Cabaret
Allied Artists / ABC Pictures, 1972, Color, 124 minutes, ****
Released February, 1972

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to the movie musical landmark unlike anything seen before or since its arrival two [now three] decades ago: Cabaret.

Winner of eight Academy Awards, it brings 1931 Berlin to both madcap and menacing life inside and outside the Kit Kat Klub. There a starry-eyed singer and an impish master of ceremonies sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while in the streets a certain political party grows from a laughing stock into a brutal force, shattering many lives in the process.

Cabaret caught lightning for several talents, notably Liza Minnelli as the "divinely decadent" Sally Bowles, Joel Grey in his starmaking Broadway role as the devilish emcee and director Bob Fosse, who shaped a triumph of style, showmanship and substance. All three won Oscars, as did cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and musical supervisor Ralph Burns, who adapted the dynamic John Kander / Fred Ebb score, featuring "Mein Herr," "The Money Song" and "Maybe This Time," all newly written for the film.

Note: May be objectionable to some people (adult situations and language).

Setting: Berlin, 1931

Produced by: Cy Feuer
Associate Producer: Harold Nebenzal
Directed by: Bob Fosse
Screenplay by: Jay Allen
Based on the musical play 'Cabaret' book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten ("I Am a Camera")
and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Produced on the New York stage by Harold Prince
Music by: John Kander
Lyrics by: Fred Ebb
Music Supervised, Arranged and Conducted by: Ralph Burns
Additional Songs by: John Kander and Fred Ebb
Dances and Musical Numbers Staged by: Bob Fosse
Research Consultant: Hugh Wheeler
Production Design: Rolf Zehetbauer
Art Directors: Jurgen Kiebach and Rolf Zehetbauer
Set Decoration: Herbert Strabel
Costume Designer: Charlotte Flemming
Sound: David Hildyard
Photographed by: Geoffrey Unsworth
In Technicolor
Editor: David Bretherton

Awards: Won Academy Awards for Best Actress (Liza Minnelli), Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Best Director (Bob Fosse), Best Cinematography (Geoffrey Unsworth), Best Film Editing (David Bretherton), Best Song Score (Ralph Burns), Best Art Direction / Set Decoration (Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach and Herbert Strabel), Best Sound (Robert Knudson and David Hildyard); Received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Cast: Liza Minnelli [Sally Bowles], Michael York [Brian Roberts], Helmut Griem [Maximilian von Heune], Joel Grey [Master of Ceremonies], Fritz Wepper [Fritz Wendel], Marisa Berenson [Natalia Landauer], Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel [Fraulein Schneider], Helen Vita [Fraulein Kost], Sigrid von Richthofen [Fraulein Maur], Gerd Vespermann [Bobby], Ralf Wolter [Herr Ludwig], Georg Hartmann [Willi], Ricky Renee [Elke], Estrongo Nachama [Cantor], Kathryn Doby, Inge Jaeger, Angelika Koch, Helen Velkovorska, Gitta Schmidt, Louise Quick [Kit-Kat Dancers]

Musical Program: [0:02] Willkommen (sung by Joel Grey and Kit-Kat Girls, played by Kit-Kat Girls Orchestra, danced by Kit-Kat Girls); [0:12] Mein Herr (performed by Liza Minnelli and Kit-Kat Girls); [0:47] Maybe This Time (sung by Liza Minnelli); [0:51] Cabaret (excerpt played by Orchestra); [0:58] Money, Money (performed by Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli); [1:06] Two Ladies (performed by Joel Grey and two Kit-Kat Girls); [1:19] Tomorrow Belongs to Me (sung by Young Nazis, joined by crowd); [1:30] Tiller Girls (performed by Joel Grey and Kit-Kat Girls); [1:35] Heiraten (Married) (sung by Greta Keller on phonograph); [1:42] If You Could See Her (performed by Joel Grey and someone in a gorilla costume); [1:57] Cabaret (performed by Liza Minnelli); [2:01] Finale (Joel Grey and Kit-Kat Girls)

Cabin in the Sky
MGM, 1943, B/W, 98 minutes, ***½
Released April, 1943

Vincente Minnelli's first assignment as a director at MGM produced a classic. Little Joe (Eddie Anderson in one of his best performances) struggles with himself and Satan to break his gambling habit and to remain faithful to his wife, Petunia (Ethel Waters), though he is constantly tempted by the beautiful Georgia Brown (Lena Horne). The film features some wonderful acting by the principle cast and some classic musical numbers, including Ethel Waters' "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe" and "Taking a Chance on Love." Lena Horne is positively flawless in her portrayal of the temptress, Georgia Brown. And the production number, "Shine," is a real show-stopper. You definitely don't want to miss this one!

Produced by: Arthur Freed
Associate Producer: Albert Lewis
Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
Screen Play by: Joseph Schrank
Based Upon the Musical Play: Book by Lynn Root, Lyrics by John Latouche and Music by Vernon Duke; Produced on the Stage by Albert Lewis in Association with Vinton Freedley
"Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe," "Life's Full O' Consequence," "Li'l Black Sheep" Lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, Music by Harold Arlen
"Going Up" Duke Ellington
Musical Adaptation: Roger Edens
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Orchestration: George Bassman
Choral Arrangements: Hal Johnson
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associate: Leonid Vasian
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Hugh Hunt
Costume Supervision: Irene
Associate: Shoup
Men's Costumes: Gile Steele
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Sidney Wagner
Film Editor: Harold F. Kress

Awards: Nominated for Best Song Academy Award ("Happiness is a Thing Called Joe")

Cast: Ethel Waters [Petunia Jackson], Eddie "Rochester" Anderson [Little Joe Jackson], Lena Horne [Georgia Brown], Louis Armstrong [The Trumpeter], Rex Ingram [Lucius / Lucifer, Jr.], Kenneth Spencer [Rev. Green / The General], "Bubbles" (John W. Sublett [Domino Johnson], Oscar Polk [The Deacon / Fleetfoot], Mantan Moreland [First Idea Man], Willie Best [Second Idea Man], Moke (Fletcher Rivers) [Third Idea Man], Poke (Leon James) [Fourth Idea Man], Bill Bailey [Bill], "Buck" (Ford L. Washington) [Messenger Boy], Butterfly McQueen [Lily], Ruby Dandridge [Mrs. Kelso], Nicodemus [Dude], Ernest Whitman [Jim Henry], Duke Ellington and His Orchestra [Themselves], The Hall Johnson Choir [Themselves]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:06] Li'l Black Sheep (sung by Ethel Waters, Children and Chorus at Church); [0:18] Old Ship of Zion (sung by Church Congregation and Chorus); [0:25] Happiness is a Thing Called Joe (sung by Ethel Waters); [0:34] Cabin in the Sky (sung by Rochester, Ethel Waters and Chorus); [0:47] Taking a Chance on Love (sung by Ethel Waters, danced by one of the delivery men then danced by Rochester); [1:00] Life's Full O' Consequence (sung by Rochester and Lena Horne); [1:06] Happiness is a Thing Called Joe (reprised by Ethel Waters); [1:08] Things Ain't The Way They Used To Be / Going Up / Down At John Henry's (played by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, danced by Chorus at Jim Henry's Paradise Club); [1:14] S-H-I-N-E (played by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, sung by Bubbles and Chorus, danced by Bubbles) [1:18] Honey in the Honeycomb (sung by Lena Horne); [1:23] Honey in the Honeycomb (sung by Ethel Waters, danced by Ethel Waters and Bubbles); [1:25] unidentified instrumental (played by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, danced by patrons at Jim Henry's Paradise Club); [1:34] Hallelujah (sung by the Hall Johnson Choir); [1:38] Taking a Chance on Love (short reprisal by Ethel Waters); Ain't It de Truth (cut from final print, sung by Lena Horne)

Cairo
MGM, 1942, B/W, 101 minutes, ***½
Released August, 1942

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. But when in World War II-era Cairo, do as the spies do! Into that teeming viper's nest stumbles affable American Homer Smith, a reporter who aims to get the story, get it right and, above all, get it first!

Trouble is, some folks are out to get Homer first!

Cairo is the movie - and the place - for songs, cloak-and-dagger fun and great movie in-jokes. Jeanette MacDonald and Robert Young (as Homer) each suspect the other of being a spy, but then join forces to uncover the real agents. Ethel Waters plays MacDonald's savvy maid who belts out a knockout version of "Buds Won't Bud." And MacDonald, of course, lets her famed bright soprano ring out, while demonstrating what a fine comedienne she is.

Perhaps because of the war-torn times, this 1942 film was little noticed during its release. But now its cover is blown. This spy-movie spoof is a joy to discover, a "Road Move"-like comedy where all roads lead to Cairo.   [from back of VHS sleeve]

A fun-filled film teaming of Robert Young with the legendary Jeanette MacDonald in one of her best comic roles. In spite of the fact that they are helplessly attracted to one another, Young thinks MacDonald is a Nazi spy, and MacDonald thinks Young is an American spy. Sparks fly as love blossoms, and some wonderful comic scenes keep the film rolling. Ethel Waters sings "Buds Won't Bud" and Jeanette sings plenty of wonderful numbers including a medley of popular songs nearly ten minutes in length. Great fun! Highly recommended. [JJ]

The film begins with the statement: "To the authors of spy dramas -- those unsung heroes of the pen without whose inspiration international spies could not possibly be as clever as they are -- this picture is irreverently dedicated..."

Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Directed by: Maj. W. S. Van Dyke II
Screen Play by: John McClain
Based Upon an Idea by: Ladislas Fodor
Songs by: Arthur Schwartz, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Musical Score: Herbert Stothart
Musical Conductor: Georgie Stoll
Dance Direction: Sammy Lee
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associate: Lyle Wheeler
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Richard Pefferle
Gowns by: Kalloch
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Ray June
Film Editor: James E. Newcom

Cast: Jeanette MacDonald [Marcia Warren], Robert Young [Homer Smith], Ethel Waters [Cleona Jones], Reginald Owen [Philo Cobson], Grant Mitchell [O. H. P. Boggs], Lionel Atwill [Teutonic Gentleman], Edward Ciannelli [Ahmed Ben Hassan], Mitchell Lewis [Ludwig], Dooley Wilson [Hector], Larry Nunn [Bernie], Dennis Hoey [Colonel Woodhue], Mona Barrie [Mrs. Morrison], Rhys Williams [Strange Man], Cecil Cunningham [Mme. Laruga], Harry Worth [Bartender], Frank Richards [Alfred]
The King's Men [Vocals]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] Les Filles de Cadiz (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:19] The Waltz Is Over (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:23] A Heart That's Free (comic rendition with special lyric sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Ethel Waters); [0:41] We Did It Before and We Can Do It Again (sung by Mens Chorus); [0:43] Medley: To a Wild Rose (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and The King's Men) / From the Land of the Sky Blue Waters (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and The King's Men) / Beautiful Ohio (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and The King's Men) / Waiting for the Robert E. Lee (sung by Ethel Waters, then sung by Jeanette MacDonald and The King's Men and shuffled and danced by Jeanette MacDonald) / Avalon (sung by Jeanette MacDonald, The King's Men and Robert Young) / Home Sweet Home (sung by Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Young and The King's Men) / Keep the Light Burning Bright (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and The King's Men); [1:15] Buds Won't Bud (sung by Ethel Waters in a Cairo nightclub); [1:20] Buds Won't Bud (reprised by Ethel Waters and Dooley Wilson); [1:21] Cairo (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Chorus); [1:41] Finale: Keep the Light Burning Bright (short excerpt sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Chorus)

Calamity Jane
Warner Bros., 1953, Color, 101 minutes, ***½
Released November, 1953

The Deadwood Stage is comin' to town, bringing Doris Day and Howard Keel to fuss, feud and fall in love as Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in this mother lode of entertainment from the golden age of movie musicals.

At first curvaceous Calamity is too durned busy fighting Indians and cracking a bullwhip to pay much mind to such girlie what-alls as dresses and perfume. And Wild Bill is too danged busy wooing a dainty chanteuse (Allyn McLerie) to give a hoot about a hot-headed tomboy. But things change in a rootin', tootin' big way when each becomes love's target.

There are wide-open Technicolor Western spaces, lots of high-stepping terpsichory and a hummable humdinger of a score by Academy Award-winning songwriters Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, who came up with another Oscar for the classic ballad (and '50s megahit) "Secret Love"!  [from back of VHS sleeve]

My favorite Doris Day film! Doris Day and Allyn McLerie are positively wonderful together in this delightful musical comedy. McLerie is a big-city music hall star who is transported to the wild-west town of Deadwood to provide entertainment for the local cowboys. She and Calamity become close friends, and McLerie helps to tame the wild Calamity Jane. Though Howard Keel's character never really gets off the ground, Day and McLerie shine! High points include Day and McLerie's rendition of "A Woman's Touch," McLerie's "Keep It Under Your Hat" and Day's moving rendition of the Academy Award winning "Secret Love." [JJ]

The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 1 DVD Box Set (shown right) contains this film and Jumbo, The Glass Bottom Boat, Love Me or Leave Me, Lullaby of Broadway, The Pajama Game, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Young Man with a Horn.

Produced by: William Jacobs
Directed by: David Butler
Assistant Director: Phil Quinn
Written by: James O'Hanlon
Musical Direction by: Ray Heindorf
Original Songs: Music by: Sammy Fain, Lyrics by: Paul Francis Webster
Orchestrations: Frank Comstock
Vocal Arrangements: Norman Luboff
Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: Jack Donohue
Dialogue Director: Emory Hoerger
Art Director: John Beckman
Set Decorator: G. W. Berntsen
Wardrobe by: Howard Shoup
Makeup Artist: Gordon Bau
Sound by: Stanley Jones and David Forrest
Color by Technicolor
Director of Photography: Wilfrid M. Cline
Technicolor Color Consultant: Mitchell G. Kovaleski
Film Editor: Irene Morra

Awards: Won Best Song Academy Award ("Secret Love"); Academy Award nominations for Best Score - Musical (Ray Heindorf) and Best Sound Recording

Cast: Doris Day [Calamity Jane ("Calam")], Howard Keel [Wild Bill Hickok], Allyn McLerie [Katie Brown], Philip Carey [Lt. Danny Gilmartin], Dick Wesson [Francis Fryer], Paul Harvey [Henry Miller], Francis McDonald [Hank], Chubby Johnson [Rattlesnake], Gale Robbins [Adelaide Adams], Additional Cast: Billy Bletcher, Lane Chandler [Prospectors], Emmett Lynn [Artist painting Katie's portrait], Bess Flowers [Officer's Wife], Stanley Blystone [Saloon Patron]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!)" (played by Orchestra and sung by Mens Chorus behind titles); [0:01] The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!) (sung by Doris Day and Mens Chorus); [0:04] Introducing Henry Miller (sung by Doris Day); [0:16] Hive Full of Honey (sung by Dick Wesson in drag); [0:22] I Can Do Without You (sung by Doris Day and Howard Keel); [0:26] It's Harry I'm Planning to Marry (sung by Gale Robbins and Girls Chorus); [0:30] It's Harry I'm Planning to Marry (sung by Allyn McLerie); [0:39] Just Blew in from the Windy City (sung and danced by Doris Day); [0:45] Keep It Under Your Hat (tentatively sung by Allyn McLerie); [0:49] Keep It Under Your Hat (sung and danced by Allyn McLerie); [0:54] Higher Than a Hawk (Deeper Than a Well) (sung by Howard Keel); [0:59] A Woman's Touch (sung by Doris Day and Allyn McLerie); [1:13] The Black Hills of Dakota (sung by Howard Keel, Doris Day, Allyn McLerie, Philip Carey and Chorus); [1:15] The Black Hills of Dakota (instrumental arrangement danced by party guests); [1:22] It's Harry I'm Planning to Marry (sung by Allyn McLerie, danced by Allyn McLerie and Dick Wesson); [1:29] Secret Love (sung by Doris Day); [1:38] Finale: Secret Love (reprised by Doris Day) / Just Blew in from the Windy City (reprised by Allyn McLerie) / Higher Than a Hawk (Deeper Than a Well) (reprised by Howard Keel) / The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!) (reprised by Howard Keel, Doris Day and Chorus)

Calendar Girl
Republic, 1947, B/W, 86 minutes, **½
Released June, 1947

At the beginning of the 20th century at Miss Rich's boarding house, many young artists and performers have a temporary home while they try to achieve stardom in New York. Patricia O'Neil (Jane Frazee) becomes involved in a romantic triangle after the wealthy artist next door Steve (James Ellison) asks her to be his next model, which doesn't sit well with Patricia's current boyfriend, Johnny (William Marshall), an aspiring composer. The stories of the other fascinating residents of the boarding house are included as interesting sub-plots, along with several wonderful musical numbers. A much better than average low budget musical.

