It's Always Fair Weather--film on DVD

It's pure Hollywood invention on film for today--no Broadway antecedent, unless you count On The Town which is sort of a pre-quel to It's Always Fair Weather.

The stories for both Town and Weather come from the pens of Comden and Green, who between their stage and screens credits are leading the race for the most mentions in my Year's entries. The two stories also each feature three WWII GIs; In Town it is sailors on 24-hour leave in Manhattan. In Weather, we have three soldiers who reunite 10 years after they are discharged.

I have only heard of Michael Kidd as a choreographer; I didn't know about his cinematic past. I had never heard of Dan Dailey at all, although his bio says he was a former vaudevillian who was also in the original cast of Babes in Arms on Broadway. Both have a likable screen and musical presence, although they pale a bit in comparison to Gene Kelly's wattage. I'm sure that was part of the point of their being cast.

The story of this film is very down, and the behind-the-scenes extras on the DVD rightly credits that aspect with the film's initial failure. There are some wonderful dance and musical moments, but they didn't add up to enough to draw me into this film.

One bright spot in the show is Dolores Gray who does an hysterical turn as a television talk show host and musical performer--imagine Dinah Shore meets Rachael Ray. No Rachael is too folksy, but I can't think of another female talk show host I find as cloying as Ms. Ray. Anyway, Ms. Gray is a versatile musical performer who portrayed Lalume in in the film version of Kismet, had starred as Annie Oakley in the London production of Annie Get Your Gun, and was nominated for a Tony award for Destry Rides Again on Broadway (directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd).

The late Cyd Charisse is the leading lady opposite Mr. Kelly, and while I find the dancing Ms. Charisse performs in the film to be wonderful, her character and performance left me dry. The music as provided by Andre Previn and the legendary Arthur Freed Unit--ditto.

It's Always Fair Weather
Music by Andre Previn
Book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Released by MGM in 1955
Cast: Gene Kelly, Michael Kidd, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Dolores Grey,
Directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen

Subways are for Sleeping original Broadway cast album

I believe this makes the seventh appearance for bookwriters and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green in my Year. They are by far leading the pack of other songwriters who have come up. Mr. Green also appeared once as a performer. Today is another of their musicals with composer Jule Styne, Subways are for Sleeping.

Compared their this teams' previous hit, Bells are Ringing, Subways was not a successful production, as the overly-long liner notes to this CD reissue make clear. Initially Comden and Green only wanted to write the song lyrics, not the book, saying that weren't certain how to coax a plot out the collection of short stories by Edmund G. Love. But when another bookwriter was not forthcoming, the pair capitulated and created a plot revolving around two sets of lovers. Comden and Green perhaps knew best in their initial reaction to writing the book, as that seems to be the aspect that let this show down the most.

In listening to the score, I have to wonder how bad must the book have been to have this show be considered unsuccessful. The songs are uniformly good--often much better than good--and the sung performances also quite engaging. I knew none of these songs before listening to this cast album, and I'm surprised they are not interpolated more often (if at all) into revues or cabaret acts.

Adolph Green's wife, Phyllis Newman, was cast (after five auditions) as the women in the comic pair of lovers, along side Orson Bean. As the liner notes state, this pair had much better material than the "primary" pair in the show, played by Carol Lawrence and Sydney Chaplin. This seems to have been part of the problem with the show. Newman is a hoot in her big Act One number "I was a Shoo-in", telling of her inevitability (and inevitable disappointment) as a beauty contestant. The song is hysterical and Ms. Newman plays it just right--completely straight and not too over-the-top. She won a Tony Award for her performance. A bonus track on this CD contains the song "Let's Talk" which was cut from the show, but also would have been for Ms. Newman.

I had previously queried about Sydney Chaplin, who not only originated the lead role in this show, but also lead roles in the stage versions of Bells Are Ringing and Funny Girl. This is the first singing I've heard by Mr. Chaplin (who was Charlie's son) as I saw the film versions of those other shows, where he did not appear. Chaplin has an enjoyable-enough, slightly raspy baritone, well suited to the cads he seems to have made a living portraying. His big number in Subways is "Swing Your Projects", a very funny song about financial indiscretions and double-dealings that seems all too current to today's situation. He is paired with Carol Lawrence, who sings beautifully on this recording, although the duets she and Chaplin share are perhaps not the most inspired numbers in the score.

Subways are for Sleeping
Music by Jule Styne
Book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Opened late 1961, cast album recorded in early 1962
Cast: Sydney Chaplin, Carol Lawrence, Phyllis Newman, Orson Bean
Directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd