Hello Dolly (1969)

Director:  Gene Kelly
Story: In 1890 New York, a brassy match-maker tries to find several young men a wife, while reserving rich Horace Vandergelder for herself.
Stars:  Barbara Streisand, Walter Matthau

Hello Dolly is a Tony award winning Broadway musical made into an overly long, slightly above-average musical. Positives? It looks great, has one great song ("Hello Dolly" natch), the score is enjoyable, if not spectacular, and all the money is up there on the screen.  We get an army of extras, bright 19th Century costumes, and spectacular set designs.  However, the Producers didn't cast the movie right, add better songs, or improve the play's sluggish plot.

Miscasting of Streisand as the Lead
The producer, Ernest Lehman, defended the casting of Streisand as Dolly Levi, over Julie Andrews or Carol Channing till the day he died, but all his excuses are nonsense.  As shown by her acting in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" there's no evidence that Channing was "too big for the screen" (Lehman excuse no. 1) nor was Julie Andrews anymore "wrong for the part" (Lehman excuse no. 2) than Streisand.

Who could be more "wrong for the part" of middle-aged "Dolly" than a 25 year old singer with almost no film acting experience, no comedic skills and little charm?  Even Debbie Reynolds would've been better.  To make it more absurd, Dolly's role is primarily comedic. There's no need for a great singer in the role.  Carol Channing supposedly said that Streisand did OK in the role, she just forgot it was a comedy.

Miscasting the Rest of the Movie
Lehman compounded the Streisand error by casting Walter Matthau as  Horace Vandergelder. Matthau can't sing or dance, and its impossible to believe a 25 y/o Streisand would scheme to land a 48 y/o Hay Merchant with a basset hound face, and flabby body.  Not surprisingly, Matthau and Streisand have zero chemistry (and disliked each other off-screen). As for the six young supporting players, they're simply forgettable.

Summary
Hello Dolly is another one of the overstuffed late 1960s musicals that went wrong due to a mediocre script, miscast leads, and a complete lack of artistic vision or energy.  Even the dancing (directed by Kelly and Michael Kidd) is no more than above average.  Critics claimed the film inflated the play's faults to elephantine proportions. Was there something in the water, back then?  How else to account for all the cinematic misfires: Dr. Doolittle, Hello Dolly, Star, Paint your Wagon, or the dull Camelot - did everyone forget how to make good musicals?