Associated Producer and Director: Alan Dwan
Screen Play: Mary Loos, Richard Sale and Lee Loeb
Original Story by Lee Loeb
Songs by: James McHugh, Harold Adamson
Musical Director: Cy Feuer
Orchestrations: Leo Arnaud
Dance Direction: Fanchon
Art Direction: Hilyard Brown
Set Decorations: John McCarthy, Jr. and George Milo
Calendar Girl Artist: Zoe Mozert
Costume Supervision: Adele Palmer
Makeup Supervision: Bob Mark
Hair Stylist: Peggy Gray
Sound: Victor Appel
Photography: Reggie Lanning
Special Effects: Howard and Theodore Lydecker
Film Editor: Fred Allen

Cast: Jane Frazee [Patricia O'Neill], William Marshall [Johnny Bennett], Gail Patrick [Olivia Radford], Kenny Baker [Byron Jones], Victor McLaglen [Matthew O'Neill], Irene Rich [Lulu Varden], James Ellison [Steve Adams], Janet Martin [Tessie], Franklin Pangborn [Dilly Dillingsworth], Gus Schilling [Ed Gaskin], Charles Arnt [Capt. Olsen], Lou Nova [Clancy], Emory Parnell [The Mayor], Additional Cast; Ethelreda Leopold [Rosie O'Grady], Edward Keane [Battalion Chief], Victor Potel [Fireman], Gino Corrado [Cook], Jack Shea [Tug-of-War Man], Spec O'Donnell [Tough Guy]

Musical Program: [0:00] Calendar Girl (sung by Kenny Baker and Chorus); [0:08] A Lovely Night To Go Dancing (sung by Kenny Baker, danced by Jane Frazee); [0:19] At the Fireman's Ball (sung and danced by Kenny Baker, Janet Martin, William Marshall, Jane Frazee and Ensemble); [0:24] New York is a Nice Place to Visit (sung and danced by William Marshall, Jane Frazee, Kenny Baker, Janet Martin and Ensemble); [0:37] Let's Have Some Pretzels and Beer (sung by guests at beer garden); [0:40] (Have I Told You Lately) I'm Telling You Now (sung by Kenny Baker, Janet Martin, William Marshall); [0:55] A Lovely Night To Go Dancing (reprised by William Marshall); [1:17] Calendar Girl (sung by Kenny Baker, danced by Jane Frazee); [1:18] (Have I Told You Lately) I'm Telling You Now (reprised by William Marshall, then by Kenny Baker)

Call Me Madam
(aka "Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam)
20th Century-Fox, 1953, Color, 114 minutes, ***½
Premiere release March, 1953
General release April, 1953

Brassy, belt-it-out Broadway legend Ethel Merman (There's No Business Like Show Business) delivers a singularly show-stopping performance in this beloved big-screen version of Irving Berlin's last big musical comedy success. It's the story of a Washingtong D.C. socialite who becomes a U.S. Ambassador, and finds romance along the way. Filled with colorfully tuneful Berlin favorites like "The Hostess with the Mostest" and "You're Just in Love," and unforgettable dance sequences by Donald O'Connor (Singin' in the Rain) and lovely Vera-Ellen (White Christmas), Call Me Madam is Hollywood musical magic.  [from back of DVD case]

Loosely based on the life of socialite / ambassador Perle Mesta, this lively film version of the Lindsay / Crouse musical features Ethel Merman reprising her Broadway role as Washington hostess Sally Adams, who becomes the outspoken ambassador to the postage-stamp European country of Lichtenburg. Donald O'Connor, George Sanders and Vera-Ellen co-star; the Irving Berlin score includes "It's a Lovely Day Today," "You're Just in Love," and "The Ocarina."

Great story, great cast. Dance numbers, of which there are many, are beautifully staged and executed. Sets are very colorful and rich. Simply a great musical by some of the best musical stars!

Produced by: Sol C. Siegel
Directed by: Walter Lang
Assistant Director: Hal Klein
Screenplay: Arthur Sheekman
Based on the Musical Comedy "Call Me Madam," book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, produced on the stage by Leland Hayward
Music and Lyrics by: Irving Berlin
Musical Direction: Alfred Newman
Orchestration: Herbert Spencer, Earle Hagen
Vocal Direction: Ken Darby
Dances and Musical Numbers Staged by: Robert Alton
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John De Cuir
Set Decorations: Walter M. Scott
Costumes Designed by: Irene Sharaff
Makeup Artist: Ben Nye
Sound: Bernard Freericks, Roger Heman
Director of Photography: Leon Shamroy
Special Photographic Effects: Ray Kellogg
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultant: Leonard Doss
Film Editor: Robert Simpson

Awards: Won Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (Alfred Newman); nominated for Best Costume Design, Color (Irene Sharaff)

Cast: Ethel Merman [Sally Adams], Donald O'Connor [Kenneth], Vera-Ellen [Princess Maria], George Sanders [Cosmo Constantine], Billy De Wolfe [Pemberton Maxwell], Helmut Dantine [Prince Hugo], Walter Slezak [August Tantinnin], Steven Geray [Sebastian], Ludwig Stossel [Grand Duke], Lilia Skala [Grand Duchess], Charles Dingle [Senator Brockway], Emory Parnell [Senator Charlie Gallagher], Percy Helton [Senator Wilkins], Additional Cast: Leon Belasco [Leader], Oscar Beregi, Sr. [Chamberlain], Johnny Downs [Cameraman], Nestor Paiva [Miccoli], Sid Marion [Beer Garden Proprietor], Torben Meyer [Dignitary], Richard Garrick [Supreme Court Justice], Walter Woolf King [Secretary of State], Olan Soule [Clerk], John Wengraf [Ronchin], Fritz Feld [Hat clerk], Ernö Verebes [Music clerk], Hannelore Axman [Telephone Switchboard Operator], Lal Chand Mehra [Minister from Magrador], Bess Flowers [Carnival Guest in Box], Carole Richards [singing voice of Vera-Ellen]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] Washington Square Dance (excerpt sung by Chorus); [0:04] The Hostess with the Mostes' On the Ball (sung and danced by Ethel Merman); [0:10] Lichtenburg (sung by Chorus offscreen); [0:21] Can You Use Any Money Today (sung by Ethel Merman); [0:26] Marrying for Love (sung by George Sanders); [0:31] It's a Lovely Day Today (sung by Donald O'Connor and Carole Richards dubbing for Vera-Ellen); [0:35] It's a Lovely Day Today (played by Orchestra, danced by party guests); [0:46] That International Rag (sung by Ethel Merman, then danced by party guests); [0:48] It's a Lovely Day Today (danced by Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen); [0:56] You're Just in Love (sung by Donald O'Connor and Ethel Merman); [0:59] (Dance to the Music of) The Ocarina (production number sung and danced by Vera-Ellen and Chorus, Carole Richards dubbing for Vera-Ellen; beautifully staged and executed!); [1:11] What Chance Have I with Love? (sung and Danced by Donald O'Connor); [1:12] Something to Dance About (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen, Carole Richards dubbing for Vera-Ellen); [1:30] The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me) (sung by Ethel Merman and George Sanders); [1:45] You're Just in Love (reprised by Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor); [1:48] Mrs. Sally Adams (sung by Telephone Operators); [1:52] Finale: "You're Just in Love" / "Something to Dance About" (sung by George Sanders, Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Carole Richards dubbing for Vera-Ellen, and Chorus)


Buy Posters

Camelot
Warner Bros., 1967, Color, 180 minutes, ***½
Released October, 1967

Richard Harris stars as King Arthur in this lavish, Academy Award-winning film adaptation of Lerner and Loewe's musical take on the legend of the Knights of the Round Table, with Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero as doomed lovers Guenevere and Lancelot. Among the memorable tunes are "Camelot," "If Ever I Would Leave You," "What Do the Simple Folk Do?"

Not only is this one of the best musicals ever made, it is also the best recounting of the legendary story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur forms the Round Table in order to unite all of England, but soon finds himself embroiled in a situation where he must decide between putting his beloved Guenevere to death or compromising his life-long dream of a united and law-abiding England. This version of the musical is practically perfect in ever way. The only problem with it is in the way the camera treats Vanessa Redgrave. Sometimes the film feels like a showcase for Miss Redgrave's beauty, and she looks like she stepped right out of the 1960s, rather than a queen of Arthurian England. Nonetheless, it is a wonderful film.

One of my all-time favorite stories. King Arthur, Guenevere, Lancelot, Merlin... they're all here! Richard Harris simply is King Arthur - in every version of the play. But the best version I've ever seen was the 1982 HBO film of the revival production (see below).

Produced by: Jack L. Warner
Directed by: Joshua Logan
Assistant Director: Arthur Jacobson
Musical Staging Associate: Buddy Schwab
Based on the Play: "Camelot", Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe, Directed by Moss Hart, Produced on the stage by Jenny Productions, From the "Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Music Supervised and Conducted by: Alfred Newman
Associate: Ken Darby
Music by: Frederick Loewe
Screenplay and Lyrics by: Alan Jay Lerner
Orchestrations: Leo Shuken, Jack Hayes, Pete King
Song Score: Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
Costumes, Scenery and Production Designed by: John Truscott
Sets and Art Direction: Edward Carrere
Set Decoratior: John W. Brown
Costume Design: John Truscott
Makeup Supervisor: Gordon Bau
Supervising Hair Stylist: John Burt Reilly
Sound by: M. A. Merrick, Dan Wallin
Director of Photography: Richard H. Kline
Filmed in Panavision and Technicolor
Film Editor: Folmar Blangsted

Awards: Academy Award for Best Adapted Score (Alfred Newman and Ken Darby), Best Art Direction - Set Decoration and Best Costume Design. Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography (Richard H. Kline) and Best Sound

Cast: Richard Harris [King Arthur], Vanessa Redgrave [Guenevere], Franco Nero [Lancelot du Lac], David Hemmings [Mordred], Lionel Jeffries [King Pellinore], Laurence Naismith [Merlyn], Pierre Olaf [Dap], Estelle Winwood [Lady Clarinda], Gary Marshall [Sir Lionel], Anthony Rogers [Sir Dinadan], Peter Bromilow [Sir Sagramore], Sue Casey [Lady Sybil], Garry Marsh [Tom of Warwick], Nicolas Beauvy [King Arthur as a Boy]

Musical Program: [0:00] Prelude and Overture (played by Orchestra); [0:08] I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight (sung by Richard Harris); [0:11] The Simple Joys of Maidenhood (sung by Vanessa Redgrave); [0:19] Camelot (sung by Richard Harris); [0:27] Camelot (reprised by Vanessa Redgrave and Chorus); [0:35] Camelot (reprised by Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave); [0:35] Camelot / C'est Moi (sung by Franco Nero); [0:48] The Lusty Month of May (sung and danced by Vanessa Redgrave and Ensemble); [1:01] Then You May Take Me to the Fair (sung by Vanessa Redgrave, Gary Marshal, Anthony Rogers and Peter Bromilow); [1:12] How to Handle a Woman (sung by Richard Harris); [1:40] Intermission: "If Ever I Would Leave You" (played by Orchestra); [1:47] If Ever I Would Leave You (Love Montage) (sung by Franco Nero); [2:09] What Do the Simple Folk Do? (sung by Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave); [2:16] Follow Me (sung by Chorus); [2:29] I Loved You Once in Silence (sung by Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero); [2:36] Guenevere (sung by Chorus); [2:53] Camelot (special lyric sung by Richard Harris); [2:57] Camelot (sung by Chorus behind end credits); Exit Music: "If Ever I Would Leave You" (played by Orchestra)

Experience Camelot's "one brief, shining moment" as Lerner and Loewe envisioned it - live on a Broadway Stage. Working at the top of his talent, Richard Harris heads an all-star cast in one of Broadway's wittiest, most literate musicals, filled with memorable tunes. Recorded at New York's historic Winter Garden Theater in 1982, this production captures all the immediacy and intimacy of a live performance viewed from the best seat in the house.

Idealistic King Arthur longs to create a perfectly principled kingdom, but sees his dream undone by a tragic love triangle involving Queen Guenevere (Meg Bussert) and his best friend Lancelot (Richard Muenz). In this thoroughly engaging Tony-nominated production, the medieval monarch's vision - a place where "violence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness" - speaks to our time and for all time. [from DVD case]

DVD special features include insert with production notes by Meg Bussert, original Broadway playbill (DVD ROM), and bios of Lerner & Loewe and Richard Harris. Color, stereo, 4:3 full screen

I like this version of Camelot better than the movie version (above). As Meg Bussert (Guenevere) puts it in her production notes included with the DVD, "... Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot form an unusual love triangle in that each one of them cares deeply for the other two. As their relationships deepen, the characters face not only personal betrayal but also treason. Marty [Callner] wanted to share these complicated emotions with the audience even more intimately than they could be shared on stage..." I think it is largely due to Meg Brussert's Guenevere that this emotion is transmitted as well as it is. All three of the main characters are equally strong in this production, and between the three of them there is an emotion that is much more than just that of three combined. Meg Bussert is very beautiful, a great singer, and so much more multi-dimensional than Vanessa Redgrave was in the film. She is a true gem!

Most of the songs in this version are sung as solos, allowing each artist complete emotional range unencumbered by accompanist or Chorus. This seems to have the affect of making each song a bit more intimate and personal. This is a beautifully produced stage version of the Lerner & Loewe classic, and comes across so powerfully that it stands as one of the best of all the classic musicals! Don't miss it!

Presented by: Home Box Office
Presented at: Winter Garden Theatre, NYC
Produced by: Mike Merrick and Don Gregory
Executive Producer: Michael Fuchs
Coordinating Producer: Cathleen Fitzpatrick
Associate Producer: Patricia Fili
Production Associate: Jan Collison
Production Manager: Patricia Morinelli
Production Coordinators: Sharon Blackwell, Angela Mancuso
Production Assistants: Kathy Faul, Susan Sands
Staged and Directed by: Marty Callner
Associate Director: Molly Miles
Assistant Directors: Patrick Aumont, Damian Harris
Musical Director: Terry James
Book and Lyrics by: Alan Jay Lerner
Music by: Frederick Loewe
Choreographer: Buddy Schwab
Assistant Choreographer: Sally Ann Swarm
Lighting Designer: Greg Brunton
Assistant Lighting Director: Jeff Goodman
Art Director: Bill Groom
Assistant Art Director: Charles McCarry
Videotape Editor: Andy Zall
Assistant Videotape Editor: Kevin Fernan
Audio: Blake Norton, Mike Moran
Re-Recording Mixers: Ed Greene, Doug Nelson
Assistant Re-Recording Mixers: Marti Humphrey, David Glover
Technical Director: Terry Donohue
Video: Mark Sanford
Cameramen: Joe Epperson, Bob Keys, Hector Ramirez, Ron Sheldon, Ken Tamburri
Continuity: Peter Mullet
Stage Managers: Alan Hall, Steve Adler
Make-up: Fran Kolar, Romania Ford, Edward Jackson
Hair: Vincent Prestia, Steve D'Amico, Annette Prestia
Theatrical Technical Consultant: Arthur Siccardi
For the Stage Production:
Directed by: Frank Dunlop
Original New York Production Staged by: Moss Hart
Based on "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Awards: Cable ACE Award Nominations: Best Actor (Richard Harris), Best Actress (Meg Bussert)

Cast: Richard Harris [King Arthur], Andy McAvin [Sir Sagramore], James Valentine [Merlyn], Meg Bussert [Guenevere], William Parry [Sir Dinidan], Jeanne Caryl [Nimue], Richard Muenz [Lancelot Du Lac], Richard Backus [Mordred], Robert Molnar [Dap], Vincent Prestia [Friar], Sally Williams [Lady Anne], Patrice Pickering [Lady Sybil], William James [Sir Lionel], Barrie Ingham [King Pellinore], Daisy [Horrid] Steve Osborne [Squire], Randy Morgan [Squire], Craig Mason [Squire], Ken Henley [Knight], Bruce Sherman [Knight], Jack Starkey [Knight], Ron Stratton [Knight], Thor Fields [Tom]

Musical Program: Opening Credits (played by Orchestra); Guenevere (excerpt sung by Chorus); I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight (sung by Richard Harris); The Simple Joys of Maidenhood (sung by Meg Bussert); Camelot (sung by Richard Harris); Camelot (reprised by Meg Bussert); Follow Me (sung by Jeanne Caryl); C'est Moi (sung by Richard Muenz); The Lusty Month of May (sung and danced by Meg Bussert and Ensemble); How to Handle a Woman (sung by Richard Harris); The Jousts (sung by Chorus); Before I Gaze at You Again (sung by Meg Bussert); This I Know Will E'er Be So (??) (short folk song sung in French and English by Richard Muenz and Ensemble); If Ever I Would Leave You (sung by Richard Muenz); The Seven Deadly Virtues (sung by Richard Backus); What Do the Simple Folk Do? (sung by Meg Bussert and Richard Harris); I Loved You Once in Silence (sung by Meg Bussert); Guenevere (reprise, sung by Chorus); Camelot (reprise, sung by Richard Harris, then taken up by Chorus and Orchestra)


Meg Bussert as Guenevere

Can-Can
(aka "Cole Porter's Can-Can")
20th Century-Fox, 1960, Color, 131 minutes, ***½
Released March, 1960

Any musical denounced by Nikita Khrushchev as being "immoral" can't be all bad! Shirley MacLaine is the Gay Paree nightclub owner charged with indecency, and Frank Sinatra is the lawyer who defends and falls in love with her. Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan co-star. Lively Cole Porter score includes "I Love Paris," "Let's Do It," "C'est Magnifique."

Great story, great music, great cast. Fine entertainment. The only thing I have a problem with is that it doesn't feel like a period piece - it's set in 1896, but it feels a lot like 1960 or thereabouts. I think it's largely the dialogue and the dance numbers (not including the Can-Can). Speaking of the Can-Can, it's great -- once they get to it! Highly entertaining film!

The story begins at Montmartre, 1896

Producer: Jack Cummings
Associate Producer: Saul Chaplin
Directed by: Walter Lang
Assistant Director: Joseph E. Rickards
Screenplay by: Dorothy Kingsley and Charles Lederer
Based on the Musical Comedy by Abe Burrows
Produced on the stage by Feuer and Martin
Songs by: Cole Porter
Music Arranged and Conducted by: Nelson Riddle
Vocal Supervision by" Bobby Tucker
Dances Staged by: Hermes Pan
Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, Jack Martin Smith
Set Decorations: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Costumes Designed by: Irene Sharaff
Makeup by: Ben Nye
Hair Styles by: Myrl Stoltz
Sound Recording Supervised by: Fred Hynes
Sound: W. D. Flick
Director of Photography: William H. Daniels
Produced in TODD-AO, Color by Deluxe
Color Consultant: Leonard Doss
Film Editor: Robert Simpson

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Score - Musical (Nelson Riddle), Best Costume Design - Color (Irene Sharaff)

Cast: Frank Sinatra [Francois Durnais], Shirley MacLaine [Simone Pistache], Maurice Chevalier [Paul Barriere], Louis Jourdan [Philipe Forrestier], Juliet Prowse [Claudine], Marcel Dalio [Andre, the Headwaiter], Leon Belasco [Arturo, the Orchestra Leader], Nestor Paiva [Bailiff], John A. Neris [Photographer], Jean Del Val [Judge Merceaux], Ann Codee [League President], Additional Cast: Genevieve Aumont [Secretary], Eugene Borden [Chevrolet], Carole Bryan [Gigi], Charles Carmen [Knife Thrower], Barbara Carter [Camille], Peter Coe [Dupont, Policeman], Marcel De la Brosse [Plainclothesman], Jane Earl [Renee], Ruth Earl [Julie], Laura Fraser [Germaine], Renee Godfrey [Dowager], Jonathan Kidd [Recorder], Edward Le Veque [Judge], Vera Lee [Gabrielle], Ambrogio Malerba [Apache Dancer], Maurice Marsac [Bailiff], Alphonse Martell [Butler], Lisa Mitchell [Fifi], Wanda Shannon [Maxine], Wilda Taylor [Lili], Darlene Tittle [Giselle], Lili Valenty [Dowager], Marc Wilder [Adam]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (includes Choral vocal of "I Love Paris") (played by Orchestra, sung by Chorus behind titles); [0:02] Montmartre (sung by Frank Sinatra, Maurice Chevalier and Chorus); [0:04] Maidens Typical of France (sung and danced by Juliet Prowse and Girls Chorus); [0:09] Can Can (danced by Shirley MacLaine, Juliet Prowse and Girls Chorus); [0:17] C'est Magnifique (sung by Frank Sinatra); [0:24] Quadrille (?) (danced by Shirley MacLaine and Ensemble); [0:35] C'est Magnifique (sung by Shirley MacLain); [0:38] Can Can (danced by Shirley MacLaine and Girls Chorus); [0:45] Live and Let Live (sung by Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan); [0:53] You Do Something to Me (sung by Louis Jourdan); [0:58] Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) (sung by Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine); [1:14] It's All Right with Me (sung by Frank Sinatra); [1:20] Live and Let Live (reprised by Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan); [1:29] Come Along with Me (sung by Shirley MacLaine); [1:37] Just One of Those Things (sung by Maurice Chevalier); [1:43] Adam and Eve (instrumental arrangement of "I Love Paris" danced by Shirley MacLaine, Marc Wilder and Chorus); [1:55] It's All Right with Me (reprised by Louis Jourdan); [2:05] Can Can (danced by Juliet Prowse, Shirley MacLaine and Girls Chorus); [2:10] I Love Paris (short excerpt sung by Chorus at end of film)

Can't Help Singing
Universal, 1944, Color, 90 minutes, ***½
Released December, 1944

This just may be my favorite Deanna Durbin film (it's hard to pick one!). She's positively delightful as Caroline Frost, daughter of Senator Frost (Ray Collins), who runs away to marry her true love (David Bruce), stationed at a Cavalry post in the wild-west. Along the way she encounters Johnny Lawlor (Robert Paige) and falls in love with him.

Hunted by the law (her father wants her found!), Deanna joins a wagon train and makes her way to California with Paige. Kinskey and Tamiroff play a pair of bumbling immigrants who tag along in hopes of finding an opportunity to grab some gold. Comic scenes abound, and the Harburg / Kern song score is wonderful. Highlights include "Can't Help Singing" (performed by Durbin and Paige in an outdoor bath-house), Deanna's "Any Moment Now" and "More and More," and the production number, "Californ-i-ay." If you want to see Deanna at her best, this is the film.

The Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film and Three Smart Girls, Something in the Wind, First Love, It Started with Eve, Lady on a Train.

Produced by: Felix Jackson
Associate Producer: Frank Shaw
Directed by: Frank Ryan
Assistant Director: William Holland
Screenplay by: Lewis R. Foster and Frank Ryan
Story by: John Klorer, Leo Townsend
Based on: "Girl of the Overland Trail" by Samuel J. & Curtis B. Warshawsky
Music by: Jerome Kern
Lyrics by: E.Y. Harburg
Musical Score and Direction: H. J. Salter
Musical Director for Miss Durbin: Edgar Fairchild
Orchestrations by: Frank Skinner
Vocal Coach: André de Segurola
Art Direction: John B. Goodman, Robert Clatworthy
Set Decorations: Russell A. Gausman, Edward R. Robinson
Costumes: Walter Plunkett
Make-Up Director: Jack Pierce
Director of Sound: Bernard B. Brown
Technician: Joe Lapis
Directors of Photography: Woody Bredell, W. Howard Greene
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: William Fritzsche
Film Editor: Ted J. Kent

Awards: Academy Award Nominations for Best Score - Musical (Jerome Kern and Hans J. Salter) and for Best Song ("More and More")

Cast: Deanna Durbin [Caroline Frost], Robert Paige [Johnny Lawlor], Akim Tamiroff [Prince Gregory], David Bruce [Lt. Robert Latham], Leonid Kinskey [Koppa], June Vincent [Frances MacLean], Ray Collins [Senator Frost], Andrew Tombes [Sam Archer, "Sad Sam"], Thomas Gomez [Jake Carstairs], Clara Blandick [Aunt Cissy], Olin Howlin [Bigelow], George Cleveland [Marshal], Additional Cast: Edward Earle [President Polk], Almira Sessions [Old Woman], Chester Conklin [Old Man]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra); [0:02] March (played by military band at Presidential reception); [0:04] Can't Help Singing (sung by Deanna Durbin); [0:24] Elbow Room (sung by Wagon Train Ensemble); [0:30] Can't Help Singing (sung by Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige and Chorus at bath house); [0:36] Honky-Tonk (instrumental in bar scene); [0:56] Any Moment Now (sung by Deanna Durbin and Chorus); [1:05] Swing Your Sweetheart (sung by Olin Howlin and Chorus, danced by wagon train travelers); [1:10] More and More (sung by Deanna Durbin); [1:14] Californ-i-ay (sung by Robert Paige, Deanna Durbin and Ensemble; danced by Chorus); [1:26] Finale: Californ-i-ay (reprised by Robert Paige, Deanna Durbin and Ensemble) / More and More (sung by Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige and Chorus) / Can't Help Singing (sung by Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige and Chorus)

Captain January
20th Century-Fox, 1936, B/W, 78 minutes, ***
Released April, 1936

One of Shirley's better early vehicles. She is an orphan (what else?) washed ashore after a ship wreck and rescued by local lighthouse keeper and ex-sea-captain, Captain January (Guy Kibbee), who unofficially adopts her. They live happily together in the light house until busy-body truant officer Agatha Morgan (Sara Haden) catches wind of the situation and insists Star must attend school.

In the meantime, the government decides to automate the lighthouse, and January finds himself without a job. This brings to question the issue of custody of Star, and a search is begun for any living relatives. In an emotionally disturbing scene, Star is taken from January and deposited in the arms of her loving aunt and uncle. Shirley is heartbroken, but her relatives find a way to solve her problems.

Musical highlights of the film include Shirley, Kibbee and Summerville's comical rendition of The Sextette (from the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor") and Shirley and Buddy Ebsen singing and dancing "At the Codfish Ball."

Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Associate Producer: B. G. De Sylva
Directed by: David Butler
Assistant Director: Ad Schaumer
Screen Play: Sam Hellman, Gladys Lehman and Harry Tugend
Based on a Story by: Laura E. Richards
Music and Lyrics: "Early Bird," "At the Cofish Ball" by Lew Pollack and Sidney D. Mitchell; "The Right Somebody to Love" by Jack Yellen and Lew Pollack
Musical Director: Louis Silvers
Dances Staged by: Jack Donohue
Art Direction: William Darling
Settings by: Thomas Little
Costumes: Gwen Wakeling
Sound: Arthur Von Kirbach, Roger Heman
Photography: John Seitz
Film Editor: Irene Morra

Cast: Shirley Temple [Star], Guy Kibbee [Captain January], Slim Summerville [Captain Nazro], Buddy Ebsen [Paul Roberts], Sara Haden [Agatha Morgan], Jane Darwell [Eliza Croft], June Lang [Mary Marshali], Jerry Tucker [Cyril Morgan], Nella Walker [Mrs. John Mason], George Irving [John Mason], James Farley [Deputy Sheriff], Si Jenks [Old Sailor]

Musical Program: [0:01] Early Bird (sung and danced by Shirley Temple as she arises and dresses); [0:06] Sailor's Hornpipe (short excerpt danced by Buddy Ebsen); [0:07] At the Codfish Ball (sung and danced by Shirley Temple and Buddy Ebsen); [0:46] Chi mi frena ("The Sextet" from the opera LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, sung by Shirley Temple, Slim Summerville, Guy Kibbee); [0:53] The Right Somebody to Love (sung by Shirley Temple, then sung by Chorus); [1:12] The Right Somebody to Love (reprised by Shirley Temple); [1:15] At the Codfish Ball (short reprisal sung by Shirley Temple, Slim Summerville, Guy Kibbee and Buddy Ebsen)

Career Girl
PRC Pictures, 1944, B/W, 69 minutes, ***
Released January, 1944

The petite and talented Miss Langford stars as an aspiring actress from Kansas City who heads off to New York to try and fulfill her dreams. Tenacious and determined even after suffering a few "showbiz-world reality checks," she believes stardom is within her grasp when she finally lands a lead role in a Broadway musical revue. Directed by Wallace Fox, starring Frances Langford, Edward Norris, Iris Adrian, Craig Woods, Linda Brent, and Alec Craig.  [from back of DVD case]

Fun film with a slightly different plot for a basic Broadway hopeful story. Frances Langford, radio star, was a great singer, and her talents are not wasted in this effort!

Produced by: Jack Schwarz
Associate Producer: Harry D. Edwards
Directed by: Wallace W. Fox
Assistant Director: Edward Davis
Screenplay by: Sam Neuman
Original Story by: Dave Silverstein and Stanley Rauh
Songs: "That's How the Rhumba Began," "Someday" by Morey Amsterdam, Tony Romano; "Blue in Love Again," "A Dream Came True" by Sam Neuman, Michael Breen
Musical Director: Rudy Schrager
Musical Supervision: David Chudnow
Art Director: Frank Sylos
Set Dresser: Harry Reif
Master of Properties: George Bahr
Sound Engineer: Tom Lambert
Director of Photography: Gus Peterson
Special Effects: Ray Mercer
Film Editor: Robert Crandall

Cast: Frances Langford [Joan], Edward Norris [Steve], Iris Adrian [Glenda], Craig Woods [James], Lorraine Krueger [Ann], Alec Craig [Pop], Gladys Blake [Janie], Linda Brent [Thelma], Ariel Heath [Sue], Charles Judels [Felix Black], Charles Williams [Louis Horton], Irene White [Polly], Marion McGuire [Louise], Additional Cast: Eddie Kane [Mr. Draper], Larry Steers [Mr. Bronson], Bess Flowers [Miss Cunningham, Mr. Dexter's Secretary], Jack Chefe [Headwaiter], Horace B. Carpenter [Stage Doorman]

Musical Program: [0:17] Blue in Love Again (excerpt sung by Frances Langford on record); [0:20] Someday (sung by Frances Langford); [0:27] "Buck Dance" (?) (danced by Lorraine Krueger - impression of Bill Robinson); [0:29] Blue in Love Again (sung by Frances Langford); [0:53] A Dream Came True (sung by Frances Langford); [1:02] That's How the Rhumba Began (sung by Frances Langford, danced by Chorus Girls)

Carefree
RKO, 1938, B/W, 83 minutes, ***½
Released September, 1938

Chalk up another success for psychiatrist Tony Flagg (Fred Astaire). Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers), his weddingphobic patient, is now crazy to get married... as long as the groom is Tony!

With its antic comedy (Ginger, zombied out on psychotherapy and love, heaves a nightstick through a glazier's glass) and its thumping of psychiatric funnybones, Carefree is "Fred and Ginger's most romantic outing, wacky and offbeat" (Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide). The score's romantic classic is Irving Berlin's "Change Partners." The duo also shares the slow-motion dreamscape of "I Used to Be Color Blind" and jives through "The Yam." And Fred tees off on "Since They Turned Loch Lomond into Swing," a sequence that took two weeks and 600 golf balls to film. In dance, as on the links, practice makes perfect.  [from back of DVD case]

The Astaire and Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film and Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle.

Producer: Pandro S. Berman
Director: Mark Sandrich
Assistant Director: Argyle Nelson
Screen Play by: Allan Scott and Ernest Pagano
Story and Adaptation by: Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde
Based on an original idea by: Marian Ainslee and Guy Endore
Lyrics and Music by: Irving Berlin
Musical Director: Victor Baravalle
Ensembles Staged by: Hermes Pan
Art Director: Van Nest Polglase
Associate: Carroll Clark
Set Dressing by: Darrell Silvera
Miss Rogers' Gowns by: Howard Greer
Wardrobe by: Edward Stevenson
Special Effects: Vernon L. Walker
Recorded by: Hugh McDowell, Jr.
Photographed by: Robert de Grasse
Edited by: William Hamilton

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Score (Victor Baravalle), Best Song ("Change Partners") and Best Interior Decoration

Cast: Fred Astaire [Tony Flagg], Ginger Rogers [Amanda Cooper], Ralph Bellamy [Stephen Arden], Luella Gear [Aunt Cora], Jack Carson [Connors], Clarence Kolb [Judge Travers], Franklin Pangborn [Roland Hunter], Walter Kingsford [Dr. Powers], Kay Sutton [Miss Adams], Tom Tully [Policeman], Hattie McDaniel [Maid], Robert B. Mitchell and His St. Brendan's Boys

Musical Program: [0:12] Since They Turned "Loch Lomond" into Swing (danced by Fred Astaire while playing harmonica and while driving golf balls); [0:24] I Used To Be Color Blind (Amanda's dream sequence: Fred Astaire sings and dances with Ginger Rogers; features beautiful staging and slow-motion photography); [0:48] The Yam (sung by Ginger Rogers, danced by Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire with Ensemble); [1:12] Change Partners (sung by Fred Astaire, then danced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

Carmen Jones
Otto Preminger Productions / 20th Century-Fox, 1954, Color, 105 minutes, ***½
Released October, 1954

Oscar Hammerstein's all-black revision of Bizet's "Carmen," brought to the screen by Otto Preminger, showcases Harry Belafonte as a handsome soldier whose love for sexy, conniving Dorothy Dandridge leads him to murder. Pearl Bailey, Olga James and Diahann Carroll also star.

Carmen Jones is a magnificent mid-century American interpretation of the opera CARMEN. It is full of color, fire and energy, and follows Bizet's opera quite closely, thanks to the brilliant interpretation of Oscar Hammerstein II. Each song in the film matches the music of one of the major arias in Carmen, with new lyrics by Hammerstein.

Dorothy Dandridge walked away with the movie and received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her flawless interpretation of Carmen. All of the principals were popular singers, but they were dubbed by opera singers since none of them had the range and power for opera arias. But they were singers, so the lip-syncing, expressions and body movements are all perfectly natural. All in all, it's a truly wonderful movie - not to be missed!

Produced and Directed by: Otto Preminger
Production Manager: Herman E. Webber
Production Assistant: Maximilian Slater
Assistant Director: David Silver
Book and Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
Music Director: Herschel Burke Gilbert
Music by: Georges Bizet (from the opera CARMEN), adapted lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on Billy Rose's Broadway Production of the Musical Play "Carmen Jones"
Screenplay by: Harry Kleiner
Musical Direction: Herschel Burke Gilbert
Associate: Ted Dale
Music Recording: Vinton Vernon, Murray Spivack
Art Direction by: Edward L. Ilou
Set Decoration by: Claude E. Carpenter
Costumes Designed by: Mary Ann Nyberg
Sound: Roger Heman and Arthur L. Kirbach
Director of Photography: Sam Leavitt
Photographed in Cinemascope, Color by DeLuxe Laboratories
Film Editor: Louis R. Loeffler

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Actress (Dorothy Dandridge) and Best Score - Musical (Herschel Burke Gilbert)

Cast: Dorothy Dandridge [Carmen Jones], Harry Belafonte [Joe], Olga James [Cindy Lou], Pearl Bailey [Frankie], Diahann Carroll [Myrt], Roy E. Glenn Sr. [Rum], Nick Stewart [Dink], Joe Adams [Husky Miller], Brock Peters [Sgt. Brown], Sandy Lewis [T-Bone], Mauri Lynn [Sally], DeForest Covan [Trainer], LeVern Hutcherson [Singing Voice of Joe], Marilynn Horne [Singing Voice of Carmen], Marvin Hayes [Singing Voice of Husky]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: Torreador Song (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] Send Along Anudder Load (sung by Mens Chorus); [0:04] Lift 'Em Up an' Put 'Em Down (sung by Boys Chorus); [0:06] Dat's Love (Habañera) (sung by Carmen and Chorus); [0:11] You Talk Jus' Like My Ma (sung by Cindy Lou and Joe); [0:15] Carmen Jones Is Goin' to Jail (sung by Chorus); [0:17] Dere's a Cafe on de Corner (Seguedille) (sung by Carmen); [0:35] Dis Flower (Flower Song) (sung by Joe); [0:39] Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum (Gypsy Song) (sung by Frankie and Chorus, danced by Ensemble -- great number!); [0:55] Stan' Up an' Fight (Torreador Song) (sung by Husky Miller and Chorus); [0:52] Whizzin' Away Along de Track (Quintet) (sung by Carmen, Dink, Myrt, Rum and Frankie); [0:19] Card Song (Card song from Act III) (sung by Carmen, Frankie and Chorus); [1:24] My Joe (Michaela's Song) (sung by Cindy Lou); [1:29] He Got Hisself Another Woman (sung by Cindy Lou); [1:38] Torreador Song (sung by Chorus); [1:39] Final Duet (Duet and final chorus) (sung by Joe and Carmen); [1:43] String Me High on a Tree (sung by Joe)

Carnegie Hall
United Artists, 1947, B/W, 136 minutes
Released February, 1947

Set in the legendary New York concert hall, this song-filled melodrama follows an Irish immigrant (Marsha Hunt) who gets a job at the newly-opened building. Among the artists appearing on stage are Ezio Pinza (performing from "Simon Di Boccanegra" and "Don Giovanni"), Artur Rubinstein ("Ritual Fire Dance") and Lily Pons ("Bell Song"), plus Jascha Heifetz, Risë Stevens, Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski and more; Edgar G. Ulmer directs.

Great chance to see some performers seldom seen in other films!

Producer: William LeBaron and Boris Morros
Associate Producer: Samuel Rheiner
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Screenplay: Karl Kamb
Music Director: Charles Previn
Song Score / Musical Numbers: various
Art Director: Max Rée
Costume Design: Max Rée
Special Effects: Roy Seawright
Cinematography: William Miller
Film Editing: Fred R. Feitshans, Jr.

Cast: Marsha Hunt [Nora Ryan], William Prince [Tony Salerno, Jr.], Frank McHugh [John Donovan], Martha O'Driscoll [Ruth Haines], Hans Yaray [Tony Salerno, Sr.], Joseph Buloff [Anton Tribik], Olin Downes [Himself], Emile Boreo [Henry], Alfonso D'Artega [Tchaikovsky], Harold Dyrenforth [Walter Damrosch], Eole Galli [Katinka], Walter Damrosch, New York Philharmonic Quintette, Bruno Walter, The New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Lily Pons, Gregor Piatigorsky, Risë Stevens, Artur Rodzinski, Artur Rubinstein, Jan Peerce, Ezio Pinza, Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra, Harry James [Guest Performers]

Musical Program: Beware My Heart (sung by Vaughn Monroe with His Orchestra); The Brown Danube (sung by Harry James); The Pleasure's All Mine (sung by Vaughn Monroe); Prelude of Die Meistersinger (from DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG, Bruno Walter conducting the New York Philarmonic); "Heroic" Polonaise in A Flat (Arthur Rubenstein at the piano); Ritual Fire Dance (Arthur Rubenstein at the piano); Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D (first movement played by Jascha Heifetz); Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony (second movement, conducted by Leopold Stokowski); Vocalise (sung by Lily Pons); The Bell Song (from the opera LAKMÉ, sung by Lily Pons); The Champagne Song ("Finch'han dal vino" from DON GIOVANNI, sung by Ezio Pinza); Il lacerato spirito (from the opera SIMON BOCCANEGRA, sung by Ezio Pinza); O Sole Mio (Jan Peerce); La Danza (Jan Peerce); My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice ("Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from the opera SAMSON ET DALILA, sung by Risë Stevens); Seguedilla ("Près des remparts de Séville" from CARMEN, sung by Risë Stevens with Artur Rodzinski and the New York Philarmonic); The Swan (from Carnival of the Animals, Gregor Piatigorsky on Cello); Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 (excerpt played by The New York Philarmonic, Artur Rodzinski conducting); Fifty-Seventh Street Rhapsody (Harry James); Sometime We Will Meet Again; All the World Is Mine; Romance in Carnegie Hall

A rare musical tragedy about a carnival barker (Gordon MacRae) who falls in love with a local mill worker (Shirley Jones). They marry and move in with Julie's aunt (Claramae Turner), but Billy finds himself increasingly depressed over being a "kept man." He teams up with Jigger (Cameron Mitchell) to steal a bankroll from the owner of the mill, but the plan goes awry and Billy is killed. From the great beyond, he is allowed to return to earth one more time in an attempt to make amends for his past by helping his loved ones find true happiness. Highlights include the energetic "June Is Bustin' Out All Over," the wistful "If I Loved You," and the classic "You'll Never Walk Alone." Wonderful film!!

In my opinion, the "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" ensemble dance is one of the greatest ever filmed - second only to the barn dance in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Produced by: Henry Ephron
Directed by: Henry King
Assistant Director: Stanley Hough
Screenplay by: Phoebe and Henry Ephron
Music: Richard Rodgers
Books and Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
From Their Musical Play: based on Ferenc Molnar's "Liliom," originally produced on the stage by Theatre Guild
Adapted by: Benjamin F. Glazer
Choreography by: Rod Alexander
Louise's ballet derived from the original by Agnes DeMille
Music Supervised and Conducted by: Alfred Newman
Associate: Ken Darby
Orchestration: Edward B. Powell, Nelson Riddle, Herbert Spencer, Bernard Mayers, Earl Hagen, Gus Levene
Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, Jack Martin Smith
Set Decorations: Walter M. Scott, Chester Bayhi
Wardrobe Direction: Charles LeMaire
Costumes Designed by: Mary Wills
Makeup by: Ben Nye
Hair Styling by: Helen Turpin
Sound: Bernard Freericks, Harry M. Leonard
Director of Photography: Charles G. Clarke
Special Photographic Effects: Ray Kellogg
Filmed in CinemaScope, Color by De Luxe
Color Consultant: Leonard Doss
Film Editor: William Reynolds

Cast: Gordon MacRae, [Billy Bigelow], Shirley Jones, [Julie Jordan], Cameron Mitchell [Jigger Craigin], Barbara Ruick [Carrie Pipperidge], Claramae Turner [Cousin Nettie Fowler], Robert Rounseville [Mr. Enoch Snow], Gene Lockhart [Starkeeper / Dr. Selden], Audrey Christie [Mrs. Mullin], Susan Luckey [Louise Bigelow], William Le Massena [Heavenly Friend], John Dehner [Mr. Bascombe], Jacques D'Amboise [Louise's "Starlight Carnival" Dancing Partner], Frank Twedell [Captain Watson], Sylvia Stanton [Contortionist], Mary Orozco [Fat Woman], Dee Pollack [Enoch Snow, Jr.]

Musical Program: [0:02] Overture: The Carousel Waltz (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:06] The Carousel Waltz (played by Orchestra in background, carousel on screen); [0:15] Mister Snow (sung by Barbara Ruick); [0:26] If I Loved You (sung by Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae); [0:37] June Is Bustin' Out All Over (sung and danced by Ensemble of Sailors, Woodcutters and Girls); [0:59] Soliloquy (sung by Gordon MacRae); [1:10] When the Children Are Asleep (sung by Robert Rounseville and Barbara Ruick); [1:13] A Real Nice Clambake (sung by Robert Rounseville, Clarame Turner, Barbara Ruick, Cameron Mitchell and Ensemble at the clambake), [1:20] Stonecutters Cut It on Stone (sung by Cameron Mitchell and Ensemble at the clambake); [1:22] What's the Use of Wond'rin' (sung by Shirley Jones and Girls Chorus); [1:36] You'll Never Walk Alone (sung by Shirley Jones then by Claramae Turner); [1:42] Louise's Ballet (danced by Susan Luckey and Ensemble); [2:02] If I Loved You (reprised by Gordon MacRae); [2:06] You'll Never Walk Alone (reprised by Ensemble, Shirley Jones and Chorus at graduation ceremony); [cut] You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan! (sung by Barbara Ruick and Shirley Jones); [cut] Blow High, Blow Low (Cameron Mitchell)

The Cat and the Fiddle
MGM, 1934, B/W and Color, 90 minutes, ***
Released February, 1934

Down-on-his-luck composer Ramon Novarro hopes his new operetta will save him, but a bounced check, an exiting orchestra and cast, and a drunken lead actress could lead to disaster. Enter would-be singer Jeanette MacDonald, who agrees to help Novarro avoid jail. Early MGM musical with Technicolor sequences also stars Frank Morgan; songs include Kern and Harbach's "The Night Was Made for Love."

