Broadway Melody of 1940--film on DVD

It's another Hollywood invention today. Broadway Melody of 1940 is the last of the three Broadway Melody films, and perhaps the most successful. It is primarily a dance film, although there are a couple of sung songs in the score, all of which is by Cole Porter, although they get short shrift compared to the wonderful dance offered up by the Queen of Tap, Eleanor Powell, and always-watchable Fred Astaire.

As Hollywood fluff goes, this is good stuff. There is nothing that is either heart-wrenching or remotely downbeat in the production. And the tap dancing is at times spectacular.

George Murphy displays a likable singing voice. The final production number is worth the wait. Filmed on a mirrored floor, it really shows off the crisp black-and-white photography. And of course everything ends happily for our hero and heroine.

Broadway Melody of 1940

Music and lyrics by Cole Porter

Released by MGM 1940

Cast: Eleanor Powell, Fred Astaire, George Murphy

Ziegfeld Follies--film on DVD

Okay, it's time for me to get back to what I said I was going to listen to--Broadway cast albums. It's been so cold, I've been content to let the DVDs be delivered to my mailbox. And some of the Hollywood musicals have been interesting and worth seeing, but they are not really what gets my juices flowing. And in the dead of winter I need some juice.

Unfortunately, I didn't get much from the musical revue film Ziegfeld Follies. As this was a commercial success when released in 1946, I'm certain it attracted a good percentage of a generation being nostalgic about pre-War entertainment. But if this film is indicative of what a Follies show was like, then I'll give up ever being nostalgic. With a cast of thousands, as many stars as are in the heavens, and the entire set, costume, and music staffs of MGM studios, I could have hoped for better. I think this may be a case of too many cooks ruining the pot.

The comedy scenes (featuring Fanny Brice, Red Skelton and others) fall flat to me. They are probably classic vaudeville routines, but they didn't reach out to me across the footlights--well, really across the living room. The musical numbers--while often lavishly produced with a seemingly endless string of costumes, lighting effects and chorus girls--also did not arouse much interest in me.

There were three possible exceptions to my dim view which warrant mention. Lena Horne sings an interesting song "Love" that has a lovely melody, although needs a better B-section. Regardless, Ms. Horne is an incredibly watchable performer. The satire song that Judy Garland sings has potential, but doesn't get to its point quick enough. The routine of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire has some very nice dancing.

I watched the extras to this DVD before watching the feature. Included is an interview with Kathryn Grayson who relates the story of her great dislike of the song by Roger Edens which she sings in the finale. While listening to this story, I thought "How bad can it be?" Well, stay tuned to the finale and listen to the cloying lyrics and go-nowhere melody of "Beauty."

Better yet, don't, and go to a real Broadway show instead.

Ziegfeld Follies of 1946
Music by who cares
Lyrics by many
Directed by Vincente Minnelli and others
Cast: Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Fanny Brice, Fred Astaire, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Cyd Charrise, Judy Garland, Esther Williams

Roberta on film

Ol' fashioned American operetta meets new-fangled Hollywood movie musical with a dash of Borscht-belt humor thrown in for good measure in the 1935 film version of Jerome Kern's 1933 Roberta.

The title character is not the focus of the story, but the starting point. Roberta is a Parisian couturier, producing high-end women's fashion. When her nephew, John Kent (Randolph Scott, pictured) inherits the business upon Roberta's death, shop manager Stephanie (Irene Dunn) must learn to work with the former football player. Love blossoms among the swatches.

The comedic couple is band leader Huck Haines (Fred Astaire) with Ginger Rogers playing an American "faking it" as Comtesse Scharwenka. The comtesse's first name is Tanka, so she is Tanka Scharwenka. How long had this joke been used in the Catskills?

The score includes some of the best songs Jerome Kern ever wrote: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "I Won't Dance, Don't Ask Me" and "I'll Be Hard To Handle". If the songs don't really move the story along, be forgiving, this was before that was part of the plan for a musical. It is nice to know that Kern had a more swinging period of his song-writing; this was after Showboat.

The Broadway cast was really interesting, but I'm sure their performances were lost to the ages. Bob Hope originated the Astaire role. Ray Middleton, who would go on to originate Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, played John Kent. It appears that the story of the stage play has been altered a bit in translation to film, so I'll look for a recording of a stage version to see if I can learn more.

Ginger Rogers is delightful in this film, singing, dancing and striking the right chords with the schticky humor. Astaire feels a bit heavy-handed at times with the humor, but has a tap routine that is not to be equalled. Irene Dunn has the waivery soprano voice that this era seemed to prefer--similar to Jeannette McDonald. Since Randolph Scott just stands around looking gorgeous, he doesn't sing. That's okay, too.

I think Lucille Ball has a brief appearance on screen as one of the "mannequins" in the big finale fashion show. She's a blonde.

Roberta
Music by Jerome Kern
Book and Lyrics by Otto Harbach
Film by RKO Pictures released in 1935

Based on the stage musical produced in 1933
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Irene Dunn

Finian's Rainbow film on DVD

I always thought the Rankin and Bass version of Fred Astaire in Santa Claus is Comin' to Town was a tremendous exaggeration of his long face and strong jaw, but some shots of Mr. Astaire in Finian's Rainbow prove that the claymation version is not overly exaggerated.

This film version was produced in 1968, 20 years after the stage musical premiered, and is the final film lead for Mr. Astaire. According to the movie database, the racial satire in the story had to wait for a more liberal time to be made into a film. From the opening chorus number, the inter-racial cast is a clue that this is not a typical musical of the 1940s, and some of the racial humor is hysterical even 40 years after the film was made. At the same time, the casting of Petula Clark and Don Francks as romantic leads Sharon and Woody clearly make this a film of the 1960s.

I had heard the songs "How are Things in Glocca Morra" and "Look to the Rainbow" before and liked their folk-song style in the context of the story. But there are lots of styles of music in this show-including a rousing gospel-style chorus about buying things out of the Sears-Roebuck catalogue! Other songs have a more contemporary feel to the era of the musical's creation and feel a little dated now. "Old Devil Moon" feels very much like a big band era song, especially in the orchestral arrangement in the film.

Finian's Rainbow
Music by Burton Lane
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy
Warner Bros. film release directed by Francis Ford Coppola!
Cast: Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Don Francks, Tommy Steele, Keenan Wynn, Al Freeman Jr., Barbara Hancock