays. An appropriate title quickly presented itself: Holiday Inn.

Holiday Inn

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tract the lady: Jim croons and Ted dances. They even try impersonating each other. The laidback Jim is quitting show business to run a small farm in New England to have more leisure time. Jim expects Lila to accept his marriage proposal, but she doesn’t want to give up show business for life on a farm, so she and Ted perform together and become engaged. Jim soon discovers that the life of a farmer is much harder work than he anticipated. After several grueling months of labor, he enters a sanatorium to recover. Jim decides to turn his large New England farmhouse into a night club that will be open only on holidays. Such an enterprise and schedule, only fifteen nights a year, seem to perfectly suit Jim’s preference for a leisurely life-style. Jim returns to the city for Christmas and attends Ted’s and Lila’s performance at the swank Club Pierre. He tells them his idea for a holidays-only nightclub. When Ted’s manager, Danny, goes to a near-by flower shop to purchase some flowers for Ted to give Lila, Linda, the flower shop girl, recognizes him as an important manager and tells him that she wants a show business career. She agrees to deliver the flowers for him, so he tells her Jim is looking for performers for a show in Connecticut. When she arrives at the club, she sits at Jim’s table while they watch the floorshow. Ted, dressed in white tie and tails, and Lila, in a sparkling evening dress, perform “You’re Easy to Dance With.” The following day at Jim’s snowy farm in Midville, Connecticut, Linda arrives via a taxi sleigh to audition for a part in Jim’s production. He tells her it will be a profit sharing show. He demonstrates for her the song he has written for the Christmas show (the Inn hadn’t been ready to open by Christmas). He whistles, hums and serenades her with “White Christmas,”2 including tapping his pipe stem on the Christmas tree ornaments for chimes. Linda3 joins him and they harmonize beautifully together. Jim hires her as the only other Holiday Inn movie poster. Pictured are Virginia Dale (bottom featured entertainer at Holiday Inn, left), Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Bing Crosby. which will officially open on New With the approaching war on everyone’s mind (by the time the film was released, the U.S. was directly involved), holidays seemed to acquire added relevance. Holiday Inn wasn’t conceived as propaganda, it was merely escapist entertainment, but it “served as a bittersweet reminder of what peacetime had been like: a dreamy, far-off place full of snow and sentiment.”1 The story of Holiday Inn begins Christmas Eve and ends on New Year’s Eve two years later. A love triangle has developed between Jim Hardy, Ted Hanover and Lila Dixon. The film’s first song, “I’ll Capture Your Heart Singing,” is performed in a nightclub by these three. In this challenge number, the two guys use their personal specialties to at-

147 Year’s Eve. On opening night, Jim and Linda entertain the guests with “Happy Holiday,” with the cook’s children, Vanderbilt4 and Daphne,5 dressed as the old and new year, and invite the guests to “Holiday Inn.” Back in the city, Ted gets a letter from Lila that she is breaking their engagement to marry a Texas millionaire. Depressed, Ted gets rip-roaring drunk, goes to Jim’s lodge in Connecticut, and literally stumbles upon Linda on the dance floor and dances an inebriated version of “You’re Easy to Dance With” with her before he passes out. Once Ted is revived, his agent, Danny, convinces him that this girl would make an excellent new dancing partner. Not wanting to lose another girl to Ted, Jim determines to keep Ted and Linda apart through various devious schemes. The next show is for Lincoln’s Birthday, which features Jim, disguised as an elderly AfricanAmerican preacher, and Linda, in a Topsy outfit so Ted won’t recognize her, performing the song, “Abraham.” Danny finally spots Linda as she is leaving, but Jim makes certain he doesn’t catch her. Only two days later, the Inn opens again for Valentine’s Day. At a rehearsal for that show, Jim sings “Be Careful, It’s My Heart” to Linda. While Jim is singing, Ted comes in, takes one look at Linda, and immediately recognizes her as the girl he danced with New Year’s Eve. Ted decides he’ll join Jim and Linda for the next show. Eight days later, the floor show in honor of George Washington’s birthday features Ted and Linda dressed in period costumes and wigs in a performance of an elegant minuet, “I Can’t Tell a Lie.” Jim, who is playing the piano, is afraid Ted will steal Linda away, so he practically destroys their minuet by continually disturbing their precise and dainty footwork with hot licks by the band.6 When Ted offers to make Linda his permanent dance partner, she tells him she promised to be in Jim’s shows and expects them to get married. So, Ted bows out. For the Easter show, “Easter Parade”7 is sung by Jim to Linda, not in an Easter procession down Fifth Avenue as the lyrics sing about, but in a horse-drawn buggy on their way to a country church for Easter services. By the time the next show is presented on the Fourth of July, Ted is a regular attraction. Danny arrives with the news that he can get Ted and Linda a Hollywood contract. Jim overhears and gets Gus, the driver, to pick up Linda at the train station and keep her away from the Inn. He also calls Lila, who is back in the city, and invites her to the Inn. Gus runs the Inn station wagon into a pond, and drops

Holiday Inn Linda in the water. During all these shenanigans, Jim performs “Song of Freedom,” a patriotic number that features America’s military might and a picture of General Douglas MacArthur. Linda finally catches a ride — with Lila. When she discovers that Jim is trying to get her out of the way so Lila and Ted will reunite and sign the Hollywood contract, she runs Lila’s car into the same pond. Ted was supposed to perform a number with Linda, but when she doesn’t show up, he improvises an “explosive” dance called “Let’s Say It with Firecrackers,” which features him exploding firecrackers in time with the music. By the time his number is over, a disheveled Linda arrives. She’s furious that Jim didn’t give her the opportunity to turn down the Hollywood contract. Frustrated, she and Ted partner and head for Tinseltown. Weeks later, Jim agrees to allow some Hollywood film producers to make a movie about the Holiday Inn, featuring Ted and Linda in the lead roles. The film is being shot on a sound stage in Hollywood in an exact replica of the Inn and its surroundings. The Inn is closed for Thanksgiving so Jim eats his turkey dinner alone. He plays a recording of the Thanksgiving song he has written for Ted and Linda to perform in the movie, “Plenty to Be Thankful For.” As the demo plays, Jim makes snide remarks on the side. Mamie,8 the cook, tells him that he should go to Hollywood to tell Linda he loves her. Deciding to follow Mamie’s advice, Jim flies to the West Coast, arriving on Christmas Eve. He hears that Ted and Linda are getting married as soon as the film is completed. He wanders around the movie set, marveling at its authenticity, but he rearranges the Christmas tree nearer the piano and forgetfully leaves his pipe on top of the piano. As Linda climbs into the sleigh outside the replica, she looks terribly unhappy. When she enters the Inn, she remembers the wonderful days with Jim back at the real Inn. She wanders towards the Christmas tree, sits at the piano and sings “White Christmas.” Absentmindedly, she picks up Jim’s pipe and starts to use it as he had to strike ornaments for the chimes. Jim, hiding behind a scenic flat, starts whistling and humming and comes into the scene. Linda runs to him and they embrace. The scene changes to New Year’s Eve at the real Holiday Inn with Jim and Linda happily together again. Ted seems to be left out, but his former fiancée, Lila, returns from her Texas romantic fiasco and informs him she’s back to stay. The grand finale number is appropriately titled “Let’s Start the New Year Right.”

How to Succeed in Business During the writing process, the song for Christmas eluded Irving Berlin for some time. Even though he was Jewish, he had fond memories of Christmases and was determined that the song had to be great — it had to be simple, universal, and unforgettable. He began reminiscing about being stranded in Los Angeles during one holiday season, which made him nostalgic for the Christmases in the Northeast. Almost everyone knows the lyrics to the chorus of “White Christmas,” but not many know the verse which paints a portrait of a Southern California Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve and what he wants, and what he thought everyone wanted, was a snowy Christmas. The resulting song he proclaimed was, “Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it’s the best song anybody ever wrote.” As Laurence Bergreen wrote in his Berlin biography, “Here was a Jew, the son of a cantor writing a classic goyische anthem. Many other American Jews, especially in Hollywood, had rushed to assimilate; they had changed their names, their religions, married gentile wives, done whatever they could to skip the bonds of their heritage, and Irving Berlin had gone most of that route himself, though he stopped short of actually converting. But his willingness to embrace Christian themes and imagery in his music was unique. ‘White Christmas’ demonstrated that Berlin had reached the limit of musical assimilation.”9 At first, experts disparaged “White Christmas,” but American soldiers began inundating the Armed Forces Radio Network with requests for the song. It became their song because it reminded them of home, their loved ones and American traditions. Even after the war, it continued to sell, becoming the most popular song Irving Berlin ever penned. In time the “White Christmas” copyright became the world’s most valuable song property because it returns every year and sells multiple thousands of sheet music and is recorded on almost innumerable Christmas albums. Holiday Inn certainly reflects the era, but it hasn’t aged. It ranks as one of the best movie musicals to come out of the Forties. The film features thirteen memorable Irving Berlin songs, Bing’s easy, casual banter and laidback performing style, plus Astaire’s precision dancing and his wry, off beat humor. The New York Times film critic thought Berlin’s tunes in Holiday Inn did not match those of This Is the Army. Is he kidding? “White Christmas,” “Be Careful It’s My Heart,” “Easter Parade,” “Happy Holiday,” “Holiday Inn,” and even “Let’s Say It With Firecrackers” are certainly on a par, if not superior to the patriotic melodies in This Is the Army.

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How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying United Artists, March 9, 1967, 121 minutes Principal Cast : Robert Morse ( J. Pierrepont Finch), Michele Lee (Rosemary Pilkington), Rudy Vallee ( J.B. Biggley), Anthony Teague (Bud Frump), Maureen Arthur (Hedy LaRue), Ruth Kobart (Miss Jones), Sammy Smith (Mr. Twimble and Wally Womper) Producer/Director: David Swift Producer/Director/Screenwriter: David Swift Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser Choreographer: Dale Moreda Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“I Believe in You”) Availability: DVD

Shepherd Mead’s novel How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying became a huge success in the early Fifties. Playwright Willie Gilbert and neurosurgeon Jack Weinstock created a dramatic adaptation, but the play wasn’t produced until it was brought to the attention of producers, Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, who thought the idea had potential as a Broadway musical. Feuer and Martin convinced librettist Abe Burrows and lyricist/composer Frank Loesser, both of Guys and Dolls fame, to write the musical, which opened in 1961 and ran for 1,417 performances. The show won several Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch), Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Charles Nelson Reilly as Bud Frump), plus a Pulitzer Prize for Drama—only the fourth musical to be so honored. Robert Morse recreated his Broadway role in the film version, as did Rudy Vallee as J.B. Biggley, the philandering company president, Sammy Smith as Wally Womper, the Chairman of the Board, and Ruth Kobart as Miss Jones, Biggley’s secretary. As the film opens, J. Pierrepont Finch purchases a copy of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at a newsstand and reads some of it on his way to work. Dressed in a suit and tie, Finch enters the World Wide Wickets office building. Soon, he emerges on the roof in coveralls still reading from his newly purchased book and descends the outside of the building on a window washing platform singing “How To.” During the song, he opens a window, steps inside and sheds his coveralls to reveal he is still dressed in a suit. This ambitious young man is excited because his book tells him everything he needs to know to become a success in the business world. Finch bumps into J.B. Biggley, the president of the company, and asks for a job, but the boss tells

149 him to see the company’s personnel manager, Mr. Bratt.1 One of the secretaries, Rosemary Pilkington, introduces herself and tells him that she has a friend in the personnel department. While she leaves to get her friend, Finch encounters Mr. Bratt. When Finch implies that he and Biggley are old friends, Bratt hires him to work in the mailroom. One of his fellow mailroom employees is Bud Frump, Mr. Biggley’s wife’s sister’s lazy son.2 Mr. Twimble, head of the mailroom, had worked there for the past twenty-five years. Twimble is promoted to the shipping department and will be allowed to select his successor. Finch butters up to his new boss by asking him for some words of advice. Twimble tells Finch that the secret to longevity at the company is to play things “The Company Way.” Even though Finch has only been there a few hours, he tells Rosemary that he is frustrated that he isn’t advancing quickly enough. She encourages him and gives him a flower to wear in his lapel. Finch next meets Miss Jones, Mr. Biggley’s secretary. He presents her with the flower Rosemary had given him. She is impressed and vows to keep an eye on this nice young man. Finch’s book advises him not to stay in the mailroom, so when Twimble selects him as his successor, he declines and recommends Frump, who greedily accepts the job by singing a reprise of “The Company Way.” When Finch is offered a job as a junior executive in Mr. Gatch’s3 department, Bud Frump realizes he was duped. Mr. Biggley telephones Bratt to arrange a job for an intimate female friend, Miss Hedy LaRue, the epitome of the squeaky-voiced, dumb blonde. When she enters the office in a very tight dress, all the male executives can’t take their eyes off of her. Bratt reminds them that “A Secretary Is Not a Toy,” something that Charlie McCoy got fired for forgetting. At quitting time on Friday, Finch learns that Biggley is extremely proud of his alma mater and overhears that the boss will be in the office Saturday morning to pick up his clubs for a round of golf with Wally Womper, the Chairman of the Board. When Rosemary and Smitty,4 her friend from the Personnel Department, run into Finch at the elevator, Smitty realizes Rosemary and Finch are attracted to each other. They sing “Been a Long Day,” which easily could have been titled “She’s Thinking, He’s Thinking” because those words are heard often as Smitty “reads” their minds. She attempts to get Finch to ask Rosemary to dinner by pointing out a special dinner for two at Stouffers. At the end of the song, they decide to take advantage of the special.

How to Succeed in Business As he is leaving the office, Frump runs into his Uncle and Hedy. These three sing another version of “Been a Long Day,” with the same “she’s thinking, he’s thinking” idea. Frump realizes that they are lovers, so he blackmails Biggley into giving him a promotion. As Rosemary and Finch dine, he talks about business, while she talks about their relationship. On their walk home, even though he has only been there for two days, he complains that he doesn’t have an office yet. She encourages him by singing “I Believe in You.” At the end of her beautiful song, Finch tells her that she has given him an idea. Finch rushes to the office on Saturday morning and rearranges his work area to make it appear that he has been working all night. When Mr. Biggley arrives, he is suitably impressed with Finch’s dedication. Finch begins humming “Grand Old Ivy,” Biggley’s alma mater’s fight song and convinces J.B. that he is also a proud alumnus. They discuss the big game that day between the Groundhogs of Old Ivy and their hated rivals the Chipmunks. While J.B. retrieves his golf clubs, Finch knits. When the boss returns, he tells Finch that he knits too (as if the conniving Finch didn’t already know). Before the scene ends, they sing more of “Grand Old Ivy.” On Monday morning, Biggley scolds Bratt for overworking Finch and tells him that Finch needs an office of his own. When Finch’s new secretary, Hedy LaRue, arrives, he refers to his ever present book, which suggests he check her secretarial skills. After determining that her skills are non-existent, Finch realizes that Biggley must be her “sugar daddy.” He sends Hedy on an errand to Mr. Gatch’s office, knowing that Gatch won’t be able to resist her. Sure enough, Gatch makes a pass at her and is transferred to Venezuela. Finch puts out a memo about his own promotion to Gatch’s former position. Next, Finch sends Hedy to the head of the advertising department, Benjamin Ovington,5 who informs her he wants to see Finch. Ovington fires Finch before he can take over his job. When Finch leaves, Ovington is seen reading the same book. Ovington is Rosemary’s boss, so Finch questions her about him. She tells him he’d have to be a fly on the window to find out anything about him. That gives Finch an idea! He appears in disguise outside Ovington’s office as a window washer and overhears Ovington’s plan to meet a woman after work. Finch follows him to a reunion of the Chipmunks — Old Ivy’s hated rivals. Of course, once Biggley finds out, he fires Ovington and makes Finch Vice President in Charge of Advertising. At a party that was supposed to be Finch’s farewell, J.B. announces Finch’s promotion and

The Hunchback of Notre Dame gives him forty-eight hours to come up with a new ad campaign. Since Hedy has obviously had too much to drink, Biggley assigns Bud Frump to take her home. But, Hedy insists on going to J.B.’s office for a shower, so Frump seizes this opportunity by telling Finch that Biggley wants to see him in his office. In the office, Hedy passionately kisses Finch, which causes him to realize he is in love with Rosemary (“Rosemary”). Rosemary comes into the office just as Hedy emerges from the shower with only a towel draped around her. As Rosemary starts to leave, she sees Frump, Biggley and several other executives headed down the hall. Expecting to find Finch and Hedy in a clinch, the execs are surprised to find Rosemary and Finch in an embrace.After the executives leave, Finch thanks Rosemary and tells her he wants her to be his new secretary. Finch needs an ad campaign idea. His book suggests stealing one. A seemingly contrite Bud Frump offers his idea of a World Wide Wicket Treasure Hunt television game show. Finch is suspicious, but, since he doesn’t have anything better, he plans to propose Bud’s idea. Prior to the big meeting, the executives are in the washroom plotting against Finch. All the execs are confident that they must stop Finch before he stops them. Finch enters the washroom and, looking into the mirror, gives himself a pep talk (a reprise of “I Believe in You”). Finch presents his idea in a gobbledygook talk that seems to impress Biggley, but Frump presses for specifics. His Uncle reprimands Frump for never coming up with anything but lousy ideas like a treasure hunt. Without a backup plan, Finch continues with the treasure hunt idea by presenting Hedy as the World Wide Wicket Treasure Hunt Girl, which gets J.B.’s approval. The treasure is stock in the company and only Finch and Biggley are supposed to know where it is hidden. At the TV show, Hedy is asked to swear on a Bible that she doesn’t know where the prizes are hidden but she admits she found out the location the previous night (from J.B., of course) and reveals that the treasure is hidden in the World Wide Wicket building. Hordes of viewers storm the building and cause mass destruction as they search for the treasure. Finch confesses to Rosemary that he was a window washer and that everything he did was the result of reading his book. He realizes he must face up to everything and take the consequences. At the meeting where Finch will be asked to resign, Wally Womper, the Chairman of the Board, demands to hear more about this disastrous game show idea. With renewed confidence, Finch announces he won’t take credit for another man’s idea,

150 especially when it came from the bosses’ nephew. Womper threatens J.B. for hiring his nephew, but admits the treasure hunt was not a bad idea; he just wants to know who picked that bubble-headed bimbo as the Treasure Girl. Now Finch steps in and asks Womper not to make a hasty decision and launches into “The Brotherhood of Man.” Eventually all the other executives join in the song, as does Womper. Miss Jones sings an obbligato during the last part of the number and the execs perform a dance. The next day at the office, Womper announces his retirement as Chairman of the Board because he and his new wife, Hedy, are leaving for a trip around the world. He appoints Finch the new Chairman of the Board. When Finch checks with Rosemary before he accepts the position, she tells him she doesn’t care if he’s in the mailroom, Chairman of the Board or President of the United States. In the final scene, Frump is seen outside the President’s oval office as a window washer. Several songs were omitted from the original score for the film version.6 Youthful readers may not realize that Rudy Vallee was one of the top recording artists of the Twenties and Thirties. His soft voice needed amplification to be heard over his band, so he used a megaphone, which became his trademark. He became the first “teen idol,” much like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles became to later generations. Even though the musical won a Pulitzer Prize, I’m not particularly impressed. Maybe I don’t appreciate the mockery of corporate foolishness, but most of the dialogue and some of the songs are just silly. However, not everyone agrees with my assessment. According to rottentomatoes.com, the film has an 89 percent approval rating with critics. So, I’ll blame my negativity on a lack of understanding of big business. A successful revival of the musical opened on Broadway in 1995 starring Matthew Broderick as Finch (he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical) and Megan Mullally as Rosemary.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Walt Disney Pictures, June 21, 1996, 91 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Tom Hulce (Quasimodo), Demi Moore (Esmeralda), Heidi Mollenhauer (singing voice of Esmeralda), Tony Jay ( Judge Claude Frollo),

151 Kevin Kline (Captain Phoebus), Paul Kandel (Clopin), Jason Alexander (Hugo), Charles Kimbrough (Victor), Mary Wickes (Laverne), David Ogden Stiers (Archdeacon) Director: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise Producer: Don Hahn Screenwriters: Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White and Jonathan Roberts Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score Availability: DVD

English versions of Victor Hugo’s 1931 novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, most often use the title The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but Hugo preferred the original title because he considered the cathedral the primary character. Much of his story takes place in and around the church and describes the decaying building which Hugo wanted to restore rather than modernize. During the French Revolution, the building was considered a symbol of the old regime, so it was badly vandalized by angry revolutionaries. In addition, Hugo’s novel explores the lack of social justice and the danger of religious fanaticism. The novel was adapted into several films including Esmeralda (1905), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1911, 1923, 1939, 1956), and a film simply titled The Hunchback (1997). The 1996 film is Disney’s thirty-fourth animated feature film. The Hunchback of Notre Dame opens to the pealing of the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The camera zooms down through the clouds into the city as it was during the last quarter of the 15th century. Clopin, a gypsy puppeteer, sings “The Bells of Notre Dame” about the city awakening to the bells of the cathedral. Then he tells his puppet and the gathered urchins that the bells don’t ring themselves, but by a mysterious bell ringer. As the song continues, four gypsies are seen in a row boat on the Seine. Clopin sings that the gypsies were attempting to sneak into the city, but are trapped by Judge Claude Frollo, the Minister of Justice. He claims to be purging the world of vice and sin, but saw corruption everywhere except within himself. When Frollo orders the “gypsy vermin” to be taken to the Palace of Justice, the mother escapes. Frollo assumes the bundle she carries is stolen goods, so he pursues her and snatches it from her as she pounds on the door of the cathedral seeking sanctuary. The woman falls on the steps of the church and lies motionless. Frollo unwraps the bundle to discover a deformed infant. Believing the baby to be a demon, Frollo intends

The Hunchback of Notre Dame to dispose of it by dropping it down a well, but the Archdeacon demands that Frollo take care of the child. He reluctantly agrees, but only if the Archdeacon allows the child to live in the cathedral’s bell tower where no one will ever see it. Frollo names him, Quasimodo, which means “halfformed.” As the song ends, Clopin asks which one is the monster and which one is the man? Approximately twenty years later, gargoyles Hugo and Victor1 and Quasimodo discuss the Festival of Fools. When Quasi sadly returns to his room, a third gargoyle, Laverne,2 encourages her friend to attend the festival, but he is afraid he wouldn’t fit in. Quasimodo’s master, Frollo, has forbidden him to ever leave the bell tower, but the three gargoyles encourage him to sneak out without asking permission. Laverne utters the clincher: “Nobody wants to stay cooped up here forever” (exactly what Quasi had earlier told a little bird). Just as Quasi has decided to attend the festival, Frollo visits to have lunch with his ward. Frollo proposes they review Quasimodo’s alphabet. Frollo’s ABCs are extraordinarily revealing concerning the Judge’s warped mind, for example “A” is abomination, “B” is for blasphemy, “C” is contrition, “D” is for damnation and “E” is eternal damnation” When Quasi answers festival for “F,” Frollo realizes that Quasi plans to attend. He describes the festival in horrible terms and sings about the cruel, wicked world outside.3 He reminds Quasi that he is deformed and ugly and that ordinary people would consider him a monster and that the bell tower is his sanctuary. When Frollo exits, Quasi continues the song that Frollo had begun, but transforms it into the beautiful and soaring “Out There.” Quasi can’t help wondering if the peasants realize what a wonderful life they have. If only he could experience one day “out there.” Phoebus and his horse, Achilles, enter the city looking for the Palace of Justice. He has been called from the wars to be Frollo’s Captain of the Guard. Meanwhile, a gypsy girl, Esmeralda, is dancing nearby to earn a few coins. Phoebus is entranced by the girl and her dancing, so he drops a few coins into the hat on the ground. Suddenly, a whistle warns Esmeralda of trouble. Her pet goat, Djali, grabs the hat and coins fly out as he and Esmeralda flee. She stops to retrieve the coins just as some of Frollo’s guards arrive. When they accuse her of stealing the money, she fights them and eventually escapes. The guards chase her, but Phoebus blocks their way. Phoebus is finally recognized as the new Captain, so they escort him to the Palace of Justice. On the way, Phoebus gathers up some coins from the ground and drops them into the hat of an

The Hunchback of Notre Dame old beggar man. After they pass, the old man pulls his hood off to reveal it is really Djali sitting on Esmeralda’s head. She seems confused that the Captain of the Guard would give her money. At the Palace of Justice, Frollo warns Phoebus that the city’s gypsies are leading the weak-minded astray. He wants him to find the gypsy’s safe haven called the Court of Miracles and destroy it. Phoebus finds it difficult to believe that he has been summoned from the wars to deal with a band of gypsies. As the Festival of Fools begins, Quasimodo climbs down the side of the cathedral and wanders towards the crowd as Clopin and the townspeople sing “Topsy Turvy.” The song explains that on “topsy turvy day” everything is turned upside down. Quasi gets caught up in the crowd and ends up being shoved into Esmeralda’s dressing tent. She compliments his mask as he scurries from her tent and is once again swept up in the celebration. As Frollo and Phoebus join the crowd, Clopin introduces Esmeralda. In a puff of smoke, Esmeralda appears on stage and performs a sultry dance that mesmerizes Phoebus and Frollo. Clopin promises the crowd the piece de resistance — the ugliest face will be crowned the King of Fools. As Clopin pulls contestants onto the stage, Esmeralda pulls Quasimodo into the contest. Each contestant is eliminated until Esmeralda realizes that Quasimodo isn’t wearing a mask. Clopin crowns him the King of Fools and the festive crowd parades him around as they throw tomatoes and other produce and hit him in the face. Then they lasso him and tie him to a rotating platform. When Quasi sees Frollo in the distance, he cries out for help, but Frollo wants Quasi to learn a lesson. Esmeralda kneels next to Quasimodo and cuts the ropes. She also shouts that Frollo mistreats this poor boy the same way he mistreats the townspeople and suggests they have crowned the wrong fool. Frollo orders Phoebus to arrest her, but she leads the guards on a wild chase. Frollo accuses her of witchcraft, but Phoebus is tremendously impressed with her. Esmeralda and Djali sneak into the church. Phoebus follows, introduces himself and asks her name. Frollo approaches and compliments Phoebus for capturing her, but Phoebus tells Frollo that the girl claimed sanctuary. When the Judge demands he drag her outside and arrest her, the Archdeacon forbids Frollo from disrespecting the sanctity of the church. As the guards withdraw, Frollo sneaks up behind Esmeralda and grabs her. He whispers threats, but he also leans in to smell her hair and caress her neck. Frollo accuses her of putting unholy thoughts

152 into his mind. He threatens to arrest her if she ever leaves the church. The Archdeacon warns Esmeralda that it is unwise to infuriate Frollo and cautions that she can’t right all the world’s wrongs alone. When Esmeralda replies, “No one out there’s going to help, that’s for sure,” the wise Archdeacon responds, “Perhaps there’s someone in here who can.” Esmeralda moves deeper into the cathedral and sings “God Help the Outcasts.” The parishioners selfishly pray for wealth, fame, love, and other personal rewards, but Esmeralda doesn’t ask for anything for herself, only for the poor and downtrodden. She assumes they are also children of God. Quasi, who has heard Esmeralda’s voice, comes downstairs to observe. When the parishioners notice Quasi, they scold him for being in the sanctuary. As he leaves, Esmeralda follows him to the bell tower where she apologizes for what happened at the festival. Quasi takes her on a tour of the bells and out on a balcony to show her the lofty view of the city. When Quasimodo calls himself a monster, Esmeralda tells him that Frollo is wrong about both of them — she and the gypsies are not inherently evil and he is not a monster. Quasi wants to help her escape, so he carries her down the side of the cathedral to safety. She begs him to come with her to the Court of Miracles, but he is afraid to venture out again. She gives him a little kiss on his cheek, promises to visit him again and gives him a talisman that will lead him to sanctuary. When Quasi returns to the bell tower, he carves a little figurine in the shape of Esmeralda and sings “Heaven’s Light,” about wanting to be loved but never expecting it to happen. For him, Esmeralda’s kiss was a tiny glimpse of heaven’s light. As Quasimodo rings the bells that evening he dreams of Esmeralda. In Frollo’s bedchamber, he sings a prayer to Blessed Mary claiming he’s a righteous man and far better than commoners, but he admits being tortured by Esmeralda’s dancing. His lust for her is like “Hellfire.” He blames his attraction on Esmeralda’s bewitching powers and begs Maria to destroy the evil gypsy girl before her fire consumes him. Frollo’s misguided prayer is interrupted by a guard who informs him that Esmeralda has escaped. Now, Frollo’s prayer turns into a demonic promise — Esmeralda must choose him or burn. The following morning, Frollo orders Phoebus to find the gypsy girl. When Frollo orders Phoebus to burn a home with the people still inside, he refuses. And when Frollo grabs a torch and sets the place on fire, Phoebus rescues the family. Then Frollo arrests Phoebus for insubordination, but he manages to escape on Frollo’s horse. As the guards

153 shoot arrows at him, one pierces his shoulder and he falls into the river. Esmeralda runs to rescue the unconscious Phoebus. By this time, the entire city is in flames. Back in the bell tower, the gargoyles sing “A Guy Like You” in an attempt to convince Quasi that Esmeralda is romantically interested in him. After the song, Esmeralda arrives with the injured Phoebus and asks Quasi to hide him. When Phoebus revives a little, Quasi brokenheartedly watches Esmeralda kiss him. He quietly sings a short reprise of “Heaven’s Light.” Djali bleats a warning, so Esmeralda flees and Quasi drags Phoebus’ body under a table. When Frollo enters, he senses something is amiss and realizes that Quasi helped Esmeralda escape. He also blames Quasi for the city being in flames. Frollo tells Quasi he knows where the gypsy hideout is and will attack it at dawn. When Frollo leaves, Phoebus emerges and tells Quasi they must warn the gypsies of Frollo’s attack. After some indecision, Quasi joins Phoebus and shows him the talisman, which is a map that will lead them to the Court of Miracles. Once they get near, Phoebus and Quasi are ambushed, bound, and gagged by Clopin and his men. Clopin and the gypsies sing “The Court of Miracles.” During the song, Phoebus and Quasimodo are sentenced to death. Just as Clopin is about to carry out the sentence, Esmeralda stops him and vouches for the prisoners, who warn the gypsies of Frollo’s impending attack. Just then Frollo and his men appear (they had followed Quasi and Phoebus), surround the gypsies and take them into custody. The next morning, a crowd gathers to watch the burning of Esmeralda. Before lighting the fire, Frollo offers her an option: “Choose me or the fire.” Esmeralda spits in his face. Up in the bell tower, Quasimodo is chained. Just as Frollo lights the fire, Quasi regains his resolve, breaks the chains, rescues Esmeralda and takes the unconscious girl to his bedroom. Led by Phoebus, the townspeople revolt against Frollo. Quasi and the gargoyles join the fight from above. Frollo heads for the bell tower. Quasimodo returns to his bedroom and, finding Esmeralda still unconscious, assumes she is dead. As he weeps at her bedside, Frollo enters and tries to stab Quasimodo in the back. Quasi sees Frollo’s shadow looming over him, seizes the dagger, and throws it away. Then seeing Esmeralda is revived, he grabs her and runs out onto the balcony. Frollo chases after them. During the ensuing fight, Frollo reveals that Quasimodo’s mother died trying to save him. When Frollo raises his sword in a final attempt to kill

The Hunchback of Notre Dame them, he looses his balance and falls to his death. Quasi also falls but is caught by Phoebus on the balcony below. When Esmeralda joins them there, Quasi gives his blessing to their romance. As they embrace, Quasi smiles. When Phoebus and Esmeralda emerge from the cathedral, the crowd cheers. Esmeralda returns to the doorway and holds out her hand. Once Quasi takes her hand, they walk together into the light. A little girl walks forward and feels Quasi’s face. When Quasi and the little girl hug, the crowd cheers. Clopin shouts, “Three cheers for Quasimodo!” and sings a short reprise of “The Bells of Notre Dame.” The crowd puts Quasi on their shoulders and parades him through the town. During the end credits, All-4-One sings “Someday” and Bette Midler performs “God Help the Outcasts.” Several of the greatest movie musicals of the 1990s (actually The Little Mermaid was released in 1989) are Disney animations with music by Alan Menken. And, in my estimation, all of them deserve consideration for places in the top twentyfive movie musicals of all time. Although it is difficult to rank them, I think The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beauty and the Beast are tied for the top spot for the decade. Musically and dramatically, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is exceptional. Menken’s music and Stephen Schwartz’s lyrics are wonderfully woven into the plot — there are no performances solely for the sake of entertainment. Most of the songs are complex, often involving multiple thoughts from individuals or crowds of people. The lyrics are sometimes touching and at other times extremely witty. The melodies are at times heart-wrenchingly beautiful and at others down right silly, but always very appropriate for the ideas being expressed. The liturgical music that is often heard in the background is spectacular (although some children were reportedly frightened by these Latin chants). Sure, the Disney story tellers adapted Victor Hugo’s novel to appeal to their audience of young viewers, but they did a superb job (there are a few adult themes also). Some religious conservatives aren’t happy with Frollo’s “Hellfire” scene that pictures a half-naked image of Esmeralda dancing in a fire, but he is the story’s antagonist and needed to be pictured as the evil person that he was; besides Disney’s antagonists have frightened generations of youngsters. Admittedly, there are a few silly or witty songs (silly or witty isn’t necessarily bad), but the more serious songs, “The Bells of Notre Dame,” “Out There,” “God Help the Outcasts,” “Heaven’s Light,” and “Hellfire,” are brilliant.

In the Good Old Summertime

In the Good Old Summertime M-G-M, July 29, 1949, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Veronica Fisher), Van Johnson (Andrew “Andy” Larkin), S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall (Otto Oberkugen), Spring Byington (Nellie Burke), Clinton Sundberg (Rudy Hansen), Buster Keaton (Hickey), Marcia Van Dyke (Louise Parkson) Director: Robert Z. Leonard Producer: Joseph Pasternak Screenwriters: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and Ivan Tors Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

In the Good Old Summertime is a musical version of the 1940 film, The Shop Around the Corner, which was an adaptation of Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo’s play Parfumerie. You’ve Got Mail, the 1998 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film, was also based on Laszlo’s play, as was the 1963 Broadway musical, She Loves Me. During the opening credits, “In the Good Old Summer Time”1 and “Chicago”2 are played by the orchestra. Although no specific time period is indicated for the film, most of the songs are from the first two decades of the Twentieth Century. “Chicago” was used to set the locale not because it fit the era. Andrew “Andy” Larkin lives in a boarding house and rides his bicycle to join his boss, Otto Oberkugen, and his secretary, Nellie Burke, for a Sunday in the park. A brass band plays “In the Good Old Summer Time” for a community sing. Everyone participates, especially Oberkugen, who is especially enthusiastic about the singing. On the way to work on Monday morning, Andy stops by the Post Office because he is expecting a letter from his secret pen-pal. As he leaves reading his letter, he knocks down a young lady, messes up her hair, her hat, and her parasol. After he apologizes, offers to make amends and starts to leave for work, his bike catches her skirt and tears it off. Andy is head salesman at Oberkugen’s Music Store. When he arrives at work, he reads some of his pen-pal’s letter to his fellow salesclerk, Rudy. Mr. Oberkugen wants Andy’s opinion of a small harp, which Andy doesn’t think would sell. The boss asks the other store employees their opinions, which are divided among those who are actually brave enough to express their honest opinion and those who are afraid of losing their job.

154 Upset, Mr. Oberkugen retreats to his office where he takes out his frustration by playing his Stradavarius violin — badly. Only his nephew, Hickey, will listen and then, only to butter-up his Uncle. Everyone else puts cotton in their ears. Veronica Fisher comes to the store asking for a job. When Andy recognizes her as the same young woman from earlier in the day, he tells her there are no jobs available. Veronica picks up the small harp and plays it beautifully. When a woman customer wants a demonstration of “Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland,”3 Miss Fisher plays the harp and sings while Andy provides piano accompaniment. When the lady purchases the harp, Oberkugen rewards Miss Fisher with a job. Later when Veronica returns home, her Aunt Addie4 tells her another letter has arrived. Veronica runs upstairs to read it. The letter begins, “Dear Friend.” The scene changes to a restaurant where Andy reads one of his pen-pal letters as a female instrumental ensemble plays.5 Louise Parkson, the solo violinist, is romantically interested in Andy, but he is only interested in helping advance her music career. He encourages her to apply for a music scholarship. Later, he wonders if his pen-pal is as nice as this beautiful violinist. Back at work the next day, a customer wants to hear “Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey.”6 Andy does such a poor job of demonstrating the song that Miss Fisher takes over. Andy, who is accompanying on the piano, speeds up the tempo hoping to cause problems, but Miss Fisher and the customer both seem to enjoy it even more. After several more letters back and forth, Andy tells Rudy he wants to marry his pen-pal. They are going to meet that evening at Heinkel’s Restaurant. To recognize each other, she will be carrying a carnation and a book of poetry, while Andy will wear a carnation in his lapel. When Mr. Oberkugen asks Nellie, whom he has loved for twenty years, out for dinner, she says she has another engagement. Oberkugen is so upset he orders the entire staff to stay late to take inventory. Even though Veronica and Andy beg to be exempt, the boss is adament. Finally, after several anquishing hours, Nellie reassures Oberkugen that there is no one else in her life, so he allows his employees to go home. At the restaurant, Andy asks Rudy to see if a lady is there with a carnation and a book of poetry. When Rudy tells him the girl is Miss Fisher, Andy leaves and goes to his normal restaurant, where Louise happily tells him that she has a scholarship audition and wants him to come. After some time, Andy goes back to Heinkel’s, and, after discarding

155 his carnation, approaches Miss Fisher. To her chagrin, he sits at her table. All they do is bicker. After he leaves, Veronica finally gives up, goes home and tells her aunt she never saw her pen-pal, but he must have seen her with Andy and left because she found the discarded carnation in the snow. The following day, Veronica calls in sick to work. She is heart sick, assured she will probably never hear from her pen-pal again. During his lunch hour, Andy goes to her house to personally check on her. He tells her Mr. Oberkugen is giving an engagement party for himself and Nellie the following evening. He suggests that attending the party might help her feelings. After Aunt Addie arrives with another letter from her pen-pal, Miss Fisher is so relieved and happy that she tells Andy she’ll be back at work the following day and will attend the party. Mr. Oberkugen asks Andy to secretly carry his Stradivarius to the party so he can surprise Nellie by playing for her. When Nellie discovers the plan, she begs Andy not to let Oberkugen make a fool of himself. Back at Andy’s boarding house, Louise brings Andy an invitation to her audition. When she sees the Stradavarius, she is certain Andy has procured Oberkugen’s violin especially for her audition. Andy doesn’t have the heart to dispute it, so Louise takes the violin. At the party in honor of the bride-to-be, a quartet7 sings “Wait ’Till the Sun Shines, Nellie.”8 Once Andy arrives without the violin, Oberkugen insists he go back home to get it. Instead, Andy goes to Louise’s audition and borrows her violin. During Andy’s absence, Veronica entertains the crowd by singing “Play That Barbershop Chord”9 with the male quartet and an energetic rendition of “I Don’t Care.”10 When Andy arrives with the borrowed violin, Oberkugen takes it and gives it to Hickey for safe keeping, but when the boss gets ready to play, Hickey trips, falls, and smashes the violin to bits. Of course, Mr. Oberkugen is distraught. He fires Andy, even though Andy explains that the destroyed violin was not his Stradivarius. If not, Oberkugen storms, then get it! Andy goes to Symphony Hall where Louise is auditioning; Oberkugen follows and listens from backstage as Louise performs a spectacular audition.11 After Louise is awarded the scholarship, she returns the violin to Oberkugen with her thanks. Veronica, who is also backstage, is sure Louise loves Andy and is equally confident that he loves Louise. The next morning at the music store, when Andy comes to get his severance pay, Nellie goes into Oberkugen’s office to get a letter of reference for

It’s Always Fair Weather him. Oberkugen can’t complete the letter, so when Andy goes into the office, Oberkugen promotes him to manager and tells him to give himself a raise. The previous evening Oberkugen heard his Stradivarius played the way it should be played and he wants Louise to have the prized violin. When Andy emerges from the bosses’ office and announces that he is the new manager, everyone but Veronica is overjoyed. She says she’s going to quit. A customer asks for a demonstration of a song, so Hickey accompanies Veronica on the piano as she sings “Merry Christmas.”12 At the end of the workday, Andy tells Veronica that her intended came to see him and, as he describes this fictitious man as fat, bald, and out of a job, Veronica deflates more with each description. Finally, in the darkened store, Andy sits next to her and asks her to send this guy away and concentrate on him. He also tells her he loves her and asks her to take him out of Box 237 and out of his envelope. When she hears “Box 237” and he says “Dear Friend,” she feels confused but wonderful as they embrace. As that scene dissolves into the finale, a chorus sings “In the Good Old Summer Time,” while Andy, Veronica and their baby girl13 stroll through a garden. This reworking of Miklos Laszlo’s play is one of the better nostalgia movie musicals of the Forties. Musical highlights include “Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland,” “Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey,” “Play That Barbershop Chord,” and “I Don’t Care,” all of which were sung by Judy Garland.

It’s Always Fair Weather M-G-M, September 2, 1955, 102 minutes Principal Cast : Gene Kelly (Ted Riley), Dan Dailey (Doug Hallerton), Cyd Charisse ( Jackie Leighton), Dolores Gray (Madeline Bradville), Michael Kidd (Angie Valentine) Directors/Choreographers: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters & Lyricists: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music: Andre Previn Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Availability: DVD

It’s Always Fair Weather It’s Always Fair Weather was Gene Kelly’s idea. Remembering Alexander Dumas’ Twenty Years After, about the Three Musketeers two decades later, Kelly suggested to M-G-M a film about On the Town ten years after. He originally intended to employ the same stars, but M-G-M refused to deal with Frank Sinatra and his “prima donna” attitude, and they wouldn’t accept Jules Munshin either, so Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd, the choreographer for Band Wagon and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, were selected instead. The film opens with a montage during the song “March, March” as three G.I.s, Ted Riley, Doug Hallerton and Angie Valentine “march” through World War II in Europe. After V-E Day, they march home to their favorite haunt, Tim’s Bar. Waiting for Ted is a “Dear John” letter from his former sweetheart. Depressed by this news, Ted, joined by Doug and Angie,1 hit bar after bar, dance under the Third Avenue El, in, over, and around a taxicab, and finally, in one of the most famous dance sequences in the film, dance with garbage can lids on their left shoes. Their barhopping romp ends up back at Tim’s Bar again just before closing time. Suddenly, when it dawns on them that they are civilians, the three buddies sing “The Time for Parting,” vowing their friendship will last a lifetime. Tim,2 the barkeep, is skeptical. He doubts they’ll still remember each other in a month or so, much less be friends for life, so the three friends vow to return to the same location ten years to the day for a reunion. As the time for the reunion arrives, each of them is hesitant about keeping the appointment and feels certain the other two won’t show up. However, all three do return and are very happy to see each other. However, it soon becomes apparent that they are not the men they once were or what they had hoped to become. Ted has become a fight promoter with questionable ethics. After the “Dear John” letter, Ted became determined to steer clear of meaningful female relationships. Doug, who dreamed of being an artist, is a well-paid, but ulcer-ridden advertising executive whose marriage is on the rocks. Angie owns a hamburger joint, strangely named “The Cordon Bleu,” is married and is the father of several children. Doug, the most affluent of the trio, chooses a fancy restaurant for their reunion dinner. As a string quartet plays Johann Strauss’ “The Blue Danube,” the three buddies’ alter egos sing “Why Are We Here?,” in which they sing their thoughts about each other to the Strauss waltz melody. As the old buddies leave the restaurant, they bump into Mr. Fielding,3 another advertising ex-

156 ecutive. Fielding introduces them to Jackie Leighton, the advertising program coordinator at his agency. In a cab on the way to a TV show rehearsal, she astounds Ted. First, as he tries his pickup technique on her, she kisses him to take away his initiative. Secondly, she is a walking encyclopedia of information, including facts about his fighter, Kid Mariacchi. Ted tells her about the reunion with Doug and Angie and, as they part, invites her to join him later at Stillman’s Gym. At the rehearsal for Madeline Bradville’s television show, she sings “Music Is Better Than Words.” When Madeline despises the guest her staff has selected, Jackie comes to the rescue by proposing Ted, Doug, and Angie as surprise guests. Madeline loves the idea, so they devise a plan to make certain the three guys attend the show. Jackie volunteers to bring Ted. The pugilists at Stillman’s Gym sing their alma mater (“Stillman’s Gym”) to pay tribute to this landmark of the boxing world. When Jackie arrives she wows all the fighters with her looks, but also impresses them with her knowledge of famous boxers, so they sing “Baby, You Knock Me Out.” She and the gym guys join in a song-and-dance. As Jackie and Ted leave the gym, she stops to make a telephone call on a pay phone. While he is waiting, Rocky Lazar,4 the fighter Mariacchi is going to fight that evening, talks to him about the fight being fixed (as if Ted were in on it). Instead of reporting the fix to the boxing commission, Ted switches his bets. Meanwhile, Doug is drinking heavily to dull his boredom as he listens to several advertising executives discussing an ad campaign (the ad execs sing “Situation-Wise,” a song filled with advertising jargon). Later, Doug sings a reprise of “SituationWise,”5 which makes fun of the ad execs’ absurd business clichés. Ted accompanies Jackie to check out some costumes for the TV show. While she inspects the costumes, he starts thinking about his buddies and sings “Once Upon a Time,” about their dreams going up in smoke. Ted feels like he has really let his buddies down. Jackie is causing Ted to rethink his stance on fight fixing. When they are alone with Kid Marriacchi in his dressing room prior to the fight, Ted, with a little help from Jackie, knocks the Kid out to prevent the fix from happening. After foiling the fix, they sneak out of the gym and, feeling love again for the first time in over ten years, Ted kisses Jackie during the cab ride to her apartment. While Jackie is changing her clothes before the TV show, Ted sees three thugs approaching, so he tells the lady at the desk to tell Jackie he

157 will meet her at the broadcast. As Ted tries to elude the thugs, he goes into a Roller Rink. There, he borrows the attendant’s jacket and cap and joins the other skaters. When the thugs enter the rink, they don’t recognize Ted. After switching clothes again, Ted leaves the rink still on skates. His general mood has greatly improved. As he skates through the city, he sings “I Like Myself.” Ted performs an unbelievable dance routine that includes some skating figures (which Gene Kelly said he learned from playing hockey as a youngster) and tap-dancing on skates. At the “Midnight with Madeleine” TV show, she sings “Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks” with a dozen male dancers. Then during the guest portion of her show, she introduces Ted, Doug, and Angie as her surprise guests and tells her audience about their reunion. Ted admits the reunion has been horrible. He hated the other two primarily because he hated himself. He apologizes to Angie and Doug for his feelings. Charlie Culloran,6 who was most instrumental in fixing the fight, and his thugs enter the studio to teach Ted a lesson for ruining their opportunity to clean up monetarily. As Culloran and Ted talk, Jackie, who is in the control booth, aims a camera and microphone towards them. Ted realizes what she is doing and goads the unaware Culloran into revealing his involvement in the fix and other shady business ventures. Once Culloran realizes what is happening, a brawl ensues, which is also telecast. Ted, Doug and Angie are triumphant in the fight and Culloran and his thugs are carted off to jail. Madeleine claims credit for the exposure of Culloran and his gang. The three buddies head for Tim’s Bar to celebrate singing a reprise of “March, March.” Doug calls his wife and tells her that he loves her. After they drink a toast, Angie announces he is changing the name of his hamburger joint to “Angie’s Place.” When Jackie arrives at the bar, Ted realizes he has found his woman at last. As Tim starts closing up, he sings a reprise of “The Time for Parting.” A chorus takes over the song as Ted and Jackie walk away; Doug heads one direction, while Angie heads the opposite way as the film ends. It’s Always Fair Weather did only fair box office business during its initial release. Tony Thomas, in The Films of Gene Kelly, suggests that may be due to its satirical digs at advertising and television, which seem more pertinent today than in the mid–Fifties. The dancing in this film remains its greatest asset with the highlights being the garbagecan-lid dance and Kelly’s roller skating dance, but Dailey’s drunken act at the party and Cyd Charisse’s only dance routine are also standouts. A criticism of the film is that the songs are not par-

Jailhouse Rock ticularly memorable. It would have been interesting to have seen the film had it turned out to be a reunion of the stars of On the Town.

Jailhouse Rock M-G-M, November 8, 1957, 96 minutes Principal Cast : Elvis Presley (Vince Everett), Judy Tyler (Peggy Van Alden), Mickey Shaughnessy (Hunk Houghton), Jennifer Holden (Sherry Wilson) Director: Richard Thorpe Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriter: Guy Trosper, based on a story by Nedrick Young Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Jailhouse Rock” is the No. 21 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2004 Availability: DVD

The exact date of the origin of rock ’n’ roll is highly debatable, but in the mid–Fifties, it was still a fad that needed a charismatic personality to bring it into the mainstream. Elvis Presley became that person. Entire books have been written about Elvis, but hitting a few of the highlights might be helpful. Born in Mississippi, Elvis’ family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where, after graduation from high school, he signed a record contract with Sam Phillips, who, in 1954, issued five Elvis recordings on his Sun Records label. After Phillips sold Elvis’ contract to RCA and Elvis acquired Colonel Tom Parker as his manager, he took the nation by storm in 1956. He was a Caucasian who combined African-American rhythm and blues with country and southern gospel to form a unique singing style. With his rebellious, hip-swiveling sexuality, he quickly became the first megastar of rock ’n’ roll. After several No. 1 chart singles in 1956, Elvis began filming his first movie Love Me Tender. In 1957, he filmed Loving You and Jailhouse Rock. As Jailhouse Rock begins, Vince Everett receives his paycheck and goes to a local bar to cash it. When he gets in a fight with a fellow over a woman, he beats him up so badly that the man dies. Vince is found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to prison. His cellmate is Hunk Houghton, a former country singer. One day, Hunk sings “One More Day”1 for the other prisoners. Vince borrows Hunk’s guitar and sings “Young and Beautiful.”2 Even though the other prisoners seem to enjoy it, Hunk either isn’t impressed or acts that way. However, Hunk

Jailhouse Rock evidently thought Vince had potential, so he teaches him some chords on the guitar and coaches him. Hunk is the producer of a prisoners’ show that will be televised nationwide, so he arranges for Vince to perform a new song Hunk has written, “I Want to Be Free,”3 which is an appropriately titled song for a prisoner to sing. The prison post office is flooded with fan letters for Vince, but the Warden never allows him to receive them. The amount of fan interest proves to Hunk that Vince could be a gold mine, so he convinces Vince to sign a contract that gives him 50 percent of his earnings. When Vince is released from prison, the warden gives him the huge bundle of fan letters. Vince rents a room and reads one of the letters — the girl gives him her name, her measurements, and her telephone number. He goes to the nearest pawn shop to buy a guitar. Hunk had told Vince that an old friend who owned a club would give Vince a job, but he only wants the job if it’s a singing one. When the owner balks, Vince gets up on stage to prove he can sing. As he sings “Young and Beautiful,” an obnoxious drunk laughs and talks loudly to his date. It infuriates Vince so much he jumps off the stage and smashes his recently purchased guitar on the guy’s table. Earlier Vince had met Peggy Van Alden, a record company employee, in the bar. After he confronts the drunk, Peggy follows him out of the bar. Vince doesn’t understand why people wouldn’t listen, so Peggy asks if he has ever heard himself. He hasn’t. So, she recommends he make a tape, listen to it and perhaps discover what’s wrong. Peggy borrows a guitar and brings along some other players to a recording studio where Vince records “Don’t Leave Me Now.”4 When he listens to the playback, he thinks it’s awful. Peggy encourages him by suggesting some possible improvements. On the second take, he sings with much more verve and style. When he listens to that playback, he is much more satisfied. Peggy assures Vince that it is good enough for a record, so he wants to find a company to release it. They play the tape for an executive at Geneva Records, who claims he isn’t interested. However, he suggests they leave the tape and he’ll play it for another boss in New York City. The Geneva exec in New York didn’t like the tape, but Peggy finally sells the record to a small independent label. On the day Vince’s recording is to be released, they go to a local record store where the sales clerk tells them the kids are crazy about the record. However, they soon discover that the recording is by Mickey Alba on Geneva Records. Vince goes to the

158 Geneva office and slaps the executive around for stealing his song. Vince decides to make another record, but wants to release it on his own label. He convinces Peggy to quit her job and become his partner. She has the expertise in distribution. They also need a lawyer, so Peggy suggests Mr. Shores,5 who has no particular interest in the recording business; he is only interest in money. When Vince offers him the job as his manager, Shores isn’t sure he wants it. At the first recording session for Vince’s own label, Laurel Records, he records “Treat Me Nice.”6 Next, a montage shows Peggy trying to convince stores to stock the record. She finally convinces a DJ friend, Teddy Talbot,7 to play the disc. He first plays it while he reads a commercial for dog food, but when he gets several calls from people who want to hear it again, he plays it without the commercial. When Shores sees Vince signing copies of his recording for several teenage girls, he senses enough potential to become Vince’s manager. Just as things seemed to be going well, Vince’s former cellmate, Hunk, shows up expecting to be partners just like Vince had agreed to back in prison. Vince had just received an invitation to appear on a TV talent extravaganza and he feels obligated to arrange for Hunk to appear on the program. At the taping for the TV show, Vince introduces his performance by explaining to the audience that he “had a vacation in a place with a bunch of men” a little while back. While he was there, they would entertain the men’s guests by singing. They always had a lot of fun performing this song —“Jailhouse Rock.”8 The “prisoners” establish the rhythm by clanging their metal cups on their cell bars. As Vince sings, the inmates dance around him; some of the dancers hold fake instruments. During a dance break, Vince dances on top of a mess hall table. When he sings again, the inmates keep rhythm with their eating utensils. One of the show’s producers cuts Hunk’s country number from the show. Vince finally tells him that he just isn’t talented enough. He also tells Hunk that his lawyer says the contract he signed in prison is not legal. However, Vince is willing to give him 10 percent, so Hunk becomes his flunky. Next, Vince signs a movie contract and meets his leading lady, Sherry Wilson, who is extremely bored with the whole thing. Their first scene together is a love scene. After some direction concerning how to play the scene, Vince comes into the room to comfort his wife who has a bad headache. He massages her temples and gives her a passionate kiss. Sherry isn’t bored any longer!

159 Vince hosts a pool party where he sings “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care.”9 He gyrates more in this number and seems to be aiming the lyrics at Sherry. Shortly after his performance, Peggy shows up at the party and tells Vince that he needs to return to the studio to record another single. Hunk laments to Peggy that Vince became a heel overnight. Mr. Shores barges into the shindig to tell Vince that Geneva has offered to purchase Laurel Records for $750,000 and give Vince a larger percentage of his record sales. Vince doesn’t immediately tell Peggy about the deal. At the wrap party for the film, Vince tells Peggy about the offer to buy their record company, but she doesn’t want to sell. Since he is the majority owner, she can’t stop it. When he reminds her that their relationship was strictly business, she cries and runs out. Vince may trample on him, but Hunk refuses to allow him to mistreat Peggy. He punches Vince, but Vince won’t fight back. When one of Hunk’s blows lands on Vince’s throat, he has difficulty breathing, so he is taken to the hospital. The doctor was able to save Vince’s life, but, because he had to cut into his throat to enable him to breathe, he may not be able to sing again. When Peggy and Hunk are allowed to see Vince, Hunk apologizes. Peggy tries to cheer him up, tells him she loves him, and begs him not to be afraid to love. Once he is completely healed, the doctor urges him to try to sing, but Vince is afraid of the outcome. Hesitantly at first, he sings a reprise of “Young and Beautiful.” As the song progresses, he grows in confidence and turns to sing the lyrics to Peggy. Judy Tyler, who played Peggy, was tragically killed in an automobile accident a few weeks after Jailhouse Rock was completed. Her untimely death so upset Elvis that he refused to watch the film. Jailhouse Rock is not a great film musical, but it is one of Elvis Presley’s best. The highlight of the picture is Elvis’ performance of the title song. Otherwise, the plot is not great and, except for “Young and Beautiful,” the other songs are merely adequate. Jailhouse Rock deserves its AFI nomination, but it doesn’t measure up when compared to the top notch movie musicals. Throughout Elvis’ phenomenal career, he established records for concert attendance, television ratings, recordings sales, and starred in thirty-three films. His record sales total over one billion globally. RIAA named him the best selling solo artist in U.S. history.

The Jazz Singer

The Jazz Singer Warner Bros., October 6, 1927, 89 minutes Principal Cast: Al Jolson (Jakie Rabinowitz/Jack Robin), May McAvoy (Mary Dale), Warner Orland (Cantor Rabinowitz), Eugenie Besserer (Sara Rabinowitz), Cantor Josef Rosenblatt (himself ) Director: Alan Crosland Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck Screenwriter: Alfred A. Cohn Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Ernest Belcher Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“My Mammy”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“Toot Toot Tootsie”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Writing ● Warner Bros. was presented an honorary award “for producing The Jazz Singer, the outstanding pioneer talking picture which revolutionized the industry.” ● Added to the National Film Registry, 1989 Availability: DVD

Warner Bros.’1 The Jazz Singer is a cinematic landmark. The film is based on Samson Raphaelson’s 1921 short story “The Day of Atonement” and his popular 1926 Broadway play of the same name that starred George Jessel. Al Jolson was hired for the lead role in The Jazz Singer after Eddie Cantor turned it down and over George Jessel, who asked for a larger contract since he would have to sing. Jolson sang several of his favorite songs in the film. The Jazz Singer was the first feature-length Hollywood “talkie” in which spoken dialogue was used as part of the dramatic action. It is, however, only part-talkie with sound-synchronized and songs with instrumental accompaniment. There are only a few scenes where dialogue is spoken. The film was ruled ineligible for the first Best Picture Academy Award. The committee thought it was unfair for a sound film to compete with silent films. However, Warner’s was presented a special Oscar at the first Academy Awards ceremony (see Awards and Honors above). The Jazz Singer earned Warner Bros. a profit of $3.5 million, transforming the company from bankruptcy into one of Hollywood’s hottest film studios. The opening scene shows some immigrants on the lower East Side of New York City. Jewish Cantor Rabinowitz wants his son, Jakie, to continue the family tradition as a cantor.2 On this particular evening, his son is supposed to sing “Kol Nidre,”3 but Jakie can’t be found. His mother, Sara, isn’t sure their son wants to be a cantor, but his

The Jazz Singer stubborn father can’t fathom that his son would ignore his father’s wishes. Jakie is more interested in show business and, in particular, jazz music (in the Twenties, all popular music was called “jazz,” so Jakie was more particularly interested in popular music). When he should be home, Jakie is in Muller’s bar-cafe, where the piano player introduces him as “Ragtime Jakie.” The first sound segment of the film is Jakie entertaining the café audience with his rendition of “My Gal Sal.”4 One of the synagogue’s members hears Jakie and runs to tell his parents. Jakie’s father furiously heads for Muller’s and finds his son performing “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee.”5 He drags him off the stage and takes him home. Jakie’s mother tries to reason with her husband, but he will not listen. After his father brutally whips him, Jakie embraces his mother and leaves home. Meanwhile, Cantor Rabinowitz prepares for the evening’s service as if nothing happened. At the synagogue on Yom Kippur, Rabinowitz tells another Jewish cantor: “Now I have no son.” Jakie sneaks back into the house and takes a photograph of his loving mother. Approximately a decade later, Jakie is now in San Francisco in a nightspot where amateurs perform. He has changed his name to Jack Robin, an anglicized name that represents a rejection of his Jewish heritage. Jack performs “Dirty Hands, Dirty Face”6 in the nightclub. The audience receives Jack’s performance enthusiastically. He raises his hand and stops them and speaks some of the most famous lines of dialogue in film history: “Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.” Then he asks if they want to hear “Toot, Toot, Tootsie!,”7 which, of course, they do. After his performance, Jack is introduced to dancer Mary Dale, who has enjoyed his performance. She offers to help Jack with his music career. Jack corresponds with his mother and tells her he is making $250 per week and has met a wonderful girl who has helped him get a big break into show business. His mother is worried that her son has rejected his Jewish heritage by falling in love with a shiksa (a gentile). When she shares Jack’s letter with her husband, he scolds her and reminds her, “we have no son!” Mary introduces Jack to a man who helps him get on the vaudeville circuit. He also tours with Mary’s theater company and loves being with her on the same bill. However, they must part when she accepts a role on Broadway. Jack hates to see her go, but encourages her and thanks her for helping his career. During Jack’s Chicago tour date, he attends a special matinee concert of Jewish sacred songs sung

160 by Cantor Rosenblatt, which makes him reminisce about his father. As well as his career seems to be going, Jack is stunned when his next booking is cancelled. But, he soon learns that he has a chance to appear in a Broadway revue which would bring him back to his hometown. Jack returns to New York on his father’s sixtieth birthday. When he arrives, his mother greets him warmly. He enthusiastically tells her the news of his potential big break and surprises her with a diamond-embedded necklace. Then he sings and plays “Blue Skies,”8 one of the songs he will use to audition for the Broadway show and illustrates how he is going to sing it jazzy. Just as he finishes the song, his father enters, and shouts “Stop!”9 He scolds his son for bringing jazz music into his house. Jack tries to reason with him, but is accused of being disrespectful. Jack presents his father with a prayer shawl for his birthday and tries to tell him about his success, but the Cantor considers jazz profane music. Jack defends his music: “You taught me that music is the voice of God! It is as honorable to sing in the theater as in the synagogue! My songs mean as much to my audience as yours to your congregation.” His father is completely unwilling to consider Jack’s viewpoint, so he disowns him and banishes him from “my house” and calls him the worst thing he can think of—“you jazz singer!” During rehearsals for April Follies, the producer wonders if Jack is as good a Mary thinks he is, but

Al Jolson as The Jazz Singer.

161 she is confident in Jack’s singing talent. Jack didn’t realize that Mary had recommended him, but he is certainly happy to see her. On the night before Jack’s Broadway debut, his father becomes deathly ill. A family friend finds Jack backstage during a rehearsal. Since the next day is the Day of Atonement and his father is too sick to perform the chants for the eve of Yom Kippur, the synagogue wants Jakie to take his father’s place. Jack must choose between his career or loyalty to his father and to his God. The ailing Cantor tells his wife that he dreamed his son sang “Kol Nidre” so beautifully. If Jakie would sing in his place that evening, surely God would forgive him. During the final dress rehearsal for his show, Jack is putting on his blackface makeup and trying to reassure both himself and Mary that he understands his duty to the show. He admits he’d love to sing at the synagogue, but he also realizes his career is extremely important, especially since he hasn’t proved himself yet. Jack’s mother arrives backstage to plead with her son. She tells him about his father’s dream and warns that “Papa is dying — maybe he won’t ever hear you sing again.” The show’s producers urge Jack to take the stage, which he does and sings “Mother of Mine.”10 Mary and Jack’s mother watch his performance from the wings. As she listens, Jack’s mother begins to understand that her son has found his calling. She leaves before he finishes his performance. After the number, Mary explains to Jack that his mother understands that his place is in the theater. However, Jack returns home. His mother asks if he came to sing, but he tells her he only came to see Papa. At his father’s bedside, Papa finally confesses his love for his son. The congregation still wants Jack to replace his father in the synagogue for Yom Kippur. His mother begs him to sing, so maybe Papa will get well. The producer and Mary arrive to urge Jack to return for the show’s opening. If he doesn’t appear in the show he may never work on Broadway again, but neither can he break his mother’s heart. His mother tells him to do whatever is in his heart. At curtain time, it is announced that the evening’s performance has been canceled. For this one night, Jack Robin becomes Jakie Rabinowitz again and sings “Kol Nidre” in the synagogue. His dying father listens from his bed nearby and tells his wife, “Mamma, we have our son again.” April Follies opens successfully on Broadway the following day, one day after Jack’s father’s death.

The Jolson Story This time Jack sings his music — jazz. In the final scene of the film, Jack’s proud mother sits in the crowded audience, listening and crying. In blackface, Jack sings “My Mammy.”11 Al Jolson was called “The World’s Greatest Entertainer” and he certainly didn’t lack confidence. As a matter of fact, to modern audiences Jolson is almost too “over-the-top” in his extraverted performances, not even considering his now politically incorrect blackface numbers. He tries to overwhelm his audience with extreme gusto as in “Toot Toot Tootsie” or overdone maudlin sentiment as in “My Mammy.” But his fans loved him wholeheartedly. In his stage productions, it was not unusual for Jolson to perform numerous encores, so the film’s audience probably found it strange that they could not call him back to the screen for repetitions of their favorites. The film has been remade twice: in 1952, with Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee, and in 1980, with singer-songwriter Neil Diamond in the lead role with legendary actor Laurence Olivier as his father.

The Jolson Story Columbia Pictures, October 10, 1946, 130 minutes Principal Cast: Larry Parks (Al Jolson), Evelyn Keyes ( Julie Benson), William Demarest (Steve Martin), Bill Goodwin (Tom Baron), Ludwig Donath (Cantor Yoelson), Tamara Shayne (Mrs. Yoelson), John Alexander (Lew Dockstader), Jo-Carrol Dennison (Ann Murray) Director: Alfred E. Green Producer: Sidney Skolsky Screenwriters: Stephen Longstreet, with adaptation by Harry Chandler and Andrew Solt Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Jack Cole Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role (Larry Parks) ❍ Best Actor in a Supporting Role (William Demarest) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Film Editing Availability: DVD

Al Jolson, the self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Entertainer,” was born Asa Yoelson in Russia. Trained by his father to become a synagogue cantor, rather like the character he played in The Jazz Singer, he was more interested in singing popular music. He became one of the most charismatic per-

The Jolson Story sonalities in show business from the early 1910s through the late–Twenties. After a few years of being regarded as a relic, his performing career received a huge boost by the release of two motion pictures: The Jolson Story in 1946 and Jolson Sings Again in 1949. Shortly after he performed his typically robust rendition of “Swanee” in George Gershwin’s biographical film, Rhapsody in Blue, in 1945, several Hollywood studios began negotiating with him for the rights to his life story. Jolson, who was sixty by the time the film opened, wanted to play himself on screen, but a disappointing screen test squelched that idea. He did coach Larry Parks, however. In this gaudy fictionalization of Jolson’s music career, it was not the story which attracted audiences, but the sentimental reveries stirred by Jolson’s songs. And it is the voice of Jolson himself that sings, giving the numbers authenticity. “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy”1 is heard during the opening credits. The action begins in turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C., where Asa Yoelson,2 the young teenaged son of an immigrant cantor, and his girlfriend, Ann Murray,3 are watching a performance by Steve Martin at a burlesque house. When Martin asks the audience to sing “On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away”4 while he plays his cello, Asa is the only one brave enough to sing.5 Amazed by the lad’s vocal talent, Martin goes to the Yoelson home to ask his parents’ permission to allow their son to be part of his act. Papa Yoelson refuses to consider the idea. Martin respects Asa’s father’s wishes and leaves for his next engagement in Baltimore. However, Asa runs away from home and hops a freight to join Martin. Caught by the Baltimore police, Asa is taken to St. Mary’s Home for Boys. After learning about Asa’s background, Father McGee6 sends for Steve Martin and the boy’s parents. When the Yoelson’s arrive, they hear Asa singing “Ave Maria”7 in the church choir. Mama Yoelson convinces her husband that the boy should follow his dream. The scene switches to a performance where Asa, as an audience stooge,8 sings “When You Were Sweet Sixteen.”9 Asa sings “After the Ball”10 during a montage of cities where they perform. Steve gets upset when Asa adds little melodic alterations into “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”11; he has grown tired of singing it the same way every performance and he also wants to sing from the stage so he can see the audience’s faces. During a performance of “Blue Bell,”12 Asa’s voice suddenly begins to change. Like a real showman, he switches from singing to whistling, which thoroughly impresses the audience—and Steve. Al-

162 though his whistling is successful it doesn’t please Asa like singing. It was during this time that Steve changes the boy’s name to Al Jolson. Al keeps experimenting with his adult voice and begs Steve to let him sing again, but Steve keeps putting him off. One evening, a fellow performer, Tom Baron, has celebrated his racetrack winnings by getting drunk. When Tom passes out, Al puts on Tom’s blackface makeup and goes on for him (“Ma Blushin’ Rosie”13). Broadway producer Oscar Hammerstein14 and minstrel show master, Lew Dockstader, were in the audience and were both impressed, but it was Dockstader who hired Al for his minstrel troupe. Al sings “I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad”15 as part of the minstrel male chorus. A year or so later he is promoted to being a member of a quartet, then to a duo. At a stop in New Orleans, Al becomes so entranced with an African-American band playing jazz that he misses the minstrel show’s performance. He and Dockstader agree to part ways. On a visit with his parents, Al gets a telephone call from his old friend, Tom Baron, who is now the manager of the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway. Steve Martin has arranged for Tom to offer Al a part in Vera Violetta, which stars Gaby DeSlys. He only agrees to take the part if Tom allows him to sing his own songs, the type of music he had heard in New Orleans. When a performance of Vera Violetta runs late, they try to cut Al’s number, but he stubbornly goes on reassuring the audience, “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.” He sings “My Mammy,”16 in which he kneels and pleads with his mammy. His performance receives a standing ovation. As Al’s career blossoms, he makes his old friend, Steve Martin, his manager. From Honeymoon Express, where he appeared as the blackface servant, Gus,17 he sings “I’m Sitting on Top of the World.”18 One night when the performance ran late, he abruptly stops the show, has the house lights turned up so he can see the audiences’ faces and sings “You Made Me Love You.”19 For his next show, he insists on having a runway built from the stage into the audience so he could see their faces even better. On that runway Al sings “Swanee.”20 Next, he decides to take his Broadway productions on tour so more of the country can experience him first hand. In a tour montage, he sings “Toot, Toot, Tootsie.”21 His next innovation was Sunday night concerts at the Winter Garden. The theater was normally closed on Sunday nights, so Jolson started concertizing on those evenings. Rather than being bur-

163 dened with a plot and other performers, Jolson could sing to his heart’s content and his fans loved it. When The Honeymoon Express played Washington, D.C., he arranged for his parents, Ann Murray and her parents to attend the performance. That evening he performed “The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life”22 sans blackface. After the performance he learns that Ann is marrying someone else. When he agrees to star in the first talkie, The Jazz Singer, he announces it at one of his Sunday night concerts. In the audience that evening was Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld with one of his stars, Julie Benson.23 She requests that Al sing “April Showers.”24 He sits on the runway near her to sing. Next, he performs “California, Here I Come”25 in tribute to his leaving for Hollywood. At an after-the-concert party, Miss Benson imitates Al. When he comes in, instead of being upset, he takes her out on the terrace and asks her to marry him (she doesn’t immediately consider his proposal). Once he gets to Hollywood, he telephones her often and flies back to New York for her opening in Show Girl. In the number “Liza,”26 she is dancing down a stairway of coin-shaped steps when she becomes nervous and forgets the lyrics. Al stands up and sings the lyrics for her, as she regains her composure and finishes her dance.27 He and Julie are soon married. At the premier of The Jazz Singer, Al and Julie are seated in the audience as he anxiously listens to himself singing “There’s a Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder.”28 Both he and Julie become film stars29 and star together in Go Into Your Dance, which is represented by “About a Quarter to Nine.”30 At his wife’s request, Al agrees to build her dream home and retires from show business. She arranges a surprise visit by his parents for their anniversary. During their visit, his father begins to hum the melody of Ivanovici’s “Danube Waves,” which Al turns into “Anniversary Song.”31 Tom Baron, who has also come to pay his respects, takes them to a nightclub where the audience coaxes Al to sing “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee,”32 “Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody”33 and a reprise of “April Showers.” Al is hooked on performing again. Julie realizes she can’t compete with his love of performing, so she leaves him. For those people who were born too late to experience Al Jolson’s charismatic stage presence in person, The Jolson Story offers a peek into an amazingly popular performer, even if there is a lot more fiction than fact. The Jolson Story deserves its AFI nomination, but it isn’t one of the best of the For-

The Jungle Book ties. It is, however, one of the best screen biographies of a musical personality during the decade behind Yankee Doodle Dandy, Till the Clouds Roll By and Words and Music. Jolson Sings Again in 1949 picks up where The Jolson Story ends — his return to the stage after a premature retirement. After several years of fast women, gambling on the horses and endless travel, it takes the death of his mother to bring Jolson back to his senses. Once again he teams with his manager, Steve Martin, to travel the world entertaining troops during World War II. When he eventually collapses from exhaustion, a pretty nurse, Ellen Clark, shows him that there’s more to life than he realizes. In Jolson Sings Again, Al sings over twentyfive songs, about half of which had been heard in The Jolson Story.

The Jungle Book Walt Disney Productions, October 18, 1967, 78 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Bruce Reitherman (Mowgli, the man-cub), Phil Harris (Baloo, the Bear), Sebastian Cabot (Bagheera, the Black Panther), Louis Prima (King Louis of the Apes), George Sanders (Shere Khan, the Bengal Tiger), Sterling Holloway (Kaa, the Python), Pat O’Malley (Colonel Hathi, the elephant) Director: Wolfgang Reitherman Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, and Vance Gerry Music and Lyrics: Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“The Bare Necessities”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“I Wanna Be Like You”) ● Oscar nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“The Bare Necessities”) Availability: DVD

The Jungle Book is one of Disney’s most popular animated feature films, the last one produced by Walt Disney before his death. It was inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli short stories that were published between 1893 and 1895. Terry Gilkyson was hired to write the songs for the film, but Mr. Disney decided his songs were too dark and “too Kipling,” so he brought in Richard and Robert Sherman with the stipulation that they not read the Kipling stories. The only Gilkyson song that was retained was “The Bare Necessities,” which became the film’s Academy Award nominee and an AFI song nominee.

The Jungle Book Like almost all of Disney’s movies that are based on famous books, The Jungle Book begins with the opening of the book. A sepia-toned book illustration of a jungle village transforms into a Technicolor image of the same village. After several jungle scenes, Bagheera, the Black Panther, hears a mancub’s cry from a wrecked boat on a stream’s bank, followed by its cooing and laughter. Bagheera knows the man-cub will perish if it doesn’t get nourishment soon, and, since it is many days journey to the nearest man-village, he takes the basket with the man-cub to a family of wolves who have recently been blessed with a new litter. He deposits the basket outside the wolves’ lair and hides to observe what happens. The mother wolf ’s maternal instincts are strong, so she immediately accepts the baby. Her husband, Rama,1 surprisingly accepts the man-cub also. Ten years later, Bagheera returns to check on the man-cub, because he knew that someday the mancub would have to return to his own kind. The wolf elders meet and decide the time has come because they have learned that the tiger, Shere Khan, has returned to this area of the jungle and has sworn to kill the man-cub. The man-cub is not old enough to survive alone, so Bagheera volunteers to escort him to the manvillage. During their next walk together in the jungle, Bagheera tells Mowgli that he is taking him to the man-village for safety. Their first night is spent on the limb of a tree where Kaa, the python, hypnotizes Mowgli and wraps him in his coils while Bagheera sleeps. When the panther wakes, Kaa also hypnotizes him. Mowgli awakes and knocks the snake’s coils off the tree limb sending him spinning out of control to the ground. Mowgli and Bagheera finally get some uninterrupted sleep. The next morning, they are awakened by the Dawn Patrol — Colonel Hathi and his elephant troops singing “Colonel Hathi’s March.” The Colonel drills his troops as he had done when he was a member of the Maharaja’s pachyderm brigade. Mowgli is fascinated, so he approaches the youngest elephant, Hathi Junior,2 and imitates the elephants’ walk at the rear of the company. Soon, the Colonel inspects his troops and isn’t pleased when he discovers a man-cub. Bagheera quickly explains that he is taking the man-cub to the man-village, which satisfies the Colonel, so he continues his marching. Once they resume their trek, Mowgli argues with Bagheera about going to the man-village. Bagheera finally tells Mowgli he is on his own. Dejectedly, Mowgli sits down near some rocks until he hears scatting coming from the bushes.

164 Baloo, a sloth bear, enters singing, “Doo-bee doo-bee.” When he sees Mowgli, he sniffs this unusual creature. Mowgli hits the bear in the stomach, which doesn’t bother him in the least. Baloo offers to teach the little tyke to fight like a bear. One of the first lessons is to growl. Mowgli’s attempt is pitiful. When Baloo demonstrates, Bagheera, who was walking away, assumes that Mowgli is in serious trouble, so he runs back to help. When he arrives, he recognizes the “shiftless, stupid, jungle bum,” Baloo. The bear continues the lesson until he playfully swats Mowgli, which leaves him punch drunk. When Bagheera tells Baloo he is taking the kid back to the man-village, the bear is certain that will ruin his new pal and besides, Mowgli wants to stay with Baloo, who promises to “learn him all I know.” He begins the next lesson by singing “The Bare Necessities.” Those necessities include bees making honey just for him and fancy ants that tickle on the way down. He teaches the mancub to pick a paw-paw and a prickly pear. The music continues as Baloo teaches Mowgli how to scratch his back by using a tree. Baloo falls into a nearby stream and floats downstream with Mowgli on his stomach. Mowgli likes the carefree life of a bear. During all this singing and scratching, Bagheera has been watching, but now turns and walks away. As Baloo and Mowgli drift downstream, some monkeys abduct Mowgli. Once Baloo realizes Mowgli has been kidnapped, he yells for Bagheera. The panther is certain the mangy monkeys have carried Mowgli to their King at the ancient temple ruins. At the ruins, King Louis (pronounced Louie), an orangutan, is scat singing. When the monkeys deliver Mowgli, the King of the Apes tells him he has heard that the man-cub wants to remain in the jungle and he can help. Mowgli assures him that he would do anything to stay. King Louis sings “I Wanna Be Like You,” in which he tells the boy that he needs the secret of how to make fire to become human. Mowgli doesn’t know how to make fire, but Louie doesn’t believe him. When Baloo and Bagheera reach the ruins, Baloo, dressed in a grass skirt and a cocoanut for his mouth, is carried away with the beat of the song and engages King Louis in a scatting contest. When Baloo’s disguise falls off, Mowgli is tossed back and forth from monkeys to Baloo to Bagheera during which the ancient temple ruins are reduced to rubble. Afterwards, Baloo comments, “Man, that’s what I call a swingin’ party!” In the following scene, while Mowgli sleeps, Bagheera tries to convince Baloo that his little

165 buddy doesn’t belong in the jungle. Baloo is determined to adopt Mowgli until Bagheera mentions that Shere Khan is out to get the man-cub while he’s still young and defenseless. Then Baloo agrees to do whatever is best for Mowgli. As Baloo and Mowgli hit the trail again, the man-cub sings a short reprise of “The Bare Necessities.” Once Mowgli realizes that he is being taken to the man-village, he runs away. Bagheera hears Baloo calling Mowgli, returns and helps the bear search for the little guy. Shere Khan is stalking a deer, but it suddenly runs away because it hears Colonel Hathi’s elephants singing a reprise of “Colonel Hathi’s March.” When Bagheera asks the jungle patrol to help find Mowgli, Shere Khan overhears. The Colonel refuses to help until his wife, Winifred,3 intervenes. She threatens to take over command if he doesn’t help find the lad. Hathi Jr. also begs his father to help find his friend. Now, the Colonel claims he had a plan in mind all the time. When he asks for volunteers for a special mission, all the elephants except one take one step back; when the lone elephant notices, it steps back too. When the Colonel turns around, he assumes they have all volunteered. In the meantime, Mowgli is wandering aimlessly in the jungle. When he sits under a tree, Kaa picks him up and raises him to a branch. At first, Mowgli refuses to look into the snake’s eyes, but when the lad finally does, the snake sings “Trust in Me” and puts him in his sleeping spell. As this is occurring in the tree, Shere Khan happens by, hears Kaa singing, and pulls his tail like a doorbell. Kaa slinks down to see who it is. Shere Khan suspects he’s entertaining someone in his coils, so he asks to see the rest of his coils. The wily snake fools Shere Khan for a while, but when the tiger leaves, the snake shivers which wakes Mowgli. When he pushes the snake’s coils off the branch, Kaa spins through the branches to the ground. The scene changes to a group of vultures sitting on a dead tree. These birds, who speak with a cockney accent, begin a classic “what you wanna do?” routine. Suddenly they see Mowgli dejectedly walking towards them, so they fly down to have some fun with this walking skelton. When they make some sarcastic comments, Mowgli says, “Go ahead; laugh. I don’t care” and walks away. The vultures begin to feel sorry for the poor little guy. Since Mowgli claims that no one wants him around, the vultures offer to make him a member of their group. Then they sing “That’s What Friends Are For”4 in barbershop-style harmony. Shere Kahn hears the singing and creeps closer until he ends the songs with his booming bass voice. Shere Khan thanks the vultures for detaining his

The Jungle Book victim and scares them away. The tiger decides to give the man-cub a sporting chance, so he closes his eyes and counts to ten. Mowgli, however, only walks a few paces and picks up a stick. Just as Shere Khan lunges, Baloo grabs the tiger’s tail. During the ensuing chase, two of the vultures swoop down and carry Mowgli away. Shere Khan finally gets hold of Baloo just as lightning sets a tree on fire. As the tiger knocks Baloo out, Mowgli grabs a burning branch and ties it to Shere Khan’s tail. Once the tiger sees the flames, he runs away. Mowgli thinks Baloo is dead. When Bagheera arrives, he consoles the man-cub and eulogizes the bear. Baloo opens his eyes and is moved to tears by the lovely sentiments. When Baloo reveals he is still alive, Mowgli is thrilled that his “old papa bear” is okay. The trio treks through the jungle until they hear a girl5 singing “My Own Home.” Baloo tries to divert Mowgli’s attention, but the boy is fascinated and moves closer for a better look. He climbs up in a tree that hangs over the stream, but he leans so far forward that he falls into the water. The girl giggles as Mowgli scrambles back into the bushes. Unperturbed, the girl resumes her song. As she heads back to her village with the water pot on her head, she drops it so it rolls back towards Mowgli, who picks it up, fills it with water again and offers it to the girl. She simply turns and walks towards her village. Mowgli puts the pot on his head and follows her into the village. Bagheera is happy that the boy is finally where he belongs and Baloo reluctantly agrees. In the film’s finale, Baloo and Bagheera walk off into the sunset singing a reprise of “The Bare Necessities.” The Jungle Book is a great Disney film musical. As good as this animated feature film is, it would be difficult to rank it among the best movie musicals from the Sixties. The film has become a must for many family video libraries. A panther mentor and a sloth bear buddy teach Mowgli about friendship and adult responsibility. The Sherman brothers have written more movie musical scores, most of them for Disney films, than almost any other songwriting team in film history. Some of their most famous film scores include Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and Bedknobs & Broomsticks (1971). Both Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins have become Broadway musicals. The brothers have been nominated for nine Academy Awards and won the Best Music, Original Song Oscar in 1965 for “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Mary Poppins. They were inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2005.

The King and I

The King and I 20th Century–Fox, June 28, 1956, 133 minutes Principal Cast : Deborah Kerr (Anna Leonowens), Yul Brynner (King Mongkut), Rita Moreno (Tuptim), Terry Saunders (Lady Thiang), Rex Thompson (Louis Leonowens), Carlos Rivas (Lun Tha), Patrick Adiarte (Prince Chulalongkorn), Martin Benson (The Kralahome) Director: Walter Lang Producer: Charles Brackett Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 11 Greatest Movie Musical ● “Shall We Dance?” is the No. 54 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Getting to Know You”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ *Best Actor (Yul Brynner) ❍ Best Actress (Deborah Kerr) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Art Direction ❍ *Best Costume Design, Color ❍ *Sound Recording ❍ Best Cinematography, Color Availability: DVD

In the 1860s, Anna Leonowens was the governess to the children of Nongkut, King of Siam. She wrote two books about her Siam adventures which caused quite a sensation when they were published in the late nineteenth century. In the 1930s, novelist Margaret Landon spent over a decade in Siam with her missionary husband where she heard about Leonowens, her adventures and her books. Mrs. Landon adapted Leonowens’ books into a 1944 novel, Anna and the King of Siam that became a best seller. The novel became a 1946 20th Century–Fox dramatic film starring Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison and was remade into another nonmusical Fox film, Anna and the King, starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in 1999. However, it is through the 1951 Broadway musical and its screen version that the story is best known. Rodgers and Hammerstein transformed Mrs. Landon’s novel into a magnificent stage musical starring Gertrude Lawrence as Anna, and a virtually unknown Yul Brynner as the King. In a 1956 correspondence to Rodgers, Hammerstein wrote, “Last night I saw the picture, The King and I, again. This morning I am convinced that this is our best work. I have a kind of humble feeling of not knowing how we did it. It has more wisdom as well as heart than any other musical play by anybody.”1

166 On March 29, 1951, The King and I opened on Broadway to rave reviews and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Gertrude Lawrence) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Yul Brynner). Brynner has become inextricably identified with the role of the King, performing it over 4,600 times. With Deborah Kerr as his co-star for the film version, Brynner won the Oscar for Best Actor while the film earned a total of five Academy Awards (see Awards and Honors above). He is one of only seven performers who have won the Tony Award and the Academy Award for the same role. The action begins with a ship arriving in 1862 Siam. Excitement from the crew signals the approach of the royal barge carrying King Mongkut’s right hand man, the Kralahome. Mrs. Anna Leonowens, an attractive widowed Welsh lady, has come to Bangkok with her son, Louis, to teach the royal children. As Louis observes the Kralahome through a telescope, he confesses that he is a little frightened. To allay his fears, and some of her own, she sings “I Whistle a Happy Tune,”2 in which she tells Louis what she does when she’s afraid. Anna is distressed to learn that she will not get a house outside the palace walls as had been promised, so she requests an audience with the King to discuss the matter. Once inside the palace, she witnesses the arrival of Tuptim, a girl from Burma, who is a gift for the King. Mongkut is pleased. The King abruptly drags Mrs. Leonowens into his harem to meet his wives who live in the palace, especially Lady Thiang, the head wife, who had learned to speak English from missionaries. The King decides that Mrs. Leonowens should teach English not only to his children but also to his wives “who have sense enough to learn.” He also expects Anna to help him with his foreign correspondence. When she uses the expression “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera,” it becomes one of the King’s favorites. When Anna meets the royal princes and princesses, the children process in to “March of the Siamese Children.” They bow to the King and acknowledge Mrs. Leonowens. Anna is moved and decides to remain in Siam, teach the King’s children, and, at least temporarily, live in the palace. After the King departs, the wives are curious to see if Anna is built like her hooped skirt. Tuptim asks to borrow some English books and tells Anna that she and Lun Tha, the man who had brought her from Burma, are deeply in love. Once he returns home, they will never see each other again. Anna is very sympathetic. In “Hello, Young Lovers,” she reminisces about her husband, Tom, and how much they loved each other.

167

The King and I

Lady Thiang visits Anna in her palace apartment Chulalongkorn, the Crown Prince, expects his and begs her to go to the King because he is disfather, the King, to know everything. However, tressed. She explains that an agent in Singapore has once Chulalongkorn returns to his classroom, in discovered letters to the British describing him as “A Puzzlement,” the King confesses that there are a barbarian and suggesting that Siam be made a lots of things he doesn’t know. He prays to Buddha protectorate. In “Something Wonderful,” Lady for insight. Thiang sings about her husband’s potential to acAnna shows the children and some of the wives complish great things, but she believes he needs a world map, but they can’t believe Siam is so small. Mrs. Anna’s love, understanding and advice, even She explains that before she came to Siam it was though he would never admit it. just a dot on the map, but it has come to mean far Anna goes to the King’s study on the pretense of more to her. In “Getting to Know You,” she sings apologizing for a recent misunderstanding. She about how much she has grown to like her pupils leads him into telling her about the correspondence and she hopes they like her as well. As she shakes from Singapore. Skillfully, she advises him that hands with each student, they join her in singing when the high-ranking Englishmen and their wives the song. She also teaches Chulalongkorn to bow arrive in Siam, they should be regally entertained and Lady Thiang how to curtsy. One of the wives with a dinner and ball. They will be impressed, reperforms a dance. turn to England and report to the Queen that he is The children find it difficult to believe some of certainly not a barbarian. He claims this was his the things Anna is teaching them, such as water idea all along. The King also decides that Anna freezing so hard a person can walk on it. The King must dress his wives in European-style fashions. scolds his children for not believing their teacher. Anna is apalled to discover that she only has one He also notices Tuptim’s book, Harriet Beecher week to make all the preparations, but the King reStowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and is surprised that a minds her that according to Moses the whole world woman would have written a book. When the King was created in less time. The King prays to Buddha and Anna talk about Abraham Lincoln’s attempt to free the slaves in America, the Crown Prince doesn’t understand how slaves could be freed if their masters did not want them to be. Anna explains about laws that enforce the right, but the King and Crown Prince can’t grasp that idea. Late that evening when Anna is summoned to the King, she finds him prostrate on the floor reading the Bible. When he calls Moses a fool for claiming the world was created in six days, she explains that the Bible was written by men of faith, not by scientists. Next, he commands her to take a letter to President Lincoln. He offers the American President several male elephants, which he says will multipy. As he dictates, he accuses her of not showing proper respect — no one’s head is allowed to be higher than his. On her way back to her room, Lun Tha begs for her help so he can see Tuptim. At first, she refuses, but, remembering her own romance with her husband, she goes to get Tuptim. As the two young lovers walk in the garden, they sing “We Kiss in a Shadow.”3 They both yearn for the day when they can kiss in public and proclaim their love. Lun Tha promises Tuptim that they will Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner in The King and I. escape together.

The King and I for help in impressing the visiting English and promises he will build Mrs. Anna a brick house adjacent to the palace. Anna dresses some of the King’s wives in hoop skirts, but forgets to furnish them with undergarments. She is horrified when she discovers her oversight, but since there is no time to remedy the situation, she simply warns them to keep their backs to the wall. However, when the King introduces them to the Ambassador, who is bearded and looks through a lorgnette, the women scream, lift their skirts and flee in panic. Among the dignitaries is the Ambassador’s aid, Sir Edward Ramsey,4 with whom Anna once had been romantically involved. He and Anna reminisce about old times and dance together, but the King, acting very jealous, insists dancing is after dinner. The King offers his arm to her and leads her to dinner to the strains of a reprise of “March of the Siamese Children.” During dinner, Anna brings up subjects the King has suggested so he can impress the guests with his intellectual observations. For entertainment, the King introduces a play written by a member of the royal palace, the Siamese version of a famous American book. Tuptim narrates her lengthy theatrical production titled “The Small House of Uncle Thomas.” The English visitors are very impressed. As soon as the ballet ends, Tuptim runs to meet Lun Tha, who is waiting so they can flee together. Later in the evening, Anna, finding the King alone at the banquet table, compliments his conversation. He presents her with one of his huge rings for her help. He complains about the entertainment, however. He insists it is immoral for the King to drown while pursuing a slave. He intends to discipline Tuptim when she is found. Anna tries to get him to understand how one man and one woman can be happy together. In the original musical, the song “Song of the King” came at this point, but in the film, he speaks the dialogue in which he tells her a woman is designed to please a man and a man is designed to be pleased by many women. He actually sings the second part of the song, an old Siamese rhyme, in a half-spoken, halfsung delivery. It compares a girl to a blossom whose honey is for only one man, but the man, like the honey-bee, must be free to fly from blossom to blossom. The blossom, however, must not fly from one bee to another. Anna begins to reminesce about her first dance and sings “Shall We Dance?” After a chorus, she dances around the room, then becomes embarrassed. The King insists she teach him this dance— the polka. They hold hands and begin to dance together. Suddenly, he stops and says something is

168 not right — the English were not holding hands while they danced. Then they dance with his arm on her waist as he had seen the guests dance. After several rounds, Anna is breathless, but the King wants to continue. Suddenly, a gong interrupts. The Kraloholm informs the King that Tuptim has been found. Just before the King whips Tuptim, Anna accuses him of being a barbarian with no heart. Cut deeply by her accusation, the King throws the whip away and runs from the room. When a messenger arrives with the news that Lun Tha is dead, Tuptim is led away in tears. Anna confesses to the Kralahome that she doesn’t understand him or his King and he accuses her of destroying the King. Anna takes off the ring and asks the Kralahome to return it to his Majesty. After several weeks, Anna and Louis are preparing to leave Siam. Lady Thiang and the Crown Prince come to her room and tell Mrs. Anna that the King is dying. Since their argument, he has refused to eat or sleep. Now his doctors say there is no hope. The Crown Prince is frightened at the prospect of becoming King. Lady Thiang gives her a letter in which the King expresses his gratitude for all she has done. When Anna goes to the dying King’s bedside, he chastizes her for leaving her pupils. He is leaving, but not of his own free will. He returns the ring he had given her earlier. When the children arrive, they also beg her not to leave. As the boat whistle calls them to board, Anna tells her son to run to the dock and tell the Captain to remove their things from the ship. Mongkut listens while the soon-to-be King makes some proclamations. Chulalongkorn rules that the habit of bowing to the King is a bad thing. When the King blames Anna for this change, she gladly accepts the credit. As Chulalongkorn talks to the children about showing proper respect to the King in other ways, Mongkut dies (only Anna and the Kralahome seem to notice). As the film ends, Anna lays her head on the King’s hand as a chorus sings a reprise of “Something Wonderful.” Bosley Crowther wrote, “Whatever pictorial magnificence ‘The King and I’ may have had upon the stage — and, goodness knows, it had plenty ... it has twice as much in the film version.”5 In my opinion, The King and I is the third best movie musical of the Fifties behind only Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris, which could easily qualify it as one of the top twenty-five movie musicals of all-time. The only negative that I can think of is that Deborah Kerr’s vocals were dubbed by Marni Nixon. I’m not fond of the practice of dubbing because the star gets credit for a talent that they don’t possess. Why not let Marni Nixon per-

169 form the lead role? Or, if the studio doesn’t trust Miss Nixon’s acting ability, hire an actress who can also sing! Musically, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a brilliant score. “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “March of the Siamese Children,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “Getting to Know You,” “We Kiss in a Shadow,” “Something Wonderful,” and “Shall We Dance?” are all very well known. Less familiar, but extremely well written, is “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet music. Several songs were cut from the original score for the film.6

King of Jazz Universal Pictures, April 20, 1930, 101 minutes Principal Cast: Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, John Boles, The Rhythm Boys, Jeanette Loff , George Chiles, Jeanie Lang, Sisters G., Russell Markert Girls, Charles Irwin Director: John Murray Anderson Producer: Carl Laemmle, Jr. Screenwriters: Charles McArthur and Harry Ruskin Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Russell Markert Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award winner: ❍ Best Art Direction Availability: DVD not currently available

In the early years of the talkies, Hollywood studios produced several movie musicals that are classified as revues. The revue, which was a very popular form of entertainment on Broadway, is a plotless mixture, not unlike vaudeville, of sketches, acrobatic acts, travesties of current plays, songs and dances, and beautiful girls in skimpy costumes posing in tableaus. The most famous example is Florenz Ziegfeld’s Follies. King of Jazz is one of the last Hollywood all-star musical film revues and is definitely impressive, especially considering its 1930 release date. Filmed in early two-strip Technicolor, the title refers to Paul Whiteman who was called the “King of Jazz.” That moniker is extremely misleading, however. All popular music of the Twenties, Whiteman’s most prolific period, was called “jazz,” therefore Whiteman was more correctly the “King of Popular Music,” and he certainly was. Whiteman employed several of the era’s most talented white jazz instrumentalists in his orchestra and commissioned George Gershwin to write his jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue.

King of Jazz King of Jazz can claim at least three firsts: the first Technicolor animated cartoon segment, the first to use a pre-recorded soundtrack and Bing Crosby’s feature film debut. King of Jazz opens with Crosby crooning “Music Has Charms”1 under the opening credits. The Whiteman Orchestra continues the song for the remainder of the credits. The film could easily have been titled Paul Whiteman’s Scrap Book, because a huge scrap book opens to reveal the various segments. The first sequence is the “In Darkest Africa” animated segment2 that features Mr. Whiteman as a big game hunter in Africa.3 When he is chased by a large lion, a line or two of the African-American spiritual, “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel,”4 is sung by Crosby. Whiteman calms the beast by playing his violin. All the animals and the African natives dance to his tune. Thus, according to Charles Irwin, the film’s narrator, Whiteman was crowned “King of Jazz.” Next, Mr. Whiteman comes out with a small bag and an equally small performing platform. In a bit of camera trickery, the orchestra members climb out of the bag and onto the platform. Once they are situated, the scene becomes life size and Mr. Whiteman announces we will meet the individual members of his orchestra. During this segment, “Hot Lips”5 is performed by trumpeter Harry Goldfield; “Wild Cat”6 is performed by Joe Venuti on violin and Eddie Lang on guitar; “Piccolo Pete”7 is performed by Roy “Red” Maier on piccolo; “Caprice Viennois, Op. 2” and “Tambourin Chinoise, Op. 3”8 are performed by a violin sextet9; “Nola”10 is performed by Roy Bargy on piano, Chester Hazlett on clarinet, and Wilbur Hall on trombone; and “Linger Awhile”11 is performed by Mike Pingitore on banjo. Mr. Whiteman then introduces “our girls,” who perform a seated choreography routine.12 The following sequence features the song “My Bridal Veil,”13 which is sung by Jeanette Loff as she pulls a wedding gown out of a trunk. During the number, brides from several eras parade by (an excerpt from the song “Long, Long Ago” can also be heard). After a silly sketch about newspapers and current news, the Rhythm Boys (Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker) perform “Mississippi Mud,”14 which they had recorded with Whiteman’s band and popularized in 1928. Barris stops the other two and suggests something loftier might be more appropriate for these proceedings, so they segue into “So the Bluebirds and the Blackbirds Got Together,”15 which is just as jazzy as, and less sophisticated than, the previous song. Their performance

King of Jazz includes some jazzy scat singing along with some “cool” patter. Next, “It Happened in Monterey”16 is sung by John Boles, Jeanette Loff, Sisters G.,17 George Chiles and danced by the Russell Markert Girls. Boles, who is a much more cultured vocalist than the Rhythm Boys, rolls his consonants in the European tradition. Also during this sequence, we hear “La Paloma”18 sung by Nancy Torres. After another short comedy sketch, the comic song, “I’m a Fisherman,”19 is performed by Jack White and the Rhythm Boys. “A Bench in the Park”20 is sung by George Chiles, Jeanette Loff, the Brox Sisters21 and the Rhythm Boys and danced by the Russell Markert Girls. Some of the choreography resembles the dances performed by the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. After two more silly sketches, Willie Hall, “one of the Whiteman boys,” performs a comical medley. During the number, Hall wears swimming flippers that are very stiff so he can rise up on the front edge of them and plays several fast songs while doing all sorts of gyrations with his violin. Then he plays “Hooray for the Red, White and Blue”22 on an air pump. Next, Mr. Whiteman introduces Rhapsody in Blue.23 When Whiteman says jazz was born in the African jungle to the beat of the voo-doo drums, a male dancer dances on the top of a huge drum with his shadow projected onto the background. As the clarinet portamento opens Gershwin’s composition, the orchestra rises out of an immense blue piano “played” by five keyboardists. The piano solo, on a regular sized blue grand piano, is performed by Roy Bargy, with ballet dancing by Carla Laemmle, and other dancing by the Russell Markert dancers. There are a couple of special film effects like superimposing one scene on top of the primary one and some kaleidoscopic shots à la Busby Berkeley. After another silly skit, “Ragamuffin Romeo”24 is sung by Jeanie Lang and George Chiles and danced by Marion Stattler and Don Rose. Jeanie Lang has a childish voice that reminds one of the “boopboop-a-doop” girl, Helen Kane. The dancing in this sequence is extremely acrobatic with Don Rose seemingly mistreating Miss Stattler, who is a limber rag doll. After two more quick comedy sketches, “Happy Feet”25 is sung by the Rhythm Boys and Sisters G. and danced by the Russell Markert Girls. When the Sisters G. sing, the audience only sees their faces. The chorus line of girls comes through a miniaturized town to perform their dance. Next, Whiteman claims he would like to dance. Since he’s the star of the film, Mr. Irwin allows him

170 to demonstrate. It appears that Whiteman is a very accomplished dancer, until the real Mr. Whiteman unmasks the imposter, Paul Small. After another comedy interlude, “I Like to Do Things for You”26 is sung by Jeanie Lang, Grace Hayes, William Kent, Nell O’Day, and danced by Nell O’Day and her Tommy Atkins Sextette. Jeanie Lang opens the number by singing to Mr. Whiteman. Then a wife, Grace Hayes, sings as she rips her husband’s clothes. When the husband, William Kent, sings, his voice is baby-like — a silly, little voice for a grown man. The dance portion of the number is again acrobatic with the Atkins Sextette tossing Miss O’Day and catching her in various positions. The following segment is sung by a comically bad singer who sings “And If You See Our Darling Nellie.”27 He is joined by three others to make a barbershop quartet.28 Dressed as a cowboy, John Boles returns to sing “Song of the Dawn.”29 He is joined by a chorus of males dressed in similar cowboy outfits. The film’s finale is titled “The Melting Pot of Music.” The narrator says, “America is a melting pot of music wherein the melodies of all nations are fused into one great new rhythm JAZZ!” Included in this big production number30 are a quartet singing, hunting horns playing, and dancers; several concertinas play, followed by two girls singing “Santa Lucia,” which is followed by a gypsy-like dance with tambourines; a girl sings “Comin’ Through the Rye,” followed by bagpipes playing and a Highland Fling–type dance; a girls’ chorus sings a Stephen Foster–type melody, some violinists play, and a man and woman waltz; several people play Irish harps, a man sings, and several dancers perform a jig-like dance; several men play guitars, a man sings a Spanish tune, senoritas dance and a man dressed like a bull fighter and a woman dance a flamenco-type dance; several men play balalaikas, some singers dressed as Russians sing “Ochi chyornye,” and a male dances Cossack-style; several drummers play, a singer sings, and some dancers perform in wooden shoes. Whiteman stirs the pot to mix all the musical ingredients, followed by a big dance chorus. The film ends with some of the previous dance acts reprising their routines and a reprise of a few of the major songs, which ends with a short excerpt from Rhapsody in Blue. Considering that The King of Jazz is eighty years old, it is interesting, even though it is basically a potpourri of songs, dances and silly sketches. It is particularly noteworthy for showcasing a ten minute segment of Whiteman conducting Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and for the performances by The Rhythm Boys, a trio that included the fledg-

171 ling Bing Crosby. The huge majority of the comedy segments could have been eliminated, in my opinion, but most of the musical sequences are worth witnessing. The film was originally 105 minutes long, but 12 minutes were cut when the film was re-released after the Production Code began to be inforced in 1934. The censors demanded that three “objectionable” sequences be excised.

Kismet M-G-M, October 8, 1955, 113 minutes Principal Cast : Howard Keel (The Poet/Hajj), Ann Blyth (Marsinah), Dolores Gray (Lalume), Vic Damone (the Caliph), Sebastian Cabot (Wazir), Jay C. Flippen ( Jawan) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Charles Lederer and Luther Davis Music and Lyrics: Robert Wright and George Forrest Choreographer: Jack Cole Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Stranger in Paradise”) Availability: DVD

George “Chet” Forrest and Robert Wright adapted musical themes from Russian composer Aleksandr Borodin to create Kismet, which opened on Broadway in 1953 and ran for 583 performances. It starred Alfred Drake as the Poet, Doretta Morrow as Marsinah, and Richard Kiley as the Caliph. At the 1954 Tony Awards, Kismet won six awards including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Drake), Best Authors of a Musical, and Best Composer (Borodin). The film version of the musical was the second movie version of Kismet released by M-G-M and neither was a big box office hit (the non-musical version had been released in 1944). Warner Bros. had released a silent film version in 1920 and a sound film in 1930. This Arabian Nights–style tale is part comedy, part burlesque skit and musically operetta-ish. All the action happens in one incredible day when kismet, or fate, intervenes. Kismet opens at dawn outside a mosque in eleventh century Baghdad. The Imam of the Mosque calls the Islamic faithful to morning prayers. An improvised poet and his daughter awaken, kneel, bow and offer their prayers. A little later, the Poet1 attempts to sell his verses in the marketplace, but finds no buyers.2 His beau-

Kismet tiful daughter, Marsinah, is hungry, so her father sends her to steal some oranges for their breakfast. When the Poet sits in the spot reserved for Hajj, the beggar, and receives a few coins from benevolent passersby, the other beggars object to his taking Hajj’s location. The Poet sings “Fate,”3 a song that claims fate can be a trap. He questions if fate is good or bad and if he is blessed or cursed. The Poet’s fate quickly sours when he is kidnapped by some henchmen who think he is Hajj. They whisk him away to the desert encampment of Jawan, an elderly, but feared caravan robber. Fifteen years earlier, the real Hajj had placed a curse on Jawan that resulted in the robber’s son disappearing. The brigand demands that the curse be removed. The new Hajj4 promises to remove it for 100 gold pieces. After he pays Hajj, Jawan heads for Baghdad to search for his son. When his associates warn that he might be killed, Jawan says, “No man can avoid his fate; that is kismet.” Hajj is left in the desert, but he is delirious with his new found wealth. He sings about fate shining on him and heads for the city. The Wazir of Police needs a loan to pay off some debts. His wife, Lalume, has just returned from Ababu where she negotiated a loan of all the gold that ten camels can carry if the Wazir can arrange high marriages for the three Ababu princesses. As an introduction, the three oriental princesses perform a very threatening, warrior-like dance. They are not sure they want to remain in Baghdad, so Lalume sings “Not Since Nineveh,”5 in which she enumerates Baghdad’s charms. Many famous cities of the ancient near-east are mentioned in the lyrics. After the princesses’ dance with two male dancers from Baghdad the chorus sings the song, the princesses agree to stay. When the Caliph visits the marketplace to mingle with his subjects, he notices a beautiful girl, the Poet’s daughter, Marsinah, examining some gold cloth. After Marsinah steals some oranges, the merchant chases her through the marketplace. She runs into her father, who surprisingly pays the merchant for the oranges. He also gives Marsinah half the money, which she is certain is stolen. Nevertheless, she purchases “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”6 and a beautiful dress. When Hajj, now dressed as a rich man, is stopped by the police, they discover that the purse of gold he is carrying had been stolen, so they arrest him. Meanwhile, Marsinah examines a quaint house she has always wanted. As she admires the beautiful garden, the Caliph, who has been following her, appears and leads her to believe that he is the gar-

Kismet dener. She says the garden suddenly has become a paradise, which leads into the musical’s most famous song, “Stranger in Paradise,”7 which the Caliph sings. She agrees to meet him in the garden again later that evening and they sing a duet version of the song before he departs. When Hajj is brought before the Wazir, he claims that for the first time in his life he is innocent. The Wazir sentences him to having his right hand cut off, but Hajj protests that losing his hand would cripple his career. In “Gesticulate,”8 he demonstrates the importance of his hands as he illustrates that a storyteller is not interesting without hand movements. The Wazir’s wife, Lalume, is immediately attracted to Hajj. Hajj explains that he was given the money to remove a curse. Jawan is brought into the Wazir’s courtroom and confirms Hajj’s story. He is upset, however, because Hajj had promised he would find his son before the day is over. Suddenly, Jawan notices the amulet around the Wazir’s neck and produces the matching piece. Jawan praises Allah and Hajj’s powers; he has found his son! Rather than being thrilled with this unexpected development, the evil Wazir throws his father into the dungeon. The Caliph arrives and announces he has found a bride that he will wed that evening. The Wazir is distraught; if the Caliph doesn’t marry one, or all three, of the Ababu princesses, he will not receive the loan. So, the Wazir begs Hajj to stop the Caliph’s wedding. If he succeeds, the Wazir promises him a reprieve and the title of Emir. Lalume is thrilled with this development. She sings about her boredom with everything in her present life and not-too-subtly suggests that Hajj could correct the situation (“Bored”9). The Wazir orders his men to see that Hajj doesn’t leave the palace until he performs the spell that will stop the Caliph from marrying anyone other than one of the princesses. Lalume, however, helps Hajj escape. The Caliph and his entourage parade towards the garden to meet his intended. In “Night of My Nights,”10 he sings about this beautiful creature entering his bridal chamber which will be the “night of my nights!” Hajj finds Marsinah in the garden awaiting the Caliph, whom she still thinks is the gardener. Her father explains the situation with the Wazir and tells her they must run away. He gives her the rest of the gold and tells her if he hasn’t returned by dawn to flee to Damascus. He sings “The Olive Tree,” questioning why a person should be content to be nothing when there is nothing they cannot become. The Wazir is overjoyed that the Caliph’s bride

172 has disappeared and is thrilled that Hajj has succeeded in stopping the marriage. However, he intends to kill Hajj because he knows too much. Lalume convinces her husband that he could accomplish many great things with such a wizard. Therefore, he makes Hajj an Emir, but requires him to live in his palace so he can keep an eye on him. He instructs Lalume to keep the Emir happy, which she is more than eager to do. If Hajj is to live in the palace, he wants his daughter to enjoy this luxury also. Lalume and Hajj sing “Rahadlakum,” which is a delicious confection. As Lalume tells Hajj about a wonderful oasis where they could have a delightful tryst, Marsinah is brought into the harem. She explains that she has fallen in love with the man she met in the garden of the house she was looking to buy. She doesn’t know his name or where he lives, but she hopes he will return to the garden. She sings “And This Is My Beloved”11 to describe her lost lover. Meanwhile, the Caliph orders his guards to find his missing love. From his palace, the Caliph sings “And This Is My Beloved” and he and Marsinah sing lines back and forth until, at the end, they sing together (of course, neither supposedly realizes the other is singing). The Wazir tries to convince the Caliph that one wife is not enough and attempts to lure him into marrying all three of the princesses. When Marsinah appears, the Caliph mistakenly assumes she is a member of the Wazir’s harem and would, therefore, be unworthy to be his wife. Crushed by this development, he announces that he will choose a bride that evening. The Wazir is thrilled that Hajj arranged this to clear the way for the Ababu princesses. The Wazir quickly marries Marsinah while she is in a trance. When she awakes and realizes what has happened, she threatens to kill herself. That evening the marital candidates are paraded before the Caliph. Each of the potential wives dances for him, but he isn’t impressed with any of them. The Wazir congratulates Hajj for having the Caliph’s choice for his bride transferred into his harem. Hajj is stunned when the Wazir mentions that the girl’s name is Marsinah and he begins plotting the Wazir’s death. After a rather complicated series of events, Hajj drowns the Wazir. Then Hajj finds Marsinah and reunites her with the Caliph. When the Caliph starts to pardon Hajj for the murder of the Wazir, he requests banishment to some far away oasis and to be sentenced to comfort the Wazir’s widow in her grief. When the Caliph grants his request, Hajj sings “Sands of Time” as the Caliph and Marsinah walk away together. Kismet is an okay movie musical, but it some-

173 how doesn’t live up to its potential. I think the musical’s 583 performances on Broadway is an indication that audiences of the Fifties weren’t particularly interested in this Arabian Nights operetta or its screen version. Audiences of the distant past may have been entranced by an exotic story about a foreign culture set to classical melodies, but by the mid–Fifties, much less into the 21st century, film goers were not enamored with a movie musical that is, as David Rooney of Variety said, “as relevant and roadworthy today as the Edsel.”12 Borodin’s melodies are tuneful, but sometimes Wright’s and Forrest’s lyrics are a bit contrived. The most well known songs are “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” “And This Is My Beloved,” and “Stranger in Paradise.” Of the less well known numbers, “Not Since Nineveh,” “Night of My Nights,” and “Sands of Time” are most interesting. But several of the songs don’t fit into the plot very well. The Ababu princesses’ dance to a big band jazz arrangement is completely out of character with Borodin’s classical melodies. Vic Damone’s decidedly pop vocal style is not well suited to this operetta-style music.

Kiss Me Kate M-G-M, November 26, 1953, 110 minutes Principal Cast: Kathryn Grayson (Lilli Vanessi/Katherine), Howard Keel (Fred Graham/Petruchio), Ann Miller (Lois Lane/Bianca), Tommy Rall (Bill Calhoun/Lucentio), Keenan Wynn (Lippy), James Whitmore (Slug), Bobby Van (Gremio), Kurt Kasznar (Baptista), Bob Fosse (Hortensio) Director: George Sidney Producer: Jack Cummings Screenwriter: Dorothy Kingsley Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Too Darn Hot”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate, which opened on Broadway in 1948, won five awards, including Best Musical, at the first Tony Awards. Porter set Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew to music, which was inspired by real-life husband and wife actors, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, who once fought their way through this Shakespeare play. A play-withina-play unfolds, where each of the main cast member’s on-stage performance is complicated by what is happening in their off-stage life.

Kiss Me Kate The film opens in Fred Graham’s apartment where composer, Cole Porter,1 arrives to demonstrate some songs to convince Lilli Vanessi to appear in his show. Since Fred is also the director, Porter is concerned that Lilli may not relish taking direction from her former husband. Fred thinks Lilli is “a pushover for a sentimental lyric,” so he suggests Cole demonstrate “So in Love.” When Lili arrives, Fred makes her believe the number will be a great song for her, but it is actually a duet.2 Lilli is concerned about portraying the shrew, so Fred and Cole attempt to convince her only a great actress could pull it off. While they are viewing some of the costume designs, Lois Lane arrives to audition for the part of Bianca. She has brought along several instrumentalists from the Copacabana, where she is currently performing, to accompany her as she performs a song and tap dance routine to “Too Darn Hot.”3 Mr. Porter is impressed, but informs her that the song has been removed from the show. Lilli, who is engaged to be married again, decides against performing in the show because she thinks it might interfere with her honeymoon. Fred, knowing Lilli’s ego, offers the part of Katherine to Lois, so Lilli immediately accepts the role. The scene switches to a rehearsal where Bill Calhoun, who portrays Lucentio, is missing. When he arrives, Lois pays his cab fare because he’s lost all his money gambling — again. He also signed an IOU for $2,000 in Fred Graham’s name. Lois follows Bill to the roof of the theater, where she wistfully sings “Why Can’t You Behave?” begging him to stop gambling before he gets in big trouble. Fred and Lilli quarrel constantly. When she calls him a louse during rehearsal, he follows her to her dressing room where they continue bickering. Lilli receives a call from Tex,4 her cattle baron fiancé, that he can’t make her opening because his steers are restless. To goad Fred, Lilli shows him her huge engagement ring. Then she presents Fred with an old cork from a bottle of champagne from their wedding breakfast. That spurs reminiscing about the early years of their marriage. One of their remembrances was a Viennese operetta. They sing a rollicking waltz from that production, “Wunderbar” and dance together. During the second chorus, she sings an obbligato that includes excerpts from “The Blue Danube” waltz. They have so much fun performing the number again they wonder what happened to their love. When Fred goes into his dressing room, two thugs are there. Lippy and Slug have been sent by their employer, Mr. Hogan, to collect the IOU. Even though Fred assures them that he hasn’t been out of the theater all day and that the signature isn’t

Kiss Me Kate his, they don’t believe him but agree to allow Fred to perform that evening. Lilli receives some violets and roses, the same as her wedding bouquet, and assumes they are from Fred. She is touched and sings a reprise of “So in Love.” Fred asks his valet if he delivered the flowers and the accompanying note to Lois Lane. The valet doesn’t reveal that he delivered the flowers to Lilli by mistake. As they are about to go on stage, Lilli compliments Fred for his thoughtfulness in sending the flowers. He is surprised and relieved — she obviously hadn’t read the accompanying note. When her maid finds the card and gives it to Lilli, she puts it in her costume next to her heart. The show opens with “We Open in Venice,” with Fred, Lilli, Lois and Bill dressed as a group of itenerate entertainers “traveling” from city to city on a clever circular aparatus. Fred explains to the audience that this is a tale about Baptista Minola, a Padua merchant who will not allow his younger daughter, Bianca, to marry until he secures a husband for his elder daughter, Katherine, who is quite a shrew. Bianca has three suitors: Gremio, Hortensio, and Lucentio. Each of them tries to persuade Bianca to choose him as her husband. In “Tom, Dick or Harry,” she declares her readiness to marry any of them. When Petruchio arrives in Padua, he sings “I’ve Come to Wife It Wealthily in Padua,” in which he proclaims his intention to find a wife with a sizeable dowry. He hears that Katherine is rich, young, and beautiful, so he decides she is the girl, even though Lucentio warns him that she will be an illtempered wife. He sends Lucentio to tell Baptista that he has found a husband for Katherine. Katherine, however, hates the idea and, in “I Hate Men,” itemizes the many things she despises about the masculine gender. Once Petruchio negotiates a suitable dowry and the deal is consummated, he sings “Were Thine That Special Face.” Lilli, on a balcony as Kate, pats the card near her bosom and winks at Fred as he sings. When she decides to read the card, however, and discovers the bouquet was intended for Lois, she is understandably upset. She heaps verbal abuse on Fred and punches, slaps, bites and kicks him as they speak their lines. When Fred has had all he can take, he puts her over his knee and spanks her. Backstage, Lilli, furious about the spanking, tells Fred she’s leaving the production immediately. Fred is so consumed by what has just transpired, that he hardly notices when Bill confesses that he signed his name to an IOU. When it finally dawns on him what Bill did, he is mad at first, but when Lippy and

174 Slug show up again, he decides to take credit for the debt and tells them that he can’t pay back the IOU because Lilli is walking out and the show will close. Later, the two gangsters forcefully convince Lilli to remain. As the play resumes, Petruchio and Kate are getting married. Lippy and Slug, disguised as Petruchio’s servants, won’t let Lilli out of their sight. Since Lilli can’t sit down due to Fred’s spanking, Petruchio drapes Kate across the saddle on his donkey for the trip home and sings a reprise of “I’ve Come to Wife It Wealthily in Padua.” Back in Verona, Petruchio begins taming his shrew by refusing to let her eat or sleep. Lippy and Slug refuse to leave the stage, so Petruchio hides them behind a screen where they play gin rummy. When Kate locks Petruchio out of the bridal chamber, he reminisces about his philandering days in the song “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?” During the song he thumbs through his little black book and fondly remembers girl after girl in various cities and towns. Tex arrives backstage to rescue Lilli, but Lois insists that she and Tex had a fling together in Houston. Tex denies her accusation. Bill is upset when he overhears their conversation. He and Lois sing a reprise of “Why Can’t You Behave?” with Bill now accusing Lois of misbehavior, which leads into the song “Always True to You (in My Fashion),” in which Lois assures Bill that she loves him, but just can’t resist other men. When Lippy and Slug telephone Mr. Hogan, they hear gun shots. Their boss has been elminated by a rival crime boss, therefore the IOU is no longer valid and Lilli is free to leave. After she departs, Fred is depressed, so the two gangsters try to cheer him up by singing “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” In their Brooklyn accents, Lippy and Slug claim a guy can wow the women if he quotes the bard of Strattford-on-Avon. The last act of the play begins with Bianca marrying Lucentio. Gremio and Hortensio are dejected until two girls5 appear; then all three couples sing and dance several different dance styles to “From This Moment On.”6 Petruchio and Baptista can’t find Katherine. Suddenly, Lilli appears on stage and recites “I’m Ashamed That Women Are So Simple,” Kate’s speech about how women should surrender to their husbands. Fred is speechless at first, but regains his composure to sing “Kiss Me, Kate.” He and Lilli kiss and then sing the song together. As a final gesture, she throws away his little black book. The film version was filmed in 3-D and one can easily identify several of the 3-D effects. Today, however, the film is not normally available in 3-D.

175 For some inexplicable reason, Dorothy Kingsley, the screenwriter, decided to rewrite the opening and eliminate one of the musical’s most famous songs, “Another Op’nin’, Another Show,” although it can be heard in the orchestral background music from time to time. In the Broadway stage version, the musical opens with the maid, Hattie, singing the song. In some later productions, it was sung by a butler. Along with Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” this song became the best-known ode to show business and the theater — but it was omitted from the screen version! Cole Porter’s sophisticated lyrics and beautiful melodies were never better, but it may be too sophisticated for the average person’s taste. He does a great job of setting Shakespearean-style lyrics to music (especially “I’ve Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua,” “Were Thine That Special Face,” and “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?”). “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” is hilarious. The audition sequence where Lois performs “Too Darn Hot” is far too contrived (which is not her fault, of course), but her performances of “Why Can’t You Behave?” and “Always True to You (in My Fashion)” are great. “So in Love” is a beautiful duet, but I’ve never been fond of “Wunderbar,” even though it is a take-off on Viennese operetta. Kiss Me Kate was revived on Broadway in 1999. That production ran for 881 performances and was nominated for a dozen Tony Awards, winning four: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Brian Stokes Mitchell as Fred Graham), Best Costume Design, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Orchestrations.

Lady and the Tramp Walt Disney Pictures, June 16, 1955, 76 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Peggy Lee (Darling), Larry Roberts (Tramp), Barbara Luddy (Lady), Lee Millar (Jim Dear) Directors: Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ralph Wright, and Donald DaGradi Music and Lyrics: Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Lady and the Tramp is Disney’s fifteenth animated feature film but the first filmed in Cinemascope. The film was based on Ward Greene’s short

Lady and the Tramp story, Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog, published in the mid–Forties in Cosmopolitan. As a tenor soloist and humming chorus sing “Peace on Earth,” the film opens on a snowy Christmas Eve in a quaint village during the early part of the 20th century. Jim Dear and his wife, Darling,1 live in an upscale section of town. When she opens Jim’s Christmas gift, she finds a female cocker spaniel puppy that she names Lady. The puppy quickly becomes the center of their attention. When Lady is six months old, she receives her collar and license, which she proudly shows off to her canine friends: Jock,2 a Scottish terrier with a heavy brogue, and Trusty,3 an elderly bloodhound who supposedly has lost his sense of smell. On the other side of the tracks, a raffish mutt, Tramp, wakes and heads to one of his favorite restaurants for breakfast. Today Tramp selects Tony’s, an Italian restaurant, where Joe, the cook, tosses him a bone. Tramp’s breakfast is interrupted by a dogcatcher whistling “Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone.” While the dogcatcher is tacking up some signs, Tramp opens the door of the dogcatcher’s wagon to free a couple of his friends: Peg,4 a Pekinese, and Bull,5 an English bulldog with a Cockney accent. When the dogcatcher chases Tramp, he ends up in the part of town he calls “snob hill,” because all the trash cans have lids and all the trees have fences around them. When Trusty and Jock come to visit, Lady is very sad. She doesn’t understand why Jim Dear and Darling are ignoring her. Her friends explain that Darling is going to have a baby, but Lady doesn’t know what a baby is. When Tramp wanders by and enters into the conversation, Lady, Jock and Trusty treat him with disdain. The streetwise Tramp warns Lady that a baby will disrupt her happy home. He says, “When a baby moves in, the dog moves out,” meaning she will soon be sleeping in a doghouse in the back yard. When Darling gives birth to a baby boy, she sings the baby to sleep with a lullaby, “La La Lu.” At first Lady is ignored, but Jim Dear finally picks her up so she can see the new member of the family. Some time later, when Jim Dear and Darling are going away for a few days, Darling’s Aunt Sarah6 comes to take care of the baby. Aunt Sarah has brought along her two Siamese cats, Si and Am.7 These mischievous felines sing “The Siamese Cat Song,” attempt to eat the goldfish and tear the curtains in the living room, among other mischievous acts. When they hear the baby cry, they head upstairs to steal its milk. Lady is determined to protect the child, so she chases the cats away from the stairs. When Aunt Sarah comes to check on the

Les Girls noise, her precious cats pretend to be hurt, so Lady is blamed for their mischief. Aunt Sarah purchases a muzzle and leash for Lady, but she breaks free. Lady runs into an unsavory part of town, where she is chased by some mean dogs. When the vicious street dogs corner her, Tramp fights off her attackers. Then Tramp takes her to the zoo where he persuades Beaver8 to chew off her muzzle. In return, Beaver keeps the muzzle and leash to aid him in hauling huge logs to the stream for his dam. Once Lady is freed from the muzzle, Tramp, who calls her “Pidge,” takes her to the back entrance of Tony’s Italian Restaurant, where Joe prepares a special spaghetti and meatball meal for them. Once the meal is served, Tony9 and Joe10 serenade the canine couple with a love song, “Bella Notte (This Is the Night),” accompanying themselves on concertina and mandolin. During the song, the two dogs eat the same strand of spaghetti which brings them together for a kiss. Later, an off-screen chorus takes up the song as Lady and Tramp stroll through a moonlit park and sleep side by side. The next morning, Lady wants to return home to take care of the baby, so Tramp walks her home. On the way, they pass a farm where Tramp insists on chasing the chickens. He has a ball while Lady cowers to avoid the ruckus. When the farmer shoots at them, they escape, but Lady is captured by the dogcatcher and is taken to the dog pound. There, she is reintroduced to Bull and Peg and meets Boris,11 an aristocratic Russian wolfhound philosopher. A quartet of mongrels12 howls a clever rendition of “Home, Sweet Home” while several of the other pound inhabitants cry. Later, Peg sings “He’s a Tramp” to clue Lady in to Tramp’s roguish ways. Aunt Sarah comes to claim Lady, but when they return home, Lady is chained to a doghouse in the backyard. When Tramp comes by, Lady refuses to listen to him primarily because of his female exploits that she learned about from Peg. Soon after Tramp leaves, Lady sees a rat come through the fence. She tries to catch it, but the chain restrains her. She barks furiously to warn Aunt Sarah, but the elderly woman only yells at her to hush. When Tramp hears the noise, he returns. Lady tells him that the slimy rat has climbed into the baby’s room. As Tramp makes his way into the baby’s room to fight the rodent, Lady breaks loose and also runs upstairs. Tramp is victorious over the rat, but knocks the baby’s crib over during the skirmish. Aunt Sarah, who doesn’t see the dead rat, thinks Tramp has attacked the baby, so she calls the dogcatcher to take him away. Fortunately, Jim Dear and Darling return home as Tramp is carted away

176 and, with Lady’s help, discover the dead rat. They quickly realize it was Tramp who saved the baby. Jock and Trusty track the dog pound wagon; miraculously Trusty’s failed sense of smell is revived. Just as they catch the wagon and stop it, Jim Dear and Lady arrive in an automobile to free Tramp. When the wagon’s horses are freightened by the dogs’ barking, they rear, which causes the wagon to overturn pinning Trusty beneath a wheel. Jock howls in anguish because he thinks his friend is dead. In the film’s final scene, it is Christmas again. Tramp has been adopted by Jim Dear and Darling and sports a new collar and license. Lady has given birth to four puppies — three girls who look like their mother and one male who looks like his father. Jim Dear, Darling, the baby, and their dog family pose for a family photo. Jock and Trusty, who only suffered a broken leg, arrive for a visit. The film concludes as it began with a panoramic view of a snowy moonlit night and a chorus singing “Peace on Earth.” Musically, the best and most well-known songs are “He’s a Tramp,” “The Siamese Cat Song,” and “Bella Notte (This Is the Night).” Character-wise, Lady, Tramp, Tony, and Peg are memorable, but most of the other cartoon creatures are not as lovable as those from other Disney fables. According to Michael Scheinfeld from TV Guide, Lady and the Tramp took three years to complete and cost $4 million. It grossed over $25 million, which made the film the number three grossing film of the Fifties behind only The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur.13

Les Girls M-G-M, October 3, 1957, 114 minutes Principal Cast : Gene Kelly (Barry Nichols), Mitzi Gaynor ( Joy Henderson), Kay Kendall (Sybil/Lady Wren), Taina Elg (Angele/Madame Ducros), Jacques Bergerac (Pierre Ducros), Leslie Phillips (Sir Gerald Wren) Director: George Cukor Producer: Sol C. Siegel Screenwriters: John Patrick; based on a story by Vera Caspary Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Choreographer: Jack Cole Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Costume Design ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ Best Sound, Recording Availability: DVD

177 Les Girls was Gene Kelly’s final M-G-M movie musical and it also became the last film score written by Cole Porter. When Kelly refused the choreographer’s job for the film, the studio hired Jack Cole. However, when Cole became ill during filming, Kelly filled in. Les Girls might easily have been titled What Is Truth? In a sensational libel trial, whose testimony is truthful: Lady Wren’s, Madame Duros’, Barry Nichols’ or none of the above? The film opens in London at the Royal Courts of Justice. Under cross examination, Lady Wren is questioned about her memoir book, specifically the part in which she claims that Madame Ducros attempted suicide after being rejected by Barry Nichols, an American, who is the leader of a touring act called “Barry Nichols and Les Girls.” Lady Wren’s testimony is the first part of the film. The act was appearing in Paris where she and Joy, who is also a part of the act, share an apartment. Barry sends a message for them to come to the theater where he is holding auditions to replace a girl who is no longer in the act. Angele auditions with a stripper-like dance. Barry has her execute a few dance steps, asks if she is married or engaged and, when she answers negatively, hires her. Angele moves into the apartment with Joy, an American, and Sybil (later, Lady Wren). Contrary to what she had told Barry, Angele confesses to her new roommates that she is engaged to a prominent French industrialist, Pierre Ducros. The scene switches to a performance, in which Barry sings “Les Girls,” a song about France having exactly what he likes most — beautiful women. The trio of featured girls, Joy, Sybil,1 and Angele, also dance and sing. After the performance, Angele plans to go out, but Barry demands that she stay for more rehearsal. They rehearse “The Rope Dance,” a sensuous duet in which Angele and Barry get tangled in a rope on an expressionistic, geometric, darkly lit set. Afterwards, Barry offers to buy her dinner. When Barry escorts Angele home, they kiss. He cautions her not to mention the dinner or the kiss to the other girls. Sybil is suspicious, however, and asks Angele if she is seeing Barry. Although she denies it, Joy and Sybil soon see them meet and chummily drive off together in Barry’s convertible. Pierre, who doesn’t know that Angele is a showgirl, unexpectedly comes for a visit. Sybil and Joy tell him that they work with Angele at the hospital. Meanwhile, Barry and Angele are floating down a stream in a small boat, where she sings the ballad,

Les Girls “Ça, c’est l’amour.” She seems to be falling in love with Barry. They return home separately but arrive simultaneously and act as if they haven’t seen each other for hours. Just before they go to their separate apartments, they sneak a kiss in the shadows. Sybil interrupts their embrace to tell Angele that Pierre is upstairs. Pierre wants to introduce Angele to his parents at dinner the next evening. She tells him that she has to work ... at the hospital. During their next show, the girls perform “Ladies-in-Waiting” dressed in Louis XIV costumes. The song is about the amorous duties the king expects from his ladies-in-waiting. During their performance, Joy tells Angele that Pierre and his parents are in the audience. For the rest of the number, Angele tries to hide. The next number is “The Rope Dance,” which Angele is supposed to dance with Barry. From the dark platform set, Barry whispers “pull the rope” several times, but Angele isn’t there. Finally, one of the stagehands pulls it, which causes Barry to fall and tangle in the rope. Afterwards, Barry fires her. As she is leaving the theater, a clown act is performing “Be a Clown” on stage. Later that evening, Sybil returns to the apartment and discovers that Angele has attempted suicide. That ends Lady Wren’s testimony. At the next court session, Angele tells her side of the story. One day when she and Joy were shopping for food at an outdoor market, they meet Sir Gerald Wren, who is looking for Sybil Moore. They tell him she is their roommate and Angele runs ahead to warn Sybil that Sir Wren is coming to the apartment. She finds Sybil quite inebriated (throughout the movie Sybil supposedly sips on cough syrup, but it is actually gin). Sybil refuses to see Gerald because she doesn’t want to marry him. Angele reports to Sir Wren that Sybil is out. When Joy and Angele return to the apartment, Sybil is singing a pitiful rendition of the “Habanera” aria from Bizet’s Carmen. Barry arrives at their apartment, hears her horrible singing and goes to her bedroom to investigate. When he discovers she’s drunk, he starts to fire her, but Angele informs Barry that Sybil drinks because she’s hopelessly in love with him. In a mellower mood, Barry returns to Sybil’s bedroom and promises to work up a routine that will feature her. As he leaves the apartment, Barry tells Joy and Angele, “we’ve got to help that kid.” Barry gives up drinking and expects Joy and Angele to set good examples in that regard also. While the now sober Sybil and Barry pack for

Les Girls their upcoming tour, they sing and dance to “You’re Just Too Too,” which mocks upper-class sentiments of love. During a tour montage, “Les Girls” is performed in Italian, German, and Spanish. In Granada, Sir Wren unexpectedly shows up to propose to Sybil. Barry is shocked by this turn of events, but quickly warms to Wren when he agrees to help Barry open a show in London. Sybil rushes Sir Wren away so he and Barry can’t consummate a deal. Once Sir Wren leaves, Sybil tells Barry that she told Gerald that she and Barry are lovers. Suddenly, Sir Wren returns and tells them he can believe they are lovers, but he thinks it’s imprudent. Barry admits to “fooling around” but assures Wren it is nothing serious. A fight develops between Gerald and Barry. In the next scene, Barry is licking his wounds in a train compartment. An elderly Italian, the only other person in the compartment, offers Barry some food and drink. Barry “falls off the wagon” by accepting the man’s offer of “vino.” Sybil tries to apologize to Barry but he isn’t in a conciliatory mood. Frustrated, Sybil “falls off the wagon” as she too shares the Italian’s wine. Back in Paris, it is opening night for another show. Sybil is in “high spirits” and staggers through a reprise of “Ladies-in-Waiting.” Later in her dressing room, Barry tells her to go home to England because he is going to hire someone to take her place. She is devastated. Later at the apartment, Angele finds that Sybil has attempted suicide by opening the gas valve. Sybil is taken to the hospital and Angele faints from the gas fumes. As a result, the act breaks up. Angele and Pierre marry and are happy together until Lady Wren’s book is published. Angele’s testimony ends here. The Judge warns Lady Wren and Madame Ducros that one of them will likely be charged with perjury because both of their stories cannot be true. The next day, Barry is a surprise witness. When asked which woman’s testimony is factual, Barry tells his side of the story. He testifies that he was interested in Joy, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with him unless he would marry her. Gerald and Pierre show up at Barry’s apartment to ask him to fire their respective girlfriends because they can’t compete with the theater. Barry concocts a plan and sets it in motion by ignoring Joy. At their next performance, Joy, as a waitress, and Barry, as a black-leather jacketed motorcycle gang member, perform a song-and-dance routine to “Why Am I So Gone (About That Gal).” As they leave the stage, Barry fakes a pain in his

178 chest. Joy is, of course, worried. She tells Angele and Sybil that Barry has a heart problem and shouldn’t continue the act. The act had been together a year, so they throw a small celebration party. Later in the evening when they all have had too much to drink, Angele and Sybil break the news that they are giving up the theater. Faking a noble acceptance of their decisions, Barry tells them that he won’t stand in their way. Still very concerned about Barry’s health, Joy walks him to his apartment, where she sees several photographs of herself hanging on the wall. When Barry tries to make love to her, she tells him he shouldn’t get excited because of his heart condition. Frustrated, he confesses that it was just an act to help Gerald and Pierre. Infuriated, Joy storms out of his apartment. He follows yelling that he loves her. Joy, who is hiding in the shadows smiles. When Barry gets to the girls’ apartment, he finds Angele and Sybil unconscious from escaping gas, an accident caused by an ancient heating system. The judge dismisses the case. As the opposing parties leave the court room, they embrace one another in a joyous reunion. When Barry gets into his limousine, his wife, Joy, is there. She had heard his testimony from the rear of the courtroom, but asks if it was the truth. Barry only answers that he had come to save the girls’ marriages, which he did. As the film ends, a man that was seen between each person’s testimony passes by with a sign that reads: “What Is Truth?” Reportedly, Cole Porter felt the script for Les Girls was good enough as a straight comedy and didn’t need any songs, except for the performances by Barry Nichols and Les Girls. Perhaps that’s the reason that Porter’s songs are not especially noteworthy. There are only five musical numbers and they are all performed by Gene Kelly and his girls’ trio as part of their act. Therefore, they are not pertinent to the plot. By the time Les Girls was filmed, original movie musicals were practically non-existent. Some of the blame for the demise of film musicals is the lack of impressive newcomers who could sing, dance, and act. Another is that the song-and-dance veterans were aging. Another sizeable factor is the cost of filming movie musicals. Film studios found it much more financially prudent to film Broadway musicals that already had a following that would flock to the theater to see the musical on the screen. Tragically, Kay Kendall, who portrayed Sybil, appeared in only two other Hollywood productions, The Reluctant Debutante and Once More with Feeling, before dying of leukemia in 1959 at the age of thirty-two.

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The Lion King Walt Disney Pictures, June 24, 1994, 90 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Jonathan Taylor Thomas (young Simba), Matthew Broderick (adult Simba), Nathan Lane (Timon), Ernie Sabella (Pumbaa), James Earl Jones (Mufasa), Jeremy Irons (Scar), Niketa Calame (young Nala), Moira Kelly (adult Nala), Robert Guillaume (Rafiki), Rowan Atkinson (Zazu), Whoopi Goldberg (Shenzi), Cheech Marin (Banzai), Jim Cummings (Ed) Director: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff Producer: Don Hahn Screenwriters: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton Music Elton John Lyrics: Tim Rice Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Circle of Life”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Hakuna Matata”) ❍ *Best Music, Original Score Availability: DVD

The Lion King is the thirty-second animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It became the highest grossing animated film of all time until the 2003 release of Finding Nemo. The Lion King still holds the record for the highest grossing traditional (hand-drawn) animated film. In addition to becoming one of the top box office draws of the Nineties, the film won two Academy Awards, and was nominated for two more (see Awards and Honors above). British singer-songwriter, Elton John became one of the most dominant popular music performers of the Seventies. Over his four-decade plus music career, he became one of the most successful artists of all time. Most of his biggest hits were written in collaboration with Bernie Taupin. John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. British lyricist Tim Rice is perhaps most famous for collaborating with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in writing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Rice also collaborated with Alan Menken on the lyrics for the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast (1993) and on the film Aladdin1 (1992). As the film opens, it is dawn on the African savanna and a native–African voice2 sings in Zulu. As the song continues, various animals gather. Another voice sings “Circle of Life,”3 about conquering despair with hope, faith and love until we discover our place in the circle.

The Lion King Zazu, a hornbill, flies up to a promontory where he lands, bows, and indicates that everything is prepared. Rafiki, an elderly mandrill who is the shaman of this group of animals, performs a ceremony that confirms the new cub born to Mufasa, the ruling monarch of the Pride Lands of the Serengeti, and his wife, Sarabi, as successor to the crown. Rifiki then picks up the cub, ascends to the point of Pride Rock and presents him to the animals below. They howl and stamp their approval and bow before the crown prince. Some time later, Mufasa proudly shows Simba, his son, their kingdom from the top of Pride Rock. When Simba asks if the shadowy place to the north is part of their domain, Mufasa tells him that area is beyond their borders and is forbidden. Simba haughtily claims that a king should be able to do anything he wants, but his father explains that there’s more to being king than having your own way. Mufasa further explains that everything must work together in a delicate balance and that all of their lives are connected. Scar, Mufasa’s brother who had been next in line as king before Simba was born, tells his naïve nephew about the elephant graveyard in the forbidden, shadowy place. Scar claims that only the bravest of lions go there. Soon, Simba and his best friend, Nala, want to go to the water-hole, but their parents agree only if Zazu goes along. During the trip, Zazu questions Simba’s ability to rule. In “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” Simba4 sings about his dream of becoming a mighty king. During the song, the two cubs dance around and under a herd of elephants. Then towards the end of the song, several different animals form a pyramid with Simba and Nala on top. When the pyramid collapses, Zazu is pinned under a rhino which allows Simba and Nala to escape their babysitter and make their way to the eerie elephant graveyard. There, the cubs are met by three spotted hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, who try to kill them. Mufasa rescues them just in time. On their way home, Mufasa orders Zazu to take Nala home so that he may teach Simba a lesson. Once alone, Mufasa scolds his son for disobeying and for putting himself and Nala in danger. Mufasa also explains that being brave doesn’t mean looking for danger. After a little playful tussling, Simba asks if they will always be together. Mufasa tells him that the great kings of the past are among the stars to guide him and when Mufasa’s time comes, he will be there, too. Scar has gained the loyalty of the hyenas by bringing them food. In “Be Prepared,” he sings about his disappointment that they didn’t dispose of the cubs and Mufasa when they had the oppor-

The Lion King tunity. He also reveals his new plan to kill Mufasa and Simba and promises the hyenas that they’ll have plenty of food when he becomes king. Scar promises Simba a surprise “to DIE for” and lures him into a gorge while the hyenas cause a herd of wildebeest to stampede. When Scar informs Mufasa of the stampede and that Simba is trapped in the gorge, Mufasa races to rescue him. He heroically saves his son, and valiantly climbs out of the gorge, but Scar makes certain that his brother falls back into the raging stampede. When the stampede subsides, Simba searches for his father and finds him under a log. Simba futilely tries to revive him. Scar slyly blames Simba for his father’s death and recommends that he hide from the guilt and shame by running away and never coming back. Scar orders his hyena henchmen to kill Simba, but he escapes into the desert. With fake sympathy, Scar informs Sarabi that both her husband and son were killed. Then he makes it sound as if he will assume the throne “with a heavy heart.” Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog, find Simba unconscious. Pumbaa wants to keep the lion cub as a pet, but Timon warns that it will grow. Then Timon decides that having a lion friend might have its advantages. Once Simba revives, he is despondent, so Timon and Pumbaa try to cheer him up by singing about their problem-free philosophy, “Hakuna Matata.” After some coaxing, Simba finally joins their song about a worry free existence. During the song, Timon and Pumbaa teach Simba to eat insects and worms. Even later in the song, Simba has grown into a full grown lion. Due to Scar’s irresponsibility, the Pride Lands is now a barren wasteland. The three hyenas, who complain about no food or water, even think things were better when Mufasa was king. Back in the jungle, Timon and Pumbaa sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”5 As Pumbaa looks for bugs to eat, he encounters a lioness. Just before the lioness pounces, Simba bounds over Pumbaa and fights her. When the lioness pins him, he quickly realizes it must be Nala. She begs Simba to return and take his place as king but, still believing he is responsible for his father’s death, he refuses. When she calls Simba “king,” Timon and Pumbaa think it’s a joke, but they become concerned that they will soon lose their lion buddy. Timon sings the introduction to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”6 while Pumbaa interjects questions and thoughts. The scene shifts to Simba and Nala by a waterfall where the song continues. The lyrics explore their conflicting feelings. Simba would love to tell her the truth about the past but doesn’t think she would understand. She can sense

180 that he is hiding something, but can’t understand why he refuses to be the king she knows he can be. During the chorus, Simba and Nala play in a pool of water and later tussle. When Simba pins Nala for the first time, she gives him a lick (a kiss), which startles him. They are soon rubbing their heads together in a loving way. Rafiki arrives and promises to show Simba his father. He instructs Simba to look into a pool where he sees his own reflection in the water that transforms into the face of Mufasa. Rafiki says, “You see, he lives in you.” From the clouds, Mufasa speaks to Simba. He accuses him of forgetting who he is and tells his son that he must take his place in the circle of life. As Mufasa’s image fades, Simba is ready to return and Nala follows. Simba is horrified by the condiiton of the Pride Lands. Suddenly, Timon and Pumbaa also show up and pledge their loyalty to their friend. Simba convinces Timon to dress up in drag and do the hula to create a diversion.7 As Timon and Pumbaa divert the hyenas, Simba and Nala sneak by. Simba sends Nala to find her mother and rally the other lionesses while he searches for Scar. After Scar scolds Sarabi for not doing her job of hunting for food and knocks her to the ground when she accuses him of being half the king Mufasa was, Simba announces his return. At first, Scar thinks Mufasa has returned as a ghost, but Simba reassures him that he is Simba and he’s alive. In defense, Scar informs the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa’s death and corners him at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge, Scar says, “Now this looks familiar. Hmm. Where have I seen this before?” Then Scar whispers to Simba “I killed Mufasa.” Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar. Then he forces Scar to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensues between the hyenas and the lionesses. During the fight, Simba finally corners Scar, who begs for mercy and blames everything on the hyenas. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed are nearby and hear Scar’s betrayal. Simba refuses to be as ruthless as his uncle, so he tells Scar to leave and never return. Scar pretends to leave, but throws coals in Simba’s face and attacks. Simba, however, manages to defend himself and eventually throws Scar over the edge. Scar survives the fall, but is surrounded by hordes of hyenas, who kill him by eating him alive. Simba becomes the new king of the Pride Lands and Nala becomes his queen. As the film concludes, the savanna is renewed. As the “Circle of Life” is reprised, Rafiki appears and presents Kiara, Simba and Nala’s newborn cub to the Pride Lands animals. The circle is complete! There are a few other songs that are heard in bits

181 and pieces including the spiritual “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” “It’s a Small World (Richard and Robert Sherman, 1964), and “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Fred Heatherton, 1944). Of the five movie musicals from the 1990s that are included in this book, all are Disney animated movie musicals except for one. It’s very difficult to rank the top three, but I have Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame tied for the top spot with The Lion King close behind. According to rottentomatoes.com, the film has a 92 percent approval rating — the second best rating for a movie musical of the decade. I’d probably rank it higher if it didn’t include five interpolations, but the five Elton John and Tim Rice songs are gems. “Circle of Life” is, in my opinion, the best, but “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” is a beautiful love song. Scar’s “Be Prepared” is horrifyingly evil, while “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and “Hakuna Matata” are both cute and fun. The Lion King became a stage musical in 1997. Julie Taymor’s imaginative direction of the Broadway musical used actors in animal costumes as well as giant puppets for the Pride Lands creatures. The musical won six Tony Awards including Best Musical. Disney later released two The Lion King movies directly to DVD: a sequel, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and The Lion King 1 1 ⁄2, which was part prequel and part parallel.

The Little Mermaid Walt Disney Pictures, November 17, 1989, 83 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Jodi Benson (Ariel), Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), Christopher Daniel Barnes (Prince Eric), Pat Carroll (Ursula), Rene Auberjonois (Louis), Paddi Edwards (Flotsam and Jetsam), Buddy Hackett (Scuttle), Jason Marin (Flounder), Kenneth Mars (King Triton) Directors: John Musker and Ron Clements Producers: John Musker and Howard Ashman Screenwriters: John Musker and Ron Clements Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Under the Sea”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Kiss the Girl”) ❍ *Best Music, Original Score Availability: DVD

“The Little Mermaid,” one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most famous tales, was published in

The Little Mermaid Copenhagen in 1837 as part of Fairy Tales Told for Children. The Little Mermaid began a splendid series of Disney animated movie musicals that dominated the next decade. Alan Menken continued his collaboration with Howard Ashman on Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992; after Ashman died, Tim Rice replaced him); Stephen Schwartz served as his lyricist on Pocahontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and while Elton John and Tim Rice contributed the music and lyrics respectively for The Lion King (1994). All of these animated feature films are some of the best movie musicals of the period. The Little Mermaid opens on the ocean where the sailors on board a ship sing “Fathoms Below,” about the merfolk who live beneath the waves. Grimsby,1 the adviser to Prince Eric, tells the young prince about King Triton, the ruler of the merpeople. At an underwater concert hall, King Triton and his court composer, Horatio Thelonious Ignatius Crustaceous Sebastian, a crusty little crab, are introduced. Triton is looking forward to the concert that will feature his daughters, especially his youngest daughter, Ariel, and her beautiful voice. The concert begins with “Daughters of Triton,” but when it comes time for Ariel to sing, she isn’t there. Instead, she and her friend, Flounder, are investigating a sunken ship, where Ariel picks up several human artifacts. Ariel surfaces to show her seagull pal, Scuttle, the human paraphernalia she had collected. Scuttle pretends to know the names of the objects — he calls a folk a “dinglehopper” and says humans use it on their hair; he calls a smoking pipe “a banded, bulbous snarf blat,” and claims it is used to make music. At the mention of the word “music,” Ariel remembers the concert. Ursula, the exiled sea witch octopus, along with her eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, is watching a magic projection of Ariel swimming home. Ursula orders the eels to watch Ariel closely to discover something she can use against Triton. At Triton’s palace, Ariel is scolded for ruining the concert. As Flounder tries to defend her, he accidentally reveals that she has been up to the surface again. She departs crying when Triton forbids her from going to the surface ever again. Triton also appoints Sebastian to keep his daughter out of trouble. Sebastian follows Ariel and Flounder to her secret cave where she stores her human stuff. In “Part of the World,” Ariel sings about her treasures, but she wants more. She wants to become part of the human’s world where she can walk and run and

The Little Mermaid dance. Sebastian tries to talk her into returning home, but she is distracted by a ship passing overhead. When she surfaces, Ariel sees fireworks exploding in the sky above the ship, so she swims over to investigate. The people on board are celebrating Prince Eric’s birthday. Grimsby unveils a large statue of the Prince as his birthday present. He had intended the statue as a wedding present, but Eric didn’t fall in love with the Glauerhaven princess as expected. Eric is polite, but isn’t particularly thankful for the gift. While Eric tells Grimsby about the type of girl he wants for a wife, Ariel is listening nearby. Eric’s ship is violently tossed about in a storm and crashes on some rocks. Everyone except Max, the Prince’s sheepdog, gets off the ship safely. Eric returns and tosses the dog over board just before the ship explodes. Ariel finds Eric unconscious in the water and takes him to shore. She suspects that he is dead, but is greatly relieved when he begins to move. Eric revives just enough to glimpse his rescuer’s face. Ariel sings a reprise of “Part of the World,” but this time it is “Part of Your World.” When Grimsby and Max approach, Ariel swims away. All Eric remembers is being rescued by a pretty girl with a beautiful voice. Before Ariel gets out of sight, she sings more of “Part of Your World,” confident that somehow, someday, she’ll become part of Eric’s world. Ursula is delighted. Ariel has fallen in love with a human and she’s confident she can use this against Triton. Later when Ariel is humming to herself, one of her sisters becomes suspicious that Ariel is in love and tells their father. In “Under the Sea,”2 Sebastian tries to convince Ariel that her current life is far better than the world of humans. Several sea creatures become the accompanying band or sing lines here and there during the song. At the song’s conclusion, Sebastian discovers that Ariel and Flounder have sneaked away. Sebastian receives a message that Triton wants to see him right away. When the crab arrives, Triton is happily imagining who the lucky merman is that Ariel loves. Triton becomes furious when Sebastian confesses he couldn’t keep Ariel away from humans. Back at Ariel’s secret cave, Flounder presents Ariel with a surprise — the statue of Eric from his sunken ship. As she admires the statue, her father arrives in a bad mood. He expects her to obey his rules, especially those concerning human interaction. Ariel defends humans in general and Prince Eric in particular. Angered by her defiance, Triton blasts her human artifacts with his trident and departs.

182 When Flotsam and Jetsam find Ariel crying, they inform her that they represent someone who can make her dreams come true. At first, Ariel resists temptation, but eventually her desire to be with Eric overcomes her reticence. Ursula welcomes Ariel and tells her that the solution to her problem is to become human. Then the sea witch sings “Poor Unfortunate Souls” about the merfolk she has helped. She offers Ariel a potion that will turn her into a human for three days. Before sunset on the third day, the prince must fall in love with her and kiss her. If that happens, she’ll remain human forever, however, if it doesn’t, she will become a mermaid again and belong to the sea witch. Ursula demands Ariel’s voice as payment. When Ariel objects, the evil octopus reminds her that she still has her beauty and can communicate through body language. As the song continues, she tells Ariel that men don’t like women who talk too much anyway. When Ariel finally signs the contract, Ursula summons the winds of the Caspian Sea to retrieve Ariel’s voice. As Ariel sings, a giant hand rips out her voice. Ursula puts it in a shell and wears it as a necklace. The sea witch laughs maniacally as Ariel changes into a human. Flounder and Sebastian rush her to the surface before she drowns. On a beach near his castle, the Prince is wondering where the girl he can’t get out of his head could be. Not far away, Ariel has washed up on the beach. When she realizes she now has legs, she is amazed. Scuttle dresses Ariel in a piece of cloth that suffices as a dress and Sebastian hides in one of her pockets. When Max’s keen nose smells Ariel, he runs to where she is and chases her up on a rock. Eric follows Max, but doesn’t immediately recognize Ariel. Soon, however, he says, “You’re the one — the one I’ve been looking for!” He starts asking her questions, but, of course, she can’t answer. Since she can’t talk or sing the Prince begins to doubt that she’s the right girl, but he takes her to his castle where a lady-in-waiting cleans her up and dresses her in more suitable clothes. Later in the castle dining room, Grimsby and Eric are awed when Ariel makes her entrance in a beautiful dress. When Ariel combs her hair with a fork, Eric and Grimsby look incredulous. Later when Grimsby lights his pipe, Ariel borrows it to play it like an instrument and blows its contents in Grimsby’s face. In the castle kitchen, Louis, the chef, sings “Les Poissons” (which translates “The Fish”) à la Maurice Chevalier. Sebastian, who is also in the kitchen after having been laundered in Ariel old dress, has great difficulty not becoming part of the meal. The next morning, Ariel and Eric tour his king-

183 dom. They end up in a row boat at a lagoon. Sebastian, who has been following them, decides they need “a little vocal romantic stimulation,” so, accompanied by various objects and creatures in the area, he sings “Kiss the Girl.” Just when it seems the two young lovers might kiss, the boat tips over and dumps them into the lagoon (Flotsam and Jetsam tipped it over). This close call worries Ursula, so she transforms herself into a lovely young girl with Ariel’s voice, Vanessa. Once Eric hears the voice, he forgets about Ariel and Ursula puts him under a spell. The next morning, Scuttle flies into Ariel’s bedroom to congratulate her. He tells her the entire town is thrilled about the Prince’s wedding that very afternoon. Ariel excitedly runs downstairs, but stops abruptly when she sees Eric with Vanessa. As Ariel watches and weeps from the pier, the wedding ship sails at sunset. Scuttle flies to the ship and sees Vanessa reflected as Ursula in a mirror. When he tells Ariel, she attempts to swim to the departing ship (not as easy with human feet), while Sebastian leaves to tell Triton what is happening, and Scuttle hurries away to rally other birds and sea creatures to stall the wedding. Just as the Priest gets to Vanessa’s wedding vows, various sea creatures attack. During the ensuing struggle, the necklace with Ariel’s voice inside falls from Vanessa’s neck, breaks open at Ariel’s feet and reenters her body. As she begins to vocalize, Ursula’s spell over Eric is broken and he immediately realizes that Ariel is his true love. At that moment, the sun sets and Ariel becomes a mermaid again. Ursula transforms into her octopus-self, grabs Ariel and jumps overboard. King Triton arrives and confronts the sea witch, who offers him a deal. She will exchange Ariel for someone even better — him. Meanwhile, Eric is trying to catch them in a row boat; he declares, “I lost her once. I’m not going to lose her again.” Triton signs Ursula’s contract and Ariel is released. As Triton becomes one of her demons, Ursula puts on Triton’s crown. Suddenly, the sea witch is wounded by a harpoon thrown by Eric. She sends Flotsam and Jetsam to deal with him, but Flounder and Sebastian intervene. Ursula aims Triton’s trident at Eric, but Ariel shoves her which causes the blast to hit her evil eels instead. As Ariel swims toward the surface, Ursula grows into a gigantic monster and wreaks havoc with the waves and creates a whirlpool. The whirlpool raises a shipwreck to the surface, which Eric boards. Ariel is consumed by the whirlpool, and just as Ursula tries to blast her with the trident, Eric steers the ship into the sea witch and impales her with the splintered bow. As Ursula sinks, the trident falls to

Little Shop of Horrors the bottom and causes all of her demons to transform back into their original merpeople selves including King Triton. Eric, exhausted, collapses on the beach. The next morning, Eric is still on the beach and Ariel wistfully watches him from a rock nearby. Triton, who is watching from a distance, realizes his daughter truly loves Eric, so he turns her back into a human. When Ariel swims ashore, Eric kisses her as she comes out of the water, which segues into them kissing at their wedding. When Ariel and her father hug, she whispers, “I love you, Daddy.” Eric bows to her father and Triton bows slightly to indicate his approval. Ariel blows her father a kiss as he returns to the sea. As a chorus sings the “Part of Your World” finale, Ariel and Eric’s wedding ship sails away under a rainbow Triton executes with his trident. During the closing credits, Sebastian performs an encore of “Under the Sea” and an orchestra performs an arrangement of “Part of Your World.” The Little Mermaid is skillfully animated and contains some very witty songs that any Broadway musical would be lucky to have in its musical score. The Little Mermaid became a stage musical and opened on Broadway in 2008 (it closed after 685 performances). Although “Part of Your World” is lovely, the film’s two show-stopping songs are delivered by Sebastian: the calypso number “Under the Sea” and the lullaby-like “Kiss the Girl.”

Little Shop of Horrors Warner Bros., December 19, 1986, 94 minutes Principal Cast: Rick Moranis (Seymour Krelborn), Ellen Greene (Audrey Fulquard), Levi Stubbs (voice of Audrey II), Vincent Gardenia (Gravis Mushnik), Steve Martin (Orin Scrivello) Director: Frank Oz Producer: David Geffen Screenwriter/Lyricist: Howard Ashman Music: Alan Menken Choreographer: Pat Garrett Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”) ❍ Best Effects, Visual Effects Availability: DVD

Roger Corman’s B-comedy film that was shot in two days, Little Shop of Horrors, was released in 1960. In 1982 composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman1 turned the film into a musical

Little Shop of Horrors that opened off-Broadway. After 2,209 performances, the production transferred to Broadway where it ran for five years. Stars of both the 1960 film and the off-Broadway musical were relative unknowns. Little Shop of Horrors was directed by Frank Oz, the famous puppeteer of The Muppets. His expertise came in handy when it came to handling and filming the man-eating plant puppet. During the film’s opening credits, a female trio2 sings “Little Shop of Horrors.” As the story begins, Seymour Krelborn, a nerdy assistant florist, arranges pots on a shelf, but ends up knocking the shelf down and breaking the pots. A radio news report informs the audience that a total eclipse of the sun occurred on the previous Thursday. Seymour’s co-worker, Audrey Fulquard enters the Skid Row Florist Shop, where Gravis Mushnik, the shop’s owner, scolds her for coming to work late. Mushnik discovers that Audrey has a black eye and assumes her greasy boyfriend is beating her up again. Mushnik accuses some street urchins — played by the girls’ trio: Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon — of loitering outside his store. When he asks how they will ever better themselves if they don’t go to school, they answer that for kids from Skid Row, there “ain’t no such thing.” As they move on, a voice from deep in the shadows of a nearby alley sings “Skid Row (Downtown).” As an elderly woman with shopping bags emerges from the shadows, the vocal trio and other Skid Row residents participate in the song. Most of them work uptown, but can only afford to live on Skid Row. Audrey sings about the downtown losers she dates, while Seymour sings about his life as an orphan child of the Skid Row streets. They dream about a life away from urban blight. One day when business was particularly bad, Mushnik decides to close his business. Instead of closing, Seymour suggests that he consider a new direction for the store. Audrey encourages Seymour to show Mushnik the strange and interesting new, exotic plant he’s been working on. Seymour has named the mysterioius plant that looks like a large venus fly trap Audrey II, after his secret love and fellow worker. To explain the plant’s origin, Seymour, accompanied by the female vocal trio and a doowop male quartet, sings “Da-Doo.” He explains that on the day of the eclipse of the sun, he was browsing the wholesale flower district looking for unusual plants to add to his collection. At first he didn’t find anything, but during the eclipse this weird plant materialized. Seymour purchased the plant and brought it to the florist shop.

184 A customer is fascintated by Seymour’s story and purchases $100 worth of roses. Many more passersby become customers due to seeing the unusual plant in the window. Audrey II becomes sick, so Seymour stays after work to nurse it back to health (“Grow for Me”). When Seymour accidently pricks his finger on the thorn of a rose, Audrey II3 makes a kissing sound. Everytime he gets close to the plant, it snaps at his bloody finger. He finally realizes that the plant requires blood to survive so he squeezes out a few drops of blood to appease it. One day when Audrey leaves the florist shop, the girls’ trio questions her choice of boyfriends. When they suggest she consider Seymour, she doesn’t think she deserves “a sweet, considerate, suddenly successful guy like Seymour.” Once she’s alone in her apartment, Audrey sings “Somewhere That’s Green,” as she imagines what her life would be like with Seymour. They would live in the suburbs, own a tract home, eat frozen dinners and protect their furniture with plastic. Immediately after Audrey’s song, the vocal trio sings “Some Fun Now” from the roof of a nearby tenament while Seymour allows Audrey II to suck on his bloody fingers. As Audrey II grows, the plant becomes even more of an attraction at Mushnik’s and business thrives. Seymour, on the other hand, is feeling enemic. Audrey’s motorcycle riding, black-leather-jacket wearing, sadistic boyfriend, Orin Scrivello, is a dentist. He postures à la Elvis Presley and sings “Dentist.” Orin gleefully terrifies his patients, brandishes the most ghastly array of tools and has a special talent for inflicting pain. One evening after Audrey and Orrin leave on a date, Seymour complains to the plant that he affectionly calls Twoey about the disgraceful way Orrin treats her. He thinks she deserves someone much better. Just as Seymour is about to go to bed, very softly at first, he hears, “Feed me.” Then louder. Then the plant not only speaks, it sings “Feed Me (Git It).” During the song Audrey II tempts Seymour — if he furnishes fresh blood, the plant will make his dreams come true. At first Seymour refuses, but when the plant mentions Audrey as his reward, Seymour, at least, considers the deal. When they witness Orin abusing Audrey, Seymour and Audrey II sing a duet about Orin looking like plant food. Orin’s next patient is Arthur Denton,4 who craves pain. Orin eventually throws Denton out because he is enjoying the pain too much. While Orin was working on Denton, Seymour sneaked into his office intending to shoot Orin. Orin is so upset by Denton’s pleasure that he throws Seymour

185 in his dental chair and prepares to inflict pain. Orin puts his giggle gas mask on to increase his pleasure, it malfunctions and asphyxiates him. Seymour puts the dentist in a body bag, drags him home, and chops him up for plant food. Mushnik returns home and sees Seymour’s shadow chopping away with a large axe and runs in fright. When the police question Audrey about Orin’s disappearance, Seymour rushes over to her apartment. Even though Audrey is emotionally upset, she admits it would be a miracle if something had happened to Orin. In “Suddenly Seymour,” the two of them sing about their feeling for each other. From now on Seymour promises to protect and care for Audrey. After a long, passionate kiss, Seymour returns to the florist shop in a daze. In Seymour’s room beneath the store, Mushnik accuses him of killing the dentist. As Audrey II sings “Suppertime,” Mushnik threatens to turn Seymour over to the police, but he proposes an alternate plan. Since Mushnik almost considers him his adopted son, he offers to give him a one-way ticket out of town. In his absence, Mushnik volunteers to take care of the plant. As Seymour instructs his boss on how to feed the plant, he is backing Mushnik towards Audrey II. Suddenly, the plant grabs Mushnik and swallows him whole. During “The Meek Shall Inherit,” Seymour is smoozed by the press and offered a TV show about gardening. The now huge Audrey II faints from lack of food. Seymour is conflicted — he realizes he should never have fed the plant in the first place, but now he can’t let it die. Audrey tells Seymour that he should be enjoying his success. With the big check from the TV people, Seymour realizes that he and Audrey could get out of Skid Row, so he abruptly asks her to marry him — she accepts. When Seymour returns to the florist shop to pack for his get away with Audrey, the plant begs to be fed. Seymour runs to the corner store to buy some ground round. While he’s gone, Audrey II telephones Audrey. Realizing it is the plant; she drops the phone and runs across the street to the shop. When she gets a water can to give Audrey II a drink, the plant grabs her in its tendrils. Just as it puts her in its mouth, Seymour rescues Audrey. Once Audrey is out of danger, Seymour apologizes for not stopping when he found out what the plant lived on. Once the florist business boomed and she liked him, Seymour found it impossible to quit. She tells him that she liked him from the first day she came to work at the florist. In a reprise of “Suddenly Seymour,” he promises everything will be okay and somehow he’ll get her the little house she wants. Patrick Martin5 from the World Botanical Enter-

Love Me or Leave Me prises interrupts the song and proposes to sell leaf cuttings of Audrey II across America. Seymour can’t imagine the horror, so he throws Martin out. Seymour realizes he must stop the plant, so he confronts Audrey II. The plant reveals that it is a “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.” During the song, it abuses Seymour and causes the ceiling to collapse. From under the debris, Seymour grabs an exposed electrical wire and electrocutes Audrey II. When the plant explodes, Seymour emerges from the smoke and hugs the greatly relieved Audrey. After their wedding, Seymour and Audrey arrive at their little house with a green lawn. The film’s final shot shows a small Audrey III smiling from a flower bed in front of their house. During the end credits, the girls’ trio sings a reprise of the title song, Orin sings a reprise of “Dentist,” Audrey II sings a reprise of “Feed Me (Git It),” the girls’ trio sings a reprise of “Some Fun Now” and Audrey and Seymour sing a reprise of “Suddenly Seymour.” Musical differences between the original Broadway score and the film were: the song “Ya Never Know” was re-written into a calypso-style song called “Some Fun Now” (some of the original lyrics were retained); and several songs were cut6 from the original score. “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”7 was added. Most critics were impressed with Steve Martin’s portrayal of Orin Scrivello, the meanest dentist on the planet. The best parts of the score that is a combination of Sixties’ rock, doo-wop, and Motown styles is the title song, “Somewhere That’s Green,” “Suddenly Seymour,” “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space,” and the afore mentioned “Dentist.” These songs are fun and fit the subject matter, but don’t compare with the material Menken and Ashman produced for the Disney animated movie musicals of the late 1980s and 1990s. According to rottenromatoes.com, the film has a 91 percent approval rating with critics. In 2003, Little Shop of Horrors was revived on Broadway and won a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, but the production closed after only 372 performances.

Love Me or Leave Me M-G-M, May 26, 1955, 122 minutes Principal Cast: Doris Day (Ruth Etting), James Cagney (Martin “Moe the Gimp” Snyder), Cameron Mitchell ( Johnny Alderman)

Love Me or Leave Me Director: Charles Vidor Producer: Joe Pasternak Screenwriters: Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Alex Romero Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (win denoted *) ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role ( James Cagney) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“I’ll Never Stop Loving You”) ❍ *Best Writing, Motion Picture Story ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay Availability: DVD

Love Me or Leave Me is the biographical film of Ruth Etting. Most of the music in the film is songs she helped popularize, but two new songs were written specifically for the film: “Never Look Back” and “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,” which received an Oscar nomination (see Awards and Honors above). Ruth Etting was a major singing star of the Thirties whose career began in the speakeasies of Chicago, but soon advanced to swanky nightclubs, recordings, radio, Broadway productions and Hollywood films. She is remembered as a torch singer who became a star through the efforts of her husband, an ex–Chicago mobster named Martin Snyder, better known as “Moe the Gimp” because he walked with a limp. She appeared in several Broadway musical productions including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927, Whoopee (1928), Simple Simon (1930), 9:15 Revue (1930) and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931. Some of her most popular recordings include “Shakin’ the Blues Away” (1927), “Love Me or Leave Me” (1929), “Mean to Me” (1929), and “Ten Cents a Dance” (1930). James Cagney recommended Doris Day for the lead role. He felt she had the depth and talent as an actress and singer to accomplish this highly dramatic role and the studio took his advice. She was such a star in the mid–Fifties that she became the first actress in thirty years to receive top billing over Cagney. The time and place for Love Me or Leave Me is the Twenties in Chicago. Ruth Etting, a young, naïve, want-to-be singer, works in a ten-cents-a-dance joint. After she gets fired from her job for kicking a customer who gropes her during their dance, “Moe the Gimp” Snyder, a notorious mobster, offers to help her get into show business. The first job Snyder gets for Ruth is in a chorus line that performs “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue”1 where she catches the eye of piano player, Johnny Alderman. As the dancers exit, Eddie Fulton, the

186 club’s star, sings “I’m Sitting on Top of the World.”2 Backstage, Johnny offers to coach Ruth as a singer, but the club’s manager warns him not to mess with a gangster’s doll. Ruth talks Marty into hiring Johnny as her coach. During their first rehearsal, Ruth sings “It All Depends on You.”3 Johnny is very impressed by her talent and as a potential girlfriend. He warns her that it’s a mistake to get involved with a known gangster. Soon, Ruth encourages Marty to arrange for Eddie to miss a performance so she can take his place. Marty is shocked by her gall, but arranges for Fulton to take a Florida trip and convinces the club’s owner to allow Ruth to perform in Eddie’s spot in the floorshow. As her solo debut, she sings “You Made Me Love You”4 and encores with “Stay on the Right Side, Sister”5 and is very well received. Ruth plans to go out with Johnny after the show, but Marty makes it clear that she is supposed to go with him. He also tells her he’s “stuck on” her. Already feeling like a tramp, Ruth tells the Gimp she appreciates what he is doing for her, but she isn’t “stuck on” him. Marty bullies several Chicago nightclub owners into allowing Ruth to perform in their clubs, and because she is talented, she becomes quite popular. In one of the more elegant nightclubs, Ruth sings “Everybody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don’t Love Nobody But Me)”6 and performs “Mean to Me”7 as an encore. After her performance, Barney Loomis,8 a famous agent, offers her a job in New York City, but the hyper-jealous Marty refuses to let Ruth consider the offer. Next, Marty decides that Ruth should be on the radio, so he stars her in her own show and even hires Johnny as her pianist/conductor. At a rehearsal in her swanky apartment that is paid for by Marty, Johnny questions why she didn’t take the New York offer. He thinks she didn’t leave Chicago because she cares for him. Even though they kiss, she tells him that their relationship hasn’t changed. On her radio show, Ruth sings “Sam, the Old Accordion Man.” Marty contacts Loomis and makes a deal for Ruth to appear in the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City. Marty expects Johnny to come along as Ruth’s piano accompanist, but he refuses. For her Follies debut, Ruth performs a big production number routine to “Shakin’ the Blues Away.”9 Marty hates not being in charge the way he was in Chicago. The Gimp tries to go backstage to see Ruth between numbers, but is barred. Due to this incident, he threatens to pull her out of the Follies and take her on tour. When Ruth rebels, Marty tells

187 her she owes him. Ruth appreciates everything the Gimp has done for her and tells him that there is no way she could pay him back, but he shows her there is — he rapes her.10 Emotionally defeated, Ruth marries Marty and embarks on a huge nationwide tour. During the tour she sings portions of “(What Can I Say) After I Say I’m Sorry,”11 “I Cried for You,”12 “My Blue Heaven”13 and a more complete performance of “Ten Cents a Dance,”14 which she sings with great emotion since she was a dance hall girl earlier in her career. Next, Snyder negotiates a film contract for Ruth. Surprisingly and much to Marty’s disapproval, Johnny is the film’s musical director. At a rehearsal, Ruth sings “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,”15 which seems appropriate for both Johnny and Ruth. Marty can’t bully the Hollywood execs the way he did in Chicago. Feeling left out, he buys a nightclub and splashes “Martin Snyder presents Ruth Etting” on the marquee so everyone will know he is responsible for her success. At a recording session for the film soundtrack, she sings “Never Look Back,”16 which again seems particularly appropriate. Marty notices the way Ruth and Johnny look at each other and becomes even more suspicious of their feelings for each other. When Marty demands that the studio fire Johnny, Ruth won’t allow it. During their confrontation, Marty slaps her, so she leaves and Marty can’t find her anywhere. Barney Loomis’ office finally calls Marty to set up a meeting with Ruth at Loomis’ office. Ruth informs Marty that she wants a divorce. He, of course, explodes and tells her she can’t get along without him. During a film shoot, Ruth sings “At Sundown.”17 When the scene is stopped due to a mechanical problem, Ruth, who has been avoiding Johnny for some time, meets him again. She admits that she loves him, but she is afraid that Marty will harm him if they are seen together. Marty is opening a new club, but he is consumed with blaming Johnny for his troubles with Ruth. He decides to fix the problem. After Ruth and Johnny’s meeting, Johnny follows her home. When he arrives shortly after she does, they kiss. Marty, who has been hiding in the bushes, shoots Johnny (he is only wounded). Ruth visits Marty in jail and thanks him for all the good things he did for her. He is still as cocky as ever and says some hateful things to Ruth. After Barney Loomis bails Marty out of jail, one of Marty’s faithful employees drives him to his new club. Marty fumes when he sees that Ruth is per-

Love Me Tonight forming. Loomis convinces him that Ruth just wants to pay him back. She sings “Love Me or Leave Me.”18 Marty is pleased with his club and even compliments Ruth —“you gotta give her credit, she can sing.” During the Thirties, Ruth Etting’s and Martin Snyder’s none-too-delectable affair was pretty common knowledge. Their story furnished the plot for many gangster films, but their real names were never used. In Love Me or Leave Me, however, real names are used, but since the film was made in the mid–Fifties, some of the most sexually sensitive details are romanticized. Doris Day portrays Ruth Etting very well dramatically and especially musically, and James Cagney is a very believable Moe, the Gimp.

Love Me Tonight Paramount Pictures, August 17, 1932, 96 minutes Principal Cast: Maurice Chevalier (Maurice Courtelin), Jeanette MacDonald (Princess Jeanette), Charles Ruggles (Vicomte de Vareze), Myrna Loy (Countess Valentine), Joseph Cawthorn (Dr. Armand de Pontignac), Charles Butterworth (Count de Savignac) Producer/Director: Rouben Mamoulian Screenwriters: Samuel Hoffenstein, George Marion, Jr., and Waldemar Young Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Awards and Honors: ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 10 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Isn’t It Romantic?” No. 73 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1990 Availability: DVD

Love Me Tonight, based on the 1924 play The Tailor in the Castle by Paul Armont and Leopold Marchand, features a top-notch cast with Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, a superb original musical score by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and is directed by Rouben Mamoulian, who had a special knack of visualizing an entire film in musical terms. As Love Me Tonight opens, the sights and sounds of an awakening Paris become an extraordinary musical scene that incorporates workmen digging up the street, a baby crying, a woman sweeping her steps, men grinding knives, a cobbler nailing a sole and heel on a boot, and smoke belching out of chimneys. All of this activity is precisely coordi-

Love Me Tonight nated rhythmically until the orchestra, almost imperceptibly at first, takes over the established rhythm to accompany Maurice Coutelin singing, “That’s the Song of Paree.” The camera sweeps into his apartment and focuses on a straw hat and a wall crack that resembles the profile of Chevalier. Maurice awakens, dresses, and greets the merchants and passersby with his song as he walks to work (“How Are You?”). At his tailor shop, Coutelin changes into an elegant cutaway with striped pants. Monsieur Coutelin, who has just completed a wedding suit for a rather stout soon-to-be groom, and his customer express their mutual delight at the results with rhyming dialogue. That dialogue leads Maurice to exclaim, “Isn’t it romantic?,”1 and suddenly, almost magically, the song takes flight. In the refrain, Maurice anticipates a marriage to an adoring but subservient wife. Then the tune is sung by the customer, who expresses his pleasure for this catchy melody. Still humming and singing, he leaves Coutelin’s shop and walks down the sidewalk. A taxi driver hears the man singing and starts whistling the tune, which is taken up by his passenger. The passenger happens to be a composer who writes down the tune on the way to the train station. Inside the train, the composer experiments with lyrics for the melody. The song is overheard by a group of French soldiers who sing it as the scene abruptly changes to them marching down a country road. A gypsy boy hears the soldiers’ tune and runs back to the camp where he plays the melody on his violin — instead of a march, the tune is now oozing with passion. As night falls, a nearby chateau comes into view. Inside a lighted room is the lovesick Princess Jeanette, who hears the music coming from the gypsy camp. Then she expresses her desire for a prince to kiss her hand and be her slave.2 From a tailor shop in Paris to the sidewalk, to a taxi, to a railroad car, to a country road, to a gypsy camp, and finally to a chateau far from the city, one song provides the romantic link between hero and heroine, even though they are miles apart and have never met. What an incredible musical sequence! What imaginative film making! An aristocratic customer, the Vicomte Gilbert de Vareze, has ordered several suits from Maurice. However, a representative from the credit bureau informs Courtelin that the Vicomte never pays. The hat maker, shirt maker and boot maker, who have also extended credit to the Vicomte, beg Courtelin to collect their money. A chauffer drives Maurice to the Vicomte’s country chateau, but on the way, the car breaks down. As Maurice waits for the repairs to be made, he hears a distant melody and witnesses a lovely young woman singing as she bounces along in a horse-

188 drawn cart. It is Princess Jeanette singing the romantic song, “Lover.”3 In the film version of the lyrics, certain key words are directed at her spirited horse. For example, when she sings about her woes it becomes “WHOA!” and when she sings about romping in the hay, it becomes “HEY!” As the young woman tries to pass the stalled car on the narrow road, her cart slips into the ditch and she tumbles out. Maurice helps her up and discovers a beautiful, but sad and lonely looking, woman. He says, “Give me just a moment to sing to you ... Mimi.” She insists that her name is not Mimi, but that doesn’t hinder Courtelin as he launches into the song, “Mimi.”4 The young woman’s noble sensibilities are shocked by some of the lyrics. When the song concludes, she rides away in her now up-righted carriage without telling Maurice her name. When the Princess arrives at her chateau she faints, which, of course, causes great concern among her family. They summon a doctor, who begins his examination by asking her to remove her clothes. After he and the camera scan her lingerieclad figure, the doctor inquires about her love life. She informs him that she has been a widow for three years (she had married a seventy-two-yearold man when she was sixteen). Their rhymed dialogue conversation leads into the song, “A Woman Needs Something Like That,” which is more speech in rhythm than singing. The song’s title never appears in the video version presently available because some of the lyrics were removed by the censors. The doctor’s diagnosis is “you’re not wasting away. You’re just wasted!” He recommends marriage to a man nearer her age. The Duke informs the doctor that there are no eligible men of equal rank in France except an eighty-five-year-old and an eleven-year-old. The doctor’s alternative prescription? Exercise! When Maurice arrives at the chateau, the Vicomte, who is afraid his uncle, the Duke, will be extremely angry if he discovers he owns so much money, introduces Courtelin as a Baron. Everyone urges him to stay at the chateau, but he refuses. However once he sees Princess Jeanette, he changes his mind. The next morning the Duke gets out of bed singing “Mimi”; in another room, the Vicomte continues the song as he shaves; three elderly aunts take up the melody as they embroider, and the Count de Savignac sings the tune as he does his morning workout with miniature dumbbells. A deer hunt is planned for the day. The Princess selects a horse named Solitude for Maurice (the horse’s name refers to the fact that it always comes

189 home alone) and it certainly takes him on a wild ride. When the hunting dogs lead Jeanette to a rustic cottage, she finds Maurice feeding the deer a pan of oats. At a costume party, Maurice shows up in the clothes he wore in the film’s opening scene and entertains the guests with a song about the life of the Apache, “The Poor Apache.”5 After his performance, Maurice follows the Princess into the garden, where she faints again. Maurice revives her with a kiss, but she slaps him; he kisses her again and she slaps him again. Finally, she kisses him passionately and declares, “Whoever you are, whatever you are, wherever you are, I love you.” His reply to the Princess contains the film’s title, “Then, whatever happens tomorrow, love me tonight.” That line leads into the title song. The Princess sleeps in her silk-sheeted bed, while her voice sings the song on the soundtrack. Similarly, Maurice sleeps, with a smile on his face, as his voice sings. The screen splits to make it seem that Jeanette and Maurice are actually in the same bed. The next morning, Jeanette asks Maurice his advice concerning her new riding clothes. When he criticizes her riding habit, the dressmaker is insulted. Maurice assures the Princess that he can make her a suitable outfit. The Duke investigates why the dressmaker stormed out of the Princess’ room and finds Maurice and the lingerie-clad Jeanette embracing. Maurice explains that he was fixing her riding habit and asks for two hours to prove he can accomplish the task. The Duke rather reluctantly agrees. Maurice measures the Princess (some of his measuring, particularly of her bust, is censored in some editions). As promised, in two hours the new riding outfit is completed, but Jeanette, dumbfounded, asks how he could possibly have accomplished it. Maurice confesses that he really is a tailor. Word quickly spreads around the chateau with the song “The Son of a Gun Is Nothing But a Tailor,” and Maurice is asked to leave. However, the Princess decides she’d rather be a tailor’s wife than rot away in aristocratic isolation, so she leaps on her horse and gallops after Maurice’s train. To stop the speeding train, she dismounts in front of the train, which screeches to a stop a few feet from her. Maurice runs to her and takes her in his arms. A burst of steam from the locomotive hides their closing embrace. Entertainment Weekly included Love Me Tonight at No. 10 in its “25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time.” TV Guide said, “This film stands as the greatest musical of the 1930s and one of the finest ever.” Clive Hirschhorn says the film is “one of the

The Love Parade most enchanting and cohesive musicals in the history of the genre.... One of the great films of the decade.”6 In my opinion, Love Me Tonight is the third best movie musical of the Thirties behind The Wizard of Oz and the 1936 version of Show Boat. I wouldn’t argue that it is one of the top twenty-five or thirty greatest movie musicals of all-time, but I wouldn’t rank it as high as Entertainment Weekly. Rouben Mamoulian’s imaginative and inventive staging is superb, especially for this early date in film history. Rodgers and Hart’s music is phenomenal, with such classics as “Mimi,” “Lover,” and the plot-specific and extremely funny “The Son of a Gun Is Nothing But a Tailor.” The entire opening sequence is brilliant musically and filmed to perfection. Hollywood musicals don’t get much better than Love Me Tonight.

The Love Parade Paramount Pictures, November 19, 1929, 110 minutes Principal Cast: Maurice Chevalier (Count Alfred Renard), Jeanette MacDonald (Queen Louise), Lupino Lane ( Jacques), Lillian Roth (Lulu) Producer/Director: Ernst Lubitsch Screenwriters: Guy Bolton and Jules Chanel Music: Victor Schertzinger Lyrics: Clifford Grey Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Actor (Maurice Chevalier) ❍ Best Director ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Interior Decoration ❍ Best Sound Recording Availability: DVD

The Love Parade is director Ernst Lubitsch’s first sound film and his first musical. Lubitsch was already a renowned silent film producer and director. He is famous for his sophisticatedly sexy films and became particularly famous, or infamous, for slipping sexual innuendo past the censors. In his second Hollywood film, Frenchman Maurice Chevalier became the epitome of French sophistication. His Gaelic charm is irresistible. Chevalier had made a couple of unsuccessful silent films in France, but when sound was perfected, he came to Hollywood, signed with Paramount and played his first American role in Innocents of Paris.1 The Love Parade was the film debut of American singer and actress Jeanette MacDonald. She

The Love Parade and Chevalier also starred together in Love Me Tonight and The Merry Widow. She is particularly famous as Nelson Eddy’s co-star in several screen versions of operettas, including Naughty Marietta, Rose Marie and Maytime. She was celebrated, or vilified, for her sexy lingerie scenes in nearly all her early films. Clifford Grey and Victor Schertzinger’s songs are so well integrated into the film’s plot that most of them could not be extracted and popularized separately. The music for this film differs from that of most movie musicals of the era in that its musical numbers advance the action. The Love Parade opens with the word “PARIS” flashing high on the screen as a chorus of females dance between two giant champagne bottles. Jacques, the valet of Count Alfred Renard, is preparing an intimate dinner. As he sets the table, he sings “Champagne,” in which he describes his preparations. Count Alfred enters from the bedroom of his luxurious suite arguing with a woman who is waving a garter. To prove that the garter isn’t hers, she raises her skirt to show that she still has both of hers. Then she pulls a small gun from her purse but before she can fire, there is a knock at the door. It is her husband! She pulls the trigger and shoots herself. Her husband is distraught. When he grabs the pistol and shoots Alfred, nothing happens. They examine the gun and then the camera returns to the woman, who is watching their puzzlement. When the husband realizes his wife is unhurt, he is overjoyed. As they depart, the husband notices that his wife’s dress is undone, so he tries unsuccessfully to re-hook it. In exasperation, she turns to the expert, Alfred, who easily corrects the problem. The husband and wife depart together. Just as Alfred tosses the pistol and garter into a drawer filled with other guns and garters, the Ambassador from Sylvania enters Alfred’s apartment. He informs Alfred that he refuses to allow the country’s military attaché to disgrace their nation any longer with his shameless escapades, so he orders Alfred to return to Sylvania. Just as the Ambassador is departing, he tells Alfred he knows more than Alfred thinks; his wife has told him everything. The Count steps out onto the terrace of his suite, looks at the twinkling lights of the city and sings “Paris, Stay the Same,” his farewell to the city and its beautiful women. From his servants’ quarters, Jacques also sings the song to some maidens in a nearby apartment and, comically, Alfred’s bulldog, Jiggs, serenades his female canine friends as he barks his rendition of the song. In Sylvania, a lady-in-waiting peeks into the

190 Queen’s magnificent palace bedroom and sees Queen Louise has opened her eyes. In a lovely nightgown, she yawns and stretches.2 The Queen has dreamed a delightful dream and sings “Dream Lover” about the lover she meets in her dreams each night. As her song ends, Louise exits to her morning bath. Once she discretely enters a sunken tub, the head lady-in-waiting tells her that she had a dream about the Queen’s marriage. Louise is irritated by her people’s obsession with her marital status. When she hears a band outside playing the traditional wedding march, she threatens to fire the conductor because she had told him never to play the tune again. She is informed that this is a new conductor; the previous one got married. Once she arrives at her office, the Queen inquires who her cabinet is suggesting as her husband today. They inform her they have given up. They explain that finding her a husband is rather difficult, because the man who marries her would not become king, only a prince consort — a gentleman with no rights, nothing to say, and nothing to do. Offended, the Queen enumerates her various charms, including her perfect legs, which she displays. During this exchange, Count Alfred is nervously awaiting an audience with the Queen. His nerves increase when the entire cabinet backs out of the Queen’s office. After Alfred enters, the Queen reads a confidential report of his scandalous affairs in Paris. As she reads, she smiles, but hides her face behind the report so Alfred cannot see her expressions. Once she finishes reading the report, she goes into the next room to primp. When she returns, she tries to look stern. He must be severely punished, she declares, by growing a beard. Alfred assures her he would look terrible in a beard, so she changes her mind. As she contemplates his punishment, he offers a suggestion. He proposes she never let him return to Paris, must stay in Sylvania and be attached to her day and night. She pretends to be outraged, but accepts his proposal and invites him to dine with her that evening. They sing the duet, “Anything to Please the Queen,” in which he promises to be at her command every morning, noon and night. Jacques, the palace staff and the cabinet spy on their dinner together. Afterwards, the Queen beckons Alfred to follow her into her boudoir and closes the door. She asks, “What would you do if I were a mere woman and you were meeting me for the first time?” He quickly downs his glass of brandy, tenderly kisses the back of her hand, then her palm and moves in closer to put his arm around her. Louise asks, “If it’s like this at first, what can be left for later?” “Plenty!” Alfred assures her. He sings “My Love Parade,” in which he assures her she sur-

191 passes all the other women in his life. She sings a chorus before the song ends in a duet. He kisses her so passionately that she seems afraid. She orders him to leave, but he refuses. When she orders again more adamantly, Alfred obeys and marches triumphantly from her boudoir. Once he departs, Louise leans against the piano, picking out a melody on the keys. When she sings a reprise of “Dream Lover,” her ladies-in-waiting and her cabinet members realize that she has found her mate. While the wedding march is played on a huge pipe organ, the Queen’s attendants help her dress. Jacques attends to the Count. Jacques objects to one medal on the Count’s jacket. It depicts a crosseyed king. Alfred explains to Jacques that whenever he sees a cross-eyed man, bad luck follows. When a lacky3 knocks on the Count’s door to announce that the Queen is ready, he is cross-eyed. After Louise and Alfred enter, the Priest announces that the Queen has promoted the Count to a Prince to facilitate the marriage. The Priest asks Queen Louise if she still wishes to marry. She replies in the affirmative. Then he asks Alfred if he will fulfill Her Majesty’s every wish, execute her every command and be an obedient and docile husband. Alfred hesitates. After some time, he says, “Yes, I do.” Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The priest pronounces them “wife and man.” As the newlyweds enter the bridal chamber, cannons are fired to celebrate the occasion. Disconcerted by the constant pounding, Alfred orders them stopped, but he doesn’t have the power to override the Queen’s order. Louise loves the sound and calls it “Our bridal music!” She tells Alfred he can kiss her each of the two hundred times the cannons fire. Alfred smiles a weak smile of acceptance. In the garden, Lulu is caught up in the marriage and wants Jacques to make it a double wedding. In “Let’s Be Common,” they sing about the joys of non-noble love and also perform a comical dance. At the end of the song, she traipses up to her room. When Jacques follows, she throws him out the window. Several weeks later, Alfred awakes to find Louise already gone. She has left him a note, “My Darling — I shall be very busy until dinner, but I have arranged a happy day for you—tennis this morning, and bridge this afternoon. Louise — P.S. But don’t forget your nap — you must keep your strength.” At the moment, the Queen is reviewing her troops, where she sings “March of the Grenadiers.” In the next scene, Louise returns to the bedroom where she is surprised to find Alfred awake. When he kisses her, he comments that his morning’s work is done. He is bored! His primary duty is to fulfill

The Love Parade the Queen’s sexual needs, which, even for a celebrated playboy, has become emasculating. She attempts to cheer him up by reminding him that she has never left him alone at night and never will. She promises that after an important loan is arranged, she will take him to Vienna to buy him some new uniforms.4 Alfred informs Louise he forgot something important on his “to do” list — breakfast. However, he cannot be served until the Queen arrives. Finally, a maid announces that Her Majesty will not be eating breakfast, so the Prince can be served. Alfred then stalks into the garden where he disgustedly pulls an apple off a tree and takes a bite. He sings the cute, suggestive song, “Nobody’s Using It Now.” He bemoans not being taken seriously and of being lonely. He feels like he’s wasting his youth. Queen Louise’s cabinet members try to impress upon her that their loan might be in danger if any marital problems become visible. Without the loan, the country will be broke. Alfred suddenly appears and claims the country does not need the loan. He hands his plan for the national budget to the Queen. The plan is passed from person to person until it is handed back to Alfred, who is informed that they cannot receive suggestions from the Prince Consort. Louise asks him not to interfere in affairs of state and commands him to appear at the gala in full uniform and in a great mood. In the following scene the servants, including Lulu and Jacques, sing “The Queen Is Always Right.” In the song’s lyrics, the men side with Alfred, while the women side with the Queen. Lulu and Jacques end the song with a rowdy dance on the kitchen table. When it is time for the Prince Consort to escort the Queen to the gala, Alfred is wearing a suit rather than his uniform. He informs Louise that he is leaving for Paris. The only way he will escort her to the gala is “with soldiers and handcuffs.” As he starts out the door, she pleads, “Won’t you love me anymore?” His answer? “Only with soldiers and handcuffs.” Louise sinks into a chair and cries as she sings a reprise of “Dream Lover.” Soon her melody is drowned out by a chorus singing “March of the Grenadiers.” It is time for her to attend the gala. Realizing her duty, she dries her tears and marches off to the gala. At the Opera House, the audience immediately notices that the Queen enters her box alone. She seems completely embarrassed. Suddenly, the audience stands again—it is Alfred in his full dress uniform. As he enters the box, everyone applauds and Alfred drinks in the adulation.

Mary Poppins As a corps de ballet performs, Alfred tells Louise he came because he doesn’t want to ruin the woman he once loved. He still plans to leave for Paris as soon as the loan is secured and file divorce papers. When Louise sees Alfred smiling at one of the female performers on stage, she is jealous. Back at the palace, Louise’s crying can be heard everywhere. In another wing of the palace, Alfred is gaily singing as he packs. Louise heads for his room and knocks on the door. When he asks what she wants, she replies “Alfred in my room.” He bursts from his room and goes towards her room. Delighted, Louise hurries ahead and jumps into her bed. When Alfred arrives, he retrieves his pajamas and leaves. She follows him back to his room, locks the door and hides the key in her sleeve. She asks, “Where shall we live in Paris?” Alfred tells Louise that she must be punished. She suggests that he take command, not only of affairs of state but at home. She wants to be attached to him from night until morning. He asks, “And you call that a punishment?” She answers, “Yes ... my king!” As the film ends, they sing a reprise of “My Love Parade” as Alfred draws the boudoir curtain. Almost all of the movie musicals of the pre– Thirties are most interesting as museum pieces, but The Love Parade is suave and enormously charming. Even though it premiered only a couple of years after The Jazz Singer, which was only a part-talkie, it is much more evolved. With his expertise as a director, Ernst Lubitsch advanced the movie musical far beyond its primitive origins. Musical highlights include the slightly risqué “Nobody’s Using It Now,” the comical “Let’s Be Common,” and “Dream Lover.” In my opinion, The Love Parade is the best musical film of the late–Twenties.

Mary Poppins Buena Vista Pictures, August 29, 1964, 139 minutes Principal Cast: Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), Dick Van Dyke (Bert; Mr. Dawes, Sr.), David Tomlinson (George Banks), Glynis Johns (Mrs. Banks), Karen Dotrice ( Jane Banks), Matthew Garber (Michael Banks) Director: Robert Stevenson Producers: Walt Disney and Bill Walsh Screenwriters: Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi Music and Lyrics: Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman Choreographers: Marc Breaux and DeeDee Wood Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 6 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 5 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time

192 Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ *Best Actress in a Leading Role ( Julie Andrews) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”) ❍ *Best Music, Score — Substantially Original ❍ *Best Effects, Special Visual Effects ❍ *Best Film Editing ❍ Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Sound ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Availability: DVD ●

Mary Poppins is a series of children’s books by P.L. Travers. The stories center around a mysterious English nanny who is blown by an East wind to 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, to become the nanny for the Banks children. Various adventures take place over a total of eight books. The Disney studios adapted the books, primarily the first book, into a movie musical that is a mixture of live-action and animation. The Sherman brothers, who contributed the wonderful music for the film, were the ones who suggested the time change from the 1930s to 1910. The film made Julie Andrews a major film star even though it was her Hollywood debut. Jack Warner selected Audrey Hepburn for the film role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady even though Miss Andrews had originated the role on Broadway, because he wanted an established film personality. When Disney selected Miss Andrews for the role of Mary Poppins, she got some degree of revenge for Warner’s slight since she won the Academy Award for Best Actress beating out Audrey Hepburn for that coveted honor. After the opening credits, the camera zooms down to a park setting where Bert entertains the passersby as a one-man band. He makes up lyrics about the various people who happen by to the tune of “Chim Chim Cher-ee”1 and does a dance to the “Step in Time” tune. His audience is appreciative, but doesn’t make any monetary contributions. As the small crowd disperses, Bert speaks directly to the camera, as if someone in the audience had asked directions to No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane. Rather than giving directions, this happy-go-lucky chap leads the way. During the walk, he introduces Admiral Boom,2 a punctual former naval commander who fires his rooftop cannon every morning at 8 A.M. and every evening at 6 P.M. The Admiral warns of storm signals at No. 17. Arrving at the Banks home, we are introduced to

193 Katie Nanna,3 the household’s frustrated nanny, who is fed up with the Banks’ two incorrigible children. Mrs. Banks is so enthused when she returns from a suffragette rally that she fails to comprehend that Katie Nanna intends to quit. She sings “Sister Suffragette” and is joined by the maid and cook. Finally, Katie Nanna gets her attention long enough to inform her that the children ran off pursuing their wayward kite; she is exasperated and is leaving. Mr. Banks is an aloof banker who expects everything in his household to work like a well-oiled machine. On his walk home from work, Admiral Boom warns him of heavy weather at home. As he enters the house, he sings “The Life I Lead,” about the consistent life he expects and how everything must adhere to a strict schedule. Mr. Banks learns from his wife that the children are not at home. He immediately telephones the police. Just then the door bell rings; it is the Constable,4 who has brought the children home with their broken kite. The children plead with their father to repair their kite, but he hardly pays them any attention. Since there have been six nannies in four months, Mr. Banks decides to take over the hiring of the next one. In “The Perfect Nanny” he dictates a newspaper advertisement for an authoritarian governess. The children have written their own advertisement for a fun and caring nanny. Their father thinks their list is nonsense and he sends them off to bed. Once they are out of the room, he tears up their ad and throws the pieces into the fireplace. While Mr. Banks telephones the newspaper, the pieces of the children’s ad float up the chimney. The next morning a queue of potential nannies is lined up outside the Banks’ residence. Suddenly, a strong wind blows all of the applicants away. As Jane and Michael look out of their bedroom window, they see Mary Poppins descending from the clouds with her carpetbag and with her umbrella serving as a parachute. When Mr. Banks is ready to interview the candidates for the job, only Mary Poppins is there. She has in her hand the children’s ad, now pasted back together. Mr. Banks is baffled! As he puzzles how the children’s ad materialized after he had destroyed it, Mary Poppins hires herself. She heads upstairs by sitting on the banister and miraculously ascends. She finds the children in their untidy room. To spruce up the room, Mary pulls a hat stand from her bottomless carpetbag, then a larger mirror, a plant, a lamp and some shoes. When she measures Michael, the measuring tape says Michael is “extremely stubborn and suspicious”; Jane measures as a giggler who doesn’t put things away. When

Mary Poppins Michael asks about Mary, she measures “practically perfect in every way.” For their first game, which Mary Poppins calls “Well Begun is Half Done,” the children must clean their room. At first they can’t imagine how a chore could possibly be a game, but Mary sings “A Spoonful of Sugar”5 as the clothes fold and put themselves in the appropriate dresser drawers, and at the snap of a finger, toys are rounded up and jump into the toy box. Jane and Michael soon catch on and participate in the cleanup game. Then Mary suggests an outing in the park. Still singing “A Spoonful of Sugar,” they don their coats and happily skip out the door. Bert, a jack-of-all-trades, is today a screever, an artist who draws scenes on the sidewalk for contributions. When Mary and the children arrive at the park, she introduces them to Bert. Jane is particularly fond of Bert’s painting of an English countryside, so Mary, Bert, and the youngsters jump into the chalk drawing. Suddenly, they find themselves in another world and they are all dressed in different, colorful, beautiful clothes. Bert tells the children a fair is just over the hill, so they head off to find the merry-go-round. Bert and Mary stroll along as he sings “Jolly Holiday” and some farm animals sing the song as they dance. As Mary takes up the tune, they arrive at an outdoor tea room, where Bert dances with the penguin waiters. Later, after Bert and Mary waltz, they join Jane and Michael on a merry-go-round. Since they are bored just going round and round, Mary signals the carousel operator who flips a switch. Suddenly, the horses head for the open countryside. During a fox hunt, Bert rescues the fox from the pursuing hounds. When Bert and the fox jump over a hedge, they land in the middle of a horse race. Mary ends up winning the race! As she is being interviewed by the press, she is asked for her reaction. Her response is the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”6 She is joined in song by a group of cockney buskers and Bert. As the song draws to its conclusion, it begins to rain, melting the drawing and bringing the foursome back to reality. Back home, the children take medicine to ward off a cold after having gotten wet during the rain storm. The medicine has a different satisfying taste for each child and for Mary. Jane and Michael are too excited about the day to go to sleep, so Mary sings “Stay Awake,” a reverse psychology lullaby. The following day Mary and the children head to the market, but a dog brings a message to Mary and leads them to Uncle Albert’s. Bert is already there to help with Uncle Albert’s problem, which is that every time he starts to laugh, and that is often, he floats. In “I Love to Laugh,” Uncle Al-

Mary Poppins bert7 explains his penchant for laughter. Bert and the children find the laughter contagious so they join his frivolity and are soon rising to the ceiling themselves. Then Mary joins them for a floating tea party. Finally, someone asks how to get down. The only way, explains Uncle Albert, is to think of something sad. It is time for Mary and the children to leave which Uncle Albert finds very sad. But before they leave, he is laughing and floating again. That evening Mr. Banks tells Mary he is uncomfortable with the children’s stories of their adventures. She effortlessly twists his attempt to dismiss her into a plan to take the children with him to work. Jane is excited about visiting the city and seeing the sights. Mary explains that some people don’t notice ordinary things. She pulls out a snowglobe of St. Paul’s Cathedral and sings the hauntingly beautiful “Feed the Birds”8 to tell the children about an old woman who sits on the steps of the cathedral near their father’s bank trying to sell bags of bird food for a tuppence.9 Unfortunately, most people just pass by without ever noticing; they’re too absorbed in their own problems. The next day on the way to the bank with their Father, Jane and Michael notice the bird lady. Michael wants to spend his twopence to purchase food for the birds, but his Father objects. Instead, Mr. Banks wants Michael to open a bank account so his money will grow. Inside the bank, Mr. Dawes,10 the ancient bank chairman, explains investing to Michael. Mr. Dawes, Mr. Banks, and the other bank officers sing “The Fidelity Fiduciary Bank.” Michael still isn’t convinced; he wants his tuppence back to buy food for the birds. As he yells, “Give it back,” the bank’s patrons think the bank is refusing to give a depositor his money, so they panic and start a run on the bank. Michael grabs his tuppence and he and Jane run out of the bank and into an unsavory part of town. Thankfully, they run straight into Bert, who is working as a chimney sweep. When the children complain about their Father’s lack of understanding, Bert explains that their father loves them. He attempts to help them realize that their father has problems of his own, and that, unlike children, has no one to turn to for help. Bert escorts them home. When they arrive, Mrs. Banks is leaving for another suffragette rally and, since it is Mary’s day off, she hires Bert to sweep the family’s chimney and to look after the children. Bert covers the furniture and cleans the chimney flue. He sings “Chim Chim Cher-ee” to explain the life of a chimney sweep. Mary, who is just returning, joins Bert as

194 they take the children on a rooftop tour of London. Bert and his chimney sweep pals perform a boisterous song and dance to “Step in Time.” That evening Mr. Banks receives a telephone call to return to the bank. As he tries to gather his wits, Bert points out that Banks needs to be there for his children before it’s too late. The two men sing “A Man Has Dreams.”11 Once Bert leaves, Jane and Michael approach their father to apologize for all the trouble they caused at the bank. Michael gives his tuppence to his father in an attempt to make things right. Banks gently accepts Michael’s offering. As a sombre Mr. Banks walks to the bank through the practically deserted streets of London, a reprise of “Feed the Birds” is heard. Banks notices the now vacant steps of St. Paul’s as if he had never seen them before. He enters the bank, where he is humiliated and fired for causing the first run on the bank since the Boston Tea Party. Banks finds Michael’s tuppence in his pocket, giggles and gives them to Mr. Dawes. A change comes over him and he realizes that his efforts to be precise has made him cold and unloving. When he is asked if he has anything to say, he laughs and says “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” He also tells the bankers one of Uncle Albert’s corny jokes that his children had told him. Banks hadn’t found it funny until now. He leaves the bank and disappears into the night. After he departs, Mr. Dawes suddenly gets the joke, starts laughing, and floats. The next morning Mary Poppins packs to leave. Mrs. Banks has called the Constable who is filing a missing person’s report on Mr. Banks. Suddenly, he appears from the cellar of the house, having mended the children’s kite. The children can’t believe the change in their father. He insists they go to the park and fly their wonderful kite. The family leaves for the park singing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” Among the other kite-flyers in the park is Mr. Dawes, Jr., who tells Banks that his father literally died laughing at the joke. Rather than being mournful, Junior, who is elderly himself, is delighted his father died happy. He informs Mr. Banks that he has been rehired as a partner. Mary Poppins’ work is done. As she ascends towards the clouds, Bert bids her goodbye and begs her to not stay away so long. Leonard Maltin said, “There really is only one word to describe Mary Poppins, and that is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”12 The film overflows with magical moments and to record them all one would need to describe each scene in complete detail.According to rottentomatoes.com, all the critics loved Mary Poppins; the film has a 100 percent approval rating.

195 Musically, the Sherman brothers’ score is splendid. Especially noteworthy are “Chim Chim Cheree,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Jolly Holiday,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Feed the Birds,” and “Step in Time.” Julie Andrews portrayed Mary Poppins to perfection and deserved the Oscar she received. She portrayed a multi-layered nanny who genuinely cared for the children, but she was also a bit distant and at times even a little spooky. Miss Andrews also sang beautifully, especially in “Feed the Birds,” but also in the more playful songs like “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Dick Van Dyke was almost as perfect for his role of Bert as Miss Andrews was for the nanny. He was also wonderful with the children, but his role allowed him to exhibit his many talents: singing, dancing, and comedy. He was especially good in “Jolly Holiday” when he danced with the penguins and in “Step in Time” with his fellow chimney sweeps. Mary Poppins became a Disney Theatrical production when it opened in London in late 2004. The musical opened on Broadway in November 2006 and is still playing as of this writing.

Maytime M-G-M, March 26, 1937, 132 minutes Principal Cast: Jeanette MacDonald (Marcia Mornay/ Miss Morrison), Nelson Eddy (Paul Allison), John Barrymore (Nicolai Nazaroff ), Herman Bing (August Archipenko), Tom Brown (Kip), Lynne Carver (Barbara) Director: Robert Z. Leonard Producer: Hunt Stromberg Screenwriter: Noël Langley Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Score Availability: DVD not currently available

Maytime, an operetta by Rida Johnson Young and Sigmund Romberg, opened on Broadway in 1917 and became very popular during and immediately after World War I. The screen version completely changed the story and the musical score, retaining only one song from the original Romberg score, “Will You Remember? (Sweetheart, Sweetheart, Sweetheart).” The film’s plot was based on Noel Coward’s 1929 operetta, Bitter Sweet. Maytime became the third of M-G-M’s Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy operetta films1 and it became one of top-grossing films of the decade.

Maytime The film opens at a May Day festival in 1905. Miss Morrison, an elderly lady, shares a bench with a young man, Kip, who doesn’t seem to be interested in the festival. He has been arguing with his girlfriend, Barbara, concerning her plan to go to New York in hopes of becoming an opera star. When Miss Morrison returns home, she sits on a bench beneath an apple tree in her flower garden and reminisces about a previous May Day festival. As she hears a baritone voice sing a few lines of “Will You Remember?,” her reverie is interrupted by the sound of Kip and Barbara quarreling. Kip storms off, leaving Barbara in tears. She seeks Miss Morrison’s consolation, but tells her she wants the chance to be a great singer like Jenny Lind or Marcia Mornay. Miss Morrison tells Barbara that she was once the radiant young opera diva, Marcia Mornay. Suddenly, it is 1868 and Miss Morrison is young again and in Paris at a court ball presided over by Louis Napoleon. Her mentor, Nicolai Nazaroff, is her escort for the ball. Miss Mornay entertains the guests by singing “Les Filles de Cadix (The Maids of Cadiz),”2 followed by the patriotic “Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse (The Regiment of Sambre and Meuse).”3 Later at dinner, Nazaroff convinces the famous composer, Trentini, to write an opera for his student. After the ball, Nazaroff informs Miss Mornay that he wants to marry her. Marcia is astonished, but she feels she owes her mentor everything, so she agrees. After Nicolai leaves, Marcia’s too excited about her evening at the ball to sleep, so she takes a carriage ride. When the church bells chime 3 A.M., she orders the carriage driver to take her home, but as he is turning around, his horse breaks away. While the driver chases the horse, she hears singing coming from a nearby café and goes to check it out. An American baritone, Paul Allison, is entertaining with a French student song, “Plantons la vigne.”4 The customers beg for more, so he obliges with “Vive l’Opera.”5 As he sings the tale of a plump prima donna, he draws a charcoal caricature of the singer on the café wall. At the end of his song, he hits a high note and holds it until he collapses into the arms of his adoring audience. They deposit him into an empty chair next to Marcia. When she requests another song, Paul realizes she is a fellow American. Later, he begs to see her again, but she claims she’s far too busy. The crowd recognizes her and begs her to sing, but she and Paul leave the café. Her driver returns with his runaway horse. As she attempts to leave in the carriage, Paul clings to the side until she finally agrees to have lunch with

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Meet Me in St. Louis him at his garret the next day. In his excitement, Paul wakes several angry neighbors by singing an operatic hodge-podge entitled “Ham and Eggs.”6 At the end of the medley, Paul bursts through the door of his garret waking his music teacher and roommate, August Archipenko. He scolds Paul for keeping such late hours, but he is too excited about Marcia to pay attention to his teacher. When Marcia slips quietly into her apartment, Nicolai is waiting for her. She attempts to explain, but he implies that she had sneaked out to meet another man. Her carriage driver, who is waiting downstairs for his money, verifies her story. The next morning as Paul shops for groceries he sees a poster announcing a performance of the opera Les Huguenots that evening with Marcia as the page. Paul deviously steals two tickets for the performance from an acquaintance. As Paul and Archipenko busily prepare the luncheon, Marcia arrives. She claims that she only came to break their luncheon date, but once she sees all their preparations, she changes her mind and helps prepare the meal. After lunch, Marcia plays “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny”7 on the piano and Paul joins her in a duet. Afterwards, Archipenko tells Marcia that Paul could be a great singer if he would take his vocal studies seriously. Marcia suddenly realizes she has stayed too long and must rush home to get ready for her performance. As she leaves, she tells Paul it was fun, but they must never see each other again. The scene shifts to the performance of the opera. Marcia, as the page, makes her entrance and sings the recitative “Nobles seigneurs, salut” and aria “Une Dame noble et sage.”8 Later backstage, Paul is waiting in her dressing room. Marcia is afraid Nicolai will find them together, so, to get him to leave, she promises to meet him the next day for the May Day festival. The scene shifts to the May Day festival where Paul and Marcia set out for a day of fun and romance. They join a local singer in the Neapolitan folk song, “Santa Lucia”9 and waltz together. Later when they sit beside a stream, he sings her a song about sweethearts so that she will remember this day, “Will You Remember? (Sweetheart, Sweetheart, Sweetheart).”10 Marcia joins him in the song and finally admits that she is in love with him, too. However, she also tells him she is marrying Nicolai because she owes him everything. Next is a montage of opera scenes and Marcia’s travels. Even though she has become an opera star, she isn’t happy. When she returns to America as an established opera diva, Nazaroff chooses to perform the opera Trentini had written for her, Czaritza.11 The opera’s .

Board of Directors suggests Paul Allison as her leading man and Nicolai accepts. When Marcia and Paul are introduced at a rehearsal, Nicolai seems suspicious. Archipenko arrives and is overjoyed to see Marcia, so Nicolai becomes even more suspicious. As the rehearsal of the final scene of the opera begins, it dissolves into the actual performance. During a duet, Paul and Marcia kiss passionately. Back at their hotel, Marcia begs Nicolai to set her free. He agrees, but once he retires to his room, he takes a gun from his dresser and heads for Paul’s apartment. When Marcia hears a door slam, she rushes to Nicolai’s room and sees the empty gun case. She rushes after Nicolai, but she is only halfway up the stairs to Paul’s apartment when she hears a gun shot. As she cradles Paul’s head in her lap, he tells her that their one day together has lasted him a lifetime. He dies in her arms. Back in Miss Morrison’s garden, Barbara promises to visit her more often and leaves to make up with Kip. Miss Morrison leans back against the apple tree as Paul sings the first notes of “Will You Remember?” He appears as a young man and Miss Morrison’s frail body transforms into the young Marcia as she rises to take Paul’s hand. As the film ends, they see Kip and Barbara together again and they sing the last few lines of “Will You Remember?” If the reader is an operetta fan, Maytime is worth your time. Variety called it a “vocal piece-deresistance.”12 Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy have lovely voices and were one of Hollywood’s most successful teams of the Thirties. I think “Will You Remember?” is a jewel of a song and that “Ham and Eggs” is a clever operatic medley. My primary criticism is that I would have liked to have seen Rida Johnson Young’s and Sigmund Romberg’s original concept of Maytime and Noel Coward’s Bitter Sweet,13 as well. Why do M-G-M’s executives insist on completely changing what had been successful or why would the original composers and lyricists allow their productions to be emasculated?

Meet Me in St. Louis M-G-M, November 22, 1944, 113 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Esther Smith), Margaret O’Brien (“Tootie” Smith), Lucille Bremer (Rose Smith), Mary Astor (Mrs. Anna Smith), Leon Ames (Mr. Alonzo Smith), Henry H. Daniels, Jr. (Lon Smith, Jr.), Tom Drake ( John Truett)

197 Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Charles Walters Awards and Honors: ● No. 10 in AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 9 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “The Trolley Song” No. 26 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” No. 56 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“The Boy Next Door”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“The Trolley Song”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ● Added to the National Film Registry, 1994 Availability: DVD

Meet Me in St. Louis, a landmark among movie musicals, is a cinematic, picture-postcard of Americana: • It is a period piece set in the American Midwest at the turn of the century. • The film’s plot revolves around a typical upper–middle class family, not show business or show people • The songs and dances actually advance the plot and/or revealed the personalities of the characters. The film’s story is based on Sally Benson’s memoirs of her life in St. Louis, Missouri. They first appeared in multiple issues of The New Yorker Magazine from 1941–1942 under the title “5135 Kensington,” and were eventually published together as The Kensington Stories. The film is a series of four vignettes, each representing a different season of the year beginning in the summer of 1903 and concluding in the spring of 1904 with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition or what is often called the St. Louis World’s Fair. The summer vignette opens with a picture of a lovely Victorian house in St. Louis. That scene dissolves into the house’s kitchen where Mrs. Anna Smith and Katie,1 the Smith’s maid, are making ketchup. Everyone in the family hums or sings the title song, “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis”2 as they go about their usual household routines. The eldest daughter, Rose, tries to attract the attention of a handsome new neighbor, John Truett. She gets Esther, the middle sister, to join her on the front porch as they nonchalantly, but unsuccessfully, try to attract the young man’s attention. Back inside their house, Esther, who is entranced by their new next door neighbor, dreamily sings “The Boy Next Door.”3 During the verse, she drifts

Meet Me in St. Louis from the stairs over to the window that faces towards his house. As the song continues instrumentally, Esther primps in front of the hallway mirror and then does a little dance with her reflection. She returns to the window to sing the final lines. “Tootie,” the Smith’s five-year-old daughter, is helping Mr. Neely4 deliver ice. She sits on the back of the ice wagon and sings a few lines from “Brighten the Corner Where You Are.”5 Soon, their conversation shifts to their town, which Neely pronounces St. Louie. Tootie corrects him and pronounces it St. Louis and she also claims it is a city not a town. When the scene dissolves into the Smith house, Esther sings “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” with Rose accompanying her on the piano. Esther dances around the room as she sings. Rose joins Esther in singing a harmony chorus. Rose invites John to her brother Lon’s goingaway party — he’s headed to Princeton. At the party, Esther manages to get Lon to introduce her to John. During the party, a girl plays a trumpet solo and Lon, Esther and the guests sing a jazzy medley that includes several famous traditional songs, like “Skip to My Lou.” All the party invitees dance a lively hoe-down-style production number dance. Tootie and Agnes,6 both too young to attend the party, are watching from the stairs. Once they are discovered, Tootie sings a little bit of “I Was Drunk Last Night, Dear Mother” for the party guests. Esther joins Tootie in a rendition of “Under the Bamboo Tree.”7 They perform the minstrelstyle cakewalk number complete with straw hats and canes. As the party guests depart, Esther gets John to accompany her as she turns off the gas lights in various parts of the house. As the house grows dimmer, she demurely tries to coax him into a goodnight kiss and sings “Over the Bannister.”8 After the song he shakes hands with her and compliments her strong grip. The final scene of the summer vignette features “The Trolley Song.”9 Esther joins several other young people on a trolley ride to a picnic at the still under construction fairgrounds. As the trolley departs, the group sings “The Trolley Song,” which becomes a lengthy production number. While the other young people sing, Esther moves around the trolley looking for John. Finally, running late from basketball practice, he runs to catch the trolley. Relieved, she takes over the solo role as she sings about her flirtation with a handsome young man. The second vignette, a rather non-musical segment, revolves around Halloween. The first part of this section features Tootie participating in her favorite holiday of the year and all the trouble she causes.

The Merry Widow While the family is eating ice cream, Papa Smith comes home with the news that he is accepting a position at a law firm in New York City. The entire family is shocked! Rose and Esther are worried about losing their friends, changing their plans for furthering their education, but especially their relationships with their boyfriends. Esther is also horrified that they will have to move before the fair. Even though the move threatens the family’s way of life in many respects, Papa Smith remains firm in his decision. Anna stands by her husband and accepts his decision. In a scene that expresses their family’s unity, Anna plays “You and I”10 on the parlor piano. Mr. Smith joins her in singing.11 As everyone else in the family listens to the music, they drift downstairs. For the last chorus of the song, Anna harmonizes with her husband as they sing the last line. The third vignette opens with a Currier and Ives-type winter scene. The younger children are building a family of snowmen. Lon, Esther, and Rose are making preparations for their last Christmas dance in St. Louis. Rose doesn’t have a date because Warren is escorting an “Eastern snob,” Lucille Ballard.12 Even though it will be embarrassing for both, Lon agrees to escort his sister, Rose, to the dance. John arrives with some bad news. He can’t escort Esther to the dance because he was late picking up his tuxedo and the tailor shop is locked. Esther bursts into tears, but her Grandpa13 offers to escort her. At the ball, Lon pairs with Lucille, and Rose with Warren, her New York beau. After several dances with losers, Esther and Grandpa dance together. During their dance to “Home, Sweet Home,”14 she is very sad about the impending move. Suddenly, John shows up in his tux. Later, John proposes to Esther. She wants to marry him, but she also feels obligated to her family and the imminent move to New York City. She wishes him a “Merry Christmas,” hugs him, and runs home. Back at home, she finds Tootie worrying that Santa Claus won’t be able to find her after the move. Esther reassures and comforts her younger sister by singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”15 The lyrics mention “our troubles,” which was referring to the troubles the family faces with the impending move, but it also may have referred to the nation’s difficulties at home and abroad due to World War II. The lyrics also reminisce about happier days and relishing the presence of friends and family. Still tremendously upset about the move, a sobbing Tootie runs outside and decapitates the fam-

198 ily of snowmen. Esther vainly tries to comfort her. From an upstairs bedroom window, Papa Smith witnesses Tootie’s rampage. Stunned, he contemplates his family’s future. Then he calls his wife and family together and announces, “We’re not moving to New York.... We’re going to stay right here.” The family is relieved and extremely happy. The short fourth vignette opens with signs of spring. The older Smith girls and their beaus are headed to the opening of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The rest of the family follows. They all marvel that such an exhibition is right in their home town. Filmed and released during World War II, the Smith family’s decision to remain in St. Louis was seen as an affirmation of the American way of life and the importance of family. Meet Me in St. Louis became the most popular and financially successful film produced by Arthur Freed. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who became Judy Garland’s second husband (and the father of Liza Minnelli). The film is one of Judy Garland’s best roles. Many of the songs are golden oldies from the first decade of the 20th century, but they are performed with such gusto that they seem fresh and new. Particularly noteworthy in that category are “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” and “Under the Bamboo Tree.” Of the new songs, “The Boy Next Door,” “The Trolley Song,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” are especially to be commended, not only for Ms. Garland’s singing but for their staging.

The Merry Widow M-G-M, November 2, 1934, 99 minutes Principal Cast : Maurice Chevalier (Prince Danilo), Jeanette MacDonald (Madame Sonia/Fifi), Edward Everett Horton (Ambassador Popoff ) Director: Ernst Lubitsch Producer: Irving Thalberg Screenwriters: Ernest Vajda and Samson Raphaelson Music: Franz Lehár Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Choreographer: Albertina Rasch Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award winner: ❍ Best Art Direction Availability: DVD is not currently available

Based on the French play, L’Attache d’Ambassade, by Henri Meilhac, The Merry Widow is the epitome of lighthearted, melodious, romantic European operetta. Viennese composer, Franz Lehár’s

199 masterpiece, with libretto by Victor Leon and Leo Stein, premiered in Vienna in 1905 as Die Lustige Witwe. Lehár composed the operetta shortly after a major scandal involving the nation of Montenegro (later a part of Yugoslavia). In the early years of the 20th century the country’s Crown Prince Danilo created a sizeable scandal in Paris. Lehár used the scandal, the name of the Crown Prince and retained the Paris setting for his operetta. In the original, the country of Pontevedrino is on the verge of bankruptcy unless the richest widow in the country marries a Pontevedrinian. Since a Parisian is pursuing her, Pontevedrino’s embassy in Paris decides to have one of their staff members, Count Danilo, romance and marry the widow to keep her money in their country. Of course, amusing complications ensue. Montenegro complained so much that in more modern editions the name of the country is changed to Marshovia. Herman Tausky of Paris bought “forever all rights to make motion pictures” of The Merry Widow, but, in 1923, sold them to New York producer Henry Savage, who sold the rights to M-GM, which made a silent film version in 1925, directed by Erich von Stroheim. The courts ruled M-G-M couldn’t make a sound version, because, they reasoned, “talkies” are not necessarily “motion pictures,” so M-G-M repurchased the rights in 1929. The real Prince Danilo successfully sued M-GM when the 1925 silent film was released. To avoid further suits, the studio made Prince Danilo a Captain and changed the date from 1905 to 1885. With all legal obstacles cleared, M-G-M was ready to produce The Merry Widow as a major musical film. Following the opening credits, some resplendent troops march through winding cobblestone streets as they are led by Captain Danilo in the song “Girls, Girls, Girls!” When the mysterious widow passes by in her carriage, Danilo gives her his most dazzling smile, but she ignores him. The scene shifts to an evening in the garden of the widow’s château. The simple folk have gathered, humming a haunting melody accompanied by a cimbalom. Madame Sonia appears on her balcony in a flimsy black negligee and sings “Vilia,” which is a folk song about a hunter’s love for the witch of the wood named Vilia. When Sonia retires that evening, she orders her maids to inform the Minister to find Danilo’s address. All three of the maids know his address immediately. Since becoming a widow, Sonia has not written anything in her diary, but this evening she goes to her desk to write. Her writing becomes the

The Merry Widow song “Tonight Will Teach Me to Forget.”1 She instructs her maids that she is going to Paris the next morning. Sonia’s departure becomes a national emergency when a telegram to King Achmed2 of Marshovia warns that the Widow may marry one of her many Parisian suitors and leave the country completely broke. The King decides to select a charming, irresistible Marshovian that the Widow will fall in love with, marry, and return to Marshovia. As soon as the King leaves for a Cabinet Meeting to select the appropriate candidate, the guard on duty, Danilo, lets himself into the queen’s boudoir. Halfway down the grand staircase, the King realizes that he has forgotten his sword and belt, so he returns to the boudoir, and picks up Danilo’s sword and belt, which are far too small. When the King catches his wife3 and Danilo together, he realizes that he has found the perfect candidate for the Paris assignment. The first place Danilo visits after arriving in Paris is his favorite night spot: “Maxim’s.” He sings about all the delights of this Parisian establishment where he enjoys the company of various women. At Maxim’s, Ambassador Popoff from Marshovia informs Danilo that he is to meet the widow the following night at an embassy ball. As Danilo is being carried onto the dance floor for an impromptu cancan, Sonia enters. When Danilo notices her, she decides to make him think she is one of the restaurants’ girls named Fifi. Danilo steals her slipper and takes it upstairs to a private dining room. Not entirely reluctantly, Sonia follows. Once they are alone, Sonia struggles with her feelings. Danilo grows tired of Fifi’s indecision and leaves. As he returns downstairs, the strains of “The Merry Widow Waltz” begin. He sits sullenly as Fifi dances sensuously around him, dipping, bending, brushing past him until he can no longer ignore her. Rising suddenly as she dances by, he takes her in his arms and they dance together as she sings “The Merry Widow Waltz.” Danilo gently guides Fifi to a velvet covered couch where they sink into an ardent embrace. When Sonia realizes she is more in love than Danilo, she confronts his feelings for the other girls: “Here they are, all your little tonights ... and not a tomorrow among them.” Sonia drives off in her carriage, mocking him by singing some of “Maxim’s.” Danilo realizes he really wants this woman. At the embassy ball, Sonia waltzes with each of the officers (“If Widows Are Rich”). Danilo, meanwhile, has been drowning his thoughts of Fifi with champagne. His homely valet, Mischka, tries to sober him up. Mischka recruits several of the

Mother Wore Tights Maxim girls to help get him dressed. Danilo informs Popoff he can’t marry the widow because he is in love with someone else. When Popoff brings Sonia into the drawing room, Danilo discovers his Fifi and the woman he must marry are the same person. At first Sonia spurns Danilo’s attempts at reconciliation, but the strains of “The Merry Widow Waltz” bring them together. The waltz begins slowly, sensuously, teasingly, as the hero takes the reluctant heroine in his arms and moves her around a deserted ballroom. Only when she responds does the waltz break into dazzling gaiety. Suddenly dancers burst through every doorway, sweeping in great circles around them. In a mirrored hall, they are alone again until a formation of waltzers come revolving over the marble floor, reflected and re-reflected in the mirrors as the music soars. The rhythms of music and movement blend into brilliant patterns, until Danilo and Sonia are finally alone. They continue dancing together until the music ends. Sonia finally decides to trust Danilo, but just then, Popoff is heard in the nearby ballroom announcing their engagement. Sonia becomes furious as she realizes their engagement was a plot. Danilo announces to the crowd that the engagement was a mistake before he is marched off to jail. At Danilo’s trial back in Marshovia, he is led into a courtroom to the applause of all the ladies. The evidence is interrupted by Sonia, who emotionally tells the court he lied to her and deceived her. She tells them, they shouldn’t put him in jail— they should give him a medal! Danilo pleads with Sonia to believe he loves her, but she won’t. Angrily, Danilo turns to the courtroom and confesses in an emotional speech: “Any man who can dance through life with hundreds of women and is willing to walk through life with one, should be hanged!” The men in the courtroom rise to applaud. Sonia comes to the jail to visit Danilo, but finds his cell empty. When he returns, they exchange bitter words until they discover that they are locked in. Outside, Achmed, Popoff, and the entire cabinet have assembled to make certain there is a reconciliation. Iced champagne is sent through the revolving food shelf. Cologne is sprayed through the peephole. They have even brought a gypsy orchestra to play “The Merry Widow Waltz.” As the music softly invades the room, they ignore each other, until, inevitably, they come together. A minister’s face appears in the peephole. “Captain Danilo, do you take....” “Certainly,” murmurs Danilo. “Of course,” sighs Sonia. The music rises as they kiss. The film’s trailer is a visual and historical de-

200 light. It contains footage of Franz Lehár conducting an orchestra and begins with an interesting shot of Danilo and Sonia waltzing on top of a spinning globe, signifying the world acclaim the operetta, and particularly the waltz, have attained. Lorenz Hart wrote new English lyrics for Lehár’s songs (except Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics for “Tonight Will Teach Me to Forget”). The musical highlights are “Maxim’s” and “The Merry Widow Waltz.” “Vilia” is beautiful, but doesn’t fit into the plot very well. Jeanette MacDonald’s beautiful voice suits the operetta style much more than Chevalier’s, but his Parisian charm more than makes up for any lack of vocal skills. The enormous picture hat worn by Sonia in the original operetta, which became known as the Merry Widow hat, swept the fashion world in the early 1900s. Editorials and sermons decried it and several local governments passed ordinances against the hats as being unsafe, unhealthy, and immoral. There were also gowns, corsets and cigarettes inspired by the operetta. A silent film version of The Merry Widow4 was released in 1925, and, in addition to this 1934 black and white version, there was a 1952 Technicolor version starring Lana Turner.

Mother Wore Tights 20th Century–Fox, August 20, 1947, 107 minutes Principal Cast: Betty Grable (Myrtle McKinley Burt), Dan Dailey (Frank Burt), Mona Freeman (Iris Burt), Connie Marshall (Mikie Burt) Director: Walter Lang Producer: Lamar Trotti Screenwriter: Lamar Trotti; based on a book by Miriam Young Music: Various Songwriters Choreographers: Seymour Felix and Kenny Williams Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“You Do”) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Cinematography, Color Availability: DVD

Mother Wore Tights deals with a loving vaudeville couple’s steady rise to fame and the effect their show business career has on their two daughters. The film is narrated by the younger daughter, Mikie. “Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-é,”1 plays underneath the opening credits and sets the era as the turn of the

201 20th Century. After the credits, the film audience meets Frank and Myrtle Burt in their elder years. As “M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me)”2 is sung by a male quartet, Mikie introduces her mother. When she introduces her father, “Daddy, You’ve Been a Mother to Me”3 is sung by a girls’ chorus. Then Frank performs “Burlington Bertie from Bow”4 in a burlesque routine. Myrtle graduates from Oakland High School in 1900 and travels across the bay to San Francisco to attend business school. But, since she had performed the lead in the high school musical, she stops by Schneider’s Opera House and ends up with a job in the chorus. Frank, who is also a performer at Schneider’s, performs a rowdy song-anddance to the song “You Do.”5 During a birthday party for Frank, Myrtle imitates his performance of “Burlington Bertie.” Rather than being insulted, Frank is impressed and asks her to join his act. Soon, Roy Bivins6 convinces Myrtle to join him in a new show, so Frank performs a solo act again. Once Myrtle returns, Frank haphazardly proposes, she accepts and they are married. As a vaudeville team, they perform “This Is My Favorite City”7 in multiple locales (wherever they are, that is their favorite city). Myrtle gets pregnant (they certainly don’t use that word), so she wants to quit the act to be a fulltime mother. A daughter, Iris, is born, followed three years later by another daughter, Mikie. Myrtle and the two girls live with her mother, Grandmother McKinley.8 Myrtle receives a telegram from Frank that he can’t find a replacement for a girl who’s leaving for Hollywood, so he needs her back in the act. On her first night back, she performs an elegant rendition of “You Do,” assisted by a quartet, the Eton Four. Show business is back in her blood. Every season is supposed to be her finale, but it never happens. Frank and Myrtle perform a duet of “We’re a Couple of Broadway Brothers”9 and a song and tap dance to “Kokomo, Indiana.”10 The scene shifts to the first Christmas the daughters are separated from their parents. They are terribly sad and want to be with their parents. The scene shifts again to Frank and Myrtle opening Christmas presents in their hotel room. Suddenly, the girls surprise them. Since they had sent their daughters’ presents to Grandmother’s, the entire vaudeville troupe entertains the girls on Christmas morning. Iris11 demonstrates her emerging talent by singing “Silent Night”12 to her mother’s piano accompaniment. During a vacation in the Berkshires, the hotel is filled with elderly people who sit around quietly

Mother Wore Tights playing checkers or reading (Frank calls it “dead pan alley”). In an attempt to liven up the place, the family sings “Tra-La-La-La,”13 but it has no effect. Tired of these stick-in-the-muds, the family packs to leave, but a German couple and another man come to check on Mikie after she had taken quite a fall, and admit they’re a bunch of old fogies. They convince the family to remain and help liven up the place. Downstairs a crowd gathers around the piano as the hotel community sings “Lily of the Valley.”14 Iris convinces her parents that their daughters need to attend a proper school if they’re going to attract the right kind of marriageable men like Bob Clarkman,15 a young man from a wealthy family that she had met during their vacation. So, they enroll at the Ridgeway Boarding School for Girls. On a train outing, several students, with Bob playing the ukulele, and Iris sing “Swinging Down the Lane.”16 They attempt to sing “Stumbling,”17 but can’t remember the words. A vaudeville couple shows them how the song is supposed to go. When the couple leaves, the students make fun of these hammy entertainers, which makes Iris feel uncomfortable about her parents’ profession. The girls receive a letter from their parents that they have booked a show in the town where they go to school. Iris doesn’t want her friends to know that her parents are performers. When Frank and Myrtle arrive, Mikie explains Iris’ feelings. Even so, they arrange for Iris’ class to attend the performance. At the performance, Frank and Myrtle, both dressed very classily, perform an elegant rendition of “There’s Nothing Like a Song,”18 a reprise of “Kokomo, Indiana,” and a boisterous version of “(Rolling Down Bowling Green) On a Little TwoSeat Tandem.”19 During the thunderous applause and curtain calls, Iris bursts into tears and runs from the theater. She’s ashamed of her feelings. With her parents and Bob (in uniform; he’s headed for World War I) in the audience for graduation, Iris is named honor student in music and sings a song her parents had sung in vaudeville years ago —“You Do,” with her classmates providing the vocal background. The film ends as it began with Frank and Myrtle as retirees. Iris followed her parents into show business and married Bob. Mikie and her children are coming to visit. Mother Wore Tights is not the best or the worse of the movie musicals of the Forties. The film has some good moments and some that are only mediocre. In general, the first part of the film is enjoyable, but after Iris becomes embarrassed by her parents’ plebian profession, the film becomes less entertaining.

Moulin Rouge! Betty Grable and Dan Dailey perform their song-and-dance routines with lots of personality, but there is nothing particularly memorable about the songs except for perhaps “Kokomo, Indiana” and “You Do,” which is performed by different characters in several different styles.

Moulin Rouge! 20th Century–Fox, June 1, 2001, 127 minutes Principal Cast : Ewan McGregor (Christian), Nicole Kidman (Satine), John Leguizamo (Toulouse-Lautrec), Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler), Richard Roxburgh (The Duke of Monroth) Director/Co-Screenwriter/Co-Producer: Baz Luhrmann Co-Producer: Martin Brown and Fred Baron Co-Screenwriter: Craig Pearce Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: John O’Connell Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s #25 Greatest Movie Musical ● “Come What May” #85 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Awards nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Actress in a Leading Role ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ *Best Costume Design ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Makeup ❍ Best Editing ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

The 2001 film, Moulin Rouge!, has nothing in common with a 1952 film of the same title. Baz Luhrmann’s film has been variously claimed to be based on Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata, Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème, and the Greek myth of Orpheus.1 In the DVD booklet, the director writes about “our hero Christian’s journey, modeled on the mythic descent of Orpheus into the underworld” and “with its Orphean plot molded in the likeness of a tragic 19th century novel.” One piece of music that is heard on the soundtrack as background music is “Voyage to the Moon” from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Orpheus in the Underworld. So apparently, the film has a lot in common with the story of Orpheus. Luhrmann also says that Moulin Rouge is the third film in a style his production team named the “Red Curtain” trilogy. In each of the films, “the audience participates in the telling of the story through a device.” In Strictly Ballroom (1992) that device is dance, while Romeo + Juliet (1996) uses the language of Shakespeare. Moulin Rouge is told through song.

202 Although the film is set in 1900, the songs are mostly from the latter half of the 20th century and are often performed in medleys or excerpts that combine lines from several well-known songs in one musical montage. Moulin Rouge opens in a theater where a conductor directs the orchestra in the 20th Century– Fox theme, followed by the opening credits’ music, which consists of “The Sound of Music”2 and “The Can-Can.”3 From the roof of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, Toulouse-Lautrec sings “Nature Boy.”4 The song’s lyrics sing about Christian. He had promised his dying lover, Satine, that he would tell their story. He puts a piece of paper into his typewriter and types the most famous line from “Nature Boy” and the over-riding theme of the entire film, which has to do with the importance of loving and being loved. The film is a flashback telling Christian’s story. Christian came to Paris a year ago to live the bohemian life of a penniless author who writes about truth, freedom, beauty, and most importantly of all, love, even though he has never experienced it. As he types “an unconscious Argentinean fell through my roof,” it happens. The Argentinean5 is followed by a dwarf, who introduces himself as Henri Marie Raymond Toulouse-Lautrec Montfa. He tells Christian that they had been rehearsing a play upstairs called “Spectacular Spectacular.”

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge!

203 Christian astounds the bohemians with his lyrical genius when he solves an argument over some lyrics by singing the opening line from “The Sound of Music.” The bohemians celebrate finding the appropriate writer for their show and the Green Fairy,6 Christian and the bohemians sing a medley of “Nature Boy,” “The Sound of Music” and “Children of the Revolution.”7 Next, they take him to the Moulin Rouge, a nightclub, dancehall and bordello where the rich and powerful come to play with the young and beautiful. In order to write the script, he must win over, Satine, the most beautiful and desirable courtesan, and Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge, with his poetry. As they enter, Zidler and his infamous ladies, the Diamond Dogs, perform “Zidler’s Rap” medley.8 Zidler leads the rakes9 as if he was the Pied Piper and they were the children of Hamelin. During the subsequent debauchery, Satine appears and, along with the Diamond Dogs, performs “Sparkling Diamonds” medley.10 Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke of Monroth whom she must convince to invest in the show that will showcase her as a real actress. She chooses Christian as her escort for the evening and they dance to the Petite Princess11 singing “The Rhythm of the Night.”12 During their dance, Christian arranges to meet her for a private poetry reading later that evening. Satine exits on a trapeze towards the ceiling, but she gasps for breath, faints and falls from the trapeze. Chocolat13 catches her and takes her backstage where she coughs up blood. Zidler, ever the showman, smoothes over Satine’s falling incident and pairs his girls with the rich rakes. Everything quickly returns to normal as Chocolat sings “Diamond Dogs.”14 As Christian nervously waits for his audience with Satine in her boudoir, a red room in an elephant-like building, he sings “Meet Me in the Red Room.”15 While Christian attempts to astound her with his poetry, Satine tries to seduce the “Duke” so he’ll invest in the show. Suddenly, Christian scrambles out of her bed and sings “Your Song,”16 which sweeps her off her feet. On a beam of starlight, they float into the night sky together. Satine thinks she has fallen in love with a young, handsome, talented Duke, but she soon learns that he is only a charmingly bohemian, impoverished writer. When Zidler arrives with the real Duke, Christian hides. To distract the Duke, Satine sings a reprisal of “Your Song” as Christian prompts her with the lyrics from his hiding place. Satine tells the Duke they should wait until after the opening night of the play to make love and pushes him out the door. After he leaves, Satine faints again. When Chris-

Moulin Rouge! tian tries to put her in her bed, he falls on top of her. Just then the Duke returns for his hat and catches them in this rather compromising position. Satine, with the help of the bohemians who had been spying on the proceedings, convinces the Duke that Christian is the play’s writer and they were simply rehearsing a scene. When Zidler arrives to check on things, they pitch their show to the Duke with an elaborate song-and-dance (“The Pitch” medley17). They are actually improvising the story of “Spectacular Spectacular.” Christian tells the Duke that the play is set in India and is about a love triangle between a beautiful Hindu courtesan, an evil maharajah and a poor sitar player. Christian attempts to write, but all he can think about is Satine (he sings a short excerpt of “Your Song”). At the same time, Satine looks towards Christian’s garret and sings “One Day I’ll Fly Away”18 (periodically during her singing, Christian sings short phrases of “Your Song”). Christian climbs up to Satine’s room from the outside to ask her if she meant it when she said she loved him, even though at the time she thought he was the Duke. She explains that as a courtesan she can’t fall in love with anyone. Christian is appalled; life without love is unthinkable (to prove his point, he quotes lines from several songs: “Love is Like Oxygen,” “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing,” “(Love Lifts Us) Up Where We Belong,” and sings a line or two from “All You Need Is Love”19). To convince her that she can, and should, fall in love with him, he sings the “Elephant Love” medley.20 She joins in the medley, they share their first kiss, the man in the moon sings, and two stars collide to produce fireworks. The only way the Duke will agree to finance the conversion of Zidler’s club into a theatre is if he holds the deed to the Moulin Rouge and demands exclusive rights to Satine. Zidler signs the contract and announces that the Moulin Rouge will be transformed into the “world’s first ... totally bohemian, all-singing, all-dancing stage spectacular.” Christian and Satine begin a clandestine love affair. The Duke finally threatens to walk out unless he sees Satine that evening. Zidler demands that Satine meet the Duke for dinner that night. After Zidler leaves, in an excerpt from “Gorecki,”21 Satine sings that if she should die immediately she has at least experienced true love. Then she starts gasping for breath and coughing until she faints again, which results in her not keeping her appointment with either the Duke or Christian. Zidler delays the Duke’s departure by telling him that Satine went to a priest to confess the sins from her former life so she will be clean, which leads Zidler and

Moulin Rouge! some waiters into performing “Like a Virgin.”22 The Duke finally catches their spirit enough to join them in the song. Later that night, the doctor reports to Zidler that Satine is dying, but he doesn’t tell her. The next day when Satine reveals that she must sleep with the Duke, Christian promises to write a song for the play that will remind them of their love. The song is “Come What May,”23 which is sung during a stage rehearsal. The song continues as Christian and Satine stand on the balcony outside his garret, during a picnic, and alone together after having made love. During the rehearsal, a dancer, who is jealous of Satine’s success, points out to the Duke the similarities between the plot of the play and the real-life situation. When the Duke objects to the courtesan choosing the sitar player over the maharajah in the play, Christian yells, “She doesn’t love you!” Then the Duke even more strongly demands that the ending be rewritten and the lover’s secret song be cut. Satine intervenes and suggests that she and the Duke have their long-delayed supper together and talk about the changes. This time she keeps the appointment. During the time that Satine is with the Duke, the tension builds as the others have nothing to do but wait. The Argentinean, Nini,24 and Chocolat sing and dance “El Tango de Roxanne Medley,”25 a dramatic parallel to what is happening upstairs between Satine and the Duke, and Christian. When Satine looks down from her balcony and sees Christian in the garden, she sings an excerpt of “Come What May” and refuses to go through with it with the Duke. When the Duke sees Christian, his worst suspicions are confirmed, so he erupts in a jealous rage and tries to force himself on Satine. As the tango reaches its climax, Chocolat bursts in, knocks the Duke out, and takes Satine to Christian’s garret. She tells Christian that she couldn’t go through with it, because she doesn’t want to pretend anymore; she loves him. They plan to run away together. The Duke tells Zidler that the show must end his way and Satine must come to him after the show or he will have Christian killed. Zidler tells Satine about the Duke’s threat and that she is dying. Disillusioned, she sings “Fool to Believe.”26 In “The Show Must Go On,”27 Zidler convinces her that she must make Christian believe she doesn’t love him to save his life. So, she goes to Christian’s garret, tells him that she’s staying because the Duke offered her everything she had ever dreamed of, and she had to agree never to see him again. Christian decides to pawn his typewriter and use the money to pay Satine. If she refuses the money,

204 it will mean that she really loves him, but if she accepts, it will mean that she was only acting all along. While the “Hindi Sad Diamonds” medley28 is being performed during the first performance of “Spectacular Spectacular,” Christian sneaks into the Moulin Rouge, but is immediately spotted by the Duke’s henchman. While Toulouse tries to warn Christian that they are trying to kill him, the audience goes wild when Satine rises from beneath the stage. She again gasps for breath and coughs violently, but recovers enough to sing. In the audience, the Duke devilishly whispers “She is mine.” Christian takes the Argentinean’s place as the penniless sitar player, goes to Satine’s dressing room and offers her the money. Satine attempts to get him to leave so he won’t be killed. Just as the Duke’s henchman is about to shoot him, the doors open and Christian and Satine find themselves onstage. Christian finds himself acting the scene he had written for the play. He says, “Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love.” Then he throws the money at Satine’s feet and declares, “I’ve paid my whore.” As he walks up the aisle to leave the Moulin Rouge, Toulouse remembers his next line and yells the last line of “Nature Boy.” When Christian stops, Satine sings “Come What May.” As her voice grows stronger, Christian walks back towards the stage and joins her proclamation of love. The Duke signals his henchman to shoot, but Toulouse swings from the catwalks and knocks the gunman down. During the chaos that erupts, the gun is knocked off the stage and lands in the audience near the Duke. Toulouse, Zidler and the chorus try to resume the show.29 The Duke picks up the gun and runs towards the stage pointing the weapon at Christian. Just as he reaches the stage, Zidler knocks him out and the gun flies out a window. Backstage after the curtain falls, Christian and Satine embrace, but she is seized by another coughing fit and collapses. Before she dies, she encourages him to write their story. As her laboured breathing subsides, Christian holds her and sobs. The scene changes to Toulouse standing on the roof in the snow where he sings an excerpt from “Nature Boy.” Time passes and Christian is seen in his garret typing the conclusion of the tale we have just witnessed: “a story about love. A love that will live forever. The end.” The camera pulls back as the red curtain closes and Christian sings the last line from “Nature Boy” as the screen fades to black. Peter Rainer’s film review said, “Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge is being trumpeted by its creator as

205 not merely a musical but, indeed, the Second Coming of the musical.... He may think he’s resuscitating the musical genre, but it’s more like he’s stomping it.... How could anybody who seriously wanted to revive the movie musical be so tone-deaf to the reasons why we love musicals in the first place? ... what’s missing is the simplicity of spirit that gave the best musicals their transcendence.”30 On a more positive note, Richard Corliss wrote, “The idea here was to take a plot that crosses 42nd Street with Camille ... a head-on collision of the romantic and the grotesque, the songs of MGM and MTV ... it’s an all-out, far-out tribute to India’s Bollywood musicals — a kind of Springtime for Hindu.”31 Moulin Rouge was successful in the U.S., but was far more successful internationally. Nicole Kidman’s and Ewan McGregor’s vocals were impressive for performers who are not particularly well known for their singing. Many film editors and/or directors use sample soundtracks of pre-existing songs or music to guide their score composers and lyricists. The many medleys that combine disparate songs in Moulin Rouge sound like a sampler that was left unchanged. Had the entire soundtrack been composed of new material like “Come What May,” the result would have been very impressive. That song was, however, disqualified for an Academy Award nomination because it had originally been written, but not used, for Romeo + Juliet.32 Of the film musicals that have been released during the first decade of the 21st century, Moulin Rouge most likely helped reestablish the genre into the nation’s consciousness, but it isn’t among my top five for the decade and, according to rottentomatoes.com, only has a 78 percent approval rating.

The Muppet Movie Henson Associates, June 22, 1979, 95 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Jim Henson (Kermit the Frog, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, the Swedish Chef and others), Frank Oz (Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle, and others), Richard Hunt (Scooter, Janice, Sweetums, Beaker, and others), Dave Goelz (The Great Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot), plus human actors: Charles Durning (Doc Hopper), Austin Pendleton (Max), Orson Welles (Lew Lord) Director: James Frawley Producer: The Jim Henson Company Screenplay: Jack Burns and Jerry Juhl Music and Lyrics: Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee

The Muppet Movie Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“The Rainbow Connection”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score Availability: DVD ●

Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets, became the most widely known puppeteer in American television history. In the late Sixties, the Children’s Television Workshop asked Henson to help launch a visionary children’s television series on PBS, Sesame Street. Henson’s puppets that became famous on Sesame Street include Bert and Ernie, the Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, and Kermit the Frog. In the mid–Seventies, Henson and Frank Oz produced a series of sketches directed towards a more adult audience that ran on Saturday Night Live. About the same time, Henson moved his production team to England and began filming the TV series, The Muppet Show. The show, which was hosted by Kermit, included new characters like Miss Piggy, Gonzo the Great, Fozzie Bear, Rowlf the Dog, the Swedish Chef and Dr. Teeth. This variety show became a sensation in Britian and soon spread to other TV markets around the world. By the late Seventies, it was being watched by over 200 million viewers in 106 countries. Three years after the premier of The Muppet Show, Henson’s Muppets were ready to move to the big screen. The Muppet Movie became the first live-action musical feature film starring Henson’s creations and became both a critical and financial success. In addition to the famous cadre of puppets in the film, there were several cameo appearances by famous personalities.1 The film opens with the Muppets gathered in a screening room to view The Muppet Movie. When Robin, Kermit’s nephew, asks if the film depicts how the Muppets began, Kermit responds that the movie is approximately how the Muppets started. The film-within-the-film begins as the camera zooms in on a swamp where Kermit sits on a log singing “The Rainbow Connection” and accompanys himself on his banjo. The frog is determined to find “the rainbow connection” that will reveal his destiny. As the song ends, Bernie,2 a Hollywood agent, calls for help; he is lost in the swamp. He tells Kermit that World Wide Studios is holding auditions for a frog. Inspired by the idea of making people happy, Kermit begins his trip from his Florida swamp home to Hollywood on his bicycle. Soon he meets Fozzie the Bear, who is working as a stand-up

The Muppet Movie comic in the El Sleezo Café.3 Fozzie’s comedy bombs, but Kermit rescues his pathetic act by doing a dance with him. During the dance routine, Doc Hopper, the owner of a not-very-successful fried frog legs restaurant chain, and his bungling assistant, Max, watch through a window. Hopper invisions success if Kermit becomes his restaurant chain’s spokesperson. Kermit convinces Fozzie to accompany him to Hollywood, so they drive away in Fozzie’s rusty Studebaker. Doc Hopper, who will go to any lengths to get Kermit to promote his restaurants, and Max follow. As Kermit and Fozzie drive down the road, they sing “Movin’ Right Along.” At one point, they see Big Bird walking down the road. He is headed for New York City to break into public television. After an exhausting day, they park near a church to sleep, but are soon awakened by loud music coming from inside. When they peek in the door, they see The Electric Mayhem, a band fronted by Dr. Teeth, with Floyd and Janice on guitars, Zoot on saxophone and Animal on drums. Scooter, the band’s manager, wants to turn the church into a coffee house. Kermit presents Dr. Teeth with a copy of the screenplay so he can catch up on the film so far. While Kermit and Fozzie sleep, the band members sing “Can You Picture That?,” a song about the script, as they paint Fozzie’s Studebaker in psychedelic rainbow colors so Doc Hopper won’t recognize them. However, when Fozzie and Kermit drive away the next morning, Hopper and Max recognize them and continue their pursuit. During that day’s trip, a truck almost hits Fozzie and Kermit, but it flips upside down on top of the Studebaker. That’s how they meet Gonzo the Great, who has been working as a plumber. Gonzo and his chicken join Fozzie and Kermit on their trip. Later that day, they pull into a used car lot to trade the Studebaker.4 When Sweetums kills a fly which becomes the decimal point in a vehicle’s price, they purchase a woody5 for $11.95. Sweetums runs after them to join the trip. Their next stop is at a fair where the Miss Bogen County Beauty Pageant is in progress.6 The winner is Miss Piggy and Kermit is immediately transfixed by her beauty. When Miss Piggy sees Kermit in the audience, she sings “Never Before, Never Again.” During the song, scenes of Kermit and Miss Piggy together in several locations and in different costumes, including their marriage, are shown. Kermit congratulates Miss Piggy and then excuses himself to join his friends for ice cream.7 When he invites her to join them, she thinks he means to join their trip to Hollywood. Gonzo pur-

206 chases some balloons,8 which lift him into the sky. Fozzie, Kermit, the chicken and Miss Piggy follow Gonzo in the station wagon. Hopper, who is also in hot pursuit, shoots the balloons with his shot gun, which causes Gonzo to rejoin the others. Meanwhile, Sweetums is chasing the beauty contestants. When the travelers stop for the night, Miss Piggy and Kermit enjoy a romantic dinner together.9 Their romantic moment is interrupted by a telephone call from Piggy’s agent. While she is on the phone, Rowlf the dog, who is the lounge pianist, and Kermit talk about the frog being left alone by Miss Piggy. Then they sing “I Hope That Somethin’ Better Comes Along.” When the song is over, Kermit gets a phone call from Miss Piggy — she has been captured by Hopper who threatens to turn her into ham hocks if Kermit doesn’t agree to be his spokesperson. When Kermit tries to rescue Piggy, he is captured and Hopper turns him over to a mad scientist. Prof. Max Krassman10 is going to perform an “electronic cerebrectomy” on the frog so he will be agreeable to Hopper’s demands. When they tie Kermit in the chair and threaten to harm him, Piggy breaks her bonds, bashes Hopper’s men, saves her frog, and throws Krassman into the chair where he receives the cerebrectomy. Soon, however, Miss Piggy really receives a call from her agent that she has been offered a commercial. Matter-of-factly, she bids Kermit goodbye. At this point, the film messes up, so we briefly return to the screening room where the Swedish Chef is the projectionist. Soon, the problem is solved and the film continues with a patriotic scene. As the journey continues, Fozzie sings “America, the Beautiful”11 and a montage of famous western tourist sights is shown. After the song, the group discovers Miss Piggy hitchhiking on the road. As she climbs into the middle of the front seat between Fozzie and Kermit, the frog acts as if he doesn’t care. Near dusk, the station wagon breaks down, so they camp in the desert. Everyone is sad because the break down means they’ll miss the audition the following day. As Rowlf plays the harmonica and Fozzie strums a guitar, Gonzo sadly sings “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday.” After the song, Kermit wanders away from the others to talk to himself (literally). He feels like the others believe in his dream and blame him for not getting them to the audition. Suddenly, Kermit hears music — it is Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, who has found them by reading the screenplay. They climb into the band’s bus and hit the road again singing a reprise of

207 “Movin’ Right Along.” Max, dressed as a motorcycle cop, stops the bus and warns them that Hopper has hired a frog killer. Bravely, Kermit tells Max to inform Hopper he will meet him in a nearby ghost town — after all, a person can’t spend his life running away from bullies. In the ghost town, Kermit and the others meet Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker. They have a laboratory in the ghost town and have invented insta-grow pills, but the pill’s effect is only temporary. Kermit goes out into the street dressed in boots with spurs and a cowboy hat to meet Hopper and his men, including the frog killer. Just as a gunfight is about to occur, the earth begins to shake and Animal bursts through the roof of the lab (he has taken an insta-grow pill). Hopper and his men are frightened away. The group continues their trek to Hollywood. Once they arrive at World Wide Studios, a secretary12 won’t allow them to see Lew Lord. When they finally get past her, Lord hires the entire group on the spot and signs them to the standard “rich and famous contract.” In the next scene, Kermit is soon joined by the other Muppets on the soundstage. As they sing “Magic Store,” they prepare to film their first movie. As the actual filming begins, Kermit reprises “The Rainbow Connection” and the film they are making is everything we have already seen beginning in the swamp and including all their experiences during the trip to Hollywood. Towards the end, a rainbow comes through the ceiling through a hole that has been blown in the roof of the soundstage. The entire cast joins in singing the song; they have all found their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow — they have realized their dream. The film ends with Sweetums, finally catching up with the others, bursting through the screen of the projection room. After the closing credits, Animal tells the viewers to go home. Jim Henson and his extraordinary puppets are a treat. After all these years, it is still amazing how the puppeteers make these animal puppets so lifelike— they walk, run, ride a bicycle, talk, sing, and play musical instruments. We soon accept them as real. Sometimes their jokes are so corny that the audience moans, but even then, their point is right on target. The Muppet Movie is a lot of fun, but it also teaches children and adults to follow their dreams and about the importance of friendship. Henson produced a sequel, The Great Muppet Caper, in 1981. Tragically, Henson died suddenly in 1990. Since his death, the company has been run by his children, who have continued to produce films and television programs.

The Music Man

The Music Man Warner Bros., June 19, 1962, 181 minutes Principal Cast: Robert Preston (Harold Hill), Shirley Jones (Marion Paroo), Buddy Hackett (Marcellus Washburn), Hermione Gingold (Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn), Paul Ford (Mayor George Shinn), Pert Kelton (Mrs. Paroo), Ron Howard (Winthrop Paroo), Monique Vermont (Amaryllis), The Buffalo Bills (the school board members) Producer/Director: Morton DaCosta Screenwriter: Marion Hargrove Choreographer: Onna White Awards and Honors: ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 23 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Seventy-Six Trombones”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Sound ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2005 Availability: DVD

Meredith Willson’s The Music Man opened on Broadway in 1957 and ran for 1,375 performances. The musical’s plot was inspired by Willson’s memories of Mason City, Iowa, where he learned to play piccolo and flute in high school. At the 1958 Tony Awards the musical won five awards out of nine nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Robert Preston), and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Barbara Cook). The original cast album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Robert Preston recreated his role as Professor Harold Hill, as did the barbershop quartet, The Buffalo Bills, and Pert Kelton as Mrs. Paroo. Shirley Jones was selected to play Marian. The film collected six Academy Awards nominations (see Awards and Honors above), but won only one. Since Morton DaCosta directed both the Broadway and Hollywood versions and was the film’s producer, the film is faithful to the original. All of the original score’s songs were retained except for “It’s You” and “My White Knight,” which was replaced by “Being in Love” that included some of the same lyrics. As the action begins a salesman boards a train loaded with travelling salesmen as he barely escapes the town’s Sheriff and several citizens. The salesmen sing “Rock Island” in the same tempo as the train’s movement. Charlie Cowell, an anvil sales-

The Music Man man, asks if the others have ever met a music man named Professor Harold Hill, who scams parents into pre-paying for instruments and uniforms and promises to form a band, but skips town before he’s exposed as a fraud. When Charlie claims Hill would never succeed in Iowa, one of the passengers says, “I think I’ll have to give Iowa a try.” As the man exits the train, Professor Harold Hill is printed on his suitcase. As he walks into the town of River City, Iowa, in “Iowa Stubborn,” the townspeople boast of their stubbornness and contrariness, but they suggest that Hill give their state a try. Hill discovers that an old friend and former conman, Marcellus Washburn, now resides in River City. Marcellus now has a nice job and a nice girlfriend, his boss’ daughter. He warns Hill that anything these Iowa folks don’t already have, they do without. “What about music?” Harold asks. Marcellus tells him there’s a gramophone in one of the stores and a stuck-up librarian who teaches piano. Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn, the Mayor’s wife, huffily heads for the library. She complains to Marian, the librarian, about the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Mrs. Shinn considers the verses smutty and warns Marian to keep her dirty books away from her daughter. Later, Marcellus and Harold are sitting on a bench across the street from the Billiard Parlor. Before Hill decides to remain, he needs to find some kind of trouble, or make some, to work his scam. When he sees several people looking in the window of the Billiard Parlor, he learns that the establishment has a new pool table — something the people of River City have never seen before. “That’ll do it!,” Hill exclaims. As he half-sings, half-speaks “Ya Got Trouble,”1 the townspeople gather around to listen to his sermon on the sin of pool. He warns that their children will graduate to horse-race gambling and their sons will not do their chores. At dances, the young men will meet scarlet women and hear shameless ragtime music. By now, he has absolutely convinced them there is trouble in their town. After the song, Harold flirts with Marian, but she ignores him. Once she arrives at home, Marian tells her mother about her encounter with a man who followed her home. A little girl named Amaryllis is there for her piano lesson. In “Piano Lesson/If You Don’t Mind My Saying So,” while Amaryllis plays her piano exercises, Mrs. Paroo claims that the man Marian has concocted out of her Irish imagination, her Iowa stubbornness and her library books doesn’t exist. Amaryllis has a crush on Marian’s very shy, younger brother, Winthrop, who has hardly spoken

208 since his father died. Amaryllis shares with Marian that she says goodnight to Winthrop on the evening star every night. She’s afraid of growing up to be an old maid like Marian. She suggests Amaryllis say “goodnight my someone” so she can fill in the name later. Marion looks out the window towards the evening star and sings “Goodnight, My Someone.”2 The townspeople gather in the high school gymnasium for the city’s Fourth of July celebration.3 During an Indian skit in which Mrs. Shinn has the lead role, one of the town’s teenagers, Tommy Djilas,4 sets off a firecracker that disrupts the skit. Professor Hill seizes the opportunity. What the town needs is a boys’ band and.he sings “Seventy-Six Trombones” to excite the parents. As Hill and the children march around the gym, the crowd joins the song while the teenaged girls pretend to play piccolos and the boys trombones. Tommy leads the group out of the gym and marches around the town square. George Shinn, the blustery Mayor, demands that the school board members examine Hill’s credentials. When the Sheriff wants to arrest Tommy for shooting off the firecracker, Harold vouches for him. He also gets Tommy to escort Zaneeta5 home. Marcellus tells Harold he has made two mistakes: (1) the Mayor owns the Billiard Parlor; (2) Zaneeta is the Mayor’s oldest daughter. At the Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacle, the school board members ask for Hill’s credentials. He cleverly diverts their attention by forming them into a barbershop quartet.6 As they sing “Sincere” Harold sneaks away to follow Marian, but once again, she rejects him. Later, Hill flatters Mrs. Shinn’s non-existant dance potential and convinces her to head the Ladies Auxiliary of the Classic Dance. When he asks them about Marian becoming involved in this group, they gossip that Miser Madison left the library to the city but left all the books to Marian. Soon this flock of old biddies sings “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little.” These ladies claim that Marian advocates dirty books and made brazen overtures to Mr. Madison. As Harold sneaks away, he is cornered by the school board again. This time he gets them to sing “Good Night, Ladies,”7 which develops into a cleverly written, delightful contrapuntal combination of the two songs. Once both groups are occupied, Hill disappears. Harold speculates that perhaps there is some truth to the ladies’ gossip about Marian. In “The Sadder-But-Wiser Girl,” he explains to Marcellus the type of woman he wants. They perform a silly little dance to the song. When Harold visits the library, Marian asks him

209 to make his selection and leave. He has made it, he says; he wants the librarian. In “Marian, the Librarian,”8 he leads the teenagers in a rambunctious dance. Marian temporarily forgets her normally staid decorum and dances with the Professor. Hill visits Mrs. Paroo to sign up her son for the band. He claims that the greatest cornetists are Irish, knowing that she is extremely proud of her heritage. She signs Winthrop up, compliments Hill’s gift of blarney and is certain he must be Irish, too. When she inquires where he is from, he says, Gary, Indiana. He sings a little ditty about his hometown (“Gary, Indiana”). The number also includes a dance, which at one point Mrs. Paroo joins to perform the Irish jig. Mrs. Paroo likes Harold and is puzzled why Marian isn’t interested. When she asks her daughter what she is waiting for, Marian sings “Being in Love.”9 Marian attempts to present Mayor Shinn with evidence against Harold, but he and the rest of the townspeople are too excited about the arrival of “The Wells Fargo Wagon,” which is delivering the band instruments. The townspeople sing about all the things they have gotten in the past via the Wells Fargo Wagon. The normally shy and reserved Winthrop is so excited he joins in the song with no concern for his lisp. When Harold brings Winthrop’s cornet to him, he can’t stop gushing about how wonderful it is. Marian sees her little brother’s happiness and begins to fall in love with Harold. When the Professor meets with his boys’ band, he explains his “think system.” He puts Tommy in charge of rehearsing the group as they sing the “Minuet in G.”10 The next time the school board tries to collect Harold’s credentials he gets them to sing “Lida Rose” and slips away. That song seques into Marian sitting on her porch steps singing “Will I Ever Tell You?”11 in which she confesses her love for Harold, but doubts she will ever tell him. Soon, the two songs are heard simultaneously. Winthrop returns home after spending time with Harold and tells Marian and Mrs. Paroo about the Professor teaching him a song about his hometown that hardly has any syllabants in it. Winthrop sings a cute reprise of “Gary, Indiana.” Charlie Cowell is feverishly looking for the Mayor’s residence to give him evidence against Hill. Mrs. Paroo plays an instrumental recording of the “Habanera”12 from Carmen, while Marian delays Cowell by flirting with him. As his train whistle blows, she pushes him away. Charlie angrily tells her that Harold has a girl in every one of the 102 counties in Illinois.

The Music Man When Harold arrives, she asks how he developed the “think system.” He explains that it is sort of like whistling — all you do is think of the tune, pucker up and whistle. Then she rhetorically asks if all music teachers are as dense as she is. She also explains that Madison, her father’s best friend, left her the library books to insure that her mother and brother would be provided for; the rumors started because of jealousy. Then she convinces herself that Charlie’s accusations are also rumors. Even though she has never been to the footbridge with a man in her life, she agrees to meet Harold there. At the ice cream social, Marcellus sings “Shipoopi”13 about a girl who’s hard to get. The teenagers join him in a spirited dance. They beg Hill to show them a new step, so Harold grabs Marian and illustrates the new dance step that resembles the Castle Walk. Marian promises she’ll join him after she has a bowl of ice cream with her mother and brother. When Harold arrives at the footbridge, he looks into the water and conducts an instrumental reprise of “Goodnight, My Someone.” Suddenly, his reverie ends, and he breaks the stick he is using as his baton. When Marian arrives, he tells her she is twentysix years late. She thanks him for the difference he has made in her life by singing “Till There Was You.”14 After the song, they embrace. Marcellus interrupts to tell Hill that the uniforms have arrived and urges him to take the money and run. Since the train doesn’t leave for an hour, Harold wants to spend more time with Marian. She confesses that she did plenty of research about him when he first arrived. He said he was a graduate of Gary Conservatory, ’05, but the town didn’t exist until ’06. Back at the ice cream social, Charlie accuses Hill of being a flim-flammer and assures them that Hill never intended to organize a band. The parents want their money back, so they start searching for the Professor. Meanwhile, Harold walks Marian home. At her house, he sings a slow excerpt from “Seventy-Six Trombones” and she sings an excerpt from “Goodnight, My Someone,” then, realzing they are in love with each other, each sings the other’s song. When Winthrop comes running home, he asks Hill if he is a liar and a crook. Hill answers “Yes” to both questions. As much as everyone tries to get him to leave, Harold says, “For the first time in my life, I got my foot caught in the door” and sings part of “Till There Was You.” The townspeople handcuff Hill and lead him away. Mayor Shinn leads a meeting to decide what to do with Harold. Marian defends Hill and tells

My Fair Lady them they should be grateful for what he brought the community. After her speech, Mayor Shinn asks anyone who doesn’t want Hill to be tarred and feathered to stand. One by one almost all the people stand. When the Mayor reminds them of the money they lost, they all sit down. Then as a final condemnation, Shinn asks, “Where’s the band?” Suddenly, the town’s boys file into the room in their new uniforms and with their instruments. Even though Harold is in handcuffs, Marian urges him to lead the band, which he reluctantly does. When he gives the downbeat, the boys play a horrible rendition of “Minuet in G,” but to their parents, they are marvelous. Parent after parent yells something similar to “That’s my boy!” Tommy leads the band out of the building. Once outside, their plain uniforms transform into spectacular ones and Zaneeta magically becomes a majorette. Hill struts down Main Street leading the enormous band around the town square as they play “Seventy-Six Trombones.” During this finale, the end credits begin by reintroducing the characters as an unseen chorus sings “Seventy-Six Trombones.” Marian joins Harold at the front of the parade as the film concludes. For those of us who weren’t priviledged to see Robert Preston in The Music Man on Broadway, we are fortunate to have his performance captured on film. Shirley Jones’ acting and singing were also exceptional. The film version enhances and expands the staged version. Musically, Meredith Willson’s score is exceptional with “Ya Got Trouble,” “Goodnight, My Someone,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “Till There Was You,” and his contrapuntal numbers like “Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little” and “Goodnight, Ladies.” The Music Man has been revived on Broadway several times. In 1980, a production starred Dick Van Dyke and Meg Bussert (eventual Hollywood actor Christian Slater was Winthrop). In 2000, another revival was mounted that starred Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker. A 2003 television version starred Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.

My Fair Lady Warner Bros., December 25, 1964, 173 minutes Principal Cast: Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Doolittle), Rex Harrison (Henry Higgins), Stanley Holloway (Alfred Doolittle), Wilfred Hyde-White (Colonel Pickering), Jeremy Brett (Freddie Eynsford-Hill), Gladys Cooper (Mrs. Higgins), Theodore Bikel (Zoltan Karpathy)

210 Director: George Cukor Producer: Jack L. Warner Screenwriter/Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner Music: Frederick Loewe Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 8 Movie Musical ● “I Could Have Danced All Night” No. 17 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”) ● AFI Song Nominee (“The Rain in Spain”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ *Best Director ❍ *Best Actor in a Leading Role (Rex Harrison) ❍ Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Stanley Holloway) ❍ Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Gladys Cooper) ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ *Best Cinematography, Color ❍ *Best Costume Design, Color ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Availability: DVD

My Fair Lady, the Academy Award–winning Best Picture, is the screen version of the 1956 Broadway musical that was based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1912 play Pygmalion. In addition to winning the Best Picture Oscar, it collected seven other Academy Awards, was nominated for several others (see Awards and Honors above), and became one of the most successful films of the year. The original Broadway production starred Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, but Jack Warner refused to cast her for the same role in the film because he wanted an established box office star. Therefore, he chose Audrey Hepburn for the role and she acted the part superbly. Ironically, Miss Andrews won the Best Actress Academy Award for her starring role in Mary Poppins that same year, proving that she was as accomplished a singeractress in films as she was on stage. In Julie Andrews’ autobiography, she said, “At the time, I completely understood their choice. Warner Bros. needed a big name for the marquee, and although I had starred on Broadway, that was a very small pond compared to the rest of America and the world.”1 Audrey Hepburn’s vocals were dubbed by Marni Nixon and Jeremy Brett’s vocals were dubbed by Bill Shirley. Rex Harrison, who also performed the role of Henry Higgins in the Broadway musical, performed his own vocals.2 In a film history first,

211 the studio sound department devised a wireless microphone which they placed in Mr. Harrison’s necktie to record his “singing” during filming rather than use the conventional lip-sync method to a prerecorded track. Stanley Holloway played Eliza’s good-for-nothing father, Alfred Doolittle, in both the Broadway and film versions. During the overture and opening credits, elegantly-dressed people exit a performance at the Covent Garden Opera house. As it begins to rain, they scurry to find shelter and the street vendors hurriedly cover their carts. Young socialite Freddie Eynsford-Hill runs into Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower vendor, while he is looking for a cab. When Freddie knocks Eliza’s violets in the mud, she demands payment for the damages. Feeling sorry for the girl, Colonel Pickering gives Eliza a few coins. A bystander warns her that a man is writing down every word she is saying. Thinking she’s in trouble for selling flowers illegally, she defends herself as having done nothing wrong. Professor Henry Higgins attempts to calm her by reading from his notes exactly what she said in her Cockney dialect and explains that he is a phonetics expert. He also mercilessly berates Eliza’s

My Fair Lady butchering of the English language. She reacts indignantly to Higgins’ insults with caterwauling utterances like “Ah-ah-aw-aw-oo-oo!” In “Why Can’t the English Learn to Speak?,” Higgins contends that class distinctions are the result of inarticulate dialects and unrefined language skills. To prove his point, the Professor boasts that in six months he could teach this girl to speak properly, which would transform her into a lady that would pass for a duchess at the Embassy Ball. Colonel Pickering, the author of Spoken Sanscrit, has journeyed from India to meet Henry Higgins, the author of Higgins’ Universal Alphabet. After their chance meeting at Covent Gardens, Higgins invites Pickering to his home. Left behind with the other street vendors, Eliza sings “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” as she dreams about what her life might be like if she became a lady. Early the next morning, the scruffy-looking Alfred Doolittle, Eliza’s hard-drinking, hard-living father, comes to the market looking for a half-acrown handout from his daughter. She knows he’ll spend it on liquor, but she gives him the money. Eliza goes to Higgins’ residence to hire him to give her elocution lessons so she can get a job work-

Stanley Holloway, Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

My Fair Lady ing in a flower shop. Higgins isn’t interested. The Colonel reminds the Professor of his boast, proposes a wager and offers to pay for the lessons. Higgins accepts the bet and proclaims, “I’ll make a duchess of this draggle-tailed guttersnipe.” Then he orders his housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, to clean Eliza, burn her clothes, and order new ones. Meanwhile, he and Pickering set forth the terms of this “learning experiment” for Eliza and for the wager. Pickering wants it clearly understood that no advantage is to be taken of Eliza’s position. Higgins, a confirmed bachelor, sings “An Ordinary Man” to reassure the Colonel that he is the type of man who would rather suffer pain at the dentist than to allow a woman in his life. The scene switches to a drunken Alfred Doolittle and his cronies who are thrown out of a pub. These scoundrels sing a rowdy music-hall song, “With a Little Bit of Luck,” about avoiding work, giving in to temptation, avoiding marriage, and in general, living a carefree life. A woman teases Alfie that he can buy anything now that his daughter has moved to Wimpole Street to live with a swell named Professor Higgins. Alfred celebrates this good news by singing more of the song. He’s definitely looking forward to being supported by his offspring. At the Professor’s residence, Eliza has begun her regimen of pronunciation exercises. Assuming his daughter is involved in a sexual relationship with the Professor, Doolittle pretends to rescue her, but he actually hopes to extort money from Higgins. He admits he’s undeserving and has no intension of changing, but he convinces the Professor to give him a five pound note. As he is leaving, he almost doesn’t recognize his cleaned-up daughter. He advises Higgins to give her “a few licks of the strap” to keep her in line. The Professor is greatly amused by Doolittle’s earthy philosophies, so he instructs Mrs. Pearce to write to an American philanthropist and millionaire to recommend Mr. Alfred P. Doolittle as a prospective lecturer for his moral reform society. Higgins is a harsh taskmaster. He threatens “no lunch, no dinner, and no chocolates” until Eliza pronounces her vowels correctly. By this point, Eliza despises the Professor. She sings “Just You Wait” as she fantasizes about the time when he’ll be broke; she’ll have money, but she won’t give him any. She also imagines Higgins before a firing squad and the King allowing her to give his death order. Later, during Eliza’s elocution lessons, Higgins has her repeat phrases over and over and has her read poetry with marbles in her mouth. One evening after a particularly exhausting day, she impeccably enunciates “the rain in Spain stays mainly in

212 the plain.” At first the Professor can’t believe what he heard, but excitedly proclaims, “I think she’s got it.” Higgins, Eliza and the Colonel perform “The Rain in Spain” to celebrate her triumph. Reveling in her achievement, she and the Professor joyfully dance around the room. Higgins decides that it is time to test Eliza in public and chooses the Ascot races as an excellent occasion. Now hyped by her success and starting to fall for her teacher, Eliza doesn’t want the night to end. As Mrs. Pearce tries to get her to go to bed, Eliza sings “I Could Have Danced All Night.” The scene changes to the Ascot Race Track, where the society couples stiffly parade in their elegant clothes as they await the start of the race. When the first race begins, the entire crowd raises their field glasses simultaneously to view the horses gallop by; they show no emotion or excitement about the race. Once the horses pass, they lower their field glasses and unemotionally sing about the race. Higgins arrives at his mother’s box dressed in a brown tweed suit instead of an evening coat and trousers like the other gentlemen. She isn’t particularly happy to see him because she is afraid he will offend her friends and is not appropriately dressed. He explains that he came to Ascot to see how a flower girl he has taught to speak properly would fare before he takes her to the Embassy Ball. As Mrs. Eynsford-Hill and her son, Freddie, join Mrs. Higgins in her box, Eliza makes a spectacular entrance. She speaks quite carefully with impeccable enunciation. Freddie is immediately infatuated with her. During the next race, Eliza gets carried away and forgets to react in a ladylike fashion when she shouts, “Come on, Dover. Move yer bloomin’ arse!” Mrs. Higgins advises Henry to give up on the idea of presenting Eliza at the Embassy Ball and accuses him of being “absolutely potty about her.” Freddie is so enamored with Eliza that he buys her a bouquet of flowers and paces up and down Wimpole Street outside the Professor’s house hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He sings of his feelings in the only romantic song in the musical: “On the Street Where You Live.” Seldom has such an insignificant character performed such a lovely song. Suddenly, it is six weeks later, the evening of the Embassy Ball. The Colonel is still extremely concerned that Higgins has over extended the bounds of common decency in his tyrannical teaching techniques and that Eliza cannot possibly retain everything. When Eliza appears at the top of the stairs in a gorgeous white evening gown, she looks like a princess. Higgins is stunned, drinks a glass of port

213 to steady himself and, after first starting towards the door without her, extends his arm to escort her to the ball. At the ball, the Lady Ambassador is very impressed by Eliza, but Pickering and Higgins fear that she will be exposed by Zoltan Karpathy, one of Higgins’ most illustrious pupils, who boasts that he can spot any imposters. After she dances with Karpathy, he announces to the hostess that Eliza is a fraud because her English is too good. He claims she was born a Hungarian princess. Later that evening, Pickering and Higgins gloat over their achievement and congratulate each other, completely ignoring Eliza and her role in the triumph, by singing “You Did It.” Eliza is angered by their indifference toward her. Feeling she was merely their toy, she isn’t sure where she belongs now that the experiment is over. Eliza gives Higgins the jewelry she had worn to the ball. Obviously wishing circumstances were different Eliza admits that she and Higgins are so different there can’t be any feelings between them. Higgins accuses her of not appreciating what he has done for her. As Eliza leaves Higgins’ house later that evening, the ever-present Freddie sings a reprise of “On the Street Where You Live.” He has been composing a list of words that show his devotion to her. In “Show Me,” she tells him she’s sick of words. If he loves her, don’t talk about it, demonstrate it. Eliza goes to Covent Garden, which is closing for the day. None of her former acquaintances recognize her. As she is about to leave, her tuxedodressed, but miserable, father appears. He accuses Higgins of ruining his life by forcing him into middle-class morality. When the American millionaire died, he left four thousand pounds a year for Alfred. Now as a member of the middle class, he must become respectable by marrying his mistress of many years. In only a few hours, Doolittle will lose his freedom, but before then he intends to have one final fling. He and his bevy of boozers drunkenly sing “Get Me to the Church on Time.” The next morning, Higgins still can’t understand why Eliza left. He blames her actions on her womanhood and, in “A Hymn to Him,” he ponders why women aren’t more like men. In the meantime, Eliza has gone to visit Higgins’ mother, where she receives understanding and sympathy. When Henry arrives, his mother scolds him for his insensitive treatment of Eliza. Eliza now understands that “the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.” She is confident that Professor Higgins will always think of her and treat her like a flower girl. She confronts him concern-

Naughty Marietta ing his attitude toward her, but he shows no signs of remorse. In the song “Without You,” she tells him that she can do without him more than he can do without her. She also surprises him when she informs him she is going to marry Freddie, then bids him goodbye. Henry thinks he can continue his life without her, but on his way home, he begrudgingly admits “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” Henry goes to his speech laboratory where he turns on the phonograph and listens to Eliza’s first elocution lessons. While he listens, Eliza walks up behind him and turns the recording off. Slowly, it dawns on him that she has followed him home and intends to stay. In a confusing ending, the unreformed Higgins returns to his self-centered, chauvinistic ways by demanding that Eliza bring him his slippers. And, although the audience assumes they stay together, there is no hint of what type of relationship they will have. The original play ended with Higgins laughing at Eliza’s intention to marry Freddie. Incredibly, Entertainment Weekly ignored My Fair Lady in its list of the “25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time” even though the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and was No. 8 on AFI’s list. My Fair Lady is definitely one of the greatest film musicals of all-time. There aren’t many musical films that can boast of so many excellent songs that are still remembered after half-a-century (especially noteworthy are “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” “With a Little Bit of Luck,” and “Get Me to the Church on Time”). In addition, the musical’s plot also presents a very currently pertinent conclusion: class distinctions are the result of inarticulate dialects and unrefined language skills. As much as I would have preferred to have seen Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, Audrey Hepburn was excellent. Rex Harrison was perfect as the stuffy linguistic expert and Stanley Holloway was adorable as Alfie Doolittle. Even though the film runs for almost three hours, it doesn’t seem nearly that long.

Naughty Marietta M-G-M, March 29, 1935, 106 minutes Principal Cast: Jeanette MacDonald (Princess Marie de Namours de la Bonfain/Marietta Franini), Nelson Eddy (Captain Richard “Dick” Warrington) Director: W.S. Van Dyke

Naughty Marietta Producer: Hunt Stromberg Screenwriters: Frances Goodrich, John Lee Mahin and Albert Hackett Music: Victor Herbert Lyrics: Rida Johnson Young Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Sound, Recording ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2003 Availability: DVD is not currently available

Naughty Marietta is the first of eight Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy musical films between 1935 and 1942. According to That’s Entertainment, MacDonald and Eddy were the most successful film duo of the era. Their fine voices greatly contributed to Victor Herbert’s 1910 operetta becoming a very successful musical film. Who would have guessed that Depression-era film audiences would be receptive to a twenty-five-year-old operetta starring a classically trained baritone and a petite redheaded soprano? Miss MacDonald had previously gained acclaim in The Love Parade (1929), Love Me Tonight (1932) and The Merry Widow (1934) with Maurice Chevalier. Nelson began his film career in 1933 and by 1935 had only appeared in a few insignificant roles. Lyricist Gus Kahn contributed new or additional lyrics for almost all of the songs from the original operetta. His revision of Rida Johnson Young’s antiquated lyrics for “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” is particularly noticeable. Naughty Marietta opens with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy singing an excerpt from “The Italian Street Song.” Later, “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” is played by the orchestra during the opening credits. As the action begins, Princess Marie de Namour de la Bonfain is presented with a pair of lovebirds and a cocker spaniel puppy by a pet store owner. When she leaves the store, she visits with the townspeople who obviously adore their princess. Then she visits her old singing teacher and helps him write down the melody of the bells from the nearby church (this unfinished song is a recurring element in the plot). While she is at her teacher’s home, Marie hears men singing upstairs and joins them in “Chansonette.” After a chorus, she hears others singing on the next floor, so she joins them; later, she joins another group on another floor, and sings with the crowd of townspeople outside. She is very happy in this environment. Back at the palace, the man Marie’s uncle insists she marry, Don Carlos de Braganza,1 has arrived

214 with a ghastly wedding trousseau. Her marriage to Don Carlos has been arranged to make her accessible to the lecherous Louis XV. Marie’s serving girl, Marietta Franini,2 has no dowry to marry her sweetheart, so she is leaving for New Orleans to become a casquette girl in hopes of finding a trapper or planter to marry and begin a new life in the New World. Marie gives Marietta the money for her dowry and takes her place. Dressed in a simple homespun dress and wire-rimmed glasses, Marie boards the ship bound for New Orleans. As the ship embarks, a man3 and the crowd sing “Antoinette and Anatole” and a priest4 and Marietta, the former Marie, sing “Prayer.” As soon as Marie’s uncle, Prince de Namours de la Bonfain,5 discovers the deception, he and Don Carlos set sail to retrieve her. During the lengthy voyage, Marietta attempts to set lyrics to her former teacher’s melody, but she can’t complete the song. Off the coast of Louisiana, pirates kill the ship’s crew and cart the frightened girls to their bayou camp. One day, the girls hear a group of men singing a marching song, “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp.” It is Captain Dick Warrington and his Rangers, who rout the pirates and promise to deliver the girls safely to New Orleans. Warrington and his men sing “The Owl and the Pussycat” around the camp fire that evening. Marietta doesn’t like the Captain’s brashness, and he can’t understand why such an attractive woman with unsoiled hands would be among these casquette girls. He sings the romantic “’Neath the Southern Moon,” but Marietta, pretends to be unimpressed. The girls receive an enthusiastic welcome from male inhabitants of New Orleans and are soon interviewing prospective husbands. Marietta, however, causes quite a disturbance when she refuses several young men. Governor Gaspar d’Annard6 reminds her of the contract she signed. When she still refuses, he orders his gendarmes to find her a home. Captain Dick again rescues Marietta and finds her a place to live in the Bohemian quarter of the city. He also invites himself to dinner, but, being a former princess, Marietta can’t cook. Some singers from Rudolpho’s Marionette Theater come by Marietta’s window. Dick chides her for not being as agreeable and talented as the troupe’s soprano, Rudolpho’s daughter, Muzetta. Marietta bristles at his criticism and shows off her vocal skills with a spirited rendition of “The Italian Street Song,” a soprano showpiece in which the singer recalls her youthful days in Napoli. The song’s chorus is just a lot of nonsense syllables for the soprano

215 to show off her vocal skills. The second time through the chorus, a virtuoso obbligato is sung. While Dick talks to some suitors who show up at Marietta’s door, she sneaks out the back door and finds work at Rudolpho’s. When Dick finds her, the troupe is performing a routine to the song “Ship Ahoy.” He goes backstage to see Marietta, but she sends him away. Rudolpho warns her that Dick is a notorious heartbreaker. Later, when she leaves the theater, Dick persuades her to let him show her the town. Their city tour is interrupted by the news that her uncle is offering a large reward for her capture and he and Don Carlos will arriving soon. Dick and Marietta escape the city in a small boat. As they drift in the bayou, he asks who she really is. She answers, “Someone,” so he sings “I’m Falling in Love with Someone.” The once notorious ladies’ man is falling for one particular girl. She tells him she has a song for him too, but she hasn’t completed it. When they get to Dick’s hideout, the gendarmes are waiting. Fearing for Dick’s life, Marietta consents to return to France. At the Governor’s house, a ball is held in her honor before they depart. To keep Dick away, the Governor has order him and his troops out of town on a mission, but they aren’t leaving until midnight, so the Captain gains entrance to the ball. Fearing for his safety, Marietta tells him she will see him the next day, even though she knows her ship is sailing that night. The guests beg Marietta to sing. As she sees Dick leaving, and realizes she will most likely never see him again, suddenly the words she has been searching for come to her. As she sings “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life,” he realizes the words are meant for him. She has found the mystery of life: the world is seeking love and love is life. Risking his own safety, Dick returns to sing a duet with her. When the song ends, Marietta tearfully rushes upstairs, but Dick soon comes to take her away. As they slip down the backstairs, they are arrested by two of Dick’s men disguised as gendarmes and are taken away from the city as they sing their marching song (“Tramp, Tramp, Tramp”). The film ends with Marietta in Captain Dick’s arms as they ride into the West and sing a reprise of “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.” The critics raved about Naughty Marietta and about Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy’s performances, both vocally and dramatically. It is one of their best film adaptations of an operetta, but I’m afraid 21st century audiences will find it stilted and unrealistic. As beautiful as “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” is, it became comical when it was per-

Neptune’s Daughter formed in Young Frankenstein in 1974 and is, unfortunately, most likely to be remembered that way. Other particularly memorable songs from the score include “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,” “’Neath the Southern Moon,” “Italian Street Song,” and “I’m Falling in Love with Someone.”

Neptune’s Daughter M-G-M, June 9, 1949, 93 minutes Principal Cast: Esther Williams (Eve Barrett), Red Skelton ( Jack Spratt), Ricardo Montalban ( Jose O’Rourke), Betty Garrett (Betty Barrett), Keenan Wynn ( Joe Backett), Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra (themselves) Director: Edward Buzzell Producer: Jack Cummings Screenwriter: Dorothy Kingsley Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser Choreographer: Jack Donohue Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”) ● Academy Award winner: ❍ Best Song (“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”) Availability: DVD

Esther Williams swam for the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team and won three national championships in both the breaststroke and freestyle while she was still a teenager. She was headed for the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo, but the beginning of World War II caused those games to be cancelled. She next performed with Johnny Weismuller, the former Olympic swimmer and star of the Tarzan films, in the San Francisco Aquacade, which was basically a Broadway revue in swimsuits. When some M-G-M execs saw her in the Aquacade, they offered her a screen test and signed her to a contract. Miss Williams’ film debut was in 1942’s Andy Hardy’s Double Life, but it wasn’t until Bathing Beauty in 1944 that she became a Hollywood star. Between 1945 and 1949, she starred in Thrill of a Romance, was featured in “A Water Ballet” in Ziegfeld Follies, and starred in On an Island with You. Neptune’s Daughter, which was released a few months after Take Me Out to the Ball Game in which she starred opposite Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, became one of the highest-grossing films of 1949. The film begins with Joe Backett narrating the story. He and Eve Barrett are business partners, but he would like for it to be more. Joe discovered Eve when she won several swimming meets and talked her into becoming his business partner in designing and manufacturing swimsuits. The still single

Neptune’s Daughter Eve lives with her equally single, but man-crazy, sister, Betty. When the South American polo team comes to the U.S., Joe plans a swimwear exhibition in honor of their visit, which just happened to be good business public relations and an excellent marketing strategy. At a practice session at the Middlebrook Polo Grounds, Jose O’Rourke, the South American team’s millionaire star, injures his shoulder. In the tack room, Jack Spratt, the masseur, massages Jose’s shoulder while Jose gives Jack advice about dating women. After Jose leaves, Betty Barrett comes looking for Jose with romance on her mind. One of the stable workers tells her he is in the tack room, so she mistakes Jack for Jose and invites him on a date. Betty and Jack go to Casa Cugat, Xavier Cugat’s nightclub restaurant where his band plays a sizzling arrangement of “Siboney”1 while a couple interprets the song in dance. Then Cugat invites Jack and Betty to perform with his band. While Jack plays the congo drum, Betty sings “I Love Those Men.” Eve learns that Betty has fallen for Jose (really Jack) and is afraid her sister doesn’t know what she is doing. She makes an appointment with the real Jose and asks him to stay away from her sister. He, of course, doesn’t know what she is talking about. She asks him to break the date he has with her sister, but he will only agree if Eve takes her sister’s place. That evening, when they stop for Jose to check on one of his polo ponies, he sings “My Heart Beats Faster.” Later when Eve learns that Betty is out with Jose, she goes to Jose’s hotel room looking for her. When she can’t find her, she feels a little guilty, so she agrees to have a drink with Jose. That leads into the song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”2 In this clever duet, Eve tells Jose that she can’t stay, but he says it’s too cold to go out (which it isn’t at all). For every reason she finds to leave, he finds a reason for her to stay. Immediately afterwards, Betty and Jack perform a comical version of the song in which Betty sings the more aggressive part, while Jack is the one who wants to leave. Both renditions are classics! The scene switches to Casa Cugat again where Cugie and his orchestra perform an elaborate voodoo number, “Jungle Rhumba (Rhumba Jungla).”3 Joe is supposed to have a date with Eve, but he can’t find her, so he wanders into the club. Soon, in come Eve and Jose and Joe is upset to see them together. He talks to Lukie Luzette,4 the club owner and gambler, about the approaching polo match and how important Jose is to the South American team. Lukie sees the potential to make some money on a

216 bet if Jose is indisposed. As Jose and Eve dance while Cugat’s orchestra plays “My Heart Beats Faster,” several women comment to Jose about it being their song. When Lukie tells one of his thugs, Mac Mozolla,5 to pick up Jose, Mac hears Betty call Jack “Jose,” so he tries to capture Jack. After some chasing, Jack dresses in a girl’s bathing suit and joins a rehearsal of the water ballet that will be performed for the South American polo team. Mac finally captures him and locks him up at the Casa Cugat. As soon as Lukie sees him, he knows Mac has captured the wrong person. So, he sends some other guys to kidnap Jose. Joe and Eve are supposed to go to dinner together, but before their date, she decides to go for a swim. Jose shows up pool side and tells her that he doesn’t want to marry her sister, he wants to marry her. Still a little confused, but happy, Eve climbs out of the pool and kisses him. When Joe comes to take Eve to dinner, she tells him about Jose asking her to marry him. Soon, however, Betty rushes in with the news that she and Jose are getting married. Eve is completely confused. When Jose knocks on the door, she slams the door in his face. At that point, Lukie’s thugs grab Jose (in the meantime, Jack has been released). The polo match is going very poorly for the South Americans without their star. Betty tries to get Jose ( Jack) to mount his horse and help his team. After some comically silly horse maneuvers, Jack manages to score enough for the South American team to win. Before the match is over, the police rescue Jose, who shows up at the match just in time to accept the winning trophy. Betty finally understands that Jack is not Jose, but doesn’t really care — all she cares about is she has her man. Jack and Betty explain everything to Eve just before the water ballet finale. Accompanied by Cugat’s orchestra, the water ballet begins with the swimmers pulling brightly colored strips of cloth across the pool. Soon, Eve appears in a spotlight and performs some of her signature swimming moves. She is joined by other female swimmers as they perform underwater maneuvers and then surface and perform a few synchronized swimming movements. Suddenly, Eve is joined in the water by Jose. They swim together to “My Heart Beats Faster.” From a simulated riverboat, many girls come leaping, diving and sliding into the pool. Eve and Jose are hoisted from the pool’s depths, Joe narrates the conclusion, and Eve and Jose kiss. Neptune’s Daughter is an entertaining film, but not a great movie musical. Betty Garrett and Red Skelton are very comical and their rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is a gem. Betty Garrett’s

217 “I Love Those Men” is also clever. Esther Williams’ and Ricardo Montalban’s version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is surprisingly well done, but the rest of the film’s musical numbers are forgettable — including Xavier Cugat and his band’s numbers — and none of them are plot sensitive. Jack Donohue’s water ballet finale is well staged and fun to watch.

New York, New York United Artists, June 21, 1977, 163 minutes Principal Cast: Liza Minnelli (Francine Evans), Robert De Niro (Jimmy Doyle), Lionel Stander (Tony Harwell), Barry Primus (Paul Wilson), Mary Kay Place (Bernice), Georgie Auld (Frankie Harte) Director: Martin Scorsese Producers: Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff Screenwriters: Earl Mac Rauch and Marik Martin; based on a story by Mac Rauch Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Ron Field Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Theme from New York, New York” AFI’s No. 31 song in its 100 Years ... 100 Songs Availability: DVD

Originally four and a half hours long, primarily due to Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro’s improvising, director Martin Scorsese eventually cut New York, New York down to 136 minutes. However, in 1981 some material, particularly the far too lengthy Happy Endings sequence, was restored, which made the film 163 minutes. The action opens on V-J Day1 when pandemonium filled the streets of New York City. Jimmy Doyle sheds his Army issued khaki shirt and dons a Hawaiian-print shirt as he heads out into the celebratory crowd. At a crowded nightclub, Tommy Dorsey’s2 band plays his theme song, “I’m Getting’ Sentimental Over You,”3 followed by “Song of India.”4 Jimmy enters the club and tries to pick up every woman in sight. Dorsey’s band next plays “Opus One”5 while Jimmy continues to make his rounds. He spots Francine Evans, a USO hostess, sitting alone at a table, so he tries his pick up line on her. Even though she spurns his advances, he mercilessly continues to hound her. Later, Francine bumps into Jimmy in a hotel lobby and discovers that he has run up bills all over town. He talks her into retrieving his belongings from his hotel room so he can go to an audition. After she gets his things, he talks her into accompanying him to the audition. On the way, Jimmy

New York, New York tells her the three most important things to him are music, money and sex.6 At the audition, Francine discovers that Jimmy is a very gifted saxophonist,7 but he almost blows the audition because his music is too loud and quite jazzy. After Jimmy gets in a heated argument with the club manager, Francine tries to talk him into playing a ballad. Suddenly, she sings “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me”8 a cappella. Soon, Jimmy, the club’s piano player and drummer also join. The club manager is impressed and hires them as a boy/girl act. Their romance blossoms, but she soon gets a call from her agent, Tony, about a job singing with a touring band. The next night Jimmy is soloing with the club band, when Tony brings him a note that explains about her job, but it also mentions there might be a spot in the band for him. Tony tells him where the band is playing. Jimmy plays “Once in a While”9 under a lamppost, which segues into Francine singing the same song with Frankie Harte’s band at a resort. As she sings, Jimmy hitchhikes. Francine continues singing the song, but in a different dress to suggest the passage of time, while Jimmy catches a train. Next, she sings “You Are My Lucky Star”10 and continues the song in a different dress as Jimmy arrives in a cab at The Meadows club. He sits at a table and leads the applause. When Francine goes out into the audience to talk to him, he forces her outside and reprimands her for not saying goodbye in person. Once again, he mentions his three most important things calling them a major chord which is his idea of perfection. Francine helps get him a job with the band and over a period of time Jimmy becomes Harte’s best instrumentalist. During a montage of band dates in various towns, Jimmy and Francine begin rooming together. One evening when Francine composes a poem about him, he abruptly rushes her to a Justice of the Peace to get married. Once they get there, she doesn’t want to go through with it because she wants a normal wedding, but she finally agrees. One night while the band is playing “It’s a Wonderful World,”11 Harte turns the band over to Jimmy while he bails out one of the band members from the local jail. Jimmy asks permission to play some of his arrangements, but Frankie won’t allow it. The big band era is dying and the number of patrons gets smaller at each venue. Finally, Frankie turns the band over to Jimmy for good. When the new band auditions for a club, the owner doesn’t care for the new sound, but agrees to hear the girl singer. When Francine sings “The Man I Love,”12

New York, New York they are hired and the audition scene segues into a live performance at the packed club. At a rehearsal, Francine and the drummer can’t agree on the appropriate tempo for “Taking a Chance on Love.”13 When Francine “kicks off ” the tempo, Jimmy threatens her for assuming his role. At a performance, Francine sings “Just You, Just Me.”14 When she walks off the stage, Jimmy follows to find out what’s wrong. She tells him she’s pregnant and wants to go back to New York and stay in one place. He refuses to leave, but tells her that she can go back by herself. Jimmy hires another girl singer, Bernice, with whom he quickly becomes intimate. Jimmy and Bernice sing “Blue Moon.”15 With each club date, the crowds diminish and some of the band’s dates are cancelled. Meanwhile in New York, Francine records commercials and demos. Eventually, Paul Wilson, the band’s pianist, buys Jimmy out, so he returns to Francine in New York. Late one night, Jimmy is seated at the piano in their apartment picking out the melody of a song — it is the tune that becomes the film’s theme song. Jimmy visits some of his musician friends in Harlem, including his old pal, Cecil Powell,16 and plays a gig with these African-Americans at a club ( Jimmy is the only Caucasian in the place). Francine has been working on the lyrics for his tune, but Jimmy isn’t thrilled with her words. More likely, he doesn’t approve of her meddling. When Paul Wilson’s band comes to New York, Francine convinces Jimmy to take her to hear them. When they arrive, Bernice is singing “Do Nothin’ ’Till You Hear From Me.”17 Jimmy and Francine sit at a table with Artie Kirks18 from Decca Records. Almost from the outset, Jimmy wants to leave (during this scene, Bernice sings “For All We Know”19 in the background). Jimmy leaves the table and sits at the bar. During a band break, Paul comes over to talk to him. Jimmy compliments Paul’s band and Paul tells Jimmy that everybody thinks he’s great—even his wife. Before the evening is over, however, Jimmy picks a fight with Paul and is thrown out of the club. One evening Francine visits the Harlem club where Jimmy is playing. When she arrives, he is in the toilet with several of the other musicians smoking dope. She is with her agent and Mr. Kirks from Decca, who wants to sign her to a recording contract, but she has insisted that Jimmy okay the deal. Jimmy seems completely uninterested. When he excuses himself to make a telephone call, a very attractive African-American woman20 comes down the stairs and makes a snide comment about him having a family night. While he is on the telephone, she sings “Honeysuckle Rose”21 with the club band.

218 Meanwhile, Francine drinks too much. During one song, she heads for the bandstand to sing, but Jimmy quickly changes the tune to a much more up beat, jazzy number that she can’t sing. Later in the evening, Jimmy and Francine have a particularly heated argument in which their true feelings are revealed — her music career is flourishing while his is in the dumps and he doesn’t particularly want the baby. After their argument, Jimmy has to rush Francine to the hospital. When he visits her, she tells him she named the baby Jimmy, which makes him feel guilty about his feelings concerning the child, but not sorry enough — they separate. After some considerable time passes, Francine is shown in a recording studio, with her young son sleeping on a nearby couch. She listens to the playback of her recording of “But the World Goes ’Round”22 and then records another take. Francine is appearing in a movie called Happy Endings.23 The sequence begins with Francine as a movie theater usherette named Peggy Smith who dreams of being a movie star. When she helps a man find his glove in the dark theater, he takes her out to thank her. The fellow turns out to be a movie producer24 who stars her in a production called Aces High. After that production is a success, her producer beau tells her she doesn’t need him anymore. After a montage of several other productions, at a testimonial dinner, Peggy wishes her producer was there to share her accomplishments. Suddenly, he shows up. Then just as suddenly, she is back as an usherette — the whole thing had been a daydream. Then it all starts over again with her helping a man find his glove, him being a producer, etc. The sequence ends with a huge production number of “Happy Endings.”25 Jimmy is seen watching her performance in a movie theater. Jimmy experiences some success when he opens Jimmy Doyle’s Major Chord nightclub where he plays the “New York, New York” tune on his sax. When Francine returns to New York, Jimmy attends her performance at the Starlight Terrace, where she sings a reprise of “But the World Goes ’Round.” Then she announces she is going to sing a song written by a friend who is “a great believer in major chords” (“Theme from New York, New York”26). Backstage, Jimmy compliments her, but he still isn’t pleased with her lyrics. He also tells her he saw her in Happy Endings and was proud of her. After Jimmy leaves, he telephones Francine in her dressing room and asks if they can talk. They agree to meet at the stage door, but she never shows, so, as the film ends, he simply walks away. Scorsese referred to New York, New York as a “film noir musical,” because he was trying to recre-

219 ate the feel of the great M-G-M musicals of the Forties and Fifties. However, it was a commercial and critical disappointment. Robert De Niro should be commended for his saxophone playing that he learned for the film. Liza Minnelli’s renditions of “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me” and “Theme from New York, New York” are highlights. Otherwise, the film just isn’t coherent enough to hold one’s interest. In a really great film, the audience empathizes with or lives vicariously through the characters, but that’s not the case in New York, New York. The film didn’t win any prestigious awards, but it was nominated for four Golden Globes.

Oklahoma! Magna Corporation, October 11, 1955, 145 minutes Principal Cast : Gordon MacRae (Curly McLain), Shirley Jones (Laurey Williams), Gloria Grahame (Ado Annie), Eddie Albert (Ali Hakim), Gene Nelson (Will Parker), Rod Steiger ( Jud Fry), Charlotte Greenwood (Aunt Eller), J. C. Flippen (Mr. Skidmore) Director: Fred Zinneman Producer: Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Screenwriters: Sonya Levien and William Ludwig Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Choreographer: Agnes de Mille Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Film Editing ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2007 Availability: DVD

From the mid–Forties to the early Fifties Broadway transitioned from productions called musical comedies to a more serious, more dramatic musical style. Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Oklahoma! began that transition in 1943. Rodgers and Lorenz Hart had been writing partners for the previous twenty-five years, but when Rodgers proposed turning Lynn Riggs’ play, Green Grow the Lilacs, into a musical, Hart wasn’t interested. Lyricist and librettist, Oscar Hammerstein II, had collaborated with a number of composers, but he hadn’t written a big hit show for the Broadway stage in over ten years. Rodgers teamed with Hammerstein for the first time for this project and the

Oklahoma! result was phenomenal! Oklahoma! was immediately hailed as a revolutionary musical and was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize award in the category of “Special Awards and Citations — Letters” in 1944. Originally titled Away We Go! the musical’s name was changed when the now familiar title song, and the eventual state song of Oklahoma, was added during the pre–Broadway tryouts in Boston. When Oklahoma! transferred to the big screen, two songs were cut.1 Except for filming on location in Arizona, the screen version is a fairly faithful reproduction of the stage musical. That is primarily true because Rodgers and Hammerstein insisted on artistic control. Oklahoma! begins as the camera travels between tall stalks of corn. Soon a prairie and a cowboy on a horse are seen. During this opening and through the credits, the title song and “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” are played by the studio orchestra. After the opening credits, a cowboy, Curly McLain, sings “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” as he rides his horse from a field that has corn to Aunt Eller’s farm to see her niece, Laurey Williams. Laurey2 and Curly are attracted to each other, but are too stubborn to admit it. Curly has come to ask Laurey to the Box Social, but threatens not to invite her because she is being argumentative. Stubbornly, she says she wouldn’t go with him if he asked, but she asks how he would take her. He claims that he would escort her in proper style. In “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” Laurey imagines the surrey Curly describes. Later, he sings about their ride back home after the social. Aunt Eller’s grimy farm hand, Jud Fry, announces that he plans to drive Laurey to the social, so Curly offers to escort Aunt Eller. As Curly leaves, he rides back through the cornfield singing a reprise of “The Surrey with the Fringe on the Top.” Aunt Eller heads for the train station in Claremore where Will Parker receives a hero’s welcome when he returns from participating in a rodeo in Kansas City. He proudly announces he won $50, enough to earn the hand of his intended, Ado Annie. Everyone wants to hear about Will’s trip, so he sings “Kansas City,” a rollicking song about the up-to-date city. He also performs a lively tap dance. Eller, the cowboys and two young girls join in the dance. In the following scene, Laurey is skinny-dipping in a small pond when Ado Annie and Ali Hakim, a Persian peddler, come by in the peddler’s wagon. Annie tells Laurey that Ali is driving her to the box social. When Laurey asks why she is with Ali now that Will has returned, Annie admits her problem — she likes all men, which leads into Annie’s

Oklahoma! comical song, “I Cain’t Say No.” Laurey purchases a bottle of Elixir of Egypt from Ali, which he says helps a person make decisions. When Annie asks Ali if he wants to marry her, he had obviously never consider it. Before he can answer, Will rides up and tells the peddler that he plans to marry Annie. Ali questions, “On purpose?” and sneaks away. As Will starts towards Annie, she begs him not to “talk purty” because she has zero resistance. He sings his version of “I Cain’t Say No.” As folks gather at Aunt Eller’s on their way to the social, a giggly flirt, Gertie, throws herself at Curly. When the other girls tell Laurey, she says she is unconcerned (“Many a New Day”). As the girls freshen up, they sing and dance to the song. Their singing is interrupted by Gertie’s grating giggle and Laurey sees Gertie and Curly together. When Annie tells Ali that she has to marry Will, he pretends to be broken hearted. Since Will is now worth $50, her father3 has sanctioned their marriage. However, when her father discovers that Will spent the money on gifts, he gives his daughter to the peddler, even though Ali doesn’t want a wife. Later, Curly asks Laurey if she is actually going to allow Jud to drive her to the box social. After all, everybody expects him to take her. Laurey thinks it might be for the best, because they don’t want people linking her and Curly romantically (“People Will Say We’re in Love”4). Even though the song is about their wanting to squash rumors about their love for each other, the scene demonstrates that they really are in love. Since Laurey still intends to go with Jud, Curly visits the smokehouse to find out what is so special about this mysterious farmhand. Curly tries to convince Jud that people would like him better if he was dead. In “Pore Jud is Daid,” Curly sings about Jud’s imaginary funeral. Jud takes over the song before it ends in a duet. Curly questions Jud about the unpleasant situation concerning his former job in another town. Jud tells Curly about the burning of a man’s farm and declares that it was caused by a hired hand who was sweet on the farmer’s daughter. When he caught the girl in the hay loft with another fella, he burned the place — or so Jud heard. Jud warns Curly about courting Laurey and, after a hot verbal exchange, Jud fires his pistol at Curly, who demonstrates his marksmanship by firing a bullet through a knot hole. Everybody runs to the smokehouse to see what happened. After the excitement dies down, Ali arrives to sell Jud nudie pictures, but Jud wants to buy a kaleidoscope with a knife — a deviously lethal weapon. Later on the porch, Laurey takes out the elixir

220 she had purchased from the peddler. Hoping it would clarify her thoughts she smells the potion and drifts off into a dream world. “Out of My Dreams” evolves into a ballet in which Laurey and Curly are represented by ballet dancers. The ballet depicts what their marriage might be like, but her dream becomes nightmarish when Jud replaces Curly. One part of the ballet takes place in a saloon setting, where Jud and several prostitutes are present. The girls dance a Can-Can–style dance. Later, Jud chokes and kills Curly during a tornado. When he drags Laurey away, the dream fades. As she wakes from her nightmare, Jud is calling her name. He tells her it’s time to go to the party. Despite plenty of division between farmers and cowmen, the community has come together to raise money for a new schoolhouse. Mr. Skidmore sings “The Farmer and the Cowman,” as he tries to convince the two competitive groups to be friends. A fight breaks out, but Aunt Eller reminds them of the gathering’s purpose. In order to avoid having to marry Ado Annie, Ali pays Will $50 for all the gifts he had purchased in Kansas City. However, when it comes time to bid on the picnic hampers, Will bids $50 for Annie’s. Will is broke again. Desperate to avoid marriage, Ali raises Will’s bid by $1. Ali gets Annie’s hamper; Will gets Annie. Curly and Jud try to out bid each other for Laurey’s picnic basket. Curly finally sells everything he owns and claims her hamper for the exorbitant price of $53. After the bidding, Jud shows Curly the kaleidoscope with the hidden knife, but Ali warns Aunt Eller, so she intervenes just in time. Will tells Annie to set the wedding date; she picks August 15th. When he questions the date, she says it was her first kiss. He doesn’t remember, so she explains that he wasn’t there. Disgustedly, Will insists that she must stop having fun with other fellas (“All or Nothin’”). Towards the end of the song, Will dances with a couple of young girls which makes Annie jealous. After Jud tells Laurey that she will never get rid of him, Curly finds Laurey crying. He kisses her and she kisses him back — passionately. When she tells him about Jud’s threat, he asks her to marry him and she accepts. That leads into a reprise of “People Will Say We’re in Love.” At Laurey and Curly’s wedding a few weeks later, Curly is excited about their life together in the territory that will soon become a state. Introduced by Aunt Eller and Skidmore, Curly and the wedding party sing “Oklahoma!”5 The cowboys and girls all sing and dance. After the song, the newly weds go into the house to change for the honeymoon. The men prepare a shivaree (or charivari); they

221 put the couple on top of a hay stack and remove the ladder. Jud sets a nearby stack on fire. When everybody runs to put that fire out, he lights Laurey and Curley’s stack. Curly throws Laurey off the burning stack and jumps on Jud, which causes Jud to be stabbed with his own knife. A hurriedly improvised trial acquits Curley on the grounds of self-defense so the newlyweds can go on their honeymoon. As they drive away in the surrey, the people follow in their rigs. “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” is sung by the newlyweds and an off-screen chorus as the film ends. A major innovation in Oklahoma! was how Agnes de Mille’s choreography, particularly the “Dream Ballet,” advanced the plot and expressed subconscious feelings. The songs are particularly well integrated into the action (the not particularly pretty “Pore Jud is Daid” and hoe-down “The Farmer and the Cowman” come to mind as examples). “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top,” “Kansas City,” “I Cain’t Say No,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” and “Oklahoma!” are all excellent and have become classics of the genre. Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones both sing beautifully and are believable young lovers, Gloria Grahame is splendid as the girl who can’t say no, and Rod Steiger is menacing as the grimy Jud. On the negative side, Eddie Albert played the role of the Persian peddler well, but doesn’t look the part. The musical as a whole has a sort of naïve charm about it. Until Jack Kapp recorded the Oklahoma! score in 1943 a complete recording of a musical by the original Broadway cast had never been recorded. The recording was released by Decca on several 78rpm discs. The original cast album, which is still available, has sold more than 3 million copies.

Oliver! Columbia Pictures, December 10, 1968, 153 minutes Principal Cast : Ron Moody (Fagin), Mark Lester (Oliver), Jack Wild (Dodger), Shani Wallis (Nancy), Oliver Reed (Bill Sikes), Harry Secombe (Mr. Bumble) Director: Sir Carol Reed Producer: John Woolf Screenwriter: Vernon Harris Music and Lyrics: Lionel Bart Choreographer: Onna White Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Consider Yourself ”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *)

Oliver! *Best Picture *Best Director ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ron Moody) ❍ Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( Jack Wild) ❍ *Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture, Original or Adaptation ❍ *Best Sound ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ Best Cinematography ❍ Best Costume Design ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium ❍ Honorary Academy Award to Onna White for her outstanding choreography achievement Availability: DVD ❍ ❍

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens’ second novel, was published in Bentley’s Miscellany as a monthly serial between February 1837 and April 1839. The book is notable because it was the first English novel to have a child as its central character and gives a realistic and un-romanticized insight into London’s underbelly — specifically its sewer infested back alleys where criminals led their sordid lives—and the country’s harsh laws that forced innocent children into a life of crime because that existence appeared far more attractive than the hardships of laboring in the workhouses. In 1960, Lionel Bart’s musical opened in London and became the longest running musical in the history of the London stage, running for twelve years. Three years later it opened on Broadway and became the longest running British musical on Broadway. David Jones, who later became Davy Jones of the Monkees, played the Artful Dodger in the Broadway cast. The Broadway production earned three Tony Awards1 and was nominated for seven others. The film version won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a rarity among movie musicals (see Awards and Honors above). It became the only G-Rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar and was the last movie musical to win that award until Chicago in 2003. Three songs from the original score were omitted from the film version.2 During the opening credits, drawings of nineteenth century British scenes are displayed. The last drawing of the workhouse, Home for Paupers and Orphans, comes to life as several lads walk on a paddle wheel that turns a stone to grind grain. Prominently displayed is a sign that reads, “God Is Love.” When the dining bell rings, the orphans, all boys, march down the stairs of the drab workhouse dining area singing “Food, Glorious Food,” which is totally sarcastic. They aren’t sure the gruel they get everyday is worth the effort, but they imagine

Oliver! all sorts of magical, wonderful, marvelous, fabulous, beautiful, and glorious food. Meanwhile, in a separate room the Board of Governors, who oversees the workhouse, is feasting on a lavish meal. Mr. Bumble, the parish Beadle,3 enters to offer the meal’s blessing. Afterwards, he officiously raps his staff to allow the ravenous youngsters to consume their meager ration of gruel quickly. An unassumming boy timidly approaches Mr. Bumble to ask for more. He can’t believe the boy’s audacity. When the lad repeats his request, the Beadle chases him around the room. The other boys beat their spoons against their tin cups, which makes a raucous noise.4 Once Mr. Bumble catches the boy, the Widow Corny5 tells him that the boy’s name is Oliver Twist. Bumble and the Widow gleefully sing “Oliver!,” about the punishment Oliver faces. On a snow covered street, in “Boy For Sale,” Mr. Bumble offers Oliver for the equivalent to approximately 140 shillings. The Undertaker finally agrees to a price of three guineas (less than half what Mr. Bumble was offering); he plans using the boy as a coffin follower for children’s funerals. When the undertaker’s apprentice insults Oliver’s late mother, the fiesty lad pounces on the older boy. The undertaker’s wife and a servant girl finally corral Oliver and put him in a coffin. Oliver is thrown into a cellar full of coffins, where he sings the heartwrenching, hauntingly beautiful “Where Is Love?” The lyrics are about Oliver’s yearning for his deceased mother, but they can also be interpreted as his yearning for affection. At the end of the song as Oliver looks out a barred window; the bars move and he heads for London.6 Once he arrives in the vegetable market in London, Oliver is wide-eyed in his amazement of the big city. A street-wise boy notices Oliver and introduces himself as Jack Dawkins — better known as the Artful Dodger. He gives Oliver something to eat and offers to introduce him to an old gentleman who’ll give him lodging. To reassure Oliver, Dodger sings the rollicking “Consider Yourself.” The song turns into a massive choreographed tour of the market area. Dodger, Oliver and a cast of thousands sing from time to time during this gigantic production number. Dodger leads Oliver to their hideout,7 where Fagin, who recruits and trains boys to be thieves, welcomes him and explains the kind of work his boys do in “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two.” As he sings, he and his boys demonstrate the pocket picking game. Fagin has Oliver try to take a fancy handkerchief from his pocket without him knowing it. Even though he does it clumsily, Fagin assures him if he does everything the Dodger and the other boys do, he will be a success.

222 After the boys are all in bed, Fagin sneaks out to a pub to meet Bill Sikes, a violent thief. When Sikes arrives with his bull terrier, Bullseye, he gives Fagin his haul. Fagin promises to evaluate the merchandise and pay him the following day. Sikes’ girlfriend, Nancy, her friend, Bet,8 and the other pub whores, sing “It’s a Fine Life.” Even though rats threaten to spread the plague and Nancy doesn’t have a happy home or a husband, she claims that since she has someone to love, her life is just fine. The next morning, Sikes sends Nancy to collect his money. Dodger introduces Nancy and Bet to Oliver. When Oliver bows, the other boys laugh at his manners. Nancy tells Oliver that the other boys don’t know anything about manners. Dodger objects and proceeds to demonstrate his manners in “I’d Do Anything.” The other boys make an imaginary carriage and horses for Nancy and Dodger to “ride” around the hideout. Oliver and Bet join the song and it develops into quite a dance routine. Fagin also joins them towards the end asking all the boys questions about what they would do, which they answer, “Anything!” If that’s so, Fagin says, “Get to work then!” Dodger asks if Oliver can accompany him and Charlie on a job. Fagin agrees it would be a great place for Oliver to start. In Pied Piper–style, Fagin sings “Be Back Soon” as he marches his brood off to their day’s work. All the boys join in the chorus. In the main part of the city, Dodger and Charlie steal a man’s wallet and get away, but the inexperienced Oliver just stands there. When he realizes that he is being accused of the theft, he runs away but is eventually captured. When Dodger and Charlie return to the hideout and report Oliver’s apprehension, Fagin is furious. He and Bill are afraid that Oliver will reveal too much about their operation including the location of their hideout. Nancy volunteers to attend Oliver’s court hearing. Just as the magistrate is sentencing Oliver, a shopkeeper reveals that two other boys took the wallet. Mr. Brownlow,9 the man whose wallet was stolen, feels sorry that he falsely accused Oliver, so he takes the boy to his home. Oliver sleeps in his own bed in a nice room at the Brownlow residence. When the maid wakes him and opens the curtains and window, Oliver hears various sellers hawking their wares (“Who Will Buy?”10). Oliver sings about his whole life being transformed overnight. His thoughts are interspersed with the cries of the peddlers. Sikes and Fagin plot how to get Oliver back. Fagin suggests that since Oliver trusts Nancy, she should go, but she prefers to leave the poor chap alone and give him the chance for a decent life. Bill slaps Nancy and orders her to go. Stunned and

223 hurt, she walks out of the loft and sings “As Long As He Needs Me.”11 She’s determined to continue loving Bill and refuses to betray his trust. Oliver begs Mr. Brownlow to allow him to return some books. His benefactor agrees and gives him a five pound note to pay for a book order that had recently been delivered. The gentleman looks at a painting of his deceased niece and comments about Oliver’s resemblance to the portrait. Bill and Nancy are nearby when Oliver leaves with the books. When he stops to watch a puppet show, Nancy leads him away; Sikes throws a blanket over him and returns him to Fagin’s. Sikes threatens to blame Fagin if Oliver has talked. Fagin sings, “Reviewing the Situation,” in which he considers abandoning his villainous ways, but when he thinks about settling down with a wife, he quickly reconsiders. When he considers getting a regular job, he doesn’t like that idea either. Finally, he decides he’ll continue his life of crime. Mr. Bumble and the Widow Corny, who are now married, come to London after Mr. Brownlow had sent the Beadle a letter inquiring about Oliver’s mother. When they show him a locket they have kept for years, Brownlow accuses them of hiding evidence about the boy’s parentage. Nevertheless, to get rid of them, he pays them off. Brownlow had given the locket to his niece on her eighteenth birthday. Evidently, when the girl became pregnant out of wedlock, she had the child at the workhouse and died during birth. Sikes plans to use Oliver for a burglary, but Nancy objects. She goes to Brownlow and promises that she will bring Oliver to the London Bridge at midnight. Sikes forces Oliver through a small window with instructions to open the front door. When the lad tries to unlock the door, he falls and wakes the wealthy owners. They manage to get away and return to the pub where Nancy is nervously waiting. Sikes puts Oliver in a corner and places Bullseye to guard him. While Sikes eats, Nancy performs the rowdy song, “Oom-Pah-Pah.” She involves all the pub patrons in the song to create a diversion so she can slip away with Oliver. When Sikes realizes they are gone, he follows. Just as they reach the base of London Bridge, Sikes kills Nancy and takes Oliver. When he calls Bullseye, the dog stays with Nancy’s body. Somebody recognizes the animal as Bill Sikes’ dog. When Sikes takes Oliver to Fagin’s, he sees blood on Sikes’ coat and surmises what has happened. He tries to get Bill to leave because he is sure the authorities are in hot pursuit, but Sikes needs money which he intends to get from Fagin.

On a Clear Day Bullseye leads the police to the hideout, but Fagin and his boys escape. However, as Fagin tries to cross a sewer infested stream, he drops his stash of money and jewels which disappear into the muck. Sikes rigs a rope to swing from one building to another, but a policeman shoots him. During the hubbub, Dodger lifts a wallet from one of the on-lookers. Fagin sings a slow reprise of “Reviewing the Situation,” again considering turning over a new leaf, but Dodger shows up with the wallet. Then Dodger and Fagin sing another bit of the song with a much more upbeat attitude and dance down the street as they head for a new life of crime in some other location. As the film ends, Oliver begins a new life with Mr. Brownlow, reunited with his real family. Oliver! is a delightful film that appeals to both youngsters and adults. The songs are well written and generally plot sensitive, except for “Oom-PahPah,” and they are excellently performed. There are several outstanding and memorable songs (“Food, Glorious Food,” “Where Is Love?,” “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,” “Consider Yourself,” “As Long As He Needs Me,” “I’d Do Anything,” and “Who Will Buy?” in particular). Onna White’s choreography is excellent and executed with precision, especially for “I’d Do Anything” and the huge “Consider Yourself ” dance sequence. I rank Oliver! behind West Side Story, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music for the decade of the Sixties.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Paramount Pictures, June 17, 1970, 129 minutes Principal Cast : Barbra Streisand (Daisy Gamble/ Melinda), Yves Montand (Marc Chabot), Larry Blyden (Warren Pratt), Bob Newhart (Dr. Mason Hume), Simon Oakland (Dr. Conrad Fuller), John Richardson (Robert Tentrees) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Howard W. Koch Screenwriter/Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner Music: Burton Lane Choreographer: Howard Jeffrey Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

The Broadway musical, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, is loosely based on John L. Balderston’s 1929 play Berkeley Square. Its subject matter is

On a Clear Day rather unlikely material for a musical: extra sensory perception and reincarnation. The production, which opened in mid–October 1965, ran only 280 performances on Broadway, but recevied three Tony Award nominations. The film version opens with a chorus singing “On a Clear Day” during the credits. Quirky Daisy Gamble sings “Hurry! It’s Lovely Up Here” as several of her potted plants sprout, grow and bloom almost instantly. Still singing, she dances through a beautiful rose garden. Even though she has an incredible green thumb and knows when the telephone will ring or someone will visit, she has very low self esteem. She also has a chain smoking habit that is repugnant to her fiancé, Warren, who is afraid her nasty addiction will cost him a better job when they have dinner with his prospective employer. She attends a class taught by psychiatrist, Marc Chabot,1 to seek his help. When he hypnotizes her to help her quit smoking, she describes a previous life in 19th century England as Melinda Winifred Wain Tentrees. Fascinated, Chabot schedules other sessions to explore her previous life. Under hypnosis, Melinda reveals she was born the illegitimate daughter of a kitchen maid. In the orphanage where her mother worked, she acquired the paternity records of the orphans and subsequently blackmailed their wealthy sires, and eventually marries Lord Percy, who is much older. When she and Lord Percy attend a gala at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, she meets Robert Tentrees and determines to marry him. During a sumptuous dinner, Melinda and Tentrees can’t take their eyes off of each other. As her off screen voice seductively sings “Love With All the Trimmings,” Melinda woos this caddish young man by using her wineglass to trace her cleavage. In another hypnosis session after she had divorced Percy and married Tentrees, Chabot learns that Robert deserted her. In the song, “Melinda,” Chabot admits that Daisy’s incarnation is only a dream or a mirage, but he is more and more intrigued with her. He is determined to find the key to unlock the secret in Daisy’s mind concerning this fascinating woman. One night as Daisy contemplates her relationship with Warren and her infatuations with her psychiatrist, she sings a duet of “Go to Sleep” with herself (Daisy is in bed and her alter ego is sitting in a chair). Her alter ego warns her if she messes around with two men, she’ll end up with neither. Publicity about Chabot’s ESP and reincarnation research jeopardizes his teaching position. He is asked to write a retraction letter or resign. Chabot hypnotizes Daisy to tell Melinda goodbye. When

224 she says she will miss him, he tells her she will have Robert. She replies by singing “He Isn’t You.” The lyrics claim that Robert could become king, but he’ll never be Chabot. Chabot’s job is saved by one of the university’s major contributors who demands that the university allow him to continue his research and establish a permanent department to investigate reincarnation. He wants to leave his multi-million dollar fortune to himself in a future life. Arriving early for an appointment, Daisy turns on the tape recorder and discovers that she is Melinda. She also hears Chabot’s comment about her being a “little nothing of a creature.” Extremely disappointed, Daisy sings “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?” She had thought Chabot liked her, but now realizes he was only using her to get to her alter ego. Daisy questions what Marc finds so attractive about Melinda and feels out done by her former self. Enraged, she storms out of his office and refuses his persistent telephone calls. In desperation, he goes to the top of the PanAm building and sings “Come Back to Me.” Daisy hears his voice in everything she does. Finally, she goes to his office and yells, “Will you stop bothering me?” He tries to convince her how special she is to have these gifts. Then, he sings “On a Clear Day,” which tries to convince her that she will be able to decern who she really is. Chabot asks to hypnotize her one more time and promises it is not to see Melinda. During this session, Daisy remembers fourteen previous lives. When Chabot asks if in any of those she ever met him, she tells him that they were happily married and lived in Virginia. When he asks what year it was, she answers 2038. Marc is stunned! When he wakes her, she tells him that she and Warren have severed their relationship and he reveals that he is seperated from his wife, but they plan to get back together. Daisy is happy for him. As they say goodbye, Chabot reminds Daisy to remember what he told her. As she leaves his office building, she sings a reprise of “On a Clear Day”2 and finally seems proud of herself. She continues singing as she dances through a rose garden. The film ends as she sings superimposed over a sunset sky. Barbra Streisand’s biographer wrote, “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ... would be released with virtually no publicity or studio backing, ensuring its demise. ‘What the public saw,’ said Barbra about Paramount’s decision to pare On a Clear Day down by nearly 30 percent, ‘was not the picture we envisioned.’”3 Vincent Canby thought the film was “the first

225 Barbra Streisand movie to suggest — even briefly — that she is capable of playing someone other than Fannie Brice.”4 Paramount scrapped a half-a-dozen songs5 from the original score and completely rewrote the plot. “On a Clear Day,” “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?,” and “Come Back to Me” are good songs, but the rest are mediocre (even “Love With All the Trimmings” is remembered, if at all, for Melinda’s sexy temptations during the number). The songs are not numerous and are spaced far apart — i.e., there is a lot of dialogue between musical sequences. The film is a sometimes entertaining movie musical that was not especially successful at the box office.

On Moonlight Bay Warner Bros., July 26, 1951, 95 minutes Principal Cast: Doris Day (Marjorie “Margie” Winfield), Gordon MacRae (William “Bill” Sherman), Leon Ames (George Winfield), Rosemary DeCamp (Alice Winfield), Billy Gray (Wesley Winfield), Jack Smith (Hubert Wakely) Director: Roy Del Ruth Producer: William Jacobs Screenwriters: Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: LeRoy Prinz Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

During the late–Forties and early–Fifties, there was quite a nostalgia trend in popular music. Many old standards were revived and several became No. 1 hits on the various pop charts. On Moonlight Bay continues that nostalgia trend in the movies. The film is set in the mid–1910s, its plot is based on Booth Tarkington’s Penrod stories, and most of the songs are golden oldies. During the opening credits, “Moonlight Bay”1 is sung in a duet by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae, accompanied by a chorus and orchestra. The Winfield family is moving into a new house, much to the chagrin of Mrs. Winfield, the other family members and their maid, Stella.2 George Winfield is hoping that by moving to a more refined neighborhood some of the sophistication might rub off on his tom-boy daughter, Marjorie (or Margie). Margie is far more comfortable in a baseball uniform than a dress, but once she meets the boy from across the street, William Sherman, she begins to blossom into a beautiful young lady. After Margie almost kills William by acciden-

On Moonlight Bay tally firing an antique pistol, he asks her for a date. While they row in a canoe, “Moonlight Bay” is heard. William, acting like an educated sophisticate, demeans popular songs like “Moonlight Bay.” He sings a little of it to prove how shallow the lyrics are, but Margie thinks the song is beautiful. After the rowing, they go to the Moonlight Bay Dance Pavilion. Marjorie informs William that she doesn’t know how to 2-step, but they try it anyway as the band plays “Ain’t We Got Fun?”3 Not only does she step on his toes, but during the energetic dance, embarrassingly, the two powder puffs her mother had stuffed into her bra fall out. Next, when they try some carnival-type games, William tries to win her a kewpie doll by knocking three bottles off a table. After he fails, the game’s proprietor allows Margie to try for free. Using her baseball skills, Margie knocks them off with ease. On her front porch at the end of the date, again trying to impress her with his sophistication, William tells her that he doesn’t believe in marriage. Before the date ends, he asks if he can call again and they kiss. The next morning, Marjorie and William are sitting in her front porch swing listening to William’s recording of “Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine.”4 As they listen, he sings. Marjorie’s father joins them on the porch to talk with William about his college major. Mr. Winfield, a banker, tries to lead him towards his profession, but, once again trying to be the super sophisticate and not realizing her father is a banker, William belittles the banking profession by calling it unnecessary and unproductive. Her father refuses to allow Margie to see Bill again. During a letter writing session after Bill goes away to college, Margie sings “Tell Me (Why Nights Are Lonely)”5 to the kewpie doll she had won during their first date. Her mother interrupts to remind her that Hubert Wakely will be visiting soon. Margie isn’t thrilled—she thinks Hubert is as stuffy as her father. When Hubert arrives, he plays the piano and sings “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.”6 Afterwards, he suggests that he and Margie sing a duet of “Love Ya.”7 Margie invites Bill to come home for the Charity Ball, so she takes dancing lessons to learn the latest dance steps. She and her dance teacher, Professor Barson,8 dance the lively turkey trot. Afterwards, as she is walking home, she gets into a snowball fight with some neighborhood boys, falls off a wall and severely hurts her ankle. She telephones Bill to cancel their date, but she doesn’t explain about her accident. Sometimes Margie’s brother, Wesley, acts like the devil incarnate. He attends a silent film, The Curse of Drink. When he gets in trouble at school

On the Avenue for sleeping in class, he blames his behavior on not getting enough sleep. He tells his teacher the entire plot of the movie as if it were his family. According to Wesley, Margie’s hurt leg is the result of their father beating her during one of his drunken episodes. When Bill arrives at the train station for Christmas, he meets Wesley’s teacher, who tells him Wesley’s fabricated story. Bill rushes over to Margie’s house, accuses her father of being a drunken beast, throws water on him as he sleeps on the couch, and threatens him with physical harm if he beats his family again. The family quickly learns that Wesley is at the bottom of this fable. To avoid his father’s wrath, Wesley runs to join a group of Christmas carolers wearing Margie’s old petticoat and angel wings, which he had refused to wear earlier. Margie explains the misunderstanding to Bill and apologizes for not telling him how she hurt her ankle. Then to the accompaniment of the carolers and Hubert playing an organ, she and Bill sing “Christmas Story.”9 Margie and her family attend Bill’s college graduation in 1917. During his graduation speech, Margie tells her father, who has begun to like Bill, that Bill doesn’t believe in marriage. Now he is furious! He insists they leave the ceremony immediately. As the family is leaving, Bill and his fellow graduates take off their graduation robes to reveal soldier uniforms — they have joined the army to fight in World War I. When Bill’s troop train is scheduled to come through Margie’s town, she intends to run away with him. As the train arrives, the Elks Band plays “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary.”10 As Margie searches the train for Bill, the soldiers sing “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag (and Smile! Smile! Smile!).”11 Once Margie finds Bill, he insists that she get off the train, but he asks her to marry him. She is to catch the next train to Chicago where they will get married. Once again, however, her father drags Margie home and demands that she never see Bill again. Aunt Martha visits with birthday gifts for Wesley. She also gives him a slingshot that she had taken away from his father years earlier. Hubert entertains at Wesley’s birthday party by singing “Every Little Movement Has a Meaning of Its Own.”12 Margie and Wesley are exceedingly bored. During the party, Bill knocks on the door and asks for Margie’s hand in marriage, but her father refuses to give his permission. As much as Margie is determined to marry Bill, even without her parents’ approval, Bill convinces her that they should

226 wait until the time is right. They sing “Till We Meet Again.”13 Alice Winfield tries to convince her husband that no man wants to get married. The woman traps the man into wedlock. Just then, Wesley, trying out his father’s old slingshot, breaks a window. As Mr. Winfield scolds his son, Wesley tells his father it was his slingshot from thirty-five years ago. Mr. Winfield goes into the house and telephones the Sherman’s across the street. He says to tell William that he suddenly remembers that he was young once. The film ends with Bill and Margie running from their houses and embracing as they meet in the middle of the street while a chorus sings “Moonlight Bay.” On Moonlight Bay was nostalgic to the movie audiences who had lived through the World War I era and it may allow more modern audiences a glimpse at the social mores and innocence of the time, plus present a boat load of famous songs from the period. On Moonlight Bay is an entertaining movie musical, but is far from one of the best of the Fifties, much less one of the greatest of all-time. In addition to On Moonlight Bay, Miss Day and Mr. MacRae starred together in Tea for Two (1950), The West Point Story (1950), and By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953).

On the Avenue 20th Century–Fox, February 12, 1937, 89 minutes Principal Cast: Dick Powell (Gary Blake), Madeleine Carroll (Mimi Caraway), Alice Faye (Mona Merrick), the Ritz Brothers (themselves) Director: Roy Del Ruth Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck and Gene Markey Screenwriters: Gene Markey and William Conselman Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Seymour Felix Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Everything about On the Avenue would suggest a blockbuster success: it is a large-cast, big-budget film musical starring Dick Powell and Alice Faye with a wonderful collection of Irving Berlin songs, but somehow it just never meshed. The film opens with Gary Blake’s new revue, On the Avenue (as in Fifth Avenue). Mona Merrick and a group of college co-eds perform “He Ain’t Got Rhythm,” a song about a brainy guy who is the

227 loneliest man in town because he lacks any rhythmic sense. The scene shifts to an observatory when the excessively silly Ritz Brothers, as astrologers, continue the song complete with short quotes from several other songs.1 They are joined by co-eds in mortar board caps in a big production number. The revue’s next scene is titled “A Quiet Evening at Home with the Richest Girl in America.”2 This sketch3 shamelessly burlesques the wealthy Park Avenue Carraway family and Frederick Sims,4 a famous Artic explorer, who are seated in the audience. The Carraway’s are insulted and complain to the manager. Mimi, the rich girl the sketch lampooned, goes back stage to protest how her family was portrayed. She and Gary Blake argue, so she is thrown out of the theater. The next morning at the Carraway mansion, the family fumes about the sketch and intends to sue for defamation of character, but their lawyer explains that they have no grounds for a suit. Frederick Sims, who is also present, tries to calm them down by saying, “People in the public eye must expect to be caricatured — that’s the price of fame.” Mimi and her father, the Commodore, are still raving mad. At the next performance of the revue, Gary sings “The Girl on the Police Gazette.” In this sequence, he searches for the girl on the cover of the magazine in a barbershop (complete with a barbershop quartet), a trolley car, and a beach, before finding out that she performed at the Gaiety Theatre. He buys her flowers and candy and asks for her at the stage entrance. When she comes to the door, he asks for a picture of her in tights so she throws him and his gifts into the street. Backstage in his dressing room, Gary receives a note from Mimi inviting him to dinner. Dressed in top hat, white tie, and tails, he encounters Mona Merrick, his co-star who is obviously jealous, on his way to meet Mimi. Gary and Mimi enjoy quite an evening together. At one point, they listen to the radio in a horsedrawn carriage, and they stroll through Central Park as Gary sings “You’re Laughing at Me.” Their date goes so well it lasts until the next morning. Gary floods Mimi with bouquets of flowers and calls to inform her that the producers won’t agree to eliminate the “richest girl” sketch, but he will rewrite it to reduce the most offensive parts. As Gary is rewriting the sketch, Mona rehearses “This Year’s Kisses,” which is rather prophetic. The lyrics sing about his current kisses not being for her. In other words, Mona is in love with Gary, but he has moved on to Mimi. When Gary explains his sketch changes to

On the Avenue Mona, she is miffed and determines to sabotage his plans. At the next show attended by the Carraway family, the sketch is even more offensive and Mona’s characterization of Mimi is even nastier than before. Once again the Carraway family storms out of the theater. The revue continues with Gary and his English valet performing “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” When Mona joins Gary in a duet of the song, he keeps making asides to her concerning her actions in the “richest girl” sketch. To retaliate, Mimi purchases the production and arranges some sabotage work for the following evening’s performance. At the next performance, Mona performs “Slumming on Park Avenue.” The idea of the lyrics is basically the same as “Puttin’ on the Ritz”: a commoner checks out the playground of the rich and famous. The Ritz Brothers perform a take off on the song while the sets malfunction. For the revue’s next number, Gary sings “You’re Laughing at Me,” which is quickly interrupted by another Ritz Brothers farcical performance.5 As per-arranged by Mimi, most of the audience walks out. Later, Gary bursts into Mimi’s office, tears up his contract, and tells her he won’t work for her. At Tony’s Bar, Mona hums “This Year’s Kisses.” Gary joins her at the bar to celebrate tearing up his contract. Mona can sense that he still cares for Mimi. As Mimi and Sims, the explorer, are about to be married, Mona confesses that she changed the sketch for the worse, not Gary. As the ceremony begins and Mimi starts down the aisle to Wagner’s “Here Comes the Bride,”6 her Aunt Fritz,7 unveils a band she has hired to drown out the wedding march. Mimi runs away and Gary, in his revue costume as Mimi’s father, follows her into a cab. Mimi and Gary get married at city hall and have breakfast the next morning at the same neighborhood diner they had been to on their first date. The film ends with a reprise of “Slumming on Park Avenue.” Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll and Alice Faye are attractive personalities and Powell and Faye sing well in the film. Not even Irving Berlin’s tuneful score that includes “This Year’s Kisses” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” is enough to overcome the Ritz Brothers excessive silliness (they are Marx Brothers “wan-na-bes” but fall woefully short). On the Avenue is an AFI nominee (the only reason it is in this book), but one wonders who nominated it and how many votes it collected. It is far from the best of the movie musicals of the Thirties.

On the Town

On the Town M-G-M, December 8, 1949, 98 minutes Principal Cast: Gene Kelly (Gabey), Vera-Ellen (Ivy Smith), Frank Sinatra (Chip), Betty Garrett (Brunhilde “Hildy” Esterhazy), Ann Miller (Claire Huddesen), Jules Munshin (Ozzie) Directors/Choreographers: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters/Lyricists: Adolph Green and Betty Comden Music: Various composers Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 19 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 13 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “New York, New York” No. 41 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award winner: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

The 1944 Broadway musical, On the Town, is based on composer Leonard Bernstein’s and choreographer Jerome Robbins’ 1944 ballet Fancy Free. Oliver Smith, the set designer for Fancy Free, and his business partner, Paul Feigay, convinced Robbins and Bernstein to expand the ballet into a Broadway musical. Betty Comden and Adolph Green were hired to write the musical’s libretto and lyrics. The George Abbott directed musical opened in late December, 1944 and ran for a disappointing 462 performances. It was revived on Broadway in 1971 and in 1998, but neither of those was commercially successful either. The film version was much more successful (see Awards and Honors above). According to AFI’s list of the twenty-five greatest movie musicals, On the Town is one of three musical films from the Forties to make the list.1 The film is one of only two movie musicals from the Forties2 to make Entertainment Weekly’s list of “25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time.” World War II had ended in 1945, but the sailors who had been discharged over the last several years still had vivid memories of their Navy experiences. Many of them remembered shore leaves in New York City or similar ports of call and most likely closely identified with the three gobs’ adventures in the film. On the Town opens with an aerial shot of New York harbor early one morning. The camera zeros in on the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where a half-asleep dockworker sings “I Feel Like I’m Not Out of Bed Yet.”3 The camera switches to a naval warship that sud-

228 denly comes to life as sailors eagerly leave for a one day shore leave. Three of them, Chip, Ozzie, and Gabey, sing “New York, New York”4 about all the things they plan to do over the next twenty-four hours. They begin their day with a whirlwind tour of dozens of famous sights in the space of a few minutes film-time. The song continues during their tour with appropriate lyrics for each of the places they visit. Gabey becomes fascinated by a subway poster of a beautiful girl —“Miss Turnstiles for June”— Ivy Smith, the subway system’s ideal American girl. In “Miss Turnstiles Ballet,”5 Gabey imagines Miss Smith in an elaborate dance sequence as a homeloving girl, a woman who loves the whirl of high society, while she is studying painting and dance, and competing in various sports. As the fellows leave the subway, Gabey recognizes Ivy who is posing for a photo. He even gets to pose with her, but she catches the next subway train. Gabey and his two buddies hire a cab to transport them to the next subway station to intercept her, but they don’t quite make it on time. The female cab driver, Brunhilde “Hildy” Esterhazy, is immediately attracted to Chip. She quickly proposes that he come up to her place, but he wants to see the sights. When she lets the guys out at Columbus Circle to intercept Ivy, she stays around in case they need another cab ride. Gabey examines the poster for clues as to where he might find Ivy in this gigantic city. Since the poster mentioned her taking painting at a museum, Hildy drives them to the nearest one — the Museum of Natural History. There, Ozzie meets Claire Huddesen, an anthropology student, who thinks he resembles the pithecanthropus erectus statue on display. She explains her fascination with Ozzie as an anthropological specimen in the song-and-dance, “Prehistoric Man.”6 All the others also participate in the number. When Ozzie accidentally demolishes a dinosaur skeleton, they quickly flee. Next, the group tries several other museums. Hildy, mostly with the ulterior motive of getting Chip alone, suggests they split up to look for Ivy. Ozzie and Claire quickly concur, so they agree to meet on the top of the Empire State Building later that evening. Chip still wants to see the sights, but Hildy pleads (sings) “Come Up to My Place.”7 Hildy is persistent and finally talks him into going to her place. When they get there, her homely roommate, Lucy,8 is home nursing a cold. After all her efforts to get Chip alone, Hildy is frustrated, but she eventually convinces Lucy to go to a movie. Meanwhile, Gabey wanders into Symphony Hall and finds Ivy taking a ballet lesson. While her

229 teacher, Mme. Dilyovska,9 steps out of the room to replenish her stash of liquor, Gabey re-introduces himself and tries to impress her. When that doesn’t work, he apologizes and tells her he’s not a sophisticate. As a matter of fact, he’s from the small town of Melville.10 He sings about his hometown in the song, “Main Street.”11 After his song and their dance together, Ivy accepts his date proposal. They agree to meet later that evening on the top of the Empire State Building. When Gabey leaves, her teacher reminds Ivy that she must be at her job on Coney Island by 11:30. Chip and Hildy are on the top of the Empire State Building waiting for the others to arrive. While he looks at the city through a telescope, she is miffed by his indifference to her. To sooth her feelings, he sings the comical “You’re Awful.”12 When Ozzie and Claire join Chip and Hildy, they claim to have searched diligently for Ivy. Shortly after Gabey arrives and tells them he found Ivy, the police arrive looking for the sailor who resembled a caveman and who demolished a dinosaur. Chip and Gabey hang Ozzie over the side of the building to avoid him being recognized. Shortly after the police leave, Ivy arrives and the three couples sing “On the Town”13 as they consider what to do with the rest of their time together. After visiting a couple of crowded nightspots, Ivy tries to tell Gabey that she isn’t who he thinks she is, but Gabey is distracted by some of his Navy buddies who want to meet “Miss Turnstiles.” When he takes the guys to meet Ivy, she isn’t there.

On the Town She left Gabey a note, but it doesn’t explain why she left or where she went. (She suddenly disappeared because she had to go to her job as a cooch-dancer in a Coney Island boardwalk establishment; she uses the money she earns to pay for her ballet lessons). Hildy offers her dowdy roommate, Lucy, as Gabey’s date. He’s embarrassed when his navy buddies think Lucy is the girl he had bragged about earlier. Gabey is completely depressed by what has transpired. To cheer him up, Lucy and the others sing, “You Can Count on Me.”14 During the number, Lucy drapes a tablecloth around her and dances a sultry tango with Gabey. Feeling guilty about the way he has treated her, Gabey walks Lucy home and gives her a peck-on-the-cheek kiss goodnight. As he leaves Lucy’s, Gabey sees a poster advertising a comedy in three acts titled A Day in New York. He visualizes a ballet (“A Day in New York”15) in which he remembers the entire day so far. He is joined in the dance by two male dancers, who substitute for Chip and Ozzie, and two female dancers,16 who represent Claire and Hildy. Ivy dances for herself in the sequence. Gabey also performs a solo dance with the poster from the subway. Once Gabey’s dream sequence fades, Chip finds him and they return to the nightclub to rejoin the others. Mme. Dilyovska is in the club, so Gabey persuades her to tell him where Ivy is. As they head for Coney Island, they are chased by the police again, but thanks to Hildy’s driving skills, they avoid being caught.

Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin, Ann Miller, Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen in On the Town.

One Hundred Men and a Girl At Coney Island, Gabey is startled to see Ivy as a cooch-dancer, but is absolutely thrilled to find her. Embarrassed, she confesses she’s not an important person, but is a small town girl from Gabey’s hometown, Melville. When the police arrive, the three sailors put on costumes and join the show. As three veiled harem dancers, they even flirt with the cops until Ozzie’s trousers become visible when his harem costume slips down. After a short chase, they are corralled by the USN Shore Patrol and taken to their ship. The girls plead with the police and, appealing to their patriotism, convince them to drop the charges against the guys. The finale begins exactly like the beginning of the film with the same half-asleep dockworker singing “I Feel Like I’m Not Out of Bed Yet.” As Gabey, Chip and Ozzie are about to board their ship, the girls arrive with a police escort. The three couples embrace. As the gobs return to their ship, a new group of sailors depart for shore leave. Three different sailors sing the opening of “New York, New York” as the film ends. Numerous songs were omitted from the original Broadway score for the film version.17 Only five of Leonard Bernstein’s songs were retained and Roger Edens, the film’s associate producer, added five songs, four with Comden and Green lyrics. With Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly as the film’s directors and choreographers, it’s not surprising that the song-and-dance numbers are top notch. Kelly, Vera-Ellen and Ann Miller dance superbly. The film is a wonderful time capsule, but it is as fresh today has it was sixty years ago. “New York, New York” is a classic (AFI’s No. 41 song in 100 Years ... 100 Songs). Betty Garrett is appropriately comical in “Come Up to My Place” and she and Frank Sinatra do a bang-up job with “You’re Awful” (Sinatra plays the second male lead, which is usually the nerd who ends up with the comic female, in several films). I have the film ranked as the best of the Forties, but it is, at least, among the top two or three of the decade and I have no quarrel with AFI’s and Entertainment Weekly’s rankings (see Awards and Honors above).

One Hundred Men and a Girl Universal Studios, September 5, 1937, 84 minutes Principal Cast: Deanna Durbin (Patricia “Patsy” Cardwell), Adolphe Menjou ( John Cardwell), Leopold

230 Stokowski (himself ), Eugene Pallette (John R. Frost), Alice Brady (Mrs. Frost), Mischa Auer (Michael Borodoff ) Director: Henry Koster Producers: Joe Pasternak and Charles R. Rogers Screenwriters: Bruce Manning, Charles Kenyon, James Mulhauser, based on an idea by Hanns Kraly Music and Lyrics: Various composers and lyricists Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Music, Score ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Sound Recording ❍ Best Writing Original Story Availability: DVD

When Deanna Durbin filmed One Hundred Men and a Girl, she was a fifteen-year-old singing sensation with a remarkably cultured soprano voice. She signed a contract with M-G-M in 1935 and made a musical short with Judy Garland in 1936 titled Every Sunday in which they showcase their individual singing talents. Universal signed Miss Durbin in 1936 and starred her in Three Smart Girls, which was such a huge success the studio was saved from financial ruin. She received a special Academy Juvenile Award and became the highest paid actress in the world (she reportedly was more popular and made more money than either Shirley Temple or Judy Garland). She made over twenty films at Universal before she retired in 1950 after her marriage to director Charles David. She simply walked away from the Hollywood glamour to live with her husband in Paris. The worst of the Depression was over by 1937, but life was still very hard and jobs were difficult to find, especially for classically trained instrumentalists. Not only were they fighting for a very limited number of positions in the relatively few symphonies that were still functioning, they also were concerned that recordings were putting live musicians out of work. During the opening credits, Leopold Stokowski conducts an orchestra in the “4th Movement” from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.1 The music continues into a live performance in a theater full of patrons of the musical arts, many of whom were at least half asleep, especially the men who had been coerced into attending by their wives. John Cardwell, an unemployed trombonist, peeks into the theater from backstage and hides when anyone comes by who might throw him out. After the concert, he approaches Mr. Stokowski about a job, but the famous conductor passes him off to one of his underlings. The theater doorman is instructed to throw him out, which he does—for the third time.

231 As the concert-goers are leaving, a lady drops her bejewled purse with a considerable amount of money sticking out of it. John picks up the purse and attempts to return it, but the doorman, fed up with his attempts to see Stokowski, slams the door in his face. When he returns home, John’s landlady demands the overdue rent payment, so he uses his findings to pay. The landlady and John’s daughter, Patsy, assume if he has money he must have gotten a job playing in Stokowski’s orchestra. During a celebration of her father’s good fortune, Patsy sings “It’s Raining Sunbeams.”2 The next day when her father leaves to supposedly go to the orchestra rehearsal, Patsy wants to attend. Her father uses the excuse that it would make him too nervous, so she agrees to stay home. Soon after he leaves, however, Patsy heads for the theater. She refuses to believe the doorman when he tells her there is no one named Cardwell in the orchestra. Once she evades the doorman to see for herself, she’s crushed when her father isn’t there (he had spent the day with a neighbor, Michael, an unemployed flutist, playing checkers). When John returns home that evening, he attempts to make Patsy believe he has been working hard at rehearsal all day, but she informs him that she knows the truth. Repentantly, her father tells her about the purse he had found. Patsy finds the name and address of the purse’s owner, Mrs. Frost, and goes to return it. She locates Mrs. Frost, a very wealthy socialite, as she and several guests are having lunch. Mrs. Frost is delighted to have her purse returned and offers to pay Patsy a reward. She asks for $52.10— the amount her father had paid the landlady. Mrs. Frost insists Patsy stay for lunch, and, since she is practically starving, she agrees. When Mrs. Frost discovers Patsy is a singer, she invites her to perform. She sings “A Heart That’s Free.”3 Impressed, Mrs. Frost tells Patsy her husband, who is in the radio business, will gladly sponsor an orchestra if she organizes it. Patsy thinks this is a wonderful idea and is confident her father knows plenty of competent, but unemployed, classical instrumentalists. Excited about the potential of a new orchestra, Patsy rushes home and finds her father playing poker with Michael. She convinces him that Mrs. Frost has agreed to be their sponsor, so he rents an Eastside garage as a rehearsal space and employs many of his fellow out-of-work orchestral musicians. They begin rehearsing by playing “Rakoczy March.”4 When Patsy returns the next day, she finds that Mrs. Frost has left for a European vacation and has forgotten to inform her husband of her promise. Mr. Frost, a businessman who only gives gener-

One Night of Love ously to the arts because of his wife, refuses to have anything to do with this crazy idea. He goes to the garage and tells the unemployed musicians that he will not be their sponsor because they don’t have a name conductor. Patsy intends to solve that problem by recruiting Leopold Stokowski. She sneaks into one of his rehearsals where he is conducting the orchestra in “Prelude to Act III” from Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. To avoid being caught and thrown out by the doorman, she hides in Stokowski’s office. While she is there, she answers the maestro’s telephone and informs a local newspaperman that Stokowski will conduct an orchestra of unemployed musicians. When Stokowski’s manager discovers Patsy in the office, she leaves, but only goes into a box seat in the theater. As the orchestra plays Mozart’s “Alleluia,”5 Patsy sings. Even though Stokowski is very impressed by her singing, he cannot conduct the unemployed musicians’ orchestra because he is leaving for a six month overseas tour. Once the newspaper runs the story Patsy had given them, Mr. Frost, who now realizes what a publicity bonanza sponsoring an orchestra of unemployed musicians could be, calls on Mr. Stokowski and is shocked to learn that he has no intention of conducting the orchestra. Patsy sneaks the entire orchestra into the conductor’s house, arranges them on the stairway and on its several balconies, where they play a movement from Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody.6 Stokowski is so moved by their performance he agrees to postpone his tour to conduct the orchestra in a concert. The concert is, of course, a rousing success. The film ends with Patsy performing the aria “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata. One Hunddred Men and a Girl was just the type of upbeat entertainment Depression weary audiences needed. The music is splendidly performed and the plot is Depression era propaganda. Although the music is not necessarily plot sensitive (almost any classical composition could be inserted without altering the story line), music is a very integral part of the film. Deanna Durbin’s appeal is her youthfulness and her surprising vocal skills for being only a teenager. For classical music fans, the film is a jewel.

One Night of Love Columbia Pictures, September 13, 1934, 80 minutes

One Night of Love Principal Cast : Grace Moore (Mary Barrett), Tullio Carmnatti (Giulio Monteverdi), Mona Barrie (Lally) Director: Victor Schertzinger1 Producer: Everett Riskin Screenwriters: S.K. Lauren, James Gow and Edmund North; based on Charles Beahan and Dorothy Speare’s play Don’t Fall in Love Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI film nominee; ● Academy Award Nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Actress (Grace Moore) ❍ Best Director ❍ * Best Music, Score ❍ * Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Film Editing Availability: DVD is not currently available

Nicknamed the “Tennessee Nightingale,” Grace Moore was a famous operatic soprano who also had a very successful film career. She debuted on Broadway in the 1920 Jerome Kern musical Hitchy-Koo and appeared in the 1922 and 1923 editions of Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1928 and performed for sixteen seasons with the Met. During the early Thirties, operatic soprano Jeanette MacDonald was a film favorite, so Columbia hired Grace Moore as their answer to Miss MacDonald. In 1930, Moore appeared as the 19th century operatic soprano Jenny Lind in A Lady’s Morals and in the film version of Sigmund Romberg’s operetta The New Moon. After a few years away from films, she returned in 1934 to star in One Night of Love, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She appeared in five more films by the end of the decade. During World War II, she entertained American troops. Miss Moore died in an airplane crash near Copenhagen, Denmark in 1947 at the age of 48. Her film biography, So This Is Love, was released in 1953 starring Kathryn Grayson. One Night of Love opens with Mary Barrett singing the title song, “One Night of Love,”2 on a radio talent contest in New York City. The contest winner received the opportunity to study with a famous singing teacher in Europe. When Mary loses, she decides to spend all the money she has to travel to Italy to study operatic singing. Shortly after arriving, the film shows various musicians practicing their craft. Mary walks out onto her terrace and sings “Sempre libera” from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata as the various musicians accompany her. Her new neighbors are very impressed with her vocal talent. Her first teacher, Galluppi,3 is confident that he can find her a position in the next season’s opera, but Mary needs something right away to pay her rent. Fellow American, Bill Houston,4 warns Mary

232 that the landlady is on her way to collect the rent. He offers to pay it for her, but she won’t accept. To distract the landlady, Bill plays the piano, while Galluppi, Mary and her roommate, Frappizini,5 sing “Chi mi frena in tal momento?” from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. When the landlady6 arrives, she gets caught up in the singing, joyfully joins the performance, and forgets to demand payment. The scene changes to the home of Giulio Monteverdi, a celebrated vocal teacher. He and his piano accompanist, Giovanni,7 are waiting for Monteverdi’s pupil, Lally, who is late for her lesson. Monteverdi and Lally have become romantically involved, which violates his own rule: love and business don’t mix. When she arrives, he dismisses her as his student. Mary gets a job at the Café Roma as a singing waitress and sings the famous “Ciribiribin,”8 while Monteverdi and Giovanni are dining. Monteverdi is impressed and goes backstage to see her. He criticizes her singing technique, but thinks she has potential. He offers to teach her, but she must agree to place her life in his hands and must come to live with him. Mary is thrilled that a celebrated teacher is interested in teaching her, but appalled by his suggestions that they live together, so she declines his offer. He assures her he has nothing in mind but teaching. She reconsiders and accepts. Most non-classical singers have no idea of the rigorous training regimen required to become an accomplished classical vocalist. The next scene shows some of the process. For six weeks or more, she doesn’t sing at all. Monteverdi makes her do exercises that increase her lung capacity, stretch her larynx, and tone her body. He also teaches her the proper way to breathe diaphragmatically. After a year, they travel from place to place where she sings in provincial theaters. As promised, Monteverdi rules Mary’s life. He will not allow her to smoke, drink or even eat very much. Therefore, after several months, it isn’t surprising that Mary almost abandons her singing career when the wealthy young American, Bill Houston, asks her to marry him. Monteverdi is determined to keep the proper teacher/student relationship, but when Lally reenters the picture it becomes apparent that Mary is jealous and Giulio is interested in Mary for more than her vocal talent. Mary refuses to sing her part in Carmen, but when Monteverdi tells her Lally will substitute for her, she quickly reconsiders. Monteverdi had never considered using Lally, and, he admits, even though he has fought it, he has been in love with Mary for two years. Now she wants to sing to make him proud. She sings the fa-

233 mous “Habanera” aria from Georges Bizet’s Carmen. After her performance, Mr. Howard from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City wants to talk with her about singing there, but Monteverdi says she isn’t ready. Now that they have expressed their mutual affection, Mary agrees to do what Monteverdi feels is best. After witnessing Mary’s special singing ability, Bill understands that she belongs on the operatic stage, so he tells her he is returning to the U.S. and will see her at the Met. Meanwhile, Monteverdi has returned home to prepare a special dinner for the two of them, but Lally shows up at his apartment. He tries to get rid of her before Mary arrives, but just as she opens the door, Lally hugs him. Mary won’t listen to his explanation. She is convinced that Monteverdi told her he loved her only to avoid her walking out on the performance of Carmen. So, she accepts Mr. Howard’s offer to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. Mary’s Met debut is in Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.9 On opening night, Mary is very nervous and almost backs out of the performance. However, just as she is making her entrance, she sees Monteverdi in the prompter’s box and her confidence is restored. Giulio encourages her, conducts and loves her through a splendid performance. At the end, he mouths “I love you,” and, as she takes a slight bow, she blows a kiss to him as the film ends. Grace Moore is a splendid operatic soprano and also an accomplished actress. One Night of Love is an enjoyable diversion, but it is far from being one of the best films of the Thirties. Several other songs or instrumental numbers are heard briefly or as background music.10

The Pajama Game Warner Bros., August 29, 1957, 102 minutes Principal Cast: Doris Day (Catherine “Babe” Williams), John Raitt (Sid Sorokin), Carol Haney (Gladys Hotchkiss), Eddie Foy, Jr. (Vernon Hines), Reta Shaw (Mabel), Ralph Dunn (Myron Hasler) Co-Director/Producer/Co-Screenwriter: George Abbott Co-Director: Stanley Donen Co-Screenwriter: Richard Bissell Music and Lyrics: Richard Adler and Jerry Ross Choreographer: Bob Fosse Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Hey, There”) Availability: DVD

The Pajama Game The Pajama Game, based on Richard Bissell’s novel 7 1 ⁄ 2 Cents, opened on Broadway in 1954 and ran for 1,063 performances. The musical was written by newcomers, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and starred John Raitt as Sid Sorokin and Janis Paige as Babe Williams. At the 1955 Tony Awards, the musical won awards for Best Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Carol Haney as Gladys) and Best Choreographer (Bob Fosse). The screen version of the musical is one of the most faithful recreations of a stage musical Hollywood ever produced. It utilized almost the entire original Broadway cast, except Doris Day replaced Janis Paige, and it kept most of the original score.1 The film opens with Sid Sorokin walking towards the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory. Once inside, he marches straight to the office of Myron Hasler and knocks on the door. As the opening credits begin, the studio orchestra plays excerpts from “Hey, There,” and “Hernando’s Hideaway,” the musical’s two most famous songs. Vernon Hines, the factory efficiency expert, leads the factory workers in singing “The Pajama Game.” Hines is proud to be working in this pajama factory. He can hardly wait to get to work each day. During Sid’s interview for the superintendent’s job at the factory, Hasler grumbles about the union’s demand for a 71 ⁄2 cent raise. Sid is hired and begins his new job. The female factory workers are under enormous pressure to hurry, but feel like they are always losing the race with the clock (“Racing With the Clock”). Hines constantly implores them to work faster. A couple of the male employees sing about their anticipated raise and wonder when Hasler will finally grant their request. The girls also sing about the cute new superintendent. While Sid is trying to repair a machine, a couple of employees stand around, complain about their wages and talk about how much other nearby factories are paying. Sid can’t even get them to hand him a screwdriver, so he gets up, pushes one of the guys out of his way, and gets it himself. The employee immediately reports Sid to the grievance committee. When the committee, lead by Babe Williams, arrives, Sid admits to shoving the guy. He is informed that there are company rules against striking an employee. The female workers tease Babe about her interest in the new superintendent, which she denies. She and the girls sing “I’m Not at All in Love.” The other girls don’t believe Babe isn’t romantically interested in Sid and she finally admits that she thinks that he is quite a hunk. Vernon Hines is jealous of any attention Gladys

The Pajama Game Hotchkiss shows to any other man and accuses her of being a flirt. When he sees Gladys leave a note on Sid’s desk, he accuses her of leaving him a love note. When she shows him that it is about the factory’s production numbers, he promises never to be jealous again. He and Mabel, Hasler’s secretary, sing “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again.” She presents multiple situations to test his resolve. In each instance, Hines claims he will trust Gladys, although he isn’t very convincing. Mabel and Hines also dance a cute soft-shoe routine during the song. Sid calls the grievance committee to his office. When Babe arrives alone, she informs him that the committee has decided to drop the charge. Sid surprises her by asking her for a date. She tells him it wouldn’t work for the superintendent to date the head of the grievance committee. When she leaves his office, he dictates a memo into a Dictaphone2 by singing “Hey, There.”3 During the song he accuses himself of making a fool of himself. He further accuses himself of being too much in love to heed his own advice. After he sings a chorus, he rewinds the memo and replays it. As he listens, he makes snide comments and eventually sings a duet with himself. At the annual company picnic, Hasler makes a speech about profit margins, the employees play a softball game and Vernon Hines, who is drunk, performs a knife throwing exhibition using Babe as his assistant. When one of the knives comes perilously close to her head, Mabel faints. Afterwards, Sid follows Babe as she walks away from the others. He suggests they stop fighting and asks, “Don’t you want to be my girl?” When she answers, “Of course,” he is ecstatic and, in his excitement, sings the polka, “Once-a-Year Day.” After a chorus, everyone at the picnic joins in the song. They sing about being entitled to be wild and goofy once a year. Babe and Poopsie4 also sing short solos. The song develops into a huge production number that features Gladys. One night after Babe’s father leaves for work, Sid begins to romanticize her, but she avoids his amorous advances. In “Small Talk,” Sid sings that he doesn’t want to talk about the weather or the fall fashions. Sid suggests that her lips should be kissing him instead of making small talk. At the end of the song, he tells her he loves her. She returns the feeling, but she warns him that 71 ⁄ 2 cents is soon going to come between them. On another occasion, Sid and Babe arrive at her house from a date. She says, “Tell me how much you love me.” Sid replies by singing the semihillbilly number, “There Once Was a Man.” He sings about several men who performed great feats to prove their love for their woman, but he claims he loves her even more. Then, Babe sings the female

234 version and the song develops into a competition duet. The workers decide to protest Hasler’s refusal to grant their raise by instituting a factory slow down. They sing a reprise of “Racing with the Clock,” but in an extremely slow tempo. Hines panics and runs to tell Sid, who tells the workers that they must give a day’s work for a day’s pay. When Babe jams some cloth into her machine which causes everything to stop, Sid fires her. At a union rally, Gladys teams up with two of the cutting room boys to present some entertainment. The union president introduces their song as being appropriate because it’s about getting hot, which is what the union needs to do. They perform “Steam Heat,” which is a silly but catchy song. Especially noteworthy are the sound affects in the lyrics of someone hitting a pipe and escaping steam. After a committee meeting at Babe’s home, Sid sneaks in the back door to see why she has been avoiding him. She reminds him that she warned him there would be trouble over the proposed raise. She recommends that he stick to his side and she’ll stick to hers. She goes into the bedroom, cries and sings “Hey, There,” with different lyrics to fit this circumstance. Sid is confident there must be some information in a ledger that Hasler locks away that would help solve the labor-management dispute. Since Gladys has the key to the ledger, Sid asks her out on a date. She recommends they go to “Hernando’s Hideaway”5 and sings a comic tango about this dimly lit secluded place. After they dance among the file cabinets, the scene switches to the club where it is so dark that everyone uses matches for light. The lyrics claim that nobody cares how late it gets at “Hernando’s Hideaway.” When the lights come on, Sid and Gladys are seated at a table where she is guzzling gin. Sid warns her that he intends to get the ledger key from her, so she abruptly hands it over. After Babe arrives to warn Gladys that Hines has gone crazy with jealousy, Gladys passes out. Sid stays up all night examining the ledgers. The next morning, he calls Hasler and the union committee to his office. The union committee arrives first. They have decided to take a stand — the raise or a strike. Sid is confident that he can clear up the whole thing and asks them to keep the planned union rally going until he gets there. As the committee leaves, Sid asks Babe to meet him after the rally. At first, she says she has a date, but she finally agrees to break it. When Hasler arrives, Sid informs him that he discovered the raise had been added to the cost six months ago. Either he grants the raise

235 or Sid will go before the board and tell them how Hasler has been doctoring the books. At the rally, the union president, Babe and the workers sing “7 and 1 ⁄2 Cents.” The president claims he has figured it out. Even though 71 ⁄ 2 cents won’t buy much now, in five years he will have earned enough to buy ... and he lists numerous items. Then, Babe calculates what she could buy after ten years. She is confident that after twenty years she could buy the pajama factory and make Hasler work for her. When Sid arrives at the rally, he announces that Hasler can settle the dispute. Hasler still makes it sound like a compromise, but he will grant the raise if the employees will give up any claim for retroactive pay. The union accepts and Babe kisses Sid. The finale is a Sleep-Tite fashion parade. The models are Mabel, the union president, a couple of the factory girls, Vernon and Gladys, and Sid and Babe. Sid wears the pajama bottoms, while Babe wears the top. The Pajama Game may not be the greatest musical of all time, but Adler and Ross’ score is very catchy, especially, of course, the three most famous songs, “Hey, There,” “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway,” but “I’m Not at All in Love,” “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again,” “Once-a-Year Day” and “There Once Was a Man” are also a lot of fun. The film is one of Doris Day’s best movie musical appearances and John Raitt is excellent as he reprises his Broadway role. The musical was revived on Broadway in 1973 and in 2006. The 1973 revival contained an interracial romance between Sid, played by Hal Linden, and Babe, played by African-American actress/ singer Barbara McNair. Cab Calloway played Hines. The 2006 revival, which starred Harry Connick, Jr., and Kelli O’Hara, won the Tony award for Best Revival of a Musical. By the way, John Raitt’s daughter is nine-time Grammy winner, blues specialist, Bonnie Raitt. And, Carol Burnett’s first Broadway exposure was as Carol Haney’s understudy in the original Broadway production.

Pal Joey Columbia Pictures, October 25, 1957, 109 minutes Principal Cast: Rita Hayworth (Vera Simpson), Frank Sinatra (Joey Evans), Kim Novak (Linda English), Bobby Sherwood (Ned Galvin), Hank Henry (Mike Miggins) Director: George Sidney Producer: Fred Kohlmar

Pal Joey Screenwriter: Dorothy Kingsley Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“My Funny Valentine”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration ❍ Best Costume Design ❍ Best Film Editing Availability: DVD

Pal Joey began as a series of letters written by John O’Hara that appeared in The New Yorker magazine in the late–Thirties. Addressed to a bandleader named Ted, the stories in the letters are about a not-so-great nightclub entertainer from Chicago named Joey Evans. Although Joey has a likeable personality, he is a first class heel and is basically amoral. The letters were signed “Your Pal Joey.” In 1940, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, along with librettists John O’Hara and George Abbott, turned O’Hara’s epistles into a Broadway musical that starred Vivienne Segal as Vera Simpson and Gene Kelly as Joey Evans. Pal Joey ran for eleven months on Broadway and had a successful national tour, but the lack of morality exhibited by the show’s anti-hero did not sit well with middle America in the pre–World War II Forties. In 1952, composer Jule Styne secured the rights to produce a revival of Pal Joey and his revival received a much warmer reception primarily because the country’s views of morality had changed or were rapidly changing. Vivienne Segal again played the feminine lead with Harold Lang portraying Joey. Frank Sinatra’s public image, concocted by his press agent, was apparently vastly different from reality. According to Kitty Kelley’s unauthorized biography,1 Frank’s climb to the top was strewn with broken relationships, failed marriages, and a formidable list of females who succumbed to his womanizing. Therefore, he was the perfect choice to play Joey Evans. The film version of Pal Joey is a very loose adaption of the original musical. Several things in the plot were changed and, of the fourteen original Rodgers and Hart songs, six are performed in the film, two can be heard as instrumental background music, and four songs were added from other Rodgers and Hart musicals. The film opens as a cop car transports Joey Evans to a train. He is being run out of town for buying a drink for an underaged girl, the mayor’s daughter, in his hotel room. During the credits that follow, instrumental versions of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and “I Could Write a Book” are heard. Also dur-

Pal Joey ing the credits, Joey gets off the train and takes a ferry to San Francisco. Joey heads for the International Settlement, or red-light district of the city, looking for a singing job. He finally finds a former friend, Ned Galvin, whose band is playing at the Barbary Coast nightclub. Joey hits him up for a job. Ned and his band are accompanying the floor show as a group of girls perform “That Terrific Rainbow.”2 Joey isn’t interested in their performance until he notices one particular girl — Linda English. When the show’s MC doesn’t show up for work, Joey grabs the microphone and tells a few lame jokes. Then he sings “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.”3 He starts the song in a slow tempo that lulls the audience to sleep, but when the tempo increases, they respond more favorably. The club’s owner, Mike, hires him, but warns him against any false moves. When the band launches into the girls’ finale, “Do It the Hard Way,” Joey joins the girls for part of the number as if it had been rehearsed. Joey accompanies Ned’s band to a booking at a society party, where he sings “There’s a Small Hotel.”4 While he is singing, the party’s hostess makes eyes at him. After the number, Ned tells Joey that she is a wealthy socialite, Mrs. Vera Simpson. Joey thinks he recognizes her from some other time and place. During the charity auction at the party, Mrs. Simpson is a little disappointed with the amount of money they had raised, so Joey asks the wealthy party-goers how much they would bid to hear Mrs. Simpson perform the number that she made famous as Vera Vanessa. For a bid of $5,000, Mrs. Simpson performs “Zip,”5 with the uninhibited verve of a burlesque queen, which is exactly what she was at one time. Linda English is Ned’s girl, but Joey sets his sights on her. He takes a room in her building and the room just happens to be the adjoining room that shares a bath. At another nightclub show, Joey sings “I Could Write a Book.”6 Towards the end of the song, he pulls Linda onto the stage because he said such a love song should be sung to a beautiful girl. She joins him for the last few lines of the song. Linda doesn’t come around easily, however. When Joey invites her to dinner, they end up at a pet store where she gets him to purchase a cute terrier dog to keep him company. Joey’s feelings for Linda don’t stop him from playing up to the lonely widow, Vera Simpson. When she visits the nightclub, he makes certain that she knows that he wants to open his own club — the Chez Joey. To repay him for getting her to perform at the society party, she tells him she is

236 merely slumming and she leaves just as he is about to perform. Ever confident, Joey guarantees Mike, who is ready to fire him, that she will return by Saturday or he will leave without being fired. However, if she returns, he expects a raise. By Saturday, Mrs. Simpson hasn’t returned, so Joey prepares to leave. After the club closes for the evening, someone knocks on the door — it is Vera Simpson. Mike recalls the band from the kitchen to entertain her. She requests hearing the singer, so Joey sings “The Lady Is a Tramp.”7 After the song, Joey dances with Vera while the band continues to play. They leave the club together and drive to the dock where her yacht is moored.. Vera awakens the next morning with a very satisfied smile. Still in bed, she begins to speak the lyrics and then sings “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.”8 The original idea of the song was to express a middle-aged woman’s jaded, cynical outlook about getting romantically involved with a younger man, but in the film, Vera doesn’t appear to have the slightest misgivings. As a matter of fact, she seems to relish the idea. Joey tells Linda about partnering with Vera to open a new classy joint. Because he’s going to be so busy, he gives her the dog. She takes the pup because “not even a dog should live with you.” Joey’s dream nightclub, Chez Joey, materializes in a rented Nob Hill mansion. There, in a rehearsal, Linda sings “My Funny Valentine.”9 When Vera comes into the rehearsal, she is upset to see Linda performing a solo spot. While the cast rehearses “You Mustn’t Kick It Around,” Vera demands that Joey fire Linda. Rather than fire her, Joey tells Linda that he wants her to do a strip number instead of “My Funny Valentine” because she’s “the best built mouse in the joint, so let’s take advantage of it.” He expects her to quit rather than strip. When Vera entertains some friends, she doesn’t want Joey around, so he goes to her yacht. Later in the evening, Linda staggers into Joey’s bedroom drunk and informs him she has decided to accept the strip number. When they kiss, she passes out. Joey puts her on the bed and goes out onto the deck to wrestle with whatever conscience he possesses. After humming and singing a little of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” he sleeps elsewhere. The next morning, when Linda asks what they did the previous evening, Joey explains that nothing happened. During breakfast when he expresses surprise that her mother ever let her leave home, she says, “Mother says a nice girl’s a nice girl wherever she is.” At the next rehearsal, Linda performs the strip number dressed in a Marie Antoinette–type cos-

237 tume.10 Suddenly, Joey stops the number and tells the waiters to stop drooling. Vera tells Joey that she wants Linda out of the show or the club won’t open. When Joey evidences some backbone by telling her that she doesn’t own him, she announces, “Chez Joey is not going to open.” Later, Linda goes to Vera’s to explain that there was nothing between her and Joey. Vera believes her but still considers her dangerous because when Joey told her to stop stripping “he played the greatest love scene of his career.” Linda realizes that Vera will never allow the club to open as long as she’s around, so she volunteers to leave if Joey never learns why. Vera informs Joey she’s had a change of heart and will allow the club to open, but Joey doesn’t trust her now. He thanks her for the use of his yacht bedroom and returns the key. When Vera asks, “Is it the mouse?,” Joey answers with a question, “Why should I louse up her life?” Vera and Joey walk out into the closed club where she tempts him once again—all of this could be his. Joey drifts off into a reverie in which, dressed in top hat and cane, he performs “What Do I Care for a Dame.” During the number the two “dames” in his life, Vera and Linda, dance sensually around him. Once his reverie ends, Linda and Vera are seen in the back seat of Vera’s limo. Linda and the dog get out of the car and run after Joey, offering to go wherever he is headed. Joey tries to talk her out of it and warns her of his unreliability. As the film ends, Joey, Linda and the dog walk up the sidewalk together while a chorus sings a reprise of “I Could Write a Book.” Pal Joey is an AFI nominee as one of the greatest movie musicals, but it isn’t even one of the best of its decade. Sinatra plays a louse to perfection and Rita Hayworth is an enticing wealthy former stripper. It would have been interesting to experience Pal Joey as Rodgers and Hart originally conceived it, but, since they did not insist on control, Columbia completely rewrote the plot, eliminated songs and added others, which is, unfortunately, the norm for screen versions of Broadway musicals. There are several Rodgers and Hart songs in the film score that have become classics, but only “I Could Write a Book” and “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” came from the original score.

Peter Pan Walt Disney Productions, February 5, 1953, 77 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Bobby Driscoll (Peter Pan), Kathryn Beaumont (Wendy), Hans Conried (Captain

Peter Pan Hook and Mr. Darling), Heather Angel (Mrs. Darling), Paul Collins (Michael), Tommy Luske ( John), Bill Thompson (Mr. Smee), Tom Conway (narrator) Directors: Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: Ted Sears, Bill Peet, Joe Rinaldi, Erdman Penner, Winston Hibler, Milt Banta, Ralph Wright Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Peter Pan, the fourteenth of Walt Disney’s animated feature films, is based on the 1911 play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. Disney bought the rights to Barrie’s play in 1939 from the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, to which Barrie had bequeathed the rights. World War II delayed the project until the Disney staff began work on it during the last years of the Forties. Peter Pan opens with “The Second Star to the Right”1 as the credits scroll across the screen. Next, the camera focuses on a shining star in the night sky and then pans down to the Darlings’ residence on a quiet street in the Bloomsbury section of London. The narrator introduces the members of the Darling family. Mrs. Darling believes Peter Pan is the spirit of youth; Mr. Darling refuses to think of anything but reality; John and Michael, their young sons, believe Peter Pan is a real person and make him the hero of their nursery games; Wendy, their daughter, is the supreme authority on Peter Pan. As Mr. and Mrs. Darling prepare to go out for the evening, Mr. Darling scolds Wendy for filling her brothers’ heads with Peter Pan stories. He tells her this will be her last night in the nursery; she must grow up. Wendy, however, doesn’t want to grow up. Her father also ties their dog nursemaid, Nana, outside. As her mother closes the window of the nursery, Wendy asks her not to lock it. She is sure Peter will return for his shadow. Peter and Tinker Bell land on the roof of the Darlings’ home and slip into the nursery to search for Peter’s shadow. Tinker Bell discovers it in a drawer, but it escapes and Peter chases it around the room. The commotion wakes Wendy, who volunteers to reattach his shadow. While Wendy sews, Peter tells her he lost his shadow when he was at her window listening to the bedtime stories she told to her brothers. He then shared her stories with the Lost Boys. Wendy tells Peter she is glad he came back that particular evening because tomorrow she has to grow up. Peter is horrified, so he offers to take her to Never Land, where no one ever grows up. She can be the mother for Peter and the Lost

Peter Pan Boys and tell them stories. Tinker Bell becomes jealous and almost attacks Wendy. Peter chases and catches her. That commotion wakes Michael and John. Wendy, Michael and John want to go to Never Land, but can’t imagine how to get there. Peter tells them they have to think wonderful thoughts and he will sprinkle them with pixie dust. In “You Can Fly!,”2 they fly around the room and through the window (an off-screen chorus takes up the song). Nana barks, so Michael sprinkles a little pixie dust on her, but she can’t break free from the rope tied around her neck. Peter shouts directions to Never Land. In Never Land, the camera zooms in on Captain Hook’s ship that is moored in a lagoon where his crew sings “A Pirate’s Life.”3 They want adventure, but Hook is obsessed with capturing Peter Pan. Mr. Smee tries to give the Captain his morning shave, but Hook becomes terribly frightened when he hears a clock ticking inside a crocodile.4 Suddenly, a lookout spots Peter and the others coming towards Never Land. Hook fires the ship’s cannons at them. Peter instructs Tinker Bell to take Wendy and her brothers to the island while he draws Hook’s fire. Tink speeds ahead to wake the Lost Boys and, in pantomime, convinces them to attack the Wendy bird. When they fire at Wendy, Peter saves her and scolds them for their actions. They tell him they were only following Tinker Bell’s orders. For her treachery, Peter banishes her for a week. Peter wants to show Wendy the mermaids, so he orders the boys to capture some Indians and appoints John the leader. They sing “Following the Leader.”5 Instead of the boys capturing the Indians, the Indians capture them and take them to their camp. The Chief is worried about his daughter, Tiger Lily, who has disappeared. If she is not back by sunset, he will burn the boys at the stake. While Peter and Wendy are with the mermaids, Peter sees Captain Hook and Mr. Smee taking Tiger Lily to Skull Rock. Peter eventually rescues Tiger Lily and takes her back to her father. Back at the pirate ship, Hook learns that Peter has banished Tinker Bell and is certain he can get the information he needs from this jealous female. He sends Smee to capture her. The scene switches to the Indian camp, where the Chief thanks Peter for rescuing Tiger Lily. As they pass the peace pipe, the Indians sing “What Makes the Red Man Red”6 and Tiger Lily dances. Wendy reacts jealously when she sees Tiger Lily kiss Peter. When Smee returns to the ship with Tinker Bell, Hook promises he will have his crew shanghai Wendy if Tinker Bell shows them where Peter’s hideout is located. After Hook promises not to

238 touch Peter, she steps off the route on a map to the hideout. Once she has revealed the location, Hook shuts her up in a lantern. Meanwhile, Peter and the boys return to their hideout to find Wendy jealously pouting. She tells her brothers they will return home tomorrow because their mother will be missing them. The Lost Boys don’t understand what a mother is, so Wendy explains in the song “Your Mother and Mine.”7 As she sings, the pirates are sneaking up to capture Peter, but most of them are affected by her song. All the boys, except Peter, want to go home with Wendy. As Wendy and her brothers leave the hideout, Hook and his men capture them. The Captain lowers a present for Peter into the hideout to be opened at 6:00. Back at Hook’s ship, the boys and Wendy are tied to the mast, while the crew, Smee and Hook sing “The Elegant Captain Hook.”8 After the song, the boys are ready to sign up as pirates, but Wendy won’t allow it. Hook tells Wendy when Peter opens the present, he will be blasted to eternity. Tinker Bell overhears, breaks free from her trap, and rushes to warn Peter. She grabs the present and flies away just as the package explodes. When Peter finds Tinker Bell in the ruins of his hideout, her light is flickering. He tells her she means more to him than anything else in the world. Captain Hook demands the boys and Wendy sign up as pirates or walk the plank. Wendy is the first to refuse. When she walks off the plank, Peter catches her. He challenges Hook to a fight and sets the boys free to fight the crew. After quite a battle, Hook falls overboard into the jaws of a crocodile (the same croc that had bitten off his hand many years earlier). Although Hook manages to escape, the determined crocodile chases him off into the horizon. Peter gets Tinker Bell to sprinkle the entire ship with pixie dust, so it can sail back to London. When Mr. and Mrs. Darling come home that evening, Wendy babbles about the great adventure she and her brothers had while they were away. Her parents don’t understand, until Wendy points to Peter’s ship, which can be seen as a cloud sailing in front of the moon. Mr. Darling is amazed and admits that he remembers having seen such a thing many years ago himself. The songs are decent, but not particularly outstanding except for “You Can Fly!” and possibly “The Second Star to the Right.” Wendy’s ode to motherhood, “Your Mother and Mine,” affected the Lost Boys and even the pirates, but isn’t especially memorable outside the context of the film. The way the film portrays Native Americans in “What Makes a Red Man Red” is considered po-

239 litically incorrect today. The lyrics contend that Indian men maintain a permanent blush due to their pursuit of Indian women. Tinker Bell has become one of Disney’s favorite symbols, but she is presented in the film as being jealous of Wendy, as being vain (she considers her hips too big), and she betrays her buddies by mapping the way to Peter’s hideout for Hook. She does, however, save Peter from Hook’s explosive. I would have sworn that “Never Smile at a Crocodile” was sung in the film, but it is only heard instrumentally. Overall, Peter Pan is not one of the best Disney animated features nor is it among the best movie musicals of the Fifties.

The Phantom of the Opera Odyssey Entertainment, December 22, 2004, 141 minutes Principal Cast: Gerard Butler (The Phantom), Emmy Rossum1 (Christine Daae), Patrick Wilson (Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny), Miranda Richardson (Madame Giry), Minnie Driver (Carlotta), Simon Callow (André), Ciaran Hinds (Firmin), Victor McGuire (Piangi), Jennifer Ellison (Meg Giry) Director: Joel Schumacher Producer/Composer/Co-Screenwriter: Andrew Lloyd Webber Co-Screenwriter: Joel Schumacher Lyrics: Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe Choreographer: Peter Darling Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Achievement in Art Direction ❍ Best Achievement in Cinematography ❍ Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (“Learn to Be Lonely”) Availability: DVD

Gaston Leroux’s novel, Le Fantome de L’Opera, was first published as a serialization in France between September 1909 and January 1910. Leroux’s tale has since been adapted into numerous literary and dramatic works ranging from musical productions to children’s books, but the best known adaptations include a 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s extremely successful Broadway musical that starred Michael Crawford and Lloyd Webber’s then wife, Sarah Brightman. The musical, which opened on Broadway in January 1988,2 ran for 7,486 performances, breaking the record that was previously held by Lloyd Webber’s Cats. According to its official website, the show has become the most successful entertainment enterprise in history by grossing more than $3.2 bil-

The Phantom of the Opera lion. The musical won ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Michael Crawford), Best Choreographer (Gillian Lynne), and Best Director of a Musical (Harold Prince). The film adaptation of the musical received three Academy Awards nominations (see Awards and Honors above), but came away winless. The film begins in black and white, it is 1919, and an auction is taking place on the stage of the Paris Opera House.3 The elderly Vicomte de Chagny is pushed into the Opera House in a wheelchair. He notices a familiar face in the crowd, Madame Giry, but his attention is quickly diverted to the next auction item. He purchases a music box topped with a monkey dressed in Persian robes, playing cymbals. Mme. Giry was his only competitor in the bidding. The next item up for bid is a giant chandelier. The auctioneer recalls the chandelier’s association with the strange tale of the opera ghost that had intrigued Parisian theatergoers for almost half-acentury. As the chandelier, which has been repaired and wired with electric lights, is uncovered, a pipe organ plays “The Phantom of the Opera” theme. As the chandelier is raised once more into the dome, the opera house is transformed into its heyday of color and glamour—1870. The orchestra takes over the theme as the opera house come to life. Monsieurs Firmin and André, the new owners of the theater, arrive and marvel at their recent purchase. The place is abuzz with preparations for a production of Hannibal.4 As Raoul, the Vicomte de

Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in Phantom of the Opera.

The Phantom of the Opera Chagny, arrives, Carlotta,5 the opera’s current diva, is rehearsing an aria. The new owners, who are scrap metal dealers, and the opera’s new patron, the Vicomte de Chagny, are introduced. One of the dancers, Christine Daaé, whispers to her fellow dancer and friend, Meg Giry, that she recognizes him as her childhood sweetheart, Raoul. After introductions, the rehearsal resumes. André is particularly impressed with Meg, while Firmin is more impressed with the exceptional beauty of Christine, whom Mme. Giry assures him is a promising talent. Sensing the new owners are more interested in the dancing girls than in her singing, Carlotta threatens to walk out. To reassure her of their devotion, Firmin suggests she perform an aria just for them. Her enormous ego restored, Carlotta sings “Think of Me” as the cleaning ladies stuff their ears with cotton. Suddenly, a backdrop falls to the floor dangerously close to Carlotta. Meg whispers to Christine that the phantom of the opera is present. Carlotta stalks off stage taking Piangi, her lover and the opera’s principal tenor, with her. Mme. Giry picks up a note from the opera ghost and shares it with the new owners. He welcomes André and Firmin to his opera house and lays down some rules. Box Five must be left empty for his use and he expects his usual salary. Since Carlotta refuses to sing that evening, the show will have to be cancelled and tickets refunded. Mme. Giry suggests that Christine could sing the part. Out of desperation, they allow Christine to demonstrate her vocal skills by singing “Think of Me.” She is so impressive that the entire company returns to the stage to listen. Her audition segues into that evening’s performance where her debut is hugely triumphant. Raoul tentatively recognizes her as his childhood friend he called “Little Lotte.” After the performance, Meg finds Christine in a small chapel-like room. She scolds her for hiding, compliments her performance, and wants to know the name of her tutor. Christine confides that she periodically hears a voice and that she has a mysterious teacher that she has never seen. Before her father died, he promised she would be protected by an angel of music, so she assumes it is the spirit of her father. Christine and Meg sing “Angel of Music” about this unseen genius. When Christine returns to her dressing room, Mme. Giry assures her the phantom is pleased with her and hands her a single long stemmed red rose tied with a black ribbon (the Phantom’s calling card). After Mme. Giry exits, Raoul enters Christine’s dressing room reciting a poem about “Little Lotte.”6 Raoul compliments her singing and invites her to dinner. She declines because she is

240 afraid her angel of music would not approve, but Raoul refuses to accept her refusal and leaves to retrieve his carriage. Soon after Raoul leaves, Christine is confronted by her “angel”; he is angry about Raoul’s flirtation. She begs his forgiveness and asks him to reveal himself. The Phantom appears in her mirror and beckons her to join him. As Raoul calls her from beyond her locked door, Christine, seemingly hypnotized, takes the Phantom’s hand and disappears through the mirror. As “The Phantom of the Opera” plays on a pipe organ, the Phantom leads Christine through a series of underground tunnels. She sings about this person being the one she has dreamed about all these years. As they descend deeper into the surreal world underneath the opera house, the Phantom’s power over her grows stronger. They board a small boat in an underground lake that he poles towards his hideout. He has decided that she will live with him, will sing only for him and will be his inspiration. In his lair, he sings “Music of the Night,” in which he encourages her to abandon her former life and promises to teach her to sing as no one has ever sung before. During an instrumental interlude, when he shows her a mannequin of herself in a wedding gown, she faints. Meg enters Christine’s dressing room and notices the open mirror. She hesitantly enters the passageway, but doesn’t go far before her mother retrieves her. When they return backstage, Joseph Buquet,7 a stagehand, is frightening the ballerinas with horrible stories of the ghost of the opera house (“Magical Lasso”). Mme. Giry warns him to exercise restraint or she will see that he is fired. When Christine wakes the next morning, a monkey-topped music box is playing. In “Stranger Than You Dreamt It,” she tries to recall the previous evening. When she finds the Phantom seated at his organ composing, she tenderly strokes his face, and then jerks the mask off revealing his deformity. He becomes furious! He had hoped that she could think of him as a musician capable of producing extraordinary beauty, not as a gargoyle to be loathed. Feeling remorseful, Christine returns his mask and he returns her to her dressing room. Firmin and André enter the opera house singing about their good fortune. The newspapers have reported the mysterious happenings and the publicity has spurred ticket sales. In “Notes,” the Phantom sends a series of communiqués that detail his plans for the Opera Populaire. He warns Raoul to stay away from Christine; demands that she sing the lead role in the opera Il Muto with Carlotta cast as the pageboy, a non-

241 singing role; and reprimands Firmin and André for not running the theater according to his instructions. If his commands are ignored, he threatens disastrous consequences. In “Prima Donna,” Firmin and André lavish Carlotta with praise, but Raoul, Meg, and her mother warn of the Phantom’s reprisal if Carlotta sings the lead role. At the performance, during “Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh,” the Phantom interrupts and scolds Firmin and André for not following his orders. During this break in the action, Carlotta walks backstage to have her vocal cords sprayed. The Phantom had tampered with the spray, so when she attempts to sing, she makes croaking sounds. The audience roars with laughter, so the performance is forced to stop. The owners announce the opera will resume shortly with Christine in the lead role. In the interim, they order the ballet chorus to entertain the audience. Meanwhile in the catwalks, Buquet encounters the Phantom. Suddenly, the ballet’s performance is interrupted when Buquet’s lifeless body dangles from the rafters with a rope around his neck. During the ensuing confusion, Christine finds Raoul and takes him to the roof (“Why Have You Brought Me Here?”8). Raoul doesn’t believe the Phantom exists, but in “Raoul, I’ve Been There,”9 Christine tells him that she has been to his lair and has seen his deformed face. She seems to sense the Phantom’s presence; he is hiding behind a nearby column. In “All I Ask of You,” Raoul promises to love and protect her; Christine wants her nightmares to end and to be with Raoul for a lifetime. The young lovers make plans to meet after the performance. Of course, the Phantom heard their protestations of love. Left alone on the roof, he sings about feeling betrayed and his mood changes to rage. He is determined to make them pay.10 The Phantom hasn’t been heard from for several months and Christine and Raoul have become secretly engaged. Still fearing the Phantom, Christine hides her engagement ring on a chain around her neck. The film reverts to black and white as the elderly Raoul sees two young lovers admiring jewelry in the window of Swarkovski’s and recalls blissful times with Christine. When the lovers walk away, the film changes to color and the jewelry becomes fireworks bursting over the opera house signaling a masquerade ball on New Year’s Eve. Inside, “Masquerade,” a song about hiding our faces behind masks so the world will never know exactly who we are, is sung (this number includes some very creative and clever choreography). During the ball, the Phantom appears dressed as

The Phantom of the Opera the title character from “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. In “Why So Silent?,” he announces that he has written an opera, Don Juan Triumphant, that he expects them to perform. Then he approaches Christine, rips the chain and ring from around her neck, and shouts that she belongs to him. Raoul confronts the Phantom, but he disappears in a puff of smoke down a trap door. Raoul follows into what becomes a house of mirrors. Mme. Giry comes to his rescue. Raoul learns from Madame Giry that a young boy called “The Devil’s Child” was one of the attractions of a fair that visited the city many years earlier. As her story comes to life, a youthful Mme. Giry witnesses the boy kill his cruel keeper. She helps him escape and hides him in the bowels of the opera house. She contends that he is a genius— an architect, designer, composer and magician — but Raoul reminds her that his genius has become madness. Early one morning, Christine sneaks past Raoul, who is sleeping outside her room for protection, to rent a carriage to visit her father’s grave. The Phantom becomes her coachman. During the ride to the cemetery, Christine sings a short reprise of “The Phantom of the Opera.” Raoul wakes and hurries to catch up with her. When she reaches the cemetery, Christine sings “Wishing You Were Here Again.” She desperately misses her father, who was her dearest friend. As the Phantom sings “Wandering Child,”11 she falls under his spell again, but Raoul arrives just in time to warn her that he is not her father. During the ensuing sword fight, the Phantom falls and Raoul is about to run him through when Christine stops him. After they ride away, the Phantom declares war on both of them. Back at the theater, in “We Have All Been Blind,” Raoul, Firmin and André plot to entrap the Phantom when they perform his opera. In “Twisted Every Way,” Christine tells Raoul she is frightened the Phantom will take her away and never allow them to be together again, but she also doesn’t want the Phantom to be killed. In a reprisal of “Notes,” Raoul tries to reassure her. During Don Juan, when Piangi goes behind a curtain, the Phantom knocks him out and takes his place. As Christine makes her entrance, the Phantom sings “The Point of No Return.” After she sings, they ascend a stairway and sing a duet from a bridge over a fake fire pit. At the end of the song, the Phantom sings a short reprise of “All I Ask of You” into Christine’s ear. She plays along, but suddenly rips off his mask to reveal his grotesque face to everyone. When the Phantom sees the police running

The Pirate down the aisles, he cuts a rope that sends both of them down through the fake fire and the huge chandelier falls from the ceiling. Panic ensues as flames engulf the theater. When Carlotta finds Piangi, he has been hanged. The Phantom forces Christine to follow him “Down Once More” to his hell hole. Mme. Giry agrees to lead Raoul to the Phantom’s lair and a mob heads for the depths beneath the opera house (“Track Down This Murderer”). Meanwhile, the Phantom forces Christine to put on the wedding dress. Then he places the wedding veil and train on her head and a wedding ring in her hand as he sadly sings about his distorted face having denied him the joys of the flesh. She tells him his soul is more distorted than his face. When Raoul arrives, the Phantom lassos12 him and straps him to the gate that closes behind him. Then the Phantom offers Christine the chance to save Raoul with her love. If she refuses, he will kill her lover. Christine prays that God will give her the courage to show this madman that he is not alone in the world. She kisses him as Raoul looks on in horror. Her kiss is the first human affection the Phantom has ever experienced. Surprisingly, the Phantom releases the two lovers. As the mob converges on his lair, he listens to the music box as the monkey on top clangs its tiny cymbals. Quietly the Phantom sings a reprise of “Masquerade.” As he turns, Christine is standing in the doorway. She takes off the wedding ring, places it in his hand, and walks away. As she and Raoul leave in the boat, they sing a reprise of “All I Ask of You.” Since he has lost Christine, the Phantom’s dream is dead. When the mob enters the Phantom’s lair, he has vanished. Meg finds his mask next to the music box. The camera zooms in towards the music box as the film reverts to black and white, which then segues into the elderly Raoul being wheeled into a cemetery. With great difficulty, he places the music box on the headstone of the grave of his wife, Christine. As he starts to leave, he notices a long stemmed rose tied with a black ribbon with the ring attached. As the camera zooms in towards the rose, it becomes red. During the closing credits, Minnie Driver gets the opportunity to display her vocal talent as she sings “Learn to Be Lonely,” the only new song in the film. Sadly, critics weren’t impressed. Some complimented Gerard Butler’s Phantom and Emmy Rossum’s Christine, but weren’t impressed with Patrick Wilson’s Raoul, Miranda Richardson’s Mme. Giry, or Minnie Driver’s Carlotta. Some admitted their negativity was at least partially due to

242 their not liking the original stage production and what they termed Lloyd Webber’s “maddeningly repetitious” music. And some didn’t like the film simply because the original Phantom, Michael Crawford, wasn’t given the title role. The film version of Phantom of the Opera is superior to the original Broadway production in almost every way. I experienced the musical on Broadway and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I found the plot far easier to understand as presented in the film. Emmy Rossum is superlative as Christine (as one critic said, she was born to play the part), Patrick Wilson is outstanding as Raoul and Gerard Butler’s Phantom is much more menacing. Michael Crawford didn’t automatically deserve the Phantom role any more than Julie Andrews deserved to play Eliza Doolittle in the film version of My Fair Lady. The criticism of Lloyd Webber’s music is undeserved, in my opinion. So he used some melodies several times to different lyrics, so what? Fans of the musical will most likely love the film.

The Pirate M-G-M, June 11, 1948, 101 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Manuela), Gene Kelly (Serafin), Walter Slezak (Don Pedro Vargas), Gladys Cooper (Aunt Inez) Director: Vincente Minnelli Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Choreographers: Robert Alton and Gene Kelly Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

M-G-M’s The Pirate is based on the 1943 stage comedy by S. N. Behrman which starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, which was in turn based on a 1911 German play, Der Seerauber, by Ludwig Fulda. The song “Mack the Black” is sung by a chorus under the opening credits. The action begins with a young girl, Manuela, reading a book about Macoco, an infamous pirate of the Spanish Main. She dreams of being swept away by “Mack the Black.” Her daydream is short-circuited when her Aunt Inez informs her that a marriage has been arranged for her with Don Pedro Vargas, the rotund, elderly mayor of their town. The idea is completely repugnant to Manuela. A troupe of performers arrives at the Port San

243 Sebastian dock and Serafin, the troupe’s leader, introduces the members of his entourage. Serafin calls all beautiful girls “Nina.” When a merchant inquires why, he sings his answer (“Nina”) as he dances with several beautiful girls. After his vocal, he scales walls, leaps from balcony to balcony, and slides down a drainpipe. He performs a solo dance in bolero rhythm and ends the number in front of a large poster of Serafin, the Great. On a shopping trip for her wedding, Manuela is so excited to see the Caribbean that she runs away from her aunt. Serafin spots her and follows. Even though she spurns the attentions of “an actor,” he encourages her to attend his performance that evening. Unable to sleep, Manuela dresses and attends Serafin’s performance. When he sees her in the audience, he calls her on stage and hypnotizes her. Under hypnosis, she sings about her dream lover— a handsome pirate who will someday come to carry her away (“Mack the Black”). Serafin kisses her to awaken her from the trance. Indignant, Manuela runs back to her aunt and demands they return home immediately. While Manuela tries on her wedding gown in her bedroom, she hears a commotion. She is horrified to see Serafin and his troupe arriving in the city square. When he spots her, he walks a tightrope leading to her window and ardently pleads with her to cancel her marriage. Don Pedro arrives and threatens to flog Serafin, but the actor recognizes the mayor as Macoco (he had once encountered him on the high seas). Don Pedro pleads with him to keep his identity a secret; he is now a respectable citizen and about to marry a lovely young woman. Remembering Manuela’s enchantment with Macoco, Serafin proclaims himself the infamous pirate and escapes Don Pedro’s soldiers. Manuela fantasizes about her dream lover’s exploits in “The Pirate Ballet.” In this masculine, acrobatic ballet, Serafin swings through the rigging of his ship and performs a fire dance and a spear dance. Knowing that Don Pedro dare not object, Serafin takes possession of the Mayor’s house and announces that he will torch the town unless Manuela is brought to him. The people beg her to sacrifice herself for the welfare of the town. Feigning terror, she agrees and solemnly walks to the Mayor’s residence as the townspeople praise her. Later, one of Serafin’s troupe tells her that it was what she said under hypnosis that gave Serafin the idea to pretend to be the pirate. Furious, Manuela, continuing the charade, belittles Serafin’s acting abilities. Serafin, of course, defends his acting skills. Manuela then pummels him with objects until the room is in shambles. Once she knocks the poor

Poor Little Rich Girl actor to the floor, she cradles his head on her lap and confesses her true feelings in the song “You Can Do No Wrong.” Don Pedro arrives with the Viceroy1 and some soldiers to arrest Serafin as a jewel thief (Don Pedro has planted the evidence in the actor’s trunk). Manuela pleads for him, but Serafin is sentenced to hang. When she sees the evidence, she recognizes that a bracelet matches the ring Don Pedro had given her as an engagement ring. Serafin pleads for a farewell performance to prove that he is an actor not a thief. Over Don Pedro’s objections, the Viceroy approves, so Serafin and a pair of dancers2 perform “Be a Clown.” After his dance, Serafin tries to hypnotize Don Pedro, but Aunt Inez intervenes. Sensing what he is trying to do, Manuela pretends to be hypnotized and denounces Don Pedro as a miserly coward who is afraid to go to sea. When she proclaims her devotion to Macoco by singing “Love of My Life,” Don Pedro yells, “If you want to worship Macoco, worship me!” As he tries to shoot Serafin, members of the acting troupe and the militia capture and disarm him. Serafin announces a new star in his show — Manuela. As a finale, in clown makeup and costumes, they perform a lively reprise of “Be a Clown.” Several of the top M-G-M executives felt The Pirate was too different and too artistic for the fans of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. The film was hailed by the critics but movie audiences weren’t impressed. The Pirate is one of Cole Porter’s least successful musical scores, with only “Be a Clown” having considerable shelf life. Gene Kelly’s acrobatic dancing is one of the highlights of the film—particularly his dance of “Be a Clown” with the Nicholas Brothers. Judy Garland sings well and acts her part as one would expect from this show business legend, but she isn’t used to her best advantage in this film. With Kelly and Garland as its stars, Arthur Freed as producer, Vincente Minnelli as director, and Cole Porter as composer and lyricist, one would expect better.

Poor Little Rich Girl 20th Century–Fox, July 24, 1936, 72 minutes Principal Cast: Shirley Temple (Barbara/Betsy/Bonnie), Alice Faye ( Jerry Dolan), Jack Haley ( Jimmy Dolan), Michael Whalen (Richard Barry), Gloria Stuart (Margaret Allen)

Poor Little Rich Girl Director: Irving Cummings Screenwriters: Sam Hellman, Gladys Lehman and Harry Tugend; suggested by stories by Eleanor Gates and Ralph Spence Music: Harry Revel Lyrics: Mack Gordon Choreographers: Jack Haskell and Ralph Cooper Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD is not currently available

Shirley Temple’s film career began in 1932 at the age of four when she appeared in several short films. Her first major exposure came in 1934 in Stand Up and Cheer, Little Miss Marker, Baby, Take a Bow, Now and Forever, and Bright Eyes. She continued turning out one successful film after another in 1935 with The Little Colonel, Our Little Girl, Curly Top, and The Littlest Rebel. Her dances with Bill “Bo Jangles” Robinson in The Little Colonel and The Littlest Rebel are extraordinary. In 1936, in addition to Poor Little Rich Girl, she starred in Captain January, Dimples, and Stowaway. Poor Little Rich Girl opens at a mansion where Barbara Barry is eating alone. Her father, Richard Barry, a widower, is the owner of Barry Soap. Barbara is overprotected by her busy, doting father. Every time she sneezes, the hired help calls the doctor. Richard meets and is attracted to Margaret Allen, who works for his principal rival, the Peck Soap Company, but their first meeting doesn’t go well. Barbara sings “Oh, My Goodness,” which is her favorite expression, to her dolls. She sings specific lyrics for each doll’s nationality. The dolls come alive and dance. When Barbara listens to the Barry Soap radio show, a quartet sings the company’s theme song, “Buy a Bar of Barry’s.” Then Tony Martin, who never appears in the film again, sings “When I’m With You.”1 Barbara also sings the song; her lyrics are about wanting her executive father to stay home more often. She finally convinces her father that she should go to school so she will have somebody to play with and she won’t feel so lonely. As the governess escorts Barbara to school, she wanders away. When she tries to find her, the governess is hit by an automobile. Assuming the name of her favorite storybook character, the orphan Betsy Ware, Barbara follows an Italian organ grinder and his monkey home and enjoys the familial atmosphere there. Betsy next meets Jimmy and Jerry Dolan, a song and dance team. They believe her orphan story and quickly discover how talented she is, so they make her part of their act and change her name to Bonnie. The three Dolan’s sing “But Definitely” to au-

244 dition for the Peck Soap Company radio program and are offered a spot on the show. When Bonnie wanders into crotchety old Mr. Peck’s2 office, he tries to get rid of her, but her perky personality soon wins him over. One evening Margaret asks Richard to listen to the Peck radio program. A phone call interrupts his listening and he turns the radio off while Bonnie sings the Peck theme song (“Where There’s Life There’s Soap”). Later in the show, Jerry sings a reprise of “When I’m With You” and Jimmy and Jerry sing “You’ve Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby,” followed by Bonnie’s version (“No Spinach”). When Richard and Margaret meet for lunch, she tells him about the cute little girl named Bonnie on the Peck radio show. Richard tells Margaret his daughter is away at school. One evening when Margaret and Richard listen to the Peck program, Bonnie sings another reprise of “When I’m With You.” Richard immediately recognizes his daughter’s voice. He quickly telephones the school and learns his daughter never arrived. They rush to the radio station, but the Dolan’s have already departed. When the Dolan’s get word that Bonnie’s real father is looking for her, they prepare to skip town to avoid being arrested for kidnapping. But, they decide to telephone Richard before they leave. Once Barbara and her father are reconciled, she proposes a merger of the rival soap companies. The film’s finale, “A Military Man,” a song and tap dance routine,3 is performed by Barbara, Jimmy and Jerry for another radio show. The entire film’s musical content is more for entertainment value than any attempt to be plot sensitive. As film critic Frank S. Nugent said, the film had “a formless and generally ridiculous script.”4 For instance, surely Barbara’s father would have communicated with her or the school would have notified him when his daughter didn’t arrive. But for Shirley Temple fans it was entirely satisfying. Musically, “Oh, My Goodness,” “But Definitely,” and “You’ve Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby” are cute Shirley Temple–type songs. “When I’m With You” became a big hit recording for Hal Kemp and His Orchestra in 1936. “A Military Man,” however, serves no plot function and it seems incongruous since the nation was not currently involved in a war. Shirley married actor John Agar in the mid–Forties but they later divorced. She married television executive Charles Black in 1950. Later, she became very active in politics and served in the United Nations and as a U.S. ambassador.

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Porg y and Bess Columbia Pictures, June 24, 1959, 138 minutes Principal Cast: Sidney Poitier (Porgy), Dorothy Dandridge (Bess), Sammy Davis, Jr. (Sportin’ Life), Pearl Bailey (Maria), Brock Peters (Crown), Leslie Scott ( Jake), Diahann Carroll (Clara), Ruth Attaway (Serena) Director: Otto Preminger Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriter: N. Richard Nash Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: DuBose Heyward and/or Ira Gershwin Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Summertime” is the No. 52 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD is not currently available

George Gershwin’s final Broadway musical was his crowning theatrical achievement. The music, lyrics, and libretto of Porg y and Bess are far beyond the standard fare of the typical Broadway musical of the mid–Thirties. Porg y and Bess is now considered an American folk opera, but several of the songs are considered popular classics. George Gershwin had been considering a musical setting of DuBose Heyward’s novel Porg y since the mid–Twenties. Heyward and his wife, Dorothy, adapted the novel into a play that the Theatre Guild produced in 1927. A capsule musical version of it was included in the revue Blackbirds of 1928. In the early–Thirties, the Theatre Guild considered producing a version starring Al Jolson with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, however, Heyward preferred to wait for Gershwin. In late 1933, Gershwin finally started the project and completed the score in eleven months. In the film version, most of the major characters’ singing voices were dubbed. Sidney Poitier was dubbed by Robert McFerrin and Dorothy Dandridge by Adele Addison. Even though they were well known singers, Ruth Attaway and Diahann Carroll were dubbed because their voices were not considered cultured enough, but Sammy Davis, Jr., and Pearl Bailey were allowed to perform their own vocals even though their voices were not at all operatic. The story concerns the people of Catfish Row, on the waterfront in Charleston, South Carolina in 1912.

Porg y and Bess As the action begins Clara sings “Summertime”1 to her baby as she waits on the dock for her husband, Jake, to return from his day of fishing. As the sun fades, Sportin’ Life, the local drug and bootleg alcohol dealer, crawls out of a window (apparently after a tryst), Jake and several other men engage in a crap game (“The Crap Game”2), and Clara sings more of “Summertime” to her baby. When the baby fusses, Jake sings “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing,”3 which is his attempt at a lullaby. Peter,4 the honey salesman, returns home singing “Here Come de Honey Man.”5 He kisses his wife, who takes his day’s earnings so he won’t lose it in the crap game. Porgy, a cripple beggar, enters on his goat-drawn cart and joins the crap game. Porgy, who walks on his padded knees, sings about shooting craps. When the brutish Crown and his woman, Bess, enter, she slips Sportin’ Life some money to pay for the bootleg hooch Crown is drinking. Crown joins the crap game and soon accuses Porgy of cheating. Rather than fight, Porgy simply withdraws from the game and goes home. Shortly, Crown accuses another player, Robbins, of cheating. During their ensuing fight. Crown stabs Robbins, flees, and leaves Bess to fend for herself. She goes from door to door looking for a place to hide, but most of the residents refuse to take her in. Porgy, however, tells her she can stay with him as long as she wants. As mourners bring food for the wake to Robbins’ widow, Serena, they sing “Where Is Brudder Robbins? (Gone, Gone, Gone).”6 When Porgy and Bess come to pay their respects, the widow doesn’t want Bess there. Serena laments her loss by singing “My Man’s Gone Now.”7 A detective arrives and threatens to arrest Peter for Robbins’ murder. When Peter tells him Crown did it, the detective takes the honeyman away and locks him up as a material witness. The next morning, as the community’s fishermen prepare for work, they talk about their desperate need for money (“It Take a Long Pull to Get There”8). Their comments about money are overheard by Porgy who sings “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’,”9 in which he expresses his contentment with the simple things of life. As the community prepares for a picnic on Kittiwah Island, Sportin’ Life tries to lure Bess to run away with him to New York with the promise of plenty of dope. When Porgy returns, he tells Sportin’ Life to stay away from his woman. Later while Bess dries the dishes, Porgy sings “Bess, You Is My Woman Now.”10 Then Bess sings her version, “Porgy, I’s yo Woman Now.” As the women gather the food for the picnic,

Porg y and Bess Maria leads all the townspeople in singing “Oh, I Can’t Sit Down.”11 A marching band leads the crowd as they march towards the waterfront to catch the boat for the island picnic. Maria tells Bess she needs her to help fry the fish, but she doesn’t want to leave Porgy. After Porgy encourages her to go, Bess joins the fun. All the way to the boat and during the trip to the island, the celebrants continue singing. On the island, the community enjoys the picnic (“I Ain’t Got No Shame, Doin’ What I Like to Do”12). While a man is preaching about Adam, Sportin’ Life interrupts to present his cynical views of several Bibilical stories (“It Ain’t Necessarily So”13). Serena chastises him and his listeners. When they hear the boat whistle, they pack up to return home and sing a reprise of “I Ain’t Got No Shame....” As Bess heads for the boat, Crown drags her into the woods. When she tells him she’s living with Porgy now, he just laughs. She and Crown sing “Oh, What You Want Wid Bess?”14 He tells her she isn’t going anywhere and kisses her. At first she resists his advances, but eventually gives in. He puts her on his shoulder and takes her deeper into the woods. The next day as the fishermen are leaving, they sing “Oh, I’m A-goin’ Out to the Blackfish Banks.”15 Soon afterwards, Bess is heard moaning in Porgy’s hut. She is crying over and over “Take yo hands off me.” Porgy mops her brow as she hallucinates. Serena prays to remove Bess’ affliction (“Oh, Doctor Jesus”16), while Porgy prays right with her and interpolates encouraging comments. At the end of her prayer, Serena tells Porgy, “By five o’clock dat woman goin’ be well.” Next, the strawberry woman and the crab man peddle their products (“Street Vendor Cries”17). Precisely as Serena had predicted, Bess recovers from her delirium. After she warns Porgy that Crown is coming for her, she sings “I Loves You, Porgy,”18 in which she confesses that she can’t resist when Crown handles her, but she assures Porgy that she wants to stay with him if he can fend off Crown. Porgy promises to protect her. Clara is certain a hurricane is imminent, so she stands on the dock looking out to sea awaiting Jake’s return from fishing. Suddenly, the winds begin to increase dramatically, so everyone battens down the hatches and gathers in the safest house. Once they’re all safe, Clara sings a reprise of “Summertime” to her baby. When someone knocks at the door, the people believe it is death (“Oh, There’s Somebody Knocking at the Door”19). It is, however, Crown, who is looking for Bess. He sings about God intending to kill him in the storm

246 (“God and Me”20), while the townspeople pray for him to leave. Crown just goads them by singing “A Red-Headed Woman”21 about a woman who’s so inticing that she can make a train jump off its track. Clara hands her baby to Bess and runs out into the storm to find and save her husband. Crown brags that he is the only real man there (specifically aiming his comments at Porgy), so he will help Clara. When Clara never returns, not everyone is happy that Bess has Clara’s baby. Serena tells Bess the baby needs a Christian upbringing. The next morning, the storm has subsided, so the residents of Catfish Row emerge to assess the damage. Sportin’ Life tells Maria that Bess has two men — Crown and Porgy — and once they fight it out, he’ll pick up the left overs. While Bess is changing the baby’s diaper, she sings a reprise of “Summertime.” That night Crown sneaks around to find Bess so he can take her away. When Porgy hears something, he gets out of bed to check. As Porgy opens his shutters, Crown socks him in the face. A fight ensues in which Porgy kills Crown. When the detective questions Serena and Maria, they deny any knowledge of Crown’s murder. The Coroner needs someone to identify Crown’s body, so they pick Porgy. Sportin’ Life tells him that corpses bleed in the presence of their murderers. Sportin’ Life tells Bess that Porgy will be locked up for a long time. He gives her some cocaine and guarantees her there is plenty more if she will go with him to New York (“There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York”22). She throws Sportin’ Life out, but he’s confident she will change her mind. The next morning, the sounds of Catfish Row awakening make a rhythm that develops into the song “Good Mornin’, Sistuh! Good Mornin’, Brudder!”23 Porgy, who has become richer from playing craps with his cellmates, returns (“It’s Porgy Comin’ Home”24). When he sees Clara with the baby, he frantically looks for Bess (“Oh, Bess, Oh, Where’s My Bess?”25). When he is informed that Bess ran off with Sportin’ Life, Porgy calls for his goat cart and asks the way to New York. As he sets out to find his Bess, he confidently sings “Oh, Lawd, I’m on My Way.”26 As the film ends, Porgy waves goodbye to his friends and the entire community takes up Porgy’s song. Unfortunately, what should have become a film classic hasn’t materialized for a couple of reasons: from the moment the film premiered, the NAACP organized mass demonstrations against it and reportedly, the Gershwin estate was disappointed with the film. Therefore, this screen version appeared on U.S. network television only once, in

247 1967, and was pulled from circulation in 1974. The only DVD currently available of Porg y and Bess is of the 1993 Glyndebourne Opera production. Sidney Poitier was an excellent choice to play Porgy, but Robert McFerrin’s voice doesn’t fit his speaking voice. Dorothy Dandridge was a decent Bess, but her love for Porgy and her inability to resist Crown were not very believable. Sammy Davis, Jr., was a great Sportin’ Life; he was appropriately sly and bad. Musically, Porg y and Bess is a sumptuous feast. With “Summertime,” “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” “I Loves You, Porgy,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “Oh, Lawd, I’m on My Way,” there is one classic after another. After its initial Broadway run in 1935, Porg y and Bess returned in 1942 in a production that drastically cut the original score and many of the recitatives were turned into spoken dialog. It was revived again in 1952. Most of the music that had been cut previoiusly was restored. That production starred Leontyne Price as Bess, William Warfield as Porgy and Cab Calloway as Sportin’ Life. Another noteable revival came in 1976 when the Tony Award and Grammy Award winning Houston Grand Opera Company’s production came to Broadway.

Purple Rain Warner Bros., July 27, 1984, 111 minutes Principal Cast : Prince (The Kid), Apollonia Kotero (Apollonia), Morris Day (Morris), Olga Karlatos (Mother), Clarence Williams (Francis L.) Director: Albert Magnoli Producers: Robert Cavallo, Joseph Ruffalo and Steven Fargnoli Screenwriters: Albert Magnoli and William Blinn Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award winner: ❍ Best Music, Original Song Score Availability: DVD

Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1958 to John and Matti Nelson, who named him Prince Rogers Nelson after his father’s jazz band, Prince Rogers Trio. His father was a pianist and songwriter and his mother was a singer. Prince and his band, which became known as The Revolution,1 had a few chart singles between 1979 and 1983, but in 1984 with the release of Purple Rain, Prince rose from relative unknown to superstar status. The Purple Rain soundtrack album

Purple Rain sold thirteen million copies making it one of the best selling albums in history. Reportedly, Purple Rain contains some autobiographical elements of Prince’s life. The film opens with the Kid making a speech about our being here to get through life. After he states “there’s something else — the afterworld,” the background music intensifies. The audience at the First Avenue and 7th St. Bar is hyper by the time the Kid launches into “Let’s Go Crazy.”2 The song continues for the next eight minutes, as various scenes transpire. Morris Day enters his chauffeured 1970 Fleetwood Cadillac and is driven to the concert. The Kid rides his motorcycle with his guitar slung over his back to the concert venue. Apollonia jumps out of a cab without paying and runs. Later she pulls a stack of cash from her purse and takes a room in the sleezy Huntington Hotel. She quickly changes clothes and rushes to the bar where she tells the doorman that she has an appointment with the manager (he knows she’s lying). When he rushes away to check on a fight, she jams her foot into the door enough to sneak inside. As a waitress shows her to the manager’s office, Apollonia passes near the stage and is mesmerized by the Kid’s performance. After an excruciatingly lengthy instrumental, “Let’s Go Crazy” finally ends. The waitress gets Apollonia to fill out a contact card and tells her to come back the next day. Morris Day and The Time3 perform a funky tune called “Jungle Love.”4 As The Kid enters the club, he immediately notices Apollonia. After several uncomfortable moments of silence, she compliments his performance, but when she turns around, he has disappeared. The Kid lives with his parents where spousal abuse is a common occurrence. He pleads with his Dad to stop, but his father only turns his vengeance towards him. Jill, the waitress, hands the Kid a cassette of a song that two of his band members, Lisa and Wendy, had written. He doesn’t understand why they wouldn’t have given it to him themselves, but he reluctantly takes it. Morris tries to convince Billy,5 the club owner, to fire the Kid and replace him with a girls’ group that he will organize. At an old warehouse rehearsal hall, The Time plays “Sex Shooter”6 while a couple of girls try some dance steps. Later, Morris and Jerome,7 his friend and bodyguard, talk about replacing the two dancers with Apollonia. The Kid finds Apollonia looking through a shop window and takes her for a motorcycle ride into the country. As they ride down a narrow country road, “Take Me With U”8 plays. When they stop at a lake, Apollonia tells him that she had heard about

Purple Rain the club and came from New Orleans to try her luck. When she asks for his help, he tells her she couldn’t “pass the initiation” which includes purifying herself “in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.” After a few seconds, she strips to her panties and heads for the water. He tries to stop her, but she jumps in. When she comes gasping out of the frigid water, he tells her, “That ain’t Lake Minnetonka.” While she threatens him for pulling such a cruel joke, he simply rides away. Soon, however, he returns for her. Apparently not mad, she climbs on the bike and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Later that evening in the packed club, a technofunk group, the Modern Aires, performs their song, “Modernaire.”9 Meanwhile backstage the Kid and his band sit around waiting to go on. When Wendy asks about their song, the Kid says nothing. She and Lisa are very upset that he apparently didn’t even take the time to listen to the tape. Once everyone has left, the Kid picks up the cassette, puts it into his ghetto blaster and sits back to listen. Once he listens to a few notes, a stagehand announces he has five minutes, so he stops the tape. Out in the club, Jerome notifies Morris that Apollonia has arrived, so even though he is surrounded by babes, Day leaves them and moves in on Apollonia. As The Kid prepares to go on stage, he sees Morris making his move on Apollonia. The club’s M.C. announces The Revolution. From the moment the Kid begins to sing “The Beautiful Ones,”10 Apollonia’s eyes are glued on him. The lyrics seem to be directed specifically towards her. The band leaves after one song, which doesn’t make Billy very happy. When the Kid exits into the alley, Apollonia is waiting in the shadows. He doesn’t seem surprised to see her. She objects to going to her place, so they head for his house, where his drunken parents, who he calls “the freak show,” are making out in the living room. Once they enter the house through a window, their mutual desire quickly overrides any timidity. After taking Apollonia home the next morning, the Kid enters the club for a rehearsal, but only Wendy and Lisa are there (the others left when he was late). The Kid tells them that he will never perform their music. Morris promises to make Apollonia a star if she’ll join his girls’ group, but she tells him the Kid is going to help her. Morris assures her the Kid doesn’t help anybody but himself. Later that evening at his house, the Kid puts the girls’ tape on to listen, but his parents start arguing loudly. He tries to intervene, but just gets knocked

248 down. Once his father leaves, the Kid tries to console his mother.11 Later, Apollonia comes through the Kid’s window with the beautiful white guitar he had admired in a store window (she had hocked her gold chain to buy it). In exchange, he fastens one of his earrings (one of his mother’s earrings) to her ear. Everything is blissful until she tells him she’s going to join Morris’ group. After he slaps her against the wall, he apologizes and begs her to stay away from Morris. She accuses him of being jealous, climbs out the window and leaves. When the Kid arrives at the club the next day, Lisa and Wendy aren’t with the rest of the band. Billy threatens to axe the Revolution in favor of a hot new group that Morris organized called Apollonia 6. As the Kid rides his motorcycle, “When Doves Cry”12 is heard. Both violent and happy scenes — of him making love to Apollonia, slapping her, of them together by the lake, and of his parents fighting —flash through his mind. When he returns home he finds his mother sitting on the curb out front. As he rushes into the house, he hears a piano. Following the sound into the basement, he finds his father playing the piano (“Father’s Song”13). When the song ends, the Kid asks if his father wrote it. He confirms that he did and tells his son he has lots more. The Kid asks to see them if he has them written down, but his father claims they’re only in his head. When he asks if his father knows how his mother got beat up, he answers by advising him never to get married. At the club, the Kid performs “Computer Blue,”14 about his troubled love life and his apprehension about Apollonia’s relationship with Morris. During his performance, Morris and Apollonia arrive. She doesn’t want to be there, but Morris argues that they need the exposure before their opening the next night. When they enter, the Kid spots them and ends the song with an agonized scream. His next song, “Darling Nikki,”15 is sarcastically directed at Apollonia. She rushes out of the club, while the Kid stalks off the stage and furiously paces back and forth in his dressing room. Billy accuses him of being just like his father and tells him, “Your music makes sense to no one but yourself.” The next evening, when Apollonia 6 performs “Sex Shooter,” the audience roars their approval. Apollonia spies the Kid in the audience and touches her earring. After the performance, Morris and Apollonia drunkenly stagger down an alley. She kisses him on the cheek and congratulates him for being a genius. Just as Morris herds her into the back seat of his Caddy with sex on his mind, they hear a motor-

249 cycle. The Kid kicks Morris into a pile of garbage. Apollonia runs, but he catches her and demands she get on his bike. After a short ride, the Kid stops under some railroad tracks. Apollonia gets off the bike and tries to cover her sexy outfit with her coat, but the Kid uncovers her and kisses her passionately. When she pushes him away and pulls out Morris’ flask for a drink, he slaps the flask out of her hand. She pulls off his earring, throws it at him and walks away. When the Kid arrives home, the house is in shambles and a gun shot is heard. After the police arrive, his father is strapped to a gurney as his mother cries hysterically. In an eerie scene with no actual dialogue, the cops question the Kid and he contemplates suicide. He angrily smashes everything in the room and starts throwing the contents of a chest into the air, but stops suddenly when he realizes it is music — music his father had written many years earlier. He collapses against the chest with tears running down his cheeks. He awakes the next morning in the middle of the strewn music manuscripts and goes into the next room where he plays the tape of Lisa’s and Wendy’s song. After a few bars, he rewinds the tape and plays it again. Then he sits at the piano and expands their idea. The scene shifts to the Kid and The Revolution nervously waiting to go on. They are more nervous than usual because their job depends on their performance that evening. The M.C. introduces The Time. Lead by Morris, the group performs “The Bird,”16 which includes a funky dance. When the M.C. introduces The Revolution, there is polite applause, then uncomfortable silence. The Kid announces that their opening number is dedicated to his father — it is Lisa’s and Wendy’s song.17 Playing the white guitar that Apollonia had given him, the Kid sings “Purple Rain,”18 a plea for understanding, love and survival. The audience is mesmerized. As the crowd screams and applauds the Kid rushes for the exit. Out in the alley, he starts to unchain his bike, but as the adulation continues inside, he returns and finds Apollonia, who whispers something to him and they kiss. Back on stage, he performs “I Would Die 4 U.”19 During the song the Kid is seen visiting his father in the hospital and gently kissing both his parents. He also returns to the basement and neatly stacks the music manuscripts. When he finds his mother’s earring on the cellar floor, he picks it up and flips it towards the stairs where Apollonia catches it. Then he picks up his father’s music, smiles and walks to the stairs, where he kisses Apollonia. Back at the club, “I

Ray! Would Die 4 U” segues into “Baby, I’m a Star,”20 which is the film’s finale. Five songs from the soundtrack charted on Billboard: “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Purple Rain,” “I Would Die 4 U,” and “Take Me With U,” a duet with Apollonia. For the next decade after Purple Rain, Prince recorded and performed as Prince or Prince and The Revolution. However, when he released his twelfth album in 1993, which was titled an unpronounceable symbol, he became known as “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” or “The Artist.” Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Film critic Vincent Canby thought Prince was “a riveting spectacle” in the film’s performance sequences, but felt his off stage screen presence was “a pale reflection of the dynamic recording personality.”21 Although it may not be entirely true, the reason for Purple Rain seems to be the soundtrack album. I would guess that his fans would love it, while his detractors find numerous faults. There are no movie musicals from the Eighties among AFI’s top twentyfive and there are only six nominees from the decade. Purple Rain ranks near the bottom of those six in a decade that is not known for great musical films.

Ray! Anvil Films, October 29, 2004, 153 minutes Principal Cast: Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), Kerry Washington (Della Bea Antwine Robinson), Curtis Armstrong (Ahmet Ertegun), Regina King (Margie Hendricks) Director/Co-Producer: Taylor Hackford Producers: Howard Baldwin, Karen Elise Baldwin, Stuart Benjamin Screenwriter: James L. White; based on a story by Taylor Hackford and James L. White Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Vernel Bagneris Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Motion Picture of the Year ❍ *Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role ( Jamie Foxx) ❍ Best Achievement in Directing ❍ *Best Achievement in Sound Mixing ❍ Best Achievement in Costume Design ❍ Best Achievement in Editing Availability: DVD

Ray! is the biographical film about R&B and rock ’n’ roll legend Ray Charles. It focuses on approximately thirty years of his illustrious but troubled life.

Ray! During the opening credits, Ray plays the piano introduction of “What’d I Say.”1 Ray was born on a sharecropper plantation in North Florida. At the age of seven the boy lost his eyesight due to glaucoma. The film’s first dialogue is his fiercely independent mother, Aretha,2 reminding her young son3 that he promised her he would not allow anybody or anything to turn him into a cripple. The film skips to when Ray, as a young man, is waiting for a bus in rural North Florida. The bus driver doesn’t want the responsibility for a blind Negro traveling alone. When Ray fibs that he lost his eye sight during World War II, the driver changes his attitude and welcomes him aboard—to sit in the rear of the bus. As the bus travels down the road, country superstar Eddy Arnold’s recording of “Anytime”4 is heard. A member of the country-western group, The Florida Boys, recommends Ray as a “mean jazz pianist” to Billy, the group’s leader. When Billy tells Ray his band doesn’t play boogie-woogie, Ray counters that he loves country music. He shuffles over to the piano and plays a soulful rendition of “Anytime.” The band members join in one by one. Billy removes his girl singer’s sunglasses and puts them on Ray. In Seattle, Ray meets trumpeter Quincy Jones5 outside a jazz club, but the doorman won’t allow the under-aged Quincy to enter. During Talent Night, Marlene Andres,6 the club’s owner, gives ’Bama, as she calls Ray, a chance to show his talents. The club’s hip announcer, Oberon,7 gives Ray a drag off his marijuana cigarette to calm his nerves. Marlene likes what she hears when Ray plays and sings Nat “King” Cole’s version of “Route 66,”8 so she convinces Gossie McKee,9 a guitarist, to form a jazz trio that she’ll manage. Marlene also wants ’Bama to bunk at her place where Ray stays exhausted, and eventually repulsed, by her sexual appetite. Later, the new McSon Trio performs Nat “King” Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right”10 at the Rocking Chair. They are very successful and their engagement is extended. Jack Lauderdale from Swing Time Records introduces himself and compliments Ray. While Marlene talks recording contract with Lauderdale, Oberon explains to Ray that Marlene and Gossie are taking 35 percent right off the top, plus Gossie gets double scale as leader. When Ray hears this, he determines to go out on his on, so Oberon slips him Lauderdale’s card. He gives Ray a $500 advance and hooks him up to tour with Lowell Fulson11 at three times what Marlene was paying him. Lauderdale also decides that Ray needs a more distinc-

250 tive name. He recommends Ray use his middle name, Charles, as his last name. On the Chitlin’ Circuit, Lowell Fulson plays his guitar and sings “Rock This House.”12 Later that evening when some of the other band members pick up some girls, the blind piano player gets left behind. At the next stop, Fulson sings “Everyday I Have the Blues.”13 While the music continues, a montage shows the band traveling from venue to venue. During one stop, Ray talks one of the other band members into shooting him up with some drugs — the start of his serious drug habit. During a flashback to his childhood, Ray’s little brother, George, falls into his mother’s wash tub and drowns while Ray just stands there — he didn’t try to help or call for his mother. At George’s funeral, the country church congregation sings “We Will Walk Through the Streets of the City.”14 When Ray experiences fuzzy vision, Aretha explains to her son that he’s going blind and there’s nothing the doctors can do to help. She exhibits a lot of tough love in helping Ray learn to deal with his condition —“you goin’ blind, but you ain’t stupid.” During Ray’s first session at Swing Time Records, he records “Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand.”15 When Ray performs the song at a lounge, Lowell jealously predicts Ray’s record won’t hit the charts. As the song continues, Ray begins to experience success with women. In the early Fifties, Ray quits the Fulson band and heads for Harlem. Ahmet Ertegun comes to Ray’s room to tell him that Atlantic Records has acquired his contract from Swing Time. At Ray’s first Atlantic recording session, he sings “Roll with My Baby,”16 but the recording engineer thinks he sounds too much like Nat “King” Cole. When he sings “The Midnight Hour,”17 they think he sounds like Charles Brown, so Ahmet talks to him about finding his own sound. Ahmet encourages him to try a change of pace — a song he wrote called “Mess Around.”18 After a little experimentation and Ahmet’s less-than-stellar demonstration, Ray takes over. They record the song and everybody is tremendously pleased with the result. After the session, Ray is introduced to Ahmet’s new partner, Jerry Wexler.19 In a radio interview in Houston, the DJ asks Ray who he listens to when he isn’t making his own music. Ray responds that he really loves gospel and admires a local group called the Cecil Shaw Singers. Almost immediately Della Antwine from that gospel group telephones the station to talk with Ray. Later when they have lunch together, Della tells Ray that his recordings sound like other singers. Ray explains that because of his acute hearing he can mimic almost any other singer and he

251 makes a pretty decent living doing it, so he’s afraid people might not like it if he changed his style. Ray leaves for New York to convince Ertegun and Wexler to let him tour with his own band. They finally agree that Ray will form a band to be Ruth Brown’s backup group for a tour in Georgia and he will be her opening act. When Ray returns to Houston to see Della, he asks her to always tell him the truth and to never feel sorry for him because he’s blind. When he sings “I Got a Woman”20 for her, she thinks it sounds like a gospel song. He argues that he’s been performing gospel and blues his whole life, so if he’s going to be the real Ray he must express his feelings for her in the music he knows best. Jerry and Ahmet visit Ray at the Royal Peacock in Atlanta to break the news that they’re canceling the tour because Ruth Brown is pregnant. He, however, has already put a band together: Ray on piano and vocals, two trumpets, two saxophones, a bass player and a drummer — only seven guys, but what a sound! When Ray and his band perform “I Got a Woman,” the partners agree they need to record this song immediately and are confident that Ray’s combination of R&B and gospel is the next big thing. Ray makes a quick trip to Texas to marry Della (he calls her Bea). Shortly after the ceremony, Ray is shown hiding his drug habit from his new bride. At the Ebony Lounge, Ray sings “Hallelujah, I Love Her So.”21 During the song, a man and his wife loudly accuse Ray of turning God’s music into the devil’s music. When the ruckus calms down, Ray tells his manager, Jeff Brown,22 to find a girl singer “with church-training that can sing but without the church attitude.” When Bea discovers Ray’s drug paraphernalia in his shaving kit, he unsuccessfully tries to convince her that he would stop using drugs if it jeopardized his music, her or their baby that is on the way. During Ray’s audition for a female singer, Mary Ann Fisher23 sings “Drown in My Own Tears.”24 Ray demonstrates how he wants her to sing with a mixture of R&B and black gospel. Before his little demo is over, Mary Ann is sitting next to him on the piano bench and they kiss. In the following scene, Ray injects himself with drugs in his hotel room while Mary Ann is in bed with him. During the song “Mary Ann,”25 the film audience witnesses scenes of Ray’s duplicitous life — his life on the road with Mary Ann and his life at home with Bea and Ray Junior. In 1956 Ray returns to New York City and sets up a recording session with his band with three women backup singers (“Leave My Woman Alone”26). Ray invites the girls to tour with him

Ray! and names them the Raelettes. One of the new girls, Margie, sets her sights on Ray. While Ray plays Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano, Mary Ann fumes about his hiring of the Raelettes. To calm her down, Ray writes her a solo, “What Kind of Man Are You?”27 However, when Mary Ann sees Ray and Margie going into his hotel room together late one night, she packs and leaves. During a 1958 recording session for “Night Time Is the Right Time,”28 Margie supplies some impassioned vocal licks to the recording. During that session, one of the recording engineers recognizes Ray’s “junkie itch,” but the bosses aren’t willing to confront Ray and risk jeopardizing their gold mine. During a club date, the owner demands that Ray play for twenty more minutes as his contract stipulates. So, Ray literally improvises a new song, “What’d I Say?”29 When the song is recorded it is too long to fit on a 45 rpm record, so they decide to split it up — Side A and B. During this session, Ahmet, who is deeply worried about his friend, finally approaches Ray about his drug habit. Ray’s “What’d I Say?” zooms up the pop charts. At a recording session for “I Believe to My Soul,”30 Margie is drinking heavily, so Ray throws all the girls out of the session and records all the girls’ parts himself. Milt Shaw negotiates a deal with ABC-Paramount where Ray would get a large advance every year, could be his own record producer, and get a larger percentage of sales. Before he signs, Ray tells Sam Clark,31 the CEO of the record company, he will not sign unless he owns his masters, something no record company had ever allowed. Clark finally agrees and Atlantic refuses to match the ABC deal. At his first ABC-Paramount session, Ray records “Georgia on My Mind”32 with a full orchestra and a choir. Although Margie objects to this new sound Jeff assures her that it was Ray’s idea—a new sound to appeal to a broader audience. Once the record is released some critics complain that Ray has sold out and gone middle-of-the-road. Margie is pregnant with Ray’s child and refuses to get an abortion and Ray refuses to leave his family. She furiously tells him that between his drugs, his music and her, he has already left. With great fervor, they sing a duet of “Hit the Road Jack.” Their performance fades into a live concert where Ray sings the song with the Raelettes with a few impassioned solo lines by Margie. When “Hit the Road Jack”33 becomes a hit, Margie leaves to pursue a solo career. During a drug induced stupor, Ray flashes back to his childhood to the time when he leaves home to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm At Ray’s Augusta, Georgia engagement, several people protest segregation. A young AfricanAmerican male convinces Ray that it isn’t right that the dance floor is for whites only while the Negroes are restricted to the balcony, so Ray orders the band back onto the bus. He also tells Milt Shaw that he will never play another “Jim Crow” joint. While Ray sings “Unchain My Heart,”34 magazine and newspaper headlines about his choice to avoid segregated performance venues are splashed across the screen. The same song continues into a live performance in Indianapolis before a huge racially integrated audience. During Ray’s stay there, the Indianapolis police arrest him for possession of heroin. As the police allow several reporters to question Ray and photographers to photograph him, “You Don’t Know Me”35 is heard. Ray wanted Bea and their two children out of the South, so he moves them to Los Angeles. As “You Don’t Know Me” continues, Clark telephones Ray at his California home that ABC-Paramount got the possession case dropped. Bea is certain they bought off the cops. Ray proposes a country album, but Sam Clark strenuously objects. However, according to Ray’s contract he can choose his own music to record. At a concert in St. Louis in 1962, Ray reminds the audience he was brought up in the South and grew up singing the songs he heard on the Grand Ole Opry. At first, the crowd is rather rowdy, but as Ray sings “I Can’t Stop Loving You”36 they calm down and are mesmerized by his soulful rendition of this country classic. As Ray tours the U.S. and several countries abroad, Ray’s album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music,37 soars up the charts. During this touring montage, Ray’s version of the Everly Brothers’ classic “Bye Bye Love”38 is heard. Ray moves Bea and the children into a huge mansion in L.A. and he moves into his own recording studio. Ray’s old manager, Jeff, feels left out and ignored because Joe Adams,39 who began as Ray’s announcer, has taken over the managing duties. Ray also accuses Jeff of stealing, so he quits. During this sequence, Ray sings “Born to Lose.”40 As the song continues, Ray gets a phone call that Margie died from an overdose. At a concert in Montreal in 1965, Ray sings “Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I).”41 When he reenters the country, customs officials arrest him for drug smuggling. Since it’s a federal case, ABC can’t intervene. Bea accuses him of loving drugs more than he loves her, the boys, and all the women he ever slept with on the road. Ray goes into St. Francis Rehabilitation Clinic to

252 kick his heroin addiction. During his rehab, he hallucinates about George’s death. George reassures him that his death wasn’t Ray’s fault. Ray also tells his mother that he kept his promise, but she accuses him of becoming a cripple to drugs. Aretha asks him to promise that he’ll “never let nobody or nothing turn you into no cripple ever again.” The film then tells the audience that for the next forty years, Ray continued recording, won Grammy awards, and sold out concerts, but one of his proudest moments came in 1979 when the Georgia state legislature apologized for banning him from performing in Georgia twenty years earlier when he refused to play before that segregated audience. They also adopted “Georgia on My Mind” as the official state song. As Ray sings “Georgia on My Mind,” a statement appears on the screen that tells the audience that Ray never touched heroin again. And, remembering his roots, he contributed over $20 million to African-American Colleges and charities for the blind and deaf. The song continues as the audience sees stills and video footage of the real Ray Charles and is told that Ray died before the film premiered. Several other songs are heard as incidental background music.42 The film became a box-office hit, earning $75.3 million in the U.S., with a world wide gross of $125 million. Ray! is a convincing portrait of an artist mainly because it allows the music to tell the story. Jamie Foxx’s performance is masterful. He mastered Charles’ walk, his smile, the tilt of his head and his speaking style. Foxx certainly deserved his Academy Award (see Awards and Honors above); he channeled Ray Charles.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 20th Century–Fox, March 18, 1938, 80 minutes Principal Cast : Shirley Temple (Rebecca Winstead), Randolph Scott (Anthony “Tony” Kent), Jack Haley (Orville Smithers), Gloria Stuart (Gwen Warren), Helen Westley (Aunt Miranda Wilkins), Bill Robinson (Aloysius), Slim Summerville (Homer Busby), William Demarest (Henry Kipper), Phyllis Brooks (Lola Lee) Director: Allan Dwan Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck Screenwriters: Karl Tunberg and Don Ettlinger Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Nick Castle

253 Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Kate Douglas Wiggins’ novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm had previously been filmed in 1917 starring Mary Pickford and 1932 starring Marion Nixon. Shirley Temple’s 1938 version is a completely rewritten version and bares little resemblance to the original book. The film opens during an all-girl orchestra radio broadcast with an unidentified female singing “Happy Endings.”1 Several little girls and their pushy parents or guardians storm the radio station and hound Orville Smithers to audition their little darlings to be “Little Miss America.” When Florabelle2 auditions with “You’ve Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby,”3 she can’t remember the words. Henry Kipper’s stepdaughter, Rebecca, sings “Old Straw Hat”4 for her audition. Listening in another room, Tony Kent and the station owner like Rebecca’s audition, but Smithers misunderstands and sends Rebecca away. Kent orders him to find the little girl while he goes to the country for a few days. Henry and Rebecca are locked out of their apartment by the landlady, so he takes her to live with her Aunt Miranda at Sunnybrook Farm. Rebecca’s older cousin, Gwen, quickly tries to make her feel at home. Aunt Miranda is an old fussbudget who doesn’t care for Henry. When a piglet runs away, Rebecca chases it and trips over a man who is stretched out on the ground in the yard next door — it is Tony Kent. He and Rebecca soon become friends. Later, Aunt Miranda’s hired hand, Aloysius, and Rebecca sing and dance to “Old Straw Hat” while picking berries. The next day, while Rebecca is next door visiting Tony, her cousin, Gwen, comes looking for her. Tony is immediately interested in Gwen. Smithers arrives at Tony’s farm to report that he can’t find the girl, but he recognizes her voice when he hears Rebecca singing “Old Straw Hat.” Gwen tells them Aunt Miranda won’t like Rebecca singing on the radio, but will try to convince her. To avoid getting Aunt Miranda’s permission to travel to the radio studio, they decide to do a remote broadcast from Tony’s farm house. Lola, Tony’s unpleasant girlfriend, arrives for the broadcast. Smithers is completely smitten with Lola, but she ignores him. Smithers and Lola rehearse “Alone With You”5 for the broadcast, which suddenly becomes the real thing. Rebecca is running late for the broadcast, so Homer Busby, Tony’s farmhand, takes a ladder to Aunt Miranda’s house to help Rebecca escape. When Rebecca climbs down the lad-

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm der, it falls, which forces Homer to wait in Rebecca’s room. For the broadcast, Rebecca, backed by a girls’ chorus, sings “Come and Get Your Happiness.”6 When Aunt Miranda hears the broadcast, she recognizes Rebecca’s voice and rushes upstairs where Rebecca is supposed to be in bed. She finds Homer (she and Homer had once been romantically involved, but Miranda has despised him for years) and they reconcile. Rebecca’s aunt also gives her blessings to her niece’s radio career. Rebecca’s step-father also hears the broadcast and wants his share of her earnings. He and his new wife, Melba, head for the farm to retrieve Rebecca. Later in the broadcast, Rebecca sits at the piano (as if she’s playing) and sings a medley of Shirley Temple songs, including “On the Good Ship Lollipop”7 from Bright Eyes, “Animal Crackers in My Soup”8 from Curly Top, “When I’m With You” and “Oh, My Goodness,” both from Poor Little Rich Girl and “Goodnight, My Love”9 from Stowaway (changed to “Goodnight, My Friends” as if it were her radio sign-off number). Henry, Melba and a lawyer arrive to claim Rebecca. Since Henry is her legal guardian, there’s not much anyone can do to stop him from taking her. Henry makes a deal with another radio show where Rebecca is billed as “Little Miss Universe.” When she is supposed to sing “Old Straw Hat,” she pretends to have laryngitis. When the station brings in a doctor to examine her, he declares her too ill to perform (later Rebecca thanks the doctor for helping her). The station voids her contract. Tony offers Henry $5,000 to turn over Rebecca’s guardianship to Aunt Miranda, which, of course, he greedily accepts. The film’s finale is a toy soldier routine starring Rebecca and Aloysius.10 To the tune “Toy Trumpet”11 played by the Raymond Scott Quintet, the audience witnesses a tap routine for radio. Another song from the film was “Crackly Grain Flakes,”12 a jingle sung by a quartet during a rehearsal for the radio remote. The best part of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is Shirley’s finale dance with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson although it has nothing to do with the film’s plot (other similarly excellent dance routines featuring these two are from The Little Colonel and The Littlest Rebel, both from 1935). Shirley’s medley of songs from previous films was also entertaining. Shirley continued her film career through the end of the Forties. In addition to Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (and Poor Little Rich Girl, which is also in this book), some of her more famous films include Wee Willie Winkie and Heidi in 1937, Little Miss Broadway, and Just around the Corner in 1938,

Romance on the High Seas The Little Princess and Susannah of the Mounties in 1939, Miss Annie Rooney in 1942, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer in 1947 and Mr. Belvedere Goes to College in 1949.

Romance on the High Seas Warner Bros., July 3, 1948, 99 minutes Principal Cast: Doris Day (Georgia Garrett), Jack Carson (Peter Virgil), Janis Paige (Elvira Kent), Don DeFore (Michael Kent), Oscar Levant (Oscar Farrar), S. Z. Sakall (Uncle Lazlo) Director: Michael Curtiz Producer: Alex Gottlieb Screenwriters: Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein; based on a story by S. Pondal Rios and Carlos A. Olivari Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Sammy Cahn Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“It’s Magic”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“It’s Magic”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

As Warner Bros. began to make plans for a movie musical titled Romance on the High Seas, they tried to borrow Judy Garland from M-G-M for the part of Georgia Garrett. When that didn’t materialize, they acquired Betty Hutton from Paramount, but Miss Hutton became pregnant before filming commenced. After hearing a twenty-three-yearold former big band singer, Doris Day, at a Hollywood party, the film’s songwriters, Jules Styne and Sammy Cahn, urged the director Michael Curtiz to audition her. Of course, she landed the role. Romance on the High Seas opens at a high society wedding. Both the bride, Elvira, and groom, Michael Kent, are suspicious of the other’s wandering eye. For a couple of years after their marriage, Mrs. Kent books trips for their anniversary only to have Mr. Kent cancel them for business connected to the Miracle Drug Co, which he and Uncle Lazlo run. For their third anniversary, Elvira books a cruise to South America. At the travel agency, she meets Georgia Garrett, a talented young singer, who comes to the travel agency to dream of trips she can’t afford. When Michael cancels once again, Elvira thinks it’s because of the lovely young secretary he had recently hired, so she concocts a plan. She and Uncle Lazlo go to the Club Casa to see Georgia Garrett, who performs “I’m in Love.”1 After the perform-

254 ance, Elvira invites Miss Garrett to their table where she proposes that Georgia impersonate her on an all expenses paid cruise to South America, so she can stay in New York City to spy on her husband. Georgia quickly agrees. Michael also has suspicions about his wife’s philandering, so he hires a private investigator, Peter Virgil, to monitor his wife’s activities during her South American cruise. Peter and the new Mrs. Kent meet aboard ship on the first night of the cruise. Since they are too late for the dining room, they eat in the cocktail lounge where the Page Cavanaugh Trio is playing. Mrs. Kent joins the trio to sing the beautiful love song, “It’s You or No One.” When the ship arrives in Cuba, a native2 sings “The Tourist Trade” as the passengers disembark. Peter calls Mr. Kent and Georgia calls Mrs. Kent to report in. When Georgia and Peter bump into each other coming out of the phone booths, she tells him she just talked with her husband. He thinks that’s rather bizarre, since he was on the telephone with her husband. They go to a local club where a local musical group sings “It’s Magic” in Spanish.3 Georgia purchases a copy of the lyrics from the singer and sings the English version. Oscar Farrar, Georgia’s wannabe boyfriend, follows her and boards the ship. To avoid him, Georgia pretends to be indisposed and stays in her cabin. When Peter sees Oscar enter Mrs. Kent’s cabin, he cables Mr. Kent that a potential problem has appeared. The next day, Elvira tries to patch things up with Peter, but he is now suspicious of her. Elvira goes into the cocktail lounge where she sings “Put ’em in a Box, Tie It With a Ribbon” with the Page Cavanaugh Trio. This cute song is basically an anti-romance song; the singer wants to take all things romantic and toss them in the ocean, a very appropriate song for her strained relationship with Peter. Later that evening, Elvira sings a reprise of “It’s You or No One,” her sentiments concerning Peter, as she stands on deck wistfully looking out at the ocean. When the ship lands in Trinidad, both Oscar and Peter want Elvira to meet them at the Café Flambio. While Peter waits in the patio, he and a native musician4 sing a calypso-type number, “Run, Run, Run.” Elvira sends messages to Oscar and Peter that she can’t meet them. They become drinking buddies (a drunk steals their drinks, but they still get plastered — go figure). They decide to give up on their respective girl friends, not knowing, of course, that she is the same girl, and fly back to New York. However, they get on the wrong flight and end up in Rio de Janeiro, the ship’s next destination.

255 When Peter and Elvira reunite in Rio, they kiss and makeup. Meanwhile, back in New York, nothing is happening between Michael and his secretary, so the real Mrs. Kent and Uncle Lazlo fly to Rio to enjoy part of the cruise. The Rio hotel’s orchestra director needs an attraction to pull in customers. When he hears Elvira singing a reprise of “It’s Magic” to Peter on the beach, Oscar convinces the orchestra leader that a singing New York society lady would be an excellent attraction. The orchestra director offers her the golden opportunity to sing with his orchestra for a great deal of money, but she must appear as “Mrs. Elvira Kent.” The next part of the film is a mistaken identity fiasco. Not only are both Mrs. Kents at the Rio hotel, but also Mr. Kent, who has flown down to find out for himself what is going on. When Mr. Kent sees a sign in the hotel lobby advertising his wife’s performance, he is suspicious because his wife can’t sing.5 In the end, all the false identities are revealed. Michael and Elvira Kent discover they are actually faithful to each other and Georgia is finally free to be herself. She sings a third reprisal of “It’s Magic” with the hotel’s orchestra. As the film ends, Mr. and Mrs. Kent and Peter and Georgia are loving couples. Doris Day’s screen debut in this scatterbrained comedy of errors was definitely successful; she did not perform like a novice. Film audiences immediately took her to their hearts and fell in love with her singing. As for her acting, her ability to make audiences believe she was attracted to Jack Carson was a stellar bit of acting. Miss Day, of course, became one of the top female box-office attractions in both musicals and non-musicals in thirty-nine film roles over the next twenty years. According to Quigley Publishing’s poll of “All-Time Number One Stars,”6 which registers the number of years a star was the No. 1 star at the box-office, Miss Day is tied at No. 6 with John Wayne (Shirley Temple is the only other female on the Top 10 list). Musically, the film’s highlights are “It’s Magic,” “It’s You or No One,” and “Put ’em in a Box, Tie It With a Ribbon.” “I’m in Love” is catchy, but is far too simplistic while “The Tourist Trade” and “Run, Run, Run” are merely tolerable.

Royal Wedding M-G-M, February 14, 1951, 93 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Tom Bowen), Jane Powell (Ellen Bowen), Peter Lawford (Lord John Brindale),

Royal Wedding Sarah Churchill (Anne Ashmond), Keenan Wynn (Irving and Edgar Klinger) Director: Stanley Donen Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter/Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner Music: Burton Lane Choreographer: Nick Castle Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Too Late Now”) Availability: DVD

In 1928 Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele, starred in the musical Funny Face. After it closed in New York City, the show transferred to London, where it was also a great success. While they were there, Adele met and subsequently married, Lord Charles Cavendish, ending her stage career. In Royal Wedding, Fred Astaire’s sister, Jane Powell, also marries a British Lord. In 1947, England’s Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. This royal wedding prompted producer Arthur Freed to become interested in a movie musical with a London background. Alan Jay Lerner’s screenplay revolves around the royal wedding; at the end, the film’s four principal characters get married on the same day as Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Royal Wedding opens with Tom and Ellen Bowen, a brother and sister song-and-dance act, performing in the musical revue Ev’ry Night at Seven. The title song of the revue is set in a throne room where a bored king, played by Tom, flirts with a coquettish chambermaid, played by Ellen. After the show, they get a message from their agent, Irving Klinger, to meet him at McGuffey’s bar, where he tells them his brother Edgar has arranged for their show to open in England during the time of the royal wedding. Ellen has a guy in every port—or more precisely, one or more men everywhere she looks. As they board the ship for England, a fellow named Billy kisses her goodbye (later as the ship sails, Billy fights a couple of Ellen’s other beaus). At the same time, Lord John Brindale bids a girl or two adieu. Lord Brindale quickly introduces himself to Ellen. He recognizes her from having seen her show and compliments her as the most attractive woman on the ship. They share a laugh about their romantic goodbyes at the dock. Tom happily agrees when the ship’s captain asks if he and his sister would perform for a benefit show for seamen during the crossing. He goes to the gymnasium to warm-up and experiment with some new dance steps. He dances to the ticks of a metronome, but that soon becomes the tune, “Sunday Jumps.”1 Tom uses many of the props available

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in the gym, including a clothestree, exercise pulleys, the parallel bars, the pummel horse, a punching bag, and dumbbells. On a stormy night in the Atlantic, Ellen entertains the passengers by singing “Open Your Eyes,” followed by a duet dance with her brother. During their routine, the ship pitches so badly that Tom and Ellen slip and slide all over the dance floor.2 In London, Edgar, Irving’s twin, welcomes Tom and Ellen. John telephones to invite Ellen to accompany him to his family’s old country home. Auditions are scheduled for the day, but Ellen begs Tom to attend without her. On the way to the theater, Tom notices an attractive woman while he is looking in a shop window. As they continue towards the theater, she accuses him of following her. When she enters the stage entrance of the theater, Tom goes in the front. He asks that this girl be auditioned first. After she dances a while, he joins her on stage and they dance together. By the end of her audition, they have agreed on a date. After Tom’s dinner date with the girl, Anne Ashmond, he accompanies her to visit her father, Jamie,3 who owns a pub. As they walk in the fog, he learns that she has a long distance romance with a man she hasn’t seen in two years. The next morning, John arrives to watch a prewedding parade with Ellen, but they are so enamored with each other they ignore the parade. Tom allows Ellen to rehearse “The Happiest Day of My Life” in their hotel room. As Tom accompanies her on the piano, she sings the song to John. On the show’s opening night, Tom and Ellen perform “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life.” They are two gum-chewing young Brooklynites dressed in loudly colored outfits trading insults on a street corner. After they sing the clever lyrics, they perform a rowdy dance routine together. Later after the show as Ellen and John walk together, he tells her he’s afraid he will lose her to someone else someday. She replies with the song “Too Late Now.” Without a date for the after-opening party, Tom wanders aimlessly until he removes Anne’s photograph from a display case in front of the theater. He returns to his hotel room, props her photo on a table against a lamp, and sings “You’re All the World to Me.” The song isn’t remembered for its lyrics so much as for the dance in which Tom dances on the walls and ceiling of this room. When Edgar arrives with the newspaper reviews of the show the next morning, Tom asks him to dig up some information about Anne’s longdistance beau, who works at a department store in

256 Chicago. Later, when Tom reveals to Anne that the guy is married, she seems relieved. At the next show, Tom performs a big production number titled “I Left My Hat in Haiti.” Tom leads the populace, including Ellen, in a happy dance as he pursues his hat. At the end, he finds the hat in the hands of a monkey. Ellen and Tom are both conflicted about their respective lovers. They want to marry, but that would mean breaking up their act. They finally decide that the act is more important, so neither will marry. On the day of the royal wedding, some children sing “What a Lovely Day for a Wedding.” The song is taken up by Edgar and various other Londoners. When Edgar arrives to escort Tom and Ellen to the wedding parade, they are all “sixes and sevens”— a state of total confusion. Anne is viewing the parade with her mother and father, who have reconciled. Tom and Ellen attempt to look cheerful as they watch the parade (the parade sequences are color newsreel footage of the actual event). When the wedding is over and the parade starts its return trip, Tom and Ellen decide they want to marry — TODAY! Both of them rush to find their intended in the crowd. The film ends with a double wedding. As the two couples kiss, the orchestra plays “Too Late Now.” June Allyson was originally cast as Ellen Bowen, but a little over a week into shooting announced she was pregnant. Then, Judy Garland was signed, but after missing several rehearsals, she was ditched. At that point Jane Powell was offered the role. Even though she wasn’t known as a dancer, she handled the choreography very well, and, even though her singing voice is rather operatic, was suitably nonoperatic in her performance of “How Could You Believe Me....” As film critic Bosley Crowther wrote, “Mr. Astaire and Miss Powell are at their cutest in a ragtag-and-bar-rel-house affair called ‘How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life.’”4 Astaire’s dance routines for “Sunday Jumps” and “You’re All the World to Me” are absolutely amazing.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers M-G-M, July 22, 1954, 102 minutes Principal Cast: Howard Keel (Adam Pontipee), Jane Powell (Milly), Jeff Richards (Benjamin Pontipee), Matt

257 Mattox (Caleb Pontipee), Marc Platt (Daniel Pontipee) Jacques d’Amboise (Ephraim Pontipee), Tommy Rall (Frankincense “Frank” Pontipee), Russ Tamblyn (Gideon Pontipee) Director: Stanley Donen Producer: Jack Cummings Screenwriters: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and Dorothy Kingsley Music: Gene de Paul Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Choreographer: Michael Kidd Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 21 Greatest Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 24 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay ● Added to the National Film Registry, 2004 Availability: DVD

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is based on the ancient Roman legend The Rape of the Sabine Women and Stephen Vincent Benet’s shortstory titled The Sobbin’ Women, which was the film’s working title. Set in the Oregon territory of 1850, the film opens with Adam Pontipee coming to town from his remote cabin to purchase supplies and to find a wife. As he looks over potential candidates for a mate, he sings “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide.”1 The first woman that seriously sparks his interest is Milly, who is the cook in a bar-restaurant. As she milks a cow, he proposes (more like a business proposition), and surprisingly, she accepts. While she concludes her chores, he gets cleaned up and finds the preacher. The reverend and other townspeople disapprove of Milly’s hasty marriage. On the ride to Adam’s mountain cabin, they travel through Echo Pass. Milly is so happy, she shouts and thrills to its echo. Adam warns her that such noise would cause an avalanche in the winter. When they stop to water the horses, she says she can’t believe that now she will only have to cook for one man. Just as Adam starts to correct that notion, she expresses her happiness by singing “Wonderful, Wonderful Day.” At Adam’s mountain home, he introduces his brothers. His mother named them alphabetically with names from the Bible: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank (short for “Frankincense,” since the Bible has no name beginning with “F”), and Gideon. After Adam shows her the cabin, Milly prepares the evening meal. When she rings the dinner bell, they attack the food. Later that night, Milly tells Adam he didn’t want a wife; he wanted a cook and washer woman. She’ll stay, she

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers says, but she won’t sleep with him. When he crawls out on the roof to sleep, she sings “When You’re in Love” about her expectations of being in love with someone like she is in love with him. After the song, she invites him back in, but the bed collapses ensuring a wedding night flop. The next morning the brothers wake to the smell of breakfast, but they can’t find their clothes. Milly has taken them to wash and insists on washing their long-handle underwear before they can have any food. They eventually relent and, after saying grace, eat breakfast very politely wrapped in blankets. Later when Milly heads to town for supplies, the brothers tag along. While they wait for her to shop, they attempt to approach the town’s girls, but do it very badly. A fight between the brothers and the town’s men ensues. Back at the cabin, Milly teaches these ill-behaved ruffians some manners and social mores, including how to dance with the song “Goin’ Co’tin’.”2 She explains some things they need to know about dating a girl. During the number, she and the brothers perform a rowdy dance. In the next scene, the six unmarried brothers line up for Milly’s inspection before they go to a barnraising where their new manners will be on display. When they arrive, each of the unmarried brothers finds a girl to his liking and acts so mannerly that Adam is shocked. A problem arises when a dance is announced — even though the girls are attracted to the Pontipee brothers, they have other suitors. Therefore, the dance becomes a competition. To the tune “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide,” the girls and their suitors line up on the barn floor while the brothers watch. After a few minutes, the brothers break in and dance with the girls. Just when the competition is about to erupt into a fight, Milly saves a ruckus by dancing with one of the brothers. The competition begins anew with the brothers showing off, dancing with the girls, and their suitors responding by showing off their own dancing abilities. This wonderful dance sequence ends with the girls forsaking their town suitors and jumping into the arms of the brothers. That didn’t end the competition, however. The actual barn-raising comes next. Four teams of men, one being the Pontipee brothers, take part. During the building, the girls’ suitors taunt the brothers, drop hammers on their heads, hit them with boards, etc. until a fight breaks out that destroys all the work that had been accomplished. Back at the cabin, Milly doctors their wounds, but isn’t amused by their lapse into their rowdy mountain man ways. Later that evening, Gideon asks Adam what it feels like to be in love. Adam answers with a reprise of “When You’re in Love,” with slightly different

1776 lyrics, while Milly stands in the background listening and smiling. When winter arrives in the mountains, the brothers mope through their chores. In “Lonesome Polecat” they move in slow motion as they chop and saw in rhythm. During this segment, Ephriam performs a ballet dance with an axe. The brothers are restless, so Adam tells (sings) them the story of the “Sobbin’ Women.” After the story, the brothers head for town to kidnap women as in the story. The girls3 are upset and frightened. When they get through Echo Pass, the girls’ screaming and gun shots from the brothers cause an avalanche that closes the pass so the girls’ families and other townspeople can’t follow. When they arrive at the cabin, Milly is ashamed of Adam and the brothers for abducting the girls and causing their families so much grief. She makes the brothers live in the barn while the girls will live in the house with her. Feeling rejected, Adam leaves for his trapping cabin higher in the mountains to stay until the spring thaw. During the next few months, the brothers make up all sorts of excuses to come to the cabin, while the girls pester the brothers with mischievous acts. Little by little, the girls’ feelings for the brothers are rekindled. When the girls learn that Milly is going to have a baby, they dream about becoming brides (“June Bride”). They sing about what they expect the months preceding June will bring: snow; knee-deep snow and even more snow. Just as they are about to give up, it’s Spring. That scene dissolves into the girls and brothers doing their chores as they walk together hand-inhand. During the song “Spring, Spring, Spring,” it’s time for Milly to give birth. As the brothers pace, the girls attend the birth of Milly’s daughter. Gideon rides to the trapping cabin to tell Adam, who thinks it is just a trick to get him to come back. He says he will return when the pass opens. Just as the pass opens and the townspeople rally to retrieve the girls, Adam, now penitent, returns home. After he sees his infant daughter, he asks her name. Milly suggests several “H” names (to continue the Biblical-alphabetical pattern); Adam selects Hannah. Now that he feels fatherly, he realizes how worried the girls’ parents have been, so he intends to return them to their homes. Neither the brothers nor the girls like that idea, so the girls hide. Milly finally convinces the brothers they shouldn’t fight the girls’ kinfolks, so they round up the girls to take them home. As the townspeople draw near, they hear the girls’ screaming as the brothers drag them from their hiding places, and when the preacher hears a baby cry, he is certain one of the girls has given

258 birth. When he asks the girls whose baby it is, they each claim the baby. As a result of this misinformation, the townspeople insist on shotgun weddings for all six couples. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is one of the best Hollywood musicals. The songs and dances are thoroughly integrated into the plot, Johnny Mercer’s lyrics are wonderfully venacular, completely appropriate for backwoodsmen and they are perfectly tailored to the characters and dramatic situations, and Michael Kidd’s choreography is inventive and fits the characters’ personalities. Many, maybe even most, M-G-M musicals came from the Freed Unit, or as they were sometimes called on the M-G-M lot the “Fairy Unit” because of the preponderance of homosexuals, but thankfully, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is as virile as it needed to be to be believable. The film’s most memorable scene is the acrobatic dancing during the barn-raising. Gene de Paul produced a fine musical score filled with hand-clapping, foot-stomping mountain music. Howard Keel was an excellent choice for an Oregonian backwoodsman and Jane Powell was Keel’s equal vocally and otherwise. The brothers are all good, but are especially fine dancers.

1776 Columbia Pictures, November 17, 1972, 166 minutes Principal Cast: William Daniels (John Adams), Howard Da Silva (Benjamin Franklin), Ken Howard (Thomas Jefferson), Donald Madden (John Dickinson), John Cullum (Edward Rutledge), Roy Poole (Stephen Hopkins), David Ford ( John Hancock), Ron Holgate (Richard Henry Lee), Virginia Vestoff (Abigail Adams), Blythe Danner (Martha Jefferson) Director: Peter H. Hunt Producer: Jack L. Warner Screenwriter: Peter Stone Music and Lyrics: Sherman Edwards Choreographer: Onna White Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee; ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Cinematography Availability: DVD

Sherman Edwards, a history teacher and popular song composer, and librettist Peter Stone wrote the musical 1776, which opened on Broadway in 1969. The show, which ran for 1,217 performances, was nominated for five Tony Awards, winning three, including Best Musical. William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken

259 Howard, Roy Poole, Ron Holgate and Virginia Vestoff repeated their original cast roles in the film version. Peter Hunt directed both the Broadway and film versions and Peter Stone, the musical’s librettist, was also the screenwriter. In Philadelphia on May 8, 1776, John Adams, one of the Massachusetts delegates to the Second Continental Congress, rants about his frustration that nothing is getting accomplished. The other delegates are sick of Adams’ fiery priggishness and his badgering them about independency, so they plead with him to “Sit Down, John.” Adams complains that the Continental Congress has done nothing for the last year but “Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve.” Frustrated, Adams leaves the building and, in his imagination, talks to his wife, Abigail, who is three hundred miles away in Massachusetts. In his last letter he had told Abigail that the king was sending twelve thousand mercenaries to subdue the colonists and had asked her to organize the ladies to make saltpeter to use in the manufacture of gunpowder. In her reply, she claims the women of Massachusetts Bay have a more urgent problem — no straight pins. She agrees to do something about his problem, if he will try to remedy hers. In “Till Then,” they pledge their mutual love and Abigail’s image evaporates. Adams complains to Benjamin Franklin, who is one of three delegates from Pennsylvania, that his pleas for independence are falling on deaf ears. Franklin reminds Adams that nobody in Congress likes him, so he suggests that someone more popular lead the cause of independence—someone like Richard Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate from an old, influential family. Just then Lee rides up on his horse (Franklin had sent for him) and sings “The Lees of Old Virginia.” At the end of his boistrious song, Lee rides back home to Williamsburg. Meanwhile, Congress, headed by its president, John Hancock, receives a courier from Gen. George Washington of the Continental Army, who reports shortages, ill-trained soldiers and that quite a number of British ships have sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia headed south to capture New York. When Lee returns from Virginia, he presents a resolution for independence, but John Dickinson of Pennsylvania makes a motion to postpone the issue indefinitely. Six colonies vote in favor of postponement and six against, with one abstention. That leaves the deciding vote to Stephen Hopkins, one of the three delegates from Rhode Island, who proclaims, “I never seen, heard, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn’t be talked about”— he votes in favor of debate. As the debate commences, Dickinson defends

1776 England, but the other delegates complain about repressions, high taxes and abolished rights. The fiery Adams tries to show Dickinson that the country is already at war with England, but neither of these adversaries really hear each other. Highly charged emotions eventually erupt into a brawl, but Hancock restores order. Caesar Rodney, one of Delaware’s three delegates, who is dying from cancer, tries to break up the fight, but the exertion causes him to collapse. Scotsman Thomas McKean, another Deleware delegate, agrees to take Rodney home, which leaves Deleware with one delegate, George Read, who is not in favor of independence. Taking advantage of their absence, Rutledge realizes that he now has the necessary votes, so he calls the question. Realizing the cause is lost without Delaware, Franklin stalls for time and is rewarded by the arrival of New Jersey delegates, who support independence. Considering this new development, Dickinson proposes that the vote must be unanimous, so that no colony is forced to fight England against its will. When the vote is taken, there are six for and six against, with New York abstaining as usual. Therefore, Hancock, as president, must break the tie. Because he thinks that any colony who votes against independence will be forced to fight for the British, which would potentially pit brother against brother, he votes for unanimity. Realizing that a unanimous vote is impossible, Adams moves for a postponement until a written document can be prepared that explains to the whole world the reason for their action. As always, the vote is a tie, with New York abstaining. Hancock breaks the tie by voting in favor of postponement. He appoints a committee of Adams, Franklin, Connecticut’s Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston from New York, and Jefferson to draft the declaration. Jefferson, who has been away from his wife for six months, objects to his appointment. Hancock refuses to reconsider the appointment and adjourns the session. In “But, Mr. Adams,” the committee argues about who should write the declaration. Finally, Jefferson reluctantly accepts the assignment. After a week, Adams and Franklin visit Jefferson to check on his progress — but there is none. Suddenly, to Jefferson’s obvious delight, Martha, his wife, arrives (Adams had sent for her). After Adams and Franklin leave the lovers alone, Adams speaks to his wife, Abigail, again in his imagination (their thoughts were really letters they exchanged). In “Yours, Yours, Yours,” Abigail complains about her cloistered existence, while John compares his existence to that of an abbey monk.

1776 The song ends with Abigail promising to send saltpeter. The following morning when Franklin and Adams return, they introduce themselves to Martha, who coyly praises the way her husband plays the violin (“He Plays Violin”). During her song, she dances with both Franklin and Adams. When Congress reconvenes, the courier delivers another dispatch from Washinton. He reports disorder, confusion and an assembly of prostitutes at the army training ground. He begs Congress to send a committee to New Brunswick, New Jersey to help boost morale. Maryland’s Samuel Chase1 questions how an army of drunken militiamen could hope to defeat the British Army. Adams challenges Chase to accompany him to check out the situation. If he could prove that the Continental Army could beat the redcoats, would Chase then vote in favor of independence? Chase agrees, so they leave for New Jersey. Later that evening, the courier tells a couple of young men about his horrific experiences at the front lines. In “Momma, Look Sharp,” he sings about a young man’s dying thoughts as his mother searches the battlefield in Lexington, Massachusetts for his body. Near the end of June, Jefferson’s draft of the declaration is read, as he paces outside the room. Adams and Franklin return and excitedly report that the soldiers are excellent marksmen who work well together if motivated, and that Samuel Chase was so impressed that he and Maryland will vote for independence. In “The Egg,” the three men compare the birth of this new nation to an egg and they debate which bird’s egg it is and which one would best represent the new country — an eagle, a dove or a turkey. Finally, they agree that the eagle is the best choice. After the reading, the delegates make amendments to the document. In most instances, even though Adams objects, Jefferson agrees to the changes. However, when Dickinson recommends removing the phrase that calls King George a tyrant, Jefferson balks. He says, “the King is a tyrant whether we say so or not.... It’s a revolution, damn it! We’re going to have to offend somebody!” Then, as leader of the South Carolina delegation, Rutledge objects to the wording that denounces slavery. In “Molasses to Rum,” he reminds the other delegates that not only the South benefits from the slave trade. When Jefferson seems reluctant to remove the offending slavery section, the North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia delegates walk out. In desperation, Adams sends McKean to get the sickly Caesar Rodney to return for the vote.

260 Franklin tells Adams that the slavery clause must be removed or the declaration has no chance. After all, he reminds Adams, the current primary issue is independence. Feeling defeated, Adams goes to the top of the bell tower and imagines his wife’s words of support. During their imaginary talk, two kegs of saltpeter arrive from the women of Massachusetts. When Adams sees them, he orders McNair to buy every straight pin in Philadelphia. With renewed faith, Adams sends Franklin and Jefferson to negotiate with Wilson and Rutledge. Another message is read from a discouraged General Washington, who asks “Is anybody there?” Left alone in semi-darkness, Adams re-reads Washington’s message and echoes the General’s words, “Is Anybody There? Does anybody care?” He ponders whether anyone but him envisions this country’s great future. Dr. Lymon Hall of North Carolina returns to the Chamber just as Adams’ song concludes and answers, “Yes, Mr. Adams.” Hall has decided that he owes it to the people he represents to trust his judgment, so he changes his vote from “nay” to “yea.” On July 2, the delegates return to the chamber. Hancock reminds the delegates that a single “nay” vote will kill the resolution. When Hancock calls for the vote, all the northern and middle colonies except Pennsylvania, which passes, and New York, which continues to abstain, vote for the resolution. Rutledge demands the removal of the slavery clause or he will vote “nay.” Adams wants to object, but Franklin convinces him that nothing else will matter unless independence is secured. Jefferson reluctantly scratches out the offending passage and the Southerners vote favorably. When the vote returns to Pennsylvania again, Dickinson is against and Franklin is in favor. Wilson now is faced with a monumental decision. He normally follows Dickinson’s lead, but in this instance he doesn’t want to be remembered as “the man who prevented American independence,” so he votes “yea.” The resolution is adopted! Hancock demands that every man must sign the Declaration to be allowed to sit in Congress. Dickinson, who still holds out hope of a reconciliatin with England, refuses to sign, but promises to join the army and defend the new nation. As he leaves the chamber, Adams leads the other delegates in a salute to Dickinson. Hancock is the first to sign the Declaration, but before others can sign the courier brings another dispatch from Washington, who calls himself “Commander of the Army of the United Colonies ... of the United States of America.” The message

261 reports that preparations for the Battle of New York are under way, but the General expresses concern that his troops are badly outnumbered and undertrained. He also informs Lewis Morris that his estate has been destroyed but his family is safe. Hearing this, Morris says, “To hell with New York, I’ll sign it anyway,” which makes the vote unanimous. On the evening of July 4, as the other delegates come forward to sign, Hancock instructs McNair to ring the bell (the Liberty Bell). As Thomson calls each delegate’s name, they sign the Declaration of Independence. After they sign, they move into position to immulate the famous engraving by Edward Savage and Robert Edge Pine. As the bell peals the film’s final scene freezes and disolves into a facsimile of the engraving. Sherman Edwards’ music and lyrics are so closely integrated with the drama that they would not make much sense if they were extracted. So, almost all of the songs have never been heard outside the musical or film, which means, of course, that they are not well known to the general public. 1776 may not be completely accurate historically, but it is very entertaining and, at times, even moving. The film is a great retelling of the signing of the Delcaration of Independence told in a musical setting.

Shall We Dance RKO Radio Pictures, May 7, 1937, 109 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Pete Peters/Petrov), Ginger Rogers (Linda Keene), Edward Everett Horton ( Jeffrey Baird), Jerome Cowan (Arthur Miller) Director: Mark Sandrich Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: Allan Scott and Ernest Pagano; adapted from a story by Lee Loeb and Harold Buchman Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographers: Hermes Pan and Harry Losee Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off ” No. 34 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“They Can’t Take That Away From Me”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Song (“They Can’t Take That Away From Me”) Availability: DVD

The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers series of films for RKO are some of the greatest, if not the greatest, dance musicals. And, Fred and Ginger’s

Shall We Dance dancing made them first class movie stars. Motion Picture Herald listed them among the top ten box office attractions for three years during the heyday of their partnership. Shall We Dance is their seventh collaboration. An American ballet dancer, Peter P. Peters of Philadelphia, PA, who goes by the Russian name of Petrov, sees a photograph of Linda Keene, a burned-out musical comedy star, who wants to marry money and retire, and tells his manager, Jeffrey, “I haven’t even met her, but I’d kinda like to marry her.” Petrov’s first introduction to Linda goes poorly — he shows up at her apartment and tries to impress her with his ballet technique and phony Russian accent. When she sails from Paris to New York aboard the S.S. Queen Anne, Petrov follows. On board, Pete can’t be found for a ballet rehearsal, because he’s in the ship’s engine room listening to a group of African-American ship hands sing while they clean the equipment. One of the singers1 introduces “Slap That Bass,” which is taken up by Pete, whose virtuoso tap solo on the ultrapolished floor plays off of the rhythm of the ship’s machinery. Later when Linda walks her little dog on deck, Pete borrows a much bigger dog to walk. Linda tries to ignore him by walking faster and faster, but her short-legged dog has great difficulty keeping up. The music for this scene is an instrumental logically titled, “Walking the Dog.” It is later reprised, but with better results since Pete and Linda walk together. Pete tells Linda “I’ve Got Beginner’s Luck,” because the first time he fell in love it was with her. Prior to leaving Paris, Petrov’s manager concocted a story about him being married to discourage the advances of Lady Tarrington. The ship’s radio operator receives a message that Lady Tarrington is sailing to America to visit Mr. and Mrs. Petrov, who were currently sailing on the Queen Anne. The entire ship is soon awash with rumors that Petrov and Linda are secretly married. When some women see Linda knitting on her dog’s sweater, they spread the rumor that she is expecting a baby. Pete blames Jeffery for creating this misunderstanding, so he sends him to explain. Jeffery only makes matters worse. Linda leaves the ship via mail plane intending to marry Jim Montgomery, a rich former beau. When Linda reaches New York City, however, the newspapers announce her marriage to Petrov and that she is pregnant. When she tells her manager, who doesn’t want his prized client to marry and retire from show business, that she’s going to marry Jim, he offers a roof-top dinner in celebration, but also invites Petrov and Jeffery. During the

Show Boat (1936) evening, Linda’s manager, Arthur, has arranged for the band to play “They All Laughed.” When the spotlight falls on Linda, she reluctantly sings the song. After a chorus, to Linda’s shock and dismay, the bandleader invites Petrov to join her for the dance (this has been cleverly arranged by Arthur, of course). The dance begins competitively with Petrov swooping around her using ballet steps which she mocks. Then she counters with some furious taps, which he mocks. Eventually, the competition leads into a delightful tap duet. Arthur is determined to keep the marriage rumor alive, so he stages photos of Pete and Linda in bed together (Pete is sleeping while Arthur and a comrade put a mannequin with Linda’s face beside him for the pictures). The next morning, the photographs are in the newspaper. To avoid more reporters, Pete and Linda sneak into Central Park. During this outing, they sing “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off ”2 while they rest from roller skating. As lyrically clever as the song is, it is their dance on roller skates that steals the scene. They tap, swirl, twirl, stagger, and, end the routine by falling on the grass. They finally decide that the only way to convince everyone that they aren’t married is to get married, and then divorce. So, they go to New Jersey, the fastest place to get a marriage license, and marry. On their way back to the city via a ferryboat, Pete sings “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” The song’s lyrics list the things he will remember about her after they’re divorced. He also says he will treasure the memory of her smile, but can’t resist teasing her that she sings off key. Back at the hotel, more misunderstandings and complications —first, Linda invites Pete into her room, but he refuses; Lady Tarrington shows up at Pete’s room; Linda opens the door between her room and Pete’s and discovers them together. Linda tells Lady Tarrington that she won’t divorce Petrov, but feeling betrayed, she packs and leaves the hotel. Arthur finally confesses to Pete that he staged the incriminating bedroom photos. He also invites Pete to star in his new Broadway production, a merger of ballet and musical comedy. During the show’s rehearsals, Pete concludes if he can’t dance with Linda, he will dance with dozens of Lindas, which leads into the film’s big finale production number, “Shall We Dance.” The number opens with a ballet segment featuring ballerina Harriet Hoctor3 performing her almost grotesque looking backbends while dancing on her toes. Petrov and Miss Hoctor then dance to a reprise of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”4 After that sequence, Petrov dances with fourteen Linda look-alikes. When the real Linda shows up at the performance,

262 Arthur tells her Pete said if he couldn’t dance with her, he would dance with images of her. After Pete changes into formal wear, he seems torn between ballet and the Linda look-alikes. After he sings “Shall We Dance,” and dances a solo, the lookalike girls re-enter with the real Linda among them. Once she reveals herself for just a second, Pete seeks her among the other girls by unmasking them one by one. When his hunt is successful, they dance a brief duet until the film ends with them questioning in song who has the last laugh? In comparison to Top Hat and Swing Time, Shall We Dance is a distant third (and maybe even fourth after The Gay Divorcee), but George and Ira Gershwin’s songs are excellent and are performed extremely well. “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off ” may be the best musical sequence especially when Fred and Ginger dance on roller skates, but Fred’s solo dance on “Slap That Bass” is also a classic. Their competition dance for “They All Laughed” is also a gem. “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” is a great song, but it was featured in a very short segment during a ferryboat ride and was danced incongruously by Fred and Harriet Hoctor. In The Barkleys of Broadway, 1949, the song was showcased much more appropriately in a lovely Fred and Ginger dance duet.

Show Boat (1936) Universal Pictures, May 14, 1936, 113 minutes Principal Cast: Irene Dunne (Magnolia Hawks), Allan Jones (Gaylord Ravenal), Charles Winninger (Cap’n Andy Hawks), Helen Morgan ( Julie LaVerne), Helen Westley (Parthenia “Parthy” Hawks), Hattie McDaniel (Queenie), Paul Robeson ( Joe), Queenie Smith (Ellie May Chipley), Sammy White (Frank Schultz), Donald Cook (Steve Baker) Director: James Whale Producer: Carl Laemmle, Jr. Screenwriter/Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II Music: Jerome Kern Choreographer: Le Roy Prinz Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 24 Greatest Movie Musical ● “Ol’ Man River” No. 24 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Make Believe” for the 1951 film version) ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1989 Availability: DVD is not currently available

Broadway history was made in late December 1927, when Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Show Boat premiered on Broadway. Their mu-

263 sical version of Edna Ferber’s famous novel pioneered a new era in the American musical theater. They were determined to write a musical with dramatic continuity in which the songs were integral to the plot. Most musicals of the era tended to be star vehicles with very little plot and songs that were written to showcase the star. Within two years, Universal released a part-talkie film version that adhered more closely to Miss Ferber’s novel than to Kern and Hammerstein’s musical. The film included an eighteen minute prologue which featured three excerpts from the original cast: Helen Morgan singing “Bill” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” and Jules Bledsoe singing “Ol’ Man River.” Unfortunately, most of Kern and Hammerstein’s original score was replaced by traditional spirituals and songs by other songwriters. Most film critics consider the 1936 version the best screen adaptation of Show Boat and one of the best of a Broadway musical ever. Except for the final sequence and three additional songs1 written especially for the film by Kern and Hammerstein, it follows the stage musical closely. The Show Boat plies the river as an unseen chorus sings “Cotton Blossom.” When a dock hand yells, “Here comes the Show Boat,” everyone and everything heads to the levee for its arrival. The husband and wife who are the lead roles on the show boat, Steve Baker and Julie LaVerne, argue about the attention Pete,2 a boat worker, is paying to Julie. A little later, Pete questions Queenie, the boat’s cook, about a gold broach she is wearing. He had given the broach to Julie and is offended that she gave it to the Negro cook. During “Cap’n Andy’s Ballyhoo,” the Cap’n introduces his leading actors and his comedy team, Ellie and Frank, who give a short dance demonstration to the crowd. When Pete confronts Julie about the broach, Steve and Pete fight. Cap’n Andy makes the crowd believe their fight is part of the show. Later Parthy, the Cap’n’s wife, makes it clear that she doesn’t want Julie influencing her daughter, Magnolia.3 Julie thinks of Nolie as her little sister and begs Parthy not to prohibit their relationship. Gaylord Ravenal, a charming riverboat gambler, sings “Where’s the Mate For Me,” about drifting through life with no ties. He wonders if there’s a woman out there somewhere worth marrying. He notices Magnolia and asks if she is one of the actresses. She admits she would love to become an actress because she could “make believe so many wonderful things that never happen in real life.” Not having been properly introduced, Gaylord suggests they make believe they have fallen in love at first sight so they can continue talking. In “Make

Show Boat (1936) Believe,” they express their mutual attraction in indirect, make-believe terms. The Sheriff 4 interrupts to tell Gaylord the judge wants to see him. When Ravenal leaves, Magnolia asks Joe, Queenie’s husband and one of the boat’s workers, if he had noticed the young man with whom she had been talking. Joe answers, “Yep — I seed him — seed a lot like him on de river.” He sets up “Ol’ Man River”5 with, “Better ask de ol’ river what he thinks—he knows all ’bout dem boys ... he knows all ’bout everythin’.” As he sits on a box whittling, Joe sings the song as if the river is a man he’d like to be because it doesn’t have troubles and is free to go where it pleases. He also laments that “darkies” have to work hard from dawn to sunset while the white people play. He yearns to get away from his white bosses. In Julie’s room, Magnolia tells her about the man she met. Julie isn’t thrilled about Nolie falling in love with some guy that nobody knows. Magnolia claims if she found out that he was a “no-account river feller,” she’d simply stop loving him. When she asks if Julie could stop loving Steve if he treated her mean, she explains about true love by singing “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” Queenie comes by and comments that only “colored folks sing dat song” (this is the first hint that Julie is a mullato). After Queenie’s comment, Julie launches into the song with a new defiance. Later, Queenie, Joe and Julie sing a verse while Magnolia does a shuffle dance and then the foursome shuffles out onto the deck where Magnolia’s mother is aghast to see her daughter having a gay old time with Julie and the servants. The judge orders Ravenal to leave town by nightfall. Gaylord had killed a man, but was never convicted because he pled self defense. At the gambling hall, Pete asks Ellie and Frank to witness what he’s going to tell the Sheriff about Julie. The film switches scenes before the audience hears Pete’s story. During a rehearsal, Ellie arrives late and asks to speak to Steve privately. She tells him what she had heard from Pete and warns him that the authorities will be there soon. As the rehearsal continues, Julie faints when Steve whispers something in her ear. Steve pulls out his knife, cuts Julie’s hand and drinks some of her blood. When the Sheriff arrives, he informs the Cap’n, that there’s a miscegenation6 case on board which is a criminal offense in Mississippi. The Sheriff names Steve as the white man and Julie as the Negress. Steve tells the Sheriff he has much more than a drop of Negro blood in him which makes their marriage legal. The Sheriff decides to leave them alone, but warns the Cap’n that he’ll shut the show down if mixed blood actors ap-

Show Boat (1936) pear on his stage. After the Sheriff leaves, Parthy tells Steve and Julie to leave the Show Boat. When Parthy tells Nolie to stay away from Julie, she refuses. Cap’n Andy must replace his leading actors immediately, so he drafts his daughter since she knows all the lines anyway. When Gaylord inquires about passage, the Cap’n offers him the leading man position, which he is hesitant to accept until he discovers that Magnolia will be the leading lady. One night, Magnolia goes to her room and undresses for the evening. Gaylord goes to his room and sings “I Have the Room Above Her.” The song quickly evolves into a duet. Later, they meet on the top deck of the boat and kiss. During a performance, Nolie sings “Gallivantin’ Around” in blackface accompanying herself on the banjo. When Gay and Nolie meet after the show, he asks her to marry him in Natchez the next day. He said it was her father’s idea. Since her mother will be gone to Fayette to meet Pete who has information about Gaylord, they’ll tell her later. When they hear a noise and think it might be her mother, Gaylord suggests they pretend to rehearse, so they sing “You Are Love.” The following day, just as they are about to enter the church for the wedding, Parthy rushes up and accuses Gaylord of being a murderer. When Cap’n Andy questions why he hasn’t already been arrested, the Sheriff says the jury figured the man deserved killing. Andy tells Parthy he once killed a man. Hearing that she faints and the wedding resumes. Queenie tells Joe she is worried about Miss Magnolia and accuses him of being lazy. He tells her he could do a lot of things if it was necessary — it just ain’t necessary. He sings “Ah Suits Me.” Queenie also joins in the song, mostly talking her lyrics. Ellie interrupts with news that Magnolia is about to have her baby. Even though it’s storming outside, Joe goes for the doctor. He rows the doctor through the storm in time to help deliver the baby — a girl which Cap’n Andy names Kim — for Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri, since she was born on the river between those three states. Gaylord is in town gambling and has no idea his wife has given birth. When he returns the next morning, he informs Parthy he is taking Magnolia and leaving. She informs him that he can’t take his wife anywhere since she just gave birth. Before he goes to see his daughter, he waves a wad of bills in Parthy’s face to show her that he has enough money to support her daughter in regal fashion. The next scene shows the Ravenals and their young daughter enjoying the good life in Chicago. After Cap’n Andy reads a letter from Magnolia, he tells Parthy he wants to visit them when they put the Show Boat up for the winter.

264 Ellie and Frank are in Chicago to appear New Year’s Eve at the Trocadero. When they find an apartment they like, the landlady tells them someone is currently living there but will be gone later that day. Suddenly, Magnolia comes in; it is her apartment. Realizing that she needs help, Frank offers to help her get a job if she wants to perform again. Before they depart, a note arrives from Gaylord informing Magnolia that he is leaving. The note also includes money for Kim’s parochial school, but he suggests they return to her parents. Magnolia tells Ellie and Frank that she can’t go back home and hear her mother say “I told you so.” Gaylord comes to Kim’s school to tell her that he is going away on business. When he asks Kim7 to think of him once in a while, she promises and tells him when she misses him she does what he had told her — to make believe, which leads into a reprisal of the song. At the Trocadero, the proprietor, Mr. Green, wants to hear Julie’s new song, but, with an everpresent drink in her hand, she isn’t interested. The piano player finally convinces her to sing “Bill.”8 Even though she is singing about a fellow named Bill, the song reveals her devotion to Steve, who has left her. After her tearful rendition, Green tells her to use it in the next show and to stay sober. As she goes to her dressing room, he laments how some women go to pieces over a man. Frank arrives with Magnolia and asks Green to listen to her sing. She tells him she sings Negro songs, so he agrees to listen. She plays a guitar and sings a reprise of “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” From her dressing room Julie hears someone singing, so she wanders over to the door and sees Nolie performing. Gallantly, she leaves the theater and tells the piano player to tell Green he should hire the new girl. After Nola performs the song as a rag, Green hires her. Cap’n Andy arrives at the Palmer House, but can’t find Magnolia. Since it is New Year’s Eve, he ventures out alone but picks up three available women. At the Trocadero, after Ellie and Frank perform “Goodbye, My Lady Love,”9 Frank goes out into the audience to greet Andy and tells him that his daughter is about to perform and that Gaylord left her. Magnolia rather timidly sings “After the Ball.”10 As the crowd grows restless, Andy stands up and encourages his daughter. By the time she reaches the famous chorus, her confidence is restored and her father gets the entire crowd to join in the singing. At the end of the song, the crowd applauds enthusiastically. As a result of her success at the Trocadero, Magnolia is hired to perform in various productions in

265 several famous theaters. After several years, she announces her retirement from the stage. After working her way up the theatrical ladder, Kim11 becomes a star. At a rehearsal, the stage door manager is watching the rehearsal instead of minding the door. It is Gaylord, many years older. During the performance that evening, Gaylord sneaks in to watch his daughter, but this time he gets caught. As Andy, Parthy and Magnolia arrive late and head for their box, Magnolia recognizes Gaylord and invites him to join them. At the end of her performance, Kim introduces another Ravenal in the audience, her mother, and asks her to sing. From her box, Magnolia sings a reprise of “You Are Love.” Gaylord, feeling like he is barging in where he was not welcome, leaves the box, but once he hears Nolie singing he returns and sings with her from the background. Magnolia stops and announces that there is another Ravenal in the audience, her first leading man. Gaylord comes out of the shadows to join her as the audience applauds. The film ends rather abruptly as an unseen Joe sings “Ol’ Man River” as the Show Boat is seen on the river in the moonlight. The 1936 film version of Show Boat is truly a classic and, in my opinion, is the second best movie musical of the Thirties behind only The Wizard of Oz, which means it could easily be one of the top twenty film musicals of all time. The musical score is exceptional, especially “Make Believe,” “Ol’ Man River,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” “Bill,” and “You Are Love,” and almost all of the songs grow out of the action in Hammerstein’s excellent screenplay. Irene Dunne and Allan Jones are great in their leading roles, but Charles Winninger, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley and Hattie McDaniel deserve praise, too. Musically, Paul Robeson’s “Ol’ Man River” is the highlight of the film. There’s nothing wrong with the three Kern and Hammerstein additions, but, for my money, those songs could have been left out and replaced with “Why Do I Love You?” and “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” which had been cut from the original score. One of the biggest problems for modern audiences is that the film is in black and white.

Show Boat (1951) M-G-M, September 24, 1951, 108 minutes Principal Cast: Kathryn Grayson (Magnolia Hawks), Howard Keel (Gaylord Ravenal), Joe E. Brown (Cap’n Andy Hawks), Ava Gardner ( Julie LaVerne), Agnes Morehead (Parthenia “Parthy” Hawks), William Warfield

Show Boat (1951) ( Joe), Marge Champion (Ellie May Chipley), Gower Champion (Frank Schultz), Robert Sterling (Steve Baker), Lief Erickson (Pete) Director: George Sidney Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: John Lee Mahin Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Song Nominee (“Make Believe”) ● “Ol’ Man River” No. 24 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs (for the 1936 film version) ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

There are three film versions of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s extraordinary musical Show Boat, a part-talkie version in 1929, this 1951 Technicolor version and the 1936 black and white version that many critics consider the best adaptation. Please read the synopsis of Show Boat (1936). John Lee Mahin rewrote Oscar Hammerstein II’s original dialogue and made major revisions, including Magnolia and Gaylord being younger at the end of the film, the expansion of Julie’s role, the Ravenal’s daughter only appearing as a baby and a little girl, and most of the comedy scenes were removed that had no plot function. The film opens with a paddle-wheel boat plying the Mississippi. A small black boy jumps on a mule and rides to joyfully proclaim to the slaves in the cotton fields and the southern white aristocrats at their plantation mansions that the show boat is coming. All the people head for the landing site. As the boat arrives, the brightly colored costumed cast sings and dances about the “Cotton Blossom”1 coming to entertain. Next, Cap’n Andy, the owner, introduces the stars of his show — Ellie and Frank, the husband and wife dance team, and Steve Baker and Julie LaVerne, the leading actor and actress, who are also husband and wife. Each couple gives the crowd a short sample of their talents. Pete, a grungy deckhand, gets upset when he notices Queenie wearing a necklace he had given to Julie. Pete rips it off her neck and confronts Julie which leads to a fight between Steve and Pete. Cap’n Andy assures the crowd that the fight is just part of the act. Pete vows to get even and goes looking for the local Sheriff. Gambler Gaylord Ravenal loses his boat ticket to New Orleans in a card game, so he wanders towards the show boat. On the way, he sings “Where’s The Mate For Me?” in which he claims to fancy his freedom, but sometimes wonders if there

Show Boat (1951) is a mate for him out there somewhere. He asks to see the show boat’s owner, but the Cap’n and the troupe are in town presenting a sample show for the town’s residents. Suddenly, he hears a woman reciting lines. When he applauds, she is embarrassed. Even though she claims not to be the leading lady of the show boat, Gaylord tells her she certainly looks the part. She tells him they haven’t been properly introduced, but he says they could make believe they have been, which leads into “Make Believe.” At first, he sings the song to an empty costume, although his singing is indirectly aimed at the girl. She enjoys pretending and thinks her dreams are more romantic than reality. She suggests they make believe they are in love. The song ends with a duet and they almost kiss, but are interrupted by the troupe returning from town. When Magnolia talks to Julie about the man she met, she asks her why she loves Steve and if she could ever love anyone else. Julie’s answer is “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”2 She sings that it is difficult to express; it must be ordained by the angels. Magnolia sings an up-tempo version of the song as Julie feeds her the words. Then they happily dance together, but Magnolia’s sourpuss mother, Parthy, stops their fun and orders Magnolia to stop seeing Julie. Magnolia refuses to obey. During the show that evening, Ellie and Frank perform a song-and-dance routine to “I Might Fall Back on You.”3 During their performance, Parthy informs her husband that the Sheriff is coming to arrest Julie. Steve pricks Julie’s finger and drinks some of her blood. The Sheriff accuses Julie of being a negress who is married to a white man.4 Cap’n Andy fires Pete for telling the Sheriff that Julie had mixed parentage. Instead of arresting them, the Sheriff allows them to leave the show boat. In the early morning mist, as Joe sings “Ol’ Man River,”5 barges filled with bales of cotton and produce float by. Julie tearfully looks back at the boat as she and Steve depart in a wagon. Just before the boat leaves, Gaylord is hired to replace Steve. At a rehearsal, the Cap’n introduces his new leading man to his wife and daughter.6 He also announces that Magnolia will be the new leading lady. During rehearsals, when Magnolia and Gaylord kiss, Parthy tells them it’s just supposed to be make-believe. During a montage of stops and shows, “Make Believe” is played by the orchestra and sung by a chorus. Finally, at one performance, Parthy isn’t in her accustomed seat, so Gaylord and Magnolia kiss onstage. Soon, Ravenal asks Magnolia to marry him, but when they announce it to her parents, Parthy dis-

266 owns her daughter. Cap’n Andy tells her that he will always love her. After such a stressful scene with her parents, Gaylord asks Magnolia if she is still sure she wants to marry him. As they sing the duet “You Are Love,” she assures him that heaven for her is being with him wherever he goes. In Chicago, the newlyweds stay at the ritzy Sherman House. For a while, Gaylord is lucky in his gambling, but he eventually begins to lose. When they can’t pay their hotel bill, Magnolia offers to sell her jewelry, but he won’t take them. Instead, he begs her to continue loving him, which leads into the duet, “Why Do I Love You?” The lyrics question if there are two other people who are as happy as they are; they feel truly lucky to have found each other. When Gaylord incurs heavy loses, he is forced to pay the debt with Magnolia’s jewelry. Late one night, they sneak out of the hotel to avoid paying their bill. After they find a boarding house to live in, Magnolia accuses Gaylord of being weak and tells him she can’t fight lady luck. She goes to a pawn shop and buys back Gaylord’s cane and some other things for Christmas presents. When she returns to the boarding house, the landlady brings Ellie and Frank to look at their room to rent. Magnolia finds a note from Gaylord that explains he has left to go out West, because what she had said was true. He also included enough money to get her back home. At the Trocadero nightclub, the owner is trying to get a drunken Julie to rehearse. She staggers to the piano, leans on it and sings “Bill.”7 The lyrics reveal Julie’s devotion to her man, not Bill, but Steve. During her singing the club’s owner complains about one man women because when their man leaves, they fall apart. (This is how the audience hears about Julie and Steve breaking up.) Ellie and Frank, who are opening at the Trocadero on New Year’s Eve, bring Magnolia along to a rehearsal and ask the owner to listen to her sing. She tells him she sings Negro songs and spirituals. For her audition she sings a reprise of “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” From her dressing room, Julie hears her and comes out to listen. The stage manager tells her that the girl’s man left her and she needs a job. Julie magnanimously walks out so Julie can have her job. Cap’n Andy arrives in the city without his wife to see his daughter and her husband, but they weren’t at the Sherman House. He is sure Ellie and Frank will know where they are. At the Trocadero, Ellie sings “Life Upon the Wicked Stage”8 about the stage not being nearly as glamorous as most people assume. She loves performing and putting on the makeup, but admits that her non-acting tal-

267 ents (i.e., as a lover) haven’t been tested. Ellie and Frank also do a duet dance. The Cap’n, who is in the audience, is shocked when Magnolia Ravenal is introduced. She sings so softly that the audience gets restless. When her father calls to her and reminds her to smile, her performance of “After the Ball”9 improves greatly. Cap’n Andy goes onstage to hug his daughter and they waltz together as the club audience sings. Backstage after the show, Magnolia tells her father about Gaylord’s gambling problems and his leaving. While the club patrons sing “Auld Lang Syne,”10 she also tells him she is going to have a baby and assures him that Gaylord doesn’t know. She wants to go back home, if he’ll have her. During a montage, the years fly by: the baby is born, a girl, they name Kim because she was born on the river between Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri; Ravenal is shown out West still gambling; and several of Kim’s birthdays are shown. Cap’n Andy and Kim11 dance onstage while Joe accompanies them on the banjo (“Cakewalk”). On a riverboat, Julie sings a reprise of “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” When a man knocks out her obnoxious escort, she asks the bartender who he is — it is Gaylord. Furious that he left Magnolia, she approaches him on deck, tells him that the Show Boat is docked in Natchez and shows him a newspaper article and picture of Magnolia, Kim, and Cap’n Andy. He assures her he never knew he had a daughter. As Julie leaves, she begs him never to tell Nolie that he saw her in this condition. Although he was headed for New Orleans, Gaylord gets off the boat in Natchez and finds his daughter playing with dolls, one of which, she says, is her father who is far away. She says she enjoys making believe. He sits her on his knee and sings a reprise of “Make Believe.”12 After the song, he asks Kim if her father returned could she pretend he had never been away. About that time, Magnolia sees them playing make believe together and sends Kim to the boat. When Gaylord tells Magnolia that he saw the newspaper article and photo, they embrace. As the chorus reprises “Ol’ Man River,” they walk onto the show boat. Joe, standing near the paddle-wheels, sings as the boat pulls away. Julie watches the boat depart from the shadows and smiles as she sees Gaylord and Magnolia kiss. I agree with Bosley Crowther, who wrote that this film “is so magnificent in so many ways, especially in its presentation of the lovely Jerome Kern–Oscar Hammerstein 2d songs, that any comparative estimation would have to say it puts that other in the shade.”13 It is difficult to imagine better vocalists portraying Magnolia and Gaylord than

Silk Stockings Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel. Paul Robeson’s vocal of “Ol’ Man River” in the 1936 film is very famous, but Warfield’s rendition in this film is wonderfully soul-stirring. “Why Do I Love You?” and “Life Upon the Wicked Stage,” which were omitted from the 1936 film, are thankfully restored. Ava Gardner was a great Julie except that her vocals were dubbed, which unfortunately is a common Hollywood custom. For modern audiences, accustomed as we are to Technicolor, the 1951 production is probably more to their liking.

Silk Stockings M-G-M, July 18, 1957, 117 minutes Principal Cast : Fred Astaire (Steve Canfield), Cyd Charisse (Ninotchka Yoshenko), Janis Paige (Peggy Dayton), Peter Lorre (Brankov), Jules Munshin (Bibinski), Joseph Buloff (Ivanov), Wim Sonneveld (Peter Boroff ) Director: Rouben Mamoulian Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Leonard Gershe and Leonard Spigelgass; based on the musical libretto by George S. Kaufman, Leuteen McGrath, and Abe Burrows Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Choreographers: Eugene Loring and Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“All of You”) Availability: DVD

Silk Stockings is a 1955 Broadway musical loosely based on a film story, Ninotchka, by Melchior Lengyel, and the 1939 film that starred Greta Garbo. When producer Arthur Freed decided to make a movie musical version, he kept the story and songs pretty much the same except “Hail, Bibinski” and “As On Through the Seasons We Sail” were discarded in favor of two new ones, “Fated to Be Mated” and “The Ritz Roll and Rock,” which were created specifically as dance routines for Fred Astaire and/or Cyd Charisse. American film producer, Steve Canfield, is in Paris to hire Russian composer Peter Boroff to write the score for his screen version of War and Peace. However, three Soviet emissaries, Brankov, Bibinski and Ivanov, are sent by their government to escort the composer back to Russia. To keep Boroff in Paris, Steve contests Boroff ’s Russian citizenship by producing an affidavit disputing his parentage and insists that any conflict must be resolved in court. He also introduces the three stereotypical Russians to some women. After a few drinks, they decide the film and Boroff ’s mu-

Silk Stockings sical score could become great propaganda, so they agree to stay in Paris to supervise the project. Steve puts them in a luxurious suite, renamed the workers’ suite, where they sing “Too Bad,”1 in which they pretend to lament not returning to Moscow. Boroff and the commissars enjoy Paris, but soon the Soviet authorities send one of their staunchest agents to return them to Russia. When comrade Ninotchka Yoschenko meets the commissars in the hotel, she is appalled that they are living in such a decadent place. When Steve arrives, he produces an affidavit claiming that Boroff ’s father was a French traveling salesman. When Yoshenko demands to meet the man, Steve turns on the charm and tells her that Paris will wrap its spell around her just as it did the three commissars. He leads her out onto the terrace of her hotel suite to show her the glittering lights of Paris at night and sings “Paris Loves Lovers.” Soon, however, he realizes he faces a daunting challenge from this iceberg. Rather than being put in a romantic mood, she is only concerned with the amount of wattage required to light the lights. When he sings more of the song, she interjects dry, humorless words and comments that she had been taught about the non-communist world like capitalistic, characteristic, sensualistic, they should be atheistic and Imperialistic, I’m pessimistic, that’s anti-communistic. Later that evening, Peggy Dayton, America’s Swimming Sweetheart, arrives to star in Steve’s film version of War and Peace. At a press conference, the dimwitted actress reveals that she plans to have the entire plot rewritten. When a reporter asks, “How do you feel about Tolstoy?,” she doesn’t know who he is. When he tells her, “He wrote War and Peace,” she replies with her patented reply when she’s asked about any man, “Oh, that Tolstoy! There’s absolutely no truth to the rumors. We’re just good friends.” She also claims that other things are more important than the director and the cast. To illustrate, she performs a comedic song-and-dance (“Stereophonic Sound”) that claims that all film audiences care about is movies in Technicolor, CinemaScope and Stereo. The next morning, Steve escorts Comrade Yoshenko on a city tour. She demands visiting the factories and public works not Paris’ normal tourist attractions and seems to resist anything enjoyable. When Steve flirts with her, she asks him to suppress such urges. Once they return to the hotel that evening, Steve attempts to be romantic, but she insists that Russian scientists have proven that the attraction of males and females is merely a chemical reaction (“It’s a Chemical Reaction, That’s All”). Steve assures her that love has absolutely nothing to

268 do with science. To prove his point, he sings “All of You,” which expresses his admiration for her entire body. When he tries to entice her to dance, she claims that dancing is a waste of time. Since she refuses to dance with him, he dances with a chair, but then he takes her in his arms for a waltz around the room. Initially she is reluctant, but Steve notices that she has had some previous dance experience. Soon, their dance becomes more ardent, more graceful and more complicated. At the conclusion of their dance, he kisses her. She responds, “That was restful. Again.” Then, she kisses him. Peggy interrupts their romantic mood to complain about Boroff ’s terrible music. Steve suggests that she use her feminine wiles to convince Boroff to adapt his music to a popular style. So, Peggy invites Boroff to a dress salon, where he is mesmerized by the lingerie models. When Ninotchka arrives at the salon, she tells him they must return to Russia immediately. As the models parade by in their lingerie, he tells her the views here are different — very different. Ninotchka takes notice of Boroff ’s interest and asks if all men find women who dress like that attractive. He emphatically answers, “Da!” After Ninotchka leaves, Peggy returns to model a fancy robe she is considering purchasing. The salon attendant recommends that the undergarments need altering to make the line of the garment fall more smoothly. In “Satin and Silk,” Peggy sings that expensive underwear can improve a girl’s morale. During the number she sensuously dances around Boroff and removes the robe to reveal a fancy bodice. Boroff is melting. Ninotchka locks herself in her room and in “Satin and Silk,” exchanges her proletarian garments for Parisian lingerie, high heels, a bracelet, ear rings, and other bourgeois fashions that transform her into—as Steve comments when he meets her in the lobby —“the most beautiful girl in Paris.” He wants to show her off, so they leave for a night on the town. When Ninotchka returns from her date with Steve early the next morning, Bibinski tells her that Boroff ’s music, “Ode to a Tractor,” has been transformed into popular music and is being used in Canfield’s motion picture. A little under the influence of too much to drink, she is delighted. Left alone with Steve, Ninotchka confesses that for the first time tonight she thought about how beautiful things are rather than how useful. In the song, “Without Love,”2 she confesses a woman’s deep need for love. After the song, she feels guilty that she has forgotten her mission, so Steve blindfolds her with his handkerchief and stands her against a column. When he pops the cork on a

269 champagne bottle, she sinks to the floor as if she had been shot. Then she passes out. Steve helps her to the couch, covers her with her coat and leaves. The next day at the film studio, Steve takes Ninotchka into an empty sound stage and proposes to her. She would love to accept, “if it were only possible.” Steve sings “Fated to Be Mated” as he tries to convince her it is possible. During the song, they dance from one deserted studio sound stage to another (the music changes to fit the set on each sound stage; there is also a repeat of “All of You” on a waterfront set). Once they arrive on the film set, which is now about Napoleon and Josephine instead of War and Peace, Peggy sings a swinging version of Boroff ’s song “Josephine.” He and Comrade Yoskenko are insulted by the altered version. Steve defends the transformation, but Ninotchka feels she has neglected her duty because of her brief emotional attachment and orders Boroff and the commissars to accompany her to Russia immediately. Bibinski, Brankov and Ivanov are worried about their fate once they return to Russia. They sing “Siberia,” a song and dance (well, sort of a dance) routine about their anticipated destination. Months later in Russia, Ninotchka, Boroff and the commissars, who have been spared punishment by Ninotchka’s favorable report, reunite for a visit at her apartment, which is merely a room that is separated from several others with a curtain. She shows them a letter from Steve that is so censored that all that remains is the greeting. With tears in her eyes, she assures her friends that her memories can’t be censored. Boroff has become fascinated with the decadent music of the west. He and some musician friends play and sing his new song, “The Red Blues.” Ninotchka, the commissars and several fellow tenants who flock to the music from their adjoining living quarters engage in a frolicking dance. Steve desperately tries to get a visa to Russia, but the official can’t believe that anyone would want to go there of his own volition. Meanwhile, the Commissar of Arts sends Bibinski, Brankov and Ivanov to Paris again to sell Russian films. When the Commissar receives an anonymous report about their decadent behavior, he orders Yoshenko to retrieve them again. When she arrives in Paris at the three emissaries’ address, it is a Russian restaurant night club. Soon after reuniting, the three comrades usher Ninotchka into the night club to see the floor show. Steve, dressed in top hat, white tie and tails, performs a song-and-dance routine to “The Ritz Roll and Rock,” which is not nearly as rock as “Ritz” (as in “Putting on the Ritz”).

Singin’ in the Rain They explain to her that Steve is performing to protect his financial interest. They also tell her Steve is madly in love and is going to get married. Suddenly, Ninotchka becomes Comrade Yoshenko. Back in the club’s office, she informs them she has come on a very unpleasant mission. They simply laugh and inform her they do not plan to return to Russia; they own this café and are now rotten capitalists. Steve comes into the office, hugs Ninotchka and explains that he couldn’t get into Russia, so he had to get her out of her country. He was the anonymous person who sent the report to the Commissar of Arts. He also informs her that she is the one he intends to marry. Ninotchka rips up her plane ticket and embraces Steve, while the commissars open another bottle of champagne and reprise “Too Bad (We Can’t Go Back to Moscow).” Cole Porter’s lackluster musical score is disappointing. “Stereophonic Sound” is cute and “All of You” is good enough to garner an Oscar nomination, but “The Ritz Roll and Rock” is a laughable attempt at capitalizing on the new rock ’n’ roll fad. Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse’s dancing is stellar, however. With Astaire, Charisse, Janis Paige and Cole Porter’s music, one would have expected a better final product. The Fifties was an extremely productive era for excellent film musicals, but Silk Stockings is one of the worst of the best during the decade. Silk Stockings became Fred Astaire’s finale as a romantic song-and-dance man. He made a few other films, but no other movie musicals.

Singin’ in the Rain M-G-M, April 11, 1952, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood), Donald O’Connor (Cosmo Brown), Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Selden), Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) Directors and Choreographers: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen Producer/Lyricist: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music: Nacio Herb Brown Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 1 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 3 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “Singin’ in the Rain” the No. 3 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Make ’Em Laugh” the No. 49 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Good Mornin’” the No. 72 song on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs

Singin’ in the Rain Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Actress in a Supporting Role ( Jean Hagen) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1989 Availability: DVD ●

Singin’ in the Rain is one of the most, if not the most, celebrated movie musicals ever (see Awards and Honors immediately above). It was a madefor-film musical, not a Broadway adaptation, but it made the trek the opposite direction by opening on Broadway in 2003. This film is an excellent example of an integrated musical. The characters express their emotions as part of their normal lives. When song and dance replaces dialogue it is during moments of joy or romance. Gene Kelly gives most of the credit for the film’s extraordinary success to producer Arthur Freed. Even the musical score is primarily made up of songs that Freed wrote with composer Nacio Herb Brown and the plot deals with Hollywood converting from silent to sound production, something Freed experienced first hand. During the opening credits, Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds, dressed in yellow raincoats and holding black umbrellas, perform “Singin’ in the Rain.” The action begins at the 1927 film premiere of Monumental Pictures’ black and white silent film, The Royal Rascal. The film’s stars, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, are being interviewed on the radio by a gossip columnist. The interviewer asks Don to relate the story of his rise from vaudeville to successful film star. He fabricates a tale of his early pre–Hollywood days: dancing school, rigorous musical training at the conservatory of fine arts, and many performances with his vaudeville partner, Cosmo Brown. While Don talks, the audience sees the truth: the duo performing to unappreciative audiences in burlesque houses and vaudeville theaters; Cosmo played the piano background music for Monumental Pictures films, while Don worked as an extra; Don’s first break in the business came when director Roscoe Dexter1 asked him to substitute for a stuntman who had been knocked unconscious. During the curtain call after the premier, Don won’t allow Lina to say anything and we soon learn why. Backstage, Lina, the dim-witted, blonde bombshell, silent film star, speaks for the first time, in a horribly shrill, squeaky voice with a Bronx accent. On their way to a post-premier party, Don and Cosmo’s car has a flat tire. When Don is mobbed by autograph seekers, using his stuntman skills, he jumps onto a trolley and then into a red convert-

270 ible driven by a young lady. Thinking he must be a criminal, she shrieks in fright. However, once a policeman identifies him as a movie star, she introduces herself as Kathy Selden and offers to drive him to Beverly Hills. During their drive, she claims disdain for movie actors, because she aspires to be a legitimate actress. At the party, R. F. Simpson,2 the studio head, shows a short film demonstrating the new talking pictures phenomenon. He tells the guests that the Warner brothers are making an entire picture with this new technology, but he predicts it will be a failure. Don is delighted when Kathy turns up at the party as the girl who pops out of a huge cake. Along with a dozen other chorus girls, she sings “All I Do Is Dream of You” in a 1920’s flapper-type routine. When Don infuriates her with insults, she retaliates by throwing a pie at him, which hits Lina in the face. Embarrassed, Kathy runs away. When The Jazz Singer opens successfully, the film industry is revolutionized, but Monumental stubbornly proceeds with their next silent film starring Lockwood and Lamont, The Dueling Cavalier. During filming Don is depressed that Kathy has seemingly disappeared and he is finding it more difficult to tolerate Lina. His pal, Cosmo, tries to cheer him up by performing a wonderfully comic, acrobatic song-and-dance to “Make ’Em Laugh.”3 Cosmo’s solo, performed with props and sets in the

Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain.

271 film studio, is a comic routine in the style of slapstick comedians. One of the highlights of the number is at the end when Cosmo jumps through a fake wall and collapses from exhaustion. As shooting begins for their new silent film, Lina asks Don why she hasn’t seen him lately. Suspecting that he has been looking for “that girl,” Lina tells him she had Kathy fired for hitting her in the face with the pie. Don is outraged, but, before he can explode, he must perform a love scene with Lina. While they act like they are madly in love, they are actually still talking about Lina getting Kathy fired. When they kiss in a scene, Lina is certain Don has romantic feelings for her, but he says, “Meet the greatest actor in the world. I’d rather kiss a tarantula.” Suddenly, Simpson announces that the studio is shutting down to retool for sound. They will turn The Dueling Cavalier into a talkie. Cosmo is worried he’ll be out of a job, but Simpson hires him to head the studio’s new music department. As all the studios convert to sound, a song-anddance montage of excerpts from various musical films is shown, including “I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin’” from Broadway Melody of 1936, “The Wedding of the Painted Doll” from The Broadway Melody and “Should I?” from Lord Byron of Broadway, sung by a Rudy Vallee impersonator with a megaphone. Kathy is given a small dancing role in one of Monumental Studio’s musical films featuring the song “Beautiful Girl.” Simpson, who views the number from off-stage, is impressed with her and offers her a contract. Don is thrilled to see her again and tries to romance her. When he can’t seem to express his feelings in words, he sings “You Were Meant for Me” to her and they dance romantically together. While the studio retools, the actors and actresses are given diction lessons. A diction coach tries to teach Lina proper diction, but her speaking voice is a disaster: “And I caaan’t stan’ ’im.” Don and Cosmo improvise a song, “Moses Supposes,”4 in which they demonstrate in a song-and-dance their mastery of their diction lessons. The filming of the sound version of The Dueling Cavalier illustrates some of the problems the studios faced with early sound films: the unmovable camera encased in soundproofing, clumsy microphone cables and microphones being strategically hidden to pick up the actors’ lines. In a particularly comical sequence, no matter where they put the microphone, Lina doesn’t speak into it. At a preview of The Dueling Cavalier, the audience howls with laughter at the poor sound and synchronization errors. Later that rainy evening,

Singin’ in the Rain Don, Kathy and Cosmo are depressed by the film’s reception. Finally after many hours of trying to think of something that will save their careers, Cosmo has a brilliant idea — make The Dueling Cavalier into a musical. Kathy agrees. They could add some songs and dances, cut the bad scenes, and add a couple of new ones. Suddenly their desperation turns into exaltation as they burst into the upbeat “Good Mornin’.” The song moves throughout the house as they use the furniture as props. After they collapse at the end of the number in joyous relief, Don brings them back to reality — they can’t make a musical because Lina can’t sing or dance. Cosmo comes to the rescue by suggesting that Kathy dub Lina’s voice. At first Don objects because Kathy wouldn’t receive credit, but he eventually agrees if it is only for this one film. Later that night, Don takes Kathy home and kisses her goodnight. Even though it is still raining, he is so much in love, he feels like the sun is shining. Instead of taking the waiting cab home, he waves the driver on as he walks down the street “Singin’ in the Rain.” At first he keeps his umbrella open, but he soon closes it and uses it as a prop in his dance. He dances on the sidewalk, climbs onto a lamppost and swings around it. As he continues his leisurely stroll, he lets a drainpipe of rainwater splash onto his smiling face, and kicks, splashes, and cavorts in the rainwater. Later, he splashes from puddle to puddle until a mystified policeman walks into the scene to investigate why a grown man would be jumping up and down in water-filled potholes in the street. Without the officer saying a word, Don sings that he is simply dancing and singing in the rain. He closes his umbrella, sheepishly grins at the policeman, and continues down the street. As he goes, he hands his umbrella to a man who obviously needs one. The next day, Don and Cosmo present their idea to Simpson and suggest renaming the film The Dancing Cavalier. After they get Simpson’s approval, they record Kathy5 singing “Would You?” with an orchestra conducted by Cosmo. On the set, Don and Lina act out the scene as Kathy’s dubbed voice is superimposed onto the soundtrack. Later, Don, Cosmo, and Simpson watch some of the daily rushes from the new film and are very pleased. Simpson is impressed with Kathy and promises once the film is released he’ll give her a big buildup. Don explains to Simpson his idea for one more large production number. As he explains, his idea comes to life. The number tells the story about an eager young dancer who comes to the Great White Way to make it big. The gawky young hoofer goes to several theatrical agencies. His first job is in a

Sleeping Beauty speakeasy where he sings and dances “Broadway Rhythm.” A gangster’s beautiful girlfriend6 flirts with him, but ignores him when the gangster lures her away with diamonds. Later, when the young dancer becomes a star, he sees the girl again and imagines himself dancing with her. However, when he approaches her, she ignores him again. The sequence ends back on Broadway where the number opened. He sees another young hoofer arrive in the city seeking stardom which reminds him of himself years earlier. With his spirits revived, he leads the chorus in a huge finale, “The Broadway Melody.” Everything is going great until Lina discovers the voice-dubbing. She orders Kathy off the studio lot, refuses to allow her any screen credit or publicity and says, “They can’t make a laughing stock out of Lina Lamont. What do they think I am, dumb or something? Why I make more money than Calvin Coolidge put together.” At the premier, the audience gives the stars a tremendous ovation. During the curtain call, the audience begs Lina to speak. When she talks, the audience can’t believe what they’re hearing. They shout for her to sing one of the film’s songs. Kathy is rushed backstage to sing “Singin’ in the Rain” as Lina lip syncs in front of the curtain. Don raises the curtain to reveal Kathy singing into a microphone. Cosmo steps in front of the microphone and sings as Lina continues lip syncing. The audience roars with laughter as Lina runs off stage. Kathy also runs, but stops when Don asks the audience to stop her and reveals that it was Kathy’s voice they heard and loved. As the audience applauds, Don sings “You Are My Lucky Star.” Tearfully, Kathy walks back. Don leads her on stage, where they finish the song together and embrace. The final scene shows Kathy and Don facing each other on a billboard that announces them as the new stars of Monumental Pictures’ Singin’ in the Rain. They kiss in front of the billboard as the film ends. Composer, arranger and associate producer, Roger Edens deserves a special commendation. It was his delightful little vamp theme which opens and closes “Singin’ in the Rain” that raised a twenty-three-year-old song to iconic status. Of course, Gene Kelly’s dance deserves some of the credit, but it was Edens, who was one of the major creative forces in Arthur Freed’s production unit, and his memorable instrumental accompaniment that enabled Kelly’s dance to soar. Singin’ in the Rain was nineteen-year-old Debbie Reynolds’ third film for M-G-M, but her first major role and she managed to keep up with Kelly and O’Connor’s dancing quite nicely. Gene Kelly,

272 Donald O’Connor and Jean Hagen are wonderfully cast. The extravagant “Gotta Sing! Gotta dance!” sequence has no direct relation to the plot, but it is spectacular. Isn’t it interesting that most of the lyrics for the music in the film are by Arthur Freed, who is by this time an important M-G-M producer and was the producer of Singin’ in the Rain? Don’t misunderstand, I think Singin’ in the Rain is the greatest movie musical, but isn’t it rather self-serving for Freed to stuff the film with his own songs?

Sleeping Beauty Walt Disney Pictures, January 29, 1959, 75 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Mary Costa (Princess Aurora), Bill Shirley (Prince Phillip), Eleanor Audley (Maleficent), Verna Felton (Flora, Fairy of Beauty), Barbara Jo Allen (Fauna, Fairy of Song), Barbara Luddy (Merriweather, Fairy of Happiness) Director: Clyde Geronimi Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriter: Erdman Penner Music: adapted by various songwriters from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Ballet Lyrics: Various lyricists Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Oscar nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Sleeping Beauty began as a fairy tale, “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood,” by Charles Perrault in his Mother Goose Tales, which was first published in 1697. An earlier variant of the tale, “Sun, Moon and Talia,” was published in Giambattista Basile’s Pentamerone in 1643. The Walt Disney version of the tale was Disney’s first full-length animation since The Lady and the Tramp in 1955. As is true of most Disney adaptations of famous fables, considerable changes are made from the original. The film begins with the traditional Disney opening for his adaptations of classic fairy tales, a storybook opens. The narrator1 introduces the film. In a faraway kingdom during the 14th century, King Stefan2 and his wife yearn for a child. Their wish finally comes true with the birth of a daughter, who they name Aurora. An unseen chorus sings “Hail the Princess Aurora,”3 while crowds of people march towards the castle to celebrate the royal birth. Inside the palace,

273 King Stefan and his Queen are welcoming King Hubert4 and his son, Prince Phillip. The two monarchs want their kingdoms united some day by the marriage of Phillip and Aurora, therefore, on this day they are betrothed. Next, three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merriweather, present the baby with gifts. Flora’s gift is beauty, Fauna’s present is the gift of song (as each fairy performs her magic spell, the chorus sing a verse of “One Gift”5). Just as Merriweather is preparing to present her gift, a strong wind blows the castle door open. Amid lightning and thunder, the evil, and uninvited, Maleficent materializes. This Mistress of All Evil bestows her “gift” to the child — a curse: before her sixteenth birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. As the Queen wraps her precious child in her arms to protect her, Maleficent, with an evil laugh, disappears in a burst of fire. Merriweather still hasn’t presented her gift to the child. Even though she cannot undo Maleficent’s curse, she presents a ray of hope by decreeing that the princess will not die but instead will sleep until true love’s kiss awakens her. In an attempt to thwart Maleficent’s prophecy, King Stefan orders all the spinning wheels in his kingdom be burned. Over a cup of tea, the three fairies hatch a plan to protect the princess from the curse. They’ll become three peasant women and raise the child in an abandoned woodcutter’s cottage deep in the forest. Flora and Fauna love the idea of taking care of the baby, but Merriweather isn’t so sure that being a mortal for sixteen years is such a good idea, especially without their magic. Once they agree on the plan, they inform the King and Queen. With great sadness, King Stefan and his wife watch from a balcony as the three good fairies carry their only child into the forest. As the princess’ sixteenth birthday nears, King Stefan’s kingdom rejoices because the evil prophecy has not been fulfilled. Maleficent sends her trusty raven to search for Aurora. At the woodcutter’s cottage where the good fairies have been living as mortals and have raised the child, who they call Briar Rose, as if she were their own. Flora, Fauna and Merriweather want to give Briar Rose a surprise party for her sixteenth birthday. Flora wants to make her a beautiful dress, but she and Merriweather argue over whether the dress should be pink or blue. While her three “mothers” prepare for the party, they send Briar Rose to pick some berries. As Briar Rose wanders through the forest, she sings a melody with no words. The birds answer her musical phrase, which wakes other animals that

Sleeping Beauty come to listen. In the background, Prince Phillip, who is riding his horse, Samson, hears singing, so he stops, listens, and decides to find out who is singing so beautifully. During his search, Phillip is knocked off his horse by a tree limb and lands in a pool of water. Briar Rose is surrounded by the forest animals as she picks berries and sings “I Wonder.”6 In the lyrics, she wonders if her song will be heard by someone who will answer her love song. After the song, she complains that her three “mothers” never want her to meet anyone, but, she says, she has fooled them because she’s already met someone — a tall, handsome and romantic prince she meets in her dreams. Suddenly, a squirrel spots some of the Prince’s wet clothes hanging on a tree. Several of the animals head for the tree to steal Phillips’ drying clothes. The animals make a “person” out of Phillip’s cape, hat and boots and approach Briar Rose. She laughs, curtsies, and dances with her “dream Prince” while she sings “Once Upon a Dream.”7 Phillip listens from behind a tree, but he soon dances with Briar Rose. Towards the end of the song, Phillip joins her singing; she is so shocked, she stops singing while he finishes the last line. She starts to run away (since she’s not supposed to talk to strangers), but Phillip convinces her they have met before in her dreams as he sings “Once Upon a Dream.” As the chorus takes over the song, Phillip and Briar Rose waltz near a lake. Without giving Phillip her name, she starts to leave, but invites him to her surprise birthday party at the cottage in the glen. Meanwhile back at the cottage, Merriweather convinces the others that they should use their wands to make Briar Rose’s birthday special. Fauna “bakes” the cake, and Flora “makes” the dress, while Merriweather cleans up the mess from their previous attempts. Merriweather and Flora again fight over whether the dress should be pink or blue. As they change the dress’s color, the colors fly up and out of the chimney which allows Maleficent’s raven to discover their location. When the lovestruck Briar Rose returns, she sings a reprise of “Once Upon a Dream” to assure the fairies that she had met this young stranger before. When they inform her that she is already betrothed to Prince Phillip, she doesn’t understand. She can’t marry a prince unless she’s a princess. They assure her that she is Princess Aurora and they must leave immediately to return to her parents. She had promised to meet her dream prince at the cottage that evening, so she balks. She is crushed when the fairies tell her she must never see the young man again. Maleficent’s raven, who has been listening, flies away to report to the evil fairy.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Back at the castle, the two kings rejoice about Aurora’s imminent return. They sing a toast to the future and the marriage of their offspring (“The Skumps”8). Prince Phillip arrives at the castle and informs his father that he has met his future bride. When Hubert inquires, “Where?,” Phillip starts to sing “Once Upon a Dream,” picks up his hefty father and dances with him. When Hubert learns that his son plans to marry a peasant girl, he is aghast. Saying he plans to marry the girl he loves, Phillip rides off again. The three fairies and Aurora sneak into the castle. When the three fairies leave Aurora alone to determine what should be done about the boy she met, Maleficent materializes in the fireplace as a ball of light and puts Aurora under a spell. As the mysterious light turns into a spinning wheel, Aurora reaches towards it. The good fairies yell a warning, but Maleficent forces her to touch the poison spindle, after which she falls unconscious. When the fairies enter, Maleficent laughs wickedly and disappears The fairies put Aurora on a bed with a red rose in her hand. Flora decides to keep the King and his subjects from being heartbroken over this development by putting them all to sleep until the Princess is awakened. They fly all around the castle spreading a magic sleeping spell. As Flora puts Hubert to sleep, she hears him saying something about his son falling in love with a peasant girl when he met her once upon a dream. She quickly realizes it was Phillip who Rose met in the forest. She rushes back to Fauna and Merriweather and tells them they must return to the cottage at once. Since Phillip is headed for the cottage in the forest, he remains awake. When he knocks on the door, it is Maleficent who bids him enter. A couple of her troops subdue him and tie him up. Maleficent and her “pets” cart him away. When the fairies arrive at their cottage and find Phillip’s hat on the floor, they realize Maleficent has taken him to her lair, so they head for Maleficent’s castle. They make themselves as small as possible and, risking great personal danger, enter the dungeon, where they free Phillip and arm him with an enchanted shield of virtue and a mighty sword of truth. As they flee the dungeon, the raven screams a warning to Maleficent, but Phillip, with the help of the fairies, escapes on his horse. Maleficent conjures up a spell to cover King Stefan’s castle with a thick forest of huge briars so Phillip can’t enter. Once Phillip arrives at the castle, he quickly cuts a path through the thorns. Maleficent summons “all the powers of hell” to transform herself into a

274 gigantic dragon. The Prince fights the fire-breathing dragon, but doesn’t have much luck. When he is trapped on a cliff, he loses his shield. The fairies once again help by combining all their magic into the sword. Phillip throws the sword, which pierces the dragon’s breast and Maleficent dies. Phillip follows the fairies to the tower room where Aurora sleeps on her bed. He walks over to the bed, kneels and plants a kiss on her lips. She awakes, recognizes Phillip and smiles. As the thorny bushes disappear, everyone awakes from their sleep. The opening notes of the “Sleeping Beauty Waltz”9 play as Aurora and Phillip enter the throne room arm in arm. When the two lovers kneel before the throne, Aurora embraces her mother and gives Hubert, who is completely befuddled, a kiss on the cheek. Aurora and Phillip dance to the waltz, while Flora and Merriweather bicker over the color of Aurora’s dress. As the chorus sings “Once Upon a Dream,” the couple dances in the clouds. They kiss as the storybook reappears and closes. Aurora’s dress continues to change colors as the choir sings the finale of “Once Upon a Dream.” Unfortunately, the only song stand-out is “Once Upon a Dream,” and it is doubtful that the others would appeal to Disney’s target audience — children. The animation is great, even though it was reportedly stripped down due to the post–World War II economy. The voices of Mary Costa and Bill Shirley are excellent for Aurora and Phillip and Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen and Barbara Luddy are superb as the fairies. Maleficent is another of Disney’s villains that causes children to have nightmares for weeks. Cinderella and Peter Pan, which also premiered in the Fifties, are better, in my opinion, especially musically, but, according to rottentomatoes.com, the film has a 90 percent approval rating with critics.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Walt Disney Productions, December 21, 1937, 83 minutes Principal Cast: the voices of Adriana Caselotti (Princess Snow White), Lucille LaVerne (the Queen/Witch), Roy Atwell (Doc), Pinto Colvig (Grumpy), Otis Harlan (Happy), Pinto Colvig (Sleepy), Scotty Mattraw (Bashful), Billy Gilbert (Sneezy), Dopey (mute), Harry Stockwell (the Prince) Director: David Hand Producer: Walt Disney

275 Screenwriters: Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill DeMaris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith Music: Frank Churchill Lyrics: Larry Morey Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Someday My Prince Will Come” No. 19 on 100 Years ... 100 Songs list ● AFI Song Nominee (“Whistle While You Work”) ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Score ● The Motion Picture Academy awarded Walt Disney a special Oscar for “significant screen innovation that has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon” ● The original soundtrack recording of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1989 Availability: DVD

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was not only the Disney Studios’ first full-length animated feature film, it was the first animated feature film ever. The story was freely adapted from the Brothers Grimms’ fairy tale. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was also the first film to release a motion picture soundtrack album. As “Someday My Prince Will Come” plays in the background, a beautifully decorated storybook opens to a prologue that sets the stage for the film. The vain and wicked stepmother of a lovely, little princess named Snow White is afraid that her stepdaughter will someday surpass her beauty, so she dresses the girl in rags and forces her to work as a scullery maid. Each day the vain Queen consults her Magic Mirror1 as to who is the fairest. As long as the Mirror answers, “You are the fairest one of all,” Snow White is safe from the Queen’s cruel jealousy. On one occasion, the mirror reveals that there is someone else in the kingdom who is fairer. Instead of revealing the person’s name, the mirror answers with a riddle: “Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.” The Queen immediately realizes that the mirror is describing her stepdaughter. Despite the misfortune she has suffered at the hands of a mean and hateful stepmother, the girl happily goes about her duties. As she scrubs the steps in the garden, she reveals a secret to the birds by singing “I’m Wishing.” She wishes her secret love, a handsome young man, will come soon to rescue her. The handsome Prince Charming happens to be riding by and hears her singing. He climbs the castle wall and sings the echo to the last part of her song. Startled, frightened, and embarrassed by her

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs appearance, Snow White runs into the castle to hide. The Prince lures her back by singing “One Song.” The lyrics claim that now that he has found his ideal girl, his song of love is only for her. The Queen’s anger grows even fiercer when she sees the Prince’s infatuation with Snow White, so she orders her huntsman to take the girl deep into the forest and kill her. The Queen demands that he return with Snow White’s heart as proof that he has carried out her orders. The following day, Snow White, now dressed in a beautiful dress instead of her rags, is lead by the huntsman into the forest to pick flowers. The huntsman approaches Snow White to carry out the Queen’s orders, but he can’t murder an innocent young woman. He begs her forgiveness, but Snow White doesn’t understand. The huntsman explains his orders from the Queen and urges her to run deeper into the forest and hide from her evil stepmother. She does as the huntsman suggested, but in her imagination, the forest is filled with nightmarish monsters. Finally, exhausted, she collapses on the ground. When she awakes the next morning, she is surrounded by friendly woodland animals and cute creatures of the forest. She asks them what they do when they’re afraid and concludes, “Oh, you sing a song!” So, she sings “With a Smile and a Song” and her singing cheers her up. Once the creatures realize she needs a place to sleep, they lead her to a quaint little cottage. When it appears no one is home, Snow White enters to find that everything inside is smaller than normal. She assumes the place must be the home of some children because it is very messy and she wonders why their mother hasn’t made them clean the place. Then she decides that perhaps they are orphans like her. To surprise the occupants, Snow White, with the help of her new animal friends, straightens and cleans the cottage as she sings “Whistle While You Work.” Not too far away, in a diamond mine, the Seven Dwarfs, the cottage’s residents, sing their digging song (“Dig, Dig”). They dig in their mine all day long because it’s what they like to do. When it’s quitting time, at sundown, they march home with their pick axes on their shoulders singing “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho.” Meanwhile back at the cottage, Snow White goes upstairs where she finds seven small beds. The beds have hand-carved names on them, which she reads: “Doc, Happy, Sneezy, Dopey, (she laughs) what funny names for children; Grumpy, Bashful, and Sleepy.” Then, realizing she is tired, she falls asleep across the beds. When the animals hear the

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs dwarfs singing their marching home song, they quickly leave. When the dwarfs arrive home, they notice a difference in their cottage’s appearance and are afraid that a ghost, goblin, or a dragon is in their house. They sneak inside and are surprised to find it totally clean and orderly. Grumpy, who always expects the worst, thinks the soup cooking above the fire is witch’s brew. Doc warns that the monster is upstairs, so they appoint Dopey to investigate. When he enters the bedroom, a ghostly figure stretches under a sheet, so he quickly scampers back downstairs and pantomimes that the monster is sleeping. Next, they all approach the bedroom ready to attack the ghostly monster, but when the sheet is pulled back they find a pretty young girl sleeping on three of their beds. Most of the dwarfs are stunned by her beauty, but Grumpy warns the others against women. Suddenly, Snow White wakes and sees the little men peeking at her from the foot of the beds. Having learned their names from the carving above each bed, she greets each of them and guesses which one they are. Of course, they want to know who she is and why she is in their cottage, so she introduces herself. They realize she is the Princess and, all except Grumpy, are honored by her visit. Snow White begs them not to send her away because her stepmother will kill her if they do. Grumpy warns the others that if the Queen finds her stepdaughter there, she’ll take out her vengeance on them. Snow White assures them the Queen doesn’t know where she is and offers to be their housekeeper if they let her stay. The dwarfs are especially impressed by her offer to cook, so they adopt her. Before the evening meal, she insists they wash. They complain, but Snow White insists. Finally, they march outside to wash as they sing “BluddleUddle-Um-Dum.” The other dwarfs force Grumpy to submit to a scrubbing. Meanwhile back in the castle, the Queen holds the box that supposedly contains Snow White’s heart and questions her Magic Mirror about who is the fairest. The mirror happily tells the Queen that Snow White is still the fairest and is living with the seven dwarfs. The evil Queen shows the mirror the heart, but the slave of the mirror reveals that it is from a pig. When the Queen realizes she has been tricked, she goes to her laboratory and casts a spell that transforms her into a peddler hag. She also decides to use a poison apple to put Snow White to sleep forever. After their delightful meal in the cottage, the dwarfs entertain Snow White with “The Dwarfs’ Yodel Song.”2 The forest creatures watch through

276 an open window. Dopey balances himself on Sneezy’s shoulders so he is tall enough to dance with Snow White. Sneezy can’t contain a monstrous sneeze which causes some chaos. Afterwards, the dwarfs ask Snow White to tell them a story. She tells them about the time she met the Prince as if it were a fairy tale and sings “Someday My Prince Will Come.” The little men are mesmerized by both their guest and her story — that is, all except for Grumpy. At bedtime, Doc offers Snow White their beds upstairs assuring her they will be comfortable sleeping downstairs. When she goes upstairs, she kneels and prays for the seven little men who have been so kind to her and that her dreams will come true. Disguised as an old hag, the wicked Queen prepares the poisoned apple. In her magic potion book she reads about the antidote: “The Victim of the Sleeping Death can be revived only by Love’s First Kiss.” She’s confident the dwarfs will think Snow White is dead and will bury her alive. As the dwarfs leave for work the next morning, they each express concern about Snow White’s safety. She kisses each of them goodbye. Grumpy, the last one to leave, warns her not to let anyone or anything into the house. She expresses her surprise that he cares. When the old hag arrives at the cottage, she looks through the kitchen window and sees Snow White making gooseberry pies. The witch tells her that men like apple pies better and holds out the poisonous apple. Snow White admits the apple does look delicious, which prompts the hag to offer her a bite. At this point, the birds attack the hag, but Snow White makes them stop and apologizes. The woodland creatures sense danger and rush to tell the dwarfs. The old hag continues to tempt Snow White to taste the deadly apple by telling her it is a wishing apple that will make all her dreams come true. Once Snow White makes a wish and bites into the apple, she faints into a sleeping death. The old hag cackles with laughter and proclaims: “Now I’ll be fairest in the land.” The dwarfs arrive too late to save Snow White. They chase the wicked Queen up into the mountains. When she tries to kill the dwarfs by sending a huge boulder crashing down on them, the rock she is standing on gives way and she plunges to her death. Back at the cottage, the heartbroken dwarfs place Snow White’s lifeless body on a bier and hold a vigil for her as her forest creature friends mourn from outside the house. The dwarfs decide to build a glass top coffin for Snow White, which effectively foils the evil Queen’s assumption that they would bury her.

277 The Prince searches far and wide for Snow White for a year. He hears of the maiden who sleeps in the glass coffin, but when he finds the maiden, she appears to be dead. As a farewell, he gently kisses her lips, not realizing that his kiss, love’s first kiss, will awaken her from her deathlike sleep. When she awakes and before she leaves with her Prince, Snow White kisses each of the dwarfs goodbye. “Some Day My Prince Will Come” is heard as Snow White rides away with the Prince on his horse — and they lived happily ever after. Walt Disney personally chose Adriana Caselotti for the voice of Snow White and jealously shielded her. He would not allow her to appear in any other films, except as a bit player in The Wizard of Oz. He even refused to allow her to appear on Jack Benny’s radio program. By today’s vocal standards, Miss Caselotti’s voice sounds almost un-natural — a bit shrill and definitely childish, which may have been exactly what Disney desired. Miss Caselotti did appear in some operatic productions, and she wisely invested her Disney earnings in the stock market and real estate. According to the Variety and Your Hit Parade charts, the song from the film that was one of the biggest hits was “One Song,” which seems to be one of the least remembered songs from the film in subsequent years. Much more memorable are “I’m Wishing,” “Whistle While You Work,” “Dig, Dig,” “Heigh-Ho,” “The Dwarfs’ Yodel Song (Isn’t This a Silly Song?)” and “Some Day My Prince Will Come.” Cinematically as important as The Birth of a Nation and the birth of Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an animation classic and, in my estimation, one of the top six movie musicals of the Thirties.

Song of the South Walt Disney Productions, November 1, 1946, 94 minutes Principal Cast: James Baskett (Uncle Remus and the voice of Brer Fox), Bobby Driscoll ( Johnny), Ruth Warwick (Sally), Luana Patten (Ginny), Hattie McDaniel (Aunt Tempy), Lucile Watson (Grandmother Doshy), Glenn Leedy (Toby), George Nokes and Gene Holland (the Favers Boys), plus the voices of Nicodemus Stewart (Brer Bear), Johnny Lee (Brer Rabbit) Director: Perce Pearce Producer: Walt Disney Screenwriters: Dalton Reymond, Morton Grant and Maurice Rap Music and Lyrics: Various songwriters

Song of the South Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” the No. 47 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Zip-a-Dee-DooDah”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Honorary Academy Award for James Baskett (For his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world, in Walt Disney’s Song of the South) Availability: DVD is not currently available

Joel Chandler Harris created the fictitious character Uncle Remus, when in 1876, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution asked him to take over a column which featured an African-American character. Harris didn’t care for the character’s name or the way the column had been written, so he created Uncle Remus. The stories he wrote were based upon a composite of a dozen or so storytellers he had known during his youth in rural Georgia. Song of the South was an important film for the Disney studio. Previously, they had concentrated on animation, but in this film, they used a combination of live-action and animation. The experiment was so successful that Mr. Disney planned to make the majority of his future films using this method. However, it didn’t exactly work out that way. During the opening credits, a chorus sings “Song of the South,”1 followed by “Out of the humble cabin ... have come the tales of Uncle Remus, rich in simple truths, forever fresh and new.” As the action begins, a seven-year-old boy named Johnny and his parents, John and Sally, are in a carriage. Johnny asks his parents why they are making the trip to his grandmother’s plantation. He also asks their maid, Aunt Tempy, if Uncle Remus is real. Once they arrive, Johnny is crushed to discover that his parents are separating. He tearfully begs his father not to leave. That evening Johnny sneaks out of the house to run away. As he heads down the road, he hears some of the plantation workers singing “That’s What Uncle Remus Said.”2 A little further on he hears Uncle Remus telling a story to some children about how a rabbit’s tail came to be a ball of cotton. When some maids come looking for Johnny, Uncle Remus, who has seen Johnny hiding behind a nearby tree, tells them to tell his mother and Miss Doshy, his grandmother, that Johnny is with him. Uncle Remus follows Johnny as he runs further into the forest and finds him sitting on a stump. He sits down beside him and uses homespun psychology to convince him that running away won’t solve his

Song of the South problem. He tells Johnny he’d like to run away with him, but they need to stop at his house to get some grub. While Uncle Remus cooks, he tells Johnny a Brer Rabbit story. He starts the tale “a long time ago in a time when ev’rything was satisfactch’ll,” which leads into the song, “Zip-a-Dee-DooDah.”3 Suddenly the background around his head becomes an animation. As he sings, he walks through the animated countryside. The song leads into the first animated tale when Uncle Remus encounters Brer Rabbit boarding up his Briar Patch home. Even though Uncle Remus warns him that you can’t run away from trouble, Brer Rabbit hops off whistling “Zip-a-Dee-DooDah.” Brer Rabbit soon gets caught in Brer Fox’s trap. Brer Bear comes lumbering by and Brer Rabbit convinces him that he’s earning a dollar a minute as a scarecrow. Since he has already made plenty of money, he offers to let Brer Bear take his place, which the lame brained Bear is more than happy to do. When Brer Fox finds Brer Bear in the trap, they fight, as Brer Rabbit hops down the road laughing uproariously. The moral, Uncle Remus tells Johnny, is “You can’t run away from trouble — there ain’t no place dat fer.” When the wise old storyteller takes Johnny home, his worried mother scolds him as if he were responsible for leading Johnny astray. The next morning, Toby, the black boy who Johnny’s grandmother had asked to look after him, wakes Johnny with the gift of a frog. Johnny’s mother dresses him in a fancy outfit with a lace collar. As the boys ride stick horses, Toby warns him about the dangerous bull in the field. When they pass the Favers’ house, the two brothers make fun of Johnny’s sissy clothes. Ginny Favers gives Johnny a puppy that her brothers have threatened to drown. Johnny takes off his lace collar and gives it to Ginny, who is thrilled to have something so beautiful. When Johnny returns home, Aunt Tempy tells him to take the dog back to the Favers, but Johnny instead takes it to Uncle Remus’. The next day, the plantation workers head for the fields singing “Let the Rain Pour Down.”4 The rowdy Favers brothers attempt unsuccessfully to get the dog back. That leads Uncle Remus to tell Johnny the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. As Uncle Remus is going fishing, Brer Rabbit is singing “How Do You Do?”5 to all the animals as he happily hops down the road. Uncle Remus’ fishing buddy, the Frog, warns Brer Rabbit he’s headed for trouble, but the rabbit is too happy-golucky to listen. Brer Fox and Brer Bear have fashioned a human-looking figure out of tar, and they place it beside the road. Brer Rabbit comes by and sings “How Do You Do?” to the Tar Baby and be-

278 comes annoyed when he doesn’t get a reply. He decides to teach this person some manners. He punches the Tar Baby and becomes more entangled in the gooey tar each time he punches. Brer Fox and Brer Bear have caught him again. Once again, Brer Rabbit has to do some quick thinking. He tells them they can roast him, hang him, or whatever, but “please don’t fling me in dat briar patch.” When the Fox hurls him into the midst of the thorny field, Brer Rabbit makes all sorts of painful sounds, but suddenly jumps up laughing hysterically and says, “I was born and bred in the briar patch.” The lesson, according to Uncle Remus, is this is what happens when you get mixed up in something you have no business getting mixed up in. As Toby and Johnny skip down the road singing “How Do You Do?,” the Favers brothers threaten to tell Johnny’s mother that he’s taken their dog. Remembering Uncle Remus’ tale, Johnny tells them to go ahead, but whatever they do, don’t tell their mother. They fall for it and tell their mother, who gives them a whipping for treating the dog so badly. Aunt Tempy sings “Sooner or Later (You’re Gonna Be Comin’ Around)”6 while she is baking pies. Uncle Remus shows up for a piece of pie, just as the Favers brothers arrive to tattle to Johnny’s mother. She blames Uncle Remus for the problem and asks him to stop telling Johnny stories. When Johnny’s mother decides to give him a birthday party, he wants to invite Ginny, but she doesn’t like the idea. Johnny also asks if his father will come. His mother says she’ll write and ask him. Ginny is late to the party, so Johnny goes to get her. Ginny is particularly proud of the dress made from her mother’s wedding dress. On the way back, Ginny’s brothers push her into a mud puddle. As Ginny cries, Johnny fights the brothers. Uncle Remus arrives and stops the fight. Ginny runs away, too embarrassed to go to the party in her soiled dress. Johnny finds her and tells her a Brer Rabbit story to cheer her up. Uncle Remus finds them, and, instead of sharing Ginny’s sorrow, starts laughing. When asked why he’s laughing, he says he’s thinking about his Laughing Place, which leads into the next story. The Fox and Bear have captured Brer Rabbit again and have him tied to a spit for roasting. When he starts laughing, they can’t understand why. He tells them he was thinking about his Laughing Place and explains that it is a secret place. Not wanting to be fooled again, the Fox and Bear make the Rabbit lead them to this laughing place. Along the way, Brer Rabbit, tied on a leash, sings “Everybody’s Got a Laughing Place.”7 When he chooses a giant beehive as his laughing place, Brer Bear charges into the nest and the angry insects at-

279 tack. As Brer Fox doubles over with laughter, the Bear slaps the beehive on the Fox’s head. Finally when Brer Bear asks, “What’s the big idea?” Brer Rabbit answers, “I didn’t say this was your laughing place, Brer Bear!” The story cheers up the children, but Johnny’s mother arrives and blames Uncle Remus for keeping them away from the party. Uncle Remus apologizes, but she demands he stay away from Johnny. The plantation workers sing “Who Wants to Live Like That?”8 as the heartbroken Uncle Remus packs to leave the only home he has ever known. When Johnny sees Uncle Remus riding away in a carriage, he runs after him, cutting across the forbidden field. The bull chases Johnny and knocks him unconscious. Outside the plantation house, the workers gather to prayerfully sing “All I Want.”9 Johnny’s father arrives, but even that can’t stir Johnny out of his delirium as he cries, “Come back, Uncle Remus” over and over. Johnny’s grandmother goes downstairs to get Uncle Remus, who comes to stand beside Johnny’s bed and hold his hand. Opening his eyes, Johnny is surprised to see his father who tells him he will not leave again. Despite their different backgrounds, three friends, Johnny, Ginny, and Toby, skip along singing “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Uncle Remus is surprised when Brer Rabbit joins them. Other animated creatures join Uncle Remus and the youngsters as they walk into an idyllic sunset. The film ends as it began with a chorus singing “Song of the South.” James Baskett was extraordinary as Uncle Remus. He earned an Honorary Academy Award (see Awards and Honors above), but he deserved at least a nomination for the Best Actor award. Baskett, who was then a regular character on the Amos ’n’ Andy radio show, made Uncle Remus a warm, humorous, kind, loveable, wise and completely believable character. The model for Uncle Remus was most likely a former slave that evidenced no trace of bitterness. He still lived on the plantation, as many former slaves did, because it was his home. He comes across as the “good guy,” while Johnny’s mother, Sally, is portrayed as a southern belle who is still stuck in Anti-Bellum traditions even more than Johnny’s older grandmother. Even though there were accusations from the NAACP that the film portrayed “an idyllic masterslave relationship,” the general public seemed more interested in the film’s entertainment value and flocked to theaters, making it one of Disney’s major money-makers. The Atlanta Journal’s film critic rated it in the same category with the civil-war classic, Gone with the Wind.10

The Sound of Music I can’t say enough good things about Song of the South. It is truly a classic! Released in the Forties, Song of the South ranks behind only On the Town and Meet Me in St. Louis in a decade that produced numerous great movie musicals. I think slavery is and was a horrible thing, but it unfortunately is a tragic part of our country’s history. We need to learn from that mistake. One way to accomplish that is to present African-Americans as loving and loveable people, which is exactly what the former slave, Uncle Remus, is in this film — and he is the hero, the star! Quite unfortunately Song of the South is not available on DVD, or any other format for that matter, in the U.S. Disney has declined numerous requests for the film’s re-release, but it has been released on video in several European, Latin American and Asian countries.

The Sound of Music 20th Century–Fox, March 2, 1965, 174 minutes Principal Cast: Julie Andrews (Maria), Christopher Plummer (Captain Georg von Trapp), Charmian Carr (Liesl), Heather Menzies (Louisa), Nicolas Hammond (Friedrich), Duane Chase (Kurt), Angela Cartwright (Brigitta), Debbie Turner (Marta), Kym Karath (Gretl), Richard Haydn (Max Detweiler), Eleanor Parker (Baroness Elsa Schraeder), Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess), Daniel Truhitte (Rolf ) Producer/Director: Robert Wise Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Choreographers: Marc Breaux and DeeDee Wood Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 4 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 19 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “The Sound of Music” No. 10 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “My Favorite Things” No. 64 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Do-Re-Mi” No. 88 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ *Best Director ❍ Best Actress in a Leading Role ( Julie Andrews) ❍ Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Peggy Wood) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ *Best Film Editing ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2001 Availability: DVD

The Sound of Music

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The star of the film was the previous year’s Best Actress Academy Award winner, Julie Andrews. The sentimental, but very entertaining, musical was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won five (see above under Awards and Honors). The year is 1938, which is important because it sets the time as immediately prior to the beginning of World War II. The Sound of Music opens as the camera zooms in on a field, where a novice nun, Maria, sings the title song.1 For her, these mountains are alive with music. When she hears some distant church bells, they remind her that she must return to the nunnery immediately. Maria often neglects her duties as a postulate to wander through “her” mountains. At Salzburg’s Nonnberg Abbey,2 the nuns sing “Preludium: Dixit Dominus (Psalm 110),” “Morning Hymn (Rex Admirabilis)” and “Alleluia” as they walk to chapel. Sister Bernice,3 Sister Margaretta,4 Sister Berthe,5 the Mistress of Novices, and Sister Sophia sing about Maria and her un–nun-like habits in “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” The more sympathetic Reverend Mother6 sings that Maria is like a moonbeam that can’t be controlled. When Maria returns to the abbey, she apologizes and asks forgiveness for her tardiness. The Reverend Mother has arranged for Maria to become governess for the seven children of the widower, Baron Georg von Trapp, a retired Naval officer, to allow her time to consider leaving the nunnery before she is initiated. Frightened, Maria leaves the abbey and sings “I Have Confidence in Me” to talk herself out of being scared. When she arrives at the magnificent von Trapp estate, she feels even more intimidated. Once inside, she enters the ballroom and dances by herself. The Captain startles her when he enters and warns her that the previous governesses couldn’t maintain discipline, something he demands. Since his wife died, the Captain has run the household like the Austrian Navy, so he places Maria, not in charge, but in Julie Andrews and a few of her charges in The Sound of Music.

The Sound of Music, a musical by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, opened on Broadway in November 1959. It was their last collaboration because Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after its Broadway premiere. The libretto is based on Maria von Trapp’s The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. The original Broadway production, which ran for 1,443 performances, starred Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Captain Georg von Trapp. The production collected several Tony awards, including Best Musical, which it shared with the relatively unknown Fiorello!, Best Actress in a Musical (Mary Martin), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Patricia Neway), Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Musical Direction. The film version became extemely successful, surpassing Gone with the Wind as the top box office hit of all time. It was also the most successful Hollywood musical until it was replaced by Grease.

281 command. The Captain also demands military discipline from his children. He blows his boatswain’s whistle to call them and makes them wear sailor-like uniforms. As he whistles each child’s signal, they introduce themselves: Liesl (16), Friedrich (14), Louisa (13), Kurt (11), Brigitta (10), Marta (7) and Gretl (5). Maria defiantly objects when the Captain whistles for her and wants the children to enjoy their childhood. Liesl sneaks out of the house to meet Rolf, who had delivered a telegram to her father. After they meet in the garden, they embrace and sing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” A thunder storm forces them into the gazebo. Liesl thinks she needs an older and wiser boy like Rolf to guide her. After a dance sequence, they kiss. Rolf runs from the gazebo, while Liesl shouts, “Whee!” Later that evening, Maria kneels beside her bed to pray. Liesl, soaking wet from the rain, crawls through an open window. As she tries to sneak past, Maria prays that Liesl will realize she wants to be her friend. After a few claps of thunder, the other children scurry to Maria’s bedroom. When she’s afraid, Maria explains, she thinks about the simple pleasures of life (“My Favorite Things”7). The Captain interrupts and reprimands Maria for not adhering to his bedtime orders. While the Captain travels to Vienna, Maria dresses the children in new clothes she made from draperies and takes them on a tour of Salzburg, on a picnic in the countryside, and teaches them a song to sing for Baroness Elsa Schraeder’s visit. She begins with “Do-Re-Mi” and explains that once they learn solfeggio they can sing a million different tunes. During the song, the children wear different clothes suggesting several different excursions. The Captain returns with his fiancée, Elsa, and Max Detweiler, who is looking for a singing group to make famous at the Salzburg Folk Festival. As they near the von Trapp villa, they see some local urchins hanging from tree limbs along the road. The Captain doesn’t recognize them as his children. After arriving at his estate, the Captain is appalled to see his children and Maria in a row boat on the lake. When they stand to greet him, they fall into the lake. Their father whistles them into formation to introduce them to Baroness Schraeder. Later, he turns his wrath towards Maria and chastises her for allowing his children to roam all over Salzburg in what he considers inappropriate clothing. Maria pleads with him to get to know and love his children. Exasperated, he orders her to return to the abbey. Suddenly, he hears his children singing a song for the Baroness (a reprise of “The Sound of

The Sound of Music Music”). As he watches their performance from the next room, he smiles, hums along and sings8 the remainder of the song. The children are stunned! After the song ends, no one moves. When their father moves towards them, they run to him for hugs. Von Trapp apologizes to Maria and asks her to stay. Maria and the children sing “The Lonely Goatherd”9 while they perform a puppet show for their guests. Afterwards, the Captain compliments his children and tells Maria he is very impressed. Elsa begins to consider Maria a rival. Max announces that he has found an exciting entry for the festival; “a singing group all in one family ... yours!” The Captain, however, refuses to allow his children to sing in public. The children beg their father to sing, so he plays the guitar and sings a song about Austria’s national flower, “Edelweiss.”10 The song’s last line requests a blessing on their homeland, which seems especially poignant with the looming threat of invasion by Germany. Max suggests Georg join his children as part of his newly discovered act — the von Trapp Family Singers. At a party to introduce the Baroness, the orchestra plays the “Laendler,”11 an Austrian folk dance. On the terrace, Maria demonstrates the dance to the children. When Georg dances with Maria, there is obviously an attraction. Witnessing their dance, the Baroness becomes even more jealous. The Captain insists it is bedtime, so his children perform “So Long, Farewell,” in which they collectively, and then one by one, bid the guests good night in several languages. Max insists Maria join the party as his dinner partner. While she changes for the party, Elsa hints that Georg is attracted to Maria, which greatly disturbs her. She changes back into her simple clothes, quickly packs and sneaks down the stairs and heads to the nunnery. Max tries to get the children to rehearse for the approaching festival, but their rendition of “The Sound of Music” is completely dispirited. When their father announces his engagement to the Baroness, the children head for the nunnery to see Maria, but are told she won’t see anyone. Maria confesses to the Reverend Mother that she came back because her feelings for the Captain frightened her. She convinces Maria that she must face her problems and not hide in the nunnery. The wise Reverend Mother encourages her to “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” to determine God’s will for her life. After the children return home, they sing a reprise of “My Favorite Things” in an attempt to raise their spirits, but it doesn’t work. Suddenly, they hear Maria’s voice and run to meet her. When

South Pacific they tell her about their father’s impending marriage, Maria is stunned. The children happily shout to their father that Maria has returned. Maria apologizes for leaving without saying goodbye and informs him that she will stay only until another governess is found. Later that evening, as Elsa babbles on about the wedding plans, Georg stops her. Realizing what is about to happen, she bows out of their relationship. Von Trapp finds Maria in the garden and admits it was not the same while she was away. As they wander into the gazebo, he reveals that his engagement is off. He explains that a person shouldn’t marry someone when they’re in love with someone else. They express their mutual love by singing “Something Good.” During the wedding procession, the nuns sing a reprise of “Maria.” Everything seems resolved and the wedding appears to be a perfect ending, but ... In a peaceful Anschluss in March 1938, Germany invades Austria. As soon as the Captain returns from his honeymoon, von Trapp will be expected to serve the Nazi regime. Liesl asks Maria’s motherly advice about Rolf, who has become a Nazi sympathizer. They sing a reprise of “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” with different lyrics to convince Liesl to wait a year or two before becoming romantically involved. Georg tells Maria that he has been “requested” to accept a commission in the German Navy. If he refuses, it could be fatal for all of them, but his conscience will not allow him to accept. The alternative is to leave Austria. As they try to escape, they are intercepted, but the Captain claims the entire family is supposed to perform at the music festival. They are allowed to perform to prove that nothing in Austria has changed. Immediately afterwards, the Captain will be escorted to his assignment. At the festival, the family sings a complicated arrangement of “Do-Re-Mi.” After the Captain bids his fellow countrymen goodbye, he begs them to never let their love for their country die. During “Edelweiss,” he is overcome with emotions, so Maria and the children join him. Then he encourages the audience to sing, which they do. While they are awaiting the judges’ decision, Max announces an encore performance, the last time the von Trapps will sing together for a long time. Their encore presentation is a reprise of “So Long, Farewell,” which opportunely allows the family members to leave the stage. Maria and Georg finish the song and walk out of the spotlight. When Max announces the von Trapps as the winners, they fail to appear.

282 A search party is formed to find the family. Rolf discovers them hiding in the graveyard of Maria’s old convent, and after a brief confrontation with the Captain, alerts his fellow soldiers of their presence. As the von Trapps speed towards the mountains, the Germans can’t follow because their vehicles have been sabotaged by a couple of the nuns from the Abbey. While a chorus sings a reprise of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” the von Trapps hike over the Alps to freedom in Switzerland. Part of the film’s charm is its on location filming in Salzburg and the beautiful countryside surrounding the city. When tourists visit Salzburg today, they can see the house that was used as the von Trapp mansion, the gazebo (which was moved out near the road so pictures can be taken in it), Mirabell Gardens and Nonnberg Abbey (Nunnery) and its graveyard. Since Hammerstein was deceased by the time the film was made, Rodgers wrote both music and lyrics for two new songs.12 Three songs were omitted from the original score.13 In his autobiography, Richard Rodgers admits The Sound of Music is “a sentimental musical, but the truth is that almost everything in it was based on fact.”14 In my opinion, The Sound of Music is the second best movie musical of the Sixties behind only West Side Story, so it could very likely be considered one of the greatest of all time. Julie Andrews was the perfect choice to portray Maria, but Christopher Plummer was, as Bosley Crowther, The New York Times critic, described him, “horrendous.” The children were delightful. Musically, it is one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s best scores with “The Sound of Music,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” “Edelweiss,” “So Long, Farewell,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” Even their liturgical music for the nuns is excellent. Speaking of the nuns, they sang beautifully, especially Marni Nixon and Margery McKay, who dubbed Peggy Wood’s vocals.

South Pacific 20th Century–Fox, March 19, 1958, 171 minutes Principal Cast: Rossano Brazzi (Emile de Becque), Mitzi Gaynor (Nellie Forbush), John Kerr (Lieutenant Cable), Ray Walston (Luther Billis), Juanita Hall (Bloody Mary), France Nuyen (Liat) Director: Joshua Logan

283 Producer: Buddy Adler Screenwriter: Paul Osborn Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Some Enchanted Evening” No. 28 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Bali Ha’i”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ● Original Cast album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987. Availability: DVD

South Pacific debuted on Broadway in 1949 and ultimately ran even longer than Oklahoma! For the musical’s libretto, Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan adapted two short stories from James A. Michener’s Pulitzer prize–winning novel, Tales of the South Pacific: “Fo’ Dolla” and “Our Heroine.” The common element of both short stories is the power of love to break down prejudice. An integral part of the musical was World War II, which was still very much in the minds of United States military personnel, their families and everyone who had lived through that era. At the 1950 Tony Awards, South Pacific won six awards including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Mary Martin), and Best Actor in a Musical (Ezio Pinza). The musical also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the third musical to be so honored. When the action begins, a PBY1 is transporting Lieutenant Joe Cable to an unnamed South Pacific island where a group of American Seabees and Marines sing “Bloody Mary,” about a Tonkinese con-woman. Luther Billis, an affable wheeler-dealer, becomes intrigued with Bloody Mary’s boar’s tooth bracelet from the off-limits island, Bali Ha’i, where the French planters have shipped their daughters for safe keeping. The men reflect on what their island most lacks (“There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame”). During the song, a group of nurses jog by and Ensign Nellie Forbush stops to collect her laundered shirts from Billis. When Lt. Cable arrives, Bloody Mary covets him as a potential mate for her daughter and offers him a shrunken head from Bali Ha’i. He asks Bloody Mary2 what Bali Ha’i means, which leads into the song.3 Cable is transfixed as he listens. Billis immediately sees the Lieutenant as his ticket to the forbidden island. Captain George Brackett4 comes marching down the beach and learns that Cable has been sent on a

South Pacific mission to establish a coast watch. To accomplish his mission, Cable needs to find a man to go with him who really knows the area. Headquarters had suggested a French planter, Emile de Becque, who used to have a plantation on Maria Louise Island. At de Becque’s estate, he and nurse, Nellie Forbush, are having tea. She asks Emile if all the planters are running away from something. Emile says people everywhere runaway. She can’t believe that this horrible war is the end of civilization as they know it. Nellie sings “Cockeyed Optimist” that explains her outlook on life. In “Twin Soliloquies,” she and Emile5 imagine what it would be like to live together on this hilltop with a breathtaking view of the ocean. Nellie worries that she is too much of a little hick, while Emile worries about their age difference. In “Some Enchanted Evening,”6 Emile sings about the first time he saw Nellie and knew he had found his true love. Now he doesn’t want to lose her, so he proposes. When Nellie asks why he left France, he admits he killed a man. Somehow, she believes it was justified. After Nellie leaves, Emile and his two Eurasian children7 sing “Dites-moi.” Brackett wants Nellie to find out as much as possible about de Becque so she agrees primarily because she realizes how little she knows about him. While Nellie scrubs her hair, she sings “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.” As some of the nurses dump buckets of water on her head to wash the soap away, Emile arrives and all the nurses leave so they are alone. He invites her to his home for dinner to meet his friends and learn more about him. He tells Nellie the time with her is very special. After they kiss, he rides away on his horse. After Emile leaves, the nurses return and tease Nellie — she really washed him out of her hair. She sings “A Wonderful Guy,” in which she loudly proclaims that love is a beautiful thing. The other nurses join in the song and she giddily dances on the beach. When Brackett asks Emile’s cooperation on Cable’s secret mission, de Becque explains that he is not willing to face the probability of death and risk losing his chance of life with Nellie. Since the mission seems doomed, Brackett allows Cable to go fishing, which reminds him of Bali Ha’i. As he and Billis head for the island, a chorus reprises “Bali Ha’i.” While Billis gets involved in the boar’s tooth ceremony, Mary takes the “Lutalant” to meet Liat, a beautiful young Tonkinese girl, who he learns is Mary’s daughter. After they kiss (more is implied), Cable8 sings “Younger Than Springtime” to describe his feelings for Liat. Bloody Mary is confident she has found a son-in-law.

Springtime in the Rockies At the dinner party, Nellie has a wonderful time until Emile introduces her to his two children. The revelation is definitely a surprise, but the fact that their deceased mother was Polynesian upsets Nellie much more than she wants to admit. As quickly as she can, Nellie drives her jeep back down the mountain.9 Cable comes to Bali Ha’i and he and Liat swim in a mountain lagoon. Bloody Mary asks Cable if he is happy and sings “Happy Talk” as Liat pantomimes the lyrics. After the song, Cable gives Liat his grandfather’s pocket watch. Mary tells him that he and Liat are right for each other and would have “special good babies.” At the mention of babies, Cable tells Mary he can’t marry Liat. She drags Liat away and throws the watch on the ground. Cable picks up the watch, and as they leave, reprises a portion of “Younger Than Springtime.” During the Thanksgiving Follies, Nellie, in a much too large sailor outfit, sings “Honey Bun.” The object of her affection turns out to be Billis, who is wearing a grass wig, exaggerated makeup, a cocoanut shell bra and a grass skirt. During the performance, the nurses sing the song while Billis makes his ship tattoo on his stomach undulate. After the song, Billis presents Nellie with flowers and a note from Emile. After she reads the note, Lt. Cable appears and asks why she’s sad. He says he is confused how he can love Liat but can’t marry her. Nellie tells him that people like them have to go back to where they belong. When she asks about his girl back in Philadelphia, Cable sings “My Girl Back Home.”10 Nellie joins the song as they contemplate how far away they are from their old hometowns. Emile has heard that Nellie has requested a transfer and asks why. He thinks it’s because of his children, but she admits it’s because of their mother. She claims her feelings were born in her. Emile refuses to believe it. Cable, who has witnessed their conversation, agrees with Emile: “It isn’t born in you; it happens after you’re born.” In the key song of musical, “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught,” Cable sings that people have to be taught prejudice. Cable says if he lives through this war, he will not return home. Emile philosophizes that if all you care about is here, then it is a good place to be, but when your dream is taken away, there is no place. In “This Nearly Was Mine,” Emile laments that he came close to realizing his dream. Cable convinces Emile to accompany him on the mission, which is successful and the intelligence received results in the destruction of Japanese convoys. Emile radios a report that Cable has been killed. Touched by Liat’s grief when she learns of her

284 lover’s death, and fearing Emile’s death, Nellie decides to conquer her prejudice. The final scene shows Nellie at a meal with Emile’s children. As they sing “Dites-moi,” Nellie forgets the words. Emile, who unexpectedly returns home, sings the appropriate words. Nellie and the children are overjoyed. As they finish the meal, Emile and Nellie join hands under the table as the camera pans out and up for a final breathtaking view of the islands. The film’s director, Joshua Logan, who also directed the Broadway version, received a lot of criticism for his use of colored filters in the musical numbers, because this gimmick ruins the naturalness and beauty of the scenes. Mitzi Gaynor was an appropriately optimistic Nellie, Ray Walston was a great choice to play Billis and Juanita Hall was an excellent Bloody Mary, even though her vocals were inexplicably dubbed. John Kerr looked the part of Cable, but why not cast an actor who could also sing the part? Even though Rossano Brazzi is Italian, he was cast as the French planter and his vocals were also dubbed. The 2001 television production that starred Glenn Close as Nellie and Harry Connick, Jr., as Cable was an improvement, even though Rade Serbedzija, who played Emile, was also not French and wasn’t much of a singer. With an excellent score that includes such gems as “Bloody Mary,” “There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame,” “Bali Ha’i,” “A Cock-Eyed Optimist,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “A Wonderful Guy,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught,” and “This Nearly Was Mine,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s great musical deserves a quality remake. At the 2008 Tony Awards, a revival of South Pacific scooped up seven Tony awards including Best Revival of a Musical.

Springtime in the Rockies 20th Century–Fox, November 6, 1942, 91 minutes Principal Cast: Betty Grable (Vicky Lane), John Payne (Dan Christy), Carmen Miranda (Rosita Murphy), Cesar Romero (Victor Prince), Charlotte Greenwood (Phoebe Gray), Edward Everett Horton (McTavish) Director: Irving Cummings Producer: William LeBaron Screenwriters: Walter Bullock, Ken Englund; adaptation by Jacques Thery; based on a story by Philip Wylie Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Mack Gordon

285 Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD is not currently available

Springtime in the Rockies, which as Betty Grable’s first starring role, is a musical remake of the 1936 comedy Second Honeymoon. Miss Grable became the American GI’s favorite pin-up girl during World War II. While Harry James was in Hollywood working on this film, he met and fell in love with her. He divorced his wife, Louise Tobin, and married Betty. At the 42nd Street Theatre, Stars in Your Eyes starring Vicky Lane and Dan Christy is playing. Backstage, Victor Prince, Vicky’s former partner, visits and wants her to rejoin him. Dan, Vicky’s current partner and love interest, is very tardy for the evening’s performance. When he finally arrives, he has been cheating on Vicky with a socialite. She detects perfume on his clothes, but before she can accuse him, they must perform the musical number “Run, Little Raindrop, Run,” which is in a park setting during a rain storm. Vicky and Dan fight throughout the number. Afterwards, they make up briefly until Vicky discovers a woman’s initialized handkerchief with perfume and lipstick in Dan’s pocket. She leaves and teams up with Victor again, while Dan attempts a solo career. However, he must lure Vicky back in order to get backers for his next show. Since Victor and Vicky are performing at a Lake Louise resort in the beautiful Canadian Rockies, Dan must travel there to talk her into coming back. On the way, in a considerably inebriated state, he picks up a valet, McTavish, and a secretary, Rosita Murphy. Harry James and His Music Makers are a featured attraction at the resort. After a short excerpt from their theme song, “Ciribiribin,”1 the band launches into “I Had the Craziest Dream.”2 Next, Harry and his band play his schmaltzy rendition of “You Made Me Love You.”3 Dan, who is sleeping in his hotel room, is awakened from his alcoholic stupor by the trumpet playing. With great difficulty, he dresses to go downstairs to see Vicky. Victor4 and Vicky perform a ballroom dancetype routine to a reprise of “Run, Little Raindrop, Run” accompanied by James’ orchestra. When Dan learns that Victor and Vicky are engaged, he kisses his ditzy secretary, Rosita, to make Vicky jealous. Later back in Dan’s hotel suite, Rosita introduces her brothers (actually her band, Bando da lua) and, in her customary midriff outfit, performs a Portuguese version of “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” After another Vicky and Victor dance, Rosita flirts with McTavish. During a dance set, Dan and Rosita dance together which makes Vicky jealous.

A Star Is Born Later in the powder room, Rosita tells Vicky that she and Dan are not romantically involved and explains how he picked her up in Detroit to be his secretary. Phoebe Gray, left alone at a nightclub table, wanders onto the dance floor where she performs a comic dance5 to a reprise of “I Had the Craziest Dream.” Afterwards, Rosita takes the stage and performs the samba, “Tic Tac Do Meu Coracao.”6 On the anniversary of their first kiss, Dan tries to win over Vicky by sending her a bouquet of long stem roses and arranging a dinner in her suite. Vicky telephones Victor to come to her room, but Dan hides behind the curtains. Once he is discovered, Victor and Vicky argue and break off their engagement. Dan offers her an engagement ring, but she throws it out the window. Early the next morning, when she goes looking for the ring, she finds Dan waiting for her and they agree to become engaged. The next day as she is checking out of the hotel, Vicky learns that Dan was only playing up to her to get her back in his show, so she gives the ring back. Dan had told Rosita to buy airline tickets to New York, but Rosita tells Vicky the tickets were for California. Vicky is convinced Dan wants her for more than just a partner in his show. Dan, Vicky, Rosita, Victor, Phoebe and Harry James decide to finance their own show. Rosita informs them that McTavish inherited a great deal of money, so collectively they attack him to convince him to put up the money for their show. Finally, Rosita takes him into a room to privately convince him. She must have succeeded because the finale is a big production number from the show titled “Pan-American Jubilee.” During the number, Rosita sings; Victor and Rosita dance together; Victor and Vicky dance a jitterbug-like routine; Phoebe and McTavish dance together; and Harry James solos on his trumpet. Springtime in the Rockies is exactly what film critic Theodore Strauss described as “a second-rate song and dance”7 film. However, it may have been just the mindless entertainment that 1942 audiences needed; the U.S. had been actively involved in World War II since the previous December. A young Jackie Gleason had a minor role as Dan Christy’s agent.

A Star Is Born Warner Bros., October 11, 1954, 176 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester), James Mason (Norman Maine/Ernest Sidney

A Star Is Born Gubbins), Jack Carson (Libby), Charles Bickford (Oliver Niles), Tom Noonan (Danny McGuire) Director: George Cukor Producer: Sidney Luft Screenwriter: Moss Hart Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Choreographer: Richard Barstow Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 7 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 16 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “The Man That Got Away” No. 11 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“The Man That Got Away”) ❍ Best Actor in a Leading Role ( James Mason) ❍ Best Actress in a Leading Role ( Judy Garland) ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ● Added to the National Film Registry in 2000 Availability: DVD

A Star Is Born is a musical version of a 1937 nonmusical film that starred Janet Gaynor and Frederic March. Moss Hart patterned his screenplay for the film on Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, and Robert Carson’s 1937 screenplay. Norman Maine is a former illustrious, but now fading, film star. At the Night of Stars benefit, he is very inebriated and causes havock backstage. While Esther Blodgett and two men perform a song-and-dance routine to “Gotta Have Me Go With You,” Maine staggers onstage. Esther rescues him from making a complete spectacle of himself by incooperating him into their act. Afterwards, realizing Esther saved him from humiliation Maine thanks her, draws a heart on the wall with her lipstick, and asks her to dinner. The band’s pianist, Danny McGuire, rescues her from this infamous womanizer. The studio’s publicity director, Matt Libby, takes Norman home to sleep it off, but he suddenly awakes thinking about Esther. Determined to find her, he goes to the Cocoanut Grove where he remembered she said she sang with a band. The maitre d’ suggests he might find her at a Sunset Strip club where musicians jam after-hours. When Norman finds the club, it is empty except for Esther and a few instrumentalists, who are performing “The Man That Got Away.”1 He sits in the shadows listening to her sing this torch song and is completely mesmerized by her considerable vocal talent. After her song, he praises her and insists that she has that extra something to be a star. As he drives her home, he tries to convince her to leave the band and allow him to help her get a

286 movie contract. She agrees to meet him the following morning and give him her decision. Esther is far too excited to sleep, so she goes upstairs, wakes Danny to inform him that she’s decided to leave the band. He thinks she is being extremely foolish, but can’t convince her that Maine was merely making a pass. The following day, Norman can’t remember Esther’s address, so he leaves for a film shoot for six weeks without contacting her. Since she quit the band, Esther takes whatever work she can get. Norman finally recognizes her voice singing a TV commercial and tracks her down. He convinces her that he believes in her potential and talks the head of his film studio, Oliver Niles, into giving her a screen test. No one at the studio takes her seriously—they all think she is just another of Maine’s women that is here today and gone tomorrow. However, they give her a stage name, Vicki Lester, and allow her to appear in a very minor part in one film. Later, Maine tricks Niles into listening to Vicki sing and he is impressed. She is given the lead in a musical film that is previewed at a special showing of Maine’s newest film. In the film, she performs an eighteen-minute musical sequence titled “Born in a Trunk.” She tells the audience the story of her career from a small child appearing with her parents in vaudeville to the present. The “Born in a Trunk” sequence includes: • A short excerpt of “Swanee”2; • “Born in a Trunk,”3 during which she sits on the stage apron to tell her story; • “I’ll Get By (As Long As I Have You),”4 the first song she sang as a teenager when her parents felt it was time for her to sing a solo; • As she goes from office to office looking for a job, she sings “You Took Advantage of Me”5; • Her first job was in a tap dance show, where she is one of a group of girls who perform to “Black Bottom”6; • When she finally gets an offer to sing in New York City, it was much less than she expected; she sings “The Peanut Vendor”7 in a small club where a drunk keeps requesting “Melancholy Baby”; • Next, she sings “My Melancholy Baby”8 in a swank, sophisticated night club setting; • A benefactor produces a show in which she stars; she and others in the cast perform a rousing production number of “Swanee”; • The sequence ends with more of “Born in a Trunk.” Her film is a success and Vicki becomes the star that Norman had predicted. As his career declines,

287 their relationship continues to flourish. At a recording session (“Here’s What I’m Here For”), he asks her to marry him, which she accepts. When they inform the studio, they congratulate them, but privately think that she is headed for trouble. On their first night as husband and wife, when Norman turns on the radio in their motel room, Vicki sings “It’s a New World,” her first number one hit recording. After an idyllic honeymoon, they move into an expensive Malibu beach house. As his wife’s career soars, Norman’s continues to spiral downward. After the studio purchases the rest of his contract because of his alcoholism, no other studios will offer him work. He just sits at home playing solitaire and putting golf balls in the living room. One evening when Vicki returns from a rehearsal for her next film, she performs all the parts in the production number she has been rehearsing (“Someone at Last”). Later at the Academy Awards Banquet Ceremony, Vicki wins the Oscar for Best Actress. During her acceptance speech, an inebriated Norman interrupts, begs for a job and accidentally strikes Vicki in the face with his drunken gestures. If Norman’s career was not finished before, it certainly is now. Vicki films the song “Lose That Long Face” for her next film. During a break, Oliver Niles visits her dressing room and inquires about Norman. She tells him that he entered an alcohol treatment sanitarium. She confesses she doesn’t understand why he insists on destroying himself. She thought her love was strong enough to redeem him, but it isn’t. Niles promises he will try to help by getting Norman a job. After her emotional talk with Oliver, Vicki returns to the sound stage for another take of “Lose That Long Face.” Niles visits the sanitarium and offers Norman a small role in a film, but his pride will not allow him to take anything but the lead. Once he is discharged, he spends most of his time at the race track. In the club house bar, where he orders ginger ale, he and Matt Libby get in a fight when Libby accuses him of living off his wife. When Norman is knocked down, he uses the humiliation to start drinking again. After an extended drinking binge, he is arrested and sentenced to ninety days in jail. Vicki pleads with the judge, so he suspends the sentence and places Norman in her custody. At the beach house, Norman wakes from sleeping off his drunken episode and overhears a conversation between his wife and Niles. She plans to quit her film career to take care of Norman and help restore his health. After Niles leaves, Norman announces that he is going to turn his life around and will start with a sunset swim. Before he heads for

A Star Is Born the beach, he asks Vicki to sing “It’s a New World.” As she sings, he wades into the ocean to commit suicide. Grief-stricken, Vicki becomes a hermit. When her studio accompanist and former band pianist, Danny McGuire, comes to escort her to a benefit, she refuses to attend. Danny criticizes her for wasting the career her husband died trying to save. Realizing Danny’s words are true, she attends the benefit. When Vicki is introduced, she steps into the spotlight and says, “Hello everybody ... this is ... Mrs. Norman Maine.” A Star Is Born was originally just over three hours long, but after many theater owners complained about its length, Warner Bros., at the objection of its director, George Cukor, and its producer, Sid Luft, Judy Garland’s then husband, cut thirty minutes. The present DVD version has restored most of the cut footage, but used production stills to finish the restoration (suddenly seeing black and white photos in the middle of a color film is exceedingly strange). After M-G-M dropped Judy Garland’s contract in 1950, she didn’t appear in another film until A Star Is Born. Her role as Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination. It seems ironic that she didn’t learn anything about avoiding some of the same problems that plagued her own life. As evidence of her substance abuse problems and her inability to be the professional she once was, Warner Bros. followed M-G-M by dropping her contract and refused to use her in any future films. Her own real-life problems and five failed marriages led to her death from a drug overdose in 1969. James Mason, her co-star in A Star Is Born, delivered the eulogy at her funeral. Even though AFI named A Star Is Born at No. 7 and Entertainment Weekly pegged it at No. 16 in their respective lists of the 25 greatest movie musicals, I respectively disagree. A Star Is Born is, as Bosley Crowther described it, “a drama and a heartbreaking one,”9 but there are long stretches during the film when there are no musical numbers. The film may be great drama, but it isn’t a great musical film. There isn’t much to commend musically except for the “Born in a Truck” sequence, which is well done but far too long, and “The Man That Got Away,” which gets raves from critics and fans. The other songs are very forgettable even if they were written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. Even though the film received six Academy Awards nominations (it didn’t win any), it wasn’t a great box-office success. In my opinion, Miss Garland’s substance abuse took its toll on her considerable vocal talents more than it affected her acting skills.

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State Fair What a wasted talent! I prefer the Judy Garland of films like The Wizard of Oz, The Harvey Girls and Meet Me in St. Louis rather than the aging, fading star of A Star Is Born. A third version of A Star Is Born, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, was released in 1976.

State Fair 20th Century–Fox, August 30, 1945, 100 minutes Principal Cast: Jeanne Crain (Margy Frake), Dana Andrews (Pat Gilbert), Dick Haymes (Wayne Frake), Vivian Blaine (Emily), Charles Winninger (Abel Frake), Fay Bainter (Melissa Frake), Percy Kilbride (Dave Miller), William Marshall (Marty) Director: Walter Lang Producer: William Perlberg Screenwriter/Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II Music: Richard Rodgers Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“It Might as Well Be Spring”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“It Might as Well Be Spring”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

When Richard Rodgers approached his writing partner, Lorenz “Larry” Hart, about writing a musical based on Lynn Riggs’ Green Grow the Lilacs, Hart wasn’t interested, so Rodgers fortuitously partnered with experienced librettist/lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II for what became Oklahoma! in 1943. For the next decade or more this duo turned out one blockbuster Broadway musical after another every other year. In between Oklahoma! and Carousel, they wrote their only original film musical, State Fair, a musical version of a 1933 non-musical film1 that starred Janet Gaynor and Will Rogers. State Fair opens with “Our State Fair” as Dave Miller, the hay, feed and grain dealer, and Abel and Melissa Frake, the father and mother of the Frake family of Brunswick, Iowa, sing about the upcoming state fair. In “It Might as Well Be Spring,”2 Margy,3 the Frake’s daughter, packs for the trip to the fair. She shows all the symptoms of spring fever, but according to the film, it’s late August. The pessimistic Miller and Abel argue about the possibility of Blue Boy, Abel’s prize Hampshire boar, winning the blue ribbon. Miller also predicts

that something bad will happen to a member of the Frake family. Abel proposes a wager—Blue Boy will win and nothing bad will happen to his family. When Abel samples Melissa’s mincemeat, he chastises her for omitting the brandy, but she sternly refuses to add any liquor to her recipe. When she goes to the telephone, Abel spices up her mincemeat with a liberal helping of brandy. When she sends him to get a box to transport her pickles, she adds even more. While Wayne, the Frake’s son, tries to talk his girlfriend into going to the fair, Margy sings a reprise of “It Might as Well Be Spring,” dreaming of a beau who would be a combination of three of her favorite actors: Ronald Colman, Charles Boyer and Bing Crosby. Her reverie is interrupted by the arrival of Harry, her boyfriend, who tells her about his plans for an ultra-modern scientific farm and house — with linoleum instead of carpet. She promises to answer his marriage proposal after the fair. After a montage of fair scenes, Wayne seeks revenge from a three-ring carnival game whose prizes were fake. With a little help from a girl that he thought was the chief-of-police’s daughter, the barker finally refunds the $8 Wayne had lost the previous year. Meanwhile, Margy meets Pat Gilbert, a Des Moines Register reporter, when they sit together on the roller coaster. They end up spending the day together. At the Swine Pavilion, Abel finds Blue Boy apparently sick, but his boar revives quickly when a Durock sow is penned nearby — Blue Boy was apparently just lovesick. Later that evening on the midway, Margy and Gilbert meet again, while Wayne looks for the chief-of-police’s daughter. When he asks the chief, it turns out his daughter is far too young for Wayne. Realizing the girl who helped him was obviously not the chief ’s daughter, he wanders into a pavilion where Tommy Thomas’ band is playing. Emily Edwards4 is introduced to sing “That’s For Me.” Wayne quickly realizes Emily is the girl he was looking for and she seems to be singing to him. After her performance, Wayne dances with her as Marty, the band’s male vocalist, sings “It’s a Grand Night for Singing.” All the dancers join on the second chorus and Wayne solos as the dance continues. Then the melody is passed from couple to couple at different venues around the fairgrounds, including Pat and Margy on the airplane ride. The next morning, both Margy and Wayne are still incredibly happy about their night at the fair (“That’s for Me” reprise). Later at the Pickles and Mincemeat Contests,

289 the judges have a difficult time picking a winner between Mrs. Metcalfe and Mrs. Frake—one judge can’t seem to get enough of Mrs. Frake’s mincemeat. Mrs. Frake’s sour pickles takes first place and the judges give a special plaque to her for her unusually intoxicating mincemeat. When Margy and Pat take in the harness races, their pick wins and they embrace. Later that night, Pat informs Margy that he’s not the marrying kind. As she’s leaving for the night, Margy tells him that she couldn’t marry anyone but him. That evening Emily hosts a birthday party for one of the band members in her hotel room. During the party, she, Marty and the rest of the crowd reprise “It’s a Grand Night for Singing.” Wayne meets a song-plugger, Magee, who demonstrates one of his songs. Later at the party, the crowd begs Wayne to sing, so he pulls out Magee’s song, “Isn’t It Kinda Fun?,” to sing to Emily. When Marty accuses Wayne of plugging Magee’s song for payola (paying him to push the song), he socks Marty and leaves the party. Blue Boy has already won first prize in the senior boar Hampshire class, so he now competes for the grand championship. When the Durock’s owner takes his sow to be weighed, Blue Boy collapses. Abel manages to get Blue Boy into the judging ring only to have him collapse again. After he finally gets the hog back on his feet, Blue Boy is declared the grand champion. That evening at the fair, Marty, Emily and a quartet who also play sweet potatoes (ocarinas) and harmonicas, perform “All I Owe Ioway.” In the audience, Abel and Melissa Frake and a couple of the mincemeat judges also join in the performance that expands into a full-scale production number. Magee, the song-plugger, informs Wayne that Tommy Thomas has bought his song for Emily to sing and they are flying to Chicago to perform at the Palmer House that night. He also tells Wayne that Emily is married — separated from a songwriter. Pat is offered a prestigious newspaper job in Chicago, but he needs to leave immediately, so he doesn’t show up to meet Margy as planned. Once the fair is over and the Frake’s return home, Abel tries to collect his bet from Dave Miller. Margy is still depressed until she gets a call from Pat; he’s in town and wants to marry her. Wayne sings a reprise of “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” as he and his hometown girlfriend drive down the road. All of the Frake’s are happy! In 1962 another movie musical version of State Fair premiered with some additional songs by Rodgers for that reincarnation (Hammerstein had died in 1960). Instead of being set in Iowa, it was set at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Even though

Stormy Weather the 1962 film version was not particularly successful critically or financially, it would be nice if we could combine the best actors and scenes from both into one blockbuster movie musical. I’d take Charles Winniger and Fay Bainter as Mr. and Mrs. Frake from the 1945 version and Pat Boone as Wayne, Ann-Margaret as Emily, and Bobby Darin as Margy’s love interest from the 1962 version. Jeanne Crain or Pamela Tiffin would be a toss up as Margy since both of their vocals were dubbed. State Fair may not be as outstanding as several of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Broadway musicals, but songs like “Our State Fair,” “It Might as Well Be Spring,” “That’s For Me,” and “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” are catchy and very singable. In 1996, both film versions were adapted into a Broadway musical. Some additional songs, taken from other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, were added for that stage version. That production earned two Tony Award nominations.

Stormy Weather 20th Century–Fox, July 21, 1943, 77 minutes Principal Cast: Lena Horne (Selina Rogers), Bill Robinson (Corky), Ada Brown (Ada), Emmett “Babe” Wallace (Chick Bailey), Cab Calloway and his Band (themselves), Fats Waller (himself ) Director: Andrew Stone Producer: William LeBaron Screenwriters: Frederick Jackson and Ted Koehler; adapted by H. S. Kraft from an original story by Jerry Horwin and Seymour B. Robinson Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographers: Clarence Robinson and Nick Castle Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Stormy Weather” named #30 in AFI 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Ain’t Misbehavin’) ● Added to the National Film Registry, 2001 Availability: DVD

Stormy Weather is basically an all–African American musical revue. 20th Century–Fox called the film “a cavalcade of Negro entertainment.” The film opens with Corky and some neighborhood children dancing on his front porch. One of the kids retrieves the mail, which contains a magazine with Corky’s picture on the front and an article about African-American (“black” is the word used in the film) entertainment for the past twentyfive years. The children request more information, so Corky begins his tale with his return from World

Strike Up the Band War I in 1918 where he had been a member of Jim Europe’s Infantry Band. At a celebration party, revelers dance to “The Jelly Roll Blues”1 and “Darktown Strutters’ Ball.”2 The evening’s featured performer is Selina Rogers, who sings “There’s No Two Ways About Love.”3 After her performance, Jim Europe4 introduces his old Army buddy, Corky, to Selina. She tries to convince Corky to stay in New York, but he has other plans. The climax of the evening is a cakewalk production number to “De Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)”5 and “At a Georgia Camp Meeting.”6 Before the evening ends, Corky promises to come back to Selina when he becomes somebody. In the next scene, Corky is on a boat bound for Memphis. Also on board is a minstrel troupe7 who performs “Linda Brown.”8 Corky sprinkles sand on the ship’s deck to perform a soft shoe to “Dah, Dat, Dah.”9 In Memphis, Corky works as a waiter at the Beale St. Café, where Ada, the café owner, sings “That Ain’t Right,”10 accompanied by Fats Waller and his band. When musical producer/performer Chick Bailey and his entourage come to Ada’s eatery, Fats performs one of his most famous songs, “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”11 Among Chick Bailey’s group is Selina, who recognizes Corky and insists that Chick put him in his show. Actually, he offers both Ada and Corky jobs, but he sees to it that Corky’s role is very minor. At a performance, Selina performs “Diga Diga Doo.”12 After Selina’s number, Chick sings “African Dance.”13 During his performance, Corky dances on various size drums behind Chick. The audience loves Corky’s dancing, but Chick resents being upstaged, so he fires him. Corky is trying to put on a show, but doesn’t have the money to pay for rehearsals. The chorus girls refuse to work until they are paid in full. Corky’s friend, Gabe,14 who is currently a boot black, poses as a rich guy who wants to see a sample of the show before he agrees to finance the production. Mae15 sings “I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City”16 and some of the male dancers perform a very acrobatic-style dance. Gabe guarantees their pay plus a $5 raise, but Selina spoils the ruse when she recognizes Gabe. Luckily, Gabe’s chauffer comes up with the necessary funds (he had recently won big at the horse track). After Selina performs “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby,”17 Corky asks her to marry him and quit show business. Performing is still very important to her, so she leaves for Paris where she becomes a big star. Meanwhile, Corky builds the house he had hoped would be his and Selina’s. Cab Calloway drops by to tell Corky about a

290 show that they are putting on for soldiers. He assures Calloway that he’ll be there. At this big all-star benefit, “the Master of HiDe-Ho,” Calloway, decked out in a white satin zoot suit, performs “Geechy Joe.”18 Next, Selina sings “Stormy Weather”19 (Corky is sitting in the audience). The lyrics (about her and her man not being together so the rain just keeps coming) seem particularly appropriate. After she sings a chorus, the camera pans out a window where Katherine Dunham and her dance troupe perform a modern dance sequence based on the song’s lyrics. Then the camera pans back inside the window where Selina sings the song’s conclusion. Backstage, Selina and Corky reunite. For the film’s finale, Corky performs a song-anddance to “My My, Ain’t That Somethin’”20 accompanied by Calloway’s band. After a brief reprise of “There’s No Two Ways About Love,” Calloway performs a frantic rendition of “Jumpin’ Jive,”21 followed by an acrobatic dance by the Nicholas Brothers in which they perform several of their famous splits down a staircase. The film concludes with dancers flooding the set and a reprise of “My My, Ain’t That Somethin’.” Dooley Wilson, who played Gabe, is most famous as Joe, the pianist/singer at Rick’s night club in 1942’s Casablanca. Even though he sang “As Time Goes By” beautifully in that film, he didn’t sing in Stormy Weather. What an oversight! In general, the critics were impressed with Lena Horne and her rendition of “Stormy Weather,” but I was more impressed with Bill Robinson’s dancing. It is quite a treat to see and hear performances by Cab Calloway and Fats Waller.

Strike Up the Band M-G-M, September 27, 1940, 120 minutes Principal Cast: Mickey Rooney ( Jimmy Connors), Judy Garland (Mary Holden), June Preisser (Barbara Frances Morgan), William Tracy (Phillip Turner), Ann Shoemaker (Mrs. Connors), Larry Nunn (Willie Brewster), Margaret Early (Annie) Director/Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: John Monks, Jr., and Fred F. Finklehoffe Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Our Love Affair”) ❍ *Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Music, Score Availability: DVD

291 Strike Up the Band began as a George and Ira Gershwin Broadway musical, which was supposed to open in 1927, but it closed in Philadelphia during its pre–Broadway tour. Morrie Ryskind rewrote George S. Kaufman’s original book, which was extremely anti-war and placed most of the action in a dream. The war was between the U.S. and Switzerland over tariffs on imported chocolate. As usual, once M-G-M’s Arthur Freed got his hands on the show, the only thing left was the title song. The deleted songs were replaced with several oldies and some new musical numbers supplied by Arthur Freed and Roger Edens. In the late–Thirties, swing fever was sweeping the nation. Saddle-shoed girls and their boy friends were dancing to their favorite swing bands on jukeboxes in ice-cream parlors or listening to them over the radio. The new plot reflected the nation’s swing consciousness. After the opening credits, the Riverwood High School Band rehearses “National Emblem”1 march. Jimmy Connors, the band’s drummer, is exceedingly bored. Jimmy and his girlfriend, Mary Holden, attempt to convince the high school principal to allow the students to put together a dance orchestra that will compete in famous orchestra leader Paul Whiteman’s high school band contest. The principal approves of the idea, but the school doesn’t have any money to finance a trip to Chicago where the band would audition. Jimmy demonstrates a new arrangement of “Our Love Affair”2 that he wants Mary to sing. After he sings a chorus, she sings the verse and a second chorus. It is obvious that Mary is infatuated with Jimmy, but he seems to be more interested in his music and the formation of the band than anything else. As he tells her of his dream of conducting a symphonic orchestra, various fruits come to life (in animation) to play “Our Love Affair” as Jimmy directs. The scene shifts to the school gym where the students are decorating for a dance. Jimmy’s new swing band rehearses “Our Love Affair.” The rehearsal suddenly becomes a live performance with Jimmy beaming at its success. The dance’s big production number is “The La Conga,”3 which is performed by Mary, Jimmy, and a chorus.4 With over one hundred singers and dancers, the number is filmed from every conceivable camera angle. Jimmy must raise $200 to get the band to Chicago, so he decides to raise the funds by putting on a show (surprise, surprise!). Barbara Frances Morgan, a new student at River-

Strike Up the Band wood, complicates matters between Jimmy and Mary when she begins to monopolize Jimmy. She tricks him into going with her to the fair, so he has to tell Mary he can’t take her. Sitting in the library, all alone and very disappointed, Mary sings “Nobody.”5 The fund raising show is a presentation of a melodrama, “Nell of New Rochelle.” The performance begins with “The Gay Nineties,”6 and is followed by performances of several popular songs from the 1890s.7 The show raises $150 towards the trip. Jimmy goes with Barbara to talk to her father about the band playing for her birthday party for the additional $50, but her father has already hired Paul Whiteman’s orchestra. The scene shifts to the party where Whiteman and his orchestra play two of their hits: “When Day Is Done”8 and “Wonderful One.”9 While the Whiteman band takes a break, Jimmy and his band take over the bandstand to perform “Drummer Boy.”10 Whiteman is so impressed that he offers Jimmy a job as the drummer in a new band his sax player is organizing. At first Jimmy is tremendously excited about the job, but after talking it over with his mother, he realizes that he’d be running out on his band. He declines the opportunity, but Whiteman still offers Jimmy’s band a place in his competition. Just when things seem to be going great, one of Jimmy and Mary’s friends, Willie, needs to travel to Chicago for an operation. When Jimmy gives him the money they had raised, Barbara’s father hears of his altruism and arranges for the band to ride one of his trains to Chicago. Jimmy’s band wins (of course). To conclude the competition, Jimmy realizes his dream of conducting as he directs the combined bands and glee clubs in “Strike Up the Band,”11 “The La Conga,” “Our Love Affair,” and “Drummer Boy.” The film’s finale includes a short excerpt of “Strike Up the Band” with Jimmy and Mary superimposed over the American flag (as if the country needed a reminder that it might soon be involved in a war). As interesting as it would have been to see and hear the Gershwin’s original musical, the general public was completely satisfied with the film version of Strike Up the Band. Mickey and Judy were in their heyday and the movie-going public loved their films. In this one, Mickey dominates, especially in the “Drummer Boy” number. The film is entertaining, especially if you’re a fan of Rooney and Garland, but it is far from being one of the greatest of all-time.

Summer Stock

Summer Stock M-G-M, August 31, 1950, 109 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Jane Falbury), Gene Kelly ( Joe D. Ross), Eddie Bracken (Orville Wingait), Gloria De Haven (Abigail Falbury), Marjorie Main (Esme), Phil Silvers (Herb Blake), Ray Collins ( Jasper G. Wingait), Hans Conried (Harrison I. Keath) Director: Charles Walters Producer: Joe Pasternak Screenwriters: George Wells and Sy Gomberg Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Mack Gordon Choreographer: Nick Castle Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “Get Happy” AFI No. 61 Song in 100 Years ... 100 Songs Availability: DVD

Summer stock refers to theatrical productions that are often performed in barns or small theaters during the summer. Sometimes these seasonal theaters produce the same plays or musicals year after year so they can reuse the same scenery and costumes. Others specialize in introducing untried productions by new playwrights and some present plays or musicals that have recently closed on Broadway. Both most often employ young performers who are Broadway aspirants. During the Forties, Fifties, and Sixties, there were quite a number of summer stock theaters in the New England area. The film opens with a shot of a farm and pans in as Jane Falbury sings “If You Feel Like Singing, Sing” as she showers and dresses in overalls. The song expresses her philosophy: sing your troubles away even if you sing off key. Immediately after the song, Jane is confronted with trouble. Esme, her housekeeper, tells her the farmhands are quitting. The only way she can maintain the farm and do the heavy jobs is with a tractor, so she goes to town to purchase one from Orville Wingait, a hypochondriac that she has been engaged to for four years. Jane drives her new tractor home happily singing “(Howdy Neighbor) Happy Harvest” to all of her farmer friends. When she arrives at her farm, however, all sorts of people are unloading stuff into her barn. Without consulting Jane, her would-be actress sister, Abigail, has given Joe Ross and his theatrical company permission to use the barn as a summer theater and live at the farm during rehearsals. Jane finally agrees to this arrangement, but only if the thespians help with the farm chores. Herb Blake and Joe perform “Dig-Dig-Dig Dig For Your Dinner,” which is a mock sermon about doing a good day’s work.

292 The theatrical throng is awakened early the next morning by Esme shooting a shotgun. Wearily, they begin their assigned chores. They know nothing about farm life, so Jane has to teach them how to do everything. During a rehearsal, a ham actor named Harrison Keath1 and Abigail perform a number called “Mem’ry Island,” which satires old-fashioned musical songs. To make a bad song badly performed even worse, chickens cackle and scurry across the stage and cows moo. While Jane is in town explaining to Orville’s father, Jasper Wingait, what is going on at her farm, Herb wrecks her new tractor. That evening, the Historical Society sponsors a dance in Jane’s barn. With Mr. Wingait as the caller, the townspeople perform a square-dance called “The Portland Fancy.”2 When Joe entices Jane to dance, the rest of the theatrical troupe joins in as the band breaks into a fast swing-jitterbug number. The number eventually develops into a competitive challenge tap dance between Jane and Joe. When Mr. Wingait demands Jane evict the actors, she refuses and promises to return the tractor the next morning. Joe is forced to tell Jane about Herb wrecking the tractor. However, when she goes outside the next morning, there is a new tractor ( Joe had traded his station wagon for it). Late one night, Jane wanders into the barn, goes up onto the stage, and into the spotlight. Joe comes from the wings and warns Jane that once she gets greasepaint in her blood, she won’t be able to get it out. During their talk he tells her a little about his show and illustrates a love scene by singing “You Wonderful You.”3 Later, they dance a nice, easy dance. When he kisses her, she responds and runs away. Spurred on by his father, Orville demands that Jane set the date for their marriage. After Orville’s father does almost all the talking, she says she’ll marry Orville when all these people leave. When the Wingait’s leave, Jane, still thinking about Joe’s kiss, wanders out on the porch, looks up at the heavens, and sings “Friendly Star.” She wants this star to lead her to her lover. Joe is sitting nearby listening. He tells her it’s a good thing that she set the date with Orville and apologizes for the kiss. In future rehearsals, Abigail becomes more the prima donna, but Harrison plays up to her. Jane asks Joe not to scold Abby so much and he agrees to treat her with kid gloves. After a rehearsal, alone on the stage, Joe performs a dance using a squeaky board and newspaper as props. To a reprise of “You Wonderful You,” he whistles, steps on the squeaky board in rhythm,

293 tears a newspaper in rhythm, splits the paper into small pieces with his feet, and performs an amazing dancing exhibition.4 Soon, Jane receives a note from her sister explaining that she has gone to New York with Harrison to perform in a new show. Joe takes over Harrison’s part and convinces Jane to perform Abigail’s. Many hours of rehearsals follow. When Orville discovers that Jane is going to perform, he demands that she withdraw from the production, but she yells at him, “Go home!” When he returns home, his father criticizes him for not standing up to Jane. Orville proclaims that he’s going to do something about the show. On opening night, Jane is very nervous. Joe brings her flowers picked from her own garden. He also makes a mini-proposal — he wants to get to know everything about her and if this show is the success he thinks it will be, they’ll talk about their future. The show begins with a duet by Joe and Jane to “All for You,”5 followed by a reprise of “You Wonderful You” with Joe and Jane dressed as Twenties’ collegians. Next, Joe and Herb perform a rollicking hillbilly routine, “Heavenly Music,” in which they caterwaul their love of the sounds of farm life. They are dressed in corny hillbilly costumes with missing teeth and huge feet. Finally, Jane, dressed in a tuxedo coat, sings “Get Happy.”6 Instead of trying to stop the show, Orville retrieves Abigail from New York so she could appear in the show, but he forgot to send a telegram telling them to hold the curtain. When they arrive, Abby demands that Jane step aside, but she refuses. When Orville gets knocked to the floor, Abby lovingly attends to him, while Joe and Jane kiss. The film ends with Joe, Jane and the cast performing an excerpt of “(Howdy Neighbor) Happy Harvest.” Summer Stock was Judy Garland’s last M-G-M film. About 1948 her private and professional life began to suffer due to her bouts of nervous exhaustion and emotional instability. When M-G-M refused to give her a leave of absence, she turned to drugs and alcohol. She collapsed during preproduction for The Barkleys of Broadway, and was replaced by Ginger Rogers. She managed to do a short sequence in Words and Music in 1948 and the film In the Good Old Summertime in 1949, but when M-G-M assigned her to Annie Get Your Gun, she caused so many problems that she was replaced by Betty Hutton. After three months in a Boston clinic, she filmed Summer Stock. Not only was she overweight, but she was questioning her talent and whether the public would still flock to see her films. The film took twice its scheduled shooting time

Sun Valley Serenade because she was frequently late and sometimes didn’t show up at all. However, when she was in front of the cameras, she performed as a professional and her personal problems are not apparent in such songs as “If You Feel Like Singing, Sing” and “(Howdy Neighbor) Happy Harvest.” Although “Get Happy” is supposedly one of her signature screen moments (AFI’s No. 61), her performance of this twenty-year-old song is by the post-rehab Judy (read endnote No. 6). Summer Stock opened while Miss Garland was recovering from a suicide attempt. It’s tremendously sad to witness the deterioration of one of the most talented performers in movie musical history. The best scenes in the film are Gene Kelly’s dances, especially his routine with the newspaper and a squeaky board.

