The Happy Road (1957) - Kelly

Plot: 2 kids, (one American, one French), escape from their Swiss school and head to Paris, with their two very different single parents (one American, one French) in pursuit.
Stars:  Gene Kelly, Barbara Laage,  Michael Redgrave.

Produced and Directed by Gene Kelly, as part of his 2-picture deal to end his MGM contract,  The Happy Road is a low-budget, whimsical, Family picture. The two child actors are cute and well directed.  The various shots of the 50s French Countryside are enjoyable.  Most of the humor comes from the silly French Automobiles, the eccentrics met along the way, and the children outwitting the police.  Redgrave shows up as a farcical Monty-Python type General.

On the Downside
Laage (a popular French Actress) and Kelly work well together but Gene Kelly is miscast.  Playing an "Ugly American" Businessman constantly complaining about "French Inefficiency", the character's exasperation needs to be expressed in a charming/comical manner - which Kelly doesn't do.  He's far too serious and strained in the role. Gene Kelly was a handsome guy with a winning smile  but he always had an "edge" to him.  Too often he came off as smug, arrogant, or insincere.  Kelly knew this, and both he and MGM usually tailored his roles to soften his personality.

Other faults?  The movie should be 10 minutes shorter and needs subtitles.  Naturally, we get a lot of dialogue in French but without subtitles either a character has to translate or we have to guess. Its awkward, either way.

Reception
According to Kelly's biography, critics were positive but The Happy Road died at the Box Office, earning less than a $1 Million.  Later, Gene Kelly said "We made a sweet family picture, that won all kinds of awards, but no one saw it".   America just wasn't interested in rural France and the large hunks of French dialog probably didn't help.

Summary:  The IMDB rating of 5.9 is way too low.  This is a sweet, often charming, view of 1950s rural France with a couple good kid actors.  Its forgettable - but enjoyable. I'd give it ** 1/2 

Easy Living (1937)

Plot:  An average Girl becomes involved with a Rich Banker when his Wife's expensive Sable Coat lands on her.
Stars:  Jean Arthur,  Edward Arnold, Ray Milland

Hat-Tip to the great website,  Caftan Woman, for bringing this film to my attention..

Written by Preston Sturges, this is a delightful, 88 minute screwball comedy that never lets up for a moment. The cast is pitch perfect. Arnold shines as the blustery "Bull of Broadstreet", the "3rd Richest Banker in the World" who thinks he controls everything - but controls nothing.  Jean Arthur is outstanding as the bewildered young woman who has her life turned upside down. An impossibly young Ray Milland and some great character actors lend fine support. Highlights include: An Automat Free for All, Arnold's frustrated attempts to explain compound interest, and  a hilarious ending that ties up all the loose ends.

From a 2017 perspective, the prices in the movie are amazing.  Arthur pays $30/month rent, a cup of coffee is 5 cents and a "Beef Pie" 30 cents.  Meanwhile, Milland's second-hand foreign car is $11,000 and the sable coat is $58,000!

Summary: Highly recommended, Jean Arthur with her wonderful voice is a delight. My only criticism: too many pratfalls for my taste.

All that Jazz (1979)

Director: Bob Fosse
Stars:  Roy Scheider,  Jessica Lange
Plot: Based on Bob Fosse's own life, a Broadway Choreographer (Joe Gideon)  has a heart attack, while juggling a film, a musical, an ex-wife, daughter, and numerous mistresses.

I originally saw All that Jazz in the early 1980s and hated it. As a young man,  I had zero interest -or liking - for the "pervy",  middle-aged, Broadway Dance King and his heart trouble, obsession with death,  and women problems.

Re-watching it,  35 years later, I'm more sympathetic with Joe Gideon's heart problems and interest in death. And in the age of legalized MJ, Harvey Weinstein and Clinton-Lewinsky, caring about Joe Gideon's adultery, and prescription drug abuse seems absolutely quaint.

The first half is pretty good.  We get some nice production numbers, and excellent scenes between Scheider and his love interests.  But after the heart attack, the movie turns pretentious and repetitive -making the same points over and over.  And Damn, the 70s were REALLY the age of ugly.

A perfect encapsulation of the problem, is a  "Comedy Clip" about death that Fosse keeps playing over and over in the movie.  Modeled on a remark by Lenny Bruce, Fosse seems to think its funny or "deep" - which to someone born in 1927 and  raised on Bob Hope and Jack Benny it probably was. But to someone like me, its just dull & obvious.

Summary:
Despite some touching honesty, occasional inventiveness and good acting/singing, the movie is very uneven and too often repetitive, shallow, and dumb.  Designed to "shock the bourgeois" in 1979, its now just another failed, Fellini-light, 1970s movie.

Its amazing what time accomplishes.  There's no Business like Show Business (1954) was released 25 years after Broadway Melody (1929).  Technically Show Business is light years ahead of  Broadway Melody - but morally and artistically they aren't much different.  All that Jazz was made 25 years after Show Business - but might as well come from a  different planet.  Did we evolve or devolve? You make the call.

There's no Business Like Show Business (1954)

Plot:  We follow a Show-biz Family “The Five Donahue’s:” from 1919 to 1941.
Stars: Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Marilyn Monroe, Johnnie Ray
Best Songs:  “There’s no Business like Show Business.”, “Heat Wave”,  A Man Chases a Girl

Do you like Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, and upbeat Irving Berlin songs like Alexander’s Ragtime Band ?  If so, this is your kind of musical - because despite what your lying DVD Cover may say - this is NOT a Marilyn Monroe movie. She plays a supporting role and doesn’t appear till the 30 minute mark and is AWOL the last 30 minutes.   Meanwhile, Dailey and Merman (seemingly joined at the hip) appear in one half the production numbers and two-thirds (at least) of the “straight” scenes.  The first 17 minutes consist solely of Merman and Dailey singing, dancing, and engaging in some mild comedy.

The Book
There’s not much to it - Show Business is a 2 hour “family picture” with 55 minutes of musical numbers. However, the dialogue is sometimes witty, and it turns surprisingly serious in the last 30 minutes. Ray becomes a Priest, “boozer Son” O’Connor runs off, and Merman frets over everything.  But, the O’Connor and Monroe romance is a bust.  The same age in real life, Monroe complained that Donald made her “look like a Teacher dating her pupil.” An exaggeration - but not by much.  The two just don’t belong together.

The Songs
Mostly old Irving Berlin songs, out of 14 songs, we get two new, forgettable, ones.  Alexander’s Rag time Band is played six times (ten minutes total), twice with the entire cast, and four times with Scottish, German, French, Concerto variations.  Even worse, When the midnight choo-choo is played twice (oy vey). On the upside,  O’Connor has a nice 6 minute dance solo, Monroe sings Heat Wave,  and Merman belts out No Business like Show Business.  Gaynor and Ray get the short end of the stick.  Ray caterwauls “We believe” and then heads off to be a priest.  Mitzi is very good, but has to share the spotlight with Merman, O’Connor, and Monroe.

Direction
Considered an “Old fashioned” Musical even in 1955, Director Walter Lang exhibits little inventiveness or originality.  Almost every production number is set on a vaudeville stage or nightclub.  The Camera never moves, it just points  to the stage, and the actors perform. The songs are rarely integrated with the plot or exhibit a character’s thoughts or attitudes.  The only exception?  O’Connor’s dance number where the statues come alive and Donald dances in the hotel’s fountains.   Seeing this movie, made me appreciate the MGM Freed unit.

Reception and Back Story
Produced by 20th Century Fox, Show Business was the 2nd of what was to be three Merman-Berlin Films  (the 1st was Call me Madam).  Despite sneers from sophisticates, it did good business,  earning $5 million (almost twice that of Brigadoon).  But its production costs were also high and it was considered a “Box office disappointment”.  Accordingly, the 3rd Merman-Berlin movie was cancelled.

There were tensions on the set.  The screen-writers were pressured  into doing the film (Phoebe Ephron stated “I don’t want to write a script, for a film I don’t want to see”) while Monroe thought the movie was “boring” and her part “just another dumb blond”.  She only did it when promised the lead in The Seven Year Itch.

Adding to the backstage drama, Director Lang didn’t want Johnny Ray, and uber-professional Merman was livid over Monroe’s lateness and aloof attitude.  On the plus side,  Donald O’Connor considers this his favorite performance and he, Gaynor, and Merman became fast friends.

My Thoughts 
Kael called it “Garish and Square” and that’s about right.  Its amazing I’ve written so much about a movie I really didn’t like that much.  Yes, Berlin was an amazing songwriter, but I don’t need 10 minutes of Alexander’s Rag time Band!  And while no can belt out a song better than Merman, a little of her goes a long ways – and you can say the same of Dan Daily and Johnnie Ray.  But Gaynor, Monroe, and O’Connor are pretty good, and “Heat Wave” and O’Connor’s fountain dance aren’t to be missed.

Fit As A Fiddle: Steve Martin

Paint Your Wagon (1969) Logan

Plot:  Based on the 1951 Broadway Musical, two prospectors share a wife during the 1849 California Gold Rush.
Stars:  Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood,  Jean Seberg

Satirized by the Simpsons, Paint Your Wagon has gone down as one of the biggest turkey's of the 1960s. With 3 stars who couldn't sing or dance, a weak story, and score that only has two good songs, its  been the butt of jokes for almost 50 years.