Good movie! Enjoyable acting all around and great Kern / Harbach score.

Producer: Bernard H. Hyman
Director: William K. Howard
Screen Play by: Bella and Samuel Spewack
From the Play by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach
Musical Director: Herbert Stothart
Music: Otto Harbach and Jerome Kern
Art Director: Theodore Toluboff
Interior Decoration by: Edwin B. Willis
Gowns by: Adrian
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Photographed by: Harold Rosson and Charles Clarke
Film Editor: Frank Hull

Cast: Ramon Novarro [Victor], Jeanette MacDonald [Shirley], Frank Morgan [Daudet], Charles Butterworth [Charles], Jean Hersholt [Professor], Vivienne Segal [Odette], Frank Conroy [Theater Owner], Henry Armetta [Taxi Driver], Adrienne d'Ambricourt [Concierge], Joseph Cawthorn [Rudy], Additional Cast: Leonid Kinskey [Musician], Sterling Holloway [Delivery Man], Herman Bing [Band Leader in Parade], Christian Rub [Innkeeper]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:10] Impressions in a Harlem Flat (excerpt played by Jeanette MacDonald at the piano [onscreen]); [0:14] The Night Was Made for Love (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro); [0:23] One Moment Alone (sung by Ramon Novarro and Chorus); [0:26] The Night Was Made for Love (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:28] Impressions in a Harlem Flat (played by Jeanette MacDonald at the piano [onscreen]); [0:36] She Didn't Say Yes (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:38] Don't Ask Me Not to Sing (?) (sung by Chorus [musicians onscreen]); [0:42] I Watch the Love Parade (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro); [0:46] A New Love Is Old (sung by Adrienne d'Ambricourt); [0:54] A New Love Is Old (reprised by Ramon Novarro); [0:56] Ha Cha Cha (?) (sung by unidentified male singer and Vivenne Segal); [1:06] Try to Forget (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [1:13] Don't Tell Us Not to Sing (?) (sung by Chorus); [1:14] A New Love Is Old (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [1:23] I Watch the Love Parade (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro); [1:26] One Moment Alone (sung by Ramon Novarro, Jeanette MacDonald and Chorus); Poor Pierrot (Jeanette MacDonald); The Crystal Candelabra (Ramon Novarro at the piano on-screen); There are many fragments of instrumental numbers scattered throughout the film. I'm having trouble identifying all the songs - all of them are fragments, and difficult to identify. I will keep working on it.

Caught in the Draft
Paramount, 1941, B/W, 82 minutes, ***
Released July, 1941

Bob Hope plays gun-shy movie star Don Bolton who, despite his concerted efforts to avoid the draft, nevertheless gets caught in it. Despite being the worst of soldiers, Hope ends up being hailed as a hero and then looks to win the heart of the colonel's daughter, played by the gorgeous Dorothy Lamour.  [from back of DVD case]

Not a musical at all. But it's a very funny comedy!

The double-feature DVD (shown right) includes this film and Give Me a Sailor.

Produced by: B. G. DeSylva
Directed by: David Butler
Original Story and Screen Play by: Harry Tugend
Additional Dialogue by: Wilkie C. Mahoney
Music Score by: Victor Young
Song: "Love Me As I Am" by Louis Alter and Frank Loesser
Art Direction: Hans Dreier, Haldane Douglas
Costumes: Edith Head
Sound Recording by: Gene Merritt, Walter Oberst
Director of Photography: Karl Struss
Edited by: Irene Morra

Cast: Bob Hope [Don Bolton], Dorothy Lamour [Tony Fairbanks], Lynne Overman [Steve], Eddie Bracken [Bert], Clarence Kolb [Col. Peter Fairbanks], Paul Hurst [Sergeant Burns], Ferike Boros [Yetta], Phyllis Ruth [Margie], Irving Bacon [Cogswell], Arthur Loft [Director], Edgar Dearing [Recruiting Sergeant], Additional Cast: Frank Marlowe [Pvt. Twitchell], David Oliver [Cameraman], Murray Alper [Make-up Man], Andrew Tombes [Justice of the Peace], Earlene Heath, Gloria Williams, Eleanor Stewart, Ella Neal [Nurses], Marie Blake [Nurse with castor oil], Frances Morris [Stretcher Nurse], Rita Owen [Cleaning Nurse], Terry Ray, Edward Peil, Jr. [Patients], Archie Twitchell [Stretcher Patient], Jimmie Dodd [Indignant Patient], Jack Chapin, Victor Cutler [Rookies], Ray Flynn [Lieutenant Colonel], June Gittelson [Fat Girl], Fred Graham [Blue Army Soldier slugged by Don], Edward Hearn [Operation Manager], Len Hendry [Corporal], Jerry Jerome [Captain], Jack Luden [Captain], George Lynn [Pilot], Weldon Heyburn [Sergeant at examining depot], Arch MacNair [Toothless Man], George McKay [Quartermaster Sergeant], Patrick McVey [Soldier with warning of retreat], Frank Mitchell [Captain], Frank O'Connor [Major on review stand], Edwin Stanley [Medical Examiner], Pat West [Army Cook], Dave Willock [Colonel's Orderly]

Musical Program: None (other than a few marches and bugle calls); "Love Me As I Am," written for the movie, was reduced to an instrumental excerpt.

Change of Habit
Universal, 1969, Color, 93 minutes, **½
Released November, 1969

Laughter, romance and rockin' good times are just what the doctor ordered as Elvis plays an inner-city M.D. who falls for social worker Mary Tyler Moore. But this guitar-strumming doc will be playing a different tune when he discovers his would-be girlfriend isn't who - or what - she seems to be! Featuring Elvis at the peak of his phenomenal popularity, it's a hilarious romantic comedy highlighted by the King's unforgettable performances of classic rock hits including "Rubberneckin'," "Let Us Pray" and "Change of Habit."  [from back of VHS sleeve]

Produced by: Joe Connelly
Associate Producer: Irving Paley
Directed by: William Graham
Assistant Director: Phil Bowles
Screenplay: James Lee & S. S. Schweitzer and Eric Bercovici
Story by: John Joseph and Richard Morris
Music Supervision: Stanley Wilson
Music by:: Billy Goldenberg
Songs: "Change of Habit," "Let Us Pray" music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Buddy Kaye
Art Directors: Alexander Golitzen and Frank Arrigo
Set Decorations: John McCarthy, Ruby Levitt
Make-Up: Bud Westmore
Hair Stylist: Larry Germain
Costumes: Helen Colvig
Sound: Waldon O. Watson, Lyle Cain, Ronald Pierce
Director of Photography: Russell Metty
Color by Technicolor
Film Editor: Douglas Stewart

Cast: Elvis Presley [Dr. John Carpenter], Mary Tyler Moore [Sister Michelle], Barbara McNair [Sister Irene], Jane Elliot [Sister Barbara], Leora Dana [Mother Joseph], Edward Asner [Lt. Moretti], Robert Emhardt [The Banker], Regis Toomey [Father Gibbons], Doro Merande [Rose], Ruth McDevitt [Lily], Richard Carlson [Bishop Finley], Nefti Millet [Julio Hernandez], Laura Figueroa [Desiree], Lorena Kirk [Amanda], Virginia Vincent [Miss Parker], David Renard [Colom], Ji-Tu Cumbuka [Hawk], Bill Elliott [Robbie], Rodolfo Hoyos [Mr. Hernandez]

Musical Program: [0:01] Change of Habit (sung by Elvis Presley behind titles); [0:04] Rubberneckin' (sung by Elvis Presley and Chorus); [0:54] Have a Happy (sung by Elvis Presley); [1:29] Let Us Pray (sung by Elvis Presley and Church Congregation)

Charlotte's Web
(aka "E. B. White's Charlotte's Web")
Hanna-Barbera-Sagittarius / Paramount, 1973, Color, 94 minutes, ***

Enjoyable and enchanting animated musical adaptation of E. B. White's classic barnyard tale about a shy piglet, slated for the breakfast table, who's befriended by a spider who saves his life with her "magic" web. Featuring the voice talents of Debbie Reynolds, Henry Gibson, Paul Lynde and Don Messick.

Produced by: Joseph Barbera and William Hanna
Executive Producer: Edgar Bronfman
Directed by: Charles Nichols and Iwao Takamoto
Story: Earl Hamner, Jr.
(based on the book by E. B. White)
Music and Lyrics by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Music Supervised, Arranged and Conducted by: Irwin Kostal
Art Directors: Bob Singer, Ray Aragon, Paul Julian
Camera: Roy Wade, Dick Blundell, Ggeorge Epperson, Ralph Migliori, Dennis Weaver
Film Editing: Pat Foley

Cast (Voices): Debbie Reynolds [Charlotte], Paul Lynde [Templeton], Henry Gibson [Wilbur], Pamelyn Ferdin [Fern Arable], Martha Scott [Mrs. Arable], Agnes Moorehead [The Goose], Dave Madden [Old Sheep], Danny Bonaduce [Avery], Don Messick [Geoffrey], Herb Vigran [Lurvy], John Stephenson [Arable], Joan Gerber [Mrs. Zuckerman / Mrs. Fussy], Robert Holt [Homer Zuckerman], William B. White [Henry Fussy], Rex Allen [Narrator]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:06] There Must Be Something More (sung by Pamelyn Ferdin); [0:14] I Can Talk (sung by Henry Gibson); [0:22] Chin Up (sung by Debbie Reynolds); [0:30] We've Got Lots in Common (sung by Henry Gibson, Debbie Reynolds and the Barnyard Animals); [0:37] Deep in the Dark (sung by Debbie Reynolds); [0:38] Charlotte's Web (sung by Chorus); [0:53] Mother Earth and Father Time (sung by Debbie Reynolds); [0:58] A Veritable Smorgasboard (sung by Agnes Moorehead and Paul Lynde); [1:04] There Must Be Something More (reprised by Pamelyn Ferdin); [1:11] A Veritable Smorgasboard (reprised by Paul Lynde); [1:16] Zuckerman's Famous Pig (played by Marching Band, sung by Quartet, sung by Chorus); [1:25] Mother Earth and Father Time (reprised by Debbie Reynolds); [1:32] Zuckerman's Famous Pig (reprised by Chorus at end of film)

Charro!
National General Pictures, 1969, Color, 98 minutes, ***
Released March, 1969

Most Elvis Presley movies fit neatly inside a whirlwind formula of girls, songs and who-do-you-love complications. Like its loner title character, the gritty Western Charro! is different.

The Elvis on screen here isn't the clean-cut all-American kid ready to hit the beach or dance floor. Instead, a barbed stubble covers his face. His hat hangs low over his eyes. And a bandanna hides the ugly scar that marks him as a killer. Written and directed by Charles Marquis Warren (creator of TV's "Gunsmoke," "Rawhide" and "The Virginian"), this stark sagebrush saga follows an ex-outlaw trying to go straight - but he's got a score to settle when his own gang frames him for a heist.  [from back of DVD case]

Not a musical, but Elvis does sing the title song.

Elvis - The Hollywood Collection DVD Box Set (shown right) contains this film and Girl Happy, Kissin' Cousins, Live a Little, Love a Little, Stay Away Joe, Tickle Me.

Produced and Directed by: Charles Marquis Warren
Executive Producer: Harry A. Caplan
Associate Producer: Dink Tmpleton
Assistant Director: Dink Templeton
Screenplay by: Charles Marquis Warren
Story by Frederic Louis Fox
Music Composed and Conducted by: Hugo Montenegro
Song "Charro!" Words and Music by Billy Strange and Scott (Mac) Davis
Art Director: James Sullivan
Set Decoration: Charles Thompson
Men's Wardrobe by: Bob Fuca
Ladies' Costumes by: Violet B. Martin
Makeup Supervision: William Reynolds, Gene Bartlett
Sound by: Roy Meadows
Director of Photography: Ellsworth Fredericks
Special Effects: Robert Beck, George C. Thompson and Woodrow Ward
Color by Technicolor, Filmed in Panavision
Film Editor: Al Clark

Filmed at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood and on location at Apache Junction, Arizona.

Cast: Elvis Presley [Jess Wade], Ina Balin [Tracy], Victor French [Vince], Lynn Kellogg [Marcie], Barbara Werle [Sara Ramsey], Solomon Sturges [Billy Roy], Paul Brinegar [Opie Keetch], James B. Sikking [Gunner], Harry Landers [Heff], Tony Young [Lt. Rivera], James Almanzar [Sheriff Ramsey], Charles H. Gray [Mody], Rodd Redwing [Lige], Garry Walberg [Martin Tilford], Duane Grey [Gabe], J. Edward McKinley [Henry Carter], John Pickard [Jerome Selby], Robert Luster [Will Joslyn], Christa Lang [Christa], Robert Karnes [Harvey]

Musical Program: [0:00] Charro (sung by Elvis Presley behind titles)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Warfield / United Artists, 1968, Color, 145 minutes, ***
Released December, 1968

A magical car that can fly like a plane or float like a boat leads an eccentric inventor and his children into amazing adventures in this delightful song-filled fantasy. Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries and Benny Hill star; based on Ian Fleming's book.

MGM Classic Musicals Collection DVD Box Set (shown right) contains this film and West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Producer: Albert R. Broccoli
Associate Producer Stanley Sopel
Director: Ken Hughes
Screenplay: Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes and Richard Maibaum
(based on a book by Ian Fleming)
Music Director: Irwin Kostal
Song Score: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Choreography: Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood
Production Design: Ken Adam
Art Director: Harry Pottle
Costume Design: Joan Bridge, Elizabeth Haffenden
Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Film Editing: John Shirley

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang")

Cast: Dick Van Dyke [Caractacus Potts], Sally Ann Howes [Truly Scrumptious], Lionel Jeffries [Grandpa Potts], Heather Ripley [Jemima], Adrian Hall [Jeremy], Gert Frobe [Baron Bomburst], Anna Quayle [Baroness Bomburst], Benny Hill [Toymaker], James Robertson Justice [Lard Scrumptious], Robert Helpmann [Child Catcher], Barbara Windsor [Blonde], Davy Kaye [Admiral], Alexander Dore, Bernard Spear [Spies], Stanley Unwin [Chancellor], Peter Arne [Captain of Guard], Desmond Llewelyn [Coggins], Victor Maddern [Junkman], Arthur Mullard [Big Man], Ross Parker [Chef], Gerald Campion, Felix Felton, Monti de Lyle [Ministers], Totti Truman Taylor [Duchess], Larry Taylor [Lieutenant], Max Bacon [Orchestra Leader], Max Wall, John Heawood, Michael Darbyshire, Kenneth Waller, Gerald Taylor [Inventors], Richard Wattis [Secretary at Sweet Factory], John Baskcomb [Chef]

Musical Program: You Two (Dick Van Dyke, Heather Ripley and Adrian Hall); Toot Sweets (Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes); Hushabye Mountain (Dick Van Dyke, reprised by Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes); Me Ol' Bamboo (Dick Van Dyke and Chorus); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Dick Van Dyke, Heather Ripley, Adrian Hall and Sally Ann Howes); Truly Scrumptious (Heather Ripley, Adrian Hall and Sally Ann Howes); Lovely Lonely Man (Sally Ann Howes); Posh! (Lionel Jeffries); The Roses of Success (John Heawood, Michael Darbyshire, Kenneth Waller, Gerald Taylor, Eddie Davis and Lionel Jeffries); Chu-Chi Face (Gert Fröbe and Anna Quayle); Doll On a Music Box / Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes and Dick Van Dyke)

Christmas Holiday
Universal, 1944, B/W, 98 minutes, ***
Released June, 1944

This film is a "Psychological drama" - not a musical at all, but Deanna does sing two of her best songs. Deanna really shows off her dramatic talents in this film!