Sun Valley Serenade 20th Century–Fox, August 29, 1941, 86 minutes Principal Cast: Sonja Henie (Karen Benson), John Payne (Ted Scott), Milton Berle (Nifty Allen), Lynn Bari (Vivian Dawn), Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (Phil Corey and His Band) Director: H. Bruce Humberstone Producer: Milton Sperling Screenwriters: Robert Ellis and Helen Logan; from a story by Art Arthur and Robert Harari Music: Harry Warren Lyrics: Mack Gordon Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Chattanooga Choo Choo”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Chattanooga Choo Choo”) ❍ Best Cinematography, Black-and-White ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD is not currently available

By the early Forties, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra had established themselves as one of the most successful big bands. In just two years, beginning in 1939, they had No. 1 hits with “Over the Rainbow,” “Moon Love,” “Wishing (Will Make It So),” “Stairway to the Stars,” “The Man With the Mandolin,” “Blue Orchids,” “In the Mood,” “Tuxedo Junction,” and “The Woodpecker Song.” Not surprisingly, Twentieth Century–Fox was anxious to sign Miller and his band to star in Sun Valley Serenade and were confident their fans would flock to the theater to see them. After Sonja Henie won her third gold medal in consecutive winter Olympics1 in individual figure

Sun Valley Serenade skating in 1936, she began a very successful entertainment career including starring in several Hollywood films. The film begins with Jack Murray looking for a name band to perform in Sun Valley during the height of the ski season. Nifty Allen, the manager of Phil Corey’s band, a group that is desperately in need of a job, and the band enter the studio where Mr. Murray is auditioning. Vivian Dawn auditions with “It Happened in Sun Valley.”2 On the second chorus, the band plays so loudly that it covers up her singing, so she furiously walks out. Ted Scott, the pianist for Phil Corey’s band, compliments her singing and tells her that she was completely justified to walk out. He also tells her that Phil has an arrangement that is just her style, so she agrees to continue the audition with Phil’s band. At the new audition, the band plays a little of “Moonlight Serenade,”3 and transitions into “I Know Why (and So Do You).” Typical of big band arrangements, the band plays a chorus then Miss Dawn4 sings. The Modernaires5 and Ted Scott also contribute vocals during the song. Mr. Murray is impressed and also is convinced that as long as he has Vivian Dawn, a name band isn’t important, so he signs both of them. The problem is that the Sun Valley engagement is five weeks away and the band is broke. Nifty talks Mr. Murray into booking the band into the Lido Terrace as an interim gig. Ted Scott is served with a subpoena informing him he has been chosen to receive a war refugee. He decides that it will be good publicity for the band, so he and the rest of the band go to Ellis Island to meet what they assume will be a child. As they march through immigration, the guys play “The Farmer in the Dell”6 on toy instruments. They are shocked when the refugee turns out to be a cute, petite, but fully grown young woman from Norway named Karen Benson. When Ted protests, the immigration officials aren’t interested in his problem. After Ted deposits Karen in a room at the hotel, a room all decorated for a child, he rushes off to the band’s engagement at the Lido where they play “In the Mood.”7 During the number, Karen arrives at the club. When Ted asks how she got in, she said she told the doorman she was living with him. A little later she informs Ted she has found the man she wants to marry — him. Since he is now dating Vivian, that announcement presents quite a problem. Vivian comes to their table and meets Karen. During their conversation, the band plays “At Last” in the background. The next day Nifty comes by Karen’s hotel room to escort her to his Aunt Rosie’s in Wehawken, New Jersey where she will stay while Ted and the band

294 are in Sun Valley. Karen talks Nifty into sneaking her on the train to follow Ted. When they arrive in Ketchum, the band members take sleighs to the Sun Valley resort while Nifty and Karen ride in a dog sled. After the sleigh driver sings “It Happened in Sun Valley,” others take up the song as a montage of various Sun Valley attractions is shown. Nifty goes to Ted’s room to gently break the news that Karen is not in Wehawken. On a frozen pond below Ted’s window, Karen puts on a skating exhibition, while Nifty tries to get Ted to notice her. Ted is busy dressing and leaves to meet Vivian without ever seeing Karen and her skating skills. Vivian has never skied before and has no intention of starting now. She doesn’t want to spoil Ted’s fun, so she encourages him to hit the slopes. When Karen finds out from Nifty that Ted didn’t see her skating and that he went skiing, she heads for the slopes. There, with an impish grin, she makes a general nuisance of herself as she teases Ted with mischievous tricks. He chases the unknown smartaleck-on-skis and, once he catches her, he is doubly surprised — that it is Karen and that she is in Sun Valley. After waiting for some time, the band rehearses “Chattanooga Choo Choo”8 without Ted. The vocal is sung by Tex Beneke, who is also one of the band’s saxophone soloists, and the Modernaires, this time with Paula Kelly. After their vocal, the Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge sing and dance to an up tempo version of the song. Once Miss Dandridge goes inside the train, the brothers dance a furious tap routine that also includes some of their patented acrobatic splits. At the ski lodge that evening, a female trio, accompanied by an accordion, violin, and bass, performs “Kiss Polka.”9 Karen and Ted dance the polka and kiss at the appropriate point in the lyrics. Back at their table, Vivian jealously announces that she is accepting Ted’s marriage proposal. When the last lift to transport people down the mountain is announced, even though Vivian protests, Ted and Karen decide to ski down. On the way down, Karen stops to ask Ted to clean the ice from her skis. He takes his skis off and jabs them into the snow. Karen falls and deliberately knocks his skis over so they plummet to the bottom of the hill. She tells him to wait in a nearby cabin while she skis down to get the ski lift started again. The conniving Karen, however, fakes a knee injury and returns to the cabin. They seemingly have no choice but to spend the night together in the cabin. Ted is furious when he discovers that she faked the injury. Later in the evening, Karen plays a recording of “I Know Why and So Do You” on a record

295 player she finds in the cabin. She hums the tune, but Ted demonstrates the way it should be sung. Vivian, Nifty and the ski patrol arrive to find them dancing together. Vivian demands that Ted send Karen back to Norway or she will break their engagement. When Ted refuses, she leaves. Then he announces that he and Karen will marry and they will stage a spectacular show to replace the departed Vivian. The finale is an ice ballet featuring Karen’s figure skating. The music for this sequence is a medley of several of the songs heard earlier in the film. The best parts of the film are the travelogue of the Sun Valley resort, Sonja Henie’s skating and Glenn Miller and His Orchestra’s music. Even though the song doesn’t serve any particular plot function, the “Chattanooga Choo Choo” sequence is especially entertaining. It is disheartening, however, to learn that the African-Americans’ portion of the number was filmed so it could be cut when the film was shown in Southern movie theaters.

Sunnyside Up Fox Film Corporation, December 29, 1929, 115 minutes Principal Cast: Janet Gaynor (Molly Carr), Charles Farrell ( Jack Cromwell), Marjorie White (Bee Nichols), Frank Richardson (Eddie Rafferty), Sharon Lynne ( Jane Worth) Director/Co-Screenwriter: David Butler Producer/Co-Screenwriter/Co-Lyricist: B.G. DeSylva Music: Ray Henderson Co-Lyricist: Lew Brown Choreographer: Seymour Felix Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD is not currently available

Most of the early sound musicals had backstage plots, but Sunnyside Up broke the mold. The screenwriters wrote a Cinderella-type tale, Henderson, DeSylva and Brown added some delightful melodies and Seymour Felix choreographed a huge production number. Soon film buffs were lining up at the box-offices. The film opens with the residents of a lower class Manhattan neighborhood, Yorkville, celebrating the 4th of July while “The Sidewalks of New York”1 is played by the orchestra. Eric Swenson chases some boys away who were stealing fruit from his store. After the chase, he returns to his practically empty store to discover someone stealing a sausage. It was only his friend, Molly Carr, playing a joke on him. When Molly goes upstairs to her apartment, she

Sunnyside Up reads in the newspaper about Jack Cromwell, a Southampton heir to millions. She tears Jack’s picture from the newspaper and puts it away for safe keeping. Then she strums her autoharp and sings “I’m a Dreamer (Aren’t We All?),”2 which she says expresses her feelings perfectly. Eric, the fruit seller from downstairs, furnishes supper, which her roommate, Bee, and Bee’s boyfriend, Eddie, share. The meal is complete with Eric’s homemade brew. The scene shifts to Southampton, Long Island, and the celebration of the 4th of July by the “400.”3 It is a very elegant, but restrained party in comparison to the block party in Yorkville. Jack Cromwell plays the piano while his girlfriend, Jane, sings “You Find the Time and I’ll Find the Place.” After their number, a man tells Jane he hates the thought of her getting married. She assures him marriage doesn’t mean she will be out of circulation. When Jack finds her, she tells him that she plans on having some fun before they marry. Jack fumes, drinks several cocktails one after the other, jumps in his convertible4 and heads for the city. The scene reverts back to Yorkville, where fireworks are in progress. As soon as Eric, Eddie, Bee, and Molly wash and dry the dishes, all but Molly head for the block party. She stays behind to change clothes. Jack almost hits a child with his car and wrecks in the street where the party is taking place. Eric defends Jack to the threatening crowd and sends him up to his apartment while he takes care of the car. Jack wanders into Molly’s apartment by mistake where he finds her half-dressed. When she protests, he explains about the accident. While she cleans his wounds, she recognizes him from the newspaper. When Jack tells her about his quarrel with his girlfriend, Molly tells him he needs to make her jealous. Molly goes downstairs to sing a song for the block party. At the celebration, a student band is marching and playing a Sousa march — badly! Soon, Eddie and Bee perform a silly song and crazy dance routine to “You’ve Got Me Pickin’ Petals Off o’ Daisies.” After a child5 tries to recite a poem, Molly performs a song-and-dance to “Sunny Side Up.”6 Jack listens to Molly’s performance from her balcony. After a verse, chorus and a short dance, Molly asks the crowd to join her. Jack is very impressed and asks Molly to come to Southampton to perform in a charity show. She loves the idea, but doesn’t want to seem too eager. She finally agrees only because it would make Jack’s girlfriend jealous. Molly arrives in Southampton with her “servants,” Eric, her chauffeur, Eddie, her butler, and

Sunnyside Up Bee, her housemaid. The city bumpkins are bubbling over with excitement so with Bee playing the piano, Eddie sings “Sunny Side Up.” Bee takes over the lyrics while Eddie ad libs a scat trumpet solo. Molly writes her personal feelings in her diary. Jack visits and tells Molly everything is set for them to sing a love duet together and for her to sing a solo number in the charity show. Mrs. Cromwell gives a party to introduce Molly to the Southampton society crowd. Jane is very snooty when she meets Molly and questions her background. The Cromwell butler tells another of the house staff that Jack is paying Molly’s rent. An older lady overhears and spreads the word via gossip. Jack and Molly sit in a swing together, supposedly to make Jane jealous. Molly is falling for Jack, but he seems to be oblivious to her feelings. Their tête-à-tête accomplishes its aim. The film jumps ahead to the season’s high spot— the Charity Carnival. In a huge production number that seems like a global warming prediction, Jane, dressed in a short Eskimo outfit, sings “Turn on the Heat.” After her vocal, over thirty similarly dressed female Eskimos emerge from behind igloos. As they gyrate, the igloos melt and their frozen tundra turns into the tropics, with palm trees miraculously growing to full-size before our eyes. From off-stage, Eddie, who wants to be out there performing, sings the lyrics to Bee, while the girls shed their Eskimo outfits. Eventually the entire set appears to catch on fire and the girls escape by jumping into the water. The next number is Jack and Molly’s duet, “If I Had a Talking Picture of You.”7 A little boy dressed as a groom sings a chorus, complete with interpolated “boop-boop-a-doops,” to a little girl dressed as a bride. Molly and Jack return to sing the end of the song. Jane tells Jack she’ll marry him right away. He is overjoyed and runs to tell Molly, who puts up a brave front. When Molly returns to her dressing room, Mrs. Cromwell confronts her about the gossip. Molly has to admit that Jack is paying her rent, but she assures his mother that it isn’t for the reason she thinks. Molly is crushed that everyone is gossiping about her being a bad girl. She’s ready to go back home, but before leaving she sings, “I’m a Dreamer (Aren’t We All?).” During her performance, she imagines that everyone is looking accusingly at her. As she leaves the stage, she faints. Once she revives, she tells her friends she’s ready to go home. Eric and Eddie tell Jack that Molly is leaving and he will never see her again. The quar-

296 tet of friends catches a ride to the city in the back of a truck. The next morning after a sleepless night, Jack talks to Jane’s picture telling her she doesn’t love him and he found out last night he doesn’t love her. Then he puts a snap shot photo of Molly on the dresser and talks to it. Suddenly, the photo comes to life as Molly sings an excerpt of “You’ve Got Me Pickin’ Petals Off o’ Daisies.” Jack grabs his hat and coat, kisses Molly’s photo and heads for the city. While Molly sits moping in the window sill of their city apartment, Bee is perusing the help wanted ads. To try to cheer her up, Bee plays a record and sings “It’s Great to Be Necked” in a Harry Lauder–type brogue. Eddie drops by to tell them that he has his old job back and his boss will help the girls get a job there also. Eric brings a bouquet of flowers for Molly, but none of these cheer her in the least. After her friends give up and leave, she strums her autoharp and sings a sad reprise of “I’m a Dreamer (Aren’t We All).” Jack arrives at her apartment and tells her he loves her and wants to marry her, but instead of being elated, Molly questions how his feelings could have altered over night. She asks him to leave, which he does, but before he departs, he begs her not to ruin both of their lives. Shortly after Jack leaves, Molly remembers that she left her diary at Southampton. She has to retrieve it immediately before someone reads how she truly feels about Jack. It is Jack’s mother who finds Molly’s diary and reads enough to realize that she loves her son very much. When Jack returns, she advises him to go to Molly, but he tells her he already has. When Molly arrives to retrieve her diary, she hears Jack playing the piano and singing “If I Had a Talking Picture of You” to her photograph. Realizing that he really does love her, she sits next to him on the piano bench and asks him to sing it again. As the film ends, he sings the song again, gives her his class ring and they kiss. None of the principal characters are particularly good singers8 and the dancing is rudimentary. However, Sunnyside Up is a charming film musical due, in no small part, to a tuneful musical score. And, the songs are surprisingly well integrated into the plot. The “Turn on the Heat” number is rather erotic with plenty of sexually suggestive gyrations by the “heated” Eskimo darlings. The motion picture code wasn’t passed until 1930 and wasn’t enforced until approximately 1934, so some of the early sound films pushed the boundaries of decency.

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Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street DreamWorks, December 21, 2007, 116 minutes Principal Cast: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker), Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett), Jamie Campbell Bower (Anthony Hope), Jayne Wisener ( Johanna), Alan Rickman ( Judge Turpin), Sacha Baron Cohen (Signor Pirelli), Laura Michelle Kelly (Beggar Woman/Lucy), Ed Sanders (Toby), Timothy Spall (Beadle Bamford) Director: Tim Burton Producer: Richard D. Zanuck Screenwriter: John Logan Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Choreographer: Francesca Jaynes Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role ( Johnny Depp) ❍ *Best Achievement in Art Direction ❍ Best Achievement in Costume Design Availability: DVD

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street opened on Broadway in 1979, but only ran for 557 performances. Some in the opening night audience were so repulsed, they walked out. The production was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning eight, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Len Cariou), and Best Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury). The original version of the tale appeared in a London periodical between November 1846 and March 1847. Titled The String of Pearls, the serialization is attributed to James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest. Sondheim’s musical is based on a 1973 play by Christopher Bond. Stephen Sondheim’s mature writing is so unconventional that his audiences are forced to stretch their preconceptions about musicals. Several of his musicals, including Sweeney Todd, are considered opera.1 Sondheim’s musicals are rather like Richard Wagner’s music dramas, which are throughcomposed.2 Also like Wagner, he uses lietmotifs,3 which are often found in Sweeney Todd. Director Tim Burton is most often associated with quirky, dark, atmospheric films and Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter4 have starred in a couple of them. Burton’s film version of Sweeney Todd was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning one (see Awards and Honors above). The film opens with a short pipe organ solo, followed by an instrumental version of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd.” Behind the opening credits is a rainy, dark, dingy London of the mid–1800s. Soon

Sweeney Todd blood drips and then runs down to form the film’s title; some meat pies cook in an oven and blood runs into the sewer. Anthony Hope, a young sailor, who is returning to London on a ship, sings “No Place Like London.” One of his fellow passengers is Benjamin Barker, now known as Sweeney Todd, who sings about his completely different view of the city. Once they disembark, in “A Barber and His Wife,” Todd tells Anthony about his former life as a barber, his beautiful wife and their young child. As the music intensifies, he sings about the evil Judge who coveted his wife. The Judge had Todd arrested on a trumped-up charge and sent to prison in Australia for fifteen years. Todd heads to a meat pie shop on Fleet Street. Mrs. Lovett, the shop’s proprietress, sings “The Worst Pies in London,” in which she laments her practically meatless pies and complains that her competition is using cat meat. As she sings she kills roaches with her rolling pin. When Sweeney inquires about the empty room above Mrs. Lovett’s shop, she claims it is haunted because something happened up there years ago that wasn’t very nice. Reflecting on the past, she sings her version of “A Barber and His Wife,” in which she reveals her infatuation with Barker. In “Poor Thing,” Mrs. Lovett relates the story of the lecherous Judge Turpin luring Barker’s wife, Lucy, to his house. When she arrives a masked ball is in progress. The Judge rapes her in front of his guests, who thoroughly enjoy her humilation. When Todd cries out in agony, it confirms Mrs. Lovett’s suspicions that he is Barker. She tells him that his wife poisoned herself— but even worse, his daughter, Johanna, became the Judge’s ward. Todd swears his revenge. Mrs. Lovett presents Sweeney with a box that contains a beautiful set of razors — Barker’s razors that she had hidden for years. Todd sings about his razors in “My Friends.” As he sings, Mrs. Lovett simultaneously sings about her infatuation with him. Once Mrs. Lovett leaves, he raises a razor and exalts that his arm is complete once more. Anthony walks along a London street looking for Hyde Park. He hears a woman singing “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” from a nearby window. She questions how birds can sing when they’re locked in cages. Once she notices Anthony, she sings the next verse to him. She sings about being caged herself and begs her birds to teach her how to sing even though she can’t fly. When Anthony gives a filthy beggar woman a coin (“Alms, Alms”), she tells him that the girl is Judge Turpin’s ward, Johanna. He sings “Johanna” about this beautiful girl who he wants to release

Sweeney Todd from her cage. Suddenly, the door opens and Turpin invites Anthony inside, accuses him of gandering at his ward and threatens to harm him if he ever sees him again. Beadle Bamford throws Anthony into the street and beats him with his stick. The bloodied Anthony sings an intensified reprise of “Johanna,” in which he promises to rescue her. At St. Dunstan’s Market, a young lad, Toby, bangs a drum and sings “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir” to attract customers. He claims that his long blonde hair is the result of the elixir. When Pirelli appears, he claims he is “the king of the barbers, the barber of kings.” In “The Contest,” Todd challenges Pirelli to a shaving competition and invites the Beadle to judge. Pirelli is quite the showman, but Sweeney easily wins the contest. Afterwards, Sweeney offers the Beadle a complimentary shave. Sweeney frets that the Beadle has not come for his free shave. In “Wait,” Mrs. Lovett urges him to have patience — he will get his revenge. Anthony bursts in to tell him about finding Johanna and asks permission to hide her in the barbershop once he frees her. Stunned by this turn of events, Todd agrees. Mrs. Lovett assures him that the fates are finally turning in his favor. No sooner had Anthony left than Pirelli and Toby arrive. Mrs. Lovett feeds Toby a meat pie, while Pirelli goes upstairs to talk with Todd. Pirelli drops his Italian accent and in an Irish one reveals that his real name is Davy Collins. At the competition, he had recognized Todd as Barker because he had been his assistant fifteen years earlier. When Collins attempts to blackmail him, Todd beats Collins unconscious and stuffs him in a large trunk. Toby comes upstairs to find Pirelli, but Todd tells him that Pirelli was suddenly called away. As soon as Toby leaves, Todd slits the blackmailer’s throat and deposits him back into the trunk. When Mrs. Lovett discovers what has transpired, she is, at first, horrified, but when Todd explains that Pirelli recognized him and was blackmailing him, she concurs with his actions. She also extracts Pirelli’s gaudy coin purse from his corpse and hires Toby to help around the pie shop. The Judge reveals to the Beadle that he intends to marry Johanna. She, of course, is repulsed by the idea. In “Ladies in Their Sensitivities,” the Beadle suggests the Judge visit Todd’s barbershop to make himself more appealing to such a sensitive young woman. Intrigued, Turpin agrees. When Todd sees them approaching, he dons a jacket to cover the bloodstains. In “Pretty Women,” the lecherous Judge sings about wanting a shave and some French cologne to help attract a pretty young lady. Todd sings about his razors being his friends as he had earlier and inquires about the

298 Judge’s intended. When Turpin explains that the girl is his beautiful ward, Todd almost blows it by asking, “Pretty as her mother?” Turpin seems suspicious, but settles back for his shave. During the shave, the two men simultaneously sing more of “Pretty Women.” As the music intensifies, Todd prepares to slash the Judge’s throat, but before he accomplishes it, Anthony barges in to tell Sweeney about his plan to rescue Johanna. The Judge recognizes him and threatens to lock Johanna away where no one will ever lay eyes on her again. As he departs, Turpin guarantees the barber he will never return. Devastated that his chance for revenge is dashed, in “Epiphany,” he sings that since he will never see his daughter again he plans to extract revenge on all of society. During a discussion with Todd about how to dispose of Collins’ body, Mrs. Lovett, who senses that this will not be his last victim, suggests using them in her meat pies. In “A Little Priest,” they imagine the various persons and their professions that will give her pies an individual taste. They waltz enthusiastically to celebrate the fiendish idea. Anthony sings a reprise of “Johanna” as he searches for her. Todd slits the throats of various customers as he sings about his daughter in between shots of Anthony’s search. Todd redesigns his barber’s chair so that his victims are sent down a chute into the basement of the pie shop where Mrs. Lovett bakes them. At Mrs. Lovett’s grand re-opening, Toby hawks the pies and customers pour into the establishment. In “God, That’s Good,” Toby, Mrs. Lovett and her customers extol her distinctive-tasting pies. Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney, and Toby go on a picnic. Now that her business is booming, in “By the Sea,” Mrs. Lovett dreams of a future life with Todd, but he barely listens and remains uninterested. When Anthony informs Todd that the Judge has Johanna locked away in Fogg’s Asylum, he hatches a plan to retrieve her. Since the wigmakers of the city get their human hair from the asylum, Anthony will become a wigmaker’s apprentice. Unknown to Anthony, Todd writes a letter to the Judge informing him of Anthony’s plan to kidnap Johanna in hopes that the information will lure Turpin back to his shop. After Toby delivers Todd’s letter to Turpin, he passes the workhouse on the way back and imagines what his life might be like if Mrs. Lovett hadn’t taken him in. He also has begun to suspect that Todd is evil, so, in “Not While I’m Around,” he promises Mrs. Lovett that he will not allow anyone to harm her. When she gives the boy a penny, Toby recognizes the purse as Pirelli’s. He wants to report his suspicions, but, in her version of “Not While I’m

299 Around,” Mrs. Lovett reassures him that she will protect him. Then she offers him the chance to work in the bakehouse to help make the pies. She takes him down into the basement and shows him the tools of her evil trade. When she leaves, she bolts the door locking the boy inside. Anthony goes to the asylum to personally select the hair for a wig. When he and Fogg enter the cell where all the blondes are housed, Anthony selects Johanna. As Fogg prepares to cut her hair, Anthony pulls a pistol, grabs Johanna, and leaves Fogg to the mercy of the other blondes who vengefully attack him. Back at the pie shop, Mrs. Lovett informs Todd about Toby’s suspicions and about locking him in the bakehouse. Just as they are about to check on him, the Beadle arrives to check on the bakehouse because neighbors have complained about the stink coming from her chimney. Todd distracts the Beadle by offering him a free shave. In the basement, when Toby takes a bite out of one of the pies, he discovers part of a finger. Suddenly, the Beadle’s lifeless body tumbles down the chute. Horrified, the boy bangs on the bakehouse door to be let out. When Todd and Mrs. Lovett finally enter the bakehouse, Toby is no where to be found (she sings a little of “Not While I’m Around” to allay the boy’s fears). Anthony hides Johanna, now dressed as a sailor, in the barbershop while he hires a coach to leave the city. When the beggar woman comes looking for the Beadle, Johanna hides in the trunk. Todd returns and is upset to find the old hag there. She tries to warn him about Mrs. Lovett. As Todd sees Turpin coming, he slits her throat and sends her to the bakehouse. When the Judge enters, Todd tells him that Johanna is safe and totally repentant. As the Judge anticipates seeing Johanna again, he asks for a shave. They sing a reprise of “Pretty Women” while Sweeney prepares his razor. Just before he accomplishes his intent, Todd reveals his true identity and then brutally slashes the Judge’s throat. Afterwards, he looks lovingly at his razor and sings a reprise of “My Friends,” but this time he is telling his friend, the razor, that it can rest. When Johanna emerges from her hiding place, Todd, thinking that she is a young sailor, prepares to cut her throat, but suddenly, Mrs. Lovett screams. Sweeney threatens the lad and rushes downstairs to see what caused the scream. In the bakehouse, Mrs. Lovett notices the body of the beggar woman and drags it towards the oven. When Sweeney arrives, he helps, but when the oven door opens, the flames illuminate the face, which Todd recognizes as his wife. Then he accuses Mrs.

Swing Time Lovett of deceiving him. She explains that his wife did take poison, but, when she didn’t die, was sent to an asylum. She claims she withheld the truth to shield him from grief and because she loved him. As the “Little Priest” waltz music returns, Todd makes Mrs. Lovett believe that he is not disturbed by her deception and lures her into dancing with him. As they waltz and sing, suddenly, Todd flings her into the oven and slams the door. He returns to his dead wife and cradles her in his arms as he sings a reprise of “A Barber and His Wife.” While he sings, Toby crawls into the room through the sewer grate. Apparently realizing what the boy intends to do, Todd raises his neck to expose his throat. Toby slits Todd’s throat with Sweeney’s razor and walks away. Todd’s blood gushes down his front, drips onto his beloved Lucy, and pools on the floor as the film ends. Larry Brown5 says the show’s Broadway director, Hal Prince, considered Sweeney Todd “an allegory of capitalism and its selfish qualities.” Craig Zadan said Sondheim saw Sweeney as “a story of revenge and how it consumes a vengeful person ... what the show is really about is obsession.”6 People’s reactions to the film run the gamut — from “this is my favorite movie musical” to “Yuck!” It isn’t a film musical for the general public. It is rated R for the bloody gore and there is an abundance of it which could cause nightmares for younger viewers and some adults as well. In addition, there is the masquerade ball scene where Lucy is raped (although the rape is not shown on screen); during the rape a crowd gathers around and raucously laughs. The idea of making meat pies from the remains of Todd’s victims is disgusting and cannibalistic. In the middle of all this bloody gore, there are two really beautiful Sondheim songs: “Johanna” and “Not While I’m Around.” One of the most interesting musical sequences is “Pretty Women.” If the viewer is not too sensitive, Sondheim’s music and lyrics are extraordinary, and Johnny Depp’s and Helena Bonham Carter’s performances are impressive.

Swing Time RKO Radio Pictures, August 27, 1936, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire ( John “Lucky” Garnett), Ginger Rogers (Penny Carroll), Victor Moore (Dr. Edward Cardetti, “Pop”), Helen Broderick (Mabel), Eric Blore (Mr. Gordon), Betty Furness (Margaret Watson), Georges Metaxa (Ricardo Romero)

Swing Time Director: George Stevens Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: Howard Lindsay and Allan Scott; from a story by Erwin Gelsey Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics: Dorothy Fields Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 12 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● AFI Film Nominee ● “The Way You Look Tonight” No. 43 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“The Way You Look Tonight”) ❍ Best Dance Direction ● AFI Song Nominee (“A Fine Romance”) Availability: DVD

Swing Time is Fred Astaire’s and Ginger Rogers’ sixth movie musical together.1 In 1936, the Motion Picture Herald heralded the duo as the No. 3 box office attraction behind Shirley Temple and Clark Gable. Lucky Garnett is the lead tap-dancer in a group of male dancers in the film’s short opening number. Lucky is late to his wedding to the wealthy Margaret Watson, so he refuses to take a bow and rushes to change into his wedding clothes. He tells his aging magician friend, “Pop” Cardetti, that he is leaving show business for a career as a professional gambler. The other members of his dance troupe feel that Lucky’s leaving will put their careers in jeopardy, so they manage to delay him long enough to get him in trouble. Meanwhile at the wedding, Lucky’s fiancée’s father, who isn’t happy that his daughter is marrying a dancer, is irate that Lucky is late, which gives him a great excuse to call off the wedding. By the time Lucky finally arrives, all the guests are gone. In an effort to square things with his fiancée and her father, Lucky agrees to prove his worth by going to New York, work hard at his new career2 and accumulate $25,000. He will then return to marry Margaret. Lucky goes to the train station to purchase a ticket to New York. However, since his dancing buddies collect on a bet that his marriage wouldn’t take place, he doesn’t have enough money. Formally-attired, and completely broke except for his lucky quarter, Lucky and Pop hop a freight train. Arriving in NYC, they stroll down Park Avenue, with Lucky looking pretty ridiculous in his wedding clothes. While Pop tries to purchase some cigarettes from a vending machine with a button from his coat, a pretty, young woman, Penny Carroll, with her arms filled with packages, comes out of the sub-

300 way. She notices Pop’s problem with the machine. Using his lucky quarter, Lucky asks her for change. When Pop and Lucky put the money in the machine and nothing comes out, they bang on the machine until several packs of cigarettes and lots of coins spill out. Lucky rushes after Penny to retrieve his lucky quarter and to explain that they weren’t trying to rob the vending machine. She thinks he’s just trying to use the incident to get to know her (which he is), so, trying to get away from him, she bumps into someone and drops her packages and purse. Pop picks up her purse and tries to swap the quarters, but Lucky grabs the purse away from him before he finishes the switch. When she looks in her purse, she finds the quarter missing, accuses Lucky of theft and summons a policeman. However, the cop doesn’t consider this well-dressed gentleman capable of theft. Indignantly, she storms off to her job as a dance instructor. In an effort to make amends, Lucky follows her. Inside the dance studio, Lucky signs up for dance lessons and chooses Penny as his instructor. She is annoyed that he has followed her, and even more annoyed that he now wants a dance lesson, but her boss insists she teach him. He pretends to be a complete dancing klutz, repeatedly falling as they “dance” to the appropriately titled song, “Pick Yourself Up.” Penny becomes frustrated and tells him no one could teach him to dance. Her boss overhears her berating a customer, so he discharges her. Lucky defends her and saves her job by demonstrating what Penny has taught him. His demonstration is a dazzling tap dancing exhibition. Then he takes the bewildered Penny in his arms for a delightful, energetic tap number, once again to “Pick Yourself Up.” Her boss is so impressed he rehires Penny and encourages them to tryout at the swanky Silver Sandal Café. Penny is thrilled and forgives her former annoyance, but not for long. Lucky attempts to win a suit of evening clothes for the audition, but ends up losing his pants and misses the audition. He reschedules it but Penny stubbornly refuses to see him. While Penny is shampooing her hair, her friend, Mabel, lets Lucky into their apartment. He sits down at a piano and sings “The Way You Look Tonight.” Lured by his singing, she enters with her head still covered with soap suds. As he sings the final words, he turns to see her foamy, white hairdo in the mirror — embarrassed, she rushes from the room. The Silver Sandal Café’s orchestra leader, Ricardo Romero, is in love with Penny. He is jealous of her new dance partner and refuses to play for their dance audition. The club’s owner can’t force him to play for them, because he lost him in a card

301 game to a rival nightclub/gambling casino, Club Raymond. Penny and Lucky go to Club Raymond where Lucky wins Romero’s contract,3 but Ricardo still refuses to play. So, Lucky simply announces their audition song, “Waltz in Swing Time.”4 Even though Lucky is in love with Penny, he can’t seem to commit to her. Penny senses his resistance, so, on a snowy outing, she tells Lucky what she thinks of his unresponsiveness in “A Fine Romance,” subtitled “A Sarcastic Love Song.” Lucky tries to apologize, but just as an embrace seems likely, a snowball hits his hat. Later when Pop informs Penny about Lucky’s engagement to Margaret, she is crushed, so when Lucky tries to be amorous, she rejects him. Then it’s his turn to sing “A Fine Romance.” At their performance at the Silver Sandal, the two love birds make up—there’s even a kiss—well, sort of, it’s unseen by the audience behind his dressing-room door. Lucky is called onstage to perform a huge production number, “Bojangles of Harlem.”5 After the number, when Lucky takes his bow, he is startled to see Margaret in the audience. When Penny goes backstage to congratulate him, she finds them together. She also learns that Lucky has been gambling again and has lost Romero’s orchestra to Club Raymond. When Penny leaves, Lucky, confused again, promises to call Margaret the next day. The next day at the Silver Sandal, Lucky learns that Penny has accepted Romero’s marriage proposal. He asks to speak to Penny alone, which Romero permits. They both apologize to each other, but their involvement romantically appears to be hopeless. Lucky states that since he can’t dance with her he’s not going to dance again (“Never Gonna Dance”). The accompanying dance takes place on two stage levels linked by staircases. Their entire off-and-on romance, complete with some snatches from previous songs, is depicted in the dance. At the end of the dance, Penny exits leaving Lucky all alone. As the film draws to its conclusion, Margaret admits that she isn’t really in love with Lucky and he confesses he is in love with someone else. After they share a laugh about the situation, Lucky remembers that Penny is still planning to marry Romero that afternoon. Before the ceremony, Lucky and Pop steal Romero’s pants, the same delay tactic that had been used on Lucky earlier in the film. When they arrive at the wedding, Lucky tells Penny there isn’t going to be a wedding and shows her Romero’s pants. Romero arrives wearing his valet’s over-sized pants. Laughing, Penny tells the minister and her groom-

Take Me Out to the Ball Game to-be, “There isn’t going to be any wedding.” Lucky sings a bit of “A Fine Romance,” while Penny sings “The Way You Look Tonight,” in counterpoint as they look through a picture window at a snowy Central Park. The sunshine breaks through the clouds as they finally kiss each other. Jerome Kern’s and Dorothy Fields’ songs are excellent even if they are rather scarce (only six, one more than usual for an Astaire/Rogers film). Particularly noteworthy are “Pick Yourself Up,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” and “A Fine Romance.” Astaire was criticized by some for his blackface “Bojangles in Harlem,” but it is his homage to one of the greatest tap dancers — black or white — of all time. In addition to that routine, the “Pick Yourself Up” dances while Ginger gives Fred a dance lesson are priceless. If there is a fault, it is with the script, which is not particularly engaging. Entertainment Weekly named Swing Time its No. 12 greatest movie musical, but the film merely received an AFI nomination. It is, along with Top Hat, one of Fred and Ginger’s best movie musicals and, in my opinion, one of the top five film musicals of the Thirties. Swing Time might be one of the top forty movie musicals of all time, but most likely not one of the top dozen as Entertainment Weekly attested. It’s really difficult to adequately compare the movie musicals of the Thirties with subsequent decades primarily because everything about the film industry improves. It really is like “comparing apples and oranges.”

Take Me Out to the Ball Game M-G-M, March 9, 1949, 93 minutes Principal Cast : Gene Kelly (Eddie O’Brien), Esther Williams (K. C. Higgins), Frank Sinatra (Dennis Ryan), Betty Garrett (Shirley Delwyn), Jules Munshin (Nat Goldberg), Edward Arnold ( Joe Lorgan) Director: Busby Berkeley1 Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Harry Tugend and George Wells Music: Roger Edens Lyrics: Betty Comden and Adolph Green Choreographers: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

During the early years of the 20th Century several professional baseball players spent their off season as vaudevillians. Freddy Berowski, Research Associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame &

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Museum in Cooperstown, emailed the following list of baseball players who also performed vaudeville acts: • 1929 New York Giants infielder Andy Cohen and catcher Shanty Hogan; • Pitcher Al Mamaux played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brooklyn Dodgers between 1912 and 1924; • Pitcher Marty McHale, who Variety called the “Caruso of Baseball,” played for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians between 1910 and 1916; • Pitcher Buck O’Brien played for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox between 1911–1913 (he won 20 games for the 1912 World Champion Boston Red Sox); • “The Red Sox Quartette,” which consisted of Hugh Bradley, first baseman for the Boston Red Sox between 1910 and 1912, Bill Lyons, who replaced Larry Gardner in the group, was signed by the Red Sox, but never played, just to keep the name of the act proper; and Buck O’Brien and Marty McHale (mentioned above); • Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Waite Hoyt played for the New York Giants, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates between 1918 and 1938). Some or all of these players’ dual careers gave Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen the idea for the film Take Me Out to the Ball Game and producer Arthur Freed liked their concept. As it turned out, Kelly and Donen directed most of the film’s musical sequences, which lead Freed to allow them to direct On the Town. The film’s action opens around 1906 with The Wolves baseball team posing for a photo as World Champions during spring training in Sarasota, Florida, however, Eddie O’Brien and Dennis “Denny” Ryan, the team’s shortstop and second baseman respectively, are absent. They are still performing a song-and-dance act in vaudeville — they perform an energetic rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”2 in their last performance before they catch the train to join the team for spring training. Once they arrive, they brag about all the girls they’ve encountered during their vaudeville circuit travels by singing “Yes Indeedy.” The team’s first baseman, Nat Goldberg, accuses them of being liars. The will of the team’s deceased owner names K.C. Higgins as the team’s new owner. When the

302 team’s manager, Michael Gilhuly,3 and coach, Slappy Burke,4 go to meet Higgins’ train, they are shocked to discover that K.C.5 is a lovely young woman. Once Denny and Eddie meet her, they are both romantically attracted to her, but she’s only interested in their baseball skills. During the first practice session, she gives Eddie some batting advice, which, although he hates to admit it, works. At a team meal, Eddie, Denny, and Nat perform a comic baseball number, “O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg.” The song is about their ability to turn a double play when the shortstop fields the ball, throws to second for one out, who then throws the ball to first for the second out. That evening these baseball buddies observe Miss Higgins swimming6 while singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” They first send Denny to woo her. He sings her a song about knowing when the right girl comes along (“The Right Girl for Me”). When Denny strikes out, Eddie decides to take his turn at bat, but he strikes out as well and ends up with a hefty fine for breaking curfew. After a montage of spring training,7 they are ready for the first game of the regular season. Eddie, Denny and Nat perform a silly, slapstick baseball routine for the season opener that doesn’t amuse K.C. Shirley Delwyn thinks Denny is cute, so she sets her sights on winning his affections. When Denny is knocked unconscious during a fight that breaks out over an umpire’s call, Shirley rescues him. After the game, this aggressively affectionate female waits for him, chases him, and sings “It’s Fate, Baby, It’s Fate” to convince him that they are destined to be together. Denny isn’t convinced! Shirley invites the team to a clambake hosted by Joe Lorgan, a crooked gambler who has bet a considerable amount of money against the Wolves. Lorgan schemes against the Wolves to hedge his bet. Everyone at the party sings “Strictly U.S.A.,” about things that are All-American, like strawberry shortcake, apple pie, hotdogs, Uncle Sam, etc. During the party, Eddie kisses K.C., but when she finds out he had bet Goldberg he would kiss her, she is miffed. When she dances with Denny, she asks him to kiss her, but his kiss doesn’t affect her like Eddie’s. Denny then asks Shirley to kiss him to see if his kiss affects her — it did. Gilhuly requests that O’Brien perform an Irish dance, so Eddie performs a song-and-dance to, “The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore Upon St. Patrick’s Day.”8 Lorgan offers Eddie a job performing in his new café, but won’t agree to wait until after baseball season. Eddie agrees to take the job, unwittingly falling into Lorgan’s trap. Rehearsing every night causes Eddie’s baseball skills to deteriorate. Hoping

303 that Eddie’s feelings for her are causing his slump, K.C. finally agrees to go out with him, but when she learns from Lorgan about Eddie’s late night rehearsals, she kicks him off the team. Eddie shows up in the crowd at the game that will decide the pennant winner. The crowd wants him to play, but K.C. won’t allow it. Gilhuly, however, overrules her. Shirley learns about Lorgan’s bet and warns Denny that Lorgan will try to stop Eddie from playing. During their slapstick baseball routine before the game, Denny beans Eddie with a real baseball, knocking him out. Lorgan sends a couple of his thugs to pretend to be doctors to keep Eddie in the locker room. When Shirley recognizes them, she gets the rest of the team to rescue Eddie and the police arrest Lorgan and his gang. Eddie wants to get even with Denny for hitting him with the ball. After Denny gets a hit, Eddie bats so he can chase him around the bases; he hits a home run, which wins the game and the pennant for the Wolves. As a finale, Eddie, K.C., Denny, and Shirley, dressed patriotically in red, white, and blue, perform a reprise of “Strictly U.S.A.” with more flag-waving and more contemporary lyrics than the previous rendition. The two couples embrace as the film ends. Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a fun film for baseball enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. Gene Kelly’s and Stanley Donen’s masculine choreography fits the sports theme and Kelly and Frank Sinatra are believable baseball players. Betty Garrett as usual is a great comic. Esther Williams is beautiful in her period costumes and is better as a female baseball team owner than one might expect. The film’s biggest drawback is the songs by Roger Edens, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, which are not especially memorable (“O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg” and “It’s Fate Baby, It’s Fate” are the best ones). Two older songs, “The Hat My Father Wore Upon St. Patrick’s Day” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” make a much better impression.

There’s No Business Like Show Business 20th Century–Fox, December 16, 1954, 118 minutes Principal Cast: Ethel Merman (Melly Donahue), Dan Dailey (Terrance “Terry” Donahue), Donald O’Connor (Tim Donahue), Mitzi Gaynor (Katy Donahue), Johnnie Ray (Steve Donahue), Marilyn Monroe (Vicky)

There’s No Business Director: Walter Lang Producer: Sol C. Siegel Screenwriters: Phoebe and Henry Ephron; based on a story by Lamar Trotti Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographers: Robert Alton and Jack Cole Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Writing, Motion Picture Story Availability: DVD

There’s No Business Like Show Business borrows its title from the famous Irving Berlin song from his 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun. Berlin is famous for promoting his song catalog for films and this film is another prime example. It became his last movie score. Berlin is also responsible for Marilyn Monroe’s appearance in the film. He saw a photograph of her and thought she would be the perfect person to sing “Heat Wave.” She wasn’t interested in playing a rather insignificant part, but Darryl Zanuck promised her a substantial role in The Seven Year Itch if she agreed to play the part of Vicky. She was first supposed to play Ethel Merman’s daughter, but neither of the women liked that idea, so the screenwriters were forced to quickly rewrite the script to include Miss Monroe as a love interest for Donald O’Connor, which isn’t very believable. The film’s introduction says: “Back in 1919, vaudeville was a very big part of show business. Our story is about the Donahues, a very little part of vaudeville.” While this message is on the screen, a barbershop quartet sings “Remember.” Vaudeville duo, Terry and Melly Donahue, perform a song-and-dance routine to “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’.” To illustrate their family growing, they bring their first son on stage at the end of the number. In the next scene, it is 1923 and the Donahues perform “Play a Simple Melody.” Melly sings the first melody nostalgically remembering the music of the past, while Terry sings the second, contrasting tune about wanting the music to be peppy. When the two melodic ideas merge, they switch melodies. They introduce their second child, a daughter, at the end of the performance. Then time flies as they introduce another son when they wheel him on stage in a wagon at the end of a routine. When Melly complains that a vaudeville life style is not good for the children, they enroll them in St. Michael’s in Boston. Terry and Melly also try a new act with eight beautiful blondes. They perform “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody” with Melly singing and Terry es-

There’s No Business corting the girls around the stage. Suspicious of Terry’s interest in the blondes, Melly soon vetoes that act. When their two sons try to sneak away from St. Michael’s, the Donahues get a telegram from the headmaster. They go to Boston to talk with the priest, who convinces them that their children are good kids, but they miss their parents. So, they buy a house in New Jersey—just as the Depression hits. Terry and Melly split up to take whatever jobs they can find. Terry performs “You’d Be Surprised” at a fair and Melly does a radio commercial for a coffee company.1 The film skips to 1936 when Tim, the youngest son, graduates from high school. The Five Donahues perform “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” in several different nationalistic settings at a Hippodrome extravaganza. Terry and Melly perform the German segment, Tim in the Scottish set, Katy in the French and finally, Steve, at a grand piano, sings the song slowly and dramatically before singing it in the more typical up-tempo fashion. Then the entire cast of the extravaganza and the Five Donahues perform a rousing finish. When Tim and Katy are on dates, the band plays “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Tim goes to the hat-check counter and meets Vicky, a lovely young girl who hopes to be a performer. The famous producer, Lew Harris,2 comes to the restaurant that evening to hear her sing “After You Get What You Want, You Don’t Want It,” which she performs in her sexy manner. Tim visits Vicky’s dressing room posing as a Variety reporter. When Mr. Harris comes back stage to see Vicky, he recognizes Tim as one of the Donahues and blows his chance to get to know Vicky better. At a goodbye party for Steve, who has decided to enter the priesthood, the crowd sings “Remember.” Tim and Katy entertain the party guests by imitating their parents performing “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’.” Steve sings the semi-religious song “If You Believe.” The Donahues, minus Steve, are booked at the Tropical Room in Florida. Vicky, who is also performing there, rehearses “Heat Wave” with the club’s orchestra. The Donahues were also planning on using the song in their act, but Tim, who is completely enamored with Vicky, convinces his family to allow her to use the number. Vicky performs a torrid song-and-dance routine to “Heat Wave,”3 which is a weather report about a woman who created the heat wave by making her posterior shake. Tim is already thinking marriage, but Vicky is acting coy. After he takes her home one evening, he sings “A Man Chases a Girl (Until She Catches

304 Him).” During the dance portion of the song, a cocoanut hits him on the head and the statues in the fountains come alive and dance with him. Lew Harris offers Vicky the starring role in a Broadway show and asks Katy and Tim to also be in the cast. They are hesitant to tell their folks, but eventually get their permission to leave the family act. At a New York rehearsal for the show, Vicky sings “Lazy” while Katy and Tim dance. When Charlie Gibbs4 delivers some new lyrics, he tells Mr. Harris that he intends to marry the Donahue girl. Later when Tim, Katy, Charlie and Vicky attend Steve’s ordination ceremony, Charlie asks him to perform a wedding — his marriage to Katy. More complications develop with Tim’s and Vicky’s relationship. Every time they have a date, Mr. Harris wants to see Vicky about something, which frustrates Tim. One evening after Vicky never shows up for a dinner date with him, he gets drunk and goes to the theater where he performs a song he dedicates to “big star” Vicky. She attempts to apologize for missing their date, but he refuses to listen. He tells her she doesn’t have to worry about making it in show business, because she has what it takes and she knows how to use it. While Terry and Melly are preparing to leave for the premier of Manhattan Parade, Katy telephones that Tim has been hurt and is in the hospital. Terry sends his wife to the theater while he heads for the hospital to check on Tim. Melly volunteers to take Tim’s place, so she and Katy perform “A Sailor’s Not A Sailor (’Til A Sailor’s Been Tattooed).” When Terry finds Tim in the hospital, he learns that Tim had gotten drunk and wrecked his car. He’s okay, but Terry slaps him for his irresponsibility. Later when Terry and Melly go to the hospital to get Tim, he isn’t there. They desperately try to find him, but he seemingly disappeared. After many months, they go to a Greenwich Village club where they think he might be performing. A male trio sings “Marie,” but none of them are Tim. Vicky tries to talk to Mrs. Donahue about Tim, but, since she blames Vicky for Tim’s disappearance, she won’t listen. The last show at the Hippodrome before it is torn down is an all-star gala. Terry and Melly are invited to perform, but Terry goes looking for Tim, who has now been gone a year. Melly represents the Donahues. Katy has arranged for her mother and Vicky to share the same dressing room so they have to talk. Vicky admits to Melly that Mr. Harris may have had romantic ideas, but she didn’t share them. Melly sings “There’s No Business Like Show Business” while Steve, who showed up in a chaplain’s uniform, and Katy look on from the wings.

305 Before the song is over, Tim shows up in a sailor’s uniform. Looking very exhausted from his search for his son, Terry also arrives backstage. He announces that the Five Donahues haven’t been together since they last performed at the Hippodrome, so they would like to perform “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” as they did when they played the theater many years ago. The family performs a portion of the song and then disappears as the finale begins. The finale is a huge production number of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” with seemingly endless numbers of vividly dressed performers. The Five Donahues and Vicky also join the number. The film is stuffed with a lot of great old Irving Berlin songs ... and the key word is “old.” Ethel Merman’s belting vocals were great for the Broadway stage where she had to sing over the orchestra without the aid of microphones, but they are less effective in film musicals. The cast is very talented and the lavish musical routines are very entertaining. Film critic Bosley Crowther is probably in the vast minority when he wrote that Marilyn Monroe’s “wriggling and squirming to ‘Heat Wave’ and ‘Lazy’ are embarrassing to behold.”5

Thoroughly Modern Millie Universal Pictures, March 21, 1967, 138 minutes Principal Cast: Julie Andrews (Millie Dillmount), Mary Tyler Moore (Dorothy Brown), James Fox ( Jimmy Smith), John Gavin (Trevor Graydon), Carol Channing (Muzzy Van Hossmere), Beatrice Lillie (Mrs. Meers) Director: George Roy Hill Producer: Ross Hunter Screenwriter: Richard Morris Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Joe Layton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Thoroughly Modern Millie”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Supporting Actress (Carol Channing) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Thoroughly Modern Millie”) ❍ *Best Original Score ❍ Best Art Direction & Set Decoration ❍ Best Costume Design ❍ Best Adapted Musical Scoring ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

Richard Morris used the 1956 British musical, Chrysanthemum, as his inspiration for writing the screenplay for Thoroughly Modern Millie, but pro-

Thoroughly Modern Millie ducer Ross Hunter claims to have gotten the original idea when he saw The Boy Friend, the musical that brought Julie Andrews to Broadway in 1954. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but only won one (see Awards and Honors above). Prior to the opening credits, a woman chloroforms a girl in room 1210 as the girl sings “Looking at the World Through Rose Colored Glasses.”1 She puts the girl into a laundry basket and pushes the cart to the elevator, where she dances to get the temperamental elevator to work. The camera pans up to reveal a quasi–Oriental woman named Mrs. Meers. The newspaper headlines read: “Innocent Girls Sold Into White Slavery.” Millie Dillmount, a young woman who is determined to become “modern,” walks down a crowded street in 1922 New York City. She notices the women who get the most attention from the men have bobbed hair, so she enters a salon to get her hair cut. She sings “Thoroughly Modern Millie”2 as she continues down the street. Modern women wear short skirts, make-up and beads, so she enters a dress shop and emerges with a stylish frock. Her beads don’t hang correctly, so she buys an undergarment that flattens her chest. To further change her image, she purchases a pack of cigarettes. Millie befriends Miss Dorothy Brown when she checks into the Priscilla Hotel for single young ladies. When Mrs. Meers asks if she is from a big family, Dorothy tells her that she’s an orphan. She assigns Dorothy the room directly opposite Millie’s, Room 1210. As the girls head for the twelfth floor, they dance to “Stumbling”3 to get the elevator to work. Dorothy tells Millie that she wants to be an actress, while Millie intends to marry her boss. Millie invites Dorothy to join her at a dance in the hotel’s dining hall later that evening. At the dance, the couples are dancing to a gramophone recording of “I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me,”4 when a young man enters and introduces himself as Jimmy. He had heard music as he was walking down the street, so he came in to investigate. He asks Millie to dance and to help him name the new dance they are going to do. He eventually settles on the name “The Tapioca,”5 and proceeds to make up the steps and teach them to Millie and the others. After the dance, Jimmy takes Millie on a wild ride in his roadster, during which he tries to teach her to drive. Even though she can’t resist him, she reaffirms her intent to marry her boss. When he asks if she will see him again until she gets engaged, she agrees. During Millie’s first day at work, she makes a list of the eligible bachelors in the office. Miss Flan-

Thoroughly Modern Millie nery,6 who is in charge of female employees, gives Millie a pep talk before she begins her job as secretary to Trevor Graydon. When she enters Mr. Graydon’s office, she is mesmerized.7 Graydon tests her dictation skills, during which she sings “Baby Face”8 (with occasional interpolations of “Hallelujah”). While the song continues, she speedily completes the dictated letter and proudly hands it to him. Graydon says, “Swell, just swell” (his favorite expression). Mrs. Meers continues her attempts to drug Dorothy; her next ploy was to inject the potion into an apple, but Millie foils her plan by grabbing Dorothy just before she bites into the fruit to accompany her to a Jewish wedding, where she sings “Jewish Wedding Song (Trinkt le Chaim).”9 The bride and groom and the wedding guests dance. At the end of the song, Millie catches the bridal bouquet. Jimmy telephones Millie at work and invites her and Dorothy to a “sky’s the limit” outing, which turns out to be a bi-plane ride complete with loop de loops and being chased by Baron Richter10 in a simulated World War I–type air battle. Inside the Baron’s plane is Muzzy Van Hossmere, a former cabaret singer and the eccentric widow of a multimillionaire, their hostess for the weekend. After landing at her palatial estate, Muzzy magically pulls an Ace of Hearts from Millie’s collar and tells her it means that true love is near. Of course, Millie thinks she means Graydon. At a party that evening, the guests dance to “Charmaine.”11 Later, Muzzy performs “Jazz Baby,”12 in which she tap dances and plays several instruments. Millie compliments Muzzy’s performance with Graydon’s favorite expression: “Swell, just swell!” Millie has feelings for Jimmy, but is afraid he lacks ambition, so she refuses to get romantically involved. Later that night, she sings “Jimmy,”13 about how smitten she is with this guy who makes her heart do flip-flops when they kiss. She changes into her night clothes and runs towards Jimmy’s room, but on the way, she is shocked to see Dorothy sneaking into his room. Millie is decidedly standoffish the next morning as they leave Muzzy’s. Mrs. Meers spends most of the film trying to capture Miss Dorothy to sell her into slavery, but Millie always seems to show up at a crucial moment. At one point, Mrs. Meers sprays sleeping gas in Dorothy’s room and passes out. When her two bumbling Chinese henchmen, Number One and Number Two,14 come to collect Dorothy, they grab Mrs. Meers and take her sleeping body to the white slavery market.

306 Millie has resolved to forget the boy and concentrate on the man, but when she enters Trevor’s office in a provocative dress and practically throws herself at him, he is shocked by her forward behavior. After work that day, Dorothy gets out of a cab in front of Millie’s office building just as Graydon is exiting the building. When they see each other, they freeze in their tracks and their minds sing “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life.”15 He asks both girls to accompany him to dinner and a show. While a circus act performs, Graydon gazes longingly at the timid Miss Dorothy as his mind sings more of “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life.” During the Bernini Brothers’ tumbling act, someone is shot from a cannon — it is Muzzy, who joins the act and sings “Do It Again.”16 Afterwards backstage, while Millie gushes over Muzzy’s multi-talents, Dorothy and Trevor sneak away to be alone. The next day at the office, all Graydon talks about is Miss Dorothy. Millie, of course, is heartbroken. While she telephones to make reservations for them at a restaurant and orders a dozen long stem pink roses for Dorothy, she sings “Poor Butterfly.”17 When Millie informs Jimmy that she has decided to quit her job, he invites her to a celebration dinner and insists on an elegant meal at an expensive restaurant. After their meal, they wash dishes to pay their bill. Millie is instructed to take a tray to a room in a hidden part of the restaurant (when she arrives, a girl is singing “Rose of Washington Square”18). She is shocked to find Trevor drowning his sorrows in bootleg hooch because Dorothy stood him up. Mrs. Meers had told him that Dorothy checked out, but Millie finds that very suspicious. She takes Graydon to meet Jimmy, who is certain Dorothy has fallen victim to foul play. Trevor pays for their dinner check so they can help him find Dorothy. While Trevor occupies Mrs. Meers at the front desk, Millie and Jimmy search Dorothy’s room for clues. Since her check book and clothes are still there, they are certain she did not leave on her own accord. Millie suddenly remembers some other girls who, according to Mrs. Meers, checked out without a word. When they hear a squeaky laundry basket coming down the hall, they hide and watch Mrs. Meers’ flunkies take all of Dorothy’s things away and dump the roses Millie had ordered in the trash. After they leave, Jimmy smells the roses and detects dope. Later, Jimmy pretends to be a new girl checking into the hotel. He tells Mrs. Meers that he doesn’t know anyone in New York except at the orphanage. The wily Mrs. Meers spies Graydon sitting outside in the roadster, so she shoots him in the neck with

307 a drugged dart, and then goes to Jimmy’s room and puts dope into his ink well. When Millie finds Jimmy, he has passed out. She hears the squeaky cart approaching, so she hides under the bed while the two Orientals take Jimmy away in the laundry basket. To make the elevator work, they dance a comical soft shoe routine to “The Japanese Sandman.”19 Millie drives the roadster and follows the laundry wagon to Chinatown. As she searches for Jimmy, she sees some prostitutes smoking, so, to blend in, she lights a cigarette. When it causes a coughing fit, she tosses it into an open window of a fireworks manufacturing plant, which soon explodes. As she runs into the adjacent building, she finds Dorothy. They retrieve Jimmy, carry him to the roadster and flee to Muzzy’s Long Island estate. Mrs. Meers and her flunkies follow. At Muzzy’s, a fight ensues with Millie and her cohorts performing a tumbling act like the Bernini Brothers to confuse their assailants. Muzzy uses Argentine boleadoras to entrap Mrs. Meers. That night when Millie once again heads for Jimmy’s bedroom, she is puzzled to see Dorothy and Muzzy enter his room. When Millie opens the door, Jimmy introduces her to his sister and stepmother. Muzzy explains that fortune hunters were after Jimmy and Dorothy, so she sent them into the real world to find their true loves and they did. Jimmy tells Millie he is James Van Hossmere, First VicePresident of Van Hossmere International Enterprises. A triple wedding follows: Millie and Jimmy, Dorothy and Trevor, and Muzzy and a man with his back to the camera. Mrs. Meers’ head appears as a bouncing ball for a sing-along of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The couples sing a few hallelujahs and Millie concludes the film with a “boopboop-a-doop.” The dates of several of the songs used in the film are from the second-half of the Twenties, when, according to the lyrics of the title song, the film is set in 1922. The Jewish wedding scene is unnecessary and has no baring on the rest of the plot. Otherwise, Thoroughly Modern Millie is a very entertaining film musical. Julie Andrews is delightful as the young modern who wants to marry her boss, Mary Tyler Moore plays a naïve socialite to perfection, and Carol Channing is appropriately ditsy. A stage version of the film premiered on Broadway in 2002, ran for 903 performances, and received eleven Tony Award nominations. It won six awards including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster), and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Harriet Harris). The film’s title song, “Jimmy,” and “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” were retained, while the new songs were penned by lyricist Dick Scanlan and composer Jeanine Tesori.

Three Little Words

Three Little Words M-G-M, July 12, 1950, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Bert Kalmar), Red Skelton (Harry Ruby), Vera-Ellen ( Jessie Brown Kalmar), Arlene Dahl (Eileen Percy Ruby), Keenan Wynn (Charlie Kope), Gale Robbins (Terry Lordel) Director: Richard Thorpe Producer: Jack Cummings Screenwriter: George Wells Music: Harry Ruby Lyrics: Bert Kalmar Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Availability: DVD

Three Little Words is the screen biography of the songwriting team of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, and, in comparison to other screen biographies of songwriters, is not too far fetched. The film’s action opens at B.F. Keith’s Palace Theatre1 one of the most prestigious vaudeville venues in the nation. A song-and-dance team, Kalmar and Brown (Bert and Jessie2), are among the headliners. With both dressed in top hats, white ties and tails, they perform “Where Did You Get That Girl?,” written by Kalmar and Harry Puck, another famous vaudeville performer. After their performance, Bert is interested in watching the magic act that follows. Later, in his dressing room, he suggests adding a few magic tricks to their act and makes a feeble proposal of marriage to Jessie. For the moment, she doesn’t accept. The scene switches to another theater where a quartet sings “She’s Mine, All Mine” with Harry Ruby as their piano accompanist. The theater owner assigns Ruby as the next act’s assistant, which is Kendall the Great, really a disguised Bert Kalmar trying out his magician skills. Ruby manages to turn Kalmar’s magic act into a disaster, so the theater manager fires him. Jessie and Charlie Kope, their agent, are waiting in Bert’s dressing room and can’t imagine what he’s trying to prove. At a program honoring President Woodrow Wilson, Bert and Jessie perform a number called “Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer,”3 a routine about what a marriage might be like when two dancers become husband and wife. Backstage, Bert injures his knee, resulting in a dancing ban for a year. When Jessie comes by his apartment to bring him some food, she accepts his previous proposal of marriage, but he is not sure

Three Little Words now that he can make a living, so he backs out. Jessie, hurt and embarrassed, leaves. At a music publisher’s office, Bert hears someone playing a tune in the next room. When he expresses interest, the publisher calls the pianist into his office to demonstrate it. It is Harry Ruby who enters, but Bert doesn’t immediately recognize him. Harry tells Bert his composition is an “Araby” tune. After listening to a little of it, Bert tells him it is a “Dixie tune.” The tune becomes “My Sunny Tennessee,” which was the duo’s first successful collaboration. Harry plays a new tune for Bert (the melody that later becomes “Three Little Words”) and Kalmar tells Ruby about a new lyric. Harry unsuccessfully tries to fit the tune to Kalmar’s “So Long, OoLong” lyric. Kalmar leaves the lyric with him to work on. Soon, Bert and Harry are demonstrating the song to sell copies of the sheet music. Charlie, their friend and agent, arranges for Mrs. Carter DeHaven to hear their next song, “Who’s Sorry Now?”4 Gloria DeHaven5 croons the tune in her residence and loves it. When Charlie lets it slip that Jessie has found a new dance partner, Bert tries to dance an intricate tap routine to “Where Did You Get That Girl?” but collapses in pain. Harry convinces him that they need a vacation, so they head for Buffalo where Jessie is currently performing. As the character Sweet Marie from Gay Paree, she sings and dances to “Come On, Papa”6 with a chorus of sailors. She spots Bert and Harry in the audience, so she introduces them and coaxes them into performing one of their songs. With Harry at the piano, Jessie and Bert sing “Nevertheless (I’m in Love With You).” Harry joins them in finishing the first chorus. Then, Bert and Jessie dance a romantic routine together. The scene switches to Bert and Jessie’s honeymoon. Jessie is happy to retire from show business. During a songwriting session in the Kalmar’s new home, the partners work on, “All Alone Monday.” Later, Harry, Bert and Jessie go to a club where Terry Lordel, Harry’s intended, sings their new song. Bert and Jessie are not particularly impressed with Terry. The team is hired to write the entire score for a Broadway show. During auditions, Eileen Percy sings “You Smiled at Me.” The producer is pleased with her performance and tells her if she can read well she will get the part. However, Harry brings Terry to audition and, through his influence, she gets the part. Terry performs “All Alone Monday” in the Broadway production while her understudy, Eileen, and Harry watch from backstage. Eileen tells Harry

308 she won’t be there long; she’s headed for Hollywood. He doesn’t really believe her. When Bert sees Terry kiss another man backstage, it confirms his suspicions about her. To divert Harry’s attention, Bert and Jessie arrange for him to join his favorite baseball team, the Washington Senators, in Florida for spring training. Once Harry returns from Florida, Bert informs him that Terry is married. While Harry was away, Bert finished a play he had been writing. Harry is convinced the play will flop, so he gets the financial backer to pull out so Bert won’t experience a failure. One day, Bert and Harry work on a potential song as they are walking down a street. Harry borrows a piano from a couple of piano movers to demonstrate the tune. As he plays and Bert fits the lyrics into the melody, a cute, young girl7 interjects some “boop-boop-a-doops” into the song. That scene quickly segues into a production of the musical Good Boy where Helen Kane sings “I Wanna Be Loved by You”8 to Dan Healy,9 who just looks embarrassed. The team’s next show is Five O’Clock Girl, which is performed in both New York City and London. On the way back home from England via steamship, Harry wakes Bert and Jessie early one morning to demonstrate a tune he has written for a lyric Bert had written for Jessie, “Thinking of You.” After Jessie sings the song from the manuscript, she and Bert dance a beautiful ballroomstyle routine. Jessie thanks Bert for the song and comments that Harry must be in love to write such a passionate melody. They panic when they see Harry walking around the ship’s deck with a snooty lady and her dog, so they arrange another trip for him to spring training to once again divert his attention. When Harry returns from Florida, the songwriting team works on “Hooray for Captain Spaulding,” which Groucho Marx makes famous in Animal Crackers (1930). At the film’s premier, Terry’s former understudy, Eileen, speaks to Harry. He doesn’t realize she is now a movie star or that she will star in their next film. Accompanied by a male chorus, Eileen sings and dances to “I Love You So Much” on a soundstage. Afterwards, Harry asks her how they could have possibly passed her up on Broadway. She explains that it was his fascination with Terry that cost her the part. At a party celebrating the team’s anniversary, a drunken Charlie lets it slip that Harry had been responsible for the financial backer pulling out of Bert’s play years earlier. He is deeply offended and the songwriting partnership ends. One day, Harry plays “Thinking of You,” which

309 Eileen says is her favorite. After she sings the song, she tells him that he must have been very much in love to write such a melody. He tells her he was never more in love than he is with her — they marry. Phil Regan10 and his orchestra perform “You Are My Lucky Star”11 on a radio program called Songwriters Parade, which honors various songwriting teams. Regan announces that the following week they will salute Kalmar and Ruby. Both Bert and Harry are completely surprised by this announcement and are each adamant about not participating in the broadcast. Unknown to them, this salute has been cooked up by their wives to get them back together. When the Rubys visit the Kalmars, neither Bert nor Harry want to give in to the other. Finally, Bert asks Harry if he has a new tune. Harry plays the tune that he has been trying to get Bert interested in for years. Kalmar tries to come up with some suitable lyrics, but they end up arguing. Kalmar storms out of the house and says, “I could tell you what I think of you in just three little words. You’re a dope!” After Bert leaves, Harry tries “three little words” and realizes he has finally found the title phrase for his melody. At the radio program, Bert and Harry perform a “and-then-we-wrote” medley of some of their hit songs, which ends with “Three Little Words.”12 After their performance, Phil Regan invites the audience to dance as he sings the song. When Bert and Harry join their wives, there is a cake with a baseball player and a magician on top. Three Little Words is an entertaining screen biography of this famous songwriting team. Fred Astaire was a decent choice to play Kalmar, but Red Skelton was too much of a comic to be believable as the baseball loving Ruby. Several of Kalmar and Ruby’s songs became popular again due to the film. Astaire and Vera-Ellen danced beautifully together. Interestingly, Bert Kalmar died in 1947, just two days after signing the contract that granted M-GM the screen rights to his life story.

Till the Clouds Roll By M-G-M, December 5, 1946, 137 minutes Principal Cast: Robert Walker ( Jerome Kern), Lucille Bremer (Sally), Joan Wells (Sally, as a girl), Van Heflin ( James I. Hessler), Paul Langton (Oscar Hammerstein), Dorothy Patrick (Eva Kern), Dinah Shore ( Julia Sanderson), Judy Garland (Marilyn Miller) Director: Richard Whorf

Till the Clouds Roll By Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Myles Connolly and Jean Holloway; adapted by George Wells from a story by Guy Bolton Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics: Various Lyricists Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: Public Domain

It is difficult to cram a person’s life story into film length and it is practically impossible to do justice to the life of an illustrious composer of Jerome Kern’s statue in a little over two hours. However, Till the Clouds Roll By was M-G-M’s highly fictionalized tribute to the music of one of popular music’s premier composers. Kern’s screen biography begins on December 27, 1927 with the premiere of his immortal musical Show Boat, which he wrote with lyricist and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. During this performance, we hear: 1. “Cotton Blossom,” the name of the Cap’n Andy’s show boat that travels the Mississippi River during the last decade of the 19th century, sung by the chorus; 2. “Where’s the Mate for Me?,” which is subtitled “Gambler’s Song,” is sung by Gaylord Ravenal,1 a riverboat gambler; 3. “Make Believe” is sung by Ravenal and Magnolia Hawks,2 the daughter of the owner of the show boat, when they first meet; 4. “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” is a clever comic song performed by Virginia O’Brien and a chorus of girls; 5. “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” is sung by Lena Horne, who was considered for the part of Julie for the 1951 film version of Show Boat, but lost the role to Ava Gardner; 6. “Ol’ Man River” is sung in the film by Caleb Peterson, Frieda Shaw’s Ethiopian Chorus, and the M-G-M Chorus as the conclusion of the Show Boat segment. As evidence of its stature, this Show Boat sequence occupied fifteen of the film’s 137 minutes. After the premiere, Mr. Kern gets into his chauffeured automobile to attend the opening night party at the Waldorf. On the way, he has the driver detour to the part of town where he began his career. Sitting in the back seat of his limo, Kern tells his story to his driver. When he came to New York as an optimistic young songwriter, a publisher sent him to see Jim Hessler, a talented arranger. Hessler’s daughter, Sally, wants to try to play one of Kern’s songs on the

Till the Clouds Roll By piano. He helps her play “Ka-lu-a,”3 about a romantic beach in Hawaii. When her father makes suggestions concerning the orchestrations, Jim and Jerry become friends and work together on Kern’s songs. Soon, however, Jim and Sally sail for England where Jim intends to compose the symphony he has always intended to write. After Kern fruitlessly peddles his songs to disinterested Broadway producers who are convinced that the only good music comes from England or Europe, he moves to London to learn to write music with an English accent. There he renews his relationship with Hessler and his daughter. When they attend a local fair, Kern is inspired by the sight of some young ladies on swings to write, “How’d You Like to Spoon With Me?”4 Angela Lansbury and a male chorus perform the song in George Edwards’ revue London Gaities on a stage filled with girls in swings. During a bike ride into the country, Jerry meets Eva when he goes into her cottage seeking a piano to crystallize the idea he has for a song. She doesn’t believe he is a songwriter. When he tells Jim about the girl, Jim doesn’t believe him either. The song that came from this encounter was “They Didn’t Believe Me.”5 Just as Kern begins to romance Eva, he is called back to New York to write the music for The Girl from Utah. Kern’s next success, according to the film, was Oh, Boy! (1917), one of the Princess Theater musicals.6 The example from Oh, Boy! was “Till the Clouds Roll By,”7 a romantic rainy day duet, performed in a song-and-dance routine by June Allyson and Ray McDonald. Jerry travels to England where he proposes to Eva. After their marriage, he pours his happiness into his music. June Allyson, Ray McDonald and the chorus perform the title song8 from Leave It to Jane,9 another of the Princess Theater musicals. Then Miss Allyson sings a cute ditty called “Cleopatterer,” followed by a reprise of the musical’s title song. After several other successful Princess Theater musicals, Kern wrote Sally, which starred Marilyn Miller. In the film, Judy Garland sings “Look for the Silver Lining”10 from that show while she washes piles of dishes. Sally Hessler returns home from school — actually many schools — and wants a theatrical career. Uncle Jerry, as she calls him, gives her a minor part in Sunny and writes the song “Who?” for her. She performs the song in a rehearsal. However, the lyricist and producer agree that the song needs to be a big production number and should be sung by the show’s star, Marilyn Miller. As a result, Sally leaves to make her own musical career. At the premiere of

310 Sunny, Miss Miller performs “Who?”11 as a circus bareback rider. As Jim Hessler’s health fails, Kern promises to find Sally. After Jim’s death, Jerry feels completely lost without his friend and seems to have lost his songwriting ability. Shortly after Oscar Hammerstein II brings him Edna Ferber’s novel Show Boat to read, he learns that Sally12 is singing in Memphis. When he goes to see her, she performs “One More Dance.”13 Then she and the club’s bandleader14 perform a song-and-dance rendition of “I Won’t Dance.”15 During their backstage reunion, Sally refuses Uncle Jerry’s plea to return to New York; she still needs to make it on her own. On the train to Memphis to see Sally, Kern read Show Boat. After his meeting with her, he walked along the Mississippi River and began to get exited about writing the musical version of Ferber’s book. The film returns to the night of the Show Boat premiere with Kern in the cab. As they drive to the premiere Waldorf for the opening night party, a montage of other Kern successes is shown: “She Didn’t Say Yes”16 from The Cat and the Fiddle, the musical Sweet Adeline in 1929, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”17 from Roberta and Dinah Shore sings “The Last Time I Saw Paris”18 in front of black and white film footage of Paris landmarks. Kern goes to Hollywood to write for films. For the closing montage, on an M-G-M sound stage, he and Eva watch a medley of his songs performed, including “Yesterdays”19 performed by the M-GM Chorus, Kathryn Grayson singing “Long Ago and Far Away,”20 Tony Martin singing “All the Things You Are,”21 Lena Horne singing “Why Was I Born?,”22 and Frank Sinatra singing “Ol’ Man River.” Most often in screen biographies there isn’t enough time to do justice to all the hit songs of the person being honored. If the studio had produced full blown performances of all of Kern’s successes, the film’s running time would have been counted in days or weeks, not hours and minutes. Basically, the years after Show Boat’s premiere are sloughed over with quick montages. The Show Boat sequence was well done, “How’d You Like to Spoon With Me?” was cute, June Allyson’s rendition of “Till the Clouds Roll By,” and “Cleopatterer” were also cute, and Judy Garland’s “Look for the Silver Lining” was very well done. After hearing Paul Robeson and William Warfield sing “Ol’ Man River” in the screen versions of Show Boat in 1936 and 1951, Frank Sinatra’s crooning of the song, which closed the film, was anything but climatic (the performance of it during the Show Boat sequence earlier in the film was better than Sinatra’s).

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Top Hat RKO Radio Pictures, September 6, 1935, 100 minutes Principal Cast : Fred Astaire ( Jerry Travers), Ginger Rogers (Dale Tremont), Edward Everett Horton (Horace Hardwick), Erik Rhodes (Alberto Beddini), Eric Blore (Bates), Helen Broderick (Madge Hardwick) Director: Mark Sandrich Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Hermes Pan Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 15 Greatest Movie Musical ● “Cheek to Cheek” No. 15 from 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee (“Top Hat, White Tie and Tails”) ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Song for “Cheek to Cheek” ❍ Best Art Direction ❍ Best Dance Direction ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1990 Availability: DVD

Top Hat In the early 21st Century, it is difficult to empathize with characters who apparently spend their entire lives in evening clothes, who stay in hotels more often than at home, and who bounce out of bed at twilight so they can dance the night away and stumble home at dawn. However, this is the world of several movie musicals of the Thirties, including Top Hat. RKO Radio Pictures had experienced a considerable degree of success with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ first three films together, especially The Gay Divorcee. Therefore, the studio decreed that the duo’s next film would be more or less a carbon copy of that successful formula — the same stars, the same director, and practically the same plot. In Top Hat, an American dancer, Jerry Travers, goes to London for the British version of his latest American success and stays with his old friend and the show’s producer, the bumbling Horace Hardwick, in his hotel suite. Horace’s wife, Madge, is determined to find a suitable wife for Jerry, whether he wants one or not. Jerry expresses his philosophy on the subject in the song “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free).” The dance por-

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat.

Top Hat tion of the song awakens Dale Tremont on the floor below. Annoyed, she storms upstairs to complain; Jerry falls for her immediately and apologizes. When Dale leaves, he becomes her “sand man” by sprinkling sand from the hallway cuspidor on the hotel suite’s floor to lull her to sleep with a softshoe dance. The next day, Jerry sends her most of the flowers in the hotel flower shop and a card that reads: “From your silent admirer.” Dale gets perturbed at Jerry again when he pursues her all over London. When she appears in the hotel lobby in riding clothes, he replaces her hansom cab driver to drive her to the riding stables. She discovers he is the driver when she hears his tapping feet through the roof of the cab. When they arrive, she brushes him off again. While she is riding, a thunderstorm forces her to take shelter in a bandstand. Jerry drives up in the cab and offers to rescue her, but she refuses his assistance. A sudden clap of thunder startles her and sends her into Jerry’s arms. He explains a thunderstorm as a meteorological kiss and sings “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (to be Caught in the Rain)?” Although she is obviously listening, she keeps her back turned to him through most of the song; however, her feelings begin to change. After he sings, Jerry walks slowly towards the middle of the bandstand casually whistling. She imitates his whistling and accepts his challenge. He performs a dance step which she mimics precisely. Then she challenges him with a step of her own. The tempo of the music accelerates, as they mirror each other’s steps and become bolder, not just imitating each other but performing for each other. They never actually touch until towards the end when, with a crook of her elbow, Dale invites Jerry in and they spin and whirl joyously around the bandstand gazebo. To conclude this marvelous dance sequence, they dance off the front of the bandstand, realize it’s still raining, sit down on the edge of the bandstand, smile and shake hands. Dale is employed as a fashion model by Alberto Beddini, a foppish Italian dress designer, who ludicrously misuses English words and who also has romantic intentions towards her. She and Beddini are traveling to Italy to visit her friend, Madge Hardwick, and for her to model his dresses. Dale receives a telegram from Madge1 suggesting that she look up her husband, who is staying in the same hotel in London. Intrigued, she inquires about Mr. Hardwick at the hotel desk and learns that he is in the room above hers. The clerk points him out, but she mistakes Jerry for Horace. Dale thinks her “silent admirer” is Madge’s husband, so she refuses to have any further romantic involvement. He is completely astonished by her decision and can’t imagine what caused it.

312 After debating with herself, Dale decides to go to Venice to tell Madge about her philandering husband. Meanwhile, Horace assigns his valet, Bates, to follow Dale. In between acts of Jerry’s show the following evening, Horace receives a telegram from Madge revealing that she had invited both Dale and Jerry to Italy to introduce them to each other. Overjoyed to know where Dale is, Jerry begs Horace to charter a plane to Venice for the weekend. Thrilled at the prospect of seeing Dale again, Jerry performs “Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails” to open the second act. Backed by a top-hatted, tuxedoed, male chorus, Jerry begins the song with Madge’s telegram in his hand as if it were an invitation to a formal party. He acts out putting on his top hat, straightening his white tie, and brushing off his tuxedo tails. At one point in the routine, the chorus leaves him alone on the stage for a solo tap segment. When the chorus reappears, he uses his cane as a machine-gun and his taps represent the gun firing to shoot the chorus members. The final dancer dodges his “bullet,” so his cane becomes a bow and arrow to finish off the last target. At The Lido in Venice, Dale informs Madge about her husband’s flirtations. Madge assures her that her husband flirts with every attractive girl he meets, but it doesn’t mean anything. So, Dale decides to frighten Horace into fidelity. When Jerry arrives in Venice, Dale, still thinking that he is Madge’s husband, kisses him. She also contrives a story about an earlier affair they had in Paris. Jerry doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but plays along. When Dale reports back to Madge, she begins to question Horace’s fidelity. At dinner that evening, matchmaker Madge encourages Dale and Jerry to dance together. As they dance, Jerry sings “Cheek to Cheek.”2 They first dance on a crowded floor and later cross a bridge into a secluded, circular ballroom area. The dance ends as they come to rest against a terrace wall — it is as if they have just made love. Dale is mad that she has allowed herself to fall in love with a man she still believes is the husband of her friend. And, her perplexity intensifies when Jerry proposes to her. She slaps him and stomps off. In her confused condition, Dale impulsively accepts Beddini’s marriage proposal. Eavesdropping, Horace’s valet overhears their plan and follows them. When Jerry discovers that Dale has married Beddini and that she has been mistaking him for Horace, he decides to break up her marriage before it is consummated. The newlyweds move into the bridal suite, which

313 had been Horace’s and Jerry’s suite. Jerry tap dances in the room above them to deliberately disgust Beddini. When he leaves to stop the dancer, Jerry sneaks in to see Dale and persuades her to take a gondola ride with him so he can clear up the mistaken identities. Once he explains, she is upset that she married Beddini. Bates sends Horace, Madge and Beddini to find Dale and Jerry in a motorboat, but removes most of the gasoline so they will be stranded. That evening at the hotel, Jerry and Dale share a champagne dinner together, but Dale feels guilty that Beddini is out looking for her. Amid the excitement of carnival night, they watch some gondolas on the water as they dine. The gondolas are followed by a dancing chorus of singers, performing “The Piccolino.” Jerry and Dale join the dancers and Dale sings the lyrics. As the film ends, Bates reveals that he had posed as the minister for Dale and Beddini’s wedding, so they are not legally married. Jerry and Dale conclude the film with a short reprise of “The Piccolino” as they dance off into the Venetian sunset. AFI named Top Hat its No. 15 greatest movie musical, but Entertainment Weekly doesn’t list it among its top twenty-five. Top Hat is one of the best Astaire/Rogers films (perhaps the best), but it suffers when compared to the excellent movie musicals of subsequent decades. And, there are so few songs—only five! Three, “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (to be Caught in the Rain)?,” “Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails,” and “Cheek to Cheek,” are quality musical numbers and are excellently performed, but “The Piccolino,” which was intended to be similar to both “The Carioca” from Flying Down to Rio and “The Continental” from The Gay Divorcee, was silly and too contrived and “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free)” is entertainingly staged, but not particularly memorable. Fred and Ginger’s dancing is beyond reproach, but the mistaken identity plot is wearing very thin. Lucille Ball appears briefly in the film as a flower clerk.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown M-G-M, June 11, 1964, 128 minutes Principal Cast: Debbie Reynolds (Molly Brown), Harve Presnell ( Johnny Brown) Director: Charles Walters Producer: Lawrence Weingarten

The Unsinkable Molly Brown Screenwriter: Helen Deutsch Music and Lyrics: Meredith Willson Choreographer: Peter Gennaro Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Actress in a Leading Role (Debbie Reynolds) ❍ Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ Best Cinematography, Color ❍ Best Costume Design, Color ❍ Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ❍ Best Sound Availability: DVD

Margaret Tobin, who became known as Molly Brown, was born in 1867. She became famous as one of the suvivors of the sinking of the Titanic. She didn’t become known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” until after her death in 1932. The Unsinkable Molly Brown was Meredith Willson’s follow-up to The Music Man. With a book by Richard Morris, it premiered on Broadway in 1960. The production starred Tammy Grimes, who won the Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for her role as Molly, and Harve Presnell as her husband, who reprised the role in the film version. For the film version, M-G-M, as it did with almost all of its screen adaptations of Broadway musicals, blithely discarded most of the Broadway score.1 Two new songs were added: “Colorado, My Home,” which was cut during tryouts from the original Broadway score, and “He’s My Friend.” The film opens on a roaring Colorado mountain stream. A baby girl floats by in her cradle. Once she hits the rapids, she is dumped out, but manages to scramble to shore.2 After the opening credits, the scene is at the same stream where a grown-up Molly fishes for trout. She hears singing (“Belly Up to the Bar, Boys”) and runs to climb on the wagon of her surrogate father, Shamus Tobin.3 After wrestling with Shamus’ sons, Molly sings “I Ain’t Down Yet,” in which she dreams of learning to read and write and bettering her lot in life. When Shamus’ friend suggests that it’s time for Molly to marry, her Pa incredulously asks, “Who’d marry Molly?” and her step-brothers howl with laughter. Molly thanks her Pa for raising her like she was his own daughter, but tells him that she’s leaving to find a rich husband. Shamus advises her to find a good, rich Irish-Catholic man and learn to serve God and a warm breakfast. Johnny Brown sings “Colorado, My Home” from some very picturesque Colorado mountain country. There are several echo effects during the song that add to its appeal. After three days of walking, Molly bathes in a

The Unsinkable Molly Brown mountain stream. Johnny quietly watches from a short distance away. When she objects to his voyeurism, he tells her that she is trespassing on his land. He introduces himself and offers some food and a place to sleep. She explains that she is headed for Leadville, then on to Denver to find a rich husband, but she’s so hungry she accepts Johnny’s offer. When she gets the impression that he is having lustful thoughts, she leaves without eating. In Leadville, a saloon owner agrees to hire Molly if she can sing and play the piano. When she attempts to play the piano, she accidentally discovers one chord and the opening notes of “Belly Up to the Bar, Boys.” That scene segues into her rowdy performance of the song along with a band made up of the town’s firemen. During this sequence a competitive dance develops between three prostitutes and Molly. Soon, business is booming. Johnny arrives to return some things that Molly had left at his cabin. During his visit, she asks him to teach her to read. The next few scenes are of her lessons in various picturesque locales. Molly is pleased with how much money she is making and expects to have enough soon to continue her travels. Johnny asks how much she is looking for, because he can find silver and gold easily. He proposes to her by singing “I’ll Never Say No,” but Molly is afraid to accept. The song continues as Johnny builds a larger cabin. After it is completed, he dresses up and drives his wagon into town. He takes Molly back out to his place to show her what he has been working on — a cabin that includes a room for her Pa, a brass bed, and an indoor tub. She doesn’t know how to thank him because nobody has ever done anything like that for her before. At their wedding, the best man can’t find the wedding ring so Johnny uses a cigar ring instead. After the wedding and a big party, Molly is sad — she has a paper ring and no wedding dress. When she starts crying, Johnny cries too and leaves. He returns after several days with a fortune from the sale of his mine. Molly hides the money in the stove, but Johnny accidentally burns it to warm himself. He’s confident he can find more gold and silver. Once their Little Johnny Mine makes $42,000,000, the Browns purchase a house on Denver’s exclusive Pennsylvania Avenue. When they crash a party at the home of Mrs. McGraw,4 their stuffy new neighbor, Denver’s “beautiful people” are appalled. Later, when Molly invites them to a party at her house, only Monsignor Ryan5 shows up. He suggests they take a trip to Europe and buy themselves some culture. Johnny wants to return to Leadville, but Molly sings an excerpt from “I’ll Never Say No,” so

314 Johnny agrees to the trip. Then they sing a reprise of “I Ain’t Down Yet” and dance together. The song continues as the Browns dance across Europe. A montage shows Molly absorbing European culture. They meet several distinguished dignitaries who find Molly enchanting, but Johnny is bored. Molly’s European friends give her a birthday party, which Johnny doesn’t attend. When she asks why, he tells her that he’s had enough of culture and is homesick. So, she agrees to return home, but is bringing several crown heads of Europe with her. Johnny wishes she would stop trying to outdo Mrs. McGraw, but he is thrilled to be going home. He reprises “Colorado, My Home” (as “Colorado, Our Home”). Back in Denver at a lavish party, Molly makes a grand entrance down the staircase. As the foreign dignitaries are introduced, Molly speaks to each one in their own language. The Grand Duchess6 asks Molly to play Chopin later that evening. The party is a big success until Johnny introduces the old firemen’s band from Leadville, who launch into “He’s My Friend.” The song develops into quite a rowdy song-and-dance involving Pa, Johnny, Molly, the firemen, Buttercup Grogan,7 who is Mrs. McGraw’s mother, and even the Grand Duchess. The Denver socialites didn’t know how to react to such an unruly group. When there is some hint from Mrs. McGraw that Molly earned her living in Leadville as a prostitute, a brawl develops. The next morning, the Grand Duchess and Prince Louis de Laniere8 urge Molly to return to Europe where she will be surrounded by her true friends. Johnny and Molly argue about going back to Leadville or returning to Europe. Johnny finally stands up to Molly and says, “I’m saying no at last.” Molly’s European friends try their best to entertain her and make her feel like one of them. After some time, she receives a letter from Johnny that says, “You can take the ring off.”9 She removes the ring, but the Prince asks if she thinks Johnny doesn’t mean the inscription. She had never taken the ring off before, so she didn’t know it had an inscription. It says he will always love her. She books passage on the luxurious Titanic to return to Johnny as soon as possible. The ship sinks, but Molly survives. On the lifeboat, Molly takes charge. She doesn’t intend to die, because she is just learning how to live. When she returns to Denver, she is hailed as a hero. All Molly wants to know is if Johnny is there — which he doesn’t appear to be. She enters her deserted mansion and trudges upstairs. When she opens the door to her bedroom, the brass bed from the Leadville cabin is there. She stands in the doorway and reminisces about all the good times

315 with Johnny. Suddenly, a hat is thrown on the bed and Johnny appears from behind the door. They embrace as the film ends. During the Sixties, movie musical production fell off drastically. After one of the most productive decades, the Fifties, the Sixties released half the number of “great” musical films as the previous decade. The Unsinkable Molly Brown is an AFI nominee for its greatest musical films list, but with only five songs (three from the original score and two additions) it barely qualifies as a movie musical. Had the film studio not scuttled a dozen or so songs from the original score, there wouldn’t have been such long periods between songs. Otherwise, Debbie Reynolds and Harve Persnell performed their roles to perfection and both sang very well, Peter Gennaro’s choreography was excellent and fit the rowdy frontier atmosphere, and the Colorado setting was breathtakingly beautiful at times.

Viva Las Vegas M-G-M, May 20, 1964, 86 minutes Principal Cast : Elvis Presley (Lucky Jackson), AnnMargret (Rusty Martin) Director: George Sidney Producers: Jack Cummings and George Sidney Screenwriter: Sally Benson Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: David Winters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Viva Las Vegas”) Availability: DVD

Elvis Presley’s fourth film, King Creole, was released while he was in Army basic training at Fort Hood, Texas. Most entertainers are assigned to Special Services to entertain the other troops, but not Elvis — he became a regular G.I. After basic training, he was transferred to the Army base in Friedburg, Germany, where he met the fourteen-year-old step-daughter of Capt. Joseph Beaulieu, Priscilla, who he would eventually marry in 1967 (and divorce in 1973). Viva Las Vegas opens with Elvis singing the title song during the film’s opening credits. In the background is an aerial tour of the Las Vegas strip with prominent hotel and casino signs highlighted. The action begins when Lucky Jackson arrives at the Flamingo in his convertible towing his baby blue race car. He wins quite a bundle at the craps table. He telegrams his mechanic, Shorty Farns-

Viva Las Vegas worth,1 that he now has the money to purchase the motor for his race car, but the motor’s owner, Swanson, will not sell it until he sees the cash. Lucky parks his race car in a garage that houses several others before he heads for L.A. to pick up the motor. There he meets Italian racing champion, Count Mancini,2 who wants to hire him to block for his car so it will win the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but Lucky isn’t interested. Lucky intends to win not block so someone else can win. Before Lucky leaves, Rusty Martin, a beautiful, shapely redhead, comes into the garage because her sports car is making a funny noise. To insure that Rusty will stay around for a while, Lucky claims her car is broken and it will take quite a bit to fix it. He volunteers to drive her wherever she needs to go. When he goes to change out of his work overalls, Mancini quickly fixes the problem and Rusty drives away before Lucky can find out her name or how to contact her. That evening, Mancini joins Lucky as they go from club to club3 looking for Rusty. When they go to a small club called Swingers, the owner is panicked because the Sons of the Lone Star State have taken over his establishment. Lucky puts on a cowboy hat and borrows a couple of pistols, which he fires to get everyone’s attention. He sings a medley of “The Yellow Rose of Texas”4 and “The Eyes of Texas.”5 This medley gets the Texans’ patriotic blood pumping. They march around the club and right out the door. The following morning, Lucky hears Rusty through the window of Mancini’s hotel suite. She’s the hotel’s pool manager and is teaching children to dive. When Lucky finds her at the pool, he tells her that he had been looking for her the previous night. She ignores him and goes into the Women’s Dressing Room. Standing outside, Lucky strums his guitar and sings “The Lady Loves Me.”6 Rusty sings a verse and continues to aim sarcastic barbs in Lucky’s direction. After she changes clothes, Lucky follows her and their duet continues. At the end of the song, Rusty pushes Lucky off a high diving board into the pool. As Lucky climbs out of the pool, a little kid dives to the bottom and retrieves a bundle of Lucky’s cash that fell out of his pocket. Then the money gets sucked up by the pool’s circulation system. When Lucky is confronted by the hotel management about his bill, he can’t find his money. Without any money, Lucky and Shorty, his mechanic who has come from L.A., become waiters to pay their bill. Lucky asks Rusty to go on a date to a place where they can dance. She tells him to meet her the next morning at the University of Nevada gym. The next day, Rusty dances with six guys in a frantic

Walk the Line dance routine (unnamed song). After her exhibition, she asks Lucky to sing to entertain her fellow dancers. He sings “C’mon, Everybody”7 while Rusty and the others dance below the stage. Eventually, he pulls Rusty up on the stage with him and they dance while he continues to sing. After a date montage, Lucky flies a helicopter over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. They water ski on Lake Mead and Lucky meets her father.8 After some get-to-know-each-other conversation, Rusty changes so they can go dancing. While she is changing, Lucky accompanies himself on the piano as he sings, “Today, Tomorrow and Forever.”9 The scene abruptly changes to a club where an African-American quartet, the Forte Four, sings “The Climb,”10 while Lucky and Rusty and several other couples dance. Lucky then performs “What’d I Say”11 while Rusty gyrates. She and Lucky dance and several of the other couples display their dance moves. When Rusty and Lucky go on a picnic, she tells him she is afraid he will crash and accuses him of gambling away everything, including their potential future together, for his crazy passion to win. She wants a more normal life with a house and trees. Later back at her father’s, Rusty is still fuming about her argument with Lucky, but when a delivery boy arrives with a tree as a present from Lucky, she runs to find him. During her search, she runs into Mancini who asks her to dinner. She refuses by saying, “Not after the tree.” The club is having a talent contest, which both Lucky and Rusty expect to win. After they each boast about their prospect of winning, she accepts Mancini’s dinner invitation. At their dinner date in Mancini’s suite, Lucky is their waiter. He does everything he can to mess up their intimate meal. Mancini claims that he’d give up racing if he found the right girl. Rusty wishes Lucky felt the same. From outside, Lucky serenades Rusty by singing “Santa Lucia,”12 and then picks up the tempo by singing “If You Think I Don’t Need You.”13 After the song, he reminds her not to be late for the talent contest. At the contest, Rusty performs “Appreciation”14 and dances with the same six guys from the gym, who give her several jewel necklaces and bracelets. Afterwards, the audience gives her a huge ovation. Next, the announcer introduces Lucky, who sings “Viva Las Vegas.”15 Once again, the audience applauds enthusiastically. The announcer proclaims the contest a tie. They flip a coin to decide the winner — Lucky. First prize, which Lucky expected to be enough money to purchase the motor he needs for his race car, is a trophy and an all expenses paid honeymoon in Las Vegas. Later, Lucky wanders through one of the clubs

316 and sees several couples snuggled together. As he walks, his off-screen voice sings “I Need Somebody to Lean On”16 (later, he sings it live). When Shorty sees how unhappy Lucky is, he knows he has to do something to help. The next day, Lucky goes to the race car garage and tells Mancini that he will not drive for him, but he will work on his car. Soon, Mr. Martin shows up and wants to learn about the car’s engine. Then Rusty shows up supposedly looking for her father. Next, Shorty drives up with the motor Lucky needs for the race. When the men get busy installing the motor, Rusty leaves. Back home, she sings “My Rival”17 about Lucky’s baby blue race car. She packs a huge basket of food and takes it to the garage. Once she gets there, she tries to help, but everything she does is wrong. At the Grand Prix, Lucky has difficulty getting his car started, but he finally gets to the starting line just in time. The race course passes some of the town’s most famous casinos, then out to Hoover Dam and into the desert. Shorty, Rusty, and her Dad fly in a helicopter to keep up with the race. Late in the race, Mancini and Lucky are side by side when Mancini’s rear tire develops a problem. Lucky tries to warn him, but the tire fails and Mancini’s car flips. Of course, Lucky wins the race. Shorty reveals that the money for the new motor had come from Rusty’s father. After a short scene of Rusty and Lucky getting married, the finale is a split screen of Lucky singing the title song, while Rusty dances. First, a disclaimer: I’m not a big Elvis Presley fan, so my opinion may not be completely unbiased. However, I think Viva Las Vegas is one of Presley’s best film musicals (Jailhouse Rock is also an AFI nominee), at least partially due to his female co-star, Ann-Margret. They were a hot gossip column topic during the filming and their onscreen chemistry was reportedly not confined to the movie set. Musically, the dozen or so songs take up approximately half the film’s running time, so there isn’t a lot of time left for plot development. Viva Las Vegas isn’t a great movie musical, but it is fun and entertaining.

Walk the Line Fox 2000 Pictures, November 18, 2005, 135 minutes Principal Cast: Joaquin Phoenix ( Johnny Cash), Reese Witherspoon ( June Carter Cash), Ginnifer Goodwin (Vivian Liberto), Robert Patrick (Ray Cash)

317 Director: James Mangold Producers: Cathy Konrad and James Keach Screenwriters: James Mangold and Gill Dennis; based on The Man in Black by Johnny Cash and Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash and Patrick Carr Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Awards and Honors: ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Reese Witherspoon) ❍ Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role ( Joaquin Phoenix) ❍ Best Achievement in Costume Design ❍ Best Achievement in Editing ❍ Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Availability: DVD

For many people around the world, Johnny Cash is country music, but he also recorded blues, rockabilly, rock ’n’ roll, folk, and gospel. Because of his diversity, he is a member of three major music halls of fame: the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are only thirteen performers who are in both the Country and Rock and Roll halls of fame and only three others, Hank Williams, Sr., Jimmie Rodgers, and Bill Monroe, are in all three. In addition, in 1996 Cash received the Kennedy Center Honors. Johnny Cash’s screen biography, Walk the Line, opens at California’s Folsom State Prison in 1968 where the inmates clap and stomp in anticipation of Cash’s appearance. His band vamps anticipating his arrival on stage. Backstage, Johnny feels the blade of a table saw, which leads to a flash back to Dyess, Arkansas, in 1944, when J.R. Cash1 was twelve years old. Their father, Ray, assigns J.R. and his older brother, Jack,2 the job of sawing wood on a rickety table saw. J.R. quickly becomes bored since Jack is doing all the work, so he goes fishing. While he is gone, Jack is fatally injured. J.R. always felt inferior to his brother and sensed that Jack was his father’s favorite. His feelings were confirmed when he overheard his father tell his wife, Carrie,3 the devil took the wrong son. The film skips forward to 1952 at the U.S. Air Force base in Landsberg, Germany, where John purchases a guitar and begins writing songs. One of his earliest writing attempts was “Folsom Prison Blues,”4 which was inspired by a documentary entitled Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. During his stint in the Air Force, John courts and marries Vivian Liberto. After his discharge in 1955, they and their infant daughter, move to Memphis where John works as a door-to-door salesman. With financial problems and another baby on the way, Vivian gets progressively more homesick for her Daddy in San Antonio.

Walk the Line One day during his rounds, John is inspired by the rhythms of an African-American shoeshine man and his young partner. Later the same day, he walks past Sam Phillips’ recording studio where he listens to Elvis Presley recording “Milk Cow Blues.”5 John teams up with two buddies,6 who Vivian describes as “two mechanics who can’t hardly play,” to perform gospel music. Soon, John approaches Sam Phillips7 about auditioning for his Sun Records label. They perform the gospel song, “I Was There When It Happened,”8 for their audition. Phillips interrupts and explains that he can’t market that type of gospel song anymore. When Phillips asks if they have anything else to perform, John mentions that he had written a couple of songs while he was in the Air Force. He hesitantly starts singing “Folsom Prison Blues”9 and, as it progresses, his buddies join in. Slowly John’s confidence increases as he senses Phillips’ attitude change. Phillips signs them to a recording contract. They join several other Sun recording artists on a tour in 1955. At a Texarkana, Texas concert, Jerry Lee Lewis10 performs “Lewis Boogie.”11 Backstage, June Carter literally runs into Johnny and gets her dress stuck in his guitar strap. When Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two are announced, he utters his famous trademark catch phrase: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” and sings “Get Rhythm,”12 the song that was inspired by the rhythm of the shoe shiners. Next on the bill is Roy Orbison13 singing “You’re My Baby,”14 a song Cash wrote. On the same concert, June sings “Jukebox Blues,”15 written by her mother and sister. Later that evening, Johnny finds June in a diner. She mentions that she told her father about his sound that she described as “steady like a train, sharp like a razor.” During their conversation, Johnny tries to convince her that she has a nice voice and a great performing personality (she seems to think that her vocal talents and performing skills are limited). The 1956 Tour Caravan heads for Tyler, Texas to appear on the George Jones Show. At a motel, June shows Johnny that the latest Billboard chart ranks his recording of “Cry, Cry, Cry” at No. 14. Before he leaves her room, he starts to kiss her, but she stops him; she is recently divorced and doesn’t want to get romantically involved. When Johnny joins the others in the motel parking lot, he accepts drugs and alcohol. At another concert, Johnny sings “Rock ’n’ Roll Ruby,”16 followed by Elvis Presley’s performance of “That’s All Right (Mama).”17 Johnny watches from backstage as the girls go wild during Elvis’ performance. Elvis’ song continues during Johnny’s

Walk the Line encounters with female fans and a Christmas at home with Vivian and their children. After Johnny sings “Home of the Blues”18 about his unhappy childhood, he calls June onstage to sing “Time’s A-Wastin’”19 with him. She doesn’t think it is appropriate since she had recorded the song with her recently divorced husband. He insists, so they start the song, but when he kisses her on the cheek, she runs off stage. When he follows her, she begs him to leave her alone. After that, Johnny’s erratic behavior due to drugs and alcohol intensifies. One day during the tour June arrives at the theater and finds all the guys drunk or high on drugs (they are jamming to “Candy Man Blues”20). She informs them that she’s leaving the tour and warns them that they’re going to blow the tour because they can’t “walk the line.”21 The next scene shows Johnny recording “I Walk the Line.”22 During this section a newspaper headline announces June’s marriage to a stock car driver. Johnny purchases a bigger, nicer house for Vivian, but can’t get June out of his mind. In 1964 at an awards ceremony attended by Johnny and Vivian, he makes a rude comment to June about her recent marriage. When she runs out of the theater, he chases after her. She tells him she is getting a divorce, so he begs her to tour with him again; she agrees. On one of the tour stops, June performs “Wildwood Flower”23 as she accompanies herself on the autoharp, which is followed by a duet with Johnny of “It Ain’t Me, Babe.”24 At a Las Vegas performance in 1965, June and John sing a duet of “Jackson,”25 which is about a married couple whose relationship has lost its fire. They also sleep together for the first time. However, after a phone conversation with her daughter and due to her continued worries about his addictions, June reconsiders her relationship with Johnny. At that evening’s concert, Johnny staggers onstage late and attempts to sing “I Got Stripes,”26 but he can’t remember the lyrics and eventually passes out. When the remainder of the tour is cancelled, June disposes of all his drugs and attempts to nurse him back to health. However, after she returns home, he travels to Mexico to buy more drugs and gets busted. Back home, June writes “Ring of Fire,” which describes her feelings for Johnny, but also the anguish she felt as she watched him descend into drug addiction. Vivian was not pleased with Johnny’s drug arrest and neither were his parents. After a violent dispute that turns into an ugly fight, Vivian leaves with the kids.27

318 Cash moves to Nashville, where he shares living quarters with Waylon Jennings28 (Waylon sings “I’m a Long Way from Home”29). Johnny continues to pursue June, but she refuses to get romantically involved with an addict. After he purchases a lake front house, he invites his parents to Thanksgiving dinner and convinces June that he needs help with the meal. She, her daughters, and parents come to Johnny’s for the holiday dinner, but the day is ruined by Ray’s criticism of his son. As everybody is leaving, Johnny mounts an expensive tractor and tries to extricate it from the mud. The tractor lurches into reverse and backs into the lake. When June fishes him out of the water, Johnny tells her that she should have let him drown. She nurses him through detoxification, while her father, Ezra,30 and mother, Maybelle,31 chase away his drug dealers with shotguns. During the drying out process, Johnny is haunted by the death of his brother and regrets the hurt he has caused Vivian, his children, and June. She finally convinces him that God has given him a second chance to make things right. Johnny notices that a lot of his fan mail is from prisoners, so he dresses in his customary black outfit and visits his record company, which is now Columbia. He wants to record a live album from inside Folsom State Prison, but the execs are doubtful that such a record would sell. They claim the music business has changed and also berate his black attire. Fed up with their excuses, Johnny finally says he’s going to do the concert anyway. They can listen to the tapes and if they don’t like them, toss them. The film returns to the opening scene of the movie where Cash’s band is vamping awaiting his appearance. The warden suggests that Johnny and his wife sing a spiritual, but Johnny tells him that even though he continues to ask her, June is not his wife. When the concert begins, Johnny reminds the prisoners that he never had to do hard time, but had occasionally been busted. To a rocking audience of hardened convicts, Johnny sings “Cocaine Blues.”32 The concert is a huge success! On a new tour in 1968, at a concert in Ontario, Canada, Johnny performs “Ring of Fire,”33 which he tells the crowd June wrote. Then Johnny persuades her to sing “Jackson” with him. In the middle of the song, Johnny stops and says he can’t continue until he asks June a question—to marry him. Even though she tries to avoid the question, he persists. He tells her he loves her, admits that he hurt her, but promises never to do it again, and wants to marry his best friend. Finally, June accepts and they tearfully embrace.

319 The concert scene fades to the Cash’s home on Old Hickory Lake.34 Johnny watches his father playing with his granddaughters, Rosanne35 and Carlene.36 Apparently, Johnny’s shaky relationship with his father had been repaired. The final shot shows Johnny watching June and her father fishing from their dock. While Johnny and June sing “Long Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man,”37 the following statements flash on the screen: “Folsom Prison” became one of the most popular recordings of all time, outselling even the Beatles. That same year, John and June married and settled into the lake house in Hendersonville. Two years later, they had a son, John Carter Cash. For the next thirty-five years they raise their children, recorded music, toured and played the world together. June passed in May 2003. Four months later, John followed. There is a long list of songs that were heard briefly, on the radio, and/or insignificantly, but were not pertinent to the plot. The list is so long, I have chosen to omit it (even as a endnote). Most film critics were wowed by the performance of both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. Even though Witherspoon won the Oscar for Best Actress, Phoenix was just as good or better; he personified Johnny Cash. They both did their own singing, too, and did it so well that some critics thought their singing was dubbed.

West Side Story United Artists, October 18, 1961, 152 minutes Principal Cast: Natalie Wood (Maria), Richard Beymer (Tony), Russ Tamblyn (Riff ), Rita Moreno (Anita), George Chakiris (Bernardo) Co-Director/Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Co-Director/Producer: Robert Wise Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman; based on a concept by Jerome Robbins and the musical libretto by Arthur Laurents Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 2 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No. 2 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “Somewhere” No. 20 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “America” No. 35 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Tonight” No. 59 on AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Best Picture ❍ *Best Director

West Side Story *Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Chakiris) ❍ *Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Rita Moreno) ❍ *Best Art Direction — Set Decoration, Color ❍ *Best Cinematography, Color ❍ *Best Costume Design, Color ❍ *Best Film Editing ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Sound ❍ Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1997 Availability: DVD ❍

West Side Story, which premiered on Broadway in 1957, is one of the most significant musicals in theater history. Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the musical’s chief subject is the growing menace of gang warfare, which unfortunately is even more prevelant today. Originally called East Side Story, the plot was to have dealt with a Christian/Jewish romance, but by the time the project materialized several years later, a more-timely subject was racial tensions between Caucasians and Puerto Ricans. The original stage production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, while Stephen Sondheim made his Broadway debut as Leonard Bernstein’s lyricist. The musical received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical, but it lost out to Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. Jerome Robbins was honored with the Tony Award for Best Choreography. The film version became one of the most honored movie musicals of all time. Of its eleven Oscar nominations, it won all but one (see Awards and Honors above). After the film opens with an aerial view of Manhattan, the camera zooms in on an Upper West Side neighborhood. There, members of a Caucasian gang, the Jets, snap their fingers in rhythm as the syncopated “Prologue”1 music begins. They move in mass down a tenement street sidewalk. Presently, they encounter Bernardo, the leader of the rival Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. After a short confrontation, Bernardo continues down the street, pounding his fist on the buildings’ walls. He is joined by a couple of members of his gang who pick up the beat by snapping their fingers. The Sharks goad the Jets with some of the first dialogue in the film: “Chickie! Chick, Chick, Chick! Boy! Jet Boy!” As the groups go their separate ways, one member of each gang provokes the other which leads to a full-scale fight ballet. The conflict ends when Officer Krupke2 and another policeman, Lt. Schrank,3 arrive in their patrol car. Riff is convinced the Sharks are encroaching on Jets’ turf, so he talks to his fellow gang members

West Side Story

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about cleaning out the hated Puerto Rican gang in Later that evening when Tony visits Maria,6 they one, all-out fight. Riff ’s speech leads into “The Jet sing “Tonight.” Even though they are from differSong,” in which the gang sings about their brothent cultures, and have only just met, they are comerhood. Riff suggests they need Tony, a young Polpletely in love with each other. Tony was expecting ish boy who founded the gang, to stand up with a miracle and Maria is it. They agree to meet the him at a dance that evening in the school gym next day at the bridal shop after work. where he will challenge the Sharks to a rumble. Officer Krupke finds several of the Jets hanging Tony, who has left the gang to take a job at Doc’s around Doc’s store waiting for the war-council and Drug Store, wants to leave his past behind. He has he tries to get them to disperse. In “Gee, Officer been having a recurring dream that something good Krupke,” the Jets mock the police and blame juveis coming. Riff convinces Tony to come to the nile delinquency on such things as their parents dance and says what he’s waiting for might be there. being junkies and/or alcoholics. They claim they’re That leads to Tony4 singing “Something’s Comjust misunderstood. ing.” The rumble will be held the next evening under At a bridal shop, Maria, a young Puerto Rican the highway. Tony proposes a fair fist fight between girl who has recently arrived in the U.S., is trying the best man from each gang. Lt. Schrank interto convince Anita to lower the neckline on a dress rupts and throws the Sharks out of the store. As she is wearing to the dance. Bernardo, her older they leave, the Sharks whistle “America (My Counbrother, brought her to this country to marry a feltry ’Tis of Thee),” a slam at the way they feel the low Shark, Chino,5 but she isn’t thrilled with the country is treating them. arrangement. She’s excited about the dance—it will The next day at the bridal shop, Maria is feeling be her coming out party in America. wonderful. In “I Feel Pretty,” she explains that she At the gymnasium dance, a social worker naively feels this way because she is loved by a wonderful tries to involve the two gangs in a mixer, but his efboy. During the dance portion of the song, Maria forts fail miserably. Instead, the members of each pretends to accept the Miss America title and regang enter into an “I-can-dance-better-than-you” ceives the key to the city. competition. In the midst of this chaos, Maria and Tony notice each other from across the room, become entranced, and are drawn together. They dance (“Dance at the Gym,” an almost music-box–like version of “Maria”), but their romantic moment is interrupted when Bernardo warns Tony to stay away from his sister. Riff and Bernardo agree to meet at Doc’s at midnight for a war-council. A war-council is the last thing on Tony’s mind as he walks home from the dance in a daze. He sings “Maria” about the wonderful girl he just met. Even the sound of her name is beautiful. Most of the Puerto Ricans are disillusioned because all they have found in America is prejudice and enmity. On the rooftop of an apartment building, the Sharks and their women sing and dance to “America.” The song’s witty and humorous lyrics compare life in Puerto Rico to New York City. In general, the girls like Manhattan, while the guys offer sarcastic rebuttals. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer in West Side Story.

321 At quitting time, Anita asks Maria to lock up the shop because she is going to get beautiful for her date with Bernardo after the rumble. Maria tells Anita she doesn’t understand gang warfare. When Tony arrives, Anita warns them about breaking the rules of their respective ethnic groups. After she leaves, Maria begs Tony to stop the rumble and he reluctantly agrees. Then, they enact their engagement and wedding in the duet, “One Hand, One Heart.” During the song sequence titled “Quintet,”7 the Sharks and Jets head towards the rumble site as they sing and dance (the film cuts between the two factions). Also interwoven in the sequence is Anita dressing for her date with Bernardo, while Tony, from Doc’s store, and Maria, from her bedroom, sing a reprise of “Tonight.” After each of the five factions sing their thoughts, the various characters sing simultaneously in an exceptionally thrilling climax. After the rumble starts, Tony arrives and tries to show them the senselessness of their fighting. But, the rival gang just taunts him. Riff and Bernardo pull out switchblades. When Bernardo stabs Riff, Tony takes Riff ’s switchblade and stabs Bernardo. Tony, the intended peacemaker, has killed Maria’s brother! Horrified, he screams, “Maria!” Suddenly, the sound of police sirens causes the gangs to disperse. When the police spotlight lands on Tony, he drops the knife and runs. The entire rumble sequence is elaborately choreographed to music (“The Rumble”). As Maria waits for Tony, she expresses her happiness in a little dance, but is interrupted when a bloody Chino appears and tells her Tony killed her brother. She goes into her bedroom and prays it isn’t true. When Tony climbs through her bedroom window, he tells her that he tried to stop the rumble, but when Bernardo killed Riff, he retaliated. After a few minutes, Maria determines that she can’t hate him. Tony tries to reassure her, but she is not convinced that things will be okay. In the duet “Somewhere,” they sing about running away together to find a place where they can love each other in peace. At a parking garage, one of the Jets urges his fellow gang members to remain cool until this crisis is over. That leads into the song and dance “Cool,” a tension filled number in which the gang tries to appear unfazed by the tragedy of losing their leader. The Jets know that Chino has a gun and intends to kill Tony. They plan to find him first. Maria and Tony plan to run away together, but they need money. Tony is sure he can get it from Doc.8 He decides to hide out in the cellar of Doc’s store, until Maria joins him there.

West Side Story When Anita discovers that they are still lovers despite what has happened, she sings “A Boy Like That,” in which she advises Maria to stick to her own kind. Anita’s words can’t sway Maria’s devotion to Tony. In “I Have a Love,” she compares her love for Tony to Anita’s love for Bernardo. By the end of the song, they sing together. Lt. Schrank arrives to quiz Maria about the identity of the boy she danced with at the gym. In cleverly disguised language, she sends Anita with a message for Tony that she can’t get there right away. Unfortunately, when Anita enters Doc’s store, the Jets insult and taunt her mercilessly. When Doc returns with the money for Tony, he breaks up any further harassment of Anita. Bitter now, Anita spitefully says her message for Tony is that Chino found out about them and shot her. When Doc tells Tony what Anita said, Tony is shattered. Not wanting to live without Maria, he roams the streets crying for Chino to kill him, too. Just as Chino spots Tony, Tony sees Maria and realizes she is alive. As she rushes towards him, Chino shoots Tony. As she cradles Tony in her arms, the members of both gangs gather around. Maria sadly sings part of “Somewhere” and then grabs Chino’s pistol and waves it menacingly at both gangs. She accuses them of being responsible for Tony’s death ... and Bernardo’s ... and Riff ’s. She says they killed them not with bullets and guns but with hate. When the police arrive, she won’t allow them to touch Tony. She kisses him one last time and expresses her love in Spanish, “Te adoro, Anton.” As some of the Jets pick up Tony’s lifeless body, a few Sharks help. With Maria following, they solemnly trod down the street bearing Tony’s corpse. For one moment, at least, the Jets and Sharks have put aside their differences. One of the romantic unrealities that a person must accept before they can truly appreciate West Side Story is the sight of tough gang members suddenly piouretting and dancing down the street. Thankfully, Jerome Robbins’ choreography is athletic and masculine in style. Once that unreality is accepted, however, the dances alone are worth the price of admission. Musically, West Side Story is superb. All of the songs are intergrated into the plot with no gratuitous performances that are strictly for entertainment. Bernstein’s music was relatively modern in comparison to the other shows of the era, but the tension-filled score was exceedingly appropriate for its subject matter. Sondheim’s lyrics were poignant and precisely portrayed the feelings and emotions of the characters. The West Side Story soundtrack album spent

White Christmas fifty-four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard ’s album charts, the longest of any album in history. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Sound Track Album — Original Cast in 1961. In 1986, RIAA named it the best-selling LP of the decade and certified it as a three-times-platinum seller.

White Christmas Paramount Pictures, October 14, 1954, 120 minutes Principal Cast: Bing Crosby (Bob Wallace), Danny Kaye (Phil Davis), Rosemary Clooney (Betty Haynes), VeraEllen ( Judy Haynes), Dean Jagger (General Waverly), Mary Wickes (Emma Allen) Director: Michael Curtiz Producer: Robert Emmett Dolan Screenwriters: Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, Melvin Frank Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Choreographer: Robert Alton Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● “White Christmas” AFI No. 5 song in 100 Years ... 100 Songs (for its inclusion in Holiday Inn, 1942) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep”) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song at 1943 Oscars (“White Christmas” from Holiday Inn) Availability: DVD

In 1942, Bing Crosby starred in Holiday Inn, where he introduced “White Christmas.” Over the next dozen years, “White Christmas” and Bing Crosby became inextricably linked so much so that the idea of starring Bing in a film titled White Christmas had been under consideration for half that time. The project was delayed for various reasons until 1954. The film was supposed to reunite Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, who had appeared together in Holiday Inn and Blue Skies. Astaire wasn’t available, so Donald O’Connor was to be Astaire’s replacement, but he hurt his leg. Danny Kaye became O’Connor’s replacement. The film begins on Christmas Eve, 1944. In a safe area behind the front lines, Captain Bob Wallace and Private Phil Davis, dressed in Santa hats, are giving a show for the men. A jeep carrying General Waverly arrives and he takes a seat near the rear. Bob sings “White Christmas,” accompanied by a music box. As they listen, each soldier dreams of the day they would spend Christmas with their family and friends again. Bob makes a speech to the troops about Gen-

322 eral Waverly’s retirement. Suddenly, the General demands to know who is responsible for this impromptu entertainment and warns his outfit about the new General’s toughness. Then he softens and wishes them all a “Merry Christmas.” Led by Captain Wallace, the men give General Waverly a rousing send-off with the song “We’ll Follow the Old Man.” The General is visibly moved. At the end of the song, he salutes his men to thank them for their efforts and for their support of his command.1 After the General leaves, an enemy barrage forces everyone to take cover. When a wall collapses, Phil saves Bob’s life, but incurs a slight wound in his arm. When Bob visits Phil in the hospital, he assures Phil if he ever needs anything all he has to do is call.2 Phil takes advantage of the opportunity to show Bob a song he had written — a duet — and cons him into agreeing to team up with him after the war. Wallace and Davis progress up the show business ladder towards success. They sing excerpts from “Heat Wave,” and “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” on the their radio show. They star in and write the songs for a musical revue, Playing Around. After the revue’s New York run, the duo performs “Blue Skies” on the show’s tour in Florida. Before they head back to New York City for the Christmas holidays, they go to Novello’s nightclub to hear the Haynes Sisters perform. Bob had received a letter from the girls’ brother, an old army buddy, asking him to see his sisters’ act. When the club’s owner tells the girls that Wallace and Davis are there to catch their act, it becomes apparent that the letter came from Judy, one of the sisters, not their brother. Betty and Judy3 sing “Sisters” dressed in beautiful blue dresses and carrying matching blue ostrich feather fans. The clever lyrics suggest they are inseparable, but that trouble may result if either sister comes between her and her man. Afterwards, they join Bob and Phil at their table. While Phil and Judy are dancing, Betty confesses that it was Judy who wrote the letter. Meanwhile, Phil and Judy dance out onto the club’s terrace, where Phil sings “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing.” They dance as an unseen chorus sings; later the orchestra plays as their dance continues. Novello warns the sisters that the sheriff has come to arrest them for burning a hole in a rug in their room. Phil tells Novello to stall the sheriff while he helps the girls escape. After Phil gives them his and Bob’s train tickets, the girls climb out of their dressing room window and take a taxi to the train station.

323 Novello is surprised to hear the girls’ intro music. It is Bob and Phil performing a hilarious drag version of “Sisters” using some of the same moves the girls had used in their rendition. After their performance, Bob and Phil run from the sheriff, crawl out the same dressing room window, hail a cab and barely catch the train. When the conductor asks for their tickets, Phil can’t find them. Bob has to pay their fare to sit in the club car instead of sleeping in a drawing room. Soon after the guys settle into the club car, the sisters arrive to thank them for their generosity. Over some refreshments, they learn that the girls are headed for the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont for a booking. Phil raves about how wonderful it would be in Vermont with all the snow. Before long, they are headed to Vermont also. They all sing “Snow” which they anticipate when they arrive. However, when the train arrives, Pine Tree hasn’t seen snow since Thanksgiving and it’s unseasonably warm. At the inn, the housekeeper, Emma, informs the sisters they can’t use them because they

White Christmas have no guests. Just as Bob prepares to leave, his former General comes through the door carrying a load of wood. Both are very surprised to see each other. When Phil enters he drops his luggage to salute the General. Waverly informs them that he owns the inn, introduces his housekeeper and his grandaughter, Susan.4 He refuses to consider canceling the Haynes sisters’ contract, even if they only sing for Emma, Susan and himself. The scene switches to the inn’s dining room that evening where the girls reprise “Sisters.” Waverly is the waiter for the few tables that have customers. Bob and Phil would love to do something for the General to save his floundering business. Judy suggests he needs something to attract customers. Bob suddenly gets an idea, telephones New York and orders his revue to be in Pine Tree prepared to open on Christmas Eve. Emma, who is listening on the other phone, is overwhelmed by his kind gesture. After the cast and crew arrive, they rehearse “Mandy,” which segues to the dress rehearsal of the song in a Minstrel Show sequence. As the chorus

The final number in White Christmas (back row, left to right: Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Vera-Ellen; in the front row are unidentified children).

White Christmas sings the melody, Judy dances with Bob and Phil. Presently, she launches into a more complicated dance routine with a male dance partner.5 Phil and Judy begin conniving to get Bob and Betty romantically involved. Later that evening, Betty heads for the dining room for a late night snack, where she finds Bob at the piano. He philosophizes that what a person eats before bedtime dictates the type of dream they will have. When Betty tells him she is having trouble sleeping, Bob recommends a remedy as he croons “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep.” Betty compliments him for what he and Phil are doing for Waverly, who interrupts them to get something sweet to eat before he retires. Phil and Judy are pleased with the progress of their matchmaking. At the next rehearsal, Phil sings and he and six girls do a modern dance to the song “Choreography.” Judy and John join the dance with a more traditional tap routine. The lyrics poke fun of the term, “choreography.” Bob calls an old army buddy who is now the host of a successful television variety show. He suggests they put an excerpt of the revue on TV, playing up the “schmaltz” factor of the General’s situation. Emma, the eavesdropping housekeeper, becomes upset because she thinks Bob intends to make a spectacle of the General. After Emma stops eavesdropping, Bob vetoes Ed’s suggestions — he only wants to make a pitch for the soldiers who served under Waverly to come to Pine Tree on Christmas Eve. When Emma tells Betty what she overheard, Betty is completely disillusioned. She goes to the rehearsal hall and tells Bob she doesn’t want to rehearse and isn’t even sure she wants to continue in the show. Judy thinks Betty is in love, but is afraid to get involved until she’s sure that Judy is engaged or married. Although Phil insists he isn’t the marrying kind, Judy talks him into a temporary engagement to alleviate Betty’s fears. At a cast party, Betty and Bob sit alone on opposite sides of the room. An instrumental trio plays “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing.” Judy asks Bob to dance, while Phil dances with Betty. During the song, they switch partners, but Betty simply walks away. Out of desperation, Phil announces that he and Judy are engaged, but Betty still isn’t happy. She leaves the next day to take a job in New York City. Phil and Judy explain to Bob that their fake engagement was to get the two of them together. Bob, who was already planning to go to the city to appear on TV, goes to the club to try to square things

324 with Betty. She performs the song “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me,” which seems particularly appropriate for her shattered image of Bob and their rocky romance. Before he has a chance to explain things to Betty, he has to rush off to his television appearance. On the TV show, Bob sings “What Can You Do with a General?”6 The song questions what a General can do after he retires. Bob asks all the New England area veterans of the 151st Division to come to Pine Tree for a special tribute to General Waverly. Phil keeps Waverly away from the TV so he will not learn about the tribute. Betty watches Bob’s appearance and realizes that his intentions are honorable. She returns to Pine Tree just before the show on Christmas Eve. Emma and Susan have hidden all of Waverly’s suits except his uniform, which he reluctantly wears. As he and Susan enter the dining room, the assembled guests are called to attention. Bob leads his former division mates in a rousing chorus of “We’ll Follow the Old Man,” as they march off the stage for the General’s inspection. He berates the men in his accustomed fashion, but then lovingly tells them he never saw anything so wonderful. When Bob and Phil perform “Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army,”7 they are joined on the second chorus by Judy and, to Bob’s surprise, Betty. Moments later one of the men whispers to Waverly that snow is falling. He goes outside to see for himself. Backstage, Bob also sees the snow. In the finale, Bob and Betty are romantically reunited, as are Phil and Judy. They sing “White Christmas” while young ballerinas dance. The set is lifted and the Christmas tree is wheeled off to reveal the snow. The entire audience joins the show’s cast for the end of the song. White Christmas is a compilation score of Irving Berlin songs, both old and new, and a plot that is reminiscent of Holiday Inn. This nostalgic montage of Berlin songs became the top grossing film of 1954. The title song is heard at the beginning and the conclusion of the film. Other musical highlights include both the straight and drag versions of “Sisters,” “Snow,” “Count Your Blessing Instead of Sheep” and “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me.” Choreographic highlights include “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” the minstrel show sequence (“Mandy”) and the slightly silly, but clever “Choreography.” A stage version of the film titled Irving Berlin’s White Christmas premiered in San Francisco in 2004. The musical toured the U.S. and played the 2008 holiday season on Broadway.

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Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Paramount Pictures, June 30, 1971, 100 minutes Principal Cast: Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka), Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe), Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde), Paris Themmen (Mike TeeVee), Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop), Diana Sowle (Mrs. Bucket) Director: Mel Stuart Producer: Stan Margulies Screenwriter: Roald Dahl Music and Lyrics: Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse Choreographer: Betty Walberg Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nomination: ❍ Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score Availability: DVD

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which is based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, opens with children running from school to Bill’s Candy Shop to purchase Wonka sweets. One of the children asks Bill1 how Wonka does it. He answers, “Willy Wonka was born to be a candy man,” which leads into “The Candy Man.”2 Wonka’s candy is special because it’s mixed with love. Charlie Bucket lives with his hard-working mother and two sets of invalid grandparents. Even though they live in poverty, they dote on the goodnatured Charlie. Grandpa Joe tells Charlie that Wonka closed the factory because the other chocolate makers, especially Slugworth, were trying to steal his secret recipes. Wonka vanished for three years, and then the factory mysteriously started up again, but no one knows who is running it. Wonka announces that he has hidden Golden Tickets inside five Wonka Bars and that the winners will receive a tour of the factory along with a lifetime supply of chocolate. As the news spreads around the globe, people clamor to purchase Wonka Bars. News reports document the hysteria. The first ticket is found in Germany by Augustus Gloop, an overweight boy who seemingly never stops eating. While the newsman interviews his mother, a strange man whispers something to Augustus. Meanwhile in England, Henry Salt3 has his entire workforce unwrap Wonka Bars looking for a Golden Ticket. Salt’s brattish daughter, Veruca, berates her father and demands that he make his employees work faster. Suddenly, one of the work-

Willy Wonka ers succeeds. As Veruca announces, “I found the Golden Ticket,” the mysterious stranger whispers in her ear. The third ticket is found by Violet Beauregarde, an American who is obsessed with chewing gum. During a TV interview, her father,4 attempts to sneak in a free advertisement for his used car business. The mysterious stranger whispers in Violet’s ear. When Charlie visits his mother at the laundry, he tells her about the third ticket being found. She attempts to reason with him concerning his prospects of finding a ticket and tells him to be patient and that things will change for him someday. As he dejectedly walks away, she sweetly sings “Cheer Up, Charlie.” The fourth ticket is found by another American, Mike TeeVee, who is addicted to television. The mysterious stranger also whispers in his ear. When the news reports that the fifth ticket has been found in Paraguay by a multimillionaire, Charlie is devastated. As he walks home from school, he finds a coin in the gutter and goes to the candy shop to buy a Scrumdidilyumptious Bar. He also decides to purchase a Wonka Bar for Grandpa Joe. As he leaves the store, Charlie learns that the Paraguay ticket is a forgery, so he rips open the Wonka Bar and finds the last Golden Ticket. Thrilled, Charlie runs home but on his way is stopped by the mysterious man. He introduces himself as Arthur Slugworth,5 President of Slugworth Chocolates, and offers Charlie a fortune if he will steal one Everlasting Gobstopper so he can learn the secret formula. Charlie gets away from Slugworth, runs home and proudly announces that he has found the fifth Golden Ticket. Charlie is allowed to bring one adult with him, so he asks Grandpa Joe to accompany him. Determined to go with Charlie, Grandpa Joe staggers out of bed for the first time in twenty years. As he gains his balance and begins to walk with the help of a cane, Grandpa sings “(I’ve Got a) Golden Ticket.” Charlie joins in the song and they dance around the room. The next morning, a huge celebratory crowd awaits Wonka’s appearance. At ten o’clock, Wonka limps toward them, but suddenly performs a somersault and welcomes the winners. Once Wonka escorts them into the factory, he makes each child sign a huge contract. Wonka leads them into the chocolate room where everything is edible. He sings “Pure Imagination,” in which he assures them that anyone can change the world if they just imagine it. One of the room’s most fascinating things is a chocolate river and waterfall that mixes the chocolate. When Charlie notices some little men

Willy Wonka across the river, Wonka informs them that they are Oompa Loompas from Loompaland and that they are creaming and sugaring the chocolate. These little creatures were so small and helpless that Wonka invited them to live with him. Veruca demands her father get her an Oompa Loompa immediately. Suddenly, the group notices that Augustus is scooping up hands full of chocolate from the river. Wonka is, of course, upset that the child is contaminating his chocolate. Then Augustus falls in and is sucked into a huge pipe that transports the chocolate. Even though the boy gets stuck, terrific pressure builds up and shoots him to the fudge room. Wonka instructs one of the Oompa Loompas to take Mrs. Gloop6 to find her son. As they escort her, the Oompa Loompas sing “Oompa Loompa, Doompa-Dee-Do.” The lyrics for this performance of the song are about eating too many sweets, over eating and becoming fat. As their tour continues, a boat, the Wonkatania, floats down the river. Wonka invites the remainer of the group to board. Veruca demands a boat like this one from her father. Presently, the boat enters a dark tunnel where disgusting images flash on the walls. Everyone except Charlie and Grandpa are frightened. After Wonka sings “The Wondrous Boat Ride,” the boat comes to a halt outside the Inventing Room, the most secret room in the factory. As they enter, Wonka sings a few lines from William Shakespeare’s “It Was a Lover and His Lass.” The children are amazed by Wonka’s bizarre machines, especially the one that makes Everlasting Gobstoppers, the candy that can be sucked on forever and never gets smaller. He presents each child with a Gobstopper, but makes them solemnly swear to never show it to anyone else. As the children promise, Veruca crosses her fingers behind her back. Wonka presents his new creation, chewing gum that tastes like a three-course meal. Even though he warns against it, Violet grabs a piece. When she reaches the dessert—blueberry pie—she turns blue and inflates like a giant blueberry. Wonka summons the Oompa Loompas to roll Violet to the juicing room before she explodes. As they roll her away, the Oompa Loompas sing about Violet’s disgusting gum chewing habit — they compare it to a cow chewing its cud. As the tour progresses, Wonka leads them into a room containing Fizzy Lifting Drinks that fills a person with gas and lifts them off the ground like a balloon. When everyone leaves, Grandpa proposes they sample the drink. After taking a sip, they float giddily until they come near a giant exhaust fan. Just as they’re about to be chopped to pieces, Grandpa accidentally burps, which causes him to

326 descend. Soon, Grandpa and Charlie are both burping and eventually return to safety. They pledge to keep their feet on the ground and rejoin the others. Wonka leads the group into the Geese Room, where several large geese are laying golden chocolate eggs. Wonka’s Eggdicator determines if an egg is good (it’s shined and shipped out), or if it’s bad (it falls into a chute). Of course, Veruca demands her father buy her one of the geese at once. Mr. Salt offers to buy one, but Wonka refuses to sell. Veruca sings “I Want It Now!” Towards the end of her song, she jumps on the Eggdicator which deems her a bad egg and sends her down the chute. Her horrified father jumps into the chute to rescue her. When Wonka sends the Oompa Loompas after them, they sing their song again, this time commenting about Veruca being a brat and blaming her parents for spoiling her. Wonka leads the way into the Wonkamobile Room. The Wonkamobile is propelled by different carbonated sodas. As the vehicle begins to move, the passengers are covered with foam. Wonka sings “Martha! Du Entschwandest (Martha! You have vanished)” in German.7 They then pass through the Hsawaknow (Wonkawash spelled backwards) and are cleaned. Next, they enter the Television Room, where Wonka is perfecting a method of sending chocolates via television. Mike, the TV junkie, explains how television signals are transmitted before a giant chocolate bar is transmitted and materializes as a normal-sized bar in a screen across the room. Mike inquires if a human can be sent by the same method, and if so, he wants to be the first. Although Wonka warns that it might be dangerous, Mike turns on the device and disappears. When he reappears, he is a miniature of his former self. His mother8 takes him from the screen and puts him in her purse. Wonka instructs an Oompa Loompa to take Mike to the taffy-pulling room to stretch him to his original size. As Mike and his mother depart, the Oompa Loompas lament that watching too much TV stunts one’s I.Q. They suggest reading instead because a book doesn’t have commercials. Now that all the others are gone, Wonka bids Charlie and Grandpa goodbye and goes into his office. Baffled by Wonka’s sudden brush off, Grandpa marches into the office to ask about Charlie’s lifetime supply of chocolate. Wonka claims that Charlie doesn’t get anything because they broke the rules by drinking some Fizzy Lifting Drink. Grandpa Joe is furious and threatens to see that Slugworth gets a Gobstopper. As they head for the door, Charlie returns and deposits the Gob-

327 stopper on Wonka’s desk. Suddenly, Wonka smiles, embraces Charlie, and tells him that he won. He asks Charlie’s forgiveness for putting him through everything and then introduces him to his employee, Mr. Wilkinson, the man who had been impersonating Slugworth. Wonka, Charlie and Grandpa step into the Great Glass Wonkavator, an elevator that can travel in any direction. As they fly out of the factory and over the city, Wonka explains that he has been looking for a very honest, loving child to give his factory to who will take care of the Oompa Loompas and guard his precious candy making secrets. He gives the factory to Charlie. He and his whole family can move in immediately. As they continue flying, Wonka sings a short reprise of “Pure Imagination”— and Charlie lived happily ever after. The film’s most durable songs are “The Candy Man,” “Oompa Loompa Song” and to a slightly less extent, “Pure Imagination.” Otherwise, the songs are not particularly memorable. And, after “The Candy Man,” which comes early in the film, it is a long time before other songs appear. Director Tim Burton remade Dahl’s tale into a non-musical film in 2005, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka with Freddie Highmore as Charlie.

The Wizard of Oz M-G-M, August 25, 1939, 103 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Hunk/Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Hickory/Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Zeke/Cowardly Lion), Margaret Hamilton (Miss Almira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West), Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel/Emerald City Doorman/Coachman/Palace Guard/The Wizard of Oz), Billie Burke (Glinda), Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry), Clara Blandick (Auntie Em), Toto Director: Victor Fleming Producer: Mervyn LeRoy Screenwriters: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg Choreographer: Bobby Connolly Awards and Honors: ● AFI No. 3 Greatest Movie Musical ● Entertainment Weekly’s No.1 Greatest Movie Musical of All Time ● “Over the Rainbow” No. 1 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● “Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead!” No. 82 in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee for “If I Only Had a Brain (a Heart, the Nerve)”

The Wizard of Oz Academy Awards nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ *Music, Original Score ❍ *Best Music, Original Song (“Over The Rainbow”) ❍ Art Direction ❍ Cinematography, Color ❍ Outstanding Production ❍ Special Effects ● Added to the National Film Registry in 1989 Availability: DVD ●

Since its publication in 1900 L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first totally American fantasy for children, has become a beloved tale. It has also spawned a series of sequels, plays, musicals, movies, TV shows, scholarly studies, toys, games, and other Oz-related products. The 1939 film was a brilliant adaptation of Baum’s venerated children’s book. Initially, however, it was not a great commercial success; it became much more famous as a result of its network television appearances in the mid–Fifties. As the action begins, a young orphan, Dorothy Gale, and her small black terrier, Toto, are seen hurrying down a dusty Kansas country road. She can’t wait to tell her guardians, Auntie Em and Uncle Henry that their cranky neighbor, Almira Gulch, hit Toto, but they’re too busy to really listen. Next, she tries to get the farmhands to sympathize: Hunk, who is characterized as not being particularly intelligent, Zeke, who appears to be afraid of everything, and Hickory, who wants social status and respect. Auntie Em scolds her for stirring up trouble and suggests she find a place where she won’t get into any trouble, which leads this lonely, unhappy girl to sing “Over the Rainbow.”1 In the song, Dorothy dreams of a trouble-free world beyond her present existence where she can find happiness. The witch-like spinster, Miss Gulch, rides her bicycle to the farm and claims that Toto2 bit her leg. She presents them a court order to take Toto to the sheriff to be destroyed. Auntie Em and Uncle Henry refuse to go against the law, so they surrender the dog. However, as the hag pedals away, Toto jumps out of the bike’s wicker basket and returns home. Fearing that Miss Gulch will return, Dorothy decides to take Toto and run away. The runaways encounter Professor Marvel, a genial carnival fortune teller and balloonist. He convinces Dorothy that her aunt has had an attack because she ran away. As Dorothy rushes back to the farm, a tornado approaches. By the time she returns to the farm, Auntie Em, Uncle Henry and the farmhands have taken cover in the storm shelter. When she doesn’t find anyone inside the house, she futilely tries to open the storm cellar. She retreats to the house again, where she is

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The Wizard of Oz hit on the head by flying debris and knocked unconscious. She revives to discover the house has been caught up in the storm’s spiraling winds. Several objects fly by her bedroom window including Miss Gulch pedaling her bicycle in midair. Suddenly, Miss Gulch is transformed into the Wicked Witch of the West on her broomstick. Moments later the house crashes to the ground. Uninjured, Dorothy takes Toto in her arms and apprehensively goes to the door to determine where they have landed. As she opens the door her black and white world becomes full of color. A violin plays “Over the Rainbow” as she enters this new magical land and says, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, appears and informs Dorothy that she is in Munchkinland and that the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. All that can be seen of the deceased witch is her feet in a pair of ruby slippers. Glinda tells Dorothy that she is the Munchkins’ national heroine for freeing them from the witch. The tiny Munchkins timidly come out of hiding to meet the young lady and celebrate the witch’s demise with “Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead!”3

Presently, the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West, sister of the deceased witch, comes to claim the powerful ruby slippers, but Glinda foils her plan by transferring them onto Dorothy’s feet. The Wicked Witch threatens Dorothy: “I’ll get you, my pretty — and your little dog, too!” And, with a cackling laugh, she disappears in a blaze of fire and smoke. Frightened, Dorothy wants to go home, but Glinda tells her that the only way she can return to Kansas is to travel the yellow-brick road to the Emerald City to seek help from the Wizard who lives there. She also advises Dorothy to never remove the ruby slippers. The Munchkins escort Dorothy to the border of their land and sing “Follow the Yellow-Brick Road.” As the Munchkins wave goodbye, Dorothy walks, then skips down the road, as the little people sing, “You’re Off to See the Wizard.” When Dorothy comes to a crossroads, she can’t decide which road to take. A scarecrow that is hanging in a nearby corn field suggests one direction, then another. He explains that without a brain he can’t make up his mind. She introduces herself and helps Scarecrow off his perch. In a loose-limbed, wobbly-legged song-and-dance rou-

The Wizard of Oz movie poster.

329 tine, “If I Only Had a Brain,” the straw man explains his plight and what he could accomplish with a brain. When Dorothy tells Scarecrow about her intent to see the Wizard, he wonders if this Wizard would give him some brains. Dorothy warns him of potential trouble from a witch, but the straw man is willing to risk anything to acquire a brain. So, they merrily skip down the road together singing “We’re Off to See the Wizard.” Hungry, Dorothy tries to obtain an apple from a stingy talking tree. Scarecrow, using more intelligence than he is supposed to possess, insults the tree’s fruit. The tree flings apples at them to prove their quality. When she picks up one of the apples, Dorothy discovers Tin Man who is so rusty he can’t move. She finds a can of oil nearby and lubricates him. Mobile again, Tin Man explains that he was chopping wood when it began to rain and right in the middle of a chop, he rusted solid. He also tells them that he was created with a hollow chest — he lacks a heart. He squeaks and clanks his way through a song-and-dance of “If I Only Had a Heart.”4 Dorothy invites him to travel with them so he can request a heart from the Wizard. Off they go again singing “We’re Off to See the Wizard.” Entering a thick forest, the travelers are fearful of being attacked. As they apprehensively move forward, Lion blocks their path and challenges them to fight. When Lion chases Toto, Dorothy protectively slaps him causing him to sob pitifully and to admit he’s really a coward. Dorothy invites Lion to join their journey to obtain courage from the Wizard. Cowardly Lion then performs “If I Only Had the Nerve”5 and joins the others as they sing and dance down the road. The Wicked Witch, who has been following their progress with her crystal ball, is determined to stop them from reaching the Emerald City, so she puts a field of sleep-inducing poppies in their path. Seeing the city ahead, the travelers excitedly skip through the poppy field. Dorothy, Toto and Cowardly Lion succumb to the narcotic fumes of the flowers. Unaffected, Scarecrow and Tin Man yell for help. Glinda appears and causes a snow flurry that kills the flowers and revives the sleepers. They have to un-rust Tin Man again before they continue their journey. They link arms and proceed as an unseen chorus sings that they are now out of the woods, the dark and the night. Arriving at the city’s huge gate, Dorothy rings the bell. A gate keeper6 gives them numerous reasons for not granting their request to see the Wizard. Finally, when Dorothy tells him she was sent by the Good Witch of the North and shows him her ruby slippers, they are admitted into a colorful, Art Deco wonderland. The gate keeper becomes a

The Wizard of Oz coachman who drives a coach pulled by “a horse of a different color,” which changes colors several times. As they are taken to freshen up, everyone sings “The Merry Old Land of Oz.” The Wicked Witch writes “Surrender Dorothy” in smoke across the sky. While they wait for their audience with the Wizard, Cowardly Lion performs “If I Were King of the Forest.” His companions wrap a rug around his shoulders and crown his head with a broken flower pot. When they ask him questions concerning his courage, his answers are priceless and his speech about courage is a comic masterpiece. The palace guard7 returns and tells them the Wizard said, “Go away,” which causes Dorothy to tearfully reflect on Auntie Em’s goodness to her. Moved to tears by Dorothy’s reflection (because he had an Aunt Em, too), the guard pledges to get them in to see the Wizard. As they enter the Wizard’s chamber, the timid group is frightened by his booming voice. The Wizard intimidates each of them so much that the Lion faints. Dorothy rebukes him for bullying the Lion. Appropriately shamed, the Wizard promises to grant their requests if they can bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. Encouraged, they depart for the Witch’s castle. As they pass through a haunted forest, the witch dispatches a squadron of winged monkeys who destraw Scarecrow and kidnap Dorothy and Toto. At the Witch’s castle, she demands the ruby slippers or she will drown Toto. Dorothy agrees to relinquish the shoes to save her dog, but when the witch tries to take them, a shower of sparks prevents her from removing them. She realizes the shoes can’t be removed as long as Dorothy is alive. As the Witch ponders the proper way to kill Dorothy, Toto escapes. Exasperated, the Witch locks Dorothy in a tower and tells her she only has a short time to live. Toto finds Dorothy’s companions and leads them to the Witch’s castle. When they arrive, they watch the Witch’s guards march and groan (sing) the “March of the Winkies” (“O-Ee-Ah, EeohAh!”). After liberating Dorothy, they are cornered. When the Witch sets Scarecrow’s straw arm on fire, Dorothy tosses a nearby bucket of water on his arm, but some of the water splashes on the Witch. She shrieks, “I’m melting! Melting!” as she dissolves into nothing but her clothing. Unexpectedly, the Winkies hail Dorothy as their liberator and present her with the deceased witch’s broomstick. Upon their return to Oz, the Wizard orders Dorothy and her friends to come back the following day. While Dorothy criticizes him for not keeping his promise, Toto pulls back a curtain to reveal

Words and Music a bumbling, ordinary old man. They are outraged and greatly disappointed at his deceit. The imposter Wizard tells Dorothy’s three friends that in her rescue each of them demonstrated the quality they sought. He presents each of them with a symbol of the quality they thought they lacked. He confers upon Scarecrow a diploma as an honorary Doctor of Thinkology. He presents Cowardly Lion with a medal “for meritorious conduct, extraordinary valor, conspicuous bravery against Wicked Witches” and makes him a member of the Legion of Courage and gives Tin Man a large red, heart-shaped, loudly-ticking clock and tells him, “remember ... that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” To fulfill Dorothy’s wish, the old man promises to accompany her back to Kansas. He explains that he too is from Kansas and his presence in Oz is the result of his balloon being blown there. The former Wizard transfers his ruling authority in Oz to Dorothy’s traveling companions. When Toto leaps out of the balloon gondola to chase a cat, Dorothy jumps out to retrieve him as the balloon flies away. Dorothy thinks she’s missed her chance to go home, but Glinda reappears and reveals that she has always had the power to go home, but she had to learn something, too. What she learned, Dorothy says, is to never go further than her own backyard to look for her heart’s desire. Dorothy bids tearful farewells to her friends and, with Toto tucked tightly in her arms, Glinda instructs her to click her heels together three times and think, “There’s no place like home.” Suddenly, Dorothy is once again in the spiraling farmhouse. When it hits the ground, she is back in the black and white world of her ordinary, uncolorful Kansas home. When she awakens, she is in her bed with Auntie Em placing a cold compress on her forehead. Professor Marvel passes by her window and is relieved to see that she survived the tornado. Uncle Henry says she got such a bump on the head that they thought she was going to leave them. Hunk, Hickory and Zeke ask if she remembers them. Dorothy tries to tell them about her journey and that they were all a part of it, but they just laugh and tell her it was all just a bad dream. A happy Dorothy, still convinced her journey was real, hugs Toto, tells her aunt and uncle and her friends that she loves them and that she will never leave again, and affirms that there is no place like home. The Wizard of Oz deserves all the accolades it received (see Awards and Honors above). It’s difficult to imagine anyone but Judy Garland in the role of Dorothy. Miss Garland, then sixteen, was too old for the part of the nine-year-old girl in

330 Baum’s original tale, but she was wonderful in the part. What does an actress do for an encore when she gives the performance of her life at age sixteen? Judy acted, sang and danced in numerous other movie musicals, but she never topped The Wizard of Oz. Of course, the film would not have been nearly as good without the extraordinary performances of Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr as Dorothy’s traveling companions, and Margaret Hamilton was such a superb wicked witch that she was primarily remembered for that role for the rest of her life. Frank Morgan was perfectly cast as the bumbling Wizard and Billie Burke was an excellent choice for Glinda, the good witch. And, we can’t forget Toto. Associate producer, Arthur Freed, requested the film’s songwriters write a song that could serve as the transition from Kansas to Oz. Lyricist “Yip” Harburg was not very enthusiastic about the idea composer Harold Arlen came up with at first. He thought the melody was too operatic, more suited to a singer like Nelson Eddy. However, when Arlen played it for Ira Gershwin, he loved it. What emerged was, of course, “Over the Rainbow.” Even after the film was shot, several people tried to eliminate the song — they said it was above the heads of children, nobody would sing the song or buy the sheet music. Of course, “Over the Rainbow” isn’t the only song in the film and there are several other Arlen and Harburg songs that excellently fit into the plot, particularly including “Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead!,” “If I Only Had a Brain (a Heart, the Nerve),” “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” and “We’re Off to the See the Wizard,” but even the “March of the Winkies” is still memorable.