Sadly, I can't offer a revisionist opinion.  It's as bad as most reviews say.  And you can't blame the casting.  Marvin, by a maniacal comedic effort, almost makes it worth watching. And Eastwood is Eastwood. Even their singing isn't that bad.  Clint has a light, pleasant voice, and Lee Marvin's croaking is charming when you get used to it.  Nope, the problem lies *behind* the camera.  The script is awful, the score is mediocre, and the direction is slack and dull. Lets take them one at a time.

Story: The book for the Broadway Play was a mess.  Accordingly, Paddy Chayefsky (Marty) who knew nothing of comedy, musicals or westerns, was brought in for a re-write.  Why? I don't know.  Lerner then, supposedly, re-wrote most of Chayefsky's re-write.

Anyway, the whole "book" is a piece of crap.  Its so diffuse and meandering its difficult to summarize, but I'll try.  Eastwood and Marvin meet, become partners and help find a Gold Rush Mining town. Marvin buys Seberg at an auction, but ends up sharing her with Eastwood.  And that's gets us through only 1/2 the move!  After that, various unimportant things  happen until tunnels beneath the mining town cause it collapse.  Marvin moves on, Eastwood and Seberg stay to farm.

And there's zero character development. There are no funny lines. And no one has a significant part except the "Big Three".  It sorta dumb and sometimes sleazy without being bawdy or fun.

Score:  Well,  you got They call the wind Maria  and  Wandering Star, otherwise its just a bunch of mediocre, forgettable songs like Hand Me Down That Can Of Beans (really, that's the title).  What's odd is they could've replaced every song except the first two mentioned, with old out-of-copyright songs like Home on the Range or My Darling Clementine and they would've had better music.

Direction:  We're talking Josh Logan. Which means it *looks* great, but lumbers along at a snails pace for 158 minutes. Every crowd scene has 100 extras milling around,  every comedy scene is milked for all its worth, every action scene is made into a cartoon.  Never does Logan ever show any cleverness or improve the material. And for some reason, instead of hiring good comic western actors like Edgar Buchanan or Slim Pickens, we get odd, old, Ray Walston and a bunch on nondescript nobodies. Finally, Logan lets Lee Marvin go over-the-top, but given that's Marvin's the only thing giving life to the movie, I forgive him.

Summary:  You can turn off Paint Your Wagon at Intermission.  Except for Marvin croaking out "Wandering Star"  you're not missing anything.  Another puzzling 1960s musical failure.  Was everyone out for a paycheck or was there something in the water back then?

Les Girls (1957) - Cukor

Plot: The four members of the Musical Group "Les Girls" all tell different versions of their last night together.
Stars: Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor, Taina Elg

This was Gene Kelly's last MGM musical and while enjoyable its quite different than his previous MGM films (Singin' in the Rain, American in Paris, etc.).  First, the three "Girls" are the real stars, Kelly plays a supporting role. Second, Les Girls has a score by Cole Porter. Third, its not really a "Musical Comedy" but a Comedy with some musical numbers. Les Girls has only five songs, and six production numbers (four with Kelly, two without) - compared to the 10 or so of Singin' in the Rain. There are no long ballets - the longest production number is 6 minutes. 

However, the music we get is quality stuff. The best two songs are Les Girls with Gene and the 3 Girls, and Why Am I So Gone an amusing Wild One satire with Gaynor and Kelly.  We also get the witty, off-color, Ladies in Waiting. As for the comedy, its low-key and humorous, but perks up when Kay Kendall is on-screen.  Kelly has a tailor made role: his character is demanding, arrogant, ambitious, and comically insincere. On the outs with MGM, he was unenthusiastic about the movie, but it doesn't show on-screen.

Finally, some prominent Internet critics have attributed a "darkness" and seriousness to Les Girls that isn't really there.  While the film deals with "What is truth?" and includes talk of attempted suicide, its all done in a light and comedic manner.

Summary:  Les Girls looks marvelous and has a great story line (stolen from Rashomon) but despite all the great talent involved its no more than a pleasant comedy with some good Cole Porter Songs. Everyone did better work elsewhere.  But so what? Its still a good movie.

The Window (1949)

In a variation on "The Boy who cried Wolf",  this is a well-made, 73 minute, thriller about a boy witnessing a murder while sleeping on the fire escape.  Bobby Driscoll is wonderful as the little boy,while Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale (looking very different from Della Street) shine as the tough - but loving - working class parents. The last twenty minutes are especially good,  with the killer chasing Driscoll through a condemned NYC tenement building. Nominated for a 1950 BAFTA "Best film" award, its a forgotten gem.  The only criticism? The middle part drags a little.  Sadly, Driscoll's adult life was troubled and he was found dead in an abandoned NYC tenement building -age 31.

I Love To Go Swimmin' with Women

Final Comments on Judy Holliday

Judy Holliday is one of those actors beloved by critics and a small portion of the Movie audience - and no one else. IMDB is full of hysterical praise for "Judy" - and the prominent Critics aren't much better. Adjectives like "Genius" "Hilarious" "Brilliant"  and my favorite:  "the greatest comic actress of all time" are tossed around.

Fortunately for Holliday,  she had powerful friends who agreed.  Writer Garson Kanin gave her the Broadway role in Born Yesterday after Jean Arthur dropped out, and later revised Adam's Rib to specifically highlight her talents.  Altogether,  Holliday starred in 4 movies written by Kanin. Another pal was George Cukor who directed 5 of her first 5 movies.  And when Holliday went back to Broadway, she found a leading role in Bells are Ringing written for her by good friends, Comden and Greene. And I haven't even talked about the undeserved 1950 Academy Award for her third picture and first starring role.

All the praise mystifies me - I just don't see the greatness - and find her "dumb blond" persona somewhat annoying.  I agree she was a good actress, but nowhere in the same league with Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, or Doris Day.  And I think Jean Hagen was just as funny. And that's pretty much what the American public thought. Despite all the high-powered support, and an Oscar, her movies were only moderately successful and mostly forgotten.

Phfft (1954) - Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) - Full of Life (1956)

These were four movies Judy Holliday made under her Columbia Movie contract.  Except for The Marrying Kind,  none was written by Garson Kanin or directed by George Cukor.  They're all pleasant, forgettable, B&W comedies (but Marrying Kind and Full of Life are more Dramedy), that will occasionally have you smiling.  I wouldn't recommend any of them unless you're a fan of Judy Holliday and/or the leading men.

Phfft - Has a powerful supporting cast of Jack Lemmon, Jack Carson, and Kim Novak.  Story? Lemmon and Holliday are happily divorced but keep running into each other and eventually.... This was Jack Lemmon 2nd movie and he finds his comic timing & is very good.  Everyone else is good too, its just the story doesn't amount to much & the gags aren't that funny.

Solid Gold Cadillac -  Holliday replaced Broadway Lead Josephine Hull in this filmed version of the George S. Kauffman play. She's a small shareholder who takes on a crooked Board of Directors and wins.  Friend Paul Douglas  plays the CEO/Love interest. Somewhat stagy and predictable. Douglas is unbelievable as a romantic interest.

Full of Life - In a change of pace, this is a nice "small picture" domestic comedy/drama co-starring Richard Conte as Judy's husband. When Conte needs help with a major home repair, his religious immigrant father moves-in to help-out.  Hi-jinks and drama ensue.  Holliday drops her "Dumb Blond" voice and plays it straight.   Conte struggles - his comedic skills are minimal.

The Marrying Kind   Directed by George Cukor, she and Aldo Ray play a struggling NYC couple on the verge of divorce. Holiday and Ray have good chemistry and convincingly play both comedy and tragedy. Here she seems  funny and attractive than in Born Yesterday. Notable for the two leads, the story is somewhat dated & gets bogged down with idle chatter, needless pathos and a low budget.

It should happen to You (1954) - Cukor

Plot:  Looking for fame, a woman plasters her name on billboards all over town & is bombarded with attention.
Stars:  Peter Lawford, Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon

This was Holliday's 4th film with George Cukor and her 3rd film with a Garson Kanin (screenwriter).  (It certainly helped an actress to have "friends in high places"). Its a placid, droll, comedy that tackles the issue of fame and celebrity.  Holliday re-plays her Born Yesterday "dumb blond"persona  but with more charm & realism.  Lawford and Lemmon add adequate support. This was Lemmon's first big role, and it shows, his comedic timing seems a little off.  Pleasant enough time-waster, with nothing to justify Bosley Crowther's over-the-top praise in 1954:

The Foundation for the Perpetuation of Garson Kanin, George Cukor and Judy Holliday as a comedy film-making combination should receive another million or two on the strength of their latest creation, "It Should Happen to You." This lark, from the workshop of Columbia, which opened yesterday at Loew's State, is a neat piece of comic contrivance that will contribute to the joy of man. Neat, you will note we say; not gaudy. In the simple, old-fashioned movie size, it is a tickling and touching entertainment with intelligence, compassion—and lots of gags.

Born Yesterday (1950) - Cukor

Plot:  Based on the 1946 play, a Business tycoon hires an etiquette tutor for his girlfriend and finds she's smarter then thought.
Stars:  Judy Holliday, Bill Holden, Broderick Crawford

A Box office smash in 1950, today its often remembered for Holliday winning the Best Actress Award over the more deserving Gloria Swanson (Sunset Blvd) and Bette Davis (All about Eve).   Seeming to run much longer than its 100 minute run-time, its a dated, one-note drama/comedy, that didn't engage me.  Its surprisingly serious, and there's a lot of Crawford bellowing.  In fact, no one seems to have told Crawford that he was in a comedy. OTOH, Holden is charming,  but his character just exists to advance the plot and play straight-man.  So, all the laughs come from Holliday, & the whole thing dies when she's off screen.   And while she is good,  she's  not "Brilliant" or "Hilarious" .  She's often more annoying than funny, and Jean Hagen does the "Dumb Blonde" thing better in Singing in the Rain.  

Summary: Its heresy to "Judy fans", but I think Lucille Ball, Jean Hagen, Rita Hayworth, and above all Marilyn Monroe could've done as well in the role.  But no matter the leading lady, Born Yesterday is too serious, dated, and  repetitive for my tastes.  But all comedy is subjective.

Anchor's Aweigh (1944)

Plot:  Two sailors on leave in Los Angeles look for fun and romance
Stars: Kathyrn Grayson,  Gene Kelly,  Frank Sinatra,  Jose Iturbi
Plus:  Technicolor, Production Numbers, Kelly dance with Jerry
Minus:  Too long, Corny story

I feel guilty about criticizing Anchors Aweigh, because so much of it is so good.  This is the first of the Sinatra-Kelly pairings and the two play off each other very well.  Grayson is very attractive, but  Gene Kelly dances with Jerry Mouse, not her. The movie also has some "high culture" with  Jose Iturbi playing Liszt & Grayson singing Operetta. The main problem? Its too long -143 minutes.  By comparison, Singing in the Rain and American in Paris are about 105 minutes.  It easily could have been 2 hours, by cutting down some of the lesser numbers/corny lackadaisical plot.  Summary:  A 1945 Box-office smash,  its the movie that made Gene Kelly a Star. He probably made 5 better musicals, but its still very good.

Back-story on the Kelly - Jerry Mouse Dance Number
As usual, there are different stories of how this came about.  Donen's biography credits him for originating the idea, getting Kelly on-board, and pushing it through.  Meanwhile, Kelly's biography talks about "our idea" and only credits Donen for the camera work.  In any case, the original idea was to dance with Mickey Mouse, since Disney** was already working on something similar (real actors/animated figures for the 3 Caballeros). It seemed like a natural fit but MGM wouldn't give Disney film credit or enough compensation, so MGM's Jerry Mouse was used.  The eight minutes of animation took Kelly two months, and the animators almost a year.  But it was worth it.

** Donen talks about meeting Disney and how nice and helpful he was, but can't resist smearing him as a "reputed anti-semite" and "Terrible Right-winger" (aka a Republican).  Kelly simply compliments Disney.

An update on Citizen Kane (1941)

Brilliant film reviewer, CinemaScope Cat, has a new review of Citizen Kane up. After praising the film, he states:

"Attempts have been made in certain quarters that KANE is overrated or that it's boring but I've invariably found that those who claim it's boring are usually boring people."

Well, I don't know about that.  In addition to Igmar Bergman, I've known any number of  *interesting* film buffs who think Citizen Kane is NOT the Greatest film of all time.  Personally, while I respect the film and think its incredibly well-made, I don't find it that enjoyable - the number of unlikable characters is rather high, and Kane's rise/fall has never touched MY heartstrings.  The problem (best delineated by NR Critic Otis Ferguson, read it online) is the STORY isn't that good. Between the dramatic highlights, there's a lot of talk, but not much plot.  That doesn't make it bad film, just one I wouldn't include on my "100 Films for a Desert Island" list.

But it does have some great lines/scenes including:

• Kane takes over the Newspaper 
• Opening scene: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree.
• The song and dance number - Good Ol' Charlie Kane
• Kane: You're right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in... 60 years.
• Bernstein: A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl.
• Bernstein: "Girls delightful in Cuba. Stop. Could send you prose poems about scenery, but don't feel right spending your money. Stop. There is no war in Cuba, signed Wheeler." Any answer?Kane: Yes. "Dear Wheeler: you provide the prose poems. I'll provide the war."
• Bernstein: Well, it's no trick to make a lot of money if all you want is to make a lot of money.