Produced by: Felix Jackson
Associate Producer: Frank Shaw
Directed by: Robert Siodmak
Assistant Director: William Holland
Written for the Screen by: Herman J. Mankiewicz
(based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham)
"Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
"Always" by Irving Berlin
Music Score and Direction: H. J. Salter
Vocal Coach: Andres de Segurola
Art Direction: John B. Goodman, Robert Clatworthy
Set Decorations: R. A. Gausman, E. R. Robinson
Miss Durbin's Wardrobe by: Muriel King, Howard Greer
Gowns: Vera West
Sound Director: Bernard B. Brown
Technician: Joe Lapis
Director of Photography: Woody Bredell
Special Photography by: John P. Fulton
Film Editor: Ted Kent

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Score - Comedy or Drama

Cast: Deanna Durbin [Abigail Martin / Jackie Lamont], Gene Kelly [Robert Manette], Richard Whorf [Simon Fenimore], Dean Harens [Charles Mason], Gladys George [Valerie De Marude], Gale Sondergaard [Mrs. Manette], David Bruce [Gerald Tyler]

Musical Program: [0:02] The Caissons Go Rolling Along (played by Marching Band); [0:11] Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year (sung by Deanna Durbin at night club); [0:19] unidentified Church Hymns (sung by Church Choir); [0:22] Adeste Fideles (sung by Church Choir); [0:45] unidentified classical piece (played at concert by Orchestra); [0:51] Always (instrumental arrangement played by dance band at night club); [1:06] Always (sung by Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly at the piano on-screen); [1:23] Always (reprised by Deanna Durbin at night club)

The Chocolate Soldier
MGM, 1941, Color, 102 minutes, ***½
Premiere release October, 1941
General release November, 1941

Fun and charming film about a husband / wife operatic team (Eddy and Stevens). Eddy is convinced that Stevens no longer loves him, and sets out to prove it by disguising himself as a Russian aristocrat and wooing Stevens in an attempt to get her to "wander." It doesn't take Stevens long to figure out what's up, and she strings the Russian along confusing him with an array of mixed signals of romance and guilt. Eddy is hilarious as the Russian suitor, and Stevens turns in a wonderful performance. Completely delightful film. Musical highlights include the classic "My Hero," which is reprised throughout the film.

"This story takes place in Balkany.
The time, we cannot fix it.
When Russians Prussians Turks and Czechs
were reticent to mix it."

Produced by: Victor Saville
Directed by: Roy Del Ruth
Screen Play by: Leonard Lee and Keith Winter
Based on Ferenc Molnar's The Guardsman with music and lyrics from "The Chocolate Soldier" of which the music was written by Oscar Straus, the English lyrics by Stanislaus Stange and the original lyrics by Rudolph Bernauer and Leopold Jacobson
Musical Program based on "The Chocolate Soldier"
Musical Adaptation and Direction by: Herbert Stothart and Bronislau Kaper
Additional Music and Lyrics: Gus Kahn, Bronislau Kaper
Musical Presentation: Merrill Pye
Dances Created and Staged by: Ernst Matray
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associate: John S. Detlie
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Gowns by: Adrian
Men's Costumes by: Gile Steele
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Karl Freund
Film Editor: James E. Newcom

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best B/W Cinematography (Karl Freund), Best Score - Musical (Herbert Stothart and Bronislau Kaper) and Best Sound Recording (Douglas Shearer)

Cast: Nelson Eddy [Karl Lang], Risë Stevens [Maria Lanyl], Nigel Bruce [Bernard Fischer], Florence Bates [Mme. Helene], Dorothy Gilmore [Magd], Nydia Westman [Liesel], Max Barwyn [Anton], Charles Judels [Klementor], Jack Lipson [Captain Masakroff], Leon Belasco [Waiter], Sig Arno [Emile], Dave Willock [Messenger Boy]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] My Hero (Risë Stevens and Nelson Eddy); [0:05] Thank the Lord the War Is Over (Risë Stevens, Nelson Eddy and Chorus); [0:15] Mon Coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (from the opera SAMSON AND DELILAH, sung by Risë Stevens); [0:21] Sympathy (Nelson Eddy and Risë Stevens); [0:25] Seek the Spy (sung and danced by unidentified group of men); [0:31] Song of the Flea (Nelson Eddy disguised as the Russian); [1:00] Evening Star (from the opera TANNHÄUSER, sung by Nelson Eddy disguised as the Russian); [1:14] While My Lady Sleeps (Nelson Eddy disguised as the Russian serenading Risë Stevens); [1:18] Ti-Ra-La-La (sung by Risë Stevens while dancing with Nelson Eddy disguised as the Russian); [1:20] unidentified Russian dance (danced by Nelson Eddy, disguised as the Russian, and Ensemble); [1:21] unidentified song (sung by unidentified little girl with Risë Stevens, Nelson Eddy and Chorus); [1:21] My Hero (reprised by Risë Stevens); [1:30] The Chocolate Soldier (sung by Nelson Eddy and Risë Stevens, danced by Chorus); [1:34] My Hero (with special lyrics, sung by Nelson Eddy); [1:35] Seek the Spy (reprised by unidentified group of men); [1:35] My Hero (with special lyrics, sung by Risë Stevens, danced by Chorus); [1:39] Forgive (Nelson Eddy); [1:40] My Hero (Risë Stevens and Nelson Eddy)

A Chorus Line
Polygram / Columbia / Embassy, 1985, Color, 118 minutes
Released December, 1985

All the vibrant, colorful, song-filled, kinetic excitement of the Tony-winning Broadway musical comes to the screen, as the lives, hopes and struggles of a group of would-be dancers come to light during an audition. Richard Attenborough ("Gandhi") directs a talented cast, including Audrey Landers, Vicki Frederick, Terrence Mann and Michael Douglas as the play director.

Producer: Cy Feuer and Ernest H. Martin
Associate Producer: Joseph Caracciolo
Executive Producer: Gordon Stulberg
Director: Richard Attenborough
Screenplay: Arnold Schulman
(based on the play by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante)
Music Director: Ralph Burns
Musical Score: Marvin Hamlisch
Song Score: Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban
Choreography: Jeffrey Hornaday
Production Design: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Art Direction: John Dapper
Set Decoration: George DeTitta Sr.
Costume Design: Faye Poliakin
Cinematography: Ronnie Taylor
Film Editing: John Bloom

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Original Song ("Surprise, Surprise," music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyric by Edward Kleban)

Cast: Michael Blevins [Mark], Yamil Borges [Morales], Sharon Brown [Kim], Gregg Burge [Richie], Michael Douglas [Zach], Cameron English [Paul], Tony Fields [Al], Nicole Fosse [Kristine], Vicki Frederick [Sheila], Jan Gan Boyd [Connie], Michelle Johnston [Bebe], Janet Jones [Judy], Pam Klinger [Maggie], Audrey Landers [Val], Terrence Mann [Larry], Charles McGowan [Mike], Alyson Reed [Cassie], Justin Ross [Greg], Blane Savage [Don], Matt West [Bobby], Pat McNamara [Robbie], Sammy Smith [Doorman], Timothy Scott [Boy with Headband], Bambi Jordan [Girl in Yellow Trunks], Mansoor Najee-Ullah [Cab Driver], Peter Fitzgerald [Dancer with Gum], John Hammil [Advertising Executive], Jack Lehnert [Posterman], Gloria Lynch [Taxi Passenger], Gregg Huffman [Misfit Boy Dancer], Richard DeFabees, Melissa Randel, Jeffrey Cornell, Karen Prunczik, Jennifer Kent [Reject Dancers]

Musical Program: I Hope I Get It; Who Am I Anyway; I Can Do That; At the Ballet; Surprise, Surprise; Nothing; Let Me Dance for You; Dance-Ten, Looks- Three; One; What I Did For Love

Cinderella
(aka "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella")
CBS-TV / Rodgers & Hammerstein, Color, 1965, 84 minutes, ***½
First aired February 22, 1965

A beautifully staged and executed musical film of the classic fairy tale. This was The much-anticipated television event of the 1964/1965 season (broadcast on February 22, 1965 -- I remember it well. It also marked the controversial screen debut of Lesley Ann Warren (only because she was a new-comer in a leading role -- Rodgers and Hammerstein, no less!). Warren, Carroll, Ruick and Van Fleet are wonderful, and the music is ... well, Rodgers and Hammerstein! Highlights include Warren and Damon singing and dancing "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Do I Love You" and Ruick and Carroll's "Stepsisters' Lament."

The sets of this film are designed as they might have been on a stage. They are simple and quite stylized, and to younger people they may look dated (they don't look dated to me, but I do think they may have a "sixties" look about them). Even so, it is quite beautifully done, and the sets become secondary to the actors quickly as one gets lost in this timeless and ever-popular tale.

There is a good deal of humor in this telling of the classic tale, and the entire production is light and breezy. Lesley Ann Warren is perfect in the role - almost impossibly sweet and innocent. I always expect her to go too far and become saccharine, but she never does. She is sincerely sweet. Very romantic and fun entertainment!

Produced and Directed by: Charles S. Dubin
Associate Producer: James S. Stanley
Executive Producer: Richard Rodgers
Associate Director: James Clark
Teleplay by: Joseph Schrank
(based on a story by Charles Perrault)
Music by: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
Music Direction: John Green
Musical Numbers Choreographed by: Eugene Loring
Art Director: Edward Stephenson
Set Decorator: Antony Mondello
Costume Designer: George Whittaker
Makeup: Bud Sweeney
Audio: Bud Lindquist

Cast: Ginger Rogers [Queen], Walter Pidgeon [King], Celeste Holm [Fairy Godmother], Jo Van Fleet [Stepmother], Stuart Damon [Prince], Pat Carroll [Prunella], Barbara Ruick [Esmerelda], and introducing Lesley Ann Warren [as Cinderella], Joe E. Marks [Aide], Don Heitgerd [The Herald], Butch Sherwood [Small Boy], Bill Lee [Father], Betty Noyes [Mother], Trudi Ames [Daughter], Myra Stephens [1st Maiden], Linda Howe [2nd Maiden], Francesca Bellini [3rd Maiden], Alicia Adams [4th Maiden], Rosemarie Rand [5th Maiden], Judy Chapman [6th Maiden], Jackie Ward [7th Maiden], Debbie Megowan [Young Maiden], Robin Eccles [2nd Young Maiden], Alice Mock [Grandmother], Jack Tygett [Magic Groom], Robert Courtleigh [Stepmother's Groom]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra before titles); [0:09] Loneliness of Evening (sung by Stuart Damon); [0:12] Cinderella March (played by Orchestra as the prince returns home); [0:16] In My Own Little Corner (sung by Lesley Ann Warren); [0:20] The Prince Is Giving a Ball (His Royal Highness Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James) (sung by Don Heitgerd and Ensemble); [0:28] In My Own Little Corner (continued by Lesley Ann Warren); [0:33] Impossible!; It's Possible! (sung by Celeste Holme and Lesley Ann Warren); [0:39] Gavotte (played by Orchestra, danced by the Prince and his guests at the ball); [0:49] Ten Minutes Ago (sung and danced by Stuart Damon and Lesley Ann Warren); [0:52] Stepsisters' Lament (sung by Pat Carroll and Barbara Ruick); [0:54] Waltz for a Ball (sung by Chorus, danced by Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon with Ensemble); [0:56] Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful? (sung by Stuart Damon and Lesley Ann Warren); [1:01] Ten Minutes Ago (reprised by Stuart Damon); [1:03] When You're Driving Through The Moonlight / A Lovely Night (sung by Lesley Ann Warren, Jo Van Fleet, Barbara Ruick and Pat Carroll); [1:10] Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful? (sung by Stuart Damon with spoken interjections by Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon); [1:20] Impossible (short reprisal by Celeste Holm); [1:21] Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful? (sung by Chorus behind end credits); There are elements of most of the songs scattered throughout the background score.

Cinderella
Walt Disney, 1950, Color (animated), 74 minutes, ***½
Released February, 1950

This version of the classic fairytale was released by Walt Disney as an animated feature film in 1950. The film has become a classic in its own right, with it's extraordinarily beautiful colors and style, some comic moments, and one of Disney's best song scores. A truly beautiful film that is rich in texture and mood - not to be missed!

These new restorations, which are so popular now, present a double-edged sword. There's no denying that the restored Special Edition is bright and beautiful, but there are colors used in the restoration that didn't even exist in 1949/1950 when the film was produced. It looks good and I like it, but it does seem just a little different in color and texture than the same film looked at the theaters.

Producer: Walt Disney
Production Supervision: Ben Sharpsteen
Directors: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi
Story: William Peed, Erdman Penner, Ted Sears, Winston Hibler, Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves, Kenneth Anderson, Joe Rinaldi
Musical Direction: Oliver Wallace, Paul Smith
Songs by: Mack David, Jerry Livingston, Al Hoffman
Orchestration: Joseph Dubin
Sound Director: C. O. Slyfield
Sound Recording: Harold J. Steck, Robert O. Cook
Music Editor: Al Teeter
Special Processes: Ub Iwerks
Color by Technicolor
Film Editor: Donald Halliday

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Sound Recording, Best Score - Musical and Best Song ("Bibbidy-Bobbidi-Boo")

Cast (voices): Ilene Woods [Cinderella], Mike Douglas [Singing voice of Prince Charming], William Phipps [Speaking voice of Prince Charming], Eleanor Audley [Stepmother], Verna Felton [Fairy Godmother], James MacDonald [Jaq / Gus], Rhoda Williams [Anastasia], Lucille Bliss [Drusilla], Luis Van Rooten [King / Grand Duke], Don Barclay [Doorman], Helene Stanley [Movement Model for Cinderella]

Musical Program: [0:00] Cinderella (sung by Chorus); [0:04] A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (sung by Ilene Woods with Mice Chorus); [0:26] Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale (sung by Ilene Woods with Rhoda Williams); [0:31] The Work Song (sung by Mice Chorus); [0:31] A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (sung by Mice Chorus); [0:42] A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (reprised by Chorus); [0:44] Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (The Magic Song) (sung by Verna Felton); [0:52] So This Is Love (The Cinderella Waltz) (sung by Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas); [1:02] So This Is Love (reprised by Ilene Woods); [1:13] A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (reprised by Chorus at end of film)

Clambake
United Artists, 1967, Color, 97 minutes, **½
Released November, 1967

Elvis Presley sizzles as a lovelorn million-heir in this riveting and romantic rock 'n' roll romp. Vying for the attentions of the lovely Shelley Fabares ("Coach"), Elvis finds himself caught up in a rivalry with playboy Bill Bixby ("The Incredible Hulk") against a music-filled background of comedy, romance and speedboat racing.