Words and Music M-G-M, December 31, 1948, 121 minutes Principal Cast : Mickey Rooney (Lorenz Hart), Tom Drake (Richard Rodgers), Marshall Thompson (Herbert Fields), Janet Leigh (Dorothy Feiner), Betty Garrett (Peggy Lorgan McNeil), Ann Sothern ( Joyce Harmon), Perry Como (Eddie Anders) Director: Norman Taurog Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriter: Fred Finklehoffe; based on a story by Guy Bolton and Jean Holloway Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Choreographers: Robert Alton and Gene Kelly Awards and Honors:

331 AFI Film Nominee AFI Song Nominee (“The Lady Is a Tramp”) Availability: DVD ● ●

Composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz “Larry” Hart were a very successful songwriting team from 1919 until 1943. Together they wrote several innovative Broadway musicals and also wrote successfully for Hollywood films. Words and Music is the fictionalized biography of this songwriting team, but the plot is merely a thread that ties musical numbers together. With fifteen songs, there isn’t much time for story. During the opening credits, Mickey Rooney, who plays Larry Hart, directs the orchestra and chorus in “Lover.” As the action opens, librettist Herbert Fields introduces Richard Rodgers to Hart, who asks Rodgers to play a tune for him. He does everything but seemingly pay attention, which didn’t sit well with Rodgers. Several weeks later Hart sings his lyrics, which he had scribbled in a magazine, for Rodgers and Fields. The song became “Manhattan.” For the next couple of years nothing happens to further their songwriting career, so Dick Rodgers talks about giving up composing to his physician father. Even though he advises trying a little bit longer, Dick’s mind is made up. When he tells Larry his decision, Hart proposes a lavish farewell party. At the party, singer Eddie Anders is accompanied by a couple of girls, one of which, a singer named Peggy, attracts Hart’s attention. Larry entices her to sing “There’s a Small Hotel,” one of Rodgers and Hart’s songs from an unproduced show.1 During the evening, Herb Fields excitedly arrives with the news that the Theatre Guild wants Dick and Larry to write songs for the Garrick Gaieties.2 In that production, Eddie Anders sings “Mountain Greenery,”3 to a girl on a park bench. Larry is so smitten with Peggy that he tries to convince her to marry him, but she refuses his proposal. He remains lovesick for the rest of the film. Joyce Harmon stars in the partnership’s next show, where she performs “Where’s That Rainbow?,”4 about searching for happiness. Dick is romantically interested in Joyce, but she is much older and refuses to become involved. Joyce’s rejection doesn’t deter Dick from romancing Dorothy, who is much younger. At a stage show, Cyd Charisse5 and Dee Turnell6 perform “On Your Toes,”7 danced in toe shoes, and “This Can’t Be Love,”8 about love from a denial point of view. After another rejection by Peggy, Larry accompanies Dick to London for the premier of The Girl

Words and Music Friend.9 Eddie Anders croons “Blue Room” to Cyd Charisse, who dances to the song. Rodgers and Hart return home to write A Connecticut Yankee,10 a musical based on Mark Twain’s book. Assisted by the Blackburn twins,11 June Allyson performs “Thou Swell,” which combines antiquated English with modern slang. Dick writes “With a Song in My Heart,”12 which he sings to Dorothy, followed by a montage of several of their dates. At a nightclub, Lena Horne sings two songs from Babes in Arms13: “Where or When,” about déjà vu, and “The Lady Is a Tramp,” about a woman who refuses to adhere to certain social conventions. Once Dorothy and Dick are wed, Rodgers and Hart head for Hollywood to write for films. Larry purchases a huge Hollywood estate and throws a lavish party where he and Judy Garland perform “I Wish I Were in Love Again,” which claims that being in love is certainly better than not being in love. For an encore, Judy sings “Johnny One Note,”14 about a guy who can sing one note with particular exuberance. When everyone leaves the party, Larry insists the band continue to play. Mel Torme croons “Blue Moon.”15 A phrase from the song about the singer not having someone to love seems particularly pertinent to Larry’s frustration over his non-relationship with Peggy. Rodgers and Hart return to New York City to work on Spring Is Here. Larry still can’t get over Peggy and, despite all his successes as a lyricist, considers his life a flop. Their next Broadway musical is On Your Toes in 1936. In the musical’s plot, an ex-vaudeville dancer persuades a Russian ballet company to perform a modern ballet, “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.” In the film, the dance is performed by Gene Kelly, as the dancer, and Vera-Ellen, as a stripper. In a sleazy nightclub, Kelly and the girl’s former lover (unnamed) fight over her. Eventually Kelly and the stripper are gunned down by her ex-lover. Hart collapses at a performance and is rushed to the hospital. Even though his condition is described as desperate, he sneaks out of the hospital to attend a performance of A Connecticut Yankee. During “My Heart Stood Still”16 he leaves the theater and collapses again. At a memorial concert, Gene Kelly presents a glowing testimonial in tribute to the deceased lyricist. As Eddie Anders sings “With a Song in My Heart,” Rodgers remembers all the shows and songs they wrote together. Considering the body of work of this famous songwriting partnership, Words and Music is a bit disappointing. However, Richard Rodgers’ life

Yankee Doodle Dandy wasn’t particularly dramatic. Larry Hart was a homosexual who died of alcoholism, therefore his real life was un-filmable in the late Forties. So the scriptwriter fabricated a shell of a plot that revolved around some of the team’s most well known songs.

Yankee Doodle Dandy Warner Bros., June 6, 1942, 125 minutes Principal Cast: James Cagney (George M. Cohan), Joan Leslie (Mary Cohan), Walter Huston ( Jerry Cohan), Richard Whorf (Sam Harris), Irene Manning (Fay Templeton), Rosemary DeCamp (Nellie Cohan), Jeanne Cagney ( Josie Cohan) Director: Michael Curtiz Producer: Hal B. Wallis Screenwriters: Robert Buckner and Edmund Joseph; from an original story by Mr. Buckner based on the life of George M. Cohan Music and Lyrics: George M. Cohan Choreographers: LeRoy Prinz, Seymour Felix and John Boyle Awards and Honors: ● AFI’s No. 18 Greatest Movie Musical ● “The Yankee Doodle Boy” No. 71 song in AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs ● AFI Song Nominee “Give My Regards to Broadway,” nominated for its inclusion in Little Johnny Jones, 1929 ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Picture ❍ Best Director ❍ *Best Actor in a Leading Role ( James Cagney) ❍ Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Walter Huston) ❍ *Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ *Best Sound, Recording ❍ Best Film Editing ❍ Best Writing, Original Story ● Added to the National Film Registry, 1993 Availability: DVD

George M. Cohan is primarily famous for the more than forty musical productions he wrote, produced, directed and starred in, and for writing “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” and “Over There,” among numerous other songs. The huge majority of Cohan’s major achievements were accomplished before most people who are currently alive were born, therefore what they know about this Irish/ American entertainer came from this film and their concept of “America’s original song-and-dance man” is James Cagney, who played Cohan. Cohan always insisted he was born on the 4th of July1 and he demonstrated his American patriotism whenever he had the opportunity. Opening in June, 1942 just months after the

332 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941, a movie musical about a shamelessly-patriotic citizen was just the dose of patriotism the nation needed to see and hear. Yankee Doodle Dandy opens with George M. Cohan’s appearance in I’d Rather Be Right,2 a 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart Broadway musical. Starring as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Cohan was returning to the theater after an absence of ten years. Backstage in his dressing room, George is congratulated by well-wishers including his wife, Mary. A telegram arrives from the White House requesting that George come to see the President as soon as possible regarding a personal matter. The vagueness of the invitation leaves George worried and anxious that the President was miffed concerning his portrayal of him. When he journeys to the Capital and is escorted to the President’s private study, the commanderin-chief reminisces about George’s celebrated vaudeville family, which triggers a flashback that is most of the rest of the film. One of the first stops is at the Colony Opera House in 1878 where his father, Jerry, dances a lively jig while singing “Keep Your Eyes Upon Me (The Dancing Master).”3 Still dressed in his performing costume, he rushes to a boarding house where his wife, Nellie, gives birth to a son. Since it is the Fourth of July, they consider naming the boy George Washington Cohan, but finally agree on George Michael Cohan, which is more Irish. Soon a sister, Josie, is added and the family act becomes “The Four Cohans — America’s Favorite Family of Entertainers.” “Master Georgie” performs “Violin Tricks and Tinkling Tunes” on his violin, while “Little Josie Cohan — America’s Youngest Skirt Dancer” sings an excerpt of “While Strolling Through the Park One Day (The Fountain in the Park).”4 After some very lean years, the Cohan family opens in Brooklyn in a play called Peck’s Bad Boy. George starred as the title character and some of that character’s egotism rubs off. Every tough kid in town wants to see if George is really as precocious as the character he plays. He quickly learns a valuable lesson about conceit and arrogance and promises his parents he’ll reform. The family’s next ten years fly by in a vaudeville montage. At one stop, George delivers his trademark curtain speech: “Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you,” as each in turn bows or curtseys. Mary, who performs as the “Dixie Nightingale” and will become George’s wife, gets fired for singing one of George’s songs.

333 Success didn’t come quickly for George. At the offices of Dietz and Goff Theatrical Enterprises, George and Mary perform George’s “Harrigan,”5 which he wrote in tribute to Edward “Ned” Harrigan. The song opens by spelling “Harrigan,” and expresses his pride in being Irish. The Cohan family has difficulty getting bookings because George is being black-balled for his arrogance. Realizing he is responsible for the family’s lack of bookings, George tells them his play, Little Johnny Jones, has been bought and will soon be in rehearsals, so he suggests the family act split up. Soon George talks a man into backing his show by demonstrating “The Yankee Doodle Boy,”6 his jaunty semi-autobiographical song. The scene switches to a theatrical performance of the song set at a race track. Johnny Jones, surrounded by beautiful girls, stands on a pedestal next to his horse and performs more of the song in a vigorous song-anddance. The next number is “Give My Regards to Broadway.”7 Since Johnny has been accused of throwing the race, he must remain in England until his name is cleared. He stands on a pier watching his friends’ ship depart. He sings “Give My Regards to Broadway” very plaintively; saddened that he can’t join his friends as they return home. Suddenly, he sees the skyrocket signal that means he has been exonerated. Relieved, Johnny launches into an exuberant song-and-dance of the song. When the curtain falls, the applause is thunderous; the show is a great success, and George is hailed as “the new Broadway sensation.” George invites his family, who has been struggling in vaudeville, to join him on Broadway. A montage of billboard signs shows the Four Cohans back together dancing and singing “Oh, You Wonderful Girl,” “Blue Skies, Grey Skies,” and “The Belle of the Barber’s Ball” at various theaters. At Mary’s apartment, George has just completed a new song for her to sing in his next production. He speaks the lyrics as she accompanies him on the piano the first time through, and then she sings “Mary’s a Grand Old Name.”8 Mary is thrilled that George has written the song for and about her. Producer Sam Harris takes George to meet the famous Broadway star, Fay Templeton. At first Miss Templeton refuses to consider appearing in George’s show, but once he demonstrates “FortyFive Minutes from Broadway,”9 a song he wrote for her, she reconsiders. The song’s lyrics are not at all complimentary of the citizens of New Rochelle, the community that was forty-five minutes from Broadway; they are referred to as rubes. Sam, without George’s approval, offers Miss Templeton “Mary.” George must explain to the real

Yankee Doodle Dandy Mary how her song was given to Miss Templeton, but, to his relief, Mary, who rarely thinks of herself, thinks he should give Miss Templeton whatever she wants if she agrees to be in his show. She also accepts George’s marriage proposal.10 The following scenes are of the Broadway production of Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, including Miss Templeton’s performance of “So Long, Mary.” Cohan’s next Broadway success is George Washington, Jr., which opens with an elaborate production number, “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” George sings the tune while several patriotic scenes flash by. Then he tap-dances as Mary and Josie, dressed in stars-and-stripes outfits, display the flag, while his father as Uncle Sam escorts the Statue of Liberty, played by his mother, to center stage. When George’s parents finally decide to retire to the farm, he magnanimously bequeaths half-interest in all of his theaters and plays to them as a retirement gift. When he reads about the Lusitania being sunk by a German sub, he tries to enlist, but, at age 39, is rejected for being too old. When he tries to prove them wrong by executing an acrobatic tap dance, one of the men tells him, “we have more need of you here than over there.” The man’s words inspire Cohan to write the most famous song of World War I —“Over There.” At an army camp, George entertains recruits as he performs his new patriotic composition with famous entertainer Nora Bayes. At one point, all the lights go out, but George gets all the cars and trucks to turn on their headlights and encourages all the men to sing along. George comes out of retirement to play then– President Franklin D. Roosevelt in I’d Rather Be Right (“Strictly Off the Record”11). The film returns to FDR’s study, where the President12 presents George with the Congressional Medal of Honor13 for writing “Over There” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” As he leaves the capitol, with “The Yankee Doodle Boy” playing on the soundtrack, George performs a jaunty buck-andwing dance down the stairs and joins a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the tune of “Over There.” As the storm clouds of another war threaten, George realizes the influence of his songs will extend far beyond his lifetime. A close-up of George’s smiling tear-stained face fades as the film ends. AFI named Yankee Doodle Dandy as its No. 18 greatest movie musical. Although I might not rank it quite as highly, it is, in my opinion, one of the best musical screen biographies ever filmed. James Cagney’s performance as Cohan is an unbelievably faithful characterization and the whole film

334

Yentl matches the theatrical brilliance of Cohan’s amazing career. It should make every American swell with patriotic pride and every Irish-American treasure a favorite son. In 1959, an eight-foot high, bronze statue of Cohan was erected in the heart of Times Square on Broadway.

Yentl United Artists, December 9, 1983, 134 minutes Principal Cast: Barbra Streisand (Yentl/Anshel), Mandy Patinkin (Avigdor), Amy Irving (Hadass), Nehemiah Persoff (Papa) Producer/Director/Co-Screenwriter: Barbra Streisand Co-Screenwriter: Jack Rosenthal Music: Michel Legrand Lyrics: Alan and Marilyn Bergman Choreographer: Gillian Lynne Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● AFI Song Nominee (“Papa, Can You Hear Me?”) ● Academy Award nominations (wins denoted *) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“The Way He Make Me Feel”) ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Papa, Can You Hear Me?”) ❍ *Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score ❍ Best Art Direction ❍ Best Supporting Actress (Amy Irving) ❍ Best Costume Design Availability: DVD

Yentl is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy.1 Singer’s story concerns a rebellious young girl who defies ancient Jewish tradition by discussing and debating the Torah and Talmud with her father, who was a Rabbi. Singer’s short story was turned into a play that ran for 223 performances on Broadway in 1975. Barbra Streisand became interested in Singer’s tale in the late Sixties. A decade later, she wrote a detailed movie treatment and convinced her friends lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman and composer Michel Legrand to help her turn the story into a musical film. Miss Streisand became obsessed to make the film as a tribute to her deceased father. She took complete control of the production, becoming the co-screenwriter, producer, director, and star. She also sang all nine songs in the film even though Mandy Patinkin was an accomplished singer (Amy Irving hummed one short melody). The film begins as a man drives a wagon full of books towards a small village in Eastern Europe in 1904. When Yentl comes to the market, she hears

the bookseller who is selling story books for women and sacred books for men. She tries to purchase one of the sacred books, but the bookseller refuses to sell it to her until she claims it is for her father. After dinner, Yentl begs her father to teach her. When he agrees, he pulls the curtains, because, he says, “God will understand,” him teaching his daughter but he isn’t so sure about their neighbors. Before the session can begin, her father drifts off to sleep, so Yentl claims she is too tired to study. Once her father is in bed, Yentl takes out his prayer shawl, recites a prayer, and sings “Where Is It Written?” One image that pervades the film is that of flight. In this song, Yentl sings about a bird being given wings so it can praise God in its flight. She ponders why she was given a thirst for knowledge if it is not to be fulfilled. Her father asks her why she doesn’t seem to be interested in meeting any eligible young men. After he realizes his badgering is fruitless, he admits his daughter knows too much, but also confesses it is his fault. He thanks God for his daughter who brings him pride and pleasure. Soon, Yentl’s father dies. At his burial service, she reads from scripture (only males are supposed to read the scriptures). Yentl decides to leave the village to search for a yeshiva where she can continue her studies, but that can only be done if she becomes a male. So, she asks for her Papa’s forgiveness, dresses as a male, and walks away from the village. That night, she lights a candle and sings “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” She prays that her deceased father won’t be frightened for her now that she is alone. She also asks her father’s forgiveness again and begs him to understand the choice she has made. She tells him she loves him, needs him, and misses him kissing her good night. As Yentl continues her travels, she notices some cranes flying, which are symbolic of her spreading her own wings and attempting to fly. She eventually arrives at a tavern which is filled with young men, where she meets Avigdor. She introduces herself as Anshel.2 When Avigdor and the others board a wagon for Bechev where they plan to study, Anshel joins them. In Bechev, Avigdor takes Anshel to a boarding house. Since there is only one room, Avigdor proposes sharing it with Anshel, which, of course, makes her very uncomfortable. Later that night, Anshel discovers that Avigdor is engaged. When Anshel is accepted into the yeshiva, he sings “This Is One of Those Moments” to remember all of your life when a dream comes true. As the song continues, his studies begin. Suddenly, Yentl can study books she’s longed to read and is allowed to ask questions about the mysteries of life.

335 She is confident that knowledge is something that can never be taken away. One evening, Anshel and Avigdor eat dinner at Avigdor’s fiancée’s home. Anshel notices how attentive Hadass is to him and sings “No Wonder.” He can understand why a man like Avigdor would love a woman like Hadass (especially as Yentl compares this lovely young woman to herself ). But the female side of Anshel is jealous. On another occasion, Avigdor wrestles Anshel and, when Avigdor strips his clothes off for a swim with the other fellows, Anshel feels very awkward. When Avigdor tries to get him into the water, he runs away. Yentl sings “The Way He Makes Me Feel” about her awakening feelings toward Avigdor. When Anshel goes to Hadass’ looking for Avigdor, he finds Hadass in tears. Anshel runs back to their room to find Avigdor, who tells him the wedding is off because his brother committed suicide. Anshel tries to console his friend, but Avigdor is too despondent. Anshel visits Hadass’ family to reason with them, but her father says they want a husband for their daughter who has no secrets to hide. He intimates that he considers Anshel as a potential husband for his daughter. When Anshel reports back to Avigdor about the visit, Avigdor begs him to marry Hadass. If Anshel would marry her, at least, Avigdor would get to see her occasionally. Even though Anshel protests that such a plan is impossible, they go to dinner at Hadass’. Hadass is just as attentive to Anshel as she had been to Avigdor. Anshel (in his mind) sings a reprisal of “No Wonder” and admits if he were really a man, he would want such a bride. Avigdor becomes so uncomfortable seeing Anshel and Hadass together that he leaves. When Anshel returns to the boarding house, Avigdor is gone. Anshel runs to find him and agrees to marry Hadass. At the tailors where Anshel is being fitted for his wedding suit, he sings “Tomorrow Night.” During this sequence, the scenes switch back and forth between the fitting session, the wedding procession, and the wedding. In the song, Yentl can’t believe she’s gotten herself into such a predicament and that everyone is fooled into believing she’s a man. She contemplates running away, but there’s someone she would miss. After the wedding, Hadass’ father reminds Anshel that he expects a grandson in nine months. On the wedding night, Anshel tells Hadass that the scriptures say a woman can refuse her husband and also cannot give herself to a man when she still loves another. After several glasses of wine, they agree to keep their unconsummated marriage a secret. Later when Avigdor is coming for a visit, both

Yentl Hadass and Anshel primp. At dinner, Hadass pays more attention to Anshel, but when they move to the parlor for tea, Hadass is more attentive to Avigdor. Yentl notices how Avigdor looks at Hadass, and in her mind sings “Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way?” She would love for him to look at her that way. Later that evening, Hadass tells Anshel she wants him, but, of course, he can’t make love to her. Hadass doesn’t understand. Again, in his mind, Anshel sings “No Matter What Happens” about the frustration he feels because he can’t be what Hadass expects of him. Yentl determines to tell Avigdor the truth. As Anshel leaves to join Avigdor on a trip, Hadass tells him she will miss him and that she loves him. Anshel tenderly tells her that he loves her too and kisses her on the forehead. He sings another reprise of “No Wonder” (the last line sings about both of them being women). Once they arrive at their destination, Yentl explains that her name is not Anshel and starts to undress to prove that she’s a woman. Avigdor admits that he has experienced feeling for Anshel, but was afraid they were homosexual feelings. He tells Yentl that he loves her and proposes marriage, but Yentl realizes that she can’t be a meek and obedient Jewish wife. The next day Avigdor starts his journey back to Bechev. As he drives away in his horse drawn wagon, Yentl (in her thoughts) sings a reprise of “This Is One of Those Moments.” She sings that his face will be written in her mind and in her heart for the rest of her life. Yentl writes a letter to Avigdor and Hadass telling them that she is going to a new place, New York City. As she boards the ship, she sings “A Piece of Sky” (snippets of “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” are heard). She sings about looking out a window and seeing a small piece of the sky. Once she saw its vastness, she wants to soar. The more she lives, the more she learns and the more she learns, the more she realizes how little she knows. As the ship disappears into the distance, Yentl spreads her arms and bids her father to watch her fly. Reviews for Yentl were mixed. Some reviewers loved it, while others were only tepid. Regardless, the film became a solid box office hit, raking in $100 million worldwide. Even though the film received five Oscar nominations (see Awards and Honors above), Miss Streisand was ignored. Producer Simone Sheffield’s explanation was, “the Academy hates her.” Alan and Marilyn Bergman’s lyrics are Yentl monologues, sometimes from her mouth and at other times as her inner thoughts. Those thoughts

You Were Never Lovelier are also sometimes sung over other characters’ dialogue. Particularly noteworthy among the songs are “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” and “The Way He Makes Me Feel.”

You Were Never Lovelier Columbia Pictures, November 19, 1942, 97 minutes Principal Cast: Fred Astaire (Robert Davis), Rita Hayworth (Maria Acuña), Adolphe Menjou (Eduardo Acuña), Isobel Elsom (Mrs. Maria Castro), Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra (themselves) Director: William A. Seiter Producer: Louis F. Edelman Screenwriters: Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano and Delmer Daves; based on a story by Carlos Olivari and Sixto Pondal Rios Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Choreographer: Val Raset Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee ● Academy Award nominations: ❍ Best Music, Original Song (“Dearly Beloved”) ❍ Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture ❍ Best Sound, Recording Availability: DVD

You Were Never Lovelier opens at the Palermo Race Track in Buenos Aires, where Robert Davis, a New York nightclub dancer, is in Argentina to gamble. When he loses all his money, he goes job hunting at the Hotel Acuña. The hotel’s owner, Eduardo Acuña, refuses to see Mr. Davis, but Xavier Cugat, whose band is playing in the hotel, recognizes Robert and pledges to help him get a job. He invites Robert to join him in the Sky Room where his band, Lina Romay, Miguelito Valdes and a chorus perform “Chiu, Chiu.”1 Cugie invites Robert to sing “Dearly Beloved” with his band when they play at the wedding reception for Acuña’s eldest daughter, Julia. Since it is an Acuña family tradition that the girls must marry in order, Maria’s younger sisters2 beg their father to do something to encourage Maria’s interest in marriage; they already have their husbands picked out. When Robert meets Maria, he gets the cold shoulder. Not realizing that Maria is his daughter, he tells Senor Acuña that she is as cold as a refrigerator. Senor Acuña asks for Mrs. Castro’s suggestions to thaw Maria. She suggests flowers and love notes, so he takes her suggestion and sends orchids along with love notes to his daughter from a

336 “mystery man.” He addresses the notes, “Dearly Beloved.” Maria receives orchids and notes daily. At first, she is uninterested, but later becomes more intrigued. Finally, she is smitten and sings a reprise of “Dearly Beloved.”3 When the orchids and notes stop for a week, because her father is away on business, Maria becomes despondent. Once he returns, Acuña gets Robert to deliver an orchid and love note to his home. Maria remembers him from earlier and naturally assumes that he is the “mystery man.” After several failed attempts to audition, Robert, along with Cugat and some of his band members, burst into Senor Acuña’s office and demand that he allow Robert to audition. In “Audition Dance,” Robert demonstrates his tap dancing skills in a wild, leaping routine that includes dancing on chairs and other furniture—even including Acuña’s desk. He also picks up a cane from the umbrella stand and taps out the music’s rhythm on Acuña’s head. Most of the music for this audition dance is a medley of Latin American tunes,4 but there is also a brief theme from Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Acuña isn’t impressed. When Maria comes to her father’s office in an extraordinarily happy mood, she tells him she knows that Robert is sending the orchids. Her father is, of course, incredulous, but Maria talks him into inviting Robert to their home that evening. When Maria leaves, Senor Acuña finds Robert and proposes that he disillusion Maria so she will lose her infatuation. Robert agrees to the plan only if Acuña hires him to perform at his hotel. At the Acuña mansion, Robert does his best to disillusion Maria by belittling his profession and confessing his gambling habits. He tells her he’s “just an old-fashioned, everyday Middle Westerner,” but she isn’t swayed in the least. In the song “I’m Old Fashioned,” she sings that she isn’t interested in the latest fads, but is most interested in things like the moonlight, the sound of rain, and a starry night. Maria and Robert dance, combining ballroom-style with Latin dance steps. Robert is falling for Maria, so he quickly rushes off to consult Cugat. Senor Acuña comes up with a different plan. This time Robert will fulfill his contract to perform at the hotel and stay away from Maria. She’ll think he used her to secure the contract and she’ll lose interest. When Maria visits a rehearsal at the hotel, she wants to see the number they’ve been rehearsing. Robert sings and dances to a song about “Shorty George,” a Harlem dancer. Soon Maria joins him in an exuberant dance routine to this jive number.

337 Mr. and Mrs. Acuña5 celebrate their anniversary with a ball. Initially, Robert is not invited, but Mrs. Castro gives him an invitation. At the ball, Senor Acuña, wearing a Scottish kilt, announces the performance of a traditional song of his family, “Wedding in the Spring” (since the song is not Argentenian, he explains that his family had come to South America from Brittany). The song is performed by Cugat’s orchestra and is sung by Lina Romay. Senor Acuña tells Maria that Robert is leaving for New York to appear in a show and he is tearing up his contract. However, once Robert and Maria are alone in the garden, he is so dazzled by her beauty that he can’t tell her goodbye. He sings “You Were Never Lovelier.” When Robert confesses his love for Maria to her father, Acuña discourages him, tells him about her teenage infatuation with Lochinvar, and talks him into leaving. However, when Acuña sits down to compose a love note explaining Robert’s leaving, he is caught. His wife thinks the note is for Maria Castro. Robert saves the day by explaining that all the notes and orchids came from Maria’s father. For saving him, Acuña gives Robert permission to court his daughter, although he doubts he will be successful. Robert hires a quartet of young men to deliver orchids and to sing a love note (“These Orchids”). Then after Cugat and his orchestra play beneath Maria’s window, Robert appears in armor on a white steed. When he falls as he tries to dismount, Maria runs downstairs. Robert manages to get up and thinks Maria has gone back inside, but as he turns to walk away, she runs into the garden calling his name. The film ends with an exuberant dance reprise of “You Were Never Lovelier.” “Chiu, Chiu,” and “Wedding in the Spring” are not plot sensitive and neither is “The Shorty George,” but it certainly has a great deal of entertainment value. “Audition Dance” is a great Astaire dancing exhibition. “Dearly Beloved,” the Oscar nominee that is heard often, and “You Were Never Lovelier” are workable Kern and Mercer songs, but neither is particularly memorable. You Were Never Lovelier is not a great movie musical, but it certainly is entertaining. Rita Hayworth’s beauty is acknowledged, but she is also a very accomplished dancer and made a great partner for Fred Astaire. Miss Hayworth had previously appeared with him in You’ll Never Get Rich in 1941. She is the daughter of Eduardo and Elisa Cansino — her real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino—who Fred and his sister, Adele, had worked with in vaudeville years earlier. Even though Rita was only twenty-two and Fred was

Ziegfeld Follies forty-one, their age difference didn’t seem to present a problem. According to Peter Carrick, “They made an inspired team and better, claimed some observers, than even Fred and Ginger.”6

Ziegfeld Follies M-G-M, April 8, 1946, 118 minutes Principal Cast: William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld) Director: Vincente Minnelli (some sequences directed by other directors) Producer: Arthur Freed Screenwriters: Various writers for each sequence Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographers: Robert Alton, Eugene Loring, Charles Walters Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

From just after the turn of the Twentieth Century until the early years of the Great Depression, Florenz Ziegfeld produced twenty-two high-class variety revues, The Ziegfeld Follies. Ziegfeld’s purpose, he said, was to glorify the American girl. He did that by parading beautiful women around his stage in extravagant, and often skimpy, costumes while some of the era’s most famous stars sang beautiful songs to accompany his tasteful glorifications. The basic premise of Ziegfeld Follies is if Ziegfeld were alive in the mid–Forties what type of Follies would he produce? The film opens with Ziegfeld presumably in heaven. From his elegant penthouse in the firmament, Ziegfeld1 reminisces about his previous Follies: The Bunin Puppets portray the Anna Held Hour Glass Girls of the 1907 Follies dancing to “It’s Delightful to Be Married”2; Marilyn Miller dancing to “Sunny”3; Fanny Brice singing “I’m an Indian”4; Will Rogers twirling his rope and sharing his home-spun philosophy; and Eddie Cantor singing “If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie).”5 Ziegfeld imagines a new Follies, plans the numbers and the potential stars. He envisions the opening as a pink number introduced by Fred Astaire. Astaire, dressed in his usual top hat, white tie and tails, pays tribute to Ziegfeld as he addresses the audience. The rest of the film is basically Ziegfeld’s revue, a mixture of song, dance, and comedy sketches (I chose to mention the sketches at the end): • The first sequence begins appropriately by glorifying beautiful women. Fred Astaire sings, “Here’s to the Wonderful Girls.”6

Ziegfeld Follies

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Then, a pink ballerina (Cyd Charisse) and a corps de ballet also dressed in pink, dances. Presently, a merry-go-round made of live horses with lovely ladies perched on them appears. One of the lovelies is Lucille Ball, who becomes a lion tamer. She cracks her whip at a cage full of black-clad feline females, who break out of their cage and dance around Lucy. Suddenly, a pink-clad Virginia O’Brien gallops into view on a horse and sings the female version: “Bring on Those Wonderful Men.”7 Amazingly, Astaire never dances in this sequence. Esther Williams swims in “A Water Ballet.”8 Time magazine described Miss Williams in this sequence as “the prettiest amphibian of them all, sliding and slithering through water lilies.”9 Ziegfeld typically did not include operatic excerpts in his Follies, but “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from La Traviata 10 is performed by James Melton and Marion Bell. This aria is the famous drinking song in which Alfredo and Violetta sing the praises of youth, love, and life. Fred Astaire’s first dancing sequence comes next. Fred, who is dressed in a tux, wears a monocle and has a cigarette holder in his mouth, steals an invitation to the ball from an old man. Inside the ballroom, he is attracted to a Princess (Lucille Bremer), perhaps by both her looks and her jewelry. They dance together to “This Heart of Mine.”11 At the end of their dance, as they embrace, he steals her bracelet. Later as they leave the ball, she surprises him by also handing him her necklace. As he leaves, he tosses the necklace in his hand, turns to look at the girl and smiles as she rushes into his arms. They kiss and walk away together. A Caribbean barroom scene is the setting for Lena Horne’s vocal of “Love.”12 The song’s lyrics ponder the multiple manifestations of love. This sequence was directed by Lemuel Ayers. “Limehouse Blues”13 is sung by Harriet Lee. Fred Astaire is an Anglican-looking Chinese coolie wandering around London’s Chinatown. He spots and is instantly attracted to a beautiful Chinese girl (Lucille Bremer). As he follows her, he sees her admire a Chinese fan in a store window. While he stands at the window looking at the fan, he becomes innocently involved in a smash-and-grab robbery and is shot. As

338 he lies in the street, he hallucinates about being pursued by demons until he emerges from the dark into the light and is joined by the beautiful Chinese girl. Once their dance concludes, the scene reverts to the Chinatown setting, where he lies dying. The girl and a pudgy rich man attempt to purchase the fan, but it is now damaged merchandise. The sequence ends in a fog. • Judy Garland plays a dramatic movie star being interviewed by the press in “The Great Lady Has an Interview.”14 She tells them about her next film where she will portray Mme. Cremation, the inventor of the safety pin. This is a spoof of Greer Garson, who had recently appeared as Mme. Curie, the discoverer of radium. As a matter of fact, Miss Garson had been offered this role, but turned it down. • “The Babbitt and the Bromide”15 is performed by two of Hollywood’s leading male dancers, Astaire and Gene Kelly, in their only joint screen appearance. Two British gentlemen meet three different times: one day on a street, ten years later, and finally in heaven. Each time their conversation is filled with clichéd greetings. The intermittent dance routines are a treat; seeing these two astounding dancers together on the screen is worth viewing all the other sequences. • The film’s finale stars soprano Kathryn Grayson singing “Beauty.”16 The song’s subtitle or title should be “There’s Beauty Everywhere” because the phrase is very prominent. As Miss Grayson sings an obbligato, Cyd Charisse and the chorus dance in a setting of multicolored soap suds and surrealistic shapes. Towards the end, Miss Grayson returns to the lyrics as beautiful girls are appropriately featured to fulfill Ziegfeld’s desire to “glorify the American girl.” There were four comedy sketches: “Number Please,” a routine that originated in a Fred Allen 1930 Broadway revue, Three’s a Crowd, was performed by Keenan Wynn; “Pay the Two Dollars,” which was first performed by Willie and Eugene Howard in George White’s Scandals of 1931, was done by Victor Moore and Edward Arnold; “The Sweepstakes Ticket” originated in a Ziegfeld Follies, but was a Shubert-sponsored edition four years after Ziegfeld’s death, was performed by Fanny Brice, the only cast member to have appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies, and Hume Cronyn; and Red Skelton performed his famous Guzzler’s

339 Gin monologue in the sketch “When Television Comes.” Fred Astaire, appearing in his first Technicolor film, Lucille Bremer, and Cyd Charisse are the only performers who appear in more than one sequence. After the collapse of the studio system with its stable of performers, producers, directors, writers, and various technical departments, such films as Ziegfeld Follies became far too expensive to produce. Ziegfeld Follies is entertaining—in spots. Most of the musical sequences are interesting enough to entertain, but in general, the sketches are boring. Greatness is what one would expect from anything with Ziegfeld’s name on it, so in that sense, the film is disappointing.

Ziegfeld Girl M-G-M, April 25, 1941, 132 minutes Principal Cast: Judy Garland (Susan Gallagher), Hedy Lamarr (Sandra Kolter), Lana Turner (Sheila Regan), James Stewart (Gil Young), Tony Martin (Frank Merton), Charles Winninger (Pop Gallagher), Al Shean (himself ) Director: Robert Z. Leonard Producer: Pandro S. Berman Screenwriters: Marguerite Roberts and Sonya Levien; based on an original story by William A. McGuire Music and Lyrics: Various Songwriters Choreographer: Busby Berkeley Awards and Honors: ● AFI Film Nominee Availability: DVD

Ziegfeld Girl was intended to be a sequel to the 1936 The Great Ziegfeld, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It even recycled some footage from the earlier film. Three interweaving plot-lines follow Susan Gallagher, Sandra Kolter and Sheila Regan as they realize their dream becoming Ziegfeld girls. Becoming a Ziegfeld girl changes their lives but not necessarily for the better, as these three beautiful women find out. When Mr. Ziegfeld “discovers” Sheila Regan, a Flatbush elevator operator at a 5th Avenue department store, his talent manager, Noble Sage,1 informs her that she has an appointment with the famous producer the next morning. At the Harlem Opera House, a vaudeville theater, Susan Gallagher and her father sing “Laugh? I Thought I’d Split My Sides.”2 Mr. Ziegfeld, who is never seen during the film, is interested in Susan.

Ziegfeld Girl Ziegfeld sends Sage backstage to set up an appointment for the following day, but Susan doesn’t want to accept, because Ziegfeld isn’t interested in her overblown, aging Pop (her father doesn’t know he isn’t wanted, however). Pop guarantees Sage that they will be there. Violinist Franz Kolter comes to audition for Ziegfeld’s pit orchestra. He doesn’t get the job, but his beautiful wife, Sandra, is hired as a Ziegfeld girl. Even though the young couple needs money desperately, Franz refuses to accept his wife promenading around in skimpy costumes. He forces Sandra to choose between him or the job. Opening night at the Follies, Frank Merton sings “You Stepped Out of a Dream”3 to Sandra. Afterwards, many girls parade in outrageous Ziegfeldian dresses.4 In Flatbush the following morning, Sheila parades down the stairs of her family’s home like a Ziegfeld girl as her brother, Jerry,5 plays “You Stepped Out of a Dream” on the piano. She tells Gil she feels like a different person. At the Palais Royale Restaurant, a trio sings “Whispering,”6 as Sandra and Frank and Sheila and Geoffrey Collis,7 a rich potato baron, enter. During the evening Collis flirts with Sheila and gives her a diamond bracelet. After Sheila and her old boyfriend, Gil Young, break up, he takes a job as a truck driver for a bootlegging gangster. Pop wants Susan to sing “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”8 vaudeville-style for their Follies audition, but she thinks that style is too passé. When they perform the song that way at the audition, they are told that beating a song to death died a decade earlier. Sheila asks the orchestra leader to play the song slower and sings it sentimentally, which elicits a thunderous reception from the entire cast. Pop seems to realize that he is holding his daughter back, so he forms an act with an old buddy, Al Shean. When the Ziegfeld show goes on the road to Palm Beach, Frank woos Sandra on the beach. Later, Frank’s wife confronts Sandra, but learns that she is not a threat. Sandra still loves Franz. To prove her love, Sandra gets Franz’s violin out of pawn and arranges for him to play in the orchestra during a friend’s absence. When he opens his violin case, there is a note from Sandra saying she hopes they can get back together. Collis had planned to propose to Sheila, but when she allows Jimmy Walters,9 a boxing champ, to flirt with her and he witnesses her kissing Gil, he decides to forget the proposal. When Gil gets arrested for bootlegging, Sheila visits him in jail. She tells him she isn’t seeing Collis any more, but he doesn’t believe she’s really changed. Later, when

Ziegfeld Girl Sheila’s brother visits her and tells her the family is worried about her because people are talking badly about her, she just gets mad. Backstage before a show, Patsy Dixon10 gives Sheila some unwanted advice and asks her what she’s going to have when her Ziegfeld years are over. At the next performance, Frank sings “Caribbean Love Song”11 to Sandra in a sailboat. Then the Ziegfeld girls parade in sea-inspired costumes (Sheila goes on even though she is drunk). Later, Frank sings to Sandra again (the girls have always been told to smile, but Sandra seldom does, except in this instance when she spots Franz playing in the pit orchestra). A carnival atmosphere erupts! Antonio and Rosario dance flamenco-style. Then Susan sings “Minnie from Trinidad,”12 the most Busby Berkeley–type number in the film. During the curtain call bows, Sheila passes out and the next day’s newspapers make a big deal of it. Now that Sandra and Franz are back together, she leaves the Follies to accompany her husband on tour. Susan threatens to leave the show in devotion to her Pop, so Sage finally agrees to hire him and Al Shean. Sheila goes to a bar in her old neighborhood and runs into Jimmy Walters again. He ends up knocking her out. Back home in Flatbush, Gil, who has just gotten out of jail, comes to see Sheila. When they reconcile, Gil tells her of his plans to raise Long Island ducks. Once he leaves, although she is still very weak from her encounter with Jimmy Walters, she gets out of bed to attend the premiere of the next edition of the Follies. Susan’s Pop and Al perform “Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean”13 and get a great reception from the audience. Susan is thrilled. Next, “You Gotta Pull

340 Strings,”14 which had been in The Great Ziegfeld, is sung by Susan and the chorus. That leads into a nostalgia section of famous scenes from previous Follies (all from The Great Ziegfeld ): “You,”15 where the girls dance on their beds; a reprise of “You Never Looked So Beautiful,”16 which had been an outlandish fashion show in The Great Ziegfeld; and “A Circus Must Be Different in a Ziegfeld Show.”17 Sheila, who is sitting in the audience, begins to feel badly. Once she gets to the stairs, she revives enough to elegantly walk down them as if she was still a Ziegfeld girl, but then she faints. Someone takes her to a room after she collapses, where Sandra and Franz come to check on her. Tony Martin sings “You Stepped Out of a Dream” as the film closes on the same gigantic set from The Great Ziegfeld that Clive Hirschhorn called “the wedding cake set.” Susan, instead of Virginia Bruce, is perched on top of the revolving set strewn with lovely girls on the stairs. Judy Garland was her usual cheerful trouper, Hedy Lamarr may have been cast for her beauty, but she was far too reserved, and Lana Turner was the sexy girl from Flatbush who wanted luxury at any cost. Musically, the best numbers are “You Stepped Out of Dream,” which is heard several times, and Judy Garland’s sentimental rendition of “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.” Even though Busby Berkeley was the choreographer, there is very little of what audiences expected from him. The retread finale from The Great Ziegfeld was especially distasteful. The film tries, like Pop Gallagher’s vaudeville-style performance, to beat its audience to death with glitz and overproduction. In my opinion, Ziegfeld Girl ranks in the bottom third of movie musicals of the Forties.

Appendices Appendix 1: Greatest Movie Musicals by Decade The following are the greatest American movie musicals of all time, by decade (and subarranged in descending order of greatness)

THE LATE TWENTIES The Love Parade (1929) The Broadway Melody (1929) The Jazz Singer (1927) Sunnyside Up (1929)

THE THIRTIES The Wizard of Oz (1939) Show Boat (1936) Love Me Tonight (1932) Top Hat (1935) Swing Time (1936) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933) Babes in Arms (1939) The Gay Divorcee (1934) 42nd Street (1933) Shall We Dance (1937) Follow the Fleet (1936) The Great Ziegfeld (1936) Footlight Parade (1933) Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) The Merry Widow (1934) Naughty Marietta (1935) One Night of Love (1934) Maytime (1937) Dames (1934) One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) A Damsel in Distress (1937) Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938) Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) On the Avenue (1937) The Goldwyn Follies (1938) King of Jazz (1930)

THE FORTIES On the Town (1949) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Song of the South (1946) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) The Harvey Girls (1946) Holiday Inn (1942) Fantasia (1940) Cover Girl (1944) Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) Anchors Aweigh (1945) You Were Never Lovelier (1942) Easter Parade (1948) For Me and My Gal (1942) The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) Good News (1947) In the Good Old Summertime (1949) State Fair (1945) Neptune’s Daughter (1949) Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) Blue Skies (1946) The Pirate (1948) Ziegfeld Follies (1946) Babes on Broadway (1941) The Gang’s All Here (1943) Strike Up the Band (1940) Dumbo (1941) Words and Music (1948) Romance on the High Seas (1948) Girl Crazy (1943) Mother Wore Tights (1947) The Jolson Story (1946) The Dolly Sisters (1945) Bathing Beauty (1944) Sun Valley Serenade (1941) Cabin in the Sky (1943) Ziegfeld Girl (1941) Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) Stormy Weather (1943) Down Argentine Way (1940) Springtime in the Rockies (1942)

THE FIFTIES Singin’ in the Rain (1952) An American in Paris (1951) The King and I (1956) Guys and Dolls (1955)

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Gigi (1958) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Oklahoma! (1955) The Pajama Game (1957) Royal Wedding (1951) High Society (1956) The Band Wagon (1953) Show Boat (1951) Brigadoon (1954) Cinderella (1950) Carousel (1956) Annie Get Your Gun (1950) Porg y and Bess (1959) The Glenn Miller Story (1954) Jailhouse Rock (1957) White Christmas (1954) Damn Yankees! (1958) Kiss Me Kate (1953) Peter Pan (1953) Funny Face (1957) It’s Always Fair Weather (1955) On Moonlight Bay (1951) Summer Stock (1950) South Pacific (1958) There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) Calamity Jane (1953) Daddy Long Legs (1955) A Star Is Born (1954) Hans Christian Andersen (1952) Sleeping Beauty (1959) Three Little Words (1950) Lady and the Tramp (1955) Love Me or Leave Me (1955) Alice in Wonderland (1951) Kismet (1955) Pal Joey (1957) Call Me Madam (1953) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) The Great Caruso (1951) Les Girls (1957) Silk Stockings (1957) Carmen Jones (1954)

Appendix 2

342

THE SIXTIES

THE SEVENTIES

West Side Story (1961) Mary Poppins (1964) My Fair Lady (1964) The Sound of Music (1965) Oliver! (1968) Funny Girl (1968) The Jungle Book (1967) The Music Man (1962) Bye Bye Birdie (1963) A Hard Day’s Night (1964) Gypsy (1962) Viva Las Vegas (1964) Bells Are Ringing (1960) Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) Hello, Dolly! (1969) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) Billy Rose’s Jumbo (1962)

Grease (1978) Fiddler on the Roof (1971) The Muppet Movie (1979) Cabaret (1972) 1776 (1972) New York, New York (1977) Hair (1979) Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) All That Jazz (1979) On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

THE EIGHTIES Fame (1980) The Little Mermaid (1989) Annie (1982) Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Yentl (1983) Purple Rain (1984)

THE NINETIES Beauty and the Beast (1991) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) The Lion King (1994) Evita (1996) Aladdin (1992)

THE NEW CENTURY Hairspray (2007) Phantom of the Opera (2004) Dreamgirls (2006) Enchanted (2007) Ray! (2004) Chicago (2002) Moulin Rouge (2001) Walk the Line (2006) Sweeney Todd (2007)

Appendix 2: Greatest Movie Musicals by Year Following are the titles from Appendix 1 listed by year (and subarranged in alphabetical order)

1927

1936

The Jazz Singer

Follow the Fleet The Great Ziegfeld Poor Little Rich Girl Show Boat Swing Time

1929 The Broadway Melody The Love Parade Sunnyside Up

1930 King of Jazz

1932 Love Me Tonight

1933 Footlight Parade 42nd Street Gold Diggers of 1933 Hallelujah, I’m a Bum

1934 Dames The Gay Divorcee The Merry Widow One Night of Love

1937 A Damsel in Distress Maytime On the Avenue One Hundred Men and a Girl Shall We Dance Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1938 Alexander’s Ragtime Band The Goldwyn Follies Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

1939 Babes in Arms The Wizard of Oz

1935

1940

Naughty Marietta Top Hat

Broadway Melody of 1940 Down Argentine Way

Fantasia Strike Up the Band

1941 Babes on Broadway Dumbo Sun Valley Serenade Ziegfeld Girl

1942 For Me and My Gal Holiday Inn Springtime in the Rockies Yankee Doodle Dandy You Were Never Lovelier

1943 Cabin in the Sky Du Barry Was a Lady The Gang’s All Here Girl Crazy Stormy Weather

1944 Bathing Beauty Cover Girl Meet Me in St. Louis

343 1945 Anchors Aweigh The Dolly Sisters State Fair

1946 Blue Skies The Harvey Girls The Jolson Story Song of the South Till the Clouds Roll By Ziegfeld Follies

1947 Good News Mother Wore Tights

1948 Easter Parade The Pirate Romance on the High Seas Words and Music

1949 The Barkleys of Broadway In the Good Old Summertime Neptune’s Daughter On the Town Take Me Out to the Ball Game

1950 Annie Get Your Gun Cinderella Summer Stock Three Little Words

1951

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers A Star Is Born There’s No Business Like Show Business White Christmas

1955 Daddy Long Legs Guys and Dolls It’s Always Fair Weather Kismet Lady and the Tramp Love Me or Leave Me Oklahoma!

1956 Carousel High Society The King and I

1957 Funny Face Jailhouse Rock Les Girls The Pajama Game Pal Joey Silk Stockings

1958 Damn Yankees! Gigi South Pacific

1959 Porg y and Bess Sleeping Beauty

Alice in Wonderland An American in Paris The Great Caruso On Moonlight Bay Royal Wedding Show Boat

1960

1952

Bells Are Ringing

1961

Appendix 2 1966 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1967 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying The Jungle Book Thoroughly Modern Millie

1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Funny Girl Oliver!

1969 Hello, Dolly!

1970 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

1971 Fiddler on the Roof Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

1972 Cabaret Man of La Mancha 1776

1977 New York, New York

1978 Grease

1979 All That Jazz Hair The Muppet Movie

West Side Story

1980

1962

Fame

Hans Christian Andersen Singin’ in the Rain

Billy Rose’s Jumbo Gypsy The Music Man

1982

1953

1963

The Band Wagon Calamity Jane Call Me Madam Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Kiss Me Kate Peter Pan

1954 Brigadoon Carmen Jones The Glenn Miller Story

Bye Bye Birdie

1964 A Hard Day’s Night Mary Poppins My Fair Lady The Unsinkable Molly Brown Viva Las Vegas

Annie

1983 Yentl

1984 Purple Rain

1986 Little Shop of Horrors

1989 The Little Mermaid

1965

1991

The Sound of Music

Beauty and the Beast

Appendices 3 and 4

344

1992

2001

2006

Aladdin

Moulin Rouge!

1994

2002

Dreamgirls Walk the Line

The Lion King

Chicago

2007

1996

2004

Evita The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Phantom of the Opera Ray!

Enchanted Hairspray Sweeney Todd

Appendix 3: AFI’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals Singin’ in the Rain (1952) West Side Story (1961) The Wizard of Oz (1939) The Sound of Music (1965) Cabaret (1972) Mary Poppins (1964) A Star Is Born (1954) My Fair Lady (1964) An American in Paris (1951) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) The King and I (1956) Chicago (2002) 42nd Street (1933) All That Jazz (1979) Top Hat (1935) Funny Girl (1968) The Band Wagon (1953) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) On the Town (1949) Grease (1978) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Guys and Dolls (1955) Show Boat (1936) Moulin Rouge (2001)

AFI’S GREATEST MOVIE MUSICALS BY DECADE 1930S 42nd Street (1933) #13 Top Hat (1935) #15 Show Boat (1936) #24 The Wizard of Oz (1939) #3

1940S Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) #10 On the Town (1949) #19 Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) #18

1950S An American in Paris (1951) #9 The Band Wagon (1953) #17 Guys and Dolls (1955) #23

The King and I (1956) #11 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) #21 Singin’ in the Rain (1952) #1 A Star Is Born (1954) #7

1960S Funny Girl (1968) #16 Mary Poppins (1964) #6 My Fair Lady (1964) #8 The Sound of Music (1965) #4 West Side Story (1961) #2

1970S All That Jazz (1979) #14 Cabaret (1972) #5 Grease (1978) #20

1990S Beauty and the Beast (1991)

2000S Moulin Rouge (2001) #25 Chicago (2002) #12

Appendix 4: Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time The Wizard of Oz (1939) West Side Story (1961) Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Cabaret (1972) Mary Poppins (1964) The Band Wagon (1953) A Hard Day’s Night (1964) South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Love Me Tonight (1932) An American in Paris (1951) Swing Time (1936) On the Town (1949) Grease (1978) Hairspray (2007) A Star Is Born (1954) Chicago (2002) The Busby Berkeley Disc (not really a movie musical, but a compilation of Berkeley’s fa-

mous choreography from several films from the 1930s) The Sound of Music (1965) Funny Girl (1968) Beauty and the Beast (1991) Gigi (1958) The Music Man (1962) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Once (2006)

Notes Introduction 1. Those judged to be among the less significant AFI nominees were Whoopee! (1930), Kid Millions (1934), Babes in Toyland (1934), Hollywood Hotel (1937), The Big Broadcast of 1938, Tin Pan Alley (1940), That Night in Rio (1941), Moon Over Miami (1941), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and Pennies from Heaven (1981). 2. AFI nominees with less than five songs were Flying Down to Rio (1933), Gold Diggers of 1935, Pinocchio (1940) and Dick Tracy (1990).

Aladdin 1. The Book of One Thousand and One Nights are tales collected over many centuries by various authors, translators and scholars from various parts of the Arab World. 2. Lyrics: Howard Ashman. 3. “Arabian Nights” is performed by Bruce Adler. 4. Lyrics: Tim Rice; Aladdin sings a reprise of “One Jump Ahead” later in the film to refute Prince Achmed’s characterization of him as riffraff and a street rat. 5. “Friend Like Me” is a hilarious tour-de-force song for Robin Williams; the song’s lyrics are by Howard Ashman. 6. Lyrics: Howard Ashman; later in the film Jafar, as the all powerful sorcerer, sings a mocking reprisal of “Prince Ali” and zaps the prince back into a street urchin. 7. Lyrics: Tim Rice. 8. Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle’s recording of “A Whole New World” became a No. 1 hit on Billboard in 1993 and the song was honored as the Song of the Year at the 1994 Grammy Awards.

Alexander’s Ragtime Band 1. Aunt Sophie is played by Helen Westley. 2. Professor Heinrich is played by Jean Hersholt. 3. This is the only new Irving

Berlin song in the film. Later the song is presented in a rehearsal and Stella sings it in a show. 4. Joe King played Charles Dillingham. 5. Originally sung by Irving Berlin in Yip! Yip! Yaphank, his World War I all-soldier revue, “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” is sung by Davey Lane in the film. Some of this scene, including the cast marching off the stage to go to war, is rather factual. 6. Berlin yearned for artistic respectability. Gershwin had presented his “Rhapsody in Blue” with Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, but Berlin’s music had never been played there. In this movie, at least, the perceived injustice was corrected. 7. Other Berlin songs heard during the film include “Ragtime Violin” (1911), which was sung by a trio at the Ship Café; “International Rag” (1913) performed by Alice Faye, Jack Haley, and Chick Chandler; “Everybody’s Doin’ It” (1911), a song-and-dance number performed by Wally Vernon and Dixie Dunbar, and then sung by Alice Faye and the chorus; “This Is the Life” (1914), a comic song-and-dance (tap) number performed by Alice Faye and Wally Vernon; “For Your Country and My Country” (1917), which was performed by Donald Douglas at a recruiting station; “I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in the Y.M.C.A.” (1918), which was presented by a quartet in a rehearsal sequence for the all-soldier revue; “We’re on Our Way to France” (1918), which was sung by the cast as the finale to the all-soldier revue as they prepare to ship out; “Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil” (1922), which Gerry sang in a big floorshow number in Paris; “What’ll I Do” (1924), sung by a quartet during a rehearsal; “My Walking Stick” (1938), performed by Gerry in another floorshow routine in Paris; “Remember” (1925), which was heard on a recording by Stella; and “Everybody Step” (1921), another floorshow routine performed by Gerry in Paris.

Alice in Wonderland 1. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. 2. The unseen singers are The Jud Conlon Chorus.

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3. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. 4. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. One of Carroll’s central themes is growing up and learning the rules of the adult world. The rabbit, with his watch and his concern for schedules and appointments, is representative of the adult world. 5. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. 6. Writers uncredited. 7. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain; Is Carroll trying to tell us something or is this story merely nonsense? Was he warning the innocent Alice about people who might mislead her and eat her up, like the young oysters who are led astray only to be eaten by the Walrus? Or might it be a tale of corruption about politicians who grow fat at the expense of the people? 8. Music & Lyrics: Oliver Wallace and Ted Sears. 9. Music & Lyrics: Oliver Wallace and Ted Sears. 10. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. 11. Music & Lyrics: Oliver Wallace and Ted Sears. 12. Is the caterpillar/butterfly transformation another reference to a child growing into an adult? 13. Alice’s experiences with the water-pipe smoking caterpillar and her eating the mushrooms are the most obvious drug or “trip” references in the film. 14. Music & Lyrics: Don Raye and Gene de Paul; lyrics based on “Jabberwocky.” 15. Music & Lyrics: Oliver Wallace and Ted Sears. 16. Tulgey Wood is another reference from Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” poem. 17. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. 18. Music & Lyrics: Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain. 19. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York : Disney Editions, 2000; quoting the New Yorker magazine critic. 20. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York : Disney Editions, 2000; quoting the Life magazine critic.

Notes —All That Jazz

All That Jazz 1. Nathaniel R. “All That Jazz or Bob Fosse’s 8?.” The Film Experience, date uncredited. 2. Music: Victor Young, lyrics: Will J. Harris, 1928. 3. Paul Dann, the songwriter, is played by Anthony Holland. 4. Stanley Lebowsky and Fred Tobias. 5. Writers uncredited. 6. Henry Creamer and Turner Layton, 1918. 7. The original title of the song was “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” (music: W. Benton Overstreet, lyrics: Billy Higgins, 1929). 8. Music: Ted Snyder, lyrics: Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, 1923. 9. Shelton Brooks, 1910. 10. Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, 1957. 11. Ben Vereen plays O’Connor Flood. 12. “On Broadway” (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller). 13. “A Perfect Day” (Harry Neilson). 14. “Everything Old Is New Again” (Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager). 15. “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (Irving Berlin, 1946).

An American in Paris 1. George had died in 1937 at the age of 38 during brain surgery to remove a tumor. 2. The music for this dance sequence is “Embraceable You” from Girl Crazy played in five different tempos and styles. 3. “I Got Rhythm” is from Girl Crazy. 4. “Tra-La-La” is from the musical For Goodness Sake. 5. Sometimes called “Our Love is Here to Stay,” this song was premiered in the movie musical The Goldwyn Follies in 1938; it was one of George Gershwin’s last songs before his untimely death. 6. “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” was introduced in the 1922 edition of George White’s Scandals; B.G. DeSylva was Ira’s co-lyricist. 7. The third movement of the concerto is played. 8. “’S Wonderful” was introduced by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns in Funny Face in 1928. 9. With twenty minutes left in the film, Jerry and Lise’s goodbye is the last dialogue.

346 10. This dream ballet sequence, the longest uninterrupted dance sequence in a film, cost $450,000 to produce. 11. Ebert, Roger. An American in Paris. Chicago Sun-Times, October 2, 1992.

Anchors Aweigh 1. May 8, 1945 is the date when the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany and the other European Axis powers. 2. Victory over Japan Day is September 2nd, which has become our Memorial Day. 3. Music: Charles A. Zimmerman, lyrics: Alfred Hart Miles and R. Lovell, 1906. 4. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn. 5. “Largo al factotum della città” from Gioacchino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. 6. Johannes Brahms “Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht,” Op. 49, No. 4, 1868. 7. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn. 8. Bertram Kraler is played by Grady Sutton. 9. Joseph Meyer and B.G. DeSylva, 1925. 10. Music: Theodore F. Morse, lyrics: Howard Johnson, 1916. 11. Music: Jacob Gade, lyrics: Vera Bloom, 1925. 12. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn. 13. Harold Rome, Jamblan, Laurent Herpin, 1941. 14. Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, 1937. 15. Also known as “The King Who Couldn’t Dance;” Sammy Fain and Arthur Freed. 16. Ray Austin and Freddy Martin had turned Tchaikovsky’s melody from his First Piano Concerto into the popular song “Tonight We Love;” with Bobby Worth’s lyrics, it topped the pop charts in 1941. 17. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn. 18. The little Mexican girl is Sharon McManus. 19. Also called “The Jarabe Tapatío” by Felipe A. Partichela. 20. Also known as “Chiapanecas” (music: M.V. DeCampo, Eng. lyrics: Albert Gamse). 21. Franz Liszt, 1847. 22. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn. 23. Earl K. Brent, based on Waltz Serenade by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. 24. Gerardo Matos Rodriguez, 1917.

Annie 1. Annie also sings “Tomorrow” during the closing credits. 2. Later in the film five of the orphans, Pepper, July, Duffy, Tessie and Kate, sing a reprise of “Maybe;” then when Annie is being taken away from Warbucks by her fake parents, she sadly sings a reprise of the song as she contemplates Warbucks as her father and Warbucks sings about fate ruining his plan to adopt Annie. 3. “Dumb Dog” was written for the film. 4. “Let’s Go to the Movies” was written for the film. 5. “Sign” was written for the film. 6. Bert Healy is played by Peter Marshall. 7. The Boylan Sisters were played by Loni Ackerman, Murphy Cross and Nancy Sinclair. 8. F.D.R. is played by Edward Herrmann. 9. At the end of the film, during a reprise of “We Got Annie,” the film audience sees Miss Hannigan riding on an elephant (somehow she wasn’t implicated in conspiring to kidnap Annie). 10. Canby. Vincent. “Huston’s ‘Annie’ Makes Its Lavish Debut.” The New York Times, May 21, 1982. 11. Added songs were “Dumb Dog,” “Let’s Go to the Movies,” “Sign,” and “We Got Annie.” The six cut songs were “We’d Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover,” “N.Y.C.,” “You Won’t Be an Orphan for Long,” “Something Was Missing,” “Annie” and “New Deal for Christmas.”

Annie Get Your Gun 1. Benay Venuta played Dolly Tate, Charlie’s assistant. 2. Clinton Sundberg plays Foster Wilson. 3. Later in the film, Annie sings a reprise of “The Girl That I Marry,” as she sadly remembers the type of women Frank prefers. 4. The film’s finale is a reprise of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” in a massive wild-west show routine with Frank and Annie on horseback surrounded by hundreds of horses and riders forming multiple circles around them. 5. Omitted songs include “I’m a Bad, Bad Man,” “Moonshine Lullaby,” “I Got Lost in His Arms,” and “An Old Fashioned Wedding.”

347

Babes in Arms 1. They had previously appeared together in Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry in 1937 and Love Finds Andy Hardy in 1938. 2. “The Lady Is a Tramp” is played instrumentally as background music. 3. “My Funny Valentine” may have been eliminated because the screenwriters changed the name of the leading male. In the original setting, the character Susie sings “My Funny Valentine” about the character Valentine White, which made perfect sense. 4. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1939. 5. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1935. 6. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1935. 7. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1937. 8. “Ride of the Valkyries” from The Valkyries (Richard Wagner, 1856). 9. Martha Steele is played by Margaret Hamilton who played the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz; it’s difficult to think of her as anything other than a witch after having seen her in that film. 10. Whether it was intentional or not, Baby Rose looks and talks a great deal like Shirley Temple. 11. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1937. 12. Music: Gus Arnheim, Abe Lyman, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1923. 13. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1939. 14. Blackface minstrel shows have long been socially unacceptable, but they were perfectly acceptable in 1939. Songs in this section include “Dixie” (Dan Emmett, 1859), “De Camptown Races” (Stephen Foster, 1850), “Old Folks at Home” (Stephen Foster, 1851; also known as “Way Down Upon the Swanee River”) and “Oh, Susanna.” (Stephen Foster, 1848). 15. Music: Eddie Munson, lyrics: Eddie Leonard, 1903. 16. Music: Percy Wenrich, lyrics: Edward Madden, 1912. 17. Music & Lyrics: Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, 1921. 18. Music: Harold Arlen, lyrics: E.Y. Harburg, 1939. 19. Music: John Philip Sousa, 1896. 20. Writers uncredited; the 1948 reissue of the film, older TV prints and early video releases of Babes In Arms exclude the “My Day” segment of the finale, with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland spoofing Franklin

Notes —The Barkleys of Broadway

and Eleanor Roosevelt. “My Day” was restored in the Nineties by Ted Turner, and is included in current prints.

25. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: B.G. DeSylva and Bud Green, 1925. 26. Music: Lewis F. Muir, lyrics: L. Wolfe Gilbert, 1912.

Babes on Broadway

The Band Wagon

1. Babes in Arms, 1939, Strike Up the Band, 1940, and Girl Crazy, 1943, are the others. 2. Nick is played by Louis Alberni. 3. Music: Burton Lane, lyrics: Ralph Freed, 1941. 4. Music: Burton Lane, lyrics: Ralph Freed, 1941. 5. James Gleason played Thornton Reed. 6. During the audition, one of the little girls who gains Reed’s attention is Margaret O’Brien; it was her screen debut. 7. Settlement houses were at one time practically synonymous with social work in the U.S.; they served the poor in urban areas by living among them and trying to help them overcome poverty and injustice. 8. Donald Meek played Mr. Stone. 9. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Ralph Freed, 1941. 10. British children were also sent to the country for safety in Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). 11. The refugee children were portrayed by the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Choristers. 12. Music & Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg and Burton Lane, 1941. 13. Music & Lyrics: George M. Cohan; premiered by Donald Brian in Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway in 1906. 14. Music & Lyrics: Sir Harry Lauder, 1905. 15. Music: Maurice Scott, lyrics: Fred J. Barnes & R.P. Weston, 1909. 16. Music & Lyrics: George M. Cohan; introduced by Cohan in Little Johnny Jones in 1904. 17. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1941. 18. Music & Lyrics: Jararaca Paiva and Vicente Paiva, 1940. 19. The uncredited girl is Annie Rooney. 20. Writers and date uncredited. 21. Music: Gus Edwards, lyrics: Edward Madden, 1909. 22. Music & Lyrics: Harold Rome, 1938. 23. The banjo playing was dubbed by Eddie Peabody. 24. Music & Lyrics: Stephen Foster, 1851.

1. Fred Astaire’s walk is like a dance. 2. The bootblack is played by LeRoy Daniels. 3. This is very similar to Buffalo Bill, Frank Butler and Charlie Davenport singing “There’s No Business Like Show Business” to Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. 4. Paul is played by James Mitchell. 5. Giselle was danced to the music of Arthur Schwartz’s “Beggar’s Waltz” rather than the original ballet music of Adolphe Adam. 6. Fred and Adele Astaire had introduced this in the original Broadway version of The Band Wagon. 7. Cyd Charisse’s singing was dubbed by India Adams. 8. http://www.playbill.com/ne ws/article/115848.html

The Barkleys of Broadway 1. From the ballet Gayne by Aram Khachaturian, 1942. 2. Critics have compared “Bouncin’ the Blues” to “I’ll Be Hard to Handle” from Roberta and “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” from Follow the Fleet. 3. Mrs. Livingston Belney is played by Billie Burke. 4. When Fred Astaire walks it looks like dancing ; Ginger Rogers also makes strolling look like elegant choreography. 5. “Shoes with Wings On” is one of Fred Astaire’s most celebrated numbers. Robert Alton staged all the dances except this one, which was choreographed by Astaire’s long-time buddy and dance collaborator, Hermes Pan. 6. Reminiscent of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. 7. Again similar to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. 8. “Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso” from Concerto No. 1 in Bflat Minor for Piano and Orchestra (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1874). 9. Fred and Ginger had originally performed a much less elegant rendition of “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin) in Shall We Dance in 1937.

Notes —Bathing Beauty

348

Bathing Beauty

Bells Are Ringing

1. Miss William’s previous films include Inflation, 1942; Personalities, 1942, in which she was uncredited; the film used some of her screen test footage; Andy Hardy’s Double Life, 1942, and A Guy Named Joe, 1943. 2. Maria Grever, 1929. 3. John Murray Anderson staged the water ballet sequences. 4. Clarence “Pine-top” Smith, 1928. 5. Xavier Cugat, 1939. 6. Johann Strauss II, 1867. 7. “The Sticky Paper Ballet” is danced to “Waltz of the Flowers” and “Trepak (or Russian Dance)” from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. 8. Traditional Scottish air, “Loch Lomand” adapted by lyricist Harold Adamson. 9. The two students are played by Jean Allenwood and Janis Paige. 10. Music & Lyrics: Johnny Comacho, Noro Morales and Harold Adamson, 1935. 11. Cugat was quite an artist; he at one time worked for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist and his caricatures were nationally syndicated. 12. Music & Lyrics: Pedro Elias Gutierrez, 1914. 13. Music: Harry James and Jack Matthais, 1942. 14. Music & Lyrics: Grigoras Dinicu and Jascha Heifetz, 1906. 15. Music: Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1923. 16. Music: Thurlow Lieurance, lyrics: J.M. Cavanass, 1915. 17. Music: Zequinha de Abreu, 1917.

1. The delivery boy is played by Doria Avila. 2. Gwynne is played by Ruth Storey. 3. Hal Linden. 4. Omitted were “On My Own,” “Is It a Crime?,” “Salzburg,” “Hello, Hello, There,” and “Long Before I Knew You.”

Beauty and the Beast 1. Sadly, lyricist Howard Ashman died of AIDS in March 1991 at the age of forty. 2. Jesse Corti voiced LeFou. 3. Joanne Worley is the voice of the Wardrobe. 4. In the Special Edition VHS a previously deleted scene is reinserted at this point. Several of the servant objects sing and dance to the song “Human Again” as they anticipate the spell being broken. 5. Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson’s duet was released as a single and became a hit around the world. Although it barely made the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100, RIAA certified it as a gold record in the U.S. for selling over a half a million copies. RIAA also certified the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack album 3× platinum in the U.S. for selling over three million copies.

Billy Rose’s Jumbo 1. The Hippodrome, a huge theater on 43rd Street and 6th Avenue in New York City, opened in 1905 with another spectacular circus-type production titled A Yankee Circus on Mars. This four hour extravaganza included 280 chorus girls, 480 soldiers, an equestrienne ballet, elephants, acrobats, and a cavalry charge through a lake. The gigantic theater was torn down in 1939. 2. Omitted songs were “Laught,” “Women,” “Memories of Madison Square Garden,” and “Diavolo.” 3. Dean Jagger portrayed John Noble. 4. The camera shots are far enough back that a double could be used for the actual riding tricks. 5. Stephen Boyd’s vocals were dubbed by James Joyce. 6. They sing a little of “Laught” which was supposedly cut from the film version.

Blue Skies 1. Miss Caulfield’s vocals were dubbed by Betty Russell. 2. This Berlin classic came from the 1929 movie Puttin’ on the Ritz. Life magazine called this dance sequence “possibly the most stupendous tap dance of all time.” 3. Historically speaking, with the beginning of Prohibition in 1920, Cuba has become a favorite vacation destination for everyone who imbibes. 4. “Always” one of Berlin’s most beautiful love songs plays in the background. 5. “Blue Skies” was a last minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical, Betsy. The show wasn’t a big success, but the opening night audience demanded twenty-eight encores of the song by the musical’s star, Belle Baker. During the twenty-eighth repetition, she forgot the lyrics, but Berlin, seated in the front row, stood up and sang the rest of the song. 6. The original lyrics credit the heat wave to a woman moving her

posterior, but for the film, the lyrics were changed. Now the heat wave is cause by wiggling her feet.

Brigadoon 1. Cyd Charisse’s vocals are dubbed by Carol Richards and Dee Turnell’s vocals are dubbed by Bonnie Murray. 2. Jimmy Thompson’s vocals are dubbed by John Gustafson and they are one of the highlights of the film. 3. Harry Beaton is played by Hugh Laing. 4. Andrew Campbell is portrayed by Albert Sharpe. 5. It is in this scene in the Broadway version that Charlie sings “Come to Me, Bend to Me” to his bride-tobe. 6. The “Sword Dance” is also a part of the wedding sequence in the Broadway version and Harry is one of the principal dancers. After the “Sword Dance,” he boldly tries to kiss Jean. 7. It is here that “There, But For You, Go I” was performed in the Broadway version. 8. Omitted songs were the beautiful love song “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” Tommy and Fiona’s duet “From This Day On,” the competing clans’ “Sword Dance” during the wedding scene, Tommy’s “There But for You Go I,” and Meg Brockie’s two songs “The Love of My Life” and “My Mother’s Wedding Day.” As a matter of fact, Meg Brockie, the village flirt, became a very insignificant character in the film version.

The Broadway Melody 1. Eddie sings “The Broadway Melody” several times during the film; the song may be more famous today for its use in a huge production number in 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain. 2. Like silent films, The Broadway Melody, often uses cards announcing the change of scenes. 3. Francis Zanfield’s name is a take-off on the name of Broadway’s most famous producer, Florenz Ziegfeld. Eddie Kane portrayed Francis Zanfield. 4. The Roman soldier is played by James Burrows. 5. Jacques “Jock” Warriner is a name chosen for the villain to sound like Jack Warner, the head of Warner Bros., M-G-M’s rival studio.

6. “You Were Meant For Me” resurfaced in several other movie musicals including the classic 1952 movie musical Singin’ in the Rain. 7. Music & Lyrics: Willard Robison, 1928. 8. This sequence was originally filmed in Technicolor. 9. Mary Doran played Flo.

Broadway Melody of 1948 1. As Stanley Green and Burt Goldblatt point out in Starring Fred Astaire, the previous films in the series each presented “a new paean to the glories of Broadway.” There was “Broadway Melody” in the initial one, “Broadway Rhythm” in the second, and “Your Broadway and My Broadway” in the third — all written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Cole Porter’s Broadway song for the fourth was considerably less serious. 2. During the entire film, Bob Casey, who is played by Frank Morgan, is with a different girl every time he’s seen, and each girl has on the same ermine coat. He lends the fur to each woman he takes out, but makes certain he retrieves the coat at the end of their date. 3. Some sources called this number “All Ashore;” written by Roger Edens, this takeoff is based on the 1840 song “Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep” by Joseph Philip Knight and Mrs. Willard, and also includes “Anchors Aweigh,” the Navy song, written in 1906 by A.H. Miles, R. Lovell, and Charles A. Zimmerman. 4. Ian Hunter plays Bert Matthews. 5. Music: Walter Ruick, c. 1939. 6. This dance sequence is reminiscent of the “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?” sequence from Top Hat. 7. The masked male vocalist is Douglas McPhail. 8. Cole Porter wrote “Begin the Beguine” for the 1935 Broadway musical, Jubilee; it became a monster hit in 1938 for clarinetist Artie Shaw and His Orchestra. This sequence was originally planned for Technicolor, but the idea was scrapped due to budget constraints that were influenced by the start of World War II in Europe. The studio, however, didn’t spare expense on the setting, which cost $120,000 to construct. 9. Carmen D’Antonio was dubbed by Lois Hardnett. 10. This quartet’s vocal arrangement sounded very much like the fa-

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mous female trio, the Andrews Sisters.

2. Stormy Weather, another allblack film musical, came out in July 1943. 3. “Little Black Sheep” is sung by Petunia and the Hall Johnson Chorus as the congregation. 4. “Old Ship of Zion” is performed by the Hall Johnson Chorus. 5. The devil’s agent is the same person as Lucius, one of Joe’s gambling friends. 6. The General is the same person as the minister, the Rev. Green. 7. Music: Harold Arlen, lyrics: E. Y. Harburg, 1942. 8. Music: Vernon Duke, lyrics: John Latouche, 1940. 9. The other singers are the Hall Johnson Choir. 10. Music: Vernon Duke, lyrics: Ted Fetter, 1940; Benny Goodman and His Orchestra’s recording of “Taking a Chance on Love” was a No. 1 hit on Billboard in 1943. Helen Forrest was the featured vocalist on their recording. 11. The visitor is Fayard Nicholas, one of the famous Nicholas Brothers. 12. Music & Lyrics: Ford Dabney and Cecil Mack, 1910. 13. Music: Harold Arlen, lyrics: E. Y. Harburg, 1942.

Bye Bye Birdie 1. His name is a takeoff on Conway Twitty, who was a popular recording personality at the time. He later became more famous as a country artist. 2. Three weeks after “Jailhouse Rock” hit number one, Elvis received his draft notice. Normally, entertainers are assigned to Special Services to entertain the other soldiers, but not Elvis; he became a regular G.I. 3. Omitted songs were “An English Teacher,” “A Healthy, Normal, American Boy,” “One Hundred Ways,” “What Did I Ever See in Him?,” “Baby, Talk to Me,” and “Spanish Rose.” 4. Milton Frome played Maude. 5. Added songs were “Let’s Settle Down,” “A Mother Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” and “A Giant Step.”

Cabaret 1. Songs that were cut include “So What?,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Telephone Song,” “Perfectly Marvelous,” “It Couldn’t Please Me More,” “Why Should I Wake Up?,” “Meeskite,” “I Don’t Care Much,” and “What Would You Do?” 2. In the stage version, it was performed at a private party. 3. This song was added to the film version. 4. “Maybe This Time” was written for Kander and Ebb’s unproduced musical Golden Gate several years earlier, which made the song ineligible for an Academy Award nomination. 5. “Money, Money” replaced “The Money Song,” which can be heard as an instrumental called “Sitting Pretty.” 6. Mark Lambert’s voice. 7. This song was added to the film version. The original Tiller Girls were formed by John Tiller in Manchester, England in 1890. They were famous for their high-kicking routines that were very precise. 8. Juden translates to Jew. 9. Cocks, Jay. “Liza: Ja — the Film: Nein.” Time, February 21, 1972.

Cabin in the Sky 1. Green, Stanley. Broadway Musicals, Show By Show. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Publishing Corp., 1994.

Calamity Jane 1. Gail Robbins played the real Adelaid Adams. 2. Doris Day’s recording of “Secret Love” racked up four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard, five weeks at the top of Cash Box’s chart, seven weeks at No. 1 on Your Hit Parade and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. She is quoted as having said, “When I first heard ‘Secret Love’ I almost fainted, it was so beautiful.”

Call Me Madam 1. Billy De Wolfe plays Pemberton Maxwell. 2. Prince Hugo is portrayed by Helmut Dantine. 3. Steven Geray played Prime Minister Sebastian. 4. August Tatinnin is played by Walter Slezak. 5. Later during the ball, Ken and Maria dance out into the garden, where the music changes to “It’s a Lovely Day Today,” which becomes a lovely dance duet. 6. Vera-Ellen’s vocals were dubbed by Carol Richards.

Notes —Carmen Jones 7. As the film’s finale, Cosmo sings “You’re Just in Love” and dances with Sally; she sings the song and dances with a couple of male dancers and Ken and Maria also sing. 8. During the finale, Sally, Cosmo, Ken and Maria reprise “Something to Dance About.” 9. Bergreen, Laurence. As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 1996.

Carmen Jones 1. Senatobia, Mississippi is mentioned as Carmen’s hometown. 2. Hutcherson’s operatic singing voice doesn’t match Belafonte’s soft, raspy speaking voice. 3. “Sur la place, chacun passe” in Bizet’s original opera. 4. Dorothy Dandridge was dubbed by Marilyn Horne. 5. “Dat’s Love” is the famous “Habanera” from the original opera. 6. “You Talk Jus’ Like My Maw” is “Parle-moi de ma mère” from the original opera. 7. “Dere’s a Café on de Corner” is the “Seguidilla” in the opera. 8. “Dis Flower” is the “Flower Song” from the opera. 9. “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum” is the “Gypsy Song” in the original. 10. Joe Adams was dubbed by Marvin Hayes. 11. “Stan’ Up an’ Fight” is the famous “Toreador Song” (or “March of the Toreadors”) from the opera. 12. “Whizzin’ Away Along de Track” is the “Quintet” from Bizet’s original. 13. “Card Song” from Act 3 of the opera. 14. “My Joe” is “Micaëla’s Air” from Act 3 of the opera. 15. “Final Duet” is based on “Duet and Final Chorus” from the opera. 16. “String Me High on a Tree” is also based on “Duet and Final Chorus.” 17. Crowther, Bosley. “Up-dated Translation of Bizet Work Bows.” The New York Times, October 29, 1954.

Carousel 1. Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages. Cambridge, MA : DaCapo, 2002. 2. Billy, the former carousel barker, is deceased, but is not in hell or heaven, but perhaps purgatory or some other heavenly half-way house. 3. Mr. Bascombe is played by John Dehner.

350 4. “Soliloquy” is exceptional lyrically and melodically. 5. A slang term for accordions, concertinas and other related instruments. 6. A sampler is a stitched design that illustrates “sample” stitch styles and designs. They were often used as learning tools for young girls to improve their needlework skills. Some samplers have sayings on them, like the one Julie had given Nettie. 7. The Heavenly Friend was played by William LeMassena. 8. A lot of the music for this ballet is gleaned from “Soliloquy” themes. 9. Jacques D’Amboise danced the part of the barker. 10. Enoch, Jr. was played by Dee Pollock. 11. Perry Como’s 1945 recording of “If I Loved You” reportedly sold two million copies. The song collected three weeks at No. 1 on Your Hit Parade. 12. The original Broadway cast album of Carousel was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. 13. Omitted songs are Carrie Pipperidge’s “You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan,” Billy, Jigger, and other whalers’ “Blow High, Blow Low,” Mr. Snow’s “Geraniums in the Winder,” and Billy’s “The Highest Judge of All.”

Chicago 1. Fosse was to direct and choreograph the film version, but he died before it was made. 2. “Raisin’ the Roof ” was written by composer, Jimmy McHugh, and lyricist, Dorothy Fields, in 1929. 3. Taye Diggs played the bandleader. 4. “And All That Jazz” is also played during the opening credits. 5. Dominc West played Fred Casely. 6. The six were Liz, Annie, June, Hunyak, Mona and Velma. 7. Lucy Liu portrayed Kitty Baxter. 8. “Mister Cellophane” is reminiscent of famous African-American performer Bert Williams’ “Nobody.” 9. “A Tap Dance” was added for the film version. 10. “Hot Honey Rag” was written in 1996. 11. “I Move On” was added for the film. 12. Eliminated songs were “A Little Bit of Good,” “My Own Best Friend,” “I Know a Girl,” “When Velma Takes the Stand,” and “Class.”

13. Hunter, Stephen. “‘Chicago,’ One Town — And a Film — That Won’t Let You Down.” Washington Post, December 27, 2002.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1. Later in the film, Potts sings a reprise of “Hushabye Mountain” to comfort a frightened little boy in Vulgaria. 2. In Fleming’s book, it is Goodwin Sands on the English Channel. 3. The village toymaker is played by Benny Hill.

Cinderella 1. Eleanor Audley voiced Lady Tremaine. 2. Rhoda Williams voiced Drizella. 3. Lucille Bliss voiced Anastasia. 4. Luis Van Rooten voiced both the King and the Grand Duke. 5. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York : Disney Editions, 2000.

Cover Girl 1. Rita Hayworth’s vocals were dubbed by Martha Mears. 2. John Coudair as a young man is played by Jess Barker. 3. E.Y. Harburg was Ira Gershwin’s co-lyricist. 4. “Long Ago and Far Away” became composer Jerome Kern’s last big hit song; he died in 1945. 5. Music: Fred W. Leigh, lyrics: Henry E. Pether, 1906. 6. For this lavish number, the studio recruited fifteen actual winners of magazine contests. 7. Magazines such as Cosmo, McCall’s, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Woman’s Home Companion, The American Home, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Coronet, Liberty, Redbook, The American Farm Journel, Look, and Collier’s.

Daddy Long Legs 1. “The History of the Beat” is slightly reminiscent of “Nice Work if You Can Get It” from A Damsel in Distress and of “Drum Crazy” in Easter Parade; Astaire is a very competent drummer. 2. Sally McBride is played by Charlotte Austin. 3. Gertrude Pendleton is played by Kathryn Givney.

4. During this era, a dance card was most often used to record the men a woman would dance each successive dance with at a ball. 5. “Dream” (1945) is performed by the Pied Pipers with Ray Anthony’s band. 6. “Sluefoot” is also performed by the Pied Pipers and Ray Anthony’s band. 7. He is referring to King David sending Uriah into battle so he can have his wife, Bathsheba.

Dames 1. Music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Irving Kahal, 1934. 2. Ben Selvin and his orchestra had a very popular recording of “I Only Have Eyes for You” in 1934. The Flamingos’s 1959 Grammy Hall of Fame recording of the song peaked at No. 11 on Billboard’s chart. 3. Music: Allie Wrubel, lyrics: Mort Dixon, 1934. 4. Music & Lyrics: Charles E. Pratt, 1882. 5. Music: Felix MendelssohnBartholdy, between 1830–1835. 6. Music: Camille Saint-Saëns, 1886. 7. Nugent, Frank S. “Words and Music.” The New York Times, August 16, 1934.

Damn Yankees! 1. Tab Hunter is the only main character who did not appear in the original Broadway cast. In 1957, Hunter recorded a cover version of “Young Love” that became a No. 1 hit. 2. Jerry Ross died, at the age of twenty-nine, from chronic bronchiectasis only a few months after Damn Yankees premiered on Broadway. 3. Omitted were “A Man Doesn’t Know,” “The Game,” and “Near to You.” 4. The Washington Senators was a major league baseball franchise in the nation’s capital from 1901 until 1960 when the team moved to Minneapolis and became the Minnesota Twins. The Senators lost so often that the following saying became popular: “first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.” 5. The season still begins in April, but it lasts more than six months; the World Series typically isn’t over until late October or early November. 6. Nathaniel Frey played Smokey, Jimmy Komack played Rocky, and Albert Linville played Vernon.

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7. Jean Stapleton played Sister Miller and Elizabeth Howell played her sister, Doris. 8. This number is equivalent to “Steam Heat” in The Pajama Game; it is a cute song and dance, but it is strictly an entertainment moment and an excuse to showcase Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse’s dancing skills.

7. Music: Albert Von Tilzer, lyrics: Lew Brown, 1917. 8. Oscar Hammerstein, the uncle of the later famous lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, is played by Robert Middlemass. 9. Music: Charles Henderson, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1945. 10. “Carolina in the Morning” (music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Gus Kahn) was introduced by Willie and Eugene Howard in The Passing Show of 1922. 11. Music: Charles Henderson, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1945. 12. Music: Harry Revel, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1945. 13. Harry Fox introduced “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” (music: Harry Carroll, lyrics: Joseph McCarthy) in the musical Oh, Look! in 1918; the song’s chorus melody comes from Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu in C-sharp minor; this was one of the first successful examples of a popular song being lifted from a famous classical composition. 14. The ragtime classic, “Darktown Strutters’ Ball,” (Shelton Brooks, 1917) was first popularized by Sophie Tucker in vaudeville; ASCAP selected the song as one of only sixteen songs for its all-time Hit Parade in 1963. 15. Although politically incorrect today, “pickaninny” was an acceptable term for African-American children in 1945. 16. “Smiles” (music: Lee S. Roberts, lyrics: J. Will Callahan) was introduced by Neil Carrington in The Passing Show of 1918. 17. Irving Netcher is played by Frank Latimore. 18. The Duke of Breck is played by Reginald Gardiner. 19. Music: Bert Grant, lyrics: Sam Lewis and Joe Young, 1916. 20. At the train station, the soldiers sing several songs that were favorites of American doughboys during World War I, including “Mademoiselle from Armentieres (Hinky, Dinky, Parley Voo),” (music and lyrics: unknown, approx. 1918), “Oh! Frenchy,” (music: Con Conrad, lyrics: Sam Ehrlich, 1918), and “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag (and Smile, Smile, Smile)” (music: Felix Powell, lyrics: George Henry Powell under pseudonym George Asaf, 1915). 21. Lenora Baldwin is played by Trudy Marshall. 22. “The Sidewalks of New York” was introduced by Lottie Gilson at the Old London Theatre in the Bowery in 1894.

A Damsel in Distress 1. Lady Caroline is played by Constance Collier. 2. Reggie is played by British bandleader Ray Noble. 3. Ira thought “Stiff Upper Lip” was a genuine British expression, but, to his slight embarrassment, later discovered that the phrase is actually an American Britishism. 4. This is the dance that critics lambasted Miss Fontaine for her lack of dancing skills. 5. The lyrics to “A Foggy Day” are about London, not the country; nevertheless, the song is one of the film’s most famous numbers. 6. It’s surprising that such a beautiful song would have been introduced by a trio of relative unknowns. Thankfully, Astaire dances to the song again as the film’s finale. 7. According to Stanley Green and Burt Goldblatt in Starring Fred Astaire, Ira’s lyrics were derived from a cartoon in Punch, a British satirical magazine, which showed two Cockney charwomen discussing a mutual friend who “’ad become an ’ore.” One of the charwomen remarks, “’At’s nice work if you can get it.” 8. Reginald Gardiner’s singing was dubbed by Mario Berini.

The Dolly Sisters 1. Music & Lyrics: Charles B. Lawlor and James W. Blake, 1894. 2. The young Jenny and Rosie are played by Evon Thomas and Donna Jo Gribble respectively. 3. Ignatz Tsimmis portrays Sig Ruman. 4. Music: Johannes Brahms, c. 1880. 5. “The Vamp” (Byron Gay, 1919) was inspired by Theda Bara, the vamp of the silent screen. 6. Bing Crosby’s recording of “I Can’t Begin to Tell You” (music: James V. Monaco, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1945) with pianist Carmen Cavallaro was Billboard’s top hit for six weeks towards the end of 1945 and the song managed one week at the top of Your Hit Parade.

Notes —Down Argentine Way

Down Argentine Way 1. Music: Jimmy McHugh, lyrics: Al Dubin, 1939. 2. The film’s audience discovers later that many years ago in Paris a Crawford man stole Don Diego’s girlfriend. 3. The film’s title song is “Down Argentina Way,” but the film title is Down Argentine Way. Don Ameche’s singing was dubbed by Carlos Albert. 4. The vocal group is Six Hits and a Miss. 5. Bando da Lua is Carmen Miranda’s group. 6. The dancing couple was Thomas and Catherine Dowling. 7. Music & Lyrics: Jararca and Vicente Paiva, no date credited 8. Traditional 9. Miss Greenwood reportedly said she was the “only woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye.”

Dreamgirls 1. Jennifer Holliday captured the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance by a Female for her rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” 2. The Stepp Sisters are played by Maxi Anderson, Charlene Carmen and Keisha Heely. 3. Danny Glover played Marty Madison. 4. Little Albert and the TruTones are played by Steve Russell, Durrell Babbs, Luke Boyd and Eric Dawkins. 5. Tiny Joe Dixon is played by Michael-Leon Wooley. 6. It isn’t exactly clear how Curtis could hire the girls as Jimmy’s backup singers when Marty is Jimmy’s manager. 7. Jimmy “Thunder” Early seems to be a cross between Little Richard and James Brown. 8. Dave and the Sweethearts are Rory O’Malley, Laura Bell Bundy and Anne Elizabeth Warren. Dave represents white cover artists like Pat Boone and the Crew Cuts. 9. Hinton Battle played Wayne. 10. Payola is the practice of giving DJs gifts of merchandise, food, clothing, or money to feature a record company’s product. 11. Music: Henry Krieger, lyrics: Tom Eyen; added for the film. 12. The Chitlin Circuit was the only option for touring black entertainers. 13. Historically, the Supremes became Diana Ross and the Supremes. 14. Mariah I. Wilson played Magic.

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15. Music & Lyrics: Henry Krieger and Willie Reale; added for the film. 16. Music & Lyrics: Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett; added for the film; the song sounds remarkably like an early Jackson 5 recording, similar to several but “One More Chance” is called to mind. 17. The singer is Loretta Devine. 18. The film producer is played by John Lithgow and the screenwriter is John Krasinski. 19. Music & Lyrics: Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Beyoncé Knowles, and Anne Preven; added for the film.

Du Barry Was a Lady 1. Music: Burton Lane, lyrics: Ralph Freed, 1943; Lucille Ball’s singing was dubbed by Martha Mears. 2. Music & Lyrics: Sy Oliver, 1943. 3. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: E.Y. Harburg, 1943. 4. Comedienne/singer Virginia O’Brien performs the song in her famous dead-pan delivery. 5. The Pied Pipers include future famous soloists Jo Stafford and Dick Haymes. 6. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Lew Brown and Ralph Freed, 1943. 7. Esquire magazine had introduced Alberto Vargas’ cover girl art in 1940. 8. A Mickey Finn, which was shortened to “mickey,” is a drink laced with a drug; in this film they call it a “rooney,” as in Mickey Rooney. 9. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1943. 10. Music: Burton Lane, lyrics: Ralph Freed, 1943. 11. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1943. 12. “Mon Homme (My Man)” (music: Maurice Yvain, lyrics: Albert Willemetz and Jacques Charles, 1920), is performed as background music when Rami imitates Charles Boyer, and “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (music: Theodore M. Metz, lyrics: Joe Hayden, 1896), is performed by a band during the guillotine scene. 13. “(I’ve Grown So Lonely) Thinking of You” (Walter Donaldson and Paul Ash, 1926), “A Cigarette, Sweet Music and You” (Roy Ringwald, 1942), “Sleepy Lagoon” (music: Eric Coates, lyrics: Jack Lawrence, 1940), “You Are My Sunshine” ( Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell,

1940), and “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” (music: George Bassman, lyrics: Ned Washington, 1932).

Dumbo 1. The Sportsmen sang “Look Out for Mr. Stork” (music: Frank Churchill, lyrics: Ned Washington). 2. The King’s Men sang “Casey Junior” (music: Frank Churchill, lyrics: Ned Washington). 3. The King’s Men sang “Song of the Roustabouts” (music: Frank Churchill, lyrics: Ned Washington). 4. Music: Oliver Wallace, lyrics: Arthur Quenzer. 5. “Baby Mine” (music: Frank Churchill, lyrics: Ned Washington) is sung by Betty Noyes. 6. The Sportsmen sang “Pink Elephants on Parade” (music: Oliver Wallace, lyrics: Ned Washington). 7. The Hall Johnson Choir sang the crow chorus on “When I See an Elephant Fly” (music: Oliver Wallace, lyrics: Ned Washington). 8. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York : Disney Editions, 2000. 9. Crowther, Bosley. “Walt Disney’s Cartoon, ‘Dumbo,’ a Fanciful Delight, Opens at the Broadway.” The New York Times, October 24, 1941.

Easter Parade 1. Their first film together was For Me and My Gal in 1942. 2. “I Love a Piano” was introduced by Harry Fox in Stop! Look! and Listen in 1915. 3. “Shakin’ the Blues Away” was introduced by Ruth Etting in her Ziegfeld Follies debut in 1927. 4. The baritone is Richard Beavers. 5. This song, originally titled “The Girl on the Magazine,” was introduced by Joseph Stanley in the revue Stop! Look! and Listen in 1915. 6. “Easter Parade” was originally sung, and is most often sung, from the male perspective; Clifton Webb and Marilyn Miller premiered it in As Thousands Cheer in 1933.

Enchanted 1. Schwartz wrote the Broadway musicals Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). 2. Giselle displays similar traits to several other famous Disney princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, and Belle. Early in the film she is eternally optimistic and romantic,

353 but by the end she has matured somewhat. However, she still maintains her innocence, optimism, and her love for her animal friends. 3. Menken and Schwartz wrote “True Love’s Kiss” in the same style of such Disney classics as “I’m Wishing” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella. All three songs are sung by Disney heroines to express their desire to find true love. 4. Nancy’s last name is the same as Cinderella’s stepmother, Lady Tremaine. 5. Robert’s secretary is played by Jodi Benson who was the speaking and singing voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. 6. “Happy Working Song” pays homage to such famous Disney songs as “Whistle While You Work” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “The Work Song” from Cinderella, and “A Spoonful of Sugar” from Mary Poppins. 7. “That’s How You Know” is reminiscent of Menken’s big production numbers “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid and “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. 8. The Italian restaurant scene opens with a short excerpt of “That’s Amore” (music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Jack Brooks, 1953) performed by James Marsden. The Bella Notte is from Lady and the Tramp. 9. The TV reporter’s name is Mary Ilene Caselotti. Adriana Caselotti was the voice of Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 10. “So Close” is performed by Jon McLaughlin. 11. “Ever, Ever After” is performed by Carrie Underwood. 12. Background songs include “Part of Your World” (music: Alan Menken, lyrics: Howard Ashman, 1989), “Beauty and the Beast” (music: Alan Menken, lyrics: Howard Ashman, 1991); “Pink Elephants on Parade” (Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace, 1941), “Robin Hood Ballads” (Elton Hayes and Lawrence E. Watkins, 2007), “Poor Giant (FeFi...),” “Mickey Makes a Bargain” (Paul J. Smith, 2007), “Lament” (Oliver Wallace, 2007), and “Sweet Nights” (Ernest Bradshaw, 2007). 13. Dargis, Manohla. “Someday My Prince Will ... Uh, Make That a Manhattan Lawyer.” The New York Times, November 21, 2007.

Evita 1. Alan Parker also directed Fame (1980) and other off-beat movie mu-

sicals like Bugsy Malone (1976) and The Commitments (1991). 2. “Dice are Rolling” and “Montage” were cut. 3. A Requiem or Requiem Mass is a Catholic funeral mass. The requiem includes prayers for the salvation of the soul of the deceased. 4. “Oh, What a Circus” is sung to the same tune as “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.” 5. “Santa Evita” is sung to the same tune as “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.”

Fame 1. Alan Parker also directed Evita (1996) and other off-beat movie musicals like Bugsy Malone (1976) and The Commitments (1991). 2. Music: Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics: Marilyn and Alan Bergman, 1974. 3. Music & Lyrics: Stephen Foster, 1851. 4. Music: Michael Gore, lyrics: Dean Pitchford. 5. Music & Lyrics: Dominic Bugatti and Frank Musker. 6. Music: Michael Gore, lyrics: Robert R. Colesberry and Lesley Gore. 7. Michael is played by Boyd Gaines. 8. The name of this choral piece is not named in the film credits. 9. She seduces him although that isn’t actually shown. 10. Music: Michael Gore, lyrics: Dean Pitchford. 11. Freddie Prinze was a comic who starred in the TV series Chico and the Man; when he died, there was a lot of speculation about the cause of his death. 12. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1929. 13. Music: Michael Gore, lyrics: Lesley Gore. 14. Music & Lyrics: Paul McCrane. 15. Music: Michael Gore, lyrics: Dean Pitchford.

Fantasia 1. Tchaikovsky extracted eight of the more popular numbers from his 1892 fairy tale ballet, The Nutcracker, for concert performance. In Fantasia, the pieces are shortened, the order is rearranged and there are only six movements. 2. The original tale was written by Lucian around A.D. 150 as Philopseudes. That ancient tale was reinter-

Notes —Follow the Fleet preted by Goethe in a 1797 poem that illustrated the dangers of power over wisdom. 3. Beethoven was a lover of nature and in this symphony he paints a musical picture of a day in the country. 4. This portion of the film was criticized for the female centaurs’ nudity; at the request of the Hays Production Code, flower bras were added to the figures. 5. Chernobog is sometimes spelled Tchernobog. 6. The film illustrated seven new classical compositions, including Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March, Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, and a reprise of Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Fiddler on the Roof 1. Omitted songs are “Now I Have Everything” and “The Rumor.” 2. A shtetl is a Jewish settlement. 3. The fiddler was a major character at one point, but his part was so drastically cut that he became a symbol for survival. 4. Yente is played by Molly Picon. 5. Pogrom is a Yiddish word meaning “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” To Russian Jews, it meant the massacre of helpless people. 6. Traditionally Jewish men and women did not dance together at a wedding. 7. They are going to Cracow because they can’t stay among people who can do such horrible things to others. 8. A mezuzah is affixed to the doorframe of Jewish homes to fulfill the commandment to inscribe the words of the Shema on the doorposts of their home. 9. The name Jewison is of English origin.

Follow the Fleet 1. Shore Leave had provided the inspiration for the 1927 Broadway musical Hit the Deck, which was filmed in 1930 by RKO and again in 1955 by M-G-M. 2. Los Angeles, and the entire country, for that matter, had gone swing crazy, especially after Benny Goodman’s engagement at the Palo-

Notes —Footlight Parade

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mar Ballroom in August 1935 that is credited with launching the Swing Era. Hermes Pan, the film’s dance director, recruited some of the “hepest” dancers from the Palomar and other area ballrooms as Fred and Ginger’s competitors in the dance contest. 3. Astrid Allwyn played Iris. 4. Their dance was filmed without a break, but Ginger’s dress once again, as it had in the “Night and Day” number in Gay Divorcee, caused a problem. Her dress was quite heavy, made of metallic threads and with weights in the sleeves and hem. A few seconds into the first take, her sleeve hit Fred in the face, dazing him enough that he couldn’t remember finishing the rest of that take. The director and crew assured Fred that the take was fine, but Fred insisted on take after take until they finally gave up after twenty. When they viewed the rushes the next day, it was the first take that was used in the film.

8. Music & Lyrics: E. Ray Goetz and Henri Christine, 1923. 9. Music: Turner Layton, lyrics: Henry Creamer, 1918. 10. Music: Max Kortlander, lyrics: J. Will Callahan, 1919. 11. Music: Richard A. Whiting, lyrics: Raymond B. Egan, 1918. 12. The performer is Ben Lessy. 13. Music & Lyrics: Howard Carr, Harry Russell and Jimmie Havens, 1918. 14. Music: Chris Smith, lyrics: Jim Burris, 1913. 15. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Sam Lewis & Joe Young, 1919. 16. The medley includes Jo singing an excerpt from “Where Do We Go From Here?” (music: Percy Wenrich, lyrics: Howard Johnson, 1917), a marching band playing “Over There” (music & lyrics: George M. Cohan, 1917), Jo performing an excerpt of “It’s a Long Long Way to Tipperary” (music & lyrics: Jack Judge and Harry Williams, 1912), Sid and Harry performing a bit of “Goodbye Broadway, Hello France” (music: Billy Baskette, lyrics: C. Francis Reisner and Benny Davis, 1917), Jo singing a little of “Smiles” (music: Lee S. Roberts, lyrics: J. Will Callahan, 1917), Sid performing an excerpt from “Oh! Frenchy” (music: Con Conrad, lyrics: Sam Ehrlich, 1918), and Jo ending the medley with a portion of “Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag (and Smile, Smile, Smile!)” (music: Felix Powell, lyrics: George Asaf, 1915). 17. Music & Lyrics: Louis Lambert, a pseudonym for Patrick S. Gilmore, 1863.

Footlight Parade 1. Music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Irving Kahal. 2. The male dressed as a cat is Billy Taft. 3. Music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Irving Kahal. 4. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Al Dubin. 5. Hirschhorn, Clive. The Hollywood Musical. New York : Crown Publishers Inc., 1981. 6. Music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Irving Kahal; The song’s opening is reminiscent of Friml’s “Indian Love Call” with its “you-oo-oo.” 7. Two of the girls are future stars Dorothy Lamour and Ann Sothern. 8. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Al Dubin.

For Me and My Gal 1. Music: Abe Olman, lyrics: Ed Rose, 1917. 2. Music: Nat Ayer, lyrics: Seymour Brown, 1911, with changed lyrics. 3. Music & Lyrics: Joseph M. Verges, 1916. 4. Music: Harry Carroll, lyrics: Harold Atteridge, 1914. 5. Music: George W. Meyer, lyrics: Edgar Leslie and E. Ray Goetz, 1917. 6. Music: Percy Wenrich, lyrics: Jack Mahoney, 1914. 7. Music: Fred Fisher, lyrics: Joseph McCarthy, 1917.

42nd Street 1. The dance director, Andy Lee, is played by George E. Stone. 2. Is this where Rodgers and Hammerstein got the idea for Ado Annie in Oklahoma? Ado Annie was also a girl who couldn’t say no. 3. The groom is played by Clarence Nordstrom. 4. The pretty young blonde is Toby Wing. 5. Don Bestor and His Orchestra’s recording of “Forty-Second Street” was a big hit in 1933.

Funny Face 1. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Leonard Gershe. 2. This Gershwin standard was introduced by Bobbe Arnst in the 1928 Broadway musical Rosalie. When Audrey Hepburn starred in the

film version of My Fair Lady in 1964, her vocals were dubbed by Marni Nixon, but in Funny Face, she was allowed to sing her own vocals and it is delightful to hear her natural voice. 3. Paul Duval is played by Robert Fleming. 4. Fred and Adele Astaire introduced this song in the 1927 Broadway version of Funny Face. 5. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Leonard Gershe. 6. The avant garde music consists of bebop jazz arrangements of “How Long Has This Been Going On” and “Funny Face.” 7. Fred and Adele Astaire introduced this breezy number in the 1927 Broadway version of Funny Face. 8. Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns introduced “He Loves and She Loves” in the 1927 Broadway version of Funny Face. 9. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens. 10. Harland Dixon, Betty Compton, Constance Carpenter, Paulette Winsten and Janette Gilmore introduced “Clap Yo’ Hands” in the 1926 Broadway musical Oh, Kay! 11. Ira Gershwin’s extraordinary colloquial conversational lyrics, contractions of “it’s wonderful,” “it’s marvelous,” “it’s awful nice,” “it’s paradise,” are gems of the lyricist’s art. “’S Wonderful” was introduced by Allen Kearns in the 1927 musical Funny Face. 12. TV Guide Staff. “Funny Face.” TV Guide, no date credited.

Funny Girl 1. Music: Maurice Yvain, lyrics: Channing Pollock, 1921. 2. Music: James F. Hanley, lyrics: Grant Clarke, 1921. 3. Andersen, Christopher. Barbra, The Way She Is. New York : William Morrow, 2006. 4. Miss Brice’s maid, Emma was played by Mittie Lawrence. 5. Mrs. Strakasho was played by Mae Questel. 6. The theater owner, Keeney, was played by Frank Faylen. 7. The choreographer/director, Eddie, was played by Lee Allen. 8. Music: Fred Fisher, lyrics: Billy Rose, 1928. 9. Miss Brice introduced “Second Hand Rose,” which became one of her trademark songs, in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921. 10. In the original Broadway version, the song was sung by Fanny and some of her friends. 11. The line “I’m a beautiful reflection of my love’s affection” from

355 “His Love Makes Me Beautiful” is inserted into “Sadie, Sadie.” 12. Fanny Brice’s 1922 recording of “My Man” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. 13. Original score songs that were omitted from the film include “Cornet Man,” “Who Taught Her Everything?,” “I Want to Be Seen With You Tonight,” “Find Yourself a Man,” “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat,” “Who Are You Now?,” and the hauntingly beautiful “The Music That Makes Me Dance.” New songs added were “Funny Girl” and “Rollerskate Rag,” plus the interpolation of “My Man” and “Second-Hand Rose.”

The Gang’s All Here 1. The tune for “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here” was adapted from “Come, Friends, Who Plough the Sea” from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. The lyrics were penned in 1904 by D.A. Esrom, a pseudonym for Theodora Morse. 2. Music: Ary Barroso, 1939, as “Aquarela do Brasil,” English lyrics: Bob Russell, 1943. 3. Music: Joseph Bonime and Gregory Stone, lyrics: Fanny Baldridge, 1935. 4. Charlotte Greenwood’s dance includes some of her signature leg kicks. 5. Music: Gene Rose, no date credited.

Gay Divorcee 1. With “The Carioca” from Flying Down to Rio and “Love in Bloom” from She Loves Me Not as competition, “The Continental” won the first Academy Award ever presented for Best Song. 2. Astaire and Rogers had appeared together in Flying Down to Rio, but they were not the stars. 3. Music: Harry Revel, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1934. 4. Music: Con Conrad, lyrics: Herb Magidson, 1934. 5. The hotel guest is Betty Grable in one of her first film appearances. 6. Music: Harry Revel, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1934. 7. Music & Lyrics: Cole Porter, 1932. 8. Offering Mimi a cigarette after their romantic dance is a subtle aftersex symbol. 9. Music: Con Conrad, lyrics: Herb Magidson, 1934.

Notes —The Glenn Miller Story

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1. Deleted songs were: “It’s High Time,” “I Love my Mommy,” “I Love What I’m Doing,” “Just a Kiss Apart,” “It’s Delightful Down in Chile,” “Sunshine,” “In the Champ de Mars,” “I’m A’tingle, I’m A’glow,” “House on Rittenhouse Square,” “You Say You Care,” “Mamie is Mimi,” “Coquette,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “Homesick Blues,” “Keeping Cool with Coolidge,” and “Button Up With Esmond.” 2. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics: Leo Robin, 1949. 3. Music: Jule Styne, lyrics: Leo Robin, 1949. 4. Music: Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1953. 5. Music: Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1953. 6. Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (music: Jule Styne, lyrics: Leo Robin, 1949) has been copied by numerous femme fatales. Madonna’s video of “Material Girl” is particularly similar in set, costumes, and the male dancers who perform with her.

Gigi 1. Lerner was the librettist and lyricist of My Fair Lady. 2. Leslie Caron’s vocals were dubbed by Betty Wand. 3. Maxim’s must be the Las Vegas of Paris, “What happens here, stays here.” 4. Crowther, Bosley. “‘Gigi,’ Fair Lady of Filmdom; Leslie Caron Stars in Colette Title Role Chevalier and Jourdan Support in Style.” The New York Times, May 16, 1958.

Girl Crazy 1. Omitted songs were “The Lonesome Cowboy,” “Bronco Busters,” “Barbary Coast,” “Goldfarb, That’s I’m!,” “Sam and Delilah,” “Land of the Gay Caballero,” “Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!,” and “(When It’s) Cactus Time in Arizona.” 2. This is June Allyson’s film debut, and she isn’t given a screen name. 3. Other performers in this song sequence include the Music Maids, the Stafford Trio, Kathleen Carns, and Ruth Clark. 4. The male singing in “Bidin’ My Time” is by the King’s Men and the

M-G-M Studio Chorus. In the original Broadway production, this lazy ditty was sung by a male quartet during each set change. With lyrics like “that’s the kinda guy I’m,” it isn’t a female song. 5. Guy Kibbee played Dean Phineas Armour. 6. In the original Broadway show, this song was introduced by Ginger Rogers, the Custerville postmistress, and Allen Kearns, as Danny Churchill. 7. Robert E. Strickland played Henry Lathrop. 8. Howard Freeman played Governor Tait. 9. “Fascinating Rhythm,” sometimes called “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” was originally introduced in the Gershwins’ 1924 Broadway musical Lady Be Good by the brother and sister song-and-dance team of Fred and Adele Astaire. 10. Frances Rafferty played Marjorie Tait. 11. Ginger Rogers introduced “But Not for Me” in the original Broadway production. 12. Ethel Merman was the hit of the original Broadway production with her brassy delivery of “I Got Rhythm,” which was nominated for AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs for its appearance in the 1951 film An American in Paris, where Gene Kelly performed it.

The Glenn Miller Story 1. Glenn rearranged “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls” (music: Michael William Balfe, words: Alfred Bunn, 1843), which had originated The Bohemian Girl in 1843, into “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem.” 2. Ben Pollack was a drummer and bandleader from the mid–1920s through the mid–1940s. He discovered, and/or employed, such later famous big band musicians and eventual leaders of their own bands as Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Harry James. 3. Music & Lyrics: Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams, 1924. 4. Words & Music: Joseph Winner, using the pseudonym R.A. Eastburn, 1868. 5. Traditional. 6. That pit band included several future famous big band leaders: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden. 7. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin, 1930.

Notes —Gold Diggers of 1933 8. Words & Music: Spencer Williams, 1926. 9. Music: Glenn Miller, lyrics: Mitchell Parish, 1939. 10. Believe it or not, Glenn Miller’s recording of “Over the Rainbow” (music: Harold Arlen, lyrics: E.Y. Harburg, 1939) was more popular than Judy Garland’s, which, of course, she introduced in The Wizard of Oz. 11. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1941. 12. “Moonlight Serenade” became Miller’s theme song; Miller’s recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1991. “Moonlight Serenade” was also heard during the film’s opening credits. 13. “Stairway to the Stars” (music: Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli, lyrics: Mitchell Parish) was a No. 1 recording for Miller in 1939. 14. “Elmer’s Tune” (music & lyrics: Elmer Albrecht, Sammy Gallop and Dick Jurgens) was a No. 1 recording for Miller and his orchestra in 1941. 15. “String of Pearls” (music: Jerry Gray, lyrics: Edgar De Lange) rose to the top of the Billboard chart in 1942. 16. Music: Enric Madriguera, 1938. 17. They had adopted a son, Steve, four years earlier. 18. Music: Jerry Gray, lyrics: Carl Sigman, 1940. 19. “Tuxedo Junction” (music: Erskine Hawkins, William Johnson and Julian Dash, lyrics: Buddy Feyne) became a No. 1 hit for Miller in 1940. 20. Three uncredited male and two female African-American dancers perform on the black and white screen above the band. 21. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1941. 22. Music: Edwin Eugene Bagley, c. 1906. 23. “St. Louis Blues,” W.C. Handy, 1914. 24. Barton MacLane played Gen. Henry H. Arnold. 25. Some film footage of the war ravaged city with a German buzz bomb whizzing over St. Paul’s Cathedral is seen. 26. Miller’s recording of “In the Mood” (music: Joe Garland, lyrics: Andy Razaf, 1939) became his biggest hit; it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983. 27. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1941) was a No. 1 hit for Miller and his orchestra in 1941 after they had introduced it in the movie musical Sun Valley Serenade. Miller’s recording became the first to receive

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a gold record for a million copies sold. 28. Music: F.W. Meacham, 1885. 29. Glenn’s swing arrangement of “Little Brown Jug” peaked at No. 10 in 1939. 30. Those songs include “Santa Lucia” (Teodoro Cottrau), a couple of Christmas carols (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly”), the Russian folk song, “Otchi-Tchor-NiYa,” and “Too Little Time” (Henry Mancini).

Gold Diggers of 1933 1. Gold Diggers of 1935 is also an AFI film nominee, but since it only had three songs, it didn’t meet the criteria for minimum number of songs (even though one of those songs was “Lullaby of Broadway”). The least memorable film of the series is Gold Diggers of 1937. 2. During pre-filming rehearsals, Ginger Rogers, as a joke, sang the song in “Pig Latin.” Director Mervyn LeRoy thought the idea was clever, so he incorporated it into the film. 3. Don Gordon is played by Clarence Nordstrom. 4. The midget is Billy Barty. 5. Such behavior would have been salacious for a decent young lady in 1933. 6. “Shadow Waltz” became a No. 1 hit recording for Bing Crosby in 1933. 7. This sound familiar? The same thing happened to our Viet Nam servicemen.

The Goldwyn Follies 1. A few early motion pictures also tried the revue formula: Hollywood Revue of 1929, Paramount on Parade (1930), and King of Jazz (1930). 2. “Love Walked In” (music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin) was No. 1 on Your Hit Parade for four weeks. 3. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin; sometimes called “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” 4. Music: Vernon Duke, lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 5. Miss Leeds’ vocal was dubbed by Virginia Verrill. 6. Music: Vernon Duke. 7. Music: Vernon Duke. 8. Music: Giuseppe Verdi, lyrics: Francesco Maria Piave, 1853; the aria, in Italian, is a drinking song that celebrates youth, love and life.

9. Music: Giuseppe Verdi, lyrics: Francesco Maria Piave, 1853; Alfredo is sung by Charles Kullmann. 10. Leona Jerome plays Violetta; her vocals were sung by Helen Jepson. 11. “Sempre libera” (music: Giuseppe Verdi, lyrics: Francesco Maria Piave, 1853) means “always free.” In the opera, Violetta insists on freedom to love whomever she chooses whenever she chooses. 12. Music: Enrico Toselli, lyrics: Alfredo Silvestri, 1900. 13. Edgar Bergen is actress Candice Bergen’s father. 14. Both songs by Sid Kuller and Ray Golden, 1937. 15. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin.

Good News 1. The seven omitted songs were “Flaming Youth,” “Happy Days,” “On the Campus,” “Baby! What?,” “Girl of the Pi Beta Phi,” “Today’s the Day,” and “In the Meantime.” 2. “Good News” and “Tait Song” were both reworked by Roger Edens and Kay Thompson from Ray Henderson’s original music. 3. Coach Johnson is played by Donald MacBride. 4. Pooch is played by Tom Dugan. 5. Originally, this song was “He’s a Ladies’ Man” and was performed by Flo and her male and female college friends; Roger Edens and Kay Thompson used Ray Henderson’s tune and rewrote the lyrics. 6. “Lucky in Love” was originally introduced by Connie and Tommy and was about being lucky in love being better than being lucky at gambling. 7. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Betty Comden and Adolph Green, 1947. 8. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin. 9. Professor Burton Kennyon is played by Clinton Sundberg. 10. In this instance, in particular, the original “He’s a Ladies’ Man” seems to fit better.

Grease 1. “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Paul Francis Webster, 1955) was a No. 1 hit on Billboard for the Four Aces in 1955. 2. Notice the name change from Dumbrowski to Olsson. 3. Australia is Olivia NewtonJohn’s home country. Grease was her American film debut.

357 4. “Grease,” which was written for the movie by Barry Gibb, is performed by Frankie Valli. Adding songs by the Bee Gees and John Farrar, Olivia Newton-John’s record producer, gave the Fifties-style musical more disco-era flash to appeal to the late–Seventies’ audience. “Grease” is reprised during the closing credits. 5. Sandy is the symbol of a wholesome, pure, kind, and innocent girl. In the eyes of her new friends at Rydell, she’s too goody-goody because she doesn’t smoke or drink. 6. Rydell was originally in Chicago, but the film moved it to California. 7. The T-Birds are not identified as a gang, but that’s basically what they were. They had their territory and were offended when a member of the Scorpions invaded their space. Originally, the guys were called the Burger Palace Boys. 8. The Pink Ladies are the female equivalent of the T-Birds; they’re either a school clique or a girl gang, but seem more innocent than modern gangs. 9. Principal McGee is played by Eve Arden. 10. Susan Buckner played Patty Simcox. 11. Music & Lyrics: John Farrar, 1978. 12. Leo is played by Dennis Cleveland Stewart. 13. During this scene “La Bamba” (Mexican folk song adapted by Richie Valens, 1958) is playing on the jukebox. 14. Tom Chisum is played by Lorenzo Lamas. 15. Frankie Avalon is Frenchy’s guardian angel. 16. Johnny Casino and the Gamblers (actually Sha-Na-Na) performed the following songs during the dance: “Rock ’n’ Roll Is Here to Stay” (David White, 1958), “Tears on My Pillow” (Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis, 1958), “Hound Dog” (music & lyrics: Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, 1952), “Blue Moon” (music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1934), “Those Magic Changes” and “Born to Hand Jive” (Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs). 17. Cha Cha DiGregorio is played by Annette Charles. 18. Michael Tucci played Sonny. 19. Music: Louis St. Louis, lyrics: Scott J. Simon, 1978. 20. “You’re the One That I Want” ( John Farrar, 1978) was a No. 1 single by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in 1978. 21. Heard only as background music were “It’s Raining on Prom

Night” and “Freddy, My Love,” both sung by Cindy Bullens, “Mooning,” sung by Louis St. Louis and Cindy Bullens, the instrumental “Alone at the Drive-In Movie,” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Party Queen,” performed by Sha-Na-Na. 22. “Shakin’ at the High School Hop” and “All Choked Up” were dropped from the original score for the film version.

The Great Caruso 1. Lanza’s recording of “Be My Love” became the only Victor Red Seal recording, Victor’s classical series, to be included on jukeboxes. 2. Park Benjamin is played by Carl Benton Reid. 3. Irving Aaronson adapted the melody from “Sobre las olas” by Juventino Rosas; lyrics were added by Paul Francis Webster; Lanza’s recording of the song reportedly sold over a million copies; although Miss Blyth is a famous vocalist, this is her only song in the film. 4. Johann Sebastian Bach. 5. Paolo Tosti and Gabriele D’Annunzio. 6. Gioacchino Rossini. 7. All Aida excerpts by Giuseppe Verdi. 8. All Tosca excerpts by Giocomo Puccini. 9. All Cavalleria Rusticana excerpts by Pietro Mascagni. 10. All La Gioconda excerpts by Amilcare Ponchielli. 11. All Rigoletto excerpts by Giuseppe Verdi. 12. Ernesto de Curtis. 13. All La Bohème excerpts by Giacomo Puccini. 14. Ruggiero Leoncavallo. 15. All Il Trovatore excerpts by Giuseppe Verdi. 16. All Pagliacci excerpts by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. 17. Charles Gounod used the music of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Prelude No. 1” from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I as the basis for his “Ave Maria.” 18. All Lucia di Lammermoor excerpts by Gaetano Donizetti. 19. Guy d’Hardelot, aka Helen Guy. 20. All Martha excerpts by Friedrich von Flotow. 21. Crowther, Bosley. “‘Great Caruso’ Makes Its Debut; Mario Lanza Plays the Famous Tenor in Metro Movie at Radio City Music Hall.” The New York Times, May 11, 1951.

Notes —Gypsy

The Great Ziegfeld 1. Dennis Morgan is billed under his real name, Stanley Morner, and is dubbed by Allan Jones. 2. Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin, 1919. 3. Giacomo Puccini, 1904. 4. Ruggiero Leoncavallo, 1892. 5. George Gershwin, 1924. 6. Hirschhorn, Clive. The Hollywood Musical. New York : Crown Publishers Inc., 1981. 7. Music: Jerome Kern, lyrics: B.G. DeSylva, 1921. 8. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 9. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 10. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 11. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 12. Music: Con Conrad, lyrics: Herb Magidson, 1936. 13. Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin, 1910. 14. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 15. Music: Maurice Yvain, English lyrics: Channing Pollock, 1921. 16. “It’s Delightful to Be Married” was adapted by Anna Held and Vincent Scotto from “La Petite Tonkinoise” by Scotto and Henri Christine in 1907. 17. Plumpton, no date credited. 18. Music & Lyrics: B.G. DeSylva and Joseph Meyer, 1925. 19. Music: Rudolf Friml, lyrics: Clifford Grey and P.G. Wodehouse, 1928. 20. Music: Jerome Kern, lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II, 1927.

Guys and Dolls 1. Missing were “My Time of Day,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “More I Cannot Wish You” and “Marry the Man Today.” 2. According to the film, Adelaide is originally from Rhode Island, but she talks and sings with a Brooklyn accent. 3. In the original Broadway version, Nathan didn’t sing in this number, but since it was Sinatra, he was included. 4. General Cartwright is played by Kathryn Givney. 5. Lieutenant Brannigan is played by Robert Keith.

Gypsy 1. Rosalind Russell’s vocals were dubbed by Lisa Kirk, except for

Notes —Hair “Rose’s Turn” and part of “Mr. Goldstone, I Love You,” in which Miss Russell’s own voice was used. 2. Baby June was played by Suzanne Cupito. 3. “Let Me Entertain You” is heard many times during the film. Everytime Rose changes the act, which is often, the song is reworked, but comes out basically the same. It also becomes Gypsy’s signature song. 4. The title could easily have been “Funny,” because several of the strophes of lyrics begin with that word. 5. Herbie had suggested that Rose add boys to the act, but she resented his meddling. 6. The “Hooray for the Red, White and Blue” section of “Stars and Stripes Forever.” 7. Dainty June was played by Ann Jilliann. 8. Tulsa is played by Paul Wallace. 9. Tessie Tura is played by Betty Bruce. 10. Mazeppa is played by Faith Dane. 11. Electra is played by Roxanne Arlen. 12. Crowther, Bosley. “‘Gypsy’ Arrives; Role of Mother Played by Rosalind Russell.” The New York Times, November 2, 1962.

Hair 1. The only time Ren Woods appears in the film is to sing “Aquarius.” 2. The song is about a sixteenyear-old tattooed virgin, but it has been suggested that Berger is actually looking for the Virgin Mary — the Madonna. 3. Hud is backed by Howard Porter, Toney Watkins, and Carl Hall. 4. The soloists are Nell Carter, Toney Watkins, and Kurt Yaghjian. 5. Charlotte Rae is the lady. 6. Steve is played by Miles Chapin. 7. The jail psychiatrist is played by Janet York. 8. Lyndon B. Johnson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Lysergic acid diethylamide, an extremely powerful hallucinogenic drug that was a popular drug of choice among the hippie culture. 9. Ron Young sings “Old Fashioned Melody,” which is incongruous in these surroundings. 10. The soloists for “Electric Blues” are Leata Galloway and Cyrena Lomba.

358 11. Hare Krishna is a branch of the Hindu religion; in the late Sixties and early Seventies, many people mistakenly equated Hare Krishna with the hippie culture. 12. The white girls’ trio consists of Laurie Beechman, Debbie Dye and Ellen Foley. 13. The black girls were Charlaine Woodward, Trudy Perkins, and Nell Carter. 14. The black Army examiners were Chuck Patterson, H. Douglas Berring, Russell Costen, Kenny Brawner, and Lee Wells. 15. The Vietnamese girl is Linda Surh. 16. “Easy to Be Hard” is sung by Cheryl Barnes. 17. The soloists for “Three-FiveZero-Zero” are Melba Moore and Ronnie Dyson. The song’s title may refer to the 3,500 Marines, the first combat troops in Vietnam, that landed in Da Nang on March 8, 1965, but co-lyricist James Rado said the song was inspired by Alan Ginsberg’s 1966 poem “Wichita Vortex Sutra.” In Ginsberg’s poem, General Maxwell Taylor reports to the press that 3,500 of the enemy were killed in one month and he repeats the number, digit by digit —“3-5-0-0.” 18. Grand Bush and John DeRobertas sing “Flesh Failures.” 19. The Fifth Dimension’s recording of “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” topped Billboard in 1969 for six weeks and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. 20. Omitted from the original score were “The Bed,” “Dead End,” “Oh, Great God of Power,” “I Believe in Love,” “Going Down,” “Yes, I’s Finished/Abie Baby,” “Air,” “My Conviction,” “Frank Mills” “Eyes Look Your Last” and “What a Piece of Work is Man.”

Hairspray 1. Prudy Pringleton is played by Allison Janney. 2. Mr. Pinky is played by Jerry Stiller. 3. John Travolta as Edna reminds one of Miss Piggy, while Wilbur is her Kermit the Frog. Edna has traditionally been played in drag, but why? Is there some hidden meaning? Otherwise, why not simply use a female? 4. One of the differences between the original 1988 movie, the stage musical, and the 2007 film version is that Tracy does not go to jail in the 2007 version. In both previous versions, Tracy is arrested and taken to jail along with the other protest marchers.

Hallelujah, I’m a Bum 1. Sunday is played by Chester Conklin. 2. Hall, Mordaunt. “Al Jolson Returns to the Films as a Romantic Hobo Who Reigns Over His Ilk in Central Park.” The New York Times, February 9, 1933. 3. Hirschhorn, Clive. The Hollywood Musical. New York : Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981.

Hans Christian Andersen 1. Frank Loesser explained his reason for changing “Emperor’s” to “King’s”: “you try to make up a song with the word emperor in it, and then you’ll see why I had to use the word king instead.” 2. Adapted from “Overture to Rosamunde” by Franz Schubert, 1823. 3. Adapted from the music of Franz Liszt, using excerpts from his Piano Sonata in B minor, 1853; Les Preludes, 1854; Tasso: Lamento e Trionfo, 1840; and Mephisto Waltz, 1861.

A Hard Day’s Night 1. Shake is played by John Junkin. 2. The TV director was played by Victor Spinetti. 3. “Can’t Buy Me Love” was a No. 1 hit on Billboard and stayed on top for five weeks in 1964. 4. Equivalent to cruising. 5. It’s interesting to compare modern drum sets of many drums and cymbals to Ringo’s three drums and three cymbals and also to see George and Paul share one microphone, which is almost unheard of today. 6. “A Hard Day’s Night” was a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1964.

The Harvey Girls 1. Angela Lansbury’s vocals were dubbed by Virginia Rees. 2. The waiter is Ben Carter. 3. The part of this huge production number that introduces the Harvey girls was not written by Mercer and Warren, but was added by Roger Edens and Kay Thompson. They never consulted Mercer about it either, so, of course, he protested furiously to producer Arthur Freed. Freed thought it was wonderful, so

359 he refused to alter it. Judy Garland’s entrance is credited to lyricists Johnny Mercer, Ralph Blane, and Kay Thompson. Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers were primarily responsible for popularizing the song in the pop market; their recording spent eight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard and the 1946 Academy Award winner. Most popular songs are love songs, but this is about anticipating the arrival of a train. Of course, the train was carrying several beautiful, young women; something the west desperately needed. 4. Cyd Charisse’s vocals were dubbed by Marion Doenges. 5. Cut from the viewed video were “My Intuition,” “March of the Doagies,” and “Hayride.”

Hello, Dolly! 1. In the original musical, she was called Dolly Gallagher Levi, but the Gallagher was dropped for the film. 2. Gussie Granger is played by Judy Knaiz. 3. After a run through of Funny Girl prior to its Broadway opening in 1963, director Bob Fosse, who was later replaced by Jerome Robbins, lectured the cast that the show lacked “elegance.” When the word became something of a joke among the cast, Bob Merrill, Funny Girl’s lyricist, wrote a lyric about it. When Merrill shared his lyric with his friend, Jerry Herman, who was in the final stages of writing the music for Hello, Dolly!, Herman realized Merrill’s “Elegance” would be the perfect way to open the second act. So, even though Herman wrote both music and lyrics for the other songs, Merrill’s lyric became a part of Dolly. 4. In 1964, Louis Armstrong’s recording of “Hello, Dolly!” became a No. 1 hit on the pop charts, his one and only chart topper. At age 63, he became the oldest person to ever accomplish that feat. 5. Anderson, Christopher. Barbra: The Way She Is. New York: William Morrow, 2006.

High Society 1. The wonderful “Well, Did You Evah!” duet teams two of the best male vocalists of the era, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Porter had written it for his 1939 musical Du Barry Was a Lady, where it was introduced by Betty Grable and Charles Walters.

Notes —It’s Always Fair Weather

Holiday Inn 1. Bergreen, Laurance. As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 1996. 2. “White Christmas” was Variety‘s No. 1 hit of 1942 and topped the Your Hit Parade survey for ten consecutive weeks. In 1963 ASCAP selected the song as one of sixteen songs in its All-Time Hit Parade. AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Songs (2004) listed “White Christmas” as the No. 5 greatest song from an American film. Bing Crosby’s recording with the Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter’s orchestra reportedly sold a million copies in four years. By 1968, it had established a world record for sales for a single disc: thirty million. His recording charted on Billboard fifteen years. The seventy-two weeks it spent on the best-seller chart is still a record. Bing’s recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. 3. Marjorie Reynolds’ vocals were dubbed by Martha Mears. 4. Vanderbilt is played by Shelby Bacon. 5. Daphne was played by Joan Arnold. 6. The band was Bing’s brother, Bob’s Bob Cat band. 7. For the Easter show, Irving Berlin interpolated his “Easter Parade,” which he had written for As Thousands Cheer. Actually, Berlin had originally used the same melody for a 1917 song titled “Smile and Show Your Dimple.” 8. Mamie is played by Louise Beavers. 9. Bergreen, Laurance. As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 1996.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 1. Mr. Bratt is played by John Myhers. 2. Every time anything displeases Frump, he telephones his mother, who telephones her sister, who telephones her husband. 3. Mr. Gatch is played by Jeff De Benning. 4. Smitty is played by Kay Reynolds. 5. Benjamin Ovington is played by Murray Matheson. 6. Omitted were “Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm,” “Coffee Break,” “Paris Original,” “Cinderella, Darling,” and “Love From a Heart of Gold.”

The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1. The gargoyles, Victor and Hugo, are named for Victor Hugo, the story’s author. 2. Mary Wickes who voiced Laverne, died of cancer before she finished all her lines. Jane Withers finished the remaining dialogue and was Laverne’s voice for the sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II. 3. Frollo’s warped view of the world is part of the song “Out There.”

In the Good Old Summertime 1. Music: George Evans, lyrics: Ren Shields, 1902; according to the original sheet music cover, the song’s title seperates “summer” and “time,” while the film title does not. 2. Music & Lyrics: Fred Fisher, 1922. 3. Music: Leo Friedman, lyrics: Beth Slater Whitson, 1910. 4. Lillian Bronson played Aunt Addie. 5. “Waltz” from Serenade for Strings by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880. 6. Music: Harry von Tilzer, lyrics: Junie McCree, 1912. 7. Dubbed by the King’s Men. 8. Music: Harry von Tilzer, lyrics: Andrew Sterling, 1906. 9. Music & Lyrics: William Tracey and Lewis F. Muir, 1910. 10. Music: Harry O. Sutton, lyrics: Jean Lenox, 1905. 11. Souvenir de Moscou by Henri Wieniawski, 1853. 12. Music: Fred Spielman, lyrics: Janice Torre, 1949; the only new song in the film. 13. The baby was Judy Garland’s daughter, eighteen-month-old Liza Minnelli, in her first screen appearance.

It’s Always Fair Weather 1. Michael Kidd’s vocals were dubbed by Jud Conlon. 2. Tim is played by David Burns. 3. Paul Maxey played Mr. Fielding. 4. Hal March played Rocky Lazar. 5. This includes quotes from Stephen Foster’s “Jeannie With the

Notes —Jailhouse Rock Light Brown Hair,” “Be My Love,” the Twenties’ classic “Charleston,” and the Lone Ranger theme from Rossini’s William Tell Overture. 6. Charles Z. Culloran is played by Jay C. Flippen.

Jailhouse Rock 1. Music & Lyrics: Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. 2. Music & Lyrics: Abner Silver and Aaron Schroder. 3. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. 4. Music & Lyrics: Aaron Schroder and Ben Weisman. 5. Mr. Shores is played by Vaughn Taylor. 6. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; “Treat Me Nice” became a No. 1 hit on Billboard for seven weeks in 1957. 7. Teddy Talbot is played by Dean Jones. 8. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; “Jailhouse Rock” became a No. 1 Billboard hit. Elvis choreographed the sequence and it has become one of his most famous film scenes. It might be a bit shocking to those who have never really listened to the lyrics to hear Elvis sing about a homosexual relationship between inmates. 9. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

The Jazz Singer 1. The Warner’s insisted on abbreviating “brothers.” 2. A cantor is the leader of chants and songs during Jewish religious services. 3. Traditional. 4. “My Gal Sal” (Paul Dresser, 1905) is sung by 13-year-old Bobby Gordon. 5. Music: Lewis F. Muir, lyrics: L. Wolfe Gilbert, 1912. 6. Music: James V. Monaco, lyrics: Edgar Leslie, 1923. 7. Music: Dan Russo, lyrics: Ernie Erdman and Gus Kahn, 1922. 8. Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin, 1927. 9. The film returns to its silenttype nature following the father’s outburst. 10. Music & Lyrics: Louis Silvers and Grant Clarke, 1927. 11. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Sam Lewis and Joe Young, 1921.

360

The Jolson Story 1. Music & lyrics: Irving Berlin; originally introduced in Mammy in 1930. 2. Scotty Beckett played Asa as a boy. 3. Ann Todd played Ann Murray as a girl. 4. Music & Lyrics: Paul Dresser, 1897. 5. Scotty Beckett’s singing was dubbed by Rudy Wissler. 6. Ernest Cossart played Father McGee. 7. From Franz Schubert’s song cycle titled Songs from Sir Walter Scott, it is titled “Ellens dritter Gesang,” but is most often referred to today as “Ave Maria.” 8. An audience stooge is a person who is planted in the audience to stand up to sing when Martin asks for audience participation. 9. Music & Lyrics: James Thornton, 1898. 10. Music & Lyrics: Charles K. Harris, 1894. 11. Music: Gus Edwards, lyrics: Edward Madden, 1909. 12. Music: Theodore F. Morse, lyrics: Edward Madden, 1904. 13. Music: John Stromberg, lyrics: Edgar Smith, 1900. 14. Edwin Maxwell played Oscar Hammerstein, Oscar Hammerstein II’s uncle. 15. Music: Harry von Tilzer, lyrics: William Dillon, 1911. 16. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis, 1921. 17. In most of his Broadway appearances Jolson was Gus or, at least, a blackface servant. 18. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis, 1925. 19. Music: James V. Monaco, lyrics: Joe McCarthy, 1913; Jolson was famous, or infamous, for singing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and it most often had nothing to do with the plot of the production in which he was performing. He just stepped forward, got completely out of character and sang whatever he wanted to sing that evening. But his audiences were enthralled. 20. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Irving Caesar, 1919; originally introduced in the 1918 Broadway production Sinbad. 21. Music: Dan Russo, lyrics: Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman, 1922; originally introduced by Jolson during the tour of 1921’s Bombo. 22. Music & Lyrics: Billy Merson, 1911. 23. Julie Benson is based on Jol-

son’s third wife, Ruby Keeler, who refused to allow her name to be used. 24. Music: Louis Silvers, lyrics: B.G. DeSylva, 1921; originally introduced on the Bombo tour. 25. Music: Joseph Meyer, lyrics: Al Jolson and B.G. DeSylva, 1924. 26. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn, 1929. 27. Something very similar actually happened when Ruby Keeler premiered “Liza.” 28. Music: Dave Dreyer, lyrics: Billy Rose and Al Jolson, 1928; originally premiered in 1928’s part-talkie The Singing Fool. 29. We see evidence of her success in such films as 42nd Street in 1932, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Flirtation Walk in 1934 and Shipmates Forever in 1935. 30. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Al Dubin, 1935. 31. In the film, Al turned Ivanovici’s “Danube Waves” (1880) into “Anniversary Song,” but Saul Chaplin actually adapted the music while Jolson contributed the words; this is the one new song in the film; Jolson’s recording of the song became Variety’s No. 9 hit and Billboard’s No. 8 of 1947; the song topped Your Hit Parade for six weeks. 32. Music: Lewis F. Muir, lyrics: L. Wolfe Gilbert, 1912. 33. Music: Jean Schwartz, lyrics: Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, 1918.

The Jungle Book 1. Rama is voiced by Ben Wright. 2. Hathi Junior is voiced by Clint Howard. 3. Winifred is voiced by Verna Felton. 4. The vultures are voiced by Chad Stuart, Lord Tim Hudson, Digby Wolfe, and Pat O’Malley who also voiced Colonel Hathi, with Thurl Ravenscroft supplying the bass for Shere Khan’s solo at the end of the song. 5. The girl was voiced by Darleen Carr.

The King and I 1. Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages. Cambridge, MA : DaCapo, 2002. 2. Miss Kerr’s vocals were dubbed by Marni Nixon. 3. Rita Moreno’s vocal was dubbed by Leona Gordon, Reuben Feuntes’ vocal was dubbed by Carlos Rivas.

361 4. Geoffrey Toone played Sir Edward Ramsey. 5. Crowther, Bosley. “The King and I.” The New York Times, June 29, 1956. 6. Omitted were “Western People Funny,” which can be heard instrumentally; “I Have Dreamed,” “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?,” and “My Lord and Master.”

King of Jazz 1. Music: Milton Ager, lyrics: Jack Yellen, 1930. 2. Walter Lantz, who later became famous for his Woody Woodpecker and other animations, and William Nolan were responsible for the cartoon sequence. 3. The rotund Whiteman reminds one of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame. 4. Traditional spiritual. 5. Music: Henry Busse, Henry Lange, Lou Davis, 1922. 6. Music: Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang, c. 1928. 7. Music & Lyrics: Phil Baxter, 1929. 8. Both pieces written by Fritz Kreisler, 1910. 9. The sextet consists of Kurt Dieterle, Matty Malneck, John Bouman, Joe Venuti, Ted Bacon and Otto Landau. 10. Music: Felix Arndt, 1915. 11. Music: Vincent Rose, lyrics: Harry Owens, 1923. 12. Their routine reminds one of Tommy Tune’s choreography for the song “Favorite Son” from the 1991 Broadway musical The Will Rogers Follies. Both are absolutely delightful. 13. Music: Milton Ager, lyrics: John Murray Anderson and Jack Yellen, c. 1929. 14. Music: Harry Barris, lyrics: James Cavanaugh, 1927. 15. Music: Harry Barris, lyrics: Billy Moll, 1929. 16. Music: Mabel Wayne, lyrics: Billy Rose, 1930; the Mexican town is spelled Monterrey, but song title uses only one “r.” 17. Eleanor and Karla Gutchrlein. 18. Music: Sebastian Yradier, c. 1889. 19. No writing credit. 20. Music: Milton Ager, lyrics: Jack Yellen, 1930. 21. Bobbe, Kathlyn and Lorraine Brox. 22. From J.P. Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” 23. Music: George Gershwin, 1925.

24. Music: Mabel Wayne, lyrics: Harry DeCosta, 1930. 25. Music: Milton Ager, lyrics: Jack Yellen, 1930. 26. Music: Milton Ager, lyrics: Jack Yellen, 1930. 27. No writing credit. 28. The quartet members are Churchill Ross, Walter Brennan, John Arledge, and Frank Leslie, who sings the solo. 29. Music: Milton Ager, lyrics: Jack Yellen, 1930. 30. A few of the performers during this section include the Sisters G, Nell O’Day and her Tommy Atkins Sextette, Marion Stattler, Nancy Torres, Jeanette Loff, and George Chiles.

Kismet 1. The Poet has no other name. 2. “Rhymes Have I” was the song at this point in the Broadway script, but it was not sung in the screen version. 3. The music for “Fate” came from the opening theme from the 1st movement of Symphony No. 2. 4. The Poet is called Hajj for the rest of the film. 5. Nineveh was an “exceeding great city” according to the Book of Jonah. The music for “Not Since Nineveh” came from the “Prologue” from Borodin’s Prince Igor, No. 1 and No. 17, and the introductory theme from “Polovetsian Dances.” 6. “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads” is based on the 2nd movement (“Scherzo”) from String Quartet in D and Skula and Yeroshka’s music from Prince Igor. 7. “Stranger in Paradise,” based on Polovetsian Dance No. 2 from Borodin’s opera Prince Igor, became a hit recording for Tony Bennett in 1954. 8. The music for “Gesticulate” came from “Aria of Khan Konchak” from Prince Igor; the opening theme from the 4th movement of Symphony No. 1. 9. “Bored” is a new song especially written for the screen version. 10. The music for “Night of My Nights” came from Borodin’s “Sérénade” from Petite Suite for piano. 11. The music for “And This Is My Beloved” came from Borodin’s “Ovlur’s theme” from Prince Igor, No. 14; opening theme from String Quartet No. 2, 3rd Movement (“Notturno,” which was originally in triple meter). 12. Rooney, David. “Kismet.” The New York Times, February 10, 2006.

Notes —The Lion King

Kiss Me Kate 1. Cole Porter is played by Ron Randell. 2. In the original Broadway production, the show’s main love ballad is performed by Lilli when she mistakenly receives flowers Fred had intended for another woman. She thinks Fred is being loving and thoughtful, so her affections for him are rekindled. It was not a duet; Fred does sing it later in the musical, however. 3. In the original Broadway production, “Too Darn Hot” was performed by several male members of the cast who have gone outside during intermission to escape the heat of the theater — there typically wasn’t any air conditioning in these theaters yet, plus the stage lights put off a tremendous amount of heat. 4. Tex is played by Williard Parker. 5. Carol Haney and Jeanne Coyne. 6. “From This Moment On” is a new song Cole Porter had written for the film.

Lady and the Tramp 1. Jim Dear and Darling are the names the cocker spaniel, Lady, hears her owners call each other. 2. Bill Thompson voiced Jock. 3. Bill Baucon voiced Trusty. 4. Peggy Lee voiced Peg. 5. Bill Thompson voiced Bull. 6. Verna Felton voiced Aunt Sarah. 7. Peggy Lee voiced both Si and Am. 8. Stan Freberg voiced Beaver. 9. George Givot voiced Tony. 10. Bill Thompson voiced Joe. 11. Alan Reed voiced Boris. 12. The mongrel quartet was voiced by The Mello Men. 13. Scheinfeld, Michael. “Lady and the Tramp: Review.” TV Guide, no date.

Les Girls 1. Kay Kendall’s vocals were dubbed by Betty Wand.

The Lion King 1. Rice took over when lyricist Howard Ashman died while working on Aladdin. 2. The African voice performing the opening Zulu part of the song was Lebo M.

Notes —The Little Mermaid 3. The vocalist for “Circle of Life” was Carmen Twillie. 4. Jason Weaver furnished the singing voice of young Simba and Laura Williams furnished the singing voice of young Nala. 5. This song is credited to Solomon Linda in 1939 as “Mbube,” which is Zulu for “lion;” it was adapted by Paul Campbell in 1951 and popularized by The Weavers, with Gordon Jenkins’ Orchestra, in 1952 as “Wimoweh;” Hugo Peretti, George Weiss, Luigi Creatore and Albert Stanton wrote new lyrics for the tune, which the Tokens’ recorded in 1961; their recording became a No. 1 Billboard hit. 6. The vocalists for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?,” in addition to Timon and Pumbaa, were Joseph Williams as the singing voice of adult Simba, Sally Dworsky as the singing voice of adult Nala, and Kristle Edwards, an off-screen voice. During the end credits, the film’s composer, Elton John, sings his version of the song. 7. The music for this section is “The Hawaiian War Chant” (music: Prince Leleiohaku, c. 1860s; music adapted by Johnny Noble and lyrics by Ralph Freed, 1936).

The Little Mermaid 1. Grimsby was voiced by Ben Wright. 2. Howard Ashman’s lyrics for “Under the Sea” are especially inventive, Sebastian’s Caribbean accent is cute and appropriate, and Alan Menken’s calypso-style tune is fun and cleverly written.

Little Shop of Horrors 1. Alan Menken later became famous for his Disney movie scores like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The musical’s lyricist, Howard Ashman, died in 1991 while he and Menken were working on the score for Aladdin (they had also collaborated on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). 2. The girls’ trio is named for African-American doo-wop groups of the Sixties — Crystal (from the Crystals) is Tichina Arnold, Ronette (from the Ronettes) is Michelle Weeks, Chiffon (from the Chiffons) is Tisha Campbell. They serve as a Greek chorus that comments on, and sometimes participates in, the action throughout the film.

362 3. Audrey II is voiced by Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops. 4. Jack Nicholson played the dental patient, Wilbur Force, in the original film, but the part was cut from the musical. The dental patient was revived for the 1986 film, renamed Arthur Denton and was portrayed by Bill Murray. 5. James Belushi played Patrick Martin. 6. “Closed for Renovation,” “Mushnik & Son,” “Now (It’s Just the Gas),” “Call Back in the Morning,” “Sominex/Suppertime II,” the reprise of “Somewhere That’s Green” and the “Finale Ultimo (Don’t Feed the Plants)” were cut. 7. “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” became the first Academy Award–nominated song to contain profanity.

Love Me or Leave Me 1. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, 1925. 2. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, 1925. 3. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown, 1926. 4. Music: James V. Monaco, lyrics: Joe McCarthy, 1913. 5. Music: Rube Bloom, lyrics: Ted Koehler, 1933. 6. Music & Lyrics: Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams, 1924. 7. Music: Fred E. Ahlert, lyrics: Roy Turk, 1929. 8. Robert Keith played Barney Loomis. 9. Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin, 1927. 10. The rape scene, of course, isn’t actually seen in the film. 11. Music & Lyrics: Walter Donaldson and Abe Lyman, 1926. 12. Music: Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1923. 13. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: George Whiting, 1927. 14. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1930. 15. Music: Nicholas Brodszky, lyrics: Sammy Cahn, 1955. 16. Music & Lyrics: Chilton Price, 1955. 17. Music & Lyrics: Walter Donaldson, 1927. 18. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Gus Kahn, 1928.

Love Me Tonight 1. Incidentally, the song’s lyrics in the film are different from the ones Hart later wrote for the sheet music

and for recorded versions of “Isn’t It Romantic?” 2. Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages. Cambridge, MA : DaCapo, 2002. 3. Composers generally do not separate syllables of words with rests, but in “Lover” rests are placed between the syllables of lov-er, soft-ly, glanc-ing, danc-ing and several other key words. The effect was so shocking it may have been the “hook” that made the song so memorable. 4. Chevalier had already immortalized the charms of another girl, “Louise,” in Innocents of Paris in 1929, so Rodgers and Hart decided to write a perky little song for him about another girl, Mimi. The song became one of Chevalier’s trademarks. 5. The French term, “Apache,” pronounced “ah-Pahash,” was used for members of early 1900s lowerclass Parisian street gangs. In other words, Maurice is admitting his commoner background although his aristocratic hosts don’t realize it. 6. Hirschhorn, Clive. The Hollywood Musical. New York : Crown Publishers Inc., 1981.

The Love Parade 1. In addition to The Love Parade, his most famous American films include Paramount on Parade, One Hour With You, The Smiling Lieutenant, The Merry Widow, Love Me Tonight, Folies Bergere de Paris, Can Can and Gigi. 2. Jeanette MacDonald’s first of many sexy nightgown scenes. 3. The man is played by Ben Turpin, who is famous as a cross-eyed comedian in vaudeville and silent films. 4. This is one of the chief role reversal scenes in the film. It is normally the husband who is so busy with work that the wife feels neglected; it is normally the wife’s duty to satisfy her husband’s sexual appetite; and normally, to pacify his wife, the husband promises to be home every night and to take her shopping for some new clothes.

Mary Poppins 1. The song is sung by an offscreen chorus during the opening credits. 2. Admiral Boom is played by Reginald Owen. 3. Katie Nanna is played by Elsa Lanchester. 4. The Constable is played by Arthur Treacher.

363 5. The song is also heard during the opening credits. 6. The song is also heard during the opening credits. 7. Uncle Albert is played by Ed Wynn. 8. The song is also heard during the opening credits. 9. A tuppence is a variant of twopence or two pennies. 10. Mr. Dawes is also played by Dick Van Dyke. 11. This song is a slower-paced rendition of “The Life I Lead” which incorporates a modified version of “A Spoonful of Sugar.” 12. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York : Disney Editions, 2000.

Maytime 1. Naughty Marietta and Rose Marie preceded Maytime. 2. Music: Leo Delibes, lyrics: Alfred de Musett, 1874. 3. Robert Planquette, 1879. 4. Traditional. 5. Traditional; adapted by George Forrest and Robert Wright, 1937. 6. “Ham and Eggs” is a clever medley of operatic excerpts arranged by Herbert Stothart, with lyrics by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest; the lyrics are about the ham and eggs he plans to serve her; the medley contains melodic excerpts from “Caro Nome” from Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, “Largo al Factotum” from The Barber of Seville by Gioacchino Rossini, “O, Du Mein Holder Abendstern (Oh, Evening Star)” from Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner, “La Donna è Mobile” from Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, “The Soldiers’ Chorus” from Faust by Charles Gounod, “Chi Me Frena?” sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti, and “Anvil Chorus” from Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi. 7. Music & Lyrics: James A. Bland, 1878. 8. Giacomo Meyerbeer, 1836. 9. Traditional Neopolitan. 10. Music: Sigmund Romberg, lyrics: Rida Johnson Young, 1917. 11. Czaritza is an opera written by lyricists/librettists Bob Wright and Chet Forrest using melodies from Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. The sequence was originally conceived in English, but someone decided opera should be in a foreign language, so a French translation was made; a Russian opera in French makes perfect sense, of course. 12. Variety Staff. “Maytime.” Variety, January 1, 1937. 13. Bitter Sweet was filmed in 1940

starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

Meet Me in St. Louis 1. Katie, the Smith’s maid, is played by Margorie Main. 2. Music: Kerry Mills, lyrics: Andrew B. Sterling, 1904. the songwriters got the idea for the song while they were ordering a drink in a bar. Mills, in reordering a popular drink of the era known as a “Louie” from the bartender, whose name was “Louie,” called out, “Another Louie, Louie.” Everyone in the bar was amused by the repetition of the names, and the two songwriters quickly associated it with the approaching World’s Fair. Sterling wrote the lyrics which he sold to Mills for $200. 3. Words & Music: Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, 1944. 4. Mr. Neely, the ice delivery man, is played by Chill Wills. 5. Music: Charles H. Gabriel, lyrics: Ina D. Ogden, 1913. 6. Agnes is played by Joan Carroll. 7. Words & Music: Bob Cole and Rosamond Johnson, 1902; “Under the Bamboo Tree” is the “If You Lak-a Me” song. 8. Words & Music: Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, 1944. 9. Words & Music: Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, 1944; surprisingly, Judy Garland did not have a very successful recording career, the most popular recorded version of “The Trolley Song” was by the Pied Pipers. 10. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, date uncredited, but most likely 1943. 11. Leon Ames’ vocal was dubbed by the lyricist, Arthur Freed. 12. June Lockhart in her film debut. 13. Harry Davenport plays Grandpa. 14. Music: Sir Henry Rowley Bishop, lyrics: John Howard Payne, 1823. 15. Words & Music: Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, 1944; Martin and Blane wrote the first version of the song to capitalize on the sadness of the impending move. Their original lyrics opened, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas; it will be your last. Next year we will be living in the past.” Ms. Garland refused to perform the song because it was too somber and full of pain. Such a song might also have had a devastating effect on the American soldiers fighting in World War II. So, Blane and Martin revised the lyrics to be more encouraging.

Notes —Moulin Rouge!

The Merry Widow 1. Lyrics: Gus Kahn. 2. George Barbier plays King Achmed. 3. Una Merkel plays Queen Dolores. 4. Isn’t it an oxymoron to make a silent film of a musical?

Mother Wore Tights 1. Music & Lyrics: Henry J. Sayers, 1891. 2. Music: Theodore F. Morse, lyrics: Howard Johnson, 1915. 3. Music & Lyrics: Fred Fisher, 1920. 4. Music & Lyrics: William Hargreaves, 1915. 5. Music: Josef Myrow, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1947. 6. Michael Dunne plays Roy Bivins. 7. Music: Josef Myrow, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1947. 8. Sara Allgood plays Grandmother McKinley. 9. Music: Josef Myrow, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1947. 10. Music: Josef Myrow, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1947. 11. Mona Freeman’s vocals were dubbed by Imogene Lynn. 12. Music: Franz Gruber, lyrics: Joseph Mohr, 1818. 13. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1940. 14. Music: Anatol Friedland, lyrics: L. Wolfe Gilbert, 1917. 15. Robert Arthur plays Bob Clarkman. 16. Music: Isham Jones, lyrics: Gus Kahn, 1923. 17. Music & Lyrics: Zez Confrey, 1922. 18. Music: Josef Myrow, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1947. 19. Music: Josef Myrow, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1947.

Moulin Rouge! 1. Orpheus, the God of Music, could charm anything with the music of his lyre. When his wife, Eurydice, dies, he journeys to Hades to retrieve her and even charms the Devil into allowing him to return home with his beloved. There was only one condition—Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice and not look back until they exited Hades. During their assent, Orpheus turns to look at his wife and she vanishes again — this time forever. 2. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II, 1959.

Notes —The Muppet Movie 3. From Orphée aux Enfers by Jacques Offenbach, 1858. 4. Words & Music: eden ahbez, 1946. 5. The Unconscious Argentinean is played by Jacek Koman. 6. The Green Fairy is played by Kylie Minogue. 7. Words & Music: Marc Bolan, 1972. 8. This musical sequence contains “Zidler’s Rap” (Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce, Marius DeVries, 2001), “Lady Marmalade” (Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, 1974) and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Kurt Cobain, Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl, 1991). 9. A rake is a lecher, a cad, a philanderer. 10. This medley contains “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (music: Jule Styne, lyrics: Leo Robin, 1949) and “Material Girl” (Peter H. Brown and Robert S. Rans, 1985). 11. The Petite Princess is played by Kiruna Stamell. 12. Words & Music: Diane Warren, 1985. 13. Chocolat is played by Deobia Oparei. 14. Words & Music: David Bowie, 1974. 15. Music: Marius DeVries, lyrics: Amiel Daemion, 2001. 16. Words & Music: Elton John and Bernie Taupin, 1970. 17. This musical sequence contains excerpts from “The Can-Can,” “The Pitch” (Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, 2001), “The Sound of Music,” and “Your Song.” 18. Music: Joe Sample, lyrics: Will Jennings, 1980. 19. All the lines are from famous songs: “Love is Like Oxygen” (Andrew Scott and Trevor Griffin, 1977), “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Paul Francis Webster, 1955), “Up Where We Belong” ( Jack Nitzsche, Buff y Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings, 1982), and “All You Need is Love” ( John Lennon and Paul McCartney, 1967).” 20. This medley contains excerpts from “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” (Paul Stanley, Desmond Child and Vini Poncia, 1979), “One More Night” (Phil Collins, 1984), “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (music: U2, lyrics: Bono and The Edge, 1984), “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert, 1973), “Silly Love Songs” (Paul McCartney, 1976), “Up Where We Belong” ( Jack Nitzsche, Buff y Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings, 1982), “Heroes” (David Bowie and Brian Eno, 1977), “I Will Always

364 Love You” (Dolly Parton, 1974), and “Your Song.” 21. Words & Music: Andrew Barlow and Lou Rhodes, 1999. 22. Words & Music: Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, 1984. 23. Words & Music: David Baerwald, 2001. 24. Nini is played by Caroline O’Connor. 25. The sequence contains “Roxanne” (Sting, 1978), “Le Tango du Moulin Rouge” (music: Marianito Mores, lyrics: Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, 2001), and “Come What May.” 26. Words & Music: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce, Marius DeVries and Craig Armstrong, 2001. 27. Words & Music: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, 1991. 28. This medley contains “Chamma Chamma” (Sameer, 1998), “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” and “The Hindi” (Steve Sharples, date uncredited). 29. This sequence contains excerpts of “Someday I’ll Fly Away,” “Your Song” and “Come What May.” 30. Rainer, Peter. “Red Alert: A supercharged mix of Busby Berkeley, La Boheme, and Tommy-style filmmaking, Moulin Rouge doesn’t so much honor movie musicals as frag them.” New York Magazine, May 21, 2001. 31. Corliss, Richard. “Face the Music.” Time, May 6, 2001. 32. Oscar nominated songs are supposed to be written specifically for the film in which they appear, but there are exceptions; for example, “Falling Slowly” from Once (2007) won the Best Song Academy Award even though the song had appeared in the 2006 film Beauty in Trouble, as well as on an album. For some reason, the Academy ruled the song eligible for the award.

The Muppet Movie 1. Actors in cameo appearances include Dom DeLuise, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, James Coburn, Elliott Gould, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Madeline Kahn, Steve Martin, Telly Savalas, Mel Brooks, Carroll Spinney (as Big Bird) and composer Paul Williams. 2. Bernie, the Hollywood agent is played by Dom DeLuise. 3. James Coburn is the café owner, Madeline Kahn, Telly Savalas’ girl friend, tries to get Kermit to buy her a drink at the bar, and Paul

Williams, the co-writer of the songs for the film, is the café’s pianist. 4. Milton Berle is Mad Man Mooney, the used car dealer, and Sweetums is his helper. 5. A woody is a Jeep station wagon with wood sides. 6. Elliott Gould is the pageant announcer, while Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy are the judges. 7. The ice cream vendor is Bob Hope. 8. The balloon vendor is Richard Pryor. 9. Steve Martin is their waiter. 10. Prof. Max Krassman is Mel Brooks. 11. Music: Samuel Augustus Ward, lyrics: Katherine Lee Bates, 1895. 12. Lew Lord’s secretary is Cloris Leachman.

The Music Man 1. During the musical’s development stage, Willson considered eliminating a long section of dialogue about the trouble in River City, but when he realized it sounded like a lyric, he transformed it into the song, “Ya Got Trouble.” 2. This is a cleverly written song that uses the same melody as “Seventy-Six Trombones,” only “Goodnight My Someone” is a slow waltz. 3. The old patriotic song, “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,” is heard. 4. Tommy Djilas is played by Timmy Everett. 5. Zaneeta Shinn is played by Susan Luckey. 6. The quartet is Vern Reed, tenor, Al Shea, lead, Bill Spangenberg, bass, and Wayne Ward, baritone. 7. Music: Egbert Van Alstyne, lyrics: Harry H. Williams, 1911; as the quartet sings, the film shows some hens pecking away at the ground. 8. There is a small quote of “Seventy-Six Trombones” in “Marian, the Librarian.” 9. It was at this point in the original stage production that “My White Knight” was sung. 10. Ludwig von Beethoven. 11. Such contrapuntal songs with separate lyrics and separate melodies are rare in Broadway musicals, but there are two examples in The Music Man. Irving Berlin is one of the only other composers who specialized in this type of song. 12. Georges Bizet, 1875. 13. “Shipoopi” is the least plot sensitive song in the musical.

14. “Till There Was You” was covered by the Beatles in 1963 on their second album With the Beatles. It is the only showtune they ever recorded.

My Fair Lady 1. Andrews, Julie. Home, A Memoir of My Early Years. New York. NY: Hyperion, 2008. 2. Harrison’s vocals were more speaking in rhythm with some fluctuations in pitch than actual singing.

Naughty Marietta 1. Don Carlos de Braganza is played by Walter Kingsford. 2. Marietta Franini is played by Helen Shipman. 3. The man is played by Charles Bruins. 4. The priest is played by Delos Jewkes. 5. Prince de Namours de la Bonfain is played by Douglass Dumbrille. 6. Governor Gaspar d’Annard is played by Frank Morgan.

Neptune’s Daughter 1. Ernesto Lecuona, 1929. 2. Frank Loesser had written “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to perform at parties, never thinking it would become more than just a cute ditty to amuse his friends. However, it won the Academy Award for Best Song. Modern audiences may remember it more from Leon Redbone and Zooey Deschanel’s performance of the song on the soundtrack of the 2003 film Elf. 3. Toni Beaulieu, 1947. 4. Lukie Luzette is played by Ted de Corsia. 5. Mac Mozolla is played by Mike Mazurki.

365

Notes —On a Clear Day

6. He doesn’t actually say the word “sex,” but it is certainly implied. 7. Robert De Niro learned to play the saxophone for this film to make his performance look more authentic, but George Auld dubbed De Niro’s sax playing. 8. “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me” (music: Pierre Norman and Sammy Fain, lyrics: Irving Kahal, 1930) is particularly associated with Maurice Chevalier, who introduced it in The Big Pond (1930). 9. Music: Michael Edwards, lyrics: Bud Green, 1937. 10. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1935. 11. Words & Music: Charlie Barnet, 1939. 12. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin, 1924. 13. Music: Vernon Duke, lyrics: John Latouche and Ted Fetter, 1940. 14. Music: Jesse Greer, lyrics: Raymond Klages, date uncredited. 15. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1934. 16. Cecil Powell is played by Clarence Clemons. 17. Music: Duke Ellington, lyrics: Bob Russell, 1943. 18. Artie Kirks is played by Lenny Gaines. 19. Music: J. Fred Coots, lyrics: Sam M. Lewis, 1934. 20. Diahnne Abbott, Robert De Niro’s first wife. 21. Music: Fats Waller, lyrics: Andy Razaf, 1929. 22. Music: John Kander, lyrics: Fred Ebb, 1977. 23. This lengthy musical sequence cost $350,000 to film. 24. The movie producer is played by Larry Kert. 25. Music: John Kander, lyrics: Fred Ebb, 1977. 26. Music: John Kander, lyrics: Fred Ebb, 1977; Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1979, and, in addition to becoming one of his signature tunes, it became one of the city’s unofficial theme songs.

“People Will Say We’re in Love” managed three weeks at No. 1 on Your Hit Parade in 1943. 5. “Oklahoma!” has become the official song of the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma!

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

New York, New York 1. V-J Day is Victory over Japan Day, the day Japan surrendered to end World War II, August 15, 1945 (August 14 in North America). 2. Tommy Dorsey is played by Ralph Burns. 3. Music: George Bassman, lyrics: Ned Washington, 1932. 4. Music adapted from “The Song of the Indian Guest” from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Sadko. 5. Music: Sy Oliver, lyrics: Sid Garris, 1943.

1. The cut songs were Ali Hakim’s “It’s a Scandal, It’s an Outrage” and Jud’s “Lonely Room.” 2. Oklahoma! was Shirley Jones’ screen debut. 3. Ado Annie’s father is played by James Whitmore. 4. Bing Crosby’s recording of the musical’s primary love song, “People Will Say We’re in Love,” with “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” on the flip side, was Variety’s No. 10 hit of 1943.

Oliver! 1. Best Composer and Lyricist, Best Conductor and Musical Director and Best Scenic Designer. 2. Omitted were “I Shall Scream,” “That’s Your Funeral,” and “My Name.” 3. Beadle refers to a parish constable of the Anglican Church, who is often in charge of charitable duties. Dickens’ Mr. Bumble oversees the parish workhouse and orphanage. 4. This entire scene, including the chase, is set to music. 5. The Widow Corney is played by Peggy Mount. 6. According to the Dickens’ novel, the workhouse and the funeral parlor were in an unnamed town about 75 miles from London. 7. In the novel, Fagin’s lair was at Saffron Hill. 8. Bet or Betsy is played by Sheila White. 9. Mr. Brownlow is played by Joseph O’Conor. 10. This wonderful musical sequence, which is practically as massive as the “Consider Yourself ” number, is similar to the “Strawberry Woman’s Call” and the “Crab Man’s Call” from George Gershwin’s Porg y and Bess, although Gershwin’s calls sound more authentic. 11. Stanley Green in Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, calls this song a “masochistic tenacity avowed by” Nancy. It might also be termed the battered woman syndrome song. “As Long As He Needs Me” is a beautifully written song, but it is depressing that Nancy deludes herself into thinking that Bill Sikes needs her, but evidently there are thousands of women who are just like Nancy.

1. The Doctor’s name was changed from Mark Bruckner to Marc Chabot to accommodate Yves Montand’s French accent. 2. In the Broadway musical, only the doctor sings “On a Clear Day.” 3. Anderson, Christopher. Barbra: The Way She Is. New York : William Morrow, 2006. 4. Canby, Vincent. “‘On a Clear

Notes —On Moonlight Bay Day You Can See Forever’ Begins Its Run.” The New York Times, June 18, 1970. 5. “Ring out the Bells,” “Tosy and Cosh,” “On the S.S. Bernard Cohn,” “Don’t Tamper with My Sister,” “When I’m Being Born Again,” and “Wait Till We’re Sixty-Five” were omitted.

On Moonlight Bay 1. Music: Percy Wenrich, lyrics: Edward Madden, 1912. 2. Mary Wickes played Stella. 3. Words & Music: Richard A. Whiting, 1921; this song is far too late for the time period of the film. 4. Music: Karl Hoschna, lyrics Otto Harbach, 1908. 5. Music: Max Kortlander, lyrics: J. Will Callahan, 1919. 6. Music: John William Kellette, lyrics: Jean Kenbrovin (the pen name for Nat Vincent), James Kendis and James Brockman, 1919. 7. Music: Peter DeRose, lyrics: Charles Tobias, 1951. 8. Professor Barson is played by Sig Arno. 9. Words & Music: Pauline Walsh, 1951. 10. Words & Music: Jack Judge and Harry Williams, 1912. 11. Music: Felix Powell, lyrics: George Asaf, 1915. 12. Music: Karl Hoschna, lyrics Otto Harbach, 1910. 13. Music: Richard A. Whiting, lyrics: Raymond B. Egan, 1919.

On the Avenue 1. “The Black Bottom” (music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown, 1926), “The Charleston” (Cecil Mack and Jimmy Johnson, 1923), “Cheek to Cheek” (Irving Berlin, 1935). 2. Song excerpts in this sketch include “There’s No Place Like Home (Home, Sweet Home)” (music: adapted from a Sicilian air by H.R. Bishop, lyrics: John Howard Payne, 1823), “Sailing, Sailing (Over the Bounding Main)” (Godfrey Marks, using pseudonym James Fredrick Swift, 1880), “The Farmer in the Dell” (traditional), “Jingle Bells” ( James Pierpont, 1857), “Happy Birthday to You” (Mildred J. and Patty S. Hill, 1893). 3. Famous newspaper columnist, and inventor of the gossip column, Walter Winchell, called this sketch the funniest thing in the revue. 4. Alan Mobray plays Frederick Sims. 5. Excerpts from “Largo al facto-

366 tum” from Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) (music: Gioacchino Rossini, lyrics: Cesare Sterbini, 1816), and “Ochi Chyornye (Dark Eyes)” (Russian folksong). 6. “Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)” from Lohengrin (Richard Wagner, 1850). 7. Aunt Fritz is played by Cora Witherspoon.

On the Town 1. Meet Me in St. Louis and Yankee Doodle Dandy are the others. 2. Meet Me in St. Louis is the other. 3. Music: Leonard Bernstein; sung by Bern Hoffman. 4. Music: Leonard Bernstein. 5. Music: Leonard Bernstein. 6. Music: Roger Edens. 7. Music: Leonard Bernstein. 8. Lucy Schmeeler is played by Alice Pearce. 9. Mme. Dilyovska is played by Florence Bates. 10. Although she doesn’t tell Gabey immediately, she is from Melville, too. 11. Music: Roger Edens. 12. Music: Roger Edens. 13. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens. 14. Music: Roger Edens. 15. Music: Leonard Bernstein. 16. One is Carol Haney, the other nameless; the two male dancers are nameless. 17. Omitted were “Gabey’s Comin’,” “Carried Away,” “Lonely Town,” “Carnegie Hall Pavane (DoDo-Re-Do),” “Times Square Ballet,” “So Long, Baby,” “I Wish I Was Dead,” “Lucky to Be With,” “I Understand,” “Ya Got Me,” “Some Other Time,” “Subway Ride,” “Imaginary Coney Island,” “The Real Coney Island,” and the very clever “I Can Cook, Too” (for which Bernstein wrote both the lyrics and music).

One Hundred Men and a Girl 1. “Andante maestoso — Allegro vivace” from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor (1888). 2. Music: Frederick Hollander, lyrics: Sam Coslow, 1937. 3. Music & Lyrics: Thomas Railey and Alfred G. Robyn, 1930. 4. From La Damnation de Faust (The Damnation of Faust) by Hector Berlioz, 1846. 5. From the motet Exultate, jubilate, K. 165 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1773.

6. “Lento a capriccio” from Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C sharp minor by Franz Liszt, 1847.

One Night of Love 1. Victor Schertzinger, the film’s director, was either a film-maker whose hobby was songwriting or a songwriter whose hobby was film direction. 2. Music: Victor Schertzinger, lyrics: Gus Kahn, 1934; evidently audiences found Miss Moore’s operaticstyle singing very palatable, because her recording of the film’s title song was a big hit on the pop market during the fall of 1934. 3. Galluppi is played by Andres de Segurola. 4. Bill Houston is played by Lyle Talbot. 5. Frappizini is played by Rosemary Glosz. 6. The landlady is played by Nydia Westman. 7. Giovanni is played by Luis Alberni. 8. Music & Lyrics: Rudolf Thaler and Alberto Pestalozza, 1898. 9. We see two scenes from Madama Butterfly, but the most famous is “Un bel dì.” 10. “Santa Lucia” (traditional Italian folksong), “O Sole Mio” (Edoardo DiCapua and Alfredo Mazzucchi, 1898), “Ah! Fors è lui” from La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi, 1853), “Finiculi, Finicula” (Luigi Denza, 1880), “The Last Rose of Summer” (traditional Irish tune, Thomas Moore, 1808), “Kunstlerleben (Artist’s Life)” (Johann Strauss, 1867), “None But the Lonely Heart” (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1869), and “Indian Love Call” from Rose Marie (music: Rudolf Friml, lyrics: Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1924).

The Pajama Game 1. “Hers Is,” “A New Town Is a Blue Town” and the “Jealousy Ballet” were cut. 2. A Dictaphone is a recording device in which the boss records a letter or memo for his secretary to transcribe at some later time. 3. “Hey, There” was the first Broadway song since 1949’s “Some Enchanted Evening” to climb to the top on Your Hit Parade; it was No. 1 for ten weeks. It also was No. 1 on Billboard for six weeks, and No. 1 on Cash Box for eight weeks. It was the No. 1 of the year on Variety. Rosemary Clooney’s recording of “Hey

367 There” reportedly became a two and a half million seller and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Her recording also uses the duet with herself, like John Raitt in the Broadway musical and film, in an early example of multitrack recording. 4. Poopsie was played by Barbara Nichols. 5. “Hernando’s Hideaway” was popularized in the popular music marketplace by Archie Bleyer and his orchestra, whose recording was No. 1 on Cash Box for two weeks. The song was No. 1 on Your Hit Parade for one week.

Pal Joey 1. Kelley, Kitty. His Way, the Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. 2. According to Rodgers’ autobiography, he and Hart wrote this number to burlesque typically tacky floor shows. 3. “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” was introduced in the 1939 musical Too Many Girls. 4. “There’s a Small Hotel” came from the 1936 musical On Your Toes. 5. “Zip” was originally performed by the character Melba. 6. Kim Novak’s vocals were dubbed by Trudy Erwin. In the original musical, Joey, who had most likely never read a book in his life, sings the song to impress a naïve girl he had picked up on the street. 7. Originally premiered in the 1937 musical Babes in Arms; the song is an AFI song nominee for its inclusion in the 1948 screen biography of Rodgers and Hart, Words and Music. 8. Rita Hayworth’s vocals were dubbed by Jo Ann Greer. The song was not a hit in the Forties, perhaps because it couldn’t be played on the radio because of the ASCAP ban. Or perhaps it was due to its racy lyrics. Whichever, it was not until 1950, when the Bill Snyder Orchestra revived the song in an instrumental recording that it topped the Your Hit Parade hit survey for five weeks. Original lines like “Couldn’t sleep and wouldn’t sleep until I could sleep where I shouldn’t sleep” and “Horizontally speaking he’s at his very best” were too risqué for the moral climate of the Forties and Fifties, so they were revised for the film. 9. “My Funny Valentine” was originally introduced in Babes in Arms in 1937; it was sung by the character Billie Smith about Valentine

“Val” Lamar; Billie loves Valentine despite his imperfections. As well known as this song classic is, it surprisingly never charted on Your Hit Parade, but Variety chose it as one of its Golden 100 Tin Pan Alley Songs. 10. The music is an instrumental version of “I Could Write a Book.”

Peter Pan 1. “The Second Star to the Right” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Sammy Cahn) is sung by the Jud Conlon Chorus and the Mello Men. 2. “You Can Fly!” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Sammy Cahn) is heard again at the end sung by a chorus. 3. “A Pirate’s Life” (music: Oliver Wallace, lyrics: Erdman Penner) is sung by Bill Thompson & a male chorus. 4. A familiar song, “Never Smile at a Crocodile” (music: Frank Churchill) is heard instrumentally whenever the croc appears. 5. “Following the Leader” (music: Oliver Wallace, lyrics: Ted Sears and Winston Hibler ) is sung by Bobby Driscoll, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske and the Lost Boys cast members. 6. “What Makes the Red Man Red” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Sammy Cahn) is sung by Candy Candido and the Mello Men. 7. “Your Mother and Mine” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Sammy Cahn) is sung by Kathryn Beaumont. 8. “The Elegant Captain Hook” (music: Sammy Fain, lyrics: Sammy Cahn) is sung by Hans Conried, Bill Thompson and a male chorus.

The Phantom of the Opera 1. Emmy Rossum was only sixteen years old, the same age of Judy Garland when she filmed The Wizard of Oz, when she starred as Christine in this film. 2. The musical had opened in London in 1986 and also starred Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. 3. “Auction at the Opera Populaire, 1919 (Prologue).” 4. Jean-Luc Chalumeau’s music was arranged and adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. 5. Minnie Driver’s vocals were dubbed by Margaret Preece. 6. “Little Lotte” was a song in the original score, but it is only spoken in the film.

Notes —Porg y and Bess 7. Kevin McNally played Buquet. 8. This song is sung to the same tune as “The Phantom of the Opera.” 9. This song contains a section with the same tune as “Music of the Night.” 10. It is at this point in the stage musical, the conclusion of Act One, that the Phantom returns to the theater and causes the huge chandelier to crash onto the stage, but that dramatic event was moved to after the song “The Point of No Return” in the film. It becomes a crucial plot point when it sets the opera house on fire, which explains its horrible condition at the beginning of the film. 11. This song is the same melody as “Angel of Music.” 12. Leroux specified this particular type of lasso in his book as a Punjab lasso, which gets its name from the region of India where it was prominently used.

The Pirate 1. The Viceroy is played by George Zucco. 2. The pair of black dancers is the incredible Nicholas Brothers.

Poor Little Rich Girl 1. “When I’m With You” became a No. 1 hit for Hal Kemp and His Orchestra in 1936. 2. Mr. Peck is played by Claude Gillingwater. 3. A tap dance for radio doesn’t make much sense. 4. Nugent, Frank S. “Poor Little Rich Girl.” The New York Times, June 26, 1936.

Porg y and Bess 1. This beautiful lullaby (lyrics: DuBose Heyward) is sung by a rather insignificant character in the plot. Many people tried to convince Gershwin that such a slow, simple song was not the appropriate way to open his musical, but he was convinced it would work, and, of course, he was right. Variety selected “Summertime” for its list of Golden 100 songs. 2. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 3. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 4. Peter is played by Clarence Muse. 5. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 6. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 7. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward.

Notes —Purple Rain 8. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 9. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. 10. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. 11. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 12. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 13. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 14. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 15. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 16. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 17. This is extraordinary writing by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward; these peddler’s songs sound wonderfully authentic. 18. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. 19. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 20. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 21. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 22. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 23. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 24. Lyrics: DuBose Heyward. 25. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. 26. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin.

Purple Rain 1. The members of Prince’s band, The Revolution, during Purple Rain were Wendy Melvoin, guitar, Brown Mark, bass guitar, Bobby Z. on percussion, Lisa Coleman, keyboards, and Doctor Fink, keyboards; they appear as themselves in the film. 2. “Let’s Go Crazy” (words & music: Prince) became a No. 1 hit single on Billboard in August 1984. 3. The Time appears as themselves. 4. Words & Music: Morris Day and Jesse Johnson. 5. Billy is played by Billy Sparks. 6. Words & Music: Apollonia 6 and the Star Company. 7. Jerome is played by Jerome Benton. 8. Words & Music: Prince 9. Words & Music: Dez Dickerson; the Modern Aires appear as themselves. 10. Words & Music: Prince. 11. The scene cuts almost immediately to him waking up; did he sleep with his mother? 12. “When Doves Cry” (words & music: Prince) was a monster hit for Prince; it spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was a RIAA multi-million seller. 13. Words & Music: John L. Nelson. 14. The guitar solo in “Computer Blue” (words & music: Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, and Prince) is based on The Kid’s father’s piano piece. 15. Words & Music: Prince.

368 16. Words & Music: Morris Day and Jesse Johnson. 17. The girls look at each other like they had no idea he planned this or that they had ever rehearsed it together. 18. Words & Music: Prince. 19. Words & Music: Prince. 20. Words & Music: Prince. 21. Canby, Vincent. “‘Purple Rain,’ With Prince.” The New York Times, July 27, 1984.

Ray! 1. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 2. Sharon Warren played Aretha Robinson. 3. C.J. Sanders played the young Ray Robinson. 4. “Anytime” (words & music: Herbert “Happy” Lawson) was a No. 1 country hit for Eddy Arnold in 1947. Ray’s major musical influences were country, black and white gospel, country and western, and big band jazz. 5. Larenz Tate played Quincy Jones. Quincy Jones became a very famous music conductor, record producer, and film composer, among other accomplishments. To date, he has earned a record 79 Grammy nominations (winning 27 times). He may be best known as the producer of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. 6. Denise Dowse played Marlene Andres. 7. Warwick Davis played Oberon. 8. “Route 66” (Bobby Troup) was first recorded in 1946 by Nat “King” Cole, whose version became a hit on both the R&B and pop charts. Jamie Foxx sang this song on the soundtrack to Ray Charles’ piano accompaniment. 9. Terrence Dashon Howard played Gossie McKee. 10. “Straighten Up and Fly Right” was Nat “King” Cole’s first mainstream vocal hit in 1943; it was also written by Cole and Irving Mills. Jamie Foxx does the vocal on the soundtrack to Ray Charles’ piano accompaniment. 11. Chris Thomas played Lowell Fulson. 12. Words & Music: Lowell Fulson. 13. Words & Music: Peter Chatman, aka Memphis Slim. 14. Traditional. 15. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 16. Words & Music: Sam Sweet. 17. Words & Music: Sam Sweet. 18. Words & Music: Ahmet Ertegun. 19. Jerry Wexler is played by Richard Schiff.

20. “I Got a Woman” (words & music: Ray Charles) became a No. 1 R&B hit in 1955. 21. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 22. Clifton Powell played Jeff Brown. 23. Aunjanue Ellis played Mary Ann Fisher. 24. “Drown In My Own Tears” (words & music: Henry Glover) was a No. 1 R&B hit in 1956. 25. “Mary Ann” (words & music: Ray Charles) was a No. 1 R&B hit in 1956. 26. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 27. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 28. Words & Music: Lew Herman and Samuel Mathews. 29. “What’d I Say?” was a No. 1 R&B hit and rose to No. 6 on the Top 100 in 1959. 30. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 31. Sam Clark was played by Kurt Fuller. 32. Charles’ recording (music: Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics: Stuart Gorrell) was No. 1 on the pop chart and No. 3 on the R&B chart in 1960. The song had charted previously in the early 1930s and again in the early 1940s. 33. “Hit the Road Jack” (words & music: Percy Mayfield) became a No. 1 hit on both the pop and R&B chart in 1961. 34. “Unchain My Heart” (words & music: Bobby Sharp and Teddy Powell) rose to No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1962. 35. Words & Music: Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker. 36. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was a No. 1 hit on both the R&B and pop charts in 1962. The song’s writer, Don Gibson, had recorded the song in 1957 and had considerable success with it on the country and western chart. 37. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music features several country standards performed in Ray’s distinctive mixture of styles. The album became both a critical and commercial success; four singles from the LP charted. What may be even more remarkable is its integration of a black style with a white style during the height of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. 38. “Bye Bye Love” (words & music: Boudleaux and Felice Bryant) was a No. 1 country hit and peaked at No. 2 on the pop chart for the Everly Brothers in 1956. 39. Harry Lennix played Joe Adams. 40. “Born to Lose” was a big country hit for its writer, Ted Daffan.

369 41. Words & Music: Ray Charles. 42. Other songs used as background were “The Key of G” and “Rockhouse” both written and performed by Ray Charles; “Emanon” by John “Dizzy” Gillespie and Milton Shaw, performed by John Thomas; “Yesterdays” by composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto A. Harbach, performed by Johnny O’Neill; “Red Wing Boogie” and “My Little Pal Ray” both written and performed by Willie Metcalf, Jr.; “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee” by Stick McGhee and J. Mayo Williams, performed by Stick McGhee; “Walk Around” by R.H. Harris, performed by the Soul Stirrers; “As It Falls” written and performed by Willie T (Wilson Turbinton); and “Montuno Uno” written and performed by Curt Sobel and Gary Schreiner.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 1. Music: Lew Pollack, lyrics: Sidney D. Mitchell, 1938. 2. Mary McCarty played Florabelle. 3. “You’ve Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby” (music: Harry Revel, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1936) was previously heard in Poor Little Rich Girl in 1936. 4. Music: Harry Revel, lyrics: Mack Gordon, 1938. 5. Music: Lew Pollack, lyrics: Sidney D. Mitchell, 1938. 6. Music: Samuel Pokrass, lyrics: Jack Yellen, 1938. 7. Music: Richard A. Whiting, lyrics: Sidney Clare, 1934. 8. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: Ted Koehler and Irving Caesar, 1935. 9. The last three songs are all by composer Harry Revel and lyricist Mack Gordon. 10. “Bojangles” Robinson is certainly under used in this film, and there’s no explanation how his character is suddenly transformed from Aunt Miranda’s farmhand to star dancer. 11. Music: Raymond Scott, lyrics: Sidney D. Mitchell and Lew Pollack, 1938. 12. Music: Lew Pollack, lyrics: Sidney D. Mitchell, 1938.

2. The native who sings “The Tourist Trade” is Avon Long. 3. The local musical group that sings “It’s Magic” in Spanish is the Samba Kings. Doris Day’s recording of “It’s Magic” helped the song stay one week at No. 1 on Your Hit Parade. 4. The native musician who sings “Run, Run, Run” with Peter is Sir Lancelot. 5. Mrs. Kent supposedly can’t sing, however, Janis Paige, who played Mrs. Kent, was in fact a singer, and a very good one, who would play the lead female role in the 1954 Broadway musical The Pajama Game. 6. quigleypublishing.com/MPalmanac/Top10/Top10_lists.html

Royal Wedding 1. “Sunday Jumps” is one of Fred Astaire’s most inventive dance masterpieces. 2. A similar situation actually occurred in 1923 when Fred and Adele were on the Aquitania sailing to London to appear in Stop Flirting. 3. Albert Sharpe played Jamie Ashmond. 4. Crowther, Bosley. “Fred Astaire and Jane Powell Seen in ‘Royal Wedding’ at Radio City Music Hall.” The New York Times, March 9, 1951.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 1. A couple of phrases from “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide” aptly illustrate Johnny Mercer’s wonderful vernacular lyrics: “We ain’t met yet but I’m a’willin’ to bet” and “Oh, I’d swap my gun ’n’ I’d swap my mule.... If ’n you would say ‘I do.’” 2. Co’tin’ is slang for courting. 3. The girls were Julie Newmeyer (later Julie Newmar) as Dorcas Gailen, Ruta Kilmonis (later Ruta Lee) as Ruth Jebson, Norma Doggett as Martha, Virginia Gibson as Liza, Betty Carr as Sarah Kine, and Nancy Kilgas as Alice Elcott.

1. The lyrics of the chorus of “I’m in Love” are about as simple as they can get, with the title being the primary words simply repeated over and over.

singer was Mantan Moreland; the film credits neither. 2. Ira Gershwin’s clever lyrics compare American and British pronunciations, like “potayto-potahto, tomayto-tomahto” and “eether/eyether.” 3. Miss Hoctor as herself. 4. This dance scene has generally been lambasted by critics.

Show Boat (1936) 1. “I Have a Room Above Her,” “Ah Suits Me,” and “Gallivantin’ Around.” 2. Pete, a worker on the Show Boat, is played by Arthur Hohl. 3. Magnolia is often called “Nolie” or “Nola.” 4. The Sheriff is played by Charles Middleton. 5. When the book’s author, Edna Ferber, heard “Ol’ Man River” for the first time she said: “I give you my word, my hair stood on end, tears came to my eyes. I knew that this wasn’t just a musical comedy number. This was a great song. This was a song that would outlast Kern and Hammerstein’s day and my day and your day.” Hammerstein’s wonderful dialect lyrics are, as Hammerstein himself said, “a song of resignation with an implied protest.” 6. The interbreeding of persons of different races, specifically a black and a white in this instance, was against the law in many Southern states; just one drop of Negro blood was enough to be considered black. 7. Marilyn Knowlden plays Kim at this age. 8. Lyric: P.G. Wodehouse, 1927. 9. Music & lyrics: Joe E. Howard, 1904; it’s surprising that this non–Kern and Hammerstein song was part of the original production. 10. Music & lyrics: Charles K. Harris, 1892; another non–Kern and Hammerstein interpolation into the original production. 11. Sunnie O’Dea plays Kim at this point in her life.

Show Boat (1951) 1776

Romance on the High Seas

Notes —Show Boat

1. Maryland’s Samuel Chase is played by Patrick Hines.

Shall We Dance 1. Some sources credit Dudley Dickerson while others claim the

1. “Cotton Blossom” was originally sung by the black chorus and by the townspeople who witness the show boat’s arrival. In this film, a great deal of the original lyrics were omitted and a small change in the remaining lyrics was necessary. 2. Ava Gardner’s vocals were dubbed by Annette Warren. In the original production, “Can’t Help

Notes —Silk Stockings

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Lovin’ Dat Man” was a song that “only colored folk” know, which was a hint that Julie had mixed blood, but that was not a part of this film version. 3. Originally, “I Might Fall Back on You” was sung by these two outside the box office, not in a stage performance. 4. Miscegenation, the interbreeding of persons of different races, was against the law in many Southern states. 5. In the 1936 film, the song is sung immediately after “Make Believe,” when Magnolia quizzes Joe about this gambler she has just met, but in this film, it was moved to this later scene and becomes Joe’s reaction to Julie and her husband being forced to leave the boat because of their interracial marriage. 6. This is the first time that Gaylord knows Magnolia’s name and that she is the daughter of the show boat’s owner. 7. Lyric: P.G. Wodehouse. 8. “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” was originally sung by Ellie to a group of adoring fans who are curious about the life of an actress. 9. Music & lyrics: Charles K. Harris, 1892. 10. Traditional Scottish folksong, lyrics: Robert Burns, 1788. 11. Sheila Clark played Kim Ravenal at age 4. 12. In the original, this reprise by Ravenal was when he says goodbye to his daughter just before he deserts her and her mother. 13. Crowther, Bosley. “A Musical Favorite at Radio City; ‘Show Boat,’ Metro Remake of Hit, With Kathryn Grayson in Lead.” The New York Times, July 20, 1951.

Silk Stockings 1. Joseph Buloff ’s vocals dubbed by Bill Lee, while Lorre’s vocals were dubbed by unnamed singer. 2. Cyd Charisse’s vocals dubbed by Carol Richards.

were Peter some were

Singin’ in the Rain 1. Douglas Fowley played Roscoe Dexter. 2. Millard Mitchell played R. F. Simpson. 3. As filming progressed it became evident that Donald O’Connor needed a solo number to showcase his talents. Freed and Brown decided to write a song for him using Cole

Porter’s “Be a Clown” as their model. Being talented songwriters, Brown and Freed made “Make ’Em Laugh” distinctively different, even though there are some similarities to Porter’s song. This song is one of only a couple of new songs in the film. 4. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Betty Comden and Adolph Green, 1952. 5. For some reason, the studio insisted that Betty Noyes dub Debbie Reynolds’ voice on “Would You?” and “You Are My Lucky Star.” 6. The gangster’s beautiful girlfriend is played by Cyd Charisse.

Sleeping Beauty 1. Marvin Miller is the narrator. 2. Taylor Holmes voiced King Stefan. 3. Adaptation & Lyrics: Tom Adair and George Bruns. 4. Bill Thompson voiced King Hubert. 5. Adaptation & Lyrics: Tom Adair and George Bruns. 6. Adaptation & Lyrics: Winston Hibler, Ted Sears and George Bruns. 7. Adaptation & Lyrics: Sammy Fain and Jack Lawrence. 8. Adaptation & Lyrics: Tom Adair, Erdman Penner and George Bruns. 9. Adaptation & Lyrics: Tom Adair and George Bruns.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1. Moroni Olsen voiced the Magic Mirror. 2. Many children, young and old, will remember “The Dwarf ’s Yodel Song (Isn’t This a Silly Song )” because of hearing it at Disneyland or Disneyworld, if not otherwise.

Song of the South 1. Music: Arthur Johnston, lyrics: Sam Coslow. 2. Music & Lyrics: Eliot Daniel, Hy Heath and Johnny Lange. 3. Music: Allie Wrubel, lyrics: Ray Gilbert; it is amazing how a lyricist, Ray Gilbert in this instance, concocts such a phrase as “zip-a-dee-doodah,” that expresses so precisely the jollity and carefree spirit of the scene in the film. Allie Wrubel’s bright, bouncy melody also appropriately portrays the lyrical idea of a wonderful, sunshiny day when “ev’rything is ’satisfactch’ll.”

4. “Let the Rain Pour Down” (music: Ken Darby, lyrics: Foster Carling) is sung by the Hall Johnson Choir. 5. Music & Lyrics: Robert MacGimsey. 6. Music: Charles Wolcott, lyrics: Ray Gilbert. 7. Music: Allie Wrubel, lyrics: Ray Gilbert. 8. Music: Ken Darby, lyrics: Foster Carling. 9. “All I Want,” a traditional spiritual, is sung by the Hall Johnson Choir. 10. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York : Disney Editions, 2000.

The Sound of Music 1. In his autobiography, Richard Rodgers called “The Sound of Music” “an arm-flinging tribute to nature and music.” 2. The Salzburg website asks that people call it by its real name, Nonnberg Nunnery. 3. Sister Bernice is played by Evadne Baker. 4. Sister Margaretta is played by Anna Lee. 5. Sister Berthe is played by Portia Nelson. 6. Peggy Wood’s vocals were dubbed by Margery McKay. 7. In the original stage production, “My Favorite Things” was sung by Maria and the Mother Abbess after the song “Maria,” before Maria leaves the Abbey; in the original production during the thunderstorm scene, “The Lonely Goatherd” was sung, which raises the question of whether the songs are plot sensitive if they can be switched around so easily. 8. Christopher Plummer’s vocals were dubbed by Bill Lee. 9. In the stage production there was no puppet show; in the film Bil and Cora Baird Puppets were used. 10. Although many people believe the song is a traditional Austrian song, it was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the musical and is practically unknown in Austria. 11. Rodgers based this dance number on the traditional Austrian dance of the same name. 12. “I Have Confidence in Me” and “Something Good.” 13. “How Can Love Survive?,” “No Way to Stop It,” and “An Ordinary Couple.” 14. Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages. Cambridge, MA : DaCapo, 2002.

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South Pacific 1. “PB” is an acronym for Patrol Bomber, while the “Y” is the code for “consolidated aircraft;” PBYs were flying boats that were used as antisubmarine aircraft, but were also frequently used as convoy escorts, for search and rescue missions, or, as in this instance, as transports. 2. The only original Broadway cast member in the film, Juanita Hall’s vocals were dubbed by Muriel Smith, who had played the role in the London cast. Richard Rodgers had insisted that Miss Smith’s voice be used for Bloody Mary’s singing. 3. Hammerstein spent a week on the lyrics for “Bali Ha’i,” but when he turned the words over to his writing partner, Rodgers simply scribbled some notes on the paper, went to the piano in the next room and in five minutes completed the song. In his autobiography, Rodgers makes light of his writing speed by saying they had previously agreed it needed to “evoke the exotic, mystical powers of a South Seas island,” and that the melody needed “to possess an Oriental, languorous quality.” 4. Russ Brown played Captain George Brackett. 5. Rossano Brazzi’s vocals were dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi. 6. Perry Como’s recording of “Some Enchanted Evening” was a number one hit on Billboard, Variety and Your Hit Parade. By September 1951, “Some Enchanted Evening” had sold over two-and-a-half million recordings. 7. de Becque’s children’s vocals were dubbed by Marie Greene and Betty Wand. 8. John Kerr’s vocals were dubbed by Bill Lee. 9. This sequence includes excerpts from “A Wonderful Guy,” “Twin Soliloquies,” “Cockeyed Optimist,” and “Some Enchanted Evening.” 10. “My Girl Back Home” is a new song added for the film.

Springtime in the Rockies 1. Music: Alberto Pestalozza, 1898. 2. James’ recording of “I Had the Craziest Dream” was Billboard’s top hit for two weeks in February 1943 and was Variety’s No. 7 hit of 1943. 3. Music: James V. Monaco, lyrics: Joseph McCarthy, 1913. 4. The New York Times reviewer

wrote, “Cesar Romero galumphs through a couple of dance routines with a grace that Arthur Murray would hardly approve.” 5. The dance includes Charlotte Greenwood’s signature moves — high kicks, splits and walking on her hands and feet. 6. Music & Lyrics: Vermelho and Mario Silva, 1935; she is accompanied by Bando da lua. 7. Strauss, Theodore. “At the Roxy.” The New York Times, November 12, 1942.

A Star Is Born 1. Even though the AFI voters placed this song at No. 11 in their top one hundred songs from films list, it never made much of an impact on the pop charts. 2. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Irving Caesar, 1919. 3. Music & Lyrics: Leonard Gershe, 1954. 4. Music: Fred E. Ahlert, lyrics: Roy Turk, 1918. 5. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1928. 6. Music: Ray Henderson, lyrics: Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown, 1926. 7. Adapted by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Marion Sunshine from Moises Simons’ “El Mansiero,” 1931. 8. Music: Ernie Burnett, lyrics: George A. Norton, 1912. 9. Crowther, Bosley. “‘A Star Is Born’ Bows; Judy Garland, James Mason in Top Roles.” The New York Times, October 12, 1954.

State Fair 1. Screenwriters: Sonya Levien and Paul Green; based on a novel by Philip Stong. 2. “It Might as Well Be Spring” rose to No. 1 on Your Hit Parade. 3. Miss Crain’s vocals were dubbed by Louanne Hogan. 4. Comparing Vivian Blaine’s character, Emily, in State Fair and her portrayal of Hot Box girl, Adelaide, in Guys and Dolls, one is amazed by her acting abilities — these two characters are completely dissimilar.

Stormy Weather 1. “Jelly Roll Blues” (Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton, c. 1905) was arguably the first jazz composition ever published. 2. “The Darktown Strutters’ Ball”

Notes —Strike Up the Band (Shelton Brooks, 1917) was originally popularized by Sophie Tucker in vaudeville. The song is one of only sixteen songs chosen by ASCAP for its All-Time Hit Parade in 1963. 3. Music: James P. Johnson, lyrics: Irving Mills, unknown date. 4. Ernest Whitman plays Jim Europe. 5. Music & Lyrics: Stephen Foster, 1850. 6. Music & Lyrics: Kerry Mills, 1897. 7. The minstrel troupe is The Cotton Club Tramp Band. 8. Music & Lyrics: Alvis Cowens, unknown date. 9. Music: Cyril Mockridge, lyrics: Bill Robinson, unknown date. 10. Music & Lyrics: Irving Mills and Nat “King” Cole, c. 1941. 11. Music: Fats Waller and Harry Brooks, lyrics: Andy Razaf, 1929. 12. Music: Jimmy McHugh, lyrics: Dorothy Fields, 1928. 13. Music & Lyrics: Clarence Muse and Connie Bemis, unknown date. 14. Dooley Wilson plays Gabe. 15. Mae E. Johnson plays Mae. 16. Music & Lyrics: Leon Rene and Johnny Lange, 1942. 17. Music: Jimmy McHugh, lyrics: Dorothy Fields, 1927; Variety named it one of its Golden 100 Tin Pan Alley Songs. 18. Music & Lyrics: Cab Calloway, Jack Palmer and Andy Gibson, c. 1941. 19. Music: Harold Arlen, lyrics: Ted Koehler, 1933; AFI named “Stormy Weather” the No. 30 greatest song from an American film even though it did not originally originate in a film; Variety selected the song as a Golden 100 Tin Pan Alley Song; Miss Horne’s 1943 recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. 20. Music & Lyrics: Pinky Tomlin and Harry Tobias, unknown date. 21. Music & Lyrics: Cab Calloway, Jack Palmer and Frank Froeba, 1939.

Strike Up the Band 1. Music: Edwin Eugene Bagley, 1906. 2. “Our Love Affair” (music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1939) was performed numerous times in the film and was an Academy Award nominee, but was never particularly popular. 3. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1939. 4. “The La Conga” was sung by

Notes —Summer Stock Six Hits and a Miss and the M-G-M Studio Chorus. This number was director/choreographer Busby Berkeley’s biggest production number of the film. 5. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1939. 6. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1939. 7. The 1890s medley includes “The Sidewalks of New York (East Side, West Side)” (music & lyrics: James W. Blake and Charles E. Lawlor, 1894), “Walking Down Broadway” (Traditional), “A Man Was the Cause of It All” (music & lyrics: Roger Edens, 1939), “After the Ball” (music & lyrics: Charles K. Harris, 1892), “Over the Waves” (music: Juventino Rosas, 1887), “Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl” (music: A. Baldwin Sloane, lyrics: Edgar Smith, 1909), “There’s No Place Like Home (Home, Sweet Home)” (music: Sicilian air, lyrics: John Howard Payne, 1823), “Ta-RaRa-Boom-De-Re” (music & lyrics: Henry J. Sayers, 1891), “Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now” (music & lyrics: Henry Clay Work, 1864), and “The Light Cavalry Overture” (music: Franz von Suppe, 1866). Two of the songs are not actually from the 1890s, but are by Roger Edens. 8. Music: Robert Katscher, English lyrics: B. G. DeSylva, 1926. 9. The melody was adapted by Paul Whiteman and Ferde Grofe from a theme by Marshall Nielan; lyrics: Dorothy Terriss, 1922. 10. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1939. 11. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin, 1930.

Summer Stock 1. Hans Conried’s singing was dubbed by Pete Roberts, and it doesn’t sound anything like his speaking voice. 2. Traditional New England contra-dance tune. 3. Lyrics: Jack Brooks and Saul Chaplin, 1950. 4. Even though Nick Castle was the film’s dance director, this dance sequence was Gene Kelly’s innovation. 5. Music & Lyrics: Saul Chaplin, unknown date. 6. Music: Harold Arlen, lyrics: Ted Koehler, 1930; the “Get Happy” number was actually an afterthought; the studio decided Judy needed another number, so two months after the rest of the production was con-

372 cluded, “Get Happy” was filmed; by that time she had lost twenty pounds.

Sun Valley Serenade 1. She also won ten straight world championships. 2. During the opening credits, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra play “It Happened in Sun Valley.” 3. “Moonlight Serenade” (music: Glenn Miller, lyrics: Mitchell Parish, 1939), is Glenn Miller’s theme song. 4. Lynn Bari’s vocals were dubbed by Pat Friday. 5. The Modernaires are Hal Dickinson, John Drake, Fran Scott, and Ralph Brewster, and Paula Kelly, but Miss Kelly is not in this number. 6. Traditional. 7. “In the Mood” (music: Joe Garland, lyrics: Andy Razaf, 1939), is one of Glenn Miller’s most famous recordings, a No. 1 hit in 1940. 8. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” was a No. 1 hit for Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in 1941. 9. The performers are unidentified.

Sunnyside Up 1. Music: Charles B. Lawlor, lyrics: James W. Blake, 1894. 2. “I’m a Dreamer (Aren’t We All?)” was popularized in a successful recording by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra in the summer of 1929; his recording was listed as “(I’m a Dreamer) Aren’t We All?” 3. The 400 wealthy, elite of society, compared to the 4,000,000 in the city. 4. Actually, almost all the automobiles at this point were convertibles. 5. The child is played by Jackie Cooper. 6. The film’s title is Sunnyside Up, but the song’s title is “Sunny Side Up.” With its positive attitude, the song was a perfect fit for the Depression years that followed. 7. Since we have home movies and video recorders, this song’s lyrics seem a bit dated. 8. Frank Richardson is a decent tenor, but most of his singing is comical.

Sweeney Todd 1. Opera defined as sung throughout or with minimal spoken dialogue and even that dialogue is underscored with orchestral accompaniment. 2. In Wagner’s music dramas there is little or no distinction between

recitative and aria; a song evolves from something before it and progresses into the next musical idea. 3. Leitmotifs are musical themes that are attached to a character or an emotion. 4. Helena Bonham Carter is the mother of Burton’s children. 5. Brown, Larry A. “Sondheim Notes.” larryavisbrown.com, no date credited. 6. Zadan, Craig. Sondheim & Company. New York: DaCapo Press, 1994.

Swing Time 1. Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Top Hat and Follow the Fleet preceded it. 2. They don’t know he intends to be a professional gambler. 3. Lucky keeps winning and losing Romero’s contract several times during the remainder of the film. 4. It seems strange that they dance their audition for the Silver Sandal at Club Raymond. 5. “Bojangles of Harlem” is the only blackface number Astaire ever performed and is a tribute to one of Astaire’s dancing idols, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game 1. Busby Berkeley had been unemployed for several years; Take Me Out to the Ball Game became the last film he directed. 2. Music: Albert von Tilzer, lyrics: Jack Norworth, 1908; Norworth penned the lyrics after he noticed an advertisement for a baseball game at the Polo Grounds as he was riding the subway in New York City; he took his lyrics to von Tilzer who set them to music. The result has become the most famous baseball song and one of the most famous sports-related songs of all time. One odd thing about the words is they are written from the viewpoint of someone not currently watching a game. Nora Bayes, Norworth’s wife, introduced the song in vaudeville, which is appropriate since the lyrics, especially the verse, sings about a baseball mad female, Katie Casey. When her young beau suggests they go to a show, she would rather go to the baseball game. 3. Michael Gilhuly is played by Richard Lane. 4. Slappy Burke is played by Tom Dugan.

373 5. K.C. stands for Katherine Catherine. 6. All Esther Williams’ films must have a swimming sequence, right? 7. Sinatra was always kidded about being excessively thin, so the montage shows him trying desperately to put on weight. 8. Music & Lyrics: William Jerome and Jean Schwartz, c. 1909.

There’s No Business Like Show Business 1. She sings a couple of lines from “Let’s Have Another Cup o’ Coffee.” 2. Richard Eastham played Lew Harris. 3. Marilyn Monroe is particularly famous for her performances of two songs: “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and “Heat Wave” from There’s No Business Like Show Business. Ethel Waters premiered the song in As Thousands Cheer in 1933. 4. Charlie Gibbs is played by Hugh O’Brian. 5. Crowther, Bosley. “‘There’s No Business,’ Etc.; And Musical at the Roxy Sets Out to Prove It.” The New York Times, December 17, 1954.

Thoroughly Modern Millie 1. Music & Lyrics: Tommie Malie and Jimmy Steiger, 1926. 2. Music: Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics: Sammy Cahn, 1967. 3. Music: Zez Confrey, 1922. 4. Music: Jimmy McHugh, lyrics: Clarence Gaskill, 1926. 5. Music: Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics: Sammy Cahn, 1967; James Fox’s vocals were dubbed by Jim Bryant. 6. Miss Flannery is played by Cavada Humphrey. 7. A little of “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah is heard. 8. Music: Harry Akst, lyrics: Benny Davis, 1926. 9. Music & Lyrics: Sylvia Neufeld, 1967. 10. Baron Richter is played by Michael St. Clair. 11. Music: Erno Rapee, lyrics: Lew Pollack, 1926. 12. Music: M.K. Jerome, lyrics: Blanche Merrill, 1919. 13. Music & Lyrics: Kay Thompson, 1967.

Notes —Till the Clouds Roll By

14. Number One and Number Two are played by Jack Soo and Pat Morita. 15. Music: Victor Herbert, lyrics: Rida Johnson Young, 1910; John Gavin’s vocals were dubbed by Bill Lee; Mary Tyler Moore’s vocals were dubbed by Jackie Allen. 16. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Buddy DeSylva, 1922. 17. Music: Raymond Hubbell, lyrics: John Golden, 1916. 18. Music: James F. Hanley, lyrics: Ballard MacDonald, 1920; sung by Ann Dee 19. Music: Richard A. Whiting, lyrics: Raymond B. Egan, 1920.

Three Little Words 1. Is it “theatre” or “theater”? Webster says either spelling is correct. 2. Vera-Ellen’s vocals were dubbed by Anita Ellis. 3. Music: Andre Previn, 1950. 4. Music: Ted Snyder, lyrics: Kalmar and Ruby, 1923. 5. Gloria DeHaven appears as herself. 6. Lyrics: Edgar Leslie, 1918. 7. The young girl is Debbie Reynolds in one of her first film appearances; Helen Kane dubbed Miss Reynolds’ singing for the number. 8. Co-composer: Herbert Stothart; Helen Kane became known as the “Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl;” her 1928 recording of the song was very successful, as was Ben Selvin’s. 9. Dan Healy is played by Carleton Carpenter. 10. Phil Regan appears as himself. 11. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1935. 12. “Three Little Words” was introduced by Bing Crosby, backed by Duke Ellington’s orchestra, in the Amos ’n’ Andy movie Check and Double Check in 1930; the song became a huge hit in 1930.

Till the Clouds Roll By 1. Gaylord Ravenal is sung by Tony Martin. 2. Magnolia Hawks is sung by Kathryn Grayson. 3. “Ka-lu-a” (lyrics: Anne Caldwell, 1921) premiered in Good Morning Dearie in 1921. 4. “How’d You Like to Spoon With Me?” (lyrics: Edward Laska, 1905) was introduced by Georgia Caine and Victor Morley in The Earl

and the Girl; it became Kern’s first hit song. 5. Lyrics: Herbert Reynolds, a.k.a. Michael E. Rourke, 1914; Julia Sanderson and Donald Brian introduced the song in The Girl from Utah. 6. The Princess Theater offered modern, cohesive, funny, intimate musicals with songs that fit the characters and were plot sensitive. 7. “Till the Clouds Roll By” (lyrics: P.G. Wodehouse and Jerome Kern, 1917) was premiered by Anna Wheaton and Tom Powers in Oh, Boy! 8. “Leave It to Jane” was introduced by Edith Hallor and the chorus. 9. Lyrics: P.G. Wodehouse, 1917. 10. “Look for the Silver Lining” (lyric: B.G. DeSylva, 1920) was originally sung by a young millionaire who is giving Sally advice. 11. “Who?” (lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach, 1925) was originally introduced in a duet by Marilyn Miller and Paul Frawley. 12. Miss Bremer’s vocals were dubbed by Trudy Erwin. 13. Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II. 14. Van Johnson plays the club’s bandleader. 15. “I Won’t Dance” (lyrics: Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1935) was introduced by Fred Astaire in the film version of Roberta in 1935. 16. Lyrics: Otto Harbach, 1931. 17. Lyrics: Otto Harbach, 1933. 18. When the Nazis occupied Paris in 1940, Oscar Hammerstein II was moved to pen the lyrics to this song as he wondered what awful damage the Germans were inflicting on his beloved city; when it was interpolated into the 1941 film Lady, Be Good!, it won the Academy Award for Best Song ; the rules were changed stating a song was eligible only if it was written specifically for the film in which it appeared. 19. “Yesterdays” (lyrics: Otto Harbach, 1933) was introduced by Fay Templeton in Roberta in 1933. 20. “Long Ago and Far Away” (lyrics: Ira Gershwin) was introduced by Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth in the movie musical Cover Girl in 1944. 21. “All the Things You Are” (lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II) was introduced by Hollace Shaw, Frances Mercer, Hiram Sherman, and Ralph Stuart in the 1939 Broadway musical Very Warm for May. 22. “Why Was I Born?” (lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II) was introduced by Helen Morgan in Sweet Adeline, 1929.

Notes —Top Hat

Top Hat 1. Astaire and Rogers films thrive on misunderstandings. 2. Fred Astaire’s recording of “Cheek to Cheek” was one of the biggest hits of the decade and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown 1. Omitted were “My Own Brass Bed,” “I’ve A’ready Started In,” “The Denver Police,” “Beautiful People of Denver,” “Are You Sure?,” “Happy Birthday, Mrs. J.J. Brown,” “Bon Jour (The Language Song ),” “If I Knew,” “Chick-a-pen,” “Keep-aHoppin’,” “Dolce Far Niente” and “Up Where the People Are.” 2. Although she isn’t identified, the audience knows it is Molly, unsinkable even at this early age. 3. Ed Begley played Shamus Tobin. 4. Mrs. McGraw is played by Audrey Christie. 5. Monsignor Ryan is played by George Mitchell. 6. The Grand Duchess is played by Martita Hunt. 7. Hermione Baddeley played Buttercup Grogan. 8. The Prince is played by Vassili Lambrinos. 9. Johnny had earlier presented Molly with a new wedding ring — an exact replica of the cigar band ring but made of gold and precious gems.

Viva Las Vegas 1. Shorty Farnsworth is played by Nicky Blair. 2. Cesare Danova played Count Mancini. 3. At the Sands, chorus girls dance to “You Stepped Out of a Dream” (music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Gus Kahn, 1940); in another club, “Temptation” (music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1933) is heard during the floorshow; at the Tropicana, “Blue Moon” (music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1934) is performed during the floorshow. 4. This old Civil War song ( J.K., 1853) had been a No. 1 hit for Mitch Miller and his orchestra and chorus in 1955. 5. “The Eyes of Texas” (music: traditional folksong, lyrics: John Sinclair, 1903) is the University of Texas

374 alma mater, which is sung to the same tune as “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” 6. Music & Lyrics: Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, 1964. 7. Music & Lyrics: Stanley Chianese, 1964. 8. William Demarest played Rusty’s father. 9. Music & Lyrics: Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye, 1964. 10. Music & Lyrics: Dan Anthony and John Case Schaeffer II, 1964. 11. Music & Lyrics: Ray Charles, 1959. 12. Traditional Neapolitan song. 13. Music & Lyrics: Red West, 1964. 14. Music & Lyrics: Marvin More & Bernie Wayne. 15. Music & Lyrics: Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. 16. Music & Lyrics: Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. 17. Music & Lyrics: Marvin More and Bernie Wayne, 1964.

Walk the Line 1. Ridge Canipe played the young J.R. Cash. 2. Lucas Till played Jack Cash. 3. Carrie Cash was played by Shelby Lynne. 4. Music & Lyrics: John R. Cash, 1955. 5. This song was originally recorded as “Milk Cow Blues Boogie” in the 1930s by the song’s writer, Kokomo Arnold. 6. Guitarist Luther Perkins played by Dan John Miller and bass player Marshall Grant played by Larry Bagby. 7. Dallas Roberts played Sam Phillips. 8. Music & Lyrics: Fern Jones, date unknown. 9. “Folsom Prison Blues” became a No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart in 1968. 10. Waylon Malloy Payne played Jerry Lee Lewis. 11. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Lee Lewis, 1956. 12. Music & Lyrics: John R. Cash, 1956. 13. Johnathan Rice played Roy Orbison. 14. Music & Lyrics: John R. Cash, date unknown. 15. Music & Lyrics: Helen and Maybelle Carter, date unknown. 16. Music & Lyrics: John R. Cash, date unknown. 17. Tyler Hilton played Elvis Presley; the song (music & lyrics: Arthur

Crudup, 1946) became Elvis Presley’s first record release on Sun Records in July 1954. 18. Music & Lyrics: John R. Cash, Lillie McAlpin and Glenn Douglas, 1957. 19. Music & Lyrics: Boudleaux Bryant, 1953. 20. Music & Lyrics: John S. Hurt, date unknown. 21. June’s statement inspires the lyrics for “I Walk the Line.” 22. “I Walk the Line” ( John R. Cash, 1955) reportedly became Cash’s first No. 1 country hit song in 1956. 23. According to the film “Wildwood Flower” (music: Joseph Philbrick Webster, words: Maud Irving, 1860) was June’s mother’s favorite song ; it was made famous by the Carter Family’s performances of the song. 24. Music & Lyrics: Bob Dylan, 1964. 25. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler, 1963. 26. Music & Lyrics: John R. Cash and Charles Williams, 1959. 27. Vivian refused to grant him a divorce for a number of years. 28. Shooter Jennings played his father, Waylon Jennings. 29. Music & Lyrics: Hank Cochran, 1967. 30. Ezra Carter is played by Dan Beene. 31. Maybelle Carter is played by Sandra Ellis Lafferty. 32. Music & Lyrics: T.J. Arnall, circa 1947. 33. “Ring of Fire” (music & lyrics: June Carter and Merle Kilgore) became a No. 1 country hit in 1963. 34. Johnny and June’s lakeside house was destroyed by fire in April 2007. The house was being renovated after being purchased by Barry Gibb. 35. Rosanne is the eldest daughter of Johnny and his first wife, Vivian. She also experienced success as a country music recording artist. 36. Carlene Carter, June and Carl Smith’s daughter also became a country recording artist. 37. Music & Lyrics: Marshall Grant, 1967.

West Side Story 1. The entire opening sequence takes over eight-and-a-half minutes and includes very little dialogue; the audience is introduced to several significant characters through dance. 2. Officer Krupke was played by William Bramley. 3. Lt. Schrank was played by Simon Oakland.

375 4. Jimmy Bryant dubbed Richard Beymer’s vocals. 5. Chino was played by Jose de Vega. 6. Marni Nixon dubbed Natalie Wood’s vocals. 7. This is an exceptional piece of writing. Ensemble writing is difficult, but Bernstein and Sondheim certainly accomplish wonders with this number. In “Quintet,” when all of the various factions unite, we already know what the Jets, the Sharks, Anita, Maria, and Tony are thinking and feeling. So when they sing simultaneously, we understand completely what each group or individual is expressing. 8. Doc was played by Ned Glass.

White Christmas 1. It is highly unusual for a General to salute enlisted men. 2. For the rest of the film, Phil uses his “wounded arm” as a reminder that he saved Bob’s life every time he wants something. 3. Vera-Ellen’s vocals were dubbed by Trudy Stevens, except in “Sisters,” where Rosemary Clooney sang both parts. 4. Susan Waverly was played by Anne Whitfield. 5. John Brascia was Vera-Ellen’s dance partner. 6. Berlin had written this song for an unproduced musical entitled Stars on My Shoulders. 7. Berlin wrote and performed “Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army” for a dinner honoring Eisenhower in 1954.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 1. Bill is played by Aubrey Woods. 2. Sammy Davis, Jr.’s recording of “The Candy Man” rose to the top of the Billboard chart and stayed at No. 1 for three weeks in 1972. 3. Henry Salt is played by Roy Kinnear. 4. Violet’s father is played by Leonard Stone. 5. Mr. Slugworth is played by Günter Meisner. 6. Mrs. Gloop is played by Ursula Reit. 7. “M’appari” from Friedrich von Flotow’s opera Martha, 1847. 8. Mike’s mother is played by Nora Denney.

Notes —Yankee Doodle Dandy

The Wizard of Oz 1. “Over the Rainbow” is an ASCAP All-Time Hit Parade selection, one of only sixteen songs chosen from a fifty year period. It also is a Variety Hit Parade of a Half-Century song and the Academy Award winning Best Song of 1939. Judy Garland’s recording of it with Victor Young and his orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1981. However, as associated as this song is with Miss Garland today, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra’s recording was the most popular version on the market. The song spent six weeks as the No. 1 hit on Your Hit Parade. 2. In the 1903 stage production, Dorothy had a pet cow named Imogene instead of a dog. 3. In addition to “Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead!,” this scene includes several short songs including “Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are,” “The House Began To Pitch,” “As Mayor of the Munchkin City,” “As Coroner, I Must Aver,” “Lullaby League,” “Lollipop Guild” and “We Welcome You to Munchkinland.” 4. The same melody as “If I Only Had a Brain.” 5. The same tune as “If I Only Had a Brain (Heart)” with appropriate lyrics for the lion’s malady. 6. The same actor, Frank Morgan, was also Professor Marvel. 7. The same actor, Frank Morgan.

Words and Music 1. “There’s a Small Hotel” was actually introduced in On Your Toes, 1936. 2. Garrick Gaieties was a modest 1925 revue put on by the junior members of the Theatre Guild to raise money for tapestries for the new Guild Theatre; the hit of the show was “Manhattan.” 3. “Mountain Greenery” premiered in the second edition of Garrick Gaieties in 1926. 4. “Where’s That Rainbow?” was premiered in Pegg y-Ann, 1926. 5. Cyd Charisse’s singing was dubbed by Eileen Wilson. 6. Dee Turnell’s vocal was dubbed by an unnamed singer. 7. “On Your Toes” is the title song from a 1936 Broadway musical. 8. “This Can’t Be Love” premiered in The Boys from Syracuse, 1938. 9. The Girl Friend premiered on Broadway in 1926 and in London in 1928.

10. A Connecticut Yankee premiered on Broadway in 1927. 11. The Blackburn twins’ singing was dubbed by Pete Roberts and Eugene Cox. 12. “With a Song in My Heart” was introduced in Spring Is Here, 1929. 13. Babes in Arms premiered on Broadway in 1937. 14. Both songs are from Babes in Arms. 15. “Blue Moon” is the only Rodgers and Hart song that became a hit without having been introduced in a stage or movie musical. It took four lyric rewrites to become “Blue Moon.” Published in the mid–Thirties, it became one of the team’s biggest-selling songs. 16. “My Heart Stood Still” was first introduced in a 1927 English revue One Damn Thing After Another, then in the 1927 American musical A Connecticut Yankee.

Yankee Doodle Dandy 1. His baptismal certificate, his only birth record, says he was born on July 3rd. 2. I’d Rather Be Right was the only stage musical he ever appeared in that he did not write. 3. Music & Lyrics: Jerry Cohan, date uncredited. 4. Attributed to both Ed Haley and Robert A. King, 1884. 5. “Harrigan” premiered in Fifty Miles from Boston, 1907. 6. “The Yankee Doodle Boy” premiered in Little Johnny Jones, 1905. 7. “Give My Regards to Broadway” was introduced in Little Johnny Jones, 1905. 8. “Mary’s a Grand Old Name” was premiered in Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway in 1906. 9. “Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway” was premiered in the musical of the same name in 1906. 10. Hollywood often stretches the truth; Cohan had two wives, not simultaneously, named Ethel and Agnes. 11. Music: Richard Rodgers, lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1937. 12. Jack Young played Franklin D. Roosevelt. 13. The specific medal awarded to Cohan is a matter of debate. Some contend it was the Congressional Medal of Honor, however, only combat veterans can receive that medal; others say it was a Congressional Gold Medal. The date is variously reported as 1936 and 1942.

Notes —Yentl

Yentl 1. Yeshiva is a school where students study sacred texts, primarily the Talmud, which is a collection of ancient writings by famous Rabbis that analyze the holy scriptures and interpret them for Orthodox Jews. Singer’s book was originally published in Yiddish c. 1960, then in English c. 1983. 2. In Singer’s short story, Anshel is Yentl’s dead brother; when Miss Streisand visited her father’s grave for the first time in thirty years, she had her brother, Sheldon, take a photo of her beside the tombstone. When she saw the picture, she was stunned to see the name “Anshel” carved on the tombstone next to her father’s. She felt this was a message from her father that she was to make the film.

You Were Never Lovelier 1. Music & Lyrics: Nicanor Molinare, 1937. 2. Maria’s younger sisters were played by Leslie Brooks, Adele Mara, and Catherine Craig. 3. Rita Hayworth’s vocals were dubbed by Nan Wynn. 4. “Los Hijos de Buda” (Rafael Hernandez and Noro Morales), “Bim Bam Bum” ( Johnny Comacho, Noro Morales and Harold Adamson), and “Eco” (Gilbert Valdes). 5. Mrs. Delfina Acuña is played by Barbara Brown. 6. Carrick, Peter. A Tribute to Fred Astaire. Salem, NH: Salem House, 1984.

Ziegfeld Follies 1. William Powell, who had played Ziegfeld in the 1936 Academy

376 Award winning The Great Ziegfeld, also portrays him in this film. 2. “It’s Delightful to Be Married” (music: Vincent Scotto, lyrics: Anna Held, 1906) is a famous Anna Held classic from the 1906 musical The Parisian Model. 3. “Sunny” (music: Jerome Kern, lyrics: Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1925) was actually the title song from a musical produced by Charles Dillingham, not Ziegfeld. 4. Fanny Brice introduced “I’m an Indian” (writers unknown) in Why Worry? in 1918. 5. “If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)” (Music & Lyrics: Bud DeSylva and Joseph Meyer, 1925) was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway production Big Boy, a non– Ziegfeld show. 6. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1946. 7. Music: Roger Edens, lyrics: Earl K. Brent, 1946. 8. Music: Roger Edens, 1946. 9. Green, Stanley and Burt Goldblatt. Starring Fred Astaire. New York : Dodd, Mead & Company, 1973. 10. Giuseppe Verdi, 1853. 11. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1943. 12. Music & Lyrics: Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, 1945. 13. “Limehouse Blues” (music & lyrics: Philip Braham, 1924) was introduced by Gertrude Lawrence in Andre Charlot’s Revue of 1924. 14. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens and Kay Thompson, 1946. 15. Music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin, 1927; introduced by Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele, in the 1927 Broadway musical Funny Face. 16. Music: Harry Warren, lyrics: Arthur Freed, 1943.

Ziegfeld Girl 1. Edward Everett Horton played Noble Sage. 2. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1941. 3. Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Gus Kahn, 1940. 4. Actually the costumes aren’t skimpy enough for the real thing, but the Code would never have allowed that much realism. 5. Jackie Cooper played Jerry Regan. 6. Music: John Schonberger, lyrics: Malvin Schonberger, 1920. 7. Ian Hunter played Geoffrey Collis. 8. Harry Carroll adapted Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu in C-sharp minor for the melody of “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” in 1918, while Joseph McCarthy wrote the lyrics. 9. Dan Dailey Jr. played Jimmy Walters. 10. Eve Arden played Patsy Dixon. 11. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1941. 12. Music & Lyrics: Roger Edens, 1941. 13. Music & Lyrics: Edward Gallagher and Al Shean, 1922; revised lyrics. 14. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 15. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936. 16. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936; the song is heard several times during the film including during the opening credits. 17. Music: Walter Donaldson, lyrics: Harold Adamson, 1936.

Bibliography, Filmography and Videography Adler, Renata. “‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’; Fast, Friendly Musical for Children Bows.” The New York Times, December 19, 1968. _____. “‘Star!’ Arrives: Julie Andrews Featured in Movie at Rivoli.” The New York Times, October 23, 1968. A.D.S. “A Screen Musical Comedy.” The New York Times, October 6, 1933. Aladdin. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. DVD. 1992. Walt Disney Video, 2004. Alexander’s Ragtime Band. Directed by Henry King. DVD. 1938. 20th Century–Fox, 2004. Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. 1951. ToonDisney, January 13, 2008. All That Jazz. Directed by Bob Fosse. DVD. 1979. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2007. An American in Paris. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. DVD. 1951. Warner Home Video, 2000. An American Tail. Directed by Don Bluth. VHS. 1986. MCA Home Video, 1987. Anchors Aweigh. Directed by George Sidney. DVD. 1945. Warner Home Video, 2000. Anderson, Christopher. Barbra: The Way She Is. New York: William Morrow, 2006. Andrews, Julie. Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. New York. NY: Hyperion, 2008. Annie. Directed by John Huston. DVD. 1982. Sony Pictures, 2004. Annie Get Your Gun. Directed by George Sidney. DVD. 1950. Warner Home Video, 2000. Arlen, Harold, and E.Y. Harburg. Vocal Selections from The Wizard of Oz. New York: Leo Feist, 1968. Astaire, Fred. Steps in Time. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959. Babes in Arms. Directed by Busby Berkeley. VHS. 1939. Warner Home Video, 2000. Babes in Toyland (retitled March of the Wooden Soldiers). Directed by Guy Meins and Charley Rogers. VHS. 1934. Goodtime Home Video, 1991. Babes on Broadway. Directed by Busby Berkeley. VHS. 1941. MGM, 1992. The Band Wagon. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. VHS. 1953. MGM/UA Home Video, 1986. The Barkleys of Broadway. Directed by Charles Walters. DVD. 1949. Warner Home Video, 2005. Barnet, Richard D., Bruce Nemerov and Mayo R. Taylor. The Story Behind the Song: 150 Songs that Chronicle the 20th Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.

Bart, Lionel. Vocal Selections from Oliver! New York: Hollis Music, Inc., 1960. Bathing Beauty. Directed by George Sidney. DVD. 1944. Warner Home Video, 2007. Beach Blanket Bingo. Directed by William Asher. VHS. 1965. Goodtimes Home Video, 1994. “Beach Blanket Bingo Overview.” Channel 4, no date. Beauty and the Beast (Special Edition). Directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. VHS. 1991. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2002. Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Directed by Robert Stevenson. Turner Classic Movies, December 21, 2008. Bells Are Ringing. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. DVD. 1960. Warner Home Video, 2005. Bergreen, Laurence. As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 1996. Berlin, Irving, Herbert Fields, and Dorothy Fields. Annie Get Your Gun. New York: Irving Berlin Music Corp., 1946. Bernstein, Leonard, and Stephen Sondheim. Vocal Selections from West Side Story. New York: G. Schirmer and Chappell & Co., 1957. The Big Broadcast of 1938. Directed by Mitchell Leisen. DVD. 1938. Universal Studios, 2002. Billy Rose’s Jumbo. Directed by Charles Walters. VHS. 1962. MGM/UA Home Video, 1995. Blue Skies. Directed by Stuart Heisler. DVD. 1946. Universal Studios, 2003. Bock, Jerry, and Sheldon Harnick. Fiddler on the Roof. New York: Charles Hansen Educational Music & Books, 1964. Bookbinder, Robert. The Films of Bing Crosby. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1977. Born to Dance. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. VHS. 1936. MGM/UA Home Video, 1995. Brassed Off! Directed by Mark Herman. VHS. 1997. Miramax, 1999. Brigadoon. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. DVD. 1954. Warner Home Video, 2005. Bright Eyes. Directed by David Butler. VHS. 1934. Playhouse Video, 1989. The Broadway Melody. Directed by Harry Beaumont. VHS. 1929. MGN/UA Home Video, 1989. Broadway Melody of 1936. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. DVD. 1936. Warner Home Video, 2008. Broadway Melody of 1940. Directed by Norman Taurog. DVD. 1940. Warner Home Video, 2003. Brogdon, William. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Variety, July 1, 1953.

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De Paul, Gene, and Johnny Mercer. Vocal Selections from Li’l Abner. Los Angeles: Twentieth Century Music Corp., 1980. Dick Tracy. Directed by Warren Beatty. DVD. 1990. Walt Disney Video, 2002. Dirty Dancing. Directed by Emile Ardolino. DVD. 1987. Lions Gate, 2007. Doctor Dolittle. Directed by Richard Fleischer. Fox Movie Channel, March 4, 2009. The Dolly Sisters. Directed by Irving Cummings. DVD. 1945. 20th Century–Fox Home Video, 2006. Down Argentine Way. Directed by Irving Cummings. DVD. 1940. 20th Century–Fox, 2006. Dreamgirls. Directed by Bill Condon. DVD. 2006. DreamWorks Video, 2007. Du Barry Was a Lady. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. DVD. 1944. Warner Home Video, 2007. Dumbo. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen. DVD. 1941. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2006. Easter Parade. Directed by Charles Walters. VHS. 1948. MGM/UA, 1987. Ebert, Roger. Various film reviews. Chicago SunTimes, 1968–2005. Enchanted. Directed by Kevin Lima. DVD. 2007. Walt Disney Video, 2008. Erickson, Hal. “The Love Parade.” All Movie Guide, no date. _____. “Three Little Words.” All Movie Guide, no date. Evita. Directed by Alan Parker. VHS. 1996. Hollywood Pictures Home Video, 1998. Ewen, David. All the Years of American Popular Music. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977. _____. American Popular Songs. New York: Random House, 1966. The Fabulous Baker Boys. Directed by Steve Kloves. 1989. Fox Movie Channel, February 11, 2008. Fame. Directed by Alan Parker. DVD. 1980. Warner Home Video, 2003. Fantasia. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Ford Beebe, Bill Roberts, and Samuel Armstrong. VHS. 1940. Walt Disney Home Video, 1992. Fiddler on the Roof. Directed by Norman Jewison. 1971. Turner Classic Movies, February 28, 2008. Flashdance. Directed by Adrian Lyne. HDMN, February 6, 2009. Flower Drum Song. Directed by Henry Koster. Turner Classic Movies, January 18, 2009. Flying Down to Rio. Directed by Thornton Freeland. DVD. 1933. Warner Home Video, 2006. Follow the Fleet. Directed by Mark Sandrich. DVD. 1936. Turner Home Entertainment, 2005. Footlight Parade. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. DVD. 1933. Turner Home Entertainment/Warner Home Video, 2006. For Me and My Gal. Directed by Busby Berkeley. DVD. 1942. Warner Home Video, 2004. 42nd Street. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. 1933. DVD. Warner Home Video, 2006. Freiman, Ray, editor. The Samuel Goldwyn Motion

379 Bibliography, Film- and Videography Picture Production of Porg y and Bess. New York: Random House, 1959. Fricke, John. Judy Garland: A Portrait in Art & Anecdote. Boston: Bullfinch Press, 2003. Fries, Laura. “High School Musical.” Variety, January 18, 2006. F.S.N. “Words and Music.” The New York Times, August 16, 1934. Funny Face. Directed by Stanley Donen. DVD. 1957. Paramount, 2007. Funny Girl. Directed by William Wyler. 1968. Turner Classic Movies, February 14, 2008. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Directed by Richard Lester. Turner Classic Movies, January 12, 2009. Furia, Philip. Skylark, the Life and Times of Johnny Mercer. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2003. G.A. “Daddy Long Legs Review.” Time Out Film Guide, no date. Gallafent, Edward. Astaire and Rogers. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. The Gang’s All Here. Directed by Busby Berkeley. DVD. 1943. 20th Century–Fox, 2007. Garner, Joe. Now Showing: Unforgettable Moments from the Movies. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2003. The Gay Divorcee. Directed by Mark Sandrich. VHS. 1934. Turner Home Entertainment, 1999. G.B. “Bells Are Ringing.” Time Out Film Guide, no date. Geis, Darlene, Editor. Walt Disney’s Fantasia. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Directed by Howard Hawks. DVD. 1953. 20th Century–Fox, 2001. Gibbons, Gary. Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, the Early Years, 1903 –1940. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001. Gigi. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. 1958. Turner Classic Movies, February 3, 2008. The Girl Can’t Help It. Directed by Frank Tashlin. DVD. 1956. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2006. Girl Crazy. Directed by Norman Taurog. VHS. 1943. MGM (Warner), 1992. The Glenn Miller Story. Directed by Anthony Mann. VHS. 1954. MCA Home Video, 1986. Going My Way. Directed by Leo McCarey. DVD. 1944. Universal Studios, 2007. Gold, Rich. “Oliver!” Variety, October 2, 1968. Gold Diggers of 1933. Directed by Mervyn Leroy. VHS. 1933. MGM/UA Home Video, 1984. Gold Diggers of 1935. Directed by Busby Berkeley. VHS. 1935. MGM/Warner, 1998. Goldman, Albert. Elvis. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981. The Goldwyn Follies. Directed by George Marshall. VHS. 1938. HBO Video, 1992 Good News. Directed by Charles Walters. VHS. 1947. MGM Video, 1986.

Grease. Directed by Randal Kleiser. 1978. ABC Family Channel, January 11, 2009. The Great Caruso. Directed by Richard Thorpe. VHS. 1951. MGM/UA Home Video, 1993. The Great Ziegfeld. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. VHS. 1936. MGM, 1994. Green, Stanley. Broadway Musicals, Show By Show. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Publishing Corp., 1994. _____. Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 1976. _____. Hollywood Musicals: Year by Year. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Publishing Corp., 1990. Green, Stanley, and Burt Goldblatt. Starring Fred Astaire. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1973. Greenspun, Roger. “Cabaret.” The New York Times, February 14, 1972. Greenwood, Earl, and Kathleen Tracy Dutton. The Boy Who Would Be King. New York: Signet, 1991. Greydanus, Steven D. “The Jungle Book.” Decent Films Guide, no date. Guinn, Jeff. How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. Guys and Dolls. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. DVD. 1955. MGM, 2000. Gypsy. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. DVD. 1962. Warner Home Video, 2000. Hall, Mordaunt. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1927–1934. Hair. Directed by Milos Forman. DVD. 1979. MGM, 1999. Hairspray. Directed by Adam Shankman. DVD. 2007. New Line Home Video, 2007. Hallelujah, I’m a Bum. Directed by Lewis Milestone. DVD. 1933. MGM/UA Home Video, 2002. Hamlisch, Marvin, and Edward Kleban. Vocal Selections from A Chorus Line. New York: Larry Shayne Enterprises Group, 1975. Hans Christian Andersen. Directed by Charles Vidor. DVD. MGM, 2001. A Hard Days Night. Directed by Richard Lester. DVD. 1964. Miramax Home Entertainment, 2002. Harvey, Dennis. “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Variety, January 24, 2001. The Harvey Girls. Directed by George Sidney. VHS. 1946. Warner Home Video, 1992. Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell. DVD. 2001. New Line Home Video, 2001. Hello, Dolly! Directed by Gene Kelly. 1969. DVD. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2003. Hendler, Herb. Year By Year in the Rock Era. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983. High School Musical. Directed by Kenny Ortega. DVD. 2006. Walt Disney Video, 2006. High Society. Directed by Charles Walters. Turner Classic Movies, February 28, 2008. Hirsch, Julie Antopol. The Sound of Music, the Making of America’s Favorite Movie. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1993.

Bibliography, Film- and Videography 380 Hirschhorn, Clive. The Hollywood Musical. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1981. Hischak, Thomas. Film It With Music: An Encyclopedic Guide to the American Movie Musical. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. Hischak, Thomas S. The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002. H.M. “All That Jazz.” Time Out London, no date. Holden, Stephen. “Making a Point with Smut and Laughs.” The New York Times, June 30, 1999. _____. “Sentimental Coal Dust With a Brass Band.” The New York Times, May 23, 1997. Holiday Inn. Directed by Mark Sandrich. DVD. 1942. Universal Studios, 2006. Holliss, Richard, and Brian Sibley. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & the Making of the Classic Film. Burbank, CA: The Walt Disney Company, 1997. Hollywood Hotel. Directed by Busby Berkeley. DVD. 1937. PD, no date. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Directed by David Swift. VHS. 1967. MGM/UA Home Video, 1990. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. VHS. 1996. Walt Disney Home Video, 1997. Hunter, Stephen. “‘Chicago,’ One Town — And a Film — That Won’t Let You Down.” Washington Post, December 27, 2002. In the Good Old Summertime. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. DVD. 1949. Warner Home Video, 2004. It’s Always Fair Weather. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. DVD. 1955. Warner Home Video, 2006. Jack, Robert. “Jesus Christ Superstar: A Rock Opera.” Theolog y Today, Vol. 28, No. 1, April 1971. Jacobson, Colin. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” DVD Movie Guide, October 3, 2004. Jailhouse Rock. Directed by Richard Thorpe. DVD. 1957. Warner Home Video, 2000. The Jazz Singer. Directed by Alan Crosland. VHS. 1927. MGM (Warner), 1994. Jesus Christ Superstar. Directed by Norman Jewison. DVD. 1973. Universal Studios, 2004. The Jolson Story. Directed by Alfred E. Green. DVD. 1946. Columbia Tri-Star Entertainment, 2003. J.T.M. “The Capitol’s ‘Born to Dance,’ With Eleanor Powell Tapping to Cole Porter Tunes, Is Tops Films.” The New York Times, December 5, 1936. The Jungle Book. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. DVD. 1967. Disney DVD, 2007. Kampley, Rita. “The Fabulous Baker Boys.” Washington Post, October 13, 1989. Kehr, Dave. “Funny Girl.” Chicago Reader, no date. _____. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Chicago Reader, no date. Kelley, Kitty. His Way, the Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra. New York: Bantam Books, 1986.

Kid Millions. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. VHS. 1934. MGM/UA Home Video, 2000. The King and I. Directed by Walter Lang. DVD. 1956. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2006. King of Jazz. Directed by John Murray Anderson. VHS. 1930. MCA/Universal Home Video, 1995. Kismet. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. VHS. 1955. MGM/UA Home Video, 1987. Kiss Me, Kate. Directed by George Sidney. 1953. Turner Classic Movies, February 14, 2008. Kobal, John. Gotta Sing Gotta Dance, a Pictorial History of Film Musicals. London: Hamlyn, 1971. Krieger, Henry, and Tom Eyen. Vocal Selections from Dreamgirls. New York: The David Geffen Company & The Dreams Company, 1982. Lady and the Tramp. Directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wilfred Jackson. DVD. 1955. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2006. LaSalle, Mick. “Chicago.” San Francisco Chronicle, August 22, 2003. Law, Melanie. “The Jungle Book.” Parent Previews, 2002. Les Girls. Directed by George Cukor. DVD. 1957. Warner Home Video, 2003. Li’l Abner. Directed by Melvin Frank. Turner Classic Movies, February 6, 2009. The Lion King. Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. DVD. 1994. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2003. The Little Mermaid. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. DVD. 1989. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2006. Little Shop of Horrors. Directed by Frank Oz. DVD. 1986. Warner Home Video, 2000. Loesser, Frank, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows. Guys and Dolls. Boston: Frank Music Corp., 1949. Loewe, Frederick, and Alan Jay Lerner. Brigadoon. New York: Sam Fox Publishing Company, Inc. 1947. Love Me or Leave Me. Directed by Charles Vidor. DVD. 1955. Warner Home Video, 2005. Love Me Tonight. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian. DVD. 1932. Kino Video, 2003. The Love Parade. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. DVD. 1929. Eclipse, 2007. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Fourth Edition. New York: Disney Editions, 2000. Mamma Mia! Directed by Phyllida Lloyd. DVD. 2008. Universal Studios, 2008. Man of La Mancha. Directed by Arthur Hiller. 1972. Turner Classic Movies, June 26, 2008. Marshall, Ernest. “The Compulsory Husband.” The New York Times, March 23, 1930. Mary Poppins. Directed by Robert Stevenson. DVD. 1964. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2004. Maslin, Janet. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1983–1996. Maytime. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. VHS. 1937. MGM/UA Home Video, 1992.

381 Bibliography, Film- and Videography McClellan, Lawrence, Jr. The Later Swing Era: 1942 to 1955. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. Meet Me in St. Louis. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. VHS. 1944. Warner Movie Video, 1992. The Merry Widow. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. VHS. 1934. MGM Home Video, 1993. Miller, Scott. “Inside Grease.” New Line Theatre, March 30, 2007. _____. Rebels with Applause: Broadway’s GroundBreaking Musicals. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Drama, 2001. Moon Over Miami. Directed by Walter Lang. DVD. 1941. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2006. Morath, Max. Popular Standards. New York, NY: Grand Central Press and National Public Radio, 2002. Mother Wore Tights. Directed by Walter Lang. VHS. 1947. 20th Century–Fox, 2003. Moulin Rouge. Directed by Baz Luhrmann. DVD. 2001. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2001. The Muppet Movie. Directed by James Frawley. DVD. 1979. Walt Disney Video, 2005. Murphy, A.D. “Saturday Night Fever.” Variety, December 14, 1977. The Music Man. Directed by Morton DaCosta. DVD. 1962. Warner Home Video, 1999. My Fair Lady. Directed by George Cukor. 1964. Turner Classic Movies, February 15, 2008. Nathaniel R. “All That Jazz or Bob Fosse’s 8 1/2.” The Film Experience, no date. Naughty Marietta. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke. VHS. 1935. MGM/UA Home Video, 1992. Neptune’s Daughter. Directed by Edward Buzzell. DVD. 1949. Warner Home Video, 2007. New York, New York. Directed by Martin Scorsese. DVD. 1977. MGM Home Entertainment, 2004. Night and Day. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Turner Classic Movies, February 2, 2009. A Night at the Opera. Directed by Sam Wood. VHS. 1935. MGM/UA Home Video, 1980. Nugent, Frank S. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1934–1940. Oklahoma! Directed by Fred Zinnemann. DVD. 1955. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2006. Oliver! Directed by Sir Carol Reed. Turner Classic Movies, February 24, 2008. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. DVD. 1970. Paramount Pictures, 2005. On Moonlight Bay. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. VHS. 1951. Warner Home Video, 1994. On the Avenue. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. VHS. 1937. Fox Video, 1994. On the Town. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. VHS. 1949. MGM Home Video, 2002. One Hundred Men and a Girl. Directed by Henry Koster. VHS. 1937. MCA/Universal Home Video, 1995.

One Night of Love. Directed by Victor Schertzinger. DVD. 1934. NTSC, no date given. One Night of Love. Directed by Victor Schertzinger. 1934. Columbia Pictures, 1994. The Pajama Game. Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen. VHS. 1957. Warner Home Video, 1990. Pal Joey. Directed by George Sidney. DVD. 1957. Sony Pictures, 1999. Pennies From Heaven. Directed by Herbert Ross. DVD. 1981. Warner Home Video, 2004. Peter Pan. Directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wilfred Jackson. DVD. 1953. Walt Disney Video, 2007. The Phantom of the Opera. Directed by Joel Schumacher. DVD. 2004. Warner Home Video, 2005. Pinocchio. Directed by Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen. VHS. 1940. Walt Disney Home Video, 1993. The Pirate. Directed by Vincent Minnelli. DVD. 1948. Warner Home Video, 2007. Pocahontas. Directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg. 1992. DVD. Walt Disney Video, 10th Anniversary Edition, 2005. The Polar Express. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. DVD. 2004. Warner Home Video, 2005. Poor Little Rich Girl. Directed by Irving Cummings. VHS. 1936. 20th Century–Fox, 1995. Porg y and Bess. Directed by Otto Preminger. DVD. 1959. No company or date given (most likely bootleg video). The Producers. Directed by Susan Stroman. DVD. 2005. Universal Studios, 2006. Pryor, Thomas M. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1942–1948. Puig, Claudia. Various film reviews. USA Today, 2004–2006. Purple Rain. Directed by Albert Magnoli. DVD. 1984. Warner Home Video, 1997. Rabinovitch, Simon. “British Coal Mines Closed, But Brass Bands Play On.” Reuters, May 31, 2007. Rainer, Peter. “Red Alert: A supercharged mix of Busby Berleley, La Boheme, and Tommy-style filmmaking, Moulin Rouge doesn’t so much honor movie musicals as frag them.” New York Magazine, May 21, 2001. Raph, Theodore. The Songs We Sang. New York: A.S. Barnes, 1964. Ray! Directed by Taylor Hackford. DVD. 2004. Universal Studios, 2005. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Directed by Allan Dwan. DVD. 1938. 20th Century–Fox DVD, 2005. Rhapsody in Blue. Directed by Irving Rapper. 1945. Turner Classic Movies, January 10, 2009. The Road to Morocco. Directed by David Butler. DVD. 1942. Universal Studios, 2002. Roberta. Directed by William A. Seiter. DVD. 1935. Warner Home Video, 2006. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Directed by Jim Shar-

Bibliography, Film- and Videography 382 man. DVD. 1975. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2002. Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 2002. Rodgers, Richard, and Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. Carousel. New York: Williamson Music, Inc., 1945. _____. The King and I. New York: Williamson Music, Inc., 1951. _____. Oklahoma! Vocal Selection. New York: Williamson Music, Inc., 1943. _____. Vocal Selections from State Fair. New York: Williamson Music, Inc., 1962. Rodgers, Richard, Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The Sound of Music. New York: Williamson Music, Inc., 1959. Rogers, Ginger. Ginger: My Story. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. Romance on the High Seas. Directed by Michael Curtiz. DVD. 1948. Warner Home Video, 2007. Rosenbaum, Jonathan. “Hans Christian Andersen.” Chicago Reader, no date. Royal Wedding. Directed by Stanley Donen. VHS. 1951. MGM/Warner, 1995. Rooney, David. “Kismet.” The New York Times, February 10, 2006. Sachs, Andrea. “Critics Voices.” Time, December 11, 1989. San Francisco. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke. DVD. 1936. Warner Home Video, 2006. Saturday Night Fever. Directed by John Badham. 1977. American Movie Classics, March 12, 2009. Schemmerling, Kryssa. “Review of Saturday Night Fever.” barnesandnoble.com, no date. Schwartz, Dennis. “The Goldwyn Follies.” Ozus’ World Movie Reviews, February 20, 2006. Scott, A.O. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 2004–2007. Scrooge. Directed by Ronald Neame. 1970. Turner Classic Movies, December 20, 2008. Sennett, Ted. Hollywood Musicals. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1985. Sennwald, Andre. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1934–1935. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Directed by Stanley Donen. DVD. 1954. Warner Home Video, 2004. 1776. Directed by Peter H. Hunt. VHS. 1972. Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1991. Shall We Dance. Directed by Mark Sandrich. DVD. 1937. Turner Home Entertainment, 2005. Show Boat. Directed by George Sidney. 1951. Turner Classic Movies, January 12, 2008. Show Boat. Directed by James Whale. DVD. 1936. PD, no date. Sickels, Robert. The 1940s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. Silk Stockings. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian. DVD. 1957. Warner Home Video, 2003. Singin’ in the Rain. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. VHS. 1952. Warner Home Video, 1991.

Sleeping Beauty. Directed by Clyde Geronimi. VHS. 1959. Walt Disney Home Video, 1997. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Directed by David Hand. VHS. 1937. Walt Disney Home Video, 1994. The Sound of Music. Directed by Robert Wise. DVD. 1965. 20th Century–Fox Home Video, 2006. South Pacific. Directed by Joshua Logan. DVD. 1958. 20th Century–Fox Home Video, 2006. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Directed by Trey Parker. DVD. 1999. Comedy Central, 1999. Spaeth, Sigmund. A History of Popular Music in America. New York: Random House, 1948. Springtime in the Rockies. Directed by Irving Cummings. VHS. 1942. Key Video, 1989. Sragow, Michael. “A ‘Walk’ to see and remember.” Baltimore Sun, November 18, 2005. Stack, Peter. “‘Pocahontas’— the Musical: Disney’s new animated extravaganza is long on song and romance.” San Francisco Chronicle, June 23, 1995. Star! Directed by Robert Wise. DVD. 1968. 20th Century–Fox, 2004. A Star Is Born. Directed by George Cukor. DVD. 1954. Warner Home Video, 2000. Star Spangled Rhythm. Directed by George Marshall. DVD. 1942. Universal Studios, 2002. Stars and Stripes Forever. Directed by Henry Koster. VHS. 1952. Fox Video, 1991. State Fair. Directed by Walter Lang. DVD. 1945. 20th Century–Fox, 2005. Stormy Weather. Directed by Andrew Stone. DVD. 1943. 20th Century–Fox, 2006. Strauss, Theodore. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1941–1943. Strike Up the Band. Directed by Busby Berkeley. DVD. 1940. Warner Home Video, 2007. Strouse, Charles, and Lee Adams. Vocal Selections from Bye Bye Birdie. New York: Edwin H. Morris & Company, 1963. Summer Stock. Directed by Charles Walters. DVD. 1950. Warner Home Video, 2006. Sun Valley Serenade. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. 1941. Fox Movie Channel, January 18, 2008. Sunnyside Up. Directed by David Butler. DVD. 1929. DVD Video, no date given. Sweeney Todd. Directed by Tim Burton. DVD. 2007. Dreamworks Video, 2007. Sweet Charity. Directed by Bob Fosse. DVD. 1969. Universal Studios, 2003. Sweet Dreams. Directed by Karel Reisz. DVD. 1985. HBO Home Video, 1999. Swing Time. Directed by George Stevens. DVD. 1936. Turner Home Entertainment, 2005. Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Directed by Busby Berkeley. DVD. 1949. Warner Home Video, 2000. Thank Your Lucky Stars. Directed by David Butler. VHS. 1943. MGM/UA Home Video, 1998. That Night in Rio. Directed by Irving Cummings. DVD. 1941. 20th Century–Fox, 2007.

383 Bibliography, Film- and Videography That’s Dancing. Directed by Jack Haley, Jr. DVD. 1985. Warner Home Video, 2007. That’s Entertainment. Directed by Jack Haley, Jr. DVD. 1974. Warner Home Video, 2004. That’s Entertainment II. Directed by Jack Haley, Jr. DVD. 1976. Warner Home Video, 2004. That’s Entertainment III. Directed by Bud Friedgen. DVD. 1994. Warner Home Video, 2004. There’s No Business Like Show Business. Directed by Walter Lang. DVD. 1954. 20th Century–Fox Home Entertainment, 2001. This Is the Army. Directed by Michael Curtiz. DVD. 1943. Passion Productions, 2003. Thomas, Tony. The Films of Gene Kelly, Song and Dance Man. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1974. _____. That’s Dancing. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1984. Thoroughly Modern Millie. Directed by George Roy Hill. DVD. 1967. Universal Studios, 2003. Three Little Words. Directed by Richard Thorpe. DVD. 1950. Warner Home Video, 2006. Till the Clouds Roll By. Directed by Richard Whorf. DVD. 1946. Digiview Productions, 2004. Time staff. Various film reviews. Time, 1942–1968. Tin Pan Alley. Directed by Walter Lang. VHS. 1940. 20th Century–Fox, 1995. Top Hat. Directed by Mark Sandrich. VHS. 1935. Turner Home Entertainment/RKO, 1999. Travers, Peter. “Dick Tracy.” Rolling Stone, December 18, 2000. _____. “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Rolling Stone, August 2, 2001. Tyler, Don. Hit Parade: An Encyclopedia of the Jazz, Depression, Swing, and Sing Eras. New York: Quill, 1985. _____. Hit Songs, 1900 –1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2007. The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Directed by Charles Walters. 1964. Turner Classic Movies, February 24, 2008. Variety staff. Various film reviews. Variety, 1934–1983. Vellenga, Dirk, with Mick Farren. Elvis and the Colonel. New York: Delacorte Press, 1988. Victor/Victoria. Directed by Blake Edwards. DVD. 1982. Turner Home Entertainment, 2002. Viva Las Vegas. Directed by George Sidney. DVD. 1964. Warner Home Video, 2007. Vocal Selections from “That’s Entertainment.” New York: The Big 3 Music Corporation, 1974. Vogel, Frederick G. Hollywood Musicals Nominated for Best Picture. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003. Walk the Line. Directed by James Mangold. FX Channel, April 8, 2008. Webber, Andrew Lloyd, and Tim Rice. Jesus Christ Superstar, Musical Excerpts. New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1970. Webber, Andrew Lloyd, and Charles Hart. Vocal Selections from The Phantom of the Opera. Milwau-

kee, WI: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, 1987. Weiler, A.H. Various film reviews. The New York Times, 1957–1964. West Side Story. Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. American Movie Classics, February 22, 2008. White Christmas. Directed by Michael Curtiz. VHS. 1954. Paramount Pictures, 1990. Whoopee! Directed by Thornton Freeland. VHS. 1930. HBO Home Video, 1992. Wilder, Alec. American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900 –1950. New York: Oxford, 1972. Willson, Meredith. Vocal Selections from The Music Man. New York: Frank Music Corp. & Rinimer Corp. 1957. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Directed by Mel Stuart. 1971. Hallmark Channel, March 22, 2008. Windeler, Robert. The Films of Shirley Temple. New York: Citadel Press, 1992. The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming. DVD. 1939. Warner Home Video, 1999. Words and Music. Directed by Norman Taurog. DVD. 1948. Warner Home Video, 2007. Yankee Doodle Dandy. Directed by Michael Curtiz. VHS. 1943. CBS-Fox Video, 1986. Yentl. Directed by Barbra Streisand. VHS. 1983. MGM/UA Home Entertainment, 1990. You Were Never Lovelier. Directed by William A. Seiter. DVD. 1942. Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, 2004. Young, William H., and Nancy K. Young. Music of the Great Depression. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. Young, William H., with Nancy K. Young. The 1950s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. Zegarac, Nick. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” Media Screen, no date. Ziegfeld Follies. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. DVD. 1946. Warner Home Video, 2006. Ziegfeld Girl. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. DVD. 1941. Warner Home Video, 2004.

Websites http://barbra-archives.com http://bluegrassmessengers.com http://cbl.orcein.net/pocahontas http://community.mcckc.edu http://disney.go.com/vault/archives http://ec.intranet.org http://en.wikipedia.org http://films.estefanfilms.com http://goatdog.com http://libretto.musicals.ru http://listing-index.ebay.com http://mlhart.com http://movies.go.com

Bibliography, Film- and Videography 384 http://movies.tvguide.com http://movies2.nytimes.com http://musicals.net http://new.music.yahoo.com/elton-john http://nfo.net/index.html http://noiroftheweek.blogspot.com http://parlorsongs.com http://rogerebert.suntimes.com http://songfacts.com http://tcmdb.com http://users.bestweb.net http://web.archive.org http://website.lineone.net http://wonkadotcom.tripod.com http://www.aellea.com http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net http://www.allmovie.com http://www.allmusicals.com http://www.answers.com http://www.archive.org http://www.badmovies.org http://www.blackcommentator.com http://www.brightlightsfilm.com http://www.christiananswers.net http://www.classicfilmguide.com http://www.classicmoviemusicals.com http://www.crazy4cinema.com http://www.dailymotion.com http://www.dailyscript.com http://www.dorisday.net http://www.elvis.com http://www.ew.com http://www.filmcritic.com http://www.filmsite.org http://www.filmsondisc.com http://www.fpx.de/fp/Disney/Scripts http://www.frankloesser.com http://www.geocities.com http://www.gradesaver.com http://www.halcyon.com http://www.harrywarren.org http://www.harrywarrenmusic.com http://www.imagesjournal.com http://www.imagi-nation.com http://www.imdb.com http://www.imsdb.com/scripts http://www.jazzhall.org http://www.jeanetteandnelson.net http://www.jgdb.com http://www.literature.org http://www.loc.gov http://www.lorenzhart.org

http://www.lubitsch.com http://www.moviediva.com http://www.mtishows.com http://www.musicalheaven.com http://www.musicals101.com http://www.musicweb.uk.net http://www.nicholasbrothers.com http://www.nicklucas.com http://www.nightattheopera.net http://www.nodanw.com http://www.playbill.com http://www.prairienet.org http://www.quigleypublishing.com/MPalmanac/Top1 0/Top10_lists http://www.redhotjazz.com http://www.reel.com http://www.reelclassics.com http://www.riaa.com http://www.san.beck.org http://www.scifiscripts.com http://www.scorereviews.com http://www.script-o-rama.com http://www.sensesofcinema.com http://www.silentsaregolden.com http://www.songfacts.com http://www.songofthesouth.net http://www.southparkstuff.com http://www.sover.net http://www.talkinbroadway.com http://www.tamswitmark.com http://www.tapdance.org http://www.tcm.com http://www.thejudyroom.com http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk http://www.threemoviebuffs.com http://www.time.com http://www.timeout.com http://www.tinytim.org http://www.trailerfan.com http://www.tvguide.com http://www.un-official.com http://www.variety.com http://www.vh1.com http://www.videodetective.com http://www.warnerbros.com http://www.weeklyscript.com http://www.westsidestory.com http://www.wetcircuit.com http://www.wheelerandwoolsey.com http://www.youtube.com http://xroads.virginia.edu

Index “A Vucchella (Arietta di Posilippo)” 121 Aaronson, Irving 357 Abbott, Diahnne 365 Abbott, George 63, 228, 233, 235 Abbott, Tom 89 ABC-Paramount 251 ABC Pictures 39 Abel, Walter 145 Aberson, Helen 74 “About a Quarter to Nine” 163 “Abraham” 147 Ackerman, Loni 346 “The Actress Hasn’t Learned” 83 Adair, Tom 370 Adam, Adolphe 347 Adams, Abigail 258, 259, 260 Adams, Amy 78, 81 Adams, India 347 Adams, Joe 47 Adams, John 258, 259, 260 Adams, Lee 37 Adams, Samuel Hopkins 139 Adamson, Harold 104, 105, 348, 355, 357, 376 Addison, Adele 245 “Adelaide” 123, 124 “Adelaide’s Lament” 124, 126 Adiarte, Patrick 166 “Adios” 111 Adler, Bruce 345 Adler, Buddy 283 Adler, Richard 63, 233, 235 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet 92 “A E I O U” 8 “African Dance” 290 “After I Say I’m Sorry” see “(What Can I Say) After I Say I’m Sorry” “After the Ball” 162, 264, 267, 372 “After You Get What You Want, You Don’t Want It” 304 “After You’ve Gone” 10, 94 Agar, John 244 Ager, Milton 361 “Ah! Che a Voi Perdoni Iddio” 66 “Ah! Fors e lui” 366 “Ah Suits Me” 264, 369 “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” 214, 215, 306, 307 “Ah, the Moon Is Here” 92 ahbez, eden 364 Ahlert, Fred E. 362, 371 Aida 120, 121, 357 Ailey, Alvin 85 “Ain’t Got No” 129 “Ain’t It the Truth” 43 “Ain’t Misbehavin’” 289, 290 “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?” 104 “Ain’t We Got Fun?” 225

“Air” 358 “Air-Erotica” 10 Akst, Harry 373 “Alabamy Bound” 21 Aladdin 5, 179, 181, 361, 362 Aladdin and the King of Thieves 6 Alberni, Luis 366 Alberni, Nick 347 Albert, Carlos 352 Albert, Eddie 219, 221 Albertson, Jack 325 Albrecht, Elmer 356 Alda, Robert 123 Aleichem, Sholem 89 Alexander, Jason 39, 151 Alexander, John 161 Alexander, Rod 48 Alexander’s Ragtime Band 6 “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” 6, 7, 304, 305 Algar, James 87 Alice in Wonderland 7, 8 “Alice in Wonderland” 8 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 8 “All Alone” 7 “All Alone Monday” 308 “All Ashore” 349 “All By Myself ” 32 “All Choked Up” 357 All-4-One 153 “All for You” 293 “All I Ask of You” 241, 242 “All I Care About” 52 “All I Do Is Dream of You” 270 “All I Need Is the Girl” 127, 128 “All I Owe Ioway” 289 “All I Want” 279, 370 “All in a Golden Afternoon” 8 “All My Loving” 137 “(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings” 14 “All of You” 267, 268, 269 “All or Nothin’” 220 All That Jazz 9, 10 “All That Jazz” 51 “All the Things You Are” 310, 373 “All You Need Is Love” 203, 364 “Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso” 347 “Alleluia” (Mozart) 231 “Alleluia” (Sound of Music) 280 Allen, Aimee 133 Allen, Barbara Jo 272, 274 Allen, Debbie 86 Allen, Gracie 65, 66 Allen, Jackie 373 Allen, Jay Presson 39 Allen, Lee 354 Allen, Peter 10, 346 Allen, Rae 63 Allenwood, Jean 348

385

Allers, Roger 179 Allgood, Sara 363 Allwyn, Astrid 354 Allyson, June 108, 111, 115, 117, 256, 310, 311, 355 “Alma llanera” 25 “Alma Mater” 118, 374 “Almost Like Being in Love” 34 “Alms, Alms” 297 “Alone at the Drive-In Movie” 357 “Alone with You” 253 “Alter Ego” 58 Alton, Robert 16, 23, 24, 45, 76, 116, 138, 154, 242, 265, 303, 309, 322, 330, 337, 347 “Always” 348 “Always True to You (in My Fashion)” 174, 175 Ameche, Don 6, 68, 352 “America” 319, 320 “America (My Country ’Tis of Thee)” 320 “America, the Beautiful” 206 American Bandstand 71 American Film Institute (AFI) 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 60, 63, 65, 66, 68, 73, 74, 76, 81, 84, 85, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, 111, 112, 114, 116, 117, 120 122, 123, 126, 128, 133, 135, 138, 140, 143, 145, 148, 151, 154, 155, 157, 159, 161, 163, 166, 169, 171, 173, 175, 176, 179, 181, 183, 186, 187, 189, 192, 195, 197, 198, 200, 202, 205, 207, 210, 213, 214, 215, 217, 219, 221, 223, 225, 226, 228, 230, 232, 233, 235, 237, 242, 244, 245, 247, 249, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258, 261, 262, 265, 267, 269, 272, 275, 277, 279, 283, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 292, 293, 295, 301, 303, 305, 309, 311, 312, 315, 316, 319, 322, 325, 327, 331, 332, 333, 334, 336, 337, 339, 367, 371 American Idol 70 An American in Paris 10, 11, 13, 59, 108, 114, 168, 355 “American Patrol” 111 Ames, Joyce 140 Ames, Leon 196, 225, 363 Amos ’n’ Andy 279, 373 “Anatevka” 90 Anchors Aweigh 13, 14 “Anchors Aweigh” 13, 14, 349 “And All That Jazz” 10, 51, 53, 350 “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” 69, 71, 72, 352

Index “And I Love Her” 138 “And If You See Our Darling Nellie” 170 “And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)” 83 “And This Is My Beloved” 172, 173, 361 “Andante maestoso — Allegro vivace” 366 Andersen, Hans Christian 181 Anderson, Eddie “Rochester” 42 Anderson, John Murray 348, 361 Anderson, Ken 163 Anderson, Maxi 352 Anderson, Murray 169 Andre Charlot’s Revue 376 Andrew, Dana 288 Andrews, Julie 1, 192, 195, 210, 213, 242, 279, 280, 282, 305, 307 Andrews Sisters 349 Andy Hardy’s Double Life 215, 348 Angel, Heather 237 “Angel of Music” 240, 367 Animal Crackers 308 “Animals Crackers in My Soup” 253 Ann-Margret 37, 39, 289, 315, 316 Anna and the King 166 Anna and the King of Siam 166 Annie 3, 15, 16 “Annie” 346 Annie Get Your Gun 16, 17, 18, 293, 303, 347 “Anniversary Song” 163, 360 “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” 175 “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” 82 Anthony, Dan 374 Anthony, Ray 59, 351 “Antoinette and Anatole” 214 “Anvil Chorus” 363 Anvil Films 249 “Any Bonds Today” 33 “Anything Can Happen in New York” 19 “Anything to Please the Queen” 191 “Anything You Can Do” 16, 17 “Anytime” 250, 368 “Anywhere I Wander” 136, 137 Apollonia 6 248, 368 “Appreciation” 316 “April Showers” 163 “Aquarela do Brasil” 355 “Aquarius” 129, 358 “The Arabian Dance” 87 “Arabian Nights” 5, 345 Arden, Eve 57, 357, 376 “Are You Sure?” 374 “Aria of Khan Konchak” 361 Arledge, John 361 Arlen, Harold 42, 286, 287, 327, 330, 347, 349, 356, 371, 372 Arlen, Roxanne 358 Armont, Paul 187 Armstrong, Craig 364 Armstrong, Curtis 249 Armstrong, Louis 43, 110, 111, 142, 143, 145, 359

386 Armstrong, Samuel 86 Arnall, T.J. 374 Arndt, Felix 361 Arnheim, Gus 347, 348, 362 Arno, Sig 366 Arnold, Eddy 250, 368 Arnold, Edward 16, 301 Arnold, Joan 359 Arnold, Kokomo 374 Arnold, Tichina 362 Arnst, Bobbe 354 Arnstein, Jules “Nicky” 98 “Arrah Go On, I’m Gonna Go Back to Oregon” 67 “The Art of the Possible” 82 Arthur, Art 293 Arthur, Beatrice 89 Arthur, Maureen 148 Arthur, Robert 363 “Artist’s Life” see “Kunstlerleben (Artist’s Life)” “As Coroner, I Must Aver” 375 “As It Falls” 369 “As Long As He Needs Me” 223, 365 “As Mayor of the Munchkin City” 375 “As On Through the Seasons We Sail” 267 As Thousands Cheer 145, 359, 373 “As Time Goes By” 42, 290 Asaf, George 351, 354, 366 Ascher, Kenny 205 Ash, Paul 352 Ashman, Howard 5, 6, 25, 181, 183, 185, 345, 348, 353, 361, 362 Astaire, Adele 21, 97, 255, 337, 346, 347, 354, 355, 369, 376 Astaire, Fred 1, 9, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 58, 60, 63, 66, 76, 78, 91, 92, 96, 97, 98, 102, 103, 145, 146, 148, 255, 256, 261, 262, 267, 269, 299, 301, 307, 309, 311, 313, 322, 336, 337, 338, 339, 347, 351, 354, 355, 369, 372, 373, 374, 376 Astor, Mary 196 “At a Georgia Camp Meeting” 290 “At Last” 111, 294 “At Sundown” 187 Atkinson, Rowan 179 L’Attache d’Ambassade 198 Attaway, Ruth 245 Atteridge, Harold 354 Atwell, Roy 274 Auberjonois, Rene 181 Auclair, Michel 96 “Auction at the Opera Populaire, 1919 (Prologue)” 367 “Audition Dance” 336, 337 Audley, Eleanor 272, 274, 350 Auer, Mischa 230 Auld, George 217, 365 “Auld Lang Syne” 267 Aurthur, Robert Alan 9 Austin, Charlotte 350 Austin, Ray 346 Avalon, Frankie 357 “Ave Maria” 88, 121, 162, 357, 360

Avila, Doria 348 Ayer, Nat 354 Ayers, Lemuel 338 “The Babbit and the Bromide” 338 Babbs, Durrell 352 Babes in Arms 18, 19, 331, 347, 367, 375 “Babes in Arms” 18, 19 Babes in Toyland 345 Babes on Broadway 19, 20, 21 “Babes on Broadway” 21 “Baby Face” 306 “Baby, I’m a Star” 249 “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” 215, 216, 217, 365 “Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand” 250 “Baby Mine” 74, 75 Baby, Take a Bow 244 “Baby, Talk to Me” 349 “Baby! What?” 356 “Baby, You Knock Me Out” 156 Bach, Johann Sebastian 86, 357 The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer 254 “Back to Bach” 65 Bacon, Lloyd 92, 95 Bacon, Shelby 359 Bacon, Ted 361 Baddeley, Hermione 374 Baerwald, David 364 Bagby, Larry 374 Bagley, Edwin Eugene 356, 371 Bailey, Pearl 47, 245 Bainter, Fay 19, 288, 289 Baker, Belle 348 Baker, Evadne 370 Baker, Kenny 114, 138 Baker, Phil 100, 101, 115 Bakula, Scott 22 Balanchine, George 114, 115 Balderston, John L. 223 Baldwin, Howard 249 Baldwin, Karen Elise 249 Balfe, Michale William 355 “Bali Ha’i” 283, 284, 371 Ball, Lucille 73, 74, 92, 313, 338, 352 “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” 297 Ballard, Florence 69, 70 “Ballin’ the Jack” 94 “La Bamba” 357 “Bambu Bambu” 69 The Band Wagon 21, 22, 156, 347 Banderas, Antonio 81, 83 Bando da Lua 100, 285, 352, 371 Banta, Milt 7, 237 Bara, Theda 351 Baranski, Christine 51 “Barbary Coast” 355 Barbeau, Adrienne 89 “A Barber and His Wife” 297, 299 The Barber of Seville 13, 18, 346, 363, 366 Barbier, George 363 “The Bare Necessities” 163, 164, 165 Bargy, Roy 169, 170

387 Bari, Lynn 293, 372 Barker, Jess 350 The Barkleys of Broadway 23, 262, 293 Barlow, Andrew 364 Barnes, Cheryl 358 Barnes, Christopher Daniel 181 Barnes, Fred J. 347 Barnet, Charlie 365 Baron, Fred 202 Barrie, J.M. 237 Barrie, Mona 232 Barris, Harry 169, 361 Barroso, Ary 355 Barry, Philip 143 Barrymore, John 195 Barstow, Richard 286 Bart, Lionel 137, 221 Barty, Billy 356 Basile, Giambattista 272 “Basin Street Blues” 110 Baskett, James 277, 279 Baskette, Billy 354 Bassman, George 352, 365 Bates, Florence 366 Bates, Katherine Lee 364 Bathing Beauty 24, 25, 215 Battle, Hinton 352 “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” 171, 173, 361 Baucon, Bill 361 Baum, Bernie 374 Baum, L. Frank 327, 330 Baxter, Phil 361 Baxter, Warner 95 Bayes, Nora 333, 372 “Be a Clown” 177, 243, 370 “Be a Ladies’ Man” 116, 117 “Be Back Soon” 222 “Be Careful It’s My Heart” 147, 148 “Be My Love” 120, 357, 360 “Be Our Guest” 25, 27, 353 “Be Prepared” 179, 181 Beach Blanket Bingo 345 Beahan, Charles 232 “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum” 48 The Beatles 71, 137, 138, 150, 319, 365 Beaulieu, Toni 365 Beaumont, Harry 35 Beaumont, Kathryn 7, 237, 367 “Beautiful Girl” 271 “The Beautiful One” 248 “Beautiful People of Denver” 374 “Beauty” 338 Beauty and the Beast 5, 25, 26, 28, 153, 179, 181, 348, 353, 362 “Beauty and the Beast” 25, 27, 353 Beauty in Trouble 364 “Beauty School Dropout” 119 Beavers, Louise 359 Beavers, Richard 352 “Because” 121 Beckett, Scotty 360 “The Bed” 358 Bedknobs & Broomsticks 165, 347 Bee Gees 357 Beebe, Ford 87

Beechman, Laurie 358 “Been a Long Day” 149 Beene, Dan 374 Beethoven, Ludwig van 87, 251, 353, 364 “Before the Parade Passes By” 141 “Beggar’s Waltz” 347 “Begin the Beguine” 36, 37, 349 Begley, Ed 374 Behrman, S.N. 133, 242 “Being in Love” 207, 209 Belafonte, Harry 47 Belcher, Ernest 159 Bell, Marion 33, 338 “Bella Notte (This Is the Night)” 176, 353 “Belle” 25, 26 Belle, Regina 6, 345 “The Belle of the Barber’s Ball” 333 Bells Are Ringing 28, 108 “Bells Are Ringing” 28 “The Bells of Notre Dame” 151, 153 “Belly Up to the Bar, Boys” 313, 314 Beloin, Edmund 138 Belushi, James 362 Bemis, Connie 371 Ben-Hur 25, 176 “A Bench in the Park” 170 Beneke, Tex 294 Benet, Stephen Vincent 257 Benjamin, Stuart 249 Bennett, Roy C. 360, 374 Bennett, Tony 361 Benny, Jack 126 Benson, George 10 Benson, Jodi 181, 353 Benson, Martin 166 Benson, Robby 25 Benson, Sally 197, 315 Benton, Jerome 368 Berenson, Marisa 39 Bergen, Candice 356 Bergen, Edgar 114, 115, 356, 364 Bergerac, Jacques 176 Bergman, Alan 334, 335, 353 Bergman, Marilyn 334, 335, 353 Berini, Mario 351 Berkeley, Busby 17, 18, 19, 27, 30, 31, 42, 60, 61, 62, 87, 92, 93, 95, 96, 100, 101, 102, 108, 109, 112, 114, 170, 254, 290, 301, 339, 340, 344, 372 Berkeley Square 223 Berle, Milton 293, 364 Berlin, Irving 6, 7, 16, 17, 18, 31, 32, 33, 45, 47, 76, 78, 91, 92, 145, 148, 175, 226, 227, 232, 303, 305, 311, 322, 324, 345, 346, 348, 357, 359, 360, 362, 364, 366, 375 Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin 40 Berlioz, Hector 366 Berman, Pandro S. 65, 91, 102, 157, 261, 300, 311, 339 Bernstein, Leonard 228, 230, 319, 321, 366, 375 Berring, H. Douglas 358

Index “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” 245, 247 Besserer, Eugenie 159 “The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me)” 46 “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” 322, 324 “The Best Things in Life Are Free” 116, 117 Bestor, Don 354 Betsy 348 “Better Luck Next Time” 78 “Better Than a Dream” 28 “Between You and Me” 36 “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” 235, 236, 237 Beymer, Richard 319, 320 “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” 55, 56 Bickford, Charles 286 “Bidin’ My Time” 108, 109, 110, 355 “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” 132 Big Boy 376 The Big Broadcast of 1938 345 The Big Pond 365 Bigley, Isabel 123 Bikel, Theodore 210, 280 Bil and Cora Baird Puppets 370 “Bill” 263, 264, 265, 266 Billy Rose’s Jumbo 30, 31 “Bim, Bam, Bum” 25, 376 Bing, Herman 74, 195 Binyon, Claude 145 Birch, Patricia 117 “The Bird” 249 Birdsong, Cindy 70 The Birth of a Nation 277 Bishop, Sir Henry Rowley 363, 366 Bissell, Richard 233 Bitter Sweet 195, 196, 393 Bizet, Georges 47, 48, 177, 233, 364 Bjerko, Craig 210 Black, Charles 244 “The Black Bottom” 286, 366 “Black Boys” 130 “The Black Hills of Dakota” 44, 45 Blackbirds of 1928 245 Blackmer, Sidney 143 “Blackout Over Broadway” 20 Blaine, Vivian 123, 126, 288, 371 Blair, Nicky 374 Blake, Eubie 347 Blake, James W. 351, 372 Bland, James A. 363 Blandick, Clara 327 Blane, Ralph 116, 356, 359, 363, 376 Blank, Dorothy Ann 275 Bledsoe, Jules 263 “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide” 257, 369 Bleyer, Archie 367 Blinn, William 247 Bliss, Lucille 350 Blondell, Joan 60, 61, 92, 112 Blonsky, Nikki 131, 133 “Bloody Mary” 283, 284 Bloom, Rube 362

Index Bloom, Vera 346 Blore, Eric 299, 311 “Blow High, Blow Low” 350 “Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum” 276 Blue, Ben 93 “Blue Bell” 162 “The Blue Danube” 25, 156, 173 “Blue Moon” 218, 331, 357, 374, 375 “Blue Orchids” 293 “Blue Room” 331 Blue Skies 31, 32, 33, 322 “Blue Skies” 7, 32, 33, 160, 322, 348 “Blue Skies, Grey Skies” 333 Blyden, Larry 223 Blyth, Ann 120, 122, 171, 357 Bobby Z 368 Bock, Jerry 89 La Bohème 121, 202, 357 The Bohemian Girl 355 “Bojangles of Harlem” 301, 372 Bolan, Marc 364 Boles, John 169, 170 Bolger, Ray 123, 138, 140, 327, 330 Bolin, Shannon 63 Bollner, Michael 325 Bolton, Guy 108, 189, 309, 330 Bombo 360 “Bombshell from Brazil” 20 “Bon Jour (The Language Song)” 374 Bond, Christopher 297 “Bonjour, Paris” 97 Bono 364 “Boogie Woogie” 25 Book of One Thousand and One Nights 5, 345 Boone, Pat 289, 352 Borden, Leona 360 “Bored” 172, 361 Boretz, Allen 24 “Born in a Truck” 286, 287 “Born to Hand Jive” 357 “Born to Lose” 252, 368 Borodin, Aleksandr 171, 173, 361 Bosier, Virginia 33 Bostwick, Barry 117 “Bottle Dance” 90 Bouman, John 361 “Bouncin’ the Blues” 23, 24, 347 Bower, Jamie Campbell 297 Bowie, David 364 Bowman, Lee 57 “Boy for Sale” 222 The Boy Friend 305 “The Boy Friend” 36 “A Boy Like That” 321 “The Boy Next Door” 197, 198 “Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!” 355 Boyd, Luke 352 Boyd, Stephen 30 Boyer, Charles 352 Boyle, John 332 The Boys from Syracuse 30, 375 Bracken, Eddie 292 Brackett, Charles 166 Bradford, Sylvester 357

388 Bradshaw, Clifford 40 Bradshaw, Ernest 353 Brady, Alice 102, 230 Braham, Philip 376 Brahms, Johannes 67, 346, 351 “Brahms’ Lullaby” 14 Brambell, Wilfred 137 Bramley, William 374 Brando, Marlon 123, 126 Brascia, John 375 Brawner, Kenny 358 “Brazil” 100 Brazzi, Rossano 282, 284, 371 Breaux, Marc 53, 192, 279 Brecher, Irving 37, 73, 197 Bremer, Lucille 196, 309, 338, 339, 340, 373 Brennan, Walter 361 Brent, Earl K. 346 Brent, George 95 Brett, Jeremy 210 Brewster, Ralph 372 Brian, Donald 347, 373 Brice, Fanny 1, 30, 98, 99, 122, 123, 225, 337, 338, 354, 355, 376 Bricusse, Leslie 325 Bridges, Tom 100 Brigadoon 33, 34 “Brigadoon” 33, 34 Bright Eyes 244, 253 “Brighten the Corner Where You Are” 197 Brightman, Sarah 239, 367 “Brindisi” 121 “Bring on Those Wonderful Men” 338 Britton, Pamela 13 Broadbent, Jim 202 The Broadway Melody 35, 36, 271, 348 “The Broadway Melody” 35, 36, 272, 348, 349 Broadway Melody of 1936 271 Broadway Melody of 1940 36 “Broadway Rhythm” 18, 272, 349 Broccoli, Albert R. 53 Brockman, James 366 Broderick, Helen 299, 311 Broderick, Matthew 150, 179, 210 Brodney, Oscar 109 Brodszky, Nicholas 362 “Bronco Busters” 355 Bronson, Lillian 359 Brooks, David 33 Brooks, Harry 371 Brooks, Jack 353, 372 Brooks, Leslie 57, 376 Brooks, Mel 364 Brooks, Phyllis 252 Brooks, Shelton 346, 351, 371 Brophy, Ed 74 “The Brotherhood of Man” 150 Brothers Grimm 275 Brown, Ada 289 Brown, Barbara 376 Brown, James 352 Brown, Joe E. 265 Brown, Lew 116, 295, 351, 352, 362, 366, 371

Brown, Martin 202 Brown, Nacio Herb 35, 269, 270, 347, 349, 353, 363, 365, 370, 373, 374, 376 Brown, Peter H. 364 Brown, Russ 63, 65, 371 Brown, Ruth 250 Brown, Seymour 354 Brown, Tom 195 Brox Sisters (Bobbe, Kathlyn, and Lorraine) 170, 361 Bruce, Betty 358 Bruce, Virginia 122, 123, 340 Bruins, Charles 365 Bruns, George 370 “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” 174, 175 Bryant, Boudleaux 346, 368, 374 Bryant, Felice 346, 368, 374 Bryant, Jim 373, 375 Brynner, Yule 166, 167 Bryson, Peabo 6, 27, 345, 348 Buchanan, Jack 21, 22 Buchman, Harold 261 Buckner, Robert 332 Buckner, Susan 357 Buena Vista Pictures 192 “Buenos Aires” 82 “The Buffalo Bills” 207 Bugatti, Dominic 353 Bugsy Malone 353 Bullens, Cindy 357 Bullock, Walter 100, 284 Buloff, Joseph 267, 370 “Bumper Found a Grand” 134 Bundy, Laura Bell 352 Bunin Puppets 337 Bunn, Alfred 355 Burke, Billie 122, 327, 330, 347 Burke, Sonny 175 “Burlington Bertie from Bow” 201 Burnett, Carol 15, 16, 45, 235 Burnett, Ernie 371 Burns, David 359 Burns, George 65, 66 Burns, Jack 205 Burns, Ralph 365 Burns, Robert 370 Burris, Jim 354 Burrows, Abe 148, 267 Burrows, James 36, 348 Burton, Tim 297, 327, 372 Bush, Grand 358 “A Bushel and a Peck” 123 Busse, Henry 361 Bussert, Meg 210 “But Definitely” 244 But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes 105 “But, Mr. Adams” 259 “But Not for Me” 109, 355 “But the World Goes ’Round” 218 “But Where Are You” 92 Butler, David 43, 295 Butler, Gerard 239, 242 Butler, Michael 128 Butterworth, Charles 187 “Button Up with Esmond” 355 “Buy a Bar of Barry’s” 244 Buzzell, Edward 215

389 “By a Waterfall” 93 “By Myself ” 21, 22 “By Strauss” 13 “By the Beautiful Sea” 94 By the Light of the Silvery Moon 226 “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” 21, 162 “By the Sea” 298 “By the Waters of Minnetonka” 25 “Bye Bye Baby” 104 Bye Bye Birdie 37, 39 “Bye Bye Birdie” 38, 39 “Bye Bye Life” 10 “Bye Bye Love” 10, 252, 368 Byington, Spring 154 Bynes, Amanda 131 Ça, c’est l’amour” 177 Cabaret 9, 39, 41, 42 “Cabaret” see “(Life Is a) Cabaret” Cabin in the Sky 42, 43 “Cabin in the Sky” 42 Cabot, Sebastian 163, 171 “Cadillac Car” 71 Caesar, Irving 360, 369, 371 Cagney, James 1, 92, 111, 185, 186, 187, 332, 333 Cagney, Jeanne 332 Cahn, Sammy 254, 346, 362, 367, 373 Caine, Georgia 373 “Cakewalk” 267 Calame, Niketa 179 Calamity Jane 43, 45 Caldwell, Anne 373 Calhern, Louis 16, 17, 143 “California, Here I Come” 163 “Call Back in the Morning” 362 Call Me Madam 45, 47 “Call on Dolly” 140 Callahan, J. Will 351, 354, 354, 366 Callow, Simon 239 Calloway, Cab 235, 247, 289, 290, 371 Camelot 33 Camille 205 Campbell, Alan 286 Campbell, Paul 362 Campbell, Tisha 362 “De Camptown Races” 290, 347 Can Can 362 “The Can-Can” 202, 364 “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” 179, 180, 181, 361 “Can You Picture That?” 206 “Can You Use Any Money Today?” 46 Candido, Candy 367 “The Candy Man” 325, 327 “Candy Man Blues” 318 Canipe, Ridge 374 “Can’t Buy Me Love” 138, 358 “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 309, 369 Cantor, Eddie 123, 159, 337 “Cap’n Andy’s Ballyhoo” 263 “Caprice Viennois, Op. 2” 169 Captain January 244

Cara, Irene 83 “De Cards Don’t Lie” 48 Carey, Philip 43 “Caribbean Love Song” 340 “The Carioca” 103, 313, 355 Cariou, Len 297 Carling, Foster 370 Carmen 47, 177, 209, 232, 233 Carmen, Charlene 352 Carmen Jones 47, 48 “Carmen Jones Is Goin’ to Jail” 47 Carmichael, Hoagy 104, 105, 355, 368 Carminati, Tullio 232 “Carnegie Hall Pavane” 366 Carnival of the Animals 62, 353 Carns, Kathleen 355 “Caro Nome” 363 “Carolina in the Morning” 67, 351 Caron, Leslie 10, 11, 58, 59, 105, 106, 108, 355 Carousel 42, 48, 49, 288, 350 “Carousel Waltz” 49 Carpenter, Carlton 373 Carpenter, Constance 354 Carr, Allan 117 Carr, Betty 369 Carr, Carmian 279 Carr, Darlene 360 Carr, Howard 354 Carr, Patrick 317 Carrey, Jim 65 “Carried Away” 366 Carrington, Neil 351 Carroll, Diahann 47, 245 Carroll, Harry 351, 354, 376 Carroll, Joan 363 Carroll, Lewis 8 Carroll, Madeleine 226, 227 Carroll, Pat 181 “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” 196 Carson, Jack 254, 255, 286 Carson, Robert 286 Carter, Ben 358 Carter, Carlene 374 Carter, Helen 374 Carter, Helena Bonham 297, 299, 372 Carter, Maybelle 374 Carter, Nell 358 Cartwright, Angela 279 Caruso, Dorothy 120 Caruso, Enrico 120 Carver, Lynne 195 Casablanca 42, 290 Caselotti, Adrianna 274, 277, 353 Casey, Warren 117, 357 “Casey Junior” 74, 352 Cash, Johnny ( John R.) 317, 319, 374 Cash, June Carter 317, 374 Cash, Roseanne 374 Cash: The Autobiography 317 Caspary, Vera 176 Castle, Nicholas (or Nick) 68, 252, 255, 289, 292, 372 The Cat and the Fiddle 310 “C-A-T Spells Cat” 59

Index Cats 239 Catscher, Robert 372 “The Caucus Race” 8 Caulfield, Joan 31 Cavallaro, Carmen 351 Cavalleria Rusticana 120, 121, 357 Cavallo, Robert 247 Cavanass, J.M. 348 Cavanaugh, James 361 Cawthron, Joseph 187 “Celeste Aida” 121 “Cell Block Tango” 52 Chakiris, George 319 Chalumeau, Jean-Luc 367 “Chamma Chamma” 364 “Champagne” 190 Champion, Gower 96, 265 Champion, Marge 265 Chandler, Chick 345 Chandler, Harry 161 Chanel, Jules 189 Chaney, Lon 239 Channing, Carol 104, 105, 140, 305, 307 Channing, Stockard 117 “Chansonette” 214 Chapin, Miles 358 Chaplin, Saul 360, 372 Chaplin, Sydney 28 Charisse, Cyd 21, 22, 33, 34, 92, 138, 140, 155, 157, 267, 269, 331, 338, 339, 347, 348, 359, 370, 375 “Charity Concert” 82 Charles, Annette 357 Charles, Jacques 352 Charles, Ray 249, 252, 368, 369, 374 “The Charleston” 116, 360, 366 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 55, 325, 327 “The Charm of You” 14 “Charmaine” 306 Charnin, Martin 15 Chartoff, Robert 217 Chase, Duane 279 Chatman, Peter 368 “Chattanooga Choo Choo” 111, 285, 293, 294, 295, 356, 372 “Chaveleh (Little Bird)” 90 “Che gelida manina!” 121 Check and Double Check 373 “Cheek to Cheek” 311, 312, 313, 366, 374 “Cheer Up, Charlie” 325 Chenoweth, Kristin 210 Chevalier, Maurice 1, 105, 107, 182, 187, 188, 189, 190, 198, 200, 214, 362, 365 “Chi Me Frena?” 363 “Chi mi frena in tal momento” 121, 232 Chianese, Stanley 374 “Chiapanecas” 346 Chicago 1, 10, 51, 53, 221 “Chicago” 154 Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville 51 Chicago: The Musical 51 “Chick-a-pen” 374

Index Chiffons 362 Child, Desmond 364 “Children of the Revolution” 203 Children’s Television Workshop 205 Chiles, George 169, 170, 361 “Chim Chim Cher-ee” 165, 192, 194, 195 “Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On!” 20 “The Chinese Dance” 86 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 53, 55, 165 “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” 53, 54 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car 53 “Chiu, Chiu” 336, 337 Chopin, Frédéric 122, 351, 376 “Choreography” 324 A Chorus Line 96 Christie, Audrey 374 Christine, Henri 354, 357 “Christmas Story” 226 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 347 Chrysanthemum 305 “Chu-Chi Face” 54 Church, Sandra 126 Churchill, Frank 275, 352, 353, 367 Churchill, Sarah 255 “Cielo e Mar” 121 “A Cigarette, Sweet Music and You” 352 Cinderella 55, 81, 274, 353 “Cinderella” 55 “Cinderella, Darling” 359 “A Cinema in Buenos Aires, 26th July 1952” 82 Cinergi Pictures 81 “Circle of Life” 179, 180, 181, 362 “A Circus Must Be Different in a Ziegfeld Show” 123, 340 “The Circus on Parade” 30 “Ciribiribin” 232, 285 “Clap Yo’ Hands” 97, 98, 354 Clare, Sidney 369 Clark, Dick 71 Clark, Dort 28 Clark, Fred 28, 59 Clark, Ruth 355 Clark, Sheila 370 Clarke, Grant 354, 360 “Class” 350 Clayton, Jan 49 Clements, Ron 5, 181 Clemmons, Larry 163 Clemons, Clarence 365 “Cleopatterer” 310 Clifford, Linda 86 “The Climb” 316 “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” 281, 282 Clooney, Rosemary 322, 323, 366, 375 Close, Glenn 284 “Closed for Renovation” 362 “Clown Song” 75 C’mon Everybody” 316 Coates, Eric 352 Cobain, Kurt 364 Coburn, Charles 104

390 Coburn, James 364 “Cocaine Blues” 318 Cochran, Hank 374 “Cockeyed Optimist” 283, 284, 371 “Coffee Break” 359 Cohan, George M. 1, 111, 332, 333, 334, 347, 354, 375 Cohan, Jerry 375 Cohen, Sacha Barron 297 Cohn, Alfred A. 159 Cole, Bob 363 Cole, Jack 104, 161, 171, 176, 177, 303 Cole, Nat “King” 250, 368, 371 Coleman, Lisa 368 Colesberry, Robert R. 85, 353 Colette 106, 107 Collier, Constance 351 Collins, Paul 237, 367 Collins, Phil 364 Collins, Ray 292 “Colonel Buffalo Bill” 17 “Colonel Hathi’s March” 164, 165 Colonna, Jerry 7 “Colorado, My Home” 313, 314 “Colored Spade” 129 Columbia Pictures 2, 9, 15, 37, 57, 58, 98, 161, 221, 231, 232, 235, 245, 258, 336 “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean” 364 Colvig, Pinto 274 Comacho, Johnny 348, 376 Comden, Betty 21, 23, 28, 116, 155, 228, 230, 269, 301, 303, 356, 370 “Come and Get Your Happiness” 253 “Come Back to Me” 224, 225 “Come Back to Sorrento” see “Torna a Surriento” “Come, Friends, Who Plough the Sea” 355 “Come On, Papa” 308 “Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are” 375 “Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)” 133 “Come to Me, Bend to Me” 34, 35, 348 “Come Up to My Place” 228, 230 “Come What May” 204, 205, 364 “Comin’ Through the Rye” 170 The Commitments 353 Como, Perry 330, 371 “The Company Way” 149 Compton, Betty 354 “Computer Blue” 248, 368 Conaway, Jeff 117 Concerto in F 12 Concerto in G “Alla Rustica” 10 Condon, Bill 51, 69 Confrey, Zez 363, 373 “The La Conga” 291, 371 Conklin, Chester 358 Conlon, Jud 359 Conn, Didi 117 A Connecticut Yankee 331, 375

Connell, Del 7 Connelly, Marc 42 Connick, Harry, Jr. 235, 284 Connolly, Bobby 36, 93, 327 Connolly, Myles 135, 309 Connor, Edgar 133 Conrad, Con 351, 354, 355, 357 Conried, Hans 237, 292, 367, 372 “The Consecration Scene” 121 Conselman, William 226 “Consider Yourself ” 221, 222, 223, 365 “The Contest” 298 “The Continental” 102, 103, 313, 355 Convy, Bert 89 Conway, Tom 237 Cook, Barbara 207 Cook, Donald 262 “Cool” 321 Cooper, Gladys 210, 242 Cooper, Jackie 372, 376 Cooper, Ralph 244 “Cooties” 133 Coots, J. Fred 365 “Coquette” 355 Corman, Roger 183 “Cornet Man” 355 Corti, Jesse 348 Coslow, Sam 366, 370 Cossart, Ernest 360 Costa, Mary 272, 274 Costen, Russell 358 “Cotton Blossom” 263, 265, 309, 369 The Cotton Club Tramp Band 371 Cottrau, Teodoro 356 Cottrell, William 7 “Could You Use Me?” 108 “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” 322, 324 “A Couple of Song and Dance Men” 32, 33 “A Couple of Swells” 78 The Court Jester 2 “The Court of Miracles” 153 Cover Girl 57, 58, 78, 373 “Cover Girl” 58, 78 Covey, Rachel 78 Cowan, Jerome 261 Coward, Noël 195, 196 Cowens, Alvis 371 Cox, Eugene 375 Coyne, Jeanne 361 “Crackly Grain Flakes” 253 Craig, Catherine 376 Crain, Jeanne 105, 288, 289, 371 Crane, Harry 138 Crane, Norma 89 “The Crap Game” 245 Crawford, Michael 140, 142, 239, 242, 367 Crazy for You 109 Creamer, Henry 346, 354 Creatore, Luigi 362 Creedon, Richard 275 The Crew Cuts 352 Crewe, Bob 364 Crosby, Bing 31, 32, 33, 143, 145,

391 146, 148, 169, 171, 322, 323, 351, 356, 359, 365, 373 Crosby, Bob 359 Crosland, Alan 159 Cross, Murphy 346 Crouse, Russel 45, 280 Crudup, Arthur 374 “Cry, Cry, Cry” 317 Crystals 362 “Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine” 225 Cugat, Xavier 24, 25, 215, 216, 217, 336, 337, 348 Cukor, George 176, 210, 286, 287 Cullum, John 258 Cummings, Irving 66, 68, 244, 284 Cummings, Jack 24, 36, 173, 215, 257, 307, 315 Cummings, Jim 179 “La Cumparsita” 14 Cunningham, George 35 Cupito, Suzanne 358 Curly Top 244, 253 Curreri, Lee 83 Curry, Tim 15 Curtis, Nathaniel 138 Curtiz, Michael 254, 322, 332 Cutler, Scott 352 Czaritza 196, 363 Dabney, Ford 42, 349 DaCosta, Morton 207 Dacus, Don 128 Daddy Long Legs 58, 59, 60 “Daddy Long Legs” 59 “Daddy, You’ve Been a Mother to Me” 201 “Da-Doo” 184 Daemion, Amiel 364 Daffin, Ted 368 DaGradi, Donald (or Don) 175, 192 “Dah, Dat, Dah” 290 Dahl, Arlene 307 Dahl, Roald 53, 55, 325, 327 Dailey, Dan 155, 156, 157, 200, 202, 303 Dailey, Dan, Jr. 376 Dale, Virginia 145, 146 Daly, Tyne 39, 128 D’Amboise, Jacques 257, 350 “Une Dame noble et sage” 196 Dames 60, 61 “Dames” 61, 62 Damn Yankees! 62, 63, 65, 351 La Damnation de Faust 366 The Damnation of Faust see La Damnation de Faust Damone, Vic 171, 173 A Damsel in Distress 65, 66, 350 “Dance at the Gym” 320 “Dance of the Hours” 88 “The Dance of the Reed Flutes” 86 “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” 86 “Dancing” 141, 142 Dancing in the Dark 23 “Dancing in the Dark” 22 “Dancing Through Life” 60

Dandridge, Dorothy 47, 245, 247, 294, 350 Dane, Faith 358 D’Angelo, Beverly 128 Daniel, Eliot 370 Daniels, Bebe 95 Daniels, Henry H., Jr. 196 Daniels, LeRoy 22, 347 Daniels, William 258 Danner, Blythe 258 D’Annunzio, Gabriele 357 Danova, Cesare 374 D’Antonio, Carmen 37 “Danube Waves” 163, 360 “La Danza or Tarantella Napolitana” 121 Darby, Ken 359, 370 Dare, Danny 145 Darin, Bobby 289 “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” 67, 68, 290, 351, 371 Darling, Peter 239 “Darling Nikki” 248 Dash, Julian 356 Da Silva, Howard 258 “Dat’s Love” 47 “Daughters of Triton” 181 Dave and the Sweethearts 352 Davenport, Harry 363 Daves, Delmar 60, 363 David, Mack 55 Davies, Valentine 109 Davis, Benny 354, 373 Davis, Jimmie 352 Davis, Lou 361 Davis, Luther 171 Davis, Sammy, Jr. 245, 247, 375 Davis, Warwick 368 Dawkins, Eric 352 Dawn, Julie 325 Day, Doris 30, 31, 43, 118, 185, 186, 187, 225, 226, 233, 235, 254, 255, 349, 369 Day, Morris 247, 367 “A Day in New York” 229 “The Day of Atonement” 159 Dayton, Danny 123 de Abreu, Zequinha 348 Deacon, John 364 “Dead End” 358 “The Deadwood Stage” 43, 45 Dean, Laura 83 “Dearly Beloved” 336, 337 de Beaumont, Madame JeanneMarie Leprince 26 DeBenning, Jeff 359 DeCamp, Rosemary 225, 332 DeCampo, M.V. 346 “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” 356 de Corsia, Ted 365 DeCosta, Harry 361 de Curtis, Ernesto 357 Dee, Ann 373 Dee, Sandra 118 DeFore, Don 254 De Haven, Gloria 292, 308, 373 Dehner, John 350 De Lange, Edgar 356

Index Delibes, Leo 363 Del Ruth, Roy 73, 225, 226 DeLuise, Dom 364 DeMarco, Tony 100, 101 Demarest, William 161, 252, 374 DeMaris, Merrill 275 Demas, Carole 117, 118 de Mille, Agnes 48, 219, 221 DeMille, Cecil B. 51 Dempsey, Patrick 78 de Musett, Alfred 363 De Niro, Robert 217, 219, 365 Denney, Nora 375 Dennis, Gill 317 Dennison, Jo-Carol 161 “Dentist” 184, 185 “The Denver Police” 374 Denza, Luigi 366 De Oliveira, Aloysio 100 de Paul, Gene 257, 345 Depp, Johnny 1, 297, 299, 327 “Dere’s a Café on de Corner” 47 DeRobertos, Jon 358 DeRose, Peter 366 Deschanel, Zooey 365 de Segurola, Andres 366 De Silva, David 84 DeSylva, B.G. “Buddy” 73, 116, 295, 346, 347, 357, 360, 362, 366, 371, 372, 373, 376 Deutsch, Helen 313 Deutsch, Jansci 66 Deutsch, Rozsicka 66 de Vega, Jose 375 de Villeneuve, Madame GabrielleSuzanne Barbot 25 Devine, Loretta 69, 362 DeVries, Marius 364 DeWolfe, Billy 31, 349 d’Hardelot, Guy 357 Diamond, Neil 161 “Diamond Dogs” 203 “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” 104, 105, 355, 364, 373 “Diavolo” 348 DiCapua, Edoardo 366 “Dice Are Rolling” 353 Dick Tracy 345 Dickens, Charles 221, 365 Dickerson, Dez 368 Dickinson, Hal 372 Dickinson, John 258, 259, 260 “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” 169 Dieterle, Kurt 361 Dietz, Howard 21 “Dig, Dig” 275, 277 “Dig-Dig-Dig Dig for Your Dinner” 292 “Diga Diga Doo” 290 Diggs, Taye 350 Dillon, William 360 Dilly, Erin 55 Dimples 244 “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead!” 327, 330, 375 Dinicu, Grigoras 348 Dion, Celine 27, 348 “Dirty Hands, Dirty Face” 160

Index “Dis Flower” 48 “Dites-moi” 283, 284 “Dixie” 347 Dixon, Harland 354 Dixon, Leslie 131 Dixon, Mort 351 Dixon, Tiny Joe 352 “Do I Love You?” (Goetz/Christine) 94 “Do I Love You?” (Porter) 73 “Do It Again” 306 “Do It the Hard Way” 236 “Do It Yourself ” 28 “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me” 218 “Do-Re-Mi” 279, 281, 282 “Do You Love Me?” 90 Dockstader, Lew 162 Doctor Fink 368 Doenges, Marion 359 Doggett, Norma 369 “Dogs in the Yard” 84, 85, 86 “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” 17 Dolan, Robert Emmett 322 “Dolce Far Niente” 374 “Doll on a Music Box” 55 The Dolly Sisters 66, 67, 68 Donaldson, Walter 351, 352, 354, 357, 360, 362, 376 Donath, Ludwig 161 Donen, Stanley 63, 96, 155, 228, 230, 233, 255, 257, 269, 301, 302, 303 Donizetti, Gaetano 232, 357, 363 “The Donkey Serenade” 14 “Donna” 129 “La donna è mobile” 121, 363 Donohue, Jack 13, 24, 215, 217 “Don’t Be Too Old Fashioned (Old Fashion Girl)” 67 “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” 82, 83, 353 Don’t Fall in Love 232 “Don’t Feed the Plant” see “Finale Ultimo” “Don’t Leave Me Daddy” 94 “Don’t Leave Me Now” 158 “Don’t Leave Me This Way” 364 “Don’t Let It Bother You” 102 “Don’t Put It Down” 131 “Don’t Rain on My Parade” 98, 99, 100 “Don’t Tamper with My Sister” 365 “Don’t Tell Mama” 349 Doran, Mary 349 Dorsey, Jimmy 355 Dorsey, Tommy 73, 74, 108, 109, 217, 365 Dotrice, Karen 192 Douglas, Donald 345 Douglas, Glenn 374 Douglas, Mike 55 Dowling, Cathrine 352 Dowling, Thomas 352 “Down Argentina Way” 68, 69, 352 Down Argentine Way 68, 69, 352 “Down at John Henry’s” 43 “Down on MacConnachy Square” 33

392 “Down Once More” 242 Dowse, Denise 368 Doyle, Buddy 123 Drake, Alfred 108, 171 Drake, Charles 109 Drake, John 372 Drake, Tom 196, 330 “Dream” 59, 60, 351 “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” 55, 56, 57, 353 “Dream Lover” 190, 191, 192 DreamWorks Pictures 69, 297 Dreamgirls 69, 72 Dresser, Paul 360 Dreyer, Dave 360 “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee” 369 Driscoll, Bobby 237, 277, 367 Driver, Minnie 239, 242, 367 “Drop That Name” 29 “Drown in My Own Tears” 251, 368 “Drum Crazy” 76, 350 “Drummer Boy” 291 Du Barry Was a Lady 73, 74, 359 Dubin, Al 60, 61, 62, 95, 96, 112, 352, 354, 360 “Duet and Final Chorus” (Carmen) 350 Dugan, Tom 356, 372 Dukas, Paul 87, 353 Duke, Vernon 42, 114, 349, 356, 365 Dumas, Alexander 156 “Dumb Dog” 15, 346 Dunbar, Dixie 345 Dumbo 74, 75 Dumbrille, Douglass 365 Duncan, Todd 42 Dunham, Katherine 290 Dunn, Ralph 233 Dunne, Irene 166, 262, 265 Dunne, Michael 363 Durante, Jimmy 30 Durbin, Deanna 230, 231 Durning, Charles 205 Dutton, Charles S. 86 Dwan, Allan 252 “The Dwarf ’s Yodel Song” 276, 277, 370 Dworsky, Sally 362 Dye, Debbie 358 Dylan, Bob 374 Dyson, Ronnie 358 “E Lucevan le Stelle” 121 Earl, Kenneth 24 The Earl and the Girl 373 Early, Margaret 290 Eastburn, R.A. 355 Easter Parade 23, 76, 78, 350 “Easter Parade” 7, 76, 78, 145, 147, 148, 352, 359 Eastham, Richard 373 “Easy Street” 16 “Easy to Be Hard” 130, 358 Ebb, Fred 10, 39, 40, 51, 349, 365 “Eco” 376 The Ed Sullivan Show 38, 39, 71