Hoping to learn about life from the bottom up, Elvis relinquishes his oil baron father's fortune and trades identities with a penniless water ski instructor (Will Hutchins). Suddenly short on money but long on determination, he repairs a radically designed powerboat in order to win the regatta and the affections of a girl who's determined to marry rich!

Featuring thrilling footage from the real Orange Bowl International Regatta and eight great Elvis songs, including "But You Don't Know Me" and "The Girl I Loved," Clambake is "pleasing escape entertainment" (Box Office) and the wildest party to hit the beach since they invented the beach ball!  [from back of VHS sleeve]

The Elvis Presley MGM Movie Legends Collection DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film, Frankie and Johnny, Follow That Dream and Kid Galahad.

Producers: Arnold Laven, Arthur Gardner, Jules Levy
Associate Producer: Ernst R. Rolf
Production Manager: Ben Bishop
Directed by: Arthur H. Nadel
Assistant Director: Claude Binyon, Jr.
Technical Advisor: Col. Tom Parker
Story and Screenplay by: Arthur Browne, Jr.
Music Score by: Jeff Alexander
Vocal Accompaniment: The Jordanaires
Choreography by: Alex Romero
Art Director: Lloyd Papez
Set Decoration: James S. Redd
Makeup Artist: Dan Greenway
Hair Stylist: Judy Alexander
Sound: Walden O. Watson, Frank Wilkinson
Special Effects: Bob Warner
Director of Photography: William Margulies
Filmed in Techniscope, Color by Technicolor
Film Editor: Ernst R. Rolf

Cast: Elvis Presley [Scott Heyward], Shelley Fabares [Dianne Carter], Will Hutchins [Tom Wilson], Bill Bixby [James Jamison III], Gary Merrill [Sam Burton], James Gregory [Duster Heyward], Suzie Kaye [Sally], Hal Peary [Doorman], Sam Riddle [Race Announcer], Angelique Pettyjohn [Gloria], Olga Kaya [Gigi], Lee Kreiger [Bartender], Amanda Harley [Ellie], Sue England [Cigarette Girl], Marj Dusay [Waitress], Additional Cast: Arlene Charles [Olive], Jack Good [Mr. Hathaway], Lisa Slagle [Lisa], Melvin Allen [Crewman], Herb Barnett [Waiter], Steve Cory [Bellhop], Robert Lieb [Barasch], Bob "Red" West [Ice Cream Vendor], The Jordanaires [backup vocals], Ray Walker [singing voice of Tom Wilson]

Musical Program: [0:00] Clambake (sung by Elvis Presley behind titles); [0:07] Who Needs Money (sung by Elvis Presley and Ray Walker dubbing for Will Hutchins); [0:26] A House That Has Everything (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [0:36] Confidence (sung and danced by Elvis Presley with Will Hutchins, Children and The Jordanaires); [0:45] Clambake (sung by Elvis and Chorus at clambake, danced by Ensemble); [0:57] You Don't Know Me (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires and Chorus); [1:03] Hey, Hey, Hey (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires and Girls Chorus, danced by Girls Chorus); [1:21] The Girl I Never Loved (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [1:39] Clambake (short repreise sung by Elvis at end of movie)

College Swing
(aka Swing, Teacher, Swing)
Paramount, 1938, B/W, 86 minutes, ***
Released April, 1938

An all-star cast is featured in this musical-comedy in which Gracie Allen inherits a small-town school and proceeds to turn it into a hangout for her vaudeville friends. Bob Hope, Martha Raye, Betty Grable and, of course, George Burns are among the students of the "new curriculum." Songs include "I Fall in Love With You Every Day" and "You're a Natural."

Gracie Allen is cute and daffy, and she really shines in this film which is more of a revue than a story. The plot is thin, but fun. Musical and comedy numbers quite entertaining!

The double-feature DVD (shown right) contains this film and The Big Broadcast of 1938.

Produced by: Lewis E. Gensler
Directed by: Raoul Walsh
Screen Play by: Walter DeLeon and Francis Martin
Based on an Adaptation by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan of an idea by Ted Lesser
Musical Direction: Boris Morros
Original Songs by: Frank Loesser, Hoagy Carmichael, Manning Sherwin and Burton Lane
Musical Adviser: Arthur Franklin
Dances Staged by: LeRoy Prinz
Art Direction: Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté
Interior Decorations by: A. E. Freudeman
Costumes: Edith Head
Photographed by: Victor Milner
Sound Recording: Harold Lewis and Howard Wilson
Edited by: LeRoy Stone

Cast: George Burns [George Jonas], Gracie Allen [Gracie Alden], Martha Raye [Mabel], Bob Hope [Bud Brady], Edward Everett Horton [Hubert Dash], Florence George [Ginna Ashburn], Ben Blue [Ben Volt], Betty Grable [Betty], Jackie Coogan [Jackie], John Payne [Martin Bates], Cecil Cunningham [Dean Sleet], Robert Cummings [Radio Announcer], Skinnay Ennis [Skinnay], The Slate Brothers [Themselves], The Four Playboys [Themselves], The Bob Mitchell Boy Choir [Themselves], Jerry Colonna [Prof. Yascha Koloski], Charles Trowbridge [Dr. Ashburn], Jerry Bergen [Prof. Jasper Chinn], Tully Marshall [Grandpa Alden], Edward Le Saint [Dr. Storm], Barlowe Borland [Dean], Alphonse Martell [Headwaiter], Richard Denning, John Hubbard [Students]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] The Old School Bell (sung by Bob Mitchell's St. Brendan's Choristers as School Children); [0:08] College Swing (sung and danced by Betty Grable, Skinnay Ennis, The Four Playboys and Students at "The Hangout"); [0:17] What Did Romeo Say to Juliet? (sung by John Payne and Florence George); [0:22] I'm Tired (Of Carrying Trays Around) (comedy routine with singing and dancing by the Slate Brothers); [0:35] How'dja Like to Love Me (sung by Martha Raye and Bob Hope); [0:41] Please (comic rendition sung by Jerry Colonna); [0:50] I Fall in Love with You Every Day (sung by Florence George and John Payne); [1:05] You're a Natural (sung and danced by Gracie Allen); [1:11] What a Rumba Does to Romance (sung and danced by Martha Raye while dancing with Ben Blue, then instrumental arrangement danced by Cast and Chorus); [1:24] Finale: College Swing (reprised by Martha Raye and The Four Playboys, danced by Cast and Chorus)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
(aka "Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
Paramount, 1949, Color, 108 minutes, ***
Released April 1949

Bing Crosby stars in this light and lively musical version of Mark Twain's timeless comedy. Der Bingle is a turn-of-the-century blacksmith who is knocked unconscious only to awaken in sixth-century Camelot.

But thanks to some American know-how, the crooner is quickly hailed as a wiz of a wizard and granted the right to teach Rhonda Fleming, the King's fetching niece, some decidedly contemporary romantic tricks. Alas, there's trouble afoot when Bing locks "magical" horns with the all-powerful Merlin and is challenged to a joust by Sir Lancelot for the hand of the beautiful princess!

Co-starring Sir Cedriv Hardwicke and William Bendix, the classic fantasy also features a marvelous score by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, along with such hits as "Busy Doing Nothing" and "Once and for Always."  [from back of DVD case]

Produced by: Robert Fellows
Directed by: Tay Garnett
Assistant Director: Oscar Rudolph
Screenplay by: Edmund Beloin
Based on the Novel by Mark Twain
Music Score: Victor Young
Vocal Arrangements: Joseph J. Lilley
Special Orchestral Arrangements: Van Cleave
Music Associate: Troy Sanders
Songs: Lyrics by Johnny Burke, Music by James Van Heusen
Art Direction: Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson
Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Bertram Granger
Costumes: Mary Kay Dodson
Men's Wardrobe: Gile Steele
Makeup Supervision: Wally Westmore
Sound Recording by: Harold Lewis and John Cope
Director of Photography: Ray Rennahan
Special Photographic Effects: Gordon Jennings, Jan Domela and Irmin Roberts
Process Photography: Farciot Edouart
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Monroe W. Burbank
Edited by: Archie Marshek

Cast: Bing Crosby [Hank Martin], Rhonda Fleming [Alisande La Carteloise], Sir Cedric Hardwicke [King Arthur], William Bendix [Sir Sagramore], Murvyn Vye [Merlin], Virginia Field [Morgan Le Fay], Joseph Vitale [Sir Logris], Henry Wilcoxon [Sir Lancelot], Richard Webb [Sir Galahad], Alan Napier [High Executioner], Julia Faye [Lady Penelope], Mary Field [Peasant Woman], Ann Carter [Peasant Girl]
Additional Cast: Charles Coleman [Butler]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:09] If You Stub Your Toe on the Moon (sung by Bing Crosby, Children and Chorus); [0:17] When Is Sometime? (sung and danced by Rhonda Fleming); [0:39] Crosby teaches the court musicians a new dance number and a new dance; [0:45] Once and for Always (sung by Bing Crosby and Rhonda Fleming); [1:21] Busy Doing Nothing (sung by Bing Crosby, William Bendix and Cedric Hardwicke - cute number!); [1:33} Once and for Always (reprised by Bing Crosby and Rhonda Fleming); 'Twixt Myself and Me [outtake]

Copacabana
United Artists, 1947, B/W, 91 minutes, ***
Released July 1947

Groucho Marx's first film without his brothers was this wild musical-comedy about a booking agent who gets his top (and only) client two singing jobs at the same nightclub. Carmen Miranda plays her familiar Latin role and doubles as a French chanteuse. With Andy Russell, Gloria Jean. Songs include "Tico, Tico."

Fun story, good acting, but with all this talent, it should have been much better. But Carmen and Groucho make a fun pair!

Producer and Writer of Lyrics & Music: Sam Coslow
Associate Producer: Walter Batchelor
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
Assistant Director: Harold Godsoe
By Permission and Cooperation of Monte Proser's Copacabana, a United Artists release
Screenplay: Laslo Vadnay, Allen Boretz and Howard Harris
Additional Dialogue by: Sydney R. Zelinka
Original story by Laslo Vadnay
Musical Director and Incidental Music by: Edward Ward
Musical Arrangements by: Jack Mason, Harold Zweifel, Bob Gordon
Musical Advisor: Eddie Durant
"Go West, Young Man" by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby
Musical Numbers Staged by: Larry Ceballos
Production Designer: Duncan Cramer
Set Decorations: Julia Heron
Costume Designer: Barjansky
Make-Up Supervision: Bob Stephanoff
Hair Stylist: Marie Clark
Sound: Fred Lau
Director of Photography: Bert Glennon
Special Photographic Effects: John Fulton
Film Editor: Philip Cahn

Cast: Groucho Marx [Lionel Devereaux], Carmen Miranda [Carmen Novarro], Steve Cochran [Steve Hunt], Andy Russell [Himself, Singer], Gloria Jean [Anne], Abel Green [Himself - Editor of Variety], Louie Sobol [Himself - Columnist], Earl Wilson [Himself - Columnist], De Castro Sisters [Themselves], Raul & Eva Reyes [Dance Specialty], Ralph Sanford [Liggeti - Agent], Igor Dega [unknown role], Kay Gorcey [Cigarette Girl], Merle McHugh [bit], Dee Turnell [Dancer], Maxine Fife [Announcer], Toni Kelly [Wilson's Showgirl], Chili Williams [Sobel's Showgirl], Abigail Adams [bit], Jill Meredith [Specialty], Copa Girls [Themselves], Additional Cast: Chester Clute [Mr. Boothe - Hotel Clerk], Dick Elliott [Mr. Green - Hotel Manager], Edgar Dearing [Police Detective], Crane Twins [Specialty], William H. O'Brien [Waiter], Lee Phelps [Cop], Dick Rush [Cop], Dewey Robinson [Bouncer], Andrew Tombes [Anatole Murphy, Movie Producer], Paul Newlan [Seal Man], Armand "Curly" Wright [Monkey Man]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] We've Come to Copa (performed by the Copa Girls); [0:16] Tico Tico (sung by Carmen Miranda); [0:21] Je Vous Aime (performed by Carmen Miranda); [0:25] My Heart Was Doing a Bolero (sung by Andy Russell, danced by Raul & Eva Reyes and the Copa Girls - beautiful set!); [0:33] I Haven't Got a Thing to Sell (introduced by the Crane Twins, sung by Carmen Miranda and Andy Russell); [0:38] If You Want to Make a Hit with Fifi (sung by Carmen Miranda); [0:49] Stranger Things Have Happened (sung by Andy Russell); [0:55] Stranger Things Have Happened (sung by Gloria Jean); [1:07] Go West, Young Man (performed by Groucho Marx and the Copa Girls); [1:17] Je Vous Aime (sung by Andy Russell); [1:28] Finale: Let's Do the Copacabana (performed by Carmen Miranda, The DeMarco Sisters, Raul & Eva Reyes, Groucho Marx, and the Copa Girls)


Andy Russell, Raul and Eva Reyes and The Copa Girls

The Countess of Monte Cristo
Westwood / Universal, 1948, B/W, 77 minutes, ***
Released November, 1948

Very light-weight musical comedy starring Sonja Henie and Olga San Juan as aspiring actresses who move into a hotel and masquerade as royalty. This was Sonja's last film. She is dynamic and fun and she even performs a couple singing numbers (though distractingly dubbed). Sonja also has some skating numbers, but not of the quality she had at 20th Century-Fox. Although Sonja does exhibit her toe-pick work to a much better advantage in this film than in any other. She could actually dance on ice!

Sonja's smile is so engaging that I don't even notice her acting. She may not be a great actress, but she is definitely a great skater and a lot of fun to watch. Olga San Juan is a great actress, and she carries a lot of the film. The film is fun, but maybe only for those of us who are Sonja Henie fans...