Eddy, Nelson 190, 195, 196, 213, 214, 215, 330, 363 Edelman, Louis 336 “Edelweiss” 281, 282 Edens, Roger 30, 97, 116, 139, 230, 272, 291, 301, 303, 347, 349, 352, 354, 356, 358, 366, 370, 371, 372, 376 The Edge 364 Edwards, Gus 347, 360 Edwards, Kristle 362 Edwards, Michael 365 Edwards, Paddi 181 Edwards, Sherman 258, 261 “Effie Wins” 73 Efron, Zac 131 Egan, Raymond B. 354, 366, 373 Egan, Susan 28 “The Egg” 260 Eggerth, Marta 93 Ehrlich, Sam 351, 354 “Electric Blues” 130, 358 “Elegance” 141, 359 “The Elegant Captain Hook” 238, 367 “Elephant Love” 203 Elf 365 Elg, Taina 176 Elgar, Edward 353 “Ellen dritter Gesang” 360 Ellington, Duke 42, 43, 365, 373 Ellis, Anita 373 Ellis, Aunjanue 368 Ellis, Robert 293 Ellison, James 100 Ellison, Jennifer 239 “Elmer’s Tune” 111, 356 Elsom, Isobel 336 “Emanon” 369 “Embraceable You” 108, 109, 346 Emmett, Dan 347 “The Emperor’s New Clothes” 135 Enchanted 78, 81 Engel, Samuel G. 59 Englander, Otto 275 “An English Teacher” 349 Englund, Ken 284 Eno, Brian 364 Enright, Ray 60 Entertainment Weekly 11, 21, 22, 25, 39, 51, 98, 100, 105, 131, 133, 137, 138, 187, 189, 192, 197, 207, 228, 230, 257, 269, 279, 286, 287, 300, 301, 319, 327 Ephron, Henry 48, 59, 303 Ephron, Phoebe 48, 59, 303 “Epiphany” 298 Epstein, Jules J. 254 Epstein, Philip G. 254 Erdman, Ernie 360 Erickson, Lief 265 Ertegun, Ahmet 250, 368 Erwin, Trudy 367, 373 Esmeralda 151 Esrom, D.A. 355 Etting, Ruth 185, 186, 187, 352 Ettlinger, Don 252 “Eva and Magaldi” 82 “Eva, Beware of the City” 82

393 “Eva’s Final Broadcast” 83 Evans, George 359 Evans, Madge 133 “Ever, Ever After” 81, 353 Everett, Tommy 364 Everhart, Rex 25 Everly Brothers 252, 368 “Every Little Movement Has a Meaning of Its Own” 226 Every Sunday 230 “Everybody Loves My Baby” 110, 186 “Everybody Step” 32, 345 “Everybody’s Doin’ It” 78, 345 “Everybody’s Got a Laughing Place” 278 “Everyday I Have the Blues” 250 “Everything Old Is New Again” 10, 346 “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” 126, 127, 128 Evita 81, 82, 83, 179, 353 “Ev’ry Night at Seven” 255 Exultate, jubilate 366 Eyen, Tom 69, 352 “Eyes Look Your Last” 358 “The Eyes of Texas” 315, 374 Fabray, Nanette 21, 22 Fain, Sammy 43, 345, 346, 354, 356, 364, 365, 367, 370 Fairy Tales Told for Children 181 Faison, Sandy 15 “Fake Your Way to the Top” 70 Falco, Louis 84 “Falling Slowly” 364 “Fame” 84, 85 Fame 83, 84, 85, 86, 353 Fame (TV) 86 Fame —The Musical 86 “Family” 71, 72 Fancy Free 228 Fantaisie Impromptu in C-sharp minor 351, 376 Fantasia 3, 86, 88, 89, 353 Fantasia 2000 89 Le Fantome de L’Opera 239 “Far from the Home I Love” 90 Fargnoli, Steven 247 “The Farmer and the Cowman” 220, 221 “The Farmer in the Dell” 294, 366 Farrar, John 357 Farrell, Charles 295 “Fascinating Rhythm” 108, 109, 355 “Fate” 171, 361 “Fated to Be Mated” 267, 269 “Father, Dear, Father Come Home with Me Now” 372 “Father’s Song” 248 “Fathoms Below” 181 Faust 363 “Favorite Son” 361 Faye, Alice 6, 100, 102, 226, 227, 243, 345 Faylen, Frank 354 “Feed Me (Git It)” 184, 185 “Feed the Birds” 194, 195

Feigay, Paul 228 Felix, Seymour 6, 57, 66, 122, 200, 226, 295, 332 “A Fella with an Umbrella” 77 Felton, Verna 55, 272, 274, 360, 361 Ferber, Edna 263, 310, 369 Ferguson, Norm 88 Fessier, Michael 336 Fetter, Ted 349, 365 Feuer, Cy 39, 148 Feuntes, Reuben 360 Feyne, Buddy 356 Fiddler on the Roof 89, 90 “The Fidelity Fiduciary Bank” 194 Field, Ron 217 Fields, Dorothy 16, 300, 301, 350, 371 Fields, Herbert 73, 331 Fields, Joseph 104 Fierstein, Harvey 131 Fifth Dimension 358 Fifth Symphony (Beethoven) 353 Fifty Miles from Boston 375 “Figaro” 13, 18 “Les Filles de Cadix” 195 “Final Duet” 48 “Finale” (Martha) 121 “Finale Ultimo (Don’t Feed the Plant)” 362 “Find Yourself a Man” 355 Finding Nemo 179 “A Fine Romance” 300, 301 “Finiculi, Finicula” 366 Finklehoffe, Fred 19, 93, 108, 197, 290, 330 Finney, Albert 15, 16 Fiorello! 280 Firebird Suite 353 Fisher, Fred 354, 359, 363 “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” 186 Five O’Clock Girl 308 “Flaming Youth” 356 The Flamingos 351 Fleming, Ian 53, 350 Fleming, Robert 354 Fleming, Victor 327 “Flesh Failures” 130, 358 Flippen, J.C. 171, 219, 360 Flirtation Walk 360 “Flower Song” 350 Flying Down to Rio 65, 91, 103, 313, 345, 355, 372 “Fo’ Dolla” 283 Foch, Nina 10 “A Foggy Day” 66, 351 Foldi, Erzebet 9 Foley, Ellen 358 Folies der Bergere de Paris 362 Follies Bergère 67 Follow the Fleet 37, 91, 92, 347, 372 “Follow the Fold” 123, 125 “Follow the Yellow-Brick Road” 328, 330 “Following the Leader” 238, 367 “Folsom Prison Blues” 317, 319, 374 Fontaine, Joan 65, 351 Fontanne, Lynn 173, 242

Index “Food, Glorious Food” 221, 223 “Fool to Believe” 204 Footlight Parade 61, 92 “For All We Know” 218 “For Goodness Sake” 346 For Me and My Gal 93, 94, 352 “For Me and My Gal” 93, 94 “For Your Country and My Country” 345 Ford, David 258 Ford, Paul 207 Forman, Milos 128 Forrest, George “Chet” 171, 173, 363 Forrest, Helen 25, 349 Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway 333, 347, 375 “Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway” 333, 375 42nd (Forty-Second) Street 1, 61, 62, 93, 95, 96, 112, 205, 360 “42nd (Forty-Second) Street” 95, 96, 354 Fosse, Bob 9, 10, 16, 39, 42, 51, 63, 173, 233, 350, 351, 359 Foster, Jodie 166 Foster, Preston 138 Foster, Stephen 170, 347, 353, 359, 371 Foster, Sutton 307 Four Aces 356 Four Tops 362 Fowley, Douglas 370 Fox, Harry 67, 351, 352 Fox, James 305, 373 Fox Film Corporation 295 Fox 2000 Pictures 316 Foxx, Jamie 69, 72, 249, 252, 368 Foy, Eddie, Jr. 28, 233 Franceschi, Antonia 83 Francois, Jacques 23 Frank, Melvin 322 “Frank Mills” 358 Franklin, Benjamin 258, 259, 260 “Franklin D. Roosevelt Jones” 21 Frawley, James 205 Frawley, Paul 373 Freberg, Stan 361 “Freddy, My Love” 357 Freed, Arthur 11, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 28, 33, 34, 35, 42, 43, 73, 74, 76, 93, 105, 106, 108, 116, 138, 155, 171, 197, 198, 228, 242, 243, 255, 265, 267, 269, 270, 272, 290, 291, 301, 302, 309, 330, 337, 346, 347, 348, 349, 352, 353, 358, 362, 363, 365, 370, 371, 373, 374, 376 Freed, Ralph 362 Freeman, Howard 355 Freeman, Johnathan 5 Freeman, Mona 200, 363 “The French Lesson” 116, 117 Frey, Leonard 89 Frey, Nataniel 63, 351 Friday, Pat 372 Friedland, Anatol 363 Friedman, Leo 359 “Friend Like Me” 5, 345

Index “Friendly Star” 292 “Friendship” 73, 74 Friml, Rudolph 14, 346, 354, 357, 366 Frobe, Gert 53 Froeba, Frank 371 “From This Day On” 34, 348 “From This Moment On” 174, 361 Frome, Milton 349 Fuchs, Daniel 186 “Fugue for Tinhorns” 123, 126 Fulda, Ludwig 242 Fuller, Kurt 368 Fulson, Lowell 250, 368 Funicello, Annette 118 Funny Face 96, 97, 255, 346, 354, 376 “Funny Face” 97, 98 Funny Girl 98, 100, 359 “Funny Girl” 98, 100, 355 “Funny Honey” 52 Funny Lady 100 Furness, Betty 299 “Gabey’s Comin’” 366 Gable, Clark 300 Gabor, Eva 105 Gabriel, Charles H. 363 Gade, Jacob 346 Gaines, Boyd 353 Gaines, Lenny 365 Gallagher, Edward 376 Gallagher, Peter 126 “Gallivantin’ Around” 264, 369 Gallop, Sammy 356 Galloway, Leata 358 Gamble, Kenny 364 “The Game” 351 Gamse, Albert 346 Gangelin, Paul 57 The Gang’s All Here 100, 102 Garber, Matthew 192 Garbo, Greta 267 Gardenia, Vincent 183 Gardiner, Reginald 65, 351 Gardner, Ava 21, 265, 267, 309, 369 Garity, William E. 86 Garland, Joe 356, 372 Garland, Judy 1, 16, 18, 19, 23, 76, 78, 93, 95, 107, 108, 109, 138, 140, 154, 155, 196, 198, 230, 242, 243, 254, 256, 285, 287, 288, 290, 291, 292, 293, 309, 310, 327, 330, 331, 338, 339, 340, 347, 356, 359, 363, 367, 375 Garrett, Betty 215, 216, 228, 229, 230, 301, 303, 330, 372 Garrett, Pat 183 Garrett, Siedah 352 Garrick Gaities 331, 375 Garris, Sid 365 Garson, Greer 338 “Gary, Indiana” 209 Gaskill, Clarence 373 “Gaston” 26 “Gaston’s Soliloquy” 107 Gates, Eleanor 244 Gavin, John 305, 373

394 Gay, Byron 351 Gay Divorce 102 The Gay Divorcee 102, 103, 262, 311, 313, 354, 372 Gayne 347 Gaynor, Janet 286, 288, 295 Gaynor, Mitzi 176, 282, 284, 303 “Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army” 324, 375 “Gee, Officer Krupke” 320 “Geechy Joe” 290 Geffen, David 183 Gelsey, Erwin S. 57, 112, 300 Gennaro, Peter 313, 315 Gentlemen Marry Brunettes 105 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 104, 105, 373 “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” 355 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady 104 George Washington, Jr. 333 George White’s Scandals 346 “Georgia on My Mind” 251, 252 “Geraniums in the Winder” 350 Gere, Richard 51 Geronimi, Clyde 7, 55, 175, 237, 272 Gerry, Vance 163 Gershe, Leonard 96, 97, 267, 354, 371 Gershwin, George 11, 12, 65, 66, 96, 97, 98, 108, 109, 110, 114, 115, 122, 137, 162, 169, 170, 245, 261, 262, 291, 345, 346, 347, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 360, 361, 365, 367, 368, 371, 372, 373, 376 Gershwin, Ira 11, 23, 57, 65, 66, 96, 97, 98, 108, 109, 110, 114, 115, 245, 261, 262, 286, 287, 291, 330, 346, 347, 350, 354, 355, 356, 360, 365, 368, 369, 372, 373, 376 “Gesticulate” 172, 361 “Get Happy” 292, 293, 372 “Get Me to the Church on Time” 213 “Get Rhythm” 317 “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” 92 “Getting to Know You” 166, 167, 169 “Ghost Theater” 20 Giant, Bill 374 “A Giant Step” 349 Gibb, Barry 357 Gibb, Cynthia 128 Gibson, Andy 371 Gibson, Don 368 Gibson, Virginia 369 Gigi 105, 106, 107, 362 “Gigi” 105, 107 Gilbert, Billy 274 Gilbert, Cary 364 Gilbert, L. Wolfe 347, 360, 363, 371 Gilbert, Ray 370 Gilbert, William S. 355 Gilbert, Willie 148

Gilda 58 Gilkyson, Terry 163 Gillespie, John “Dizzy” 369 Gillingwater, Claude 367 Gillmore, Margalo 143 Gilmore, Janette 354 Gilmore, Patrick S. 354 Gilson, Lottie 351 Gingold, Hermione 105, 207 La Gioconda 88, 120, 121, 357 “The Girl at the Ironing Board” 61, 62 The Girl Can’t Help It 345 Girl Crazy 108, 109, 110, 346, 347 The Girl Friend 331, 375 The Girl from Utah 310, 373 “Girl Hunt” 21, 22 “Girl of the Pi Beta Phi” 356 “The Girl on the Magazine” 352 “The Girl on the Magazine Cover” 78 “The Girl on the Police Gazette” 227 “Girl That I Marry” 17, 346 Les Girls 176, 177, 178 “Les Girls” 177, 178 “Girls, Girls, Girls!” 199 Giselle 21 “Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl” 67 “Give My Regards to Broadway” 332, 333, 375 Givney, Kathryn 350, 357 Givor, George 361 Glaser, Paul Michael 89 Glass, Ned 375 Gleason, Jackie 285 Gleason, James 35, 347 The Glenn Miller Story 3, 109, 111, 123 Glosz, Rosemary 366 Glover, Danny 352 Glover, Henry 368 Go Into Your Dance 163 “Go to Sleep” 224 “God and Me” 246 “God Help the Outcasts” 152, 153 “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” 356 “God, That’s Good” 298 “God’s Country” 19 Godspell 352 Goelz, Dave 205 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang 353 Goetz, E. Ray 354 “Goin’ Co’tin’” 257 “Goin’ Downtown” 70 “Going Down” 358 Gold Diggers 61 Gold Diggers of Broadway 112 Gold Diggers of 1933 112, 360 Gold Diggers of 1935 345, 356 Gold Diggers of 1937 356 “The Gold Diggers Song” see “We’re in the Money” Goldberg, Whoopi 179 Golden, Annie 128 Golden, John 373 Golden, Ray 114, 356

395 Golden Gate 349 “Golden Ticket” see “(I’ve Got a) Golden Ticket” “Goldfarb, That’s I’m!” 355 Goldfield, Harry 169 Goldwyn, Samuel 2, 114, 123, 135, 245 The Goldwyn Follies 114, 115, 346 Gomberg, Sy 292 Gone with the Wind 25, 279, 280 Good Boy 308 “Good Mornin’” 18, 269, 271 “Good Mornin,’ Sistuh! (Good Mornin,’ Brudder!)” 246 “Good Morning Baltimore” 131 Good Morning Dearie 373 Good Morning, Starshine” 130 Good News 115, 116, 117 “Good News” 116, 356 “Good Night, Ladies” 110, 208, 210 “Goodbye Broadway, Hello France” 354 “Goodbye, My Lady Love” 264 “Goodbye, Old Girl” 63 Goodman, Benny 100, 101, 349, 353, 355 “Goodnight and Thank You” 82 “Goodnight, My Friends” 253 “Goodnight, My Love” 253 “Goodnight, My Someone” 208, 209, 210, 364 Goodrich, Frances 76, 154, 214, 242, 257 Goodwin, Bill 161 Goodwin, Ginnifer 316 Gordon, Bobby 360 Gordon, Leon 36 Gordon, Mack 68, 244, 284, 292, 293, 351, 355, 356, 363, 369 Gordy, Berry, Jr. 69, 70 Gore, Christopher 84 Gore, Lesley 85, 353 Gore, Michael 353 “Gorecki” 203 Gorrell, Stuart 368 Gorshin, Frank 28 “Gossip” 106 “Gotta Have Me Go with You” 286 “Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance!” 272 Gottfried, Gilbert 5 Gottlieb, Alex 254 Gould, Dave 102 Gould, Elliott 364 Goulding, Edmund 35 Gounod, Charles 357, 363 Gow, James 232 Grable, Betty 66, 68, 92, 200, 202, 284, 285, 355, 359 Grahame, Gloria 219, 221 Grammer, Kelsey 86 “Grand Old Ivy” 149 Grand Ole Opry 252 Granger, Farley 135 Grant, Bert 351 Grant, Cary 143 Grant, Joe 7, 74 Grant, Marshall 374 Grant, Morton 277 Grapewin, Charley 327

Gray, Billy 225 Gray, Dolores 155, 171 Gray, Harold 15 Gray, Jerry 356 Grayson, Kathryn 13, 15, 163, 232, 265, 267, 310, 338, 373 Grease 1, 117, 118, 280, 356 “Grease” 118, 357 Grease 2 120 “Greased Lightnin’” 119 The Great Caruso 120, 122 “The Great Lady Has an Interview” 338 The Great Muppet Caper 207 The Great Ziegfeld 122, 123, 339, 340, 376 Green, Adolph 21, 23, 28, 116, 155, 228, 230, 269, 301, 303, 356, 370 Green, Alfred E. 161 Green, Bud 347, 365 Green, Paul 371 “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” 297 Green Grow the Lilacs 219, 288 The Green Pastures 42 Greene, Ellen 183 Greene, Marie 371 Greene, Ward 175 Greenwood, Charlotte 68, 69, 100, 219, 284, 355, 371 Greer, Ann 367 Greer, Jesse 365 Greim, Helmut 39 Grever, Maria 348 Grey, Clifford 189, 190, 357 Grey, Joel 39, 40, 41 Gribble, Donna Jo 351 Griffin, Trevor 364 Grimes, Tammy 96, 313 Grofe, Ferde 372 Grohl, Dave 364 “Grow for Me” 184 Gruber, Franz 363 “Guardian Angel” 59 Guetary, George 10 Guillaume, Robert 126, 179 Gunton, Bob 81 Gustafson, John 348 Gutchrlein, Eleanor 361 Gutchrlein, Karla 361 Gutierrez, Pedro Elias 348 Guy, Helen 357 “A Guy Like You” 153 A Guy Named Joe 348 Guys and Dolls 123, 148, 371 “Guys and Dolls” 124, 125 Gyllenhaal, Jake 65 Gypsy 126, 128 “Gypsy Song” 350 “Habanera” 177, 209, 233, 350 Hackett, Albert 76, 154, 214, 242, 257 Hackett, Buddy 181, 207 Hackford, Taylor 249 Hagen, Jean 269, 270, 272 Hague, Albert 84 Hahn, Don 25, 151, 179 “Hail, Bibinski” 267

Index “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here” 100, 355 “Hail the Princess Aurora” 272 Hair 128, 131 “Hair” 129 Hair: The American Tribal LoveRock Musical 128 Hairspray 120, 131, 133 “Hairspray” see “(It’s) Hairspray” “Hakuna Matata” 179, 180, 181 Haley, Ed 375 Haley, Jack 6, 243, 252, 327, 330, 345 Hall, Adrian 53 Hall, Carl 358 Hall, Juanita 282, 284, 371 Hall, Wilbur (or Willie) 169, 170 Hall Johnson Chorus 349, 352, 370 Hallelujah! 42 “Hallelujah” (Handel) 306, 373 “Hallelujah, I Love Her So” 251 “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum” 134 Hallelujah, I’m a Bum 133, 135 “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum Again” 134 Hallor, Edith 373 “Ham and Eggs” 196, 363 Hamilton, Margaret 327, 330, 347 Hamilton, Nancy 73 Hamlisch, Marvin 353 Hammerstein, Oscar 67, 162, 351, 360 Hammerstein, Oscar, II 16, 45, 47, 48, 49, 138, 166, 169, 219, 245, 262, 263, 265, 267, 279, 280, 282, 283, 284, 288, 289, 309, 310, 351, 354, 357, 360, 363, 366, 369, 370, 371, 373, 376 Hammond, Nicolas 279 Hancock, John 258, 259 Hand, David 87, 274 Handel, George Frederich 373 Handley, Jim 87 Handy, W.C. 356 Haney, Carol 233, 235, 361, 366 Hanks, Tom 154 Hanley, James F. 354, 373 Hanna-Barbera 14 Hans Christian Andersen 135 “The Happiest Day of My Life” 256 “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” 42, 43 “Happy Birthday” 74, 366 “Happy Birthday, Mrs. J.J. Brown” 374 The Happy Dan Cynical Dog 175 “Happy Days” 356 “Happy Easter” 76 Happy Endings 217, 218 “Happy Endings” (New York, New York) 218 “Happy Endings” (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm) 253 “Happy Feet” 170 “Happy Holiday” 147, 148 “Happy Talk” 284 “Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm” 359

Index “Happy Working Song” 78, 79, 353 Harari, Robert 293 Harbach, Otto 366, 369, 373, 376 Harburg, E.Y. 42, 327, 330, 347, 349, 350, 352, 356 A Hard Day’s Night 3, 137, 138 “A Hard Day’s Night” 138, 358 “Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)” 252 “Hard to Say Goodbye” 72 Hardnett, Lois 349 “Hare Krishna” 130 Hargreaves, William 363 Hargrove, Marion 207 Harlan, Otis 274 “Harmony Babies” 35 Harney, Ben 69 Harnick, Sheldon 89 “Harrigan” 333, 375 Harrigan, Edward “Ned” 333 Harris, Charles K. 360, 369, 370, 372 Harris, Harriet 307 Harris, Joel Chandler 277 Harris, Phil 163 Harris, R.H. 369 Harris, Rosalind 89 Harris, Vernon 221 Harris, Will J. 346 Harrison, George 137, 358 Harrison, Rex 166, 210, 211, 213, 365 Hart, Charles 239, 367 Hart, Lorenz 18, 30, 133, 135, 187, 189, 198, 200, 219, 235, 237, 288, 330, 331, 332, 347, 348, 357, 362, 365, 367, 371, 374, 375 Hart, Moss 135, 145, 286 Harvey, Fred 138, 139 Harvey, Paul 43 The Harvey Girls 138, 139, 140, 288 “Hashish” 129 Haskell, Jack 244 “The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore Upon St. Patrick’s Day” 302, 303 “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” 197, 198 Havens, Jimmie 354 Haver, June 66 Havoc, June 126 “Hawaiian War Chant” 362 Hawkins, Erskine 356 Hawkins, J.N.A. 86 Hawks, Howard 104 Haworth, Jill 40 Hay, Ian 65 Hayden, Joe 352 Haydn, Richard 279 Hayes, Elton 353 Hayes, Grace 170 Hayes, Marvin 350 Haymes, Dick 288, 352 “Hayride” 359 Hayworth, Rita 57, 58, 235, 237, 336, 337, 367, 373, 376 Hazlette, Chester 169

396 “He Ain’t Got Rhythm” 226 “He Got His Self Another Woman” 48 “He Isn’t You” 224 “He Loves and She Loves” 97, 98, 354 “He Plays Violin” 260 “A Healthy, Normal, American Boy” 349 “Heart” 63, 64, 65 “A Heart That’s Free” 231 “Heat Wave” 7, 33, 303, 304, 305, 322, 373 Heath, Hy 370 “The Heather on the Hill” 34 Heatherton, Fred 181 “Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl” 372 “Heavenly Music” 293 “Heaven’s Light” 152, 153 “Heavy” 71 Hecht, Ben 114, 133, 135 Hedwig and the Angry Inch 2 Hee, T. 88 Heely, Keisha 352 Heflin, Van 309 Heidi 253 Heifetz, Jascha 348 “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho” 275, 277 Heisler, Stuart 31 Held, Anna 122, 123, 337, 357, 376 “Hellfire” 152, 153 Hellman, Sam 244 “Hello and Goodbye” 82 Hello, Dolly! 140, 142, 359 “Hello, Dolly!” 142, 359 “Hello, Hello, There” 348 “Hello, Young Lovers” 166, 169 Helpmann, Robert 53 Henderson, Charles 351 Henderson, Ray 116, 295, 347, 356, 360, 362, 366, 369, 371 Henie, Sonja 293, 295 Henry, Hank 235 Henson, Jim 205, 207 Henson Associates 205 Hepburn, Audrey 96, 98, 106, 192, 210, 211, 213, 354 Hepburn, Katharine 98, 99, 143 Herbert, Hugh 60, 61 Herbert, Victor 214, 373 “Here Come de Honey Man” 245 “Here Comes the Bride” 227, 366 “Here Pussy Pussy” 115 “Here’s to the Wonderful Girls” 337 “Here’s What I’m Here For” 287 Herman, Jerry 140, 359 Herman, Lew 368 Hernandez, Rafael 376 “Hernando’s Hideaway” 233, 234, 235, 366 “Heroes” 364 Herpin, Laurent 346 Herrmann, Edward 346 “Hers Is” 366 Hersholt, Jean 345 “He’s a Ladies Man” 356 “He’s a Tramp” 176

“He’s My Friend” 313, 314 “Hey, There” 233, 234, 235, 366 Heyward, DuBose 245, 367, 368 Hibler, Winston 7, 55, 237, 367, 370 Higgins, Billy 346 “High Flying, Adored” 83 High Society 143 “High Society Calypso” 143 “Higher Than a Hawk” 44, 45 “The Highest Judge of All” 350 Highmore, Freddie 327 “Los Hijos de Buda” 376 Hill, Benny 350 Hill, George Roy 305 Hill, Mildred J. 366 Hill, Patty S. 366 Hilliard, Bob 345 Hilliard, Harriet 91, 92 Hilton, Tyler 374 “The Hindi” 364 “Hindi Sad Diamonds” 204 Hinds, Ciaran 239 Hines, Patrick 369 “Hinky, Dinky, Parley Voo” see “Mademoiselle from Armentieres” “His Love Makes Me Beautiful” 99, 355 “The History of the Beat” 59, 60, 350 Hit the Deck 353 “Hit the Road Jack” 251, 368 Hitchy-Koo 232 “Hive Full of Honey” 44 Hoctor, Harriet 123, 262, 369 Hodiak, John 138 “Hoe Down” 20, 21 Hoffenstein, Samuel 187 Hoffman, Al 55 Hoffman, Bern 366 Hogan, Louanne 371 Hohl, Arthur 369 Holgate, Ron 258, 259 Holiday Inn 32, 76, 145, 146, 148, 322, 324 “Holiday Inn” 147, 148 Holland, Anthony 346 Holland, Gene 277 Hollander, Frederick 366 Holliday, Jennifer 69, 352 Holliday, Judy 28, 30 Holloway, Jean 309, 330 Holloway, Stanley 210, 211, 213 Holloway, Sterling 7, 74, 163 Hollywood Hotel 345 Hollywood Revue of 1929 356 Holm, Celeste 143 Holmes, Taylor 104, 370 “Home of the Blues” 318 “Home, Sweet Home” 176, 198, 366, 372 “Homesick Blues” 355 “Honestly Sincere” 38 “Honey Bun” 284 “Honey in the Honeycomb” 42, 43 Honeymoon Express 162, 163 “Honeymoon Hotel” 93 “Honeysuckle Rose” 218 “Hooray for Captain Spaulding” 308

397 “Hooray for the Red, White and Blue” 170 Hope, Bob 364 “Hopelessly Devoted to You” 117, 119, 120 Hopkins, Stephen 258, 259 Hopwood, Avery 112 “Hora Staccato” 25 Hornblow, Arthur, Jr. 219 Horne, Lena 42, 43, 289, 290, 309, 310, 331, 338, 371 Horne, Marilyn 350 Horton, Edward Everett 100, 102, 198, 261, 284, 311, 376 Horwin, Jerry 289 Hoschna, Karl 366 “Hospital Hop” 10 “The Hostess with the Mostess” 45 “Hot Honey Rag” 53, 350 “Hot Lips” 169 “Hot Lunch Jam” 84, 85 “A Hot Time in the Old Town” 352 “Hound Dog” 357 “The House Began to Pitch” 375 “House on Rittenhouse Square” 355 Houston, Norman 35 “How About You” 19, 20, 21 “How Are You?” 188 “How Can Love Survive?” 370 “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life” 256 “How Deep Is the Ocean?” 33 “How Do You Do?” 278 “How Do You Do and Shake Hands” 8 “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” 280, 282 “How Long Has This Been Going On?” 97 “How Lovely to Be a Woman” 38, 39 “How To” 148 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 148 “How Ya Gonna Keep ’Em Down on the Farm?” 94 Howard, Clint 360 Howard, Eugene 351 Howard, Joe E. 369 Howard, Ken 258, 259 Howard, Ron 207 Howard, Terrence Dashon 368 Howard, Willie 351 “How’d You Like to Spoon with Me?” 310, 373 “(Howdy Neighbor) Happy Harvest” 292, 293 Howell, Elizabeth 351 Howes, Sally Ann 53 Hubbell, Raymond 373 Hudson, Jennifer 69, 70, 72 Hudson, Lord Tim 360 Huemer, Dick 7, 74 Huff, Leon 364 Hughes, Ken 53

Hugo, Prince 349 Hugo, Victor 151, 153, 359 Les Huguenots 196 Hulce, Tom 150 “Human Again” 348 Humberstone, H. Bruce 293 Humphrey, Cavada 373 The Hunchback 151 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 5, 78, 150, 151, 153, 181, 362 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II 359 Hungarian Dance No. 5 67 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 14, 231, 336, 366 Hunt, Martita 374 Hunt, Peter H. 258, 259 Hunt, Richard 205 Hunter, Ian 376 Hunter, Ross 305 Hunter, Tab 62, 351 Hurd, Earl 275 “Hurry! It’s Lovely Up Here” 224 Hurt, John S. 374 “Hushabye Mountain” 54, 350 Huston, John 15, 16 Huston, Walter 332 Hutcherson, LeVern 47 Hutton, Betty 16, 17, 18, 254, 293 Hyde-White, Wilfred 210 “Hymn for a Sunday Evening” 38, 39 “A Hymn to Him” 213 “I Ain’t Down Yet” 313, 314 “I Ain’t Got No Shame, Doin’ What I Like to Do” 246 I Am a Camera 40 “I Am Changing” 72 “I Am the Captain” 36 “I Begged Her” 14, 15 “I Believe in Love” 358 “I Believe in You” 148, 149, 150 “I Believe to My Soul” 251 “I Cain’t Say No” 220, 221 “I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in the Y.M.C.A.” 345 “I Can Cook, Too” 366 “I Can Do Without You” 44 “I Can Hear the Bells” 132 “I Can’t Be Bothered Now” 65 “I Can’t Begin to Tell You” 66, 67, 68, 351 “I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me” 305 “I Can’t Do It Alone” 52 “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby” 290 “I Can’t Stop Loving You” 252, 368 “I Can’t Tell a Lie” 147 “I Concentrate on You” 37 “I Could Have Danced All Night” 210, 212, 213 “I Could Write a Book” 235, 236, 237, 367 “I Cried for You” 19, 25, 187 “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” 236, 367 “I Don’t Care” 155

Index “I Don’t Need Anything But You” 16 “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem” 109, 355 “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls” 355 “I Fall in Love Too Easily” 13, 14 “I Feel Like I’m Not Out of Bed Yet” 228, 230 “I Feel Pretty” 320 “I Got a Woman” 251, 368 “I Got Life” 129 “I Got Lost in His Arms” 346 “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” 245, 247 “I Got Rhythm” 11, 108, 109, 346, 355 “I Got Stripes” 318 “I Got the Sun in the Morning” 17 “I Got to Get Back to New York” 134 “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan” 22 “I Had the Craziest Dream” 285, 371 “I Hate Men” 174 “I Have a Love” 321 “I Have Confidence in Me” 280, 370 “I Have Dreamed” 361 “I Have the Room Above Her” 264, 369 “I Hope That Somethin’ Better Comes Along” 206 “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” 179, 181 “I Know a Girl” 350 “I Know Where I’ve Been” 133 “I Know Why (and So Do You)” 111, 294 “I Left My Hat in Haiti” 256 “I Like Myself ” 157 “I Like to Do Things for You” 170 “I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City” 290 “I Love a Piano” 77, 78, 352 “I Love an Esquire Girl” 73 “I Love Louisa” 22 “I Love My Mommy” 355 “I Love Those Men” 216, 217 “I Love to Laugh” 193 “I Love to Rhyme” 115 “I Love What I’m Doing” 355 “I Love You I Do” 69 “I Love You, Samantha” 144 “I Love You So Much” 308 “I Loves You, Porgy” 246, 247 “I Meant You No Harm” 72 “I Met a Girl” 29 “I Might Fall Back on You” 266, 370 “I Miss You Old Friend” 72 “I Move On” 51, 53, 350 “I Need Somebody to Lean On” 316 “I Only Have Eyes for You” 61, 62, 351 “I Remember It Well” 105, 107 “I Shall Scream” 365 “I Should Have Known Better” 137, 138

Index “I Sing the Body Electric” 85 “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” 15 “I Understand” 366 “I Walk the Line” 318, 374 “I Wanna Be Like You” 163, 164 “I Wanna Be Loved by You” 308 “I Wanna Be Your Man” 137 “I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad” 162 “I Want It Now!” 326 “I Want to Be Free” 158 “I Want to Be Seen with You Tonight” 355 “I Want to Go Back to Michigan (Down on the Farm)” 77 “I Want You, Baby” 71 “I Was Drunk Last Night, Dear Mother” 197 “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” 364 “I Was There When It Happened” 317 “I Whistle a Happy Tune” 166, 169 “I Will Always Love You” 364 “I Wish I Was Dead” 366 “I Wish I Were in Love Again” 331 “I Wish You’d Come and Play with Me” 123 “I Wonder” 273 “I Won’t Dance” 310, 373 “I Would Die 4 U” 249 “Ice Skating Ballet” 136 “I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You” 82 “I’d Do Anything” 222, 223 “I’d Do It Again” 134 “I’d Rather Be Blue Over You” 99 I’d Rather Be Right 332, 333, 375 “I’d Rather Lead a Band” 91, 92 “Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider” 19 The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown 123 “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty” 99 “If I Fell” 137, 138 “If I Had a Talking Picture of You” 296 “If I Knew” 374 “If I Loved You” 49, 50, 51 “If I Only Had a Brain (a Heart, the Nerve)” 327, 329, 330, 375 “If I Were a Bell” 125, 126 “If I Were a Rich Man” 89 “If I Were King of the Forest” 329 “If Momma Was Married” 127 “If Widows Are Rich” 199 “If You Believe” 304 “If You Could See Her” 41 “If You Feel Like Singing, Sing” 292, 293 “If You Knew Susie” 14, 123, 337, 376 “If You Think I Don’t Need You” 316 “I’ll Be Hard to Handle” 347 “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” 12, 346 “I’ll Capture Your Heart Singing” 146 “I’ll Get By” 286

398 “I’ll Go Home with Bonnie Jean” 34 “I’ll Know” 124 “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” 234, 235 “I’ll Never Say No” 314 “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” 186, 187 “I’ll See You in C-U-B-A” 32 “I’ll Take the High Note” 25 “I’m a Bad, Bad Man” 346 “I’m a Dreamer (Aren’t We All?)” 295, 296, 372 “I’m a Fisherman” 170 “I’m a Long Way from Home” 318 “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” 67, 68, 339, 340, 351, 376 “I’m an Indian” 337, 376 “I’m an Indian Too” 17 “I’m Ashamed That Women Are So Simple” 174 “I’m A’tingle, I’m A’glow” 355 “I’m Black” 129 “I’m Falling in Love with Someone” 215 “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” 225 “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” 217, 352 “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore” 107 “I’m Going Back” 29 “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” 206 “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” 283, 284 “I’m Hans Christian Andersen” 135, 136, 137 “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” 138 “I’m in Love” 254, 255, 369 “I’m Just Wild About Harry” 19 “I’m Late” 8, 9 “I’m Looking for Something” 70 “I’m Not at All in Love” 233, 235 “I’m Old Fashioned” 336 “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” 37, 92, 347 “I’m Sitting on Top of the World” 162, 186 “I’m Somebody” 71 “I’m the Greatest Star” 99, 100 “I’m Wishing” 275, 277, 353 “Imaginary Coney Island” 366 “In a World of My Own” 8 “In Darkest Africa” 169 “In the Champ de Mars” 355 “In the Good Old Summer Time” 154, 155 In the Good Old Summertime 154, 293 In the Meantime” 356 “In the Mood” 111, 293, 294, 356, 372 “In the Valley” 139 “Inchworm” 135, 137 “Indian Love Call” 354, 366 Inflation 348 Ingram, Rex 42 “Initials” 129

Innocents of Paris 189, 362 “International Playboy” 59 “Iowa Stubborn” 208 Irons, Jeremy 179 Irving, Amy 334 Irving, Maud 374 Irving Berlin’s White Christmas 324 Irwin, Charles 169, 170 “Is Anybody There?” 260 “Is It a Crime?” 348 “Is It Okay If I Call You Mine?” 85 Isherwood, Christopher 40 “Isn’t It Kinda Fun?” 289 “Isn’t It Romantic?” 187, 188, 362 “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?” 312, 313, 349 “It Ain’t Me, Babe” 318 “It Ain’t Necessarily So” 246, 247 “It All Depends on You” 186 “It Couldn’t Please Me More” 349 “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” 48 “It Happened in Monterey” 170 “It Happened in Sun Valley” 294, 372 “It Might as Well Be Spring” 288, 289, 371 “It Only Happens When I Dance with You” 77 “It Only Takes a Moment” 142 “It Take a Long Pull to Get There” 245 “It Takes a Woman” 141 “It Was a Lover and His Lass” 326 “The Italian Street Song” 214, 215 “It’s a Bore” 106 “It’s a Chemical Reaction, That’s All” 268 “It’s a Fine Life” 222 “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” 288, 289 “It’s a Great Big World” 139 “It’s a Hard Knock Life” 15, 16 “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” 226, 354 “It’s a Lovely Day Today” 46, 349 “It’s a New World” 287 “It’s a Perfect Relationship” 28 “It’s a Scandal, It’s an Outrage” 365 “It’s a Simple Little System” 28 “It’s a Small World” 181 “It’s a Wonderful World” 217 “It’s All Over” 71 “It’s Almost Like Being in Love” 33 It’s Always Fair Weather 155, 156, 157 “It’s Delightful Down in Chile” 355 “It’s Delightful to Be Married” 123, 337, 357, 376 “It’s Fate, Baby, It’s Fate” 302, 303 “It’s Great to Be Necked” 296 “(It’s) Hairspray” 133 “It’s High Time” 355 “It’s Magic” 254, 255, 369 “It’s My Party” 85 “It’s Porgy Comin’ Home” 246 “It’s Raining on Prom Night” 357 “It’s Raining Sunbeams” 231

399 “It’s You” 207 “It’s You or No One” 254, 255 Iturbi, Jose 13, 14, 15 Ivanovici, Iosef 163, 360 “I’ve A’ready Started In” 374 “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” 374 “I’ve Come to Wife It Wealthily in Padua” 174, 175 “I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin’” 271 “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” 181 “(I’ve Got a) Golden Ticket” 325 “I’ve Got Beginner’s Luck” 261 “I’ve Got My Captain Working for Me Now” 32 “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” 37 “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” 227 “I’ve Got Rings on My Fingers” 20 “I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song” 112 “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” 210, 213 “(I’ve Grown So Lonely) Thinking of You” 352 “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” 357 “Jabberwocky” 345 “Jackson” 318 Jackson 5 72, 352 Jackson, Frederick 289 Jackson, Michael 368 Jackson, Wilfred 7, 55, 88, 175, 237 Jacobs, Jim 117, 357 Jacobs, William 43, 225 “Ja-Da” 18 Jagger, Dean 322, 348 Jailhouse Rock 157, 159, 316 “Jailhouse Rock” 157, 158, 349, 360 “Jalousie ( Jealousy)” 14 Jamblan 346 James, Harry 24, 25, 74, 285, 348, 355, 371 James, Olga 47 James, Rian 68, 95 James and the Giant Peach 55 Janney, Allison 358 “The Japanese Sandman” 307 “The Jarabe Tapatío” 346 Jay, Tony 150 Jaynes, Betty 18 Jaynes, Francesca 297 “Jazz Baby” 306 The Jazz Singer 96, 103, 159, 161, 163, 192, 270 “Jealousy Ballet” 366 “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” 359 Jeanmaire 135, 137 Jeans, Isabel 105 Jefferson, Martha 258, 259, 260 Jefferson, Thomas 258, 260 Jeffrey, Howard 223 Jeffries, Lionel 53 “The Jelly Roll Blues” 290, 371 Jenkins, Gordon 362 Jennings, Shooter 374

Jennings, Waylon 318, 374 Jennings, Will 364 Jepson, Helen 356 Jerome, Leona 356 Jerome, M.K. 373 Jerome, William 373 Jerry the Mouse 13, 14, 15 Jessell, George 66, 159 Jesus Christ Superstar 81, 179 “The Jet Song” 320 “Jewish Wedding Song (Trinkt le Chaim)” 306 Jewison, Norman 89, 91 Jewkes, Delos 365 Jilliann, Ann 358 The Jim Henson Company 205 “Jimmy” 306, 307 “Jimmy’s Rap” 72 “Jingle Bells” 366 “The Jitters” 101 “Johanna” 297, 298, 299 John, Elton 179, 181, 362, 364 “Johnny One Note” 18, 331 Johns, Glynis 192 Johnson, Howard 346, 354, 363 Johnson, James P. 371 Johnson, Jesse 368 Johnson, Jimmy 366 Johnson, Mae E. 371 Johnson, Rosamond 363 Johnson, Van 33, 154, 373 Johnson, William 356 Johnston, Arthur 370 “Jolly Holiday” 193, 195 “The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid” 65 Jolson, Al 1, 133, 135, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 245, 360, 376 Jolson Sings Again 162, 163 The Jolson Story 161, 162, 163 Jones, Allan 262, 265, 357 Jones, Barry 33 Jones, David 221 Jones, Dean 360 Jones, Fern 374 Jones, Isham 363 Jones, James Earl 179 Jones, Quincy 250, 368 Jones, Shirley 48, 49, 207, 210, 219, 221, 365 Joseph, Edmund 332 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 179 “Josephine” 269 Josephson, Barry 78 Jourdan, Louis 105 “A Journey to a Star” 101, 102 Joyce, James 348 Jubilee 349 Jud Conlon Chorus 345, 367 Judge, Jack 354, 366 Juhl, Jerry 205 “Jukebox Blues” 317 “Jukebox Dance” 37 Jumbo 30, 31 “Jumpin’ Jive” 290 “June Bride” 258 “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” 49, 51

Index The Jungle Book 163, 164, 165 “Jungle Love” 247 “Jungle Rhumba (Rhumba Jungla)” 216 Junkin, John 358 Jurgens, Dick 356 “Just a Kiss Apart” 355 Just Around the Corner 253 “Just Blew in From the Windy City” 44, 45 “Just Imagine” 117 “Just in Time” 29 “Just Leave Everything to Me” 140 “Just You, Just Me” 218 “Just You Wait” 212 Justice, James R. 53 Kahal, Irving 354, 365 Kahn, Gus 200, 214, 351, 360, 362, 363, 366, 374, 376 Kahn, Madeline 364 Kalmar, Bert 307, 309, 346, 373 “Ka-lu-la” 310, 373 Kandel, Paul 151 Kander, John 10, 39, 40, 51, 349, 365 Kane, Brad 5 Kane, Eddie 348 Kane, Helen 170, 308, 373 “Kangaroo Court” 134 “Kansas City” 45, 219, 221 Kapp, Jack 221 Karath, Kym 279 Karlatos, Olga 247 Karnilova, Maria 89 Kasznar, Kurt 173 “Katie Went to Haiti” 73 Kaufman, Edward 102 Kaufman, George S. 267, 291 Kaye, Danny 135, 136, 322, 323 Kaye, Florence 374 Kaye, Stubby 123 Keach, James 317 Kearns, Allen 108, 346, 354, 355 Keating, Larry 59 Keaton, Buster 154 Keel, Howard 16, 18, 43, 171, 173, 256, 258, 265, 267 Keeler, Ruby 60, 61, 92, 93, 95, 96, 112, 360 “Keep-a-Hoppin’” 374 “Keep It Under Your Hat” 44 “Keep Your Eyes Upon Me (The Dancing Master)” 332 “Keeping Cool with Coolidge” 355 Keith, Robert 357, 362 Kellette, John William 366 Kelley, Elijah 131 Kelly, Bill 78 Kelly, Gene 1, 10, 11, 13, 15, 33, 34, 57, 58, 73, 74, 76, 93, 95, 140, 142, 155, 156, 157, 176, 177, 178, 215, 228, 229, 230, 235, 242, 243, 269, 270, 272, 292, 293, 301, 302, 303, 330, 331, 338, 355, 372, 373 Kelly, Grace 143, 145 Kelly, Laura Michelle 297 Kelly, Moira 179

Index Kelly, Paula 294, 372 Kelly, Tom 364 Kelsey, Dick 7 Kelton, Pert 207 Kemp, Hal 244, 367 Ken Darby Singers 359 Kenbrovin, Jean 366 Kendall, Kay 176, 178, 361 Kendis, James 366 The Kensington Stories 197 Kent, William 170 Kenyon, Charles 230 Kenyon, Curtis 24 Kern, Jerome 16, 57, 123, 232, 245, 262, 263, 265, 267, 300, 301, 309, 310, 336, 337, 350, 357, 369, 373, 376 Kerr, Deborah 166, 167, 168, 360 Kerr, John 282, 284, 371 Kert, Larry 365 “The Key of G” 369 Keyes, Evelyn 161 Khatchaturian, Aram 23, 24, 347 Kibbee, Guy 18, 60, 61, 92, 95, 112, 355 Kid Millions 345 Kidd, Michael 21, 123, 140, 142, 155, 156, 257, 258, 359 Kidman, Nicole 1, 202, 205 “Kids” 38, 39 Kilbride, Percy 288 Kiley, Richard 171 Kilgas, Nancy 369 Kilgore, Merle 374 Kimbrough, Charles 151 King, B.B. 70 King, Charles 35 King, Henry 6, 48 King, Joe 345 King, Regina 249 King, Robert A. 375 The King and I 166, 168 King Creole 315 King of Jazz 169, 170, 356 “The King Who Couldn’t Dance” 346 King’s Men 352, 355, 359 “The King’s New Clothes” 135, 136 Kingsford, Walter 365 Kingsley, Dorothy 24, 173, 175, 215, 235, 257 Kinnear, Roy 375 Kinskey, Leonid 68 Kipling, Rudyard 163 Kirk, Lisa 357 Kirsten, Dorothy 120, 121 Kismet 171, 172 Kiss Me Kate 9, 173, 175 “Kiss Me Kate” 174 “Kiss Polka” 294 “Kiss the Girl” 181, 183 Kitty Foyle 23 Klages, Raymond 365 Kleiner, Harry 47 Kleiser, Randal 117 Kline, Kevin 151 Klugman, Jack 126 Knaiz, Judy 359 Knight, Joseph Philip 349

400 Knowlden, Marilyn 369 Knowles, Beyoncé 69, 70, 72, 352 Kobart, Ruth 148 Koch, Howard W. 223 Koehler, Ted 289, 362, 369, 371, 372 Kohlmar, Fred 37, 235 “Kokomo, Indiana” 201, 202 “Kol Nidre” 159, 161 Komack, Jimmy (or James) 63, 351 Koman, Jacek 364 Konrad, Cathy 317 Kortlander, Max 354, 366 Koster, Henry 230 Kotero, Apollonia 247 Kraft, H.S. 289 Kraly, Hanns 230 Krasna, Norman 322 Kreisler, Fritz 361 Krieger, Henry 69, 352 Kristofferson, Kris 288 Kruger, Otto 57 Krupa, Gene 110, 111, 355 Kudisch, Marc 39, 55 Kuller, Sid 356 Kullmann, Charles 356 “Kunstlerleben (Artist’s Life)” 366 Kyser, Kay 74 “La, La, Lu” 175 Ladd, Alan 115 Ladd, Cheryl 18 “Ladies’ Choice” 132 “Ladies in Their Sensitivities” 298 “Ladies-in-Waiting” 177, 178 “Ladies of the Bath” 73 Lady and the Tramp 175, 176, 272, 353 Lady, Be Good! 108, 355, 373 “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat” 100, 101, 102 “Lady Is a Tramp” 18, 236, 331, 347 “The Lady Loves Me” 315 “Lady Marmalade” 364 “The Lady’s Got Potential” 82 “A Lady’s Moral” 232 Laemmle, Carl, Jr. 169, 262 Laemmle, Carla 170 “Laendler” 281 Lafferty, Sandra Ellis 374 Lahr, Bert 73, 327, 330 Laing, Hugh 348 Lake, Ricki 131, 133 Lakeshore Entertainment 86 Lamarr, Hedy 339, 340 Lamas, Lorenzo 357 Lambert, Louis 354 Lambert, Mark 349 Lambrinos, Vissili 374 “Lament” 83, 353 Lamour, Dorothy 354 Lanchester, Elsa 362 “Land of the Gay Caballero” 355 Landau, Otto 361 Landon, Margaret 166 Lane, Burton 223, 255, 347, 352 Lane, Davey 345 Lane, Lupino 189

Lane, Nathan 126, 179 Lane, Richard 372 Lang, Eddie 169, 361 Lang, Harold 235 Lang, Jeanie 169, 170 Lang, Walter 45, 166, 200, 288, 303 Langdon, Harry 133 Lange, Henry 361 Lange, Jessica 9 Lange, Johnny 370, 371 Langford, Frances 111 Langley, Noël 195, 327 Langton, Paul 309 “The Language Song” see “Bon Jour (The Language Song)” Lansbury, Angela 25, 128, 138, 297, 310 Lantz, Walter 361 Lanza, Mario 120, 122, 357 “Largo al factotum della città” 346, 363, 366 Larkin, John 66 Larkin, Linda 5 Laska, Edward 373 “The Last Rose of Summer” 366 “The Last Time I Saw Paris” 310 Laszlo, Miklos 154, 155 Latifah, Queen 51, 131 Latimore, Frank 351 “Latin Chant” 83 Latouche, John 42, 349, 365 Lauder, Sir Harry 347 “Laugh? I Thought I’d Split My Sides” 339 “Laught” 348 Lauren, S.K. 65, 232 Laurents, Arthur 126, 319 LaVerne, Lucille 274 Lawford, Peter 76, 115, 117, 255 Lawlor, Charles B. 351, 372 Lawrence, Gertrude 166, 376 Lawrence, Jack 352, 370 Lawrence, Mittie 354 Lawson, Herbert “Happy” 368 “Laying the Corner Stone” 134 Layton, Joe 305 Layton, Turner 346, 354 “Lazy” 304, 305 Le Baron, William 100 “Le’ Chaim” see “To Life” Leachman, Cloris 364 Leal, Sharon 69 “Learn to Be Lonely” 239, 242 Leave It to Jane 310 “Leave It to Jane” 373 “Leave My Woman Alone” 251 LeBaron, William 284, 289 Lebo M 361 Lebowsky, Stanley 346 Lecuona, Ernesto 365 Lederer, Charles 104, 171 Lee, Anna 370 Lee, Bill 370, 371, 373 Lee, Gypsy Rose 126 Lee, Harriet 338 Lee, Johnny 277 Lee, Michele 148 Lee, Peggy 161, 175, 361

401 Lee, Richard Henry 258, 259 Lee, Ruta 369 Leeds, Andrea 114 Leedy, Glenn 277 “The Lees of Old Virginia” 259 “The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs” see “Miss Baltimore Crabs” Legrand, Michel 334 Leguizamo, John 202 Lehár, Franz 198, 199, 200 Lehman, Ernest 140, 166, 279, 319 Lehman, Gladys 244 Leiber, Jerry 346, 357, 360, 374 Leigh, Fred W. 350 Leigh, Janet 37, 330 Leleiohaku, Prince 362 LeMassena, William 350 Lengyel, Melchior 267 Lennart, Isobel 13, 98, 186 Lennix, Harry 368 Lennon, John 137, 364 Lenox, Jean 359 “Lento a capriccio” 231 Leon, Victor 199 Leonard, Eddie 347 Leonard, Robert Z. 122, 154, 195, 339 Leoncavallo, Ruggiero 357 Leonowens, Anna 166 Lerner, Alan Jay 11, 33, 34, 105, 106, 107, 210, 223, 255, 355 Leroux, Gaston 239 LeRoy, Mervyn 112, 126, 327, 356 Les Girls 176, 177, 178 “Les Girls” 177, 178 Leslie, Edgar 354, 360, 373 Leslie, Frank 361 Leslie, Joan 332 Lessy, Ben 354 Lester, Mark 221 Lester, Richard 137 “Let Me Entertain You” 126, 128, 358 “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” 162, 322 “Let the Rain Pour Down” 278, 370 “Let the Sunshine In” 131, 358 “Let Yourself Go” 91, 92 “Let’s Be Common” 191, 192 “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off ” 261, 262 “Let’s Dance” 101 “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” 92 “Let’s Go Crazy” 247, 249, 368 “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” 194 “Let’s Go to the Movies” 15, 346 “Let’s Have Another Cup o’ Coffee” 373 “Let’s Kiss and Make Up” 97 “Let’s K-nock K-neez” 103 “Let’s Say It with Firecrackers” 147, 148 “Let’s Settle Down” 349 “Let’s Start the New Year Right” 147 Levant, Oscar 10, 13, 21, 23, 24, 254 Levien, Sonya 120, 219, 339, 371

Lewis, Al 357 Lewis, Jerry Lee 317, 374 Lewis, Sam M. 351, 354, 360, 362, 365 “Lewis Boogie” 317 Lewis Milestone Productions 133 “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” 115, 231, 338 “Lichtenburg” 47 “Lida Rose” 209 Lieurance, Thurlow 348 “The Life I Lead” 193, 363 “(Life Is a) Cabaret” 39, 41 “Life Is Full of Consequence” 43 “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” 265, 266, 267, 309, 370 “Lift ’Em Up and Put ’Em Down” 47 “The Light Cavalry Overture” 372 “Like a Virgin” 204 “L’il Black Sheep” 42 Liliom 42, 49 Lillie, Beatrice 305 “Lily of the Valley” 201 Lima, Kevin 78 “Limehouse Blues” 338, 376 Linda, Solomon 362 “Linda Brown” 290 Linden, Hal 235, 348 Lindsay, Howard 45, 280, 300 “Linger Awhile” 169 Linville, Albert 63, 351 The Lion in Winter 99 The Lion King 5, 179, 180, 181 The Lion King 1 1 ⁄ 2 181 The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride 181 “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” 180 “Listen” 69, 72, 73 Liszt, Franz 231, 336, 346, 258, 366 Little Albert and the Tru-Tones 352 “A Little Bit of Good” 350 “Little Black Sheep” 349 “A Little Brains, a Little Talent” 64 “Little Brown Jug” 110, 111, 356 The Little Colonel 244, 253 “Little Girl Blue” 30, 31 “A Little Girl from Little Rock” 104, 105 “Little Girls” 15 Little Johnny Jones 332, 333, 347, 375 “Little Lamb” 127 “Little Lotte” 367 The Little Mermaid 5, 81, 85, 153, 181, 183, 353, 362 “The Little Mermaid” 136, 181 Little Miss Broadway 253 Little Miss Marker 244 “Little One” 144 Little Orphan Annie 15 “A Little Priest” 298, 299 The Little Princess 254 Little Richard 352 Little Shop of Horrors 183, 184, 185 “Little Shop of Horrors” 184 “The Little Things in Life” 32 The Littlest Rebel 244, 253

Index Liu, Lucy 350 Livingston, Jerry 55 “Liza” 163 Lloyd Webber, Andrew 81, 83, 179, 239, 242, 367 “Loch Lomond” 25, 348 Lockhart, Gene 48 Lockhart, June 363 Lockin, Danny 140 Loeb, Lee 261 Loesser, Frank 123, 126, 135, 137, 148, 215, 358, 365 Loewe, Frederick 33, 35, 105, 106, 107, 210 Loff, Jeanette 169, 170, 361 Logan, Ella 114 Logan, Helen 293 Logan, John 297 Logan, Joshua 282, 284 Lohengrin 231, 366 “Lollipop Guild” 375 Lomba, Cyrna 358 Lombardo, Guy 74 “The Lonely Goatherd” 281, 370 “Lonely Room” 365 “Lonely Town” 366 “The Lonesome Cowboy” 355 “Lonesome Polecat” 258 Long, Avon 369 “Long Ago and Far Away” 57, 58, 310, 350, 373 “Long Before I Knew You” 348 “Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man” 319 “Long, Long Ago” 169 Longstreet, Stephen 161 “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” 118, 119 “Look for the Silver Lining” 123, 310, 373 “Look Out for Mr. Stork” 74 “Looking at the World Through Rose Colored Glasses” 305 Loos, Anita 104, 105, 106, 114 Lord, Robert 60 Lord Byron of Broadway 271 Lorelei 105 Loring, Eugene 96, 267, 337 Lorre, Peter 267, 370 “Lorrell Loves Jimmy” 72 “Lose That Long Face” 287 Losee, Harry 261 “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” 38, 39 Loudon, Dorothy 15 “Louise” 362 “Louise’s Ballet” 50 “Louisiana Hayride” 22 “Love” 338 Love, Bessie 35 Love, Montagu 65 “Love Boat” 35 Love Finds Andy Hardy 347 “Love from a Heart of Gold” 359 Love from Judy 59 “Love in Bloom” 355 “Love Is a Many-Spendored Thing” 118, 203, 356, 364 “Love Is Here to Stay” 11, 12, 114, 115

Index “Love Is Like Oxygen” 203, 364 “Love Is Only Love” 141 “(Love Lifts Us) Up Where We Belong” 203, 364 “Love, Love Me Baby” 73 Love Me or Leave Me 185, 186, 187 “Love Me or Leave Me” 186, 187 Love Me Tender 157 Love Me Tonight 133, 187, 189, 190, 214, 362 “Love Me Tonight” 189 “The Love of My Life” (Brigadoon) 348 “Love of My Life” (The Pirate) 243 The Love Parade 189, 190, 192, 214, 362 “Love Walked In” 114, 115, 356 “Love with All the Trimmings” 224, 225 “Love Ya” 225 “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” 324 “Love You I Do” 71, 73 “Loveliest Night of the Year” 120, 121 Lovell, R. 346, 349 “Lovely Lonely Man” 54 “Lover” 188, 189, 331, 362 Loving You 157 Loy, Myrna 122, 187 Lubitsch, Ernst 189, 192, 198 Lucci, Susan 18 Lucia di Lammermoor 121, 232, 357, 363 Lucian 353 “Luck Be a Lady” 125, 126 Luckey, Susan 48, 364 “Lucky in Love” 116, 117, 356 “Lucky to Be With” 366 Luddy, Barbara 175, 272 Ludwig, William 120, 219 Luft, Sidney 286, 287 Luhrmann, Baz 202, 204, 364 Luker, Rebecca 210 “Lullaby League” 375 “Lullaby of Broadway” 356 Lund, John 143 Lunt, Alfred 173, 242 LuPone, Patti 81 Luske, Hamilton 7, 55, 87, 175, 237 Luske, Tommy 237, 367 Die Lustige Witwe 199 Lyman, Abe 348, 362 Lynde, Paul 37, 38, 39 Lynn, Imogene 363 Lynne, Gillian 239, 334 Lynne, Sharon 295 Lynne, Shelby 374 “Ma Blushin’ Rosie” 162 MacDermot, Galt 128 MacDonald, Ballard 373 MacDonald, James 55 MacDonald, Jeanette 187, 189, 195, 196, 198, 200, 213, 214, 215, 232, 362, 363 MacGimsey, Robert 370 MacGregor, Chummy 109

402 Mack, Cecil 42, 349, 366 “Mack the Black” 242, 243 MacLane, Barton 356 MacMahon, Aline 112 MacRae, Gordon 48, 49, 219, 221, 225, 226 Madama Butterfly 122, 123, 233, 366 “Madame, I Love Your Crepes Suzettes” 73 Madden, Donald 258 Madden, Edward 347, 360, 366 Maddox, Matt 257 “Mademoiselle from Armentieres” 351 Madonna 81, 83, 355 Madriguera, Enric 356 “Magic Store” 207 “Magical Lasso” 240 Magidson, Herb 355, 357 Magna Corporation 219 “Magnificat” 121 Magnoli, Albert 247 Mahin, John Lee 214, 265 Mahoney, Jack 354 Mahoney, Wilkie C. 73 Maier, Roy “Red” 169 Main, Marjorie 138, 292, 363 Main, Mary 81 “Main Street” 229 “Make Believe” 262, 263, 265, 266, 267, 309, 370 “Make ’Em Laugh” 269, 270, 370 “Make Way for Tomorrow” 57, 58 Malden, Karl 126, 128 Malie, Tommie 373 Malneck, Matty 356, 361 “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now” 133 “Mamãe Eu Quero” 20, 69 “Mamie Is Mimi” 355 Mammy 360 Mamoulian, Rouben 267 “A Man Chases a Girl Until She Catches Him” 304 “A Man Doesn’t Know” 351 “A Man Has Dreams” 194 “The Man I Love” 217 The Man in Black 317 “The Man That Got Away” 286, 287 “A Man Was a Cause of It All” 372 “Man with the Mandolin” 293 “Manchester, England” 129, 130 Mancini, Henry 356 “Mandy” 323, 324 Mangold, James 317 “Manhattan” 331, 375 “Manhattan Downbeat” 24 Mankiewicz, Joseph L. 123 Mann, Anthony 111 Mann, Barry 346 Mann, Paul 89 Mann, Terrence 28 Manners, J. Hartley 102 Manning, Bruce 230 Manning, Irene 332 Manoulian, Rouben 187, 189 “El Mansiero” 371 “Many a New Day” 220

“M’appari” (Martha) 121, 375 Mara, Adele 376 March, Frederic 286 March, Hal 359 “March, March” 156, 157 “March of the Doagies” 359 “March of the Grenadiers” 191 “March of the Musketeers” 123 “March of the Siamese Children” 166, 168, 169 “March of the Winkies (O-Ee-Ah, Eeoh-Ah!)” 329, 330 Marchand, Leopold 187 Marcin, Natalie 13 Margulies, Stan 325 “Maria” 320, 370 “Marian, the Librarian” 209, 364 “Marie” 7, 304 Marin, Cheech 179 Marin, Jason 181 Marion, George, Jr. 102, 187 Mark, Brown 368 Mark, Laurence 69 Markert, Russell 169 Markey, Gene 226 Marks, Godfrey 366 “Married” 40 “Marry the Man Today” 357 “Marrying for Love” 46 Mars, Kenneth 181 Marsden, James 78, 131, 353 Marsh, Michele 89 Marshall, Alan 84 Marshall, Connie 200 Marshall, George 114 Marshall, Grant 374 Marshall, Patrica 115 Marshall, Peter 346 Marshall, Rob 51 Marshall, Trudy 351 Marshall, William 288 Martha 66, 121, 357, 375 “Martha! Du Entschwandest (Martha! You Have Vanished)” 326 “Martha! You Have Vanished” see “Martha! Du Entschwandest” Martin, Dean 28, 30 Martin, Ernest 148 Martin, Freddy 14, 346 Martin, Hugh 116, 356, 363, 376 Martin, Marik 217 Martin, Mary 280, 283 Martin, Steve 183, 185, 364 Martin, Tony 92, 244, 310, 339, 340, 373 Marx, Groucho 308 Marx Brothers 227 “Mary Ann” 251, 368 Mary Poppins 165, 192, 194, 210, 223, 353 “Mary’s a Grand Old Name” 20, 333, 375 Mascagni, Pietro 357 Mason, James 285, 287 “The Masque of the Red Death” 241 “Masquerade” 241, 242 Masteroff, Joe 40

403 The Matchmaker 140 “Matchmaker” 89 “Material Girl” 355, 364 Matheson, Murray 359 Mathews, Samuel 368 Matthais, Jack 348 Matthau, Walter 140, 142 Matthew, Bert 349 “Mattinata” 121 Mattraw, Scotty 274 Maxey, Paul 359 “Maxim’s” 199, 200 Maxwell, Edwin 360 Maxwell, Jan 55 May, Brian 364 “Maybe” 15, 346 “Maybe This Time” 40, 41, 349 Mayer, Louis B. 18 Mayfield, Percy 368 Maytime 190, 195, 196, 363 Mazurki, Mike 365 Mazzucchi, Alfredo 366 “Mbube” 362 McAlpin, Lillie 374 McAndrew, Marianne 140 McArdle, Andrea 15 McArthur, Charles 169 McAvoy, May 159 McBride, Donald 356 McCarthy, Joseph 351, 354, 360, 362, 371, 376 McCartney, Paul 137, 358, 364 McCarty, Mary 369 McCracken Joan 116 McCrane, Paul 83, 85, 86, 353 McCree, Junie 359 McDaniel, Hattie 262, 265, 277 McDonald, Ray 19, 116, 310 McEntire, Reba 18 McFerrin, Robert 245, 247 McGhee, Stick 369 McGowan, Jack 18, 36, 108 McGrath, Leuteen 267 McGregor, Ewan 1, 202, 205 McGuire, Victor 239 McGuire, William A. 122, 339 McHally, Horace 93 McHugh, Frank 92 McHugh, Jimmy 350, 351, 371, 373 McKay, Margery 282, 370 McKean, Thomas 259 McLaughlin, Jon 353 McLeish, John 74 McLerie, Allyn Ann 43 McManus, Sharon 346 McNair, Barbara 235 McNally, Kevin 367 McPhail, Douglas 18, 349 “Me Ol’ Bam-Boo” 54 Meacham, F.W. 356 Mead, Shepherd 148 “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” 183, 185, 362 “Mean to Me” 186 Meara, Anne 84 Mears, Martha 350, 352, 359 Mecchi, Irene 151, 179 Medford, Kay 98, 99

“The Meek Shall Inherit” 185 Meek, Donald 347 Meet Me in St. Louis 196, 197, 198, 279, 288, 366 “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” 197, 198 “Meet Me in the Red Room” 203 “Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland” 154, 155 Meet the Soundtrack 87 Meilhac, Henri 198 “Mein Herr” 40 Meisner, Gunter 375 Melcher, Martin 30, 31 “Melinda” 224 The Mello Men 361, 367 “The Melting Pot of Music” 170 Melton, James 338 Melvoin, Wendy 368 “Memories of Madison Square Garden” 348 “Mem’ry Island” 292 Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix 351 Menjou, Adolph 114, 230, 336 Menken, Alan 5, 6, 25, 78, 81, 151, 153, 179, 181, 183, 185, 353, 362 Menzel, Idina 78 Menzies, Heather 279 Mephisto Waltz 358 Mercer, Frances 373 Mercer, Johnny 59, 60, 138, 139, 140, 257, 258, 336, 337, 358, 359, 369 The Merchant of Yonkers 140 Mercury, Freddie 364 Merkel, Una 95, 363 Merlin, Joann (or Joanna) 84, 89 Merman, Ethel 6, 10, 16, 18, 45, 47, 73, 108, 126, 303, 305, 355 Meron, Neil 131 Merrick, David 140 Merrill, Blanche 373 Merrill, Bob 98, 359 “Merry Christmas” 155, 322, 324 “The Merry Old Land of Oz” 329 The Merry Widow 190, 198, 199, 200, 214, 362 “The Merry Widow Waltz” 199, 200 Merson, Billy 360 “Mess Around” 250 Messiah 373 Mesta, Perle 45 Metaxa, Georges 299 Metcalf, Willie, Jr. 369 Metz, Theodore M. 352 “The Mexican Clap Hands Song” 14 “The Mexican Hat Dance” 14 Meyer, George W. 354 Meyer, Joseph 346, 357, 360, 376 Meyerbeer, Giacomo 363 M-G-M 2, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 33, 35, 36, 42, 43, 73, 76, 83, 86, 93, 105, 108, 115, 116, 120, 122, 138, 139, 143, 154, 155, 156, 157, 171, 173, 176, 177, 185, 195, 196, 198, 199, 205, 213, 215, 219, 228,

Index 230, 242, 243, 254, 255, 256, 258, 265, 267, 269, 272, 287, 290, 291, 292, 293, 301, 307, 309, 310, 313, 315, 327, 330, 337, 339, 348, 353 M-G-M Studio Chorus 355, 372 “Micaëla’s Air” 350 Michener, James A. 283 “Mickey Makes a Bargain” 353 Mickey Mouse 277 “The Midas Touch” 29 Middlemass, Robert 351 Middleton, Charles 369 Midler, Bette 128, 153 “The Midnight Hour” 250 Migenes, Julie 89 Miles, A.H. (or Alfred Hart) 346, 349 Miles, Lillian 103 Milestone, Lewis 133 “A Military Man” 244 “Milk Cow Blues” 317 “Milk Cow Blues Boogie” 374 Millar, Lee 175 Miller, Ann 76, 78, 96, 173, 228, 229, 230 Miller, Barry 84 Miller, Dan John 374 Miller, Glenn 109, 111, 293, 295, 355, 356, 372, 375 Miller, Marilyn 310, 337, 352, 373 Miller, Marvin 370 Miller, Mitch 374 Mills, Irving 368, 371 Mills, Kerry 363, 371 “Mimi” 188, 189, 362 “Mind If I Make Love to You?” 144 Minkoff, Rob 179 Minnelli, Liza 39, 40, 41, 198, 217, 219, 359 Minnelli, Vincente 10, 21, 28, 33, 42, 105, 171, 197, 198, 223, 242, 243, 337 “Minnie from Trinidad” 340 “Minnie’s in the Money” 101 Minogue, Kylie 364 “Minuet in G” 209, 210 “Miracle of Miracles” 90 Miramax 51 Miranda, Carmen 20, 68, 69, 100, 101, 102, 284, 352 “Miserere” 121 Miss Annie Rooney 254 “Miss Baltimore Crabs” 131 “Miss Turnstiles Ballet” 228 “Mississippi Mud” 169 “Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer” 307 Mr. Belvedere Goes to College 254 “Mister Cellophane” 52, 350 “Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean” 340 “Mr. Goldstone, I Love You” 127, 358 “Mister Snow” 49 Mitchell, Brian Stokes 175 Mitchell, Cameron 48, 185 Mitchell, Charles 352 Mitchell, George 374 Mitchell, James 347

Index Mitchell, Millard 370 Mitchell, Sidney D. 369 “The Mob Song” 27 Mobrary, Alan 366 Mockridge, Cyril 371 Modern Aires 248, 368 Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music 252, 368 “Modernaire” 248 Modernaires 111, 294, 372 Mohr, Joseph 363 “Molasses to Rum” 260 Molinare, Nicanor 376 Moll, Billy 361 Mollenhauer Heidi 150 Molnar, Ferenc 42, 49, 50 “Momma, Look Sharp” 260 Monaco, James V. 351, 360, 362, 371 “Money, Money” 40, 41, 349 “The Money Song” 349 Monks, John, Jr. 290 Monroe, Bill 317 Monroe, Marilyn 104, 105, 303, 305, 355, 373 “Montage” 353 Montalban, Richardo 215, 217 Montand, Yves 223, 365 “Montuno Uno” 369 Moody, Jim 84 Moody, Ron 221 “Moon Love” 293 Moon Over Miami 345 “Mooning” 357 “Moonlight Bay” 19, 225, 226 “Moonlight Serenade” 110, 111, 294, 356, 372 “Moonlight Sonata” 151 “Moonshine Lullaby” 346 Moore, Demi 150 Moore, Grace 232, 233, 366 Moore, Mary Tyler 305, 307, 373 Moore, Melba 358 Moore, Terry 59 Moore, Thomas 366 Moore, Victor 299 Morales, Noro 348, 376 Moranis, Rick 183 More, Marvin 374 “More I Cannot Wish You” 357 Moreda, Dale 148 Morehead, Agnes 265 Moreno, Rita 166, 319, 360 Mores, Marianito 364 Morey, Larry 275 Morgan, Dennis 122, 357 Morgan, Frank 17, 122, 133, 327, 330, 349, 365, 375 Morgan, Harry 109 Morgan, Helen 262, 263, 265, 373 Morita, Pat 373 Morley, Victor 373 Morner, Stanley 357 “Morning Hymn (Rex Admirabilis)” 280 Morris, Richard 305, 313 Morrow, Doretta 171 Morse, Robert 148 Morse, Theodora 355

404 Morse, Theodore F. 346, 360, 363 Morton, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” 371 Moscona, Nicola 121 “Moses Supposes” 271 “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” 30, 31 Mostel, Zero 73, 74, 89 Moten, Etta 113 “M-O-T-H-E-R” 14, 201 “A Mother Doesn’t Matter Anymore” 349 Mother Goose Tales 272 “Mother of Mine” 161 Mother Wore Tights 200, 201 Motown Records 69 Moulin Rouge! 1, 202, 204, 205 Mount, Peggy 365 “Mountain Greenery” 331, 375 “Move” 70 “Movin’ Right Along” 206, 207 Mowgli 163 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 366 “Mrs. Sally Adams” 47 “Mu-Cha-Cha” 29 Muir, Lewis F. 347, 359, 360 Mulhauser, James 230 Mullally, Megan 86, 150 Munshin, Jules 156, 228, 229, 267, 301 Munson, Eddie 347 The Muppet Movie 205, 207 The Muppet Show 205 The Muppets 184 Murphy, Eddie 69 Murphy, George 36, 93 Murphy, Tab 151 Murray, Bill 362 Murray, Bonnie 348 Murray, Peg 40 Muse, Clarence 367, 371 “Mushnik & Son” 362 Music Box Revue 232 “Music Has Charms” 169 “Music Is Better Than Words” 156 Music Maids 355 The Music Man 207, 210, 313, 319, 364 “Music of the Night” 240, 367 “The Music That Makes Me Dance” 355 Musker, Frank 353 Musker, John 5, 181 Musselman, M.M. 24 Mussorgsky, Modest 88 “My Blue Heaven” 187 “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” 61 “My Bridal Veil” 169 “My Conviction” 358 “My Country ’Tis of Thee” see “America (My Country ’Tis of Thee)” “My Daddy Was a Minstrel Man” 19 “My Day” 19, 347 “My Defenses Are Down” 17 My Fair Lady 106, 107, 192, 210, 213, 223, 242, 354, 355

“My Favorite Things” 279, 280, 281, 282, 370 “My Friends” 297, 299 “My Funny Valentine” 18, 235, 236, 347, 367 “My Gal Sal” 160, 360 “My Girl Back Home” 284, 371 “My Heart Beats Faster” 216 “My Heart Sings” see “(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings” “My Heart Stood Still” 331, 375 “My Intuition” 359 “My Joe” 48 “My Little Pal Ray” 369 “My Lord and Master” 361 “My Love Parade” 191, 192 “My Mammy” 161, 162 “My Man (Mon Homme)” 98, 99, 100, 123, 352, 355 “My Man’s Gone Now” 245 “My Melancholy Baby” 286 “My Mother’s Wedding Day” 348 “My My, Ain’t That Somethin’” 290 “My Name” 365 “My One and Only Highland Fling” 23 “My Own Best Friend” 350 “My Own Brass Bed” 374 “My Own Home” 165 “My Pal, Bumper” 134 “My Rival” 316 “My Romance” 30, 31 “My Sunny Tennessee” 308 “My Time of Day” 357 “My White Knight” 207, 364 Myhers, John 359 Myrow, Josef 363 Nail, Jimmy 81 Naish, J. Carrol 16, 68 Nash, Richard 245 “National Emblem March” 111, 291 National Film Registry 9, 11, 21, 25, 39, 47, 86, 92, 95, 105, 112, 157, 187, 197, 207, 214, 219, 257, 262, 270, 275, 279, 286, 289, 311, 319, 327, 332 “Nature Boy” 202, 203, 204 Naughton, James 51 Naughty Marietta 190, 213, 214, 215, 363 “Near to You” 351 “’Neath the Southern Moon” 214, 215 “A Needle in a Haystack” 103 Negulesco, Jean 59 Neilson, Harry 346 Nelson, Gene 219 Nelson, John L. 368 Nelson, Ozzie 92 Nelson, Portia 370 “Nenita” 69 Neptune’s Daughter 215, 216 Neufeld, Sylvia 373 Neuwirth, Bebe 51, 86 “Never Before, Never Again” 206 “Never Gonna Dance” 301 “Never Look Back” 186, 187

405 “Never Smile at a Crocodile” 239, 367 “Nevertheless” 308 “A New Argentina” 82 “New Deal for Christmas” 346 “The New Girl in Town” 132 New Line Cinema 65, 131 The New Moon 232 “New Sun in the Sky” 22 “A New Town Is a Blue Town” 366 New York, New York 217, 218 “New York, New York” 228, 230 Neway, Patricia 280 Newhart, Bob 223 Newley, Anthony 325 Newman, Alfred 134 Newmar, Julie 369 Newton-John, Olivia 117, 118, 120, 356, 357 “Nice Work If You Can Get It” 13, 66, 350 “The Nicest Kids in Town” 131, 132 Nicholas, Fayard 349 Nicholas Brothers 69, 243, 290, 294, 349, 367 Nichols, Barbara 367 Nichols, Red 110 Nicholson, Jack 362 Nickerson, Denise 325 Nielan, Marshall 372 “Night and Day” 102, 103, 354 A Night at the Opera 2 “Night of My Nights” 172, 173, 361 Night on Bald Mountain 88 “The Night They Invented Champagne” 107 “Night Time Is the Right Time” 251 Nilsson, Harry 10 “Nina” 242 9:15 (Nine-Fifteen) Revue 186 Ninotchka 267 Nitzsche, Jack 364 Nixon, Marion 253, 375 Nixon, Marni 168, 169, 210, 282, 354, 360 “No Love, No Nothin’” 101, 102 “No Matter What Happens” 335 “No Place Like London” 297 “No Spinach” 244 “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free)” 311, 313 “No Two People” 136, 137 “No Way to Stop It” 370 “No Wonder” 335 Noble, Johnny 362 Noble, Ray 351 “Nobles seigneurs, salut” 196 “Nobody” 291, 350 “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” 181 “Nobody’s Using It Now” 191, 192 Nokes, George 277 “Nola” 169 Nolan, Kenny 364 Nolan, William 361 “None But the Lonely Heart” 366 Noonan, Tom (or Tommy) 104, 286

Nordstrom, Clarence 354, 356 Norman, Lucille 93) Norman, Pierre 365 North, Edmund 232 Norton, George A. 371 Norworth, Jack 372 “Not for All the Rice in China” 32 “Not Since Nineveh” 171, 173, 361 “Not While I’m Around” 298, 299 “Notes” 240, 241 Notre-Dame de Paris 151 Novak, Kim 235, 367 Novoselic, Chris 364 Now and Forever 244 “Now I Have Everything” 353 “Now It Can Be Told” 6, 7 “Now (It’s Just the Gas)” 362 “Now You Has Jazz” 144, 145 “Nowadays” 53 Noyes, Betty 352, 370 “Numi Pietà 121 Nunn, Larry 290 Nutcracker Suite 86, 348, 353 Nuyen, France 282 “N.Y.C.” 346 “O, Du Mein Holder Abendstern (Oh, Evening Star)” 363 “O, Great God of Power” 358 “O Sole Mio” 366 Oakland, Simon 223, 374 Oakley, Annie 16, 17 O’Brian, Hugh 373 O’Brien, Margaret 196, 347 O’Brien, Virginia 73, 74, 138, 140, 309, 338, 352 “O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg” 302, 303 “Ocarina” 46 “Ochi chyornye (or Otchi-TchorNi-Ya)” 170, 356, 366 O’Connell, John 78, 202 O’Connor, Caroline 364 O’Connor, Donald 45, 269, 270, 272, 303, 322, 370 O’Connor, Joseph 365 O’Curran, Charles 28 O’Day, Nell 170, 361 “Ode to a Tractor” 268 O’Dea, Sunnie 369 Odyssey Entertainment 239 Offenbach, Jacques 202, 364 Ogden, Ina D. 363 “Oh, Bess, Oh, Where’s My Bess?” 246 Oh, Boy! 310, 373 “Oh, Doctor Jesus” 246 “Oh, Evening Star” see “O, Du Mein Holder Abendstern” “Oh! Frenchy” 351, 354 “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” 7, 345 “Oh, I Can’t Sit Down” 246 “Oh, I’m A-goin’ Out to the Blackfish Banks” 246 “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny Oh!” 94 Oh, Kay! 97, 354 “Oh, Lawd, I’m on My Way” 246, 247

Index Oh, Look! 351 “Oh, My Goodness” 244, 253 “Oh Sing, Sweet Nightingale” 56, 57 “Oh, Susanna” 347 “Oh, There’s Somebody Knocking at the Door” 246 “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” 219, 221, 365 “Oh, What a Circus” 82, 353 “Oh, What You Want Wid Bess?” 246 “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” 94 “Oh, You Kid” 139 “Oh, You Wonderful Girl” 333 O’Hanlon, James 43, 138 O’Hara, John 235 O’Hara, Kelli 235 O’Hara, Paige 25 Oklahoma! 17, 45, 49, 139, 219, 221, 283, 288, 354, 365 “Oklahoma!” 220, 221, 365 “Ol’ Man River” 123, 262, 263, 265, 266, 267, 309, 310, 369 “Old Fashioned Melody” 130, 358 “An Old Fashioned Wedding” 346 “Old Father William” 8 “Old Folks at Home” 21, 84, 347 “Old Ship of Zion” 42, 349 “Old Straw Hat” 253 “The Oldest Established (Permanent Floating Crap Game)” 123, 126 Olivari, Carlos A. 254, 336 “The Olive Tree” 172 “Oliver” 222 Oliver! 51, 137, 221, 223 Oliver, Sy 352, 365 Oliver Twist 221 Olivier, Laurence 161 Olman, Abe 354 Olsen, Moroni 370 O’Malley, Pat 163, 360 O’Malley, Rory 352 “On a Clear Day” 224, 225, 365 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever 223, 224 “On a Little Two-Seat Tandem” see “(Rolling Down Bowling Green) On a Little Two-Seat Tandem” On an Island with You 215 “On Broadway” 10, 346 “On How to Be Lovely” 98 On Moonlight Bay 225, 226 “On My Own” 348 “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” 138, 139, 140 On the Avenue 226, 227 “On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada” 82 “On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away” 162 “On the Campus” 356 “On the Good Ship Lollipop” 253 “On the S.S. Bernard Cohn” 365 “On the Street Where You Live” 212, 213 On the Town 156, 157, 228, 279, 302

Index “On the Town” 229 “On This Night of a Thousand Stars” 82 On Your Toes 331, 367, 375 “On Your Toes” 331, 375 Once 344, 364 “Once-a-Year Day” 234, 235 “Once in a While” 217 “Once in the Highlands” 33 Once More with Feeling 178 “Once Upon a Dream” 273, 274 “Once Upon a Time” 156 “One Boy” 38 One Damn Thing After Another 375 “One Day I’ll Fly Away” 203 “One Gift” 273 “One Hand, One Heart” 321 One Hour with You 362 One Hundred Men and a Girl 230, 231 “One Hundred Ways” 349 “One Jump Ahead” 5, 345 “One Last Kiss” 38, 39 “One More Chance” 352 “One More Dance” 310 “One More Day” 157 “One More Night” 364 One Night of Love 231, 232, 233 One Night of Love” 232 “One Night Only” 72 “One Song” 275, 277 O’Neill, Johnny 369 “Oom-Pah-Pah” 223 “Oompa Loompa, Doompa-DeeDo” 326, 327 Oparei, Deobia 364 “Open Your Eyes” 256 “Opera vs. Jazz” 18 Oppenheimer, George 36 “Opus One” 217 Orbach, Jerry 25, 51, 96 Orbison, Roy 317, 374 “An Ordinary Couple” 370 “An Ordinary Man” 212 Oreb, Tom 7 Orland, Warner 159 Orphée aux Enfers 364 Orpheus in the Underworld 202 Osborn, Paul 283 Osborne, Hubert 91 Ostrum, Peter 325 “Otchi-Tchor-Ni-Ya” see “Ochi chyornye” “Our Heroine” 283 Our Little Girl 244 “Our Love Affair” 290, 291, 371 “Our Love Is Here to Stay” 346, 356 “Our State Fair” 288, 289 “Out Here on My Own” 84, 85 “Out of My Dreams” 220 “Out There” 151, 153, 359 “Over and Over Again” 30 “Over the Bannister” 197 “Over the Rainbow” 110, 293, 327, 328, 330, 356, 375 “Over the Waves” 372 “Over There” 332, 333, 354 Overstreet, W. Benton 346

406 “Overture to Rosamunde” 358 “Ovlur’s theme” 361 Owen, Alun 137 Owen, Reginald 362 Owens, Harry 361 “The Owl and the Pussycat” 214 The Oxford Boys 74 Oz, Frank 183, 184, 205 “Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil” 345 “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag (and Smile! Smile! Smile!) 226, 351, 354 “Paducah” 101 Pagano, Ernest 65, 261, 336 Page, Anita 35 Page Cavanaugh Trio 254 Pagliacci 120, 121, 122, 123, 357 Paige, Janis 233, 254, 267, 269, 348, 369 “Painting the Roses Red” 8 Paiva, Jararaca 347, 352 Paiva, Vincente 347, 352 The Pajama Game 63, 233, 235, 351, 369 “The Pajama Game” 233 Pal Joey 95, 235, 237 Pallette, Eugene 230 Palmer, Jack 355, 362, 371 Palmer, Leland 9 “La Paloma” 170 Pan, Hermes 31, 65, 91, 102, 173, 210, 235, 245, 261, 267, 285, 288, 293, 300, 307, 311, 347, 354 Pan-American Jubilee” 285 Panama, Norman 322 “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” 334, 335, 336 Paramount on Parade 356, 362 Paramount Pictures 2, 31, 69, 96, 117, 145, 187, 189, 223, 224, 225, 254, 322, 325 Parfumerie 154 “Paris Loves Lovers” 268 “Paris Original” 359 “Paris, Stay the Same” 190 Parish, Mitchell 356, 372 The Parisian Model 376 “The Parisians” 106 Parker, Alan 81, 84, 353 Parker, Dorothy 114, 286 Parker, Eleanor 279 Parker, Tom 157 Parker, Williard 361 Parks, Larry 161, 162 Parks, Taylor 131 Parsonnet, Marion 57 “Part of the World” 181, 182 “Part of Your World” 182, 183, 353 Partichela, Felipe A. 346 Partido Feminista” 83 Parton, Dolly 364 “The Party’s Over” 29 “Pass That Peace Pipe” 116, 117 The Passing Show 351 Pasternak, Joe 13, 15, 30, 120, 154, 186, 230, 292 Paterson, Vincent 81

“Patience” 69, 72, 73 Patinkin, Mandy 81, 334 Patrick, Dorothy 309 Patrick, John 143, 176 Patrick, Robert 316 Patten, Luana 277 Patterson, Chuck 358 Paul, Don 5 Payne, John 66, 284, 293 Payne, John Howard 363, 366, 372 Payne, Waylon Malloy 374 Peabody, Eddie 347 “Peace on Earth” 175, 176 Peaker, E.J. 140 “The Peanut Vendor” 286 Pearce, Alice 366 Pearce, Craig 202, 364 Pearce, Perce 277 Pearson, Jesse 37 Peet, William (or Bill) 7, 55, 237 Pegg y-Ann 375 Peirpont, James 366 Pendleton, Austin 89, 205 Pendleton, Nat 122 Penner, Erdman 7, 55, 175, 237, 272, 367, 370 Pennies from Heaven 345 “Pennsylvania 6–5000” 111 Pentamerone 272 “People” 98, 100 “People Will Say We’re in Love” 220, 221, 365 Peretti, Hugo 362 “A Perfect Day” 10, 346 “The Perfect Nanny” 193 “Perfect World” 72, 73 “Perfectly Marvelous” 349 Perkins, Luther 374 Perkins, Trudy 358 Perlberg, William 288 Perón, Eva 81, 82 Perón, Juan 82 “Perón’s Latest Flame” 82 Perrault, Charles 272 Perrault, Pierre 55 Persky, Lester 128 Persnell, Harve 313, 315 Persoff, Nehemiah 334 Personalities 348 Pestalozza, Alberto 366, 371 “Pet Me Poppa” 123, 124, 126 Peter Pan 237, 239, 274 Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up 237 Peters, Bernadette 15, 18, 128 Peters, Brock 245 Peterson, Bernice 47 Peterson, Caleb 309 Pether, Henry E. 350 Petit, Roland 59, 135 “La Petite Tonkinoise” 357 “Pettin’ in the Park” 112, 114 Pfeiffer, Michelle 131 The Phantom of the Opera 142, 239, 242 “The Phantom of the Opera” 239, 240, 241, 367 Philadelphia Orchestra 86 The Philadelphia Story 143

407 Phillips, Arlene 15 Phillips, Chynna 39 Phillips, Leslie 176 Phillips, Sam 157, 317, 374 Philopseudes 353 Phipps, William 55 Phoenix, Joaquin 316, 317, 319 Piano Concerto in B-flat Minor (Tchaikovsky) 24, 347 Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky) 14, 346, 347 Piano Concerto No. 2 353 “Piano Lesson/If You Don’t Mind My Saying So” 208 Piano Sonata in B-minor 358 Piave, Francesco Maria 356 “The Piccolino” 313 “Piccolo Pete” 169 “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little” 208, 210 “Pick Yourself Up” 300, 301 Pickford, Mary 253 Picon, Molly 353 “Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve” 259 Pidgeon, Walter 99 Pied Pipers 73, 74, 351, 352, 359, 363 “A Piece of Sky” 335 Pierce, Bradley Michael 2 Pines of Rome 353 Pingitore, Mike 169 “Pink Elephants on Parade” 75, 352, 353 Pinocchio 345 Pinza, Ezio 283 Pippin 352 The Pirate 242, 243 “The Pirate Ballet” 243 “A Pirate’s Life” 238, 367 The Pirates of Pensance 355 “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir” 298 “The Pitch” 203, 364 Pitchford, Dean 85, 353 Pitts, ZaSu 60, 61 Place, Mary Kay 217 Planquette, Robert 363 “Plantons la vigne” 195 Platt, Marc 257 “Play a Simple Melody” 303 “Play That Barbershop Chord” 155 “Please Don’t Monkey with Broadway” 36 “Plenty to Be Thankful For” 147 Plummer, Christopher 279, 282, 370 Plumpton 357 Pocahontas 5, 78, 181, 362 Poe, Edgar Allan 241 “The Point of No Return” 241, 367 “Les Poissons” 182 Poitier, Sidney 245, 247 Pokrass, Samuel 369 “Polka Dot Polka” 101, 102 Pollack, Ben 110, 111, 355 Pollack, Lew 369, 373 Pollock, Channing 354, 357 Pollock, Dee 350 “Polovetsian Dance No. 2” 361 “Polovetsian Dances” 361

Pomp and Circumstance March 353 Pomus, Doc 374 Ponchielli, Amilcare 88, 120, 357 Poncia, Vini 364 Poole, Roy 258, 259 “The Poor Apache” 189, 362 “Poor Butterfly” 306 “Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh” 241 “Poor Giant (Fe-Fi...)” 353 “Poor John” 58 Poor Little Rich Girl 243, 244, 253, 369 “Poor Thing” 297 “Poor Unfortunate Souls” 182 “Pore Jud Is Daid” 220, 221 Porg y 245 Porg y and Bess 137, 245, 247, 365 “Porgy, I’s Yo Woman Now” 245 Porter, Cole 36, 73, 74, 102, 143, 145, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 242, 243, 267, 269, 349, 355, 350, 361, 370 Porter, Howard 358 “The Portland Fancy” 292 “Posh” 54 “Powder, Lipstick and Rouge” 67 Powell, Clifton 368 Powell, Eleanor 36, 37, 96 Powell, Felix 351, 354, 366 Powell, George Henry 351 Powell, Jane 255, 256, 258 Powell, Teddy 368 Powell, William (or Dick) 60, 61, 92, 93, 95, 112, 226, 227, 337, 376 Power, Tyrone 6 Powers, Tom 373 Pratt, Charles E. 351 “Prayer” 214 Preece, Margaret 367 “Prehistoric Man” 228 Preisser, June 18, 290 “Prelude No. 1” (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1) 357 “Prelude to Act III” (Lohengrin) 231 Les Preludes 358 “Preludium: Dixit Dominus (Psalm 110)” 280 Preminger, Otto 47, 245 Presley, Elvis 37, 118, 138, 150, 157, 159, 184, 315, 316, 317, 349, 360, 374 “The Press Conference Rag” 52 Prest, Thomas Peckett 297 Preston, Robert 207, 210 “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody” 7, 32, 122, 123, 303 “Pretty Women” 298, 299 Preven, Anné 352 Previn, Andre 155, 373 Price, Chilton 362 Price, Leontyne 247 “Pride (In the Name of Love)” 364 Prima, Louis 163 “Prima Donna” 241 Primus, Barry 217 Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson) 247, 368

Index Prince, Harold 81, 239, 299 “Prince Ali” 5, 345 The Prince of Broadway 68 Prinz, LeRoy 225, 262, 332 Prinze, Freddie 85, 353 “Prologue” 319 Proscenium Films 137 Prouty, Jed 35 Pryce, Jonathan 81 Pryor, Richard 364 Puccini, Giacomo 202, 233, 357 Pulley, B.S. 123 “Pure Imagination” 325, 327 Purple Rain 247, 249, 368 “Purple Rain” 249 “Put ’Em in a Box, Tie It with a Ribbon” 254, 255 “Put Me to the Test” (Daddy Long Legs) 58 “Put Me to the Test” (A Damsel in Distress) 66 “Put on a Happy Face” 37, 38, 39 “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” 141, 142 “Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey” 154, 155 Puttin’ on the Ritz 348 “Puttin’ on the Ritz” 32, 33, 227, 269, 304 “A Puzzlement” 167 Pygmalion 210 Quayle, Anna 53 “The Queen Is Always Right” 191 “Queen of the Jungle” 123 Quenzer, Arthur 352 Questel, Mae 354 Quine, Richard 19, 93 Quinn, Aileen 15 “Quintet” (Carmen) 350 “Quintet” (West Side Story) 321, 374 “Racing with the Clock” 233, 234 Rado, James 128, 129, 358 Rae, Charlotte 358 Rafferty, Frances 355 “Ragamuffin Romeo” 170 Ragland, Rags 73, 74, 108 Ragni, Germone 128, 129 “The Ragtime Violin” 77, 345 “Rahadlakum” 172 Railey, Thomas 366 “The Rain in Spain” 210, 212, 213 “The Rainbow Connection” 205, 207 “Rainbow High” 83 Rainer, Luise 122, 123 “Raisin’ the Roof ” 51 Raitt, Bonnie 235 Raitt, John 49, 233, 235, 367 “Rakoczy March” 231 Rall, Tommy 173, 257 Ralph, Sheryl Lee 69 Rameriez, Carlos 13, 25 Randell, Ron 361 Rans, Robert S. 364 “Raoul, I’ve Been There” 241 Rap, Maurice 277

Index Rape of the Sabine Women 257 Rapee, Erno 373 Raphaelson, Samson 138, 159, 198 Rasch, Albertina 198 Raset, Val 57, 336 “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” 355 Rathbone, Basil 24 Rauch, Earl Mac 217 Ravenscroft, Thurl 360 Ray! 249, 252 Ray, Johnnie 303 Ray Scott Quintet 253 Raye, Don 345 Raye, Martha 30 Razaf, Andy 356, 365, 371, 372 “Razzle Dazzle” 52 RCA Victor 120 “The Real Coney Island” 366 “A Real Nice Clambake” 49 Reale, Willie 352 Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 252, 253 “The Red Blues” 269 “A Red-Headed Woman” 246 “Red Light” 84, 85, 86 “Red Wing Boogie” 369 Redbone, Leon 365 Reed, Alan 361 Reed, Carol 221 Reed, Lydia 143 Reed, Oliver 221 Reed, Vern 364 Rees, Virginia 358 Reeves, Harry 55 Regan, Phil 309, 373 “Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse” 195 Reid, Carl Benton 357 Reid, Elliott 104 Reilly, Charles Nelson 148 Reilly, John C. 51 Reinking, Ann 9, 15, 16, 51 Reisner, C. Francis 354 Reit, Ursula 375 Reitherman, Bruce 163 Reitherman, Wolfgang 163 The Reluctant Debutante 178 “Remember” 303, 304, 345 “Remember My Forgotten Man” 113, 114 Rene, Leon 371 Rent 41 “Requiem for Evita” 82 Respighi, Ottorino 353 The Return of Jafar 6 Revel, Harry 244, 351, 355, 369 “Reviewing the Situation” 223 The Revolution 247, 368 Reymond, Dalton 277 Reynolds, Debbie 269, 270, 272, 313, 315, 370, 373 Reynolds, Herbert 373 Reynolds, Kay 359 Reynolds, Marjorie 145, 146, 359 Rhapsody in Blue 122, 162, 345 “Rhapsody in Blue” 109, 122, 123, 169, 170, 353 Rhodes, Erik 102, 311 Rhodes, Lou 364

408 “Rhymes Have I” 361 The Rhythm Boys 169, 170 “The Rhythm of the Night” 203 “Ribbons Down My Back” 141 Rice, Elmer 145 Rice, Johnathan 374 Rice, Tim 5, 6, 81, 179, 181, 345, 361 Richards, Carol 348, 349, 370 Richards, Jeff 256 Richards, Martin 51 Richardson, Frank 295, 372 Richardson, John 223 Richardson, Miranda 239, 242 Richert, Wanda 96 Rickard, Dick 275 Rickman, Alan 297 “Ride of the Valkyries” 19, 347 Riggs, Lynn 219, 288 “The Right Girl for Me” 302 Rigoletto 121, 357, 363 Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai 365 Rinaldi, Joe 7, 175, 237 “Ring of Fire” 318, 374 “Ring Out the Bells” 365 Ringwald, Roy 352 Rinker, Al 169 Rio Rito 122 Rios, Sixto Pondal 254, 336 Ripley, Heather 53 Riskin, Everett 232 The Rite of Spring 87 Ritter, Thelma 58 Ritz Brothers 115, 226, 227 “The Ritz Roll and Rock” 267, 269 Rivas, Carlos 166, 360 Rivera, Chita 37, 51 RKO Radio Pictures 2, 23, 65, 91, 102, 261, 299, 311, 353 Robbins, Gale 307, 349 Robbins, Jerome 166, 228, 319, 321, 359 Robel, David 59 Roberta 310, 347, 372, 373 Roberts, Bill 87 Roberts, Dallas 374 Roberts, Jonathan 151, 179 Roberts, Larry 175 Roberts, Lee S. 351, 354 Roberts, Marguerite 339 Roberts, Pete 372, 375 Robeson, Paul 262, 265, 267, 310 Robin, Alfred G. 366 Robin, Leo 100, 104, 105, 355, 364 “Robin Hood Ballads” 353 Robinson, Bill “Bojangles” 244, 252, 253, 289, 290, 369, 371, 372 Robinson, Clarence 289 Robinson, Della Bea Antwine 250 Robinson, Fatima 69 Robinson, Keith 69 Robinson, Seymour B. 289 Robison, Willard 349 “Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” 163 “Rock Island” 207 “Rock ’n’ Roll Is Here to Stay” 357 “Rock ’n’ Roll Party Queen” 357

“Rock ’n’ Roll Ruby” 317 “Rock This House” 250 “Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep” 349 Rockettes 15, 170 “Rockhouse” 369 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 2, 85 Rodgers, Jimmie 317 Rodgers, Richard 16, 18, 30, 45, 48, 49, 133, 135, 138, 166, 169, 187, 189, 219, 235, 237, 279, 280, 282, 283, 284, 288, 289, 330, 331, 332, 347, 348, 354, 357, 362, 363, 365, 367, 370, 371, 374, 375 Rodney, Caesar 259, 260 Rodriguez, Gerardo Matos 346 Rogers, Charles R. 230 Rogers, Ginger 1, 23, 37, 51, 65, 66, 91, 92, 95, 96, 102, 103, 108, 112, 261, 262, 293, 299, 301, 311, 313, 337, 347, 354, 355, 356, 374 Rogers, Harry Emmett 93 Rogers, Will 123, 288, 337 “Roll with My Baby” 250 “Rollerskate Rag” 99, 100, 355 “(Rolling Down Bowling Green) On a Little Two-Seat Tandem” 201 Romance on the High Seas 254 Romance, Romance 22 Romay, Lina 25, 336, 337 Romberg, Sigmund 195, 196, 232, 363 Rome, Harold 346, 347 Romeo + Juliet 202, 205 “Romeo and Juliet Ballet” 115 Romero, Alex 186 Romero, Cesar 284, 371 Romero and Juliet 319 Ronettes 362 Rooney, Annie 347 Rooney, Mickey 18, 19, 22, 108, 109, 290, 291, 330, 331, 347, 352 Roosevelt, Franklin D. 16, 347 Root, George, Jr. 100 Root, Lynn 42 “The Rope Dance” 177 Ropes, Bradford 95 Rosalie 97, 354 Rosas, Juventino 357 Rose, Anika Noni 69, 70 Rose, Billy 30, 354, 360, 361 Rose, Don 170 Rose, Ed 354 Rose, Jack 225 Rose, Vincent 361 Rose Marie 190, 363, 366 “Rose of Washington Square” 306 “Rosemary” 150 Rosenberg, Aaron 111 Rosenblatt, Cantor Josef 159, 160 Rosenthal, Jack 334 “The Roses of Success” 54 “Rose’s Turn” 128, 358 “Rosie” 39 Ross, Churchill 361

409 Ross, Diana 69, 70 Ross, Herbert 47, 98 Ross, Jerry 63, 233, 235, 351 Rossas, Juventino 372 Rossington, Norman 137 Rossini, Gioacchino 346, 357, 360, 363, 366 Rossum, Emmy 239, 242, 367 Roth, Lillian 189 Rounseville, Robert 48 Rourke, Michael E. 373 “Route 66” 250, 368 “Roxanne” 364 Roxburgh, Richard 202 “Roxie” 52 Roxie Hart 51 Royal Wedding 255 Royle, Selena 138 Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 208 Ruby, Harry 307, 309, 346, 373 Rucci, Michael 357 Ruffalo, Joseph 247 Ruggles, Charles 187 Ruick, Barbara 48 Ruick, Walter 349 “The Rumble” 321 “The Rumor” 353 “Run and Tell That” 132 “Run, Little Raindrop, Run” 285 “Run, Run, Run” 254, 255, 369 “(Running Around in Circles) Getting Nowhere” 33 Runyon, Damon 123 Ruskin, Harry 169 Russell, Betty 348 Russell, Bob 355, 365 Russell, Gilbert 121 Russell, Harry 354 Russell, Jane 104, 105 Russell, Rosalind 126, 128, 357 Russell, Steve 352 Russell Markert Girls 169, 170 “The Russian Dance/Trepak” 87, 348 “Russian Lullaby” 32 Russo, Dan 360 Rutledge, Edward 258, 260 Ryan, Elaine 19 Ryan, Meg 154 Ryan, Sheila 100 Rydell, Bobby 37, 39 Ryerson, Florence 327 Rymer, James Malcolm 297 Ryskind, Morrie 291 “’S Wonderful” 12, 96, 97, 98, 346, 354 “Sabbath Prayer” 89 Sabella, Ernie 179 “Sabre Dance” 23, 24 “The Sadder-But-Wiser Girl” 208 “Sadie, Sadie” 100, 355 Sadko 365 Sager, Carole Bayer 346 “Sailing, Sailing (Over the Bounding Main)” 366 “A Sailor’s Not a Sailor (’Til a Sailor’s Been Tattooed)” 304 St. Clair, Michael 373

St. Gerard, Michael 131 St. Louis, Louis 357 “St. Louis Blues” 111, 356 “St. Louis Blues March” 111 Saint-Marie, Buffy 364 Saint-Saëns, Camille 351, 353 Sakall, S.Z. 66, 154, 254 Sally 122, 123, 310 Sally Bowles 40 “Salome” 73 Salonga, Lea 5 “Salve regina” 82 “Salzburg” 348 “Sam and Delilah” 109, 355 “Sam, the Old Accordion Man” 186 The Samba Kings 369 Sameer 364 Sample, Joe 364 Samuel Goldwyn Company 114, 123, 135 Sanders, C.J. 368 Sanders, Ed 297 Sanders, George 45, 163 Sanderson, Julia 373 Sandow 122 Sandrich, Mark 91, 102, 145, 261, 311 “Sands of Time” 172, 173 “Sandy” 119 San Juan, Olga 31 “Santa Evita” 83, 353 “Santa Lucia” 170, 196, 316, 356, 366 Sarandon, Susan 78, 81 “Satin and Silk” 268 Satterfield, Paul 87 Saturday Night Fever 120 Saturday Night Live 205 Saunders, Terry 166 Savage, Henry 199 Savage, John 128 Savalas, Telly 364 “Sawdust, Spangles and Dreams” 30, 31 “Say a Prayer for Me Tonight” 107 “Say It with Music” 7 Sayers, Henry J. 363, 372 Scanlon, Dick 307 Schaeffer, John Case, II 374 Schary, Dore 36 Scheider, Roy 9 Schenck, Joseph M. 133 Schertzinger, Victor 189, 190, 232, 366 Schiff, Richard 368 Schonberger, John 376 Schonberger, Malvin 376 Schrank, Joseph 24, 42 Schreiner, Gary 369 Schroder, Aaron 360 Schubert, Franz 88, 358, 360 Schumacher, Joel 239 Schuman, Mort 374 Schwab, Laurence 116 Schwartz, Arthur 21, 57, 58, 347 Schwartz, Jean 360, 373 Schwartz, Stephen 78, 81, 151, 153, 181, 352, 353 Scola, Kathryn 6

Index Scorsese, Martin 217, 218 Scott, Allan 31, 91, 261, 300, 311 Scott, Andrew 364 Scott, Fran 372 Scott, Leslie 245 Scott, Maurice 347 Scott, Randolph 91, 252 Scott, Raymond 253, 369 Scotto, Vincent 357, 376 Scrooge 16 Sears, Ted 7, 55, 237, 275, 345, 367, 370 Secombe, Harry 221 “Second Hand Rose” 98, 99, 354, 355 Second Honeymoon 285 “The Second Star to the Right” 237, 238, 367 “Secret Love” 43, 45, 349 “A Secretary Is Not a Toy” 149 Der Seerauber 242 Seff, Manuel 92 Segal, Vivienne 235 “Seguidilla” 350 Seiter, William A. 336 Seldon, Sidney 76 Selvin, Ben 351, 373 “Sempre libera” 115, 232, 356 “Send Them Along” 47 Serbedzija, Rade 284 “Sérénade” from Petite Suite for piano 361 “Serenade to a Fish” 115 “Serenade to an Old-Fashioned Girl” 32 “La Serenata” 115 Sesame Street 205 “Sesteto” 121 7 1 ⁄ 2 Cents 233 “Seven and One Half Cents” 235 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 106, 156, 256, 258 The Seven Year Itch 303 1776 258, 261 “Seventy-Six Trombones” 207, 208, 209, 210, 364 “Sex Shooter” 247, 248 Seymour, James 92, 95, 112 Sha-Na-Na 357 “Shadow Waltz” 112, 113, 114, 356 Shafer, Robert 62, 63 Shaiman, Marc 131 Shakespeare, William 173, 319, 326 “Shakin’ at the High School Hop” 357 “Shakin’ the Blues Away” 77, 78, 186, 352 “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?” 361 Shall We Dance 103, 261, 262, 347 “Shall We Dance” 262 “Shall We Dance?” 166, 168, 169 “Shanghai Lil” 93 Shankman, Adam 131, 133 Sharif, Omar 98 Sharp, Bobby 368 Sharpe, Albert 348, 369 Sharples, Steve 364 Sharpsteen, Ben 74, 87

Index Shaughnessy, Ilene Woods 55 Shaughnessy, Mickey 157 Shavelson, Melville 225 Shaw, Artie 37, 349 Shaw, George Bernard 210 Shaw, Hollace 373 Shaw, Milton 369 Shaw, Reta 233 Shayne, Tamara 161 “She Didn’t Say Yes” 310 “She Is a Diamond” 83 “She Is Ma Daisy” 20 “She Is Not Thinking of Me” 106 She Loves Me 154, 355 “She Loves Me” 138 Shea, Al 364 Shean, Al 339, 340, 376 Sheekman, Arthur 31, 45 Sheldon, Sidney 16, 30 Shelton, Reid 15 Shenson, Walter 137 Sherman, Hiram 373 Sherman, Richard 6, 93 Sherman, Richard M. 53, 55, 163, 165, 180, 192, 195 Sherman, Robert B. 53, 55, 163, 165, 180, 192, 195 Sherwood, Bobby 235 “She’s a Follies Girl” 123 “She’s Mine, All Mine” 307 Shields, Ren 359 “Shine” 43 “A Shine on Your Shoes” 21, 22 “Ship Ahoy” 215 Shipman, Helen 365 Shipmates Forever 360 “Shipoopi” 209, 364 Shirley, Bill 210, 272, 274 “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.” 63 Shoemaker, Ann 290 “Shoes with Wings On” 23, 24, 347 The Shop Around the Corner 154 Shore, Dinah 309, 310 Shore Leave 91, 353 “Shorty George” 336, 337 Shostakovich, Dmitri 353 “Should I?” 271 Show Boat 1, 122, 123, 189, 309, 310 Show Boat (1936) 262, 263, 265 Show Boat (1951) 265 “Show Me” 213 “The Show Must Go On” (Cover Girl) 57 “The Show Must Go On” (Moulin Rouge) 204 “The Shriner’s Ballet” 39 “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” 62, 93, 96 “The Siamese Cat Song” 175, 176 “Siberia” 269 “Siboney” 216 “The Sidewalks of New York” 67, 68, 205, 351, 372 Sidney, George 13, 16, 17, 24, 37, 138, 173, 235, 265, 315 Siegel, Sol C. 31, 45, 104, 143, 176, 303 Sigman, Carl 356

410 “Sign” 15, 346 “Silent Night” 201 Silk Stockings 267, 269 Silva, Mario 371 Silva, Vermelho 371 Silver, Abner 360 Silver, Johnny 123 Silvers, Louis 360 Silvers, Phil 57, 58, 93, 292 Silvestri, Alfredo 356 Simmons, Jean 123, 126 Simon, Scott J. 357 Simons, Moises 371 Simple Simon 186 Sinatra, Frank 13, 14, 123, 126, 143, 145, 150, 156, 215, 228, 229, 230, 235, 237, 301, 303, 310, 357, 359, 365, 373 Sinbad 360 “Sincere” 208 Sinclair, John 374 Sinclair, Nancy 346 “Sing of Spring” 65 “Sing to Your Señorita” 69 Singer, Isaac Bashevis 334, 376 Singin’ in the Rain 18, 85, 168, 269, 270, 272, 348, 349 “Singin’ in the Rain” 269, 270, 271, 272 The Singing Fool 360 Sir Lancelot 369 Sissle, Noble 347 “Sister Suffragette” 193 “Sisters” 322, 323, 324, 375 Sisters G 169, 170, 361 “Sit Down, John” 259 “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” 123, 125, 126 “Sittin’ on the Back Yard Fence” 93 “Sitting Pretty” 349 “Situation-Wise” 156 Six Hits and a Miss 352, 372 “Six Months Out of Every Year” 63 “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” 281, 282 $64 (Sixty-four Dollar) Question 100 Skelton, Red 24, 25, 73, 74, 215, 216, 307, 309 “Skid Row (Downtown)” 184 “Skip to My Lou” 197 Skolsky, Sidney 161 “The Skumps” 274 “Slap That Bass” 261, 262 Slater, Christian 210 “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” 331 Sleeping Beauty 81, 272 “Sleeping Beauty Ballet” 272 “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” 272, 274 “Sleepy Lagoon” 352 Slezak, Walter 242, 349 Sloane, A. Baldwin 372 “Sluefoot” 60 “Slumming on Park Avenue” 227 Small, Neva 89 Small, Paul 170 “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” 168, 169

“Small Talk” 234 “Small World” 126, 128 “Smells Like Teen Spirit” 364 “Smile and Show Your Dimple” 359 “Smiles” 67, 351, 354 Smiling Lieutenant 362 Smith, Chris 354 Smith, Clarence “Pine-top” 348 Smith, Edgar 360, 372 Smith, Ethel 25 Smith, Jack 225 Smith, Muriel 371 Smith, Oliver 228 Smith, Paul J. 353 Smith, Queenie 262 Smith, Sammy 148 Smith, Webb 275 “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” 310 “Snooky Ookums” 77 “Snow” 323, 324 Snow, Brittany 131 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 55, 274, 275, 277, 353 Snyder, Bill 367 Snyder, Martin 185, 186, 187 Snyder, Ted 346, 373 “So Close” 78, 80, 353 “So in Love” 173, 174, 175 “So Long, Baby” 366 “So Long, Dearie” 142 “So Long, Farewell” 281, 282 “So Long, Mary” 333 “So-Long, Oo-Long” 308 “So the Bluebirds and the Blackbirds Got Together” 169 So This Is Love 232 “So This Is Love” 56 “So What?” 349 The Sobbin’ Women 257 “Sobbin’ Women” 258 Sobel, Curt 369 Sobieski, Carol 15 “Sobre las olas” 357 “Sodomy” 129 “The Soldiers’ Chorus” 363 “Soliloquy” 49, 51, 350 Solt, Andrew 161 “Some Day My Prince Will Come” 275, 276, 277 “Some Enchanted Evening” 283, 284, 366, 371 “Some Fun Now” 184, 185 “Some of These Days” 10 “Some Other Time” 366 “Some People” 126 “Somebody to Love” 131 “Someday” 153 “Someday I’ll Fly Away” 364 “Someone at Last” 287 “Something Good” 282, 370 “Something There” 27 “Something to Dance About” 46, 350 “Something Was Missing” 346 “Something Wonderful” 167, 168, 169 “Something’s Coming” 320 “Something’s Gotta Give” 59, 60

411 “Somewhere” 319, 321 “Somewhere That’s Green” 184, 185, 362 “Sominex/Suppertime II” 362 “The Son of a Gun Is Nothing But a Tailor” 189 Sondheim, Stephen 126, 128, 297, 299, 319, 321, 375 “Song of Freedom” 147 “Song of India” 217 “Song of the Dawn” 170 “Song of the Indian Guest” 365 “Song of the King” 168 “Song of the Rebellion” 74 “Song of the Roustabouts” (Billy Rose’s Jumbo) 30 “Song of the Roustabouts” (Dumbo) 75, 352 Song of the South 277, 279 “Song of the South” 277, 279 Songs from Sir Walter Scott 360 Sonnenfeld, Barry 78 Sonneveld, Wim 267 Soo, Jack 373 “Sooner or Later (You’re Gonna Be Comin’ Around)” 278 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice 86, 87, 347, 353 Sothern, Ann 330, 354 The Soul Stirrers 369 The Sound of Music 223, 279, 280, 282 “The Sound of Music” 202, 203, 279, 280, 281, 282, 364, 370 Sousa, John Philip 19, 127, 347, 361 “South American Way” 68 South Pacific 282, 283, 284 South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut 2 Souvenir de Moscou 359 Sowle, Diana 325 Spall, Timothy 78, 297 Spangenberg, Bill 364 “The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life” 163 “Spanish Rose” 349 Spark, Billy 368 “Sparkling Diamonds” 203 Sparks, Ned 112 Speare, Dorothy 232 Spence, Ralph 68, 244 Spencer, Kenneth 42 Sperling, Milton 293 Spielman, Fred 359 Spigelgass, Leonard 126, 267 Spinetti, Victor 358 Spinney, Carroll 364 Spitzer, Marian 66 “A Spoonful of Sugar” 193, 195, 353, 363 The Sportsmen 352 “Spring Again” 114, 115 Spring Is Here 30, 331, 375 “Spring Song” 62 “Spring, Spring, Spring” 258 Springtime in the Rockies 284, 285 Stafford, Jo 352 Stafford Trio 355 “Stairway to the Stars” 111, 293, 356

Stamell, Kiruna 364 “Stan’ Up an’ Fight” 48 Stand Up and Cheer 244 Stander, Lionel 217 Stanley, Helen 55 Stanley, Joseph 352 Stanley, Paul 364 Stanton, Albert 362 Stapleton, Jean 28, 63, 351 Stapleton, Maureen 37, 39 A Star Is Born 285, 286, 287, 288 Star Spangled Rhythm 345 Stark, Ray 15, 98, 99 Starr, Ringo 137, 358 “Stars and Stripes Forever” 19, 358, 361 Stars on My Shoulders 375 State Fair 288, 289, 371 Stattler, Marion 170, 361 “Stay Awake” 193 “Stay on the Right Side, Sister” 186 “Steam Heat” 234, 235, 351 Steiger, Rod 219, 221 Steiger, Tommy 373 Stein, Joseph 89 Stein, Leo 199 Steinberg, Billy 364 “Step in Time” 192, 194, 195 “Step On Over” 72 Stephenson, Henry 68 “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” 76, 78 “Steppin’ to the Bad Side” 71 Sterbini, Cesare 366 “Stereophonic Sound” 268, 269 Sterling, Andrew B. 359, 363 Sterling, Robert 265 Stevens, George 65, 300 Stevens, Trudy 375 Stevenson, Robert 192 Stewart, Dennis Cleveland 357 Stewart, James 109, 111, 143, 339 Stewart, Michael 37, 140 Stewart, Nicodemus 277 “The Sticky Paper Ballet” 25, 348 Stiers, David Ogden 25, 151 “Stiff Upper Lip” 65, 66, 351 Stigwood, Robert 81, 117 Stilgoe, Richard 239, 367 Stiller, Jerry 358 “Stillman’s Gym” 156 Sting 364 Stockwell, Dean 13 Stockwell, Harry 274 Stokowski, Leopold 86, 87, 230, 231 Stoller, Mike 346, 357, 360 Stone, Andrew 289 Stone, George E. 354 Stone, Leonard 375 Stone, Oliver 81 Stone, Peter 258, 259 “Stonecutters Cut It On Stone” 50 Stong, Philip 371 Stop Flirting 369 Stop! Look! And Listen 352 Storey, Ruth 348 Stories or Tales of Past Times, with Morals 55

Index Stormy Weather 289, 290, 349 “Stormy Weather” 289, 290, 371 The Story of the Trapp Family Singers 280 Stothart, Herbert 346, 363, 373 Stowaway 244, 253 Stowe, Harriet Beecher 167 “Straighten Up and Fly Right” 250, 368 “Stranger in Paradise” 171, 172, 173, 361 “Stranger Than You Dreamt It” 240 Strauss, Johann 156, 366 Strauss, Johann, II 348 Stravinsky, Igor 87, 353 “Street Vendor Cries” 246 Streisand, Barbra 1, 98, 99, 100, 140, 142, 223, 224, 225, 288, 334, 335, 376 Strickland, Robert E. 116, 355 Strictly Ballroom 202 “Strictly Off the Record” 333 “Strictly U.S.A.” 302, 303 Strike Up the Band 290, 291, 347 “Strike Up the Band” 13, 291 “String Me High on a Tree” 48 The String of Pearls 297 “String of Pearls” 111, 356 String Quartet in D 361 Stromberg, Hunt 122, 195, 214 Stromberg, John 360 Strouse, Charles 15, 37, 39 Stuart, Chad 360 Stuart, Gloria 243, 252 Stuart, Mel 325 Stuart, Ralph 373 Stubbs, Levi 183, 362 “Stumbling” 201, 305 Styne, Jule 28, 98, 105, 126, 128, 235, 254, 346, 355, 364 Sublett, John “Bubbles” 42 “Subway Ride” 366 “Suddenly Seymour” 185 “Sue Me” 125 Sullivan, Sir Arthur 355 Sullivan, Ed 37, 38 “Summer Nights” 118 Summer Stock 292, 293 “Summertime” 245, 246, 247, 367 Summerville, Slim 252 “Sun, Moon and Talia” 272 Sun Valley Serenade 293, 356 “Sunday Jumps” 255, 256, 369 Sundberg, Clinton 154, 356 Sunny 310 “Sunny” 337, 376 “Sunny Side Up” 295, 296, 372 Sunnyside Up 295, 296, 372 “Sunrise, Sunset” 90 “Sunshine” 355 Sunshine, Marion 371 “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” 193, 195 “Suppertime” 185 The Supremes 69 “Sur la place, chacun passe” 350 “Sure Thing” 57 Surh, Linda 358

Index “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” 219, 221 Susannah of the Mounties 254 Sutton, Grady 346 Sutton, Harry O. 359 “The Swan” 62 “Swan Lake” 100 “Swanee” 162, 286 “Swanee River” see “Old Folks at Home” Sweeney Todd 1 Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street 297, 299 Sweet, Sam 368 Sweet Adeline 310, 373 “Sweet Nights” 353 “Sweet Sue, Just You” 10 “Sweetheart, Sweetheart, Sweetheart” see “Will You Remember?” Swift, David 148 Swift, James Frederick 366 Swing Time 103, 262, 299, 301 “Swing Trot” 23, 24 “Swing Your Partner Round and Round” 140 “Swinging Down the Lane” 201 “Sword Dance” 34, 348 The Sword in the Stone 81 Symphony No. 1, 4th movement (Borodin) 361 Symphony No. 2, 1st movement (Borodin) 361 Symphony No. 5 in E-minor or Fifth Symphony (Tchaikovsky) 363, 366 Symphony No. 5, 4th movement 230 Symphony No. 6 in F Major (Beethoven) 87 Taft, Billy 354 The Tailor in the Castle 187 “Tait Song” 116, 356 “Take Back Your Mink” 125, 126 Take It or Leave It 100 Take Me Out to the Ball Game 215, 301, 302, 303, 372 “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” 302, 303 “Take Me with U” 247, 249 “Take Off with Us” 10 “Takin’ the Long Way Home” 70 “Taking a Chance on Love” 42, 43, 218, 349 Talbot, Lyle 366 Tales of the South Pacific 283 Tamblyn, Russ 257, 319 Tambourin Chinoise, Op. 3” 169 Taming of the Shrew 173 “El Tango de Roxanne Medley” 204 “Le Tango du Moulin Rouge” 364 Tannhäuser 363 “The Tap Dance” 52, 53, 350 “The Tapioca” 305 “Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-é” 200, 372 Tarkington, Booth 225 Tasso: Lamento e Trionfo 358

412 Tate, Larenz 368 Taupin, Bernie 179, 364 Taurog, Norman 36, 108, 330 Tausky, Herman 199 Taylor, Deems 86, 87, 88 Taylor, Dwight 91, 311 Taylor, Roger 364 Taylor, Vaughn 360 Taymor, Julie 181 Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich 14, 24, 86, 100, 230, 272, 346, 347, 348, 353, 359, 363, 366 “Te quiero juste” 25 Tea for Two 226 Teagarden, Jack 355 Teague, Anthony 148 “Tears on My Pillow” 357 Teefy, Maureen 84 “The Telephone Hour” 38, 39 “Telephone Song” 349 “Tell Me Why” 138 “Tell Me (Why Nights Are Lonely)” 94, 225 Temple, Shirley 230, 243, 244, 252, 253, 255, 300, 347 Templeton, Faye 333, 373 “Temptation” 374 “Ten Cents a Dance” 186, 187 The Ten Commandments 176 Tenniel, John 8, 9 Tepper, Sid 360, 374 Terriss, Dorothy 372 Tesori, Jeanine 307 “Tevye’s Dream” 90 “Texas Millionaire” 59 Thalberg, Irving 35, 198 Thaler, Rudolf 366 “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” 105, 106, 107 Thank Your Lucky Stars 345 “Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks” 157 Tharp, Twyla 128 “That Ain’t Right” 290 “That International Rag” 45, 46, 345 That Night in Rio 345 “That Terrific Rainbow” 236 “That’s All Right (Mama)” 317 “That’s Amore” 353 That’s Entertainment 108, 214 “That’s Entertainment” 21, 22 “That’s for Me” 288, 289 “That’s How You Know” 78, 80, 353 “That’s the Song of Paree” 188 “That’s What Friends Are For” 165 “That’s What Uncle Remus Said” 277 “That’s Your Funeral” 365 Thebom, Blanche 121 “Theme from New York, New York” 217, 218, 219 Themmen, Paris 325 “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” 119 “There, But for You Go I” 34, 35, 348 “There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame” 283, 284

“There Once Was a Man” 234, 235 “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” 346 “There’s a Boat Dats Leavin’ Soon for New York” 246 “There’s a Man I’m Crazy For” 48 “There’s a Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder” 163 “There’s a Small Hotel” 236, 331, 367, 375 There’s No Business Like Show Business 303 “There’s No Business Like Show Business” 10, 16, 17, 175, 304, 305, 346, 347 “There’s No Two Ways About Love” 290 “There’s Nothing Like a Song” 201 “There’s Something About an Empty Chair” 64 Thery, Jacques 284 “These Orchids” 337 “They All Laughed” 262 “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” 24, 261, 262, 347 “They Didn’t Believe Me” 310 “They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me” 94 “They Like Ike” 45 “They Say It’s Wonderful” 17 “Things Ain’t the Way They Used To Be” 43 “Things Are Looking Up” 66 “Think of Me” 240 “Think Pink!” 97 “Thinking of You” 308 “This Boy (Ringo’s Theme)” 138 “This Can’t Be Love” 30, 31, 331, 375 “This Heart of Mine” 338 “This Is My Favorite City” 201 “This Is One of Those Moments” 334, 335 This Is the Army 17, 148 “This Is the Army, Mr. Jones” 33 “This Is the Life” 345 “This Is the Night” see “Bella Notte” “This Nearly Was Mine” 284 “This Time It’s Really Love” see “Tra-La-La” “This Year’s Kisses” 227 Thomas, Chris 368 Thomas, Danny 161 Thomas, Evon 351 Thomas, John 369 Thomas, Jonathan Taylor 179 Thompson, Bill 7, 237, 361, 367, 370 Thompson, Jimmy 33 Thompson, Kay 96, 98, 356, 358, 359, 373, 376 Thompson, Marshall 330 Thompson, Rex 166 Thomson, Kenneth 35 Thornton, James 360 Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry 347 Thoroughly Modern Millie 305, 307

413 “Thoroughly Modern Millie” 305, 307 Thorpe, Richard 120, 157, 307 “Those Magic Changes” 357 “Those Were the Good Old Days” 64, 65 “Thou Swell” 331 Thousands Cheer 352 “Three-Five-Zero-Zero” 130, 358 Three Little Words 307, 309 “Three Little Words” 308, 309, 373 The Three Musketeers 122, 123 Three Smart Girls 230 “The Thrill of a New Romance” 25 Thrill of a Romance 215 Through the Looking-Glass 8 “Thumbelina” 135, 136, 137 “Tic Tac Do Meu Coracao” 285 “Tico Tico” 25 Tiffin, Pamela 289 Till, Lucas 374 Till the Clouds Roll By 163, 309 “Till the Clouds Roll By” 310, 373 “Till Then” 259 “Till There Was You” 209, 210, 365 “Till We Meet Again” 94, 226 Tiller, John 349 “Tiller Girls” 41 The Time 247, 368 “The Time for Parting” 156, 157 “Time Warp” 85 “Time’s A-Wastin’” 318 “Times Square Ballet” 366 Tin Pan Alley 345 Tindall, Loren 116 “Tis Harry I’m Planning to Marry” 44 “To Life (Le’Chaim)” 89 Toast of New Orleans 120 Tobias, Charles 366 Tobias, George 109 Tobias, Harry 371 Tobias, Ted 346 Toccata and Fugue in D Minor 86 “Today, Tomorrow and Forever” 316 “Today’s the Day” 356 Todd, Ann 360 “Together, Wherever We Go” 126 The Tokens 362 Tom and Jerry 14 “Tom, Dick or Harry” 174 Tomlin, Pinky 371 Tomlinson, David 192 Tommy Atkins Sextet 170, 361 “Tomorrow” 15, 16, 346 “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” 40, 41 “Tomorrow Night” 335 “Tonight” 319, 320, 321 “Tonight We Love” 14, 346 “Tonight Will Teach Me to Forget” 199, 200 “Too Bad” 268, 269 “Too Darn Hot” 173, 175, 361 “Too Late Now” 255, 256 “Too Little Time” 356 Too Many Girls 367 Toomey, Regis 123

Toone, Geoffrey 361 “Toot Sweets” 54 “Toot, Toot, Tootsie!” 160, 161, 162 Top Hat 103, 262, 301, 311, 313, 349, 372 “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” 311, 312, 313 Topol 89 “Topsy Turvy” 152 Torme Mel 116, 331 “Torna a Surriento (Come Back to Sorrento)” 121 Torre, Janis 359 Torres, Nancy 170, 361 Tors, Ivan 154 Tosca 120, 121, 357 Toselli, Enrico 356 Tosti, Paolo 357 “Tosy and Cosh” 365 Touchstone Pictures 78 “The Tourist Trade” 254, 255, 369 “Toy Trumpet” 253 Tozzi, Giorgio 371 “Tra-La-La (This Time It’s Really Love)” 11, 346 “Tra-La-La-La” 201 Tracey, William 359 “Track Down This Murderer” 242 Tracy, William 290 “Tradition” 89, 90 “The Train Must Be Fed” 139 “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp” 214, 215 Travers, P.L. 192 La Traviata 115, 202, 231, 232, 338, 366 Travolta, John 117, 118, 120, 131, 357, 358 Treacher, Arthur 362 “Treat Me Nice” 158, 360 “Treat Me Rough” 108 Tremble, A.A. 123 “Trio Finale (O terra, addio)” 121 “Triplets” 22 “The Trolley Song” 197, 198, 363 Trosper, Guy 157 Trotti, Lamar 6, 200, 303 Troup, Bobby 368 Trousdale, Gary 25, 151 Il Trovatore 121, 357, 363 “True Love” 143, 144, 145 “True Love’s Kiss” 78, 79, 80, 353 Truhitte, Daniel 279 “Truly Scrumptious” 54, 55 “Trumpet Blues and Cantabile” 25 “Trust in Me” 165 “Truthful Parson Brown” 35 “Try to See It My Way” 61, 62 Tsimmis, Ignatz 351 Tucker, Robert 126 Tucker, Sophie 351, 371 Tugend, Harry 244, 301 Tunberg, Karl 68, 252 Tune, Tommy 140, 361 Turk, Roy 362, 371 “Turn on the Heat” 296 Turnell, Dee 331, 375 Turner, Claramae 48 Turner, Debbie 279 Turner, Lana 73, 200, 339, 340

Index Turpin, Ben 362 “Tuxedo Junction” 111, 293, 356 “Twas Brillig” 8 20th Century–Fox 2, 6, 45, 47, 48, 58, 66, 68, 100, 104, 140, 166, 200, 202, 226, 243, 252, 279, 282, 284, 288, 289, 293, 303 Twenty Years After 156 Twillie, Carmen 362 “Twin Soliloquies” 283, 371 “Twisted Every Way” 241 Twitty, Conway 349 “Two Dreams Met (Dos Sueños)” 68, 69 “Two Ladies” 40 “Two Little Girls from Little Rock” 104, 105 “Two Lost Souls” 64 Tyler, Judy 157, 159 Tzudiker, Bob 151 U2 364 “The Ugly Duckling” 135, 136 “Un bel dì” 122, 366 “The Un-birthday Song” 9 “Unchain My Heart” 252, 368 Uncle Tom’s Cabin 167 “Under the Bamboo Tree” 197, 198, 363 “Under the Sea” 181, 182, 183, 353, 362 Underwood, Carrie 353 “Une Dame noble et sage” 196 United Artists 53, 89, 128, 148, 217, 319, 334 Universal Pictures 2, 109, 169, 230, 262, 263, 305 The Unsinkable Molly Brown 313, 315 “Up Where the People Are” 374 “Up Where We Belong” see “(Love Lift Us) Up Where We Belong” Vajda, Ernest 198 Vajna, Andrew G. 81 Valdengo, Giuseppe 121 Valdes, Gilbert 376 Valdes, Miquelito 336 Valens, Richie 357 The Valkyries 347 Vallee, Rudy 148, 150, 271 Valli, Frankie 357 “The Vamp” 67, 351 Van, Bobby 173 Van Alstyne, Egbert 364 Van Druten, John 40 Van Dyke, Dick 37, 38, 39, 53, 192, 195, 210, 363 Van Dyke, Marcia 154 Van Dyke, W.S. 213 Van Heusen, Jimmy 373 Van Riper, Kay 18 Van Rooten, Luis 350 Van Upp, Virgina 57 Varden, Norma 104 Vargas, Alberto 352 “Varsity Drag” 116, 117 Venuta, Benay 346 Venuti, Joe 169, 361

Index Vera-Ellen 45, 228, 229, 230, 307, 309, 322, 323, 331, 349, 373, 375 Vera Violetta 162 Verdi, Giuseppe 115, 202, 231, 232, 356, 357, 363, 366, 376 Verdon, Gwen 51, 62, 63, 65, 351 Vereen, Ben 346 Verges, Joseph M. 354 Vermont, Monique 207 Vernon, Wally 345 Verrill, Virginia 356 “Very Good Advice” 8 “A Very Merry Un-birthday” 8 Very Warm for May 373 “Vesti la giubba” 120, 121, 122 Vestoff, Virginia 258, 259 Victor/Victoria 2 Vidor, Charles 57, 135, 186 “Vilia” 199, 200 “The Vilification Scene” 121 Vincent, Nat 366 “Violin Tricks and Tinkling Tunes” 332 Viva Las Vegas 315, 316 “Viva Las Vegas” 315, 316 Vivaldi, Antonio 10 “Vive l’Opera” 195 “Voglio avvertirio io stessa” 121 von Flotow, Friedrich 66, 357, 375 von Stroheim, Erich 199 von Suppe, Franz 372 Von Tilzer, Albert 351, 372 Von Tilzer, Harry 359, 360 Von Trapp, Maria 280 “Voyage to the Moon” 202 Wagner, Richard 19, 227, 231, 297, 347, 363, 366, 372 “Wait” 298 “Wait and See” 139 “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” 155 “Wait Till We’re Sixty-Five” 365 “The Waiters’ Gallop” 142 “Waitin’ for My Dearie” 34 “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee” 21, 160, 163 Walberg, Betty 325 Walbridge, John 7 Waldman, Frank 24 “Walk Around” 369 Walk the Line 316, 317 Walken, Christopher 131 Walker, Cindy 368 Walker, Robert 309 “Walking Down Broadway” 372 “Walking in Space (My Body)” 130 “Walking Stick” 345 “Walking the Dog” 261 Wallace, Emmett “Babe” 289 Wallace, Oliver 345, 352, 353, 367 Wallace, Paul 358 Waller, Fats 289, 290, 365, 371 Wallis, Hal B. 92, 95, 112, 332 Wallis, Shani 221 Wallop, Douglas 63 “The Walrus and the Carpenter” 8 Walsh, Bill 192

414 Walsh, Joseph 135 Walsh, Pauline 366 Walston, Ray 62, 63, 65, 282, 284 Walt Disney (Producer, Company, Pictures, Productions, Studios) 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 25, 26, 54, 55, 74, 81, 86, 163, 175, 179, 181, 237, 272, 274, 275, 277, 279, 347 Walters, Charles 23, 30, 73, 76, 108, 116, 143, 197, 292, 313, 337, 359 “Waltz for Eva and Ché” 83 “Waltz” from Serenade for Strings 359 “Waltz in Swing Time” 301 “Waltz of the Flowers” 87, 348 “Waltz Serenade” 14, 346 Wand, Betty 355, 361, 371 “Wandering Child” 241 Ward, Augustus 364 Ward, Wayne 364 Ware, Darrell 68 Warfield, William 247, 265, 267, 310 Waring, Fred 74 Warner, Jack 192, 210, 258, 348 Warner Bros. 2, 43, 60, 62, 92, 95, 112, 126, 159, 171, 183, 207, 210, 225, 233, 247, 254, 270, 285, 287, 332, 348 Warren, Anne Elizabeth 352 Warren, Annette 369 Warren, Diane 364 Warren, Harry 23, 60, 61, 62, 68, 95, 96, 100, 112, 138, 139, 140, 284, 292, 293, 353, 354, 356, 358, 360, 363, 376 Warren, Sharon 368 Warwick, Ruth 277 Washington, George 259, 260 Washington, Kerry 249 Washington, Ned 352, 365 “Washington Square Dance” 45 “Water Nymph Ballet” 115 Waters, Ethel 42, 373 Waters, Muddy 70 Watkins, Lawrence E. 353 Watkins, Maurine Dallas 51 Watkins, Toney 358 Watson, Harry 65 Watson, Lucile 277 “The Way He Makes Me Feel” 334, 335, 336 “The Way We Were” 84 “The Way You Look Tonight” 300, 301 Wayne, Bernie 374 Wayne, John 255 Wayne, Mabel 361 “We Both Reached for the Gun” 52 “We Don’t Want the Bacon (What We Want Is a Piece of the Rhine!)” 94 “We Go Together” 119 “We Got Annie” 15, 346 “We Hate to Leave” 13 “We Hate You, Conrad” 38 “We Have All Been Blind” 241 “We Have Been Around” 67

“We Kiss in a Shadow” 167, 169 “We Love You, Conrad” 38 “We Open in Venice” 174 “We Saw the Sea” 91, 92 “We Welcome You to Munchkinland” 375 “We Will Walk Through the Streets of the City” 250 Weaver, Jason 362 The Weavers 362 Webb, Clifton 352 Webster, Jean 59 Webster, Joseph Philbrick 374 Webster, Paul Francis 43, 356, 357, 364 “We’d Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover” 346 “Wedding in the Spring” 337 “The Wedding of the Painted Doll” 36, 271 Wee Willie Winkie 253 “A Weekend in the Country” 23 Weeks, Michelle 362 Weidler, Virgina 19 Weil, Cynthia 346 Weill, Kurt 41 Weingarten, Lawrence 313 Weinger, Scott 5 Weinstock, Jack 148 Weisman, Ben 360 Weismuller, Johnny 215 Weiss, George 362 “Welcome Egghead” 59 “Welcome to the ’60s” 132 “Well, Did You Evah!” 144, 145, 359 “We’ll Follow the Old Man” 322, 324 “Well, Git It” 73 “We’ll Smoke the Blighter Out” 8 Weller, Michael 128 Welles, Orson 205 Wells, George 292, 301, 307, 309 Wells, Joan 309 Wells, Lee 358 “The Wells Fargo Wagon” 209 Wendt, George 39 Wenrich, Percy 347, 354, 366 Wepper, Fritz 39 “We’re a Couple of Broadway Brothers” 201 “We’re in the Money (The Gold Diggers Song)” 112, 113, 114 “We’re Off to See the Wizard” 329, 330 “We’re on Our Way to France” 345 “Were Thine That Special Face” 174, 175 “We’re Your Dreamgirls” 71, 72 Wesson, Dick 43 West, Bernie 28 West, Dominc 350 West, Mae 73 West, Red 374 The West Point Story 226 West Side Story 126, 223, 282, 319, 321 “Western People Funny” 361 Westley, Helen 252, 262, 265, 345

415 Westman, Nydia 366 Weston, R.P. 347 Wexler, Jerry 250, 368 Whale, James 262 Whalen, Michael 243 “What a Lovely Day for a Wedding” 256 “What a Piece of Work Is Man” 358 “(What Can I Say) After I Say I’m Sorry” 187 “What Can You Do with a General?” 324 “What Chance Have I with Love?” 46 “What Did I Ever See in Him?” 349 “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?” 224, 225 “What Do I Care for a Dame” 237 “What Do You Want with Money” 134 “What Kind of Man Are You?” 251 “What Makes the Red Man Red” 238, 367 “What Makes the Sunset?” 14 “What Would You Do?” 349 “What’d I Say?” 250, 251, 316, 368 “Whatever Lola Wants” 63, 64 “What’ll I Do” 345 “What’s the Use of Wondrin’” 50 Wheaton, Anna 373 Wheeler, Billy Edd 374 Wheeler, Hugh 39 “When Day Is Done” 291 “When Doves Cry” 248, 249, 368 “When I First Saw You” 72 “When I See an Elephant Fly” 75, 352 “When I’m Being Born Again” 365 “When I’m with You” 244, 253, 367 “(When It’s) Cactus Time in Arizona” 355 “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” 94 “When Love Goes Wrong, Nothing Goes Right” 105 “When the Children Are Asleep” 49 “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’” 7, 77, 303, 304 “When Velma Takes the Stand” 350 “When You Were a Smile on Your Mother’s Lips” 61 “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” 162 “When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose” 94 “When You’re Good to Mama” 52 “When You’re in Love” 257 “Where Did You Get That Girl?” 307, 308 “Where Do I Go?” 130 “Where Do We Go from Here?” 354 “Where Is Brudder Robbins?” 245

“Where Is It Written?” 334 “Where Is Love?” 222, 223 “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?” 174, 175 “Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone” 175 “Where or When” 18, 19, 331 “Where There’s Life, There’s Soap” 244 “Where’s That Rainbow?” 331, 375 “Where’s the Mate for Me” 263, 265, 309 “While Strolling Through the Park One Day” 332 “The Whip-Crack-Away” see “Deadwood Stage” “Whispering” 339 “Whistle While You Work” 275, 277, 353 White, David 357 White, Jack 170 White, James L. 249 White, Marjorie 295 White, Noni 151 White, Onna 37, 207, 221, 223, 258 White, Richard 25 White, Sammy 262 White, Sheila 365 “White Boys” 130 White Christmas 322, 324 “White Christmas” 33, 145, 146, 147, 148, 359 Whiteman, Paul 30, 169, 170, 291, 345, 361, 372 Whitfield, Anne 375 Whiting, George 362 Whiting, Richard A. 354, 366, 369, 373 Whitman, Ernest 371 Whitmore, James 173, 365 Whitson, Beth Slater 359 “Whizzin’ Away Along de Track” 48 “Who?” 310, 373 “Who Are You Now?” 355 Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 78 “Who Taught Her Everything?” 355 “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 144 “Who Wants to Live Like That?” 279 “Who Will Buy?” 222, 223 “A Whole New World” 5, 6, 345 Whoopee! 122, 186, 345 Whorf, Richard 309, 332 “Who’s Complaining” 57 “Who’s Got the Pain” 64 “Who’s Sorry Now?” 10, 308 “Why Am I So Gone (About That Gal)” 178 “Why Are We Here?” 156 “Why Can’t I?” 30, 31 “Why Can’t the English Learn to Speak?” 211 “Why Can’t You Behave?” 173, 174, 175 “Why Do I Love You?” 265, 266, 267

Index “Why Have You Brought Me Here?” 241 “Why Should I Wake Up?” 349 “Why So Silent?” 241 “Why Was I Born?” 310, 373 Why Worry? 376 Wicked 352 Wickes, Mary 151, 322, 359, 366 “Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht” 346 Wieniawski, Henri 359 Wiggins, Kate Douglas 253 Wild, Jack 221 “Wild, Wild West” 139 “Wildcat” 169 Wilder, Gene 325 Wilder, Thornton 140 “Wildwood Flower” 318, 374 “Will I Ever Tell You?” 209 The Will Rogers Follies 361 “Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way?” 335 “Will You Remember?” 195, 196 Willard, Mrs. 349 Willemetz, Albert 352 William, Warrren 112 William Tell Overture 360 Williams, Bert 350 Williams, Charles 374 Williams, Clarence 247 Williams, Esther 24, 93, 215, 217, 301, 303, 338, 373 Williams, Hank, Sr. 317 Williams, Harry 354, 364, 366 Williams, J. Mayo 369 Williams, Joseph 362 Williams, Kenny 109, 200 Williams, Laura 362 Williams, Paul 205, 364 Williams, Rhoda 350 Williams, Robin 5, 345 Williams, Spencer 355, 356, 362 Williams, Treat 128 Williams, Vanessa 39 Willie T (Wilson Turbinton) 369 “Willkommen” 40, 41 Wills, Chill 138, 363 Willson, Meredith 207, 210, 313, 319, 364 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 325 Wilson, Dooley 42, 290, 371 Wilson, Eileen 375 Wilson, Mariah I. 352 Wilson, Mary 70 Wilson, Patrick 239, 242 “Wimomeh” 362 Winchell, Walter 366 Wing, Toby 354 Winkler, Irwin 217 Winner, Joseph 355 Winninger, Charles 18, 262, 265, 288, 289, 339 Winokur, Marissa Jaret 131, 133 Winslow, George 104 Winsten, Paulette 354 Winters, David 315 Wintner, Nancy 100 Wise, Kirk 25, 151

Index Wise, Robert 279, 319 Wisener, Jayne 297 “Wishing (Will Make It So)” 293 “Wishing You Were Here Again” 241 Wissler, Rudy 360 “With a Little Bit of Luck” 212, 213 “With a Smile and a Song” 275 “With a Song in My Heart” 331, 375 Withers, Jane 359 Witherspoon, Cora 366 Witherspoon, Reese 316, 317, 319 “Without Love” (Hairspray) 133 “Without Love” (Silk Stockings) 268 “Without You” 213 Wittman, Scot 131 The Wizard of Oz 18, 55, 189, 265, 277, 288, 327, 330, 347, 356, 367 Wodehouse, P.G. 65, 357, 369, 370, 373 Wolcott, Charles 370 Wolfe, Digby 360 “A Woman in Love” 125 “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing” 245, 247 “A Woman Needs Something Like That” 188 The Woman with the Whip 81 “A Woman’s Touch” 44 “Wonderful Copenhagen” 135, 136, 137 “A Wonderful Guy” 283, 284, 371 “Wonderful One” 291 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 327 “Wonderful, Wonderful Day” 257 “The Wondrous Boat Ride” 326 Wood, DeeDee 53, 192, 279 Wood, Natalie 126, 128, 319, 320 Wood, Peggy 279, 282, 370 “The Woodpecker’s Song” 293 Woods, Aubrey 375 Woods, Ren 358 Woodward, Bronte 117 Woodward, Charlaine 358 Wooley, Michael-Leon 352 Woolf, Edgar Allan 327 Woolf, John 221 Woolverton, Linda 25, 179 Wopat, Tom 18 Words and Music 18, 163, 293, 330, 331, 367 Work, Henry Clay 372 “The Work Song” 56, 353 Worley, Joanne 348 “The Worry Song” 14 “The Worst Pies in London” 297 Worth, Bobby 346 “Would You?” 271, 370 “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” 211, 213 Wright, Ben 360, 362 Wright, Dorsey 128 Wright, Ralph 163, 175, 237 Wright, Robert (or Bob) 171, 173, 363 Wright, Samuel E. 181 Wrubel, Allie 351, 370

416 “Wunderbar” 173, 175 Wyler, William 98 Wylie, Philip 284 Wynn, Ed 7, 363 Wynn, Keenan 16, 173, 215, 255, 307, 338 Wynn, Nan 376 “Ya Got Me” 366 “Ya Got Trouble” 208, 210, 364 “Ya Never Know” 185 Yaghjian, Kurt 358 A Yankee Circus on Mars 348 “Yankee Doodle Boy” 20, 332, 333, 375 Yankee Doodle Dandy 111, 123, 163, 332, 333, 366 The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant 63 Yellen, Jack 361, 369 “The Yellow Rose of Texas” 315 Yentl 334, 335 Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy 334 “Yes Indeedy” 302 “Yes, I’s Finished/Abbie Baby” 358 “Yesterdays” 310, 369, 373 “Yiddle on Your Fiddle” 123 Yip! Yip! YaphankI 345 York, Janet 358 York, Michael 39 Yost, Dorothy 102 “You” 123, 340 “You and I” 198 “You and the Night and the Music” 22 “You Are Love” 264, 265, 266 “You Are My Lucky Star” 18, 271, 272, 309, 370 “You Are My Sunshine” 352 “You Are Too Beautiful” 134 “You Are Woman, I Am Man” 99 “You Better Change Your Ways” 10 “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me” 217, 219, 365 “You Can Count on Me” 229 “You Can Do No Wrong” 243 “You Can Fly!” 238, 367 “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” 17 “You Can’t Stop the Beat” 133 “You Did It” 213 “You Discover You’re in New York” 101 “You Do” 200, 201, 202 “You Don’t Know Me” 252 “You Find the Time and I’ll Find the Place” 295 “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” 127, 128 “You Gotta Pull Strings” 123, 340 “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song” 32, 33 “You Made Me Love You” 162, 186, 285 “You Must Love Me” 81, 83 “You Mustn’t Kick It Around” 236 “You Never Looked So Beautiful” 123, 340 “You Say You Care” 355

“You Smiled at Me” 308 “You Stepped Out of a Dream” 339, 340, 374 “You Talk Jus’ Like My Maw” 47 “You Took Advantage of Me” 286 “You Two” 54 “You Were Meant for Me” 35, 36, 271, 349 You Were Never Lovelier 58, 336, 337 “You Were Never Lovelier” 337 “You Wonderful You” 292, 293 “You Won’t Be an Orphan for Long” 346 “You’d Be Hard to Replace” 23, 24 “You’d Be Surprised” 32, 304 “You’ll Never Get Away from Me” 127 You’ll Never Get Rich 58, 337 “You’ll Never Walk Alone” 49, 50, 51 Young, Jack 375 Young, Joe 351, 354, 360 Young, Miriam 200 Young, Nedrick 157 Young, Rida Johnson 195, 196, 214, 363, 373 Young, Ron 358 Young, Victor 346, 375 Young, Waldemar 187 Young and Beautiful” 157, 158, 159 “Young and Healthly” 96 Young Frankenstein 32, 33, 215 “Young Love” 351 “Younger Than Springtime” 283, 284 “Your Broadway and My Broadway” 349 “Your Little Body’s Slowly Breaking Down” 83 “Your Mother and Mine” 238, 367 “Your Song” 203, 364 “Yours, Yours, Yours” 259 “You’re a Grand Old Flag” 332, 333 “You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan” 350 “You’re All the World to Me” 256 “You’re Awful” 229, 230 “You’re Easy to Dance With” 146, 147 “You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me” 95, 96 “You’re Just in Love” 46, 350 “You’re Just Too Too” 178 “You’re Laughing at Me” 227 “You’re My Baby” 317 “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” 16 “You’re Off to See the Wizard” 328 “You’re Sensational” 144 “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care” 159 “You’re the One That I Want” 119, 357 “(You’re) Timeless to Me” 133 You’ve Got Mail 154

417 “You’ve Got Me Pickin’ Petals Off o’ Daisies” 295, 296 “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” 284 “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” 222, 223 “You’ve Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby” 244, 253, 369 Yradier, Sebastian 361 Yun-Fat, Chow 166 Yvain, Maurice 352, 354, 357

Zadan, Craig 131 Zanuck, Darryl F. 6, 59, 60, 68, 95, 159, 226, 252, 303 Zanuck, Richard 297 Zellweger, Renee 1, 51, 53 Zeta-Jones, Catherine 1, 51, 53 “Zidler’s Rap” 203, 364 Ziegfeld, Florenz 99, 100, 114, 122, 123, 163, 169, 337, 338, 348, 376 Ziegfeld Follies 66, 77, 98, 99, 114,

Index 116, 122, 169, 186, 215, 337, 338, 339, 352, 354 Ziegfeld Girl 339, 340 Ziegfeld Midnight Frolics 67 Zimmerman, Charles A. 346, 349 Zinneman, Fred 219 “Zip” 236, 367 “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” 277, 278, 279 Zorina, Vera 114, 115 Zucco, George 367

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