VHS: Studiomasters 6363400889
(Morningstar Entertainment MEC503103)

Produced by: John Beck
Directed by: Frederick de Cordova
Assistant Director: William Holland
Screenplay by: William Bowers
Story by: Walter Reisch (from a German film)
Music:: Walter Scharf
"The Friendly Polka," "Count Your Blessings," "Who Believes in Santa Claus?" Lyrics: John Brooks, Music: Saul Chaplin
Orchestrations: David Tamkin
Music Supervisor: Milton Schwarzwald
Skating Numbers Staged by: Catherine Littlefield
Dance Director: Louis Da Pron
Art Direction: Bernard Herzbrun, Emrich Nicholson
Set Decorations: Russell A. Gausman, Al Fields
Miss Henie's Wardrobe Designed by: Billy Livingston
Hair Stylist: Carmen Dirigo
Make-Up: Bud Westmore
Sound: Leslie I. Carey, Jack A. Bolger, Jr.
Director of Photography: Edward Cronjager
Special Photography: David S. Horsley
Film Editor: Edward Curtiss

Cast: Sonja Henie [Karen], Olga San Juan [Jenny], Dorothy Hart [Peg Manning], Michael Kirby [Paul Von Cram], Arthur Treacher [Managing Director], Hugh French [Count Holgar], Ransom Sherman [Mr. Hanson], Freddie Trenkler [Skating Specialty], John James [Freddie], Arthur O'Connell [Assistant Director], Joseph Crehan [Joe], Ray Teal [Charlie], Additional Cast: Jim Nolan [Lieutenant], Lester Dorr [Clerk], John Elliott [Inn Keeper], Pierce Lydeon [2nd Officer], Phil Sherard [Bell Hop], Bess Flowers [Woman], Robert Rich [Man], Martha Mears [singing voice of Karen]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] The Friendly Polka (with special lyrics, arranged as a Drinking Song, sung by tavern patrons); [0:02] The Friendly Polka (rousing number sung by Olga San Juan and Ensemble); [0:05] The Friendly Polka (instrumental arrangement skated by Sonja Henie); [0:13] Count Your Blessings (sung by Olga San Juan and Martha Mears dubbing for Sonja Henie); [0:32] Liebestraum (skated by Sonja Henie and Geary Steffen [?]); [0:45] Who Believes in Santa Claus? (sung by Olga San Juan and Martha Mears dubbing for Sonja Henie); [0:47] unidentified instrumental (skated by Hotel Guests); [0:48] medley of classical music (skated by Sonja Henie and Michael Kirby); [1:02] unidentifed instrumental (skated by Sonja Henie on black ice -- beautiful number); [1:07] Freddie Trenkler comical skating number; [1:09] Rhumba number (danced and skated by Sonja Henie and Ensemble); [1:11] Encore (danced and skated by Sonja Henie); [1:15] Finale (skated by Sonja Henie and Geary Steffen [?])

For more information see:


Sonja Henie Snapshot
Visit this Class Act Sister Site!

The Country Girl
Paramount, 1954, B/W, 104 minutes, ***½
Released December 1954

Grace Kelly won an Oscar for her heartfelt performance as the strong-willed wife of an alcoholic stage actor (Bing Crosby) who's trying to launch a comeback under the guidance of a devoted director (William Holden). Director George Seaton also won an Academy Award for his adaptation of Clifford Odets' play. Anthony Ross, Gene Reynolds co-star.

Crosby, Kelly and Holden do some fine acting in this tale. Bing is especially good at playing a man who is sympathetic, yet pathetic at the same time. He turns in some great singing, and makes us like him in the end. Good, solid entertainment by three of the best!

Produced by: William Perlberg
Assistant to the Producer: Arthur Jacobson
Written for the Screen and Directed by: George Seaton
From the play by Clifford Odets
Assistant Director: Francisco Day
Musical Score: Victor Young
Songs: Lyrics by Ira Gershwin, Music by Harold Arlen
Music Score by: Victor Young
Musical Sequences Staged by: Robert Alton
Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Roland Anderson
Set Decoration: Sam Comer and Grace Gregory
Costumes by: Edith Head
Makeup Supervision: Wally Westmore
Sound Recording by: Gene Merritt and John Cope
Director of Photography: John F. Warren
Special Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton
Edited by: Ellsworth Hoagland

Awards: Won Academy Awards for Best Actress (Grace Kelly) and Best Screenplay (George Seaton); Academy Award Nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Bing Crosby), Best Director (George Seaton), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration - B/W (Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Sam Comer and Grace Gregory) and Best B/W Cinematography (John F. Warren)

Cast: Bing Crosby [Frank Elgin], Grace Kelly [Georgie Elgin], William Holden [Bernie Dodd], Anthony Ross [Phil Cook], Gene Reynolds [Larry], Jacqueline Fontaine [Singer], Eddie Ryder [Ed], Robert Kent [Paul Unger], John W. Reynolds [Henry Johnson], Frank Scannell [Bartender], Hal K. Dawson, Howard Joslin, Richard Keene, Jack Kenney, Les Clark [Actors], Charles Tannen, John Florio [Photographers], Jon Provost [Jimmie], Don Dunning, Max Wagner [Expressmen], Bob Alden [Bellboy], Ida Moore [Woman], Ruth Ricksby [Woman], Allan Douglas [Man], Jack Roberts [Man]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:06] The Pitchman / It's Mine It's Yours (performed by Bing Crosby); [0:32] The Search Is Through (sung by Bing Crosby); [0:40] The Land Around Us (sung by Bing Crosby and Chorus, danced by Chorus); [1:07] Dissertation on the State of Bliss (Love and Learn Blues) (sung by Jacqueline Fontaine, joined by Bing Crosby); [1:10] The Search Is Through (reprised by Bing Crosby); [1:32] The Land Around Us (reprised by Bing Crosby and Chorus, danced by Chorus); Liebermeyer Beer (and other commercial jingles sung by Bing Crosby)

The Court Jester
Paramount, 1956, Color, 101 minutes, ***½
Released January 1956

Laugh-filled costume farce stars Danny Kaye as a valet who impersonates a court jester to overthrow evil baron Basil Rathbone. Features the famous "I've put a pellet of poison in the vessel with the pestle" line and ace support from Glynis Johns and Angela Lansbury.

A very funny film! Contains the song "Baby, Let Me Take You Dreaming," one of the most beautiful songs from any of the movie musicals. Be sure to catch this one!

Written, Produced and Directed by: Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Assistant Director: John Coonan
Screenplay: Melvin Frank and Norman Panama
Technical Advisor: D. R. O. Hatswell
Music Scored and Conducted by: Vic Schoen
Words and Music: Sylvia Fine and Sammy Cahn
"The Maladjusted Jester" by Sylvia Fine
Choreography by: James Starbuck
Production Design: Roland Anderson and Hal Pereira
Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson
Set Decoration: Sam Comer, Arthur Krams
Costumes: Edith Head, Yvonne Wood
Makeup Supervision: Wally Westmore
Sound Recording: Harry Lindgren, John Cope
Director of Photography: Ray June
Special Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton, Irmin Roberts
Process Photography: Farciot Edouart
Filmed in VistaVision, Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultant: Richard Mueller
Edited by: Tom McAdoo

Cast: Danny Kaye [Hawkins], Glynis Johns [Maid Jean], Basil Rathbone [Sir Ravenhurst], Angela Lansbury [Princess Gwendolyn], Cecil Parker [King Roderick], Mildred Natwick [Griselda], Robert Middleton [Sir Griswold], Michael Pate [Sir Locksley], Herbert Rudley [Captain of the Guard], Noel Drayton [Fergus], Edward Ashley [Black Fox], John Carradine [Giacomo], Alan Napier [Sir Brockhurst], Lewis Martin [Sir Finsdale], Pat Aherne [Sir Pertwee], Richard Kean [Archbishop], Larry Pennell [Novice Knight], Leo Britt [Sir Bertram], Charles Irwin [Griswold Aide], Tudor Owen [Friar], Eric Alden [King's Man], Burnell Dietch, Leo Wheeler, Robert Hart, Chad Dee Block [Specialty Dancers]

Musical Program: [0:00] Life Could Not Better Be (sung by Danny Kaye on-screen with titles); [0:07] Outfox the Fox (performed by Danny Kaye and Chorus); [0:17] Baby, Let Me Take You Dreaming (sung by Danny Kaye); [0:31] My Heart Knows a Lovely Song (sung by Danny Kaye); [0:55] The Maladjusted Jester (Nobody's Fool) (sung, danced and clowned by Danny Kaye); [1:40] Life Could Not Better Be (sung by Danny Kaye and Company)

Cover Girl
Columbia, 1944, Color, 105 minutes, ***
Released March, 1944

When nightclub singer Rita Hayworth becomes a magazine sensation, will she leave Gene Kelly's Brooklyn stage for the bright lights of Broadway? Musical comedy favorite features supporting turns by Phil Silvers and Eve Arden and songs by George Gershwin and Jerome Kern; look for a young Shelley Winters.

Produced by: Arthur Schwartz
Assistant to the Producer: Norman Deming
Directed by: Charles Vidor
Assistant Director: Oscar Boetticher, Jr.
Screen Play by: Virginia Van Upp
Adaptation by: Marion Parsonnet, Paul Gangelin
Story by: Erwin Gelsey
Musical Director: M. W. Stoloff
Musical Score: Carmen Dragon
Music by: Jerome Kern
Lyrics by: Ira Gershwin
Orchestrations by: Carmen Dragon
Dance Numbers Staged by: Val Raset, Seymour Felix
Art Direction: Lionel Banks and Cary Odell
Set Decorations: Fay Babcock
Gowns by: Travis Banton, Gwen Wakeling, Muriel King
Hats by: Keneth Hopkins
Makeup by: Clay Campbell
Hair Styles by: Helen Hunt
Directors of Photography: Rudolph Maté, Allen M. Davey
Montages and "Cover Girl" Presentation by: John Hoffman
Filmed in Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Morgan Padelford
Film Editor: Viola Lawrence

Awards: Academy Award for Best Score; Academy Award nominations for Best Song: "Long Ago (And Far Away)," Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound.

Cast: Rita Hayworth [Maribelle Hicks / Rusty Parker], Gene Kelly [Danny McGuire], Lee Bowman [Noel Wheaton], Phil Silvers [Genius], Jinx Falkenburg [Jinx], Leslie Brooks [Maurine Martin], Eve Arden [Cornelia "Stonewall" Jackson], Otto Kruger [John Coudair], Jess Barker [Coudair as a Young Man], Anita Colby [Anita], Curt Bois [Chem], Cover Girls: Jean Colleran [American Magazine], Francine Counihan [American Home], Helen Mueller [Collier's Magazine], Cecilia Meagher [Coronet], Betty Jane Hess [Cosmopolitan Magazine], Dusty Anderson [Farm Journal Magazine], Eileen McClory [The Glamour Magazine], Cornelia B. von Hessert [Harper's Bazaar Magazine], Karen X. Gaylord [The Liberty Magazine], Cheryl Archibald [Look], Peggy Lloyd [Mademoiselle Magazine], Betty Jane Graham [McCall], Martha Outlaw [Red Book], Susann Shaw [The Vogue Magazine], Rose May Robson [The Woman's Home companion], Additional Cast: Edward Brophy [Joe], Thurston Hall [Tony Pastor], Jack Norton [Harry the Drunk], Robert E. Homans [Pop the Doorman], Eddie Dunn [Mac the Cop], Sam Flint [Butler], Shelley Winters [Girl], Kathleen O'Malley [Cigarette Girl], William Kline [Chauffeur], Victor Travers [Bartender], Robert Hill [Headwaiter], John Tyrrell [Electrician], Frank O'Connor [Cook], Eugene Anderson Jr. [Bus Boy], Sam Ash [Assistant Cook], Vin Moore [Waiter], Ralph Sanford [Truckman], Ralph Peters [Truckman], Barbara Pepper [Chorus Girl], Grace Lenard [Chorus Girl], Lucille Allen, Wesley Brent, Sally Cairns, Virginia Gardner, Helene Garron, Marion Graham, Diane Griffith, Eloise Hart, Muriel Morris, Patti Sacks, Gwen Seager [Cover Girl Contestants], Frances Morris [Coudair's Secretary], Billy Benedict [Florist Boy], William Sloan [Naval Officer], Grace Hayle [Woman Columnist], Fern Emmett [Woman Columnist], Rudy Wissler [Boy], Glenn Charles [Boy], Jackie Brown [Boy], Betty Brewer [Autograph Hound], Warren Ashe [Rusty's Interviewer], John Dilson [Rusty's Photographer], Jack Rice [Reporter], Ed Allen [Best Man], George Lessey [Minister], Miriam Lavelle, Miriam Franklin, Ronald Wyckoff [Specialty Dancers], Jack Bernett, Jack Boyle, Betty Brodel, Eddie Cutler, George Dobbs, Grace Gillern, Randolph Hughes, Al Norman, Larry Rio, Virginia Wilson [Dancers], Johnny Mitchell [Pianist, Maribelle's Love], Patti Sheldon [Girl], Martha Mears [singing voice for Rita Hayworth]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] The Show Must Go On (sung and danced by Rita Hayworth, Leslie Brooks and Chorus, Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth); [0:15] Who's Complaining? (sung by Phil Silvers, danced by Phil Silvers, Rita Hayworth, Leslie Brooks and Chorines); [0:20] Sure Thing (sung and danced by Rita Hayworth and Chorus, Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth); [0:28] Make Way for Tomorrow (sung and danced by Phil Silvers, Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth; Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth), [0:43] Put Me to the Test (sung by Gene Kelly, danced by Gene Kelly and Girls Chorus); [0:52] Long Ago (And Far Away) (sung and danced by Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly, Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth); [1:05] Poor John (sung and danced by Rita Hayworth and Mens Chorus, Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth); [1:13] Alter-Ego Dance (instrumental danced by Gene Kelly and his reflection in a store window); [1:20] Cover Girl (montage of Cover Girls, then sung by Chorus and danced by Rita Hayworth and Mens Chorus); [1:34] Put Me to the Test (sung by Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and Soldiers, danced by Gene Kelly and Phil Silvers); [1:45] Long Ago (And Far Away) (reprised by Gene Kelly and Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth); [1:46] Make Way for Tomorrow (sung and danced by Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and Rita Hayworth, Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth)

Curly Top
Fox Films, 1935, B/W, 75 minutes, ***
Released August 1935

One of Shirley's most-loved films - another remake of "Daddy Longlegs." The film finds the orphaned moppett living with her sister in an orphan home. One of the members of the board of directors is wealthy lawyer Boles, who decides to adopt the two girls anonymously. He falls in love with Hudson, but wins her only after she has a short-lived romance with playboy Murphy. Boles sings the title tune and "It's All So New to Me," and Rochelle Hudson sings "The Simple Things in Life." Fun film packed with some of Shirley's best numbers, including "Animal Crackers in My Soup" and "When I Grow Up" (wonderfully reprised by Billy Gilbert and Arthur Treacher!).

Produced by: Winfield Sheehan
Directed by: Irving Cummings
Screen Play by: Patterson McNutt, Arthur Beckhard
Music by: Ray Henderson
Lyrics by: Ted Koehler, Edward Heyman and Irving Caesar
Musical Director: Oscar Bradley
Dances: Jack Donohue
Art Director: Jack Otterson
Gowns: Rene Hubert
Sound: Eugene Grossman
Photography: John Seitz
Film Editor: Jack Murray

Cast: Shirley Temple [Elizabeth Blair], John Boles [Edward Morgan], Rochelle Hudson [Mary Blair], Jane Darwell [Mrs. Denham], Rafaela Ottiano [Mrs. Higgins], Esther Dale [Aunt Genevieve Graham], Etienne Girardot [Mr. Weckoff], Maurice Murphy [Jimmie Rogers], Arthur Treacher [Butler], Billy Gilbert [Cook]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:11] Animal Crackers in My Soup (Shirley Temple); [0:29] It's All So New to Me (John Boles); [0:47] Hula number (short excerpt danced by Shirley Temple); [0:51] The Simple Things in Life (Rochelle Hudson); [0:54] When I Grow Up (sung and danced by Shirley Temple made up as a 16-year old, a bride and an old lady); [1:08] When I Grow Up (reprised by Arthur Treacher and Billy Gilbert); [1:10] Curly Top (sung by John Boles, danced by Shirley Temple on piano top); [1:15] Curly Top (instrumental following end credits)